SOFTWARE

David Daoud ran into trouble when he started using Vista, the new version of Windows that Microsoft Corp. and PC makers have spent millions of dollars advertising since it came out six months ago.

John Carmack, the graphics wizard behind the classic video game Doom, said on Wednesday his upcoming mobile phone fantasy game may find its way to home gaming consoles if sales are strong.

Google Inc. will introduce on Wednesday a new feature that lets users create personalized maps which plot the locations of everything from cheap gas locally to the latest earthquakes worldwide.

Data storage company EMC Corp.'s subsidiary, VMware, said it expects its initial public offering to be priced between $23 and $25 per share.

The private Internet club that began as a college hangout is becoming the hottest tech ticket.

Shares of Apple Inc. rose more than 4 percent to an all-time high on Thursday as investors bet on strong demand for its media-playing iPhone and speculation mounted over plans to sell the device in Europe.

Software maker SAP AG admitted a subsidiary had carried out inappropriate downloads of documents belonging to archrival Oracle Corp but said on Tuesday SAP itself had not had access to that material.

Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, has declined to sign a long-term deal with Apple Inc.'s iTunes music store, leaving open the possibility for exclusive deals with other services, an industry source said on Sunday.

Shares of Research in Motion surged to a 3 ½ year high on Friday, a day after the Blackberry maker posted a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street expectations.

Oracle Corp. the world's third largest software maker, reported profit that beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday and gave a positive growth outlook for the current quarter that nudged its shares higher.

SAP will be forced to cannibalise its own customers by offering new software that is delivered over the Web as it adapts to a world irrevocably changed by Google, SAP's chairman said.

Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) popular iTunes store became the third largest music retailer in the United States, according to market research, soaring past traditional brick-and-mortar stores and other online stores.

Plaxo, which makes software for PC users to keep address books up-to-date, said on Sunday it is helping millions of members open up their online datebooks to build social networks like MySpace or Facebook.

MySpace Launches Instant Messenger News Corp.'s (NSADAQ: NWS) popular social networking site, MySpace, said it officially launched a test version of its instant messaging program, dubbed MyspaceIM.

Privately held Swarmcast, which specializes in streaming video over Web connections, on Tuesday unveiled a new application to accelerate video downloads from Apple Inc.'s popular iTunes store.

Microsoft Corp. launched a redesigned MSN portal optimized for mobile phones on Sunday, stepping up its offering at a time when more powerful devices increase the demand for richer content on handsets.

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Friday said a complaint lodged by Google Inc. was 'baseless' as the software company was complying with a 2002 antitrust settlement.

The high priests of free software have congregated at Google Inc. headquarters this week to debate the future of the movement and face down recent patent threats by Microsoft Corp.

A strong minority of Yahoo Inc. shareholders challenged the Web company's direction on Tuesday by voting against board-nominated directors at the annual meeting, and investors confronted Chief Executive Terry Semel.

A strong minority of Yahoo shareholders challenged the Web company's direction on Tuesday by voting against board-nominated directors at the annual meeting, and investors confronted Chief Executive Terry Semel.

Shares of Novell Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) rose Thursday, a day after the network software maker reported a loss for its second quarter, in line with Wall Street estimates.