TECHNOLOGY

Investors braced for more bleak news from smartphone laggard Nokia Oyj on Thursday with the world's largest handset maker likely to post a second-quarter loss and a weak outlook.

Microsoft Corp is expected to post a 9 percent increase in fiscal fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by solid sales of its Windows and Office mainstays, but investors may be distracted by evidence of flickering computer sales, which are key to its success.

Qualcomm Inc's improving financial outlook was not enough to impress investors disappointed with its wireless chip shipment target during a quarter when new advanced devices like the next generation Apple Inc iPhone are expected to go on sales.

Qualcomm Inc said it will ship fewer cellphone chips than expected this quarter because its customers are shaving product inventories, sending its shares down almost 3 percent as investors worried the move could signal weakening demand due to an economic slowdown.

Investors braced for more bleak news from smartphone laggard Nokia Oyj on Thursday with the world's largest handset maker likely to post a second-quarter loss and a weak outlook.

The iPhone iris mount is causing quite the stir. The device is exactly what its name suggests: a mount on the iPhone that lets the police scan the eye's iris for personal identification.

The Chinese are recognized world wide for their skill of producing stylish counterfeit designer bags and sunglasses but who would have imagined a fake Apple Store equipped with a 'genius bar', spiral staircase and Apple Store trademark wall to wall glass windows? You don't need to. An expat stumbled into three in China's southwest providence of Kunming.

Wireless chip maker Qualcomm Inc's third-quarter profit was better than expected and the company raised its guidance for the current quarter due to strong demand for smartphones.

Six Republican White House hopefuls unleashed a torrent of 140-character policy pronouncements on jobs, government debt and the Tea Party on Wednesday during the first presidential debate on Twitter.

Dell Inc's deal on Wednesday to buy Force10 Networks will give the world's second-largest computer maker inroads into Cisco Systems Inc's turf -- networking.

Amazon.com Inc has licensed thousands of television shows from CBS Corp to help the largest Internet retailer compete with DVD rental and video streaming company Netflix Inc.

Wireless chip maker Qualcomm Inc posted an increase in fiscal third-quarter profit and revenue helped by strong demand for smartphones.

Apple Inc shares flirted with a record $400 on Wednesday, a day after the world's most valuable technology company posted blockbuster results and triggered a spate of brokerage upgrades.

Intel Corp trimmed its forecast for 2011 personal computer unit sales, warning of softness in mature markets and sending its shares more than 1 percent lower.

Senator Herb Kohl, chairman of the Senate's antitrust subcommittee, urged the federal government to block AT&T's $39 billion plan to buy T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom.

As the United States prepares to end its space shuttle program, technologies developed to nurture the reusable spaceships through three decades of flight will live on in day-to-day use on Earth.

Samsung Electronics has poached a second employee from Research In Motion in a month, setting back the BlackBerry maker as it struggles to regain its stride.

Michael Lee Johnson, whose Google+ (or Google Plus) ad was banned by Facebook last week, has responded by deleting his Facebook profile.

Nepal will remeasure the height of Everest using GPS markers and satellites.

Option traders are pricing in a near 4 percent move in Intel shares after its earnings report, based on contracts expiring Friday.

As the United States prepares to end its space shuttle program, technologies developed to nurture the reusable spaceships through three decades of flight will live on in day-to-day use on Earth.

RIM suffered another loss on Tuesday when its lead PlayBook developer defected to Samsung.

Apple Inc shares flirted with a record $400 on Wednesday, a day after the world's most valuable technology company posted blockbuster results and triggered a spate of brokerage upgrades.

As promised Apple launched Mac OS X Lion this morning, CNET reported.

Apple Inc shares surged 6 percent in pre-market trading on Wednesday, a day after the company posted stellar results even by its own lofty standards, prompting several analysts to raise their earnings targets for the iPhone maker.

Alcatel-Lucent confirmed on Wednesday that it may sell a collection of businesses that serve non-telecom operator customers as part of CEO Ben Verwaayen's ongoing turnaround plan.

Google+ reportedly has now attracted 18-million users only three weeks after the social media network was introduced.

Stocks were flat on Wednesday, with even a blowout quarter at Apple failing to entice investors to carry on buying the day after Wall Street's best day since March.

Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) string of outage woes continues with another outage on Tuesday.