TECHNOLOGY

Dutch authorities have embraced smartphone technology in a bid to make going through customs easier by releasing an application that tells travelers what they are not allowed to take with them.

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc will cut 6,000 jobs, or 18 percent of the workforce, at its 78 manufacturing plants over the next five years as it pares back operations following last year's purchase of rival Wyeth.

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc will cut 6,000, or 18 percent, of jobs at its 78 manufacturing plants over the next five years as it consolidates operations following last year's purchase of smaller rival Wyeth.

Eman AbdelRahman is one of 200,000 people who have signed up on Facebook to back Mohamed ElBaradei, the former U.N. nuclear boss who has said he wants to shatter 30 years of political stasis in Egypt by running for president.

The next generation of high-speed Internet services, tablets, smartphones and other mobile gadgets could arrive faster than you would expect.

HSINCHU, Taiwan May 17 - AU Optronics Corp, Taiwan's No. 2 LCD maker, said an LCD panel shortage is likely to last into the second half of this year on robust demand for PCs and TVs, even though fears linger about a weak euro.

The global electronic book market will grow almost 80 percent this year, aided by Apple's iPad, but devices with limited multimedia functions will remain a mainstream segment thanks to consumers seeking a serious reading experience, LG Display said on Monday.

The groom looked dashing, his bride resplendent in white, but all eyes in this Japanese wedding were on the priest, a four-foot tall robot with colorful, flashing eyes called i-Fairy.

Fearing huge losses in sales after pictures leaked of its fourth-generation iPhone, Apple Inc convinced police to launch a felony investigation and Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs contacted the offending Web site himself to try and recover the gadget.

An Apple Inc lawyer considered a missing iPhone 4G prototype invaluable and publication of its details immensely damaging to the gadget maker's future sales, according to a search warrant unsealed by a California judge on Friday.

Microsoft Corp is expecting a boost this quarter from a rebound in business tech spending, likely outweighing negative effects from turmoil in Europe, the software giant's chief financial officer told Reuters on Friday.

Shares of TiVo fell as much as 42 percent on Friday after an appeals court set aside the company's win in a patent battle over digital video recorders with rivals Dish and EchoStar.

Shares of Hauppauge Digital Inc soared as much as 60 percent Friday, a day after the company said its products can now stream live TV over the internet for Apple's iPad, iPhone and iPod.

Parisian authorities are trying to stop a mass cocktail party organized over the Internet and planned for the Eiffel Tower grounds, after a reveler died on Thursday at a gathering of 10,000 people in western France.

More technology deals are on the way as the industry recovers from the recession, but Microsoft Corp is not poised to make a big deal soon, its chief financial officer told Reuters on Friday.

An appeals court that specializes in patent lawsuits vacated a Tivo win in a patent battle with Echostar on Friday, sending Tivo shares down more than 38 percent.

Shares of Hauppauge Digital Inc soared as much as 55 percent Friday, a day after the company said its products can now stream live TV over the internet for Apple products.

The family travel blog of the sole survivor of a Libyan plane crash that killed 103 people has turned into a condolence register, with dozens offering sympathy to the nine-year-old Dutch boy orphaned by the crash.

Sony Corp shares fell nearly 7 percent in their biggest tumble in a year after the electronics maker disappointed investors with a cautious forecast and worries mounted the euro could dull the pace of its recovery.

The once sheltered children of the late Michael Jackson have become Internet sensations after home-made videos of two of his three children playing up for web cameras were leaked and appeared on YouTube.

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker, plans to unveil on Monday a much-awaited semiconductor investment plan, a source said, joining a growing list of firms raising spending on global economic recovery.

Sony Corp shares tumbled 7 percent on Friday after its forecast for annual operating profit fell short of analysts' expectations amid unfavorable currency rates and tough competition.

China restored full Internet access in its far western Xinjiang region Friday, the local government said, ending 10 months of blocked or limited access following deadly ethnic rioting there last July.

The video game industry has weathered the economic slowdown better than most industries, but there could be a reason -- free games with new figures showing up to a third of gamers don't pay to play.

Sony Corp shares tumbled 7 percent on Friday after its forecast for annual operating profit fell short of analysts' expectations amid unfavorable currency rates and tough competition.

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters Life!) - The video game industry has weathered the economic slowdown better than most industries, but there could be a reason -- free games with new figures showing up to a third of gamers don't pay to play.

NBC is looking to social media to help it rise from its bottom place among the big four U.S. television networks.

Apple's allegations that Eastman Kodak infringed its patents will be investigated by the International Trade Commission, the agency said on Thursday.

A man fell to his death after taking part in a mass cocktail party which was organized over the Internet and drew almost 10,000 revelers, the prefecture for Nantes in western France said on Thursday.