TECHNOLOGY

Japan pledged to shore up Elpida Memory Inc with public money, bringing the total aid expected to come to the loss-making chip maker to $1.7 billion as it struggles to compete with its larger South Korean rivals.

What do Johnny Depp, Garfield, Paris Hilton and roast pork have in common? In China, the answer is that a new government-mandated Internet filter rates some pictures of all four of them as bad for your moral health.

Japan pledged to prop up loss-making chip maker Elpida Memory Inc with up to $1.7 billion in public and private capital and loans, the country's first capital injection in a company since the financial crisis.

Online retailer Amazon.com is pulling the plug on its Internet associates program in Rhode Island in retaliation for potentially having to pay a new sales tax to the state, its second such move in a week.

Ortronics/Legrand Showcases Layer Zero Solutions, an additional layer to the traditional network architecture that adds strength at the ongoing event of Cisco Live 2009 in San Francisco, California.

Sony is once again considering combining a cell phone with its Playstation PSP portable gaming console which could compete with Apple's iPod and iPhone, according to a report in Japan's Nikkei Business Daily.

Internet social network powerhouse Facebook has hired the former chief financial officer of Genentech as its CFO, filing a spot that has been empty for about three months.

Julius Genachowski, a telecommunications industry executive, was sworn in as the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on Monday, an agency spokesman said.

Google on Monday launched a new search service designed to provide users with information via SMS text message to mobile phone users in Africa.

Social networking website Facebook on Monday named David Ebersman as its new Chief Financial Officer, a former Genentech Executive and CFO who tripled its revenue.

Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs is back at work following a near 6-month medical leave, although he will work at least initially from home for a few days a week, the company said on Monday.

The creators of the popular BitTorrent search engine The Pirate Bay have turned their sights to a new market - streaming video - with a new website that is already billed as a rival to YouTube and Hulu.

The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it rejected an appeal by film studios and television networks of a ruling allowing a new digital video recorder service by New York cable operator Cablevision Systems Corp.The justices refused to review a ruling by a U.S. Court of Appeals in New York that Cablevision's proposed new service would not directly infringe the copyrights of the media companies that...

Comcast Corp, the largest U.S. cable operator, said on Monday it is introducing a wireless service for subscribers to access the Web beyond their homes anywhere within the United States.The so-called fourth-generation (4G) wireless service, is the first execution of a partnership between Comcast, Clearwire Corp and other companies that use the emerging WiMax high-speed mobile technology.Many consu...

Comcast Corp, the largest U.S. cable operator, said on Monday it is introducing a wireless service for subscribers to access the Web beyond their homes anywhere within the United States.The so-called fourth-generation (4G) wireless service, is the first execution of a partnership between Comcast, Clearwire Corp and other companies that use the emerging WiMax high-speed mobile technology.Many consu...

Celebrities and hip adults aren't the only people flocking to Twitter, the social-networking site. Even centenarians have learned to tweet.Three percent of U.S. centenarians questioned in a new survey said they use the service that allows users to send short text messages, or tweets, of up to 140 characters at least once a week to keep in touch with their friends and family.Another 10 percent sen...

Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs is back to work following a near six-month medical leave, the company said on Monday.Steve is back to work, a company spokesman said.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China urged Beijing to reconsider implementing a controversial Internet filter, saying on Monday it raised serious concerns about security, privacy and user choice.The EU Chamber said it supported measures to protect children from potentially harmful content on the Internet, but this goal could be better achieved through a healthy and open dialogue on pare...

Sony Corp is considering developing a cellphone-game gear hybrid in a bid to better compete with Apple Inc's highly popular iPod and iPhone, the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday.The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate launched its first Walkman three decades ago, dominating the portable music player market, but it has been running far behind the iPod and iPhone in recent yea...

Top mobile telephone suppliers have agreed to back an EU-wide harmonization of phone chargers, the European Commission said on Monday, hailing the pact as good news for consumers and the environment.The agreement by Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other industry majors will mean phones compatible with standard charging devices are available in Europe from next year, said the EU executive, which has pushe...

Advertising on mobile phones should really take off within two to three years, driven by new applications on smartphones and the growing popularity of social networks such as Facebook.Executives, who attended last week's Cannes Lions 2009 ad festival, told Reuters that emerging economies were also promising though the lack of a global mobile phone standard could be a brake to speedy develo...

Microsoft has hired Morgan Stanley to sell Razorfish, its digital agency, and French marketing company Publicis Groupe SA is thought to be a possible bidder, the Financial Times said on its website late Sunday.Microsoft acquired the agency, formerly called Avenue A Razorfish, as part of its $6 billion takeover of aQuantive in 2007.The report cited an analyst valuing Razorfish at $600...

NetSuite Inc said on Sunday it has received certification from a member of a German auditing body for its on-demand business management software, which can now be used by companies in Germany.NetSuite said it got the certification for its NetSuite OneWorld from a member of the German Institute of Auditors, whose members include certified accountants and certified auditors.Under the c...

China's latest Internet controls have been assailed by rights advocates and Washington, and yet the real challenge to its Green Dam plan may be the nation's own computer market, an anarchic digital bazaar.Starting from Wednesday, the government has ordered that personal computers sold in China must leave manufacturers with Green Dam filter software intended to block obscene images and...

More than a million French users of Microsoft's Xbox 360 will be able to watch films on demand, premium drama and soccer from Canal Plus on their games console thanks to a deal between Microsoft and the pay-TV group.

Creditors and suppliers of Nortel Networks filed a series of objections on Friday to the proposed sale of a unit of the bankrupt telecom equipment maker to Nokia Siemens Networks.

A fake antivirus software is making its way around the Internet, duping users and potentially destroying people's computers.

Lenovo said Friday it is offering free Windows 7 upgrades to customers who buy a Windows Vista PC, following a similar deal from Hewlett-Packard.

Sony Corp is considering developing a cellphone-game gear hybrid in a bid to better compete with Apple Inc's highly popular iPod and iPhone, the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday.