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Apple launches new iPad

San Francisco - Apple on Wednesday unveiled the third version of its genre-defining iPad tablet computer which will be available to consumers in the United States, Germany, France, Britain and Canada starting at 499 dollars from March 16.

Iran's supreme leader orders creation of internet control centre

Tehran - Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday ordered the creation of a special cyber centre led by top political and military figures to control the country's internet use, Fars news agency reported.

FBI cracks down on LulzSec and Anonymous hackers

San Francisco - The United States has filed criminal charges against six leading hackers from the Anonymous and LulzSec groups in a major blow to the notorious computer crime rings, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Chinese court hears iPad trademark appeal

Beijing - A provincial court in southern China on Wednesday heard an appeal by Apple Inc against a lower court's decision that Proview Technology (Shenzhen) owned the iPad trademark for the country.

Yahoo threatens Facebook over patents

San Francisco - Yahoo has threatened Facebook with legal action for violating its patents, according to The New York Times, which said the struggling web pioneer is repeating a strategy it successfully implemented just before Google went public in 2004.

Apple stokes iPad rumours with media invitation

San Francisco - Apple stoked rumours Tuesday about the imminent launch of a new iPad, issuing invitations to a media event on March 7 for a new product announcement.

Apple scores legal victory over Motorola in Germany

Karlsruhe, Germany - Apple scored a court victory over US rival Motorola on Monday in Germany, averting the risk of having to cease German sales of its iPhone and iPad products over an alleged patent violation.

Apple disables push email function in Germany

Berlin - Apple on Friday disabled its push email function in Germany after rival Motorola earlier this month won a patent case.

German court rules police access to passwords is unconstitutional

Karlsruhe, Germany - A German law which enables police to obtain passwords and secret personal identification numbers from telephone companies is unconstitutional and must be redrafted, the country's highest court ruled Friday.

Banks driving Chinese firm's iPad claims, lawyer says

Beijing - Eight banks are pushing an ailing Chinese electronics firm's court action against Apple over the disputed ownership of the iPad trademark in China, a lawyer said on Friday.

Apple can continue to sell iPad in China, court rules

Shanghai - US computer maker Apple can continue to sell its iPad tablet computer in China for now after a Shanghai court Thursday ruled against a Chinese company that claimed to own the rights to the iPad name, the Xinhua news agency reported.

HP sales drop 7 per cent

San Francisco - Hewlet Packard, the world's largest maker of traditional personal computers, reported a 7-per-cent drop in sales Wednesday for its fiscal first quarter as consumer spending on PCs dropped a whopping 25 per cent.

Chinese firm seeks settlement of iPad dispute, lawyer says

Beijing - A Chinese company that is battling Apple for ownership of the iPad trademark plans to pursue legal action in China until the two sides negotiate a settlement, a lawyer for the company said on Wednesday.

Shanghai court hears petition to suspend iPad sales

Beijing - A Shanghai court on Wednesday began hearing a petition to ban Apple Inc from selling iPads in the city filed by a Chinese company that claims it still owns the iPad trademark for China.

Dell earnings fall as consumer sales splutter

San Francisco - Computer maker Dell reported an 18-per-cent drop in fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday as consumer sales continued to show weakness.

Apple wins patent verdict in Munich, expands US lawsuit

Munich/San Francisco - Apple has won an important victory in its patent dispute with Motorola in Germany just days after filing a major patent violation case against Samsung in the US.

Anonymous hacks into New Zealand Foreign Minister's email

Wellington - Computer hacking group Anonymous broke into the personal email account of New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully, it was reported on Wednesday.

iPads seized after Chinese firm claims trademark

Beijing - Officials in at least one Chinese city have seized Apple iPads following a court ruling in favour of a company that claims to own the Chinese trademark for the computers, reports said on Monday.

Oracle to purchase Taleo for 1.9 billion dollars

San Francisco - Business software giant Oracle is to purchase human resources management company Taleo for 1.9 billion, the companies announced Thursday.

iPad 3 to be announced in March: report

San Francisco - Apple is to launch a new model of its genre defining iPad tablet computer in March, according to a report Thursday in the Wall Street Journal's All Things D blog.

Cisco posts 11 per cent rise in Q2 sales

San Francisco - Networking giant Cisco reported an 11-per-cent rise in second-quarter earnings Wednesday as the Silicon Valley bellwether continued efforts to turn around its struggling business.

Apple reclaims top smartphone spot as sales soar

San Francisco - Massive fourth-quarter sales of the iPhone 4S helped Apple reclaim its crown as the world's top smartphone maker, as global smartphone sales jumped 55 per cent on the same period last year, according to a report published Tuesday by research firm IDC.

Motorola takes aim at Apple stores in Germany, monitor says

Berlin - Motorola has begun legal action against Apple stores in Germany, after winning a courtroom battle over online sales last week, a patent expert monitoring the rivals' conflict said Monday.

LEAD: Megaupload founder's appeal for bail refused

Wellington - Kim Dotcom, the millionaire German founder of the file-sharing Megaupload website, saw his appeal for bail rejected Friday as he awaits an extradition hearing, news reports said.

Megaupload founder's appeal for bail refused

Wellington - Kim Dotcom, the millionaire German founder of the file-sharing Megaupload website, saw his appeal for bail rejected Friday as he awaits an extradition hearing, news reports said.

New Apple bid to stop Samsung tablet in Germany fails

Berlin - A new court bid in Germany by Apple to ban a tablet computer made by its rival Samsung has failed, with Munich judges ruling that Samsung's Germany-only Galaxy Tab 10.1 N model did not breach an Apple patent.

Samsung loses appeal in Germany against Galaxy Tab ban

Dusseldorf - Korean electronics company Samsung on Tuesday lost a court appeal against a ban on the sale of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 computer tablets in Germany.

Two Megaupload accused get bail in New Zealand

Wellington - Two of Kim Dotcom's fellow accused in the Megaupload internet piracy case were granted bail by a New Zealand judge on Thursday, news reports said.

Apple shares soar after stellar earnings

San Francisco - Apple shares soared as much as 8 per cent Wednesday following the company's stellar earnings report, bringing its value to an all-time high of 419 billion dollars.

Megaupload founder appeals denial of bail

Wellington - Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom lodged a High Court appeal against a judge's refusal to allow him bail while he awaits a hearing on extradition to the United States, his attorney Paul Davison said Wednesday.

LEAD: Judge denies bail for internet piracy suspect Kim Dotcom

Wellington - Kim Dotcom of Germany, founder of the website Megaupload who is wanted in the United States on internet piracy charges, was denied bail by a New Zealand judge on Wednesday, news reports said.

Judge denies bail for internet piracy suspect

Wellington - Kim Dotcom of Germany, founder of the website Megaupload who is wanted in the United States on internet piracy charges, was denied bail by a New Zealand judge on Wednesday, news reports said. Judge David McNaughton, who heard Dotcom's application to be freed pending an extradition hearing on Monday, remanded him in custody until February 22. dpa db pr

Apple sells record 37 million iPhones; reports record profits

San Francisco - Apple said it sold a record 37 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter and 15.4 million iPads as it posted record revenue Tuesday of 46.33 billion dollars and record quarterly profit of 13 billion dollars.

New CEO to address Blackberry manufacturer's woes

New York - Research in Motion (RIM), the struggling manufacturer of the Blackberry smartphones, on Monday appointed a new chief executive officer, Thorsten Heins, in the hope of revitalizing the company, which has lost out heavily to Apple's rival iPhone.

Judge delays ruling on bail for Kim Dotcom

Wellington - Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom remained behind bars Monday after a New Zealand judge declined to make an immediate decision on whether to grant him bail pending a hearing on extradition to the United States, news reports said.

LEAD: Prosecution opposes bail for Dotcom accused

Wellington - Prosecutors have opposed bail for Kim Dotcom and his three colleagues accused in the Megaupload internet piracy case after they applied Monday to be freed in the North Shore District Court, in Auckland, news reports said.

Kim Dotcom's arrest sparks immigration questions

Wellington - As Kim Dotcom, millionaire founder of the internet website Megaupload, was preparing to apply for bail in a New Zealand court on Monday, opposition politicians demanded an inquiry into his immigration status.

LEAD: Google disappoints as other tech giants rejoice

San Francisco - Google posted increases in revenue and profit Thursday but its shares plunged as it missed Wall Street expectations, even as other tech heavyweights such as Microsoft, IBM and Intel saw better-than-expected gains.

Intel boasts record yearly results

San Francisco - Intel on Thursday posted record annual revenue of 54 billion dollars, as well as its highest-ever net income of 12.9 billion dollars.

IBM profits and revenue rise

New York - Technology giant IBM saw small fourth-quarter increases in revenue and profit Thursday in its first quarterly results under the leadership of Ginni Rometty, who took the company over on January 1 from longtime IBM boss Samuel Palmisano.

Microsoft reports record revenue

Seattle - Microsoft reported record second-quarter revenue of 20.89 billion dollars Thursday, a rise of 5 per cent from the year-earlier period.

Google reports strong gains in revenue and income

San Francisco - Google reported strong gains in fourth- quarter revenue and income Thursday and said that the membership of its Google+ social network had more than doubled in the quarter to 90 million.

Apple's latest revolution: textbooks

New York - Students of the world rejoice. Those heavy backpacks filled with expensive textbooks are set to become a thing of the past, Apple announced Thursday.

Apple stems US losses to Android

San Francisco - Apple has managed to put a dent in Android's seemingly relentless march to domination of the smartphone market.

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang leaving the company

San Francisco - Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang resigned from the struggling internet pioneer Tuesday, 17 years after he founded the company and built it into the best-used search portal in the early years of the web.

Apple intensifies fight against Samsung

Düsseldorf - Apple stepped up its patent lawsuit against Samsung on Tuesday, asking a court in Germany to ban the Korean electronics giant from selling 10 smartphone models that allegedly violate the American company's patents.

Report: Facebook IPO set for May

San Francisco - Facebook's record-smashing 100-billion-dollar initial public offering is set for late May, according to a report Monday in the Wall Street Journal.

Ultrabooks dominate electronics show - but who needs them?

Las Vegas - If you believe the hype coming out of the world's largest electronics show this week, your life will just not be complete until you get your hands on a sleek new ultrabook.

Twitter protests Google's new social search

San Francisco - Microblogging site Twitter on Wednesday criticized Google's newly announced plans to include Google+ content into search results, saying the decision to omit Twitter feeds would compromise the search experience.

Intel enters smartphone market

Las Vegas - Intel Corp on Tuesday announced plans to team up with Motorola Mobility Inc and Lenovo to make the first smartphones running on Intel chips.

Apple CEO awarded 376 million dollars in stock options

San Francisco - Apple CEO Tim Cook has been awarded stock options valued at 376 million dollars as part of his deal to replace late founder Steve Jobs at the helm of the world's most valuable technology company.

Intel touts the age of the Ultrabook

Las Vegas/San Francisco - Computer chip giant Intel on Monday ramped up its 300-million-dollar campaign to develop a powerful slimline category of laptops which it said would usher in 'the age of the ultrabook.'

Steve Ballmer delivers Microsoft's last CES keynote speech

Las Vegas - Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer gave the software company's final keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas late Monday, showcasing his company's Windows 8 operating system as well as new Windows phones and the latest innovations on the company's Xbox 360 video console.

Motorola warns of shrinking phone sales

New York - Motorola Mobility warned Friday that it would miss its quarterly financial targets by almost 500 million dollars, as its phone sales suffered from strong competition.

Study: Euro crisis to curb tech spending

San Francisco - The European fiscal crisis will put the brakes on global technology spending in 2012, US research firm Gartner said Thursday.

Steve Jobs to get posthumous Grammy

Los Angeles - Computer visionary Steve Jobs is to be awarded a posthumous Grammy in honour of his profound affect on the music business, the Recording Academy announced Wednesday.

Yahoo takes down iconic sign as Asian deals reported

San Francisco - Yahoo has displayed its prominent position as one of the pioneers of the dot com boom with an iconic purple billboard along the approach to San Francisco's Bay Bridge since the early days of the internet.

Google: Android device sales top 700,000 per day

San Francisco - Google's Android operating system is going from strength to strength. The US software giant has announced that over 700,000 new mobile devices running on Android are now activated daily, a doubling of the sales rate in just seven months.

Google, Firefox extend search deal

San Francisco - Google will remain the default search engine on the Firefox web browser after the web-search giant inked a deal Tuesday with the open-source organization.

Ruling finds Motorola violates Microsoft patent

San Francisco - In a ruling that could spell trouble for Google Inc, a judge at the US International Trade Commission found Tuesday that Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc had violated a Microsoft Corp patent on its phones that run Google's Android operating system.

AT&T abandons T-Mobile deal

San Francisco - AT&T has abandoned its 39-billion-dollar deal to buy US cellphone carrier T-Mobile, citing the opposition of government antitrust regulators, the company said Monday.

Apple wins key US patent ruling against HTC

Washington - Apple Inc won a key patent ruling late Monday against Taiwan's phone maker HTC Corp, in a move that could force Google Inc into altering its Android operating system for smartphones.

AT&T abandons T-Mobile deal in US

San Francisco - AT&T abandoned its 39-billion-dollar deal to buy US cellphone carrier T-Mobile Monday, citing the opposition of government antitrust regulators.

LEAD: Saudi prince buys 300-million-dollar stake in Twitter

Riyadh, San Francisco - Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal announced on Monday that he had bought a stake in the networking website Twitter in a 300-million-dollar deal.

Saudi prince buys 300-million-dollar stake in Twitter

Riyadh - Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal announced on Monday that he had bought a stake in the networking website Twitter in a 300-million-dollar deal.

LEAD: Zynga drops after IPO

San Francisco - Online game maker Zynga went public with a thud Friday as its shares closed down 5 per cent at 9.50 dollars from their 10 dollar starting price.

Online game maker Zynga's share price drops after IPO

San Francisco - Online game maker Zynga went public Friday, selling 12.9 per cent of the company for 1.15 billion dollars when it launched its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Google top search for 2011: Rebecca Black

San Francisco - So much for the wisdom of the masses. Google revealed its top ten searches for the year Thursday and it was 13-year-old Rebecca Black who topped the Zeitgeist 2011 list. She's the singing sensation whose song Friday had 167 million YouTube hits despite being derided by almost everyone who watched it.

Farmville maker Zynga eyes billion dollar IP0

San Francisco - Online game maker Zynga announced the pricing for its imminent IPO Thursday. The maker of popular Facebook games like Farmville, Cityville and Words with Friends said it planned to sell up to 115 million shares for 10 dollars each, to raise a cool 1.15 billion dollars.

Amazon to update Kindle Fire as new iPad 3 reported for spring

San Francisco - Amazon will issue a software update to its Kindle Fire tablet computer to update several flaws in the hot-selling device, according to a report in The New York Times. The report came as Taiwanese website DigiTimes reported Monday that Apple would launch a new iPad in spring 2012.

Call of Duty game racks up 1 billion dollars in sales

Santa Monica, California - Take that Avatar! Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has racked up 1 billion dollars in sales in just 16 days on the market it was announced Monday.

Intel lowers forecast citing Thai flood effects

San Francisco - The massive floods in Thailand continue to cause ripples around the tech world.

Clinton warns against software sales to dictatorships

The Hague - Technology companies that sell internet software to dictatorships should realize that their products could easily be used to violate human rights, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a conference in the Netherlands Thursday.

Samsung gets go-ahead to sell Galaxy tablet computer in Australia

Sydney - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Friday won a legal battle against Apple Inc for the right to sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in Australia.

Trademark trouble for BlackBerry forces name change

San Francisco - BlackBerry maker Research in Motion will change the name of the upcoming operating system that it hopes will revive its ailing smartphone business, the company announced Wednesday.

Google marks 10 billion Android app downloads

San Francisco - Users of Android-powered devices have downloaded more than 10 billion apps from Google for their smartphones and tablets, the web software giant announced Tuesday.

Amazon tablet now second best after Apple

San Francisco - Amazon's new Kindle Fire is now the world's second-best selling tablet computer after Apple's iPad, according to a report Friday by research firm IHS.

Zynga seeks up to 1.15 billion dollars in public offering

San Francisco - US games maker Zynga is seeking to raise as much as 1.15 billion dollars in its initial public offering (IPO), the company said Friday in a regulatory filing.

Report: Syria bans iPhone to cover up clampdown on protests

Beirut - Syrian authorities have banned the use of the iPhone, further tightening curbs on activists using the device to expose government violence against pro-democracy protesters, the Lebanese website Al Nashara reported Friday.

YouTube unveils new look to challenge traditional TV

San Francisco - YouTube unveiled the biggest redesign in its six-year history on Thursday as the Google-owned video site seeks to offer a more compelling alternative to traditional television.

Report: Google eyes delivery service to compete with Amazon

San Francisco - Web software giant Google plans to introduce a new delivery service that will allow partner retailers to ship goods to customers for a low flat rate fee, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Yahoo considering takeover offers

San Francisco - Yahoo's board of directors met Wednesday to consider partial buyout offers from private equity investors.

US regulator slams AT&T purchase of T-Mobile

San Francisco - The US telecoms regulator has slammed AT&T's proposed 39-billion-dollar acquisition of T-Mobile, in a report AT&T Wednesday called a draft with no legal standing.

Samsung wins right to sell tablet in Australia

Sydney - An Australian court overturned a ban Wednesday on the sale of the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet in the country.

Report: Facebook planning record public offering in spring

New York - The online social networking site Facebook Inc is considering an initial public offering between April and June, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Facebook settles privacy complaints

San Francisco - Facebook has settled privacy complaints with the Federal Trade Commission by agreeing to 20 years of privacy audits and pledging to obtain express user consent to any changes that override users' privacy preferences, it was announced Tuesday.

LEAD: Report: Facebook considering record public offering in spring

New York - The online social networking site Facebook Inc is considering an initial public offering between April and June, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Thai floods could dampen world PC shipments by 8 per cent

Bangkok - Hard disk makers in Thailand require five months to return to normal production in the wake of recent floods, leading to an expected 8-per-cent worldwide decline in personal-computer shipments next year, Fitch Ratings Ltd said Thursday.

Philippine, US security agents arrest four suspected hackers

Manila - Philippine and US security agents have arrested four Filipinos suspected of hacking into the system of a US telecommunications company that caused losses of up to 2 million dollars, a police official said Thursday.

US regulator moves to block ATT's purchase of T-Mobile

San Francisco - The top US telecommunications regulator moved on Tuesday to block AT&T's proposed 39-billion-dollar buyout of T-Mobile, referring the purchase to an administrative law judge after finding that the merger was not in the public interest.

Report: Taiwan's HTC working on Facebook phone

San Francisco - Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is working with Facebook on a mobile device specially tailored for power-users of the massive social networking site, according to a report Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal's AllThingsD blog.

Apple on track to become world's top PC maker

San Francisco - Apple was once an afterthought among the world's largest makers of personal computers, attractive only to graphic designers, wealthy students and trendy wannabe artists.

Anonymous group targets pepper spraying police

San Francisco - The hacking group Anonymous on Tuesday released the personal details of the US police officer who pepper-sprayed protesting students at the University of California, Davis, and threatened in a YouTube video that they 'will make you squeal.'

Gates testifies in billion dollar anti-trust case

San Francisco - Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates testified Monday in a monopoly case brought by Novell which claimed that the software giant illegally hampered its WordPerfect program when it launched Windows 95 17 years ago.

HP profit plunges as revenue falls short

San Francisco - Hewlett Packard reported a 91 per cent drop in fourth quarter profits Monday as the computer giant took a massive hit for selling of its now discontinued webOS tablet computers.

Cyberattack suspected in damage to pump at obscure water district

Washington - Federal authorities were investigating an incident in which a pump at a tiny water district in Illinois might have been damaged by hackers, the US Homeland Security Department said Friday.

Motorola shareholders agree Google takeover bid

San Francisco - Shareholders of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc late Thursday approved a 12.5-billion-dollar takeover offer from Google Inc, gaining the internet giant a stronger foothold in the handset sector, and expanding its patent portfolio.

Facebook friends can now send each other cash with Paypal

San Francisco - Avoiding paying back your friends the cash you borrowed just got a little bit harder. Online payment platform Paypal said Thursday that it had introduced a Facebook application called Send Money that allows people to easily send cash to their Facebook friends.

Yelp files for IPO

San Francisco - Online review site Yelp.com filed Thursday for an initial pubic offering, hoping to raise some 100 million dollars in a stock flotation that could value the company as high as 2 billion dollars.

Microsoft announces massive tablet computer

Seattle - Microsoft announced a new tablet computer Thursday - but it's no iPad killer.