Technology
Latest stories
AOL Revamps AIM in Hopes of Stanching User Exodus

AOL is giving its AIM instant-messaging software a new look and new features in hopes of stanching an ongoing exodus of users who have turned to texting and other online messaging services.

The new AIM software marks the service's biggest revamp in several years and comes as AOL tries to revitalize its business. A Web pioneer back in the '90s, AOL has been struggling as its dial-up Internet service declines and its online content and advertising business isn't generating enough revenue yet to make up for it.

W140 Full Story
Samsung to Release Modified Tablet in Germany

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it had modified the design of its newest tablet PC to bypass a sales ban in Germany and would start selling it there as early as this week.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1N, based on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, has a different metal frame and the location of the speakers has been changed, a spokesman for the South Korean company told Agence France Presse.

W140 Full Story
Google Opens Music Store to U.S., Challenge to Apple

Google unveiled its much-anticipated digital music store Wednesday, opening a new front in its battle with Apple to provide services over mobile devices.

For the first time, Google Inc. will sell songs on the Android Market, its online store for apps, movies and books. The service is available over the next few days to customers in the U.S., but it aims to roll it out eventually to some 200 million Android users globally.

W140 Full Story
Ballmer Says "Windows Era" Everlasting

Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer proclaimed an everlasting "Windows Era" as the software giant's board easily won re-election at an annual meeting of shareholders on Tuesday.

Ballmer along with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and six others saw their positions on the Microsoft board secured with more than 92 percent of votes cast by investors.

W140 Full Story
Firm Makes iPhone Geiger Counter for Worried Japanese

A Japanese company Tuesday unveiled a cheap Geiger counter for the iPhone to enable people worried about the March Fukushima nuclear accident to check their environment for radiation.

The probe, 14 centimeters long by five wide (six inches by two), connects to the iPhone and the screen displays radiation readings in combination with a special app such as the Geiger Bot.

W140 Full Story
Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi Sign Joint Venture Deal

Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi on Tuesday said they had signed a deal to merge their small and medium-sized liquid crystal display businesses for smartphones and tablet computers.

The move will create a new company, Japan Display, by Spring 2012.

W140 Full Story
Facebook Users Get Graphic Images in Spam Attack

Facebook said Tuesday that a "coordinated spam attack" was responsible for graphic images appearing in the news feeds of some members of the world's largest social network.

Facebook, which has more than 800 million members, said some users of the social network were tricked into unknowingly sharing the offensive content.

W140 Full Story
Salman Rushdie Runs Afoul of Facebook Name Policy

Author Salman Rushdie has won a tussle with Facebook over his profile page on the social network.

Rushdie's run-in with Facebook stemmed from his insistence he be allowed to use his middle name -- Salman, the one he is universally known by -- instead of his first name -- Ahmed -- on Facebook.

W140 Full Story
Disney Adds 'Mom Blog' Network Babble Media

The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it has bought Babble Media, an online hub for parents featuring more than 200 "mom blogs."

Disney did not announce a purchase price for the acquisition of the New York-based Babble Media.

W140 Full Story
U.S. Students Crave Google Jobs

Google tops the list when it comes to where U.S. business students want to work after graduating, according to a survey released on Monday by brand specialty firm Universum.

The California-based Internet firm placed among the top 10 "ideal employers" for college students in an array of majors including liberal arts, natural sciences, and information technology.

W140 Full Story