AP - Yahoo Inc. has redesigned its online maps to make it easier to get driving directions to multiple destinations and find local merchants — the latest move in the company's duel with Internet powerhouse, Google Inc.

Reuters - Four big cable operators joined forces with Sprint Nextel on Wednesday in a deal that will allow consumers to watch live and recorded TV on their wireless devices as well as bolster cable's position against the satellite and telephone companies.

TechWeb - A family of servers based on AMD's dual-core Opteron processor is being pitched by manufacturer Fabric7 Systems Inc. as highly scalable and flexible.

TechWeb - Nordstrom says it plans to offer customers interactive desktop software that the company will use to deliver broadband video that combines fashion, music and pop culture with shopping.

TechWeb - Nokia Corp. unveiled an open-source, mobile-phone Web browser that's based on technology from Apple Computer Inc.

TechWeb - Sony is apparently borrowing a tactic from hackers for their DRM' technology, and some security experts question the practice.

TechWeb - Primera today announced the OptiVault Archival Appliance for email and data backup, archival, and recovery for small businesses.

TechWeb - The Holland-based company is moving to satisfy the U.S. market's insatiable craving for portable digital devices.

TechWeb - Nokia Corp.'s first phone capable of receiving mobile broadcast TV, the N92, employs a novel industrial design using a hinged, 2.8-inch display that lets the device sit on a table like a portable DVD player or twist into an LCD viewfinder like a handheld video camera.

TechWeb - Market research figures from Mainland China and Taiwan indicate the manufacture of digital cameras and other computing-related devices for export show no signs of slowing.

PC World - Google is working to let us search through--and consequently read--the text of millions of books. Book publishers and authors have a problem with that.

TechWeb - Industry heavyweights pull back from championing CRM.

Reuters - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS), striving to make up ground on Apple's popular iPod, said on Thursday it will offer technical support to its online music partners such as Napster to help sales of its portable music players.

AP - Contrary to reports last week, Samsung Electronics Co. has no plans to enter the online music business with a system similar to Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes service, an executive said Thursday.

FT.com - Carphone Warehouse, the UK mobile phone retailer, plans to expand its broadband network as it reported in line results showing it continues to beat the prevailing high street gloom.

Reuters - CBS crossed a new 'Threshold' on Wednesday when it announced it would offer three episodes of the rookie suspense drama free and without advertising on http://www.CBS.com.

AFP - British mobile telephone group Vodafone said it was in exclusive negotiations to acquire a further 15 percent of South African operator Vodacom Group for up to 16 billion rand (2.4 billion dollars).

Reuters - America Online Inc. said on Thursday it has acquired digital music subscription company MusicNow LLC. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

MacCentral - Taiwanese computer maker AOpen Inc. is about to put on sale a mini PC that looks a lot like Apple Computer Inc.’s Mac mini. The computer was first unveiled at this year’s Computex exhibition in Taipei in June and the design similarities caused a stir at the time.

MacCentral - Microsoft Corp. is likely to win the next round of the game console fight against Sony Corp. based on a potentially huge cost difference that could see the Xbox 360 selling for half the price of a PlayStation 3 (PS3) by the end of next year, investment firm Merrill Lynch said in a Wednesday analysis.

AP - Chinese authorities have blocked a pro-democracy Web log after it was nominated for a freedom of expression award by a German radio station, a press freedom group said Thursday.

AP - Contrary to reports last week, Samsung Electronics Co. has no plans to enter the online music business with a system similar to Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes service, an executive said Thursday.

USATODAY.com - It's the reality of the digital world we live in: Everyone is at risk of becoming the victim of an Internet-based crime - even folks who stay offline. And, once victimized, you can face more trouble than you might imagine. All crooks need is your name and your password to get to your money.

Reuters - Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, said on Wednesday it will acquire a privately held, Swiss-based company that develops technology to route and manage phone calls placed over the Web.

Reuters - Music videos were stifled by the downloading that crippled record companies, but they have found new life in the past year on the Internet, mobile phones and DVDs, and are helping rescue the ailing music industry.

AFP - British mobile telephone group Vodafone said it was in exclusive negotiations to acquire a further 15 percent of South African operator Vodacom Group for up to 16 billion rand (2.0 billion euros, 2.4 billion dollars), as it looks to grow outside Europe.

PC World - Vendors, customers will meet to discuss standards, testing, and promotion of Office challenger.

Macworld.com - Google Inc. on Thursday said it has added more public-domain books to its Google Print service. The books come from libraries at the University of Michigan, Harvard University, Stanford University and the New York Public Library and can be viewed in their entirety in the Google database.

MacCentral - Looking to boost its presence in the digital music market, America Online Inc. (AOL) has acquired music subscription provider MusicNow from Circuit City Stores Inc., AOL announced Thursday.

Reuters - AOL said on Thursday it bought Circuit City Stores Inc.'s digital music subscription service MusicNow LLC, a move that thrusts Time Warner Inc.'s Internet unit into competition with RealNetworks, Yahoo, Napster and other subscription services.

AFP - Leading flat panel maker Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp expects delivery of liquid crystal display panels for television sets to almost double next year to 10 million units.

AFP - Google launched its controversial effort to digitize millions of books for online viewing -- but said it would limit access to any copyrighted material for now.

Reuters - DirecTV Group Inc. on Thursday said it planned to work with 'an array of partners' to bring its video programming to devices other than televisions, a day after Sprint Nextel unveiled a joint venture with four top U.S. cable companies to offer TV to cellphones.

Reuters - Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, said on Thursday that it has acquired a company that provides file management services that allows users access to information from various devices over the Web.

PC World - Galaxy-class Sun Fire servers ease into market; eight-core Niagara servers to follow.

MacCentral - From the day the iPod debuted, there was little doubt the diminutive music player would become a significant product for Apple. With its ability to play MP3 files and sync up with the jukebox software on your Mac, the iPod immediately leapt to the top of the crowded field of handheld music players.

AFP - Internet commerce giant Amazon.com said it was launching a program allowing consumers to purchase "online access" to books or to "any page, section, or chapter" of a book.

FT.com - Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator by revenue, continued to flesh out its strategy of tapping emerging markets on Thursday as it revealed plans to spend up to £1.35bn ($2.4bn) to raise its stake in South Africa's Vodacom to 50 per cent.

AP - Investors should use security software and other measures to protect their online brokerage accounts from identity thieves in what is a growing area of crime, federal regulators said Thursday.

Reuters - Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, sees more consolidation on the Internet, as it mulls moves in the wireless and video games sector, its top executive said on Thursday.

AP - In another time and place, college students wondering whether the campus cafe has any free seats, or their favorite corner of the library is occupied, would have to risk hoofing it over there.

NewsFactor - The race has begun to make wireless networks more viable for cities, large corporate headquarters, university campuses, and other environments where the technology used in today's Wi-Fi hotspots might be insufficient on its own.

AFP - Oracle Corp. said that Gregory Maffei would step down as co-president and chief financial officer at the second largest US software firm just four months after moving from archrival Microsoft.

AP - The Securities and Exchange Commission will not appeal a federal judge's dismissal of its case against Siebel Systems Inc., in which the software company was accused of violating Regulation Full Disclosure, an SEC spokesman said Thursday.

Reuters - Fujitsu Ltd. (6702.T) said on Friday it signed a deal to cooperate on computer servers with U.S.-based Electronic Data Systems Corp. .

Reuters - AOL said on Thursday it bought Circuit City Stores Inc.'s digital music subscription service MusicNow LLC, a move that thrusts Time Warner Inc.'s Internet unit into competition with RealNetworks, Yahoo, Napster and other subscription services.

AP - Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it has acquired FolderShare, a service that helps computer users share and synchronize large files without needing to use e-mail, burn CDs or upload information to the Internet.

AP - Efforts to establish national standards for protecting computer data received a boost Thursday when Microsoft Corp. announced support for the idea.

AP - In another time and place, college students wondering whether the campus cafe has any free seats, or their favorite corner of the library is occupied, would have to risk hoofing it over there. But for today's student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that kind of information is all just a click away.

AP - With its new Amazon Pages service, Amazon.com Inc. plans to let customers to buy portions of a book — even just one page — for online viewing. A second program, Amazon Upgrade, will offer full online access when a traditional text is purchased.

AFP - New Zealand's largest listed company Telecom Corp said net profit in the first quarter to September fell two percent to 199 million New Zealand dollars (137 million US) as growth in mobile and broadband services offset a decline in national fixed line revenue.

AP - Oracle Corp.'s chief financial officer, Greg Maffei, is leaving after just four months on the job, marking the second time this year that the business software maker has lost its top accounting executive.

AP - In today's world of mass retailers, it's easy to assume that a big-box store like Best Buy or Wal-Mart would be the best place to buy consumer electronics. Guess again.

AP - Web browsing used to be mostly about just that: Surfing site after site for information and goods. But lately, more people are using the Internet as much to produce and share things as to consume them. A new browser called Flock seeks to address the new reality of enhanced online creativity and community.

AP - The social networking Web site MySpace.com has launched its own record label in a joint venture with Interscope Records hoping to capitalize on its broad reach among music-savvy consumers.

InfoWorld - Sun Microsystems, in a move to improve interoperability between Java and Microsoft's .Net platform, plans to develop and distribute open source versions of several industry-wide Web services specifications. The company is planning implementations of WS-* specifications in messaging, metadata, security, and quality of service.

AP - Chinese Web portal Sina Corp said Friday its profits in the three months ending Sept. 30 fell by a bigger-than-expected 37 percent due to advertising costs to attract subscribers to a mobile phone-based service.