Reuters - More than 200 hard-core video game fans braved rain and chilly temperatures in Manhattan to be among the first to get their hands on Microsoft Corp.'s new Xbox 360 video game console, which went on sale in North America on Tuesday.

PC World - The online aspects rock, but you'll want to upgrade to take full advantage of Microsoft's console.

AP - Joining the herd of Web sites jostling to cash in on the holiday shopping season, online search engine leader Google Inc. is adding a tool designed to make it easier for consumers to map out their local trips to the mall.

AP - Google Inc. is giving $3 million to the U.S. Library of Congress to help set up a system for creating digital copies of rare documents from around the world — the latest step in Google's crusade to expand the amount of information that can be indexed by its Internet-leading search engine.

Reuters - Online criminals shifted their attacks in 2005 from computer operating systems such as Windows and others to media players and software programs, according to a study released on Tuesday.

Macworld.com - A company that specializes in rights-management technology for online stores has declared its plans to reverse-engineer the FairPlay encoding system Apple uses on iTunes Music Store purchases.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. Library of Congress is kicking off a campaign on Tuesday to work with other nation's libraries to build a World Digital Library, starting with a $3 million donation from Google Inc..

AFP - Hong Kong Internet service providers say they will respect their users' privacy but were bound by local laws, a week after a group of record companies asked them to hand over information about clients accused of illegal music downloads.

AP - Shares in Samsung Electronics Co., Toshiba Corp. and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. — the world's three largest flash memory chip makers — plunged Tuesday on news that two U.S. technology giants joined forces to challenge their market dominance.

TechWeb - Intel remained the largest semiconductor supplier in the world, with estimated 2005 revenue of $35.5 billion; AMD is the 12th largest with estimated 2005 revenue of $5.8 billion.

TechWeb - Yale University's Digital Media Center for the Arts is putting videos, audio chips, photographs and other media at the fingertips of students and faculty.

PC World - A new report on the top Internet vulnerabilities of 2005 finds a trend toward attacking common user applications.

PC World - The Free Agent takes Mandriva Linux 2006--the successor to Mandrake Linux--for a test drive. The experience is less than

TechWeb - Cyber criminals have shifted targets. Until recently, hackers went after operating systems and Internet services like Web servers and E-mail servers. In 2005, they took aim at software applications, and set Internet security back six years.

USATODAY.com - Intel and Micron Technology agreed Monday to form a joint venture to produce flash memory for consumer electronics and said the new company has a $500 million contract to supply chips to iPod-maker Apple Computer.

Ziff Davis - Verizon Wireless,in collaboration with RIM, has unveiled its cell phone-like BlackBerry 7130e, which offers e-mail and data capabilities and also works as a modem, enabling consumers to connect to their laptops via a new Verizon Wireless Broadband service.

Ziff Davis - The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a class action lawsuit against Sony BMG demanding that the entertainment company repair damage done by the controversial copy-protection mechanism that it included on over 24 million music CDs.

USATODAY.com - Sprint Nextel said Monday it will acquire Alamosa Holdings, its largest Sprint-branded wireless affiliate, for $3.4 billion. Alamosa shareholders will receive $18.75 a share, a 15% premium from the stock's Friday close of $16.26. The deal also includes the assumption of $900 million in debt.

AP - Shares in Samsung, Toshiba and Hynix Semiconductor — the world's three largest makers of flash-memory chips — plunged Tuesday after two U.S. companies said they were joining forces to challenge their dominance.

AP - South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Japan's Sony Corp. will invest an additional 10 billion yen ($84 million) to boost production in a joint venture that makes display panels for televisions, both companies said Tuesday in a statement.

AFP - Investors savaged South Korea's Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor, and Japan's Toshiba, after rivals in the United States announced a joint venture to tackle the semiconductor giants.

Reuters - Hundreds of video game fans endured chilly temperatures on both U.S. coasts to be among the first to get their hands on Microsoft Corp.'s new Xbox 360 video game console, which went on sale in North America on Tuesday.

AFP - Sony and Samsung Electronics has announced that it will spend 10 billion yen (83.8 million dollars) in a joint venture to expand its capacity in liquid crystal display (LCDs) production.

Ziff Davis - America Online's AIM Triton pushes more Web services into the mix, including AOL Radio and free PC-to-PC calling.

PC World - Beta-test version adds hosted e-mail, messaging services.

The Motley Fool - Ring, ring. Will somebody get the phone, please? It's long distance. Very long distance.

PC World - Texas, Electronic Frontier Foundation both file claims over controversial XCP software.

AFP - US software giant Microsoft was elated after seeing its new Xbox 360 computer games console fly off store shelves across North America and fetch jaw-dropping sums in online auctions.

Ziff Davis - Sony auctions off celebrity-styled VAIOs to help fight hunger.

Macworld.com - Google Inc. is giving a financial boost to a U.S. Library of Congress project to digitize “rare and unique” items and build an online library.

Reuters - A new venture between Intel Corp. and Micron Technology Inc. to make memory chips for consumer devices will not hurt rivals because demand will be stronger than expected, Merrill Lynch said on Tuesday.

Reuters - U.S. television network CBS is in discussions with Internet media company Google Inc. for video search and on-demand video, CBS chairman Leslie Moonves said on Tuesday.

FT.com - HSDPA is the wireless technology that few people can spell and even fewer understand. But behind the unwieldy acronym - it stands for high-speed downlink packet access - lurks a golden opportunity for operators to upgrade today's networks to better support high-speed data services.

AP - Forget day trading — the best way to make a buck this holiday season may be to flip your Xbox 360.

Reuters - Graduate student Christopher Thompson set out early on Tuesday morning with the goal of taking home a new Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console and was one of the lucky ones to succeed.

Reuters - Rapper 50 Cent, once shot nine times on the street in a gang incident, said on Tuesday parents should buy their children his new video game, rated 'mature' for blood, gore and sexual themes, and use it as a teaching tool.

AP - Video game fans are always seeking new and improved ways to beat their opponents, making them an easy target for gift givers. In the spirit of the holidays, we looked at some of this season's must-have games and gadgets. But first, the basics.

NewsFactor - Gamers got their fix today with the official launch of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox 360, made available at some 4,500 retailers throughout the U.S. just after midnight. Long lines were the norm as the first major new game console to emerge in years made its debut.

AP - In a deal aimed at reducing illegal Internet traffic in pirated films, Hollywood reached an agreement Tuesday with the creator of the popular file-sharing software BitTorrent.

NewsFactor - Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) has criticized a Microsoft-sponsored report that stated the SuSE Enterprise version of Linux is relatively unreliable and difficult to maintain in comparison with the Windows Server operating system.

NewsFactor - Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG's efforts to embed antipiracy measures in its CD software have come under fire, with two separate lawsuits filed against the company.

Macworld.com - Winter is just around the corner and with it the ski and snowboard season. Resorts have already opened in much of North America and Europe, where skiers and boarders will turn out this year with iPods in tow. No matter if your winter plans include snowshoeing, skiing, boarding or skating, Playlist has you covered with everything you’ll need to take your iPod out into this season’s winter wonderland.

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Graduate student Christopher Thompson set out early on Tuesday morning with the goal of taking home a new Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console and was one of the lucky ones to succeed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. F.N chief executive Bill Ford on Tuesday called on Congress to provide tax credits and other incentives to help drive development of more fuel-efficient vehicles.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A new project in the fight against AIDS will tap into the unused power of individual and business computers to help research and identify drugs used to combat the HIV virus.

Ziff Davis - The consumer PC security bundle is on the verge of being rolled out to a broader public audience; Windows Defender, the anti-spyware client, has also been refreshed.

AP - As people heed warnings to install the latest security updates for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating systems and Internet Explorer browsers, researchers say hackers have been shifting their focus to applications that are harder to protect.

AFP - The US Library of Congress launched an ambitious campaign to create an online database of rare books, manuscripts, posters, stamps and other artifacts, available to users around the world via the Internet.

MacCentral - Residents and visitors in some areas of San Francisco won’t have to wait for the controversial proposed citywide Wi-Fi service to get free wireless Internet access.

Investor's Business Daily - Telecom Italia's success in Brazil's wireless phone market might foil plans by America Movil and Telefonica Moviles to carve up Latin America between them.

Reuters - South Korea is investigating a flash memory supply deal between Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Apple Computer Inc. over pricing, officials at the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said on Wednesday.