AP - Looking to boost the number of computers whirring away in living rooms, Intel Corp. on Wednesday unveiled its first list of companies whose products are expected to work with the chip maker's upcoming Viiv entertainment PC platform.

AP - Looking to gain another edge on its rivals, Internet powerhouse Yahoo Inc. on Wednesday will begin testing a new e-mail folder designed to make it easier for people to track the latest information posted on their favorite Web sites.

Reuters - Cingular Wireless said on Wednesday it is testing a service that allows unlimited calls between its cellphones and the home phones of AT&T Inc.'s local telephone customers, in an bid to improve customer loyalty.

TechWeb - Texas Instruments Inc. reported Tuesday an agreement with Impinj Inc. to purchase the fabless semiconductor company's Monza RFID Gen 2 chips to build into its initial production of RFID inlay and strap products.

TechWeb - Customers can buy access to basic IT infrastructure, including server, storage, network, operating system, and associated HP management tools, and pay per CPU hour.

TechWeb - A new chipset will be designed to support next-generation mobile handsets featuring high-speed Web browsing, music downloads, and streaming video.

Reuters - The Blu-ray DVD group said on Tuesday it still planned to roll out a high-definition disc format in spring 2006, though members of the consortium led by Sony Corp. (6758.T) said they would unveil specific launch plans at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.

Reuters - Harry Connick Jr. narrates, executive produces and provides all the original music for this new NBC holiday show, based on his eponymous song. It also is available, as of Saturday, on DVD via NBC's Web site.

TechWeb - The lackluster hard disk drive (HDD) market will receive a shot in the arm from the booming small form factor and Mobile PC HDD segments by 2009, according to a report from research firm IDC.

TechWeb - Actual chip sales for October are expected to be almost $19 billion, up 9% year-on-year and better than the 8% gain recorded in September.

Reuters - As Pakistan and India were still floundering to respond in the early hours after the Kashmir quake, a convoy laden with supplies snaked its way along the debris-cluttered road to one of the worst-hit areas in Pakistan.

TechWeb - Mozilla Corp. will release the latest version of its open-source Firefox browser Tuesday afternoon, the company said.

USATODAY.com - Intel, the world's No. 1 chipmaker, plans to announce partnerships Wednesday with more than 40 media companies, including Virgin, Napster and British Sky Broadcasting. It's part of a strategy to make the PC the center of the digital home.

USATODAY.com - There's a lot more video heading to Apple's new video iPods - from vintage shows to video-flavored podcasts. 'We'll see everyone jumping into this arena, just like with podcasting,' says analyst Mike McGuire of market tracker GartnerG2. 'It's going to be huge.'

Ziff Davis - A beta version of Microsoft's PC security bundle for consumers is released on the 'Windows Live' portal to the general public. The package features virus scanning, firewall protection, data backup and PC cleanup tools.

Reuters - Actor Tom Cruise got a taste of Asian cellphone etiquette in Shanghai when a local reporter took a call in the middle of his press event on the city's historic Bund on Wednesday.

Ziff Davis - As the open-source browser is released, the programming team starts to refine its Version 2.0 roadmap.

AP - South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Wednesday it will likely rule next week on allegations that Microsoft Corp. violated trade rules by bundling its software products with Windows.

AFP - Sony said that total global shipments of its PlayStation 2 game console had exceeded 100 million units since its launch in March 2000.

Reuters - Apple Computer Inc. could introduce its first laptop computers based on Intel Corp. chips as early as January, which, together with robust sales of video iPods, should drive earnings higher, Citigroup said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Corporate marketers have made online advertising a standard part in media budgets as online spending looks set to accelerate further in 2006, Google Inc.'s North American sales chief said late on Tuesday.

AP - It was "Mission: Unpredictable" for Tom Cruise when a reporter pulled out a cell phone and the actor insisted on talking to the person on the other end of the line.

PC World - Open-source Firefox 1.5 browser is now available for free download.

Reuters - Intel Corp. , the world's biggest chipmaker, on Wednesday said it is working with more than 40 companies to use its Viiv technology in home entertainment and consumer electronics.

PC World - Chipmaker will certify applications for Viiv PCs, due to ship in early 2006.

AP - A federal judge ruled invalid Wednesday a $450 million settlement between a small patent holding firm and the maker of BlackBerry e-mail devices, Research in Motion Ltd.

Reuters - The market for television and other media on mobile phones is poised for an explosion and could be a hot area for investment, advertising and media executives at the Reuters Advertising and Media Summit said on Wednesday.

AP - A judge recommended that state regulators approve the merger of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. and Exelon Corp., a union that would create the country's largest power-generation company.

AP - Shares of Actions Semiconductor Co., a Chinese maker of chips for portable media players, largely unchanged from their initial public offering price Wednesday, their first day of trading.

AFP - A US judge denied a request by the maker of the BlackBerry handheld computer, Research in Motion, to end a patent violation lawsuit that could have a devastating impact on its biggest market.

AP - Free shipping and enticing discounts appeared to have paid off for online merchants, who enjoyed a robust Monday, the official start of the holiday shopping season for electronic retailers.

Reuters - Clear Channel Communications Inc. could possibly ink distribution deals with Yahoo Inc. or Apple's iTunes music service by next year, a senior executive said on Wednesday.

Reuters - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. was dealt another legal setback in a key patent infringement case on Wednesday, raising pressure to settle or face a possible shutdown of its U.S. mobile e-mail service.

Reuters - Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday started giving computer users the chance to test its new security service as the world's largest software maker took its biggest step yet into the lucrative consumer security market.

AP - Though Samsung has agreed to plead guilty to participating in a scheme to fix the price of computer memory chips, several executives — including the president of its U.S. semiconductor business — could still face prosecution.

AFP - The maker of the BlackBerry handheld computer, Research in Motion, moved closer to a potentially devastating court injunction in the US market after a judge denied its request to end a patent violation lawsuit.

NewsFactor - Trend Micro (Nasdaq: TMIC) is not the first name most people think of when they look for a home Internet security suite. Best known for its enterprise-level applications, the company has branched out to serve the security needs of the average PC user.

PC World - Aimed at corporate users, the PC Parafield reduces risk of losing loads of sensitive data if notebook is lost.

AP - A federal judge moved a step closer Wednesday to reissuing an injunction that threatens BlackBerry e-mail service in this country, placing more pressure on the wireless device's maker, Research In Motion Ltd., to settle the patent case.

AP - Even in this election off-year, the potential perils of electronic voting systems are bedeviling state officials as a Jan. 1 deadline approaches for complying with standards for the machines' reliability.

AP - The Grateful Dead, the psychedelic jam band that toured for three decades, has angered some of its biggest fans by asking a nonprofit Web site to halt — at least temporarily — the free downloading of concert recordings.

NewsFactor - Although plenty of online dating service subscribers have grumbled about the 'fraud' perpetrated when prospective lovebirds do not match their pictures, two individuals have a much more significant beef, and are willing to take it to court.

NewsFactor - Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is now offering small and midsize businesses (SMBs) services that the company had previously reserved only for larger companies. The software giant unveiled a new version of its Hosted Messaging and Collaboration platform that is designed to provide SMBs with e-mail management, mobile data access, and functionality similar to that deployed by enterprises with deep pockets.

NewsFactor - The latest iteration of the open-source browser Firefox is now available for download, featuring upgrades designed to improve navigation, boost security, and provide even more capabilities for a growing number of users.

NewsFactor - Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) has opened the beta of OneCare to the general public, inviting Windows users everywhere to test the new all-in-one security suite that provides integrated antivirus, antispyware, and firewall capabilities. Redmond had originally restricted the trial to a select number of testers.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumers adore radio and television shows presented 'commercial free!' -- as long as they do not have to pay for that privilege, advertising industry veteran Chuck Porter said on Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sun Microsystems Inc. SUNW.O said on Wednesday it will bundle much of its software and provide it free to customers, the latest tweak by the computer maker to its business model in an effort to return to growth.

AP - The founder of the original MP3.com Web site for downloading music has launched a service that lets computer users store their music files on the Internet and retrieve from pretty much anywhere.

AP - Microsoft Corp. is developing an online classified service to compete with the likes of Craigslist and becoming the latest company to capitalize on growing consumer interest in buying and selling everything from cars to baby-sitting services on the Web.

AdWeek.com - A new buying service aims to make it easier for media agencies to target ads to local markets without the headache of dealing with thousands of small Web sites individually.

InfoWorld - Bowing to the open source mantra, Sun Microsystems officials on Wednesday said the company is packaging multiple software products from its catalog as the Solaris Enterprise System, anchored by the Solaris OS, and offering it all for free.

AP - A judge recommended that state regulators approve the merger of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. and Exelon Corp., a union that would create the country's largest power-generation company.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors in two of the year's hottest stocks -- Google Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. -- suffered some pain this week but several big holders said it wasn't enough to make them want to sell.

PC Magazine - News Analysis: Despite handing out positive reviews over the latest version of the open-source Firefox Web browser, market watchers are saying that the Mozilla Foundation will need to publicize the product heavily in order to lure new users.

AP - Japan is forgoing a copyright law revision to charge royalties on digital music players — a proposal dubbed the 'iPod tax' — after discussions in a government panel produced no consensus on ways to police violations.