AFP - Apple has won a US patent for touch-screen controls and gained a potential legal weapon against iPhone competitors.

CNET - Overcoming partisan divisions, the Senate on Monday night unanimously voted to delay the digital television transition until June 12.

Reuters - Texas Instruments posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit, but said it may post a loss in the current quarter and announced a 12 percent cut in jobs, as demand for cell phone chips fell.

PC World - Sentilla has released a product that measures the electricity being consumed by individual servers in a data center and makes recommendations based on those usage levels to help cut energy bills, the company announced Tuesday.

InfoWorld - After I installed Windows Vista in November 2006, I was perplexed.

PC World - Zombie buffs rejoice, Capcom's Resident Evil 5 demo is available now for Xbox 360 'Gold' members in the U.S. Presumably similar to the surprisingly mediocre Japanese demo – reviewed here – it looks like the U.S. version may in fact sport an extra level and a few new weapons.

Reuters - A young Polish man hanged himself in front of a web camera while linked to other Internet users, a district prosecutor said Tuesday.

BusinessWeek Online - In a single day, on Jan. 26, at least 50,000 new layoffs were announced at companies as varied as telecom giant Sprint Nextel , construction equipment maker Caterpillar , semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments , and pharmaceutical house Pfizer .

CNET - Overcoming partisan divisions, the Senate on Monday night unanimously voted to delay the digital-television transition until June 12.

NewsFactor - During an earnings call last week, Apple COO and acting CEO Tim Cook told financial analysts that Apple would not tolerate other companies infringing on its intellectual property for the iPhone. Now it turns out that Apple has a major weapon in its defensive arsenal -- a U.S. patent awarded shortly before Cook's comments.

Macworld.com - Did you miss out on the premiere of MacHEADs in San Francisco earlier this month? Maybe you just love it so much that you have to have it for yourself. Either way, Mac fans can celebrate as MacHEADs is now available for download or rent from your favorite online retailers, including iTunes and Amazon. 

Macworld.com - Panasonic has expanded its line of Lumix compact digital cameras. All the new cameras are coming in April.

Macworld.com - iStat has been one of my favorite widgets since the inception of Dashboard. Along with the ever-useful Easy Envelopes and WakeOnLan, it's one of the only widgets I use anymore. It's a great diagnostic tool when things aren't responding as fast as I'd like, or when something seems to be misbehaving. All the vital stats I need to figure out the problem are presented to me in an easy-to-read format.

Macworld.com - The Independent Games Festival Mobile (IGF Mobile) has named its finalists for its second annual competition, and the iPhone and iPod touch is the clear winner. Games made to be played on the devices dominate in every category.

PC World - The gales of the Blackberry Storm just weren't strong enough to wash away Apple's iPhone success. Between its average reviews and customer complaints over bugs and OS stability, the Storm seems to have severely underperformed in customer satisfaction. And now, the latest figures from Blackberry maker Research In Motion (RIM) show that it has underperformed in sales, too.

PC World - Apparently you can pick up outdated U.S. military files for less than $10.

PC World - Bridging the gap between the Consumer Electronics Show and the upcoming PMA 09 with six new point-and-shoot camera announcements, Panasonic on Tuesday announced additions to its Lumix line of digital cameras. Ultrawide-angle lenses, an intriguing new facial detection feature, and HD video recording in the brand-new AVCHD Lite format are the major draws offered by the new members of the 2009 Lumix line.

PC Magazine - On Tuesday, Panasonic is expected to announce five new Lumix digital cameras, three of which will record high-definition video with a low-bitrate version of the 'AVCHD' recording codec, plus include some interesting connectivity and control options for HDTVs.

CNET - California start-up Better Place and Danish utility Dong Energy on Tuesday said they have lined up financing to bring an electric car charging network to Denmark by 2011.

Reuters - U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday will consider a plan to give tax credits for Internet and wireless companies, such as AT&T Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp, as part of a broad stimulus package to boost the ailing economy.

Reuters - Verizon Communications Inc reported fewer-than-expected wireless subscribers for the fourth quarter and warned that pension and other post-retirement expenses would hurt earnings in 2009, dragging its shares down more than 5 percent.

PC World - Cell phone users are learning that their devices aren't immune to bugs, glitches, and poor construction. The Blackberry Storm, released on November 21, 2008, has been particularly affected by these faults, as Research in Motion (RIM) rushed its device to compete with the iPhone.

PC Magazine - If you're not within range (even on the other side of the globe), the Lorex $300 LNE3003 Remote Surveillance Camera can stream video to your iPhone or any device with a Web browser. Why should you care? Because it works well in apartments and homes jammed with Wi-Fi.

AFP - The number of visitors to the top 10 US newspaper websites grew to 40.1 million in December, an increase of 16 percent over a year ago, research firm Nielsen 0nline reported on Tuesday.

Reuters - Verizon Communications Inc reported weakness in corporate sales and fewer-than-expected wireless customers for the fourth quarter, and warned that pension costs would hurt earnings in 2009, dragging its shares down as much as 6.5 percent.

AFP - Children chatting on mobile telephones are more likely to get hit by cars while crossing the street, according to study results released by US university researchers.

Reuters - A lawsuit that had barred former IBM Corp executive Mark Papermaster from leading Apple Inc's iPod and iPhone engineering teams has been resolved, the companies said on Tuesday.

Macworld.com - Apple on Tuesday released a software update for its iPhone and iPhone 3G devices.

Macworld.com - Apple has now allowed the infamous Podcaster iPhone app to surface in the App Store under a new name: RSS Player. As many of you surely recall, Apple had rejected the little application from being sold in the store, consigning it to what Engadget aptly dubbed 'a life of ad hoc installs and jailbreaks.'

AP - Congress is poised to grant a four-month delay in the upcoming shutdown of analog TV broadcasts, though broadcasters still will be allowed to go all-digital earlier if they want.

NewsFactor - While Sprint is slashing jobs, Verizon Communications has reported a strong fourth quarter with more growth ahead. On Tuesday, Verizon reported a 15 percent increase in earnings for the quarter, proving the economic downturn has not stymied the market for wireless devices and services.

AP - With IBM Corp. remaining tight lipped about layoffs at its Essex Junction plant, Vermont's labor commissioner said the total number would be fewer than 500 in a new round of cuts driven by market conditions.

AP - Sun Microsystems Inc. swung to loss of $209 million in the latest quarter as the company absorbed a big restructuring charge for job cuts and grappled with falling demand for its servers and data-storage machines.

NewsFactor - Apple has approved a stripped-down version of Podcaster, an App Store application that was denied approval last year, and has released an update for the iPhone and iPhone 3G. The original Podcaster competed with Apple's iTunes.

AP - Two years into the lifespan of the PlayStation 3, Sony's online offerings are a mixed bag.

Macworld.com - Zevrix Solutions has announced the release of Instant Backup 1.0, a back up system for Mac OS X. It costs $9.95.

AP - With the recession forcing tech companies to announce thousands of layoffs, IBM Corp. is joining the fray — but not advertising it.

AP - Yahoo Inc. stumbled to a fourth-quarter loss of $303 million, but the Internet company withstood the recession better than analysts had expected.

AP - Leading U.S. newspaper Web sites are getting more visitors, and those visitors are coming more often, in what might be a small bright spot for an industry struggling with declining revenue.

Reuters - High-end computer and software company Sun Microsystems posted a far better than expected quarterly loss on Tuesday despite a troubled economy, sending its shares soaring after hours.

AP - Sun Microsystems Inc. skidded to a loss of $209 million in the latest quarter, dragged down by a big charge for job cuts and falling demand for servers and data-storage machines.

PC World - Apple released its iPhone 2.2.1 software update Tuesday -- but don't get too excited. The update includes mainly fixes and minor improvements, and no signs of any noteworthy new features. Can someone cue the collective sigh of disappointment?

AP - Cox Communications, the third-largest cable company in the U.S., stepped on to battleground of the 'Net Neutrality' issue Tuesday, saying it will be trying out a new way to keep its subscribers' Internet traffic from jamming up.

CNET - Eight days into the job and she hasn't yet fixed Yahoo! What is this world coming to? OK, I'm obviously mugging for the cameras, but Carol Bartz's first earnings conference call as the new boss was an unqualified hit.

Reuters - Fancy checking out the classic 1960s Japanese horror flick 'Onibaba,' or indulging in a bit of old-fashioned British comedy with 'The Lavender Hill Mob?'

Reuters - High-end computer and software company Sun Microsystems posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss as a strong software and open storage business cushioned crumbling overall sales somewhat, sending its shares soaring after hours.

AP - Yahoo Inc. expects its first-quarter revenue to plunge by as much as 16 percent, signaling the downtrodden Internet company won't be snapping out of its three-year slump any time soon.

Reuters - High-end computer and software company Sun Microsystems posted better-than-expected results as a strong software and open storage business cushioned declining overall sales, and its shares rose.

AFP - French-Italian semiconductor maker STMicroelectronics has said it will cut 4,500 jobs -- a tenth of its workforce -- as tries to respond to the global slowdown.