A new preview version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, with tabbed browsing, an integrated search box, and RSS support -all features long taken for granted by Firefox users -is now available.

Google Inc. launched an early test version of a Web page creation and hosting service on Thursday and hours later stopped accepting sign-ups, citing overwhelming demand.

Vyatta, an open-source router company, released the first beta version of its WAN router code this week, with the goal of becoming the networking equivalent of Linux or Firefox, but taking aim at Cisco instead of Microsoft.

The flurry of security issues involving Apple's Mac OS X over the past few days once again hammers home the fact that no technology platform is invulnerable to attacks, whatever the perception might otherwise be, security analysts said.

Microsoft's soon-to-be-released Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server initially will be limited in how users can access it over the Internet, according to a Microsoft blogger.

A federal program that funds "high-risk" technologies is at high risk of going out of business if Congress approves U.S. President George Bush's proposed federal budget for next year. Since it started awarding grants in 1990, the Advance Technology Program (ATP) has distributed some US$2.2 billion in funding to projects focusing on a range of subjects, including information technology, nanotechnology, biotechnology and advanced materials.

The flash memory chips popular in consumer devices from iPod music players to memory cards for digital cameras and mobile phones saved the DRAM (dynamic RAM) industry from a major collapse last year, market researcher Gartner Dataquest said Monday.

Nokia Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. have basically agreed to merge their CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) mobile phone businesses into a single company with a view to capturing the top share of the global CDMA market, they said Tuesday.

Microsoft Corp. plans to give users a first look at its Office Live hosted service on Wednesday, according to the company. Microsoft plans to offer the service in three versions, one of which will be advertising-supported and free of charge to customers.

The integration of Siebel Systems Inc. into Oracle Corp. will result in a reduction of 2,000 in the total workforce of the combined companies, but a majority of the layoffs will affect Oracle employees, Oracle said Thursday.

Taiwanese chip vendor Via Technologies Inc. Thursday announced a new chipset for Intel Corp. processors that support faster front-side bus and memory technologies.

If you use a Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB mobile phone, you may want to disable the Bluetooth function, the French Security Incident Response Team (FrSIRT) warned this week, saying a security vulnerability potentially puts the phones at risk to a denial-of-service (DoS) attack.

Sales and profits at Trend Micro Inc. reached record levels in 2005 despite the company incurring millions of dollars in costs after releasing a faulty update to its antivirus software early in the year.

History buffs can search George Washington's manuscripts online today for terms like "revolution," but only thanks to the tireless workers who transcribed the hand-written documents into digital form.

Though the new head of Microsoft Corp.'s MSN division has been calling the company's MSN portal "MSN Media Network" internally, Microsoft has no formal plans to rebrand the site, a Microsoft spokeswoman said Thursday.

As earnings season wound down this week an upbeat forecast from Cisco Systems Inc. sparked a jump in trading in IT, while news of shakeups at Borland Software Corp. and Gateway Inc. caused concern for technology investors.

Plextor, perhaps best known to Mac users for its external optical drives and personal video recorder (PVR) devices, has entered the Network Attached Storage (NAS) market with the introduction of its PX-EH line. Prices start at US$299.

The first cell phone to make use of Sony Corp.'s new Memory Stick Micro memory card format was unveiled by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB on Monday.

Google Inc. is tightening the link between Gmail and Google Talk by allowing users to conduct instant messaging text chat sessions from within the Webmail service's interface, the Mountain View, California, company plans to announce on Tuesday.

Google Inc. and Skype Ltd. have teamed up with two venture capital firms, Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital, to invest ?18 million (US$21.6 million) in Fon Technology SL, a Madrid-based startup that wants to build a global network of Wi-Fi hotspots.