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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Opera Software ASA will include support for "widgets," or small programs that run on a user's desktop, with a technical preview of its Opera 9 Web browser due to be released Tuesday, a company spokesman said.

An Azusa, Calif., man was arrested on federal charges Thursday after allegedly using fake e-mail accounts to trick America Online Inc. users into sending him their personal and credit card information so he could make illegal purchases with their information.

Google Inc. plans to release on Monday an improved test version of its browser toolbar whose functionality can be extended with custom buttons.

Google Inc. attorneys will square off against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) at a Feb. 27 hearing over the issue of providing the government with information about searches for pornography on the company's site.

Microsoft Corp. has finished development on Windows Vista and expects to ship the product by the end of the year, around the same time venerated Windows development leader Jim Allchin said he will retire from the company. But Allchin said Friday he is willing to put off both of those events if Windows Vista doesn't reach a standard of quality with which he is comfortable.

Adobe Systems Inc. Monday is releasing software that will allow designers and engineers to save 3D images as PDF (Portable Document Format) files and share those files with anyone who has the free Adobe Acrobat reader, the company said.

Intel Corp.'s poor performance in the last three months of 2005 turned out to be good news for rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc., (AMD) which on Wednesday reported better-than-expected financial results for the period. With sales of AMD's microprocessor division increasing nearly 80 percent from the previous year, the company reported revenue of US$1.84 billion.

A design flaw in Windows XP and Windows 2003 systems with built-in wireless capabilities could be exploited by hackers to lure Wi-Fi users into connecting to malicious wireless networks, according to Microsoft Corp., which recently completed an investigation of the issue.

When 21-year-old British student Alex Tew needed to raise money to pay for his university, he came up with an idea many might dismiss as wishful thinking: raise US$1 million by selling 1 million pixels worth of advertising space on his Web site for $1 each.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is praising a U.S. District Court judge's preliminary approval Friday of a settlement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment over two widely-criticized copy protection programs found on an estimated 15 million music CDs.

If you're a producer for a third-rate variety television show, you're not going to like PCs with Intel Corp.'s Viiv logo, according to the head of the company's digital home group.

Holiday sales at top U.S. technology retailers over the past few weeks sparkled, with iPod music players and LCD (liquid crystal display) displays leading the charge, executives said Friday.

The drive to replace DVD technology with newer discs boasting greater storage capacity has come down to two major competing formats, and the coming marketplace battle will be bad for companies and users, the head of a major U.S. technology products retailer said Friday.

Users of the Windows OS should install an unofficial security patch now, without waiting for Microsoft Corp. to make its move, security researchers at The SANS Institute's Internet Storm Center (ISC) advised on Sunday.