Strong sales of new and old products alike led Microsoft to its fastest first-quarter growth in seven years, with the company reporting growth in all five business segments and both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) that beat analyst expectations.

In a move to jump-start growth in the business intelligence arena, SAP AG will acquire Business Objects SA for about ?4.8 billion (US$6.78 billion).

Yahoo Inc. will close an almost two-year public test for its new version of Yahoo Mail on Monday with several new enhancements, as the Sunnyvale, California, Internet giant boosts this Webmail service that is key to both its usage and advertising growth.

Microsoft Corp. plans to acquire aQuantive Inc., a digital marketing services agency, for around US$6 billion in order to grow its Internet advertising business, it was announced Friday.

Cisco Systems Inc. on Tuesday reported strong growth in revenue and profit for a fiscal third quarter in which it made several acquisitions that it expects to help power Web 2.0.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), the world's largest PC vendor, has filed another lawsuit against its fastest growing rival, Acer Inc., as competition in the PC industry continues to heat up.

New data from eBay shows that its Skype VOIP service is still picking up lots of new users, but at a slower rate than in previous quarters.

New services available on YouTube could reflect growing influence of its parent company Google Inc.

China has taken over as the world's most botnet-infested country, as the sophistication and danger of cyberattackers continues to grow, according to Symantec.

The effort to control what's called e-waste could lead to a national "e-fee," a recycling charge that would be paid just like a sales tax on laptop PCs, computer monitors, televisions and some other electronic devices.

The birthplace of global technology giants including Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. is growing again, adding new jobs for the first time since the dot-com bust.

Dell Inc. added Blu-ray disc capability to its notebook PC line on Monday, making an effort to compete with Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. in the growing market for mobile high-definition video platforms.

Claiming that IT spending is not contributing to business growth, Gartner said this week that eight out of every ten dollars spent is "dead money".

Asustek Computer Inc. launched its second LCD (liquid crystal display) TV this week, extending the growing visibility of its brand name in the digital home segment. The product comes as demand for new LCD TVs gains momentum, according to market researcher iSuppli Corp.

Chinese regulators announced Tuesday they had chosen a homegrown format for the nation's digital television broadcasting standard, according to Chinese media reports.

Asian countries are playing a bigger role than ever before in the development of new technologies, and the region's importance as a research and development (R&D) center will continue to grow during the years ahead, said one of Microsoft Corp.'s top executives in the region.

The growth in malicious software is proving fortuitous for antivirus companies. Analyst firm Gartner Inc. said on Wednesday the industry grew 13.6 percent in 2005, with revenue totaling $4 billion.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will spend US$2.5 billion to expand its chip manufacturing plants in Dresden, Germany, to keep pace with growing demand for its PC and server chips, the company announced Monday.

Worldwide server revenue remained flat at US$12 billion in the first three months of the year, bucking several consecutive quarters of year-on-year growth, research firm Gartner Inc. said Tuesday.

"There is growing evidence that more people these days don't work from a physical workplace, but work from home or other places," says David Thorns, director of the social science research center at the University of Canterbury.