The riddle of 3G
Was the "3G for All" campaign to promote the production of an inexpensive third-generation cellphone missing the point about why most people still use their phones only to talk and send text messages?

Nokia revamps chip development and forges closer ties with 4 suppliers
The world's largest maker of cellphones said Wednesday it was retreating from most chip development in favor of products made with STMicroelectronics, TI, Broadcom and Infineon.

Technology firms try to go green
Even as efficiency improvements are reducing the energy used by many kinds of hardware, the industry's overall electricity consumption could double from 2006 to 2011 as demand grows.

Cisco shares soar on higher sales forecast
Its growth is accelerating as customers buy faster network equipment to handle applications such as online video.

Vodafone keeps U.S. unit
The cellphone giant Vodafone Group said that it had decided not to sell part of its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless.

U.S. upholds Qualcomm ruling
The chip maker must pay its competitor Broadcom license fees for the use of power management technology.

Judge sets aside $1.5 billion award against Microsoft
The ruling in an MP3 patent case by a U.S. district court judge in San Diego is a major setback to Alcatel-Lucent, whose lawsuit against Microsoft had produced the largest judgment ever in a patent infringement case.

Buy.com starts online shopping service for social networking Web sites
The company on Tuesday started its Garage Sale service on Facebook. Unlike eBay, which charges sellers a listing and final transaction fee, Buy.com has a flat 5 percent commission for the items users post and sell on their profile pages.

Online social networking meets personal finance
New sites are using tools similar to Facebook and Wikipedia to let people share consumer advice, compare investment strategies and even loan one another money.

Nothing to watch on TV? Streaming video appeals to niche audiences
The potential of new streaming video services - fast, full screen and in sharp resolution - is unleashing a torrent of movies and television shows, much of it aimed at narrowly defined audiences that cannot find niche programming - even on cable systems with 500 or more channels.

Wikipedia says it's politically neutral, but it's blocked in China
Politics is an irritant to Wikipedians, an annoying human tic that stops people from agreeing on facts and spreading reliable information.

'Fake Steve' blog author unmasked
The writer of a blog lampooning the Apple chief executive, Steve Jobs, is Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes magazine.

A U.S. district court judge has delivered a major setback to Alcatel-Lucent by setting aside a jury's $1.5 billion judgment against Microsoft in a patent infringement lawsuit over digital music technology.

Alcatel-Lucent's lawsuit against Microsoft had produced the largest patent judgment on record.

The case centered on the origins of the MP3 standard, a digital audio encoding format that was developed almost two decades ago. The Windows Media Player, part of Microsoft's basic operating software, plays audio files using the MP3 standard, the most common method of distributing music on the Internet.

The ruling, delivered Monday, could have an impact on Apple, the dominant maker of digital music hardware and software.

Lenovo Group, a major maker of personal computers, said Tuesday that it was in talks with an independent third party to buy Packard Bell.

In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Lenovo said it was making the necessary inquiries to prepare for a possible acquisition. It did not identify the third party. NEC, the largest PC maker in Japan, sold Packard Bell, its consumer PC unit, to Lap Shun Hui in October 2006.

Apple updated the iMac on Tuesday with a slimmer design, faster chips and glossy screens, hoping to further propel sales that already outpace the rest of the PC industry.

The all-in-one desktop computers now have aluminum casings, replacing the white plastic facade that had defined the computer lineup for years. Apple also eliminated a 17-inch display option, and will have only 20- and 24-inch versions, or 50- and 60-centimeter versions. Priced at $1,199 and $1,799, respectively, the computers are also $200 to $300 cheaper than their predecessors.

CHINA is starting an experimental summer camp for 40 young people to try to wean them off their Internet "addiction," The China Daily reported. About 2.6 million of China's 20 million Internet users under 18 are classified as addicts, the state news media have said .