Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest computer maker, announced today it was putting on a greener face and will sell desktops and laptops that consume 25 percent less energy in two years.

The announcement, made at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, comes as electronics companies face more scrutiny from environmentalists and some consumers. Dell, the second-largest maker of personal computers, is also rolling out more energy-efficient products.

HP said it will use more energy-efficient components, such as power supplies and more energy-sipping chipsets across its portfolio of products.

Chief Executive Mark Hurd has vowed to reduce the company's global energy

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use by 20 percent within two years. The reduction from 2005 levels will come from operational changes, product redesigns, packaging and its global supply chain.

New packaging for printer cartridges sold in North America was expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 37 million pounds last year, the Palo Alto-based company said.

Radio, with words: A new technology unveiled today would show what's being said on

the radio using a receiver with a screen that would scroll text much like closed captions roll by on TV.

No manufacturer has yet committed to bring the technology to market. It is backed by National Public Radio and Harris Corp., a major supplier of broadcasting equipment, as well as a new research center at Towson University near Baltimore.

NPR and its partners displayed a prototype text radio at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Mike Starling, NPR's chief technology officer, said by phone that the group hoped to bring in commercial broadcasters, radio manufacturers and other industry players.

GPS gets new direction: They can plumb the Internet for the latest movie times, news headlines, stock figures and gas prices. They'll even help you skirt traffic, find a parking spot or make a phone call. Oh, and they'll navigate for you, too.

The latest global positioning system devices on display at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show are roving information portals - well beyond the first turn-by-turn GPS guides with maps and directions.

Now practically taken for granted, GPS technology is available for tracking hikers, boaters and pilots and it's routine in cars, sports watches and cell phones. As a result, plain vanilla portable navigation devices have plunged below $200, forcing manufacturers to fight for ways to continue commanding premium prices. Their response: to cram as many extra features on the devices as possible.

Silicon Valley tech stocks:

Down: Applied Materials; Apple; Cisco; eBay; Google; Hewlett-Packard; Intel; Oracle; Sun Microsystems; Yahoo

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: 2,440.51, down 58.95.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average: 12,589.07, down 238.42.

And the Standard & Poor's 500 index: 1,390.19, down 25.99.

Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business Break, a summary of news from Mercury News staff writers, the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and other wire services.