Motorola to halve research labs

Motorola Inc (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the No. 3 mobile phone maker, said on Friday it would roughly halve the size of its research labs to about 300 people as it plans to halt some projects and move at least 180 people to other units.The loss-making company, which is planning to spin off [...]

Manners still matter when you’re poking on Facebook

Should you reject a friend on MySpace? How do you ward off an old lover on Facebook?Have no fear. Britain’s etiquette bible has come to the rescue for social networkers who are at a loss about how to behave with online decorum.
Debrett’s have helped to compile a new set of “golden rules” for devotees of [...]

AMD launches much-awaited Puma notebook chip line

Advanced Micro Devices Inc is rolling out a much-awaited line-up of chips for laptops, as Intel Corp’s main rival seeks to regain a competitive footing against the world’s biggest chip maker.AMD, which in April posted its sixth consecutive quarterly loss amid missteps and market-share losses to Intel, said the launch of the processors and related [...]

Dell eyes two-thirds of sales from outside U.S. in 5 years

Dell Inc (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the world’s No. 2 personal computer maker, said on Friday sales outside the United States were growing much faster than its home market and could account for two-thirds of total revenues within five years.Revenue from international regions topped U.S. revenue for the first time, with Brazil, Russia, India and [...]

Computer trained to “read” mind images of words

A computer has been trained to “read” people’s minds by looking at scans of their brains as they thought about specific words, researchers said on Thursday.They hope their study, published in the journal Science, might lead to better understanding of how and where the brain stores information.
This might lead to better treatments for language disorders [...]

Tech execs plan for economic troubles

Technology executives around the world are preparing for economic troubles to deepen.Many hope that their products will prove indispensable for customers and see emerging economies as sure-growth markets.
But low- and middle-income U.S. consumers are struggling, and the relative strength of U.S. corporations may not last, executives said at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms [...]

Phone-wallets still years away

The new technology which enables small payments from mobile phones by just flashing the handset is likely to reach masses only around 2012, when one phone from five sold will be equipped with the technology.Consumers will be able to use a phone as a wallet or as an access card simply by waving it over [...]

Xbox 360 sales surpass Wii, PS3

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday its Xbox 360 game machine beat Nintendo Co Ltd’s (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) Wii and Sony Corp’s (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 to reach 10 million units in U.S. sales.“History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins [...]

Apple buying microchip designer P.A. Semi

Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) is buying P.A. Semi, a designer of low-power microchips, in a move that could bolster its ability to customize key parts for its iPhone, iPod and Macintosh product lines.The deal, first reported on the Forbes magazine Web site, was confirmed on Wednesday by Apple spokesman Steve Dowling, who declined [...]

“Modder” turns hobby into career

If you ever thought it would be cool to have an Xbox laptop, or wished those old Atari games in your attic could be reborn on a retro handheld device, you might want to talk to Benjamin Heckendorn.Better known as Ben Heck, the 32-year-old Wisconsin native has attained legendary status among “modders”, hobbyists who tinker [...]