Tata, India's largest conglomerate, has signaled its determination not to extend negotiations over a proposed $3bn investment in Bangladesh after laying out what it has described as 'the best and final case'.
Time Warner, the world's largest media company, said its cable systems division "delivered the best quarter in its history", but the performance of its AOL internet business and Time magazine unit was less stellar.
A sharp decline in net interest payments coupled with further cost cutting helped Qwest Communications International, the fourth-largest US telecommunications group, report a 54 per cent increase in first quarter net profits.
Qualcomm, the mobile phone chipmaker, has signalled the strength of the handset market as it raised its earnings forecast for the current quarter.
Verizon Communications, the second-largest US telephone company, has cut the cost of its broadband VoIP service which includes unlimited local and long distance calling by $5 to $24.95 a month ðÐthe same price as rival Vonage Holdings, the VoIP pioneer.
Mobile phone operators spoke out against European Union plans to scrap lucrative 'roaming' fees, arguing that surcharges for international handset use were already falling.
Shares in Embarq, the US telecommunications company that will be formed when Sprint Nextel spins off its local phone operations this month, began trading on a "when-issued" basis on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Microsoft has signed a deal with Qualcomm, the US mobile phone chip maker, that will make it easier and quicker to build advanced smartphones running Microsoft Mobile Windows operating system.
TechWeb - The OpenDocument Foundation says it has a plug-in that will add full support for the OpenDocument Format in Microsoft Office, but the plug-in is not yet publicly available.
AFP - After the last egg of a suddenly famous family of bald eagles vanished before a worldwide Internet audience, a Canadian conservationist has begun setting up more wildlife Internet cameras.
AP - Two years after conceding his company erred in failing to develop its own search engine, Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer boasted Thursday of progress in fighting industry leaders Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
AP - President Bush advised college graduates on Saturday to use technology but not become enslaved by it.
AP - It was created during the Cold War to conduct tests for the military, but now a Georgia Tech lab has a much more grounded mission: To find ways to make everyday items more accessible to disabled people.
Macworld.com - In the wake of a series of data breaches in early 2005, the U.S. Congress seemed ready to move quickly on legislation that would require companies to notify customers when their personal information had been compromised.
InfoWorld - Just weeks after moving former CEO Scott McNealy into a new role and installing Jonathan Schwartz as its new CEO, Sun made a major announcement in an area many analysts agree is key to its future survival: storage.
InfoWorld - Microsoft and SAP made good last week on a long-standing promise with "Duet," an integration of Microsoft's ubiquitous Office productivity suite and SAP's software.
InfoWorld - A new open source ESB (enterprise service bus) from Iona will help companies integrate departmental applications for SOAs (service-oriented architectures) and Web services deployments, according to Iona Technologies, which is sponsoring the project.
AFP - State-owned Vietnamese mobile phone company Vinaphone is expected to launch its service in the disputed Spratly Islands next month, an official said.
USATODAY.com - San Francisco launched the nation's first text-messaging program aimed to shoot instant cellphone messages to sexually active young people seeking advice about sex and health. The service focuses on what to do "if ur condom broke" and whom to call "if ur feeling down ... like u wanna xcape ur life."
Reuters - Apple Computer won its courtroom battle against the Beatles on Monday when a judge ruled the company's iTunes Music Store did not infringe on the trademark of Apple Corps, which represents the band's interests.
AP - Intel Corp. on Monday plans to unveil a single brand name for a new generation of chips for laptop PCs and desktop machines, calling them the Core 2 Duo.
AP - John Thys still hasn't figured out how much his company has paid Google Inc. for bogus sales referrals caused by "click fraud" — a sham aimed at a perceived weakness in the Internet search leader's lucrative advertising network.
AP - Rather than reach for the television remote control when she wants to be entertained, Karalyn Valente goes online to play "EverQuest," "Ultima Online" and other video games — a gaming habit shared by millions in the United States.
AP - Apple Computer Inc. is entitled to use the apple logo on its iTunes Music Store, a judge ruled Monday, rejecting a suit filed by Apple Corps Ltd., the guardian of The Beatles' commercial interests.
