Technology

Schaumburg, Ill. -- U.S. technology giant Motorola Inc. said it would introduce an eco-friendly mobile phone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

San Francisco -- Apple Inc. announced in San Francisco Tuesday that four major music labels are now offering their music in iTunes Plus, Apple's DRM-free format.

Cambridge, Mass. -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers say they've developed an efficient way of pairing up cells so they can be fused together into a hybrid cell.

California, January 5: Netflix Inc. and LG Electronics will soon introduce a line of televisions that can directly receive internet video along with satellite and cable signals. The partnership, to be announced Monday, will allow the consumers to watch Netflix videos directly from the Internet on their TV, without any additional device.

New York -- Apple's deals with iPhone carrier partners such as AT&T Inc. in the United States could be threatened by moves to "unlock" the phones, analysts say.

Washington, United States, January 3: Internal clock glitch in Microsoft Zune Media players that overlooked 266th day of the year 2008 was responsible for freezing the media players and annoying its users worldwide last week. The Microsoft technical team has realized their blunder and quickly responded back with a fix to appease the angry users who spent the New Year’s Eve scratching their heads dealing with the bugged player.

Shenzhen, China, January 2: Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, together have busted the biggest ever software counterfeiting ring. Fortifying their efforts, the Shenzhen court in southern China sentenced 11 culprits involved in the ring, to 18 months to six and a half years in prison Wednesday. The convicts are found guilty of violating the national copyright laws and manufacturing and distributing counterfeited Microsoft software worldwide.

California, United States, January 2: The iPhone Dev Team has released the unlocking software yellowsn0w to unlock the iPhone 3G.

Round Rock, Texas -- U.S. computer giant Dell said Wednesday two top executives were departing as it reshaped the company to reflect how customers use computers.

California, United States, December 30: U.S. chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will lay off 3 percent of its global work force, which translates into 600 employees, 100 more than previously announced, as a part of its cost reduction plan, in a bid to bounce back into profitability. Also, the company said it was taking yet another charge related to its $5.4 billion purchase of ATI Technologies Inc.

California, United States, December 30: According to a teardown analysis by market research firm iSuppli Corp., Sony Computer Entertainment has cut the cost of manufacturing PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console by 35 percent.

Anchorage, Alaska -- A growing number of small communities throughout Alaska now have access to cellular phone services thanks to GCI Communication Corp., the company says.

Arizona, United States, December 27: Michigan-based small networking company, Cygnus Systems Inc, has sued Google, Apple and Microsoft, three of the largest multinational software companies, for violating the patent on a file preview.

Kyoto, Japan, December 26: Dentsu, Japan's largest ad agency is preparing to join hands with Game maker Nintendo and launch a video distribution service on the hugely-popular Wii. The move is intended to create a new revenue system, said the Nikkei business daily.