InternetNews Staff

SAN FRANCISCO — Social networking site Facebook announced an agreement on Thursday with 49 U.S. state attorneys general and the District of Columbia to increase efforts to protect its youngest members from sexual predators. The additional safety measures follow a similar agreement in January struck by larger rival MySpace, which also included every state apart […]

SANTA ANA, CALIF. — A high-ranking News Corp. official testified on Tuesday that he kept two hackers on the payroll for years after one of them was accused of infiltrating the security system of rival satellite television company DISH Network Corp. Abraham Peled, CEO of News Corp. affiliate NDS Group (NASDAQ: NNDS) — and a […]

The rise of gadgets like the iPhone, Blackberry and Xbox threatens to unravel the decades of innovation that helped to build the Internet, a leading academic has warned in a new book. Professor Jonathan Zittrain believes the latest must-have devices are sealed, “sterile” boxes that stifle creativity and turn consumers into passive users of technology. […]

Microsoft gauged Facebook’s interest in a possible acquisition after the software giant’s failed takeover attempt of Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO), the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The newspaper reported on its Web site that Microsoft’s bankers put out subtle signals to Facebook, the social networking Web site, to see if it would be open to a […]

SEOUL — Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) does not rule out partnerships with other companies but has nothing imminent, Chairman Bill Gates said on Tuesday, after the software company pulled a $47.5 billion bid for Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO). Microsoft walked away from its bid to buy Yahoo on Saturday, after the Internet company turned down its $33-per-share […]

A Web security firm said on Tuesday it had tipped off international banks and police after finding a huge trove of stolen business and personal data amassed on a server in the space of just three weeks. Finjan Inc said it had notified the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, police in various countries and more […]

Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) and Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) are planning a $14.5 billion venture to build a wireless high-speed Internet network based on the emerging WiMAX technology. Comcast (NASDAQ: CMSCA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and cable operator Bright House Networks are expected to kick in $3.2 billion to […]

Microsoft and South Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai have agreed to build a music and information system to debut in cars sold in North America in 2010, the companies said on Tuesday. The companies did not reveal financial terms but South Korea’s presidential Blue House said Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Hyundai Motor Group will invest $113 […]

Microsoft said it will start offering television shows for its Zune portable media device, more than two years after Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) introduced the feature for its iPod player. Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Zune has one thing that Apple’s market-defining iPod and accompanying iTunes store does not — TV programs from General Electric’s (NYSE: GE) NBC […]

T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. mobile service, said on Monday it launched its first commercial high-speed wireless service in New York City, and plans to expand the service to 20 to 25 other major U.S. markets by the end of the year. The launch will help the U.S. mobile unit of Deutsche Telekom catch […]

Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s No. 2 memory chip maker, said on Monday it raised contract prices for computer memory chips by about 15 percent last month and expected further increases in May. The healthy price gain confirmed the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market has bottomed out after a 15-month slump, but analysts say a […]

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) is facing pressure to find an alternative strategy to Microsoft’S (NASDAQ: MSFT) $47.5 billion takeover offer after the software maker walked away over a disagreement on price. Yahoo shares fell by more than 20 percent in pre-market trading on Monday, but had eased back up by about 3 […]