The co-founder of Microsoft, Paul AllenThe co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, is suing several high-tech giants for infringing patents held by a firm he founded in the 1990s. The legal action against Apple, Yahoo, Facebook, Google and eBay, as well as six other firms, asserts that web technologies first developed by Interval Licensing have been infringed. The patents are key to how e-commerce... 

Google on Wednesday moved into direct competition with Skype, the internet telephony service, as it unveiled a feature that will enable its Gmail users to call landlines and mobile phones from their e-mail inbox. The new feature broadens Google’s growing array of communication products and creates a potent rival to Skype, which is preparing for an initial public offering. “It... 

Japanese electronics maker Toshiba says it is developing technology for a 3-D TV that will not require special glasses. Spokeswoman Yuko Sugahara said such technology was in the works but she refused to comment on a report in the Yomiuri newspaper that the Tokyo-based company plans to start selling the new 3-D TVs by the end of the year. According to the nationally circulated Yomiuri, Toshiba... 

Three teens who were on a 69-name hit list posted on Facebook have been killed in the past 10 days in a southwestern Colombian town, officials say. Police say they do not know who posted the list or why the names are on it. “It is still not clear,” Colombian national police spokesman Wilson Baquero told CNN. “This is part of the investigation.” But officials note that a criminal... 

Microsoft is investigating how one of the most hotly anticipated Xbox titles of the year appeared on the net three weeks ahead of its official release. Halo Reach, due to be launched on 14 September, appeared on file-sharing sites such as The Pirate Bay. The first-person shooter has already been downloaded hundreds of times. Reports suggest that the leak occurred after the game was made available to... 

Based on comments on news sites and Facebook’s official blog, many users appear apprehensive about Facebook Places, the social-networking site’s new location feature. It’s not clear whether users’ unfavorable reactions stem from privacy concerns or just confusion about the site’s Places feature, which allows users to “check in” at restaurants, bars and other... 

Computer chip maker Intel revealed it had reached a deal to buy anti-virus software firm McAfee for 7.68 billion US dollars (£4.91 billion). Intel, which has offices across the UK, including sites in Swindon, Wiltshire, and Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, will pay 48 US dollars (£31) a share for McAfee – almost 60% higher than its closing price on Wednesday. Intel, the world’s largest computer... 

Social-networking giant Facebook has entered the check-in world. Facebook executives on Wednesday announced the launch of Facebook Places, which — similar to services such as Foursquare and Gowalla — will allow people to use the GPS on their mobile phones to let friends know exactly where they are. Facebook Places is available immediately in the United States through the latest version... 

Apple is believed to be planning to release a mini iPad that could be on shop shelves in time for Christmas. Details of a seven-inch version of the iPad have been reported in a Chinese newspaper that correctly predicted the specifications of the iPad months before anyone else. The Economic Daily News claims Taiwanese companies have won several contracts to make components smaller than those used on... 

The sound of the ‘Google Alarm’ is hard to miss. Web users who install this browser plug-in hear a loud, buzzing noise whenever they visit a website that relays information to Google. It might seem intuitive that Google tracks the Web activity of users who search for things at Google.com. But what’s less obvious is that unassuming Web users might have their browsing behavior tracked...