Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and Renesas Technology Corp. confirmed Wednesday (Dec. 28) that the companies have initiated a joint study on the feasibility of creating a Japanese foundry to which each company could outsource some fabrication.

In a joint statement issued Wednesday, the companies said the joint study would consider establishing of

Norwegian Opera Software has agreed that Google Inc. will be the default partner for its mobile Internet browsers, Opera said on Thursday.
 
"Google will be the default search partner for the mobile browsers: Opera Mobile and Opera Mini," Opera Software ASA said in a statement. "Under the one-year contract, Opera

Fully patched systems running Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 can be successfully attacked by malicious hackers, various security firms warned this week.
 
The attacks can be carried out thanks to a newly discovered vulnerability in those operating systems' handling of corrupted.WMF (Windows Metafile) graphic files, the firms said.

The

An Oregon man has pleaded guilty to using a computer worm to launch attacks against Internet auction site eBay Inc., the U.S. attorney's office handling the case said on Wednesday.
 
Anthony Scott Clark, 21, pleaded guilty to intentionally damaging a protected computer, a crime with a maximum penalty of 10

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. plans to ship in the first quarter of next year a Blu-ray Disc computer drive for storing high-definition video content.
The Pioneer BDR-101A is the company's first optical disc drive launched in the midst of an industry split over future standards for high-definition storage discs. Dell, Apple Computer

CBS has hooked up with Internet portal Yahoo to deliver two of the network's prime-time sitcoms in a joint promotion dubbed "Comedy Bowl" that will run for one week.
 
Full half-hour episodes of CBS's "Two and a Half Men" and "How I Met Your Mother" on Tuesday began streaming, without

Open-source software isn't a new phenomenon. It has been winding its way through the tech world for decades, starting with Richard Stallman's Free Software movement in 1980s. But only in recent years have businesses warmed to the promise of low-cost, openly available software. In fact, open-source programs have become so popular, they now pose

When the skies are filled with flying cars piloted by our silver-jumpsuited descendants, history will look upon 2005 as The Year of the iPod (Again). Whereas 2004 established the iPod as a genuine phenomenon, 2005 proved that Apple’s music player had moved beyond mere fad to institution.
 
Mention iPod and

Web access is extremely important according to 83% of cell phone users, yet only 29% are currently satisfied with using online help to resolve wireless data problems, according to a report by Detacon Inc.

Nearly one third of these users aren't even aware that online help is available, the report notes. Major

MANHASSET, N.Y. — A Chinese business unit of Royal Philips Electronics NV will buy an additional 5 percent stake in Chinese television and mobile phone maker TCL Corp., becoming the company's third-largest shareholder, TCL said Wednesday (Dec. 28) in an Associated Press report.

Philips Electronics China BV. will pay $25.3 million for 129.3