worldheadlines

The second release candidate of Firefox 3 is now available for public download, according to the browser's maker, the Mozilla Development team. The expected final code ship date remains some time in mid-June. The team decided another release candidate was advisable when it discovered issues with the first release candidate. The new candidate also includes several new localization updates.

This update...

Vodafone Group PLC confirmed Thursday that Verizon Wireless is in advanced talks about acquiring U.S. carrier Alltel Communications LLC.
News reports have suggested the possible deal would value Alltel, the fifth-largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers, at $27 billion.
Vodafone holds a 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, which is controlled by Verizon Communications.
"Vodafone confirms that Verizon Wireless is in advanced discussions regarding...

When 17-year old Yuna Hua bought a new notebook computer for school, she chose a smaller, lighter and cheaper one to replace her bulky and expensive laptop.
Like many consumers, Hua reckons she doesn't need a $1,500 laptop for her everyday needs.
"It's a lot less expensive and much easier to use and carry," said Hua, a high school senior, who...

Japan's top film rental chain Tsutaya on Thursday unveiled a download-on-demand broadband service, letting customers rent titles from home without going to the store.
The service by Tsutaya, which counts 27.2 million members at its 1,330 branches across Japan, is...

British mobile phone firm Vodafone said Thursday that US joint venture Verizon Wireless was in talks to buy peer Alltel in a deal that would make it the biggest mobile operator in the United States.
Verizon Wireless would leapfrog current...

Micro-Star International (MSI) is already planning a smaller, thinner version of its popular Wind mini-laptop aimed at business people, an official from the company said Thursday.

The Taiwanese company is also planning a new mobile Internet device that's smaller than a mini-laptop.

For its next generation Wind mini-laptop, MSI plans to reuse many of the same components as the original, including Intel's Atom...

Besides gasoline, the Department of Energy calculates, there are 57 major uses of petroleum – everything from cosmetics to ballpoint pens, nylons, and even the waxes in chewing gum.
That is why the effect of high oil prices is now spreading well beyond the pump, where gasoline hit another record price of $3.98 a gallon on Wednesday. Now, consumers will have to...

Tanla, an Indian provider of mobile software and services, has acquired 85 percent of Openbit, a Finnish provider of mobile payment software and services, for US$15.8 million, in an all-cash deal.

The remaining 15 percent Openbit's equity, currently held by the management, will be purchased by Tanla in two stages of 5 and 10 percent after the first and second year,...

Flash floods caused by tropical storm Arthur have killed at least five people in southeastern Belize, including a toddler, the government of the tiny Central American country said on Wednesday.
Arthur, the first storm of the year in the Atlantic, dumped over 11 inches of rain across Belize this week as it moved inland, also drenching southern Mexican states.
The body of a 2-year-old boy was found on...

Astronauts opened up Japan's new billion-dollar space station lab, then got ready for another spacewalk, this time to spruce up the outside of the huge addition.
Crewmen Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan Jr. were headed back outside Thursday for the second time in three days. Their objective: to set up TV cameras on the Kibo lab and remove covers from its robot...

Britain's Vodafone (VOD.L) confirmed on Thursday that Verizon Wireless, in which it has a 45 percent stake, is in advanced talks about buying U.S. rural mobile service provider Alltel Corp.
Verizon Wireless is close to buying Alltel for around $27 billion, including around $23 billion of its debts, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters on Wednesday.
The deal would...

A US-based blogger who allegedly accused a Singapore judge of "prostituting herself" was released on bail Thursday and had his passport confiscated.
A judge ordered Gopalan Nair, a former Singapore lawyer who is now a US citizen, to be released...

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Thursday it will order Intel Corp. to pay $25.4 million for violating fair trade rules.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission said in a statement Thursday that it was issuing the order because the semiconductor giant offered rebates to South Korean computer companies and undercut competitor Advanced Micro...

Comprehensive, unified and open: These are the attributes Informatica stressed yesterday in announcing Informatica 8.6, a major upgrade of its information integration platform. The upgrade incorporates new capabilities for real-time data, integration-as-a-service, cross-enterprise integration, and improved data quality and identity management. The platform is comprehensive in that it addresses even the most forward-looking (some would say bleeding-edge) demands.
Responding to demands...

Hong Kong websites are the most likely to hit visitors with unwanted ads, viruses and spam, research from an Internet security company has found.
More than 19 percent of websites using the ".hk" domain name pose a security threat to...