TOSHIBA CORPORATION

The world's biggest retailer has long struggled to dominate the streaming video market against competitors like Netflix, Apple and Blockbuster. Now Wal-Mart is taking a new tack, The New York Times reports.

Sources told the Times that Wal-Mart has agreed to buy VUDU, a three-year-old company that embeds its streaming technology into high-definition TVs and Blu-Ray DVD players. Wal-Mart and VUDU began briefing movie studios and TV makers about the deal on Monday.

Control the User Experience

The world's top producers of computer memory chips are embroiled in an apparent case of industrial espionage after South Korean prosecutors indicted 18 people over alleged technology theft.

Prosecutors said Thursday those involved are suspected of leaking semiconductor technology belonging to Samsung Electronics to its domestic rival Hynix Semiconductor.

The case highlights the intense competition among chipmakers and other sellers of high tech products, who frequently sue each other over alleged patent infringements.

Government officials continue to put pressure on U.S. technology companies to stop censorship in China. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, is joining other government officials to fight censorship in China and other countries.

Small and inexpensive "netbooks" were some of the most popular computers in the recession, wooing consumers with their portability and prices that were often below $400. Now with the economy improving, consumers will be asked to open their wallets to new styles of computers, including some costing a bit more.

Nintendo, Microsoft y Lenovo son los fabricantes tecnológicos que menos respetan el medio ambiente, según la lista que elabora trimestralmente Greenpeace y cuya última actualización ha presentado en la feria CES de Las Vegas. El líder, un trimestre más, es Nokia con 7,3 de puntuación, seguida de Sony Ericsson, Toshiba (que se ha comprometido a enmendarse en abril), y Phillips cuarto, cuando hace dos años ocupaba el penúlimo puesto de la tabla (17).

A U.S. software maker sued China's government and seven computer makers Tuesday alleging piracy of its Internet filtering software.

Cybersitter LLC, whose software is designed to help parents filter content seen by children, seeks $2.2 billion in damages in the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles.

With netbooks booming as a product category, Intel announced Monday a new Atom-based platform and new Atom processors that contain integrated graphics and the memory controller on the CPU. The new products could mean smaller, more efficient, and more powerful netbooks and entry-level desktop machines.

Intel is calling the new processors Pineview, and the platform Pine Trail. This is the first combination of a graphics processor with a x86 CPU.

This holiday season is a great time to buy a PC. There's a nice new version of Windows out, and computer manufacturers are adding interesting new technologies. Here's a guide to what's fresh in PCs, ranging from "netbooks" to super-sized "all-in-one" desktop computers.

There's a new Android device on the market. On Tuesday, the French company ARCHOS announced the ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet, based on Google's open-source Android mobile operating system.

The ARCHOS 5 features 720p high-definition viewing, TV recording, and built-in GPS with 3-D navigation in addition to Net browsing. It has a five-inch 800x480 touchscreen, and the company emphasized that it has a full-fledged browser and integrated applications. Connectivity is Wi-Fi, or 3.5G from a mobile phone connected through Bluetooth.

Android a 'Major Differentiator'