South Korea

Four out of five adults view Internet access as their fundamental right. So says a new BBC World Service global poll of 27,000 adults across 26 countries.

Conducted by GlobeScan, the poll reveals that 87 percent of survey participants who use the Internet feel web access should be the "fundamental right of all people." Seventy-one percent of non-Internet users agreed with that statement. South Korea, Mexico and China saw the highest percentage of users who feel Net access is a fundamental right.

More than half of the people in the developing world are now cell phone subscribers, a U.N. report said Tuesday, highlighting strong global growth in telecommunications.

There were an estimated 4.6 billion mobile phone subscriptions at the end of last year, compared with about 1 billion in 2002, the International Telecommunication Union said in a report. In developing nations, 57 percent of people were signed up.

"The rate of progress remains remarkable," the U.N. agency said.

Even before the Great Recession, policymakers were commonly asking, "Where are the new jobs going to come from?" Now with U.S. unemployment at 10 percent, that question has taken on a new urgency. And today's Mr. McGuire-like advice is as succinct as it was in The Graduate in 1967: "Green." Everyone from President Barack Obama to mayors of small towns are proclaiming that green industry is the savior of the U.S. economy, bringing jobs to the unemployed, needed economic activity to distressed industrial regions, and an overdue shot in the arm to U.S. industrial competitiveness.

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.

Apple has plans to launch the iPhone 4G this spring, according to published reports. The next generation of the popular smartphone will have an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen, video chat, a removable battery, and an ARM-based Coretex-A9 processor and be released in the April-May time frame, an Apple representative has told The Korea Times. The iPhone 4G is also expected to have powerful graphics chips that will provide higher video resolution and better still images when taking pictures.

Sony has had a rough time in recent years, with the global recession especially acute in Japan and currency issues making it difficult to match competitors in other Asian countries. But Sony CEO Howard Stringer, speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show, said things are looking up as the company delivers innovation while cutting costs.

"We are handicapped because of the recession in Japan, and we are handicapped -- as are all of Japanese CE (consumer electronics makers) -- by the high yen, which give us a disadvantage against China and Korea," Stringer said at a press conference.

Convicted ex-Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee will be granted a special pardon to allow the influential business magnate to rejoin efforts to bring the Winter Olympics to South Korea, the government said Tuesday.

Lee, 67, stepped down in April 2008 after 20 years at the helm of the Samsung Group after being indicted in connection with losses at a Samsung affiliate and for tax evasion. He later was fined and sentenced to a suspended three-year prison term.

Undoubtedly, it wasn't the holiday break that Research in Motion had in mind for its BlackBerry customers. On Tuesday night, a second e-mail outage hit BlackBerry customers -- following another one a week ago.

RIM acknowledged that "some BlackBerry customers in the Americas are currently experiencing delays in message delivery." It apologized "for any inconvenience," adding that its engineers were "actively working to resolve this issue for those impacted."

Undoubtedly, it wasn't the holiday break that Research in Motion had in mind for its BlackBerry customers. On Tuesday night, a second e-mail outage hit BlackBerry customers -- following another one a week ago.

RIM acknowledged that "some BlackBerry customers in the Americas are currently experiencing delays in message delivery." It apologized "for any inconvenience," adding that its engineers were "actively working to resolve this issue for those impacted." The company gave no indication as to the cause of the problems, or how long they would last.

Could Be Worldwide

For Americans, the mobile phone is quickly becoming Santa's biggest helper.

Powerful software applications for devices like the Apple iPhone are making it easy for bargain-hunting consumers to see if another retailer is offering a better deal on a big-screen HDTV or pair of shoes and to use it to haggle at the cash register.

Online retailers are revamping the mobile versions of their sites so consumers can make purchases without tedious typing. And offline retailers, battling for every last dollar, are sending cell phone users electronic coupons to lure them away from competitors.