International Business Machines is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems in a combination that would bolster IBM's heft on the Internet, in data storage and in government and telecommunications areas, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nvidia has announced that it has signed a tools and middleware license agreement for PlayStation 3 with Sony Computer Entertainment. As a result, the binary version of the Nvidia PhysX technology software development kit (SDK) is now available to registered PS3 developers for free download and use on the SCEI Developer Network.

Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, has announced plans to shed 1,700 jobs worldwide as part of a major cost-cutting drive.

AMD spin-off Global Foundries will take an "agnostic view" of the market according to its head of communications, Jon Carvill.

Here's one group you won't hear complaining too bitterly about government spending: Tech executives. While they're careful to avoid promoting any particular political ideology, there's a common refrain among them that with the economy in such rough shape and with customers afraid to spend, it's only natural for governments to step up.

With revenues falling by as much as 50% in some electronics sectors and with entire markets undergoing fundamental changes, the old ways of doing business are not enough to thwart this downturn.

Sun Microsystem has laid out more of its plans for using solid-state drives in its servers, which it says will help customers to reduce energy costs and improve application performance in the data center.