Viacom's MTV Networks said on Tuesday it struck a digital music partnership with online music service RealNetworks and Verizon to compete against Apple's iTunes.

Microsoft announced it has inked a pact to put mobile versions of its Windows Live services onto handsets made by one of its chief competitors, Nokia.

Vendors now have almost 70 products certified for compliance with Draft 2.0 of the 802.11n standard, according to a list dug up by MIMO + N News.

Google launched the latest addition to its Google Earth application. This time, instead of zooming from space to street-level view on Earth, users will be able to zoom from Earth to the stars. Called Google Sky, it's part of Google Earth 4.2.

Three billion song downloads later, someone is finally ready to take on the market dominance of Apple's iTunes....Wal-Mart is launching an online music store that will undercut iTunes prices... (and) stripping away the pesky DRM (digital rights management) restrictions that limit the functionality and portability of purchased tracks. In other words, these are genuine MP3 files that can play on any digital music player – including iPods – as well as be burned to CDs without limitations.

...Since 65nm came out late in 4Q, and at the time Barcelona was due in late 2Q07, that gave any 65nm Opteron a shelf life of about six months. Server vendors like predictability and long lives and six months is not a long life. It was deemed not really worth it to do a 65nm Opteron with 1MB caches, it would be replaced in short order, and 90nm parts would be enough to see them through. (However) the window between 65nm introduction and Barcelona introduction slipped from six months to 10 and counting...

...Many channel observers see Dell's best chance to win over a large number of solution providers is by turning to distributors who could act as a buffer between the vendor and solution providers. Bates wouldn't rule out signing a distributor, but he didn't make it sound like a priority either. "We're talking about everything, but we're hearing a lot about the benefits on focusing our direct relationship with the channel," he said.

The newly built packaging and testing plant of Jiangsu Changdian Technology, with an annual output of five billion ICs, started production Aug. 8 in Jiangyin, Jiangsu. With a total investment of two billion yuan (US$262M), the plant covers 850 acres that will be built in three stages. The initial facility has an annual output of five billion pieces, and is developing beyond dual in-line packages (DIPs), systems-on-a-package (SOPs) and systems-in-a-package (SIPs) to medium- and high-tech packages such as QFN, FCBGA, TCP, COF, COG, DFN and FBP.

NAND flash vendors are not only racing each other in the process-technology arena, but they are also preparing for a new demand and product cycle in the marketplace. A number of emerging applications are on the horizon for NAND, including flash BIOS, solid-state storage and flash-equipped television with digital video recorder functions. To enable those applications, suppliers are moving down the process curve at a breakneck pace.

Starting Wednesday, YouTube plans to feature semi-transparent "overlay" ads at the bottom of selected video clips.

Wal-Mart announced the launch of "DRM-free" MP3 music downloads at only US$0.94 per track and US$9.22 per album.

Looking for a comfortable keyboard, but don't want to go the way of the ergo? Logitech's latest Wave keyboard is catering to you. The keys are laid out in a "Wave" pattern to contour to your hands and a palm-rest is added for additional comfort. Have Logitech come up with a winner?

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in Golden, CO, showed that silicon nanocrystals can produce two or three electrons per photon of high-energy sunlight. The effect, they say, could lead to a new type of solar cell that is both cheap and more than twice as efficient as today's typical photovoltaics.

Canon has introduced its new EOS-1Ds Mark III digital SLR (DSLR) camera, a new top-tier professional DSLR camera expected to hit stores in November for US$7,999.

Goldman Sachs forecast Tuesday that Samsung will post an 85% growth rate in its 2H operating profit compared with six months earlier thanks to the sales of flash memory and flat panel products.