Tech industry lawyer Mark Bohannon frequently taps a group of searchable databases called Whois to figure out who may be behind a Web site that distributes pirated software or tricks visitors into revealing passwords.

  Seagate Technology, the world's largest maker of hard drives, said Monday it is shuttering one of two manufacturing facilities in Northern Ireland, resulting in a cut of 780 employees, about 1.5 percent of the company's global work force.

  Newspaper publishers Tribune Co. and Gannett Co. have formed a joint venture to expand a national network of local entertainment Web sites, the companies said on Monday.

  Federal regulators plan to throw out exclusive cable television service contracts with apartment buildings and open up competition to phone companies, according to a published report.

  Microsoft Corp., seeking to expand in the medical sector, has agreed to acquire the assets of a privately held, Thailand-based health information system company, the software company said Monday.

  Verizon Communications Inc. on Monday reported third-quarter earnings that were largely in line with expectations, reflecting steady growth in its wireless operations and a slow decline in its wired telephone business.

  Newsvine started offering Google Analytics back in August in response to author requests for more data on the performance of user generated content.

  NBC and Fox are set to launch an advertising-supported online video site that hosts programming from varied entertainment companies in a bid to seize viewers from Google Inc.'s YouTube, the broadcasters said.

  No, really -- type a comment.You'll be asked if you want to edit it.You have 3 minutes.

  Google may have lost the bidding war to invest in Facebook, but it is preparing its own major assault on the social networking scene. It goes by the codename "Maka-Maka"inside the Googleplex (or, perhaps, "Makamaka").

  When Apple launched the iPhone with AT&T in June, other carriers started scrambling to find something to match it.

  This morning, between fielding phone calls, answering emails and writing blog posts, I have been watching TV, a lot of TV…on Hulu, the new online video portal backed by NBC (GE), News Corp. (NWS) and $100 million in funding from Providence Equity Partners.

  The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year is a Mac. Try that again: The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year--or for that matter, ever--is a Mac. Not a Dell, not a Toshiba, not even an Alienware.

  The first official order for the so-called "$100 laptop"has been placed by the government of Uruguay.The South American country has bought 100,000 of the machines for schoolchildren aged six to 12.