NEW YORK Google, Yahoo, eBay and Microsoft, competitors on the Web, all have the same idea for marketing themselves this holiday season: temporarily providing free Wi-Fi access in airports, airplanes and public places.

NEW YORK Fitch Ratings lowered its outlook for Sun Microsystems Inc. to "evolving" from "positive" on Tuesday after European regulators objected to Oracle Corp.'s plans to take over the company.

ATLANTA Federal authorities say they've cracked a sophisticated computer hacking ring that stole more than $9 million within 12 hours last November, securing indictments against eight people from Russia, Estonia and Moldova.

LOS ANGELES Ryan Norwalk cleared his schedule.

SINGAPORE Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Carol Bartz promised Tuesday to turn around the struggling Internet company after this year's "terrible" performance.

HAVANA The U.S. State Department issued a statement late Monday decrying attacks on three Cuban bloggers, including one who has gained international attention for her searing observations about life on the communist island.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says she's back on Twitter.

CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuela and Russia say they are working on a series of agreements for Moscow to provide the South American country with technology for the development of industries ranging from robotics to biochemistry.

LOS ANGELES Four years after its first solar sail ended up in the ocean instead of orbit, The Planetary Society announced Monday that by the end of 2010 it will try again to launch a spacecraft that will be propelled by the subtle pressure of sunlight.

SAN FRANCISCO European antitrust regulators have formally objected to Sun Microsystems Inc.'s planned $7.4 billion sale to Oracle Corp., escalating a battle over a deal that has already been cleared in the U.S.

DES MOINES, Iowa Cisco Systems Inc., the world's largest maker of computer networking equipment, said Monday it will sell three series of senior unsecured notes worth a total of $5 billion.

WASHINGTON Should techniques for training horses be eligible for a patent? What about a system for choosing a jury or fail-proof method for speed dating?

NEW YORK Electronic Arts plans to cut its work force by 17 percent as it tries to align its business with a transforming video game industry.

SAN FRANCISCO Google Inc. is buying mobile advertising network AdMob for $750 million, underscoring the Internet search leader's determination to ensure its marketing machine reaches the growing number of people surfing the Web on phones.

NEW YORK As its packaged video games business lags, Electronic Arts Inc. has snapped up Playfish Inc., the creator of popular social networking games such as "Who Has the Biggest Brain" and "Pet Society," for $275 million in cash.

NEW YORK The social networking Web site Tagged.com has adopted reforms on the use of invitation e-mails after being accused of essentially stealing the e-mail addresses of some 60 million Internet users, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO A judge has given Google Inc. more time to revise a legal settlement that has drawn government scrutiny because it would give the Internet search leader the digital rights to millions of out-of-print books.

Of all the sinister things that Internet viruses do, this might be the worst: They can make you an unsuspecting collector of child pornography.

LOS ANGELES In a bid to sell living room electronics and spur buzz for "Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs," Sony Corp. is offering the movie for free to U.S. buyers of its Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players starting Monday.

WASHINGTON With the technology industry looking on, the Supreme Court on Monday will explore what types of inventions should be eligible for a patent in a pivotal case that could undermine such legal protections for software.

DALLAS AT&T Inc. said Friday that its acquisition of smaller wireless carrier Centennial Communications Corp., has closed after several delays due to the regulatory process.

NEW YORK Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. reports earnings for its fiscal second quarter, which ended in September, on Monday after the market closes. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

BOSTON Massachusetts has received about $2 million in federal stimulus funding to help identify the speed and location of broadband services in the state over the next five years.

LOS ANGELES A federal judge has temporarily blocked two music-sharing Web sites from selling songs by The Beatles and other artists for 25 cents apiece.

HARRISBURG, Pa. Windstream Corp.'s acquisition of D&E Communications Inc. phone and Internet company has the approval of Pennsylvania state utility regulators.

PARIS Disabled with severe cerebral palsy, 32-year-old Anne Lamic spends her days in southeastern France mostly in bed, surrounded by stuffed animals and dolls. She cannot speak or walk, and she sometimes has seizures.

SAN FRANCISCO EBay Inc. has settled a legal skirmish with the founders of Skype that threatened to complicate eBay's plans to sell most of the Internet phone service to a group of investors for $2 billion.

ST. PAUL, Minn. Internet speeds in more than four-fifths of Minnesota are too slow to support technologies that could draw new jobs, take cars off the roads and bring new services to people in their homes, a new report said Friday.

NEW YORK This holiday season's biggest entertainment blockbuster likely will be a sequel to a popular franchise, with jarring depictions of war and an intricate story of good versus evil. It could easily rake in more than last year's record $155 million opening weekend for "The Dark Knight."

NEW YORK First it was books. Now it's DVDs.

SAN DIEGO Leap Wireless International Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter loss grew 31 percent as competition and the weak economy were a drag on subscriber growth.

BOSTON Sapient Corp., which helps companies with technology needs, said Thursday that services revenue would rise sequentially in the fourth quarter.

BOSTON Technology-services provider Sapient Corp. said Thursday that third-quarter profits plunged by two-thirds, partly due to special charges, and the CEO said customers were growing more confident in business prospects.

NEW YORK Sirius XM Radio Inc., the satellite radio provider that was on the brink of bankruptcy nine months ago, on Thursday reported a much improved third quarter as it signed up more subscribers and paid down debt.

NEW YORK Graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp. said consumer demand is healthy and improving as it reported a 74 percent jump in third-quarter profit.

NEW YORK It's been a rough year for the video game industry, but Activision Blizzard Inc. reported a profit for its third quarter because of lower costs and a good response for games such as "Guitar Hero 5" and "World of Warcraft."

NEW YORK Two well-known companies surged in their market debuts Thursday despite what has recently been a difficult market for initial public offerings.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. Satellite TV operator DirecTV Group Inc. was one of the few pay-TV companies to gain subscribers in the third quarter, though earnings stayed steady because of the higher costs it incurred attracting and serving those new customers.

LOS ANGELES No Doubt has sued video game maker Activision for putting words in band members' mouths.

BRUSSELS EU lawmakers and governments agreed on new rights for Internet users Thursday, aiming to protect them from arbitrary crackdowns on those who illegally download music and movies on the Internet.

TOKYO Sales of Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows 7 operating system have been "fantastic" in Japan since its launch last month, CEO Steve Ballmer said Thursday.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Google is offering a new privacy control that will make it easier for people to see some of the information being collected about them.

INDIANAPOLIS Cell phone distributor Brightpoint Inc. said Wednesday its third-quarter profit more than doubled, helped by tax benefits.

CHANDLER, Ariz. Semiconductor maker Microchip Technology Inc. said Wednesday that earnings and sales fell in the latest quarter, but its CEO said profit margins would improve as the company increases production to meet stronger business conditions.

SAN FRANCISCO Cisco Systems Inc.'s latest results show that the world's No. 1 maker of computer-networking equipment is still being hurt by the downturn, but sees things turning up. The company is forecasting its first year-over-year revenue increase since the financial crisis erupted a year ago.

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. Video game maker THQ Inc. said it lost less in the third quarter than it did a year earlier even as sales fell because it lowered its operating costs, sending its shares higher in aftermarket trading.

SAN FRANCISCO Since its debut in 2007, millions of people have gravitated toward Apple's iPhone, wooed by its sleek hardware, simple user interface and abundance of applications.

SAN FRANCISCO Cisco Systems Inc. doesn't want Wall Street to interpret its forecast for its first quarterly revenue growth in a year as evidence that the U.S. and other economies are roaring back.

SAN FRANCISCO Most people know eBay Inc. for its online marketplace, where deals abound on everything from gadgets to antique furniture. But soon, eBay's biggest business will likely be PayPal, the online payments service that has been growing steadily even as the economy has stumbled.

NEW YORK A new study confirms what your 130 Facebook friends and scores of Twitter followers may have already told you: The Internet and mobile phones are not linked to social isolation.