Twitter is in "advanced talks" to buy TweetDeck, a popular platform for accessing the service, for some $50 million, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Asked about the report, Twitter said: "We don't comment on rumors. We don't provide off-the-record background on rumors. We don't wink twice or release puffs of smoke abt rumors."

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has risen to global prominence by transforming itself from a contract maker into a viable brand, one of the toughest feats in the fiercely competitive hi-tech industry.

"Quietly Brilliant" is the motto adorning HTC's advertisements -- and quietly, brilliantly it has managed to grow and grow, until recently it stunned the industry by becoming as big as Nokia.

Google paid tribute to Charlie Chaplin on Friday by transforming the celebrated logo on its homepage into a silent movie.

When clicked, the logo, known as the "Google doodle," plays a silent film featuring members of the doodle team acting out Chaplin-esque sketches.

The blue-hulled vessel would slip by unnoticed on most seas if not for the white kite, high above her prow, towing her to what its creators hope will be a bright, wind-efficient future.

The enormous kite, which looks like a paraglider, works in tandem with the ship's engines, cutting back on fuel consumption, costs, and carbon footprint.

New Zealand passed a law against online piracy Thursday which outlaws file-sharing and threatens repeat offenders with having their Internet access cut off.

The new law allows for penalties of up to NZ$15,000 ($12,000) to be paid to the copyright owner and if this is ineffective offenders can have their Internet account suspended for up to six months.

A handful of Greenpeace activists was outside Facebook headquarters on Wednesday, calling on the social network to "unfriend" coal energy for powering data centers and other operations.

Members of the international environmental group set up a large computer screen to display comments streaming in from around the world in response to a Facebook post urging the firm to join an energy revolution.

The head of Google's search evaluation team shakes his head dismissively at the idea of anyone thinking the firm's winning Internet-sifting formula is completed.

Far from it.

IBM is testing smartphone software designed to predict traffic jams and warn motorists before they even take to the roads.

IBM said late Tuesday that its employees in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley areas of Northern California have been testing technology that "will ultimately help drivers around the world" avoid fouled traffic.

Nokia Corp. on Tuesday launched its first smartphones to run on the updated Symbian software with new icons, enhancements and a faster browser.

Nokia said the two models — the E6 and X7 — have longer battery life, better text input and new Ovi Maps applications with improved search and public transport routes.

Kindergarten classes are supplementing crayons, finger paints and flashcards with iPads, a development that excites supporters but that detractors worry is wasted on pupils too young to appreciate the expense.

Next fall, nearly 300 kindergartners in the central Maine city of Auburn will become the latest batch of youngsters around the country to get iPad2 touchpad tablets to learn the basics about ABCs, 1-2-3s, drawing and even music.