If you’re lucky enough to drive a new luxury car, you’re probably used to the idea of the car connecting to your iPhone to play music and of web-connected dashboards that can offer you maps and weather. But that’s just the beginning for connected cars that will continue to get more comfortable and safer in the next several years.

You may not have heard the engines revving, but the race to bring you smarter connected cars is well underway. IBM IBM -0.38% and Sprint kicked it up a gear Wednesday through a new partnership that will bring the tech giant’s data management expertise to Sprint’s connected car platform through a new system, Sprint Velocity Service Bus.

Microsoft announced a sweeping reorganization of the company Thursday to "enable us to innovate with greater speed, efficiency and capability in a fast changing world."

The U.S. technology giant said the "far-reaching realignment" would help integrate efforts around its software and devices.

A U.S. judge ruled Wednesday that Apple violated antitrust law in a price-fixing case, saying the company "conspired to restrain trade" with publishers to boost the price of e-books.

Apple quickly rejected the decision and said it would appeal

Google on Wednesday released an upgraded version of its popular maps app for Android-powered smartphones and tablets that ditches a Latitude feature that let people share locations with family or friends.

The new software began rolling out at the online Google Play shop, and a version tailored for iPhones and iPads will soon be available at the Apple App Store, according to Google Maps director Daniel Graf.

Tablet prices are plunging amid a flood of new devices and cutthroat competition for market share.

Amazon has slashed prices of its Kindle HD tablets to as low as $169 in the U.S. and 139 pounds in Britain, while Barnes & Noble has cut the price of its Nook to as low as $129, and has announced plans to outsource production of its tablets.

Apple Inc. says it plans to appeal a New York judge's ruling that found the company conspired with publishers to fix electronic book prices.

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr says Apple didn't conspire to fix e-book pricing and would continue to fight the "false accusations." He says Apple brought much needed innovation and competition into the market in 2010.

Global spending on mobile Internet ads surged 82.8 percent to $8.9 billion in 2012, an industry survey showed Tuesday.

The Internet Advertising Bureau said the figures highlight "a strong positive growth story taking place across mobile advertising formats."

Apple dropped its lawsuit Tuesday against rival Amazon for using the term "Appstore" for its online shop for mobile gadget applications.

"With more than 900,000 apps and 50 billion downloads, customers know where they can purchase their favorite apps," an Apple statement said.

Patients searching for health-related information on the Internet may find their privacy threatened, said a research letter published in a major U.S. medical journal on Monday.

Marco Huesch, a researcher at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, searched for "depression," "herpes" and "cancer" on various health-related websites and observed that the data was being tracked.

The Wall Street Journal on Monday reported that several bidders have stepped up to vie for Hulu, an online video website that Internet pioneer Yahoo was said to be eyeing as an acquisition.

The Journal cited unnamed sources as saying that Hulu had several suitors, including satellite television company DirecTV and a partnership led by U.S. telecom titan AT&T.