Google bids for patents

Google has made a $900 million bid for the patent portfolio of Nortel Networks, the bankrupt Canadian telecom equipment maker, reports the BBC.

The patents could help arm Google against potential lawsuits aimed at its Chrome browser and Android mobile operating system.

Patents are becoming highly prized pieces of intellectual property. Experts told the BBC they believe the final price could go well over $1 billion and may be as high as $2 billion.

The source code for the Zeus malware is in increasingly wide circulation, according to researchers at Internet security firm Trusteer, and a new wave of attacks is expected soon, states V3.co.uk.

Reports last month indicted the creator of the Zeus malware had put the source code for the software up for sale for $100 000.

However, Trusteer has seen multiple vendors now offering the source code, and there are reports that it is also turning up on file sharing sites as a password-protected download.

Lawmakers approved a tax break yesterday to keep Twitter from fleeing San Francisco, says the Associated Press.

The measure that passed with an 8-3 vote by the Board of Supervisors exempts Twitter from a payroll tax on new hires if the micro-blogging service moves to the blighted mid-market area.

The exemption applies to any business in the neighbourhood, but city officials called Twitter the big fish that could spur economic growth.

Disappointed with the uptake of its Hohm Web application for home energy efficiency, Microsoft is shifting the product focus to emphasise electric-vehicle charging, according to a company executive, reveals Cnet.

Microsoft unveiled Hohm almost two years ago as a free application for consumers to monitor energy use and get tips on how to improve efficiency.

It has signed on fewer than 10 utilities, which use Hohm to provide consumers with electricity data online, and it has partnered to provide electricity monitoring using a home's WiFi connection.