MS sues over Android e-reader

Microsoft is suing Barnes & Noble, Invetec, and Foxconn International over alleged patent infringements by the Android-based Nook e-reader sold by Barnes & Noble, reports The Register.

The software giant said Android infringes on a number of its patents and that the trio must respect Microsoft's intellectual property rights.

The patents cover ways of tabbing through various screens to find information, quickly surfing the Web, and interacting with documents and e-books.

IBM has been accused of bribing officials in South Korea and China for more than a decade, and has said it will pay $10 million to settle the civil charges, according to the Wall Street Journal, says Computing.co.uk.

IBM neither admitted nor denied the charges, but said it has taken “appropriate remedial action” to address the issues raised by the US government, according to the report.

US regulators took up the case against IBM, which includes allegations that the company's employees had handed over shopping bags stuffed with cash to officials in South Korea and taken Chinese government officials out on paid-for excursions in exchange for contracts worth millions of dollars.

AT&T, facing major regulatory scrutiny of its $39 billion plan to acquire T-Mobile USA, is making the case that the deal will improve the fortunes of the US and its citizens, writes Cnet.

In a conference call with analysts and press, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and other company executives repeatedly argued that the deal would mean more US citizens would get next-generation wireless technology called LTE, that they'd get it sooner, and that the country would reap rewards as a result.

"This is a major investment and commitment by a US company to advance US leadership in mobile broadband. It's the beginning of a shift to build a powerful LTE network that will be the critical infrastructure" in the future economy, Stephenson said.

Google has blamed the Chinese government for problems accessing its e-mail service in the country, reports the BBC.

Internet users have complained that the authorities have stepped up disruption of its Gmail service in recent weeks. Google said it had found no technical issues, and blamed "a government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail".

Users say the interference coincided with an Internet campaign calling for protests like those in the Middle East.