A list of countries considering BlackBerry bans over security concerns with data routed abroad: -- India -- The country of almost 1.2 billion people had threatened to block corporate e-mail and messaging services unless BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. makes data more easily available to its intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The deadline had been Tuesday, but the government ...



India - Research In Motion - Security - Government - Law enforcement agency

Verizon Communications Inc. said Thursday it is hiking its quarterly dividend by 1.25 cents, or 2.6 percent, to 48.75 cents per share.



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WIDER NET: After pressuring BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. for data on users' traffic, India is now cracking down on other companies that provide encrypted communications.



Google - Skype - Research In Motion - Encryption - India

Verizon Wireless on Thursday announced it's opening up access to smart phones for customers who prepay for service, such as people with poor credit and those who don't want to be tied down by long-term contracts.



Verizon Wireless - Smartphone - Prepaid - Verizon - BlackBerry

Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc., the world's No. 1 and No. 2 makers of personal computers, have been making acquisitions in recent years to strengthen their positions as purveyors of technology and consulting services to businesses of all sizes. A sampling of recent deals:



Hewlett-Packard - Dell - Business - Personal computer - Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc

Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. had both been bidding for storage device maker 3Par Inc. A look at Dell's and HP's revenue, by product category, in the most recent fiscal year:



Dell - Hewlett-Packard - 3Par - Fiscal year - HP

Hewlett-Packard Co. has won a bidding contest with Dell Inc. to buy the data-storage provider 3Par Inc. Here are some details on 3Par:



Dell - Hewlett-Packard - Business - Hardware - Hewlett-Packard Co

Some key dates related to 3Par Inc. and its suitors: May 1999: 3Par is founded.



United States - Sports - Masters Tournament - Florida - Africa

Asimo the robot is making new friends in Austria. Researchers are seeking feedback from visitors of a technology fair to help them make Asimo, Honda's battery-operated robot that looks like a 4-foot (1.3-meter) child in a space suit, more communicative.



Robot - Honda - ASIMO - Robotics - Technology

When he wanted to interview a source in Connecticut for a recent "World News" story on technology, ABC reporter Pierre Thomas didn't even leave the office. ABC's cameras showed him sitting in front of a computer screen, talking to Michael Coppolla through Skype.



Skype - ABC - Connecticut - Television - Technology

Dell Inc. is walking away from a bidding contest with rival Hewlett-Packard Co. for data-storage maker 3Par Inc.



Hewlett-Packard - Dell - 3PAR - HP - HP 3000

Dell Inc. says it will end bidding for 3Par Inc., will not match Hewlett-Packard Co.'s offer.



Hewlett-Packard - Dell - 3PAR - Hardware - HP

BlackBerry's Canadian manufacturer should give law enforcement agencies around the world access to its customer data, the U.N. telecommunications chief said, adding that governments have legitimate security concerns that should not be ignored.



BlackBerry - Law enforcement agency - Telecommunication - Law - Canada

A Detroit-area woman who was removed from a jury for declaring the defendant guilty on Facebook before the trial was over has been ordered to pay $250 and write an essay about the constitutional right to a fair trial.



Facebook - Jury - Detroit - Michigan - Trial

Google Inc. will continue to provide the search results on AOL Inc.'s websites under a new, five-year deal the companies signed this week.



Google - AOL - YouTube - search - Website

India has widened its security crackdown, asking all companies that provide encrypted communications -- not just BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion -- to install servers in the country to make it easier for the government to obtain users' data. That would likely affect digital giants like Google and Skype.



Google - Skype - BlackBerry - Research In Motion - Government

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled a new tablet PC named Galaxy Tab as the latest device meant to rival Apple Inc.'s popular iPad.



Apple - IPad - tablet - Galaxy Tab - Samsung Electronics

Yale University researchers report that they have identified mechanisms that can be used to repair breaks in DNA strands. Those breaks have the potential to lead to the development of cancer.

Denmark-based CLC bio, a life sciences services company providing hardware, software and data analytics, is expanding its presence in Cambridge with a new North American headquarters location.