Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. is investing around 80 billion won (US$85 million) to construct a plasma display panel factory in Hungary, it said Tuesday.

Corel Corp. announced Monday it will buy multimedia software company InterVideo Inc. for US$196 million in cash.

Apple Computer Inc. will resolve its patent squabble with Creative Technology Ltd. by paying the Singapore-based company US$100 million for a license to use a recently awarded patent.

Computer maker Dell Inc. is recalling 4.1 million laptop computer batteries because of a potential fire hazard, the company said Monday.

Europe's third largest chip maker will sell its semiconductor unit to a group of private investment firms in a deal worth ?8.3 billion (US$10.6 billion), increasing the pace of consolidation in the industry.

File-sharing service Kazaa has agreed to pay record labels a US$100 million settlement for allowing tracks to be illegally swapped through its service.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) has agreed to buy Canadian graphics chip vendor ATI Technologies Inc. for around US$5.4 billion in cash and stock, the companies announced Monday.

Microsoft on Thursday reported a year-over-year profit decline of nearly 24 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2006 due partly to a one-time legal charge, and announced a US$40 billion stock repurchase plan.

Taiwan's state-controlled telecom company plans to invest NT$100 billion (US$3.1 billion) over the next five years to upgrade its network and further develop applications and services based on Web 2.0, a spokeswoman said Monday.

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates may never see a more generous donation to the foundation run by him and his wife: a US$30.7 billion pledge from the world's second richest man, famed investor Warren Buffett.

The growth in malicious software is proving fortuitous for antivirus companies. Analyst firm Gartner Inc. said on Wednesday the industry grew 13.6 percent in 2005, with revenue totaling $4 billion.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will spend US$2.5 billion to expand its chip manufacturing plants in Dresden, Germany, to keep pace with growing demand for its PC and server chips, the company announced Monday.

Worldwide server revenue remained flat at US$12 billion in the first three months of the year, bucking several consecutive quarters of year-on-year growth, research firm Gartner Inc. said Tuesday.

A weather-tested computer that runs on a car battery. A PC that looks like your generic VCD player. These are some of the tools Intel Corp. thinks would allow more people in more places to get access to PCs.

James Fergason, the self-described "first guy who saw what [liquid crystal displays] were really good for," has been given a US$500,000 award for a lifetime of inventions that have advanced computer, medical and other industries.

Amid product delays, management shake-ups, and continuing European legal troubles, Microsoft on Thursday posted nearly US$3 billion in net income for its fiscal third quarter on revenue of almost $11 billion.

S-LCD Corp., the LCD (liquid crystal display) panel production joint venture of Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., plans to invest a further 222 billion won (US$237 million) to expand production at its factory in Tangjeong, South Korea, it said Wednesday.

As part of Microsoft Corp.'s continued efforts to promote its antipiracy campaign in China, Microsoft and Lenovo Group Ltd. executives formally plan to sign a US$1.2 billion deal Monday to cement a joint effort by the companies to provide genuine Windows software to Chinese customers.

Intel Corp. paid Micron Technology Inc. US$230 million for NAND flash memory designs and certain related technologies, as well as a perpetual license to use and modify the designs, Micron said Monday.

Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. have reached a basic agreement to build a new US$2 billion manufacturing line for LCD (liquid crystal display) panels, the companies said Monday.