Hong Kong courtrooms now permit tweeting, texting

Legal and media scholars have praised the judiciary’s decision to allow live text-based communication from court – paving the way for journalists and members of the public to tweet and send e-mail messages.

Panasonic to halve chip business workforce: reports

Technology multinational Panasonic is set to cut its chip division workforce in half, axing thousands of jobs as the electronics giant overhauls its battered balance sheet following record losses, Japanese media reports said on Thursday.

Ex-Apple CEO Sculley mulling BlackBerry bid

Former Apple chief executive John Sculley is exploring a joint bid for smartphone maker BlackBerry with Canadian partners, the Globe and Mail reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

The report said Sculley declined to comment on the matter, but told the Canadian newspaper that he has been a long-time BlackBerry fan and user.

Google shares soar past US$1,000 on strong earnings

Shares in internet search and advertising titan Google soared more than 13 per cent on Friday to pass the US$1,000 mark for the first time after a strong earnings report.

The earnings demonstrated Google was smoothly building its presence in the mobile sector while advertising earnings rose all around, with particular help from Google’s YouTube website.

Lenovo bid for BlackBerry could collapse under pressure

Lenovo is wading into the BlackBerry jam. The Chinese technology group has gained access to the books of the Canadian smartphone seller, which is already considering a US$4.7 billion approach from shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings. If it chose to bid, Lenovo would have to do better than the current offer of US$9 per share, and overcome more obstacles.

China to invest 2 trillion yuan to expand broadband

China plans to invest 2 trillion yuan (US$323 billion) to improve its broadband infrastructure by 2020 with the aim of taking the nearly entire population online, a vice-minister said on Wednesday.

China's LCD maker BOE plans US$7.5b offering to expand production

The world’s fifth-largest LCD panel maker, BOE Technology, said on Thursday it planned to raise 46 billion yuan (HK$356.84 billion) in the biggest Chinese equity offering this year.

The funds will be used in the construction of high-generation panel production lines and the acquisition of shares in an existing joint venture called BOE Display Technology.

Hong Kong keeps innovation lead in Asia

Despite lingering weakness in the economy, Hong Kong has retained its position in the top-10 global rankings of leading markets for innovation, sitting alongiside China, Korea, Japan and Singapore in Asia.

BlackBerry investors to turn up the heat on management

BlackBerry will likely face tough questions about its future at its annual meeting on Tuesday after dismal quarterly results last week triggered a 28 per cent plunge in the Canadian smartphone maker’s share price.

Google making videogame console and smart watch: report

Google is working on a videogame console and smart watch powered by Android software that has been a hit in smartphones and tablets, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Journal cited unnamed sources as saying that the technology giant is out to expand its hardware line-up to include a new version of a Nexus Q digital media device introduced last year but never brought to market.

Biomimicry pushes science forward

In 1941, Georges de Mestral was in a Swiss forest walking his dog when he noticed his socks were dotted with small burrs. Looking under the microscope, he saw the barbed covering of the seeds had hooked onto the looped fibres in his clothes.

Google's 'loony' way of granting remote web access gets off ground

Google revealed top-secret plans yesterday to send balloons to the edge of space with the lofty aim of bringing the internet to the two-thirds of the global population now without web access.