WRAL Tech Wire

Aaron Sorkin to write, direct movie about Steve Jobs

The screenwriter won an Academy Award for his adaptation of "The Social Network," the film that chronicled the early years of Facebook Inc. under founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Apple's new, thinner MacBooks feature HD screens, faster startup

The MacBook Pro machines, to be unveiled at Apple's annual developers conference starting June 11, also will feature high-definition screens like those on the iPhone and iPad, as well as flash memory to cut startup times and extend battery life, sources tell Bloomberg news.

Valley buying frenzy; Apple's new maps; Apple co-founder wants Facebook shares; Linux creator hits GitHub; LightSquare woes

In the Bulldog blog: A frenzy of buying startups is driving up valuations for emerging companies; Apple is dumping Google Maps, report says; Apple's co-founder will buy Facebook shares regardless of price; Linus Torvalds doesn't care for GitHub - he invented Git; LightSquared nears bankruptcy.

Latest news on Apple, Facebook, BlackBerry, FBI, Cloud

Did Apple settle on Plan B for the third-generation iPad?; Facebook adds locations, read receipts to messenger app; BlackBerry maker faces tough uphill app battle; FBI wants access to social networks, e-mail providers; Cloud is a corporate strategy, not a tactical solution.

Move over, Apple: Samsung surges to top of mobile world

Analysis: Smartphones are fueling Samsung;s profit and revenue growth engines.

Samsung's newest Galaxy phone

Tablet challenge: In PC world counting 'pads,' Lenovo trails HP, Apple

Lenovo is not the world's No. 2 PC maker when "pads" or tablets such as the iPad are counted, says research firm Canalys. HP is No. 1 overall with Apple second, but Lenovo's sales continue to surge.

Lenovo's Yoga after flip to tablet

Apple uses subsidiaries to cut global tax bill by billions

The newspaper says Apple paid $3.3 billion in cash taxes globally on $34.2 billion in profits last year. That's a tax rate of 9.8 percent. In a statement, Apple told the Times that it has complied with all laws and accounting rules.

Samsung widens lead over Apple in smartphone sales

After narrowly beating Apple last year, Samsung's smartphone sales exceeded Apple's by a large margin in the first quarter. Strategy Analytics said Samsung became the world's top smartphone maker, selling 44.5 million handsets in the January-March period, followed by Apple's 35.1 million.

Samsung Galaxy

Apple CEO Tim Cook emerges from Steve Jobs' shadow

On a conference call with journalists and financial analysts late Tuesday, Cook showed some fire when talking about competitors, echoing the combative Jobs. He also spouted a vivid metaphor about device convergence - toaster and a refrigerator - that spread like wildfire over Twitter before the call was over.

Tim Cook

Motorola wins a patent dispute with Apple

Apple Inc. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. have accused each other of patent infringement in federal courts and the ITC. The ITC has the power to block imports of Apple products found in violation, as they are made abroad.

Soaring iPhone sales send Apple revenue, profits soaring

However, IPad sales came in below analyst expectations, at 11.8 million units. But that was still two and a half times as many as it sold in the same quarter a year ago. Apple launched a new iPad model in the quarter.

Latest news from Oracle, iPad, Google, Netflix, the Internet

Oracle kicks off busy trial season against Google; Six ways to run windows on iPad; Unanswered Questions in F.C.C.'s Google Case; Netflix CEO criticizes Comcast on Net neutrality, data caps; One in five American adults does not use the internet, Pew says

Global PC shipments top expectations; Lenovo surges

Lenovo's shipments climb 28 percent and 44 percent over last year, based on statistics from two research firms. HP remains the leader in market share over Lenovo.

Lenovo's growing product lineup

Own AAPL? Apple value tops $600B for first time before slipping

Only one other company has been worth $600 billion - Apple's old sparring partner Microsoft Corp. . It reached that valuation for 13 trading days around the turn of the millennium, at the peak of the technology stock mania.

The patent scramble: Microsoft-AOL deal is just latest

AOL's $1 billion deal to sell and license patents to Microsoft is another in a series of "Antiques Roadshow" moments in the technology world. Faded companies have been rummaging through their assets recently, and some of them have found musty old patents that turn out to be worth a great deal.