AFP - Samsung Electronics Co, the world's largest computer chip maker, said Monday it has developed a new solid-state drive which is expected to replace hard disk drives in laptop computers.

AP - J.R. Simplot left home in 1923 at age 14 with four gold coins given to him by his mother. He ended his life as the spud king of America and one of the nation's richest men.

Reuters - China will issue three licenses for high-speed third-generation mobile phone services and called for a merger of China Unicom and Netcom, two of its four biggest telecoms providers, in a long-awaited industry revamp.

AP - Microsoft Corp. is abandoning its effort to scan whole libraries and make their contents searchable, a sign it may be getting choosier about the fights it will pick with Google Inc.

AP - Google Inc.'s online communities have little traction in the United States, but the search leader continues to seek a spot in the social-networking hierarchy. First, it must contend with Facebook, the No. 2 online hangout behind MySpace.

AP - Online social networking today is more about hanging out with friends behind gated communities than exploring the World Wide Web: Visit another site and you'll have to rebuild your profile from scratch.

Reuters - China will issue three licenses for high-speed third-generation mobile phone services and encourage a restructuring of leading telecoms companies, including a merger of China Unicom (0762.HK) and Netcom (0906.HK), the government said on Saturday.