Stories by: Heather Havenstein

Sun Microsystems Thursday rolled out the first version of its JavaFX runtime and tools, which support the development of Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) that can run on desktops, in browsers, in mobile devices and on televisions. Sun said that JavaFX 1.0 is aimed at providing a unified development and deployment model for developers and Web designers to build RIAs with audio, video, rich text, advanced graphics, animation and Web services.

Google called off its proposed search advertising deal with Yahoo just three hours before the US Department of Justice was to file an antitrust complaint on November 5 aimed at blocking it, according to the lawyer that the government hired to pursue the case.

Google has unveiled a new gadget that allows Google Desktop for Windows users to check their Gmail accounts without having to leave leaving the vendor's desktop search application.

MySpace, Flock and Vidoop Tuesday unveiled a jointly developed a prototype tool that will let users store their OpenID credentials in the Flock social Web browser. Mozilla-based Flock allows users to monitor what is happening on their favorite social networks as they surf the Web.

Like his campaign apparatus, President Elect Barack Obama's transition team is embracing what some have called a Google-enabled government by loosening copyright licensing on its Change.gov Web site and by launching a feature that allows citizens to contribute to policy discussions.

The LinkedIn business social network this week rolled out an overhauled search platform that it says will let users more easily find who they are looking for on the site.

Google Monday acknowledged plans to "significantly" reduce the number of contractors it uses, according to a report on the Web site of the Wall Street Journal. The report noted that the company has no plans to cut its permanent workforce.

Google's new search customization tool, SearchWiki, has quickly generated criticism for its lack of an opt-out options and perceived privacy threats.

Just a few months after launching Lively, Google Wednesday said it will shut down the browser-based three-dimensional world by the end of the year to focus on the core Google business.

More than half of the working Millennials polled for an Accenture study said that were either unaware of their company's IT policies or are not willing to follow them.

Companies like Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil and the makers of Motrin have all learned the hard way that online assaults from external users on Web 2.0 sites like Facebook and Twitter can damage their brands.