Ralph Jennings

A U.S. federal jury convicted two people this week over a scheme to import and sell counterfeit Cisco-branded networking equipment, the Department of Justice said on Thursday.

The jury found Chun-Yu Zhao of Virginia guilty of conspiracy and 15 other counts related to import fraud and counterfeit labeling, the department said in a statement. Zhao ran the U.S. headquarters of a Chinese company that stole intellectual property and defrauded customers, the statement said, citing U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride.

Acer, the world's second largest PC maker, opened a factory in the Chinese industrial city of Chongqing on Thursday and expects it to produce 30 percent to 40 percent of its laptops by the end of the year, the company said.

The Taiwanese firm is managing the plant and has hired contractors already on the ground to come in and manufacture its self-branded notebook and netbook PCs at the "global IT manufacturing center," Acer said in a statement. The plant will raise Acer's profile in China and put it near component suppliers, the statement said. That would translate to lower costs and higher production speeds.

Sony began letting its U.S. PlayStation Network and Qriocity customers sign up on Wednesday for free identity theft protection services following cyber-attacks that may have exposed the personal data of its 77 million members.

PlayStation Network account holders and those registered with Sony's music streaming service Qriocity were invited to enroll online for a package that sends alerts of possible security breaches, offers a US$1 million identity theft insurance policy per user, and includes "hands-on" help from fraud investigators, Sony said on its blog.

The city of Taipei has sought more help from Sony for PlayStation Network gamers whose personal details may have been leaked, an official said on Wednesday. Its Law and Regulation Commission has also demanded answers from Apple over allegations that it had recorded the locations of iPhone users.

Taipei is the latest government entity to grill the two tech firms to protect the privacy of citizens. If the companies do not respond satisfactorily to Taipei's requests within 10 days of receiving a letter, Taipei can issue a fine between NT$30,000 (US$1,036) and NT$300,000, said commission chief consumer protection officer Chen Pi-chu.

Technology giant Hewlett-Packard will acquire Printelligent to bolster its position in managed printing services for business clients, the two companies said on Tuesday.

An agreement between the two will let HP acquire all of privately-held Printelligent's assets, including infrastructure, software and workforce, the parties said in a statement. HP will combine those assets with its existing sales channels and broader services, the statement said.

Asustek Computer will introduce a new device next week combining the features of a phone and a tablet PC, making it a potential rival to the Dell Streak and possibly heralding more such devices, the company and analysts said on Tuesday.

The Taiwanese PC maker posted a teaser on Facebook asking the question "pad or phone?" about its device to be unveiled on Monday ahead of the annual Computex show in Taipei.

Tablet PCs will dominate the massive Computex trade show in Taipei next week, where top brands and obscure white-box makers will show new models of the popular devices, including some that run on Intel's new Oak Trail mobile processor.

As many as 50 of the 1,800 exhibitors at the annual tech show will display new tablets that will be aimed at buyers of all income levels, said Thomas Huang, director in chief of the exhibition for the Taiwan External Trade Development Council.

Toyota Motor will partner Salesforce.com to offer owners of its electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles a private social network, Toyota Friend, for sharing maintenance tips, the companies announced Monday.

Toyota Friend will let the automaker reach buyers of the vehicles to pass on up-to-date information and remind them of maintenance timelines, the two companies said.

Intel is in talks with major Asian PC makers that could see new laptops released as early as December this year that feature fast, battery-saving processor technology announced by the company at a financial analyst's meeting on Tuesday.

The U.S. firm said the talks include Acer, Asustek, Lenovo and Samsung. The laptops will be able to run all day on one charge without compromising speed, said Navin Shenoy, a vice president and general manager for Intel Asia-Pacific.

Data center operator Tata Communications will invest S$440 million (US$357 million) in Singapore over the next four years to meet a fast-growing regional demand for data center capacity.

The company will spend that sum on expanding its data center capacity, more infrastructure and additional staff, an executive said on Thursday.

Acer on Wednesday charged its former chief executive officer, Gianfranco Lanci, with performance issues, after he had criticized the company's resistance to globalization in interviews with the media.

Lanci, who resigned from Acer on March 31, said this week from his native Italy that he was on the brink of making changes that would have led to the company's "de-Taiwanization", according to media reports.

Mozilla is building an army of volunteers in Indonesia to help customize Firefox and recommend add-ons, as the U.S.-based non-profit organization seeks to retain its massive share of the browser market in the country.

Community groups in eight cities and drawing about 1,000 tech-savvy volunteers, with more expected, are meeting this month to brainstorm ways Firefox can be further localized, said Gen Kanai, Mozilla's contributor engagement director for Asia.