YouTube videos will soon get captions Soon you’ll be able to understand thousands of Internet videos even if the sound is turned down. With an assist from Boston public TV station WGBH, Google Inc. has developed technology that will automatically add on-screen captions to video streams on its popular YouTube website. (Page B5, 633 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 20, 2009

Microsoft-Pure alliance is no threat to the iPhone Remember when Microsoft Corp. seemed unbeatable, like the New England Patriots with a 17-point lead? (Page B7, 750 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 19, 2009

Oct. 13: Data-networking company Cisco Systems agrees to pay $2.9 billion for Starent Networks of Tewksbury, which makes networking equipment for cellphone systems. (Page B7, 98 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 13, 2009

Who’s next? Silicon Valley giants have been shopping for acquisitions in Massachusetts, buying and partnering with key companies from this state’s much-vaunted technology industry. As businesses long known for their local roots join with or are absorbed by ventures from California, the question becomes: What signature companies are left, and are they targets for takeovers? (Page B5, 758 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 13, 2009

Your life story, as data points Now appearing on Google: The story of my life. And yours. Not everyone can read it, but the engineers and advertising specialists at Google can. And now users can get a peek, thanks to Google Dashboard, a new service developed at the search giant’s outpost in Zurich. Dashboard lets registered Google users see what the company knows about them. If ... (Page B7, 775 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 12, 2009

THE CHIEF TECHNICAL officer at Harmonix Music Systems, Eran Egozy, said his company has just enjoyed “the most phenomenal summer we’ve ever had.’’ It sounded as if he was talking about the September 9 release of The Beatles: Rock Band, the latest version of the company’s hugely popular music video game. But Egozy was talking about the company singing contest.By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 8, 2009

I love it when big, rich technology companies start smacking each other around like robots in a Transformers movie, because you’ll generally find some pretty cool gadgets poking out of the wreckage. (Page B5, 832 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 5, 2009

Only about a quarter of the 6.5 billion people on Earth are using the World Wide Web. But even in poor countries, most people have access to Web-enabled devices - cellphones, mostly. So the Web’s inventor, Tim Berners-Lee, is launching a foundation to deliver online information to the developing world. (Page G3, 432 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 15, 2009

Three health insurers post profits Three of the four largest health insurers in Massachusetts swung back to profitability in the third quarter, after all four posted second-quarter losses. (Page B5, 444 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 14, 2009

Music Heroism, with a hip-hop spin Nearly everybody wants to be a rock star. That’s why consumers have spent billions on such video games as Rock Band and Guitar Hero. But who dreams of being a record-spinning disc jockey in a grungy nightclub? (Page B7, 763 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Oct 29, 2009

Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steve Ballmer believes the digital technology industry will lead America’s economic rebirth but the process is likely to take a while. (Page B5, 463 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Oct 17, 2009

Oct. 13: Data-networking company Cisco Systems agrees to pay $2.9 billion for Starent Networks of Tewksbury, which makes networking equipment for cellphone systems. (Page B7, 98 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 13, 2009

Who’s next? Silicon Valley giants have been shopping for acquisitions in Massachusetts, buying and partnering with key companies from this state’s much-vaunted technology industry. As businesses long known for their local roots join with or are absorbed by ventures from California, the question becomes: What signature companies are left, and are they targets for takeovers? (Page B5, 758 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 13, 2009

Your life story, as data points Now appearing on Google: The story of my life. And yours. Not everyone can read it, but the engineers and advertising specialists at Google can. And now users can get a peek, thanks to Google Dashboard, a new service developed at the search giant’s outpost in Zurich. Dashboard lets registered Google users see what the company knows about them. If ... (Page B7, 775 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 12, 2009

THE CHIEF TECHNICAL officer at Harmonix Music Systems, Eran Egozy, said his company has just enjoyed “the most phenomenal summer we’ve ever had.’’ It sounded as if he was talking about the September 9 release of The Beatles: Rock Band, the latest version of the company’s hugely popular music video game. But Egozy was talking about the company singing contest.By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 8, 2009

I love it when big, rich technology companies start smacking each other around like robots in a Transformers movie, because you’ll generally find some pretty cool gadgets poking out of the wreckage. (Page B5, 832 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 5, 2009

Computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co. will buy network equipment maker 3Com Corp. of Marlborough for $2.7 billion in a head-on challenge to Cisco Systems Inc. , which dominates the network business. The deal will position HP to attack the heart of Cisco’s market, and it comes only a week after Cisco teamed up with data storage titan EMC Corp. of Hopkinton ... (Page B7, 789 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 12, 2009

The Department of Commerce has awarded $2 million to a Massachusetts state agency to create a map of the state’s broadband Internet services. The money will go to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, which was founded last year to expand affordable Internet access throughout the state. (Page B5, 104 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 7, 2009

The biggest hedge fund insider trading case in US history ensnared more Massachusetts companies yesterday as federal investigators brought new charges against 14 people, including a Westwood investor. (Page B7, 976 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 6, 2009

In a direct challenge to computer giants IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. , data storage firm EMC Corp. of Hopkinton has allied with Cisco Systems Inc. , the world’s leading computer networking company. (Page B7, 524 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 4, 2009

Windows 7 launch could give economy boost Microsoft Corp. says it won’t be the only one to benefit from sales of its new Windows 7 software. The local economy could see a lift, too. (Page B7, 722 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Nov 3, 2009

LogMeIn Inc. of Woburn, which makes software for the remote control of computers, is promoting two executives and bidding farewell to a third. Kevin Farrell has been promoted to general manager of endpoint solutions, and Kevin Bardos has been named general manager of support and collaboration technologies. (Page B5, 107 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Oct 10, 2009

Novell’s claim on Unix in jeopardy A bankrupt Utah software company has been given a new lease on life, at the expense of Linux software vendor Novell Inc. of Waltham. (Page B5, 387 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Aug 26, 2009

Elegant new Zune HD just a little late to the game If someone had handed me Microsoft Corp.’s new Zune HD back in 2006, he would have had to mug me to get it back. Thin, elegant, stuffed with advanced features, the new Zune is one of the best portable media devices yet. It’s certainly far better than Apple Inc.’s 2006 line of iPod media players. (Page B5, 752 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Sep 17, 2009

Ready for more football? FOXBOROUGH - They play a lot of football in this town - and not just in Gillette Stadium. A couple of miles away, at a company called Quick Hit Inc., a team of software developers oversees hundreds of games a day, played in virtual stadiums on the Internet. They hope to soon grow that number into the millions, as they ... (Page B5, 864 words)By: Hiawatha Bray|Date: Sep 22, 2009