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• In Pictures: Cool Yule goodies

  Peruse through Network World's 2012 version of the cool yule tools. And get some great ideas for a totally tech present.

• TI buys National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion

  Texas Instruments on Monday announced it has agreed to acquire semiconductor company National Semiconductor for US$6.5 billion in an all-cash transaction.

• New tech boosts processor's "IQ"

  The problem with the smartphones, laptops, and tablets of our day is that the tools are multifunctional, but the energy that powers them can’t be divided up by function. Well, until now. Harvard graduate student Wonyoung Kim has unveiled a prototype device that could change the way that processing chips receive power, and eventually lead to slimmer smart-tools, and longer lasting batteries.

• AMD puts Fusion processors into embedded systems

  Advanced Micro Devices on Wednesday announced Fusion processors for embedded systems as it tries to put its chips in new devices such as set-top boxes and small form factor PCs.

• Casemod adds a projector

  When Lenovo had its recent Mod Contest, modder Boddaker submitted this gem: A Lenovo A700 IdeaCentre PC with an HD projector built in underneath. The A700 itself is an all-in-one desktop PC with a 23-inch widescreen LCD and slot-loading Blu-ray drive. The projector is attached to the bottom of the unit, so the whole thing can be used as a chalkboard projected onto a wall, among countless other things.

• Lower prices to hurt DRAM vendors this year

  A huge decline in memory prices could hurt DRAM vendors this year, with overall revenue projected to decline by 11.8 percent in 2011, research firm IHS iSuppli said in a study released Wednesday.

• Taiwan's Compal to raise laptop part prices

  Compal Electronics, one of the world’s biggest contract laptop makers, will raise component prices this year to shore up a drop in profits, affecting computers made for Acer, Dell and Hewlett-Packard, the company said on Wednesday.

• Intel, Nvidia sign $1.5 billion licensing deal

  Intel and Nvidia have signed a patent cross-licensing agreement and ended a long-standing legal dispute between the two companies, Intel said Monday.

• Meyer resigns as AMD's CEO

  Advanced Micro Devices on Monday said that Dirk Meyer has resigned from the post of CEO, and that the company is beginning to search for a new chief executive.

• Intel to integrate DirectX 11 in Ivy Bridge chips

  Intel will integrate DirectX 11 graphics technology in its next generation of laptop and desktop chips based on the Ivy Bridge architecture, a company executive said on Thursday.

• Intel: Light Peak interconnect technology is ready

  An Intel executive on Friday said that its Light Peak interconnect technology, designed to link PCs to devices like displays and external storage, is ready for implementation.

• Gigabyte releases new high-speed motherboards

  Gigabyte Technology on Thursday released a series of high-speed motherboards designed to let more applications run at once, without losing speed, and to convert video 10 times faster than normal.

• Intel tracks 500 design wins for Sandy Bridge chips

  The world's largest chip maker will show off its most advanced line of microprocessors ever at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Wednesday, complete with a range of laptop and desktop PCs with the chips inside.

• Intel: 1,000-core processor possible

  An experimental Intel chip shows the feasibility of building processors with 1,000 cores, an Intel researcher has asserted.

• New Arm processor to bring 3D, gaming to smartphones

  Arm hopes to bring high-performance graphics applications such as 3D imaging and gaming to handheld devices like smartphones while keeping battery life intact with a new graphics processor design it announced on Wednesday.