BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIMM) offered a better-than-expected holiday earnings forecast, boosting the company's shares in after-hours trading, while rival Palm (PALM) reported a whopping $506.2 million loss as revenue plummeted 45 percent, sending its already-battered stock price down as much as 10 percent in late trading.

Taken together, RIM's upbeat forecast and Palm's downcast news highlight the diverging fortunes of the two smart-phone makers, both of which are competing under the shadow of Apple's (AAPL) wildly popular iPhone and a recession-fueled slowdown in consumer spending.

With the 2008 Beijing Olympics fading into memory, China has resumed its widespread practice of blocking access to what it calls "illegal" websites -- a practice it halted amid the international attention associated with the Summer Games.

In particular, China is blocking access to websites that do not conform to Chinese policy that Taiwan is an inseparable part of the country. Liu Jianchao, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday that such websites violate Chinese law, according to a report in the New York Times.

Google (GOOG) is blasting a new Wall Street Journal story that suggests the internet search giant is ditching its support for network neutrality as "confused," "hyperbolic," and "overblown."

The Journal article says that Google is talking to the major cable and phone companies about paying for a "fast lane" for Google's content -- including YouTube videos -- and suggests that Google is moving away from its long-standing support for network neutrality, the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally.

Former Vodafone head Arun Sarin may or may not become Yahoo's next chief executive, as the Wall Street Journal is reporting today, but one thing is for sure: he's no Jerry Yang. In fact, he may be the Anti-Yang.

Sarin's reputation as a tough, military-trained former boxer stands in stark contrast with Yang's image as a cerebral, mild-mannered software engineer. The 54-year-old Sarin was recently praised by India's Economic Times for his "near-legendary pugnacious ability to stand up to sustained battering," a quality that could very well be required of Yahoo's next chief executive.

In an unusually sharp rebuke, Google (GOOG) is slamming the author of a new report funded by major phone and cable companies, saying he can't be trusted because he's on the industry's payroll. The study, by Scott Cleland of the Precurser Group, claims that Google uses 21 times more internet bandwidth than it pays for, costing taxpayers nearly $7 billion a year.

In a strongly-worded response, Richard Whitt, Google's D.C.-based telecom policy point man, attacked Cleland's credibility, saying because he is paid by the industry, "most people here in Washington take his commentary with a heavy dose of salt."

Newsflash: The feds think Google (GOOG) has a monopoly over search advertising. (Ya' think?)

So it's a good thing Google ditched its controversial ad partnership with Yahoo (YHOO), because the search juggernaut was just three hours away from being sued by the Justice Department, according to the ace antitrust litigator brought on by the feds to investigate the deal.

It's no secret that former AOL chief executive Jonathan Miller wants a crack at running Yahoo (YHOO), the beleaguered Web giant. He was set to join the company's board a few months ago as part of Carl Icahn's slate, before Time Warner (TWX) nixed the idea, citing a non-compete clause in Miller's contract.

Miller is so confident that he can turn Yahoo around that he's out raising money from sovereign wealth funds and other investors in hopes of actually buying the company outright and taking it private, according to the Wall Street Journal. Miller currently runs venture capital shop Velocity Interactive Group.

How long before Elevation Partners seeks higher ground?

Palm's (PALM) market cap now stands at slightly over $200 million after the company's stock plunged 10 percent following an ominous earnings warning Monday after the stock market closed.

Sam Gustin writes: During Jerry Yang's 18-month tenure as chief executive of Yahoo (YHOO), no one ever doubted his love for the company. "All of you know that I have always, and will always bleed purple," Yang wrote in a letter to employees Monday announcing that he will step down.

But in Silicon Valley, as in the rest of corporate America, love is not enough, even coming from the visionary founder of one of the web's most recognizable names. Execution must follow. And that is where Jerry Yang failed.

Gawker Media overlord Nick Denton has driven the final nail into the coffin of loved/hated Silicon Valley gossip website Valleywag, folding the site into Gawker.com.

Valleywag editor Owen Thomas, a veteran tech scribe, will become a columnist for Gawker.com. In addition, Denton has put Consumerist.com, the company's Consumer Reports-for-the-snarky-set, up for sale.

Now that Microsoft (MSFT) has apparently moved on from Yahoo (YHOO), the software giant is looking for new avenues to attack Google (GOOG), its arch-enemy. The latest battlefront is mobile search, and the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft is close to securing a major strategic beachhead.

If consummated, the deal would represent a 180-degree about-face for Verizon Wireless (VZ), which just three months ago was said to be close to handing Google the right to become the default search provider on Verizon Wireless phones.

Big Brother Google (GOOG) is watching you...sneeze.

The search juggernaut is launching a new tracking tool - in conjunction with the Centers For Disease Control - to identify influenza outbreaks by location much more rapidly than existing methods, the company says.

With all eyes focused on the U.S. presidential election, another vote took place yesterday that has been closely watched in the tech world.

In a big victory for Google (GOOG) and public interest groups, the Federal Communications Commission yesterday approved a plan to open up unused television bandwidth -- known as "white spaces" -- for a national broadband network.

Now that Yahoo (YHOO) and Google (GOOG) have significantly scaled back the parameters of their controversial search ad pact in a bid to win regulatory approval, it's worth asking: What's the point?

In their quest to win approval, the two companies risk denuding the agreement so much that its loses its potency to materially change Yahoo's fortunes. In its reduced form, the deal doesn't come close to addressing the fundamental issues of management and strategy that have been haunting Yahoo.

The controversial Google (GOOG) - Yahoo (YHOO) search ad deal may fall apart, on its own.

After meetings with the Justice Department Thursday, both companies are considering walking away from the deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Gimme digital.

Talent manager Irving Azoff's blockbuster takeover of Ticketmaster as C.E.O. has rocked the recording industry. But where's his digital music strategy?

If the tech world were the animal kingdom, this week's earnings results from Yahoo (YHOO) and Microsoft (MSFT) would show that the former is a wounded animal, while the latter remains a robust, healthy specimen.

According to the law of the jungle, the strong eat the weak. The only question is, when will Microsoft go in for the kill?

It's come to this - when Yahoo (YHOO) slashes 10 percent of its workforce and sees profits slide 64 percent, Wall Street is happy because it could have been so much worse.

As expected, the troubled internet giant announced plans to slash at least 1,400 jobs as it acknowledged that the deteriorating economy is taking a toll on its business (Read Yang's memo to employees here.)

It's been a rough year for Yahoo (YHOO).

For several months, the company fended off Microsoft's (MSFT) attempts to buy it. But with Yahoo's share price trading at under $13, many think chief executive Jerry Yang made a colossal error by not accepting Microsoft's $33 per share bid.

Who needs specifics when you blow out Wall Street expectations in the midst of a financial crisis and recession?

Defying an online advertising slowdown and a weakening economy, Google (GOOG) reported strong third-quarter earnings, beating Wall Street's expectations and sending the company's shares up nearly ten percent in after-hours trading. [Read the transcript of Google's earnings call.]