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The Federal Trade Commission may bring its two-year antitrust investigation of Google to a close by allowing the company to make voluntary changes to its search business, according to a report.

The search giant is said to be readying an announcement about changes to its use of "snippets," bits of text culled from sites such as Yelp and TripAdvisor and displayed in search results, Politico reports, citing unnamed sources. Yelp and others had charged Google with using their content without permission.

Google will also make tweaks that will allow for easier porting of search-ad campaigns from Google to … Read more

In 2012, other companies learned what Apple had long ago mastered: How you launch your product matters just as much as the product itself. What's more, instead of unveiling your new creation on a crowded stage like a huge trade show, you can maximize your buzz by staging your own event exactly when and where it suits you.

Samsung showed it had chutzpah when it launched the Galaxy S3 last May in London. A tight clamp on leaks got the tech press salivating early and Samsung broke with tradition by staging a global launch of a flagship device. Then … Read more

The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission is pressuring Google to reach a settlement in its antitrust investigation into the company's competitive practices, according to a new report.

Citing two people familiar with the situation, Bloomberg reported that FTC Chairman Jonathan Leibowitz is pushing Google to make an offer to settle "in the next few days." Otherwise, the agency is expected to file a formal complaint.

According to Bloomberg, the sides have been negotiating for about two weeks. So far, Google has yet to propose a remedy for the agency's concerns. The FTC has been investigating Google … Read more

Technology topics can mark a rare bipartisan area of political agreement: Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama say they would make cybersecurity a priority, and both like to talk up government funding of basic research.

If you look a bit more closely, however, differences emerge. They're perhaps most marked over federal regulation, where the two major parties have long-standing disagreements, but also exist on topics like WikiLeaks, copyright legislation, and whether to levy a new tax on broadband providers.

Keep reading for CNET's 2012 Tech Voters' Guide, in which we highlight where the four candidates -- we've … Read more

I think I might need a support group -- I seem to be hooked on gadget snuff films.

The latest one from my hookup, the device warranty outfit SquareTrade, sees a third-generation iPad, the iPad Mini, and the Google Nexus 7 being methodically abused to see which holds up best.

The real development in this latest in a long series of face-off videos is the use of a new "drop-bot" that helps ensure a more fair drop of each device. In the past, the fate of each tortured device seemed to depend on a randomly determined point of … Read more

The Securities and Exchange Commission earlier today accused Kris Chellam , a former senior executive at Xilinx, of illegally passing along nonpublic information to convicted Galleon hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam.

Galleon used the tip to make approximately $978,684 in illegal profits as a result, according to the government.

In its report, the SEC says that Chellam turned over confidential company information in December 2006 that Rajaratnam used to short Xilinx stock.

The two were described as personal friends. Chellam, who had a "substantial investment in Galleon funds" according to the … Read more

Google is considering a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the agency's claim that the search giant violated antitrust law when it didn't grant patent licenses to some of its mobile competitors, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

An unnamed source told the Journal that Google is weighing whether or not it should settle.

When asked for comment on a possible settlement, a Google spokeswoman said only:

"We take our commitments to license on fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory terms very seriously and are happy to answer any questions [from the FTC]."

CNET has contacted the … Read more