Microsoft is making its Xbox Music streaming service available for free on the Web — even to those who don't use Windows 8.

The expansion beyond Windows 8 devices and Xbox game consoles starting Monday is intended to bring new customers into the software giant's ecosystem of devices and services and could help it compete with other digital music offerings like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes. It's also an acknowledgement that the music service hasn't done much to drive sales of the Windows 8 operating system.

When it comes to hyping next-generation hardware, the video game industry doesn't typically opt for simplicity. However, during a presentation at the GameStop Expo in Las Vegas to promote the upcoming Xbox One console last week, a no-frills, old-school approach is exactly what Microsoft employed when confronted with a convention room full of passionate gamers.

There were no flashy videos, sensational demonstrations or celebrity appearances. Instead, Xbox Live programming director Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb candidly took questions on stage from the crowd for 30 uninterrupted minutes, a refreshing reprieve considering the backlash Microsoft has continued to endure since unveiling the Xbox One in May.

China's biggest mobile carrier looks set to sell Apple's iPhone, hugely increasing the California-based company's distribution in the world's largest smartphone market, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Apple is preparing to ship iPhones to China Mobile, in a successful conclusion to years of negotiations with the Chinese wireless giant which has some 700 million subscribers, the Journal reported on its website.

Samsung is giving its latest Galaxy Note smartphone a stylish makeover.

The Galaxy Note 3 has a soft, leather-like back. It feels like you're holding a fancy leather-bound journal. Grooves on the side of the big-screen phone make it easier to grip.

Google's attorneys say their long-running practice of electronically scanning the contents of people's Gmail accounts to help sell ads is legal, and have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to stop the practice.

In a federal court hearing Thursday in San Jose, Google argued that "all users of email must necessarily expect that their emails will be subject to automated processing."

Visitors to Orlando often try new things while on vacation: thrilling roller coasters, luxury hotels, different cuisines.

Now they can try out a fully electric car — and not have to pay for gas during their vacation.

A San Francisco startup said Wednesday it has indexed all public Twitter posts dating back to the first 'tweet' ever fired off seven years ago.

Topsy is making the compendium of tweets available to marketers, businesses and others to "extract meaningful signals from the social media noise."

South Korean electronics giant Samsung on Wednesday unveiled its hotly anticipated smartwatch the Galaxy Gear, which allows users to make calls, receive texts and emails and take photos.

JK Shin, head of Samsung's mobile division, predicted the Galaxy Gear -- effectively a mobile you wear on your wrist -- would become "a new fashion icon through the world" as he launched the device at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin.

Amid growing fears about online surveillance and data theft, Americans are increasingly taking steps to remove or mask their digital footprints on the Internet, a study showed Thursday.

The Pew Research Center report said 86 percent of U.S. Internet users have taken some steps to avoid online surveillance by other people or organizations.

Yahoo late Wednesday updated its logo with slimmer letters but kept the trademark purple color and exclamation point.

"We wanted a logo that stayed true to our roots (whimsical, purple, with an exclamation point) yet embraced the evolution of our products," Yahoo chief marketing officer Kathy Savitt said in a Tumblr blog post.