LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - Blatant disregard for oncoming traffic and speed limits will get you into serious trouble on the road, but drivers seeking similar thrills can indulge in a fleet of new racing video games due out soon.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The sudden takedown of an Internet provider thought to be helping spread one of the most promiscuous pieces of malicious software out there appears to have cut off criminals from potentially millions of personal computers under their control….

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A global Internet oversight agency is reopening discussions about whether to create a “.xxx” domain name as an online red-light district where porn sites can set up shop away from the wandering eyes of children and teenagers….

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Last year, Palm thought it had all the pieces for a turnaround in the market it pioneered: A new CEO known for making the iPod a household name, a sleek new smart phone called the Pre and fresh, intuitive operating software….

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sony Corp has unveiled its new motion-controlled video game system, pitching it to both casual and hard-core gamers alike, as the company looks to ride one of the hottest trends in gaming.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Motorola Inc has reached a deal with Microsoft Corp that will put Bing search and mapping services on its phones that use Google’s Android operating system.

ABU DHABI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google expects an outcome soon from its talks with China over a censorship and hacking dispute, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - While James Cameron’s 3D sci-fi epic “Avatar” took the box office by storm instantly, the road to success will be much longer for Best Buy Co Inc, which is making a big bet on 3D televisions this year.

Semtech (SMTC), which makes analog and mixed-signal chips, reported revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter ended January 31 of $85 million, well ahead of the Street at $71.9 million. Non-GAAP EPS was 30 cents, beating the Street at 22 cents.

For Q1, the company sees revenue up 7%-13% sequentially, which implies $91 million to $96 million, ahead of the Street at $79.6 million. SMTC sees profits for the quarter of 27-30 cents non-GAAP, above the Street at 21 cents.

SMTC in late trading is up 80 cents, or 4.6%, to $18.15.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - OnLive is set to launch its “cloud-based” video game service in June, as the closely watched start-up looks to challenge home console heavyweights with the promise of on-demand gaming.

Rovi (ROVI) this afternoon said it plans to sell $400 million of convertible senior notes due 2040 to qualified investors in a Rule 144A offering. The notes would be redeemable on February 29, 2015.

Rovi will use $159.6 million in proceeds to pay down its senior secured credit facility, up to $100 million to repurchase common shares and up to $75 million to buy back 2.625% convertible senior notes due 2011.

ROVI in late trading is unchanged at $37.

In its regularly scheduled mid-quarter update, Novellus (NVLS) this afternoon modestly increased its Q1 guidance. For the quarter, the semiconductor equipment company now sees revenue of $255 million to $270 million, with profits of 37-44 cents a share; NVLS previously had expected $245 million to $270 million, and 35-52 cents. The company expects shipments of $265 million to $285 million, and gross margin of 47%-49%.

NVLS in late trading is up 19 cents, or 0.8%, to $23.50.

CA (CA) this afternoon said it has agreed to buy privately held Nimsoft, a Redwood City, California-based provider of IT performance and monitoring solutions, for $350 million in cash. Most of the company’s roughly 120 employees are expected to remain with the company.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the March quarter.

The company said the deal will have minimal impact on results for the March 2010 fiscal year, but will be dilutive to EPS in FY 2011.

Microsoft (MSFT) Bing and Ask.com (IACI) are both nibbling slightly into the huge market share Google (GOOG) has in the U.S. search market, according to new data from Experian Hitwise.

According to Hitwise:

• Google in February had 70.95% market share, down from 71.49% in January.
• Yahoo (YHOO) was flat at 14.57%.
• Bing had 9.7% share, up from 9.37%.
• Ask.com had 2.84%, up from 2.64%.

ComScore data told a slightly different story: Bing, Google Gain Search Share In Feb.; Yahoo Sinks Again

Radio Shack (RSH) shares are once again trading higher on takeover rumors, according to both Briefing.com and TheFlyOnTheWall.com.

Haven’t seen anything specific today; last time this cropped up, the whispers focused on a potential LBO by Apollo Management.

RSH is up $1.17, or 5.4%, to $22.67.

Micron Technology (MU) shares are trading higher, powered by indications of strong pricing for memory chips. As a pair of analysts pointed out in research notes this morning, increasing DRAM demand for both PCs and servers is driving up prices - and setting the stage for a parts shortage.

• Raymond James analyst Hans Mosesmann notes that Micron execs at the company’s conference in Orlando yesterday indicated that in the latest two week period pricing is up 2% for DDR2 parts, and 5% for DDR3. NAND pricing, in what is normally a seasonally weak part of the year, is stable. He says that PC makers are forecasting average DRAM per box of 3.3 GB for this year, up from 2.8 GB now, and 2.3 GB last year. Combine that with an expected 18% PC unit growth, he says, and you get 69% bit demand growth for 2010, ahead of the 45%-50% growth the Street has been expecting. Meanwhile, he adds, 20% of Micron’s DRAM sales are used in servers, where bit demand growth is running north of 100%. The result of all that, he says, should be higher prices and increasing gross margins.
• JMP Securities analyst Alex Gauna today repeated his Market Outperform rating on MU, and boosted his price target to $15, from $13.50. He also lifted his August 2011 EPS estimate to $1.54, from $1.40. “Notebook and server demand continues to exert an upward bias to DRAM both in terms of expected bit shipments and ASPs,” he writes. And he says Micron has sold out its capacity in retail solid-state drive units. Not least, Guana says that the economics of the company’s acquisition of Numonyx appears more favorable that he originally expected.

MU today is up 41 cents, or 4.4%, to $9.82.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Long ago lapped by Facebook in popularity and with fast-growing Twitter on its tail, MySpace is planning a series of updates over the next months that will link its users’ posts to the other social networking sites more easily and carve out its niche as an entertainment hub more clearly….

NEW YORK (AP) — Panasonic Corp. on Wednesday revealed the price for its first 3-D TV set, confirming that $3,000 is about what it takes to be among the first to watch 3-D movies in the home….

ROME (AP) — Google said Wednesday it will scan up to 1 million old books in national libraries in Rome and Florence, including works by astronomer Galileo Galilei, in what’s being described as the first deal of its kind….

NEW YORK (AP) — In an industry first, a new gaming service will start allowing people to “stream” popular games over the Internet in June, similar to checking Web-based e-mail or listening to music online….