6. : Intel looks to blunt the prevalence of Microsoft's Windows XP OS in netbooks by releasing Moblin, a Linux OS it designed for affordable laptops. Intel said comparing Windows to Moblin isn't accurate, but did mention that Moblin is optimized to work on netbooks, which are smaller and consume less power than laptops. Moblin is also designed to work well with Atom, the low-power chip that Intel designed which runs most netbooks.

7. : Swine flu may have replaced the Conficker worm as the malady du jour, but the worm is still infecting machines at a robust rate. Symantec researchers estimate that Conficker spreads to 50,000 computers every day, with systems in the U.S., Brazil and India being hit hardest. Researchers said the worm has infected millions of computers across the globe and created the largest botnet network.

8. : A survey of more than 200 information security executives showed that 32 percent face reduced IT security budgets. The same group also revealed that they are less likely to invest in new security technology than they were in 2007, the last time the survey was held. Deloitte, which conducted the poll, said respondents did not reveal the cause for the budget cutbacks, but we suggest the weak economy. Social-networking technology and regulatory concerns ranked as the two main security fears of the sample questioned.

9. : The relationship between Yahoo and Alibaba Group, which runs Yahoo's China operations, has spoiled since Carol Bartz became CEO of the Internet search company, according to a source close to the situation. Bartz distanced herself from Alibaba since taking over Yahoo and avoided Alibaba on a trip to Asia. In March Bartz told Alibaba's CEO that she wanted Yahoo's Chinese brand back, leading the source to speculate that Yahoo, if put up for sale, is less valuable without its Chinese properties. Alibaba executives feel that Bartz has no interest in developing components beyond Yahoo's central operations, the source said.

10. IT heavyweights Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo released their quarterly earnings this week. Their results were, well, less than encouraging with both vendors saying they face challenging sales markets for the remainder of the year. Two tech companies did have successful IPOs (initial public offerings), though, with both stocks pricing higher than expected.