The Confetti Machine Returns to Nasdaq

Jeff Jordan, center, chief executive of OpenTable, rings the NASDAQ Opening Bell in May.

The recent flurry of start-up acquisitions could signal an economic recovery for Silicon Valley, as I recently wrote about. But is a real recovery possible without the return of initial public offerings?

Probably not. But the I.P.O. landscape is looking better, too, says Robert Greifeld, the chief executive of Nasdaq OMX, the exchange where most technology companies go public.

“There have been more fits and starts, and we have clearly seen a dramatic increase in I.P.O. activity,” Mr. Greifeld said. “It’s been a healthy couple months.”

So healthy, in fact, that

Bing Adds Features, Including Results from Wolfram Alpha

Like the ringing sound it is supposed to evoke, Bing has resonated with many users and advertisers. Microsoft’s new search engine, first introduced in May, has made modest but steady gains in market share against Google and Yahoo.

Microsoft is now moving quickly to try to cement and, perhaps, enhance those gains with a string of small innovations.

On

Does Silicon Valley’s Spending Spree Signal a Recovery?

This week brought acquisitions of three high-profile technology startups, a welcome break in the gloom that has enveloped Silicon Valley for the past year.

On Monday, Google agreed to buy AdMob, a mobile advertising startup backed by Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners, for $750 million. Electronic Arts agreed to buy Playfish, an online games startup backed by Index Ventures and Accel Partners, for $300 million. On Tuesday, Logitech agreed to buy LifeSize, a videoconferencing startup backed by Redpoint Ventures, Austin Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners, for $405 million.

“There’s a lot of pent-up

A Few Additions to Enhance Bits

We know you love Bits, but we also know The The New York Times is not your only source of technology news.

So as part of our continuing effort to share with you some of the best technology reporting done by others, we have introduced a couple of new features.

Intel Sells Its Own Reader for the Health Care Market

Intel’s push into the health care arena has the company going some unusual places.

On Tuesday, the chip maker unveiled the Intel Reader, a handheld device for people who struggle to read standard texts because of conditions like dyslexia and blindness. The Intel Reader can scan books and other printed material, turn the text into a digital form and read it aloud. Intel looks to sell the device through resellers like HumanWare and

Electronic Arts Plans to Cut 1,500 Jobs

SAN FRANCISCO — Electronic Arts, the video game company, said it would lay off 1,500 workers and shrink its product lineup, even as it announced that it had acquired Playfish, a start-up that makes online games.

This year has been a difficult one for Electronic Arts and for the game industry as a whole because of the sharp drop in consumer spending. The company, which

Google to Acquire AdMob for $750 Million

SAN FRANCISCO — In a push to expand its digital advertising empire to cellphones, Google has agreed to acquire AdMob, a fast-growing mobile advertising start-up, for $750 million in stock, the companies said Monday.

U.S. and Europe Disagree on Sun-Oracle Deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Oracle’s acquisition of Sun Microsystems would not be anticompetitive and consumers would have a variety of database products from which to choose, the Justice Department’s antitrust division said on Monday, in a statement that disagreed with the position taken by the European Union.

Taiwan Firm Positioned for E-Reader Takeoff

TAIPEI — With the market for electronic book readers set to take off, things are looking up for a little-known Taiwanese company that will probably supply most of the “e-paper” they use.

The company, Prime View International, said this summer that it would pay about $215 million to acquire E-Ink, which owns the technology for displaying text in the most popular readers, including Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader.