SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Longer-lasting batteries are crucial for a new crop of wearable computers whose rise may upend Apple (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Google’s (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) dominance of mobile devices, two of the field’s pioneers say.

Wearable devices – from bracelets that monitor physical activity and sleeping patterns to clothing with built-in sensors and Web-ready glasses – may mark the next big technology shift, just as smartphones evolved from personal computers.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 12 (Reuters) – Facebook Inc, the
world’s No. 1 social network, is adopting the “hashtag,” one of
the most recognizable features of its younger rival Twitter, in
a move to position its Web service as an important complement to
television, sporting events and breaking news.

Facebook said on Wednesday that it will begin to roll out
the feature on its social network, making it easier for users
and advertisers to find hot spots of user activity around
specific events or topics.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg faced a barrage of questions on Tuesday about the company’s slumping stock price during the No. 1 social networking company’s first shareholder meeting since its rocky initial public offering last May.

Zuckerberg, who has presided over a 37 percent decline in the stock since its debut at $38, said he believed Facebook was on the right path toward long-term success, even though he was disappointed with its performance on Wall Street.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc is finalizing a deal to acquire online mapping company Waze for $1.3 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The deal is expected to be announced this week, though it was unlikely to occur on Monday, another source told Reuters.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook, which once seemed poised to take over the Internet, is showing its limitations: a host of newer services are gaining ground among trend-setting youth; a much-hyped smartphone app has received a tepid response; and grand ambitions such as taking on Google in the search business seem ever more fanciful.

In a volatile Internet industry where companies can rise and fall almost overnight, one might even say that the nine-year-old Facebook Inc (FB.O: Quote, Profile, Research) is suffering a mid-life crisis.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc is eliminating various types of advertisements on its website in an effort to simplify a system that it acknowledged was confusing marketers.

The world’s No. 1 social network, which is seeking to revive revenue growth, will still display ads inside users’ newsfeeds and on the right-hand side of its webpages. But it will sharply reduce the options marketers can choose for those so-called ad units.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook, which once seemed poised to take over the Internet, is showing its limitations: a host of newer services are gaining ground among trend-setting youth; a much-hyped smartphone app has received a tepid response; and grand ambitions such as taking on Google in the search business seem ever more fanciful.

In a volatile Internet industry where companies can rise and fall almost overnight, one might even say that the nine-year-old Facebook Inc is suffering a mid-life crisis.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 5 (Reuters) – Facebook, which once
seemed poised to take over the Internet, is showing its
limitations: a host of newer services are gaining ground among
trend-setting youth; a much-hyped smartphone app has received a
tepid response; and grand ambitions such as taking on Google in
the search business seem ever more fanciful.

In a volatile Internet industry where companies can rise and
fall almost overnight, one might even say that the nine-year-old
Facebook Inc is suffering a mid-life crisis.

, May 28 (Reuters) – Apple Inc
Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Tuesday he expects the
iPhone and iPad maker would be responsible for “several more
gamechangers” and that wearable computers could be the next big
thing.

“It’s an area where it’s ripe for exploration,” Cook told an
All Things Digital conference, an annual gathering of technology
and media executives in the California coastal resort town of
Rancho Palos Verdes.

LOS ANGELES/ SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – When “The Internship,” a comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, hits movie theaters on June 7, Google will be taking more than a little interest in how the film is received.

In an unusual collaboration, the Internet giant was closely involved with the film, a $58 million Fox production which features two middle-aged watch salesmen who are determined to get a job at Google.