Technology Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) , Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest contract chip manufacturer, reported an 18 percent jump in first quarter profit as increased global sales of smartphones and tablet computers boosted demand for sophisticated processors.

DETROIT (AP) , General Motors Co. says the new diesel version of the Chevrolet Cruze gets 46 miles per gallon on the highway, making it more efficient than some hybrids. GM announced the U.S. EPA's fuel economy numbers for the diesel Cruze Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) , Online professional networking service LinkedIn is dressing up its mobile application to impress people who are increasingly scrolling through content on smartphones. The changes being unveiled Thursday mark LinkedIn Corp.'s first major overhaul of its mobile app in 20 months.

The bombs that made Boston look like a combat zone have also brought battlefield medicine to their civilian victims. A decade of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has sharpened skills and scalpels, leading to dramatic advances that are now being used to treat the 13 amputees and nearly a dozen other patients still fighting to keep damaged limbs after Monday's attack.

LAS VEGAS (AP) , In a windowless conference room in a Las Vegas casino, about three dozen people are swishing their fingers across iPads, trying out test versions of new apps and screening for glitches. But these are no Silicon Valley techies in town for one of the city's massive electronics shows.

NEW YORK (AP) , Microsoft is offering enhanced security for its email, storage and other services. People who turn on the new feature will be asked not just for a username and password, but also a second piece of information, such as a temporary code sent as a text message to a phone on file. Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. already allow two-step verification as an option.

MARSEILLE, France (AP) , The computer records were scrubbed, inspectors said there was no mention of industrial silicone in quality-control documents, and an employee at the factory in southern France said they were instructed not to ask too many questions about the breast implants sold worldwide.

LOS ANGELES (AP) , The princess-rescuing adventurer Link is coming to the Nintendo 3DS. The Japanese gaming giant announced plans Wednesday to bring a new "The Legend of Zelda" installment to its hand-held gaming system.

LONDON (AP) , One of the leading U.S. civil-rights organizations is taking on an unusual cause: spotty smartphone updates. The American Civil Liberties Union is asking the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to investigate what it considers a failure by U.S. wireless carriers to properly update the Google-built operating system used on Android phones.

NEW YORK (AP) , Google's mail and application services were unavailable to some users Wednesday morning. The company said it was investigating the problems, but didn't know their cause. It didn't say how many people were affected. The disruptions started affecting people worldwide around 8 a.m. Eastern time but appeared to be resolved by midday.

Americans are rushing to donate to victims of Monday's Boston Marathon bombings, but watchdog groups say watch out: The dozens of websites that just registered domains related to the attack may be fake charity sites seeking to profit from the tragedy.

DALLAS (AP) , A computer system used to run many daily operations at American Airlines failed Tuesday, forcing the nation's third-largest carrier to ground all flights across the United States for several hours and stranding thousands of frustrated passengers at airports and on planes.

NEW YORK (AP) , Intel Corp., the world's largest maker of chips for PCs, is remaining steadfast amid a drastic slowdown in computer sales. Intel on Tuesday said it's keeping its sales and margin forecasts for this year, even as first-quarter PC sales plunged 14 percent from a year ago, as measured by research firm IDC. The company is helped by rising shipments of chips for servers.

NEW YORK (AP) , Dish Network's combative chairman, Charlie Ergen, on Tuesday defended his $25.5 billion bid for Sprint Nextel, saying the debt load the deal would create for the combined company will be manageable. "We will take on more leverage than we have today," Ergen said in an interview with the Associated Press. "But it's not excessive.

Dell Inc. and Carl Icahn have agreed to cap his stake in the personal computer maker while a special board committee considers competing takeover bids from the billionaire investor, a group led by CEO Michael Dell and buyout specialist Blackstone Group.