[ TECH BRIEFS ]

Online retail sales jump

Sales at U.S. Internet retailers jumped 36 percent last week aspeople used faster online connections to shop for holiday items onThanksgiving Day at Web sites. Sales of gifts and other non-travelitems rose to $1.66 billion in the week ended Nov. 28, according toComScore Networks Inc., a Reston, Va.-based Web research company.Month-to-date online sales rose 24 percent, in line with ComScore'sforecast for the holiday season.

BridgePort signs 1st client

BridgePort Networks, the Chicago Voice over Internet Protocolsoftware developer, said Wednesday that Bell Canada is its firstcustomer. The Toronto-based company will be working in the first …