Microsoft sees future in Windows 8 amid iPad rise
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Microsoft is scrambling to preserve what’s left of its kingdom. Since the company released its Windows operating system in 1985, most of the sequels have been variations on the same theme. Not that it mattered much. Regardless of the software’s quality, Microsoft managed to remain at the center … Read more
Study: We’re getting less friendly on Facebook
By BARBARA ORTUTAY CHICAGO (AP) – Whether it’s pruning friends lists, removing unwanted comments or restricting access to their profiles, Americans are getting more privacy-savvy on social networks, a new report found. The report released Friday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that people are managing their privacy settings and their online … Read more
Judge awards iPhone user $850 in throttling case
By GREG RISLING and PETER SVENSSON SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) – When AT&T started slowing down the data service for his iPhone, Matt Spaccarelli, an unemployed truck driver and student, took the country’s largest telecommunications company to small claims court. And won. His award: $850. Pro-tem Judge Russell Nadel found in favor of Spaccarelli in … Read more
A wild online ride hits the digital piracy wall
By Nick Perry WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – On his way up, he fooled them all: judges, journalists, investors and companies. Then the man who renamed himself Kim Dotcom finally did it. With an outsized ego and an eye for get-rich schemes, he parlayed his modest computing skills into an empire, becoming the fabulously wealthy … Read more
Youth shaping future of online TV, movies, music
By MARTHA IRVINE CHICAGO (AP) – Young people want their music, TV and movies now – even if it means they get these things illegally. A recent Columbia University survey found, in fact, that 70 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds said they had bought, copied or downloaded unauthorized music, TV shows or movies, compared with … Read more
Startup sends live local TV to the iPhone
By PETER SVENSSON NEW YORK (AP) – A startup backed by media billionaire Barry Diller has launched a service that sends live local TV feeds to iPhones and iPads. But the service may be short-lived, since TV stations are likely to challenge its right to use their broadcasts. The service, Aereo, launched in New York … Read more
Taiwan’s Foxconn raises wages for Chinese workers
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group said Saturday that it has raised wages by up to 25 percent in the second major salary hike in less than two years, as the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer comes under intensive scrutiny after a spate of suicides. Foxconn employs about 1 million workers at its … Read more
Comcast subscribers almost stop cancelling cable
By PETER SVENSSON NEW YORK (AP) – It’s become the routine in the cable industry that subscribers stream out the door every quarter, hanging up on cable in favor of service from satellite or phone companies. But in the October to December quarter, Comcast Corp. nearly managed to stop that flow. The country’s largest cable … Read more
US, EU clear Google’s $12.5B Motorola Mobility bid
By GABRIELE STEINHAUSER and MICHAEL LIEDTKE SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Google’s $12.5 billion bid to buy cellphone maker Motorola Mobility has won approvals from U.S. and European antitrust regulators, moving Google a major step closer to completing the biggest deal in its 13-year history. Monday’s blessings mean Google Inc. just needs to clear regulatory hurdles … Read more
AT&T customers surprised by ‘unlimited data’ limit
By PETER SVENSSON NEW YORK (AP) – Mike Trang likes to use his iPhone 4 as a GPS device, helping him get around in his job. Now and then, his younger cousins get ahold of it, and play some YouTube videos and games. But in the past few weeks, there has been none of that, … Read more
