Apple cuts copy protection and prices on iTunes

By Ben Margot (AP)

Apple Inc.'s final appearance at the Macworld trade show has opened with a focus on new software for Mac computers.

In place of the traditional keynote from CEO Steve Jobs, a top marketing executive, Philip Schiller, showed off improvements in Apple's movie, music and photo software at the annual gathering of Apple devotees.

For instance, iPhoto '09 can recognize faces and sort photos based on who's in them. GarageBand '09 includes videotaped, interactive music lessons given by Sting and other musicians.

Jobs used to make Macworld the site for some of Apple's biggest...

By (AP)

Apple founder Steve Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer whose gaunt appearance in the past year has alarmed the Mac and iPod lovers who look to him as an oracle, said Monday he has an easily treated hormone imbalance and will remain in charge of the company.

The news sent Apple stock up more than 4 percent on a down day for much of the market. But Jobs did not say whether the problem was related to the cancer, and some analysts said the health watch may not be over.

The CEO's health is an important issue for any company, but especially for Apple, where Jobs has presided...

By (AP)

The recession figures to tone down the flashiness of this week's International Consumer Electronics Show, but the lineup of innovative products likely will measure up to those of past years.

The CES product list still looks intriguing partly because startups haven't yet been hit as hard by this downturn as they were when the Internet boom collapsed in 2000. And bigger companies haven't yet had time to adjust to consumers' belt-tightening.

But most of all, competition in consumer electronics is still fierce, and innovation counts. Name-brand manufacturers still need to differ...

By Jae C. Hong (AP)

The International Consumer Electronics Show, the largest trade show in the U.S., opens this week in Las Vegas with a full slate of giant TVs and inventive gadgets, despite the pall of a recession hanging over the industry.

The economic downturn will temper the normally dizzying extravaganza, and some attendees are wondering if the whole technology trade show business is past its peak.

"I'm talking to the companies who are sending people, and they're sending two instead of 10," said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey. "It's going to be a shadow of itself."

Las...

By Kelli Roman (AP)

Web-savvy moms who breast-feed are irate that social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace restrict photos of nursing babies. The disputes reveal how the sites' community policing techniques sometimes struggle to keep up with the booming number and diversity of their members.

Facebook began as a site just for college kids, but now it is an online home for 140 million people from all over the world. Among the new faces of Facebook are women like Kelli Roman, 23, who last year posted a photo of herself nursing one of her two children.

One day, she logged on to find the...

By (AP)

If kids are playing video games, why not do some good while they're at it?

Elf Island, a virtual world created by Atlanta-based Good Egg Studios, ties online games to charity construction in the real world. The more "virtual" homes the kids build by completing mini-mazes, the more real homes that are built by Habitat for Humanity.

Liz Kronenberger, who founded the company with her husband, Craig, said they started the site to promote positive social values online.

"We're really giving kids the proper motivation and the right tools to empower them to make a difference ...

By (AP)

As a New Yorker, I don't own a car, and I really hate driving.

So I challenged myself to avoid the driver's seat as much as possible during a recent West Coast trip, something made practical with all the online transit planners that have cropped up in recent years.

In the old days, I'd have to track down bus schedules and maps on paper to figure out where to go. I'd have to manually determine which transfers to take and where. Even if I did, I'd worry about catching a bus in the wrong direction.

The car usually won out, as my hatred of driving was far less severe than...

By Andy Wong (AP)

China is starting a long-delayed introduction of third-generation mobile phone service, setting off a politically charged scramble by foreign and Chinese equipment makers for up to $41 billion in orders.

Chinese sales could be crucial for suppliers such as Motorola Inc., Alcatel-Lucent SA and Nokia-Siemens Networks as global demand slumps. State media say the largest Chinese carrier, China Mobile, expects to sign up 100 million 3G subscribers _ more than most nations' entire mobile markets _ in the next three years.

But how much business the international equipment makers can...

By (AP)

A model targeted by negative commentary by an anonymous blogger is seeking a court order that would force Google to reveal who the person or people responsible are.

Liskula Cohen, in her filing in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, said the commentary on her hygiene and sexual habits on the site was defamatory, malicious and false.

The posts were on a blog hosted by Google's Blogger.com. Google did not immediately return a call and email seeking comment.

By (AP)

Alabama officials have selected a Cincinnati company for a $1.7 million two-year contract to make Internet broadband service available in all areas of the southern state.

Currently, dial-up Internet access is available using telephone lines in most parts of the state, but the service is slow and sometimes unreliable.

Gov. Bob Riley said Monday his broadband project will make high-speed Internet access with cables or wireless connections available even in rural areas. He said customers will still have to buy Internet access from providers like cable television or phone...

By (AP)

Logitech International SA, a maker of mice, webcams and other computer peripherals, said Monday it is cutting its salaried work force by 15 percent in response to weak consumer demand amid what it expects to be an extended global downturn.

Switzerland-based Logitech, which also has offices in Fremont, has about 3,500 salaried employees in a total work force of about 9,000.

The company also withdrew its previous fiscal 2009 forecasts for sales growth of 6 to 8 percent and operating income growth of 3 to 5 percent. It did not provide revised targets and said it plans to update...

By (AP)

The president of a New Mexico internet and telephone provider says he fears his company has lost its customers' trust after Qwest Communications disconnected its service last week.

The state Public Regulation Commission ordered Denver-based Qwest to restore service to customers of SkyWi Inc., an independently owned and operated Internet service provider.

Qwest disconnected about 10,000 customers over a $1.7 million debt it says is owed by SkyWi.

SkyWi president Jack Leach says some of his customers switched to different providers after losing their connection last...

By (AP)

Many teenagers cleaned up their MySpace profiles, deleting mentions of sex and booze and boosting privacy settings, if they got a single cautionary e-mail from a busybody named "Dr. Meg."

The e-mail was sent by Dr. Megan Moreno, lead researcher of a study of lower-income kids that she says shows how parents and other adults can encourage safer Internet use.

Her message read in part: "You seemed to be quite open about sexual issues or other behaviors such as drinking or smoking. Are you sure that's a good idea? ... You might consider revising your page to better protect your ...

By (AP)

A Virginia company that specializes in nuclear technology services has completed its acquisition of Tennessee-based Nuclear Fuel Services Inc. for an undisclosed price, the companies announced Monday.

A subsidiary of Lynchburg-based Babcock & Wilcox Co. has acquired the 793-employee NFS facility in Erwin, about 120 miles northeast of Knoxville. The deal combines the only commercial enterprises in the country licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to manufacture, possess and store highly enriched uranium.

Privately held Nuclear Fuel Services had been looking for a buyer...

By (AP)

Here is the letter that Apple CEO Steve Jobs released Monday morning to address questions about his health.

___

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I'm getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil (Schiller, an Apple executive), deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I've decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that...

By (AP)

A Lynchburg-based company that specializes in technology services in the nuclear field has acquired a Tennessee-based nuclear fuel provider.

Officials from The Babcock & Wilcox Company say one of its subsidiaries has completed the acquisition of Nuclear Fuel Services. The company says the move enhances its position to provide nuclear manufacturing and services for government and commercial markets.

Lynchburg-based Babcock & Wilcox employs more than 20,000 people worldwide.

Erwin, Tenn.-based Nuclear Fuel Services operates a fuel production facility to support the U.S....

By (AP)

NAME _ Steven Paul Jobs.

AGE _ 53. Born Feb. 24, 1955.

EDUCATION _ Dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Ore., after one year.

CAREER _ Founded Apple in 1976 with high school friend Steve Wozniak. Resigned in 1985 after scuffle with board. That year, founded Next Inc., which made computers and software for educational institutions. Bought animation company Pixar from George Lucas in 1986 for $10 million. Returned to lead Apple in 1997, remained in charge of Pixar. Sold Pixar to Disney in 2006 in $7.4 billion stock deal. Currently CEO of Apple, member of Disney board...

By (AP)

Netflix Inc. has come up with another way to get movies to people without sending DVDs in the mail.

In a partnership to be announced Monday, LG Electronics will start selling high-definition TV sets that stream Netflix videos directly from the Internet, without an additional device. The deal marks the first time Netflix's streaming service will be embedded in a television.

Netflix, still best known for its online DVD rental service, offers about 12,000 movies and TV shows for instant streaming over the Internet, for no additional cost to subscribers who pay at least $9 per...

By (AP)

The nonprofit foundation that runs Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia of user-contributed articles, said Friday it has met its $6 million fundraising goal for fiscal 2008.

With about six months left in this year's campaign, the Wikimedia Foundation said it has raised $6.2 million. A flood of donations came in after the site's founder, Jimmy Wales, posted an appeal for support in late December.

The foundation said about 50,000 contributors chipped in a total of $2 million in the space of eight days, bringing the total number of donors to more than 125,000.

The...

By (AP)

The Feb. 17 transition from analog to digital television broadcasts looms and as many as 8 million households are still unprepared, but the government program that subsidizes crucial TV converter boxes is about to run out of money.

People who still rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air signals _ whether it is through rabbit-ear aerials on TVs or antennas on the roof _ will see their screens go dark when the changeover happens. To avoid that, those people have to switch to cable or satellite TV, buy a television set with a digital tuner or buy a converter box that can...

By (AP)

Many of Microsoft's Zune media players that froze up on the last day of 2008 because of a glitch involving their internal clock were functioning properly Thursday as the new year was ushered in, according to the company. However, a few people were still complaining of problems operating the devices.

Microsoft spokesman Brian Eskridge said that based on responses from customers and his review of online message forums, affected users of the 30-gigabyte Zune model were not having further problems after fully recharging their devices and powering them on again on Thursday.

"It...

By (AP)

Happy New Year from Microsoft Corp.: Your Zune is dead.

Thousands of Microsoft's Zune media players _ the software company's answer to Apple Inc.'s iPod _ unexpectedly conked out Wednesday and showed users an error message, prompting references to "Y2K for Zunes." The problems appeared when people tried to start up their devices.

Frustrated users lit up Microsoft's online support forum for Zunes with more than 2,500 messages by Wednesday afternoon.

Late Wednesday, the Redmond, Wash.-based company said the outage affected only the 30-gigabyte Zune models and was cause...

By (AP)

The alleged ringleaders of a Chinese counterfeiting gang that sold at least $2 billion worth of bogus Microsoft Corp. software were sentenced Wednesday to prison terms of up to 6 1/2 years, in what is believed to be the harshest penalties yet under China's tightened piracy laws.

The punishments meted out against the 11 defendants, and announced by Microsoft Corp., could help China improve its image as a country that doesn't crack down hard enough on copyright violators, though the technology and entertainment industries still say China has a long way to go. The sentences ranged...