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AP Technology NewsBrief at 2:15 p.m. EST
(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Hollywood adds money, talent to made-for-Web showsLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Web sites that buy original video clips often pay so little that "The Bannen Way," a flashy crime thriller debuting online, looked destined to be made poorly if it could be made at all. Yet budding filmmakers Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt managed to hire 40-odd staff, including a boom operator, camerapeople _ yes, more than one _ and even production assistants on hand to offer sunscreen and sandwiches. And the production had actors familiar to some TV and movie audiences, including Michael Ironside, Robert Forster and Vanessa Marcil.
Maine to consider cell phone cancer warningAUGUSTA, Maine (AP) _ A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim. The now-ubiquitous devices carry such warnings in some countries, though no U.S. states require them, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. A similar effort is afoot in San Francisco, where Mayor Gavin Newsom wants his city to be the nation's first to require the warnings.
Web retailers extend shipping deadlinesRetail Web sites have bumped back deadlines and offer free express shipping after weekend snowstorms kept holiday shoppers home in large areas of the East Coast. Meanwhile, some bricks-and-mortar stores are extending early morning bargains that had been offered on Saturday through Wednesday.
Google fined $14,300 a day in France over booksPARIS (AP) _ A Paris court ruled Friday that Google Inc.'s expansion into digital books breaks France's copyright laws, and a judge slapped the Internet search leader with a (EURO)10,000-a-day fine until it stops showing literary snippets. Besides being fined the equivalent of $14,300 for each day in violation, Google was ordered to pay (EURO)300,000 ($430,000) in damages and interest to French publisher La Martiniere, which brought the case on behalf of a group of French publishers.
Many take dim view of new-fangled Christmas lightsNORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ To Steven Walls, it's beginning to look nothing like Christmas, anywhere he goes. While more people make the switch to energy-efficient lights for their holiday decorations, Walls this year insisted on decorating with the old-style, torpedo-shaped Christmas lights his family has put up for years. But it was no easy feat: To replace the half-dozen or so bulbs that burned out last year, Walls had to visit eight stores before he found any.
Panasonic completes Sanyo acquisitionTOKYO (AP) _ Panasonic Corp. said Monday that it had taken majority control of Sanyo Electric Co., officially forming one of the world's largest electronics makers. Panasonic said it had converted preferred shares to give it a 50.27 percent stake in Sanyo. It acquired the shares in a previously announced $4.6 billion tender offer that ended Dec. 9.
Video game watchdog shuts down, victim of economyMINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ David Walsh said when he was assembling his first report card on video game violence 13 years ago, children were attacking on-screen monsters or aliens with imaginary chain saws and guns. "When I saw kids as young as 8, 9 years old literally doing facial contortions as they killed and dismembered people, it was pretty shocking. And I think what happened is a lot of other people got shocked as well," Walsh recalls. "I don't think we want our kids' culture defined by killing, mayhem and dismemberment as entertainment."
Verizon Wireless to FCC: smart phones more costlySAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Verizon Wireless said Friday that it doubled the fees for customers to break service contracts for smart phones because those devices cost much more. Verizon said the difference between what it pays manufacturers for phones and what it charges contract customers is more than twice as large for smart phones as it is for standard cell phones.
Want privacy on Facebook? Here is how to get someNEW YORK (AP) _ Over the past week, Facebook has been nudging its users _ first gently, then firmly _ to review and update their privacy settings. You may have procrastinated by hitting "skip for now," but Facebook eventually took away that button and forced you to update your settings before continuing to use the site.
Tech investing will be a tougher play in 2010BOSTON (AP) _ Mutual funds that bet exclusively on technology stocks are the star performers of 2009. Tech sector funds are up an average 57 percent this year. That's more than twice the increase for the Standard & Poor's 500 index, and puts tech funds atop Morningstar's rankings for 21 U.S. stock fund categories.
(c) 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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