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AP Technology NewsBrief at 2:33 p.m. EST(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) A growing PayPal could soon overshadow parent eBaySAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Most people know eBay Inc. for its online marketplace, where deals abound on everything from gadgets to antique furniture. But soon, eBay's biggest business will likely be PayPal, the online payments service that has been growing steadily even as the economy has stumbled. EBay has spent much of the past two years trying to improve its faltering marketplace business, hoping to increase buyers' trust and clean up the look of its Web site. In the meantime, PayPal has thrived as more consumers and merchants use it to send money online. Microsoft lays off 800 more workers worldwideREDMOND, Wash. (AP) _ Microsoft Corp. says it is cutting 800 more jobs. That's in addition to the 5,000 layoffs it announced in January. Lou Gellos, a Microsoft spokesman, said Wednesday the cuts are being made in offices around the globe. He would not say what specific product groups or job types are affected. NY joins the antitrust effort against IntelNEW YORK (AP) _ New York's attorney general hit Intel Corp. with an antitrust lawsuit Wednesday, claiming the company used "illegal threats and collusion" to dominate the market for computer microprocessors. Following a similar case in Europe, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo claimed that the world's biggest computer chip maker paid billions of dollars in kickbacks to computer manufacturers and retaliated against those that did too much business with Intel's competitors, namely Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Study: Internet use leads to more diverse networksNEW YORK (AP) _ A new study confirms what your 130 Facebook friends and scores of Twitter followers may have already told you: The Internet and mobile phones are not linked to social isolation. Online activities such as e-mail, blogging and frequenting Internet hangouts can even lead to larger, more diverse social networks, according to the study released Wednesday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The study refutes research earlier in the decade suggesting that people's growing embrace of technology has come at the expense of close human connections. Google's 3Q lobbying costs eclipse $1 millionSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google Inc.'s quarterly lobbying expenses eclipsed $1 million for the first time during the summer as the company tried to build on its dominance of Internet search and expand into other markets. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company spent nearly $1.1 million trying to influence lawmakers and regulators in the third quarter, a 50 percent increase from the July-September period last year, according to a recent disclosure statement. T-Mobile says phone service outage resolvedNEW YORK (AP) _ Wireless provider T-Mobile USA Inc. says it has cleared up service problems that were interfering with calls and text messaging for about 5 percent of its customers. The company posted a message in its online customer forum saying service was restored by late Tuesday after problems had popped up around 5:30 p.m. EST. Chinese agencies fight for control of Web gameBEIJING (AP) _ Chinese regulators are fighting over the right to oversee "World of Warcraft," a popular online game, in a bizarre battle that has thrust bureaucratic rivalry for control of the Internet into the open. The bureau that licenses publishers said this week the game's Chinese operator failed to obtain required import approval and should stop signing up customers. Its rival, the Ministry of Culture's cultural products department, fired back that it was the regulator of online games and said the Web site's paperwork was in order. Apple's partner sells 5,000 iPhones in China debutBEIJING (AP) _ Apple Inc.'s local partner has sold 5,000 iPhones since the smart phone's formal weekend debut in China, a lackluster start after analysts warned the company might be setting prices too high. China Unicom Ltd. chairman Lu Yimin told shareholders Tuesday in Hong Kong that iPhone sales had "passed 5,000" as of that day, said Zhang Xinnian, director of investor relations for the company's Hong Kong arm. Microsoft redesigns MSN, adds Twitter, FacebookBELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) _ Microsoft Corp. is giving its MSN Web portal a long-overdue makeover and says it hopes the new site will funnel more people to Bing, the software maker's search engine. Microsoft is ditching the heavy blue background and stack of tiny text and menus across the top of the page that have defined msn.com for a decade. AT&T sues Verizon in Ga. over 'map for that' adsATLANTA (AP) _ AT&T Inc. is suing Verizon Wireless over its competitor's "There's a Map for That" commercials, saying in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that the ads are misleading and amount to deceptive trade practices. AT&T filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and is asking for a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction to stop the ads. The company requests an immediate hearing and said AT&T has "suffered and continues to suffer irreparable harm" as a result of the commercials. (c) 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |