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AP Technology NewsBrief at 6:16 p.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Challenge to Groupon's model with trio of dealsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Groupon's online coupons save people cash, but they're not always great deals for merchants. Some businesses complain that bargain hunters rarely return after scoring a cheap meal or massage. A new site called LevelUp believes it has a way for restaurants, nail salons and other local businesses to keep people coming back. To drum up repeat business, the company offers consumers a series of three deals, each better than the one before. APNewsBreak: Visa again blocks funds for WikiLeaksLONDON (AP) _ Visa said Friday it has closed a donation channel to WikiLeaks after a payment processor briefly accepted money transfers to the anti-secrecy site. Visa and MasterCard were two of several financial and Internet service companies that severed ties to WikiLeaks following its disclosure of thousands of confidential U.S. documents. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims the 7-month-long blockade has cost his online group millions. Security holes discovered in iPhones, iPadsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ A new security hole has opened up in Apple Inc.'s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices, raising alarms about the susceptibility of some of the world's hottest tech gadgets to hacker attacks. Flaws in the software running those devices came to light after a German security agency warned that criminals could use them to steal confidential data off the devices. Apple, the world's largest technology company by market value, said Thursday that it is working on a fix that will be distributed in an upcoming software upgrade. NYC judge asked to throw out border search lawsuitNEW YORK (AP) _ A federal judge in New York City is questioning why laptops and smartphones should be excluded from random searches done by U.S. customs agents protecting the border. Judge Edward Korman heard arguments Friday in Brooklyn on a lawsuit brought against the Department of Homeland Security by Pascal Abidor. Ex-Cameron aide arrested in UK hacking scandalLONDON (AP) _ Prime Minister David Cameron's former communications chief and an ex-royal reporter were arrested Friday in a phone hacking and police corruption scandal that has already toppled a major tabloid and rattled the cozy relationship between British politicians and the powerful Murdoch media empire. The 168-year-old muckraking tabloid News of the World was shut down Thursday after being engulfed by allegations its journalists paid police for information and hacked into the phone messages of celebrities, young murder victims and even the grieving families of dead soldiers. Its last publication day is Sunday. Cuba reports 16 percent online in some capacityHAVANA (AP) _ About 16 percent of Cubans are online in some capacity with access to email, the island's intranet or the worldwide Web, a government agency says. Cuba's National Statistics Office said in a report posted online this week that nearly 1.8 million of the country's 11.2 million residents used some kind of "Internet service" in 2010, a 12 percent increase from 1.6 million the previous year. Alert system to notify consumers of online piracyWASHINGTON (AP) _ Hollywood studios, recording labels, artists and Internet service providers have created a program to alert Internet subscribers when their accounts are used to access movies, songs and other content that entertainment companies consider unauthorized. The new "copyright alerts" system is intended to educate consumers about online piracy by sending up to six electronic messages notifying subscribers when their accounts are used to download or share such content. Internet service providers would send the alerts to a subscriber after receiving a notice from a copyright holder. EBay to buy mobile payments company Zong for $240MSAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ EBay Inc. is buying mobile payments provider Zong for about $240 million in cash so it can extend the reach of its PayPal online payments service. The online auctioneer said Thursday that Zong will help strengthen PayPal's position in the mobile payments and digital goods markets. Voicemail spying shows phone network weak spotsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ The voicemail tampering scandal engulfing Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid demonstrates not only the vulnerability of phone networks, but also the fallibility of the people who help maintain them. The British tabloid is accused of breaking into voicemail accounts of various celebrities and dignitaries _and even crime victims and their families_ in a relentless hunt for scoops. End near for endless data use on smartphonesSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ When Verizon Wireless kills off its unlimited data plan for new smartphone customers on Thursday, it will mark another blow for endless Web surfing and video streaming. The move by the nation's largest wireless carrier has long been anticipated. More people are switching to smartphones and using an increasing amount of data for all manner of wireless activities. The shift could help wireless carriers ensure that they can handle the traffic flowing over the new higher-speed "4G," or fourth-generation, data networks they're rolling out. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |