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AP Technology NewsBrief at 9:32 p.m. EST(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Yahoo's fate riding on Yang's successor as CEOSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ With Jerry Yang quitting as Yahoo Inc.'s chief executive, the Internet company's board will confront pivotal questions as it looks for a new leader. Should Yahoo swallow its pride and try to strike a buyout deal with Microsoft Corp. at a price far below Microsoft's $47.5 billion offer from 6 1/2 months ago? Or should Yahoo still pursue a long-awaited turnaround that's becoming more difficult to achieve as the economy tanks? HP shares soar after solid 4Q outlookNEW YORK (AP) _ Hewlett-Packard Co. surprised Wall Street on Tuesday by saying its earnings will be slightly above analysts' expectations, going against the grain as other technology bellwethers have slashed forecasts and posted weak results in the sagging economy. Its shares climbed more than 12 percent in morning trading. Google gives online life to Life mag's photosMOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) _ Google Inc. has opened an online photo gallery that will feature millions of images from Life magazine's archives that have never been seen by the public before. The new service, available at http://images.google.com/hosted/life, debuted Tuesday with about 2 million photos. Eventually, Google plans to scan all 10 million photos from Life's library so they can be viewed on any computer with an Internet connection. Facebook application plan rankles some developersNEW YORK (AP) _ Facebook plans to start charging for verifying applications built for the social network _ an optional process that has upset some developers despite the company's assurances it will bring plenty of positive benefits. Platform program manager Sandra Liu Huang said Tuesday that Facebook opened the verification process to developers on Monday. National Geographic getting into video gamesNEW YORK (AP) _ National Geographic, best known for its yellow-framed magazine and often breathtaking nature shows, is getting into video games. National Geographic Ventures, a unit of the nonprofit National Geographic Society, was set to announce Tuesday it will work with game publishers to turn its material into games for PCs, consoles and handheld devices. Spammers sent packing _ for now _ by Web shutdownSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ E-mailers, enjoy the early holiday gift: Spam volume has been cut by more than half because Internet providers pulled the plug on a Web hosting firm that was allegedly helping some of the world's most dastardly junk e-mail gangs. The break won't last long. Garbage e-mail levels are already swelling again, and are expected to return to normal in a matter of days. Online Money: Save with online book rentalsNEW YORK (AP) _ If you aren't sure which books to give that avid reader on your gift list this holiday season, how about considering every title she could name? BookSwim, an online book rental and delivery service, offers gift subscriptions that can help expand the amount of reading you can give, without running up a big tab or cluttering up someone's home with another stack of books. Spansion sues Samsung over flash memory patentsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Spansion Inc. wants to block U.S. sales of iPods, BlackBerry gadgets and other devices because memory chips made by Samsung Electronics Co. and used in those products allegedly violate Spansion patents. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Spansion, the world's No. 3 maker of flash memory chips by revenue, sued South Korea's Samsung on Monday. Spansion claims more than "100 million mp3 players, cell phones, digital cameras and other consumer electronic devices" are made with Samsung flash memory chips that violate Spansion patents. NY judge tentatively OKs Google copyright dealNEW YORK (AP) _ A judge has tentatively approved a settlement of lawsuits between Google and book authors and publishers that may put millions of out-of-print texts online. The settlement was announced by Google and the publishing industry in October. Final court approval is still needed. Zune could lend Microsoft a rare rhythm infusionSEATTLE (AP) _ A video for the title track on hip-hop veteran Common's forthcoming album, "Universal Mind Control," begins with a digital music player pulsing to the beat. The viewer is pulled through the screen into the gadget's guts, where the cool, collected rapper lets loose an easy stream of lyrics. It takes hitting rewind a few times to notice that the music player isn't one of Apple's slim new iPods. It's a Zune, and it's made by Microsoft Corp. Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |