[April 25, 2008]

AP Technology NewsBrief at 12:34 a.m. EDT

(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Microsoft 2009 outlook rosy, but investors trip on near-termSEATTLE (AP) _ Microsoft Corp. is looking ahead to a strong fiscal 2009, with or without Yahoo. The software maker gave Wall Street a first peek at guidance for next year indicating that strong worldwide sales would overpower hiccups in the U.S. economy that could depress information technology spending.

Yahoo plans makeover with elements of social networkSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Yahoo Inc. plans to make its Web site a social hub by hosting applications from other online services, part of the Internet pioneer's effort to spawn more advertising opportunities. "We are going to rewire the entire experience at Yahoo to make it social in every dimension," Ari Balogh, Yahoo's chief technology officer, said Thursday at a "Web 2.0" conference that drew a crowd of more than 1,000.

Qwest introduces 20 megabit DSL in some areasNEW YORK (AP) _ Qwest Communications International Inc. on Thursday introduced DSL plans with faster download speeds, including one that is the fastest DSL service from a major U.S. phone company. Qwest is charging $104.99 per month for a download speed of 20 megabits per second. For 12 mbps, it is charging $51.99 per month. The prices are $5 lower when combined with local phone service.

Microsoft not ruling out Windows XP extensionLOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE, Belgium (AP) _ Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer offered a glimmer of hope on Thursday to fans of the company's Windows XP operating system, saying the company may reconsider its decision to stop selling it soon. But Ballmer was adamant that most people who buy PCs today buy them with XP's successor, Vista.

Court cuts $200M from royalty judgment against GenentechSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ The California Supreme Court has slashed $200 million from a judgment against Genentech Inc. The South San Francisco-based biotechnology company was ordered to pay $500 million to a Southern California hospital for failing to pay royalties after City of Hope Medical Center helped manufacture some of its drugs.

NextWave shares soar on plans to sell spectrum holdingsNEW YORK (AP) _ NextWave Wireless Inc. is looking to sell its vast holdings of licenses for U.S. airwaves, which are worth billions of dollars and could allow a new market entrant to create a nearly nationwide wireless network. The San Diego-based company said late Wednesday that it had hired Deutsche Bank and UBS to assist in the sale of its spectrum holdings, which cover 85 percent of the U.S. population. That includes major markets like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.

Not all :) as informal writing creeps into teen assignmentsNEW YORK (AP) _ It's nothing to LOL about: Despite best efforts to keep school writing assignments formal, two-thirds of teens admit in a survey that emoticons and other informal styles have crept in. The Pew Internet and American Life Project, in a study released Thursday, also found that teens who keep blogs or use social-networking sites like Facebook or News Corp.'s MySpace have a greater tendency to slip nonstandard elements into assignments.

China reports it's tied US for most Internet usersBEIJING (AP) _ By some measures, China has tied the United States as the online population leader with its government reporting that the number of Internet users there has soared to 221 million. The figure, reported Thursday by the Xinhua News Agency, reflects China's explosive growth in Internet use despite government efforts to block access to material considered subversive or pornographic. It was a 61 percent increase over the 137 million Internet users reported at the start of 2007.

Motorola 1Q loss widens as phone sales fallCHICAGO (AP) _ Struggling cell phone maker Motorola Inc. disappointed investors Thursday when it posted a wider first-quarter loss and failed to meet revenue forecasts. The report sent shares down more than 5 percent, before they rebounded slightly.

Lolcat site hiring; spelling skillz optionalNEW YORK (AP) _ "I can haz dream Job? My rezumez! let me showz u thm" That's the subject line of a cover letter sent by a job applicant to I Can Has Cheezburger, one of the premier sites for so-called Lolcat pictures.

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