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AP Technology NewsBrief at 5:24 a.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Czechs ban Google from expanding 'Street View'PRAGUE (AP) _ Authorities in the Czech Republic have banned Google Inc. from continuing in its mapping feature "Street View" in the eastern European country. The Czech Office for Personal Data Protection says Google has not been granted a necessary registration for the activity. Spokeswoman Hana Stepankova declined to give details Tuesday. The office plans to speak about the case next week. Chattanooga utility offering fast Internet serviceCHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) _ Chattanooga's city-owned electrical utility has started offering an Internet service that is among the fastest in the world, and it is hoping the move will attract businesses looking to relocate. The Chattanooga Electric Power Board's new Fiber Optics network will provide a 1 gigabit-per-second Internet service. The utility said the service is more than 200 times faster than the average national download speed today. Attack on SC prison guard renews phone-jam debateCOLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ South Carolina authorities who have helped push for permission to block cell phone signals inside prisons say an officer in charge of keeping out contraband was nearly killed at his home _ in an attack planned with a smuggled phone. Corrections Department Capt. Robert Johnson was getting ready to go to work at Lee Correctional Institution about 50 miles east of Columbia one day last March. Around 5:30 a.m., a man broke down the front door of Johnson's mobile home, shooting the 15-year prison veteran six times in the chest and stomach. Wal-Mart introduces wireless plan under own brandNEW YORK (AP) _ Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday that it is introducing the first cell phone plan that uses the chain's own branding, further demonstrating its clout in getting special deals from wireless carriers. The Wal-Mart Family Mobile service will run on T-Mobile USA's network. Unlimited calling and texting will cost $45 per month for the first line and $25 for each additional line for the family. The service will be offered starting next week in most of its stores across the nation. US widens probe of HP bribery allegationsNEW YORK (AP) _ U.S. investigators have widened their probe of alleged kickbacks paid to Russian authorities by employees of a Hewlett-Packard Co. subsidiary in Germany. Authorities in Russia, Germany and the U.S. have been looking into alleged bribes totaling $11 million paid to secure a $44.5 million contract that ran from 2001 until 2006. Intel chief: content-shifting key for chip-makersSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ The semiconductor industry hasn't fully cracked the challenge of making chips that help people move content seamlessly between their devices, Intel Corp. CEO Paul Otellini said Monday. That capability will be critical because there are 5 billion devices connected to the Internet, and that number will rise, Otellini said during a keynote at Intel's annual developer conference. Long expected, YouTube wades into live streamingNEW YORK (AP) _ YouTube is making its long expected foray into live streaming by launching an experimental trial with four new media partners. The new live streaming platform will be previewed in a two-day trial beginning Monday, but is expected to later grow considerably across the Google Inc.-owned website. FCC to open up vacant TV airwaves for broadbandWASHINGTON (AP) _ A new flavor of Wi-Fi, with longer range and wall-piercing power, could show up in wireless gadgets a year from now if the Federal Communications Commission works out the last details of new spectrum rules that have been long in the making. Nearly two years ago, the FCC voted to open up the airwaves between broadcast TV channels _ so-called "white spaces" _ for wireless broadband connections that would work like Wi-Fi on steroids. But wrangling over key technical details, including concerns about interference with TV signals and wireless microphones, has prevented exploitation of these spaces. Hewlett-Packard buying ArcSight for $1.5 billionNEW YORK (AP) _ Hewlett-Packard Co. wants to have the answer to all of its customers' technology problems. So it is buying network-security provider ArcSight Inc. to help them respond to the growing threat posed by hackers, computer viruses and digital fraud. The $1.5 billion deal announced Monday extends HP's recent spate of acquisitions and could help signal that even after ousting CEO Mark Hurd, it hasn't lost its footing in the effort to win fatter profit margins beyond the personal-computer business. Appeals court ruling threatens used software salesSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ A federal appeals court has sided with the computer software industry in its effort to squelch sales of second-hand programs covered by widely used licensing agreements. Friday's ruling by the 9th Circuit of Appeals raised worries that it will embolden music labels, movie studios and book publishers to circumvent the so-called "first-sale" doctrine in an attempt to boost their sagging sales. (c) 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |