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AP Technology NewsBrief at 3:07 a.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Coming soon to the Internet: The .whatever addressSINGAPORE (AP) _ A quarter-century after the creation of ".com," the agency that assigns Internet addresses is loosening its rules and allowing suffixes named after brands, hobbies, political causes and just about anything else. Under guidelines approved Monday, Apple could register addresses ending in ".ipad," Citi and Chase could share ".bank" and environmental groups could go after ".eco." Japan could have ".com" in Japanese. Nokia to launch Microsoft platform phones in 2011SINGAPORE (AP) _ Finnish handset maker Nokia Corp. plans to introduce its first mobile phones using the Microsoft Windows operating system this year, the company's chief executive said Tuesday. Nokia is facing steep competition from competitors in several products. At the top end of the market it is struggling against smartphones such as Apple's iPhone, Research in Motion's Blackberry as well as Android, and on the lower end against emerging market phone makers who are dropping their prices. Wireless network outlines plans to protect GPSWASHINGTON (AP) _ LightSquared, a Virginia-based company that plans to build a nationwide wireless broadband network, is proposing to adapt its network so as not to interfere with GPS systems. The company plans to move some of its operations to a different slice of airwaves and to transmit signals at lower power levels to ensure that its network would not interfere with GPS systems that rely on nearby wireless spectrum. Hackers claim attack on FBI partner in Conn.HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ Hackers who claimed responsibility for online attacks of Sony Corp. and the CIA said they compromised the security of more than 1,000 accounts of a Connecticut-based FBI partner organization, hours before releasing a web manifesto calling for "war" on governments that control the Internet. The online collective Lulz Security said it attacked a local section of InfraGard, a partnership between the FBI and the private sector to share security information. Connecticut InfraGard's website was down Monday afternoon. British Library, Google in deal to digitize booksLONDON (AP) _ A treatise on a stuffed hippopotamus, an 18th-century English primer for Danish sailors and a description of the first engine-driven submarine are among 250,000 books to be made available online in a deal between Google and the British Library. The agreement, announced Monday, will let Internet users read, search, download and copy thousands of texts published between 1700 and 1870. Obama to personally tweet from Twitter accountMINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ President Barack Obama is taking a more active role on Twitter, 140 characters at a time. Obama's campaign said in a posting on its website Friday that Obama will tweet regularly from the popular social media service and his personal tweets will be signed "-BO." The campaign said it will now manage both Obama's Twitter account and Facebook page. Games company Sega becomes latest hacking victimLONDON (AP) _ Video game developer Sega says it has been hacked, making it the latest in a string of games companies to be attacked. The company sent an email to users of the Sega Pass system on Friday to warn them that email addresses, dates of birth and encrypted passwords had been stolen from online database. FTC lets Microsoft proceed with purchase of SkypeThe Federal Trade Commission is letting software giant Microsoft Corp. proceed with its largest deal ever, an $8.5 billion bid for web chat and call service Skype. The FTC announced Friday that it had finished its review of the buyout so it can proceed if the Department of Justice also approves. Both agencies must review any deal worth more than $65.2 million, according to the FTC's website. Put a cork in the Internet bubble talk _ for nowSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ It's starting to feel like a 1999 flashback. Internet companies _ some of them profitable, some not _ sense a golden opportunity and are lining up to go public this year. But here's something to keep in mind as the latest case of Internet fever grips Wall Street: It's still nowhere close to the giddy days of the dot-com boom, when investors bought stocks as impulsively as lottery tickets. Technology stocks today are the cheapest in more than nine years, at least judging by one benchmark for appraising companies. Beyond '.com,' names for Antarctica, Urdu and moreUnless you're a Luddite, you're bound to know of ".com," the Internet's most common address suffix. You've also probably heard of ".gov," for U.S. government sites, and ".edu," for educational institutions. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |