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AP Technology NewsBrief at 11:56 a.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Court: Calif. can't ban violent video game salesWASHINGTON (AP) _ The Supreme Court on Monday refused to let California regulate the sale or rental of violent video games to children, saying governments do not have the power to "restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed" despite complaints about graphic violence. On a 7-2 vote, the high court upheld a federal appeals court decision to throw out the state's ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Sacramento had ruled that the law violated minors' rights under the First Amendment, and the high court agreed. Supreme Court to review warrantless GPS trackingWASHINGTON (AP) _ The Supreme Court will weigh in on an important privacy issue for the digital age: whether the police need a warrant before using a global positioning system device to track a suspect's movements. The justices said Monday they will hear the Obama administration's appeal of a court ruling that favored a criminal defendant. The federal appeals court in Washington overturned a criminal conviction because the police had no warrant for the GPS device they secretly installed on a man's car. Teenage UK hacking suspect released on bailLONDON (AP) _ A teenager accused of attacking a string of U.K.-based websites has been released on bail. Nineteen-year-old Ryan Cleary was released Monday on condition that he obey a curfew, wear an electronic tag and only leave the house accompanied by one of his parents. LulzSec member says group is 'bored'NEW YORK (AP) _ A member of a publicity-seeking hacker group that sabotaged websites over the past two months and is dissolving itself says his group isn't disbanding under pressure from the FBI or enemy hackers. "We're not quitting because we're afraid of law enforcement," the LulzSec member said in a conversation with The Associated Press over the Internet voice program Skype. "The press are getting bored of us, and we're getting bored of us." Pope may go online to launch Vatican news portalVATICAN CITY (AP) _ The Vatican, whose communications problems are no secret, is taking a leap into the world of new media with the launch next week of a news information portal that Pope Benedict XVI himself may put online with a papal click. Vatican officials said Saturday that Benedict has been following the development of the portal, which will for the first time aggregate information from the Vatican's various print, online, radio and television media in a one-stop-shop for Holy See news. FTC's antitrust inquiry turns up heat on GoogleSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google may be entering a make-or-break phase in its colorful history now that U.S. regulators have opened an investigation into whether the company has been abusing its dominance of Internet search and advertising to stifle competition. The probe by the Federal Trade Commission, confirmed by the company Friday, will require Google to convince regulators that its closely guarded recipe for search results is designed to give people the best recommendations, not bury links to its rivals. AP EXCLUSIVE: Power grid change may disrupt clocksWASHINGTON (AP) _ A yearlong experiment with the nation's electric grid could mess up traffic lights, security systems and some computers _ and make plug-in clocks and appliances like programmable coffeemakers run up to 20 minutes fast. "A lot of people are going to have things break and they're not going to know why," said Demetrios Matsakis, head of the time service department at the U.S. Naval Observatory, one of two official timekeeping agencies in the federal government. Ariz. state police checking computers after attackPHOENIX (AP) _ State police said Friday that they are checking the security of the agency's computer system after an attack by hackers and they are investigating to determine the extent of the infiltration. The Lulz Security hacking collective claimed on Thursday that it successfully accessed the Arizona Department of Public Safety computer system and took data including sensitive case files and the phone numbers and addresses of some officers. AP source: KKR, Silver Lake near deal on Go DaddySAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Go Daddy, the domain-name registration company known for its racy Super Bowl ads, is close to being bought by two private investment firms for up to $2.5 billion, according to a person close to the deal. A deal is expected by Tuesday, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the transaction hasn't been publicly announced. Pa. robot institute attracts presidential visitPITTSBURGH (AP) _ Need help defusing a bomb, mowing a lawn or scraping old paint? President Barack Obama saw robots that can do those tasks on Friday when he visited the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University. It's one of eight research centers at the school's Robotics Institute. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |