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AP Technology NewsBrief at 8:37 a.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Fox News apologizes for Twitter account hackingNEW YORK (AP) _ Fox News says its political Twitter account was hacked and apologizes for any distress caused by tweets reporting President Barack Obama's assassination. A series of six tweets coming from the FoxNewsPolitics account early Monday reported that Obama had been shot to death in Iowa and the shooter was unknown. Radiohead ventures into Chinese social mediaHONG KONG (AP) _ Radiohead has taken a tentative step into censored Chinese cyberspace, even though the British rock band has been critical of China's human rights record. Radiohead recently launched a page on the "weibo" site of leading Chinese Internet portal Sina.com. "Weibo," which translates as "microblog," is the Chinese-equivalent of Twitter. Police in Belarus use tear gas to disperse protestMINSK, Belarus (AP) _ Police used tear gas to break up an anti-government protest in Belarus and forcefully detained dozens of demonstrators Sunday in the capital. The authoritarian government had tried to thwart the protest by blocking access to Facebook, Twitter and a major Russian social networking site used by the organizers. The government also deployed thousands of police and secret service agents in central Minsk as an additional deterrent. Havana's small community of Twitterati meets IRLHAVANA (AP) _ A few dozen members of Cuba's small but growing Twitter community have met in real space for the first time. They got to put unfamiliar faces with familiar user names, and they commiserated about the woeful Internet access on an island that has the second-worst Web connectivity rate in the world. Gathering at a downtown Havana pavilion Friday, Cuba's Twitterati wrote their online handles on name tags emblazoned with the Cuban flag and the hash tag used to organize the event, TwittHab. One by one they introduced themselves, told of their history with social media and compared numbers of followers. Go Daddy, an Internet domain registrar, is soldSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ The parent company of GoDaddy.com, a top registrar of Internet domain names, has been sold to a group of private investment firms for $2.25 billion, a person familiar with the transaction told The Associated Press. Go Daddy Group Inc.'s sale to KKR, Silver Lake and Technology Crossover Ventures comes as the company expects to top $1.1 billion in revenue this year because expanding Internet use has fueled the creation of more websites and the "domains" needed to help find them. Go Daddy announced the sale late Friday. A person close to the transaction, who asked to remain anonymous because of not being authorized to speak publicly, told the AP the sale price. AP Source: Google among firms looking to buy HuluLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Search giant Google Inc. is one of about a dozen companies involved in talks to potentially buy online video site Hulu, a person familiar with the matter said Friday. As the owner of YouTube, it would be a strategic buy for the Silicon Valley technology company, which has had a rocky relationship with Hulu's Hollywood owners. Hulu has begun presenting its financial information to many prospective bidders, but it's too early to declare a front-runner, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential. 'FarmVille' creator Zynga to go publicLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Zynga, the online game maker behind "FarmVille" and other popular Facebook pastimes, is going public, the latest in a crop of high-valued Internet IPOs expected after LinkedIn Corp. showed that the online networking craze is a hot commodity on Wall Street. Zynga Inc. hopes to raise up to $1 billion in an initial public offering that follows LinkedIn's sizzling stock market debut last month. The amount of money Zynga is seeking in its IPO will likely change as its bankers determine how many shares should be sold and at what price. That process typically takes three to four months. Talent show mulled for Timberlake's MyspaceLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Justin Timberlake's longtime manager Johnny Wright said Friday that a talent show or some other way of developing new artists will be core to the revamp of Myspace. The kernel of an idea is what has emerged from a frenzied two weeks of deal-making that brought the former `N Sync pop star into a partnership with new buyers of the ailing website. Review: Sites break down neighborhood traitsLOS ANGELES (AP) _ If you find a home on the market that has the right look, amenities and price, you're still only halfway there. That's because a neighborhood is often as big a consideration as the house itself. Before you buy, you need to know if it's safe. Are the schools nearby any good? Are there parks, shopping centers or public transportation within walking distance? Consortium prevails over Google for Nortel patentsNEW YORK (AP) _ A consortium that includes leading smartphone makers Apple and Research In Motion prevailed over Google this week with a $4.5 billion cash bid for about 6,000 patents and patent applications from bankrupt telecom-equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp. The group offered about five times more than Google's initial bid of $900 million. Phones running Google's Android system compete with Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry devices. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |