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AP Technology NewsBrief at 10:49 a.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) AOL posts smaller 2Q net loss, ad revenue growsNEW YORK (AP) _ Internet company AOL Inc. said Tuesday that its net loss narrowed in the second quarter even though revenue fell, largely because the results a year ago were weighed down by a huge accounting charge. AOL's advertising revenue grew for the first time since 2008. CEO Tim Armstrong calls it "another meaningful step forward in the comeback of the AOL brand." Verizon workers hit picket lines from Mass. to Va.NEW YORK (AP) _ Striking Verizon landline workers say they laid the foundation for the company's booming wireless business and shouldn't be expected to give up contract benefits just because they work on a less profitable side of the business. But management says the company has to change to stay competitive and the 45,000 landline workers can't expect to be paid the way they were when the phone company was a monopoly. Dish Network 2Q profit rises, subscribers fallNEW YORK (AP) _ More subscribers cancelled satellite TV from Dish Network Corp. than it gained in the latest quarter, which combined with results from competitor DirecTV means the U.S. satellite TV industry lost subscribers for the first time. Dish on Tuesday said lost 135,000 net subscribers, to end June with 14.1 million. It was the second-worst quarter for the Englewood, Colo., company after the loss of 156,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter. China says it was targeted in 500,000 cyberattacksBEIJING (AP) _ Nearly 500,000 cyberattacks were aimed at computers in China last year and almost half originated overseas, the government said Tuesday, following recent suggestions Beijing might be behind long-term security attacks internationally. The vast majority of the attacks a Chinese monitoring agency reported were in the form of Trojan horse malware that installs on computers, allowing them to monitor usage and access personal information. Kids and hackers, oh my! DefCon adds kids trackLAS VEGAS (AP) _ Fewer things seem out of place at the rough-hewn DefCon hacker convention than a swarm of kids. For 18 years, hackers _ and the computer security experts who track them _ have gathered at DefCon, one of the largest and longest-running conferences of its kind, to share information about breaching and securing computers and other devices. Expert: Rural US websites easy target for hackersLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ The digital trove of credit card numbers and emails stolen by the group known as Anonymous came from towns across rural America _ places like Gassville, Ark. and Tishomingo County, Miss., where officers don't usually have to worry about international hackers. That may have made them an easy score. Your smartphone: a new frontier for hackersLAS VEGAS (AP) _ Hackers are out to stymie your smartphone. Last week, security researchers uncovered yet another strain of malicious software aimed at smartphones that run Google's popular Android operating system. The application not only logs details about incoming and outgoing phone calls, it also records those calls. FAA probing News Corp.'s use of dronesLOS ANGELES (AP) _ With the newsgathering techniques of its sister publications in Britain under fire, News Corp. is facing a probe into the use of drones by its U.S.-based digital publication, The Daily. Federal Administration Aviation spokeswoman Laura Brown says her agency is investigating whether The Daily's use of "unmanned aerial systems" violates FAA regulations. Google, Microsoft goes public with patent spatNEW YORK (AP) _ Tech heavyweights Microsoft and Google are acting like a couple of feuding starlets in a public online spat over _ wait for it _ patents. It's not the first time Microsoft and Google have gone at each other's throats, nor is it likely the last. Video rentals top sales for first time since 2000LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Americans spent more money renting home movies than buying them in the second quarter, marking only the second time that's happened in the DVD era. The big switch in consumer behavior shows the rising popularity of cheap alternatives like Netflix and Redbox and suggests people are pinching pennies in this economy. Rental revenue rose 11 percent from a year ago to $2.06 billion, while sales of discs and digital purchases fell 15 percent to $1.93 billion in the three months through June, according to a report released Friday by The Digital Entertainment Group, an industry consortium of studios and electronics makers. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |