TMCnet News

AP Technology NewsBrief at 6:20 p.m. EST
[December 13, 2012]

AP Technology NewsBrief at 6:20 p.m. EST


(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) NY Times jumps into mini digital book marketLOS ANGELES (AP) _ The New York Times is getting into the business of selling bite-sized digital books based on its reporters' work, giving it entree into a growing market for inexpensive "e-singles" that can be read in a couple of hours. The Times' first mini book will go on sale Monday. It's an 18,000-word piece about skiers caught in an avalanche by Times reporter John Branch. The story, called "Snow Fall," expands on an upcoming piece in Monday's newspaper.



Google Maps return to iPhone with new mobile appSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google Maps has found its way back to the iPhone. The world's most popular online mapping system returned late Wednesday with the release of the Google Maps iPhone app. The release comes nearly three months after Apple Inc. replaced Google Maps as the device's built-in navigation system and inserted its own map software into the latest version of its mobile operating system.

Yahoo adds 1 director as 2 board members exitSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Yahoo is adding a new director and parting ways with two other board members in the latest shake-up of the Internet company's hierarchy. PayPal co-founder Max Levchin joins Yahoo's board while Intuit Inc. CEO Brad Smith and Weather Channel CEO David Kenny step down.


Sprint offers $2.1B for the rest of ClearwireNEW YORK (AP) _ Sprint Nextel has offered to buy out the minority shareholders of Clearwire for $2.1 billion in a deal that would give it total control of the flailing company and also more space on the airwaves for data services. Sprint said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it's offering $2.90 per share for the 49 percent of the wireless network operator that it doesn't already own.

Senate takes step toward banning stalking softwareWASHINGTON (AP) _ A loophole that permits software companies to sell cyberstalking apps that operate secretly on cellphones could soon be closed by Congress. The software is popular among jealous wives or husbands because it can continuously track the whereabouts of a spouse. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday that makes it a crime for companies to make and intentionally operate a stalking app. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., also would curb the appeal for such inexpensive and easy-to-use programs by requiring companies to disclose their existence on a target's phone.

US leads Western snub of UN telecoms treatyDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) _ A disappointed American delegation led a Western snub of a U.N. telecommunications treaty Thursday after rivals, including Iran and China, won support for provisions interpreted as endorsing greater government control of the Internet. The unraveling of the conference displayed the deep ideological divide at the 193-nation gathering in Dubai, where envoys grappled with the first revisions of global telecom codes since 1988 _ years before the dawn of the Internet age.

Apple, e-book publishers, EU find competition dealBRUSSELS (AP) _ The European Union's competition watchdog has accepted proposals by four publishers and Apple to end agreements that set retail prices for e-books _ a practice the EU feared violated competition rules. The decision reached Thursday is legally binding on Hachette Livre; Harper Collins; Simon & Schuster; and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, which owns Macmillan. The deal is also binding on Penguin.

Google, Belgian papers reach accord on copyrightBRUSSELS (AP) _ Google says it has reached an agreement over copyright issues with a group of French-language Belgian newspapers, ending a six-year dispute. In a joint statement Thursday, Google and groups representing the papers and authors announced they had reached agreements to end legal proceedings and instead build business partnerships.

French mobile operators hit with antitrust finesPARIS (AP) _ France's competition watchdog has slapped (EURO)183 million ($239 million) in fines on the country's two top mobile operators for anti-competitive pricing policies between 2005 and 2008. The Autorite de Concurrence said Thursday that Orange and SFR had abused their dominant market positions and hurt the country's number three operator, Bouygues Telecom. Specifically the watchdog cited the policy of offering unlimited calls between subscribers of one network, which it said threw up an unjustified barrier to free competition among operators.

McAfee in Miami after deportation from GuatemalaMIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Anti-virus software founder John McAfee said Thursday that U.S. authorities have made no efforts to question him since he arrived in Miami after weeks of evading Belizean authorities who want to ask him about the death of his neighbor. "Why would they want to question me, about what " a tired-looking but sharply dressed McAfee told a throng of reporters Thursday from the steps of his South Beach hotel. The multimillionaire was characteristically chatty and seemed to enjoy posing for pictures with tourists and signing autographs.

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