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AP Technology NewsBrief at 1:51 p.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) First Look: New Xbox elegant, but much unknownREDMOND, Wash. (AP) _ Will gamers want One After four years of development, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One entertainment console and touted it as an all-in-one solution for playing games, watching TV and doing everything in between. Microsoft wants the Xbox One to be central to your living room, so it packed the new Xbox with such features as the ability to change TV channels through voice commands. The new consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and SonyNEW YORK (AP) _ Microsoft is the last of the three big video game console makers to unveil its latest gaming system. The unveiling comes nearly eight years after the Xbox 360 went on sale. It follows last fall's debut of Nintendo's Wii U and a preview in February of the upcoming PlayStation 4 from Sony. Each machine has a set of features designed to draw gamers away from rival consoles. There's one thing all three have in common, though: They are about more than gaming and include entertainment services such as television, movies and music. Apple case seen as possible spur to tax actionWASHINGTON (AP) _ Now that tech darling Apple Inc. has been dragged front and center into the debate over the U.S. tax code, lawmakers are hoping that the spotlight on such a high-profile company could be the catalyst for Congress to take action to close loopholes or reform the law. At a hearing Tuesday, members of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations grilled Apple CEO Tim Cook over allegations that the company's Irish subsidiaries help it avoid billions in U.S. taxes. It was a moment of high drama, a CEO of the world's most valuable company testifying before Congress for the first time ever. Cook did so voluntarily. And he parried the volley of questions from senators, insisting that the company's overseas operations have nothing to do with reducing Apple's U.S. taxes. Clearwire board approves higher Sprint offerBELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) _ Clearwire wants to accept a richer buyout offer made by Sprint this week and is recommending that shareholders vote in favor of it. Sprint upped its bid by 14 percent to $2.5 billion Tuesday for the wireless data network operator. Sony mulls hedge fund's entertainment sale ideaTOKYO (AP) _ Sony's CEO Kazuo Hirai says the electronics giant's board will discuss a proposal by U.S. hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb to spin off up to 20 percent of its movie, TV and music division. Hirai was asked about the proposal at a corporate strategy presentation Wednesday. He did not give a timetable for a decision, and would not give his own opinion about the suggestion raised by Loeb, who is CEO of hedge fund Third Point LLC. Restaurant learns online reviews can make or breakSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) _ It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet. An Arizona restaurateur, fed up after years of negative online reviews and an embarrassing appearance on a reality television show, allegedly posted a social media rant laced with salty language and angry, uppercase letters that quickly went viral last week, to the delight of people who love a good Internet meltdown. Microsoft touts Xbox One as all-in-1 entertainmentREDMOND, Wash. (AP) _ Microsoft thinks it has the one. The company unveiled the Xbox One, an entertainment console that wants to be the one system households will need for games, television, movies, sports and other entertainment. It will go on sale later this year, for an undisclosed price. Should we let wunderkinds drop out of high school NEW YORK (AP) _ It's one thing to say tech geniuses don't need degrees. After all, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg all dropped out of college. But now we've got David Karp, who doesn't even have a high school diploma. Karp, 26, founded Tumblr, the online blogging forum, and sold it to Yahoo for $1.1 billion. Poll: Teens migrating to TwitterWASHINGTON (AP) _ Twitter is booming as a social media destination for teenagers who complain about too many adults and too much drama on Facebook, according to a new study published Tuesday about online behavior. It said teens are sharing more personal information about themselves even as they try to protect their online reputations. Teens told researchers there were too many adults on Facebook and too much sharing of teenage angst and inane details like what a friend ate for dinner. Sprint to listen to Dish offerOVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) _ Wireless company Sprint Nextel Corp. says it can now let Dish Network Corp. see its books and talk with Dish to see whether its competing offer to buy Sprint is better than its current deal with Japan's SoftBank. Sprint said late Monday that SoftBank had waived provisions of its deal with Sprint that will allow Sprint to talk with Dish. (c) 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |