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AP-AM Prep-Cyber Corner(Canadian Press Broadcast Wire (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) MORNINGPREP-MORNINGPREP-MORNINGPREP-MORNINGPREP ! CYBER CORNER ! IN THE NEWS: FACEBOOK ACQUISITION OF WHATSAPP STUDIED SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ It happens to anyone who makes a major purchase _ be it a big house, luxury car or bigger-than-big screen TV: questions about whether you paid too much and whether what you bought was worth what you shelled out for it. Facebook is facing some of those questions in the wake of its big-ticket purchase of WhatsApp. The $19 billion price tag has shocked the technology industry _ in part because the app is isn't as well known in the U.S. as it is overseas _ where it has been expanding at a faster pace than Facebook itself. Benedict Evans is a former cellphone analyst who is now with a venture capital firm. He calls the move a ``go big or go home'' move by Facebook. If the app expands at its current rate, the $19 billion paid by Facebook will seem like chump change. But if WhatsApp fails to live up to expectations, it could be the industry equivalent of the neighbours standing in small circles near your home _ wondering if you had lost your mind when you spent all that money. IN THE NEWS: U.S. ZELLO BLOCKED IN PERU LIMA, Peru (AP) _ These days, anti-government protests are often organized online _ and fueled by the use of sites that let people get in touch instantly _ and mobilize quickly. And when the government at the target of those protests find that out, they often try to shut down the offending app. A U.S. company whose app has been used by protesters in Venezuela says is app has been blocked. Zello is a ``walkie-talkie'' app that allows push-to-talk ease of communication. And Zello says it has been blocked by the country's state-run telecom company. The app is so popular, Zello says it was downloaded more than 150,000 times in just one day this week. Zello has also been popular with protesters in Ukraine, as well as in Egypt and Turkey. ON THE WEB: PRESIDENTIAL TRASH TALK ON TWITTER CYBERSPACE (AP) _ When you make a bar bet on a sporting event with your buddies, usually no one knows about it except you and your buddy and maybe the bartender who overhears the conversation. That's why it's cool to be a world leader; when they make a bet, it makes news. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is crowing that he can't wait to get his hands on the brewskies President Barack Obama promised him if Canada's women's hockey team beat the American team _ which they did. Both leaders announced the friendly wager on Twitter. Because the Canadian women won, Harper will get a case of beer brewed at the White House using honey from the beehive on the South Lawn of the executive mansion. Obama will look to break even in today's match between the U.S. and Canadian men's team for a chance to win a gold medal. A second case of beer is riding on that one. Online: Twitter site: http://www.twitter.com IN STORES: T-MOBILE MODIFIES JUMP PROGAM NEW YORK (AP) _ It's a leap forward for T-Mobile's Jump program. The wireless carrier will now let people in the program upgrade their phones anytime. T-Mobile rolled out the Jump program last year. Participants pay $10 a month for the chance to upgrade before fulling paying off their previous phones. To get the new unit, the customer must give up the old one. There had been a six-month waiting period before the first upgrade and a limit of two upgrades per year. But starting Sunday, the waiting period and the upgrade limit both go away. There's a catch, though: customers must have paid at least half of the phone's costs before turning it in. If customers churn through phones quickly, they'll have to cough up extra payments before moving on to another unit. Online: T-Mobile site: http://www.tmobile.com by Oscar Wells Gabriel II Oscar Gabriel can be reached at ogabriel(at)ap.org. (The Associated Press) (c) 2014 The Canadian Press |