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AP Technology NewsBrief at 11:17 a.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Austrian student takes on Facebook over privacyVIENNA (AP) _ Max Schrems wasn't sure what he would get when he asked Facebook to send him a record of his personal data from three years of using the site. What the 24-year-old Austrian law student didn't expect, though, was 1,222 pages of data on a CD. It included chats he had deleted more than a year ago, "pokes" dating back to 2008, invitations to which he had never responded, let alone attended, and hundreds of other details. In naming female CEO, IBM passes gender milestoneSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ IBM Corp. has passed a milestone, naming the first female CEO in the company's 100-year history. The selection of Virginia "Ginni" Rometty, announced Tuesday, is also a statement about the growing influence of women in the top tiers of business. Although women have made momentous strides, breaking through corporate America's "glass ceiling" over the past half century, a woman's ascendance into the chief executive position of a major corporation still holds significance. Sprint posts smallest quarterly loss in 4 yearsNEW YORK (AP) _ Sprint Nextel Corp. on Wednesday reported its smallest quarterly loss in four years, as it continued a turnaround and kept getting better at keeping and attracting customers. Sprint also provided important updates on the iPhone, its financing needs and planned network upgrades, undoing some of the damage caused by an investor day presentation three weeks ago that had investors fuming and sent its stock plunging. Nokia unveils Windows smartphones to catch rivalsHELSINKI (AP) _ Nokia Corp. on Wednesday launched its long-awaited first Windows cell phones, hoping to claw back market share it has lost in the tough, top-end smartphone race to chief rivals, Apple Inc.'s iPhone, Samsung and Google's Android software. But some analysts say it may be too little, too late, for the world's top mobile phone maker. Corning's 3Q profit rises 3 percentROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) _ Specialty glass maker Corning Inc. said Wednesday its profit rose 3 percent in the third quarter, lifted by surging sales of glass for flat-panel televisions and optical fiber. The results handily beat Wall Street expectations. Its shares rose almost 5 percent in premarket trading. Amazon 3Q net income sinks, missing analyst viewsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Amazon's spending on expansion will eventually help its bottom line, but right now it's costing the online retailer on Wall Street. The Seattle-based company's third-quarter net income fell 73 percent despite revenue growth as Amazon built sales fulfillment centers at a rapid clip. Neither that drop nor its revenue outlook for the current quarter made investors happy. Google faces more government demands for user infoSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google is dealing with more government demands to turn over information about its users as more people immerse themselves online. The mounting pressure on the Internet search leader emerged in a statistical snapshot that Google Inc. released Tuesday of its dealings with authorities around the world. Google provided a country-by-country capsule of its legal sparring with authorities during the first six months of the year. Netflix shares tank amid backlash and defectionsNEW YORK (AP) _ Netflix shares plunged 35 percent Tuesday after the one-time Wall Street favorite revealed a massive departure of subscribers angered by price increases and other questionable changes at the rental service that was created to make entertainment a snap. Netflix revealed late Monday that it ended September with 23.8 million U.S. subscribers. That's down about 800,000 from June and worse than what the company had hinted at before. In September, the company predicted it will lose about 600,000 U.S. customers. Father of artificial intelligence dies in Calif.PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) _ John McCarthy, a pioneer in artificial intelligence technology and creator of the computer programming language often used in that field, has died. He was 84. Stanford University, where McCarthy was a professor for four decades, announced McCarthy's death Monday. The school said he died at his Palo Alto home but did not provide a cause. Flaming Lips to give musical tribute to Steve JobsNEW YORK (AP) _ Steve Jobs helped transform the way music is consumed, and now he's getting a musical tribute. Rockers the Flaming Lips will honor the late Apple co-founder by performing a cover of the Beatles' "Revolution" at the O Music Awards 2 on Oct. 31. The performance will be recorded with an iPad and broadcast on OMusicAwards.com, MTV announced Tuesday. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |