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AP Technology NewsBrief at 12:06 a.m. EDT
[April 20, 2009]

AP Technology NewsBrief at 12:06 a.m. EDT


(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Washington, D.C. will be 1st to get free mobile TVWashington will be the first U.S. city to get free digital TV broadcasts for mobile devices like cell phones, laptop computers and in-car entertainment systems, broadcasters were set to announce Monday. Broadcasts using new "mobile DTV" technology are expected to begin in late summer from five stations: local affiliates of CBS, NBC, PBS and Ion and one independent station owned by Fox.



Windows washer: Meet Microsoft's antidote to VistaREDMOND, Wash. (AP) _ Julie Larson-Green hopes you'll like Windows 7. If not, well, now you and a billion other people know whom to blame. Microsoft Corp. is counting on Larson-Green, its head of "Windows Experience," to deliver an operating system that delights the world's PC users as much as its last effort, Vista, disappointed them. She's in charge of a wide swath of the system, from the way buttons and menus work to getting the software out in January as scheduled.

Behind the scenes with Windows 7REDMOND, Wash. (AP) _ To design Windows 7, Microsoft analyzed billions of pieces of data. It studied exactly what PC users do in front of their screens. It tallied hundreds of thousands of Windows surveys. It got feedback from people all over the world who tried different versions of the software. As a result, every change or new feature in Windows 7 comes with a back story. Here is a sampling of things you'll see in the next operating system and explanations of how each came about.


MySpace hopes to turn free songs into needed cashBEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) _ In 2004, when MySpace was still getting going, recording label executive Courtney Holt noticed that musicians were using the Web site to connect more intimately with their fans, through detailed blogs and behind-the-scenes photos. So Holt arranged to meet MySpace's founders. "I remember going into his office when we were very small," said MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe, "when most other companies wouldn't pay attention to us." Conn. pols weigh updates to reflect GPS advancesHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ Addicted to that GPS navigation system? On Connecticut roads, that might make you a lawbreaker. With technology often moving more quickly than bureaucracy, state legislators are updating laws that bar drivers from having video display screens within their line of sight.

MySpace hopes to turn free songs into needed cashBEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) _ In 2004, when MySpace was still getting going, recording label executive Courtney Holt noticed that musicians were using the Web site to connect more intimately with their fans, through detailed blogs and behind-the-scenes photos. So Holt arranged to meet MySpace's founders. "I remember going into his office when we were very small," said MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe, "when most other companies wouldn't pay attention to us." Wanted: Computer hackers ... to help governmentWASHINGTON (AP) _ Wanted: Computer hackers. Federal authorities aren't looking to prosecute them, but to pay them to secure the nation's networks.

Ashton Kutcher wins Twitter battle with CNNNEW YORK (AP) _ For now, Ashton Kutcher is the king of Twitter. But there is a new challenger _ Oprah. Kutcher triumphed over CNN in their much ballyhooed race to be the first to reach a million followers on the microblogging Web site. Kutcher surpassed that benchmark in the early morning hours Friday, narrowly edging out the breaking news feed from the Time Warner Inc.-owned network.

Sweden: hundreds protest Pirate Bay convictionSTOCKHOLM (AP) _ Wearing bandanas and waving Jolly Roger flags, hundreds of supporters of file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay demonstrated on Saturday against a Swedish court's conviction of the Internet site's organizers. The Stockholm district court on Friday sentenced Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij and Carl Lundstrom to one year in prison each for helping millions of Pirate Bay users commit copyright violations of movies, music and computer games.

YouTube boosts full-length movies, TV show lineupLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Google Inc.'s YouTube said Thursday it is vastly expanding its library of full-length movies and TV shows it offers online, while also launching a new advertising service and adding about a dozen new content partners. The long-form videos will be housed on a unique page at www.youtube.com/shows and get a "Shows" tab on the main YouTube site.

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