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AP Technology NewsBrief at 6:51 p.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Apple's squeeze hits phone companies, competitorsNEW YORK (AP) _ Apple is set to report another record quarterly profit on Tuesday, continuing the relentless string of results that's made it the world's most valuable company. Those profits don't come out of thin air: A range of businesses _from the company's wireless carrier friends to its PC-making foes_ are seeing their profits melt away and flow to Apple's bottom line. Apple's success is good for the U.S. economy, and some businesses, like software developers and memory-chip makers, have benefited from the disruption Apple is causing. But its enormous gains have resulted in others' pains, sometimes in unexpected places. Netflix's 1Q top forecasts, stock still plummetsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Netflix's comeback from a customer backlash accelerated during the first quarter, but the recovery wasn't impressive enough to ease more pressing concerns about the Internet video subscription service's ability to cope with tougher competition. Wall Street's worries about the challenges facing Netflix Inc. crystallized Monday with the release of the company's first-quarter results and forecast for the upcoming months. Facebook reports lower 1Q net incomeNEW YORK (AP) _ Facebook's first-quarter net income fell 12 percent, weighed down by higher expenses even as its revenue soared, the social networking company said Monday, just a few weeks ahead of its expected initial public offering in May. Facebook Inc. said in a regulatory filing that its net income fell to $205 million in the three months that ended March 31, from $233 million a year earlier. Microsoft sells AOL patents on to FacebookNEW YORK (AP) _ Microsoft, which just bought patents from AOL for $1 billion, is now turning around and selling most of them to Facebook for $550 million. Facebook is buying about 650 of the 925 AOL patents and patent applications that Microsoft bought, Microsoft and Facebook said Monday. Chinese court seeking to mediate iPad disputeSHANGHAI (AP) _ A Chinese court is mediating between Apple Inc. and the Chinese company challenging its right to use the iPad trademark, seeking to get the companies to settle an awkward standoff over the issue. The Guangdong High Court in southern China, is seeking to arrange a settlement, said Ma Dongxiao, a lawyer for Proview Electronics Co. The court on Feb. 29 began hearing Apple's appeal of lower court ruling that favored Proview in the trademark dispute. Google's 1Q lobbying bill more than triples to $5MSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google's U.S. lobbying bill more than tripled to $5 million during the first three months of the year amid increased government scrutiny of the Internet search leader's business and privacy practices. The first-quarter expenses for political persuasion are by far the highest that Google Inc. has rung up for any three-month period since the company opened a lobbying office in Washington seven years ago. At the same time last year, Google spent $1.48 million trying to make its points with U.S. lawmakers and regulators. Report: Iran unplugs oil facilities from InternetTEHRAN, Iran (AP) _ The Iranian oil ministry's computer network came under attack from hackers and a computer virus, prompting the Islamic Republic to disconnect the country's main oil export terminal from the Internet as a preventative measure, a semiofficial news agency reported on Monday. Mehr said the Sunday cyberattack affected some data, but the ministry had backed it up. It said oil operations were otherwise unaffected. Adobe to launch new software suite for designersNEW YORK (AP) _ Adobe is launching the latest version of its software package for designers and Web developers. Adobe Systems Inc. unveiled Creative Suite 6 on Monday at an event in San Francisco. CS6 includes Photoshop, Illustrator and other programs. A divided Congress confronts a rising cyberthreatWASHINGTON (AP) _ The mysterious caller claimed to be from Microsoft and offered step-by-step instructions to repair damage from a software virus. The electric power companies weren't falling for it. The caller, who was never traced or identified, helpfully instructed the companies to enable specific features in their computers that actually would have created a trapdoor in their networks. That vulnerability would have allowed hackers to shut down a plant and thrown thousands of customers into the dark. Ahead of the Bell: Netflix to unveil 1Q resultsLOS GATOS, Calif. (AP) _ Investors will be focusing on how many customers Netflix has been adding and how much money the company has been losing when the video subscription service releases its first-quarter results. The numbers, due out after the stock market closes Monday, will provide the latest gauge on how well Netflix is recovering from a jarring customer backlash as it deals with steadily rising Internet video licensing fees on top of the costs for an international expansion. (c) 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |