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AP Technology NewsBrief at 2:40 p.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nasdaq sets aside $40M for Facebook investorsNEW YORK (AP) _ The Nasdaq stock exchange said Wednesday that it plans to hand out $40 million in cash and credit to reimburse investment firms that got ensnared by technical problems with trading Facebook stock. FINRA, the financial industry's self-regulatory group, will review claims for compensation. Review: Facebook Camera complements main appNEW YORK (AP) _ Facebook's new camera app makes sharing photos on the social media site a breeze. It's an improvement on posting photos using its main mobile app. But other camera apps such as Instagram and Hipstamatic still reign supreme. Facebook Camera doesn't have the same level of addictiveness or the range of tools for sprucing up images. LinkedIn investigating reports of stolen passwordsLONDON (AP) _ Business social network LinkedIn said it is investigating reports that more than six million passwords have been stolen and leaked onto the Internet. Although LinkedIn did not confirm if any user data had been hacked or leaked, researchers at U.K. Web security company Sophos say they have confirmed that a file posted online does contain, in part, LinkedIn passwords "hashes." That's a way of encrypting or storing passwords in a different form. Google touts maps amid reports of Apple setbackSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google's digital mapping service is preparing to introduce offline access on mobile devices and more three-dimensional images of major cities as it braces for a possible loss in traffic from Apple's iPhone and iPad. Wednesday's preview of the upcoming features came ahead of an Apple developer conference next week. Published reports say Apple Inc. is planning to use that forum to announce that it is dropping Google's maps as a built-in option on its mobile platform and switching to its own, internally developed navigation service. Google adds warning of 'state-sponsored attacks'BEIJING (AP) _ Google said Wednesday that it has added a feature to warn users whose accounts it believes are targets of "state-sponsored attacks," but the Internet giant did not cite a specific government. Google Inc., however, closed its search engine in China in 2010 after saying it no longer wanted to cooperate with Beijing's Internet censorship following hacking attacks traced to China. Words too hard? Zynga has new 'With Friends' gameNEW YORK (AP) _ There's no spelling required in Zynga's latest mobile game, "Matching With Friends." For those who play the popular, Scrabble-inspired game "Words With Friends," the latest title should feel familiar. Instead of using letters to form into words, though, players get groups of colorful blocks that they must match with blocks of the same color. Eyes on to mobile as video game expo starts in LANEW YORK (AP) _ Games for smartphones, tablet computers and Facebook are becoming essential for major video game companies even as the industry's largest U.S. trade show remains largely a showcase for their latest flashy console titles. The Electronic Entertainment Expo conference kicked off in Los Angeles on Tuesday amid a startling reality for the industry: Revenue from traditional video games is on the decline, despite more people playing games than ever. Few surprises for gamers at E3LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Looking across the waves of sweaty, passionate gamers during the flashy press conferences and detailed demonstrations at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, there's been very few wide eyes, gasps or dropped jaws. Sure, a "woo-hoo" has been yelled here and a "yay" screamed there, but the reactions have been far more subdued than in previous years. At the annual extravaganza, which continues through Thursday, publishers and developers simply haven't delivered very many I-can't-believe-they-just-announced-that moments that folks who usually attend this trade show have come to expect over the past 17 years. Ultimately, it's been E3 as expected, which has made this year's surprises all the more shocking: IOC to offer YouTube coverage in 64 countriesLAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) _ The IOC will provide live coverage of the London Olympics to 64 countries in Asia and Africa on YouTube. The International Olympic Committee says it will live stream 2,200 hours of coverage on its YouTube channel. Google buys maker of Quickoffice mobile appSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google is escalating its rivalry with Microsoft with the purchase of Quickoffice, the maker of a widely used mobile application for working on documents created in Microsoft's programs for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. The deal announced Tuesday gives Google Inc. a new weapon to foil Microsoft Corp. as more people get work done on smartphones and tablet computers. Quickoffice makes those devices compatible with Microsoft Office even if the software suite isn't installed on them. (c) 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |