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AP Technology NewsBrief at 5:14 p.m. EDT
(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Facebook plans to simplify privacy settingsNEW YORK (AP) _ Facebook is overhauling its privacy controls over the next several weeks in an attempt to simplify its users' ability to control who sees the information they share on the site. Privacy has been a central, often thorny issue for Facebook because so many people use it to share personal information with their friends and family and beyond. But as the 5-year-old social networking service has expanded its user base and added features, its privacy controls have grown increasingly complicated.
Sony struggling as Walkman hits 30th anniversaryTOKYO (AP) _ When the Sony Walkman went on sale 30 years ago, it was shown off by a skateboarder to illustrate how the portable cassette-tape player delivered music on-the-go _ a totally innovative idea back in 1979. Today, Sony Corp. is struggling to reinvent itself and win back its reputation as a pioneer of razzle-dazzle gadgetry once exemplified in the Walkman, which Wednesday had its 30th anniversary marked with a special display at Sony's corporate archives.
Review: New guide gives Twitterific adviceSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Sometimes Twitter can make newcomers feel like twits because the online messaging service isn't as simple as it sounds. The idea of sharing information in 140-character snippets is easy to grasp, but it can be confounding to navigate the communications crossfire while trying to learn Twitter's etiquette and idiom. Then there's the befuddling matter of trying to figure out whom you should follow and which Twitter tools you should use.
Alice.com grasps the woes of buying toilet paperNEW YORK (AP) _ If shopping for household essentials like toilet paper and soap isn't your favorite activity, a new Web site might eliminate the task _ while saving you cash. The recently launched Alice.com lets people buy all manner of necessities from different manufacturers. There are about 6,000 items to choose from so far. The site keeps an eye on the products you use, and reminds you when it's time to replenish your stock.
Joost exits consumer online video businessStruggling online video startup Joost, begun with much fanfare in 2007 by the same people behind Skype and Kazaa, is restructuring its business after discovering that it can't survive on advertising to fund its operations. The chief executive, Mike Volpi, has stepped down but will remain as chairman.
Is Twitter the news outlet for the 21st century?NEW YORK (AP) _ Cassy Hayes and Jasmine Coleman were among the first fans to arrive outside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles where Michael Jackson was brought and later pronounced dead. How had Hayes, 25, and Coleman, 21, heard the news so quickly?
China Web controversy highlights public roleBEIJING (AP) _ Beijing's retreat on its latest Internet-censorship effort highlights the rise of China's increasingly tech-savvy, vocal public as a factor in the authoritarian government's decisions. China gave in late Tuesday to complaints by Web users, manufacturers and foreign governments and postponed a plan to require producers to supply a government-endorsed filtering software known as Green Dam with every personal computer sold in China.
Report: Worst may be over for US tech marketNEW YORK (AP) _ As bad as the technology market fared in the first quarter of this year, the worst may be over, at least in the United States, Forrester Research said in a report Tuesday. The research firm nonetheless revised its forecast for 2009. It now expects the U.S. technology market to shrink by 5 percent this year. In March, Forrester had predicted a smaller 3 percent decline in spending on technology products and services.
High court won't block remote storage DVR systemPHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Cable TV operators won a key legal battle against Hollywood studios and television networks on Monday as the Supreme Court declined to block a new digital video recording system that could make it even easier for viewers to bypass commercials. The justices declined to hear arguments on whether Cablevision Systems Corp.'s remote-storage DVR system would violate copyright laws. That allows the Bethpage, N.Y.-based company to proceed with plans to start deploying the technology this summer.
Group comes close to winning $1M Netflix prizeNEW YORK (AP) _ A multinational group of researchers, scientists and engineers are close to winning a $1 million challenge to improve Netflix Inc.'s system of recommending movies that its subscribers might like. The online movie rental company had launched the Netflix Prize contest in 2006 to improve its predictions by at least 10 percent. The idea was to farm out valuable research to thousands of enthusiastic participants.
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