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TMCNet:  AP Technology NewsBrief at 8:55 p.m. EST

[December 19, 2012]

AP Technology NewsBrief at 8:55 p.m. EST

(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Shooting renews argument over video-game violenceWASHINGTON (AP) _ In the days since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a shell-shocked nation has looked for reasons. The list of culprits cited include easy access to guns, a strained mental-health system and the "culture of violence" _ the entertainment industry's embrace of violence in movies, TV shows and, especially, video games. "The violence in the entertainment culture _ particularly, with the extraordinary realism to video games, movies now, et cetera _ does cause vulnerable young men to be more violent," Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said.


Changes in law aim to protect kids' online dataWASHINGTON (AP) _ Aiming to prevent companies from exploiting online information about children under 13, the Obama administration on Wednesday imposed sweeping changes in regulations designed to protect a young generation with easy access to the Internet. Two years in the making, the amended rules to the decade-old Children's Online Privacy Protection Act go into effect in July. Privacy advocates said the changes were long overdue in an era of cellphones, tablets, social networking services and online stores with cellphone apps aimed at kids for as little as 99 cents.

Google to sell part of Motorola for $2.35 billionSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google is selling Motorola Mobility's TV set-top business for $2.35 billion, lightening the load that the Internet search leader took on earlier this year when it completed the biggest acquisition in its history. The cash-and-stock deal announced late Wednesday will turn over Motorola's set-top division to Arris Group Inc., a relatively small provider of high-speed Internet equipment that is looking to become a bigger player in the delivery of video. Investors applauded the move, driving up Arris' stock by nearly 17 percent.

Google launches 'scan and match' music serviceLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Google is turning on a "scan and match" service for Google Music users to store copies of their songs online, offering for free what Apple charges $25 a year for. The service, which launched Tuesday, cuts uploading time for those who want to save their music libraries online. It scans a user's computer and gives them online access to the songs it finds, as long as they match the songs on its servers. Otherwise, it will upload songs to a user's online locker.

Kodak sells digital imaging patents for $525MROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) _ Eastman Kodak is selling its digital imaging patents for about $525 million, money the struggling photo pioneer says will help it emerge from bankruptcy protection in the first half of next year. Apple Inc., Google Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Research In Motion Ltd., Microsoft Corp., China's Huawei Technologies, Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are among the 12 companies paying to license the 1,100 patents, according to court filings. Patents have become very valuable to digital device makers, who want to protect themselves from intellectual property lawsuits. But Kodak, which has been trying to make the sale happen for more than a year, wound up receiving substantially less money than had been expected.

Brazil company sells cellphones with iPhone nameSAO PAULO (AP) _ It's not your Apple's iPhone. A Brazilian company has begun selling smartphones in Brazil with the iPhone brand after winning the legal right to use the name in Latin America's biggest country. Adding insult to Apple Inc.'s injury, the phone runs on the Android operating system from archrival Google Inc.

Internet ad revenue rises 18 pct to $9.3B in 3QNEW YORK (AP) _ Internet advertising hit a new high in the third quarter as marketers continued to shift money from print and broadcasting. The $9.3 billion spent on Internet ads from July through September is an 18 percent increase from $7.8 billion at the same time last year, according to a breakdown released Wednesday by the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Internet Advertising Bureau, a trade group.

Review: High-res music player ups the audio anteATLANTA (AP) _ It's hard to make headlines with a portable music player these days. It's old hat by now to carry around thousands of songs in your hip pocket, whether on an iPod or a smartphone. But there's been a price for portability. You are listening to your favorite music delivered only after a host of technology has diminished the resolution of the audio, by necessity, so that it can exist in a small digital file and make its way to your ears. It sounds fine, but the makers of a new portable music player are betting there are still some people out there who want even better quality.

To honor the fallen: 26 acts of kindness proposedNEW YORK (AP) _ A new movement has taken off to honor the 26 people killed at a school in Newtown, Conn. The campaign sparked from a question NBC News correspondent Ann Curry asked herself after Friday's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School: "What can I do " Facebook CEO Zuckerberg donating $500M in stockSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he is donating nearly $500 million in stock to a Silicon Valley charity with the aim of funding health and education issues. Zuckerberg donated 18 million Facebook shares, valued at $498.8 million based on their Tuesday closing price. The beneficiary is the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a nonprofit that works with donors to allocate their gifts.

(c) 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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