AP Technology NewsBrief at 9:35 p.m. EST

(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Microsoft's 2Q earnings dip despite Windows 8 liftSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Microsoft's latest quarterly earnings slipped, even as the world's largest software maker showed modest progress adapting to a shift away from the personal computers that have been its financial foundation for decades. The results announced Thursday are the first to include Windows 8. The program is a dramatic overhaul of the Microsoft Corp. operating system that powers most PCs. Windows 8 came out Oct. 26 with slightly more than two months left in Microsoft's fiscal second quarter.

AT&T gains customers in 4Q, posts big lossNEW YORK (AP) _ The launch of the iPhone 5 helped AT&T attract more new customers in the holiday quarter than it has in three years, but the company posted a big loss because of an annual adjustment to its pension obligations. AT&T Inc. on Thursday said it added a net 780,000 new phones and other devices on contract-based plans from October to December, its best result in three years. It activated 8.6 million iPhones in the quarter _ a record for any company. AT&T was the first company to introduce the iPhone in 2007, and has more iPhone users than any other U.S. carrier.

Analysts to Apple: Bend your knee to Wall StreetNEW YORK (AP) _ Apple needs to start making nice with Wall Street, analysts said Thursday as investors hammered the company's stock. The sell-off put Apple a hair's-breadth away from losing its status as the world's most valuable company. At Thursday's close, it was worth $423 billion, just 1.6 percent more than No. 2 Exxon Mobil Corp.

Samsung 4Q profits top forecasts on Galaxy salesSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ Samsung Electronics Co. said fourth-quarter profits soared a better-than-expected 76 percent, boosted by the popularity of its Galaxy smartphones. But the company expects earnings during the current quarter to decline due to seasonally low demand for consumer electronics. It is also leaving its 2013 capital expenditure at the same level as last year, underlining the uncertainty in the demand outlook and concerns about rapidly declining demand for personal computers.

Practically human: Can smart machines do your job WASHINGTON (AP) _ Art Liscano knows he's an endangered species in the job market: He's a meter reader in Fresno, Calif. For 26 years, he's driven from house to house, checking how much electricity Pacific Gas & Electric customers have used. But PG&E doesn't need many people like Liscano making rounds anymore. Every day, the utility replaces 1,200 old-fashioned meters with digital versions that can collect information without human help, generate more accurate power bills, even send an alert if the power goes out.

Manufacturers cutting white-collar jobs now, tooNEW YORK (AP) _ Manufacturers have been using technology to cut blue-collar jobs for years. Now, they're targeting their white-collar workers, too. Factory Automation Systems makes machines that help companies cut, bundle and load products faster and cheaper than humans can. But it didn't realize how much technology could help its own business until the Great Recession hit.

Netflix shuffles the TV deck with 'House of Cards'NEW YORK (AP) _ In Netflix's bid for a flagship original drama of its own _ a "Sopranos" to its HBO _ the subscription streaming service is presenting a high-class adaptation of a British political thriller offered up all at once, with its first season immediately ready for TV-viewing gluttony. The show, "House of Cards," is a bold attempt to remake the television landscape with the kind of prestige project cable channels like HBO, AMC and Showtime have used to define themselves. But "House of Cards," produced by David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey, won't be on the dial of that refuge of quality dramas _ cable television _ but streamed online to laptops and beamed directly to flat-screens through set-top boxes and Internet-enabled devices.

Sony fined in UK over PlayStation cyberattackLONDON (AP) _ British regulators have fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($396,100) for failing to prevent a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation Network which put millions of users' personal information _ including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords _ at risk. Britain's Information Commissioner's Office said Thursday that security measures in place at the time "were simply not good enough." It said the attack could have been prevented if software had been up to date, while passwords were also not secure.

Cuba confirms undersea cable carrying data trafficHAVANA (AP) _ Cuba's state telecom monopoly confirmed Thursday that the island's first hard-wired Internet connection to the outside world has been activated, but said it won't lead to an immediate increase in access. In a statement published in Communist Party newspaper Granma and other official media, ETECSA broke its long silence on the ALBA-1 fiber-optic cable, which island officials once boasted would increase capacity 3,000-fold.

Pope on social networking: the virtual is realVATICAN CITY (AP) _ Pope Benedict XVI put church leaders on notice Thursday, saying social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter aren't a virtual world they can ignore, but rather a very real world they must engage if they want to spread the faith to the next generation. The 85-year-old Benedict, who tweets in nine languages, used his annual message on social communications to stress the potential of social media for the church as it struggles to keep followers and attract new ones amid religious apathy, competition from other churches and scandals that have driven the faithful away.

(c) 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[ Back To Technology News's Homepage ]