Technology News

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Retailer Best Buy Co, seeking new ways to appeal to cost-conscious shoppers, said on Tuesday it is selling refurbished versions of Apple Inc's iPhone 3G at its stores that are priced about $50 less than new iPhones.

Sling Media announced late Monday that it will release an iPhone client app for its Slingbox line of place-shifting video players by the end of March, as well as offering support for high-definition video streaming for Mac users for the very first time.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp sold 28 million units worldwide of its Xbox 360 video game console through the end of 2008, expanding the Xbox's lead over rival Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 console in worldwide unit sales, the company said on Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp sold 28 million units worldwide of its Xbox 360 video game console through the end of 2008, expanding the Xbox's lead over rival Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 console in worldwide unit sales, the company said on Monday.

Updated at 5:28 p.m. to include additional data and analyst perspective.

A majority of U.S. consumers -- 51% -- plan to reduce their spending on technology this year because of the recession, with the biggest drops in demand expected for smart phones, satellite radio, GPS units and video game devices. That's according to a survey of 5,000 adults by research firm Forrester. Some 63% of survey participants said they were less likely to buy a smart phone because of the economy. Some 66% and 62% said they're less likely to buy satellite radio and GPS units, respectively.

DENVER (Billboard) - The Recording Industry Association of America's decision not to pursue new lawsuits against online file-sharers marks a fundamental shift in the music business's battle against piracy, from one focused on enforcement to one emphasizing education.

MIAMI (Billboard) - Musicalatina.com, the only Latin-owned, Latin-centric U.S. digital download store, launched in December.

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Hyundai Motor Co. will use music by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma in a Super Bowl XLIII television commercial that consumers can re-edit online, Billboard has learned.

Just weeks after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission shut down two companies accused of selling fake antivirus software, a new player has moved into the market, aided by glitches in the Microsoft and U.S. Internal Revenue Service Web sites.

BEIJING (AFP) - Hackers in China could face up to seven years in jail according to a draft law, as the country moves to fight rampant computer data theft, state media said Tuesday.

Symantec on Thursday unveiled a significant upgrade for its Norton line of security software. Norton Internet Security for Mac features a variety of security tools in one application.

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Retailer Best Buy Co, seeking new ways to appeal to cost-conscious shoppers, said on Tuesday it is selling refurbished versions of Apple Inc's iPhone 3G at its stores that are priced about $50 less than new iPhones.

Sling Media announced late Monday that it will release an iPhone client app for its Slingbox line of place-shifting video players by the end of March, as well as offering support for high-definition video streaming for Mac users for the very first time.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Macworld mania began simmering despite freshly released news that Apple's iconic chief executive Steve Jobs won't attend because a "hormone imbalance" that has his body wasting away.

The latest data from Net Applications indicates that Internet Explorer lost market share in December to browsers from Mozilla and Apple.

Web sites saw visitors deserting Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser in favor of Apple's Safari, Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome in December, according to Web analytics company Net Applications.

Though Amazon and Red Hat provided a few glimmers of sunlight the tech sector suffered through a turbulent week, with no signs of letup soon.

NEW YORK - Netflix Inc. has come up with another way to get movies to people without sending DVDs in the mail.

CHICAGO - Many teenagers cleaned up their MySpace profiles, deleting mentions of sex and booze and boosting privacy settings, if they got a single cautionary e-mail from a busybody named "Dr. Meg." The e-mail was sent by Dr. Megan Moreno, lead researcher of a study of lower-income kids that she says shows how parents and other adults can encourage safer Internet use.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Apple Inc fell as much as 2 percent on Tuesday after technology website Gizmodo reported a "rumor" that Chief Executive Steve Jobs's health was declining.