SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is creating a new company to oversee its highly lucrative Internet business and a growing flock of other ventures, including some — like building self-driving cars and researching ways to prolong human life — that are known more for their ambition than for turning an immediate profit. The new company…
Ways to Pay with Phone Continue to Multiply
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Big tech companies are competing to help you pay for a store purchase with your phone. Here are some options: Apple Pay: How it works: Apple Pay lets you pay by placing an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, or Apple Watch, next to a store device equipped for near-field communication (NFC)…
Apple Ordered to Pay $532.9M in Patent Dispute
San Francisco (AP) — Apple has been ordered to pay nearly $533 million by a federal jury that found Apple’s iTunes music store uses software that infringes on patents held by a Texas company. An attorney for plaintiff Smartflash LLC praised the verdict. Apple immediately announced plans to appeal and said the case shows the…
Did NSA Plant Spyware in Computers Around World?
San Francisco (AP) — Did the National Security Agency plant spyware deep in the hard drives of thousands of computers used by foreign governments, banks , and other surveillance targets around the world? A new report from Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab said its researchers identified a new family of malicious programs or worms that…
Apple Lays Out Plans for Massive Solar Project
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple will spend nearly $850 million on a solar energy project that will generate enough power for the computer giant’s new corporate headquarters, retail stores and other operations in California. The tech company will be the biggest single consumer of energy from the new solar facility. It is being constructed on…
Microsoft Falls on 4Q Earnings Despite Surface, Lumia Successes
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Big jumps in sales of its Surface tablets, cloud computing software and Lumia smartphones drove Microsoft’s quarterly revenue above expectations, as CEO Satya Nadella continues to steer toward the mobile gadget market and shift Microsoft away from its traditional focus on the PC. Revenue from cloud computing products, in which businesses…
Apple Awards Tim Cook with Massive 2014 Bonus
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Apple CEO Tim Cook got a hefty cash bonus that brought his total compensation to $9.2 million last year. That’s more than double what he received the previous year, as the company enjoyed a surge in sales and profit fueled by the popularity of its new, over-sized iPhone 6 models. Cook’s pay…
Microsoft Refines Windows 10 for Mobile
REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Microsoft on Wednesday took the wraps off a new version of Windows — and a new wearable 3D gadget it calls the HoloLens. The company showed the new headset, which lets users view and interact with three-dimensional images, at an event where it also revealed new features coming to the company’s…
Microsoft Windows 10 to Address Shift to Mobile
REDMOND, Washington (AP) — Microsoft will use an event Wednesday to offer a wider glimpse of the next version of Windows. The company is planning to show off new features of its flagship operating system — and possibly an improved Internet browser and more uses for Microsoft’s voice-controlled digital assistant, Cortana. Executives will also demonstrate…
Is Apple Going After GoPro?
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple has patented a new design for a digital video camera that could potentially compete with the rugged portable cameras made by GoPro, a move that sent GoPro’s stock tumbling. GoPro shares dropped more than 12 percent on Tuesday after reports of the new patent surfaced on tech blogs and financial…