Reports: Twitter 'insult' brings 2-year Kuwait prison sentence against social media activist

KUWAIT CITY - Kuwaiti media say a social media activist has been sentenced to two years in prison for a Twitter post deemed insulting to the Gulf nation's ruler.Authorities across the Western-allied Gulf Arab states have sharply increased crackdowns on perceived dissent among bloggers and others using social media. The sentence passed Sunday in Kuwait is not the harshest in region, but is likely...

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Kuwaiti gets two years for insulting emir on Twitter

KUWAIT (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti court sentenced a man to two years in prison for insulting the country's ruler on Twitter, a lawyer following the case said, as the Gulf Arab state cracks down on criticism of the authorities on social media.According to the verdict on Sunday, published by online newspaper Alaan, a tweet written by Rashid Saleh al-Anzi in October "stabbed the rights and powers of the...

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'Facebook Dead': How to 'Kill' Your Friends

Email Share 11 Print View Photo ABC News - 'Facebook Dead': How to 'Kill' Your Friends (ABC News) Rusty Foster discovered he was dead last week, at least according to Facebook. He had been locked out of his account, which had been turned into a "memorial page," because someone had reported the Maine man as deceased to the social media site. He tweeted Thursday,...

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Kodak sells digital imaging patents for $525M

ROCHESTER, 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...

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News Summary: Kodak sells patents for $525 million

STEPPING STONE: 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 2013.GROUP OF 12: Apple Inc., Google Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Research In Motion Ltd., Microsoft Corp., China's Huawei Technologies and Facebook Inc. are among the 12 companies paying to license...

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Best Buy exec leaves for COO post at Symantec

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Best Buy's president of digital operations is leaving the struggling electronics chain to become chief operating officer at the computer security company Symantec.Best Buy has been implementing a turnaround plan as it faces tough competition from discounters and online retailers. The Minneapolis company last week extended until after the holiday season the window for co-founder...

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SC Gov Haley unveils $6.3 billion budget proposal

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Gov. Nikki Haley's budget plan she presented Thursday would spend more on computer security, law enforcement and health care. She also asked that not-yet-projected revenue go toward tax relief that saves the average filer less than $30.Her $6.3 billion budget plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1 seeks $47 million for computer security following a massive breach at the...

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Samsung is replacing faulty Galaxy S IIIs that are suddenly dying for no reason

Samsung (005930) is reportedly quietly replacing faulty Galaxy S III devices according to many users on XDA Developers. The issue appears to be related to the NAND becoming corrupted and killing off the Galaxy S III’s mainboard, which causes the phone to essentially “brick” itself. Users have reported the issues have affected some devices after 150-200 days after purchase. Users on XDA Developers...

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Sony’s PlayStation 4 could lose to the next Xbox before it’s even released

I love all game consoles equally. My Xbox 360 is used equally as much as my PlayStation 3. The Wii -- oh, I’ll just leave it at that. The current generation of consoles is all but over -- their 10-year lifecycle be damned -- and new consoles are rumored to be coming next fall. If not next fall, then in 2014. Whatever is the case, Sony (SNE) can’t afford to lag in third place again. Sure, the Xbox...

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What If There is Nobody or Nothing to Blame for Lanza? Guns, Video Games, Autism or Authorities

What if there is nobody or nothing to blame for Adam Lanza's heinous acts? Other than Lanza, of course.What if school security and the school psychiatrist kept an eye on Lanza since his freshman year? The Wall Street Journal has a compelling narrative about the red flags addressed.What if he had a form of autism that has little or no link to violent behavior? Lanza may have had Asperger's syndrome...

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What If Nothing or Nobody is to Blame for Lanza? Guns, Video Games, Autism or Authorities

What if there is nobody or nothing to blame for Adam Lanza's heinous acts? Other than Lanza, of course.What if school security and the school psychiatrist kept an eye on Lanza since his freshman year? The Wall Street Journal has a compelling narrative about the red flags addressed.What if he had a form of autism that has little or no link to violent behavior? Lanza may have had Asperger's syndrome...

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What If Nothing or Nobody is to Blame for Adam Lanza? Guns, Video Games, Autism or Authorities

What if there is nobody or nothing to blame for Adam Lanza's heinous acts? Other than Lanza, of course.What if school security and the school psychiatrist kept an eye on Lanza since his freshman year? The Wall Street Journal has a compelling narrative about the red flags addressed.What if he had a form of autism that has little or no link to violent behavior? Lanza may have had Asperger's syndrome...

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Home invasion victim gets help over Xbox headset

NORTH APOLLO, Pa. (AP) — Police say a Pennsylvania man used his Xbox headphones to call for help after being bound with duct tape and menaced with a gun during a home invasion.Investigators say the 22-year-old suburban Pittsburgh man was playing video games in an upstairs bedroom when he heard his front door open. The man initially thought it was a family member but saw an armed man wearing a ski...

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Nintendo’s amazing triumph in Japan may doom the company internationally

According to Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, Nintendo (NTDOY) 3DS sold 333,000 units in the week ending December 16, while Sony’s (SNE) PS Vita limped along at 13,000 units, the new Wii U did an okay 130,000 units and the PlayStation 3 managed to sell 46,000 units.  The utter hardware domination of the 3DS is reshaping the Japanese software market. Franchises that were thought to be fading have...

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European Commission wades into global tech patents war

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU regulators are poised to accuse Samsung of breaking competition rules in filing patent lawsuits against rival Apple, in the EU's first formal challenge to the consumer electronic industry's patent wars."We will issue a statement of objections very soon," the European Union's competition chief Joaquin Almunia said on Thursday, referring to the Commission's charge sheet.Technology...

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Acer will beat Google to market with its own $99 tablet

The Nexus 7 is still an amazing value at $249. But word around the block is that Google (GOOG) and ASUS (2357) are working on a $99 Nexus tablet. But now, per PhoneArena, it’s apparent that Acer (2353) is preparing to beat Google to the punch with a 7-inch Android 4.1 2Jelly Bean-powered tablet that will reportedly sell for $99. Naturally, a lower-priced tablet will come at the expense of less powerful...

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Arris rises on plans to buy Google's set-top unit

 Arris Group's stock rose to its highest level in more than five years on Thursday following news that it is buying Google's TV set-top business for $2.35 billion, which could be a transformative deal for the relatively small company.But not everyone was upbeat about Arris' ability to benefit. One analyst cut his rating on the company, saying it may have paid too much.THE SPARK: On Wednesday...

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Competition hots up for 4G mobile phone airwaves

 Seven companies were named on Thursday as bidders for the superfast 4G mobile broadband radio frequencies to be auctioned off in Britain next month by industry regulatorOfcom. Existing mobile network operators EE, Vodafone, O2 owner Telefonica and Hutchison, which is behind Three, will be vying with O2's former owner BT, managed networks firm MLL Telecom and...

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