US-TECH Summary

Sunday, August 8, 2010
iPhone exec departs Apple after "Antennagate"
SAN FRANCISCO - Mark Papermaster, the Apple <AAPL.O> executive in charge of iPhone engineering, has left the company weeks after the "Antennagate" controversy over complaints of poor reception on the company's latest smartphone. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling confirmed Papermaster's exit and said Bob Mansfield is assuming his responsibilities. Dowling declined to provide a reason for the departure of the former IBM <IBM.N> senior executive.
Saudi telecoms test fix to avert BlackBerry ban
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia told the kingdom's telecom operators on Saturday to test a proposed fix to the perceived national security threat posed by Research In Motion's <RIM.TO> BlackBerry smartphones, and said it would not ban service if the test was successful. The government had threatened to cut off BlackBerry's Messenger function to Saudi users on Friday, but so far has allowed the service to continue.
HP CEO resigns after sex harassment investigation
SAN FRANCISCO - Hewlett-Packard Co <HPQ.N> CEO Mark Hurd resigned on Friday after an investigation found that he had falsified expense reports to conceal a "close personal relationship" with a female contractor. The shocking announcement from the world's top personal computer maker sent its shares plunging 10 percent, as Hurd is one of the most admired executives in Silicon Valley, credited with reviving HP after the tumultuous reign of Carly Fiorina.
Lebanon wants program to access BlackBerry info
BEIRUT - Lebanon hopes BlackBerry maker Research In Motion <RIM.TO> will give the country a program that would allow it to access information used on the smartphone device, the telecommunications minister said. RIM is facing pressure to open up its super-secure network to government scrutiny with a growing number of countries demanding access to encrypted communications sent through the device, citing national security concerns.
Apple ordered to publicize iPod fix in Japan
TOKYO - Japan's trade ministry has ordered Apple Inc's <AAPL.O> Japan unit to state on its website that users who are concerned about their iPod nano portable music player catching fire can receive a replacement battery. The ministry ordered Apple to publish an "easy to understand" statement online explaining how users of the devices -- responsible for four cases of minor burns in Japan -- can receive replacement batteries and obtain advice, a spokesman for the ministry said on Friday.
Internet traffic talks collapse
WASHINGTON - Regulators halted closed-door negotiations about net neutrality rules with phone, cable and Internet companies on Thursday after reports of a side deal between two participants, Verizon Communications Inc <VZ.N> and Google Inc <GOOG.O>, surfaced. "We have called off this round of stakeholder discussions," said Edward Lazarus, chief of staff for Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski.
Apple in talks to buy China's Handseeing
HONG KONG - Apple Inc <AAPL.O> is in talks to buy Chinese software maker Handseeing, an executive at the Chinese company said on Friday, a deal that would mark the iPhone maker's first acquisition in the country. "We should have a decision in about one or two months," Tian Bo, vice-president for operations told Reuters by phone. "They're still talking about it and it's not quite settled yet right now."
New 3D film recreates Warsaw after 1944 uprising
WARSAW - Visitors to the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising will now be able to grasp the scale of devastation inflicted on the Polish capital by Nazi German forces in World War Two with the help of a 3D film. Adolf Hitler brutally suppressed the 1944 uprising, reducing the once-elegant, bustling city of 1.3 million to a burning shell whose ruins sheltered fewer than 1,000 people.
Facebook and other social media cost UK billions
LONDON - Employees who fritter time away on Facebook, Twitter and other social media Web sites are costing British businesses billions, new research suggests. British employment website MyJobGroup.co.uk said it polled 1,000 British workers and found that nearly six percent, or 2 million, of Britain's 34 million-strong workforce spent over an hour per day on social media while at work, amounting to more than one eighth of their entire working day.
Saudi and RIM talks progress as BlackBerry ban looms
RIYADH/OTTAWA - Saudi Arabia and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion <RIM.TO> are making progress in talks over access to the device's encrypted network, a source close to the negotiations said, and the kingdom had yet to carry out threats to cut its Messenger service early Friday morning. Canada also said it is talking to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to resolve a fight over BlackBerry security that could jeopardize the growth of RIM, the country's most important tech exporter.