Technology Report: Skype deal raises risks for videoconferencing firms

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	05/12/2011
Good afternoon Bit Facebook admitted to hiring PR firm Burson-Marsteller to plant negative stories about Google, The Daily Beast reported. Burson urged journalists to investigate claims that Google was invading people's privacy and offered to help privacy advocate Christopher Soghoian write an op-ed on the matter for national newspapers. The plot backfired when Soghoian rejected Burson's offer and posted online an email exchange between them. Facebook adopted a warning service to help users avoid clicking on dubious Internet links. The new warning service by Finnish startup Web of Trust calculates the reputation of 31 million Web pages and updates the ratings twice an hour, based on feedback from some 20 million users. The recent hacker attack at Sony and other corporate data breaches are attracting more class-action lawyers eager to score a payday, though huge monetary settlements may be elusive, writes Dan Levine. At least 25 lawsuits have been filed against Sony in U.S. federal courts over the theft of user data from the PlayStation game network, according to Westlaw, a Thomson Reuters legal database. The challenge for plaintiffs' lawyers lies in establishing a loss of value or additional costs suffered because of a hack, Levine adds. NTT DoCoMo and Twitter will jointly develop a location-based alerting service for smartphone users based on tweets, the Nikkei business daily said. The deal will be announced on Friday and the services are expected to be launched this winter. Twitter will remove data that could identify users, before using the stored tweets for the service, the business daily said. AT&T promised to give Deutsche Telekom $6 billion in assets, services and cash as a break-up fee if U.S. regulators reject its proposed $39 billion buy of the German company's T-Mobile USA, sources said. LATEST NEWS Skype deal raises risks for videoconferencing firms May 12, 2011 04:22 PM ET HELSINKI (Reuters) - Microsoft's $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype is likely to boost videoconferencing from workers' desktops, posing further risks to video technology providers like Polycom and Logitech. | Full Article White House to unveil cybersecurity proposal May 12, 2011 02:05 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House issued a proposal on Thursday to secure critical U.S. infrastructure and federal computer networks that aims to fend off attackers while assuring the privacy of Internet users. | Full Article Microsoft antitrust decree ends, Google eyed May 12, 2011 11:56 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Microsoft was a giant fending off tiny rivals in 1998 when the U.S. Justice Department accused it of breaking antitrust law. | Full Article Chipmaker Nvidia's quarterly revenue beats Street May 12, 2011 04:35 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nvidia posted better-than-expected first-quarter revenue of $962 million, down 3.97 percent as it faces pressure in the personal computer graphics chip market and races to build its mobile business. | Full Article U.S. sues to stop VeriFone buy of Hypercom May 12, 2011 04:13 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Thursday to block credit card swipe machine maker VeriFone Systems Inc's proposed buy of smaller rival Hypercom Corp. | Full Article BUSINESS NEWS Wall Street ends higher, led by defensive stocks May 12, 2011 04:11 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - Defensive shares led a rebound in stocks on Thursday as investors weighed mixed economic signals and the recent volatility in commodities markets for direction. | Full Article Regulators press on with Wall Street crackdown May 12, 2011 03:30 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A broad crackdown on Wall Street is churning forward, even as regulators assured a Senate panel on Thursday they would seek more input on how to pick which financial institutions need stricter policing. | Full Article Treasury won't sell GM shares before August: sources May 12, 2011 03:03 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury does not plan to start selling its remaining shares in General Motors Co until August at the earliest, after the automaker's second-quarter financial results, people familiar with the matter said. | Full Article Wide array of exit options complicates Fed path May 12, 2011 02:31 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the Federal Reserve finally decides to begin draining cash from a flush U.S. banking system, policymakers may find themselves armed with more tools than they know what to do with. | Full Article Goldman shares fall on analyst cuts, reports May 12, 2011 02:57 PM ET NEW YORK/BANGALORE (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc shares were down 3.2 percent on Thursday afternoon after two analysts downgraded the stock and press reports questioned whether a Senate investigation will threaten the bank's reputation. | Full Article U.S. TOP NEWS U.S. attacks militants in Pakistan as pressure grows Special report: The bin Laden kill plan Consumers feel pinch of gasoline costs in April Taxes remain sticking point in budget talks Obama urges companies to hire, studies housing moves RELATED VIDEO London tech's 'Monster' ambitions Smart fridge suggests recipes based on what's inside Microsoft's pricey calling plan A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. 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