IN THE NEWS: NETFLIX GROWS IN POPULARITY AFTER PRICE CHANGES
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- It seemed like a bad idea at the time. But so far, Netflix is making out OK after its decision last year to raise U.S. prices for video subscription services. At first, the move caused mass customer defections and a stock sell-off. But this year, Netflix has rebounded to get back some of its subscriber growth. The company increased prices by as much as 60 percent as part of an effort to phase out its DVD-by-mail rental service and raise more money to license TV shows and movies for its Internet video library. But because it split video streaming and DVD rentals into separate services, it upset both customers and investors. While the customers seem to have been in a forgiving mood, investors have been a little slower to make up. Netflix expects to post an annual loss this year -- their first since 2002.
IN THE NEWS: YAHOO EMAIL ADDRESSES, PASSWORDS LEAKED
LONDON (AP) -- A security breach -- and a big one -- at Yahoo. The company says some 450,000 users email addresses and passwords have been leaked. In a statement, Yahoo says just a small fraction of the stolen passwords were valid -- because they came from an "old file" from the Yahoo Contributor Network, a content sharing platform. Yahoo says it's plugging the security hole that led to the leak. It is also changing the passwords of affected users and alerting other companies whose users' accounts may have been compromised.
ON THE WEB: NBC LAUNCHES MOBILE APPS FOR OLYMPICS
CYBERSPACE (AP) -- Wanna see more of the Olympics? There's an app for that. Actually there are two apps for that -- and they're available for Apple mobile devices and some Android devices. The apps will let you watch Olympics events as they happen. They can also let you check out athlete profiles and access other extra content. NBC says most of the content will be available only to subscribers who already have MSNBC and CNBS as part of their programming packages.
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Online:
NBC site: http://www.nbc.com
IN STORES: PC SALES SAG DURING SPRING
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Spring is usually a time for growth. But that wasn't true for the personal computer industry. PC sales fell during the year's second quarter. Gartner Incorporated and International Data Corporation say the Q-2 decline in the U.S. ranged from 6 to 11 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. It's the seventh consecutive quarter in which global PC shipments have either fallen or inched forward only slightly from the year before. Why the bad numbers? Three main reasons: the continued shakiness of the economy, upcoming product releases dampening current demand and shifting technology trends, like the increasing number of people who use tablet computers like the Apple iPad.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
