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AP News is a free, mediocre news-reading app for the iPad with a scrapbook-style interface and a surprisingly inefficient use of the iPad's screen space.

Articles appear as headlines with small photo thumbnails on scraps of paper, scattered spaciously across a linen background. You swipe to flip through stories in a given category (such as politics, sports, or health), or you can swipe across a column in the middle of the screen to switch between categories.

The screen is topped by local weather (in oversize Comic Sans, inexplicably), a large AP logo, and two large panels for viewing photos … Read more

Few can have been anything other than overjoyed when Rupert Murdoch joined Twitter last week.

Finally, the world hoped, we would be privileged to hear the uncensored thoughts of the man who would turn Machiavelli to jelly.

But our cup overflowed onto our coffee table when his wife, Wendi Deng, also opened a verified Twitter account and began to admonish her husband for ribald tweets such as: "Maybe Brits have too many holidays for broke country!"

As soon as the great mogul of the media had tweeted that, Deng replied from her verified account: "@rupertmurdoch RUPERT!!! delete … Read more

Last week Lexus teased with a partial shot of the new sport coupe concept, but today a little more was revealed.

Lexus released this side view of the LF-LC 2+2 sport coupe, but the company is still holding out on any under-the-hood details. The sport coupe concept will be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month.

"Crafted from a clean sheet of paper at the request of Lexus headquarters in Japan, the LF-LC blends both high technology and organic shapes to connect the driver to the machine," Mark Templin, Lexus group vice … Read more

An administrative law judge at the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled today that Motorola violated only one of seven Microsoft patents.

The initial ruling today, only a partial win for Microsoft, said only that Motorola has infringed on a patent related to using a mobile device to schedule meetings.

Administrative Law Judge Theodore Essex issued an initial determination that certain Motorola devices infringed on four claims of U.S. Patent 6,370,566 held by Microsoft. The patent covers technology used to schedule an appointment on a mobile device, invite others to attend a meeting using contact information and … Read more

As with many previews for the upcoming Detroit auto show, Nissan made few details of its new Pathfinder concept known.

The press release merely promises a new platform and aerodynamic body. The teaser photo for the Pathfinder concept released today reveals big fenders in the update to Nissan's seven-passenger SUV.

We bumped up the brightness of the released image to bring out more detail. The fenders show a particularly strong, pontoonlike design, sticking out from a body with a heavily contoured beltline. The side windows also look quite large, but the roofline looks conventional.

Nissan says the concept will feature "thoughtful technology, comfortable seating for seven, and ample cargo room," along with four-wheel drive. The current Pathfinder has three-row seating and four-wheel drive. Mention of a new platform suggests Nissan will move the vehicle from its current truck frame to a unibody design. It is possible that the new Pathfinder will share a platform with the Infiniti JX, unveiled at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Nissan noted that the new generation of the Pathfinder will go on sale next fall, as a 2013 model year. The concept shown in Detroit must be near production-ready. … Read more

If Acura thinks that its announcement that a new NSX concept will make a bow at the 2012 Detroit auto show is going to whip me into a fanboy frenzy, well, then it's absolutely correct.

However, if anything, today's announcement has raised more questions and concern than excitement and anticipation.

This can't be right... Let's take a quick look at the rumored specs. We're starting with 3.5-liter V-6 (308-horsepower est.) that is hybridized by the integration of an approximately 40-horsepower (30kW) electric motor with its seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. There are also a pair of … Read more

Lexus today teased fans with the promise of a new concept vehicle that will be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 9, 2012.

The concept car was designed by Calty, the company's design studio in Newport Beach, California. Calty also designed the FT-SX, Scion t2B, Scion FUSE, FT-HS, A-BAT, and Lexus LF-Ch concept vehicles.

No other details were revealed in the press release.

On the heels of the Earth Dreams Technology announcement at the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda says it will unveil a concept version of a new Acura NSX at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.… Read more

commentary A bipartisan group of leading members of Congress, led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), today unveiled draft legislation that could ease tensions in a growing firefight over online piracy pitting technology industries and consumers against content providers.

The bill, "The Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade" or OPEN Act, provides a narrow and sensible alternative to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act, bills pending in the House and Senate respectively. OPEN's sponsors expect to introduce the legislation in both houses within a week. Wyden and … Read more