AP Technology NewsBrief at 6:50 am EDT

(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Verizon workers return to work, without a dealNEW YORK (AP) _ Thousands of striking Verizon workers will return to work starting Monday night, though their contract dispute isn’t over yet. Both the company and the union say they have agreed to narrow the issues in dispute and have set up a process to negotiate a new contract. But the talks are likely to be contentious. The two sides still disagree on touchy subjects such as health care benefits, pensions, and work rules.

Facebook’s spam program catches innocent usersPITTSBURGH (AP) _ Facebook has sent notes of apology and is changing automated systems that blocked environmental activists and other people from posting on like-minded Facebook pages. The activists weren’t victims of censorship, but rather an anti-spam computer algorithm that was impersonally doing what it was designed to do.

Texting, grand theft auto style; alarms pose riskSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Texting and driving don’t go well together _ though not in the way you might think. Computer hackers can force some cars to unlock their doors and start their engines without a key by sending specially crafted messages to a car’s anti-theft system. They can also snoop at where you’ve been by tapping the car’s GPS system.

In nod to IBM, HP overhaul minimizes consumersSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Hewlett-Packard’s decision to surrender in smartphones and tablet computers and possibly get rid of its personal computer business underscores how Apple has transformed consumer electronics in just four years. HP’s new CEO Leo Apotheker is now trying to turn the Silicon Valley stalwart into a twin of East Coast archrival IBM Corp. In doing so, he is acknowledging that his company has failed to balance the demands of both the consumer and corporate markets. As a result, it needs to exit most of its consumer businesses, just as IBM did six years ago.

Hewlett-Packard overhaul exposes underdog statusSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Hewlett-Packard, one of the world’s largest technology companies, finds itself the underdog as it ditches most of its consumer businesses to become more like the well-oiled, corporate-focused machines of rivals IBM and Oracle. HP will no longer make smartphones and tablet computers and wants to leave the PC business after spending a decade assembling itself into a technology conglomerate by buying such companies as computer maker Compaq Computer for $19 billion in 2002 and smartphone pioneer Palm for $1.8 billion last year.

After insulin pump hacking, lawmakers seek reviewSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Two lawmakers are requesting a review of the government’s security standards for wireless medical devices after a diabetic discovered how to remotely reprogram his and other people’s insulin pumps. Reps. Anna Eshoo of California and Edward Markey of Massachusetts, both Democrats, asked the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to evaluate the Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to identify the risks of implants and other medical devices that use wireless communications technologies.

Palm largely dead as HP shuts phone, tablet unitSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ When Hewlett-Packard Co. snapped up Palm Inc. last year for $1.8 billion, it looked like the smartphone pioneer’s last chance. Palm was a year into a major turnaround effort but gaining little traction despite a hip, new CEO known for making the iPod a household name. It had high hopes for its latest handset, the Pre, which ran on the company’s new, intuitive operating software, known as webOS. It needed a savior, and HP, which itself needed a boost in the mobile technology market, seemed like its best bet for survival.

After joining Foursquare, what’s next for Obama?NEW YORK (AP) _ President Barack Obama joined the location-based social network Foursquare this week, adding to his other hip, online destinations that include Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Obama is also on the professional social networking service LinkedIn, which suggests the president is hedging his bets, in case he’s looking for work after the 2012 election.

Texas-based defense contractor hacked by AnonymousLONDON (AP) _ The email account of a senior official with a Texas-based defense and aerospace firm is the latest to fall victim to the hacking group known as Anonymous, an international band of cybersaboteurs notorious for their campaigns against the Church of Scientology and MasterCard Inc. Vanguard Defense Industries’ chief executive Michael Buscher said Friday that the hackers had broken into the Gmail account of Richard T. Garcia, a former FBI agent who now works as the company’s senior vice president.

German privacy watchdog dislikes Facebook’s “Like”BERLIN (AP) _ A German data protection authority is “unliking” Facebook’s “Like” button. The state of Schleswig-Holstein’s data protection commissioner, Thilo Weichert, on Friday ordered state institutions to shut down the fan pages on the social networking site and remove the “Like” button from their websites, saying it leads to profiling that violates German and European law.

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