Stake in startup for Wi-Fi sharing

Google and eBay's Skype are investing in a startup that plans to help hotspot owners charge for Wi-Fi access, a plan that could face significant opposition from Internet service providers (ISPs).

The Internet heavyweights were joined by venture-capital firms Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital in making a total $22 million investment in FON, the Spanish startup.

FON's idea is to sign up people who have Wi-Fi hotspots in one of two ways.

"Linus" members, named after the Linux software creator, will share their hotspot with other Linus members for free.

"Bill" members, named after the Microsoft chairman, will charge for access to their hotspot. FON will get some of that revenue and share it with ISPs.

FON faces a hurdle in that most ISPs bar subscribers from sharing Internet access with people outside their household. Many broadband subscribers share their access for free, though, and it's hard for ISPs to stop them.

UAW chief tells union to "dig in"

U.S. auto workers, facing massive job cuts at General Motors and Ford Motor, need to take "serious actions" to strengthen the nation's manufacturing, their union's president, Ron Gettelfinger, said Sunday.

He told about 1,600 union activists the United Auto Workers had "no choice but to dig in for the fight" for a better legislative agenda amid rising health-care costs, troubling trade policies and job cuts.

Gettelfinger, in a pre-Super Bowl speech, urged a universal health-care system, measures to fight unfair-trade practices, support for incentives to make ethanol more widely available and tax credits for gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles.

Online dating site EHarmony.com today launches an Internet service aimed at strengthening marriages.

EHarmony Marriage is not a substitute for counseling, founder Neil Clark Warren said, but a customized program to deal with routine conflicts.

Couples fill out online, 310-item questionnaires, then get a computer-processed marriage profile that points out strengths and possible problem areas.

The fee: $75 per couple.

Decision highlights dilemma iPod poses

Dell stopped selling its higher-priced digital music players last month to consolidate its efforts as the company seeks to tap into a market dominated by Apple Computer's iPod.

The company stopped offering three Digital Jukebox players, hard-drive-based devices that sell for $200 to $300, spokesman Liem Nguyen said. The company will continue to sell the $99 DJ Ditty, which uses flash-based memory to store music, he said.

The decision underscores the difficulty companies have had trying to unseat the best-selling iPod. Dell introduced the music players in 2003 as part of a strategy to expand sales beyond desktop PCs.

Silicon Valley gets free Wi-Fi

MetroFi is offering free wireless broadband service in a 25-square-mile area including Cupertino, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara, Calif., the heart of Silicon Valley.

The company will support itself through banner ads.

Attracting visitors aim of new toolbar

Google is releasing a custom toolbar for Web browsers as part of an effort to attract more visitors to its sites.

The toolbar, which comes with some new computers, allows users to create their own buttons and store lists of their favorite Web sites, said Sundar Pichai, a Google group-product manager.

Google is adding features to the toolbar as a way to increase the number of customers who visit its Web site. The company is battling Yahoo! and Microsoft, who offer their own toolbars, for a larger share of Web users and the advertisers seeking to reach them.

Compiled from Bloomberg News, The Associated Press, MarketWatch and Los Angeles Times