New flat-panel TV uses less energy

Sony's new flat-panel TV uses less energy than comparable regular models without compromising image quality — the latest in Japanese manufacturers' efforts to woo buyers with green products.

The 150,000 yen, or $1,400 Bravia KDL-32JE1 goes on sale in Japan on July 30. It is planned for release in overseas markets, but dates and other details aren't decided, Sony's Emi Nagahara said.

In a demonstration at Sony's Tokyo headquarters, a watt counter attached to the new 32-inch Bravia consumed 82 watts of energy to show a Blu-ray disc image of a Spanish city on its liquid crystal display.

A comparable regular model that cost about 10,000 yen, or $90, less required 125 watts of energy to show the same image.

Consumers save on their utility bill. In Japan, the green TV delivers about 4,300 yen, or $40, savings in electricity payments a year compared to an old-style TV, Sony said.

Yahoo

Yahoo expands its free e-mail service

Yahoo is offering free e-mail accounts under two new designations in an effort to attract Web surfers unhappy with their current addresses.

The company has begun registering new addresses under the domains of "ymail" and "rocketmail" at http://mail.yahoo.com.

It will be the first time Yahoo has offered e-mail accounts under umbrellas other than its own company name since it became a correspondence conduit in 1997.

Yahoo began offering free e-mail shortly after its $80 million acquisition of Four11, which included the rocketmail domain.

The popularity of Yahoo e-mail had narrowed the range of choices, forcing users to perform too many mental gymnastics to come up with an e-mail handle that hadn't already been taken.

ABC

Video site to get prime-time shows

ABC, the stingiest of the major television networks when it comes to syndicating its programs across the Web, is loosening up a little.

The network, owned by the Walt Disney Co., is expected to announce today that full episodes of prime-time shows like "Lost," "Desperate Housewives" and "Ugly Betty," along with short clips and game highlights from ESPN, will be accessible through video site Veoh.com.

Veoh Networks is backed by former Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner, along with other private investors.

The deal with Veoh is ABC's second agreement to stream free, advertising-supported shows on a Web site other than its own or its broadcast affiliates'. Last fall, it struck a similar deal with AOL.

Disney executive Matt Murphy said the company was considering deals with sites like YouTube and Hulu.

Hewlett-Packard

HP to consolidate units to reduce costs

Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest maker of printers, will reorganize its printing and imaging division, cutting the number of business units to three from five to reduce costs and boost sales.

Starting Aug. 1, the three units will focus on graphics; inkjet printing and Web services; and laser printing and corporate offerings, said Hewlett-Packard spokeswoman Alyson Griffin. No job cuts are being announced, though there will be "rebalancing" to reduce staff redundancy, she said.

VeriSign

China's domain name surpasses .net

Registrations for Internet addresses ending in China's ".cn" have hit 11.8 million, beating those for the global ".net."

A study by VeriSign, which runs the ".net" databases and other core directories for helping computers find Web sites, found that ".cn" overtook ".net" sometime in the first quarter of 2008.

There's no threat of ".cn" overtaking ".com" any time soon, however. The ".com" suffix has 76.5 million registrations worldwide, while Germany's ".de" is second with 12.1 million.

Internet

Not only slackers surf Web at work

A new study attempts to shatter perceptions that Web surfers are just slackers trying to avoid work. Everyone does it, from senior managers to entry-level employees.

Workers could have valid reasons for surfing the Web on the clock, speculates R. Kelly Garrett, one of the study's authors and a communications professor at Ohio State University. For instance, people may use the Web at work to help balance job and life responsibilities.

Installing filters to block access to Web sites and e-mail services could reduce job satisfaction and productivity, researchers wrote.

Compiled from The Associated Press, The New York Times and Bloomberg News