Music Biz Does an About Face… and more

Music Industry to Abandon Mass Suits - WSJ.com

After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy. The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry, which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since 2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl.

Cloud hangs over Macworld opening

In a surprise move, the company recently shocked fans by announcing this year's Mac World event is its last. It also revealed that chief executive Steve Jobs would not present the keynote address, reigniting speculation his health has deteriorated following pancreatic cancer surgery in 2004.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Don't miss this video from the Onion News Network about the revolutionary new laptop from Apple. It is being shown at the Apple Mac Expo going on in San Francisco. You may not believe what you see.

LG, Netflix to launch TVs with instant movie viewing

Netflix and LG Electronics said on Sunday that LG will soon introduce TV sets that can screen Netflix movies directly from the Web without an external box. Netflix, which is seeking to equip all home-entertainment screens with instant movie-viewing capability, also announced other partnerships, including one with Microsoft's Xbox 360 to embed the movie software in its game consoles. Netflix subscribers who buy one of these devices can hook it up to their TVs to watch movies that can be downloaded from the Internet instantly, as part of their monthly rental plan. Subscribers can choose from about 12,000 movie titles and television episodes.

Starter Kit: Essential apps for your BlackBerry

So you've got a new BlackBerry? The good news is, it comes with great features right out of the box. The better news is that there are hundreds of fun and functional third-party apps to power up your fresh hardware. In our BlackBerry Starter Kit, we've rounded up a few of the most essential ones to get you started.