AP Technology NewsBrief at 11:07 a.m. EST

Uninsured turn to daily deal sites for health care

NEW YORK (AP) _ The last time Mark Stella went to the dentist he didn't need an insurance card. Instead, he pulled out a Groupon. Stella, a small business owner, canceled his health insurance plan more than three years ago when his premium rose to more than $400 a month. He considered himself healthy and decided that he was wasting money on something that he rarely used.

Verizon reverses on $2 fee for one-time payments

NEW YORK (AP) _ After a customer backlash, Verizon Wireless on Friday dropped a plan to start charging $2 for every payment subscribers make over the phone or online with their credit or debit cards. In a statement on its website Friday, the company said "customer feedback" prompted the decision to drop the "convenience fee" it wanted to introduce on Jan. 15.

Letter airs harassment claims against HP's ex-CEO

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd's efforts to impress an HP event hostess included showing her his checking-account balance holding over $1 million, according to a letter detailing the sexual harassment allegations that led to his ouster. The letter was obtained late Thursday by The Associated Press after the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that disclosing it did not violate Delaware laws. In rejecting efforts by Hurd's lawyers to keep it confidential, the court concluded that the letter does not contain trade secrets, non-public financial information or third-party confidential information.

SC company sues ex-worker over Twitter followers

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ An Internet company has sued one of its former employees, saying the worker cost the company thousands of dollars in lost business when he took 17,000 Twitter followers with him when he left the firm. PhoneDog LLC filed a lawsuit in July against Noah Kravitz, a writer who worked for the Mount Pleasant, S.C., company from 2006 until last year. Attorneys for the website, which reviews mobile devices like phones and tablets, said Kravitz owes them $340,000.

Stanford archives offer window into Apple origins

PALO ALTO, Calf. (AP) _ In the interview, Steve Wozniak and the late Steve Jobs recall a seminal moment in Silicon Valley history _ how they named their upstart computer company some 35 years ago. "I remember driving down Highway 85," Wozniak says. "We're on the freeway, and Steve mentions, `I've got a name: Apple Computer.' We kept thinking of other alternatives to that name, and we couldn't think of anything better."

Amazon says 2011 'best holiday ever' for Kindle

SEATTLE (AP) _ Online retailer Amazon says 2011 was the best holiday ever for its Kindle-brand e-readers and tablet computers. Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday that people bought more than 1 million Kindles each week in December.

Stephen Hawking seeks help to make voice heard

LONDON (AP) _ Can you help make Stephen Hawking's voice heard? The famed British physicist is seeking an assistant to help develop and maintain the electronic speech system that allows him to communicate his vision of the universe. An informal job ad posted to the famed physicist's website said the assistant should be computer literate, ready to travel, and able to repair electronic devices "with no instruction manual or technical support."

Review: Scrutinizing your presence on Facebook

NEW YORK (AP) _ Here's one way to sum up 2011: I added 71 people as Facebook friends, shared 26 links and commented on 98 of my friends' status updates. I was tagged in 33 photos and added 18 of my own to the site. I also attempted to keep up with Facebook's endless redesigns, most recently with the introduction of Timeline. With it, your Facebook profile offers highlights from your past, not just your recent happenings. Last week, I urged all of you to carefully curate your Timelines to avoid coming across as vain or revealing forgotten skeletons.

Court OKs immunity for telecoms in wiretap case

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ A federal appeals court has ruled as constitutional a law giving telecommunications companies legal immunity for helping the government with its email and telephone eavesdropping program. Thursday's unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision regarding the 2008 law.

Review: 'W.E.L.D.E.R.' leads parade of iPad gems

So you just got an iPad for Christmas. You already have all the essentials loaded _ Facebook, Twitter, iBooks, whatever news app you prefer. Now it's time to get serious and start learning what the iPad was really built for: games.