SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc. slashed the entry price for an iPhone in half and lowered some laptops by $300 Monday, the company's first dramatic price cuts since the recession began a year and a half ago. With co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs absent until his medical leave is over at the end of June, Apple's biggest unveiling at its annual conference for software developers was a new model of the iPhone, the 3G S. It looks the same but sports a faster processor, longer battery life, an internal compass, a video camera and a photo camera with better resolution and auto-focus. iPhone 3G S iPhone Software Upgrade Apple Macbook new Mac OS: Snow Leopard No netbooks? Philip Schiller

Do 'I'm on vacation' posts pose security concerns? Like a lot of people who use social media, Israel Hyman and his wife Noell went on Twitter to share real-time details of a recent trip. Their posts said they were "preparing to head out of town," that they had "another 10 hours of driving ahead," and that they "made it to Kansas City." While they were on the road, their home in Mesa, Ariz., was burglarized. Hyman has an online video business called IzzyVideo.com, with 2,000 followers on Twitter. He thinks his Twitter updates tipped the burglars off.

Apple rolls out new MacBooks, drops pricesSAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc. showed off new MacBook Pro laptops with longer battery lives, faster processors and lower prices.

Minn. regulators drop bid to block online gambling ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota regulators may have been outplayed when they bet a decades-old federal law would lend itself to an online gambling crackdown. Following a lawsuit by the gambling industry, which considers the push a violation of federal commerce and free-speech protections, state officials said Monday they'll withdraw a demand that Internet service providers block access to hundreds of sites.

BANGALORE - IBM has signed a $15-million (Rs.71-million) outsourcing deal with Eureka Forbes Ltd., a leading Indian health and hygiene solutions firm, to provide business consulting, package implementation, infrastructure and application management services for five years, the global IT major said Monday. As part of the engagement, IBM's India subsidiary will take over the IT staff of Eureka Forbes and leverage its research expertise to help improve its customer's revenue with new tools.