Los Angeles,California,United States

It's dawn at a Los Angeles apartment overlooking the Hollywood Hills. Laura Sweet, a graphic designer in her early 40s, sits at a computer and begins to surf the Net. She searches intently, unearthing such bizarre treasures for sale as necklaces for trees and tattoo-covered pigs. As usual, she posts them on a shopping site called ThisNext.com. Asked why in the world she spends so many hours each week working for free, she answers: "It's a labor of love."

One computer program would allow vision-impaired shoppers to point their cell phones at supermarket shelves and hear descriptions of products and prices. Another would allow a physically disabled person to guide a computer mouse using brain waves and eye movements.

The two programs were among those created by eight groups of volunteers at a two-day software-writing competition this fall. The goal of the competition, sponsored by a nonprofit corporation, is to encourage new computer programs that help disabled people expand their capabilities.

A man-made strain of the common bacteria E.coli has been created by researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles that could lead to a new generation of biofuels. Researchers report in the current issue of the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they've synthesized bacteria that can produce fuel-worthy alcohols.

Yahoo Inc. is plugging its Internet radio service into CBS Corp.'s webcasting network in a move driven by dramatically higher fees for airing music online.

Yahoo's retreat from operating a standalone service, announced Wednesday, makes it the second major Web site this year to flee the rising royalty rates by hitching its radio service to CBS. AOL Radio, owned by Time Warner Inc., hooked up with CBS in June.

Yahoo's radio channel, called Launchcast, will combine with CBS beginning in February.

The jury leader in the trial of a Missouri woman accused of an Internet hoax that ended in a teenage neighbor's suicide said most panelists favored convicting the defendant of felony conspiracy.

But the jurors convicted Lori Drew only on federal misdemeanor charges because they were unable to agree on whether the MySpace hoax was malicious, forewoman Valentina Kunasz told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday.

Imagine you were offered a dream job that required you to relocate to your favorite city. Which city would it be? And why?

If you're like most Americans, you might select New York, San Diego, or San Francisco, according to a soon-to-be released survey of 2,500 employees and entrepreneurs across the nation by the Human Capital Institute, a Washington-based think tank and professional association largely made up of human resources professionals.

In the age of YouTube, online video has opened a world of possibilities for artists like James and Tyler McFadden. Over the last two years, the duo has produced a collection of quirky, short, animated films with their Web-based production studio, GoPotato TV. But all the technology in the world hasn't changed one thing for the McFadden brothers. "Making money is not an easy thing to do with online video," says Tyler McFadden, 27, who heads up business development for the company.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced yesterday the city's plan to use solar power for 10 percent of its energy needs by 2020, the world's largest solar plan.

EMG Technology has filed a patent suit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

The suit alleges that Apple is infringing on U.S. Patent No. 7,441,196 in the way the iPhone navigates the Internet. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages against Apple.

"Web sites are just beginning to develop their mobile sister sites for fast and easy navigation," said Stanley Gibson, an intellectual property expert and partner at the law firm of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of EMG Technology.

The trial of a Missouri woman charged in a tragic MySpace hoax resumed Thursday. Testimony began Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in the controversial trial of Lori Drew, who is charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of computer fraud.

The charges stem from her alleged participation in a MySpace hoax which may have caused the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier. Drew is being tried under the Computer Abuse and Fraud Act.