A study released Thursday said that interactions on Craigslist were linked to 330 U.S. crimes -- 105 robberies and 12 resulting in deaths -- over a 12-month period.

The study has left Craigslist crying foul, in large part because it was paid for by rival classified website Oodle.com, which is using the findings to steer consumers to its business.

But this isn't the first jab between Craigslist and Oodle.

Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist's chief executive, wrote in a blog post that in 2005, his company issued a cease-and-desist letter when it found that Oodle was re-posting some of its listings.

AIM Group, a consulting firm for online classified companies (all of which are competitors of Craigslist), produced the study for Oodle and said in a blog post on its website Thursday that, "Sadly, Craigslist has become a cesspool of crime.

"The AIM Group has just completed a research project for Oodle, a Craigslist competitor, cataloging crimes that have been linked to Craigslist. And the results surprised even us."

Buckmaster said that AIM Group, based in Altamonte Springs, Fla., and Oodle, based in San Mateo, Calif., should be ashamed of themselves producing the study.

"Classified listings scraper/aggregator and CL wannabe Oodle has paid AIM Group to falsely portray craigslist as fraught with criminal activity," Buckmaster said. "If you strip away the false (and defamatory) paid-for editorial however, and look at the numbers AIM uses, a very different story emerges."

The 330 crimes over a 12-month period that AIM said it documented as being linked to Craigslist with the help of police records are being portrayed in a dishonest light, he said.

"Sounds scary until you compare that number to the 570 million classified ads posted by 100 million or more US craigslist users during that same time span, generating literally BILLIONS of human interactions, many involving face-to-face meetings between users who do not know one another," Buckmaster said. "AIM Group facetiously writes 'we understand thousands or even tens of thousands of transactions happen safely between Craigslist aficionados.'

"THOUSANDS??? Shame on you AIM Group (and Oodle). You know better. Try HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS or BILLIONS of safe transactions."

Google is continuing its advance on Microsoft Office with Cloud Connect, a software plug-in that moves Office files to Google Docs.

Cloud Connect, released Thursday, allows users to save their files to "the cloud," which in this case is Google servers. 

Once the files are saved in Google Docs, users can then edit files in Microsoft Office and sync them up to the cloud -- which Google says more easily allows collaboration on documents and cuts out confusion over which version of a document is the most recent one.

"For example, you can edit a Word document's table of contents from Dublin while co-workers adjust formatting and make revisions from Denver," said Shan Sinha, Google Apps product manager in a blog post. "Instead of bombarding each other with attachments and hassling to reconcile people's edits, your whole team can focus on productive work together."

Google also saves every revision of any document users of Cloud Connect make, whether those edits take place in Office or Google Docs. And files can be shared in a view-only form via Google Docs as well with each document getting a unique Web address.

Cloud Connect is free and works with Office 2003, 2007 and 2010 on Windows PCs. Cloud Connect, however, won't work with Mac versions of Office.

"Due to the lack of support for open APIs on Microsoft Office for Mac, we are unable to make Google Cloud Connect available on Macs at this time," Sinha said. "We look forward to when that time comes so we can provide this feature to our Mac customers as well."

Microsoft is working on business services that could offer the same features as Cloud Connect as a part of its Office 365 product, which is expected to be released this year.

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Already own a Mac and want to use Apple's new FaceTime video chat app? It'll cost you 99 cents.

Apple officially released its FaceTime software for Mac computers on Thursday along with updates to its MacBook Pro line.

But, while the new MacBook Pros are shipping with the FaceTime application pre-installed, owners of older Apple computers -- desktop or laptop -- will have to buy FaceTime and install it themselves.

The FaceTime application is sold only through the Mac App Store, not in iTunes and not on retail store shelves. And the Mac App Store is available only on Mac OS X Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6), which sells for $29.

Apple's old video chat software, iChat, is still up and running and still free and installed on every Mac. iChat first arrived back in 2002, in Mac OS X Jaguar (OS X 10.2).

However, unlike FaceTime, iChat can't be used to conduct a video chat session with iPhone 4 and current iPod Touch users.

Apple has said in the past that FaceTime will be added to more devices in the future, and Thursday's inclusion is an example. FaceTime is also widely expected to be included in the iPad 2, which Apple is hosting a March 2 event to show off.

The addition of FaceTime to Apple's MacBook Pro coincides with the introduction of a new above-screen camera, called FaceTime HD. Previous cameras in MacBook Pros were called iSight, which are still found in the company's base MacBooks, iMacs and Cinema Displays -- though they'll likely receive a FaceTime name change when eventually refreshed.

The MacBook Pro's FaceTime HD camera can shoot widescreen format video in high-definition resolution of 720p.

With the arrival of Mac OS X Lion this summer (OS X 10.7) FaceTime will become standard, included software, and iChat will still be around, too.

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Image: Screenshot of FaceTime for sale in the Mac App Store. Credit: Apple

Apple updated its MacBook Pro line of laptops on Thursday with dual or quad core processors, FaceTime HD video chat, faster graphics and the addition of Intel's new high-speed connector technology called Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt, which had been shown off by Intel for more than a year under the name Light Peak, is supposed to transfer data at a rate of 10 gigabits per second. USB 2.0 transfers data at about 480 megabits per second.

Thunderbolt can also be used to connect computers to external monitors and transfer data at the same time, all with a single cable -- an optical cable.

Intel said a full-length high-definition movie can be transferred in less than 30 seconds and one-year's worth of continuous MP3 music can be downloaded in 10 minutes.

Thunderbolt is replacing Apple's mini-display port on the side of the new MacBook Pros -- though it will still work with those connectors.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is getting new Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors with speeds up of to 2.7 GHz.

Apple's 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro computers are using only Intel's quad-core Core i7 processors with up to 2.3 GHz in speed and faster AMD Radeon HD graphics processors with up to 1GB of video memory for more intensive uses such as video editing or playing video games.

And all three sizes of MacBook Pro are getting an updated front-facing camera above their screens, dubbed FaceTime HD cameras.

The move officially sweeps Apple's old laptop cameras, known as iSight, out of the company's MacBook Pro line. FaceTime HD adds widescreen video shooting for video chats and photos and is compatible with other Intel-based Macs, the iPhone 4 and the current-generation iPod touch.

[Updated at 9:48 a.m.: The refreshed MacBook Pro line is available for purchase in Apple stores and Apple's online store. The prices for the laptops remain the same, with the 13-inch MacBook Pro starting at $1,199, the 15-inch starting at $1,799 and the 17-inch model starting at $2,499.]

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Images: (Top) New Apple MacBook Pro computers. (Bottom) A view of Intel's Thunderbolt port on an Apple MacBook Pro. Credit: Apple

Apple's Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook is the presumed heir apparent to Steve Jobs.

So all eyes were on Cook as he sat on Jobs' stool onstage at Apple's annual shareholders meeting Wednesday. It was only the second time in a decade that Jobs skipped the meeting.

Cook may not have mesmerized the crowd (after all, this was a shareholders meeting, which has none of the magic of Apple unveiling a sleek new gadget). But he did get his share of applause, particularly as he ticked off some of the impressive stats for the iPhone and iPad in the last fiscal year.

And he got a few laughs. One investor asked Cook if he had seen "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, which details some of the conditions in factories run by Apple suppliers in China.

Cook joked that if it doesn't run on ESPN or CNBC, he hasn't seen it. Then he delivered a fervent defense of Apple's practices in China.

When the investor pressed him again about the play's depiction of Jobs, Cook lost a bit of his cool.

He said: "I don't need to see a play. I know Steve."

Cook may know him better than most.

Jobs enticed this veteran of IBM and Compaq to join a troubled company in 1998 as it wobbled on the precipice of failure. He set about fixing what was rotten at the core of the company — poor product quality, spotty availability and high prices — and restored Apple to profitability.

While Jobs obsesses over every detail of Apple's products, Cook obsesses over every detail of its business operations. His efforts were as crucial to Apple's resurgence as any of Jobs' designs. Apple rewarded him with added responsibilities overseeing sales, customer support and logistics, and made him the company's best-paid employee, with $59 million in salary, bonus and stock last year.

In September 2009, when Jobs made his first appearance after his last medical leave to introduce a new line of iPods, he thanked one Apple employee by name: Cook, who led a standing ovation for Jobs from the front row of the San Francisco auditorium.

People who know him say Cook has mastered running Apple's business while giving the creative team room to roam on the cutting edge of technology and design.

"Tim is an incredible administrator and operational leader," said Dan Walker, Apple's former chief talent officer. "He is smart enough to accommodate creativity."

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Photo: Apple COO Tim Cook speaks during an Apple special event at the company's headquarters on October 20, 2010 in Cupertino. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Apple is set to unveil the iPad 2 on March 2, and the next-generation tablet is widely expected to carry on the blockbuster sales success of the first model.

But Sam Shrauger, PayPal's vice president of global product and experience, isn't so sure the next iPad will be a hit with content publishers, particularly due to the 30% cut Apple is taking in its new App Store subscription service.

"Somehow I doubt it," Shrauger wrote in a company blog post on Wednesday. "We have heard from a number of publishers since last week who are outraged at Apple's 30 percent cut."

If Apple's subscription service doesn't pan out, that might not be so bad for its competitors -- which among them is PayPal, owned by EBay.

PayPal offers a service of its own for publishers and takes a 5% cut of revenue.

"Publishers need an easy way to monetize their content while also retaining information about their readers across multiple platforms," Shrauger wrote. "With Apple's subscription service, publishers lose both these controls and have few options. They can charge consumers more, withdraw from the Apple apps store or continue status quo, knowing they'll make far less money. This simply doesn't work in the long run."

Apple's App Store subscription plan requires any content publishers who want to sell subscriptions through the iTunes and iOS ecosystem to charge the same price or less through Apple as what is offered elsewhere. All subscriptions sold though Apple leave the tech giant with a 30% cut of that revenue.

If a subscriber signs up for a magazine, newspaper, video series or music outside of the iOS ecosystem, they can still access content in an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad app and Apple will take no share of that revenue since the subscription originated outside of its service.

PayPal's gloomy outlook on Apple's terms with publishers isn't the first.

His name was on everyone's lips and minds. But Steve Jobs did not show up at Apple's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday.

That's where Apple shareholders rejected a plan that would have required the company to disclose succession plans for its chief executive.

The preliminary results were announced at the meeting on Apple's campus in Cupertino, Calif. Apple did not provide a breakdown of the preliminary voting.

Investors are wrestling with the uncertainty stemming from Jobs' sudden announcement one month ago that he would take his second medical leave in two years.

The Central Laborers' Pension Fund, which owns Apple stock, called for a succession plan, a move supported by the Laborers' International Union of North America. Spokeswoman Jennifer O'Dell, who presented the proposal at the meeting, said Apple should demonstrate to shareholders "it's prepared" for a smooth transition.

"Apple bears a responsibility to be upfront with shareholders about how it would handle a CEO vacancy," O'Dell said.

Apple says it conducts such planning but that requiring disclosure would reveal confidential information and potentially harm the company's ability to recruit and retain executives. It deflected concern that succession planning has taken on new urgency with Jobs' treatment for a rare form of pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant.

The shareholder meeting comes just days before a March 2 event at which Apple is expected to launch the next version of its iPad, which was delayed by Jobs' medical leave.  Jobs is credited with bringing the popular tablet computer to market.

Chief operating officer Tim Cook declined to comment when asked by an investor about the anticipated release of the next iPad. "The March 2 event might give you some clues," he said.

Another measure, brought by the California Public Employees' Retirement System, called for a majority vote to elect unopposed candidates to the board. The proposal passed in preliminary results. Currently the company does not require a majority. All of the company’s seven board members including Jobs were re-elected Wednesday. 

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-- Jessica Guynn

Photo: An Apple sign is displayed outside of the company's headquarters at One Infinite Loop in Cupertino on Feb. 23, 2011. Credit: Noah Berger/Bloomberg

LG's Internet-connected TVs will soon be displaying content from Brightcove, a popular online video platform for businesses and news agencies.

Brightcove Inc., which has more than 2,700 customers in 50 countries, will roll out a software development kit later this year that will enable it users to build video-playing apps for LG's NetCast software.

Among the Cambridge, Mass.-based company's customers are the Discovery Channel, General Motors, the New York Times, Ticketmaster and Reebok.

"Consumer electronics companies, such as our partner LG, are creating the largest global distribution network into the living room," said Eric Elia, Brightcove's vice-president of TV solutions, in a blog post. "SmartTV, as LG calls their platform, is to the TVs of yore like smart phones are to feature phones."

Elia noted that Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has forecasted that 106 million Internet-ready TVs will be sold in 2012 -- each being an outlet for online video distribution.

Financial terms of the deal, or how long it will last, weren't disclosed by either LG or Brightcove on Wednesday.

The deal to distribute content on LG's NetCast TVs is Brightcove's first pairing with a TV maker, though it can distribute video on set-top boxes such as the Boxee Box.

Brightcove also offers video players compatible with Adobe Flash and HTML5, in addition to mobile operating systems such as Apple's iOS, Google Android, Nokia's Symbian, HP WebOS, Windows Phone, and Research In Motion's BlackBerry phones -- as well as Facebook and YouTube.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint against a Huntington Beach man who it says sent  millions of illegal text spam messages advertising a mortgage modification website that claimed to offer government-affiliated services.

The FTC said in the court document that Phillip A. Flora sent out text messages at a "mind boggling" rate of about 85 messages a minute, every minute of every day for a 40-day period that began on Aug 22, 2009.

During that time, Flora allegedly sent out more than 5 million illegal text messages, according to the complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court.

The commission, in the complaint, has requested that the court freeze Flora's assets and order a permanent injunction against him from sending such text messages.

Among the messages sent, some read: "Homeowners, we can lower your mortgage payment by doing a Loan Modification. Late on payments OK. No equity OK. May we please give you a call? Loanmod-gov.net," the complaint said.

Some others stated: "If you are struggling to keep up with credit card payments and have more than 10k in debt, we can help. May we give you a call regarding this?" the court document said.

Loanmod-gov.net, a website that is no longer up, contained text that said it could offer "Official Home Loan Modification and Audit Assistance Information" with an image of a U.S. flag beneath it, according to the complaint.

Many of the sites and texts were designed to trick consumers into believing they were affiliated with the U.S. government, the court document said.

The commission also alleges that the text spam blasts resulted in many recipients losing money because they ended up having to pay fees to their respective mobile carriers for receiving the unsolicited messages.

The FTC said in its complaint that Flora collected contact information from those who responded to the text spam, even if they were asking him to stop sending the messages, which was then sold to marketers as "debt settlement leads."

The commission is also accusing Flora of sending a number of e-mail spam messages to commercial e-mail marketers touting his success in sending such text message blasts.

In his e-mails, Flora promoted the texts by writing, "Currently able to send out 200k text messages a day; I designed, own and operate the marketing system. All companies on the internet charge a penny a message, I charge a tiny fraction of that and I do not charge for cell phone data because I maintain a database of 100 million cell phone opt-in uses," the complaint said.

The e-mails failed to offer recipients a way to opt out of receiving the messages and didn't list a physical mailing address for the sender, two items required by law for such commercial e-mails, the FTC said.

In the e-mails, Flora offered a rate of $200 for 50,000 messages and $300 for 100,000 messages sent, the complaint said.

The FTC said it was assisted in its investigation into the text message spam by AT&T, Verizon and CTIA - The Wireless Association.

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

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Google Ventures has funneled $20 million into a start-up that claims to prevent most of the energy loss that occurs in solar panels, electric cars, computer servers and more.

Transphorm Inc., based in Goleta near Santa Barbara, makes an electric power conversion technology that probably doesn’t sound as sexy as the latest new wind turbine or algae biofuel breakthrough. But on Wednesday the company emerged from “stealth mode” with $38 million in capital from Google, Kleiner Perkins and more.

Transphorm says its modules can recoup 90% of the energy that is often lost when direct current or alternating current is turned into another form of power –- a process required by many technologies with electronic components.

Inefficient power conversion costs U.S. businesses $40 billion a year and wastes hundreds of terawatts of energy -– potentially more than all the power used on the West Coast, according to Transphorm.

Said another way, more than 10% of all electricity produced –- more than all the power created by renewable energy sources -- seeps out during the conversion process, according to the government’s Energy Information Administration.

In March, Transphorm will unveil and demonstrate its products at the Applied Power Electronics Conference in Texas. The company’s modules are already being worked into customers’ products, some of which will roll out at the end of 2011, executives said.

Apple has sent out a media invite for an event March 2 at 10 a.m. at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francsico. 

The image on the invitation shows a giant "2" covering what appears to be an iPad.  The 2 is in the style of Apple's calendar software, but the hint of a second version of the iPad is none too subtle.

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Image: Apple Inc.

Microsoft plans to open up its Kinect motion-sensing controller for the Xbox 360 to a wide array of engineers with the release of a Software Development Kit planned for this spring.

The Kinect SDK will be made available to noncommercial users such as enthusiasts and academic researchers.

"Microsoft's investments in natural user interfaces are vital to our long-term vision of creating computers that are intuitive to use and able to do far more for us," said Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer, in a company blog post. "The fruits of these research investments are manifesting across many of our products, Kinect for Xbox 360 among them."

A commercial version of the Kinect SDK is planned for a later date, Microsoft said.

"The SDK will give users access to deep Kinect system information such as audio, system application-programming interfaces and direct control of the Kinect sensor," the company said.

The move to release a proper Kinect SDK makes sense for Microsoft.

Kinect had already caught the attention of hackers, academics and some unwanted developers, who've come up with imaginative ways to use the camera system without such a resource.

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Photo: Employee Sean Jones exercises to a Kinect game in a Microsoft Store in Bellevue, Wash., last month. Credit: Elaine Thompson / Associated Press