Technology Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

NEW YORK (AP) , As the holiday-shopping season approaches, Microsoft and Apple have scheduled major events this week to unveil new gadgets and software. The Microsoft event Thursday will focus on Windows 8, a major update to its lucrative operating system. The new software will go on sale Friday, and PC manufacturers have a slew of desktops, laptops and tablet computers designed for it.

NEW YORK (AP) , Those who follow Apple believe they have figured out most of the particulars of a smaller iPad expected to be revealed on Tuesday. One big question remains, though: What will it cost? Apple hasn't said anything about the device, but the veil of secrecy it throws over unreleased products has been a see-through affair this year.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) , A U.S. astronaut departing this week for the International Space Station said Monday that the bulk of the scientific benefits from the orbiting laboratory will be seen over the coming decade, amid questions on whether the estimated $100 billion spent in last 12 years is worth the effort.

HONOLULU (AP) , A photograph of a 93-year-old World War II veteran casting what will likely be his last ballot has captured the hearts of tens of thousands of Internet users. The photo shows Frank Tanabe lying in a hospital bed at home as his daughter Barbara Tanabe helps him fill out his absentee ballot.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) , In the bird world, they make endangered condors seem almost commonplace. The unique Great Gray Owls of Yosemite, left to evolve after glacial ice separated them from their plentiful Canadian brethren 30 millennia ago, are both a mystery and concern to the scientists charged with protecting them.

BERLIN (AP) , A new poll finds that a large majority of Germans back the government's decision to phase out nuclear power and switch to renewable energies within a decade, despite rising electricity bills. The poll for German news magazine Focus published Sunday found that 72 percent continue to support the country's energy switchover. Only 24 percent were opposed to the policy.

VIENNA (AP) , Vienna's opera scene is going live on the web for the first time with the launch of the first Internet-based platform for streaming classical productions from the Austrian capital. The venture kicks off Sunday with the premiere of Gioachino Rossini's "La cambiale di matrimonio" , "The marriage contract" , at Vienna's Kammeroper.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) , A Russian-made Soyuz rocket was erected into place Sunday, ahead of the start of a mission to take a three-man crew to the International Space Station. For the first...

The traditional plastic action figure plays within mobile digital realms with help from DC Comics' famed Caped Crusader and Apple's interactive tablet in the Apptivity Batman: The Dark Knight Rises starter set (Mattel, $19.99, for players 9 years old and older).

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) , In this tech-savvy city teeming with commuters and tourists, the cell phone has become a top target of robbers who use stealth, force and sometimes guns. Nearly half of all robberies in San Francisco this year are cell phone-related, police say, and most occur on bustling transit lines.

WASHINGTON (AP) , A new White House executive order would direct U.S. spy agencies to share the latest intelligence about cyberthreats with companies operating electric grids, water plants, railroads and other vital industries to help protect them from electronic attacks, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.

LOS ANGELES (AP) , Newsweek's decision to stop publishing a print edition after 80 years and bet its life entirely on a digital future may be more a commentary on its own problems than a definitive statement on the health of the magazine industry.

NEW YORK (AP) , The release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system is a week away, and consumers are in for a shock. Windows, used in one form or another for a generation, is getting a completely different look that will force users to learn new ways to get things done.

NEW YORK (AP) , Poor corporate earnings reports pounded the stock market Friday in a sour end to an otherwise strong week of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points for its worst day in four months.

WASHINGTON (AP) , A new White House executive order would direct U.S. spy agencies to share the latest intelligence about cyberthreats with companies operating electric grids, water plants, railroads and other vital industries to help protect them from electronic attacks, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.