NBC makes some of 'Apprentice' available online
"The Apprentice" has promised some new twists this season in an attempt to boost its sinking ratings. For those who cant wait until Sunday to find out what those twists are, NBC is offering the first 20 minutes of the premiere episode for free at NBC.com and at Yahoo. The show will premiere at 9:30 p.m. this Sunday and will be 90 minutes this week before settling into its regular 9 p.m. slot the following week. What's new this year? The former New York City show is being filmed in Los Angeles, and there will be more at stake for the winning and losing teams than prizes and a scary trip to the boardroom each week. The winning team will stay in a mansion with all the amenities, the losers in tents with port-a-potties. Also new this season, the winning project manager will remain project manager until they lose and will sit in the boardroom along with The Donald, Ivanka, and Donald Jr. to help to decide who gets fired.

Already break your resolution? Well, you're not alone.
Already fallen off the quit smoking/lose weight/get organized bandwagon? Youre not alone. Nearly all of us made at least one New Years resolution this season, but about a third of them have already been broken or will be by Sunday. Thats according to a survey conducted by British gaming site Pogo.co.uk, which found that one in three people say their resolutions are broken within the first seven days of the year. In fact, just 14 percent of respondents say they actually follow through with their resolutions for the entire year, which is the same amount of people who say their resolutions last just one day. Stopping smoking is the most popular New Years resolution, according to the survey, with 27 percent saying they intend to do so. Losing weight (24 percent) and eating healthier (16 percent) were the second- and third-most popular resolutions.

Game on: Showtime launching broadband service
With advertising dollars and viewers harder and harder to come by, TV networks are seeking other ways to goose their revenue. CBS Corp.'s Showtime Networks said yesterday that it has entered a joint venture with video game maker Broadband Libraries entitled On Broadband. The new firm will provide a private label series of video games to TV broadcasters and high-speed internet providers. The service is slated to start in second quarter and will distribute some games for free and some for a fee, with subscriptions available. Users will be able to download the games or play them on the net. The service will carry the name of viewers' local cable or internet company, and On Broadband will be in charge of back-office work. Showtime isn't the first network to try tapping in to the craze for video games. Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting started an online game network called GameTap in 2005.

Study: Web job postings up 17 percent year to year
The number of job postings on major U.S. internet sites fell 10 percent in December versus November, from 3.71 million to 3.34 million, according to The Conference Board. But that capped a pretty good year for online job postings, which shot up 17 percent overall during 2006 compared to the year earlier. The Conference Board attributes the December slowdown to the time of year, a period typically slow in terms of hiring. California and Texas led the nation in total number of open jobs posted online in December, but the East Coast led when looking at ads posted per capita; Massachusetts led all states with 4.04 ads per 100 workers last month, and Rhode Island was a close second with 3.92 ads per 100 workers.