Google is closing a service that sold and rented online video, ending a 19-month experiment doomed by the proliferation of free clips on other Web sites such as YouTube. The decision underscores Google Inc.’s (GOOG) intention to concentrate its financial muscle and brainpower on developing an advertising format to capitalize on the immense popularity of online video.

Retail health clinics

Increasingly, American consumers are shopping for health care by standing in line at a local store under a menu. Store-based health clinics — which are staffed mostly by nurse practitioners and offer quick services for routine conditions from colds to bladder infections — aren’t just a health care fad anymore, but are quickly becoming a serious industry.