Exclusive: Google aiming to go straight into car with next Android – sources

By Alexei Oreskovic and Ben Klayman SAN FRANCISCO/DETROIT (Reuters) – Google Inc is laying the groundwork for a version of Android that would be built directly into cars, sources said, allowing drivers to enjoy all the benefits of the Internet without even plugging in their smartphones.

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BlackBerry woos keyboard loyalists with launch of Classic

By John McCrank and Euan Rocha NEW YORK/TORONTO (Reuters) – BlackBerry Ltd launched its long-awaited Classic on Wednesday, a smartphone it hopes will help it win back market share and woo those still using older versions of its physical keyboard devices. The Canadian mobile technology company said the new device, which bears striking similarities to its once wildly popular Bold and Curve handsets, boasts a larger screen, longer battery life, an expanded app library with access to offerings from Amazon. …

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California policeman who threatened protesters on Twitter put on leave

By Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) – A San Jose police officer who tweeted threatening messages to demonstrators protesting the police killings of unarmed black men has been placed on administrative leave, a spokeswoman for the department said Monday. The action comes amid ongoing protests nationwide over the deaths of Michael Brown, an unarmed teen shot to death by police in Missouri, and Eric Garner, who died after a New York officer placed him in a chokehold. …

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Facebook dumps Microsoft Web search results

By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc has stopped including results from Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine on its social networking site. The move, confirmed by a company spokesperson, comes as Facebook has revamped its own search offerings, introducing a tool on Monday that allows users to quickly find past comments and other information posted by their friends on Facebook. The decision may reflect the increasing importance that Facebook sees in Web search technology, a market dominated by rival Google Inc

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WTO talks on duty-free trade in IT goods collapse

By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) – Talks on cutting trade tariffs on hundreds of information technology products collapsed on Friday, delaying and potentially scuppering a deal estimated to be worth $1 trillion to global trade. “We are disappointed not to be celebrating a deal this week. We missed a big opportunity,” U.S

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All calm amid political storm at ‘Interview’ premiere

By Piya Sinha-Roy Los Angeles (Reuters) – All was calm on Thursday at the Los Angeles premiere of Sony Pictures' parody film “The Interview”, which had been in the spotlight for sparking tension with North Korea and potentially prompting a major cyber hack on the company. Stars Seth Rogen and James Franco posed on a small red carpet restricted to photographers as Sony reined in media access after the film made headlines following a devastating security breach that leaked films, data and emails

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Islamic State suicide bomber detonates tank in eastern Syria

BEIRUT (Reuters) – An Islamic State suicide bomber detonated a tank at a Syrian air base in the province of Deir al-Zor, one of the last remaining government strongholds in eastern Syria, jihadist social media and a monitoring group said on Friday. One Islamic State Twitter account published two photos of a smiling man it named Abu al-Farouq al-Libi, who it said carried out the “suicide operation”.

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Max Sound files patent suit against Google, YouTube in Germany

(Reuters) – Technology company Max Sound Corp said it filed a lawsuit against Google Inc and YouTube in Germany earlier this month, alleging infringement of a video-streaming patent. Max Sound claimed that all the products that use the H.264 video-encoding format for video compression infringed its asserted patent

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