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US rule likely to trigger Facebook IPO in 2012

With so many investors becoming fans of the company, Facebook will be legally required to begin sharing more information about its finances and strategy by April 2012, according to documents distributed to prospective shareholders.

Some of the numbers that began trickling out Thursday were eye-popping — most notably a net profit margin of nearly 30 percent, much higher than most people had previously speculated.

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Israel Airport Wifi Blocks Political Sites

Israel's Airport Authority said on Thursday it is examining its wireless Internet service at Ben Gurion airport after learning it blocks access to a range of Israeli political websites.

The restrictions were first reported by Haaretz newspaper, which said the Wifi service was blocking access to sites run by leftist organizations such as Peace Now and Breaking the Silence, as well as right-wing groups like the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel.

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Microsoft CEO Takes CES Stage Amid Tablet Crush

One year ago, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage at the tech industry's premier gadget show to showcase a Windows tablet computer to an audience that had yet to meet the iPad.

This year, with tablets marking the hottest items at the show and Windows lagging far behind Apple Inc.'s popular iPad, the stakes were higher. Microsoft's status as a technology oracle, which guaranteed its spot delivering the trade show's night-before keynote each year, is slipping.

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Trillion-Dollar Forecast for Gadget Sales

As the top U.S. consumer electronics trade show prepares to open this week, organizers are forecasting that global gadget sales may top one trillion dollars this year for the first time ever.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said Tuesday that worldwide annual spending on mobile phones, computers, television sets and other items is expected to rise 10 percent in 2011 to 964 billion dollars.

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Gadget Charger Harnesses Walking Power

A U.S. company has come up with a baton-shaped device that charges gadgets using power generated by walking, hiking or running.

Tremont Electric was in Las Vegas on Tuesday for the Consumer Electronics Show, where it will tout the nPower PEG (personal energy generator) as ideally suited for today's gizmo-dependent lifestyles.

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Restaurants Load Menus on iPad

The bar is buzzing on a busy night at Chicago Cut steakhouse as regulars Keith and Peg Bragg sit at a high table scanning the wine list.

Within seconds, they have all bottles under $40 at their fingertips using an iPad supplied by their server.

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Toshiba Tablet with Upcoming Android OS

Toshiba Corp. is hoping to lure consumers to its new tablet computer by including a screen that is slightly larger than the iPad and offering a version of Google Inc.'s Android mobile operating software geared toward such devices.

Tentatively called the Toshiba Tablet, the device will include a touch screen that measures 10.1 inches diagonally — compared with 9.7 inches on Apple Inc.'s iPad. Toshiba's device will also have the forthcoming version of Android, called Honeycomb.

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2011 Starts With a Glitch for Some iPhone Users

Many iPhone customers had some explaining to do after they overslept to start the new year, due to a glitch in the gadget's alarm clock feature.

Users who set their iPhone alarm for a single wake-up rather than recurring use found the alarm didn't go off with the year's arrival, Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said Sunday.

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New Virus Threatens Android Devices

A virus infecting mobile phones using Google's Android operating system has emerged in China that can allow a hacker to gain access to personal data, U.S. security experts said.

A report this week from Lookout Mobile Security said the new Trojan affecting Android devices has been dubbed "Geinimi" and "can compromise a significant amount of personal data on a user’s phone and send it to remote servers."

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US Internet Users Have Paid-For-Content

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. Internet users have paid to download or access online content such as music, movies or news articles, a survey showed Thursday.

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found 65 percent of those surveyed said they paid to access or download some content.

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