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Livescribe Smartpen is iPad's Opposite

Here's a consumer electronics riddle: What's the opposite of the iPad?

Answer: the Livescribe Echo "smartpen." It's as if Livescribe and Apple both looked at the old pen-and-pad combination, but completely disagreed on how to take it into the digital age.

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Tokyo Game Show Turns to Cell Phones, Has New Star

A startup little known outside Japan that offers games for cellphones is emerging as the new star at this year's Tokyo video game exhibition, usually dominated by big-name console makers like Sony and Microsoft.

Gree Inc., a social networking service that began just seven years ago in the founder's living room, had its first booth ever at the sprawling Tokyo Game Show, which previewed to media Thursday ahead of its opening to the public later this week at a hall in this Tokyo suburb.

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France Charges Lebanese Man in Submarines Bribe Case

A French investigating judge has charged a Lebanese businessman suspected of a role in a bribery scandal surrounding the 1994 sale of French submarines to Pakistan that may have been linked to an attack that killed 15.

Ziad Takieddine said he was satisfied with the judicial action since it gives him access to the investigators' file.

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Eyeing a New Racket, Djokovic Wants to Try Acting

Novak Djokovic wants more.

More of everything, on the tennis court and off.

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Anti-Racist Group: Get Rid of 'Jew or Not Jew' App

A French anti-racism group has threatened to sue Apple over an iPhone application called "A Jew or Not a Jew?" that allows users to consult a database of celebrities and public figures to determine whether they are Jewish or not.

SOS Racisme said the application, sold for 0.79 euro cents ($1.07) on the Apple Store France, violates France's strict laws banning the compiling of people's personal details without their consent.

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Facebook to Organize Friends in 'Smart Lists'

It's a modern-day dilemma: You really want your Facebook friends to see that wild party photo of you wearing bunny ears. But you're not so keen on explaining it to your mother-in-law.

Well, Facebook aims to make life easier.

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Google's New Airfare Search Section Takes Off

Google Inc.'s search results for airline tickets are finally getting a lift from a key piece of technology that it bought earlier this year.

The Internet search leader's revised approach to airfare queries appeared Tuesday in a newly opened "flights" section of Google.com. The new look at http://www.google.com/flights arrived with little hoopla. The low-key debut might have reflected Google's desire to avoid attracting too much attention to the service, which has raised fears that the Internet's most powerful company will trample the competition in online travel — one of the biggest markets in electronic commerce.

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Guide Dogs Deal with More Distractions Than Ever

Guide dogs and their handlers have always undergone intense training on dealing with distractions from squirrels to skateboarders. But today's guide dogs have a whole new generation of things to worry about: quiet cars, button-activated walk signals, stroller traffic on handicapped curb-cuts, and a greater likelihood of interacting with other dogs.

"It used to be you encountered other dogs mostly on sidewalks while you were going down the street," said Morgan Watkins, acting president and chief executive officer of Guide Dogs for the Blind, which has campuses in San Rafael, north of San Francisco, and in Boring, Oregon.

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Sony PlayStation Vita Japan Sale Set for Dec. 17

Sony's upgraded portable video game machine PlayStation Vita is going on sale in Japan on Dec. 17 with 26-game software going on sale on the same date, but it's still not available overseas until next year.

The competition in portable gaming is almost certain to intensify in Japan, ahead of the rest of the world, during the year-end shopping season.

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Amy Winehouse Charity Launches on Her Birthday

Amy Winehouse's family has launched a youth charity in her name to mark what would have been the singer's 28th birthday.

Winehouse, who had long fought drug and alcohol problems, was found dead at her London home on July 23. Her family says toxicology reports indicated there was alcohol in her bloodstream but it was unclear whether this had contributed to her death.

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