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Toshiba Expands Accounting Probe to TV, Chip, and Computer Units

Toshiba said Friday it was expanding an accounting probe to its television, memory chip, and computer divisions, after earlier warning the investigation would take a toll on its balance sheet.

The huge conglomerate, which makes everything from batteries to nuclear reactors, said last week it was revoking its earnings forecast for the past fiscal year and would not pay a dividend.

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Report: U.S. Intelligence Planned Hack of App Stores to Plant Spyware on Phones

The U.S. National Security Agency developed plans to hack into data links to app stores operated by Google and Samsung to plant spyware on smartphones, a media report said Thursday.

The online news site The Intercept said U.S. intelligence developed the plan with allies in Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, a group known as the "Five Eyes" alliance.

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Internet Search Pioneer Lycos Selling Patents

Internet search pioneer Lycos on Wednesday said it is selling some of its technology patents as the company prepares to lauch "a suite of hard good products."

Patents being put on the block by the Internet enterprise spun out of Carnegie Mellon University in 1994 ranged from search engine technology to online advertising and gaming, according to Lycos.

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Racist Search Term Points to White House in Google Maps

Google Maps apologized Wednesday after it emerged that searches using racist language pinpointed the White House, home of President Barack Obama.

The offensive scenario was brought to light after it was noticed that searches combining a racial slur and the word "house" took people to the White House in Google's free online mapping service in some locations.

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Twitter-Google Deal Puts Tweets in Search Results

Google and Twitter announced a partnership Tuesday to display tweets in search results, renewing a tieup that ended in 2011.

The move will allow Google to get more real-time results in its search queries, and help Twitter boost engagement after a period of sluggish user growth which has weighed on its stock price.

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Gazans Reach beyond Blockade Through Start-up

Dozens of workers sit with their eyes glued to computer screens and fingers clicking away on keyboards writing code and tapping in data for clients around the globe.

It could be a scene at any software firm, but these programmers are Palestinians based in the Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2006.

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Sweden Seizes Pirate Bay Web Domains

A Stockholm court on Tuesday seized the Swedish web domains of file-sharing site The Pirate Bay over repeated copyright violations in a bid to end the site's activities.

This was the first time a Swedish prosecutor had requested that an internet address be taken off the web permanently, according to the online edition of Swedish paper of reference Dagens Nyheter.

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U.N. Virtual Reality Film Highlights Plight of Syrian Refugees

The United Nations is using virtual reality technology to help the public experience what it is like to live in a Syrian refugee camp.

"Clouds Over Sidra" is a short documentary film following a day in the life of a 12-year-old Syrian girl living in a refugee camp in Syria's neighbor Jordan.

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Court Agrees Samsung Copied Apple, but Tosses some Damages

A federal appeals court has upheld a jury's finding that Samsung illegally copied some patented features in Apple's iPhone, but it sided with Samsung on one point that could reduce the $930 million in damages the South Korean company had been ordered to pay.

The ruling, coming three years after an epic courtroom battle between two tech industry giants, could mean yet another trial over a portion of damages representing more than a third of the total award. Legal experts, however, say the rivals may be more inclined to negotiate a settlement this time around.

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Pakistan Firm in Global Fake Degree Scam Worth Millions

A Pakistani company that has pledged to build a media empire was facing tough criticism Monday after the New York Times said it was earning tens of millions of dollars by selling fake degrees around the world.

Operating out of the city of Karachi with 2,000 employes, the company Axact ran a fake education empire that involved paid actors promoting fictitious universities and even fake State Department authentication certifications bearing the signature of John Kerry, the article said.

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