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Glasses.Com Turns Heads with 3-D iPad App

Jonathan Coon turned heads Wednesday with iPad software that lets people try on sunglasses by manipulating 3-D images of themselves from the neck up.

The founder of discount prescription lens company 1-800 Contacts used a TED Conference known for luring the technology savvy to introduce a service intended to let shoppers see themselves in eyewear using smartphones, tablets or computers with cameras built into screens.

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China Closes Porn, Content Sharing Websites

China says it has closed scores of websites for offering pornography, video sharing and online gaming.

The official Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday said a new crackdown led to the shuttering of 225 websites and more than 30,000 blogs and Twitter-like microblog accounts found to be offering obscene or improper content. They included sites offering photo and video sharing as well as online gaming, Xinhua said, citing a statement from the State Internet Information Office.

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Japan Robot Suit Gets Global Safety Certificate

A robot suit that can help the elderly or disabled get around was given its global safety certificate in Japan on Wednesday, paving the way for its worldwide rollout.

The Hybrid Assistive Limb, or HAL, is a power-assisted pair of legs developed by Japanese robot maker Cyberdyne, which has also developed similar robot arms.

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Australia Vodafone Class Action could Reach Tens of Millions

Australian lawyers plan to press ahead with a class action suit against Vodafone over the alleged unreliability of its mobile phone network, which they believe could be worth tens of millions of dollars.

Law firm Piper Alderman said the proposed case related to customers who experienced calls dropping out, unreliable mobile phone reception, erratic Internet performance and poor customer service in 2010 and 2011.

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Yahoo! Fuels Fresh Debate on Telecommuting

Telecommuting, a growing trend in the U.S. workplace, is coming under fresh scrutiny following news that Yahoo! is curbing the practice.

The trend of working from home has been gaining steam for decades, as part of a workplace evolution which allows greater family-work balance and saves energy and commuting costs.

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Net Providers Begin Warning of Illegal Downloads

Internet users who are illegally sharing music, movies or television shows are going to start to receive warning notices from America's five major Internet service providers.

The Copyright Alert System, organized by the recording and film industry, is being activated this week to target consumers who may be engaging in piracy using peer-to-peer software.

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Facebook Agrees to Remove School Shooting Pages

Facebook has agreed to remove some so-called tribute pages related to last year's Connecticut school shooting over concerns they're being used to exploit the tragedy, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday.

Blumenthal and other lawmakers from the state requested the removal of offending pages in a letter to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Monday.

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Chinese Hackers Seen as Increasingly Professional

Beijing hotly denies accusations of official involvement in massive cyberattacks against foreign targets, insinuating such activity is the work of rogues. But at least one piece of evidence cited by experts points to professional cyberspies: China's hackers don't work weekends.

Accusations of state-sanctioned hacking took center stage this past week following a detailed report by a U.S.-based Internet security firm Mandiant. It added to growing suspicions that the Chinese military is not only stealing national defense secrets and harassing dissidents but also pilfering information from foreign companies that could be worth millions or even billions of dollars.

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Transparent Film Uses Light to Power Phone Batteries

A transparent film that costs just one euro ($1.30) to make could bring an end to the anguish of mobile phone users facing the dreaded dead-battery message.

Wysips, a startup based in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, has developed a photovoltaic film which can be built seamlessly into a mobile phone screen and deliver the joy of life to a flat battery.

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Nokia Launches Cheaper Windows Smartphone

Nokia unveiled a cheaper model in its Lumia smartphone range, powered by Microsoft's Windows phone software, as it tries to regain dominance in emerging markets like China.

The Finnish cellphone maker, which until recently was the world's largest maker of phones, said Monday the new Lumia 520 will start at €139, or about $183, before phone-company subsidies.

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