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Toyota Unveils Cars with Auto Pilot

Toyota on Friday unveiled the next generation of cars featuring an auto pilot system that will swerve to avoid collisions and also keep to the middle of the road, all without drivers touching the wheel.

The Japanese giant autos using the self-driving technology could be available on the market in just a few years' time.

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BlackBerry Co-Founder Eyes Counterbid for Firm

BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis has boosted his stake in the troubled Canadian tech firm with the intention of making an acquisition bid, regulatory documents showed Thursday.

A document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Lazaridis now has eight percent of BlackBerry shares and is working with another co-founder, Douglas Fregin, "to explore the possibility of submitting a potential joint bid" for the group.

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Dutch Team win Australian Solar Car Race

Dutch team Nuon on Thursday crossed the finish line in an epic 3,000-kilometer (1,860-mile) solar car race across the Australian outback ahead of Japan's Tokai University, avenging their 2011 defeat.

The World Solar Challenge, first run in 1987 and last held in 2011, set off on Sunday from Darwin in northern Australia with the Dutch team's car Nuna 7 taking 33.05 hours to make the punishing trip to Adelaide.

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Samsung's First 'Curved' Smartphone Hits S. Korea Market

Samsung's first smartphone with a curved display screen enters the South Korean market on Thursday, as the electronics giant seeks to maintain its lead in the increasingly saturated market.

Galaxy Round -- a 5.7-inch handset with a display that is slightly rounded on both sides -- will hit stores in South Korea by Thursday afternoon, said SK Telecom, the country's top wireless operator that carries the device.

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Arabnet Developer Tournament 2013-2014 Kicks off on October 26

The rapid growth of the digital sector in the Arab region is leading to a surge in demand for top-tier web and mobile developers. Hiring the best has become a priority to be able to build a successful digital company across sectors, from media to advertising to e-commerce.

ArabNet bridges this gap between companies and talented developers in the ArabNet Developer Tournament 2013 – 2014, a regional competition to identify the best web and mobile developers in the Middle East.

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Report: Apple Planning iPad News

Apple is planning to reveal iPad updates at an invitation-only event later this month, the technology news website AllThingsD reported Tuesday.

The next-generation iPad is expected to be thinner than its predecessor and boast improved camera capabilities. An upgraded version of the iPad mini is likely to list an improved screen among its features.

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Report: Panasonic to Exit Plasma TV Display Business

Panasonic will stop making plasma television screens by early next year, a report said Wednesday, as the struggling electronics giant undergoes a huge corporate overhaul.

Japan's leading Nikkei business daily said Panasonic will shutter production at its main plasma screen plant in Amagasaki in western Japan by the end of March as it puts the factory up for sale.

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Survey: New Devices Drive Global IT Spending

Global spending on information technology is expected to reach $3.8 trillion in 2014, driven by growth in connected devices ranging from jewelry to refrigerators, researchers said Monday.

A report by the research firm Gartner said IT spending is expected to increase 3.6 percent from 2013.

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Iran Minister Rejects Plan to Unblock Social Media

Iranian Telecommunications Minister Mahmoud Vaezi rejected on Monday any official plans to legalize Facebook and Twitter, although President Hassan Rouhani pledged to reduce online censorship, ISNA news agency reported.

"The ban on networks such as Facebook and Twitter was not supposed to be lifted," said Vaezi.

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Twitter Tunes in to TV Partnerships Ahead of IPO

People don't just watch TV anymore; they talk about it on Twitter. From the comfort of couches, they share reactions to touchdowns and nail-biting season finales —and advertisers and networks are taking note.

Examples of Twitter's influence abound. The recent finale of "Breaking Bad" generated a record 1.24 million tweets. The conversation peaked at 22,373 tweets per minute according to analytics firm SocialGuide. People used the hashtag "GoodbyeBreakingBad" nearly 500,000 times. During this year's Super Bowl, sports fans generated 24 million tweets about the competition and nearly half of the game's nationally televised commercials contained hashtags that encouraged viewers to tweet.

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