Zynga carries out planned games shutdown, including "Petville"

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Social games publisher Zynga Inc confirmed on Monday that it has carried out 11 of the planned shutdowns of 13 game titles, with "Petville" being the latest game on which it pulled the plug.Zynga in October said it would shut down 13 underperforming titles after warning that its revenues were slowing as gamers fled from its once-popular titles published on the Facebook platform...

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Judge rejects part of Apple App Store suit vs Amazon

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday rejected part of Apple Inc's lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc's use of the term App Store, ruling Apple cannot bring a false advertising claim against the online retailer.U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, granted Amazon's motion for partial summary judgment, which only challenged Apple's false advertising allegations. Apple...

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China shuts website of leading reformist magazine

BEIJING (Reuters) - China shut the website of a leading pro-reform magazine on Friday, apparently because it ran an article calling for political reform and constitutional government, sensitive topics for the ruling Communist Party which brooks no dissent."Yanhuang Chunqiu" (China Through the Ages) is an influential Beijing magazine that features essays from reformist retired officials.In a message...

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Smartphone, tablet pile-up may lead to grim Q1 for suppliers

Smartphone sales were explosive in 2012 and the tablet market finally came into its own after being a one-horse town since 2010. Market leaders like Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (005930) are expected to post massive results in the fourth quarter and shipments from smaller vendors have continued to grow as well, but questions surrounding how long these runs can last continue to be raised. To compound the...

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Apple CEO Tim Cook sees pay drop 99% in 2012

In 2012, Apple’s (AAPL) chief executive will earn about 1% of the compensation he pulled in last year, according to a regulatory filing. The CEO’s compensation will total $4.17 million in 2012, which includes a $1.36 million salary and $2.8 million in compensation related to incentive plans. Last year, the Apple boss was paid $378 million according to Bloomberg, thanks largely to $376.2 million in...

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Marvell seeks to overturn $1.17 billion patent verdict

(Reuters) - Marvell Technology Group Ltd said on Thursday it will try to void a $1.17 billion damages award imposed by a federal jury that found the chipmaker had infringed two patents held by Carnegie Mellon University.In a statement, the company said it will seek to overturn Wednesday's verdict in post-trial proceedings in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. It also said that if necessary, it...

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Lack of low-end BlackBerry 10 phone could be a serious stumbling block in RIM comeback bid

South Africa is one of Research In Motion’s (RIMM) top five markets in the world, and it is a decent proxy for the entire African market. Leading regional carrier Vodacom’s November smartphone statistics illustrate exactly why BlackBerry 10 cannot arrive soon enough… and why RIM badly needs a cheap new BlackBerry 10 model by spring.[More from BGR: Apple CEO Tim Cook sees pay drop 99% in 2012]Vodacom...

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Samsung looks to address its biggest weakness in 2013

Samsung (005930) is a force to be reckoned with. Two short years ago it looked like Apple (AAPL) was set to run away with the smartphone industry, but Samsung came out in a big way and the companies now share the smartphone crown — Samsung handily out-ships Apple but the Cupertino, California-based company still pulls in more profit. There is one area where Apple reigns supreme, however, but Samsung...

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Japan's space agency probes possible data leak

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's space agency says it is investigating a possible leak of data about its Epsilon rocket due to a computer virus. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency says an infected computer was disconnected from its networks after a virus was found earlier this month. It is checking to see if any data was siphoned from it. JAXA said in a statement that information about the Epsilon, due...

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Guard says Manning protest annoyed brig staff

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Some workers at a Marine Corps brig housing a soldier charged with sending U.S. secrets to WikiLeaks became annoyed at a demonstration on his behalf the day before a confrontation that led to tighter restrictions on him, a former guard testified Saturday. The testimony by former Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jonathan Cline undercut government efforts to show that Pfc. Bradley Manning's...

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Brig counsellor: Manning's history, behaviour outweighed doctor's opinion of self-harm risk

FORT MEADE, Md. - An Army private charged with sending U.S secrets to the website WikiLeaks had a history of suicidal thoughts and aloof behaviour that outweighed a psychiatrist's opinion that he was no risk to himself, two former counsellors testified Sunday. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Jordan and Marine Master Sgt. Craig Blenis testified on the sixth day of a pretrial hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning...

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China's Wanda in talks with "well-known" hotels for U.S. buys

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's privately-owned Dalian Wanda Group, the world's largest movie theater owner, is in talks with "well-known" hotel chains for acquisition opportunities in the United States, its chairman said on Monday. Wanda, which also has interests in real estate, tourism and department stores, bought U.S.-based movie theater chain AMC Entertainment for $2.6 billion in September in one...

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Nokia Siemens venderá su unidad de redes de fibra óptica

FRANCFORT (Reuters) - El fabricante de equipos de telecomunicaciones Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) dijo el lunes que venderá su unidad de redes de fibra óptica a Marlin Equity Partners. NSN no brindó detalles financieros sobre la venta, pero dijo que se completaría en el primer trimestre del año que viene. Como consecuencia del acuerdo, unos 1.900 empleados, principalmente en Alemania y Portugal,...

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Australia royal hoax radio station to review procedures

PERTH, Australia/LONDON (Reuters) - An Australian radio station under fire over a prank call to a hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Kate said on Sunday it would review its procedures after a nurse's apparent suicide. New South Wales Police said they were in contact with London's police force and were ready to assist in any investigation, as the incident sparked fresh soul-searching...

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