 | Good afternoon |  |  | Microsoft has put its talks with media companies about an online subscription service for TV shows and movies on hold, according to people familiar with the discussions. The company had been in intense talks with potential programming partners for over a year and was hoping to roll out the service in the next few months. But it pulled back after deciding that the licensing costs were too high for the business model Microsoft envisaged, the sources said. Microsoft is still working to distribute TV shows over the Web, focusing on delivering programming via its Xbox gaming system to existing cable subscribers.
Dell intends to launch its first consumer tablet computer in late 2012, marking its entry into a hotly contested arena that has already claimed arch-foe HP. The Texas company had dipped its toe in the waters with an enterprise-focused, "Streak" tablet. Chief commercial officer Steve Felice was coy about which operating system Dell might adopt -- Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 or Google's Android -- saying both were viable options. But Felice did say he liked the feel of Microsoft's touch-enabled OS, which would be well-timed when it emerges later this year.
According to an Ipsos/Reuters poll, more than 10 percent of parents around the world say their child has been cyberbullied and nearly one-fourth know a youngster who has been a victim. The online poll of more than 18,000 adults in 24 countries, 6,500 of whom were parents, showed the most widely reported vehicle for cyberbullying was social networking sites likes Facebook, which were cited by 60 percent. Mobile devices and online chat rooms were a distant second and third.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document. A DHS official familiar with the monitoring program said that it was intended purely to enable command center officials to keep in touch with various Internet-era media so that they were aware of major, developing events to which the Department or its agencies might have to respond.
Two Dutch cable companies were ordered by a court to block access to the website The Pirate Bay to prevent the illegal downloading of free music, films and games in case brought on behalf of the entertainment industry. | | | LATEST NEWS | | Samsung plans hybrid cameras, seeks big sales rise | | January 11, 2012 02:41 PM ET | | LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co aims to more than quadruple sales of small, interchangeable lens cameras this year, as it seeks to move up-market to compete with stronger Japanese rivals amid stagnating growth in the compact camera segment. | Full Article | | Berlin theater stages first live play on Facebook | | January 11, 2012 02:25 PM ET | | BERLIN (Reuters) - Pistol dueling in print and energetic postings of "applause" accompanied the Facebook premier of Theodor Fontane's "Effi Briest," which organizers said was the first live staging of a play on the social networking site. | Full Article | | Stratfor relaunches website in wake of attack | | January 11, 2012 01:30 PM ET | | (Reuters) - Intelligence analysis firm Strategic Forecasting Inc (Stratfor) relaunched its website more than two weeks after an attack by hackers who had stolen data of clients including Henry Kissinger and former Vice President Dan Quayle. | Full Article | | Social TV start-up GetGlue bags $12 million | | January 11, 2012 03:37 PM ET | | (Reuters) - As more and more television viewers spend time tweeting about their shows or posting comments on Facebook, social entertainment start-up GetGlue has raised more money to keep fans talking through their favorite shows. | Full Article | | | BUSINESS NEWS
| | Wall Street steady near 5-month high | | January 11, 2012 04:45 PM ET | | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks held firm near recent five-month highs on Wednesday as investors awaited key bond market tests for Europe in the next two days that could determine the direction of the euro zone crisis. | Full Article | | Fed says economy expanding moderately | | January 11, 2012 04:13 PM ET | | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday the economy continued to expand modestly through the end of 2011 as holiday spending proved robust, but a weak job market was still preventing incomes from rising. | Full Article | | Claim deadline may illuminate MF Global "hole" | | January 11, 2012 04:54 PM ET | | (Reuters) - One of the hottest debates raging from Wall Street to the farm belt is destined to stretch into next month, as the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of broker MF Global Inc collects the final claims by customers who are missing some $1.2 billion - or, maybe, only half as much. | Full Article | | CFTC adds protections to customers' money | | January 11, 2012 03:36 PM ET | | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The futures regulator on Wednesday adopted new protections for customer collateral posted in swap trades, and said it plans a broader look into client safeguards, as the search continues for hundreds of millions of dollars in missing MF Global customer money. | Full Article | | | | U.S. TOP NEWS | | | | | RELATED VIDEO | | |  |  | | A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today. |  | | Your daily briefing on the latest tech developments from around the world from Reuters expert tech correspondents. Register Today. |  | | The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day.. Register Today. | | | » MORE NEWSLETTERS | | | ODDLY ENOUGH | | | | | | |
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