Instant View: Holiday PC sales slide for first time in over five years

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Holiday season sales of personal computers fell for the first time in more than five years, according to industry tracker IDC, as Microsoft Corp's Windows 8 failed to excite buyers and many opted for tablet devices and powerful smartphones instead.Commentary:SHAW WU, ANALYST, STERNE AGEE"Things are getting really tough for Dell, which is not well-positioned in emerging markets....

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Shine America, Jack Black's Electric Dynamite Producing Comedy Series for Yahoo

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Shine America and Jack Black's Electric Dynamite Productions have partnered to produce "Ghost Ghirls," a new comedy series that will debut in the Spring on Yahoo! Screen, the web giant's video portal.Jeremy Konner, Amanda Lund and Maria Blasucci created the show, which stars Lund and Blasucci as a pair of hapless investigators on the hunt for paranormal activity. It has begun...

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As online voting begins, Oscars take extra steps not to leave voters behind

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Academy opened online voting for the first time in his history on Monday. But in the days leading up to the unprecedented move away from paper ballots, AMPAS also took measures to make sure that chunks of its membership aren't left on the sidelines by the digital revolution."We're trying to enfranchise as many members as possible," AMPAS COO Ric Robertson told TheWrap.Months...

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Twitter and Nielsen pair up to publish new "social TV" ratings

 Nielsen Holdings NV, the television viewership measurement company, said on Monday it will partner with Twitter to publish a new set of ratings that measure chatter on Twitter about TV programming.The new measurement, dubbed the "Nielsen Twitter TV Rating," seeks to tap into the stream of viewer commentary and armchair musings generated on "second screens" - the smartphones and tablets perched...

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Florida man sentenced to 10 years in "hackerazzi" case

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Florida man who pleaded guilty to hacking into the email accounts of celebrities to gain access to nude photos and private information was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday.Former office clerk Christopher Chaney, 36, said before the trial that he hacked into the accounts of film star Scarlett Johansson and other celebrities because...

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Massachusetts fines Morgan Stanley over Facebook IPO

BOSTON (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley , the lead underwriter for Facebook Inc's initial public offering, will pay a $5 million fine to Massachusetts for violating securities laws governing how investment research can be distributed.Massachusetts' top securities regulator, William Galvin, charged on Monday that a top Morgan Stanley banker had improperly coached Facebook on how to disclose sensitive financial...

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China to improve land compensation scheme to help stability

 Chinese officials will this week discuss improving compensation for expropriating farmland, state media said on Monday, in a move to help deal with growing rural anger about forced land seizures.A draft amendment to the Land Administration Law will remove a previous ceiling for calculating compensation which has been judged to be too low and also ensure money is paid out before land is expropriated,...

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Russia investigates protest leader for theft of party funds

Russian authorities have opened a third criminal investigation into opposition leader Alexei Navalny, saying on Monday that the critic of President Vladimir Putin is suspected of stealing millions of dollars from a political party in 2007.Navalny, 36, the most prominent leader of large street protests that erupted last December against Putin's nearly 13-year rule, already faces up to 10 years in...

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Ukraine central banker named first deputy prime minister

 Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich on Monday named Serhiy Arbuzov - who has until now run the central bank - first deputy prime minister in the new government, making him an important player in upcoming talks with the IMF.The appointment to the No.2 government position also makes Arbuzov, who is a member of Yanukovich's inner circle, a likely successor to Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.Ukraine's...

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Afghan policewoman kills US adviser, police say

An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said.The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt. Nargas, had entered a strategic compound in the heart of the capital and shot the adviser with a pistol as he came out of a small...

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Analysis: Ethnicity and ICC cases heat up Kenya presidential race

Alliances forged by Kenya's main presidential contenders for elections in March are lining up a repeat of a largely ethnic-based contest for political power which exploded into bloodshed in the 2007 vote.Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya's founder president, lead the two main opposing camps for the March 4 presidential and parliamentary elections.The head-on rivalry between...

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