Zynga reports higher-than-expected bookings, to cut jobs

By Devika Krishna Kumar (Reuters) – “Farmville” creator Zynga Inc reported higher-than-expected bookings as titles such as “Words With Friends” attracted more gamers, and the company announced the elimination of another 364 jobs as it tries to turn around its business.

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TripAdvisor revenue up 29.2 percent on higher click-based advertising

(Reuters) – Travel review website operator TripAdvisor Inc reported a 29.2 percent rise in quarterly revenue as it earned more from click-based advertising and display ads. Shares of the company, which owns websites such as tripadvisor.com and oyster.com, rose about 5.8 percent to $81.30 in extended trading on Wednesday. Revenue from click-based advertising rose 20 percent to $249 million in the first quarter ended March 31 from a year earlier and accounted for 69 percent of total revenue, the company said

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‘Team Juncker’ ham for cameras to push EU digital market

By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Can a bunch of graying politicians in Brussels really get with it and give Europe a revolutionary open market in digital technology? Jean-Claude Juncker and other EU executives poked fun at their own generation in an online video posted on Twitter on Wednesday to try and convince younger Europeans that they can.

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Twitter launches video streaming app Periscope

(Reuters) – Twitter Inc launched a video streaming app called Periscope on Thursday, just days after reports that it had blocked a rival app called Meerkat. Meerkat relies heavily on Twitter and has become hugely popular in the month since its launch.

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Pentagon research arm says military must react faster to tech changes

By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The famed Pentagon research arm that gave the world the Internet and the miniaturized GPS receivers used in consumer devices said on Thursday one of its key goals now is to ensure U.S. troops do not get left behind as technologies advance at a lightning pace. Arati Prabhakar, director of the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said easy access to once-proprietary products and the fast pace of commercial technological development threaten the U.S.

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Cricket-New Zealand still bubbling over semi-final performance

By Greg Stutchbury AUCKLAND, March 25 (Reuters) – Grant Elliott’s towering six which propelled New Zealand into their first cricket World Cup final was still generating media buzz on Wednesday. The 36-year-old dispatched Dale Steyn’s delivery over deep midwicket to take New Zealand to 299 for six on Tuesday, giving them a tense four-wicket victory over South Africa in the first semi-final at Eden Park. It ended a run of six defeats in semi-finals for New Zealand, who will play either Australia or India in Sunday’s final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

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Computing, telecoms industries set on collision course

By Eric Auchard and Leila Abboud BARCELONA (Reuters) – Telecom network gear makers are on a collision course with Silicon Valley computing giants as software and cloud computing have begun to change the way operators from AT&T to China Mobile run their networks. As networks move to relatively standard hardware, formerly entrenched equipment groups must increasingly compete for contracts with the likes of Cisco, Hewlett-Packard and VMware, as well as a slew of startups.

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Former Kleiner partner seeks $16 million in discrimination lawsuit

By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Ellen Pao, a former partner at prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, is seeking $16 million for discrimination and retaliation in a lawsuit against the firm, a Kleiner attorney said in court. Kleiner has denied the accusations of discrimination and retaliation, along with accusations that it did not take reasonable steps to prevent discrimination. At a hearing in San Francisco Superior Court on Monday, Kleiner attorney Lynne Hermle publicly disclosed the amount of damages sought for the first time.

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IBM dismisses Forbes report of massive layoffs

(Reuters) – IBM dismissed on Monday a Forbes magazine report claiming the technology firm is preparing to cut about 26 percent of its workforce. A report last Thursday on Forbes' website by pseudonymous Silicon Valley technology gossip columnist Robert Cringely said IBM planned to lay off 26 percent of its global workforce, or as many as 112,000 employees. This equates to several thousand people, a small fraction of what's been reported.” Last week, Chief Financial Officer Martin Schroeter told investors on IBM's fourth-quarter earnings conference call that the company was taking restructuring charges of around $580 million, but he did not specify the number of jobs affected

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