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Best of the Weekend (1/7-8)

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US expels Venezuelan diplomat who 'discussed cyber war on America' America is expelling Venezuela's consul general in Miami amid allegations she discussed possible cyber attacks against the US while she was stationed at her country's embassy in Mexico.

US expels Venezuelan diplomat who 'discussed cyber war on America'

The US state department said it had declared Livia Acosta Noguera persona non grata and given her until Tuesday to leave the country. A spokesman, Mark Toner, said the Venezuelan government was notified of the decision on Friday, giving her 72 hours to depart under standard diplomatic procedure. There was no immediate reaction from the Venezuelan government. Toner would not discuss the reason for the expulsion and said it was done in accordance with article 23 of the Vienna convention on consular relations. That article does not require the expelling state to explain its decision. The FBI investigated claims contained in a documentary aired by the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision last month. Netflix UK streaming now live for some users, priced at £5.99. We suspected the UK launch of Netflix's streaming service was near when the app showed up on the PlayStation 3, and we've now received multiple reports that the service is in fact live for PS3 owners.

Netflix UK streaming now live for some users, priced at £5.99

It's priced at £5.99 per month with the first month free, and the app is now also appearing on UK-based Apple TVs — though it appears to not be active on that platform just yet. According to The Guardian, the service is kicking things off with a number of new content deals in hand. Sony, Disney, Paramount, Channel 4, and ITV are said to be among the partners, joining the likes of Miramax and the BBC.

In the first suggestions of a new ad blitz, readers have spotted ads for the UK service on IMDb, while Engadget notes that paid ads are now showing up in UK-based Google search results. The ad also appears when searching on Google Ireland, suggesting a tandem release, though no price is given there. Thanks to Jiggens83, Khalid, and Severin! OLPC XO 3.0 Hands On: The $100 Wonder Tablet. Cutting the Cord on Cable. OLPC XO 3.0 tablet: an 8-inch tablet for $100, with Android and Sugar options for the children (update: pictures!)

It was over four years ago that OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte showed off images of an XO tablet, and promised it would ship to kids of the developing world in 2010 for $100 each. Obviously that didn't quite happen, but it turns out both the company and the tablet are finally ready. Not only is OLPC is bringing the XO 3.0 to CES this week, it's also getting ready to put the slate into production. The XO 3.0 tablet doesn't have two screens like the prototype Negroponte described a few years back , but it is built in very much the same way as the XO laptop. It's been designed by Yves Behar, has a rugged case, and can be charged via a hand crank or solar panel. In fact, OLPC's CTO Ed McNierney told us that the two-watt tablet can get 10 minutes of runtime from one minute of cranking.

And that bit about is very important. Man Embraces Useless Machines, and Absurdity Ensues. Microsoft, Defying Image, Has a Design Gem in Windows Phone. The semiconductor industry: Space invaders. Intel Awaits Microsoft's Next Number.