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"Welcome to this morning's edition of \u201CFirst To Know,\u201D a series in which we keep you in the know on what\u2019s happening in the digital world. We\u2019re keeping our eyes on four particular stories of interest today.\nHoliday Spending Approaches $25 Billion in U.S.\nU.S. consumers have spent $24.6 billion in the first 39 days of the holiday season, up 15% from the same period last year, according comScore.\nMicrosoft Replaces Head of Windows Phone Unit\nMicrosoft is moving Andy Lees, the current head of its Windows Phone business, to a new role, according to AllThingsD.WordPress Releases Version 3.3WordPress has updated its software to version 3.3, which includes a drag-and-drop uploader, improved co-editing support, a Tumblr importer and a number of cosmetic changes. Tablet compatibility has also been upgraded.\nKremlin Reaches Out to Protesters on Facebook\nThe Kremlin is using Facebook in a bid to quell anti-government sentiment, following the country\u2019s largest protests since the fall of the USSR.\nFurther News\n\nApple is reportedly in talks to acquire Anobit, an Israeli semiconductor company, for $400 million to $500 million.\nBoth Amazon and Barnes &amp; Noble are planning to roll out a series of performance improvements for the Kindle Fire and Nook Color devices, respectively.\nBottlenose has launched a tracking dashboard that fights social media overload with flexible, granular feed customization options.\nMost tablet owners are choosing Wi-Fi-only devices over those with 3G connections, according to a Connected Intelligence study.\nGoogle has added a new feature for Blogger users who have connected their blog with their Google+ accounts, making it easier to share a post with their Google+ friends.\nMicrosoft has updated its OneNote iOS app to support the iPad.\n\nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, DNY59"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/12/13/holiday-spending-wordpress-kremlin-facebook-andy-lees/>