Windows Phone 8 Preview  —  Thanks to a recent leak which has revealed some interesting information about the next major Windows Phone version, I can now publicly discuss Windows Phone 8 for the first time.  —  Windows Phone 8, codenamed Apollo, will be based on the Windows 8 kernel and not on Windows CE as are current versions.

Facebook's Ad Business Is a $3 Billion Mystery  —  So the numbers are out, and we know that Facebook's ad business really is huge.  And it really is growing like a weed.  Just like we thought.  —  But how exactly does Facebook's ad business work?  We still don't know a lot about that part.

Key Internet operator VeriSign hit by hackers  —  (Reuters) - VeriSign Inc, the company in charge of delivering people safely to more than half the world's websites, has been hacked repeatedly by outsiders who stole undisclosed information from the leading Internet infrastructure company.

Tim Cook boasts about Apple's charitable contributions during internal all-hands meeting  —  Apple CEO Tim Cook held a town hall meeting last week to celebrate Apple's record quarter, and in addition to giving employees deep discounts on Apple products, we're now hearing that he spent quite …

Feds Seize Sports Streaming Domains in New Super Bowl Crackdown  —  US authorities began another round of domain name seizures a few hours ago, targeting several sports streaming sites.  —  Thus far, neither the Department of Justice nor Homeland Security's ICE unit have officially commented …

Peek killing off US email and Twitter devices after ‘lifelong service’  —  There's an old saying that eternal love lasts for two years.  Apparently, that also applies to Peek's bare bones email and Twitter devices, which launched in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Google not ‘forthcoming’ during congressional questioning  —  House lawmakers grilled Google officials for two hours on Thursday about the company's recent privacy changes, but Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) said she wasn't satisfied with their answers.  —  “At the end of the day …

GSM Galaxy Nexus Receives Google Wallet Access on AT&T, Still Nothing for the LTE Variant on Verizon  —  By now, most of you know the story behind Google Wallet and the fact that it has only been officially available to the Nexus S 4G on Sprint, something that irritates the hell out of all new Galaxy Nexus owners.

Nokia Lumia 900 now available for pre-order at Microsoft's retail stores with $25 downpayment  —  We're still not sure when we'll see Nokia's Lumia 900 (signs currently point to March), but if you want to ensure you'll be among the first to have it, you can pre-order the handset now at Microsoft's retail stores.

Super Bowl XLVI releases free official app for iOS and Android  —  If you're going to the Super Bowl, you've probably already spent plenty of money.  Fortunately, the NFL isn't asking anything for its official Super Bowl XLVI app, released yesterday.  While it's out on both iOS and Android …

Introducing Reuters Social Pulse  —  Today we launched Social Pulse, our new social media hub on Reuters.com designed to show you the most talked-about news, companies and influencers across the Web.  —  The first thing you'll see on the page is the news most popular in Reuters social network.

How Marc Andreessen makes Silicon Valley magic  —  There's no question that Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm headed up by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, has become a major force since it was founded back in 2009.  The young VC firm has funded some of the best and brightest companies …

Avid Brings Its “Pro-sumer” Video Editing App to iPad  —  Avid, maker of high-end digital video and audio production tools, is bringing its “pro-sumer” video editing software to the iPad.  —  The app is available starting Thursday as part of the Avid Studio suite.

10 Key Statistics about Facebook  —  As Facebook Inc. filed for its initial-public-offering yesterday afternoon, now is the perfect time to examine the website's performance online and how its audience compares with that of other social networks.  Given the expected $75 billion …

RIM Offering Free PlayBook Tablets to Woo Android Developers  —  Research In Motion plans to give away tablets to Android developers who quickly port their apps to run on the PlayBook device.  —  RIM developer executive Alec Saunders mentioned the program in a Twitter message on Thursday …

One studio accounts for 1/3 of Twitter DMCA takedowns  —  Twitter recently released all of the DMCA takedown notices they have received in the past year.  According to the Hollywood Reporter, the 4,410 claims reveal that a single studio, Magnolia Pictures, was responsible for a third of them.

Qualcomm chips complete first successful VoIP-over-LTE to WCDMA handoff  —  For now, voice over LTE is but an idea — one with unrealized potential, as Verizon, AT&T and Metro PCS all still rely on their 3G networks for voice duty.  Qualcomm has edged us one step closer to a completely 4G future …

Exclusive: Amazon.com buys TeachStreet  —  TeachStreet founder Dave Schappell traveled from coast-to-coast over the past 12 months entertaining offers for his Seattle-based startup.  But, at the end of the day, he found the best fit right in his own backyard.

Under new CEO, AMD will launch processors for tablets this year  —  Advanced Micro Devices said at its analyst meeting today that it will ship its first chips designed to provide the processing and graphics power for tablet computers.  —  Rory Read (pictured), chief executive of Sunnyvale …