Apple to disrupt notebook space with radically redesigned MacBook Pros  —  While most of its rivals are struggling to match innovations Apple pioneered with its first MacBook Airs over three years ago, the Mac maker this year is hoping to further distance itself from the competition with a pair …

As Iran Cracks Down Online, Tor Tests Undetectable Encrypted Connections  —  Keeping secrets on the web in a country as digitally repressive as Iran isn't easy.  But as Iran tightens the screws on its Web censorship, the hackers at the anti-censorship Tor project are working on something harder …

iOS passes Mac OS in Share of Web Traffic Propelled by Record Sales for Mobile and Tablet Devices  —  Apple sold a historic number of mobile devices in 2011.  IDC reports that in 2011, Apple shipped 93.2 iPhone units and sold an impressive 40 million+ iPad units.

MacBook Air with Windows 7 review: the ultrabook to rule them all?  —  Does putting Windows 7 on the MacBook Air make it the best ultrabook?  Let's be honest: The ultrabook phenomenon is by and large Intel's and the rest of the PC industry's reaction to Apple's MacBook Air.

Apple sues Motorola in the U.S. over Qualcomm patent license  —  Apple, today, has filed a lawsuit against Motorola over their use of Qualcomm technology, as reported by Reuters.  Apple explains that Motorola has breached a contract pertaining to their use of a patent license and …

New Microsoft Office University product comes with tougher verification rules  —  Summary: Microsoft is replacing its Office Academic SKU with a new Office University one that it hopes will help curtail fraudulent use.  —  Whenever folks complain about how expensive Microsoft's Office suite is …

Fire in the Hole!  Amazon May Ship 9-Inch Kindle by Midyear.  —  There's no question that Amazon's going to sell a lot of Kindle Fires this year.  And it might sell even more if it rolls out new and larger versions of the device.  And according to some, that's the plan.

Workday Talking to Bankers.  The S1 Is Coming.  The Revenge Is Almost Complete.  —  I've been digging around for a few days about Oracle, trying to figure out if another $1 billion-plus acquisition is imminent following yesterday's news about Oracle buying Taleo for $1.9 billion.

Goodbye white MacBook, Apple takes the MacBook Air into education with new five-pack, mobile lab programs  —  Early last week, Apple discontinued the white plastic MacBook, which had been an education-only item since mid-2011, but is continuing to sell the product to education institutions while supplies last.

Instagram updates with a much simplified UI, ‘Lux’ fill-light adjustment and new filter  —  Uber-popular photo sharing app Instagram has been updated with several nice new features and a greatly simplified UI.  The new interface in version 2.1 is a good sight cleaner and more modern than the last version of the app.

Wow.  Facebook Rules Prohibit Users From Promoting Their Work, Company, And Much, Much More...  Have you seen Facebook's rules for users, developers, and partners?  They give Facebook tremendous powers to disable accounts and to make money from your content.

24 Hours  —  There are crazy days and then there are days like yesterday.  Kickstarter has experienced some frantic hours but nothing like what happened in the 24-hour span between Wednesday at 6:54pm and Thursday at 6:44pm.  Two million-dollar projects, a major political speech involving Kickstarter …

AT&T doubles handset upgrade fee to $36 [updated]  —  AT&T is increasing the fee charged when subscribers upgrade to new handsets on contract beginning this Sunday.  BGR has been informed by multiple readers via email that AT&T has sent them notices regarding the increased fee, which had previously been $18.

BitTorrent Piracy Doesn't Affect US Box Office Returns, Study Finds  —  With their unconditional support for SOPA, PIPA and ACTA, Hollywood is pressing hard for new legislation to curb piracy.  The studios want ‘rogue’ websites to be censored and are calling on Google and Internet providers to take responsibility.

Apple sues Samsung over autocorrect, other iOS patents  —  You may be familiar with the humor blog that aggregates examples of iPhone spelling correction malfunctions that cause (amusing) communication chaos called DamnYouAutoCorrect.com.  Samsung lawyers are probably thinking something along those lines right now.

EU competition chief threatens patent war smackdown  —  Tough-talking Almunia will take mobile giants to task  —  European anti-competition chief Joaquin Almunia has warned that the EU won't stand for any messing about with technology standards-related patents.

Exclusive: Microsoft opening four new stores soon, launching in Canada later this year  —  Microsoft is planning to open four new stores over the coming months, with the first international stores due later this year.  That's the word according to one person familiar with the company's plans.

Exclusive: Alibaba plans to take Hong Kong unit private  —  (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group plans to take its Hong Kong-listed unit private, two sources familiar with the matter said, and is working with Yahoo on an asset-swap deal that may result in Yahoo owning …

Five years later, I'm off to ABC News...  Funny enough, it was exactly five years ago this week that I decided I wanted to be a technology reporter.  —  I was working at a New York PR agency — my first job out of college — and knowing that I loved new technology, my friend Becca asked …

Amazon hiring creative execs for original programming  —  Add Amazon to the list of online video providers that could soon release some new original programming.  The company is looking to hire creative executives to develop and produce original comedies and kids shows for online and traditional distribution.

Solving the attachment problem with SkyDrive … The attachment problem  —  Every day, the average office worker receives over 170 email messages a day, and sends over 35.  With that kind of volume, it's understandable that over half of the average work day consists of dealing with email.