Microsoft Office for iPad: Separating fact from fiction  —  Summary: If the Daily.com is right, Microsoft's Office for iPad could be launching well ahead of Office for Windows 8 on ARM tablets.  —  The Daily.com — the folks that brought us last year's rumor that Microsoft planned …

Flickr Is Getting a Major Makeover  —  The new Flickr photo view, slated to roll out 2/28/2012.  —  Markus Spiering has, as they say, a good eye.  Most of his resume was in mobile before he became a senior product manager for Flickr.  In March 2011, he slipped into the head product role, lording over Flickr's 45 or so employees.

Research, no motion: How the BlackBerry CEOs lost an empire  —  “We are no longer a company that is innovative and energetic, we are drowning in paperwork.”  —  By many accounts, the problems at RIM go deeper than just outdated software.  Things reached a crisis point in 2011, which could be known as “The Year of the Open Letter.”

Comcast unveils $4.99 per month Streampix service, taking aim at Netflix  —  Streampix movies will be available on the iPad  —  Comcast this week is rolling out a new video streaming service called Streampix, an offering that will be available only to subscribers of the giant cable company.

Qualcomm just announced the chip that would be a one-stop shop for Apple's mobile needs  —  Chipmaker Qualcomm today took the wraps off a new piece of silicon—a fifth iteration of its Gobi reference platform.  It packs comprehensive support for TD-SCDMA, TD-LTE, LTE on FDD and TDD networks worldwide and embedded GPS capability.

Aussies' fix for ‘stagnated’ email  —  Email has “stagnated” and three Australians who quit Google say they have built a product that will change the way we interact with email and allow us to get through our bulging inboxes “20 per cent faster”.  —  Cameron Adams, 32, and Dhanji Prasanna …

Google defense cites study arguing for stronger privacy regulation  —  Summary: Recent reports suggest that Google is attempting to circumvent industry-standard privacy protections in both Safari and Internet Explorer.  Google's defense cites a study from Carnegie Mellon.

Over-the-Air TV Catches Second Wind, Aided by Web  —  It's cool to have rabbit ears again.  —  Largely relegated to obscurity decades ago, old-fashioned television broadcasts—over the airwaves and not via cable or satellite—are enjoying an unexpected revival in the digital era.

U.S. Official Warns About ‘Anonymous’ Power Play  —  U.S. Official Signals Growing Concern Over Anonymous Group's Capabilities  —  The director of the National Security Agency has warned that the hacking group Anonymous could have the ability within the next year or two to bring about a limited power outage through a cyberattack.

Android is most-used smartphone OS in UK, overtaking Apple, data shows  —  With its iPhone, Apple may be the most-used brand, but Android now has more than a third of installed base of consumers  —  Android has taken over from Apple and now has the largest share of the installed base …

Legal claims can be served via Facebook, High Court judge rules  —  Legal claims can now be served via Facebook in Britain, after a landmark ruling in the English High Court.  —  Facebook can be used to serve legal claims in Britain, following a ruling by a High Court judge

Microsoft launches no holds barred anti-Google campaign [video]  —  “What happens when the world's largest advertising business tries to sell productivity software on the side?”  Microsoft asks users in its new Googlighting video.  “Beware the Googlighting Stranger.”

Silicon Valley: The rise of the adolescent CEOs  —  (Reuters) - Josh Buckley, chief executive of an online gaming start-up, is looking forward to next month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, particularly for the parties and the accompanying schmoozing with industry A-listers.

Canonical reveals Ubuntu for Android  —  Canonical is making good on its promise to bring its popular Ubuntu flavor of Linux to a broader range of devices by announcing Ubuntu for Android, a release that will enable a full desktop computing experience on a docked Android smartphone.

Google Sued by Apple Safari-User Over Web-Browser Privacy  —  Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Google Inc. officials were sued for violating users' privacy rights on Apple Inc.'s Safari Web browser by bypassing computer settings designed to block monitoring of consumers' online activity.

Scroogle, Privacy-First Search Engine, Shuts Down for Good … Scroogle, the search engine operated by privacy militant and self-appointed Wikipedia watchdog Daniel Brandt, has folded for real.  After enduring DDOS attacks “around the clock” that sent a flood of unsustainable traffic to his servers …

eBay to Acquire WHI Solutions  —  eBay Inc. has reached a definitive agreement to acquire WHI Solutions (WHI), a provider of software and digital catalog solutions for auto parts distributors and retailers. … I'm a fairly stereotypical guy for the most part... I like my beer, my sports, and my action movies.

Netflix And The Weinstein Company Enter Into Their First Multi-Year Streaming Deal  —  Netflix streaming just got a bit more classy.  The Weinstein Company is releasing “a diverse slate” of its titles exclusively to Netflix streaming.  These titles will hit the service within a year …

Amazon Appstore more lucrative for many devs than Android Market  —  Investment in Amazon Appstore is paying off in a big way for many top developers, a good chunk of whom are pulling in more money for their apps on Amazon than through Google's Android Market.