Apple Acquires Chomp; App Store Search And Discovery To Be Completely Revamped  —  With the countdown underway to 25 billion total app downloads, there's no disputing the success of Apple's App Store.  We live in a world of hyperbole, but Apple's entry into this space really has changed the entire mobile world.

Apple getting ready to ditch the traditional iPhone, iPad, and iPod dock connector  —  An updated “micro dock” would make room for bigger batteries, 4G radios, and other components far more important to the iPhone and iPad in a PC free world.  —  We've heard that Apple is getting ready …

Google to sell stake in Clearwire for $47m, a tenth of the price it originally paid  —  Google has filed documents with the SEC today in preparation for the sale of its entire stake in the troubled Clearwire Corporation.  Having spent $500 million to acquire a 6.5 percent share back in 2008 …

Microsoft Office 15 apps to include ‘touch mode’  —  Summary: The coming Office 15 client apps all seem to be getting a new ‘touch mode’ button that will enable them to work better on touch-centric devices.  —  It looks like Office 15 client apps are going to get more touchy …

Apple wants to reinvent keyboards, making them even thinner  —  Apple could make its notebook computers and keyboard accessories even thinner and lighter with a brand new take on the classic input method.  —  Apple's interest in reinventing the keyboard was revealed in a new patent application discovered this week by AppleInsider.

Flashback Mac Trojan Horse Infections Increasing with New Variant  —  We recently reported about a new variant of the Flashback Trojan horse which is using novel techniques to infect Macs.  Since then, we have discovered a number of samples of this latest variant, Flashback.G …

Mozilla partners up with LG to combat Apple and Google with its own device  —  At Mobile World Congress, which begins in three days, Mozilla will finally take the wraps off the Mozilla Marketplace and allow developers to submit their open web technology (HTML5, JavaScript, CSS) apps.

Feature: If Android is a “stolen product,” then so was the iPhone  —  According to his official biographer, Steve Jobs went ballistic in January 2010 when he saw HTC's newest Android phones.  “I want you to stop using our ideas in Android,” Jobs reportedly told Eric Schmidt, then Google's CEO.

Jason Kincaid Exits TechCrunch  —  A whole lot of amazing people have left TechCrunch in the last several months.  I'm sad to hear that the next to go is Jason Kincaid (his personal blog is here), who is leaving without firm plans for his next job.  —  I first met Jason in 2008 via Mark Hendrickson …

Dropbox Can Now Automatically Sync Your Android Photos (And It Has More Up Its Sleeve)  —  Last year, Dropbox raised a whopping $250 million funding round at a valuation in the ballpark of $4 billion.  The raise had been rumored for months so it didn't come as a huge surprise, but it still raised plenty of eyebrows.

Apple Readying ‘Products That Will Blow Your Mind’  —  Apple's Tim Cook, addressing shareholders for the first time since he took over as CEO from Steve Jobs in August, said today the company will introduce mind-blowing products this year.  —  “You can be assured we are working as hard …

Apple's iPhone TV Ads: The Complete Campaign  —  Apple's “Get a Mac” campaign for the Macintosh computer, starring Justin Long and John Hodgman, set the bar for creativity in tech advertising.  Created by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, it was simply the best TV ad campaign of the last decade, and the best advertising comedy series ever.

Throttling unlimited data plans is pointless, study finds  —  AT&T's questionable policy with regard to unlimited smartphone data plan holders recently found its way back into the limelight following a new wave of subscriber complaints.  The nation's No.2 carrier no longer offers …

Facebook behind budget on Q1 ad revenue, sources say  —  Facebook's newest advertising product, expected to be unveiled on Feb. 29, leaked to the web yesterday.  The ads themselves would appear to be a natural evolution of the company's primary money-making business, but perhaps there's …

Votizen Gets a Celebrity Round of Funding to Connect Social Media and Politics  —  American politics in the age of the Super PAC is all about money.  But meanwhile over on the Internet, connecting and mobilizing networks of people is easier than ever.  —  (See: the SOPA and PIPA online protests …

Tech media misconceptions  —  Journalism is rife with conflict.  Get over it.  —  The tech media wars continued yesterday, with LA Times columnist Michael Hiltzik basically accusing certain tech bloggers of being “influence peddlers.”  —  The whole issue has become fairly tired …

Google Drive Will Support Third Party Apps  —  Back in November 2010, a comment from the Google Docs source code revealed some new features that will be available: third party apps, Cloud Print integration and sync.  —  It turns out that the upcoming Google Drive release will add support …

Google may enter tablet market with 7-inch design  —  Google is set to dip its toes in the tablet market with a 7-inch design later this year, says an analyst.  —  The Google tablet would be in the same size class as Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet.  —  Wondering when Google is going to jump into the tablet fray?

iCloud and MobileMe push email disabled on iOS devices in Germany due to Motorola lawsuit  —  Following a German court ruling earlier this month that deemed Apple's email sync services were in breach of a Motorola patent, the Cupertino company has decided to disable the offending functionality on iOS devices in the country.

The challenge of wooing Generation C  —  As Nielsen coins a new term to describe young adults ages 18-34, a group it considers bound together by a digitally connected lifestyle, one Gen C'er has some advice for advertisers.  —  The C in “Generation C,” not surprisingly, stands for connected.

MPAA's Chris Dodd Extends SOPA Olive Branch to Silicon Valley  —  MPAA Chief Chris Dodd made a peace overture to Silicon Valley Wednesday, telling an audience that “Hollywood is pro-technology and pro-Internet.”  —  But he also made clear the legislative battle against piracy wasn't over …