New Apple iPad tops our tablet Ratings  —  The high-resolution screen of the new iPad establishes a new benchmark in excellence, providing the best rendering of detail and color accuracy we've ever seen on a tablet display.  As a result, the iPad tops our new tablet Ratings, posted today.

Ashton Kutcher to play Steve Jobs  —  Indie pic ‘Jobs’ to be directed by Joshua Michael Stern  —  The King of Twitter is now the King of Apple, as “Two and a Half Men” star Ashton Kutcher is attached to play Steve Jobs in the indie pic “Jobs,” which Joshua Michael Stern ("Swing Vote") will direct from a script by Matt Whiteley.

Nokia kicks off US advertising campaign with a Beta Test, takes on the iPhone  —  There is little doubt that Nokia has the deep pockets, ingenuity and cleverness to make an effective advertising campaign for the AT&T Lumia 900.  The question is, when will “Operation Rolling Thunder” …

Up to 1.5M credit card numbers stolen from Global Payments  —  Payments processor believes no names, addresses, or Social Security numbers were stolen in the security breach.  —  Follow @stevenmusil  —  As many as 1.5 million Visa and MasterCard customers may have been affected …

Why Google isn't worried about Android revenue  —  Not all investments are made with the expectation that a big payoff is around the corner.  Google's decision to bankroll the development of Android was just such an investment, which makes the past week's back and forth over just how much money Google …

Google TV is coming to Europe this September  —  Sony will start selling Google TV-based products in Europe in September, according to a report by Les Echos.  —  The site reports comments by Sony France marketing director Stephane Labrousse that the CE maker will sell two devices …

Kim Dotcom Back Online, Prepares To Release Music Album  —  Following his arrest in January, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom was immediately deprived of his freedom.  —  On February 22nd, just over a month later, he was released on bail but heavy restrictions meant that life would not be getting back to normal.

Teacher's aide fired for refusing to hand over Facebook password  —  Summary: Kimberly Hester, a teacher's aide at an elementary school, was fired last year for refusing to give her Facebook password to her supervisors.  She is now fighting a legal battle with the school district.

IBM takes on a gigantic computing task to find the universe's origins  —  Some of the biggest friggin' computers you'll ever see are going to help decipher data from the world's largest telescope as it explores the origins of the universe.  —  IBM announced today it has won a $42 million contract …

Sticks and Stones: Third Point Launches “Value Yahoo” Blog (Which Does Not Value Current Leadership)  —  In another high-profile parry in its increasingly aggressive proxy first against Yahoo, activist shareholder Third Point has launched an extensive Web blog to support its case with investors called “Value Yahoo.”

Wealthy smartphone users less likely to play games, tweet  —  (Reuters) - Wealthier smartphone users are less likely to play games or tweet and will opt for news, travel or finance apps, according to a new study.  —  The research by The Luxury Institute focused on app usage among wealthy consumers …

Microsoft's IE reclaims lost ground in browser battle  —  Internet Explorer has reversed a slide in usage, at least for now.  —  (Credit: data by Net Applications; chart by Stephen Shankland/CNET)  —  Microsoft's Internet Explorer regained some of the browser usage it's lost in recent years …

Dell buys Wyse, plays ‘cloud client’ game  —  Summary: Dell expands into thin clients and virtualization software with the acquisition of Wyse.  —  Dell said it will acquire Wyse Technology in a move that gives the company more virtualization heft and an entry in thin computing.

Bitcoin, the City traders' anarchic new toy  —  (Reuters) - Financial traders have a new toy: Bitcoin, a digital currency variously dismissed as a Ponzi scheme or lauded as the greatest invention since the Internet.  —  Unlike conventional fiat money and other digital currencies …

As Path targets international growth, rivals and clones line up in China  —  Path founder Dave Morin recently revealed that the popular mobile social networking service is “internationalizing” following growing overseas demand, but its competition in China is already forming.