Apple investigating new iPad WiFi issues, tells AppleCare to replace affected units  —  According to an internal AppleCare document, Apple is actively investigating a series of WiFi-related issues affecting the third-generation iPad.  Since the new iPad's launch, many users have been complaining …

Apple has a 7.85-inch iPad prototype in its labs, according to John Gruber  —  Apple has been working on a smaller version of the iPad in its Cupertino labs, according to Daring Fireball's John Gruber.  On an episode of The Talk Show podcast, Gruber said that he's heard details …

Just how big are porn sites?  —  It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a person in possession of a fast internet connection must be in want of some porn.  —  While it's difficult domain to penetrate — hard numbers are few and far between — we know for a fact that porn sites …

PSA: Apple patches Flashback trojan affecting 600,000 Macs globally  —  Apple released a Java 1.6.0_31 update for OS X on Tuesday that claims to deliver “improved compatibility, security, and reliability.”  The patch closes multiple vulnerabilities found in Java 1.6.0_29 …

The rise of e-reading  —  21% of Americans have read an e-book.  The increasing availability of e-content is prompting some to read more than in the past and to prefer buying books to borrowing them.  —  Summary of findings  —  One-fifth of American adults (21%) report that they have read …

Facebook Picks Nasdaq for I.P.O.  —  Facebook, which is preparing for its highly anticipated initial public offering, has picked a home.  —  The social network will list its shares on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol “FB,” according a person familiar with the matter, who demanded anonymity because the discussions were private.

Google's YouTube Must Defend Viacom Suit, Appeals Court Says  —  Google Inc. (GOOG)'s YouTube must defend a lawsuit claiming it violated Viacom Inc. (VIAB)'s copyrights by letting its users post videos from shows including “The Colbert Report” without authorization, an appeals court ruled.

Facebook e-commerce: the next big thing?  —  (Reuters) - A group of e-commerce start-ups, backed by some of the tech world's most pedigreed financiers, are betting that Facebook Inc can become an e-commerce powerhouse to rival Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc.  —  As the world's largest social …

Tim O'Reilly on the Future of Location: “The Guy with the Most Data Wins”  —  O'Reilly Media founder and Silicon Valley oracle Tim O'Reilly was kind enough to chat with me on camera at O'Reilly Where, his company's conference on “the business of location.”  We talked about the history …

Smart thermostat Nest gets smarter with AirWave, robust Energy History, simpler setup  —  The Nest Learning Thermostat was plenty smart when it was first released five months ago, but even genius products sometimes need a bit of tutoring.  —  Today Nest users will receive the first major update …

Huffington Gains More Control in AOL Revamping  —  One year after its acquisition by AOL, The Huffington Post has become a source of growth for the beleaguered company, which is still trying to shed its dial-up Internet image.  Now, in what Arianna Huffington characterizes as a move to keep …

16M Users Strong, TwitchTV Takes Live-Streamed Gaming Portal Mobile With iPad And Android Apps  —  TwitchTV, a live-streamed video game portal and community for gamers that was spawned last June from live video platform Justin.tv, has been booming in terms of growth and revenue.

Apple Holds Out as E-Book Pricing Settlement Nears  —  Talks to resolve U.S. and European price-fixing probes into e-books are heating up, with three international publishers inclined to settle the matter, according to people familiar with the matter.  —  Apple Inc., another target of the investigation …

Anonymous hacks hundreds of Chinese government sites  —  Summary: Anonymous has hacked hundreds of Chinese government websites.  Some sites were just defaced, but others have had administrator accounts, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses leaked.  —  The hacktivist group Anonymous now has a Chinese branch.

Dell buys Make Technologies: Three acquisitions in four days  —  Summary: Dell is making a big bet that companies are going to have to modernize legacy applications, re-host them and make them cloud friendly.  —  Dell is shopping like a teenager just handed a credit card.

YouTube adds 3D viewing for all short 1080p videos, says 4D is around the corner (Videos)  —  YouTube now automatically allows short 1080p videos to convert to 3D.  —  The video-sharing platform just announced on the official YouTube blog that it is expanding a beta feature released last year …

Two Years and $33 Million Later, Start-Up Investor Lerer Ventures Starts Building Its Own Companies  —  A couple of years ago, Ken Lerer and his son Ben put together an investment fund that concentrates on early-stage start-ups.  Which means they were doing the same thing that lots of other well-off …

Yandex debuts cloud storage service ahead of Google Drive's arrival, offers 10GB  —  It should come as no surprise that Yandex, the dominant search engine in Russia, is closely watching Google to try and stay one step ahead of the global search giant.  —  The company really only needs to own …

Hipmunk adds calendar-sync to mobile, but will app updates help the bottom line?  —  Travel search company Hipmunk launched a new feature today, allowing people to sync their calendars with Hipmunk's iOS and Android applications.  But will these new features help the company make money?

More people using TV and tablets at same time  —  Do you check e-mail while you watch TV?  If so, you're far from alone.  —  Nielsen's fourth-quarter poll of mobile users in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Italy discovered that people are increasingly checking e-mail or searching for program …

Amazon Goes Bilingual In The U.S. Kindle Store With Launch Of Spanish Tienda Kindle  —  Amazon has been making some big strides extending its footprint outside of the U.S. with its Kindle e-readers and Kindle bookstore now available in a range of markets including Spain …

Google: No more e-books for indie booksellers  —  Google is ending the program that allows independent booksellers to sell Google e-books through their websites.  It is a big blow for small bookstores seeking to compete against Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  —  The full letter that the American …

Twitter Nabs Googler Gabriel Stricker As Comms VP  —  Back in November, we reported that Sean Garrett, Twitter's Head of Comms, would be stepping down from his post.  As he tweeted at the time, for the first time in his career, he would be taking more than a two week break between jobs.

Google to build its first thermal storage for a data center  —  Google has been more than creative when it comes to making its data centers more energy efficient and greener (seawater cooling and water recycling), and this week says it plans to implement a new energy efficient feature for a data center in Taiwan: thermal energy storage.