Instagram … Two years ago we invested $250,000 in Instagram.  Thanks to the spectacular vision and effort of Kevin Systrom and the Instagram team, the investment will be worth $78,000,000 when the Faceboook acquisition closes.  The work that Kevin and team did will go down as legend in the industry and we thank them immensely.

Adobe Officially Unveils CS6 And Its $49/Month All-Inclusive Creative Cloud Subscription Service  —  Today is a big day for Adobe.  Not only is the company officially unveiling the next versions of virtually all of the applications in its Creative Suite, but Adobe is also launching its Creative Cloud online offerings.

Skype for Windows Phone version 1.0 released, no longer considered beta  —  Microsoft promised a full version of its Skype for Windows Phone software in April back when the original beta was released at Mobile World Congress earlier this year.  The company delivered on that promise today …

The Flight From Conversation  —  WE live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating.  And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection.  —  At home, families sit together, texting and reading e-mail.  At work executives text during board meetings.

How to cope with the Gmail redesign  —  Reports are coming in from around the Internet that the Gmail redesign, which we were previously able to stave off with “revert to the old look temporarily”, is now forcing itself upon us.  I too have succumbed to the new design, and have been forced to find ways to cope.

Nokia: Three Big Problems  —  Nokia's results for Q1 2012 are in: They're not good.  (See the earnings release here, Management's Conference Call presentation here.)  —  Compared to the same quarter last year, Nokia overall revenue is down 29%, to $9.7B.  And the company is now losing money, $1.8B, 18.5% of revenue.

Intel's Ivy Bridge chips launch using ‘3D transistors’  —  Intel's new Ivy Bridge processors use a new tri-gate transistor technology to boost processing power while reducing the amount of energy needed  —  Intel is launching its Ivy Bridge family of processors - the first to feature what it describes as a “3D transistor”.

ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 review  —  It doesn't feel like a year has passed since we reviewed the original ASUS Transformer and its innovative keyboard dock, but indeed time flies, and quite a bit has happened since then.  The company has released the Prime, for starters, followed by two other high-end models.

Google Makes Its Big Video Push With AdWords For Video  —  A couple of weeks ago, early participants in the new AdWords for Video program gathered at the YouTube offices.  The ostensible justification for the meeting was a fancy photo shoot, but YouTube executives also gave a little pep talk …

Quora Is Raising At A $400M Valuation, With D'Angelo Putting In His Own Money  —  It's really beautiful outside.  Like so beautiful that if San Francisco is like this more often it will become really expensive to live here.  Also, Quora is raising money according to the multiple people …

An Interview With Linus Torvalds  —  The Millenium Technology Prize, awarded every two years, is a Finnish award designed “to improve the quality of life and to promote sustainable development-oriented research, development and innovation.”  Sir Tim Berners-Lee won the prize in 2004.