Microsoft, Facebook Announce Patent Agreement  —  Microsoft Corp. and Facebook announced today a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will assign to Facebook the right to purchase a portion of the patent portfolio it recently agreed to acquire from AOL Inc. Facebook has agreed to purchase this portion for $550 million in cash.

Making personal cloud storage for Windows available anywhere, with the new SkyDrive … Over the last year we've been hard at work building SkyDrive alongside Windows 8, setting out a unique approach to designing personal cloud storage for billions of people by bringing together the best aspects of file, app, and device clouds.

The Intel Ivy Bridge (Core i7 3770K) Review  —  The times, they are changing.  In fact, the times have already changed, we're just waiting for the results.  I remember the first time Intel brought me into a hotel room to show me their answer to AMD's Athlon 64 FX - the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition.

Share your stuff with a link!  —  We're super excited to announce a whole new way to share: now you can send a link to the files or folders in your Dropbox!  —  Sharing with friends and family is easy!  Once you've saved that video of your niece's birthday party to Dropbox …

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.

Frustration, Disappointment And Apathy: My Years At Microsoft  —  Editor's Note: This Guest post is written by Max Zachariades, who spent the last five years at Microsoft in various roles.  He blogs under the name Max Zografos.  —  I first used Windows on a TULIP portable computer, some twenty years ago.

Justice Department Bites Apple  —  The 30% revenue-share model is the company's standard practice, not the product of a conspiracy.  —  'I don't think you understand.  We can't treat newspapers or magazines any differently than we treat FarmVille.  With those words, senior Apple executive Eddy Cue stuck …

NimbleTV Aims to Stream TV on Devices  —  In a move that could hasten the slow pace of so-called TV Everywhere, a technology start-up is introducing a way to move a whole subscription's worth of TV onto the Web, with or without the subscription company's permission.

Obama to target foreign nationals' use of new technologies in human rights abuses  —  President Obama will issue an executive order Monday that will allow U.S. officials for the first time to impose sanctions against foreign nationals found to have used new technologies …

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.

In its 3rd year, Kickstarter successfully raises over $119 million, taking home $6 million in commission  —  It's easy to root for Kickstarter.  The company has made it possible to bring new, innovative products to market and finance projects that would never get off the ground before the popularization of crowdfunding.

Viddy, a Video-Sharing App, Attracts Biz Stone and Will Smith as Backers  —  After photo-sharing apps like Instagram, will the next big thing in social media be video-sharing apps?  —  The people behind Viddy, a video-sharing app, certainly hope so.  The application, which is currently available …

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.

Apple May Add Secure Password Suggestions to Safari with OS X Mountain Lion  —  1Password is a popular password service which offers apps and browser plug-ins for a number of platforms, including Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.  The service automatically generates strong …

Will Stanford and Silicon Valley Transform Education?  —  Stanford University is so startlingly paradisial, so fragrant and sunny, it's as if you could eat from the trees and live happily forever.  Students ride their bikes through manicured quads, past blooming flowers and statues by Rodin …

Google and Facebook Grow Comfortable and Complacent  —  Google and Facebook, young and successful companies that they are, risk being left behind as technology shifts from PCs and Web browsers to mobile devices.  —  Earlier this month, when Google showcased a new design for Google Plus …