App Center: A New Place to Find Social Apps  —  Today we're launching the App Center to make it easier to find apps you can enjoy with friends.  —  The App Center features mobile and web apps, such as Draw Something, Pinterest, and Nike+ GPS, and new apps including Jetpack Joyride, Ghosts of Mistwood, and Ghost Recon Commander.

Ultrabooks beware: Apple receives broad patent on MacBook Air wedge design  —  It's been pretty easy to look at recent Apple design patents and see that they haven't carried with them the broad patent coverage many might think, but that isn't the case with Apple's new US patent — D661,296 — that issued on Tuesday.

App Developers Signal Apple Allegiance Ahead of WWDC and Google I/O  —  This month, the world's two largest mobile app platform providers, Apple and Google, enter what is arguably the most critical month of the year for each company, when each hosts their annual developer conference …

Why Your Next iPhone Should Be Prepaid  —  Earlier this week, we did the math and declaredprepaid carrier Cricket Mobile to be the best iPhone deal around, but today's announcement that Sprint's Virgin Mobile will also be offering the iPhone 4S starting on June 24th changes the math substantially …

T-Mobile confirms it will offer WWDC attendees iPhone-compatible ‘4G’ at Moscone West  —  A T-Mobile spokesperson told us in a response to our story earlier that yes the carrier is going to have an iOS device-compatible “4G” HSPA+ Mobile network available to attendees in Moscone.

Apple, Motorola Mobility Patent Trial Scrapped By U.S. Judge  —  Apple Inc.'s patent-infringement jury trial against Google Inc. (GOOG)'s Motorola Mobility unit scheduled for June 11 was canceled by a U.S. judge after he rejected each side's damages arguments.

Apple Said To Add Baidu As Iphone Search-Engine In China  —  Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans to add Baidu Inc. (BIDU)'s search engine on iPhones in China, part of a push to broaden its services and user base in the world's most-populous nation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The New iPad's Closest Competitor?  The Old iPad.  —  During Apple's last earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said the iPad 2′s new lower price point was unlocking demand among price-sensitive customers.  So how is it selling?  —  Very well, turns out.  —  According to new data …

Speedier Shortening  —  We mean it when we say we've been reading all your tweets and emails.  And we're listening!  In the week since our release, we're already making adjustments, so that saving and shortening links in the new bitly is a whole lot easier.

Bing introduces New Britannica Online Encyclopedia Answers  —  A core focus for us here at Bing has been about delivering relevant information in a more organized way to help you find what you need more quickly and get stuff done.  An example of this approach has been seen in our answers feature …

Twitter Shuts Down Thunderclap, New Tweet-Boosting Service  —  Twitter appears to be building a very nice business on the basis of its ability to promote tweets.  The last thing it needs is anyone else coming in and using its platform to offer a competing service.

“RIP Good Times”: Silicon Valley's Cuban Missile Crisis  —  Not too long ago, I found myself sitting in the second row of a conference room, anxiously scribbling notes, at what is now known as the “RIP Good Times” presentation.  The presentation has become a cultural touchstone of modern-era silicon valley.

Nest Learning Thermostat now on sale at Amazon for $249  —  Just last week we reported that the Nest Learning Thermostat was coming to Apple stores, and now the energy-saving gadget has made its way onto Amazon.  Introduced by ex-Apple executive Tony Fadell, the Nest has proven enormously popular since …

Change your Last.fm password now, there may have been another security breach  —  24-hours after LinkedIn confirmed a massive password leak, online music streaming service Last.fm has issued a statement saying that it's currently investigating whether it too has leaked some of its users' passwords.

Best Buy Founder Resigns, Explores Options for Stake  —  Best Buy Co. founder and largest individual shareholder Richard Schulze resigned as chairman and a director and said he intends to explore options for his 20.1% stake, a move that could make the electronics retailer a takeover candidate.

Camera+ sells 8M copies in 2 years, declines Adobe, Google, Zynga and Twitter acquisition offers  —  The super popular camera replacement app Camera+ has sold its 8 millionth copy on the two-year anniversary of its announcement, reports developer Taptaptap.  Camera+ has held a unique success …

Facebook beefs up security of logins on new devices in face of industry breaches  —  According to Facebook, it would like to make your mobile experience a tad more secure.  In a blog post from the security team today, it outlined some of the initiatives that the company is using to make that happen.

Recruiting the Draft Picks: Twitter's Internal Shuffle, Spurred by a Year-Long Talent Raid on the Valley  —  Twitter is looking more and more different by the day — and it's not just the company's fancy new little blue bird logo.  —  The company is in the midst of a significant ongoing …

Disney Implements 28-Day Embargo on All Physical Rentals  —  Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has begun delaying select new disc releases 28-days to kiosks, video stores and Netflix — a policy the studio started with the May 22 release of The Secret World of Arrietty, a studio representative confirmed.

In Battle With Oracle, HP Outs Customer Cell Numbers  —  As part of its court battle with Oracle, HP has released names, email addresses, and cell phone numbers from over 150 customers.  But why?  Image: Peter McCollough/Wired  —  When Oracle announced plans to dump support …

RIM discontinues 16GB PlayBook, still ‘committed to the tablet space’  —  RIM's beleaguered PlayBook line is being pared down.  The company has confirmed that it's canceled the 16GB PlayBook and will be moving forward with only the 32GB and 64GB models.  While there are still …

Dell Announces a New $100M Credit Fund for Entrepreneurs to Spark Startup Growth & Innovation … Entrepreneurs are constantly grappling with money — how to raise it, how to make it and how to, potentially, survive without it.  Yet, Dell has taken one big step toward solving every startup's qualms today.

Hark Strikes A Deal With Universal To Bring Your Favorite Movie Sound Bites Online  —  Hark, the online repository for audio clips, is getting more studio content Thursday, with a deal that will bring sound bites from Universal's film library online.  Hark will get access to about 100 Universal films …

Google Trusted Stores certification program going live for US merchants  —  As what looks like part of a larger plan to bolster the clout of its online shopping options, Google has announced that it's opening a program called Trusted Stores to all US merchants.