Exclusive: Facebook CTO Bret Taylor Departs (For Start-Ups Unknown)  —  Facebook's high-profile CTO Bret Taylor is leaving the Silicon Valley social networking giant later this summer, with future plans to work on an undetermined start-up.  —  The move is likely to be of concern …

Apple Gives Podcasts a Gentle Push Out of iTunes  —  Podcasts were supposed to be a big deal several years ago, but that boom never happened.  Now there's at least anecdotal evidence that the format is actually picking up steam, as creators, listeners and advertisers warm to the format.

SEC Pressed Facebook For Details On Mobile Revenue Before IPO  —  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pressed Facebook Inc. (FB) executives to explain in more detail how a user shift to mobile devices could impact the company's profits, according to documents made public today.

Apple charges 54% more to replace Retina MacBook Pro's battery  —  Nonupgradeable battery, other ‘Air-izing’ traits of new notebook prompts repair expert to say, ‘We have to draw a line in the sand’  —  Apple customers who purchase the company's new Retina MacBook Pro will pay more to replace …

Why Apple Is Going “Containment” Not “Thermonuclear” Against Google In iOS 6  —  I keep hearing people talking about Apple finally going “thermonuclear” on Google with the forthcoming iOS 6 mobile operating system.  No, it hasn't.  In fact, there are good reasons why it can't …

Apple 1 computer and Steve Jobs Atari memo sold at auction  —  A rare functioning Apple 1 computer - the company's first product - has been sold at an auction for $374,500 (£240,929).  The price was more than double Sotheby's high estimate and sets a new record for the collector's item.

The Slow Web  —  Timely not real-time.  Rhythm not random.  Moderation not excess.  Knowledge not information.  These are a few of the many characteristics of the Slow Web.  It's not so much a checklist as a feeling, one of being at greater ease for the web-enabled products and services in our lives.

AOL Announces Close of $1.056 Billion Patent Transaction with Microsoft  —  Reaffirms Commitment to Return 100% of Proceeds to Stockholders  —  NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—AOL, Inc. (NYSE: AOL), today announced that it has completed the previously announced $1.056 billion patent transaction …

Tumblr will be launching a brand new iOS app next week, says David Karp  —  Tumblr CEO David Karp has just announced that it will launch a brand new iOS app next week.  This announcement was made just now at F.ounders, the highly prestigious event we called the Rolls Royce of technology events.

Download Site Founder Receives 4.5 Year Jail Sentence, Forfeits $4.7m  —  In June 2011, the biggest ever operation aimed at tackling online movie piracy took place in Europe.  The target for police in Germany, Spain, France, and the Netherlands was movie-streaming portal Kino.to and its affiliates.

Samsung, Apple Walk Away With 90 Percent Of Smartphone Profits In Q1 2012, Says ABI Research  —  Despite the rapid growth of the smartphone market (41 percent YOY, to be exact), Samsung and Apple are the only smartphone makers really enjoying this growth.  Combined, they took home 55 percent …

The Two Horsemen of the Enterprise Software Apocalypse  —  At 71, Dave Duffield ought to be retired.  He's spent a half-century starting technology companies and is worth billions.  He has a $35 million Dassault Falcon 900EX jet, homes in the Bay Area and Palm Springs …

Smartphone app and QR code lets you wirelessly withdraw ATM cash  —  Shopping with a credit card is the weapon of choice for many shopping fanatics, but despite tech advances, around the world cash remains king.  To address this gap one company has come up with a novel solution for accessing cash with a smartphone.

iOS 6 3D maps hacked for iPhone 4 [Video]  —  Apple may not be officially rolling out the 3D mapping in iOS 6 to iPhone 4 users, but that hasn't stopped hackers figuring out a way to switch on the functionality for the older smartphone.  Anton Titkov has come up with 3DEnabler …

YouTube automatic captions now available in Spanish  —  Cross posted from the Blog de YouTube en Español  —  Last year, YouTube had more than 1 trillion views, or about 140 views for every person on earth.  As the world tunes in to YouTube, we want everyone, in every language, to have the same opportunity to enjoy YouTube.

Moody's cuts Nokia to “junk” on fears of cash burn  —  (Reuters) - Moody's slashed Nokia's credit rating to “junk” on Friday after the Finnish cellphone maker cut 10,000 more jobs and forecast a wider-than-expected loss, citing worries about its cash position and slow sales of new Windows phones.

Mail.ru CEO Starts $25 Million Fund To Spark Personal Robotics Start-Ups  —  Dmitry Grishin, founder of Grishin Robotics, believes that robots - personal robots, not boring ones like the Mars Rover - are the future.  —  “It has been very difficult to do something really big in robotics for the last 20 years.

E-Commerce Is Head Over Heels for Pinterest, and for Good Reason  —  No one knows for sure what social commerce will be in the future, but it's starting to look a lot like Pinterest.  —  Based on a report shared exclusively with AllThingsD, Pinterest is on pace to become the most significant driver …

Woot Founder And Daily Deals Pioneer Matt Rutledge Leaves Amazon  —  Matt Rutledge, founder and CEO of Woot, and the grandfather of the daily deal, is stepping down from his position, two years after the website sold to Amazon.com.  In an email sent to staffers, and subsequently posted …