In a Big Network of Computers, Evidence of Machine Learning  —  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Inside Google's secretive X laboratory, known for inventing self-driving cars and augmented reality glasses, a small group of researchers began working several years ago on a simulation of the human brain.

Microsoft to Acquire Yammer  —  Microsoft extends cloud services with best-in-class enterprise social networking.  —  Microsoft Corp. and Yammer Inc. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Yammer, a leading provider of enterprise social networks, for $1.2 billion in cash.

The unedited Q&A: Apple retail employees respond to NYT's profile, share life from inside the Apple Store  —  Apple retail employees cheering ahead of third-generation iPad launch (SJMN)  —  Over the weekend, The New York Times profiled Apple's retail operations and controversially touched upon Apple's retail employees.

VIDEO: Hands on with Windows Phone 7.8's amazing new Start Screen  —  Yesterday I snuck over to the engineering building and “borrowed” a Nokia Lumia 900 running a VERY early build of Windows Phone 7.8, so I could shoot a video of the amazing new Start Screen.

Dell introduces new XPS 14 and XPS 15 laptops  —  Naturally, with the added processing power and the inclusion of a disc drive, the XPS 15 gains a little heft over the XPS 14, carrying a thickness of 0.91-inches and a starting weight at 5.79 pounds.  It also shaves three hours off …

Scientists crack RSA SecurID 800 tokens, steal cryptographic keys  —  Scientists crack RSA SecurID 800 tokens, steal cryptographic keys  —  Scientists penetrate hardened security devices in under 15 minutes.  —  RSA's SecurID 800 is one of at least five commercially available security devices susceptible …

EU Commissioner Reveals He Will Simply Ignore Any Rejection Of ACTA By European Parliament Next Week  —  The day before the EU's International Trade committee (INTA) recommended that the European Parliament should reject ACTA, the EU commissioner with responsibility for the treaty, Karel De Gucht …

Kindle Fire 2 may hit as soon as July  —  Last year, Amazon launched the Kindle Fire in September.  The next-generation Kindles are expected to launch a little earlier this year.  —  (Credit: CNET)  —  What's next for Kindle hardware?  —  Well, a credible source has told CNET that Amazon …

On Orbitz, Mac Users Steered to Pricier Hotels  —  Orbitz Worldwide Inc. has found that people who use Apple Inc.'s Mac computers spend as much as 30% more a night on hotels, so the online travel agency is starting to show them different, and sometimes costlier, travel options than Windows visitors see.

Facebook Names Sheryl Sandberg to Its Board of Directors  —  Facebook announced today that Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer at Facebook, has joined the company's board of directors.  —  Sandberg oversees Facebook's business operations including sales, marketing, business development …

Jeff Huber Has The Hardest Job At Google  —  Let's return to the case of Jeff Huber, Google's senior vice president of Geo and Commerce.  —  Last week, we published a story headlined: “Depending On Whom You Ask, This Google Exec Is Either ‘Weak’ Or He Just Drew The Short Straw.”

Miami Heat Owner Sues Blogger & Google Over ‘Unflattering’ Photo  —  What is it with super rich sports owners and SLAPP suits?  Remember Redskins owner Dan Snyder?  Well here's a situation that seems even more ridiculous.  Ranaan Katz is a minority owner of the Miami Heat, who just won the NBA championship.

Top Five YouTube Partner Channels Drive Nearly 1.5 Billion Monthly Streams  —  May 2012 marks the first month that Nielsen is publicly reported streaming measurement on thousands of YouTube partners.  The top five YouTube Partner channels, led by Vevo, Warner Music Group and Machinima, combined for nearly 1.5 billion total streams.

Microsoft: We Won't Build Own Windows Phones  —  Microsoft exec categorically denies reports that the company plans to bring its Surface tablet strategy to the smartphone market.  —  A Microsoft executive said the company has no plans to manufacture its own company-branded smartphones …

Nokia 808 PureView review  —  A CAMERA THAT CAN MAKE PHONE CALLS — OR SOMETHING MORE?  —  At Mobile World Congress this year, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop cast a wary eye over the catalog of shiny new phones introduced by his competitors and posed the challenge, “which ones will you remember?”

Wi-Fi Alliance begins certifying Passpoint devices  —  The Wi-Fi Alliance has opened up its certification lab doors and is now inviting vendors to submit their handsets and access points for Hotspot 2.0 certification.  If they pass muster, they will receive the Alliance's Passpoint stamp of approval …

With Half A Billion Video Recommendations Daily, Taboola Gets $10 Million From Marker  —  Over the last several years, Taboola has quietly emerged to offer video recommendations on a number of top publisher websites in the U.S. Now it's setting its sites on international growth and a whole set …

Apple suggests HTC dodged ITC injunction with ‘misstatements’ to US customs  —  Apple has suggested to the International Trade Commission that HTC made “misstatements” to U.S. Customs in order to dodge an injunction against its handsets.  —  In a letter to the ITC last week …

Wired and The New Yorker Pull Back on Flipboard  —  Shelving Efforts to Sell Ads, Curtailing ‘Flip-able’ Content  —  Some magazines are developing Flipboard fatigue.  —  Wired and The New Yorker are suspending efforts to sell ads on the platform and replacing their robust Flipboard feeds next month …

I/O Preview: Google Set This Week to Challenge Amazon, Sonos, Apple and ... Oh, Just Fill in the Blank Here  —  This week, some 5,500 developers will converge in San Francisco for Google I/O to listen to the search giant's latest and greatest plans for Android, Chrome and other products.

Social-Mobile-LOCAL: “Local” Will Be The Biggest Of The Three  —  While “Social-Mobile-Local” is certainly an overused buzz phrase, most of the attention has been placed on the “social” and “mobile” parts of the phrase.  In social, the spectacular rise of Facebook and Twitter is clearly a disruptive and critical trend.

News Corp. Mulls Splitting in Two  —  News Corp. is considering splitting into two companies, separating its publishing assets from its entertainment businesses, say people familiar with the situation.  —  The split would carve off News Corp.'s film and television businesses …

eHarmony Password Dump Analysis  —  Unless you've been hauled up in a bunker, eating MREs and watching Doomsday Preppers marathons, you've likely heard of the recent compromise of over 1.5 million eHarmony password hashes.  After a little work tracking down the hashes, we launched several attacks …

Why the integrated approach to mobile devices is winning  —  Until last week's announcement of the new Surface tablet, Microsoft had taken the same approach to mobile devices that they had with PCs: build the software themselves and let partners build the hardware.

Done deal: Groupon-Tencent joint venture Gaopeng merges with China's FTuan  —  Chinese daily deal site Gaopeng, a joint-venture of Internet giants Groupon and Tencent, is merging with larger rival FTuan.  The companies just announced the news, confirming earlier rumors, but didn't disclose the financial terms of the deal.

UK ISPs will have to notify broadband users of piracy violations under draft Ofcom code  —  ISPs could be required to send warning letters to copyright infringers by early 2014, under a draft code published in its latest revision today by UK communications regulator Ofcom.

How close is Windows 8 to being ‘done’?  —  Summary: When will Microsoft christen Windows 8 as being “done”?  At this point in the game, no one from Microsoft has stated this in any official capacity.  —  Believe or not, folks, Microsoft execs still have not said when Windows 8 will be “done.”