Zynga game changers: new games, friend network, API  —  SAN FRANCISCO — As Facebook has been colonizing the planet, approaching a billion users for its social network, Zynga has been drafting in its wake.  The social-gaming company, which launched July 1, 2007, with a poker game …

Apple Wins Injunction Against Samsung Galaxy Tab  —  Apple has scored a major victory in its pitched patent battle with Samsung.  —  U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh late Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction preventing Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States.

Launching Google +1 Recommendations Across the Web  —  Working on +1, we often hear people say they want to see more of what their friends recommend.  Likewise, when we talk to site owners, they ask us to help them show more relevant content to their users.

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 …

the recruiter honeypot  —  In late 2009, I created an online persona named Pete London - a self-described JavaScript ninja - to help attract and hire the best JavaScript recruiters.  While I never hired a recruiter from the experiment, I learned a ton about how to compete in today's Silicon Valley talent war.

Spotify, Yahoo Link Up in Distribution, Revenue Sharing Deal  —  Earlier this year Spotify rolled out a plan to get its “play” button on a host of Web sites, which let the streaming music service broaden its reach beyond Facebook.  —  Now it's making the same move, but with one very …

Apple looking to open facility in downtown Reno, east of Sparks as part of $1B, 10-year investment  —  Apple is planning on opening a data center east of Sparks and a business and purchasing center in downtown Reno, part of a $1 billion investment the company plans to spend in Northern Nevada over the next 10 years.

Apple Wins Patents for Inductive Charging & iOS Scrolling, Rotating & Resizing on Displays  —  The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 27 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today.  In our first patent report of the day we cover a pair of Apple patents …

Why RIM Won't Be Bought: There's Not Much There There  —  There's been rampant speculation that the rescue strategy for Research In Motion would be for someone to buy the company.  There has been, at various times, idle speculation about a wide-range of intriguing but highly unlikely potential suitors.

Ned Hooper out at Cisco and Padmasree Warrior moves up  —  Cisco has shaken up its executive team, promoting CTO Padmasree Warrior, and saying goodbye to Chief Strategy Officer Ned Hooper who will leave to start an investment fund.  The networking giant reported the changes in a blog post on Tuesday.

Apple Offers New Dedicated Podcast App for iOS  —  Earlier this month, it was rumored that Apple would be launching a standalone podcast app in iOS 6.  Instead of waiting for the next version of iOS, Apple posted the Podcast app on the App Store today.  [App Store]

Google Said To Unveil Tablet At I/O, Taking Aim At IPad  —  Google Inc. (GOOG) plans to unveil a $199 tablet co-branded with Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc. at its developers conference this week, taking direct aim at Apple Inc. (AAPL)'s iPad, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Best Buy Founder Weighs Buyout  —  Best Buy Co. founder Richard Schulze is working with a Wall Street bank to explore taking the electronics retailer private, according to people familiar with his thinking.  —  Mr. Schulze, the company's largest shareholder with a slightly more than 20% stake …

Internet Providers Testing Metered Plans for Broadband  —  SAN ANTONIO — The broadband era began with the expectation that Internet connections were like buffets — all you can eat, 24 hours a day.  But users are now being prodded to think about how much they're consuming.

‘Girls Who Code’ Seeks to Train Women for Tech Fields  —  A shortage of female workers in science and engineering has long posed an image problem for Silicon Valley.  Now a one-time congressional candidate is trying to make a difference, starting with a summer training program in New York City.

Apple's iTunes Store arrives in a dozen new Asian countries  —  Apple's extended its iTunes Store to 12 new countries today as part of a push that takes it into more Asian territories.  —  Included on that list is: Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

For Samsung, Galaxy halo effect comes with supply crunch  —  (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics' struggle to keep pace with rampant demand for its new Galaxy S III smartphone may have cost the South Korean firm some 2 million units of sales in just a month.  —  For a company that has never stirred …

Sirius XM Radio, Howard Stern coming to Google TV  —  (Reuters) - Google Inc is getting help from shock jock Howard Stern to revive its Internet TV software, which has languished since its debut 19 months ago.  —  Satellite radio provider Sirius XM will make all of its programming available on Google TV …

Scoop: Microsoft bets on WebRTC for Skype's browser future  —  Skype is taking first steps towards a browser-based future, and it is doing so by embracing a key technology open sourced by Google last year: New job postings on Microsoft's website suggest that WebRTC will be at the core of Skype's next generation messaging architecture.

FTC Hits Wyndham Hotels With Lawsuit Over Three Hacker Breaches In Two Years  —  Wyndham Hotel Group just took the fourth blow in a quadruple whammy: First it was hit with three digital breaches over two years that affected more than half a million customers.

EXCLUSIVE: BBM for BlackBerry 10 First Look  —  Have you been wondering what BlackBerry Messenger on BlackBerry 10 could possibly look like?  Now you get the very first glimpse ever!  BBM in BlackBerry 10 will be taking full advantage of the OLED screen.  How will it be doing that you ask?

Google heralds next Android with Jelly Bean sculpture  —  Google has put up a Jelly Bean sculpture to mark the next version of its Android operating system.  —  (Credit: Google)  —  Squashing any lingering doubts about the arrival of the next version of Android, Google has put up a Jelly Bean sculpture on its campus.

TIL: The Pentagon Is Building a Reddit Knockoff  —  Screencaps of several milSuite services.  In July, the Pentagon plans to launch Eureka, a Reddit-style forum.  Illustration: Army  —  For years, the military has struggled over what to do about social media.

As the battle for the living room heats up, Brightcove bets big on Apple TV  —  “The mythical Apple television set that everyone talks about is already here,” said Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Brightcove, sipping an iced cappuccino with The Verge on a particularly hot New York morning.