Thumbs Up: Digg Wasn't A Failure, It Was A Beginning  —  “Don't let him climb a wall.  We haven't finalized his life insurance plan.”  —  That was one of the first directions I was given at Digg when I started in early 2008.  “Him” was Kevin Rose, the founder of the widely popular social news site, and I was on my third day.

The Facebook tweak that killed a billion-dollar industry  —  Facebook is known for operating in a perpetual beta state, making major changes not infrequently.  Problem is, that can stifle a quickly growing niche.  —  FORTUNE — Mark Zuckerberg is famous for keeping Facebook (FB) in a state of permanent beta.

When Art, Apple and the Secret Service Collide: ‘People Staring at Computers’  —  Steve Jobs, staring at the first version of Photo Booth.  All watercolors courtesy of David Pierce.  —  I really wasn't expecting the Secret Service.  —  Maybe an email, or a phone call from Apple.

Innovative bookmarking service Spool is shutting down.  —  Spool today confirms its innovative bookmarking service is shutting down.  —  In an email, the Spool team says: … Spool was kind enough to attach all a user's bookmarks to the email and provided a handy link to explain …

RIM hit with $147.2 million verdict in wireless patent lawsuit  —  (Reuters) - A northern California jury directed Research in Motion Ltd to pay $147.2 million in patent litigation over a remote management system for wireless devices, according to an attorney for the plaintiff, Mformation Technologies Inc.

How did the new MacBook Pros get Gold-level green ratings?  —  They may not stick.  A recycling coalition says the notebooks flunk two key tests  —  FORTUNE — Apple (AAPL) may have thought it put the EPEAT kerfuffle behind it with the release of Bob Mansfield's mea culpa letter Friday.

XBMC for Android announced  —  XBMC has announced the release of its first native software for Android.  Introduced in a blog post on the developer's website, the open-source media sharing software has been made compatible any Android-based smartphone, tablet, or set-top box for local network video and audio streaming.

Announcing an audacious proposal  —  The overwhelmingly positive response to my blogpost, What Twitter could have been has been inspiring.  The post has generated 80K pageviews thus far.  Without really meaning to, I touched a nerve.  The responses to my post largely fell into two camps.

Samsung Launches Its First Retail Store in North America, Looks a Lot Like an Apple Store  —  Apple often accuses Samsung of copying its devices, but Samsung has just taken it a step farther.  The company has just opened its first North American retail store in Burnaby's Metropolis at Metrotown …

MobiTV Pulls $75 Million IPO, Citing ‘Unfavorable’ Conditions  —  MobiTV Inc. (MBTV) (MBTV), the maker of software that lets smartphone users watch live television, withdrew its plans for an initial public offering, citing “unfavorable market conditions.”  —  The Emeryville, California-based company …

Millions Will Flow to Privacy Groups Supporting Weak Facebook Settlement  —  Privacy and consumer groups are urging a federal judge to sign off on a controversial Facebook settlement over its “Sponsored Stories” advertising program which will net them a combined payout of $10 million …

Google's Nexus tablet selling fast across retail chains  —  (Reuters) - Google Inc's “Nexus 7” tablet is off to an encouraging start, with major retailers running out of the gadgets as the Internet company's first entry in an increasingly crowded market showed up in U.S. stores on Friday.