Sparrow and Google  —  We're excited to announce that Sparrow has been acquired by Google!  We care a lot about how people communicate, and we did our best to provide you with the most intuitive and pleasurable mailing experience.  Now we're joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision …

v1  —  As betaworks and Digg both announced on their blogs, we are taking over Digg and turning it back into a startup.  What they didn't mention is that we're rebuilding it from scratch.  In six weeks.  —  On August 1, after an adrenaline and caffeine-fueled six weeks, we're rolling out a new v1.

Making money with your apps through the Windows Store … Currently, all the apps that are available in the Windows Store are free for customers to acquire—keeping with the preview nature of the Windows 8 releases to date.  At Windows 8 RTM (Release To Manufacturing), all developers signing …

Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously  —  In a future conflict, an adversary unable to match our military supremacy on the battlefield might seek to exploit our computer vulnerabilities here at home.  —  Last month I convened an emergency meeting of my cabinet and top homeland security, intelligence and defense officials.

Video: Nexus 7 touchscreen defect  —  As Nexus 7 pre-orders start filtering out into the world, users are finally getting acquainted with Google's 7-inch slate.  There is a lot to like about the device; it's fast, solidly built, and has great software.  I should say, these things are true in most cases.

Nexus 7 sees “incredible demand”, sells out at major retailers  —  Summary: The Nexus 7 has already sold out at retailers such as GameStop, Staples, and Costco.  Here's how you can get one.  —  Ed Burnette  —  Follow @eburnette  —  Introduced 3 weeks ago at Google I/O 2012 …

Russian hacker strikes again with new ‘free in-app purchase’ exploit for Mac apps on OS X  —  Alexei Borodin, the same hacker who came up with the recent in-app purchase exploit that allowed free transactions for iOS users has struck again with a new method that allows users of Mac apps to do the same.

Apple says iOS 6 to fix in-app-purchase fraud, gives developers a temporary fix  —  Apple has responded to the recent App Store in-app-purchase bug and fraud with an email and temporary solution for registered iOS developers.  This email includes a link to a new Apple developer web document …

Tokyo, Seoul, and Paris get faster, cheaper broadband than US cities  —  Tokyo is one of the world's leading cities for high-speed Internet access.  —  Kondo Atsush  —  A new study from the New America Foundation suggests that the United States is lagging in the broadband speed race.

Lenovo CEO distributes $3 million personal bonus to production-line workers, other junior-level employees  —  After Lenovo posted extremely healthy financials back in May, it provided CEO Yang Yuanqing with a $3 million bonus for doing such a good job.  There's nothing particularly notable …

Exclusive: Comcast Prepping 305 Mbps Tier - To Counter Verizon's New Quantum FiOS Offerings  —  Last month Verizon raised the bar for residential broadband (and high prices) when they announced their new Quantum FiOS tiers, which included a new top shelf 300 Mbps downstream, 65 Mbps upstream tier for $205 a month.

The State of Mobile Advertising, Q2 2012  —  Executive Summary In our first edition of the State of Mobile Advertising report, we take an in-depth look at the monetization of mobile advertising from four perspectives within the ad delivery value chain: Devices, Publishers, Ad Networks and Advertisers.

Viacom Is Said To Get Over $600 Million A Year From DirecTV  —  Viacom Inc. (VIAB) will get more than $600 million a year from DirecTV (DTV) in programming fees under their new seven-year agreement, up at least 20 percent from the previous terms, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

VCs pump $2.1 billion into early-stage startups, biggest haul in more than a decade  —  Venture capitalists are pumping more money into early-stage companies.  And that, say some industry watchers, is very much a good thing.  According to the MoneyTree report from PricewaterhouseCoopers …

Facebook acquires talent behind iOS and Mac developer Acrylic, makers of Wallet and RSS reader Pulp  —  The Mac development house Acrylic has announced that they have been acqui-hired by Facebook.  Acrylic's Dustin Macdonald shared a statement on the company's blog.

Kleiner Loses Pao Ruling And Opts For Another Year Of Everyone Talking About This Sex Scandal  —  As expected, Judge Harold Kahn has denied a motion by Kleiner Perkins to compel arbitration in a lawsuit filed by one of its partners, Ellen Pao, for gender discrimination and retaliation.

Samsung Preparing To Reveal “Newest Galaxy Device” On August 15  —  Here's a little something to get the ol' rumor mill churning before the weekend — Samsung has just sent out a save-the-date email for a “major” product announcement on August 15.  Samsung goes on to say that the company will unveil its …