How To Be a Genius: This Is Apple's Secret Employee Training Manual  —  We recently showed you just how badly some of Apple's retail elite behave when no one's watching, but surely they were taught better, right?  You bet they were: Apple tells its new recruits exactly what what to think and say.

SkyDrive for Android phones now available  —  A few weeks ago we announced our intention to release an official SkyDrive app for Android phones.  Today we're excited to announce that the app is now available for download.  We want to ensure that you're able to have your files accessible across …

Google Reinstates Controversial Music-Streaming App Grooveshark  —  More than a year after Google Inc. removed the controversial Grooveshark music-streaming service from its app store for Android smartphones, the app was quietly reinstated Tuesday afternoon, despite ongoing copyright infringement lawsuits against the company.

T-Mobile Adding microSIM Kits For iPhone 4/4S, Training Employees For “Selling Against The iPhone”  —  Based on both pieces of information that just came into our inbox, we're trying to draw two conclusions, one that T-Mobile isn't getting the iPhone 5, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

Preparing for the iPhone Next: Rumors Analyzed  —  While we typically don't comment on rumors we don't know to be true at AnandTech, we often get requests to help set rational expectations ahead of major iDevice launches.  The shroud of secrecy around major Apple launches can pave the way for both sensible and unrealistic conclusions.

Apple ‘AirPlay Direct’ planned for September launch  —  Hifi manufacturers are preparing for Apple to launch ‘AirPlay Direct’ technology that allows wireless music playback without the need for a WiFi network.  —  Apple's Steve Jobs launched AirPlay in 2010

Isis Mobile-Payment System To Debut In September After Delays  —  Isis, the mobile-payment joint venture backed by AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA Inc., is on track for a debut in September, following months of delays and a change in strategy last year.

Google's Nexus 7 tablet pops up in rare home page ad  —  In a first, Google is actually touting a product on its home page, which is typically free of advertisements.  —  Google really wants people to take a look at its Nexus 7 tablet.  —  The $199 tablet started popping up on Google's home page today …

Time Warner Cable invests $25M to build 1Gbps fiber network  —  Time Warner Cable is following Google's lead with a 1Gbps fiber network in New York City, except Time Warner will focus on business customers and it hasn't yet announced pricing.  —  Time Warner Cable announced Tuesday …

Google Wallet to challenge iPhone Passbook by storing ID, boarding passes, and more  —  News by Andrew Kameka on Monday August 27, 2012.  —  Aside from the payment and loyalty card information that Google Wallet already stores, Google hopes to include boarding passes, identification cards, and everything you'd find in a normal wallet.

Half of All Mobile Phones Will Be Smartphones by 2013, Two Years Earlier Than Forecast  —  Those smartphones are growing up so fast.  —  It seems like just yesterday they were sending their first emails from their baby keyboards, and now they are poised to take over the world.

OnLive lost: how the paradise of streaming games was undone by one man's ego  —  “I'm the one that brought you here.  I'm the one that ultimately made decisions, and I'm the one that ultimately takes responsibility.  So I am sorry, and it didn't end up exactly as we'd hoped.”

Exclusive: Zynga's Chief Creative Officer Mike Verdu Exits to Start a New Company  —  Mike Verdu confirmed to AllThingsD that he is leaving Zynga to start his own game company in which Zynga will be an investor.  —  As Chief Creative Officer at Zynga, Verdu oversaw a number of the company's game studios …

IBM Envisions Watson As Supercharged Siri For Businesses  —  International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) researchers spent four years developing Watson, the computer smart enough to beat the champions of the quiz show “Jeopardy!”  Now they're trying to figure out how to get those capabilities into the phone in your pocket.

Death To The Restaurant Buzzer: NoWait Raises $2 Million For iOS-Based Waitlisting System  —  NoWait, a mobile waitlisting management service based in Pittsburgh, is announcing today it has closed on a $2 million Series A round of funding led by Birchmere Ventures.

I.B.M. Mainframe Evolves to Serve the Digital World  —  I.B.M. is introducing on Tuesday a new line of mainframe computers, adding yet another chapter to a remarkable story of technological longevity and business strategy.  —  The new model, the zEnterprise EC12, has strengthened …

It appears Google has quietly killed its weather API  —  Last month, Google announced plans to shutter iGoogle, among a bunch of other services.  Many developers and users were (and still are) outraged, but at least they have some time to breathe: iGoogle isn't going away until November 1, 2013.

Kim Dotcom offers developers early API access to the upcoming Megaupload reboot  —  Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has had a bone to pick with authorities since the service was shut down and he was arrested earlier this year.  It looks like he's going to be a thorn in the side for them for some more time …

Lexmark to exit inkjet printers, cut 1,700 jobs  —  Summary: Lexmark will close an inkjet manufacturing facility in the Philippines and cease development as it eyes high-end imaging.  —  Larry Dignan  —  Lexmark on Tuesday said it will exit its inkjet printer business and cut 1,700 jobs around …

YouTube's Ad Overhaul Moves on to Xbox.  Next Stop, Apple?  —  Hey, look at this: Yet another YouTube app overhaul, which features a bunch of ... features.  See if you can guess what's most important about the new Xbox app from Google's perspective, via a PR email YouTube sent out this morning.

Apple strikes licensing deal with Motorola in Germany, heralds more peaceful times?  —  Motorola's war with Apple has certainly been overshadowed by the showdown with Samsung.  But, with the latter melodrama shifting into quiet mode, focus is coming back to the battle with Moto.

Samsung Vows to Fight Ban  —  SEOUL—Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it would fight Apple Inc.'s attempt to ban the sale of some of its smartphones in the U.S. with “all necessary measures.”  —  After winning a jury verdict for patent infringement against Samsung in a U.S. court last week …

New Java 7 exploit can potentially affect Macs  —  While there are no known attempts to use a newly discovered vulnerability to target Mac users, the exploit has been successfully triggered in both Safari and Firefox on Macs running Mountain Lion.  —  A new vulnerability was found last week in the latest Java 7 runtime from Oracle.

Flipboard Hits 20 Million Users, 3 Billion Flips Per Month  —  Oh hey, remember when Flipboard had 5 million users?  That was the official figure at the end of last year.  It was also the number that came out just as the social magazine app was launching on iPhone, after having previously been an iPad-only app.