Review: Refined iOS 6 highlighted by stunning Maps overhaul  —  Every iOS release has its marquee feature, and with iOS 6 it's unquestionably Maps.  The app has gotten a in-depth makeover, perhaps the most thorough ever to be applied to one of iOS's built-in applications.

Nokia slams HTC's Windows Phone 8 announcement, calls it a ‘tactical re-branding’  —  HTC has just unveiled two new Windows Phone 8 devices today, making them the signature phones for Microsoft.  We asked Nokia about today's announcements and the company's head of marketing, Chris Weber …

The Lost Chapter  —  2003: Cambridge, Massachusetts  —  In college, my computer's filing system was relatively straightforward: I had a folder for each year of school, and within each of those folders there were additional folders for each course I was taking.

How Much Tech Can One City Take?  —  Shaken by the latest digital gold rush, San Francisco struggles for its soul.  —  Last year, when Mayor Ed Lee heard that Twitter was planning to move its headquarters out of San Francisco and down to the peninsula, he quickly consulted with his digital experts …

Mobile Pwn2Own: iPhone 4S hacked by Dutch team  —  Summary: How long would it take a determined attacker to hack into Apple's iPhone 4S from scratch?  A Dutch research team uses the Pwn2Own contest to provide the answer.  —  Ryan Naraine  —  AMSTERDAM — How long would it take a determined attacker …

Google Updates Android Maps App as Apple Moves On  —  The fight over mobile maps is on.  —  Google plans to add new features to its Google Maps app for Android phones on Wednesday.  Conveniently, it is the same day that Apple's latest mobile operating system is due to be released …

Sir Jonathan Ive and entire Apple design team fly to London to collect prestigious D&AD awards  —  Apple has been named the best brand and the best design studio of the last 50 years at the D&AD Awards, one of the world's most prestigious prizes for advertising and design.

MakerBot unveils Replicator 2, 2X and launches retail store, we go eyes-on  —  The Replicator may have just been pushed off this writer's Christmas list.  (Note to self: send updated letter to Santa.)  But, this isn't a loss for MakerBot Industries, because it's being replaced by the Replicator 2 …

Show Me Your Best DEMO  —  Ever since I left TechCrunch six months ago, people have been asking me, “What's next?”  I've been purposefully silent about most of my activities, but today I can share some news.  Beginning next month, I will become the new executive producer of DEMO, the original product launch conference.

Sources: Zynga Chief Security Officer Nils Puhlmann Has Resigned From Company  —  We're hearing that Nils Puhlmann, the cloud security expert who has worked as Zynga's Chief Security Officer since 2009, resigned from the company yesterday, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

True to form, Samsung mocks iPhone 5 buyers in latest commercial  —  We caught Samsung preparing its latest salvo against Apple last week, and now the company's next big attack ad is finally here.  Staying true to the theme of its earlier commercials, Samsung's new ad mocks those waiting early …

Introducing Groupon Payments  —  In the past, our merchant partners have often told us that their traditional payment systems are expensive and cumbersome-so we stepped up to the plate and developed our own payments service guaranteed to be the simplest and lowest cost option for Groupon merchants to accept credit cards.

Microsoft intros Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, left end of the space bar can be used as a backspace key  —  Over the summer, Microsoft took a break from showing off Windows 8 hybrids and turned its attention to unleashing a bunch of portable mice and keyboards.  Turns out, Redmond …

Apple releases OS X 10.8.2 with single sign on for Facebook, iMessage number merging and more  —  Hot on the heels of the release of iOS 6 (catch our full review here) Apple has just pushed out the update for OS X 10.8.2 which gives a huge set of new features.

Charlie O'Donnell's Brooklyn Bridge Ventures Raises $3.5M  —  As we reported earlier this year, VC Charlie O'Donnell, who has worked as at both First Round Capital and Union Square Ventures, launched his own venture firm, New York-based Brooklyn Bridge Ventures.

Here's what the new gaming experience on Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets will look like  —  Two weeks ago, Amazon introduced its latest tablet, the Kindle Fire HD, which comes in two screen sizes, 7 inches and 8.9 inches.  The new Kindle Fire tablets will offer players a revamped gaming experience …

Bromium secures computers by holding apps in isolation  —  New security software separates apps and their processes from the operating system to keep attacks at bay.  —  Some of the minds behind virtualization technology used by Amazon Web Services are launching new security software today called Bromium …

Google Expected to Surpass Facebook in Display-Ad Sales  —  Google Inc. is expected to surpass rival Facebook Inc. in selling online “display” advertisements in the U.S. this year, according to a new estimate by research firm eMarketer Inc.  —  The result would mark a milestone for the Web-search giant …