Wrong turn: Apple's buggy iOS 6 maps lead to widespread complaints  —  Apple has a maps problem.  —  The major new feature of the company's new iOS 6 mobile operating system is a new mapping module developed by Apple itself — a replacement for the Google-supplied maps that have been standard on the iPhone since it debuted in 2007.

Exclusive: Wal-Mart stops selling Amazon Kindles  —  (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc will no longer sell Amazon.com Inc's Kindle products, making the world's largest retailer the second major chain to stop selling Amazon's devices, according to an internal memo and a source familiar with the situation.

Swiss Federal Railways Says Apple Copied Its Iconic Railway Clock  —  Switzerland's Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, or Swiss Federal Railway service, has accused Apple of using their iconic clock in its Clock app for iPad without permission, according to a report in the Swiss newspaper Blick [Google Translate].

IFTTT forced to remove Twitter triggers on September 27th to comply with new API policies  —  The internet service glue product IFTTT has been forced to remove its Twitter triggers after recent changes to Twitter's API policies.  The change was confirmed in an email sent out to IFTTT users today.

iPhone 5 Teardown  —  Behold, the sixth generation of iPhone!  We shall call it...iPhone 5!  Buckle down for the iPhone 5 teardown: the biggest thing to happen to teardowns since teardowns.  Follow us on Twitter for all the latest teardown shenanigans, or go on that Facebook thing to keep up with iFixit news.

Nokia would like to take this opportunity to remind you that its maps are better than Apple's  —  Nokia took the opportunity today to post up an interesting entry on its Conversations blog called “Benchmarking mobile maps” (thanks to Tim Bradshaw for pointing this out).

Exclusive: Facebook to charge merchants to run Offers  —  (Reuters) - Facebook Inc said it will start charging businesses to run Offers on its social network, turning a previously free service into a potential revenue generator at a time when Wall Street is demanding new sources of growth and profit from the company.

Facebook promises to update its mobile apps every 4 to 8 weeks  —  Following the update of Facebook for Android, Facebook Messenger for Android, Facebook for iOS and Facebook Pages Manager for iOS today, the social networking giant has even more news to share: a new schedule for mobile app updates.

Apple sees 15% of devices upgrade to iOS 6, gives App Store traffic a huge boost  —  While Apple's iOS 6 software was only release yesterday, about 15 percent of eligible devices have already upgraded, according to data from research firm Chitika.  —  The firm notes that it took iOS 5 nearly three days …

Microsoft wins third German injunction against Google's Motorola over high-power patent  —  Google just suffered a strategically very important defeat at the Munich I Regional Court, where Presiding Judge Dr. Peter Guntz just announced a ruling in Microsoft's favor against wholly-owned Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility.

Microsoft Avoided Billions in U.S. Tax, Senate Memo Says  —  A U.S. Senate committee memo said Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) used aggressive international tax maneuvers to avoid billions of dollars in taxes over the past three years.  —  The report, released in advance of a 2 p.m. hearing in Washington today …

Crowds Gather at Apple Stores for iPhone 5 Launch  —  Customers in nine countries are gathering for the release of Apple Inc.'s latest iPhone amid signs of heavy demand for the high-profile handset.  —  Crowds started forming earlier this week outside an Apple retail store in New York …

Microsoft Said to Ask China to Stop Piracy at Four Firms  —  Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) asked China to stop the alleged use of pirated versions of its Office software by China National Petroleum Corp. and three other state-owned companies, three people familiar with the situation said.

Oracle Database suffers from “stealth password cracking vulnerability”  —  A weakness in an Oracle login system—used in the company's databases which grant access to sensitive information—makes it trivial for attackers to crack user passwords and gain entry without authorization, a researcher has warned.

The Venture Capital Secret: 3 Out of 4 Start-Ups Fail  —  It looks so easy from the outside.  An entrepreneur with a hot technology and venture-capital funding becomes a billionaire in his 20s.  —  But now there is evidence that venture-backed start-ups fail at far higher numbers than the rate the industry usually cites.

R.I.P. Animated Twitter Avatars  —  They're either the scourge of Twitter or its best feature, depending on who you ask.  Now they appear to be getting phased out.  —  My obnoxious animated Twitter avatar has lost me a few dozen followers, at least.  Some are people I work with.