Apple-Google Maps Talks Crashed Over Voice-Guided Directions  —  Google Chairman Eric Schmidt says Apple should have continued to use Google's mapping application in iOS 6 instead of swapping it out for its poorly received home-brewed replacement, and given the sour reception Apple's Maps app has been given, he may have been right.

Apple's A6 CPU actually clocked at around 1.3GHz, per new Geekbench report  —  As the initial wave of iPhone 5 reviews hit, it looked as if Apple's dual-core A6 processor was sporting a clock speed of around 1GHz.  We saw reports (and confirmed with our own handset) ranging between 1.00 and 1.02GHz …

Will TV will be Apple's Undoing?  —  The Wall St. Journal columnist who foresaw the “Microsofting of Apple” has a new theory  —  FORTUNE — Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. published a provocative theory Wednesday in the opinion section of the Wall Street Journal.  —  The “maps farrago,” as the paper's …

The Primetimeness of Apple's Passbook  —  I'm not really in the habit of breaking down other writer's posts, but in this case I'll make an exception.  Erica Ogg wrote the article linked above at GigaOm, entitled Apple's New Passbook Isn't Quite Ready For Primetime.

US calls Assange ‘enemy of state’  —  THE US military has designated Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as enemies of the United States - the same legal category as the al-Qaeda terrorist network and the Taliban insurgency.  —  Declassified US Air Force counter-intelligence documents …

Tracking growth: the iTunes app store vs Google Play  —  There are now more than 675,000 apps available in Google Play, a noteworthy figure not for the number of apps, but because it means Android is now within striking distance of overtaking iOS as the mobile operating system with the most apps.

Your YouTube original videos now available in Google Takeout  —  Your Takeout menu is growing.  Today's entrée: YouTube videos.  —  Previously, you've been able to download individual transcoded videos from your YouTube Video Manager.  But starting today, you also have a more efficient …

Schmidt raps Apple for patent trolling  —  Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt made it clear Thursday that he is against patent wars in the mobile phone industry, expressing his frustration with Apple's recent move to file a myriad of legal attacks against users of the Android operating system (OS), including Samsung Electronics.

Amazon seeks to throw out Apple “app store” advertising claim  —  (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has asked a federal judge to throw out Apple Inc's false advertising claim in a lawsuit challenging the online retailer's use of the “app store” name.  —  The claim is part of a March 2011 trademark lawsuit …

Operation Unlike Is A Go: Page Fan Counts Are Dropping Because Facebook Is Deleting Fake Accounts  —  Some Facebook business Pages lost tens of thousands of fans today, but they shouldn't fret.  Facebook has confirmed with me that it's currently purging fake accounts and Page Likes …

LG Display Files Patent Suit Against Samsung  —  SEOUL—LG Display Co. said it filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against its biggest rival, Samsung Electronics Co., in a South Korea civil court over the use of advanced OLED displays in smartphones and tablet PCs.

Google to remove exporting of old Microsoft Office formats from Google Apps on October 1  —  Google today announced a huge change for Google Apps, including its Business, Education, and Government editions.  As of October 1, users will no longer have the ability to download documents …

EU regulators set to charge Microsoft over breached deal  —  (Reuters) - EU regulators are preparing to charge Microsoft Corp for failing to comply with a 2009 ruling ordering it to offer users a choice of web browsers, the EU's antitrust chief said on Thursday.

To Unlock A Full Price AT&T iPhone 5, Just Restore It In iTunes  —  If you have bought an AT&T iPhone 5 without a contract over the past few days, chances are that you want to unlock it to use it on another carrier.  The traditional process involves filling out an online form on AT&T's website …

New Zealand Prime Minister Apologizes To Kim Dotcom  —  “Of course I apologize to Mr Dotcom, and I apologize to New Zealanders.”  —  These were the humbling words of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key today after a report from Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Paul Neazor found …

Looking for the ‘Next Big Thing’?  Ranking the Top 50 Start-Ups  —  This Year's List Shows a Focus on Business Tech as Health Care and Energy Fade  —  Venture capitalists are still investing in flashy Internet start-ups, but the “Next Big Thing” is more likely to be a maker of humdrum Internet plumbing for businesses.

Maker of Smart-Grid Control Software Hacked  —  The maker of an industrial control system designed to be used with so-called smart grid networks disclosed to customers last week that hackers had breached its network and accessed project files related to a control system used in portions of the electrical grid.

Amazon Starts a Shopping Site for the Environmental Crowd  —  Amazon.com is going after the environmental crowd with a new site called vine.com for buying green products.  —  Vine is part of Quidsi, the company that Amazon bought in 2010 that also runs sites like Diapers.com (baby stuff), Wag.com (pets) and YoYo.com (toys).

Google's President of Brazil Operations arrested for failing to remove YouTube videos  —  Google's President of Brazil Operations Fabio Coelho was arrested today in São Paulo, the Brazilian website G1 reports, quoting a press release from the country's Federal Police.

TV's second screen heats up: Zeebox comes to the U.S. with investment from Comcast  —  The major networks and cable operators are laying their bets on the second screen, throwing big dollars at the companion apps for smartphones and tablets we use while watching tv.