Microsoft CEO Ballmer suggests more hardware coming  —  Microsoft Corp's chief executive said his company would look at more opportunities to build its own devices, after the launch of its Surface tablet last month, potentially bringing the software giant into competition with its hardware partners …

Exclusive: Spotify to begin rolling out browser-based music app in beta today  —  Spotify today plans to begin the roll out of its first ever browser-based music player, The Verge has learned from sources close to the company.  The web player looks a lot like its desktop counterparts on Mac and Windows …

HP's Todd Bradley: Surface is no competition to us  —  Todd Bradley, the head of HP's PC business, does not view Microsoft's Surface tablet as a challenge.  —  “I'd hardly call Surface competition,” Bradley said in an interview with IDG Enterprise.  He listed several reasons, “One, very limited distribution.

Crooks steal $1.5M in iPads from JFK  —  Like ‘GoodFellas’ job  —  It beats waiting in line at an Apple Store.  —  A pair of brazen crooks punched another hole in the lax JFK security when they stole a trove of new Apple iPad minis — worth $1.5 million — from the same cargo building …

YouTube Blocks Israeli Hamas Assassination Video - And Puts It Back Up Again  —  Israel has gone to war with Hamas in Gaza, and it is using the Internet as weapon, employing services like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr on its behalf.  —  The idea is familiar to anyone who has a message to push in 2012 …

New WiFi protocol boosts congested wireless network throughput by 700%  —  Engineers at NC State University (NCSU) have discovered a way of boosting the throughput of busy WiFi networks by up to 700%.  Perhaps most importantly, the breakthrough is purely software-based …

Sinofsky speaks, denies he tried to take over Windows Phone division at Microsoft  —  Former chief of Windows, Steven Sinofsky, departed Microsoft earlier this week in a shock announcement following the release of Windows 8 and Surface RT. While sources have claimed his departure was related …

Android crushes the competition in China as it passes 90% smartphone market share: Report  —  Android has established a clear monopoly in China after achieving more than 90 percent market share there, up from 58.2 percent a year ago, according to a new report from Analysys International (via Tech in Asia).

Google Launches Ingress, a Worldwide Mobile Alternate Reality Game  —  What's the wackiest thing you can imagine Google launching?  How about a game to fight for control of the minds of everyone on earth?  —  Or maybe that's not so wacky.  —  Meet Ingress, a new free mobile app …

Rumor: Release of new iMacs may be delayed into 2013  —  After Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed last month that there would be a “significant shortage” of the newly redesigned iMac, a report on Wednesday claims manufacturing difficulties may push back the all-in-one's launch date into next year.

One Simple Trick Could Disable a City's 4G Phone Network  —  High-speed LTE networks could be felled by a $650 piece of gear, says a new study.  —  Why It Matters  —  LTE networks can have 10 times the bandwidth of 3G, and are eyed as the basis for a new wave of data-rich applications worldwide.

Kindle Fire HD 8.9 ships today, 4G version to follow next week  —  Did you skip the iPad mini and Nexus 10?  Were you looking for something a little more content focused with a form factor in between the standard sizes?  Well folks, it your lucky day, because the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is here!

Fab goes to free shipping.  Permanently.  —  We can't bear to say it, but the holidays are sort of upon us, and design-centric flash sales site Fab.com is getting into the swing of things early with free shipping.  —  There's no special code, and this isn't a limited-time offer just for December.

Is Siri really Apple's future?  —  Siri is a promise.  A promise of a new computing environment, enormously empowering to the ordinary user, a new paradigm in our evolving relationship with machines.  Siri could change Apple's fortunes like iTunes and App Store...or end up being like the useful …

Flipboard teams up with Apple to launch new iBookstore-powered “Books” section in its iOS apps  —  Expanding upon what is now surely one of the most important roles of Flipboard, commerce, the magazine-like app has partnered with Apple (yes, Apple) to launch a slightly surprising new section: “Books.”

Google vs. Samsung  —  Samsung's recent success in mobile phones has been spectacular.  It overtook Nokia for the top spot in overall unit sales.  It went from having almost no smartphone sales to selling over 50 million units per quarter in a matter of two years.  —  It now accounts for nearly 40% of all industry profits.

Cisco to Acquire Cloud Software Firm Cloupia for $125 Million  —  Networking giant Cisco Systems just said it has closed a deal to acquire Cloupia, a privately held software company for $125 million.  —  Based in Santa Clara, Calif. Cloupia's software is aimed at making data centers easier …

First Pre-Orders of LTE iPad Mini and Fourth-Generation iPad Models Arriving in U.S.  —  In line with tracking information, a number of U.S. customers who pre-ordered LTE models of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad have either already received their shipments this morning or are seeing their packages out for delivery.

Google's Nexus 7 Tablet With Cellular Data Has Already Sold Out  —  Google's new Nexus 7 tablet with mobile data is now sold out in the company's online Play store.  —  The tablet is an updated version of the one that launched this summer.  It offers 32 GB of storage plus a data connection from AT&T for $299.

With 3 million users, Banjo updates its app, taking you anywhere you want to see things in real-time  —  Banjo is back and just updated its mobile app to help take you where you want to go in real-time while connecting you with people.  This location-based service that shares information …

Mozilla Releases Annual Report For 2011: Revenue Up 33% To $163M, Majority From Google  —  Mozilla just released its annual financial report for 2011, as well as the annual “State of Mozilla” report by the organization's Chair Mitchell Baker.  According to this report (they traditionally arrive …

Apple to distribute another $2.5 billion to shareholders via Thursday dividend  —  Apple will pay shareholders its second dividend in 17 years tomorrow, distributing roughly $2.5 billion in $2.65 per share across the company's 935 million outstanding shares.

Built to win: Deep inside Obama's campaign tech  —  The tech unit's sign, autographed by its members.  —  The reelection of Barack Obama was won by people, not by software.  But in a contest as close as last week's election, software may have given the Obama for America organization's people a tiny edge …