Apple Said to Fire Maps Manager After Flaws Hurt IPhone 5 Debut  —  Apple Inc. (AAPL) has fired the manager responsible for its troubled mapping software, seeking to win back the trust of users disappointed after the program debuted in September, according to people familiar with the move.

Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date  —  Summary: Microsoft has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date, according to the chief marketing and financial officer of the Windows division.  —  Microsoft has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses since October 26.

HP rebuffs ex-Autonomy CEO, warns of legal action  —  (Reuters) - Hewlett Packard Co rebuffed a request by former Autonomy Chief Executive Mike Lynch to detail accusations of accounting fraud leveled against the British software company and its former executives, and challenged Lynch to submit to questions under penalty of perjury.

Microsoft Says It Has Identified Windows Phone Rebooting Issue, Plans Fix for December  —  Microsoft said it believes it has identified a problem that was causing some Windows Phone 8 devices to reboot without warning.  —  The company said it hopes to deliver an over-the-air software fix next month.

Exclusive: Is Andrew Mason on the Bubble as CEO of Groupon?  —  According to sources close to the situation, several Groupon board members have been seriously discussing making major leadership changes at the Chicago-based daily deals company, including bringing in a more experienced CEO to take over for co-founder Andrew Mason.

Fake press releases are a public service  —  Yesterday, an enterprising clown used PRWeb to publish a fake press release about the purported purchasing of WiFi provider ICOA by Google for $400 million.  The Associated Press, Business Insider, Forbes, Techcrunch and other websites ran stories …

Special Report: Silicon Valley's dirty secret - age bias  —  (Reuters) - When Randy Adams, 60, was looking for a chief-executive officer job in Silicon Valley last year, he got turned down from position after position that he thought he was going to nail — only to see much younger, less-experienced men win out.

On Cyber Monday, Mobile — Not Social — Takes All the Glory  —  On Cyber Monday, Etsy said it completed more sales than at any time in its seven-year history, driven by a number of factors.  —  One standout measurement was the number of visitors coming to the crafts marketplace from mobile devices …

Marissa Mayer's First Live Interview (Which ATD Had to Virtually Sneak Into): God.  Family.  Yahoo.  —  Tonight, new Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer gave her first public interview since becoming the leader of the troubled Silicon Valley Internet giant.  —  Not to cranky me, of course …

How Google Plans to Find the UnGoogleable  —  The company wants to improve its mobile search services by automatically delivering information you wouldn't think to search for online.  —  Why It Matters  —  Google could extend its reach by finding ways to deliver information that people don't currently use a search engine to find.

Google.ro and other RO domains, victims of a DNS hijacking attack  —  Earlier today, Softpedia reported that an Algerian hacker using the nickname MCA-CRB has managed to deface the Romanian sites of Google (google.ro) and Yahoo! (yahoo.ro).  —  Screenshot of the defaced Google.ro domain

Serious Google security glitch restores Webmaster Tools, possibly Analytics access to revoked accounts  —  Earlier tonight, reports began rolling in of a serious breach in Google accounts security.  Some sort of glitch has granted access to Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics and perhaps …

Setting aside the smartphone: two weeks with Samsung's Galaxy Camera  —  Exploring the world with the hottest cameras and smartphones, I've grown accustomed to drawing discrete glances from curious gadget enthusiasts.  In Tokyo, it was Canon's EOS M camera that netted polite peeks.

Nokia Lumia 920 Review - High Quality But It's Heavy  —  Both Nokia and Microsoft were once titans in the smartphone world, but the pair have struggled to find favor with consumers, carriers and developers in the iPhone-Android era.  Now, the two companies, which have become close partners …

After cashing out to Google and Twitter, Ori Allon is going all in with Urban Compass  —  Can a programming prodigy disrupt the offline world as well?  —  When I meet up with Ori Allon for coffee on New York's Lower East Side, he paid special attention to the stools.

Kantar Worldpanel: Apple Shoots Back To Top Of U.S. Smartphone Sales On An iPhone 5 Rocket, Android Leading Elsewhere  —  Samsung may be be the world's most popular smartphone brand, but in the influential U.S. market, Apple has climbed back to the top of the pack on the strength of its iPhone 5 sales.

U.S. Senate to consider long overdue reforms on electronic privacy  —  In 2010, electronic privacy needed digital due process.  In 2012, it's worth defending your vanishing rights online.  —  This week, there's an important issue before Washington that affects everyone who sends email …

Windows Azure Active Directory Processes 200 Billion Authentications - Connecting People, Data and Devices Around The Globe  —  At Microsoft, we have been on a transformative journey to cloud computing and we have been working with customers every step of the way.

Deezer takes on Spotify apps platform with its own App Studio  —  Flush with their recent funding rounds, the battle is on between streaming music services Deezer and Spotify for users, new territories and now app developers.  Spotify's desktop app platform and iOS API are well established …

Google Chief Page Said to Meet FTC Over Antitrust Probe  —  Google Inc. (GOOG) Chief Executive Officer Larry Page met with U.S. Federal Trade Commission officials today in Washington as the agency moves to wrap up its 19-month investigation of the company's business practices, according to a person familiar with the discussions.