Antitrust: Commission fines Microsoft for non-compliance with browser choice commitments  —  European Commission  —  The European Commission has imposed a €561 million fine on Microsoft for failing to comply with its commitments to offer users a browser choice screen enabling them to easily choose their preferred web browser.

Exclusive: Apple's Cook, music mogul Iovine discuss new music service  —  (Reuters) - Apple Inc has held talks with Beats Electronics LLC, the audio technology firm co-founded by influential hip-hop producer Dr Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine, on a potential partnership involving Beats …

T-Mobile Responding To AT&T's Newspaper Ad With Their Own Creative Responses  —  Let me be the first to say, that if these ads developed for T-Mobile in response to AT&T's one-page attack ad last week don't run in newspapers everyday for the next year, I'm going to be disappointed.

Samsung-Sharp Deal Could Reshape Tech Alliances  —  South Korea's Samsung Electronics is in talks to invest about $107 million in struggling Japanese electronics firm Sharp Corp. , a deal that not only highlights Korea's ascendancy over Japan as a global electronics giant, but could well reshape alliances in the competitive industry.

Google-Apple Valuation Gap Widest Since 2005 on Ads  —  Google Inc. (GOOG)'s prospects haven't looked so promising to investors relative to Apple Inc. (AAPL) since before the iPhone was introduced.  —  Google's shares, which climbed to a record yesterday, are now trading at 25 times profit …

Path Hires Ex-Google, Lytro Finance Head as New CFO  —  A little more than two years after launch, Path, the self-proclaimed “private social network” startup, is beginning to focus more on monetization.  —  Hence the hiring of Kim Jabal as the company's first CFO, who will spearhead …

Carl Icahn Takes Up to a 6 Percent Stake in Dell: Sources  —  Carl Icahn appears set to enter the fray over the leveraged buyout of Dell.  —  Trading sources said they were confident that Icahn had amassed a position in Dell that may approach 100 million shares, and would bring him to a roughly 6 percent ownership.

Microsoft restores transfer rights for retail Office 2013 copies  —  Summary: As part of its shift to a subscription model, Microsoft introduced a controversial “no transfer” restriction with Office 2013.  Now, after an intense outcry from customers, the company has reversed course and agreed …

HTC Reports Lowest Sales Since Jan 2010, Worst Revenue Decline In 4 Months, As February Sales Fell 44% To $384M  —  The new HTC One unveiled last month is increasingly feeling like last-chance saloon for the troubled Taiwan handset maker.  Today HTC noted that its sales for the month …

Google Play celebrates first birthday with week of free downloads and discounts  —  It's already been a year since the Android Market was renamed Google Play, and the folks in Mountain View are offering up a boatload of free party favors throughout the week to celebrate.

Facebook Will Launch Content-Specific News Feeds, Bigger Photos And Ads On Thursday  —  At a big press event on Thursday, Facebook plans to launch new ways to filter the news feed.  These include a Photos feed of Facebook and Instagram photos, as well as a revamped Music feed of what friends …

Samsung will stop sale of Windows RT tablets in Germany due to weak demand, according to reports  —  We already know that Samsung was too timid (or maybe too sensible) to launch its Windows RT-based ATIV Tab hybrid in the US, but now it appears the manufacturer is having doubts about European demand too.

Why I switched from iPhone to Android  —  About a month and a half ago, I walked into an AT&T Store, handed over my iPhone 4S, and asked to be switched from my unlimited iPhone data plan to a new LTE data plan.  —  I bought the first-generation iPhone and I bought it early …

Ebay Shuts Down Instant Sale Service For Cash Trade-Ins On Phones And Other Gadgets  —  Ebay, the online marketplace that recently added a redesign reminiscent of Pinterest to enhance a personalized experience for its users, is paring down in other areas.  Among them, the site has discontinued …

Yahoo Says New Policy Is Meant to Raise Morale  —  SAN FRANCISCO — When Marissa Mayer took over as chief executive at Yahoo last summer, she confronted a Silicon Valley campus that was very different from the one she had left at Google.  Enlarge This Image Pascal Lauener/Reuters Marissa Mayer wants “all hands on deck” at Yahoo.

Twitter updates iOS app with much improved search, removes support for several video services  —  Twitter has updated its application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with much improved search functionality.  Notably, the company has also removed video uploading support for Mobypicture, Posterous, and Vodpod.

News Corp. Has a Tablet for Schools  —  For nearly two years, Joel I. Klein helped Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation weather a phone-hacking scandal at the company's British tabloids with the promise that he would eventually be able to return to the role the company hired him for …

Google+ gets updated with new “Local reviews” tab, larger cover photos and a redesigned About tab  —  Google has just announced a number of updates to Google+ in the browser, including the addition of a new “Local reviews” tab, a sleeker and easier to edit About tab and larger cover photos.

Nasdaq, SharesPost take private markets semi-public with new SF-based venture  —  Nasdaq is synonymous with publicly traded securities.  Now, the exchange is getting into privately traded companies, as well, with a little help from private-equity marketplace SharesPost.

Nokia wants Instagram for Windows Phone, piles pressure on with #2InstaWithLove  —  Nokia desperately wants Instagram for Windows Phone and it's proving that this week.  The Finnish company has just released #2InstaWithLove, a new Windows Phone app for Lumia devices that's specifically designed …