Facebook To Reveal “Home On Android” Sources Say Is A Modified OS On HTC At 4/4 Event  —  Facebook just invited press to an event at its headquarters on April 4th to “Come See Our New Home On Android”.  Sources tell us it will be a modified version of the Android operating system …

New Windows 8 hardware specs hint at 7-inch tablets and a Microsoft Reader  —  Summary: A quiet change in the logo requirements for new Windows 8 devices allows Microsoft's hardware partners to build new devices that would compete with popular 7- and 8-inch tablets like the iPad Mini, Kindle Fire HD, and Google Nexus 7.

Actually, Amazon Paid About $150 Million for Goodreads  —  According to sources, Amazon paid from $140 million to $150 million for Goodreads, the popular books recommendation service.  —  And while BusinessWeek ran a we-are-just-guessing story today that posited a self-described “overly simple …

Vine launches Web embeds, updates iOS app to share others' videos via Twitter and Facebook  —  Twitter has updated its Vine video service today so that users can embed both their own six-second shorts and those created by other users anywhere on the Internet.

Japan's NEC in talks to sell mobile phone unit to Lenovo: source  —  (Reuters) - Japan's NEC Corp is in talks to sell its struggling mobile phone unit to its personal computer venture partner Lenovo Group Ltd, a source familiar with the discussions said, confirming media reports of the negotiations.

OUYA available at retail on June 4 for $99  —  The Android-powered $99 OUYA game console becomes available at retail on June 4th — a date which was revealed this week during the Game Developers Conference.  OUYA's calling June 4th its “official launch date,” despite Kickstarter backers receiving units starting this month.

State-Owned Chinese Film Studio Sues Apple  —  Shanghai Animation Film Studio claims the Cupertino-based tech giant sold its films in the iTunes store without proper permission.  —  A State-owned Chinese animation studio has filed suit against Apple in a Beijing court …

Watch out, internet: Dave Winer is back in the business of making blogging tools  —  He may not have the same kind of public profile as the teenaged founder who sold his company to Yahoo for $30 million, or the founders of hot apps like SnapChat or Instagram, but Dave Winer has done a lot …

Google shows interest in ASM.js, Mozilla's plan for fast Web apps  —  A Chrome programmer seeks support for a new Mozilla technology to bridge the C and JavaScript languages — even though Google has competing ideas.  —  At least some at Google want to embrace a Mozilla-backed project …

Bitcoin May Be the Global Economy's Last Safe Haven  —  One of the oddest bits of news to emerge from the economic collapse of Cyprus is a corresponding rise in the value of Bitcoin, the Internet's favorite, media-friendly, anarchist crypto-currency.  In Spain, Google (GOOG) searches for “Bitcoin” and downloads of Bitcoin apps soared.

When Things Don't Work Out  —  I have said many times that early stage VC is a lot like baseball, if you get a hit one out of every three times, you are headed to the hall of fame.  And if I look back over my career, and also over the track records of the firms and funds I have helped manage …

Why Google's 'We Won't Sue' Patent Pledge May Actually Suggest A Greater Proclivity To Sue Over Patents  —  Google is getting some attention today for taking an official pledge that it won't initiate patent lawsuits over open source software on certain patents:

EBay Says It Is ‘Now Playing Offense’  —  SAN JOSE, Calif.—EBay Inc. is aiming to nearly double the active-user count on its eBay.com marketplace over the next three years, as well as the volume of payments processed by its PayPal unit.  —  The once-beleaguered e-commerce company also forecast a big jump in revenue by 2015.