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.

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.

“First do no harm”: My interview with Amazon and Goodreads on the future of Goodreads  —  Amazon announced Thursday afternoon that it has acquired the popular book-related social networking site Goodreads for an undisclosed sum.  I spoke with Goodreads CEO Otis Chandler and Amazon's VP …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Biz Stone Is Poised to Launch New Mobile Startup Called Jelly  —  According to sources, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone is close to launching a new startup called Jelly, which one person called a “native mobile” effort.  —  While it's not clear exactly what that means, sources …

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.