2013 Internet Trends  —  The latest edition of the annual Internet Trends report finds continued robust online growth.  There are now 2.4 billion Internet users around the world, and the total continues to grow apace.  Mobile usage is expanding rapidly, while the mobile advertising opportunity remains largely untapped.

In Blue: Start Experience Changes  —  I can now confirm that most of the rumored coming changes to the Start experience in Windows 8.1 “Blue” are correct.  And I've got a few screenshots to help demonstrate how these changes are implemented.  —  First up, please be sure to Coming in Blue: Boot to Desktop, Start Button, and More.

Apple's Tim Cook: The Full D11 Interview (Video)  —  There was a lot to talk about as Apple CEO Tim Cook made his second appearance on the D: All Things Digital stage.  —  Cook declined many, many opportunities to talk about new products.  —  But he did give his view on taxes …

Facebook Acquisition Talks With Waze Fall Apart  —  After months of negotiations, Facebook is no longer in talks to acquire Waze, the Israel-based social mapping and navigation startup, according to sources familiar with the matter.  —  The two companies had been in discussion for a potential acquisition …

Gmail wages war on inbox clutter with new design for mobile and desktop  —  Three years after Priority Inbox, Google tries another approach at managing email overload  —  Google begins rolling out a redesigned Gmail today with an eye on removing inbox clutter, separating bulk emails …

WWDC Expectations  —  Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is only a couple of weeks away and everyone is wondering what the company will unveil during the keynote address.  As much as we all have long wish lists for what we would like to see, I think it's important to balance …

Apple Shifts Supply Chain Away From Foxconn to Pegatron  —  TAIPEI—For years, nearly all of the world's iPhones and iPads rolled off the assembly lines of a single company: Foxconn.  —  It was a famous partnership between two outsize personalities— Steve Jobs, Apple Inc.'s intense …

Facebook Unveils Verified Pages And Profiles, Takes A Page From Twitter's Playbook  —  Facebook has just announced a new verified feature for pages and profiles, designed to give high-profile accounts an added level of authenticity.  This is clearly a straightforward copy of Twitter's own verified accounts …

Americans spend 58 minutes a day on their smartphones  —  New data from Experian Marketing Services' Simmons® ConnectSM mobile and digital panel sheds light on the way smartphone users spend time using their phone, with the average adult clocking 58 minutes daily on their device.

Roku Raises a $60 Million Round, Led by Fidelity, to Fight for the Living Room  —  Tim Cook said Apple TV is still a side project.  But bringing digital entertainment to your TV is all Roku does, and they're raising more money to do it.  —  Roku has raised a massive $60 million round …

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo on how fast Twitter innovates, relationships with developers and Jack Dorsey  —  Today at the D11 conference, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo spoke on a variety of topics including platform security, its relationship with broadcasters and how fast it's innovating.

Goodbye SEOmoz.  Hello Moz!  —  For the last two years, the 130+ Mozzers across product, engineering, marketing, and operations have been working to transform this company to the next stage of our evolution.  Today, that incredibly demanding, intense, but ultimately rewarding process has reached its first goal.

256GB Surface Pro appears in Japan complete with Office 2013 and new Touch Covers  —  While Surface Pro is making its way to additional markets this month, a new variant has arrived in Japan.  Microsoft previously launched a region-specific Surface Pro in China, complete with a full copy of Office 2013 …

Sheryl Sandberg on Facebook's mobile focus, Google Glass, and being ‘bossy’  —  RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. — Sheryl Sandberg thinks women still need to step up and take charge — even if people call them “bossy” or “aggressive.”  —  “I wrote Lean In [published by Knopf in March] because, it turns out, men still run this world.

Max Levchin's New Plan: To Get You Pregnant (And Improve Health Care in the Process)  —  When I called PayPal co-founder Max Levchin last week, we talked about ovulation cycles, not payment cycles.  —  That's because Levchin's newest start-up involves an iPhone app aimed toward helping women get pregnant.

Seeking Broader Appeal Blekko Offers Bold New UI  —  In January upstart search engine Blekko launched a specialized tablet app called Izik.  The UI and overall experience were optimized for the touch-screen devices.  Search results were more visual and finger friendly.

Amazon picks five original series to vie with Netflix  —  You've got company, “Arrested Development.”  The two comedies and three kids shows will air exclusively on Amazon's site later this year and early next year.  —  Amazon on Wednesday plans to produce five full series …

Ex-Yammer Execs Raise $5.5M For CoTap, A Mobile Messaging App Aiming To Be WhatsApp For The Workplace  —  The rush of new mobile messaging apps, building on the popularity of services like WhatsApp and Line, continues apace, with the latest twist is a service for business users.

Office 365 Home Premium passes one million subscribers, new Office ‘best-selling’ edition yet  —  Microsoft's big bet on paid subscriptions for Office appears to be seeing some early signs of success.  The software giant announced on Wednesday that it has now passed one million subscribers …

TuneIn raises $25 million, nabs new CFO from Google to monetize radio streaming  —  Palo Alto, California-based TuneIn has raised a new $25 million round of funding, and it plans to put that money to good use.  TuneIn CEO John Donham told me Tuesday that he intends to spend a big chunk …

Cloud app services firm Numecent raises $13.6M from Deutsche Telekom  —  Cloud startup Numecent has raised $13.6 million in a new round of funding from T-Venture, the venture arm of telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom.  —  Numecent is trying to reshape software distribution by making …