YouTube preparing a $10/month premium on-demand music service, may come this year  —  YouTube Close to Launching Subscription Music Service (Breaking)  —  YouTube is preparing a premium on-demand music service — akin to a Spotify, but with video — to launch later this year, according to several sources familiar with the plans.

Pinterest Does Another Massive Funding — $225 Million at $3.8 Billion Valuation (Confirmed)  —  According to several sources, Pinterest has completed another enormous funding, this time nabbing $225 million with late-stage investor Fidelity Investments in the lead.

Former Apple CEO Sculley mulls BlackBerry bid  —  John Sculley, the former Apple Inc. CEO who famously clashed with Steve Jobs, is exploring a bid for beleaguered BlackBerry Ltd. with Canadian partners, sources have told The Globe and Mail.  —  Mr. Sculley said he could not comment on the matter …

LinkedIn Intro: Doing the Impossible on iOS  —  We recently launched LinkedIn Intro — a new product that shows you LinkedIn profiles, right inside the native iPhone mail client.  That's right: we have extended Apple's built-in iOS Mail app, a feat that many people consider to be impossible.

Amazon's set-top box runs into further delays  —  Amazon has been been rushing to finalize and release a set-top box in time for the holidays, designed to compete directly with the Apple TV and Roku.  However, The Verge has learned that the company recently made the decision to delay the device, possibly beyond the holiday season.

Microsoft slashes Surface Pro's price by another $100: 64GB for $699, 128GB for $799, and 256GB for $999  —  Microsoft has slashed the price of its original Surface Pro by $100.  While the tablet has been largely dropped from the broader Surface product line, it's still available on the Microsoft Store …

Microsoft erects a giant Surface tablet in the center of London  —  Microsoft has a fascination with big screens.  The software giant has demonstrated Windows 8 on its 82-inch Perceptive Pixel PC and created giant displays with Kinect built-in.  Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates even uses a giant 80-inch Windows 8 display occasionally.

Microsoft Bashes Apple's iWork Software, New iPads  —  Microsoft's corporate vice president of communications, Frank Shaw, today took to the Official Microsoft Blog to denounce both Apple's revamped iWork software and the company's well-received decision to distribute it as a free upgrade for existing users.

Why would anyone buy an iPad 2 now?  —  For $399, Apple's iPad mini with Retina display is a far better choice  —  Yesterday, Apple announced two new iPads: the iPad Air, and the iPad mini with Retina display.  Both carry Apple's speedy new A7 processor, and both come with high-resolution screens.

Netflix needs to invest in content to gain subscribers, but that hurts profit growth  —  The Netflix Conundrum  —  The company needs to spend money on content to continue growing its subscriber base.  But the cost of content is hurting its profit growth.  —  Orange Is the New Black promotional poster.

The Boss Is Watching: Tracking Technology Shakes Up Workplace  —  Dennis Gray suspected that workers in his pest-control company were spending too much time on personal issues during the workday.  So the general manager of Accurid Pest Solutions in southern Virginia quietly installed a piece …

Hewlett-Packard Said to Be Seeking to Sell Mobile Patents  —  Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) is seeking buyers for some of its mobile-computing patents, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, as Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman tries to bolster the company's financial position.

Samsung fined $340,000 for faking online comments  —  After being caught paying for false praise and negative comments about competitors, Samsung has been fined just over $340,000.  The issue first arose internationally in April, when Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced it was opening an investigation into the allegations.

Internet Domain Name Expansion Now Underway  —  Los Angeles, California... The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today announced that the first new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) from its New gTLD Program were delegated.  This means they were introduced …

YouTube MP3 Converter Loses Court Battle But The Music Plays On  —  In addition to obtaining music from file-sharing networks, those looking for free tracks often get them from so-called tube-rippers, sites and services that transform YouTube videos into downloadable MP3s.

How Apple Makes the Mac Pro  —  As a product designer, one of my favorite parts about any new Apple product launch is the inevitable “How it's made” video.  The Mac Pro video did not disappoint.  —  What makes Apple fascinating is not that they are using some wiz-bang alien technologies to make things …

Samsung Apologizes to Chinese Consumers for Handset Flaws  —  With its massive smartphone sales in China, Samsung Electronics Co. is approaching Apple Inc. in status in China.  —  Now it's learning the pitfalls of success in the country.  —  In a broadcast posted online Tuesday …

HP to enter 3D printer market in mid-2014 says CEO Meg Whitman  —  Faster, cheaper, kit on the way for service providers  —  Canalys Channels Forum HP CEO Meg Whitman has told the Canalys Channels Forum in Bangkok that the company will enter the 3D printer market in the middle of 2014.

Carl Icahn's New Website Is LIVE And He Wants Apple To Commence A Tender Offer Immediately  —  Yesterday Carl Icahn tweeted that he sent a letter to Tim Cook, and would put it on a new website he was launching called Shareholder's Square Table — now the site is live.