Announcing the Windows 8 Editions  —  Today I would like to share information with you on the editions that will be available for “Windows 8” when it is released to market.  We have talked about Windows 8 as Windows reimagined, from the chipset to the user experience.

Google Drive detailed: 5 GB for free, launching next week for Mac, Windows, Android and iOS  —  Sometimes we get lucky, and today is one of those days.  I got a draft release from a partner of Google's upcoming Google Drive service and it gives away a wealth of information about how Google plans to take on the incumbent Dropbox.

Hulu, the Online TV Site, Adds Original Programming  —  Five years ago, some of the most powerful players in television banded together to introduce Hulu, a streaming service intended to revolutionize the TV industry.  —  This week, Hulu will look more like a traditional network than an Internet pioneer.

European carriers: Lumia phones are ‘not good enough’ to compete with iPhone and Android  —  They say everyone's a critic these days, but here's a group whose critique matters: European carriers.  Reuters has been asking questions at four major European telecom operators and reports that they're …

Samuel L. Jackson and Siri Star in New iPhone 4S Commercial (Update: Zooey Deschanel Too)  —  As noted by The Next Web, U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless aired a new iPhone 4S commercial featuring actor Samuel L. Jackson and Siri, the company's virtual assistant for the iPhone 4S.

Zynga Flashes $1.8 Billion Searching for the New FarmVille: Tech  —  Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) merger chief Barry Cottle plans to step up the pace of acquisitions, spending hundreds of millions of dollars in search of a new social-gaming blockbuster on par with hits “FarmVille” and “CityVille.”

Samsung Galaxy S III launch details reveal multiple models, official device of 2012 Olympics  —  As we get closer to the official announcement of Samsung's Galaxy S III, more information is beginning to surface.  In addition to our exclusive reports on the device's specifications and materials …

The Lonely BlackBerry Store  —  RIM's Sole Stand-Alone Outlet Serves as Reminder of Failed Corporate Strategy  —  FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.—On a gray stretch of highway 25 miles northwest of Detroit, in a strip mall next to an OfficeMax and a dry cleaners, sits the only stand-alone BlackBerry retail store in North America.

Megaupload Worked on a Multi-Billion Dollar IPO  —  According to a US indictment, Kim Dotcom and the rest of the “Mega Conspiracy” were running a criminal operation.  —  They are accused of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement …

Feds shutter online narcotics store that used TOR to hide its tracks  —  Federal authorities have arrested eight men accused of distributing more than $1 million worth of LSD, ecstasy, and other narcotics with an online storefront that used the TOR anonymity service to mask their Internet addresses.

Supreme Court to Revisit ‘First-Sale’ Copyright Doctrine  —  The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide the global reach of U.S. copyright law, in a case testing whether an overseas purchaser of a copyrighted work may resell it in the United States without the copyright holder's permission.

Mavericks Invent Future Internet Where Cisco Is Meaningless  —  PALO ALTO, California — Martin Casado stands up, reaches across the table, and tears a sheet of paper from a notebook.  The notebook belongs to Alan Cohen, who works alongside Casado at Nicira, the most intriguing startup in Silicon Valley …

RIM Said to Discuss Hiring Bank to Help Weigh Strategy Options  —  Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM), the troubled maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, is in talks to hire a financial adviser that can help it weigh strategic options, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

United Continental CFO Now an Apple VP of Sales  —  Zane Rowe, executive VP and Chief Financial Officer for United Continental, the holding company that owns United Airlines, has a new job — at Apple.  Rowe, who has served as United's CFO since October 2010, is leaving the airline …

Carly Dumps Her Pink Dresses, as T-Mobile Aims for an Image Makeover  —  T-Mobile's Carly is trading in her pink dresses for leather and a Ducati motorcycle.  —  In new commercials debuting later on, the carrier's spokeswoman throws her trademark dress on the ground and takes to the open road with the tagline “No More Mr. Nice Girl.”

Microsoft delivers preview of its Windows Azure-hosted media services platform  —  Summary: Microsoft is taking the wraps off the latest iteration of its Media Platform, which is now hosted on Windows Azure and includes third-party integrations, at the NAB show.

Path Announces $30M+ Round Of Funding, Investors Include Sir Richard Branson  —  Well, it's officially official: Following a wave of rumors and reports, Path just announced that it has raised more than $30 million in new funding.  —  “We are delighted to announce that last week we closed …

Exclusive: Tupac Coachella Hologram Creator Tells How He Resurrected Rapper  —  'It was [Dr.] Dre's vision to bring this back to life,' says Nick Smith president of the company that created the Tupac hologram at Coachella.  The Coachella festival is a place where minds routinely get blown …

Amazon Android Developers Can Now Charge More Than $20 For In-App Purchases  —  Amazon is now letting developers charge higher prices for in-app purchases thanks to new parental controls it just strengthened.  —  The company sent out an e-mail to developers today that said:

Read It Later rebrands as “Pocket”, goes free.  Lets its 4.5m users save articles, videos, images & more.  —  I recently met up with the team behind Read It Later over a drink in San Francisco.  The product lets you quickly bookmark any page of text on the web, quite often articles, to read later.

Pebble smartwatch breaks Kickstarter's $3.3 million record...with a full month still to go  —  Not content with hitting $1 million of funding in just over one day, Kickstarter project Pebble has broken the record for funding on the crowdsourced site with a whole month still to go.

Google-backed research fights review spam  —  Seeing through the sockpuppet  —  University of Illinois at Chicago researchers are taking aim at fake reviews, which they say can seriously damage online businesses.  —  In particular, the Google-backed study is designed to seek out organized groups …

FCC seeks $819,000 from T-Mobile for violating hearing aid compatibility standards  —  Citing repeated failures to meet hearing aid capable handset guidelines, the FCC is seeking a forfeiture of $819,000 from T-Mobile.  The FCC alleges that T-Mobile USA violated the Hearing Aid Compatibility Order …

HTC's shares tumble; CFO change, Samsung launch weigh  —  (Reuters) - Shares of HTC Corp fell as much as 6 percent on Tuesday after a change in its chief financial officer and the imminent launch of a new phone by arch rival Samsung Electronics raised concerns over the Taiwanese firm's recovery.