Why Microsoft's Surface Tablet Should Shame the PC Industry  —  On June 18, Microsoft (MSFT) beckoned 200 or so members of the media to an industrial, grimy part of Hollywood for what it described as a can't miss affair.  The dutiful reporters met at the appointed hour—3:30 p.m. …

A new way to experience profiles: with or without replies  —  When you visit a Twitter user's profile, you may want to see his or her original Tweets rather than their conversations.  Then again, you may enjoy seeing the back-and-forth exchanges they have with other Twitter users.

Google Threatens To Sue Huge YouTube MP3 Conversion Site  —  YouTube is without doubt the biggest free resource of videos and music available online today.  It can be enjoyed on the site itself, embedded in any webpage, or accessed via YouTube's Application Programming Interface.

Google Offers app now available on iPhone  —  Today we're announcing the new Google Offers app for iPhone.  Now, iPhone users can discover, buy and redeem Google Offers, as well as deals from our partners, on-the-go.  Some of the features of the new Google Offers app for iPhone include:

Ex-Googlers Launch MightyText, An iMessage For Android Users  —  During their lengthy careers at Google in both senior technical and product management roles, Maneesh Arora and Amit Sangani were able to geek out on products like AdSense, AdWords, and the now-defunct Google Health.

LG To Sideline Tablet Development To Focus On Smaller Devices  —  LG Electronics Inc. (066570), the world's No. 4 mobile-phone maker, will sideline tablet computer development to focus more on smaller devices rather than compete head-on with Apple Inc.'s iPad.

A Redesigned, Slicker PayPal Is Coming Tomorrow; Some Seeing New Look Today  —  PayPal, the eBay-owned online payments service that is making significant inroads into mobile, is giving its website an overhaul to make it easier for its 100 million+ users to pay and get paid, find help …

They Work!  Facebook Mobile Ads Are Clicked 13X More, Earn 11X More Money Than Its Desktop Ads  —  How will Facebook monetize mobile?  Its organic-seeming Sponsored Stories ad format may be the answer.  Mobile Sponsored Stories are getting over 13 times the click-through rates and earn 11.2 times …

Google partners with Flipboard, adding Google+ streams to the app  —  Speaking at Le Web '12 in London, Google's Vice President of Product Management Bradley Horowitz announced that it has partnered with Flipboard, adding Google+ streams in the app.  The streams will launch soon.

Facebook Adds Subscription Billing For App Developers, Backs Away From Credits As Primary Currency  —  Facebook is adding subscription billing for app developers, in what should help gaming and media companies earn more revenue from their most loyal users.  Starting next month …

U.S., Israel developed Flame computer virus to slow Iranian nuclear efforts, officials say  —  View Photo Gallery — Stuxnet and other big worms and viruses: The computer virus is growing in popularity as the weapon-of-choice in the Middle East.  Here's a look at some of the more notable viruses and worms.

Kodak sues Apple, claiming interference in patent sales  —  (Reuters) - Photography pioneer Eastman Kodak Co sued Apple Inc to stop it from interfering with plans to sell a large patent portfolio, a significant part of its bankruptcy restructuring.  —  In a lawsuit filed on Monday …

NVIDIA PR Responds To Torvalds' Harsh Words  —  NVIDIA's PR department has issued a statement following the harsh comments by Linus Torvalds last week where he referred to the graphics company as the single worst company they have ever dealt with, called them out on not supporting Optimus, and other issues.

NSA: It Would Violate Your Privacy to Say if We Spied on You  —  Gen. Keith Alexander, center, the head of the National Security Agency, visits Afghanistan, 2010.  Photo: ISAF  —  The surveillance experts at the National Security Agency won't tell two powerful United States Senators …

Formspring Relaunches As An Interest-Based Social Network  —  Q&A site Formspring is today announcing what the company says is its biggest news since its original launch back in 2009.  Yes, Formspring has been overhauled.  The company is shifting its focus from social Q&A …

Spotify Finally Launches Web Radio, For Real.  And That's a Problem For Pandora  —  A lot of people confuse Spotify's streaming music service with Pandora's streaming music service.  —  Now they're going to be a lot more confused.  In a way that's good for Spotify and a problem for Pandora.

New Gmail custom themes let you set your own background image  —  For those of us still staying true to Gmail's web interface and resisting the lure of dedicated clients like Sparrow, Google is today rolling out a pair of custom theme options.  Using the basic Light and Dark Theme presets …

Google's Project Glass trackpad gets swaddled in patent protection  —  Remember when Sergey Brin was on The Gavin Newsom Show showing off Project Glass' right-sided physical trackpad?  Today, that element of the tech was given the official thumbs-up by the US patent and trademark office.

BlackBerry 10 hands-on (video)  —  Like any good show pony, BlackBerry 10's been trotting around the world, strutting the fairly limited elements of its known UI in an effort to court developers.  The platform, without question the nail upon which RIM's fate and fortune hangs …

Google now offers support to developers during office hours with “Developers Live”  —  If you're wondering about how serious Google is when it comes to strengthening its developer ecosystem, today's announcement should answer that.  —  The company has launched “Google Developers Live” …

Dolphin releases Engine Beta browser, claims to be the fastest browser on Android  —  There is no shortage of third-party browsers available for the Android platform, and Android 4.0 users even have the option to use the excellent Google Chrome Beta for Android, if they wish.

JustAnswer rebrands as Pearl, raises $25M  —  Charles Schwab invests in Quora competitor, which is on track to generate $100M in 2012  —  There's tons of question-and-answer services out there.  But very few are places where you can find solid advice worth paying for, with the exception of Pearl, formerly known as JustAnswer.