Sparrow and Google  —  We're excited to announce that Sparrow has been acquired by Google!  We care a lot about how people communicate, and we did our best to provide you with the most intuitive and pleasurable mailing experience.  Now we're joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision …

v1  —  As betaworks and Digg both announced on their blogs, we are taking over Digg and turning it back into a startup.  What they didn't mention is that we're rebuilding it from scratch.  In six weeks.  —  On August 1, after an adrenaline and caffeine-fueled six weeks, we're rolling out a new v1.

“Yes, Keep Moving”: Marissa Mayer's First Memo to Yahoos (Natch!)  —  While I might abandon my internal memo-quest at Yahoo at some point soon, I wanted to make sure to post the very first one from newly installed — and extraordinarily well-paid — CEO Marissa Mayer.

Making money with your apps through the Windows Store … Currently, all the apps that are available in the Windows Store are free for customers to acquire—keeping with the preview nature of the Windows 8 releases to date.  At Windows 8 RTM (Release To Manufacturing), all developers signing …

Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously  —  In a future conflict, an adversary unable to match our military supremacy on the battlefield might seek to exploit our computer vulnerabilities here at home.  —  Last month I convened an emergency meeting of my cabinet and top homeland security, intelligence and defense officials.

Video: Nexus 7 touchscreen defect  —  As Nexus 7 pre-orders start filtering out into the world, users are finally getting acquainted with Google's 7-inch slate.  There is a lot to like about the device; it's fast, solidly built, and has great software.  I should say, these things are true in most cases.

Viacom Is Said To Get Over $600 Million A Year From DirecTV  —  Viacom Inc. (VIAB) will get more than $600 million a year from DirecTV (DTV) in programming fees under their new seven-year agreement, up at least 20 percent from the previous terms, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Lenovo CEO distributes $3 million personal bonus to production-line workers, other junior-level employees  —  After Lenovo posted extremely healthy financials back in May, it provided CEO Yang Yuanqing with a $3 million bonus for doing such a good job.  There's nothing particularly notable …

Facebook acquires talent behind iOS and Mac developer Acrylic, makers of Wallet and RSS reader Pulp  —  The Mac development house Acrylic has announced that they have been acqui-hired by Facebook.  Acrylic's Dustin Macdonald shared a statement on the company's blog.

Apple says iOS 6 to fix in-app-purchase fraud, gives developers a temporary fix  —  Apple has responded to the recent App Store in-app-purchase bug and fraud with an email and temporary solution for registered iOS developers.  This email includes a link to a new Apple developer web document …

The State of Mobile Advertising, Q2 2012  —  Executive Summary In our first edition of the State of Mobile Advertising report, we take an in-depth look at the monetization of mobile advertising from four perspectives within the ad delivery value chain: Devices, Publishers, Ad Networks and Advertisers.

Kleiner Loses Pao Ruling And Opts For Another Year Of Everyone Talking About This Sex Scandal  —  As expected, Judge Harold Kahn has denied a motion by Kleiner Perkins to compel arbitration in a lawsuit filed by one of its partners, Ellen Pao, for gender discrimination and retaliation.

Exclusive: Comcast Prepping 305 Mbps Tier - To Counter Verizon's New Quantum FiOS Offerings  —  Last month Verizon raised the bar for residential broadband (and high prices) when they announced their new Quantum FiOS tiers, which included a new top shelf 300 Mbps downstream, 65 Mbps upstream tier for $205 a month.

Amazon Prime streaming library grows again with Warner Bros. TV shows  —  Say what you will about Amazon's complimentary Prime streaming video library, but at least its selection is consistently growing.  —  Amazon has forged a new licensing agreement with Warner Bros. to bring several …

Kim Dotcom Sings: Are You Going to Fix This Mr. President?  —  “The war for the Internet has begun.  Hollywood is in control of politics.  The Government is killing innovation.  Don't let them get away with that.”  —  These are the opening words of Kim Dotcom's newly released track ‘Mr. President’.

Samsung Preparing To Reveal “Newest Galaxy Device” On August 15  —  Here's a little something to get the ol' rumor mill churning before the weekend — Samsung has just sent out a save-the-date email for a “major” product announcement on August 15.  Samsung goes on to say that the company will unveil its …

Microsoft's updated Office Web Apps: What's new  —  Summary: Microsoft has made available to the public test versions of its Webified versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote as part of the coming new version of its Office suite.  —  Follow @maryjofoley