Apple ‘AirPlay Direct’ planned for September launch  —  Hifi manufacturers are preparing for Apple to launch ‘AirPlay Direct’ technology that allows wireless music playback without the need for a WiFi network.  —  Apple's Steve Jobs launched AirPlay in 2010

Judge Koh Sets Dec. 6 Hearing on Apple's Request to Ban Several Samsung Phones  —  Though the verdict is in, the paperwork continues in the patent dispute between Apple and Samsung.  —  Aiming to put some limits on things, Judge Lucy Koh on Tuesday established a schedule for post-trial filings …

How To Be a Genius: This Is Apple's Secret Employee Training Manual  —  We recently showed you just how badly some of Apple's retail elite behave when no one's watching, but surely they were taught better, right?  You bet they were: Apple tells its new recruits exactly what what to think and say.

Isis Mobile-Payment System To Debut In September After Delays  —  Isis, the mobile-payment joint venture backed by AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA Inc., is on track for a debut in September, following months of delays and a change in strategy last year.

The Talented Ms. Hornstein: How @Shirls Fooled The Valley  —  Silicon Valley is full of hustlers, and that's often a good thing.  But there's a difference between hustling and flat-out lying, and when people deceive company after company, it's time to call them out.

SkyDrive for Android phones now available  —  A few weeks ago we announced our intention to release an official SkyDrive app for Android phones.  Today we're excited to announce that the app is now available for download.  We want to ensure that you're able to have your files accessible across …

The Andreessen Horowitz Effect  —  In the three short years since Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz set up shop as venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road, they've already established Andreessen Horowitz as one of the top VC firms in Silicon Valley, right up there with Accel, Benchmark, Greylock, Kleiner, and Sequoia.

OnLive lost: how the paradise of streaming games was undone by one man's ego  —  “I'm the one that brought you here.  I'm the one that ultimately made decisions, and I'm the one that ultimately takes responsibility.  So I am sorry, and it didn't end up exactly as we'd hoped.”

Google Reinstates Controversial Music-Streaming App Grooveshark  —  More than a year after Google Inc. removed the controversial Grooveshark music-streaming service from its app store for Android smartphones, the app was quietly reinstated Tuesday afternoon, despite ongoing copyright infringement lawsuits against the company.

Exclusive: Zynga's Chief Creative Officer Mike Verdu Exits to Start a New Company  —  Mike Verdu confirmed to AllThingsD that he is leaving Zynga to start his own game company in which Zynga will be an investor.  —  As Chief Creative Officer at Zynga, Verdu oversaw a number of the company's game studios …

Time Warner Cable invests $25M to build 1Gbps fiber network  —  Time Warner Cable is following Google's lead with a 1Gbps fiber network in New York City, except Time Warner will focus on business customers and it hasn't yet announced pricing.  —  Time Warner Cable announced Tuesday …

Hackers vow ‘hellfire’ in latest major data leak  —  Team GhostShell says it published one million records, allegedly from banks, government agencies, consulting firms and others — and claims there's more to come.  —  A group of hackers has released a vast quantity of data from banks …

Apple Unsuccessfully Tried to Purchase Exclusive Access to TSMC Chip Production for iOS Devices  —  Bloomberg reports that Apple and Qualcomm each put forth investment bids topping $1 billion in attempting to secure exclusive access to chip supplies from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company …

Half of All Mobile Phones Will Be Smartphones by 2013, Two Years Earlier Than Forecast  —  Those smartphones are growing up so fast.  —  It seems like just yesterday they were sending their first emails from their baby keyboards, and now they are poised to take over the world.

Uh Oh!  Amazon Researchers Say Pinterest Doesn't Generate A Lot Of Sales  —  Zappos Labs, the research arm of the Zappos online apparel site, has been experimenting with Pinterest—and the results are not encouraging.  —  Will Young, director of Zappos Labs, told Bloomberg that Pinterest users …

RealNetworks cutting up to 160 jobs in overhaul  —  Another big layoff is happening at RealNetworks as the struggling digital media company tries to reorganize and regain its foothold.  —  Up to 160 jobs are being cut, reducing Real's employment by up to 14 percent.

T-Mobile Adding microSIM Kits For iPhone 4/4S, Training Employees For “Selling Against The iPhone”  —  Based on both pieces of information that just came into our inbox, we're trying to draw two conclusions, one that T-Mobile isn't getting the iPhone 5, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

Second accused LulzSec hacker arrested in Sony Pictures breach  —  (Reuters) - A second suspected member of the clandestine hacking group LulzSec was arrested on Tuesday on charges he took part in an extensive computer breach of Sony Pictures Entertainment, the FBI said.

TiVo Stream Gets Viewers Off the Couch  —  With my time limited, I'm continuously working to chip away at the ever-growing list of programs and movies on my TiVo.  —  For the past week, I've been testing a device that solves a lot of my problems: TiVo Stream.

New Java 7 exploit can potentially affect Macs  —  While there are no known attempts to use a newly discovered vulnerability to target Mac users, the exploit has been successfully triggered in both Safari and Firefox on Macs running Mountain Lion.  —  A new vulnerability was found last week in the latest Java 7 runtime from Oracle.

Google's Nexus 7 tablet pops up in rare home page ad  —  In a first, Google is actually touting a product on its home page, which is typically free of advertisements.  —  Google really wants people to take a look at its Nexus 7 tablet.  —  The $199 tablet started popping up on Google's home page today …

Microsoft looks to simplify adding Azure cloud support to Windows 8 apps  —  Summary: A free preview of Windows Azure Media Services is available to Windows 8 developers now, with additional support for iOS, Android and Windows Phone coming soon.  —  Microsoft is looking to make it easier …