Review: Refined iOS 6 highlighted by stunning Maps overhaul  —  Every iOS release has its marquee feature, and with iOS 6 it's unquestionably Maps.  The app has gotten a in-depth makeover, perhaps the most thorough ever to be applied to one of iOS's built-in applications.

Microsoft's Surface challenge: Proving it's a premium product worth a premium price  —  Summary: I think there's a market for premium, differentiated PC/tablet hybrids that aren't trying to compete primarily on price.  I'm hoping Microsoft's Surface proves this category exists.

How Much Tech Can One City Take?  —  Shaken by the latest digital gold rush, San Francisco struggles for its soul.  —  Last year, when Mayor Ed Lee heard that Twitter was planning to move its headquarters out of San Francisco and down to the peninsula, he quickly consulted with his digital experts …

Nokia slams HTC's Windows Phone 8 announcement, calls it a ‘tactical re-branding’  —  HTC has just unveiled two new Windows Phone 8 devices today, making them the signature phones for Microsoft.  We asked Nokia about today's announcements and the company's head of marketing, Chris Weber …

Mobile Pwn2Own: iPhone 4S hacked by Dutch team  —  Summary: How long would it take a determined attacker to hack into Apple's iPhone 4S from scratch?  A Dutch research team uses the Pwn2Own contest to provide the answer.  —  Ryan Naraine  —  AMSTERDAM — How long would it take a determined attacker …

The Lost Chapter  —  2003: Cambridge, Massachusetts  —  In college, my computer's filing system was relatively straightforward: I had a folder for each year of school, and within each of those folders there were additional folders for each course I was taking.

HP marches out an army of Windows 8 consumer and business PCs  —  Hewlett-Packard is introducing a dozen new computers and accessories today that represent the core of its line-up for Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system coming on Oct. 26.  —  This new pack of computers isn't even HP's whole line-up.

Roku Streaming Stick coming in October for $99, Roku 2 boxes get Vudu app, plus mobile app adds AirPlay-esque streaming  —  Roku's Streaming Stick will be out in time for the holidays, but it only works with a handful of TVs.  —  Roku's Streaming Stick was one of the most interesting home theater products …

The iPhone 5 Doesn't Have NFC — So What?  —  With last Wednesday's Apple iPhone 5 unveiling, and the recent Nokia Lumia launch, mobile is on top of the media agenda.  But as the screen size and connector stories die down, the question of “when will my mobile phone become my wallet?” rises up once again.

New Philippines law bans ‘cybersex’  —  The president of the Philippines signed a cyber crime bill into law on Tuesday that, much to the chagrin of Internet freedom activists, outlaws “cybersex,” bans “unsolicited commercial communications” online and imposes criminal penalties on people convicted of libel.

Microsoft issues a rebootless ‘Fix’ to the Internet Explorer security weakness  —  Yesterday we brought you the news that Microsoft was preparing a one-click solution for Internet Explorer, protecting users from a security flaw that was discovered.  —  The company adamantly states that few users …

MakerBot unveils Replicator 2, 2X and launches retail store, we go eyes-on  —  The Replicator may have just been pushed off this writer's Christmas list.  (Note to self: send updated letter to Santa.)  But, this isn't a loss for MakerBot Industries, because it's being replaced by the Replicator 2 …

iCloud for Windows 2.0: An improvement, but not much has changed  —  iCloud gets a lot of attention in reviews of iOS and OS X, and with good reason—it's one of Apple's biggest services, and with every new version of its desktop and mobile operating systems, iCloud expands to store just a bit more of your stuff.

Major League Baseball Hopes iPhone Tickets Will Be a Hit  —  While riding to San Francisco's AT&T Park on Thursday, an alert popped up on my phone letting me know that the Giants game was nearby, even though I was still on the train nearing the ballpark.  —  As I neared the gate …

F.T.C. Still Expects to Resolve Google Antitrust Inquiry by Year's End  —  The Federal Trade Commission intends to decide by the end of the year whether to bring legal action against Google for anticompetitive practices, Jon Leibowitz, the chairman of the commission, said on Wednesday in Washington.

Here's what the new gaming experience on Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets will look like  —  Two weeks ago, Amazon introduced its latest tablet, the Kindle Fire HD, which comes in two screen sizes, 7 inches and 8.9 inches.  The new Kindle Fire tablets will offer players a revamped gaming experience …

Sources: Zynga Chief Security Officer Nils Puhlmann Has Resigned From Company  —  We're hearing that Nils Puhlmann, the cloud security expert who has worked as Zynga's Chief Security Officer since 2009, resigned from the company yesterday, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

Facebook tests automatic ‘Photo Sync’ uploads on Android  —  Facebook has begun testing a new feature for Android owners that syncs photos you shoot on your phone straight to your Facebook account.  It's a hybrid of Google+'s instant photo-upload feature and Apple's Photostream …

Coming To A Car Near You: Linux Goes Automotive, Signs Up Harman, Intel, Toyota, Samsung's Tizen, More  —  If, one day, we really are all going to be carted around in driverless cars from the likes of Google and others, then we may as well have some apps on board to keep us occupied.

Introducing Groupon Payments  —  In the past, our merchant partners have often told us that their traditional payment systems are expensive and cumbersome-so we stepped up to the plate and developed our own payments service guaranteed to be the simplest and lowest cost option for Groupon merchants to accept credit cards.

True to form, Samsung mocks iPhone 5 buyers in latest commercial  —  We caught Samsung preparing its latest salvo against Apple last week, and now the company's next big attack ad is finally here.  Staying true to the theme of its earlier commercials, Samsung's new ad mocks those waiting early …