Hey, Apple: Mapping Takes More Work than You Think  —  Apple's apology suggests it may underestimate how much effort is needed to build a great map app.  —  In response to scathing criticism over its new Maps app for mobile devices, Apple CEO Tim Cook last week apologized and admitted that the company …

Is Apple clamping down on third-party app promotion services?  —  Guidelines point to promo app update block Media attention may have been focused on the launches of iPhone 5 and iOS6 - including the subsequent ‘MapGate’ and ‘ScuffGate’ backlashes - but it appears Apple itself has turned its attention to the art of app promotion.

Square Acquires a New York Design Firm  —  Tech companies, in a high-stakes competition for engineers, are also chasing another highly prized kind of employee: designers.  —  Square, the popular mobile payments company, has proved just how important designers are by making a surprising acquisition.

White House confirms cyberattack  —  The White House confirmed but sought to downplay a report by a conservative website on Sunday that it had been the victim of a cyberattack, volunteering to POLITICO that no harm had been done.  —  The Washington Free Beacon reported that Chinese hackers …

Google Passes Microsoft's Market Value as PC Loses to Web  —  Google Inc. (GOOG) has surpassed Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) to become the world's second-largest technology company, in another sign of the expanding ability of the Internet to facilitate computing tasks once completed on desktop machines.

Apple Removes Chomp Website and App, Shuts Down Existing App Installs  —  Following the introduction of the new Chomp-styled App Store layout in iOS 6, built upon Apple's acquisition of the app search and discovery platform earlier this year, Apple over the weekend shut down the standalone Chomp service.

Verizon iPhone 5 update eliminates carrier data usage while connected to a Wifi Network  —  An update is going to Verizon iPhone 5 owners this evening that resolves an issue where, under certain circumstances, the iPhone 5 may use Verizon cellular data while connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Apple CEO Tim Cook thanks employees for an ‘incredibly successful’ 2012, Thanksgiving vacation to be extended  —  Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced in an email to employees that this year's Thanksgiving vacation will be extended with pay.  Cook also thanks all employees for an amazing 2012.

Facebook's new pitch to brand advertisers: forget about clicks  —  (Reuters) - Facebook Inc, stung by doubts that advertising on the social network delivers enough bang for the buck, is preparing to unveil data to counter its critics and show that “clicks,” the current metric of choice, tell only half the story.

AT&T undercuts Verizon with $65 prepaid smartphone plan  —  AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) is introducing a new $65 prepaid plan with unlimited voice, texting and 1 GB of data, undercutting rival Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and bringing its pricing closer to more traditional no-contract offerings.

Poor pre-launch showing plagues Windows 8  —  Now five times less likely to be on a PC than early-adoption benchmark set by Windows 7  —  With just weeks before the public launch of Windows 8, users are five times less likely to be running the new OS than they were Windows 7 at the same point …

Google Rivals in Kansas City Want the Same Incentives  —  To entice Google Inc. to build its ultra-high-speed fiber network there, Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., offered the Internet company sweeteners including several free or discounted city services.

Motorola reneges on Ice Cream Sandwich software update  —  Motorola regrets to inform you that your ICS request has been denied.  —  Motorola Atrix 4G owners will not get the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update the company promised them, according to a newly revised upgrade chart.

3-D Printer Company Seizes Machine From Desktop Gunsmith  —  Cody Wilson planned in the coming weeks to make and test a 3-D printed pistol.  Now those plans have been put on hold as desktop-manufacturing company Stratasys pulled the lease on a printer rented out for Wiki Weapon …

Apple's Ping Social Network Officially Closes  —  Apple has officially shut down its failed social network Ping.  Reports in June signaled that Apple's social iTunes network would be removed from the next version of iTunes.  Apple has since been advertising the fact that the service would shut down as of last night, September 30th.

Where Facebook Is Looking to Grow: COO Sheryl Sandberg  —  For the first time since Facebook's IPO, COO Sheryl Sandberg sat down for an exclusive interview to talk about what's happened since the social network went public, and where she's taking the company next.  —  Facebook's IPO Disaster & Stock Slide

Intel Software Snag Said to Hamper Windows Apple Response  —  Intel Corp. (INTC)'s delayed delivery of software that conserves computer battery life is holding up development of some tablets running the latest version of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)'s Windows operating system, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

WikiLeaks' And Pirate Bay's Web Host PRQ Raided By Swedish Police  —  PRQ owner Mikael Viborg in front of the Stockholm-based Web host's entrance.  —  The Stockholm-based web host PeRiQuito AB, or PRQ, has long attracted some of the most controversial sites on the Internet.

Security Flaw Lets Hackers Steal Twitter Accounts  —  “People should be changing their passwords,” says a victim whose account was hacked — and even put up for sale.  —  On Saturday, multimedia producer and Twitter user Daniel Dennis Jones — @blanket, at the time — received a notification that his Twitter password had been reset.

Apple and Virgin Mobile USA Planning to Launch iPhone 5, But Timeframe Unknown  —  While the three major U.S iPhone carriers launched the iPhone 5 on September 21 and prepaid carrier Cricket and a number of regional carriers followed suit on September 28, one U.S. brand has been curiously silent …

AOL Finally Lands on YouTube  —  Want to be big in online video?  It helps if people can see your stuff on the world's biggest video site.  —  So that's what Tim Armstrong is going to do: After years of keeping its clips off YouTube, AOL is finally going to start distributing its video on Google's site, via 22 branded “channels.”