13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display confirmed for Apple event  —  Alongside the smaller iPad, Apple will debut a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, according to a consistently reliable source at a high-profile U.S. retailer.  —  This new 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina Display …

Exclusive: Apple Nabs Amazon A9 Exec Stasior to Run Siri — But Does Hire Signal a Bigger Move Into Search?  —  Apple has hired major Amazon exec and prominent search technologist William Stasior to run its Siri unit, according to sources.  —  At the online retail giant, Stasior has been in charge of A9 …

Microsoft To Compete Against Spotify With Xbox Music, Available Soon On Xbox, Windows 8, And Windows Phone Devices  —  Microsoft will soon become the next player to enter the streaming music business, with a service that will see it competing against the likes of Spotify and Rdio.

Google ‘to be told to unravel privacy policy’  —  French data protection commissioner's ruling that web giant must separate user data could have global impact, say sources  —  Google will be told on Tuesday to unravel the controversial changes introduced in March to its European privacy policy, legal sources have told the Guardian.

Muslims protest ‘age of mockery’ as thousands descend on Google HQ  —  Thousands of Muslims have pledged a series of protests against Google HQ for a “hateful and offensive” anti-Islam video, saying they now live in an “age of mockery”.  —  A protest by 10,000 Muslims outside the offices …

Amazon in talks to buy Texas Instruments' smartphone & tablet OMAP chip activity: Report  —  Texas Instruments (TI), which recently announced that it will wind down its operations in smartphone and tablet oriented OMAP chips and instead focus on embedded platforms, is engaged in 'advanced negotiations …

Samsung official cites serious chip rift with Apple — report  —  Samsung has probably been the largest single component supplier to Apple and has collaborated with Apple on chip development.  That relationship may be coming to an end, according to a report.

Circa's New iOS App Will Change The Way You Consume News  —  The way that we consume information on the Internet has changed dramatically over the years.  The main reason is because there is simply more content available to us than we could ever consume during our time on Earth.

Softbank Confirms It Is Buying 70% Of Sprint For $20.1B  —  Softbank has confirmed the news that it is buying Sprint, the third-largest wireless carrier in the U.S., for $20.1 billion (¥1.571 trillion).  The announcement comes just ahead of Sprint holding a conference call to also announce the news.

Boxee Welcomes FCC Rulemaking That Opens Door for Innovation  —  The FCC issued its rulemaking regarding encrypting the Basic Tier of Cable on Friday and we were pleased to see that many of the recommendations made jointly by Boxee and Comcast were adopted in the final order.

Foursquare Takes On Yelp With New Homepage Search Box  —  Perhaps it was always inevitable that Foursquare would shift its emphasis from location-based social networking to local search.  Indeed, the site has been moving in this direction for quite some time, and very self-consciously for the better part of the past year.

Can She Land a Big One?  Yahoo's Mayer About to Hook Google Sales Exec De Castro for Top Role.  —  Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has intensified efforts to hire one of Google's top advertising execs, Henrique De Castro, for a top job at the Silicon Valley Internet giant, according to sources close to the situation.

Zynga Files Suit Against Former Staffer, Claiming Theft of Trade Secrets  —  Following the departure of several high-level employees, Zynga is striking back by filing a lawsuit against one of its former general managers, alleging “the wholesale theft of some of its most sensitive and commercially valuable data.”

Amazon Quietly Discontinues the Kindle DX  —  About a week ago I posted about how Amazon had cut the price of the Kindle DX from $379 to $299.  As expected it was indeed a final sale to eliminate stock, because the Kindle DX is no longer available for purchase from Amazon; it's only being sold used through third party merchants.

Yahoo Loses Government Relations Head to Airbnb (Internal Memo Time!)  —  Yahoo's David Hantman, who has been its deputy general counsel and VP of global public policy, is taking a similar job at the online rentals start-up Airbnb, according to an internal memo he sent today.

IP analyst takes to Indiegogo to expose the patent troll Intellectual Ventures  —  Patent analytics firm IP Checkups has unveiled plans to expose the hidden patent portfolio owned by Intellectual Ventures, one of the largest patent holders in the United States, through an online database.

Apple's new iPod touch takes a step back: No light sensor  —  After raving about my new iPod touch last week, I've continued to happily use the device; until this weekend, that is.  I actually thought my iPod touch was broken, in fact.  Turns out that the device is just fine and functioning as it should.

Google rolls out improved developer console, adds user ratings analytics, automatic translations  —  Google has rolled out a revamped version of the Google Play developer console.  —  Originally teased at the I/O developer conference earlier this year, the new version of the Google Play …

Bigger Is Better: Mojiva Debuts Tablet-Only Ad Network, Smartphones Sold Separately  —  Mojiva, the mobile advertising network, is today opening a new chapter in its bid to carve out a space for itself in the still-young market for mobile advertising: it is launching Mojiva Tab …