Announcing Instagram Profiles on the Web!  —  You've asked for Instagram on the web and we've listened.  Over the next few days, we'll be rolling out Instagram profiles on the web!  Your web profile features a selection of your recently shared photographs just above your profile photo and bio …

Apple Said to Be Exploring Switch From Intel Chips for the Mac  —  Apple Inc. (AAPL) is exploring ways to replace Intel Corp. (INTC) processors in its Mac personal computers with a version of the chip technology it uses in the iPhone and iPad, according to people familiar with the company's research.

Apple Sells Three Million iPads in Three Days  —  Wi-Fi Only Models of New iPad mini & Fourth Generation iPad Double Previous First Weekend Sales  —  Apple® today announced it has sold three million iPads in just three days since the launch of its new iPad® mini and fourth generation iPad …

Foursquare Explore now has ratings powered by where people actually like to go, not just star ratings  —  With today's iOS update, we've made finding the best place on-the-go even easier.  Now when you search for somewhere to go in Explore, you'll see a score from 1 to 10 next to the name of a place.

Microsoft to retire Windows Live Messenger in favor of Skype  —  Microsoft is working towards retiring its Windows Live Messenger client in favor of Skype.  The Verge has learned through several sources that Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger service will be retired in the coming months and integrated into Skype.

Facebook updates its iOS app with Gifts, new Messages interface, and multi-photo uploads  —  Facebook has released an update to its mobile app for iOS devices.  Version 5.1 of its app now features new messaging and photo features that allows you to better connect with your friends and loved ones.

Why Can't Silicon Valley Take a Joke?  —  Laugh, people!  It's a joke!  —  This is a momentous week for the denizens of Silicon Valley.  Yes, there's an election.  But the real action will be on cable TV, with tonight's premiere episode of Start-Ups: Silicon Valley, a reality series about tech start-up culture.

Xbox team's ‘consumer detector’ would dis-Kinect freeloading TV viewers  —  A newly surfaced patent filing from Microsoft's Xbox Incubation team details one of the new innovations they've been thinking about.  This one could be very popular among major movie and television studios.

Microsoft's new tune: Only 16GB open on a 32GB Surface, not “more than 20GB,” as promised  —  When the Surface's pricing and storage options were announced, it received praise coming with, at minimum, 32 gigabytes of internal storage.  That's twice what the low-cost, full-size, and current-model iPad sports, it was noted.

Yes, Apple will approve Google Maps for iOS  —  What a much-discussed story in the Guardian misunderstands about developers — and about Apple.  —  The tech blogosphere went into a mild panic today over a report in the Guardian saying that a native Google Maps app for iOS would “struggle for Apple approval.”

Judge cancels trial, tosses Apple's FRAND lawsuit against Google's Motorola Mobility  —  Following a hearing in the morning, a federal judge in the Western District of Wisconsin has canceled an Apple v. Motorola Mobility trial that was scheduled to start today at 1 PM Central Time and has dismissed …

Verizon to Shutter Its App Store in January  —  Verizon Wireless said on Monday that it plans to shut down its own branded app store as of January.  —  Verizon set up the marketplace as Vcast Apps in March 2010, aiming to serve as an alternative spot for customers to get BlackBerry and Android apps.

Google Voice Search Vs. Siri: Who's the Best iPhone Assistant?  —  With Google's release of its brand new search app for iOS, we decided to put Siri in the ring with Voice Search—now available on your iPhone—to see if she could defend her own turf.  —  Overall performance on both sides was generally sound.

Apple drops to 50.4% tablet market share in Q3, as Samsung grabs 18.4% and Amazon takes 9.0%  —  Apple's iPad managed to grab 50.4 percent market share in the third quarter of 2012, which saw a total of 27.8 million total units shipped worldwide.  Rounding out the top three tablet manufacturers …

Microsoft Surface tested as balloting device in Virginia  —  Here's an interesting milestone for Microsoft Surface: One of the tablets is being tested in Virginia this week as a balloting device for state and national elections there.  —  The test is being conducted by Democracy Live …

New Jersey's emergency email voting is a risky experiment, warn experts  —  Will displaced voters be disenfranchised?  —  Tomorrow's election is coming, and there's nothing New Jersey can do to postpone it.  So to cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which left millions …

Windows Phone sales to “ramp quickly”: Microsoft CEO  —  (Reuters) - Microsoft expects its newly launched Windows Phone to become a strong challenger in the smartphone market, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Monday.  —  Google's Android and Apple's iPhone devices dominate the smartphone market.

Coke Hacked And Doesn't Tell  —  FBI officials quietly approached executives at Coca-Cola Co. (KO) on March 15, 2009, with some startling news.  —  Hackers had broken into the company's computer systems and were pilfering sensitive files about its attempted $2.4 billion acquisition …

iPad mini Display Technology Shoot-Out  —  The iPad mini has finally arrived - Apple's much anticipated response to the incredibly successful 7 inch Tablets pioneered by Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and more recently by Google with its Nexus 7.  So far they are the only Tablets that have made a dent in Apple's near monopoly on Tablets.

Yahoo and Samsung announce multi-year interactive TV partnership  —  We've had mixed feelings about Yahoo's Connected TV platform, but Samsung appears to think that its the next big thing.  The two mega corporations announced a multi-year partnership on Monday that will bring …

Jive Software acquires Meetings.io and Producteev for its social business platform  —  Producteev's Ilan Abehassera has announced via blog post that the company has been acquired by social business software firm Jive.  Producteev's apps will live on and, of course, get more Jive integration.

Amazon eyes original comedy series ‘Browsers’  —  Netco close to greenlight for project originally developed at CBS  —  In a sign that Amazon is getting serious about fielding original programming, the Internet giant is said to be close to greenlighting a musical comedy series dubbed “Browsers.”