Google Preps Maps App for Apple Devices  —  The head-to-head battle between Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in mobile maps is drawing nearer.  —  Google has distributed a test version of its new mapping app that will work on Apple's iPhones and iPads to some individuals outside the company …

SkyDrive usage has doubled in the last 6 months, now you can select what to sync  —  About 6 months ago, we released the first sync apps for SkyDrive making it easy to view and manage your personal SkyDrive from the File Explorer in Windows and Finder in OS X. We're excited to announce that since then …

Sharing Tweets just got easier  —  If you're like me, you probably come across Tweets every day that you'd like to share.  They might be funny or include a striking photo.  They might be breaking news or feature old news.  Of course, you can retweet any of these to your Twitter followers …

Google Launches Ingress, a Worldwide Mobile Alternate Reality Game  —  What's the wackiest thing you can imagine Google launching?  How about a game to fight for control of the minds of everyone on earth?  —  Or maybe that's not so wacky.  —  Meet Ingress, a new free mobile app …

Google, Dish Held Talks to Launch Wireless Service  —  Google Inc. has held talks with satellite-TV provider Dish Network Corp. in recent weeks to partner on a new wireless service that would rival the networks of wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Spotify to begin rolling out browser-based music app in beta today (update: now live for some)  —  Spotify today plans to begin the roll out of its first ever browser-based music player, The Verge has learned from sources close to the company.  From the looks of it, the web player looks a lot …

Crooks steal $1.5M in iPads from JFK  —  Like ‘GoodFellas’ job  —  It beats waiting in line at an Apple Store.  —  A pair of brazen crooks punched another hole in the lax JFK security when they stole a trove of new Apple iPad minis — worth $1.5 million — from the same cargo building …

Facebook expands Gifts program by rolling out to millions more users, adding new partners  —  Facebook has announced at an event in NYC that it is rolling out the ability for ‘tens of millions’ of its users to gift someone right from their profile page as of tonight.

E-commerce 2.0  —  We at a16z could not possibly be more bullish on the prospects for e-commerce, and we believe growth is poised to accelerate.  —  Part of the reason for this is due to competitive market dynamics.  As I've blogged before, e-commerce players have substantial cost advantages over their physical competitors.

HP's Todd Bradley: Surface is no competition to us  —  Todd Bradley, the head of HP's PC business, does not view Microsoft's Surface tablet as a challenge.  —  “I'd hardly call Surface competition,” Bradley said in an interview with IDG Enterprise.  He listed several reasons, “One, very limited distribution.

Verizon Will Reduce Speeds of Repeated BitTorrent Pirates  —  Last year the MPAA and RIAA teamed up with five major Internet providers in the United States to launch the Center for Copyright Information (CCI).  —  The parties agreed on a system through which subscribers are warned …

Sinofsky speaks, denies he tried to take over Windows Phone division at Microsoft  —  Former chief of Windows, Steven Sinofsky, departed Microsoft earlier this week in a shock announcement following the release of Windows 8 and Surface RT. While sources have claimed his departure was related …

Twitter Makes Search Results More Visual With Top Photos, Videos & Instant Previews  —  Twitter is rolling out an update to its search results that will put a new “Top Photos” section above matching tweets.  “Top Videos” may also appear.  Twitter will also begin automatically showing tweeted pictures …

Dell Results Fall Short of Expectations, but Shares Rally Anyway  —  Dell's quarterly results just crossed the wires, and, as was expected, sales were light.  —  The results compare with a consensus view of analysts, which called for a per-share profit of 40 cents on sales of $13.9 billion.

U.S. Cable Companies Reportedly Assessing Potential Infrastructure Impact of ‘Imminent’ Apple TV Product  —  Barron's reports on a new research note from Jefferies & Co. analyst James Kisner noting that he believes the launch of an unspecified Apple television product (presumably either …

Lytro to get Perspective Shift and Living Filters for more focus-shifting fun (video)  —  Lytro has just announced a software update that expands upon the multidimensional elements of the little light-field point-and-shoot.  The Lytro Desktop software will get two new features …

Pay Another Way: Bitcoin  —  At WordPress.com, our mission is making publishing democratic — accessible and easy for anyone, anywhere.  And while anyone can start a free blog here, not everyone can access upgrades (like going ad-free or enabling custom design) because of limits on traditional payment networks.

Microsoft CEO Ballmer suggests more hardware coming  —  Microsoft Corp's chief executive said his company would look at more opportunities to build its own devices, after the launch of its Surface tablet last month, potentially bringing the software giant into competition with its hardware partners …

YouTube Blocks Israeli Hamas Assassination Video - And Puts It Back Up Again  —  Israel has gone to war with Hamas in Gaza, and it is using the Internet as weapon, employing services like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr on its behalf.  —  The idea is familiar to anyone who has a message to push in 2012 …

Behind Mark Pincus's Bid to Save Zynga  —  Tears nearly welled up in Zynga Inc. chief executive Mark Pincus's eyes at a meeting in September with Apple Inc. director Bill Campbell.  —  Mr. Campbell, a technology veteran who has coached Silicon Valley CEOs such as Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt …

Android crushes the competition in China as it passes 90% smartphone market share: Report  —  Android has established a clear monopoly in China after achieving more than 90 percent market share there, up from 58.2 percent a year ago, according to a new report from Analysys International (via Tech in Asia).

Google's lawyers under siege  —  Predatory pricing and using its listings to advance its own products are two of the legal issues dogging the search giant  —  Google is threatened by a “perfect storm” of litigation with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Commission …

Sorkin: Steve Jobs biopic to be 3 real-time scenes from backstage at Mac, NeXT, iPod launches  —  Today at the Hero Summit, an invitation-only “theatrical-journalism event' being covered by The Daily Beast, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin made some comments about the upcoming Steve Jobs movie based …

Goodbye to Daily Deals?  Groupon Emphasizes Always-On Deals.  —  Groupon is rolling out a new deal structure and homepage redesign today that will allow consumers to search and find offers for things they are immediately interested in buying, instead of having to wait for a coupon to arrive in their in-box.