The FTC and Google: A Missed Opportunity  —  Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft  —  The FTC took steps today to address some of Google's improper business practices.  We find it troubling that the agency did not adhere to its own standard procedures that call for the agency …

Spotify suspends music download service in the UK  —  EXCLUSIVE: No longer supporting purchases  —  Spotify is no longer allowing users to buy music through its streaming service, Pocket-lint has discovered.  —  When trying to buy tracks, even Premium subscribers are met with a notice that states …

The E-Reader Revolution: Over Just as It Has Begun?  —  The e-reader era just arrived, but now it may be ending.  —  Dedicated devices for reading e-books have been a hot category for the past half-dozen years, but the shrinking sizes and falling prices of full-featured tablet computers …

Ex-Windows boss Steven Sinofsky launches new blog focused on ‘technology product development’  —  Steven Sinofsky may no longer hold the Windows reins at Microsoft, but that certainly doesn't mean that he intends on stepping back from the public sphere.  Made famous for his work on Windows 7 …

Sony in talks for virtual MSO service  —  Conglom could roll out over-the-top channels later this year  —  Sony Corp. will show off a wide range of new products at next week's Consumer Electronics Show, but one that will stay under wraps could be its riskiest: a multichannel TV service to rival cable.

Samsung to widen smartphone gap with Apple this year: Strategy Analytics  —  (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is expected to widen its lead over Apple Inc in global smartphone sales this year with 35 percent growth, helped by a broad product lineup, market researcher Strategy Analytics told Reuters on Friday.

Kim Dotcom: US “planted” evidence to obtain illegal search warrants  —  Kim Dotcom living large in happier times.  —  Handout  —  Megaupload has accused US investigators of “planting” evidence the government used to prove that Megaupload knowingly kept copyrighted files on its servers and ultimately shut the file-sharing site down.

That Apple/Waze Deal Hits A Roadblock — That Roadblock Being Reality (Not Happening)  —  Yesterday, we ran a big story: Is Apple Plotting A Route To A Waze Acquisition?  Rumours On The Road Point To Yes.  That's huge news for a few reasons: Apple rarely makes startup acquisitions …

US frowns on Eric Schmidt's North Korea trip  —  The U.S. Department of State has described the timing of a proposed visit by Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt and others to North Korea as not “particularly helpful” in view of the Asian country's recent launch of a long-range rocket.

Toyota, Audi Prep Self-Driving Cars  —  Toyota Motor Corp. and Audi AG are throwing their hats into the ring of potential suppliers of self-driving vehicles.  —  Both auto makers confirmed on Thursday that they will be demonstrating autonomous-driving features at the Consumer Electronics Show …

CinemaNow or never: Rovi puts its digital movie store up for sale  —  After having spent $720 million on it two years ago, Rovi announced Thursday that it intends to sell its Rovi Entertainment Store digital video platform, which was formerly known as CinemaNow.

Write Gambling Software, Go to Prison  —  In a criminal case sure to make programmers nervous, a software maker who licenses a program used by online casinos and bookmakers overseas is being charged with promoting gambling in New York because authorities say his software was used by others for illegal betting in that state.

China's ‘weibo’ accounts shuttered as part of Internet crackdown  —  BEIJING - Several influential Chinese bloggers, activists and even a popular cartoonist have had their online microblogging accounts shut down in recent days, belying the hopes of many here that the country's …

Facebook launches voice in iOS and Android Messenger apps, tests VoIP calling in Canada  —  Facebook is continuing to fine-tune and adapt its Messenger mobile apps (iOS/Android), today pushing live updates which include a potentially disruptive feature: voice messages.

IMAGiNE BitTorrent Group Leader Sentenced To Five Years in Prison  —  In 2011 the notorious IMAGiNE movie piracy group was dismantled by the FBI.  The group had been releasing large numbers of movies onto the Internet, many of them still playing in theaters, and this had attracted the attention …

Inquiry Into Tech Giants' Tax Strategies Nears End  —  Congressional investigators are wrapping up an inquiry into the accounting practices of Apple and other technology companies that allocate revenue and intellectual property offshore to lower the taxes they pay in the United States.