Microsoft and Foxconn Parent Hon Hai Sign Patent Agreement For Android and Chrome Devices  —  Agreement provides broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio to manufacturer of more than 40 percent of the world's consumer electronics.  —  Microsoft Corp. and Hon Hai, the parent company of Foxconn …

Talking heads: how a late-night hack turned into Facebook's next big thing  —  Facebook gambles on private messages as the future of mobile  —  On a Wednesday almost one year ago, Facebook product designers Joey Flynn and Brandon Walkin decided to work from home.

Tech industry cautiously welcomes Senate immigration bill  —  (Reuters) - Tech industry officials welcomed a bipartisan U.S. Senate immigration bill on Tuesday, saying they hoped it would make it easier to hire highly skilled workers from abroad, while laying the groundwork to renegotiate portions they oppose.

Facebook Said to Hire Apple Maps Executive Amid Mobile Push  —  Facebook Inc. (FB) has nabbed another member of Apple Inc. (AAPL)'s original iPhone team, hiring Richard Williamson, the manager who had led Apple's mapping efforts, according to people with knowledge of the hire.

First real-world usage figures suggest Chromebooks are struggling  —  Summary: When the initial batch of Chromebooks hit the market nearly two years ago, some thought these low-cost devices running Google's cloud-centric Chrome OS could be a Windows killer.  NetMarketShare just started …

ACLU asks feds to probe wireless carriers over Android security updates  —  “Defective” phones from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile pose risks, ACLU says.  —  Civil liberties advocates have asked the US Federal Trade Commission to take action against the nation's four major wireless carriers …

Funny or Die's Steve Jobs Movie ‘iSteve’ Now Available Online  —  After being delayed yesterday, Funny Or Die's Steve Jobs movie “iSteve” has now been released online.  The movie stars Justin Long as Steve Jobs and Lost's Jorge Garcia as Steve Wozniak.  —  The film is the longest video produced …

Windows 8 touch devices to drop to $200, says Intel CEO  —  Prices of Windows 8 touch devices based on future Intel chips are set to drop like a rock.  —  Windows 8 touch devices will dive in price, according to Intel executives.  —  The price of Windows 8 touch devices will sink …

Logitech Harmony Ultimate Remote Pairs Up With Smartphone Apps, Mood Lighting  —  Though Logitech is looking to sell its Harmony remote division, the company is continuing to release new products like the Harmony Ultimate and Harmony Smart Control, and is still expanding the capabilities of the universal remote.

Escaping PCs  —  The Windows PC market is contracting.  The market data has been showing unit shipment declining for some time with the latest quarter having perhaps the steepest decline for two decades.  —  What remains undocumented however is how the market looks when considering economic value.

Google's Wildfire Social Marketing Platform Cuts Standalone Plans To Upsell To Its Full Suite  —  When Google wanted to get into the game of selling social ads across all platforms, it decided to acquire Wildfire, a company that had the market on lockdown.  Since the acquisition last July …

Red Hat pushes open source cloud with OpenStack distro  —  Summary: Red Hat has launched a community-led version of the OpenStack cloud platform to accelerate adoption of open source cloud.  —  Sam Shead  —  Linux software giant Red Hat has launched a community-led distribution of the OpenStack open source cloud platform.

Amazon to expand its Android Appstore to nearly 200 countries  —  Amazon has announced the next phase in the expansion of its Android Appstore, today notifying developers that they can submit their apps for distribution in nearly 200 countries.  Android device owners in the new regions …

Motorola Plans Stock Android Phones, Sized ‘Just Right’  —  Motorola might be building my dream phone.  Jim Wicks, Motorola's design chief, said the company's first round of products designed after Google's purchase of the company will follow a philosophy of “better is better” rather than …

Yahoo's Q1 2013 revenue of $1.14 billion doesn't excite, but its $0.35 in EPS beats expectations  —  Today Yahoo reported its first quarter financial performance, including revenue of $1.14 billion, and earnings per share of $0.35 on a GAAP basis, and $0.38 on a non-GAAP basis.

Android founder: We aimed to make a camera OS  —  The creators of Android originally dreamed it would be used to create a world of “smart cameras” that connected to PCs, a founder said, but it was reworked for mobile handsets as the smartphone market began to explode.

CISPA vote means companies can't promise to protect privacy  —  Proposed amendment to CISPA said Internet companies' promises to protect customer privacy were legally enforceable.  But then Republicans voted it down.  —  Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other Internet companies and e-mail providers …

Instart Logic Raises $17M From Andreessen Horowitz Greylock To Improve Web And Mobile App Performance  —  Instart Logic, a company that provides a cloud-based service for web publishers to improves site performance over both mobile and WiFi networks, has raised $17 million in Series B funding …

Founder Of Drug Site Silk Road Says Bitcoin Booms And Busts Won't Kill His Black Market  —  As the crypto-currency Bitcoin has skyrocketed in value over the last weeks and then fallen even faster, it's produced plenty of excitement and heartache for investors.