Microsoft Launches Windows 8.1 Preview With Start Button, Deep SkyDrive Integration, Smarter Search Tool & More  —  Microsoft today officially launched Windows 8.1 Preview, the first public beta of its flagship operating system's next version, at its Build developer conference in San Francisco today.

Jimmy Wales breaks Wikipedia rules in hunt for Snowden  —  Wikipedia's notorious co-founder, Jimmy Wales, has launched an investigation to determine if any of the pseudonyms who edit the world's biggest encyclopedia are in fact (or suspected to be) classified security info leaker, Edward Snowden.

Sprint announces HTC 8XT and Samsung ATIV S Neo Windows Phone 8 devices  —  Summary: Sprint is again the last major carrier to carry a Windows Phone device and today announced that two new models will be coming later this summer.  —  Matthew Miller  —  Sprint customers only had one choice …

Cue the fight music: Pandora responds to Pink Floyd's op-ed on lower royalty rates  —  Internet radio service Pandora has responded to a strongly worded opinion piece recently written by the remaining members of legendary rock band Pink Floyd.  —  In the op-ed piece, Pink Floyd's members argued …

Mobile giant Telefónica backs Windows Phone in move to stymie Android and iOS duopoly  —  Spanish mobile provider Telefónica today announced it is to help boost the visibility of Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system in a bid to end the “current duopoly of Android and iOS.”

Can Apple read your iMessages?  —  About a year ago I wrote a short post urging Apple to publish the technical details of iMessage encryption.  I'd love tell you that Apple saw my influential crypto blogging and fell all over themselves to produce a spec, but, no. iMessage is the same black box it's always been.

NSA takes surveillance fact sheets off website  —  Following a complaint from two senators, the National Security Agency has removed from its website two fact sheets designed to shed light on and defend a pair of surveillance programs.  Users now trying to access the documents detailing …

Leak confirms WebGL, SPDY for IE11  —  On the eve of Microsoft Build 2013, leaked details on Windows 8.1's Internet Explorer 11 confirm that the browser will support next-gen Web technology, including Google's SPDY protocol.  —  If Internet Explorer 10 impressed you, you're going to love …

SSL: Intercepted today, decrypted tomorrow  —  Millions of websites and billions of people rely on SSL to protect the transmission of sensitive information such as passwords, credit card details, and personal information with the expectation that encryption guarantees privacy.

Inside YouTube's Master Plan to Kill Lag Dead  —  There is a moment between when you click on a video and when it starts playing.  That moment is the worst part of your day.  The agony of waiting!  The torture of anticipation!  YouTube understands that, and on a visit to YouTube HQ in San Bruno …

Cut Clutter: Two Ways to Put Your Inbox on a Diet  —  Lots of people feel they're drowning in email, with swollen inboxes that make it hard to pinpoint important messages in a sea of annoying marketing mail and unwanted newsletters.  —  Some major email players have tried to improve the situation.

IDC: Apple's iPhone sheds European marketshare in Q1, pushed out of top 5 in India  —  A pair of reports from market research firm IDC on Tuesday showed the iPhone lost ground in Western Europe during the first quarter of 2013, while Android devices bumped Apple's handset out of the top-five in India over the same period.

Apple Online Store opens in Russia, establishes direct sales in key emerging market  —  Today, Apple has finally launched a version of its official online store for customers in Russia.  The online store is similar in style to Apple's online stores in other countries.

Square branches out into e-commerce with new Square Market virtual stores for US businesses  —  Mobile and digital payment platform Square has moved into a new market today.  It's a bit different than what most people might think — it's an e-commerce play called Square Market …

Big Apple, Bigger Google  —  Google has passed Apple as the most valuable technology company in the world—on one measure.  —  The search giant eclipsed the iPhone maker last week, actually.  Few would have noticed because the metric by which Google jumped ahead isn't the widely-watched one of market capitalization.

Source: Snapchat Cofounders Unloaded Personal Stock for $20 M.  —  A source familiar with Snapchat's recent round of funding said that the teen sensation's two twenty-something cofounders, Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, each received $10 million in secondary funding as individual shareholders.