New Windows 8.1 build addresses first-time user complaints  —  Microsoft is expected to finalize its Windows 8.1 update in the coming days, but a near-final build has leaked online offering a closer look at some of the improvements.  The 9741 build, a test version of the Release to Manufacturing …

Bloomberg: Thinner iPad 5, Retina iPad mini this year & Sept. 10 iPhone event  —  Bloomberg has corroborated multiple reports regarding Apple's next iPad and iPhone models.  — Thinner full-sized iPad planned.  We first reported that the next full-sized iPad would be thinner, lighter and similar in design to the iPad mini.

First 100 Pages of Aaron Swartz's Secret Service File Released  —  After half-a-year of delays and roadblocks, the U.S Secret Service today released the first 104 pages of agency documents about the late coder and activist Aaron Swartz, including a brief report on Swartz's suicide less than three months before his scheduled trial.

Android is better  —  It was just meant to be a quick experiment.  I started using a Nexus 4.  I was going to go right back to my iPhone after a week.  I was designing more and more Android interfaces at Twitter and realized I needed to more intimately grok Android UI paradigms.

Microsoft's bet on touch PCs fails to pay off  —  Buyers reject touchscreen notebooks, spooked by higher prices and concerns about value of Windows 8's touch UI  —  Microsoft's bet that touch would propel Windows 8 has run into a major snag, an industry analyst said Friday …

How BlackBerry Fell  —  Shares in the Canadian maker of BlackBerry smartphones peaked in August of 2007, at two hundred and thirty-six dollars.  In retrospect, the company was facing an inflection point and was completely unaware.  Seven months earlier, in January, Apple had introduced the iPhone at San Francisco's Moscone Center.

Facebook Acquires “Mobile Technologies”, Developer Of Speech Translation App Jibbigo  —  Facebook's latest acquisition could help it connect users across language barriers.  It has just announced that it's acquired the team and technology of Pittsburgh's Mobile Technologies …

Kinect No Longer Mandatory For Xbox One (But Will Still Come With It) [UPDATE]  —  Another backflip?  Back in May, Microsoft said that you'll need have the motion-sensing Kinect plugged in at all times in order for your Xbox One to function, but now they're reversing course once again.

Kim Jong Un visits ‘cell phone factory’  —  Kim Jong Un visited on Saturday the Pyongyang factory where North Korean cell phones are supposedly made, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.  —  Photos of the visit, released by KCNA, show Kim touring the May 11 Factory and talking to officials.

The iPhone's ‘tri-tone’ text message alert was made for a 90s MP3 player  —  Ah, Apple origin stories.  We've heard about the Swiss railway company behind Apple's Clock app, the inspiration for the iOS Calculator, the voice of Siri, and now, we know about the unlikely inventor of the omnipresent …

Confessed Liar To Congress, James Clapper, Gets To Set Up The ‘Independent’ Review Over NSA Surveillance  —  Well, this is rather incredible.  Remember on Friday how one of President Obama's efforts to get people to trust the government more concerning the NSA's surveillance efforts was to create an …

Investor Herd Dynamics  —  The biggest component in most investors' opinion of you is the opinion of other investors.  Which is of course a recipe for exponential growth.  When one investor wants to invest in you, that makes other investors want to, which makes others want to, and so on.

Apple to support third-party USB power plug trade-ins beyond U.S. & China  —  Last week, we reported that Apple, will soon kickoff a trade-in-program for third-party or counterfeit USB power adapters in its retail stores and select authorized resellers.  The program will allow anyone …

Google Glass update brings more Now cards, voice commands for third-party services, and video player controls  —  Google today announced the latest monthly update (XE8) to its Glass project, adding a slew of new features to those lucky few with the devices sitting on their noses.

Three years in, Google has paid researchers over $2 million in security rewards and fixed more than 2,000 bugs  —  Less than two weeks after Facebook announced its Bug Bounty program has paid out over $1 million in two years, Google has announced it has crossed the $2 million mark in three.

Magazine Writing on the Web, for Film  —  To many writers, to almost anyone for that matter, Joshuah Bearman and Joshua Davis are living the dream.  As accomplished practitioners of big, nonfiction magazine writing, they regularly publish articles in Wired, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and many other A-list titles.

Technology Industry Extends a Hand to Struggling Print Media  —  From classifieds to display ads to subscriptions, the digital age has broken the financial pillars of print journalism, leaving the industry struggling to stand on its own.  —  But more frequently — and with a boom last week …

Plumfare acquired by Groupon (confirmed)  —  Plumfare, a mobile discovery app, has been acquired by Groupon.  —  The San Francisco-based company did not disclose its buyer on the announcement post on its website, which is a bit odd.  However, a Groupon spokesperson just confirmed the acquisition …