Android for all and the new Nexus 5  —  Just in time for Halloween, we have two new treats for Android fans.  First, we're excited to unwrap our latest platform release, KitKat, which delivers a smarter, more immersive Android experience to even more people.  And second, we're introducing Nexus 5—a new Nexus phone developed with LG.

Angry Over U.S. Surveillance, Tech Giants Bolster Defenses  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Google has spent months and millions of dollars encrypting email, search queries and other information flowing among its data centers worldwide.  Facebook's chief executive said at a conference this fall that the government “blew it.”

Patent war goes nuclear: Microsoft, Apple-owned “Rockstar” sues Google  —  Rockstar's reverse-engineering lab in Ottawa, Canada.  —  Rockstar Consortium  —  Canada-based telecom Nortel went bankrupt in 2009 and sold its biggest asset—a portfolio of more than 6,000 patents covering 4G wireless innovations …

Google, Red Hat, Oracle contributing dozens of engineers, designers to fix HealthCare.gov  —  Google, Oracle Workers Enlisted for Obamacare ‘Tech Surge’  —  Google, Red Hat, Oracle and other companies are contributing dozens of computer engineers and programmers to help the Obama administration fix …

Apple testing Mail update for OS X Mavericks to fix Gmail, stability, and smart mailbox issues  —  Since the launch of OS X Mavericks last week, many users have been reporting widespread, various, consistent issues within Apple's bundled Mail application.  —  Many of the issues …

Samsung Tops Apple in Latest J.D. Power Tablet Customer Satisfaction Survey  —  Apple has been ranked second, edged out slightly by Samsung in J.D. Power's latest U.S. tablet satisfaction study.  Samsung scored 835 on a 1,000 point scale, while Apple was just behind at 833.

Comcast is donating heavily to defeat the mayor who is bringing gigabit fiber to Seattle  —  One of Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn's big policy initiatives has been expanding the quality and quantity of high-speed Internet access throughout the city.  A public-private partnership plans …

Launch of iPad in early 2010 seen to coincide with quantum leap in visits to Apple stores  —  The Quantum Leap in Retail  —  In fiscal 2013 there were 395 million visits to Apple retail stores.  In 2012 there were 372 million.  —  The difference is approximately the population of Australia.

Meet “badBIOS,” the mysterious Mac and PC malware that jumps airgaps  —  Three years ago, security consultant Dragos Ruiu was in his lab when he noticed something highly unusual: his MacBook Air, on which he had just installed a fresh copy of OS X, spontaneously updated the firmware that helps it boot.

Apple's Touch ID: Each sensor is tied to the device's A7 chip  —  Touch ID takes hardware security to new levels - Here's how, why, and what it means!  —  We already know Touch ID secures your digital fingerprint by storing it in a secure enclave on the Apple A7, only accessible to the sensor itself.

Coast Guard visits mysterious ‘Google barge’  —  Agency mum on trip and San Francisco vessel's purpose, citing “commercial confidentiality.”  —The Coast Guard on Wednesday visited the mysterious “Google barge” floating in San Francisco Bay, but the agency would not reveal anything about the tech giant's hush-hush vessel.

Google mulls graphical Google+ ads, counts clicks on notifications in monthly actives figure  —  Why Google+ Doesn't Need Ads  —  Google Inc. this week unleashed a slew of updates to its Google+ social-networking service and hinted that ads were coming.  —  Since Google unveiled …