Exclusive Interview: Steve Ballmer on His Retirement as Microsoft CEO … REDMOND, Wash.— Steve Ballmer paced his corner office on a foggy January morning here, listening through loudspeakers to his directors' voices on a call that would set in motion the end of his 13-year reign as Microsoft Corp.'s chief executive.

Anonymous hacker Jeremy Hammond sentenced to 10 years for Stratfor leak  —  Hammond calls his sentencing a ‘vengeful, spiteful act’ by US authorities eager to put a chill on political hacking  —  Jeremy Hammond, the Anonymous hacktivist who released millions of emails relating …

Phil Schiller testifies that Samsung's copying “weakens the view that the world has for Apple”  —  Schiller Says Samsung Tarnished Apple Brand  —  Apple's top marketing honcho Phil Schiller said Samsung Electronics' infringement of its design and technology patents …

Tablet dollars: Android passed Apple for first time in Q3  —  Apple's iPad now trails Android in both units shipped AND revenues, says Morgan Stanley.  —  FORTUNE — Apple (AAPL) investors have long taken comfort in the fact that even if its share of tablet shipments fell behind Android's …

Lyft and Sidecar moving from requesting donations to requiring minimum fares in California  —  Lyft also will instate fares in California, ditching donation system  —  Despite receiving a cease and desist letter from Los Angeles, Lyft said it plans to continue to operate.  (Lyft)

Exclusive: FBI warns of U.S. government breaches by Anonymous hackers  —  (Reuters) - Activist hackers linked to the collective known as Anonymous have secretly accessed U.S. government computers in multiple agencies and stolen sensitive information in a campaign that began almost a year ago, the FBI warned this week.

Online flash sale retailer Zulily surges 71% on its Nasdaq debut  —  Zulily Surges in Market Debut  —  It may not be a globally popular social network or a highly regarded human resources software company.  But Zulily is finding plenty of demand from investors all the same.

Google Play Music finally hits iOS with a free month of All Access and programmable radio in 21 countries  —  After much anticipation, Google finally released its native Google Play Music app for iOS today.  The All Access and Radio service was originally announced at Google IO in May with the promise …

PlayStation 4 Teardown  —  A television game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, first announced February 20, 2013 and released November 15, 2013.  Step 1 — PlayStation 4 Teardown We'd like to send out a big thank you to our friends at Chipworks for hosting our remote teardown of the newest Sony Play-device, the Play-Doh.

Some Retina iPad Minis Showing Image Retention Issues  —  Some Retina iPad minis are demonstrating image retention issues, as noted by Instapaper creator Marco Arment, who originally developed a grid test to detect the problem in Retina MacBook Pros.  —  Image retention was first cited …

Pinterest Will Launch a Travel Channel to Push Users from Inspiration to Booking  —  The existing travel category on Pinterest.  / Skift  —  Pinterest will soon launch a section devoted to trip inspiration and planning, Skift has learned from multiple sources.

Could Google or Tencent Beat Facebook to Buying Snapchat?  —  Right now, Snapchat is having its “belle of the ball” moment.  —  The mobile messaging service — which lets users exchange photos and video that disappear after a few seconds — is being courted by Facebook.