Apple starts selling unlocked, SIM-free iPhone 5s in the U.S.  —  Apple today released an unlocked GSM version of the iPhone 5s on its online store for the United States.  This version of the iPhone 5s includes the same exact capabilities of the non-unlocked models, but does not include a SIM card.

U.S. To Consider Cellphone Use On Planes  —  Proposal Would Allow for Calls Above 10,000 Feet  —  The Federal Communications Commission will propose allowing passengers to use their cellphones on airplanes, people familiar with the matter said.  —  While phone use would still …

What Mozilla is doing with its big pile of new money (Q&A)  —  Mozilla executive chair Mitchell Baker speaking earlier this year.  —  (Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)  —  Mozilla has embarked on an expensive new effort to build an entirely new mobile operating system …

Xbox One Teardown  —  After eight years, Microsoft has finally released a proper successor to the Xbox 360—the Xbox One.  Will this be the One Xbox?  Follow us as we journey into the tower of Microsoft's new console—coming to you straight from Mordor New Zealand!  Step 1 — Xbox One Teardown This is the One.

Google invites devs over for a Chromecast hackathon plus SDK show-and-tell, updates official app  —  Google has slowly trickled out more authorized commercial apps that can stream to its Chromecast dongle since launch (Hulu, Pandora, and most recently HBO Go) but what about homebrew?

Dropbox updated with new design for iOS 7, AirDrop, and more  —  As first shown by 9to5Mac, Dropbox has updated its iOS app with an all-new design for iOS 7 and several new feature and improvements.  The update brings a streamlined iPad interface, improvements to the sharing process …

Introducing node.js Tools for Visual Studio  —  Just when you thought it couldn't be crazier in Redmond, today they are introducing node.js Tools for Visual Studio!  —  NTVS runs inside VS2012 or VS2013.  Some node.js enthusiasts had forked PTVS and begun some spikes of node tools for VS …

Two Harvard University Alum Win Salesforce $1M Hackathon Prize At Dreamforce For Mobile Service To Create Reports  —  Two developers who met at Harvard University 15 years ago, are the winners of the Salesforce.com $1 million hackathon for its service to create mobile reports for sales people using the Salesforce.com platform.

Google Play update showcases big-screen optimized apps on tablets  —  As promised a month or so ago, Google Play is implementing a few changes today that'll push tablet-optimized apps to the forefront.  That is, if you're using a device not quite small enough to be considered a phone …

Here's how Bitcoin charmed Washington  —  The pair of Bitcoin hearings held this week by Senate committees could have been a disaster for the Bitcoin community.  After all, Bitcoin first came to mainstream attention in 2011 when Gawker reported on Silk Road, an anonymous online marketplace …

Foxconn invests $40 million in Pennsylvania to tap research, talent  —  Don't expect any U.S.-made iPhones yet, but electronics supplier Foxconn Technology Group is expanding its manufacturing presence in the nation with a new $40 million investment to tap research and talent in Pennsylvania.

Automatically rising/falling Stir Kinect smart desk now on sale for $3890, ships February  —  Smart Sit-Stand Desk Goes on Sale for $3,900  —  My fingertips rise and fall about an inch over six seconds, as if my hands were resting on the chest of a sleeping person.  But I'm touching a desk, not a human.

Deezer to launch in the USA in 2014 with a partner, potentially Microsoft  —  2014 will be the year of US expansion for Deezer, LeFigaro confirmed finally this week.  After a week of rumors around Deezer's US launch, as well as a rumor that Microsoft would acquiredthe online music streaming service …

Qualcomm quakes: Sources say layoffs at mobile chip giant  —  Qualcomm, the mobile chip giant that eats competitors like Pac Man munches berries, is cleaning up its middle management ranks and is said to be making more cuts across the board in order to rein in expenses.

Music Tech Company The Echo Nest Expands Into Ad Targeting  —  The Echo Nest, a “music intelligence” company whose technology powers recommendations in services like Rdio and Clear Channel's iHeartRadio, is now looking to help partners make money from advertising as well.

AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile will stop charging customers for spam texts  —  Three of the top four US wireless companies — AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile — have agreed to stop billing American customers for the spam texts that millions of people have been tricked into receiving and sending out in recent years.

Raspberry Pi now includes Mathematica and Wolfram Language for free  —  Wolfram wants to make it easier for would-be programmers everywhere to start learning how to code, and it's announced a new partnership today that'll have every Raspberry Pi include at no extra cost a copy of Mathematica …

Sprint dead last in Consumer Reports' phone service survey  —  The Sprint innovation center in Burlingame, Calif.  —  Sprint is eating everyone's dust.  —  The nation's third-largest wireless carrier by subscriber base sank to the bottom of a survey conducted by Consumer Reports over cell phone service.

Alleged Silk Road Owner Loses Bail Request; Prosecutors Say He Ordered Six Murders  —  Federal prosecutors in New York dropped a bombshell in their response to a bail request from alleged Silk Road owner Ross Ulbricht.  —  In a filing to the court today in New York, they say that Ulbricht …

Motorola inks deal with 3D Systems to build its modular ‘Ara’ smartphones  —  When Motorola threw its weight behind Phonebloks' modular smartphone concept, it pretty much signaled to the rest of the industry that the Google company was dead serious about customization.

Google is building a Chrome app-based development environment called Spark  —  Google's Chromium team never ceases to amaze.  Its latest project is a Chrome app-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) codenamed Spark.  —  The new app was first noted by developer …

Video Trailers Debut On The App Store With ‘Clumsy Ninja’  —  Apple is featuring Clumsy Ninja, an iOS game that was first announced at the iPhone 5 keynote in 2012, with a custom page on the App Store that, alongside a description, features a 1-minute trailer for the game.