China's Alibaba files for IPO that could be tech industry's biggest ever  —  Chinese e-commerce colossus Alibaba on Tuesday filed for an initial public offering that is poised to be one of the largest in history and will create a mighty rival to Silicon Valley's tech giants.

Google Maps apps add lane directions, ability to save maps for offline use, Uber integration, more  —  Get on the road, go off the grid, or plan the perfect weekend with the Google Maps app  —  When your life is moving fast, you need tools to keep up with your pace.

App.net is “profitable and self-sustaining”, but will no longer have any full-time employees  —  App.net State of the Union  —  As many are aware, the first major round of subscription renewals from the original App.net launch happened a few weeks ago.

Apple Jumps to Second Place in Online Retail … In the crusade to capture clicks and pull in dollars from online sales, Amazon remains the clear frontrunner.  But 2013 e-commerce sales data from trade publication Internet Retailer reveals that the race is heating up.

H.P. Makes $1 Billion Bet on Open Cloud  —  Hewlett-Packard is making its big bet on cloud computing, with a significant change of its own products and business, and the biggest endorsement yet of an open source alternative to the systems of Amazon and Google.

Foresighted?  Epson Moverio Smart Glasses Go on Sale for $700 … Google Glass may be the most widely known wearable tech today, but Google isn't the only company trying to convince you that wearing a computer on your face is a good idea.  Epson, best known for its printers and projectors …

ARM Expects ~1B Entry Level Smartphones in 2018, $20 Smartphones Coming This Year  —  When we first started covering mobile, nearly every silicon vendor I spoke with issued the same statement: eventually, all phones are smartphones.  Continued scaling on process technology …

Google debuts Classroom, a free Apps for Education tool to help teachers create and collect assignments  —  Google today launched a new free tool called Classroom as part of its Google Apps for Education suite.  In short, Classroom helps teachers create and organize assignments …

FireEye to Acquire nPulse in Deal Valued at $70 Million  —  FireEye, the hot Internet security company that went public last year and then quickly set about acquiring other companies, has announced another deal.  —  The company says it will pay a combined $70 million in cash and stock …

Iran bans WhatsApp due to ‘Jewish ownership’  —  The ban seems to have triggered an open dispute with the government, which has been attempting to implement moderate social policies.  —  An Iranian censor has banned the use of the WhatsApp messaging application because it is owned by an “American Zionist, according to news reports.

VSCO, a Digital Photography Company, Raises $40 Million From Accel Partners  —  Chances are, if you have used Instagram, you have come across the hashtag #VSCO or #VSCOCam.  —  Both refer to a feature-rich camera application developed by a Bay Area start-up, Visual Supply Company …

Secret Is Working On A Private Chat Feature  —  Anonyfish has been the only way to move a Secret conversation offline or somewhere with real names.  But anonymous sharing app Secret plans to release its own native private chat feature, founders David Bytow and Chrys Bader-Wechseler confirmed today on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt NY.

Oculus VR Created A Research Group To Advance Virtual Reality  —  Oculus VR was recently all over the news because it was acquired by Facebook for $2 billion.  But Oculus VR is still operating independently and trying to figure out the future of virtual reality.

As Twitter's backers deemphasize MAUs, Wall Street remains unconvinced  —  Wall Street Is Lording One Number Over Twitter.  Is It the Right One?  —  If you're one of Twitter's 255 million monthly active users or MAUs, you may have noticed company insiders sub-tweeting Wall Street.

FCC commissioner says FCC “invented” new authority to regulate Internet  —  FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly.  —  The FCC's Michael O'Rielly, one of two Republican commissioners since being sworn into office last November, today warned against the commission using what he called “newly invented authority to regulate the Internet.”

Microsoft kicks off Office Mix customer preview  —  Summary: Microsoft is opening up a customer preview of its newest Office app, a PowerPoint-based app known as Mix, to more testers.  —  Microsoft has opened the testing floodgates for its newest Office app, known as Office Mix.

Intel unloads bevy of new Chromebooks; previews ‘Education’ reference design  —  Summary: All in all, Intel is gearing up to release at least 20 Chromebooks by the end of the year.  —  SAN FRANCISCO—Intel is putting further stock into its Chromebook investment with a slew …

Google to Acquire Online Attribution Firm Adometry  —  Google wants to help advertisers get a better sense of how their online ad campaigns work collectively.  So the company is acquiring Adometry, an Austin-Tx.-based firm that specializes in online ad attribution-i.e. the science …

App Annie Now Lets App Developers Track Ads, App Store Optimization  —  Mobile app analytics platform App Annie is expanding itself product lineup today with features designed to help publishers better analyze their advertising and App Store Optimization (ASO) efforts.

Flux Emerges From Google X And Nabs $8M To Help Build Eco-Friendly Buildings  —  Google X, the search giant's lab that has dedicated its work to new, unchartered moonshot concepts, has made a name for itself through its work on self-driving cars, smart contact lenses and dozens of other projects worthy of their own sci-fi novels.