Introducing Outlook.com - Modern Email for the Next Billion Mailboxes  —  Recently, we talked about how we've reimagined cloud services for Windows 8 and Windows Phone.  And we described new apps for Windows 8, updates to SkyDrive, and how cloud services power the new Office Preview …

Samsung Goes Public With Excluded Evidence to Undercut Apple's Design Claims  —  Denied the opportunity to make the argument in court that the design of the original iPhone was derived from Sony concepts, Samsung has decided to make it in the court of public opinion.

Our approach to Trust & Safety and private information  —  We want to take a moment to explain some of our general Trust and Safety policies and procedures, and address the specific case at hand that has unfolded over the past 48-hours (we normally don't address matters pertaining …

Google Buys Facebook Ad Start-Up Wildfire  —  Google tried and failed to buy its way into the social ad business a couple months ago.  This time it got it done: The ad giant has picked up Wildfire, which helps marketers manage their presence on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Google suspends Nexus Q launch, will send free dev devices to pre-order customers  —  Google has just let us know that it is delaying the launch of the Nexus Q as it works to improve the device.  The Nexus Q order page on Google Play has been taken down, and now simply leaves customers with a note that the device “is coming soon.”

Digg launches redesign and new app with editorial curation, no comments  —  Digg's “Rethought' redesign after its acquisition by Betaworks has just gone live, just one day after the company showed off its v1 preview that was the result of a very rapid 6-week redesign process.

The Daily Lays Off a Third of Its Staff  —  The Daily, News Corp.'s attempt to create a digital newspaper for the iPad age, is laying off nearly a third of its staff.  —  The publisher plans to tell its workers today that it will fire 50 of its 170 employees, according to people familiar with The Daily's plans.

Hulu Plus Arrives on Apple TV  —  Keeping up with the latest episode of Family Guy, MasterChef and New Girl on Hulu Plus just got a little easier.  And my living room just got a whole lot happier.  —  Hulu Plus arrives on Apple TV today.  —  To start watching Hulu Plus shows instantly, find “Hulu Plus” on the Apple TV home screen.

FCC to Verizon: Don't block tethering apps.  Verizon settles for $1.25M  —  Verizon customers will soon have the option of downloading Android apps that let them turn their phone into a mobile hotspot -apps that Verizon blocked initially because it didn't want customers circumventing its $20 a month mobile hot spot fee.

Dropbox Reports User Accounts Were Hijacked, Adds New Security Features  —  Several weeks ago, reports started to trickle out that a number of Dropbox users were under attack from spam.  Since then, Dropbox has been investigating those attacks (with some help from a third-party) …

Apple design chief Sir Jonathan Ive: iPhone was ‘nearly axed’  —  Apple's groundbreaking iPhone was nearly axed before it hit the shelves, its design chief Sir Jonathan Ive has revealed.  —  Apple's groundbreaking iPhone was nearly axed before it hit the shelves, its design chief Sir Jonathan Ive has revealed.

Microsoft to Google: Enough With the Diversionary Tactics, Let's Hug It Out  —  Microsoft is more than happy to take Google and its Motorola subsidiary to the mat over their alleged patent infringement, but it would much prefer to settle its differences with the companies more amicably.

FTC votes to penalize Google $22.5 million for Safari cookies  —  (Reuters) - Regulators will require Google Inc to pay a civil penalty of $22.5 million to settle charges that it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using Apple Inc's Safari browser, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Decide.com taps the power of the Web with crowdsourced product recommendations  —  Web shopping site Decide.com has injected a large dose of ‘social’ into its product recommendations feature after it launched ‘Decide Score’, a new ranking system that recommends products by aggregating ratings and reviews from across the Web.

Statistical Probability That Mitt Romney's New Twitter Followers Are Just Normal Users: 0%  —  It is virtually impossible that the former governor's recent spike in Twitter followers resulted from normal activity on the social network.  —  Reuters.  —  Last week Zach Green of 140Elect …

Amazon Updates Cloud Player: Scan & Match Imports, 256 Kbps Audio Upgrades, Premium Accounts  —  Amazon just updated its Cloud Player music storage service with a number of interesting new features, including an iTunes Match-like scan and match technology that allows Amazon to just scan …