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Even robots like to have fun. NASA's rover on Mars showed off its playful side by snapping a picture of its own shadow. It's the latest self-portrait since the rover, named Opportunity, landed on the red planet in 2004.

In the summer of 2010, Signal Snowboards created the Web series "Every Third Thursday" to showcase the company's experimentation with funky concept boards. Think Science Channel’s “How It’s Made” — except with a lot more sass and a funkier setting.

Facebook's initial public offering is the subject of two congressional inquiries and mounting lawsuits as the social network enters its fifth day of public trading.

Joining the battle to redefine Internet search, Yahoo is taking aim with a new browser enhancement it calls "Axis."

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman has quantified the painful price that must be paid for the missteps of her predecessors as she tries to turn around the Silicon Valley pioneer. The bungling will wipe out 27,000 jobs so HP can save enough money to lift its earnings and invest in the development of more profitable products and service.

Google on Thursday announced an update to its Google Play Store that allows Android users to make in-app subscriptions. The update comes more than year after the Mountain View-based company introduced in-app billing in what was then called the Android Market. “Since the launch, In-app Billing has been extremely successful in helping developers monetize their apps through try-and-buy, virtual goods, upgrades, and other popular business models,” Google said on its developer blog. “Today, 23 of the 24 top-grossing apps in Google Play use In-app Billing, and the total revenue generated from in-app purchases exceeds revenue from traditional app purchases.” In-app subscriptions will allow developers to sell monthly or annual subscriptions from within their apps. “Developers just set the price and

If Facebook bought Instagram so it didn't have to compete with it, why did the social network just put out a photo-sharing app just like Instagram?

(Reuters) - The repercussions from Facebook's botched initial public offering deepened on Thursday as Fidelity Investments found itself dealing with "thousands" of customers with order problems and Knight Capital demanded tens of millions of dollars in compensation from Nasdaq for trading-related losses. ...

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - World No.2 telecoms equipment maker Huawei has called for EU antitrust regulators to intervene in a dispute with InterDigital, saying the U.S.-based firm is demanding "exploitative" fees for use of its 3G mobile phone patents. Huawei filed a complaint with the European Commission on Wednesday, after failing to reach a deal with the wireless technology patent holder, making it the latest company to take a patent grievance to the EU watchdog. "Huawei ... ...

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A German regional court ruled in a hearing on Thursday that Motorola Mobility infringed Microsoft patents by offering the option on its mobile phones to send a longer text in a batch of several messages. "We're pleased the court agreed today that Motorola has infringed Microsoft's intellectual property, and we hope Motorola will be willing to join other Android device makers by taking a license to our patents," Microsoft said in a statement, referring to Google's Android operating system for mobile phones. ...

Now that Facebook's a big nasty corporation, it's not only attracted a lot of bad press, it's inspired more direct action.�In the run-up to the IPO and its messy aftermath we've read a few declarations of�expatriatism, including one today from The New Yorker's Steve Coll. In no way does this indicate a coming mass exodus. These people aren't starting movements, rallying the people of the Internet like Quit Facebook Day tried (and failed) to do back in 2010. ...

Even robots like to have fun. NASA's rover on Mars showed off its playful side by snapping a picture of its own shadow. It's the latest self-portrait since the rover, named Opportunity, landed on the red planet in 2004.

Unlike Steve Jobs who operated like a non-boss boss, running the company as the creative, yet kind of horrible figurehead, Tim Cook is more staid, responsible and reasonable. You know, like a normal boss.

Police officers may soon find themselves patrolling the streets in next-generation vehicles that combine Knight Rider with modern technology to create a cruiser that can handle a good amount of police work on its own. Unveiled recently by Motorola Solutions, the 2012 Chevrolet Caprice PPV and Detective vehicle combines cutting-edge technology with General Motors’s pedigree to create a product that is as much a partner as it is a car. Included in Motorola’s custom Caprice is a voice-controlled computer system, as many as eight cameras, 4G LTE connectivity and a host of functionality that will help cops patrol the streets more efficiently and effectively. For example, the cameras strategically placed around the vehicle can scan an officer’s surroundings at all

PARIS (Reuters) - Save up now for that new iPhone: the era of free or cut-price phones when signing a new mobile phone contract may be soon be over in Europe. Telecom companies, facing a profit squeeze from fierce competition and regulatory pressures, are taking the knife to the generous subsidies that allow new mobile customers to get the latest smartphones on the cheap. ...

For all the rumors surrounding Apple’s upcoming HDTV, very few well-sourced reports have emerged regarding the high-definition flat-screen television that has market leaders responding even before any official “iTV” is unveiled. Recent claims suggest Apple has an aluminum HDTV in the works powered by iOS and Siri voice controls, but further details are conflicting. A number of analysts have backed away from the idea of an Apple television recently, but late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’s exclamation that he “cracked” the TV conundrum will ensure that rumors continue to swirl. According to some new speculation, however, Apple’s upcoming “iTV” might not be a TV at all. In a recent blog post, Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey puts forth an interesting concept he

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The fallout from Facebook Inc's messy initial public offering widened on Wednesday as shareholders sued the social network and its bankers while a trading firm revealed a massive loss on the shares and threatened to seek "remedies." The Nasdaq stock exchange also came under further pressure as a source close to the situation told Reuters that NYSE Euronext had opened discussions with Facebook about a potential stock listing there. Nasdaq also faces litigation from angry investors. ...

(Reuters) - Analysts said Hewlett Packard Co's plan to cut jobs was a step in the right direction but the PC maker will have to do more to regain investors' confidence. Shares of the world's No. 1 personal computer maker were up 6 percent at $22.26 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. "While we certainly don't believe HP has resolved all their issues, we do see the company moving in the right direction," RBC Capital Markets LLC analyst Amit Daryanani wrote in a note to clients. ...

BGR called for the death of the “phablet” this past February when we reviewed Samsung’s mammoth Galaxy Note, but the market has spoken loud and clear. End-user sales of Samsung’s first true smartphone-tablet hybrid topped 5 million units within about five months, placing Samsung well on its way to achieving the company’s goal of selling 10 million units in 2012. According to a new report from market research firm ABI, Samsung’s Galaxy Note is just the beginning. Shipments of smartphone-tablet hybrids like the Samsung Galaxy Note and LG Optimus Vu will surpass 208 million handsets annually in 2015 according to a recent report published by ABI Research. We now sit at “the dawn of the phablet era” according to the