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Apple asked EPEAT, the electronics standards setting group, to pull its 39 certified desktop computers, monitors and laptops, which included past versions of the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, off the list of green products late last month, Robert Frisbee, CEO of EPEAT told CIO Journal. EPEAT, created through funding by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and manufacturers, awards products a seal to certify they are recyclable and designed to maximize energy efficiency and minimize environmental harm.

Apple today gave developers the same version of the software that will be released to consumers later this month.

The data obtained by law enforcement in some requests included location information, text messages and “cell tower dumps” that include any calls made through a tower for a certain period of time. The carriers say the information is given away in response to warrants or emergencies where someone is in “imminent” danger. “There is no comprehensive reporting of these information requests anywhere,” Markey’s office said in a statement. “This is the first ever accounting of this.” According to a May 29 letter, AT&T said it responds to roughly 230 emergency requests a day for kidnappings, missing persons and attempted suicides and similar incidents, with 100 full-time workers responding to requests 24 hours a day.

Birss ruled that Samsung's Galaxy Tab family of tablets do not imitate iPad, meaning violate Apple's registered design -- they're not "cool enough" and "do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design".

Judge Laura Swain in U.S. District Court in the southern district of New York ruled Monday that TV broadcasters' lawsuits against Dish can proceed in California, while letting some of Dish's claims in a related case proceed in New York. Dish and the broadcasters are fighting over an ad-skipping feature called "Auto Hop" and an accompanying automatic recording function introduced this spring on a new Dish DVR.

Microsoft's Tami Reller has announced that Windows 8 will Release to Manufacturing (RTM) in the first week on August, with a release in late October to retail stores. Speaking at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference in Canada, Reller revealed that the company is "on track" to finishing the final copy of Windows 8 in early August. General availability, when the software and devices are available in stores, is expected in late October according to Reller.

The surging use of cell surveillance was also reflected in the bills the wireless carriers reported sending to law enforcement agencies to cover their costs in some of the tracking operations. AT&T, for one, said it collected $8.3 million last year compared with $2.8 million in 2007, and other carriers reported similar increases in billings.

The ads don't waste time bashing the iPhone. Instead, they focus on what the Galaxy S III can do with some (funny) real-world examples. Samsung is playing up a feature called All Share that lets you instantly beam photos you shoot to other Galaxy S III phones. The iPhone can't do that, but it's getting a similar feature with the iOS 6 upgrade in the fall.

We're releasing Android 4.1 in AOSP today.

We told you about Lady Gaga and her jump into social networking with the site “Little Monsters.” The site has been in private beta, but users all over the globe can now sign up.

RT @Techmeme: Microsoft shows off USB stick capable of bringing Windows 8 to older machines (@bwreedbgr / BGR) http ...

"We are trying to make absolutely clear we are not going to leave any space uncovered to Apple," said an exuberant Ballmer in a 30-minute interview after addressing some 16,000 partners at the company's annual Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto. "We are not. No space uncovered that is Apple’s.

The fine is expected to be the largest penalty ever levied on a single company by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. It offers the latest sign of the FTC's stepped-up approach to policing online privacy violations, coming just six months after The Wall Street Journal reported on Google's practices.

Google is expected to pay a $22.5 million fine, the largest in the history of the Federal Trade Commission, for bypassing the privacy settings of users of Apple's Safari Web browser.

Exclusive: Microsoft's Ballmer Throws Down Gauntlet Against Apple | "We are trying to make absolutely clear we are n...

So, here’s how you can make a poor man’s iPad Mini simulator: take a screenshot on your iPad, then view the screenshot on the iPad but rotate the device. This shrinks the screenshot to fit — almost exactly the same reduction in size as this purported iPad Mini.

Over at the xda-developers forums, kornyone writes that he was able to unlock the device and install a launcher — in this case, CyanogenMod's Trebuchet — which let him access his full catalog of apps. In the post and accompanying video he states that he controlled the device with an external USB keyboard and mouse, and describes Netflix as a particular standout, with the app streaming 1080p video to his television.

"I believe that ultimately censorship fails," said Schmidt, when asked about whether the Chinese government's censorship of the Internet can be sustained. "China's the only government that's engaged in active, dynamic censorship. They're not shy about it."

A report released on Monday from investment bank Moody's revealed that Apple leads a list of technology U.S. companies holding overseas cash with some $74 billion, up from $64 billion in December and $35 billion at the end of 2010.

The latest beta version of Google Chrome adds two new APIs that allow web developers to do a few interesting things. They can write web apps that will use your computer’s mic or camera without a plugin. Apps can also take advantage of video game controllers plugged into your PC.

The websites charge about $10 (£6.45) to register an individual device so that it can run iOS6 beta software.

As many as 5% of free mobile apps use an "aggressive" ad network to make money, according to Lookout, a San Francisco-based mobile security company.

When Spotify’s own version hit the App Store in May, you would be excused for thinking this would be the last we’d see of Petriv’s efforts, but it seems not. His project has now been accepted as a Kickstarter project, and he’s attempting to reach $5,000 in funding by August 8 to take his app closer to creation:

RT @gigaom: Dropbox offers pro users twice the space as competition heats up

RT @gigaom: City of SF won’t buy Macs without EPEAT certification

RT @gigaom: China gets the new iPad on July 20

RT @mashable: Yoga instructor at Facebook fired for banning phones in class [Corrected Link]

RT @karaswisher: Bitly Raises $15M Led by Khosla Ventures