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Report claims Google in talks to acquire WhatsApp for $1 billion

Google is in talks to acquire cross-platform messaging application WhatsApp, claims a Digital Trend report.

Google and WhatsApp have been talking for "four or five weeks," according to Digital Trends, citing a person who claims to have knowledge of the negotiations. So far, WhatsApp has been able to push the acquisition price to nearly $1 billion by "playing hardball," the source says.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging applications available to mobile users. The app allows users on almost any mobile platform -- including Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone -- to send instant … Read more

Power Grab: Turbos vs. Superchargers (CNET On Cars, Episode 15)

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Got a lot of email from you about turbos and superchargers, the purposes and differences of each. Not surprising, since there are a lot of both showing up in all kinds of cars these days, not just in hot rides. So this week we lay out the difference by walking you through some cutaway engines.

We're pretty smart about the data on our computers and phones these days, but most people do not give enough thought to the fact that … Read more

iRadio could be better for music labels

CNET Update requires an Internet connection:

Not only is Apple on a mission to launch iRadio this summer, but CNET's Paul Sloan reports that iRadio could be a better payoff for music labels than Pandora.

Also in Friday's tech rundown, get a glimpse of future tech coming from the research team at AT&T Labs. I got to demo a few of the company's latest projects, including a device that blocks calls when you're deep in thought.

If you don't like the idea of an Xbox that requires an Internet connection, a Microsoft games … Read more

T-Mobile kicks off preorders for iPhone 5

T-Mobile subscribers can now preorder the iPhone 5 before it officially hits stores in another week.

The carrier's Web page lists all varieties of the iPhone for preorder -- the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models in either black or white. Consumers will also find their purchase options different from the ones offered by Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint.

With T-Mobile's new contract-free, subsidy-free plan, buyers have two choices: They can shell out the full nonsubsidized cost of the iPhone up front, or they can contribute a small down payment and then pay off the full cost in … Read more

Friday Poll: Will you adopt Facebook Home?

Facebook is looking to get cozy with the home and lock screens of your Android device. The just-announced Facebook Home is a suite of apps that replaces your normal home and lock screens with social-media content. It puts Facebook in your face every time you power up your phone.

Users will get notifications from friends, plus photos, status updates, and link shares. It pretty much serves up all your Facebook information without you having to ask for it or open up a separate app.

Users will be able download Facebook Home from Google Play, like a regular app. It does require a special confirmation to install, since it makes such radical changes to the existing look of your screens.… Read more

Microsoft Monocles? Redmond to make its own Google Glass?

The world is moving very quickly.

And where it's moving very quickly to is a place where we'll all look quite ridiculous and talk seemingly to ourselves as we walk down the street.

This is the heaven envisioned by Google, with its fascinating Google Glass. Yes, the glasses that make people look like no one's idea of a dinner date on the subway.

Many questions have emerged since these glasses invaded the public gaze. "Should one ban people wearing them while driving?" was one question. "How will Newt Gingrich look when wearing them?" … Read more

Facebook wants to rule the phone with Home

CNET Update can't stop saying Chat Head:

Facebook didn't want to make its own phone. Instead, it made Home, a skin for Android that changes the phone's interface. Today's Update explains what Home does and which phones can download it.

For more on Facebook Home:

- Details on the HTC First, the AT&T phone with Home pre-installed

- Overview of the Facebook Home interface

- Facebook uses Chat Heads for messaging

Watch CNET Update in the video above, and subscribe to the podcast via the links below.

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iTunes (HD) | iTunes (SD) | … Read more

Facebook Home: Bold experiment or extreme bloatware?

Hard-core Facebook devotees may find Home to be the smartphone experience they've been looking for.

For everyone else, Facebook's new Android skin may be little better than bloatware (although, to be fair, it's not forced on people). In particular, Android purists will want to stay clear.

Facebook took a major step today toward staking its claim in the mobile field with Home, which is a family of apps wrapped up in a custom user interface. It's an ambitious step, and likely a smart one, given that the alternative would have been the boneheaded move of building … Read more

Facebook Home launches April 12 on HTC, Samsung phones

Facebook Home will be available for download on April 12, but only on select phones to start with.

Facebook today launched Home, a family of apps and a skin that runs over Android. The company said users will be able to download the user interface from the Google Play store, and that links would be found in its Facebook and messenger apps.

The HTC phones that will initially get access to the app are the upcoming HTC One and the One X and One X+.

On the Samsung side, the Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2, and upcoming Galaxy S4 will … Read more

Bill Gates and Paul Allen together again

Thirty-two years ago, Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen took a picture together, surrounded by the computers of the time. It was 1981 and Ronald Reagan had just become president of the U.S. In June of that year, Microsoft incorporated in Washington state, and in August IBM introduced its first PC with Microsoft's fledgling operating system, MS-DOS. At the beginning of 1981, Microsoft had 129 employees. By 2012, Microsoft had more than 97,000 employees and MS-DOS still lives on.

The picture of the older Gates and Allen was taken in Seattle at the Living Computer Museum, … Read more