Apple's new iPad hits the streets
Apple's next-generation iPad goes on sale, while Yahoo goes on the patent offensive against Facebook. Also: the homeless hot spot controversy at South by Southwest.
week in review Eager iPad shoppers mobbed stores around the world in hopes of getting their hands on Apple's next-generation tablet, which is already sold out online.
Wal-Mart's 24-hour stores in the U.S. got the jump on Apple by selling the tablet a full eight hours before Apple stores even opened. There was limited supply, however. For example, dozens of people lined up at a Wal-Mart in Union City, Calif., which had 40 iPads to sell. And many left disappointed.
At Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York City, hundreds of iPad fans waited in the cold, damp weather, but the first iPad went to a man who had been in line since Monday. Protesters from Change.org were also there with a petition asking Apple for fair and ethical treatment of workers.
About 300 people braved the weather and construction in San Francisco to get the new iPad. To avoid blocking the front of neighboring stores, the company rented out a nearby parking lot, where about 100 shoppers were snaked into a line.
• CNET Review: Speedy, pretty new iPad leads the tablet pack
• 20 apps ready to go for the new iPad
• Why most apps won't be ready for the new iPad
• Who should buy the new iPad
• Apple offering up to $320 for iPad 2 trade-ins
• Apple's new iPad torn apart for science, mystery parts
• Apple accuses Proview of 'misleading' courts over iPad
• Apple shares hit $600 ahead of new iPad release
More headlines
Yahoo sues Facebook over patents; it's war in Silicon Valley
The Web pioneer goes to the mat with a massive patent infringement lawsuit against the social network it once tried to buy.• Fred Amoroso: Is this the man behind Yahoo's patent offensive?
• Why Yahoo's going for the Facebook 'cashectomy' just now
• Yahoo's 10 patents that it claims Facebook infringed
• Yahoo-Facebook: First fisticuffs, then flowers?
Homeless hot spots at SXSW: A manufactured controversy
A few high-profile blog posts have gotten a lot of people upset about a program that might very well be helping people who really need the assistance.• The great SXSW switcheroo: Geeks out, rockers in
Google plans major revamp for search engine
The Web giant has been working on the "next generation of search" over the last couple of years and now it's ready to start rolling it out.• Digg, Milk founder Kevin Rose said to have joined Google
• Google's entertainment strategy is in disarray
• Has Google lost its magic?
RIAA chief: ISPs to start policing copyright by July 12
Comcast, Time Warner, and Verizon are among the ISPs preparing to implement a graduated response to piracy by July, says the music industry's chief lobbyist.• Parker, Fanning: Napster was still better than what we have now
AT&T offers iPhone user a settlement in throttling case
AT&T wants to sit down to talk to the iPhone user who recently won his case against AT&T for slowing down his unlimited data service.• Should I buy iPhone 4S now or wait for iPhone 5?
PayPal takes on Square with credit-card swiping device
"PayPal Here" is a blue, triangle-shaped device that plugs into the headphone jack of a smartphone and lets consumers use credit cards to make mobile payments.• PayPal to launch redesigned digital wallet this spring
• PayPal reverses its ban on 'obscene' e-books
Sprint's Dan Hesse just got a warning notice from his board
A Wall Street Journal story details how the carrier's board is intimately involved in running the company. That's bad news for the guy running the company.• HP's former CEO Leo Apotheker killed WebOS
• Good-bye, cruel Google--an ex-employee's lament
Also of note
• End of the line for AOL Instant Messenger?
• Encyclopaedia Britannica drops print and goes digital only
• Google's Oracle court battle over Android set for April 16