While many Apple customers are happy with their iPhones than other smartphones, they're not as a happy as they were last year, according to a report.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index reported that Apple receive a score of 81 out of a 100, but that Apple had dropped two points from its 2012 position, according to CNET. The iPhone also seems to be the lowest-scoring Apple device, since most of its other devices scored 86 percent. The ACSI is a based on the results of 70,000 U.S. residents responding to a survey measuring customer satisfaction.

Not surprisingly, Motorola, Nokia and Samsung customer satisfaction rose. Samsung's satisfaction rose the highest at 7 percent to 76 percent. Although these numbers are good signs for other smartphone manufacturers, the ASCI is quick to dampen the mood.

Apple is offering trade-ins, credit card rebates and discounts on iPhones to make them more affordable for its Indian customers.

Students can trade-in their iPhones for $144, while non-students will be given a $130 credit, according to ZDNet. Those buying an iPhone with an American Express get a 10 percent rebate for buying an iPhone 4, 4S or 5 before June 10.

About 100 million of Facebook users aren't even human -- instead they are pets, brands or companies, according to a recent study.

eMarketer, an Internet market research company, reported that only 889.3 million of Facebook's 1 billion users are real people, and the social network won't truly reach 1 billion human users until next year, according to the Daily Mail.

One famous nonhuman would be Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg's dog, Beast, who has more than a million fans. Another interesting page is of the Facebook foxes, a family of foxes that live on the Facebook campus, that has more than 8,000 likes. The page features numerous pictures of baby foxes, or kits that members of the community share. 

Animals are compelling subjects (see Biggest Loser, Doxie Edition to see what we mean), but there are probably far more companies, brands and goofy Facebook pages that would qualify as nonhuman. For every Grumpy Cat, there are probably four or five brands of liquor or shoes vying for eyeballs.

A new survey says that Facebook employees love their boss Mark Zuckerberg.

As he led his company to a widely-touted initial public offering last year, his approval rating was 95 percent, according to Mashable. However, a year later (and Facebook's IPO being a roller coaster ride of disappointment and relief)  is approval rating is 99 percent.

Glassdoor, a job site, compiled the data and found that Zuckerberg hit 100 percent in three of the four quarters, but his popularity waned in the first three months of 2013 and dropped to 96 percent, thus making an average of 99 percent.

The IPO priced shares at $38 and while Facebook stock hasn't hit that price since, it has managed to rise from the depths of the teens to a more reasonable $26.25 (as of this writing.) It seems that until recently, the company was totally behind Zuckerberg. Only the numbers for April, May and June will show us if the decline of confidence continues.

Facebook and Twitter launched applications Thursday for Google Glass even though the Google eyewear isn't even available to mainstream consumers.

If you owe someone a few hundred dollars, why not send it to them over Gmail? Now that Google has integrated Google Wallet with the web mail system, it's now entirely possible to give and receive cash.

Users can hover over the attachment link until it offers the $ icon, which means you can now attach a dollar amount you want to send, according to Travis Green, a product manager for Google Wallet. For those worried about scams and fraud, apparently Google Wallet Purchase Protection covers you 100 percent -- provided you report it within six months and it doesn't cover Google Play, Google Drive or YouTube. The new payments via Gmail will be rolled out in the next few months.

Of course, sending money via email isn't free. Google Wallet charges a 2.9 percent fee, with a minimum 30 cents, to send money from a credit or debit card. There's also a $10,000 a day transaction limit, but Google says this could change. Users also must be 18 years old.

It's certainly a convenient way to pay someone, especially someone who doesn't have a payment system in place, but with an almost 3 percent fee we feel that it may be worth a trip to visit your friend to give him or her $200 in cash rather than pay $6 to send it via Gmail.

The U.S. Justice Department is now calling Apple the "ringmaster" in an e-book price-fixing conspiracy, according to reports.

The agency found an e-mail from Apple's late chief Steve Jobs to James Murdoch of News Corporation, which said “Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99," according to the New York Times.

Google chief executive officer Larry Page decided to share his 14-year battle with vocal cord nerve problems and subsequent vocal paralysis on Google+.

Page posted on this personal page about his medical problem and that after several consultations with specialist that he's in recovery. From the post

Thankfully, after some initial recovery I’m fully able to do all I need to at home and at work, though my voice is softer than before. . . .In seeing different specialists, I met one doctor — Dr. Steven Zeitels from the Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital Voice Center — who is really excited about the potential to improve vocal cord nerve function.  So I’ve arranged to fund a significant research program through the Voice Health Institute, which he will lead. 

Although Page didn't reveal the donation size, sources said the gift was more than $20 million, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

A year ago, Page missed a few company events including shareholder meetings because of his vocal problems. Last June, it was finally revealed that Page had lost his voice. The reason, however, was cloaked in mystery, causing many to speculate the condition was anything from laryngitis to spasmodic dysphonia. It also caused some analysts to question his ability to lead.

Now armed with a voice, Page will be able to lead and represent Google in all its annual and shareholder meetings.

A new report says that the new iPhone 5S may do away with the home button and replace it with sapphire crystal and add a new fingerprint sensor.

A Taiwanese news site released the report from a supply chain source, according to Cult of Mac. Sapphire crystal is already used in the iPhone, as a camera lens on the back, and is reputed to be almost as hard as a diamond. The home button now be "capacitive touch home button" with a fingerprint sensor.

Now Google users can spy on how the coastline of Dubai, Brazilian rainforest or Las Vegas urban landscape has change in the last 28 years with Google Earth Engine.

Google went through more than 2 million pictures, or 90 terabytes of data, from Landsat (a joint mission between the USGS and NASA) to find images for every place on Earth without clouds to obscure the view, according to the official Google blog. The search engine then pieced them together to create a giant image for each year.  

Facebook announced that 1 million Android users have downloaded its Facebook Home app in the last month.

While a million is a decent number, it's only a fraction of Facebook's 1 billion members, according to CNET. The report goes on to say that 144.7 million Android smartphones sold in the last three months of 2012, and again, a million is only a fraction of that number.

 Facebook is close to paying $1 billion for Israeli social mapping and traffic applications Waze, according to Israeli reports.

The price for the new smartphone with Facebook Home has dropped $99 to only 99 cents.

 It's been a month since Facebook unveiled the new HTC First with Facebook Home and some are saying it's not a good sign that the "Facebook phone" has been subject to price-slashing, according to Mashable. The smartphone was selling for $99.99 last month with a two-year contract with AT&T. Now the price is down to 99 cents.

Foxconn wants to be less reliant on tech titan Apple, but still wants to be part of its empire by helping create the new Apple TV.

News about the Taiwanese manufacturer wanting to diversify its business could be seen as troubling to Apple investors, according to GigaOm, but Foxconn may instead follow in the footsteps of HTC and Asustek and create its own electronic devices.

According to the New York Times, Foxconn's fortunes are too tied with Apple which contributes about 40 percent of its business. When Apple orders declined, Foxconn shares dropped. All of which made Foxconn realize it has to focus on its own brand of flat-screen TVs.

However, there is some nugget in the story that shows that it's been the reliance on the iPad and iPhone that hurt Foxconn and that the Taiwanese company is really looking for more ways to integrate television manufacturing. GigaOm is suggesting that Foxconn is looking to create the new Apple TV, the long-rumored device that will complete the Apple family.

The chief executive of Tesla Motors said he is in talks with Google and may add driverless technology to its vehicles. 

Elon Musk, 41, said that cars that can drive themselves is the next logical step in car evolution, according to Bloomberg News. 

Facebook launched Trusted Contacts, a new password recovery feature where Facebook friends can be contacted if a user needs access to his or account.

It was originally launched back in 2011 as Trusted Friends, but now it's been rebranded and updated, according to the Next Web. Users can choose between three to five friends to contact in case of a forgotten password or a security measure to stop others from hacking into one's account. Users can choose those three to five friends at any time from Facebook's security settings.

Of course, Facebook also wants users to choose a trusted person, such as a sibling, parent or best friend that can be reached without using Facebook. You would need to be able to communicate to someone via email or phone rather than the social network -- because you don't have your password. The social network also wants users to choose three or more contacts just in case a couple of those contacts can't be reached.

The idea of using friends to help you access Facebook is a lot more attractive than answering a few security questions that one immediately forgets.

Google has hired computer games veteran Noah Falstein to become its Chief Game Designer.

But wait, you may ask, since when does Google have game designers? Apparently Google is working on a "major gaming project," according to TechCrunch. It's unknown if the move to create games is based on making Google Glass a singular experience or simply that Google has decided to focus on gaming.

A previous version of his LinkedIn profile said his position was Chief Game Designer at Android Play Studio, but was switched recently to Chief Game Designer at Google. This isn't a surprise since Google created the Android platform and Google Play, which sells games and other apps. Falstein also has a history of creating "Serious Games" which means game techniques for apps other than for "pure entertainment," TechCrunch reported.

A new J.C. Penney commercial seems to ask customers to forgive them for making unpopular changes under its last chief executive, the former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson.

It’s no secret, recently JCPenney changed. Some changes you liked and some you didn’t, but what matters with mistakes is what we learn. We learned a very simple thing: to listen to you, to hear what you need, to make your life more beautiful. Come back to J.C. Penney. We heard you.

Facebook revenue rose from $1.06 billion last year to $1.46 billion for the first three months of 2013, but the social network has also seen a decline of 11 million U.S. users.

Mobile ads accounted for 30 percent of advertising revenue and a rise of from 23 percent in the last three months of 2012, according to the Guardian. From March 2012 to March 2013 Facebook lost 11 million U.S. users, market research company Nielsen reported.

While Facebook's users are growing at a snail's pace, they are still more than 1.1 billion monthly and 665 million daily users, according to AllThingsD. However, unlike the United States and Europe, most of the growth is coming from the developing world -- such as Asian and Africa.

In the Facebook earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg also said that Facebook Home would likely increase usage because the skin allows users to check their Facebook feed often. From Business Insider: 

We used to open the Facebook app maybe 10 to 15 times per day. But we probably check our phones over a hundred times a day. So with Home, you can see fresh news and content from people and topics you care about every time you turn on your screen. It really brings your phone to life and provides with a completely new experience.

It also turns regular users into superusers, which we suspect is part of Facebook's plan. It needs more "engagement" or steady supply of ad impressions to keep the ad dollars flowing. Part of what is likely counteracting the loss of U.S. users is to superengage the ones that already exist.

Facebook rejected an advertisement from a group criticizing Fwd.us, the new political action group started by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and other Silicon Valley bigwigs.

The social network nixed an ad from CREDO Mobile, a mobile carrier "that lobbies on progressive issues," according to the Washington Post. CREDO mobile launched a campaign to protest ads funded by Fwd.us that support Keystone XL Pipeline proponent Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C.

The most recent CREDO Mobile ad shows an image of Mark Zuckerberg’s face next to the words “Hey Zuck, Pull your ads supporting Keystone XL.” The ad also uses the Obama for America logo to represent the “O” in Keystone.

The ad was rejected by Facebook which said that the ad violates Facebook policies because it uses Zuckerberg’s image. Facebook also said in a statement that it often rejects ads with Zuckerberg's image because it tends "to be confusing for users, and frequently misleading. Users may click on the ad thinking it is a message from Mark or from Facebook, not understanding that they are actually in an advertisement seeking to take advantage of Mark’s image.” 

Apple wants to be an integral part of your car and its new iOS 7 is created to do just that.

Apple's Maps and Siri will be embedded into its in-car integration, according to 9to5Mac. The news comes from "multiple people familiar" with the endeavor. Apparently Apple will place the iOS's Maps and Siri into cars. 

The move could be a death knell to those companies who sell iPhone accessories for cars, but open up a lot more opportunities for Apple. Instead of an accessory, the iPhone could be plugged in directly to a car and effectively edge out the middle men. Then as the iPhone is plugged in a "redesigned version" of Apple Maps will appear on the car's built-in display -- replacing the GPS systems found on many cars. Siri would be used to control the functions and drivers would remain hands-free. Already Apple has a new "Eyes-Free" Siri service for cars, so that step is already available. It's actually a very genius move on Apple's part to free up a new segment of the market for itself and squash an existing one.

However, consumers can't get too excited. Even though it incorporates iOS 7, it could be years away before it can be integrated into new cars. The reason? Because it takes years of car testing simply to get a product and so far we're not sure Apple even has a viable partner.  Ford and GM already have a competing console interface, so Apple would have to look past those car makers.

If this report is accurate, it will also mean that Android needs to develop a suitable competitor as well. This means in the next few years computer-car integration will be light years from where it is now.

In case you haven't seen Twitter, Facebook or Google+ lately, the Google Glass prototypes have been delivered and owners can't wait to show them off in self-portraits.

There have been numerous tweets and breathless blogposts about Google Glass, voice-activated glasses that connect to the Internet and can take photos and videos, according to the Guardian. But nothing seems to make it clearer than the number of "selfies," or pictures users take of themselves, plastered all over social media, according to the Atlantic.

Perusing Instagram and Hashgram, there were a lot of photos, likely because the device itself can take pictures or photos. Others using #throughglass posted photos taken by Google Glass which varied from cloudy to clear -- but seriously, one was of a urinal,  so who really wanted that to be clear? 

Already a bar in Seattle has banned the glasses and we're sure others will fear for their sense of privacy which can be invaded as easily as someone looking at another person. Soon we will all have our chance to test out the wearable computer accessories when the first Google Glass non-prototypes go on sale next year. 

Mark Zuckerberg has renounced his six-figure salary for $1 a year. But don't feel sorry for the Facebook founder because he cashed in $2.3 billion of stock last year.

The $- a-year salary was announced in a security filing late last week, which mentioned that Zuckerberg was giving up his $500,000 base salary for his new pittance. However, he did receive $1.9 million in compensation last year, according to Business Insider. Facebook second-in-command Sheryl Sandberg received $26.2 million in compensation and cashed out $822 million.

We reported that Zuckerberg  made $13 billion on the Facebook IPO last year, and then sold shares to pay his $1.1 billion tax bill, so he's obviously not hurting or having a less than lavish lifestyle.The $1 a year salary, however, is a symbolic gesture that brings to mind Apple's former chief executive Steve Jobs or Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

While $1 sounds low, Zuckerberg will also still have plenty of perks, including access to corporate jets, which cost Facebook $1.2 million in 2012, according to Quartz.

A new study reports that Google search terms can help predict whether the stock market will rise or fall.

The study from Warwick Business School in the United Kingdom and Boston University, title, "Quantifying Trading Behavior in Financial Markets Using Google Trends," shows that search terms can predict if the Dow Jones industrial average will rise or fall in the next week, according to the New York Times. The study was published last week in Nature's Scientific Reports.

Google Trends shows the popularity of search terms, which is why its data is considered indicative of future behavior. Researchers tracked 98 search terms between 2004 and 2011, including investment-related words and non-investment terms. They found that "debt" was the leading signal of a sell-off of shares, according to the report.

However, those looking for a hot tip via search terms may find that results aren't always accurate. Google Trends also reported a higher rate of flu than actually existed because of a rise in media coverage and discussions -- all of which showed up online. That means that sometimes a Google search term is only just that, and not a harbinger of doom.

Facebook will buy startup Parse for $85 million, according to a report.

Parse, which was founded in 2011 and helps companies build mobile applications across different platforms, had already raised $7 million and was going through its second round of funding when Facebook stepped in, according to the Wall Street Journal which used unnamed sources.

The startup was on the way to raising $50 million when Facebook offered $85 million in cash and stock. Apparently startup Dropbox made an offer but was outbid by the social network.

From the WSJ story:

Douglas Purdy, Facebook's head of platform, said in a blog post that the social network acquired Parse to "enable developers to rapidly build apps that span mobile platforms and devices." Facebook declined comment beyond the blog post.

It seems that cable companies and other Google Fiber rivals are trying hard to compete with the search giant's superfast Internet service, including offering free Wi-Fi and boosting Internet speeds.

Google has already done a favor for those living in its Google Fiber test cities -- Kansas City, Provo, Utah and Austin -- by making broadband companies compete, according to the MIT Technology Review. Cable behemoths such as Time Warner Cable have boosted its broadband speed to compete with Google Fiber's one-gigabit connection in Kansas City. In Austin, AT&T has also said that it would match Google Fiber's speed, and Time Warner Cable will also give Wi-Fi to existing customers in public areas.

Analysts say that cable profit on broadband approaches something close to 97 percent, so there's plenty of room for savings for the consumer. The only question is will cable companies start getting competitive with price?

We should all be thankful for Google Fiber, especially if our towns are selected, because not only are we part of a grand experiment but it's also a chance to give cable companies a much needed dose of competition.

Google released its biannual figures on government requests for censorship, called the Transparency Report, from July to December 2012 and found that request rose 20 percent from the period before. 

The average value of a Facebook fan is $174.17, according to social media marketing firm,

Syncapse published the report that, among other things, calculates the fan value by product spending, loyalty and possible recommendations to others, according to the New York Times. The company’s chief executive, Michael Scissons, also said that Syncapse also calculates media and messaging, fans attracting more fans and "emotional draw" to brands.

Syncapse surveyed 2,000 people to come up with its data, including news that 11 percent of Facebook brand fans were more likely to continue using the brands than non-Facebookers -- even those with lower incomes. However Scissons said that luxury brands may find "higher fan value" on LinkedIn, and conversely more inexpensive goods may work on Facebook. "The key is to experiment and find out the facts for your own individual brand," he said.

We don't believe the dollar amount can be exact, because the company is trying to quantify emotion, loyalty and attraction. If we all could do that, we would come up with an exact bride price or dowry to ensure a successful marriage.

Google bought personalized news feed startup Wavii for more than $30 million, reports said.

The news came from a reliable source, according to TechCrunch, which announced the news of the sale of the Seattle-based company. The 25-person company was founded by Adrian Aoun and will now be headed to Mountain View to work on Google's Knowledge Graph team.

Apple was in talks to also acquire the company, but Google got the company after a bidding war.

Called a "natural language processor," Wavii basically aggregates news stories after a user makes several choices about the news he or she wants.

However, Wavii's semantic search knowledge is also helpful to Google.

The $30 million number may seem a bit high, but not that strange when you realize it's the same sum paid for news aggregator Summly by Yahoo.

Apple is rolling out its settlement of a class-action lawsuit that pays iPhone 4 users $15 for "misrepresenting" the quality of its mobile phone antenna.

The iPhone 4 antenna problem was a PR nightmare for Apple simply because the company at first didn't take the complaints seriously. The company than gave out "bumpers" for its AT&T iPhone 4s  to alleviate the problem, but then its new Verizon iPhones came out with the same problem. Consumer Reports refused to recommend the iPhone 4 for this reason.

The settlement is part of a $53 million settlement regarding its warranty practices. The first checks showed up Monday on social media.

"My iPhone 4 settlement check is here! Buying a boat and sailing the world. Thanks, lawyers!" tweeted Brad Kelly on Monday.

While $15 may not sound like much, think of it as Apple's way of apologizing for the inconvenience plus it's buying you lunch.

Apple's iCloud servers have experienced several outages in the last few months, including one Tuesday morning, with many users complaining about the problem on social media.

Apple confirmed the Tuesday morning outage, saying that users experienced problems with their accounts and sign in for both iCloud and iTunes purchases, according to 9to5Mac. Over the last few months, iCloud has been having issues with Mail, third-party apps and Find my iPhone. Some experience random error messages, while others have been asked to reset their passwords. From CultofMac:

It’s slightly worrying how common these iCloud issues are becoming. Last Friday, iCloud email was down for more than 24 hours, while a week prior, iMessage and FaceTime suffered outages. Some users also had issues accessing these services on April 9.

Anything whispered or commanded to Apple's virtual assistant can stay on Apple servers for up to two years, according to reports.

An Apple spokeswoman confirmed how long it keeps Siri data, Wired reported. However, spokeswoman Trudy Muller said the data on Apple servers is anonymized and only the company only collects the sound bytes to improve the virtual assistant.

Apple apparently assigns voice files a randomized number to represent an individual user and represents the user in voice analysis. After six months, Apple will take away a user number from the clip and delete the number. However, it still keeps the voice files for 18 or more months.

The American Civil Liberties Union wants Apple to link to its Siri privacy policy so users know that a person could reveal "sensitive things about you, your family or business" before they buy an Apple device.

Apple being forthright about how it uses its customer information would be a boost for consumer protection. However, Apple is notorious for not being a very forthright company. In fact, it seems to revel in its secrecy. So, can Apple be the proverbial leopard that changes its spots? Probably not.

Several Facebook fan pages have appeared honoring Boston Marathon bomber suspect  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and social network has taken them down.

It's not unusual for criminal suspects to gain following and fame on Facebook, according to the Daily Dot.

Previous Facebook fan pages including several for Aurora, Colo. shooter James Holmes and former Los Angeles police officer Christopher who went on a killing spree.

Reddit's founder called on tech leaders to help defeat a cybersecurity bill that could compromise online privacy, including attempting to call Google chief Larry Page.

In a video, Alexis Ohanian made a plea to the leaders of Facebook, Google and Twitter to fight the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) now in Congress, according to Wired. “I’m hoping that all of these tech companies take the stand that their privacy policies matter, their users’ privacy matters, and no legislation like CISPA should take that away,” Ohanian, said in a video posted Wednesday. 

Google is getting its Terminal G at the Mineta San Jose International Airport, according to reports.

The San Jose City Council voted earlier this week to "grant delegated authority" to airport staff to finalize a 50-year lease for Signature Flight Support, which also serves as Google's executive aircraft service, according to the city. The $82-million private development on 29 acres will be built on the west side of the airport with construction starting this fall.

The development is a partnership with Blue City Holdings, San Jose, a corporation representing the personal aircraft of Google's principals. 

Apple shares dropped to a level not seen since the death of founder and former chief Steve Jobs.

Shares dropped $10.75 Thursday and closed at $392.05, only about 4 percent from the price of stock the day Jobs died, according to USA Today. That's a 44 percent drop from Apple's high of $702.10 on Sept. 19, 2012. This means that $291 billion has just disappeared into the Wall Street ether.

Analysts say that the reason for the drop is based on Jobs's death because he was the company's visionary. Now, Apple is "becoming just another stock," Frank Longman, an analyst at Brean Capital, told USA Today. "The phenomenon is unwinding."

Virginia Tech professor of finance Ugur Lel agreed. "It's not just a short-term reaction, but a (cause) of long-term declines in stock prices," he said.

Google's first-quarter profits topped estimates by hitting $11.58 a share, with its core business doing well and boosted by its search and video properties.

However, sales rose to $11 billion, but didn't meet the analysts' predicted $11.2 billion, Bloomberg reported. While that doesn't sound like much negative in a sea of positive, Bloomberg's headline "Google Sales Miss Estimates as Ad Fees Per Click Fall" seemed to take it in a much darker direction. The search titan's ad-clicks declined 4 percent after another 6 percent decline the quarter before. Part of the reason for Google's good earnings was based on a federal credit that reduced its tax rate to 8 percent versus 18 percent the year before.

Google-owned sites revenue rose 18 percent to $8.64 billion, according to Benjamin Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie Securities USA. “They’re managing to maintain a lot of strength in that core business across geographies," he told Bloomberg.

Amazon music downloads have grown and taken a bite out of Apple's iTunes.

In 2012, Amazon had 22 percent of paid music downloads in the United States, up 7 percent from 2011, according to the New York Times. The study, from the market research firm NPD Group, also reported that Apple's iTunes still has 63 percent of all paid downloads. The report said 44 million Americans purchased at least one song or album last year.

Facebook hired Richard Williamson, the former Apple manager in charge of its mapping apps who was fired last November, according to reports.

Williamson joined Facebook earlier this month as a manager within its mobile software group, according to Bloomberg News. The news comes from two unnamed sources familiar with the hiring.

Williamson, one of the original members of the iPhone team, was fired in a management reorganization after Apple Maps was derided for its inaccuracies and publicly apologized for by Apple chief Tim Cook. Google Maps was then offered as an alternative iOS app. Other former Applers have been hired at Facebook, including former iPhone manager Greg Novick, software designers Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris, along with other software engineers -- many of whom played a part in Facebook's recent Home.

Facebook declined to comment on the story.

Google's mail and application services are unavailable to some users.
 
Google's apps status dashboard shows that its Mail, Drive file storage service and office-application services are "disrupted.'' Its administrator control panel, which lets companies manage their Google applications, is completely down.
 
The disruptions started affecting people worldwide around 5 a.m. California time.
 
Google Inc. did not immediately respond to questions about the cause of the outage and how many people were affected. 

It released a statement to CNBC that read:  We are currently investigating issues with Gmail, Drive and Docs as well as the Google Apps Control Panel. 

According to Google's apps status webpage, the outage is affecting less than .007 percent of Gmail users.

Those impacted by the outage received the following message:

"Google Drive encountered an error. If reloading the page doesn't help, please report the error. We're sorry, a server error occurred. Please wait a bit and try reloading your spreadsheet. To learn more about Google Drive, please visit our help center."

CNBC said users impacted by the outage can try logging on to iGoogle.com and logging in with their Gmail password. If your Gmail account isn't in one of the columns, try clicking the "Add Gadget" icon in the upper-right hand corner of the iGoogle webpage. Search for "Gmail" and click "add it now" to your iGoogle page. Then return to your iGoogle page and see if it appears.

 

Apple informed retail stores, AppleCare employees and authorized resellers that some third-generation Apple TVs have WiFi issues, according to a report.

If your Apple TV can't seem to locate a WiFi network, join one or keeps dropping connections, you may have one of these defective units, according to 9to5 Mac.  

Google launched the new Google Glass details Tuesday, offering a 5 mega-pixel camera with 720p video playback, a full-day battery, 16GB of storage and 802.11b/g WiFi.

But the biggest news isn't about the technology at all, but that developers won't be allowed to place ads on or create paid apps for the new tech specs.

Google Glass is considered a Web app, and Google's terms of service prohibit ads and charging any fees to download apps or buy virtual goods, according to The Verge. Google said that it could change this in the future, but for now this is how Google Glass will be.  

Law enforcement is rethinking sobriety checkpoints  when they find that many people are using Facebook and Twitter to tell others where they are. 

Behavio announced that its engineers are now heading to Google, but the search titan said it did not buy the company.

Behavio which creates Android apps that detect "social and behavioral trends" in mobile communities, according to TechCrunch. The team, which hails from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, started their project Funf with $355,000 from the Knight Foundation. The team will be shutting down its closed alpha program but will still maintain its Funf open-source project -- all while at Google apparently.

"We believe that our digital experiences should be better connected with the way we experience the world, and we couldn't be happier to be able to continue building out our vision within Google," the company said on its website.

It would seem that while Behavio believed in Funf, the team wisely realized that grants only go so far. It's nice to have the sheer magnitude of Google money behind one's experiments.

A federal judge said that Apple and Google's Motorola Mobility unit aren't interested in settling their patent infringement lawsuits but using litigation as a business strategy.