With the future of social media on the line, Facebook and Google are butting heads over what might otherwise be considered a simple glitch. "A video that was posted earlier today on YouTube by a Google employee depicts an unusual behavior, with Google+ invite links that have been shared with Facebook friends not showing up in the news feeds of other users, despite appearing to do so once posted," explains CNet -- which was unable to recreate the problem itself. "Users are curious, and they're asking us if we know about this," Bradley Horowitz, who oversees Google's communications products …

As further fallout from Google's plan to buy Motorola Mobility, Bloomberg suggests that Research In Motion has the most to lose from the deal. It would leave the BlackBerry maker "a smaller player relative to rivals, which may force it to strike an alliance with another company or sell itself to remain competitive," Bloomberg writes, citing comments from Will Stofega, a program director at consultant IDC. According to Stofega, with Google's cash and software expertise, Motorola may present a direct challenge to RIM in its traditional stronghold, i.e., the corporate market. "Now that Motorola has a big …

By far its biggest acquisition to date, Google's agreement to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion has set off a wave of speculation and conspiracy theories. "In a nutshell, [Google CEO Larry] Page is betting on mobility as the future of computing," writes ZDNet. "Either Google really wants to get into the Android manufacturing business -- putting it into direct competition with Apple ... Or Google really wants the 17,000 patents and 7,000 patents pending that Motorola has assembled over the years," Fortune writes. "Across the world, there are Android-based original equipment managers that …

It worked for Facebook. Now, Google+ is getting into the gaming business. Not only is the move likely to send the social network's usage numbers soaring, but it gives game companies the chance to diversify and reduce their dependence on Facebook.  "This is a big step for Google+, because social networks and gaming seem to go hand-in-hand (just take a look at Facebook and Farmville)," writes PCWorld. "It's also a big step in Google+'s rivalry with Facebook, because Facebook has long been the social network of choice in gaming." "Coupled with the launch is an aggressive plan to …

This spring, news broke that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission might subject Google to a broad antitrust investigation related to its search dominance. Six weeks ago, the FTC, in conjunction with several state attorneys general, served Google with broad subpoenas. Now, as The Wall Street Journal reports, antitrust regulators are focusing their investigation on key areas of Google's business, including Android and Web-search related services. The question is whether Google prevents smartphone manufacturers that use mobile operating system from using competitors' services, sources tell WSJ. "That sounds related to allegations made by Skyhook Wireless, which has sued Google, …

Marking the end of era, Nokia reportedly plans to stop selling both feature phones and Symbian-based smartphones in the United States and Canada.  In an interview with AllThingsD, the head of Nokia's U.S. subsidiary said the move will let the company focus its energies on the Windows Phone."When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc., " explained Nokia President Chris Weber. "The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn't matter what we do (elsewhere)." As such, "The US division (of Nokia) is putting …

Can lightning strike twice? Digg, the high-flying-to-floundering social news site, just added new features, which some are suggesting could have big potential.  "Want to see the freshest videos about technology that have been validated enough to get 10 or more Diggs but aren't so popular that they've been dugg more than 50 times?" asks ReadWriteWeb. Per the new changes, "Those kinds of views are now easy to set up and read in real time." "The idea is to make it easier to spot stories before they become popular, offering a more 'instant' view of the stories landing in …

If harder to measure in monetary terms, there's great value in getting Americans of all means online. It's therefore encouraging to hear that Comcast will begin offering discounted Web access and home computers to families that meet certain requirements by the start of the 2011-12 school year. To be clear, the move isn't a benevolent one on Comcast's part. Rather, per its deal to buy NBC Universal earlier this year, regulators required that the cable and Web provider help low-income households get online. "It seems that Comcast can afford the new program," NPR reports. "When it reported earnings …

As the U.S. economy quivered on Friday, tech watchers seemed preoccupied with a seemingly trivial change to Gmail, which allows users to now preview messages in their inbox using a new feature called Preview Pane. "It may be familiar to those who have accessed Gmail via a mobile app, but now it's coming to standard Web browsers too," The Next Web writes. "Google's still doing a fine job of ignoring Gcal's inability to routinely provide alerts and notifications to select users (nah, we're not bitter), but at least the Gmail team seems to be firing on all …

Google thinks its rivals are conspiring against Android. Saying as much, Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond has charged Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and "other companies" with colluding against Android by buying up essential patents. "Microsoft and Apple have always been at each other's throats, so when they get into bed together you have to start wondering what's going on," Drummond wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. "Google just tossed gas on the already heated patent wars over smart-phone technologies," writes The Los Angeles Times. But, as Reuters reports, Microsoft's general counsel Brad Smith …