With their ever-greater communication, tracking and transactional abilities, smartphones are becoming increasingly dangerous in the wrong hands. That's what makes this story in The New York Times about phones in prisons all the more alarming. The paper found one inmate at a Georgia state prison -- serving time for counterfeiting --"friending" strangers on Facebook and organizing strikes among fellow inmates. (Makes you wonder who's really stalking you and your family on Facebook.) As a result of the proliferation of phones in prisons, "The physical boundaries that we thought protected us no longer work," Martin Horn, a former …

Paying homage to Facebook's increasing cultural and business might, CNet considers the company's hard-wired corporate philosophy, or what it calls the "Facebook Way." As CNet notes, that philosophy is intimately tied to the mind of its young CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, "and the company's roots as a tiny cadre of coders in a college dorm." For one, Facebook has fought to maintain the feel of a small start-up, "combating the potential for corporate sprawl and carefully constructing an environment that embraces minimalism to the point of forced scarcity." Says Facebook product manager Justin Shaffer: "It really doesn't feel …

Digg founder Kevin Rose is launching a video newsletter named Foundat.io/n, featuring industry commentary, product reviews, and early access to pre-launched Web sites. Notably, Rose is charging $3.99 a month for early access to the videos. (A week after subscribers get access to the content, it will be posted online for all to stream.) As TechCrunch notes, the debut newsletter includes an interview with Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey who reveals that the micro-blogger platform was almost named Jittter or Twitch. Why did Rose choose a paid model for Foundat.io/n? "I'm spending money on equipment, …

Stateside, which smartphone operating system has the greatest market share? According to new analysis from Nielsen, the race "might still be too close to call." Technically, Apple has a majority share with 28.6% of the market, followed by RIM with a 26.1% share and Android, which despite its recent surges, still trails in third place with a 25.8% share. Yet, as ReadWriteWeb notes, the margin of error on Nielsen's report places RIM BlackBerry in a statistical tie for both Apple's top spot and Android's third spot. That said, "The stats are remarkably different when looked at in …

Directly challenging Apple, Google is reportedly planning a digital newsstand for Android users. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the two companies are competing "to become the dominant distributor of newspapers and magazines for tablet computers and other mobile devices." Google's e-newsstand is expected to include apps from media companies offering versions of their publications for smartphones or tablets running Android. "Google hopes to launch it in part to provide a more consistent experience for consumers who want to read periodicals on Android devices, and to help publishers collect payment for their apps," The Journal reports, citing …

Facebook has reportedly raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs -- along with Russia's Digital Sky Technologies -- at a valuation of $50 billion. "The stake by Goldman Sachs, considered one of Wall Street's savviest investors, signals the increasing might of Facebook, which has already been bearing down on giants like Google," writes The New York Times' Dealbook. What's more, "The Wall Street company's involvement will likely increase speculation about whether Facebook might undergo pressure to have an initial public offering sooner than previously planned," notes All Facebook.