A full 69% of online consumers who visit Pinterest have found an item they’ve bought or wanted to buy, reports AllFacebook, citing new data from Bizrate Insights. Compare that with the 40% of Facebook users who expressed a similar desire to spend, and Pinterest’s power becomes clear. “Pinterest has proven to be a more reliable ecommerce conversation starter than the social network,” AllFacebook writes. The study also found that an overwhelming percentage of people visit Pinterest over Facebook to get purchasing inspiration. 

Google head Larry Page said this week that he is "hopeful" his company can "work well" with antitrust regulators, and resolve probes of its business at home and abroad. Yet, the fact that Page was speaking at all overshadowed anything he said. These were Page’s first public comments in months, and followed Google’s announcement in June that Page had lost his voice and wouldn't be able to speak publicly until July. As The Wall Street Journal reports, “The issue prompted several corporate governance experts to ask that the company speak up over the issue of a leader's health.”

To compete with the iPad and other top tablets, Microsoft had promised to keep the pricing of its Surface tablets in line with the competition. Keeping its word, it was revealed this week that the Surface will range in price from $499 to $699. “This pricing is in line with Apple’s iPad, which starts at $499 and ranges up to $699 for the Wi-Fi-only versions,” TechCrunch writes. Yet, TC still thinks Microsoft’s goal of selling 3-to-5 million tablets in the fourth quarter rather “ambitious.” 

Foursquare this week is rolling out a new homepage for users who aren’t logged in, which prominently features a search box. “In doing so, Foursquare takes aim at Yelp as its chief rival in the local space,” says Search Engine Land. “And in some ways the move completes Foursquare’s evolution from a more narrow and novelty oriented friend finder, game and check-in app to a genuine local search utility with … ‘mainstream’ ambitions and appeal.” For the move, SEL credits former Google engineer Andrew Hogue, who Foursquare hired late last year. 

In an effort to please younger, tech-savvy consumers, Microsoft might be alienating enterprise users with its latest Windows operating system. So suggests The Wall Street Journal, citing analysts. “Some corporate customers worry Microsoft has made its workplace workhorse too unfamiliar,” writes WSJ. In fact, "This is going to be the first time in a decade and half that [companies are] actually going to have to teach someone to use Windows," says Stephen Kleynhans, an analyst at Gartner. 

In Europe, Google is reportedly about to be ordered to backtrack on recent changes to its European privacy policy. “The French data protection commissioner, the CNIL, will be holding a press conference on Tuesday to announce the results of its deliberations together with the data protection chiefs of the other European Union countries,” the Guardian reports, citing sources. As the Guardian reported last week, they have determined that Google's changes breached EU law because they did not give users any chance to opt out of the changes. 

Tvinci just raised $4.5 million to scale its Web TV app platform business. Where will the startup find its industry partners? For one, “TV and telco operators are busy considering the range of innovative options for mobile live and on-demand viewing, social sharing, remote controlling and other scenarios,” paidContent reports. Tvinci recently debuted a new version of its “OTT” (over-the-top) white-label platform, which is already used by a number of notable international clients, including LibertyGlobal’s Cello and Finland’s Elisa. 

The “Do Not Track” movement -- which seeks to help consumers block the measurement of their online activity -- is under assault. Yes, as The New York Times reports, letters -- from members of the House of Representatives, and the Association of National Advertisers – are flying fast and furious. One of the anti-movement’s biggest targets is Microsoft, which recently made Do Not Track the default option in its forthcoming Internet Explorer 10 browser. 

Over the past year, U.S. mobile networks handled over 1 trillion megabytes of data, according to new findings from CTIA. In other words, mobile data traffic more than doubled over that period. “Driving that spike, a big jump in the number of gadgets transmitting data over the nation’s wireless networks,” AllThingsD notes. As of June 2012, CTIA found 131 million smartphones and wireless PDAs in active use -- 37% more than the year prior. The data also detected 21.6 million wireless-enabled tablets, laptops and modems. 

When it comes to marketing new products, Microsoft has historically been happy to spend gobs of money. Yet, Forbes was still shocked to learn that the software giant plans to roll out Windows 8 with a marketing campaign estimated at $1.5 to $1.8 billion. “Yes, billion with a ‘B,’” it jokes. “That’s the biggest product launch in the history of the industry; it dwarfs the $200 million Microsoft spent to market Windows 95.”