Despite the fear of consumer backlash, marketers will be intrigued by some "extreme-scale analytics" software that Raytheon has created, which can track people's movements, and predict future behavior by mining social data. “Using [the software] it is possible to gain an entire snapshot of a person's life -- their friends, the places they visit charted on a map -- in little more than a few clicks of a button,” The Guardian reports. 

It appears as if a single glitch in Facebook Connect brought down several top Web properties on Thursday, including MSNBC.com, CNN and Yelp. “Upon visiting the sites, users were redirected to an error page inside of the Facebook Web site,” AllThingsD reports. Half joking, AllThingsD quips: “Now we may know how powerful Facebook really is.” 

Back in December, AllThingsD reported that Facebook was in talks to buy Microsoft’s Atlas Solutions ad-serving product. Now, almost exactly two month later, sources are telling AdAge a similar story. “Microsoft's attempt to find a new home for its Atlas ad-serving business may finally be coming to an end,” it reports. “The company is expected to announce a deal to sell it to Facebook as early as next week.” 

Despite years of handwringing from the entertainment industry, YouTube users can still choose between hundreds of illegally uploaded full-length feature films. More surprising, however, is the that fact that studios can easily block their films by using YouTube’s Content ID program to identify their copyrighted content. Why don’t they? It’s a “mystery,” writes The Wall Street Journal. 

In the wake of several high-profile hacking attacks on The New York Times and other media outlets, President Obama is reportedly preparing to issue an executive order on the matter cybersecurity. Citing sources, Bloomberg reports that the order “sets up a voluntary program of cybersecurity standards for companies operating vital U.S. infrastructure.” 

Renowned hedge fund manager David Einhorn is suing Apple in an effort to block a move that would eliminate preferred shares, The New York Times’ Dealbook blog reports. “In a letter to fellow stockholders, Mr. Einhorn said the move to amend the company’s charter would unnecessarily limit the technology giant’s ability to create value for shareholders and called on them for support,” according to Dealbook. 

Tumblr this week is rolling out real-time notifications to users’ dashboards, so that, as TechCrunch explains, “you [the reader] have even more cat- and fashion-related content thrown in your face.” Despite its sarcastic tone, TechCrunch thinks the change is a smart move. “The thing that has kept Tumblr from being seen as a blogging platform is the fact that it stands pretty still, so an infusion of real-time will be interesting.” 

Twitter on Thursday rolled out several search improvement for mobile users. “Across the board users will be treated to improved search results for photos, tweets and accounts, along with a preview section for the Discover tab that takes a peek at the latest trends and activity,” Engadget reports. The changes, as Engadget explains, are part of a larger effort to create a “more uniform user experience.” 

Down from 45% in 2012, ABI Research is predicting an annual smartphone growth rate of 44% for 2013. If accurate, 1.4 billion smartphones will be in use around the world by the end of the year. To be more precise, the research group expects 798 million operational Android phones; 294 million phones running Apple’s iOS; and 45 million running Windows Phone. 

This week, Google won what Reuters is calling a “landmark” court case in Australia. The country’s High Court ruled that Google had not engaged in misleading behavior with its sponsored links, and that it was not responsible for messages conveyed by paid advertisers. “The ruling helps Internet providers and search engines argue that they are not publishers, but simply carriers of information provided by third parties,” Reuters reports.