Brandon LeBlanc / The Windows Blog:
How we really designed the look and feel of Windows 7  —  An inaccurate quote has been floating around the Internet today about the design origins of Windows 7 and whether its look and feel was “borrowed” from Mac OS X. Unfortunately this came from a Microsoft employee […]

Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Facebook iPhone Dev Quits Project Over Apple Tyranny  —  “My decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple’s policies.”  - Joe Hewitt  —  Facebook developer Joe Hewitt, the man behind the immensely popular Facebook application for iPhone, has just tweeted that he’s done with the project:

Damiano Beltrami / The Local:
His Facebook Status Now?  ‘Charges Dropped’  —  Where’s my pancakes, read Rodney Bradford’s Facebook page, in a message typed on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 11:49 a.m., from a computer in his father’s apartment in Harlem.  —  At the time, the sentence, written in indecipherable street slang …

Jonny Evans / 9 to 5 Mac:
Windows 7 was “inspired by Mac”, Microsoft admits  —  We reckon a lot of Mac users will be dashing across to read PCR’s interview with Microsoft’s partner group manager, Simon Aldous, today, if only to look in black and white at his admission that Windows 7 was “inspired” […]

Brian X. Chen / Gadget Lab:
Apple App Store Takes Tiny Step Toward Transparency  —  Taking a small step toward openness, Apple rolls out a brand new way for iPhone developers to track the status of apps they’ve submitted to the App Store.  —  While it may not sound like much, the move gives iPhone […]

Dan Primack / PE Hub Blog:
3Com Trades: What Is Wrong With This Picture?  —  Hewlett-Packard just announced that it has agreed to buy 3Com Corp. for $7.90 per share, or approximately $2.7 billion.  Two thoughts:  —  1. It’s a good thing the SEC is off for Veteran’s Day, or else it would be busy […]

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Exclusive: Playdom Raises A Huge Round At A Huge Valuation  —  It’s only a day after one of the big three social game developers, Playfish, announced a $400 million acquisition.  —  And today we’ve confirmed that another one, Playdom, has done its own massive deal: $43 million on a $260 million […]

Jonathan Fildes / BBC:
Microsoft disconnects Xbox gamers  —  Thousands of gamers may have been cut off from Microsoft’s online gaming service Xbox Live for modifying their consoles to play pirated games.  —  Online reports suggest that as many as 600,000 gamers may have been affected.

HP Newsroom:
HP to Acquire 3Com for $2.7 Billion  —  Will create networking industry powerhouse with a proven, edge-to-data center set of solutions and global reach PALO ALTO, Calif., and MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Nov. 11, 2009 HP and 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS) (â3Comâ) today announced …

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Current TV Staff Suffer A “Major Bloodbath” As 80 Employees Lose Their Jobs  —  Today is another sobering day for the tech and media world.  Current TV has confirmed that 80 people are being let go, leaving the company with 300 employees worldwide.  We heard multiple reports of significant layoffs at […]