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Google has launched Google Now, a new search interface which improves the search results based on the time and location of the search. It is available as part of Android Jelly Bean, the latest iteration of its mobile OS, and works by using the time, search history and location data to provide better search results.

Microsoft Corp admitted its largest acquisition in the Internet sector was effectively worthless and wiped out any profit for the last quarter, as it announced a $6.2 billion charge to write down the value of an online advertising agency it bought five years ago. The announcement came as a surprise, but did not shock investors, who had largely forgotten Microsoft's purchase of aQuantive in 2007, which was initially expected to boost Microsoft's online advertising revenue and rival Google Inc's purchase of DoubleClick.

A New York judge has ordered Twitter to give prosecutors tweets and account information from an Occupy Wall Street protester who was among 700 people arrested during a march on the Brooklyn Bridge in October.

Google's Nexus Q is many thing to many people. A miniature Death Star, an alien being, necessary but overwrought or, umm, a media streamer. It also has an extra, hidden function: it works as a magic 8-ball.

Executives at the Internet company are pinning much of the blame on Nasdaq, according to several people close to the company and its underwriters, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of continuing shareholder lawsuits. Tensions remain so high that Facebook is still considering switching exchanges and is weighing the costs of such a move, these people said.

AOL promoted its chief financial officer, Artie Minson, Jr., to the newly created role of chief operating officer as part of a reorganization of the company's operations.

On most days, Twitter is now generating the majority of its revenue from ads shown to its users on mobile gadgets, rather than from ads on Twitter.com, company executives said. One key reason: People who see a Twitter ad on their phones are more likely to click or interact with it in some way, which is how Twitter gets paid for advertisements.

Google moved to take on Amazon.com in the fast-growing market for what the industry calls cloud services, allowing companies to run their applications and store data on computers managed by the Internet giant.

A court in New Zealand has ruled that the search warrants used by New Zealand police when they raided the home of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom were invalid. Reuters reported that a High Court judge said the search warrants were “too vague” and “did not adequately describe the offences to which they related.” The judge also ruled that the FBI acted unlawfully when it took copies of data from Dotcom’s computer offshore.

The idea, it seems, is to allow everyone with an empty Google+ page—that'll be most of us, then?—to fill it up with content that has previously been posted online. It's a bit like buying a new house that you don't want to live in, then filling it with all your old junk from your adolescence so it looks used. Used, yes. Only a little hollow and depressing at the same time.