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Following in the footsteps of other companies such as Mozilla, Google has announced today that it is offering a reward for users that find and report security flaws in their software and Websites.

Says the company: "We are announcing an experimental new vulnerability reward program that applies to Google Web properties. As well as enabling us to thank regular contributors in a new way, we hope our new program will attract new researchers and the types of reports that help make our users safer."

Depending on how critical the flaw is, the reward will range from $500 to $3100. If you decide to give the prize to charity, Google will double the donation.

The bugs can be found on Google, YouTube, Blogger, Orkut and others. Android and Picasa are exempt.

Google started a similar program in January for its Chrome browser which they say "uncovered a wide range of great bugs...contributing to a more secure Chromium browser for millions of users."

Apple has begun sending notices to record labels informing them that iTunes will soon move to 90-second song previews, extending the time from the current 30-seconds.

The expanded preview will happen for all songs longer than 2:30 long. For anything under, the 30-second previews will remain.

Says the notification:

We are pleased to let you know that we are preparing to increase the length of music previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds on the iTunes Store in the United States. We believe that giving potential customers more time to listen to your music will lead to more purchases.

The note also says that if the labels do not agree to the new terms, they must remove their music from the iTunes Store.

Apple has been expected to announce this news since early September but apparent licensing issues have delayed the announcement.

According to AppleInsider, Apple has just released the updated iOS 4.2 firmware to developers, meaning consumers should be getting the update in the very near future.

The release is build 8C134, and available for all iOS platforms including the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Coming with 4.2 is AirPlay, which will give iOS owners the chance to stream content from their devices to an Apple TV and then pick up the content on their device again if they leave the room.

Additionally, 4.2 should bring AirPrint, Apple's new "powerful new printing architecture that matches the simplicity of iOS—no set up, no configuration, no printer drivers and no software to download."

Finally, 4.2 should bring multi-tasking, iOS folders, GameCenter and enhanced enterprise support to the iPad.

T-Mobile USA has taken their "America's Largest 4G Network" ad campaign to the next level tonight, taking a direct shot at AT&T and the iPhone 4.

In the new ad, dubbed "Piggyback," T-Mobile plays up the fast speeds of its HSPA+ network, which boasts speeds faster than Sprint's 4G.

Playing off Apple's famous "Get a Mac" campaign, T-Mobile starts the commercial with two people standing next to each other, one being a MyTouch 4G and the other being an iPhone 4, piggybacking another person.

The iPhone is being "weighed down" by AT&T 3G network and lack of 4G, with the ad taking time to explain that T-Mobile users can video chat while connected to HSPA+, while iPhone 4 users can only use the FaceTime video chatting app when connected to Wi-Fi.

Digitimes is reporting this week that global vendors are expected to begin selling netbooks and notebooks running the Google Chrome OS starting later this month.

Furthermore, Google will also launch its own Google-branded Chrome OS notebook, following a strategy similar to their launch of the Nexus One smartphone earlier this year.

The sources of the report are component makers in Taiwan.

Google's branded device will be manufactured by Inventec with 70,000 expected to ship at launch. The Google Chrome OS notebook will run on "an ARM-based platform" and Google will not sell it through retail channels.

After Google's initial launch, Acer and HP will launch Chrome OS notebooks in late December. ASUS is said to be watching the market before entering.

Logitech has unveiled their first wireless solar keyboard, dubbed the K750.

The K750 can power itself from all light, include indoor light, eliminating the need for batteries, ever.

"A keyboard is still the best input device for typing emails and IMs, updating your Facebook™ page or posting responses to your favorite blogs – and the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 is the next big innovation in keyboard technology," added Denis Pavillard, VP of product marketing for Logitech’s keyboards and desktops. "The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard is powered by light but can work in total darkness for up to three months. Plus, with its PVC-free construction and fully recyclable packaging, it’s designed to minimize its footprint."

The solar panel is integrated right into the keyboard meaning there is no external charger or brick necessary.

Logitech includes a solar power app that "features a lux meter to help you get the necessary light, makes it easy to get at-a-glance information about battery levels, and even alerts you when you need more power."

Last week we reported that LimeWire, once the world's most popular P2P client, had been officially shut down, following a four-year legal battle against the record industry.

A New York federal court issued a permanent injunction against the site, ruling that LimeWire caused a "massive scale of infringement" by intentionally giving users a platform to share millions of unauthorized music tracks.

At its peak, LimeWire was seeing 50 million monthly users.

Following the ruling, LimeWire has had to lay off 29 of its 100 staff members.

Curiously, the company will keep the other 71 working on an unknown new music service.

Says CEO George Searle, via AllThingsD: "Following the court-ordered injunction, we reduced our work force to extend our runway for bringing our new music service to market. Letting go of colleagues is never easy. If we could have brought about another solution, we would have."

The upcoming service is dubbed "Grapevine."

At the end of October, Applidium released an updated VLC for iOS, finally giving iPhone and iPod Touch owners a chance to use the popular media player on their devices.

The move followed Applidium's 1.0 version of the software which runs on the iPad.

Today, it has become clear that a possible licensing conflict may force the app offline.

PCWorld explains:

In addition to being free in the sense that it costs nothing, VLC is also open-source software developed collaboratively under the GNU Public License (GPL), which is designed to promote the creation of software that can be freely modified and redistributed by anyone, as long as they do so in compliance with the license.

In order to maintain the freedom of the software it protects, the GPL imposes several conditions under which redistribution may take place; in particular, the redistribution of the software must be unrestricted under any circumstance, allowing any user to give another user a functional copy under the same original terms.

Google has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government this weekend, claiming that the government unfairly gave preference to Microsoft when selecting a new software suite.

In 2009, the Department of the Interior began searching for a "collaboration and messaging suite" for its almost 90,000 employees.

Google says it tried to join the evaluation process but was turned away.

The DOI then selected Microsoft BPOS-Federal Suite, thanks to Microsoft's multi-decade long history of providing software for government departments.

Microsoft's BPOS-Federal Suite includes hosting services, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Office Communications Online.

Google wanted to challenge the BPOS-FS with its Google Apps for Government suite, claiming it could be implemented more cheaply and more effectively than Microsoft's rival service.

The search giant wants the requisition process halted until Google Apps is given a fair chance.

Target has announced today that it will begin carrying the Apple iPhone in all 846 stores that include a Target Mobile center.

The phone will go on sale on November 7th.

Target will offer both the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4, as well as free in-store activation if you are a first-time iPhone buyer.

"At Target we continue to offer our guests the best in electronics so we're happy to add iPhone to our Target Mobile offerings," added Mark Schindele, senior VP of merchandising at Target. "With expert support from Target Mobile specialists and in-store activation, our guests will be able to leave the store with a new, working iPhone3GS or iPhone4 in-hand."

The retailer also noted that it was rolling out Target Mobile centers to most Target stores by the end of the Q2 2011.

Some of the biggest news of the past week has been the rumored unconfirmed launch of the Nexus Two, the successor to Google's very powerful, but ultimately failed smartphone.

The new device was expected to be unveiled by its maker, Samsung, on November 8th during a media event.

Today, however, the phone maker has denied the Nexus Two exists, saying all the rumors are "simply not true."

The November 8th event will actually be to officially launch the Continuum smartphone, a Verizon Android 2.2 device that has two displays.

Making the Continuum noteworthy is the small secondary screen. When the phone is active, the second screen shows off the date, time and weather. When inactive it will show any new messages, emails, missed calls, voice mails, IMs, social notifications and more.

Looks like we will have to wait a bit longer for a sequel to the Nexus One, especially one running 2.3 Gingerbread.

BBLeaks has put together a list of leaked specs for the still unconfirmed BlackBerry Storm 3.

If accurate, the device will be RIM's most powerful smartphone to date.

For now, the specs are still just rumored, and the picture is of a prototype of the device:

Display: 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Memory: 8 or 16 GB storage w/ optional expandable to 32GB, 512 MB or 1GB RAM, 1 GB ROM
Camera: 5MP or 8 MP, fixed focus, dual-LED flash
Optical trackpad
MP3: MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player, MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
Bluetooth: Yes, v3.0 with A2DP
3G: HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps
Addons: Wi-Fi, USB, GPS, OS, Video
Weight: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh (BL-4D)
Talktime: Up to 432 h (2G) / Up to 480 h (3G)
Standby: Up to 9 h (2G) / Up to 5 h (3G)

Since early October, rumor has had it that Google is set to announce PayPal checkout support for the Android Market.

Today, AndroidCentral is reporting that that announcement will come via a press release as early as tomorrow, November 2nd.

The report cites "a very trustworthy source," on that has been accurate on Android news in the past.

Google and eBay (the parent company of PayPal) have been working on a deal for months.

Users have long complained about the current checkout system (especially if you are not a Google Checkout user), and adding PayPal and its user base of 220 million will certainly make the system more fluid, or at least as easy as rival iTunes.

While the Apple iPhone remained the top individual smartphone in the U.S. for the Q3 2010, the Android OS leaped forward to take strong control of OS market share.

Available on a plethora of devices, the Android OS was on 43.6 percent of all smartphones sold in the U.S. during the quarter.

The figures come via Canalys, the tech industry analysis firm.

Apple came in second with 26.2 percent share, followed by RIM at 24.2 percent.

Rounding out the top 5 was Windows Mobile at 3 percent and all others taking the remaining 3 percent.

In terms of actual hardware sales, 9.1 million Android OS devices were sold during the quarter, 5.5 million iPhones were sold, 5.1 million BlackBerrys were sold and 1.2 million Microsoft and "other" devices were sold.

A well-backed Silicon Valley company is launching a test version of a new search engine that it says adds a human touch to the process.

Blekko claims that the Internet has become increasingly populated with spam-like websites that have been specifically designed and optimized for good performance through Google's services. Such websites have content heavier on marketing pitches than substantive information, according to the company.

Blekko Chief Executive Rich Skrenta said that the key to eliminating this problem is to narrow searches to groups of websites that have been approved by people. This almost seems like a step backwards when you first hear it since search services have utilized increasingly complex algorithms to order and index the massive amounts of information in cyberspace.

Nevertheless, Blekko has raised $24 million in funding from some big name backers. Investors include Marc Andreessen, who co-authored Mosaic, the first widely-used web browser, and Ron Conway who has previously invested in Google, Foursquare and Twitter.

Blekko is certainly brave to take on Google, as many have tried and failed to dethrone or even significantly compete with it. Cull, which was founded by ex-Google employees, quietly threw in the towel in September, two years after launch.