How to Get Over the Twitter-Instagram War on Photos

So Instagram made sharing its photos a lot more annoying for Twitter users Wednesday morning, which stinks, but isn't likely to change. Because, see, the publicly traded, accountable-to-shareholders Facebook owns Instagram. Ergo, like the social network, the filtered photo-sharing site needs to do things that will make it money, which might sometimes get in the way of the user experience. That's...

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25 top-rated Facebook games from 2012

Games can be both a welcome and an annoying diversion on Facebook, the world's most popular online social network. This year, Facebook crossed a big milestone — reaching 1 billion active users. Game companies such as "FarmVille" creator Zynga Inc. and Rovio Entertainment Ltd. of "Angry Birds" fame seek to tap into that vast base of users to gain more players for their games.This week, Facebook Inc....

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Microsoft #DroidRage Tweet Shows How Malware Has Moved Past Windows

 "Do you have an Android malware horror story?" Microsoft asks through its @windowsphone Twitter account, in what may be one of the most ironic tweets of the year.After all, it wasn't that long ago that "virus" and "worm" stories made headlines on a regular basis, all of them about "computer viruses" which were really Windows viruses. Just a few years ago, Apple advertised the fact that a Mac...

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Instagram vs. Twitter: Why their beef is bad news for you

Instagram photos will no longer render inside a tweet, spurring howls of protest from many corners of the internetOnce upon a time, a tiny photo-sharing app named Instagram came out of nowhere to trounce all the other photo-sharing apps — thanks to a helping hand from Twitter, which made it awfully easy for Instagram users to post their photos within 140-character missives. Twitter and Instagram's...

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Twitter Q&A: Ask Ian McKellen About 'The Hobbit'

Actor Ian McKellen, who plays Gandalf in the upcoming fantasy film The Hobbit, will use Twitter to answer questions about the movie and his role on Wednesday at 4 p.m. EST.People can tweet questions using hashtag #AskGandalf before and during the Q&A. Answers will appear from the movie's Twitter account, @TheHobbitMovie.[More from Mashable: To Help or Document: The Citizen Journalists’ Dilemma]1....

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Italy claims Google failed to declare millions

MILAN (AP) — Google says it has been working with Italian authorities on an audit of the tax it pays in the country, after financial police determined the Internet giant had undeclared earnings of €240 million ($311 million) from 2002-2006 Google issued a statement Thursday, the day after an Italian Treasury official announced the police findings. In addition, Vieri Ceriani said the company...

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TSX nears one-week high on RBC results, U.S. hopes

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index hit its highest level of the week on Thursday as financial shares rose on Royal Bank of Canada's  strong quarterly earnings, and as optimism increased that a deal will be reached to avert the U.S. fiscal crisis.Financials were up 0.8 percent, with RBC rising 0.5 percent to C$58.61. Canada's biggest bank reported a 22 percent jump in fourth-quarter...

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Kroger lifts forecast after stronger third quarter

NEW YORK (AP) — Kroger Co. is raising its earnings outlook for the year after the nation's largest traditional supermarket chain reported a third-quarter profit that topped Wall Street expectations.The company, which also operates Fry's, Food 4 Less and Ralphs, has been working to improve the shopping experience and build customer loyalty as it fends off competition from specialty grocers such as...

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Chevron: Court order harms its future in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Chevron Corp.'s Argentina subsidiary ran full-page ads in the nation's leading newspapers Thursday saying that its operations have been complicated by a court order freezing its earnings. A judge in Buenos Aires embargoed Chevron's Argentina earnings, acting on behalf of plaintiffs in Ecuador who are trying to collect a $19 billion judgment they won over oil...

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Ahead of the Bell: Yum Brands

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Yum Brands shares skidded in premarket trading Friday after the fast-food operator offered disappointing sales and earnings forecasts and an analyst recommended that investors sell their shares.Shares lost more than 8 percent before the opening bell on Friday.Yum Brands Inc., which runs KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell worldwide, said Thursday that its revenue at stores open...

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