Topping tech headlines on Monday, Barnes & Noble and Microsoft announced a strategic partnership whereby the software giant will invest $300 million in the retailer's Nook business for a 17.6 percent stake. The deal also means the two firms have settled their patent dispute.
For more, see Why Microsoft's Barnes & Noble Nook Nab Makes Sense.
Elsewhere, Google found itself in some hot water after an unredacted FCC report indicated that Google workers knew about Street View data gathering. Contrary to what the company had maintained, there were several employees and at least one senior manager who knew that the vehicles were collecting data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks.
In other Google news, lawyers for the search giant and Google gave their closing arguments in a jury trial between the Silicon Valley giants over the use of Java software code. At stake is Oracle's claim that Google copied its Java code without obtaining a license to create the Android mobile operating system.
Meanwhile, RIM will kick off its annual BlackBerry World conference this morning. The company confirmed that it won't be showing any BB10-based consumer devices at BlackBerry World, but that it will be handing out developer units, hacked-together BB10 phones that aren't retail-ready. For more, check out What to Expect at BlackBerry World and Ears On With the New BlackBerry Music Gateway.
Also topping tech headlines on Monday:
- Will You Soon Need Cable to Watch Hulu?: Hulu is reportedly looking to change its business model to one that will require viewers to sign in with a username and password from their cable provider to access paid content, a la "TV Everywhere."
- U.K. High Court Orders ISPs to Block The Pirate Bay: The U.K.'s High Court has ruled that five ISPs in the region must block file-sharing site The Pirate Bay for copyright violations.
- Google Sued Over 'Jewish' Search Suggestions: The search giant's Autocomplete feature allegedly violates French law banning the compiling of files on people by ethnicity, French anti-racism groups claim.
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 690: The Uncrating: The two major video card companies, AMD and Nvidia, take their product launches especially seriously.
- Verizon Adds 1-GB Prepaid Plan, Mobile Broadband Offer: The new $80 prepaid plan will offer unlimited talk, texting, and 1GB of data.
- Bill Would Ban Employers From Requesting Usernames, Passwords: The debate over whether your employer should be able to ask for your Facebook password has once again made its way to Capitol Hill.
- Skype Vulnerability Allows IP Snooping: Last week, someone posted a an exploit of that vulnerability within the Skype network on Pastebin, providing details of how to download a modified or patched version of Skype 5.5 that would allow the exploit to be run.
- Apple, Samsung Patent Settlement Talks Begin May 21: If the companies cannot reach an agreement, the case proceeds to trial in late July.
For more from Angela, follow her on Twitter @amoscaritolo.
