Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has cleared up some of the confusion regarding its plans for Windows 8 computers that will use ARM processors, the first time the storied company has built a version of Windows for the chip standard that dominates the mobile world. Windows 8 devices on ARM chips will be able to run a version of Microsoft Office in an operating mode that resembles older versions of Windows, but all other applications aimed at those devices will have to be designed for Microsoft’s new Metro user interface.

After quickly gaining a warm reception and a rapid post-launch investment from BSkyB, the social TV app startup co-founded by ex BBC iPlayer head honcho Anthony Rose is making its first real play at monetisation.

It would be dramatic to say that independent booksellers nationwide are boycotting Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) Publishing titles en masse—and hey, it could still happen. But a new decision from the American Booksellers Association’s IndieCommerce—which comes as bookstore chains Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Indigo are making similar decisions—is not so far-reaching.

Is 2012 “the year of mobile?” No sir. Mobile is simply too disruptive to have just one year. After all, who remembers the year of the TV or the year of the Internet? Talk of “the year of ...” is not only passé but also irrelevant. The disruptive forces of mobile arrived more than two years ago and will fundamentally change businesses in the decades to come.

Google’s bid for Motorola (NYSE: MMI) is likely to get a thumbs up from the U.S. Department of Justice, but still could face opposition from other regulators both in the U.S. and in Europe. The landmark $12.5 billion deal is essential for Google’s attempts to play defense in the mobile patent wars, as the DOJ is also likely to finally sign off on the results of the Nortel patent auction that kicked off Google’s desperate bid.

It’s been almost a year since former Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPad 2, and according to a new report, the company plans to launch the third version of its breakthrough tablet device around a month from now in early March.

Nancy Pearl, the famous librarian (and action figure!) who recently partnered with Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) to republish a handful of out-of-print titles each year, tells the New York Times and Seattle Times that based on the reaction she’s received it’s a “hard question” whether she’d do it again.

When the consulting firm’s logo appeared routinely in Six Nations rugby broadcast graphics this weekend, James Cridland was amongst the viewers to ask: “Accenture advertises on BBC Sport - how?”

Sponsorship on the license-funded BBC in the UK is strictly forbidden. But the workaround, for Accenture, was to build a mobile app…

Path, a company hoping to build a kinder, gentler social network based on sharing within a limited number of people, has apologized for a contact-finder feature in its software that uploaded users’ entire iPhone address books to its servers and said it has deleted that personal information.

Yes, it’s true: We are joining GigaOM. And the combined group will be a powerhouse, with more than 20 writers and editors, a strong presence on the East and West coasts and in Europe, and coverage of everything from media and big data, to the cloud and mobile, to book publishing and online video—not to mention the startup scene in various markets.

It’s a very exciting development for us, as ContentNext and GigaOM share so many of the same goals and have such similar cultures. We both believe fundamentally in the power of breaking news and smart, useful content across different platforms, and we both have a core conviction about practicing truth and fairness in our journalism. We also both happen to believe that you can build very profitable businesses if you can execute on those principles.

All is indeed fair in love and war, but not everything is fair in patent licensing. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) are working on measures to level the playing field in the mobile patent disputes by clarifying what is “fair” when it comes to patent licensing terms.

Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) is expanding its Prime Instant Video library in a deal with Viacom (NYSE: VIA), bringing the total number of streaming videos available free Prime members to over 15,000.

Is Sprint’s bet on the iPhone paying off, or costing it a pretty penny? In the company’s Q4 earnings, the carrier boasted that 40 percent (720,000) of all iPhone sales were going to new customers, with 1.8 million iPhone users added overall in the crucial holiday sales quarter. But those sales appear to be coming at a price for Sprint…

Last week, we highlighted how Facebook is already using mobile devices for commercial services—enabling people to buy Facebook Credits and charge them directly to their mobile bills. Now, it’s increasingly looking like that may just be the beginning: today, UK-based mobile billing and analytics specialist Bango (AIM: BGO) announced that it had signed a deal to provide unspecified services to the social network.