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Normally, the semi-regular series that I’ve so imaginatively named The Good, the Bad the Ugly attempts to mix some bad news coming out of the tech world with a little bit of good news. As the slightly changed headline should tell you, today is all about the negative. You have been warned!

The Bad: Lawsuits in the tech world are nothing new, but Google being sued for libel? That’s new. And strange. An Australian court has declared that Google must pay music promotoer Milorad Trkulja $200,000 since a search for his name will bring up articles claiming that he has connections to organized crime. Naturally, Google fired back that they don’t actually host the sites and if Trkulja wants them taken down, he should contact the sites themselves. However, the very fact that this made it this far sets a bizarre and possibly dangerous precedent — can search engines be forced to censor themselves and hide sites?

More after the JUMP…

Well, Microsoft has a new logo. That’s it, right above this sentence. The goal behind the new look is to “signal the heritage but also signal the future — a newness and freshness.” It’s simple design feels like an attempt to capture the sleek minimalism of Apple, but is it successful? I’m not a designer, so I took it to Rocksauce Studios CEO and master designer Q Manning, who had this to say: “It’s terribly boring.” He later expanded: “The new Microsoft logo is boring, with mediocre typography. No energy or excitement. Homogeneity incarnate.” Strike one! What do you think?

More after the JUMP…

(Welcome to Mobile News Round-up, the weekly column where we tell you about all of the cool stuff that didn’t get is own post during the week.)

Curious which phone carrier provides the fastest service for your iPhone on a state-by-state basis? This map should sort out your inquiries. Spoiler alert: it’s probably AT&T and if it’s not AT&T, it’s Verizon. Sorry, Sprint fans…but at least you’ve got that unlimited data plan, right?

What’s the future of Google+? Are you still on it? Is anyone still on it? Does it still exist? Apparently. The reasonably new social network had its public launch on September 20th and it’s traffic spiked 1,200%, which sounds great, until you hear about the part where it then plummeted 60% in the ensuing weeks. The current traffic levels are slightly higher than they were before the big launch, but a whole lotta’ people got a taste and decided to retreat to the familiar land of Facebook. Can Google+ survive as a niche network? It’s obviously not as big as Google wanted it to be, so how long until Google attempts a reinvention or pulls the plug? Google engineers accidentally letting their negative feelings on the platform known doesn’t help.

Hey there. Yes, you. The monocle and top hat wearing billionaire who also happens to be an Apple enthusiast. Have you seen this gold plated, diamond encrusted MacBook? I think it’s right up your alley.

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Well the day is here! Turns out it was in fact pretty imminent that the Verizon iPhone 4 was just around the corner. We here at Rocksauce Studios are just as excited as you are, and we can’t wait to see what all of your creative developing minds can conjure up for the (technically) new device. But as with anything new, there are things you should know that could affect how your apps might be made and could very well be deal breakers and make you think that AT&T may just be the way to stay. That decision is of course up to you, we are merely here to inform.

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Two fairly big sources, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have indicated a Verizon iPhone 4 is all but a mere certainty. There have even been reports indicating there are actual sales goals for such a unit. With Apple, nothing is ever a certainty until it’s officially announced, but if you’re reading this, you must be interested, so what are some things you would be looking for in a Verizon iPhone? What kind of cost would you be willing to pay? Feel free to answer in our comment section.