Breaking news from your editors at Fast Company, with updates all day.
Yahoo Board Shakeup. Four long-standing Yahoo board members have decided not to stand for re-election, including chairman Roy Bostock. The news comes just weeks after Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang also decided to step down, and following the appointment of former PayPal president Scott Thompson to the CEO slot. In the meantime, two new board members have been elected: Fred Amoroso, CEO of digital entertainment technology company Rovi, and Maynard Webb, chairman of LiveOps and former COO of eBay. "The board has concluded that in order to accelerate the Company’s transformation, the combination of a new Chief Executive Officer with an enhanced team of independent directors would provide Yahoo! with the expertise and perspectives necessary to drive innovation and growth going forward," Boystock wrote in a letter to shareholders.
Facebook's "Active" Users May Not All Visit Facebook. Facebook counts 845 million people as "monthly active users" and 483 million people as "daily active users." But those "active users" aren't only those folks clicking on Facebook.com, the New York Times observes--the way Facebook describes them in its S-1, it includes users Liking items on other sites, or commenting, also on other sites, using their Facebook profiles. --NS
--Updated 8:00 a.m. EST
Hackers Would Take Cash To Keep Symantec Code Private. In an email exchange, Symantec offered hackers $50,000 to keep their stolen source code hidden, CNET reports. The hacker Yamatough had threatened to release the source code of the company's PCAnywhere and Norton Antivirus programs. A reply from Symantec's side, from a "Sam Thomas," agreed to a $50,000 payment. The company told CNET the reply was part of an ongoing investigation. --NS
If he were alive, Charles Dickens would be 200 today. Google reminds us of some of his classic characters in this Google Doodle.
Google Launches "Solve For X" Ideas Conference. Google's new technology-enabled ideas conference, "Solve For X," brings together what the organizers call "technology moonshots"--ideas that "live in the grey area between audacious projects and pure science fiction." The first conference took place in the first three days of February, with presentations by innovators who each posed their solution to a big world problem. Look for replays at the program's website. --NS
Brazil Suing Twitter For Speed Trap Tweets. Brazil is quickly taking Twitter up on its offer to block tweets by country. The Brazil government wants to block tweets that reveal the location of traffic monitoring tech, like speed traps, radar locations, and DUI checkpoints, within the state of Goias. --NS
Honeywell Sues Nest Over Thermostat. Honeywell is suing Nest Labs over the tech encased in its dandy iPod-inspired thermostat. Honeywell claims the ex-Apple employees who designed the device infringed on seven thermostat patents owned by the larger company. --NS
--Updated 5:30 a.m. EST
Yesterday's Fast Feed: Amazon Retail Store In Seattle?, HTC Reports Rough Quarter, Facebook To Introduce Mobile Ads, and more!