Sean Ludwig is a staff writer for VentureBeat, and he covers mobile tech, cloud computing, and streaming media. Previously, he has written for PCMag, Fast Company, Computer Shopper, LAPTOP Magazine, Seattle Weekly, and others. When he’s not writing into the late hours of the night, he’s seeing ridiculous concerts, walking New York City, and eating Ben & Jerry’s. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Sean stands behind everything in VentureBeat’s ethics statement. Please send all pitches to tips@venturebeat.com.

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Power up! Mountain Lion update improves battery life on Macbooks

While yesterday's 10.8.1 Mountain Lion update did not mention battery improvements, the update does indeed give some Mac users more battery life.

Court upholds $675K fine on man accused of illegally downloading 31 songs

A federal court in Massachusetts has upheld a $675,000 judgment on a man accused of illegally downloading 31 songs and sharing them with other people on a file-sharing website.

Autodesk down 22% in after-hours trading on disastrous earnings

Design software firm Autodesk's stock has lost 22 percent of its value in after-hours trading on the NASDAQ exchange after a particularly bad earnings report for its fiscal second quarter.

Pandora updates Android app with fresh U.I., song lyrics, & more

Streaming music service Pandora has updated its popular Android app with a new interface, song lyrics, play history, and more.

Apple releases 10.8.1 Mountain Lion update with fixes for iMessages, Exchange, & more

Notably, there is no mention of whether this update addresses battery life issues Mountain Lion users have complained about.

Nokia to debut two new Windows Phone 8 handsets on Sept. 5

Finnish phone maker Nokia plans to introduce two new handsets running Windows Phone 8 on Sept. 5.

Kayak’s first public earnings fly high with $76.9M revenue, $7.3M net income

Travel search company Kayak reported its first-ever public quarterly earnings today with $76.9 million in revenue, beating Wall Street expectations.

Tagged grabs $15M to help you meet new people

Popular social network Tagged closed $15 million in new capital today to grow its membership and acquire other properties.

YouTube launches ‘Elections Hub’ for your political video fix

Google has launched a new YouTube Elections Hub for the latest political videos now through Nov. 6's big election.

T-Mobile adds ‘truly unlimited’ data plan that won’t throttle you

T-Mobile has unveiled a new unlimited data plan that promises not to slow down your data speeds when you start using more data than it would like.

How NASA will defend Earth from a deadly asteroid (video)

If Earth is ever in danger from asteroid, would we be able to stop it? Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and members of NASA think we can.

MetroPCS debuts $55 unlimited talk, text, and 4G data plan

The new offer gives consumers a savings of $15 per month over previous offers. Families that want in can get an even better deal, with the price dropping to $50 per month for additional lines.

Amazon debuts cheap archival and backup cloud storage with Glacier

Amazon Web Services has introduced Amazon Glacier, inexpensive slow-moving storage for files that don't need to be accessed very often.

Discovery Bay Games nabs $15M from Logitech, Trilogy to improve iOS gaming with accessories

iPad and iPhone accessory maker Discovery Bay Games has raised $15 million in its second round of funding, with a goal of creating better gaming experiences on those devices, the company announced Tuesday.

Why Windows 8 is terrible for desktops

With Windows 8, Microsoft favors tablets, touchscreens, and laptops with modern touchpads. Traditional desktops with a keyboard and mouse, on the other hand, have been left in the dust.

Windows Phone could surpass BlackBerry’s U.S. market share this year

Microsoft's Windows Phone platform will likely overtake Research in Motion's BlackBerry market share in the U.S. by the end of this year.

Looks like Hulu’s about to lose CEO Jason Kilar — and its competitive advantage

Possible changes would make the company a less attractive destination for online viewers and increase the importance of subscription-based Hulu Plus to the company.

Why won’t Microsoft let you store porn in the cloud?

Cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Google Drive are quickly changing how consumers deal with content on a day-to-day basis. But each company has its own set of restrictions, with Microsoft's SkyDrive as the most restrictive player by far. It might shock you how much so.

IPhone 5, iTV talks drive Apple’s stock price to new all-time high (updated)

Apple's share price on the Nasdaq stock exchange reached a new all-time high of $648.02 at the end of trading today, a sign investors are enthused about the rumored next-gen iPhone, Apple television, and smaller iPad.

Top 10 Windows 8 apps — so far

We've picked out 10 stand-out apps that look and work great on Windows 8, and which show off the platform's potential for gorgeous graphics and tablet-friendly touch controls.