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.

stories by Sean Ludwig

Top Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox halts trading following massive price decline

Top Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, which facilitates more than 70 percent of trades, has halted trading for 12 hours following a gigantic decline in Bitcoin prices.

LevelEleven lands another $500K to gamify sales and CRM

Enterprise gamification startup LevelEleven has raised an additional $500,000 in new seed funds to motivate sales people around the world.

Microsoft Office for iOS & Android now rumored for fall 2014 launch

Rumors have been swirling for ages that Microsoft would finally release its flagship Office apps for iOS and Android in the near future. But a new report indicates these apps won't actually arrive until fall 2014.

Bitcoin prices collapse over $100 in a matter of hours

Virtual currency Bitcoin has seen a massive rise in prices in the past few week, but today that growth was halted with a precipitous price decline of more than $100.

Don’t understand Bitcoin? This video explains it in less than 4 minutes

If you're new to the virtual currency Bitcoin, you've probably got a lot of questions. This video can answer most of them.

Welltok wrangles $18.7M to make health plans more accessible & social

Social health management startup Welltok has raised $18.7 million in its second round of funding with a goal of expanding into new markets, hiring new employees, and boosting product development.

Apple & Yahoo reportedly in talks about deeper iPhone & Siri integration

Apple already offers Yahoo weather and finance data pre-loaded on the iPhone, but Yahoo and Apple are reportedly in talks to get more cozy.

TripAdvisor acquires luxury travel site Jetsetter from Gilt Groupe

Popular travel advice and booking site TripAdvisor has acquired luxury travel site Jetsetter from Gilt Groupe for an undisclosed sum.

Nexgate nets $3.5M from Sierra to track & protect your company’s social accounts

Enterprise social media protection and compliance startup Nexgate has raised $3.5 million in its first round to protect businesses' social media accounts from spam and hijacking.

Likely riding a massive speculation wave, Bitcoin prices exceed $200

It's been a great past few weeks if you're a holder (or hoarder) of Bitcoins. The value of a single Bitcoin surpassed $200 today on the Mt. Gox exchange, yet another impressive milestone for the virtual currency.

Doubling its U.S. member base in 2 years, Pandora hits 200M registered users

Streaming radio service Pandora has crossed the 200-million-registered-user mark, a major milestone for the company coming just a month after CEO Joe Kennedy resigned.

Salesforce’s new Heroku & Force tools let any Java dev create mobile apps

Enterprise cloud software powerhouse Salesforce has introduced a set of new handy mobile-centric services for developers using Heroku and Force.com, the two platform-as-a-service (PaaS) providers under the Salesforce Platform banner.

Digital signage biz RMG Networks goes public at $10 a share in reverse merger

Digital media company RMG Networks has gone public in a reverse merger with SCG Financial Acquisition Corp, bypassing the traditional IPO process.

Why ZocDoc is winning: Dissenting employees, unlimited vacation, & Diet Coke

Here is how major health startup ZocDoc is creatively approaching some of its biggest problems.

iPad mini trademark concerns withdrawn by U.S. Patent Office, but issues remain

A new filing shows the USPTO's initial concerns against granting the iPad mini a trademark are no longer holding Apple back. But two issues still remain.

Netflix account helps cops catch a dumb smart-TV thief

If you decide to steal someone's smart TV, you'd think disconnecting all the accounts on it would be a smart first thing to do.

Samsung expects to post a massive $7.7B profit this quarter

South Korean electronics titan Samsung expects to take in an enormous $7.7 billion (8.7 trillion won) operating profit for the first quarter of 2013.

Look out, Amazon: Google opens Compute Engine to more devs & lowers prices

Google has opened up cloud infrastructure service Compute Engine to more customers while also lowering prices and adding several new features.

Hewlett-Packard chairman Ray Lane to step down

Hewlett-Packard chairman Ray Lane will soon leave his post after shareholders reportedly lost confidence in him.