Verizon is speeding up its FiOS network--it's doubling the download speeds of two FiOS tiers, and it's adding two new super-fast tiers to the service, the company announced Wednesday.

The current 25Mbps/25Mbps (download/upload) tier will be boosted to 50Mbps/25Mbps. Likewise, the 35Mbps/35Mbps tier will speed up to 75Mbps/35Mbps. As you can see, in both cases upload speeds will remain the same.

Zagat, the "dining guide" famous for its "quote-laden reviews," has been integrated into Google+.

A new "Local" tab in Google+ shows nearby places to eat, with Zagat ratings when available. For places that aren't Zagat-rated, Google+ generates a score from regular user reviews, employing the same 30-point scale that Zagat uses.

The reference Nexus tablet shown at CES 2012Google’s long-awaited Nexus tablet has popped up on benchmarking site Rightware. According to the specs, the tablet, dubbed the Nexus 7, will use a quad-core NVidia Tegra 3 processor, and come with the Android 4.1 (“Jelly Bean”) operating system.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt promised a Google tablet would be coming within six months last December. If Google is to meet that six-month timeframe, Google likely will officially introduce its first Android tablet in June.

Google's Chrome OS may be all about the Web, but the latest version of the search giant's operating system adds a traditional desktop look to Chromebooks including features familiar to any PC user. Instead of having one monolithic browser window with an endless number of tabs, Chrome OS has a new window manager that lets you open multiple windows at once. You can also snap a window to each side of the screen to view two separate windows at once similar to the Aero Snap feature in Windows 7.

At the bottom of the screen, the new Chrome OS features a Windows-style taskbar for pinning favorite apps, accessing a list of all your apps, and a system status area off to the right. You can also change the background image and customize the app launcher with the new Chrome OS look.

Earlier this month, we heard reports that Facebook was gearing up to add a new paid "highlight" feature to give your status updates some increased visibility on users' news feeds. Now it appears that the feature is ready for prime time.

The last time we heard about the pay-to-promote feature, it was in its testing phase, and the price for a Highlighted status ran between free and $2. Gorilla vs. Bear, a music blog, tweeted on Wednesday that these sponsored new feed bumps can cost as much as $100.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would increase secrecy of the products in its pipeline, a speech that occurred on the same day alleged designs of the iPhone 5 were leaked online. Speaking at the D10: All Things Digital conference, Cook said: “We’re going to double down on secrecy on products.” Meanwhile, online photos of what appear to be parts of the next-generation iPhone were published by 9To5Mac.

Could it be a coincidence that Cook gave his speech on the same day the photos were leaked? Absolutely. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time we have seen alleged parts of a future iPhone that turn out to be wildly off-base when the real product arrives.

A frightening computer virus called Flame is on the loose in Iran and other parts of the Middle East, infecting PCs and stealing sensitive data. Now, the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union warns that other nations face the risk of attack.

But what is Flame, exactly, and is it cause for concern among ordinary PC users? Here's what you need to know about what Kaspersky calls “one of the most complex threats ever discovered.”

Microsoft's Windows 8 Release Preview may be available as early as Friday, but if you can't wait to get your hands on the next Windows 8 beta, a purported leaked 64-bit version has surfaced online. The only catch is the leaked Windows 8 image is in Chinese; however, some users have been able to get parts of the system to display English. Copies of the supposed Windows 8 leak were available on a number of Chinese-language sites, and the Pirate Bay also has links to a 3.29 gigabyte torrent you can download. You can also find an active forum thread on Winunleaked.tk discussing where to get copies of the purported leak and how to try to get the operating system up and running.

Image courtesy of Winunleaked

If you are hoping the next iPhone will finally sport a bigger screen, the latest Apple rumors may bring a smile to your face.

Apple news site 9to5Mac claimed to be in possession of several images showing what appears to be the casing for the next-generation device. These photos show a partial aluminum backing, as well as a bigger display and a new dock connector.

If you've ever quit Netflix -- only to come crawling back once you've realized that Hulu only has TV shows and the MPAA is cracking down on other video-streaming sites, you've probably noticed that when you re-signup for Netflix your data is still on the servers. Even if you quit the service over a year ago.

Well, those of you crying privacy foul need worry no more -- Netflix has agreed to delete former users' video history and queue data within one year of their leaving the service. The company agreed to this stipulation in a settlement regarding a class-action privacy lawsuit filed against Netflix last year. The lawsuit accused Netflix of violating the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), which makes it illegal for video rental services to disclose viewers' video habits without written consent.

Love 'em or hate 'em, iPhone gossip is the chief sustenance of tech bloggers and journalists, many of whom scrutinize the credibility of every rumor, no matter how preposterous. The reason? Page views, of course. You see, readers love iPhone rumors--perhaps even more than they love griping about them.

In short, iPhone rumors are very, very good for the bottom lines of mainstream and tech news sites. They may not be so good for Apple itself, however. In the quarter leading up to last year's launch of the iPhone 4S, Apple's iPhone sales fell 16 percent from the previous (third) quarter.

Samsung Tuesday announced a faster Series 5 Chromebook netbook and, at long last, the Chromebox -- a mini-PC that also runs the web-centric Google Chrome OS.

Refreshed Chromebook