Weekend tech reading: RadioShack calls for DIY community's input

Speak your mind and help RadioShack suck less We can all agree that RadioShack isn't exactly the DIY mecca it once was. What used to be a haven for amateur radio operators, tinkerers, and builders alike has devolved into a stripmall mainstay full of cell phones and overpriced junk. RadioShack knows that they have fallen out of your good graces, and since you are the demographic that put them on the map, they are appealing to the DIY community for input. Hack a Day

Microsoft has received five times more income from Android than from Windows Phone A rough estimate of the number of HTC Android devices shipped is 30 million. If HTC paid $5 per unit to Microsoft, that adds up to $150 million Android revenues for Microsoft. Microsoft has admitted selling 2 million Windows Phone licenses (though not devices.) Estimating that the license fee is $15/WP phone, that makes Windows Phone revenues to date $30 million. Asymco

Computer de-evolution: Features that lost the evolutionary war Today's computers offer processing power, speed, storage, Internet connectivity, display size and quality, and other capabilities that few even dreamed of ten or more years ago, certainly not at prices affordable for any developer or even consumer. But there are some things they don't do that the old, slow, often command-line-intead-of-GUI-oriented applications did. ITworld

Make your mark by stopping hackers In reality, hacking is easy once you know what you're doing. Defending is hard. If you want to truly impress the world, develop systems and applications that will be used by a lot of people while being resistant to easy hacking. Anyone can knock down a garage. But build one that can't be taken down by a blockhead swinging a heavy sledgehammer, and you've done something. PCWorld

CEO Ballmer has support of Bill Gates, Microsoft board Microsoft's Steve Ballmer appears to have the support of the company's board of directors, despite the call from one major investor that the CEO should be fired. Greenlight Capital Inc. President David Einhorn causes a major stir by calling for Ballmer's replacement, saying he is dragging down the company's performance. TechFlash

Sony won't make massive investment in PS4 Sony's PS3 was pretty slow out of the gate with its $599 price tag, but Sony had little choice in terms of pricing due to the heavy costs surrounding Blu-ray and the Cell processor. The R&D and manufacturing took its toll on the company's bottom line and only now is the PlayStation division finally reaping some profits. IndustryGamers

Inner Moon as wet as Earth Contrary to popular belief, the early moon could have been as wet as Earth's mantle, new analysis from an Apollo lunar sample shows. The discovery stems from sophisticated analysis of tiny bits of ancient magma sealed inside solid crystals. The so-called "melt inclusions" are no bigger than the width of a human hair. Discovery

Contrast ratio (or how every TV manufacturer lies to you) Contrast ratio is the most important aspect of a TV's performance. More than any other single metric, a set's contrast ratio will be the most noticeable difference between two TVs. That is, if you could juxtapose them. Which you can't. Or if you could compare their claimed specs. Which you can't. CNET