According to multiple sources, Google offered up to $4 billion for microblogging sensation Twitter earlier this year, but the offer was turned down.

Originally, Google offered $2.5 billion, which Twitter execs called "insulting."

As recently as 3 months ago, Google upped the bid to $4 billion, which was turned down, as well.

Each of the sources suggested that Microsoft bid on the service, also, although the software giant's offers are unknown.

The sources also suggested, however, that if Twitter was to really put itself up for sale, both companies would bid aggressively against each other.

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Dell has announced the upcoming availability of the Inspiron Duo tablet/netbook hybrid today, as well as pricing for the device.

The device will be available during the first week of December, and the base model will sell for $549.

Dell's unique hybrid has a 10.1-inch multi-touch display.

The device runs on a dual-core Intel Atom N550 processor, has 2GB of RAM, a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator, 250GB of storage, and Windows 7 Home Premium as the operating system.

When flipped into a tablet, the 1366x768-resolution display uses Dell's Duo Stage UI layer, which is much more touch-friendly than standard Windows 7.

A few of the installed apps are Dell's MusicStage, VideoStage, PhotoStage, and BookStage.

Vid via Engadget:

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Laura Hadland, just weeks after creating a "toast" mosaic from over 9000 pieces of toast has moved on to her next project, an Avatar mosaic that uses 4000 Blu-ray discs.

Hadland says 20th Century Fox commercially printed her the discs (in the colors she needed) and from there the mosaic was completed within a few hours.

The mosaic was a gift to her husband, who was a big fan of the movie.

It was put together on the floor of the London Film Museum.

Avatar is the top selling movie of all time, making $2.8 billion worldwide. Sequels are slated for 2013 and later.

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Retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls have begun selling the cheapest model of the iPad for $400 this week, offering a full $100 discount off Apple's pricing.

The cheapest model is 16GB and offers Wi-Fi support.

T.J. Maxx confirmed the deal on its Twitter page today, saying: "The rumors are TRUE! Select (unadvertised) locations/limited quant."

Earlier in the week, Sam's Club began selling the iPad, offering $12 off retail for all models, the biggest discount seen until today.

It is still unclear how the companies can offer the iPad at such a low price, especially without losing a significant amount of money per sale. Apple has not suggested any price drop is coming on the iPad.

Although unconfirmed, it appears that some Marshalls stores will be selling only 300 of the devices over a three-day period.

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Cheng Jianping, a 46-year-old woman from China has been sentenced to a full year of "Re-education Through Labor" after she retweeted a joke her fiance had posted.

Her soon-to-be husband tweeted the following:

Anti-Japanese demonstrations, smashing Japanese products, that was all done years ago by Guo Quan [an activist and expert on the Nanjing Massacre]. It's no new trick. If you really wanted to kick it up a notch, you'd immediately fly to Shanghai to smash the Japanese Expo pavilion.

The tweet was in regards to China's recent dispute with Japan over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Nationalists in China began smashing Japanese products in protest over the situation.

Jianping retweeted her fiance's message and added the following words: "Charge, angry youth."

Both Jianping and her fiance "disappeared" a week after the tweets went up, and the news came out this week that Jianping had been sentenced to one year of labor camp without trial, for "disturbing social order." Her fiance was released without any charges.

Twitter is banned in China.

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VB has posted today that giant e-tailer Amazon is set to invest $100 million in daily-deal site LivingSocial.

The "strategic investment" talks are underway, but there is nothing set in stone.

Daily-deal sites have boomed in the past year thanks mainly to the popularity of market leaders Groupon and Living Social.

All daily-deal sites offer discounts on products, services, activities, and meals from merchants, small and large.

Amazon currently has a foundation in the deals business, as it purchased Woot earlier this year.

Living Social raised money in March and April, but more investment would lead to a larger expansion into new cities and even new countries.

Just last month, Groupon was valued at over $3 billion.

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Sony has said this week that the popular VOD service Vudu will launch on PlayStation 3 consoles starting on November 23rd.

Via the PSN, Vudu will offer 1080p HD and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound streaming.

Vudu says the "PS3 will be the first and only system with dedicated gaming functionality to offer this service," implying a partnership with the Xbox 360 isn't in the cards, at least for now.

The streaming movie service currently has 4000 movies available in full HD, and new releases are available the same day as their Blu-ray and DVD counterparts.

Rentals cost $2 for 48 hours.

"PS3 is tailor-made for the high-quality, high-speed VUDU streaming experience," adds Edward Lichty, general manager, VUDU. "Now with VUDU on PS3, we are able to deliver a completely immersive experience to those loyal to their entertainment system when they want, where they want."

All new Vudu customers get a $6 credit for signing up.

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