Google has confirmed that their Middle East and North Africa marketing head has tragically gone missing in Egypt.

The search giant has said that Wael Ghonim disappeared last Thursday in central Cairo and has not been seen since.

Says Google:

The safety of our employees is very important to Google, so if anyone has any information please call the following UK number: +44 20 7031 3008.

Google has now closed its office in Cairo to ensure the general safety of all employees based in the country.

Over 400 people have died since the uprising began last week.

Yesterday, Al Jazeera posted footage that allegedly showed Ghonim being dragged away to detention by plainclothes officers.

His identity has not been confirmed, however.

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The latest rumor in the Apple space has iOS 4.3 coming in two weeks for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Citing 'reliable sources,' reports claim Apple will release the major firmware update on Monday, February 14, at 1PM EST.

iOS 4.3 will introduce Personal Hotspot tethering for iPhone users.

The betas for 4.3 also shows off new multi-touch gestures for iPad users, but the company says that is just a "preview" for developers to test their apps with. The functionality will be held back until later iterations of the OS.

Apple released the last beta for 4.3 this week.

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Mozilla has confirmed that there will be two more beta releases of the upcoming Firefox 4 browser, before a true RC hits.

The company had promised 11 betas of the browser, and the 12th was a "just in case" that now seems necessary.

Says Christian Legnitto, Firefox release manager at Mozilla (via Soft):

The current plan is to build [Firefox 4.0 Beta 12] when the remaining betaN hardblockers are done. This is heavily dependent on fix and blocker creation rate.

I will be doing some analysis to give people a possible date range, but as far as development is concerned everything is the same (fix as many betaN hardblockers as quickly as possible).

Beta 11 is set for release to testers this week.

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Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the first version of the software to be optimized for tablets, may eventually hit smartphones as a 'lite' version of itself, says Phandroid.

Honeycomb was coded from scratch for tablets, but there are a number of important features that can be ported to upcoming firmware updates for Android versions of the operating system.

Google recently launched Android 2.3 Gingerbread for smartphones, which integrated minor updates.

However, according to the new reports, Google has already begun building new code for a 'lite' version of Honeycomb for smartphones, which may add hardware acceleration, RenderScript and a fully updated notification system.

Furthermore, the new camera UI will likely get ported, as well.

The update isn't expected until at least the Q3.

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American fashion designer Kenneth Cole has apologized for his outrageous tweet earlier in the week, one that used the protests in Egypt to pump his upcoming clothing line.

Read the tweet:

Millions are in an uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at [ link ] -KC

The #Cairo hashtag has been used by many to keep the world updated on the news coming out of Egypt.

In the past, Cole has used the same tactics, posting "punny" billboards after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

After thousands commented on Cole's Facebook and replied to his Twitter, the designer responded with two apologies:

I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I've dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.

And later:

I have spent a considerable amount of time reading your comments, and value your insights and feedback. I want to reiterate that my use of levity with regard to this momentous event was extremely inappropriate. My thoughts are with the courageous people of Egypt. -KC

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