Global PC shipments plunged 14 percent in the first three months of 2013, according to newly released figures from market research firm IDC.

It’s the steepest decline since 1994, when IDC began keeping records for the device.

Welcome to the Post-PC era.

And if you’re wondering, yes, even Apple saw PC shipment declines “as its own PCs also face competition from iPads.”

The Wirecutter:

It’s actually harder to pick a good, affordable camera than it is to pick an expensive, high-end one. But, with a bit of leg work, we’ve managed to plow through the fifteen or so vaguely respectable cameras that cost less than $150 and narrow it down to the Canon PowerShot 320 HS.

The comparatively low image noise, sharp photographs, and kinda-fast lens put it ahead of most of the competition at this price point. And while the touchscreen and Wi-Fi may not be perfect, they’re still good features to have on hand.

The Nook Press platform includes features such as a web-based content tools for authors to write, edit, format and publish their work and online forum for writers to share their work in a secure environment. Authors also have potential merchandising opportunities in the Nook Store and upcoming Nook Press Nook Channel on Nook HD and Nook HD+. Select content will be in social media campaigns, e-mails and newsletters directed to NOOK customers, Nook Media said.

Barnes & Noble launched a self-publishing platform two and a half years ago called PubIt. Nook Press replaces PubIt and expands it with web-based publishing tools.

If you want to understand the major challenges that BlackBerry faces in the American market, look no further than a new survey commissioned by MKM Partners showing that most Americans don’t even know that BlackBerry 10 has launched yet.

Even if more Americans knew, I doubt they’d care very much.

68 percent of those polled said they have absolutely no interest in buying a BlackBerry.

This launch is the very definition of a day late and a dollar short.

David Karp, Tumblr CEO:

What we’ve accomplished with Storyboard has run its course for now, and our editorial team will be closing up shop and moving on. I want to personally thank them for their great work. And please join us in wishing them well.

Storyboard was well-regarded. It’s a shame to see them put an end to it. And, you know, what the world needs right now is definitely more out of work editorial people.

Also, “we’re so happy with what they did that we shitcanned them all” seems like the sleaziest corporate doublespeak imaginable.

Om Malik takes a look at the HTC First, the debut phone to feature Facebook Home. Malik has been very critical of Facebook Home, so it’s interesting to read his thoughts on what it’s like to use the device.

The results of Piper Jaffray’s 25th bi-annual teen survey came in Tuesday afternoon. Once again, it showed Apple to be the most desired brand among American teenagers who care about things like smartphones and tablets, although Google’s Android did make some gains.

59 percent of teens said they want an iPhone, compared to 21 percent who want an Android phone. 48 percent of them already have an iPhone.

The company said on Wednesday that when it begins selling the iPhone 5 on Friday, it will offer a discount for people who trade in their older iPhones. Customers can trade in an iPhone 4S or iPhone 4, for example, for the iPhone 5 at no cost up front, along with a $120 credit toward the monthly device fee. The offer lasts through mid-June.

T-Mobile is doing its best to lure away customers from rival networks.

Even if our iOS apps are momentarily unavailable, your app recommendation service, AppGratis, is very much up and running. If you’re part of the 12 million lucky people to have downloaded our app before last Friday, know that it will keep updating everyday with new free apps and cool discounts. So will our website, and so will our daily newsletter.

Simon Dawlat, CEO of AppGratis, explains from his perspective what happened when Apple pulled their app from the App Store.

Let’s just point this out upfront: By most accounts, Johnson was trying to accomplish the seemingly impossible with a radical reinvention of the JC Penney brand. Many thought that if anyone could do it, it was Johnson, the retail superstar credited for making Target hip and turning the Apple Store into a monster success story. His plans were bold—too bold, virtually everyone now agrees. Correspondingly, he was removed as CEO not because he came up a little short of the goals set for the company. He was ousted because he failed in spectacular fashion.

Good analysis.

I missed this feature from Florence Ion when it ran earlier this month. If you did too, check it out. Some interesting tidbits.

Very cool.

Today, we’re pleased to announce with Mayor Lee Leffingwell that Austin, Texas is becoming a Google Fiber city.

Exciting news for Austin residents looking for gigabit access. Should be coming to Austin homes in 2014.

Microsoft Corp.’s after-sales service of its Surface tablet has attracted criticism from China’s state-owned radio, following similar reports in the past month targeting Apple Inc.

Microsoft’s turn to be the state-run media’s whipping boy.

BuzzFeed:

In Canada, this transcendent dish is served at every possible opportunity — restaurants, bars, truck stops, diners, doesn’t matter. In America it’s still treated like a culinary novelty. The few stateside restaurants that have attempted to make poutine can’t seem to get it right.

This is downright tragic.

I’ve had poutine four times here in the US. Every time, it was utterly inedible. C’mon America!

A year and a half into his dismal attempt to turn around J.C. Penney, Ron Johnson was ousted as chief executive on Monday and replaced with his predecessor, Myron E. Ullman III, as the board searched for a new direction for the struggling retailer.

Ouch.

Hey, I hear Apple is looking for someone to run their retail business…

Here at NAB, Intel just introduced the next generation of its Thunderbolt interface, which promises a data rate of 20 Gbps in both directions (on each of the two channels) as opposed to 10 Gbps for the previous version.

It’s capable of moving 4K video, which will make Thunderbolt even better suited to high-end video production. Intel expects the new hardware to come into public use next year.

Microsoft had originally been planning to unveil its next-generation Xbox details at an event in April, but The Verge has learned that the company has pushed this back to May. Windows watcher Paul Thurrott revealed recently that Microsoft is planning an Xbox event for May 21st, and we understand this date is accurate. This is the tentative date for a next-generation Xbox announcement, but Microsoft had originally planned an April 24th event.

Hopefully Microsoft will be slightly more forthcoming with details about the next Xbox than Sony was with details about the PlayStation 4.

If you need to do anything with PDFs, you need PDFpen. You can add a signature, make changes to text and images, correct a typo, fill out forms–and that’s only the beginning. Got a scanned document? PDFpen includes OCR so you can convert that scan into text that can be searched, copied, and corrected. Want to remove sensitive info such as tax ID numbers from your PDF before sharing it? PDFpen can perform redaction, removing the stuff you want to keep private.

The big news is that PDFpen 6 is now available, and the new features make it more powerful and easier to use than ever. The interface and tools have been updated and improved. And now you can export your PDFs to Microsoft Word format for sharing or editing. If you want to see the new features in action, check out the great video by David Sparks where you can see the new features.

Buy PDFpen for $60 in the Mac App Store or directly from Smile. Or buy PDFpenPro for $100 and you’ll get advanced features like form creation tools and document permission settings. Find out more at Smile Software.

Based on a newly published office action from the USPTO, dated last Wednesday, the issue has in fact mostly been resolved without Apple having had to address the examiner’s objections. Presumably responding to the publicity surrounding the initial decision, the USPTO has preemptively withdrawn its two main objections to Apple’s objections.

This was widely expected to happen when the issue was first raised.

The book is less about Jobs, and more about what Bushnell thinks companies need to do to rethink their hiring practices.

“One of the big concerns I have is that most of the HR departments in a lot of companies are hiring away from creativity and they don’t know it,” Bushnell said in an interview. “For instance, they are requiring everybody to have a college degree. The most creative people I know couldn’t deal with college.”

For many people, Facebook is the Internet, just as AOL was before it. And just as Facebook is the best way for them to experience the Internet in a browser, Facebook Home is going to be the best way for those people to experience the Internet on a phone.

Matt Drance:

Do you enter uncharted territory, make your own mobile operating system, and hope people switch?

Of course not. You make your competitor’s system yours — overnight. Facebook Home is a trojan horse designed to steal the Android experience, and the Android user base, right out of Google’s hands.

It’s a brilliant move by Facebook, especially since Google is trying so hard to compete with Facebook. I chuckle every time I think about it.

Daniel Eran Dilger did such a great job with this article.

Dan Frommer:

My guess is that many — most? — of these people are Facebook users, and could easily see some utility in having Facebook features highlighted on their phones. And — bonus — Facebook’s software looks good. Much better than the junk that ships with typical low-end Android devices.

I agree with Dan. Facebook has a lot of users that couldn’t care less about what phone they have. They check email and Facebook — that’s who they are going after with Facebook Home.