• LinkedIn unveiled a slew of new features during a webcast including “InMaps,” which presents a visual map of your relationships and connections, pages called “Skills” that extract tens of thousands of industry skills and surfaces information like top industry influencers, a searchable real-time stream of social media updates called “Signal,” and the heavily-rumored news aggregator “LinkedIn Today” that tailors the reading experience to users based on what they’re sharing via social networks and discussing with fellow LinkedIn users. (LinkedIn)

  

• Unfortunately those AOL layoff rumors were true. The company announced it plans to cut 900 jobs, or roughly 20% of its staff of 5,860, including 200 from its U.S.-based properties like PoliticsDaily, DailyFinance and WalletPop, as well as 700 jobs in India, though 300 of the cut India jobs will move to outsourcing partners and continue to do work for AOL. “The changes for me today are very personal,’’ said CEO Tim Armstrong in a lengthy company-wide memo. “AOL employees deserve a tremendous amount of credit because I don’t think it’s easy to go from managing decline to managing growth.’’ (Wired and Bloomberg)
• 
  The day many iPad owners (and many wannabe iPad owners) have been waiting for is finally here. Assuming you’re willing to brave the lines, the iPad 2 becomes officially available in Apple stores at 5 PM PT and EST, and if you’d rather stay in, it’s already available for purchase online in all flavors (WiFi, AT&T and Verizon 3G, 16 GB – 64 GB). All in all, Apple intends to offer its tablet on day at nearly 10,000 locations around the U.S., including AT&T, Verizon, Walmart, Best Buy and Target, so options are plentiful. And analysts expect it’ll break records, moving 600,000 on launch day, twice what the iPad 1 sold during the same period. (Bloomberg)
• Meanwhile YouTube plans to bolster its staff by 30% or 200 more jobs this year.The decision comes a few days after the video streaming company bought web video production company Next New Networks. (Mashable)
• Dell crept back up to the number two spot on the PC market during the fourth quarter of 2010 thanks — surprisingly — at least in some part to Apple’s iPad, which kept competitor Acer and its own netbook offerings at bay. (AllThingsD)
• Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of Intel proper, plans to invest at least $45 million in India this year, which counts as the company’s second-largest market for Intel Capital in terms of investments. (Wall Street Journal)
• Angry Birds developer Rovio raised $42 million from investors like Accel Partners and Atomic Ventures; Niklas, Zennstrom of Skype and Atomic Ventures, plans on joining Rovio’s board. Angry Birds itself now claims 40 million active users. (New York Times)
• RadiumOne, an online ad network, raised $21 million in Series B funding led by Crosslink Capital at a valuation of $200 million, bringing the startup’s total funds to $33.5 million. (TechCrunch)

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