News to know: Apple-Adobe, Microsoft's Courier, iPhone, HP-Palm

Apple-Adobe tiff continues, Microsoft's Courier tablet, more on iPhone-Gizmodo, as well as the HP-Palm deal, lead today's top headlines. Get the day's rolling posts via Twitter, RSS, or email.

Here are the key themes for Friday, April 30:

Steve Jobs, answering critics over the company's cold shoulder treatment toward Adobe Flash, penned an open letter to explain why Apple was not using it on its iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Andrew Nusca highlights Jobs' reasons for saying no to Flash and Adrian Kingsley-Hughes breaks down the letter for a better understanding. In response to Jobs' letter, Adobe's CTO says the company is shifting its focus away from Apple.

Microsoft's top secret tablet device, called Courier, is history, scrapped and left for parts at a time when competitors are rushing into the tablet business. What scared Microsoft off?

For those of you who have been following this iPhone Gizmodo thing, you have to take nine minutes out of your day and watch this clip from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It's classic Facebook sharing video. In the meantime, the people who were involved in the sale of the lost iPhone have been outed. No word on any criminal charges yet.

Mary Jo Foley continues her series "Microsoft Women Worth Watching" with a profile of Betsy Speare, principal program manager lead. Foley's series started on March 24, Ada Lovelace Day — which is dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women in science and technology.

It's an app showdown between the iPhone and the iPad. Check out the images in the gallery.