Here are the interesting things that the tech reporters and editors for The New York Times found on the Web on Wednesday. Find more Scuttlebot items here.
The Sting That Cost Google $500 Million
WSJ.COM | An inside look at the sting that cost Google $500 million in fines for running illegal pharmaceutical ads. — Claire Cain Miller
Groupon Promotion Goes Too Far
THEREGISTER.CO.UK | British regulators say Groupon cannot claim that a serum kills wrinkles. Inevitable snake oil jokes follow. — David Streitfeld
Note to Tom Friedman: Technology Creates, Not Destroys, Jobs
INNOVATIONPOLICY.ORG | Another point of view in a lively and fluid debate on technology and jobs. — Steve Lohr
The Zynga Abyss
THE ATLANTIC | Are most video games being designed (ahem, FarmVille) to treat players like rats in a Skinner Box? — Jenna Wortham
Hewlett-Packard’s WebOS Open Source Road Map
MARKETWIRE.COM | H.P. releases developer kit to make applications run on multiple browsers and operating systems. Full webOS release by September. — Quentin Hardy
More iPhones Are Sold Each Day Than Babies Are Born in the World
THENEXTWEB.COM | Wow. — Jenna Wortham
Zynga Releases Tiny Tower Clone, NimbleBit Strikes Back
SLIDETOPLAY.COM | Zynga clones the popular iPhone game Tiny Tower. Tiny Tower makers respond with a snarky graphic. — Brian X. Chen
New Scanner Allows Passengers to Take Liquids on Board
HOMELANDSECURITYNEWSWIRE.COM | Good news for anyone who wants to bring liquids on a plane. Bad news for the little travel bottle industry. — Nicole Perlroth
Super Bowl Ad Has Fun With Siri
CULTOFMAC.COM | A Doritos Super Bowl ad has junk food, barely clothed young women and Siri. What more does a dude want? – Damon Darlin