Today’s e-Reads: Cyber Monday Deals Come Early, Whitman Rebuilds at HP

Online retailers aren't waiting for the traditional shopping days to snag consumers, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman says that the company will focus more on rebuilding its business with in-house research on new products, Bloomberg reports. ZDNet outlines some of the challenges facing the company. 

So much for six degrees of separation. Researchers at Facebook and the University of Michigan have determined that the average number of acquaintances separating any two people in the world is the nice round number of 4.74, according to The New York Times. 

All Things D describes the "Facebook phone," a device with the social network "integrated at the core of its being."

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told a court hearing that his company worked hard to build a superior product while bad business decisions, not anti-competitive practices by Microsoft, helped doom Novell’s WordPerfect software, according to The Register.

The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Apple products don't violate patents held by the handset-maker HTC, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.