Kickstarter had its best year ever in 2013 with nearly $500 million pledged

For crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, 2013 was a banner year. In total, a full three million people pledged $480 million to help bring some insanely creative and awesome projects to life. Broken down further, that is more than $1.3 million pledged per day or about $913 per minute – not bad!

In a post on the subject, Kickstarter revealed that donations poured in from 214 different countries and territories around the globe en route to the company’s best year ever. All said and done, 19,911 projects were funded over the course of the year while thousands more actually launched.

We’re told that 807,733 people backed more than one project while 81,090 supported 10 or more and 975 people backed more than 100 different projects. To put it all into perspective, Kickstarter in 2012 saw 2.2 million people pledge around $320 million with 18,109 projects being successfully funded.

Some of the more popular projects that were either funded or launched last year include the Oculus Rift, the Pebble smartwatch and the Android-based Ouya gaming console. Just these three projects alone have either already had a tremendous impact on their respective markets or likely will do so in the coming years (here’s looking at you, Oculus).

This year looks to be even more promising for the crowdfunding platform. With five years under its belt, the site has earned a solid reputation which will no doubt encourage more apprehensive individuals to open their wallets without feeling like they might get ripped off.

Kickstarter had its best year ever in 2013 with nearly $500 million pledged

How to Make Images Stand Out on Pinterest [INFOGRAPHIC]

Do you want your
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Infographic courtesy of
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How to Make Images Stand Out on Pinterest [INFOGRAPHIC]

Red Hat joins forces with CentOS to boost open source innovation

Red Hat announced Tuesday that the company is joining forces with CentOS to develop a “new CentOS” in a bid to speed open source innovation. Several core members of the CentOS team will join the Red Hat payroll, but will continue working on CentOS as their primary job function, according to an announcement on the CentOS mailing list.

Red Hat's business is centered around its popular operating system Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). The company makes over a billion dollars a year by charging a premium for all software and support services it provides with its enterprise OS.

But several components, including the Linux kernel, are subject to the GNU Public License, which requires any derivative work to be published under the same license. For this reason Red Hat publishes all its derivative code online.

A team of developers took this code and gave birth to CentOS, which is essentially a free RHEL clone with Red Hat branding and other intellectual property removed. The Linux distribution caters to those who can live without official support.

This move from the North American enterprise Linux vendor will benefit both organizations. A better relationship with Red Hat along with financial and infrastructure support will definitely be helpful for CentOS. Likewise, it would be easy for existing CentOS users to become paying Red Hat customers if they ever desire support.

In general, CentOS users need not worry as their favorite Linux distro isn't going anywhere. Also, the partnership will not affect Fedora, a community-based Linux distribution maintained by Red Hat.

Red Hat joins forces with CentOS to boost open source innovation

T-Mobile will pay up to $650 per line for you to switch to their network

Just days after T-Mobile’s John Legere crashed AT&T’s private party at CES (and was subsequently tossed out by security), the CEO took the stage during his company’s press conference to confirm rumors that T-Mobile will pay the early termination fee (ETF) for customers interested in leaving their existing wireless network and joining theirs.

Customers switching from AT&T, Sprint or Verizon can have T-Mobile cover their ETF up to $650 per line, or as Legere put it, a “get out of jail free” feature. Unlike AT&T’s recent move, this isn’t a limited time offer but instead a permanent change. Here’s how it works.

Users must trade in their existing phones and can receive up to $300 credit per device / line. Moving forward, new customers can then select a new handset for zero money down – any phone in T-Mobile’s arsenal is eligible. The cost of that device is split into payments over the next 24 months that show up on your wireless bill.

Next, when you receive your final bill from your old carrier, either mail in a copy or upload it to T-Mobile to verify the phone number port and the pending ETF charges. Once verified, T-Mobile will send out a pre-loaded MasterCard for the amount of the ETF, up to $350 per line. The company even said they would prepare a “breakup” letter that you can send to your old carrier. Clever.

In related news, Legere also revealed that T-mobile service now reaches 209 million customers covering 273 metro areas. What’s more, they added 4.4 million new customers over the course of 2013 proving that the Uncarrier strategy is certainly paying off.

T-Mobile will pay up to $650 per line for you to switch to their network

AMD's super thin Nano PC prototype debuts at CES

AMD is showing off a prototype build of its ridiculously thin, Mullins APU equipped Nano PC at this year's CES. The tiny PC, designed to sit atop your TV, is about as thin as a Galaxy Note 3 and capable of running Windows 8.1.

Along with Windows capability, it currently houses a camera, Bluetooth, WiFi and DockPort connectivity as well as a 256GB SSD. Reports say that it is handling Windows 8.1 fairly seamlessly and is capable of running EA's FIFA 14 in 1080p. It will also come with a mini breakout box (seen above) that provides USB and HDMI connections in order to beam the PC's output to your TV, among many other things. Basically, a PC the size of a smartphone with a sizeable SSD that can run Windows and AAA games in full HD.

As others have pointed out, the super thin PC is quite an impressive piece of technology to say the least. Unfortunately, it is just that –  a technology — AMD likely won't be selling these things but rather using the prototype to entice other manufacturers to adopt its slick new HTPC design.

(Image via Engadget)

AMD's super thin Nano PC prototype debuts at CES

LinkedIn files lawsuit to stop unknown group from using bots to steal profile data

LinkedIn has filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping competitors from using bots to collect information from hundreds of thousands of user profiles. The company wants the group of “John Does” to stop the activity and make them pay for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Site representatives claim a group of unknown people are using bots to create thousands of fake user profiles that are then used to interact with real LinkedIn users. Once a connection has been made, the bots siphon off as much data about each member as possible.

The mined data is then being used by competitors as a recruiting product according to the complaint filed in San Francisco this week. LinkedIn said they’ve had to expend a great deal of energy and manpower to combat the fake profiles. What’s more, the bots are putting the company’s integrity and reputation on the line.

As Gigaom points out, it’s unclear really if LinkedIn has a solid leg to stand on since it isn’t exactly illegal to copy information from a website. In addition to the aforementioned laws, the company also says the unknown users are violating their own terms of service.

To get to the bottom of who is scraping their servers, LinkedIn said they will issue discovery orders to Amazon Web Services. It’s this service that the defendants are using to create and store data related to the fake user accounts, the company said.

LinkedIn files lawsuit to stop unknown group from using bots to steal profile data

Farm 51 announces Get Even, a horror-blended, Dark Souls-esque shooter

Gliwice-based developer The Farm 51 has announced a next-generation shooter dubbed Get Even. For anyone unfamiliar, the Polish developer was responsible for the creation of Painkiller: Hell & Damnation, the horror-blended first person shooter that featured wild weapons and even wilder enemies. Their newest project is promising to blur the lines of single-player and multiplayer action.

Get Even will employ a Phantom system, much like the popular horror-action title Dark Souls. This unique vision will allow players to infiltrate the games of friends and strangers and take control of enemy units. Because of this, you won't know if the enemies that you are fighting with in your own game are purely A.I. or are being controlled by a human.

What is perhaps most impressive about this title is the visually stunning, photo-realistic graphics. We've seen this type of eye-candy already with Ubisoft's upcoming title,“The Division,” but not necessarily to the extreme of Get Even. The teaser trailer above is a mind-bending ride, and at some points it's very hard to tell what parts of the game are created and what aren't, hence the mysterious tag line, “What is real?,” which flashes at the end of the video.

“Weapons that fire around corners play a large part in Get Even, allowing the user to shoot from a safe position. These weapons can be linked with the player’s in-game smart phone to not only add a sight functionality, but use apps to bolster attack options. Corner-shot weapons are fully customizable throughout the game,” explained developers.

The shooter is due to drop sometime in 2015, which is a long wait. It will release for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Hopefully we will get some more solid information regarding this title in the near future. This is definitely something you'll want to keep an eye on.

Farm 51 announces Get Even, a horror-blended, Dark Souls-esque shooter

Barnes & Noble names Michael Huseby as new CEO

Barnes & Noble has named its president, Michael P. Huseby, as the company’s new chief executive officer and a member of the board. The executive will lead the retail, college and Nook Media operations at Barnes & Noble according to a press release on the matter issued earlier today.

The appointment fills a spot that has been vacant since July 2013 when then-CEO William Lynch resigned. Lynch was appointed CEO in 2010 and was instrumental in launching the Nook. No reason was given for his exit although most suspect it likely had something to do with the company’s decision to stop producing Nook tablets.

Huseby joined Barnes & Noble in March 2012 as chief financial officer and was promoted to president and interim CEO when Lynch vacated the position last summer. He previously served as vice president and CFO at Cablevision Systems Corp. during his career in the cable industry and was also a global equity partner at Arthur Andersen.

In its most recent quarterly earnings report, the company said that sales dropped 8 percent to $1.7 billion while the Nook division reported sales that were down 32 percent to just $109 million.

The store business, as noted by Maxim Group analyst John Tinker, is still extremely profitable. He described it as a melting iceberg that’s so far been melting very slowly. That’s good news for Barnes & Noble but with increasing competition from Apple and Amazon, they’re still fighting an uphill battle.

Barnes & Noble names Michael Huseby as new CEO

Respawn reveals maximum 6v6 player count in Titanfall multiplayer

We live in a world of massive scaled multiplayer warfare, with games like Arma II and Battlefield 4. The latter of those two even has the capacity to host 64-player skirmishes on both PC and console. But amidst all the epic contention, there are still some developers that prefer a downsized struggle. Respawn, the creative minds behind the upcoming Xbox One exclusive (possibly PC one day, we all hope) Titanfall, has revealed via Twitter that the anticipated shooter will feature a max player-count of six versus six for competitive game modes.

The news came with a decent amount of backlash, with many gamers angered by the small-scale player count. Although, from a personal standpoint, I'm not really sure where all the hostility is coming from. Maximum player count has never really mattered before, and the quality of a game's multiplayer is what really matters. Take a look at series like Counter Strike and Gears of War, where 5v5 multiplayer is a common thing. Both of those series have spawned some great titles with some very enjoyable multiplayer experiences.

The slew of grumpy gamers was still enough to gain to a response from Respawn, and the developer took to NeoGAF in an attempt to quiet the storm.

“Lots of armchair game designing going on in here. I'd suggest playing before judging a something as insignificant as a number in a vacuum,” said DKO5 on the NeoGAF forums. “Vince is right – we tried a huge amount of playercounts (all the way down to 1v1 and up quite high) and designed the maps, gameplay mechanics, and entire experience around which played best. If anyone wants to chase the numbers game, perhaps we're not the experience they're after? I dunno.”

The post when on to speak about what gamers can really expect from a match, touting that things won't be as calm as everyone assumes.

“And FYI, for amount of stuff happening at once in a map you'll be hard pressed to find a game that keeps the action higher. I literally have to stop playing every few rounds because my heart just can't take it some times. Remember, you can get out of your Titan and let it roam on AI mode – meaning there can be 12 Pilots wallrunning around, 12 Titans stomping below, and dozens of AI doing their thing. Oh, and I keep seeing people thinking we've got “bots” when we talk about AI. Thats not how they are. The AI in Titanfall are not replacements for human players. Our playercount is not 6v6 because of AI – AI play their own role in the game and are a different class of character in the game.”

One thing is for sure, this definitely has people talking about the impending release, which we expect to see on March 11th.

Respawn reveals maximum 6v6 player count in Titanfall multiplayer

DreamWorks set to launch Android Dreamtab with exclusive content this spring

DreamWorks is set to launch its own Android tablet for kids called the Dreamtab. It will be partnering up with the Nabi 2 Disney tablet creator, Fuhu, to create the specialized 8-inch tablets. Reports from the New York Times suggest the device will hit store shelves at the sub $300 price point.

The Dreamtab will come along with exclusive content based on DreamWorks characters, that will be updated and refreshed on a regular basis. Unlike the long (and unfortunately growing) list of poor movie to app adaptations developed by third party companies, the DreamWorks Dreamtab content will be produced in-house.

For example, Nancy Bernstein (a DreamWorks animation producer) will be producing several “character moments” which will come in the way of various on-tablet events and short movies. In one, Shrek and friends act out a skit showing the child how to turn off the tablet with respect to parental timing locks.

There will also be a drawing tutorial app for kids, with instruction from DreamWorks animators. Reports say the DreamTab will boast a similar technology and stylus DreamWorks animators use, although we are still waiting for confirmation on what exactly that means. We could also see DreamWorks try its hand with a toy figurine/game tie-in product line similar to Disney Infinity and Skylanders, a growing market the company is yet to capitalize on.

The device can be set to something called parent mode, at which time it is capable of roughly the “same computing power as an iPad,” according to Fuhu and DreamWorks.

Dreamtab is scheduled for this spring along with a host of add-on accessories like headphones and cases. Reports also say DreamWorks could have a 12-inch version in development as well.

DreamWorks set to launch Android Dreamtab with exclusive content this spring

Acer's new 27" all-in-one is a high-def monitor and an Android PC

Acer has taken the traditional 27-inch all-in-one PC and given it a whole new lease on life with the TA272 HUL. The machine essentially doubles as a high resolution touch screen monitor and a full-fledged Android PC – wait, what?

At the core of the system is a 2,560 x 1,440 WQHD display that is said to be four times sharper than a conventional high-def monitor. The display can be tilted from 30 to 80 degrees to help dial in an optimal viewing angle while a USB 3.0 port is adequate for game controllers, USB drives or other accessories. Sporting HDMI and DisplayPort connections, the monitor can also be used as an external screen for your desktop, notebook or even a gaming console.

The all-in-one is Windows 8 certified so you won’t be held back when using it with Microsoft’s latest OS. But what really sets the machine apart from others, however, is the fact that it has an Android PC built right in.

Under the hood is Nvidia’s quad-core Tegra SoC, 16GB of internal flash storage, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, two Dolby surround sound speakers and dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi. The press release didn’t mention which generation of Tegra chip it’s running so odds are, it is the older Tegra 3 chip and not the newer (and less popular for some reason) Tegra 4.

The machine runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box which serves as the gateway to all things Android.

The Acer TA272 HUL is available as of writing for $1,099 via Acer’s online store and select third-party retailers.

Acer's new 27" all-in-one is a high-def monitor and an Android PC

IE 11 market share jumps more than three-fold during December

The latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, IE 11, captured 10.42 percent of the desktop browser market during December, according to a report from web tracker Net Applications. This is more than a three-fold increase when compared to 3.2 percent market share it had in November last year.

The rise in adoption of IE 11 has come at the cost of IE 10's market share, which slipped down from 17.50 percent to 11.05 percent. IE 9 also witnessed a decline, though marginal, in market share. With a dip of 0.29 percentage points, its market share is now 8.96 percent.

Despite a 1.10 percent decline in market share, IE 8 is still the most used web browser in the world, with a 20.64 percent share. IE 7, whose market share is 2.14 percent, managed to gain 0.80 percentage points, while IE 6's market share slipped 0.49 percentage points to 4.43 percent.

On the whole, Internet Explorer still leads the web browser market with a 57.9 percent share in December. Firefox and Chrome occupy the second and third spot with 18.35 and 16.22 percent market share, respectively.

Net Applications has a network of 40,000 client websites from all across the globe. The company compiles its statistics by using data captured from approximately 160 million unique visitors per month.

We should note that the data differs significantly from that collected by Shareaholic in a number of ways, which can explain why Net Applications consistently ranks Internet Explorer as the most used browser while the former claims Chrome is used more than Firefox, Opera and Internet Explorer combined. Shareaholic tracked 250 million users over 200,000 websites, collecting and combining pageview data for both mobile and desktop browsers. Net Applications simply tracks desktop unique users, rather than pageviews, which results in more market share for more widespread, but less frequently used browsers such as IE.

IE 11 market share jumps more than three-fold during December

Intel's Internet TV project failed because they couldn't secure content deals

Intel was secretly testing a set-top box with more than 2,000 employees last summer as the company was sparing no expense to get said box up and running. But as the year ticked by, rumors surfaced that Intel was looking to offload the yet-to-be launched service for around $500 million. Buy why?

As Intel CEO Brian Krzanich recently told Re/code, the chip maker ran into similar problems that have reportedly plagued Apple for years – securing content deals. In an interview with the publication, the CEO said Intel’s set-top box is actually a very good product in terms of hardware and technology.

He revealed that the concept was to have three days of everything that is on TV at a user’s instantaneous access but regardless of how good a device it, it’s nothing without content. Krzanich said that when you go and play with the content guys, it’s all about volume. Intel came at it with no background or volume since they were starting from virtually zero.

It doesn’t necessarily sound like Intel is giving up on the idea completely, however. The chief said they are out looking for a partner that can help them scale their volume at a much quicker rate.

One company that could help Intel do just that is Verizon. The telecom already has content tie-ins with providers thanks to its cable service and we’ve been hearing rumors that big red is the front-runner to partner with Intel.

With any luck, we’ll hear more about it at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Intel's Internet TV project failed because they couldn't secure content deals

NSA building quantum computer capable of cracking most forms of encryption

The National Security Agency is building “a cryptologically useful quantum computer” designed to break nearly every kind of encryption, The Washington Post reported Thursday. According to the report, which cites leaked documents provided by Edward Snowden, the effort is a part of a $79.7 million research program code named Penetrating Hard Targets.

A quantum computer is a machine that is much faster than traditional computers. While a traditional computer works with binary bits, either zeros or ones, a quantum computer works with quantum bits or qubits, which are simultaneously zero and one.

Such a computer can decide to avoid calculations that are unnecessary to solving a problem. This gives quantum computer the ability to quickly solve very difficult problems like breaking a complex encryption.

The report also says that the intelligence agency carries out its quantum computing research activities in large, shielded rooms (known as Faraday cages) that are designed in such a way that prevents electromagnetic energy from coming in or out.

Although the documents indicate that the NSA is nowhere close to creating a quantum computer, if this does happen, it would be easy for the agency to break almost all forms of encryption that are currently being used to protect banking, medical, business, and government records all around the world.

The NSA declined to comment on the report.

NSA building quantum computer capable of cracking most forms of encryption

Scientists use sound waves to levitate objects in three dimensions

Scientists at the University of Tokyo and the Nagoya Institute of Technology were recently able to levitate small items in three dimensions using only sound waves. While it’s not uncommon for sound waves to be used to lift lightweight objects, the researchers are able to move those objects around in space by aiming ultrasonic phased arrays at a focal point.

Items that qualify for sound wave levitation include a feather, alcohol droplets, soap bubbles and a small electronic resistor – or in other words, nothing too large or heavy. It may not seem like much but it’s a big step forward in terms of levitation research R&D.

Found is a TechSpot feature where we share clever, funny or otherwise interesting stuff from around the web.

Scientists use sound waves to levitate objects in three dimensions

Modern UI Firefox app for Windows 8 delayed until March

Mozilla's Modern UI web browser for Windows 8 has once again been delayed to give the team more time to iron out bugs. Originally announced nearly two years ago in February 2012, the Modern UI interface is expected to launch with Firefox 28, scheduled for a March 18th release.

The long development of Firefox for Windows 8's 'Modern' UI has seen it enter the nightly channel in February 2013, and the Aurora beta channel back in September. Mozilla was originally targeting Firefox 27 as a launch for the Modern version, however more issues discovered in the beta phase has seen that target pushed back.

The new web browser will act as a replacement for Internet Explorer in the Modern UI, with support for swipe gestures, snapped views, Share Charm integration and Firefox Sync. It's powered by Mozilla's Gecko rendering engine – the same that's used for the deskop version of the browser – and supports WebGL, hardware accelerated HTML5, H.264 and WebM.

As well as the delay for the Modern UI version of Firefox, Mozilla has pushed back the entire Firefox release schedule by two weeks so that employees can have some “much needed time off”. This means we'll be seeing the next version of Firefox on February 4, rather than January 21.

Modern UI Firefox app for Windows 8 delayed until March

Nest's new round of funding could value the company at more than $2 billion

Nest Labs is reportedly close to closing a new round of funding to the tune of $150 million. The deal would value the smart home startup at more than $2 billion according to sources close to the situation as reported by Re/code.

Other sources told the publication that the valuation could top $3 billion on more than $200 million raised. Several investors are said to be vying for the deal but most signs suggest Yuri Milner’s DST Global investment firm ultimately came away with the bulk of the investment. Current investors such as Google Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Generation Investment Management, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Venrock will also participate, we’re told.

About a year ago, the company credited with reinventing the thermostat and the smoke detector raised $80 million on a valuation of more than $800 million. But what could Nest possibly have in store for all of this newfound money?

As Gigaom points out, the company will likely use the funds to scale its current businesses, launch new products and help fight lawsuits over existing products that have surfaced as of late. The company was hit with a lawsuit from thermostat maker Honeywell before being dealt another blow from First Alert smoke detector maker BRK last November.

It is unclear how well the new Protect smoke detector is selling but odds are, it’s probably not doing as well as the thermostat. Nest could use some of these funds to better market the device instead of relying on word of mouth and buzz created from the thermostat, but I digress.

Nest's new round of funding could value the company at more than $2 billion

Microsoft quietly upgrades the Surface Pro 2's CPU

After just two months on the market, Microsoft has quietly upgraded the processor inside their Surface Pro 2 tablet. The latest batch of units being sold at retail has seen the Intel CPU upgraded from an Intel 'Haswell' Core i5-4200U to a Core i5-4300U, which provides a few modest improvements.

Primarily, the base clock speed of the dual-core CPU has increased from 1.6 GHz to 1.9 GHz, with a comparable increase in Turbo clock speed from 2.6 GHz to 2.9 GHz. The maximum dynamic frequency of the Intel HD Graphics 4400 chip has also increased slightly, from 1.0 GHz to 1.1 GHz. Other specifications such as cache (3 MB), memory bandwidth (25.6 GB/s) and TDP (15 watts) remain the same.

For what it's worth, extra CPU features include vPro, VT-d, TSX-NI, Trusted Execution Technology and a few other enterprise-related bits and pieces. Whether software will take advantage of these extra features is another story.

It's not clear why Microsoft upgraded the processor in the later models of the Surface Pro 2, with the company declining to provide specifics when contacted by The Verge. “Microsoft routinely makes small changes to internal components over the lifetime of a product, based on numerous factors including supply chain partnerships, availability, and value for our customers,” a spokesperson said.

Reports indicate the change was made sometime in late December, with most future stock set to include the i5-4300U out of the box.

Microsoft quietly upgrades the Surface Pro 2's CPU

YouTube to showcase 4K streaming using VP9 codec at CES

YouTube will be on hand during next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to showcase 4K video streaming. But instead of using the traditional H.265 video codec to get the job done, the Google-owned company will rely on a new royalty-free codec developed in-house known as VP9.

Whether or not Google will be able to drum up interest in the codec, however, remains to be seen. The search giant launched the VP8 video codec back in 2010 which many believed would become the go-to option for real-time communications and plugin-free video streaming.

A lack of hardware support and opposition from those looking to make money from a commercial video format, however, prevented VP8 from becoming a mainstream success.

For VP9, Google is getting its duck in a row ahead of the fact. YouTube recently released a list of 19 hardware partners that have vowed to support the new codec including ARM, Broadcom, Intel and Marvel. And at CES, YouTube will be demonstrating 4K streaming at the booths of LG, Panasonic and Sony.

You’d think that with such a strong focus on VP9, YouTube would be putting every resource possible behind the codec. But that isn’t the case according to Francisco Varela, global director of platform partnerships at YouTube. In a recent interview with Gigaom, the executive said this certainly isn’t a war of the video codecs and left open the possibility that YouTube might add H.265 support at some point.

YouTube to showcase 4K streaming using VP9 codec at CES

Nokia officially shuts the doors on Symbian and MeeGo app support

Nokia has now officially put Symbian and MeeGo to rest as expected. Today the company took to its Symbian Signed Team twitter account to announce the termination of all Symbian and MeeGo support moving forward.

“That was it; we are officially closed. Thank you all for the past years!” the Symbian Signed team posted on Twitter today.

Nokia announced back in October that it would stop accepting new applications or updates of existing ones starting in the new year. Less than a month after Microsoft purchased Nokia's Devices and Services division for 5.4 billion Euros, Nokia made the announcement that Symbian developers would have until January 1, 2014 to offer any final updates on existing apps.

According to reports, developers will no longer be able to offer updates through Nokia's digital distribution chain, but could decide to offer them through private servers or with unsigned files for modded Nokia devices.

Now that the MeeGo and Symbian app store has been suspended, the company will set its focus on Windows Phone and its Asha product line, while hoping that its developers will make the transition with them.

“With the growing business opportunities available on the Asha and Windows Phone platforms, we have been reviewing our developer content programs to see how we can maximize our support to you, our developers,” Nokia said back in October. The company continued by saying that as “a result of this review,” it has decided to focus both its “support and investment” toward Windows Phone and its Asha line, which many feel is crucial to the company's growth in developing markets.

Nokia officially shuts the doors on Symbian and MeeGo app support

Marvel removes digital download availability for its games

A slew of Marvel-based titles have been yanked from digital storefronts, including Steam, Xbox Live, and the Playstation Network. This news come on the heels of a recent Marvel “New Years sale” that was spotted on Facebook. Titles like Deadpool, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, X-Men: Destiny, and a mass of other super-human releases saw large price cuts at a variety of digital outlets.

The Facebook post stated that “These games – and their corresponding DLC – will no longer be available on the Xbox Games Store or the PlayStation Network after New Year's Eve.” But we were not aware that this also affected PC users and Steam. Rumors that Marvel was moving its titles completely out of the digital download realm soon followed and were validated by Activision's community manager Dan Amrich.

“For those asking about it: Marvel Activision titles are no longer available for digital download. Hence the sale!,” said Amrich in a recent Twitter post. He went on to say that Capcom had also pulled its popular Marvel Vs. Capcom games from digital download.

It is possible that Marvel's parent company, Disney is attempting to re-evaluate distribution of the super hero brand, and that these titles will once again find their way onto a digital platform in the near future. It is also important to note that Deadpool recently released (within the last 6 months) and it is uncertain if this will affect availability and stock of the game from a retail standpoint. 

Marvel removes digital download availability for its games

Samsung reveals Galaxy Camera 2, NX30 mirrorless camera ahead of CES

Why wait until the Consumer Electronics Show to launch new products when you can get plenty of uncontested media exposure in the days leading up to the event? That must be what Samsung is thinking as they’ve revealed two new shooters ahead of next week's massive tech conference: the Galaxy Camera 2 and the NX30.

The Galaxy Camera 2 is still powered by Android and relies on the same 16-megapixel sensor, 21x zoom lens and 4.8-inch LCD as the model before. Samsung has beefed up the battery to a 2,000mAh unit, however, while at the same time managing to drop the weight down to 9.2 ounces.

Inside is a new quad-core 1.6GHz processor with 2GB of RAM as well as an OS refresher up to Android 4.3. These changes now allow for 120fps slow-motion video capture as well as independent autoexposure and autofocus controls.

The mirrorless NX30, on the other hand, receives a new 20.3-megapixel image sensor that is more light-sensitive and a speedy hybrid autofocus system that can lock onto a target in just 80ms. Around back is a Super AMOLED-based touchscreen that is brighter than before. What’s more, the display can now tilt in addition to swivel for a bit more flexibility when shooting.

The camera will launch with a pair of new lens as well: a quiet f/2-2.8 unit and a powered f/3.5-5.6 that’s said to be adequate for capturing video.

No word yet on pricing or availability for either model but with any luck, that information will come down the pipeline sometime during CES next week.

Samsung reveals Galaxy Camera 2, NX30 mirrorless camera ahead of CES

Neowin: Microsoft 2014, another exciting year ahead

Twenty-thirteen was an incredible year for Microsoft. A year ago, when we looked forward to what the company had in store, we could hardly have imagined just how many exciting developments were still to come.

The last twelve months have seen some major product launches from Microsoft, including the Xbox One and the second generation of its Surface tablets. Office 2013 was released at the beginning of the year, along with a new Office 365 subscription for home users. We also saw the launch of the greatly improved Windows 8.1, along with three updates for Windows Phone 8, as the mobile platform finally made significant gains in the market.

Perhaps the biggest changes were not on the product front, but rather to the organisation itself. 2013 was the year that Microsoft’s ‘devices and services’ vision really began to redefine and reshape the company as a whole, and the announcement of its plan to buy Nokia’s devices business was a huge and significant step in that direction. It was also the year that its larger-and-louder-than-life CEO, Steve Ballmer, announced his retirement plans, leading to endless speculation about who might take over at the top.

Yes, 2013 was an extraordinary year indeed for Microsoft – but there is so much more to come. Read on as we take a look at what we know for sure, along with the stuff of rumour and conjecture, to see just what Microsoft has in store for the year ahead.

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This article is brought to you in partnership with Neowin.

Neowin: Microsoft 2014, another exciting year ahead

Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics removed from GOG due to rights issue

GOG.com has been forced to remove its digital copies of Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics, thanks to a legal battle between Bethesda and Interplay. This is the final product of the two year long lawsuit, in which Bethesda earned the rights to a Fallout MMO, as well as the transfer of all Fallout IP from Interplay. The $2 million settlement was reached all the way back in January 2012, but the information was set to transfer after December 2013.

This, unfortunately, means that GOG is no longer allowed to sell the original Fallout titles, without reaching a new agreement with Bethesda. All three games have been removed from the GOG platform, but anyone who has purchased any of these titles in the past can still download and access them at any time. That's good news for any fans out there who managed to grab the post-apocalyptic releases when GOG offered them in a free bundle just weeks ago.

It is very likely that Besthesda will reach a new agreement with the DRM-free re-seller, but it is curious that a smoother transition wasn't achieved. After all, both companies had ample time to strike up a deal while they waited for the lawsuit ruling to enact. It is also unknown what will happen to the titles on Steam. As of writing this article, all three games are still available on Valve's platform, and it is possible that Valve and Bethesda already reached an agreement.

Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics removed from GOG due to rights issue

Lenovo launches first 4G LTE smartphone, the Vibe Z

Lenovo has had some pretty impressive mobile hardware hit the scene in recent memory but many have stayed at bay because they’ve all lacked speedy LTE connectivity. That’s all changing now as the company’s first 4G LTE smartphone is making its way from China to other markets.

The Vibe Z may not be the most cutting-edge handset but it’s no slouch, either. It consists of a 5.5-inch display with a 1080p IPS screen and pixel density of 400 PPI that’s powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM.

Digging deeper, we find options for up to 16GB of flash storage, a rear 13-megapixel camera with f/1.3 lens, a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, among other common amenities. The phone measures in at just 7.9mm thick and is said to feature a textured plastic back that is similar to the Vibe X and the Yoga Tablet.

The device will ship with a heavy-skinned version of Android 4.3 and will arrive in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the Philippines next month for $549 off-contract.

If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, three other non-4G LTE Lenovo smartphones may do the trick. The A859 features a 5-inch, 720p IPS display, a quad-core MediaTek Processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, two SIM card slots and an 8-megapixel rear camera for $319. The S930 has essentially the same specs under a 6-inch display for $319 while the lower-end S650 is a 4.7-incher with a 960 x 540 screen and 8-megapixel camera priced at $229.

Like the Vibe Z, these three phones are also destined for Asian markets.

Lenovo launches first 4G LTE smartphone, the Vibe Z

Plex relaunches at Plex.tv, unifies services as all-in-one cloud media streaming service

Plex provides users with a complete media hub, along with a number of other content and sharing related features. The service has evolved over the past few years to focus more on cloud based services, and has now launched a brand new site design that brings all of its features together into a much more intuitive and organized experience.

Now sitting at Plex.tv, the redesign offers a much more streamlined approach to all of the different Plex features. Before today, there were four separate areas for the service, the site itself,  Plex Pass downloads, myPlex and Plex/Web access. The company felt that this “seemed like three places too many,” and has now unified the service under the new domain name.

Users will no longer need to sign in three times for complete access, and even more notably, the full Chromecast support that was recently announced is accessible via a handy cast button you'll find in the top right corner. Beyond that, users will find a much “faster and prettier” UI all around and a new help center.

Plex also says there are still new features that haven't been implemented as of yet like the “blog skin, forum skin,” and “support skin” along with other things. You can check out the new unified Plex service at Plex.tv now.

Plex relaunches at Plex.tv, unifies services as all-in-one cloud media streaming service

Skype?s social media accounts hacked by Syrian Electronic Army

The Syrian Electronic Army isn’t wasting any time in the New Year. On Wednesday, the group managed to hack into the Facebook account, Twitter account and blog of Skype to spread their anti-spying propaganda on the web.

Yesterday afternoon, Skype’s Twitter account published a tweet suggesting people shouldn’t use Microsoft e-mail programs because they monitor accounts and sell data to governments. A very similar message was also retweeted from the SEA’s Twitter account.

The same message also briefly appeared on Skype’s Facebook page although it was short-lived. Two additional posts cropped up on the company’s official blog as well. One was titled “Hacked by Syrian Electronic Army.. Stop Spying!” while the other was similar to the messages that appeared on Twitter.

Later in the day, Skype reached out to news publications with a statement on the matter. It said they recently became aware of a targeted cyber attack that led to access to their social media properties but the credentials were quickly reset. What’s more, no user information was compromised in the breach.

Skype was likely targeted following a July report that suggested the Microsoft-owned company allowed the NSA to intercept communications from those using the program.

The Syrian Electronic Army, a group loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, typically spews pro-government propaganda in their attacks. Last year, the group was responsible for hacking the websites or Twitter accounts of the Washington Post, Tango, the Associated Press, CBS, E! Online, The Financial Times and The Onion, just to name a few.

Skype?s social media accounts hacked by Syrian Electronic Army

Samsung takes aim at Sonos with expanded multi-room audio lineup

Samsung entered the multi-room audio system scene in October with the $400 Shape M7 speaker and an optional $49.99 wireless connectivity hub. Now, the company is stepping up the fight against Sonos with some new offerings, including a more affordable M5 model and a pair of Shape-compatible speakers, the 320W HW-H750 Soundbar and the HW-H600 Sound Stand speaker base for multi-directional 4.2 channel audio.

The new Shape M5 packs three drivers, down from the five inside the M7, but otherwise supports the same set of streaming services as the higher end model and is also controlled via a smartphone app. Media sources include Amazon Cloud Player, Pandora, Rhapsody and TuneIn, in addition to music stored on your PC and smartphone.

Meanwhile, both the HW-H750 and HW-H600 incorporate Samsung's TV Sound Connect which allows compatible Samsung TVs to send audio signals to the sound bar or sound stand over Bluetooth.

With this Samsung is positioning the Shape lineup against Sonos’ speakers in a number of price points and categories. The M7 is their take on the Sonos Play:5, the new M5 will likely be priced to compete with the Play:3, while the HW-H750 Soundbar with subwoofer looks to be Samsung's take on the Sonos Playbar and Sub. Additionally, Samsung is also releasing the Connect Box, a small set-top box that allows you to integrate Shape multi-room audio functionality to an existing home audio system, much like the Sonos Connect does.

Samsung's not sharing any details on pricing or availability for now but promises we’ll hear more at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas later this month. Other audio products on display at the show include the MX-HS8500 GIGA System, which Samsung bills as “the world’s first main body-integrated component audio system on wheels” and the HT-H7730WM system comprising two tallboy speakers, two wireless rear satellites, one center speaker, a subwoofer, an amplifier with integrated Blu-ray player, and support for DTS Neo: Fusion II.

Samsung takes aim at Sonos with expanded multi-room audio lineup

LG TV leak gives a glimpse of a resurrected webOS

It has been a long time since LG Electronics purchased webOS from HP with a goal of re-purposing the software for use in smart TVs. Today well-known leaker @evleaks posted an image of an upcoming LG-made smart TV powered by webOS, giving us the first glimpse at what the software might bring to the platform.

Shown on the TV's display is what appears to be webOS's 'Cards' interface, which used to be the main way to multitask on the smartphone and tablet version of the OS. Smart TV apps take the form of cards, seen in the bottom area of the screen, that feature thumbnails if the app has been used.

Apps that will come with this TV, according to the leaked image, include YouTube, Facebook, Skype, Twitter, AccuWeather, a web browser and LG's SmartShare service. As webOS matures as a Smart TV platform, expect to see more applications available, hopefully for popular streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.

This particular TV will be announced at next week's CES 2014 in Las Vegas, and is expected to be powered by a 2.2 GHz dual-core processor (likely ARM-based) plus 1.5 GB of RAM. Apps based on webOS' Enyo framework will be supported, although a price for the TV hasn't been announced at this stage.

LG TV leak gives a glimpse of a resurrected webOS