News written by Andre Yoskowitz (March, 2016)

Square Enix has released a new trailer and the launch date for their upcoming Final Fantasy XV, one of the biggest releases in years.

The game will be available for Xbox One and PS4 on September 30th.

Development of the game began in 2006 as part of Square's "Fabula Nova Crystalis Project" to create a bunch of standalone games spun off of Final Fantasy XIII, but it has clearly evolved since.

Check out the trailer here:

According to a new report, AT&T is looking to build its own version of Android thanks to some help from ZTE and Cyanogen.

The sources claimed that ZTE was building the phones running on the Android variant, but export sanctions ended that part of the deal before it could really start. Cyanogen already offers an Android variant that is moving further away from Google every day, and there are over 10 million users of the fork.

If true, the operating system would be similar to Amazon's FireOS, which is based on Android and supports Android apps, but is controlled by Amazon.

For the time being, the plans are still in early stages and AT&T may just drop it completely in the future. If they proceed, the move would be one of the largest ever to break away from Google and Android, as AT&T has over 110 million subscribers and significant marketing power.

Source:
Information

Nintendo has confirmed that their first smartphone app, Miitomo, will reach U.S. consumers tomorrow.

Additionally, the gaming company will release the app in numerous other countries, including the European and Australian markets. To date, the app has only been available in Nintendo's hometown Japan.

Miitomo lets users create their own Mii and profile based on their interests and then you can interact with other Miitomo users and friends in a virtual social network. Nintendo makes money through in-app purchases of items for your Miis.

AT&T has announced this week that it will increase monthly data caps for its U-verse home broadband service, including adding a new unlimited tier.

The first tier, which includes users who pay for speeds that vary from .8Mbps to 6Mbps, will now get 300 GB per month, up from 250 GB per month. On the opposite end, those that pay for 100Mbps+ will now get a 1TB cap, double the previous limit. For an additional $30 per month, you can have unlimited data.

AT&T is one of a few companies to implement data caps for home broadband service (thankfully) and the new unlimited option is incredibly overpriced but some rural users have no other options, which is a shame.

The new plans will go into effect on May 23rd.

Thanks to a high-profile album launch by Kanye West, HiFi streaming service Tidal now claims 3 million subscribers.

45 percent of the subscribers pay for the $19.99 per month, hi-fidelity, lossless audio/video tier with the rest paying for the standard $9.99 tier. The regular tier grants access to 40 million tracks and over 130,000 music videos including exclusives and original content.

Tidal can thank Kanye for the jump in subscribers. 'The Life of Pablo,' which was made available exclusively through the service in February, topped 250 million streams in its first 10 days of release, a very significant figure.

Sony has confirmed that its 4K movie streaming service Ultra will launch early next month, letting customers buy and stream movies in 4K (Ultra HD) resolution.

The service is set to launch on April 4th and will be supported on all Sony 4K TV sets.

"We wanted to give consumers a streaming option that showcased the best 4K content that we can offer with the ease of a streaming service," said Sony Pictures Entertainment VP Jake Winett.

While there will be primarily older titles available, there will also some new releases including "Concussion," "The Night Before" and "The Walk." The titles will sell for $30 each, and there are no traditional rentals at this point.

Ultra is also connected to cloud movie service UltraViolet, which means you can upgrade your SD and HD movies saved to the service into 4K for $12-$15 and access the films elsewhere.

EBay has acquired auto industry advertising and marketing technology company Cargigi, and the company's product will replace eBay's own Dealer Center.

The auction company called the "acquisition" small and did say the Cargigi team of 30 will all join eBay.

Ebay also says the acquisition will help them "build out its structured data capabilities for the vehicles industry," including giving dealers more access to analytics.

Cargigi was founded in 2009, and their tech helps dealers to get their ads in front of targeted audiences, including through Craiglist and other sites including social media. Cargigi also offers analytics related to how their ads are performing, tools to monitor competitors, and easy tools to enhance their photos before posting with listings.

"After making a significant impact on the automotive sector early on, Cargigi quickly became one of the top classified marketing service providers for thousands of dealerships nationwide. As Cargigi has continued to scale, it has remained singularly focused on innovating and creating great products," added Cargigi founder Tony Hoang.

Google has introduced a new landline service, Fiber Phone, for just $10 per month.

Reads the Google press release:

In their efforts to take on Apple Music, Spotify has raised another $1 billion, although this time the terms do not appear to be too favorable.

The streaming giant raised the convertible debt from TPG, Dragoneer and Goldman Sachs, and the money will be spent on marketing and expansion, says Spotify.

While the large raise looks great on paper for the company, the terms are a bit rough. The venture firms can convert the debt into equity at a 20 percent discount to the initial public offer price, and if Spotify does not go public in the next year, the discount increases 2.5 percent every six months. This is in addition to Spotify paying 5% interest on the debt annual and the fact that TPG and Dragoneer can sell their shares just 90 days after the company goes public, a full 90 days before Spotify's own employees.

It makes sense that Spotify would need to take money at such terms given that it is facing off directly with Apple and its nearly infinite amount of cash. The company already has 11 million paying Apple Music subscribers in just 9 months, compared to Spotify at 30 million after 7 years.

According to recent court filings, Oracle is now seeking up to $9.3 billion in damages in their long-standing copyright lawsuit against Google over the use of Java in over a billion Android phones and tablets.

Oracle sued Google back in 2010, claiming that Google needs to license parts of Java before using it for Android moving forward. In 2012, a jury split on whether Google's use of Java was protected by fair use laws that allow limited copying of key software.

The new trial begins in May, and the damages figure is up significantly since the first trial, where Oracle was seeking $1 billion. Since then, Google has released six new versions of Android and smartphone sales have exploded. Oracle suggests they would have made $475 million had Google decided to license Java, and the rest of the damages figure includes Oracle's own calculation on how much profit Google made from Android since 2010.

Google claims the 37 APIs they used are only a fraction of a percent of the amount of code used in Android and the profits "attributable to" the alleged infringing code would be negligible.

Bioware's head of design and art in Montreal, Alistair McNally, believes that the upcoming Mass Effect Andromeda and the company's new IP are looking "stunning," even in their earlier stages.

"Played Mass Effect Andromeda yesterday and then today our new IP. Both of which are looking stunning," McNally said on Twitter.

The company revealed they had a new IP in the pipe last week at GDC, without giving much detail.

Mass Effect: Andromeda, expected to be a blockbuster, has also been delayed and now has an expected 2017 release date.

According to a new research report from Sensor Tower, the average U.S. iPhone user spent $35 on apps and games in 2015.

71 percent of that spending went towards games, at $25 per person, followed by music at just $3.40 per person. The rest of the top five included social networking, entertainment and lifestyle apps, at just $1.80, $1, and $0.40 cents spent. The rest of the figure went towards all other apps, although nothing really stood out.

In total, U.S. iPhone consumers downloaded 10.5 games per active iPhone, and users also downloaded an average of 3.4 photo and video apps.

According to market research firm IHS, it only costs Apple $12 more to build a 64GB model iPhone compared to a base 16GB model.

The company charges an extra $100 for the larger capacity model, suggesting a much heftier profit if consumers opt for the 64GB version.

As most iPhone fans know, the 16GB model, after taking into account Apple's operating system and a large bit of useless native apps, is not really 16GB and a few apps and pictures/videos can fill up the phone in a heartbeat. Apple knows this, as well, and has exploited the strategy for some time, says IHS, adding that Apple "has long used this product strategy to improve their overall blended gross margins on their iPhone line."

Pebble, the smartwatch startup, will be laying off 25 percent of their employees this week due to financial strain.

CEO Eric Migicovsky said the company has raised $26 million since last summer, on top of over $20 million raised via Kickstarter campaigns but that the layoffs were necessary due to a slowdown in Silicon Valley that has affected all startups and private tech companies.

"We've definitely been careful this year as we plan our products," Migicovsky said. "We got this money, but money [among VCs in Silicon Valley] is pretty tight these days."

"We want to be careful," Migicovsky said. "Pebble is in this for the long haul. We have a vision where wearables will take us in five to 10 years, and this is setting us up for success."

The exec says Pebble will focus on health and fitness apps for their watch line, where many of their users are interested.

Microsoft will introduce interactive Live Tiles at the upcoming BUILD conference, significantly changing how you interact with the tiles in Windows 10.

At BUILD, Microsoft is holding a session called "What's New for Tiles and Toast Notifications" and the session teases that Live Tiles "are evolving with two highly-requested surprises that you won't want to miss."

Windows fans will remember that Microsoft initially hoped to ship Windows 10 with interactive live tiles, so it appears that 9 months later Microsoft might be ready to finally launch.

Speculation is that the update will allow users to respond and interact with notifications within the apps, like replying inline for messages or emails, for example.

According to new reports, Rovi is looking to merge with DVR giant TiVo.

TiVo is currently valued at $750 million and shareholders will likely own 30 percent of the merged company if an acquisition goes through.

Rovi, formerly Macrovision, holds a large portfolio of patents for copy protection, software licensing and "search recommendation" on devices such as DVRs, consoles, set-tops and cable boxes, making the two companies a synergistic fit.

TiVo, once known for its DVR set-tops, has now become more a licensing company, striking deals to have their technology on cable boxes and via satellite TV operators.

Netflix has admitted this week that they throttle streams for mobile users, following a report by the Wall Street Journal that claimed they downgraded the quality specifically for AT&T and Verizon customers.

The company had also allegedly said that T-Mobile and Sprint have much "more consumer-friendly policies," and therefore Netflix kept the quality in full for the carriers.

In response, Netflix said that they limit video quality for all mobile users, capping the video at 600kb/s, in order to save consumers from crushing their data caps in quick order.

Additionally, the company says they will soon introduce a data-saver feature for mobile that will give you better control over quality and data usage.

According to sources, Microsoft is willing to help financially back bids to acquire Yahoo, including those from private equity firms.

Yahoo recently put itself up for sale, but there are varying values for the core assets of the company. CEO Marissa Mayer has made it clear that she prefers to try to turnaround the company herself without selling, but there has been little to show for her efforts in the last three years.

Activist shareholder Starboard Value is sick of Mayer and the slow process, and is now mounting a proxy challenge to replace the current board with their own board of directors. Starboard will bring "credibility to a process that has been publicly criticized repeatedly for being too slow, fraught with conflicts of interest and very difficult for highly qualified and motivated strategic and financial buyers to access much-needed diligence information."

Yahoo currently trades with a value of $32.5 billion, but their stake in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan account for nearly $30 billion of that value. Yahoo allegedly wants to sell their core assets for $10 billion, which is a joke. The whole saga will be interesting moving forward.

Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe has announced that the first Oculus Rift consumer models have begun shipping, and some lucky buyers will have theirs as early as Monday.

Consumers have been anxiously awaiting the consumer model VR headset, following years of research and development and developer models.

The Rift sells for $600 and is currently back-ordered, meaning if you buy now you won't get yours until July.

For a list of the games available at launch for your Oculus Rift, check here: Afterdawn

After a few delays, Foxconn has agreed to purchase Sharp for $4 billion, with the deal expected next week.

Both companies will hold board meetings early in the week with an expected signing on Wednesday.

Foxconn had initially offered $4.3 billion for the struggling electronics maker but then delayed as it appears they overbid after viewing the financials of Sharp.

The deal is expected to give Foxconn the leg up for mass-producing OLED screens for Apple's upcoming iPhones in 2017 or 2018, a massive deal for hundreds of millions of devices.

After a failed experiment closed down in 2014, DVD rental service Redbox is looking to get back into the online video streaming business.

The former service was called Redbox Instant and the new service is dubbed Redbox Digital. Variety has posted pictures of the logo and some features and the publication expects a closed beta to begin soon.

Redbox Instant launched in 2013 as a joint venture with Verizon, but the service gained little traction and shut down in 2014.

The new service will be different than Instant, which was similar to Netflix (subscription bundle) but Digital will be more similar to Google Play and iTunes where you can rent or download movies and TV shows.

Additionally, there are plans to integrate the service into Redbox's existing mobile apps, including extended support to smart platforms like Roku.

Apple has updated their Apple Music app for Android with a new widget.

The basic widget offers pause/skip functions and forward/back and you can 'heart' tracks you like to help the service better create playlists for you.

Besides the widget, the update also makes it simpler to see what's streaming on Beats 1 and to redeem gift cards through the app.

Check out the app here, if you are interested: Google Play

Google has announced that Android Pay will be headed to the UK in the coming months, following major delays.

Says Google: "Android Pay will support MasterCard and Visa credit and debit cards from many of the UK's major financial institutions -- including Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA and Nationwide Building Society -- with new banks being added all the time.

You will be able to use Android Pay everywhere contactless payments are accepted, including your favorite places at which to shop and eat every day, such as Boots, Costa Coffee, Waitrose, and more. You can also tap and pay as you go across London on the Tube, buses and trains, using Android Pay with Transport for London (TfL).

Android Pay will help you speed through checkout within your favorite apps including JD Sports, Deliveroo, YPlan, and more. Say goodbye to entering your payment or address details every time you want to shop."

The company continues to work with processors, banks, tech providers and payment platforms in the UK so there are likely to be more announcements before the launch.

The RIAA has announced that revenue from streaming has surpassed digital for the first time ever.

In 2015, streaming accounted for $2.4 billion in sales, ahead of digital downloads.

Overall, the industry saw a small 0.9 percent increase in sales to $7 billion, one of the few times the industry has seen any growth in quite some time.

"In 2015, digital music subscription services reached new all-time highs, generating more than $1 billion in revenues for the first time, and averaging nearly 11 million paid subscriptions for the year," RIAA CEO Cary Sherman said in a memo. "Heading into 2016, the number of subscriptions swelled even higher -- more than 13 million by the end of December -- holding great promise for this year."

Of course, the RIAA is never happy and used the announcement to also argue that ad-supported streaming does not pay the artists (at least not much). "The consumption of music is skyrocketing but revenues for creators have not kept pace," Sherman wrote. "In 2015, fans listened to hundreds of billions of audio and video music streams through on-demand ad-supported digital services like YouTube, but revenues from such services have been meager  --  far less than other kinds of music services."

Ad-supported streaming brought in $385 million in 2015, while vinyl sales made $416 million, added the RIAA, a generally shocking figure given the billions of streams annually made on YouTube or via Spotify.

Google has announced this week that its popular Chromecast application has now been rebranded as "Google Cast."

The name change, Google says, is to reflect that the cast application now works across TVs, smart displays, speakers and more, rather than just on the Chromecast dongle.

"The Google Cast app makes it easy for you to discover great stuff to watch, find more apps, customize backdrop, and more. The updated Google Cast app will be rolling out this week on Android & iOS," added Google, without specifically noting what the update will bring in terms of features.

Check out the updating Google Cast page here: Google Cast

HTC has sent out invites for the unveiling of their next phone, expected to be called the HTC 10.

The phone is also expected to be a continuation of the One line, which has been critically acclaimed but has failed to generate sales that can compete with rivals like Apple and Samsung.

According to leaked specs, the HTC 10 will feature a 5.15-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 820 processor and the latest version of HTC's Sense overlay on top of Android 6.1 Marshmallow.

The event will be streamed online at 8AM EST via HTC's website.

Netflix has released their 2016 list of "Netflix Recommended TVs," and only two manufacturers made the cut.

The company states that a TV must meet at least five of seven specific criteria to get the badge: They must turn on instantly, must resume activity once it's been stopped, it must offer the latest version of the app, the app must launch quickly or resume quickly, and it must be easy to find the app either through a dedicated button on the remote or through a dedicated icon in the user interface.

Only LG and Sony made the cut this time, each with a few TVs:

LG 2016 4K UHD TVs with webOS 3.0
UH6300 series | UH6500 series | UH7500 series | UH8500 series | UH9500 series | G6 series
TV has Instant On feature so your TV wakes and apps are ready to use right away. The TV Resume feature means that when Netflix was the last used app, the TV comes right back to Netflix when turned back on again. Apps start quickly and the WebOS interface enables easy navigation and switching between apps and inputs.

Sony
2016 Android 4K UHD TVs
X85D series | X93D series | X94D series

TV has Instant On feature so your TV wakes and apps are ready to use right away. In addition, TV turns on and launches Netflix with one press of the Netflix button on remote. The TV Resume feature means that when Netflix was the last used app, the TV comes right back to Netflix when turned back on again. Apps launch quickly and return where you left off. Android TV interface enables easy navigation and switching between apps and inputs.

Nintendo has announced this week that their mobile app Miitomo is a hit, with over 1 million downloads in its first three days of availability.

The app is especially a hit in Japan, where it remains the top free download in the nation. The app was first announced in October, and it was met with criticism since it featured Mii characters and not blockbuster franchise characters like Mario, Donkey Kong or Zelda. That doesn't seem to be a problem now with over a million downloads.

Miitomo lets users create their own Mii and profile based on their interests, and then you can interact with other Miitomo users and friends in a virtual social network. Nintendo makes money through in-app purchases of items for your Miis.

Nintendo has promised a U.S. release of the game by the end of the month.

As part of their larger event yesterday, Apple has also made iOS 9.3 available to all devices.

The most important part of the update is Night Shift mode, which is aimed at reducing blue light eye strain (digital strain) in the same way f.lux and Twilight do for PC/Mac and Android.

Additionally, the update adds TouchID integration to the Notes app (for better security) and improved 3D Touch functions.

Finally, the update also patches critical security bugs, including one recently discovered by researchers at Johns Hopkins University that could have affected millions.

Spotify founder Daniel Ek has proudly announced that the company has reached 30 million paid subscribers.

The last milestone was reached in June of last year, when the company topped 20 million, suggesting growth is strong at the streaming music giant.

Although Ek did not note it, there are an estimated 75 million free users of the service, as well, adding significant revenue via ads.

Against Apple, it seems Spotify is certainly holding its own. However, Apple Music has added over 11 million paying subscribers since launch in June and has launched for Android, as well, increasing its potential base by 1 billion users. Additionally, no one can argue that if Apple has significant marketing power and an almost infinite amount of cash to spend.

As part of their event today, Apple announced a price drop on their smartwatch, which will now start at $300 rather than $350.

The price drop is intended to keep new consumers interested in the Apple Watch, and the company also unveiled a plethora of new band options to keep existing consumers interested, as well.

Included are the new $149 Milanese loop and $50 woven nylon bands in seven colors.

As expected, Apple used today's special event to unveil their iPhone SE.

The SE has a 4-inch display (just like the iPhone 5) but packs powerful specs that, for the most part, match that of the new iPhone 6s.

With prices starting at $399, it is cheaper than current model iPhones but you do lose at least 7/10ths of an inch in hardware screen real estate. Features include a 64-bit Apple A9 processor, an M9 GPU, a 12MP iSight camera, TouchID, 4K support, "Hey Siri" support, Apple Pay support, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and LTE and iOS 9.3.

The new (old) iPhone SE is available for pre-order on Thursday and will begin shipping on the 31st.

Following a witch hunt by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman, daily fantasy giants DraftKings and FanDuel are officially shut down in the state.

The settlement between the sites and the AG bans New York bettors from adding funds to their accounts and from using existing funds to place any bets. The ban is in effect until September, when the appeal for daily fantasy sports legality is scheduled to be heard.

If the companies lose their appeal, then all lawsuits and future appeals will be dropped and the AG also agrees to drop any claims, reads the settlement.

Both sites are now geoblocking and IP blocking all New York residents, just like it does for all other "closed states."

Microsoft has dropped the price of the Xbox One again, to $299, $50 off the regular price.

The cut applies to all bundles, meaning you can get the new 1TB HDD/The Division bundle for $350, a pretty slick deal.

Additionally, the company has cut the price of some games by $20, including Halo 5, but Microsoft says the deals are all "for a limited time."

Finally, the company said that starting tomorrow, select games in the Xbox Store will be discounted anywhere from 40 to 60 percent, including new games like Far Cry Primal.

Microsoft has said this week that they will continue support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 on Intel Skylake devices, fully guaranteeing extended support until July 17th, 2018.

After that date, users will still receive some critical updates: "After July 2018, all critical Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 security updates will be addressed for Skylake systems until extended support ends for Windows 7, January 14, 2020 and Windows 8.1 on January 10, 2023."

The update includes PCs and Skylake-embedded devices.

Source:
ZDNet

According to Deadline, Netflix will pay $90 million for the new R-rated thriller 'Bright' starring Will Smith - far and away its largest deal to date.

Bright is a fantasy thriller that has Smith partnered with Joel Edgerton and the film is directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad) with a script by Max Landis (American Ultra).

Netflix had bidding rivals in Warner Bros., MGM, and PalmStar, although it is clear Netflix was willing to overpay.

For their money, Netflix gets a high-profile director and actor and the potential for millions of new subscribers paying $8.99 per month.

Apple has said this weekend that the U.S. government and Apple will be able to cross-examine each other's witnesses in court, and that the tech giant will make two employees available.

The hearing is set for Tuesday, and all the witnesses have given written declarations in the legal briefs that have already been filed in the case.

Apple will make Chief Privacy Engineer Erik Neuenschwander and Global Law Enforcement Manager Lisa Olle available as witnesses. In his declaration, Neuenschwander says "that Apple would need to create a new operating system to bypass its own security and challenges a government claim that the company creates individual software for different phones," according to Reuters. Olle argued "that creating the new operating system would be burdensome for Apple and would spark more requests from law enforcement. Apple would need to hire people 'whose sole function would be to assist with processing and effectuating such orders.'"

On the government side, two FBI agents will be available as witnesses, electronics engineer Stacey Perino and Christopher Pluhar.

Hacktivist group Anonymous has waged war on Donald Trump, posting tons of personal information about the Presidential candidate online via Pastebin.

According to the post, the group has released Trump's social security number, home address, phone numbers and birth certificate.

The group is calling the operation #‎OpWhiteRose and #OpTrump, and the group has derided Trump and his policies of "hate" and "racism."

Pope Francis has joined Instagram, marking the second time the Pope has made his presence felt via social media.

So far, the Pontifex has posted four images/videos with the most popular seeing 230,000 likes.

In 2014, the Pope joined Twitter and currently has 9 million followers. In less than a day on Instagram he already has 1.3 million followers, so it's clear that many are looking to get their religion, visually.

If you use the platform you can check out the page here: Instagram

According to Kotaku, Sony is working on a "PlayStation 4.5," an upgrade to the PS4 that will increase graphical power and support 4K gaming.

It appears that the updated console is being built to enhance the gaming experience of the upcoming PlayStation VR headset. It will also help the console compete better with the high-end specs of the PCs required for rival devices like the Oculus Rift.

The existing PS4 can support 4K output for photos and most video but cannot support gaming in the high resolution.

There are plenty of questions about the console, but for right now we have no answers. If the rumor is true, expect a lot more news later this year.

Microsoft has announced two significant price drops for their Surface 3 tablet, at least for the time being.

The tablet is now available for $100 less if you purchase the 2GB RAM model (with 64GB internal storage) or $150 off if you purchase the pricier 4GB RAM model with 128GB storage.

Both discounts are applicable to Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + LTE models.

Microsoft says the deal is good through April 2nd, but depending on how popular it is, we may see it come back sooner rather than later. Additionally, if you purchase this month, you will get $30 off the $200 Surface 3 Docking station that makes the tablet more of a desktop replacement.

Check it out here: Microsoft Store

Indiegogo backers have begun to receive refunds for the failed Jolla tablet, nearly 16 months after the campaign launched.

Any backer will need to submit an application via the company's refund portal, which at this point appears to be open until at least April 16th.

Due to the financial situation of the company, Jolla will refund 50% now, and 50% later, which could be months into the future.

If you are a backer, please check the official page here to learn how to get a refund: Jolla

After months of delays, select Windows Phone 8.1 devices can now begin upgrading to Windows 10 Mobile.

Reads Microsoft's statement: "Today, we're pleased to begin the roll-out of Windows 10 Mobile to select Windows Phone 8.1 devices.

Consistent with our approach to the Windows 10 PC upgrade, we are focused on delivering a high quality experience for our customers. The Windows 10 Upgrade Advisor app can be downloaded from the Windows Store to see if the upgrade is available for your device. As Windows 10 delivers significant new innovations, many older devices are not able to successfully upgrade without an impact on the customer experience. Our goal is to only offer the Windows 10 upgrade to devices that we are confident can continue to deliver a good customer experience."

The current list of upgradable phones are: Lumia 1520, 930, 640, 640XL, 730, 735, 830, 532, 535, 540, 635 1GB, 636 1GB, 638 1GB, 430, 435, BLU Win HD w510u, BLU Win HD LTE x150q and MCJ Madosma Q501.

If you are interested, there is more information here: Microsoft

Spotify has agreed to pay $21 million in unpaid royalties to the NMPA (National Music Publishers Association) over tracks that were missing copyright owner information.

The settlement is for all "unmatched works" and the agreement will allow owners of tracks to properly identify themselves and their music so they can receive any unpaid royalties.

$16 million will be paid to publishers and songwriters and the remaining $5 million will be a "bonus" fund for artists and publishers that opt-in to the settlement.

Adds NMPA CEO David Israelite: "I am thrilled that through this agreement both independent and major publishers and songwriters will be able to get what is owed to them. We must continue to push digital services to properly pay for the musical works that fuel their businesses and after much work together, we have found a way for Spotify to quickly get royalties to the right people."

Struggling tech giant Toshiba has announced a $5.9 billion asset sale alongside a large investment into its chip businesses.

The company has been marred by an accounting scandal in the past couple of years in Japan, and the U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating potential fraud for the Toshiba-owned Westinghouse Electric, a nuclear power company based in the U.S.

Almost comically, one part of Toshiba's asset sale is already being questioned. The company is selling its medical equipment unit to Canon, but Toshiba has transferred the unit to a special purpose company which will allow them to book any sale proceeds this year, even if the deal takes years to complete (there are expected monopoly issues).

If all their asset sales are completed, the company will invest 360 billion yen ($3.2 billion) over the next three years to build a new semiconductor facility in Japan to focus on flash memory.

WeChat, China's most popular messaging app, now has over 700 million monthly active users.

In the last 12 months, the company added 200 million active users, showing that their growth is not slowing down one bit. By the end of December, the company reported 697 million MAUs, but it is fair to suggest they have added over 3 million in the last three months.

The growth comes as WeChat has expanded their mobile payments in mainland China. The company reported $46.1 million in bank handling fees for the month of January, alone.

Thanks to Dual Pixels, we now have the first alleged photos of the upcoming Nintendo NX's controller.

We had previously seen patent applications from Nintendo and the new picture seems to match up similarly.

Keep in mind there is zero proof this is real and zero proof that Nintendo is making anything remotely like this, but if accurate the controller certainly looks very, very interesting.

Check out what we have so far, here:

According to a new report, Google parent Alphabet is looking to sell its promising robotics division, Boston Dynamics.

The company is apparently looking to focus on more immediate revenues and the robotics division is years if not decades away from bringing in stable cash flow.

Allegedly, there have also been issues between the Boston Dynamics team and the rest of Google's robotics engineers around the world, and Alphabet has begun to see that humans are not necessarily ready for robots to take over the world, making the division a liability across the board.

Some sources speculate that Amazon or Toyota could be interested in buying the division, although there has been no confirmed interest from any potential buyers.

Microsoft has said this week that there are plans to allow developers to build and port Windows 10 apps to the Xbox One later this year.

Exec Jason Ronald said the company will reveal more at BUILD later this month, but did confirm that Windows 10 apps will work on the Xbox One starting this summer.

What remains unclear is exactly how the Xbox One app store will work and whether or not the company will allow all apps to be included, or whether it will be curated (like Amazon does).

Microsoft has made a major commitment to universal apps - apps that are built for PC, tablet, phone, console with the only changes required being the screen size, and this is the logical next step. It will be interesting to see what the company has to add at BUILD on March 30th.

Last week, Google shocked the developer world when it released a very early beta of its upcoming Android N operating system, a full two months before anyone expected it.

Having been able to mess around with the OS for a few days, there is certainly the potential for N to be a great update for Android, although as of writing there aren't too many killer new features, suggesting rather that the operating system will be an incremental update.

This time around, Google has made it very, very easy to get the update, as long as you have a Nexus device, of course. You will have to enroll your device in the Android Developer Program and within minutes, you will have access to the OTA update. No need to set up ADB, no need to download images and no need to load the bootloader. Overall, it's a much easier process. It took me just a matter of minutes to get set up on my Pixel C tablet.

Search giant Google has lost their anti-monopoly appeal in Russia over the bundling of Google apps with all Android phones and tablets.

Manufacturers are allowed to use Android without any of Google's apps installed, but if they want to offer the Google Play Store or any of Google's apps, then they have to offer them all. This includes Gmail, Google Search, Google Play, and Maps, for example.

The original complaint came via Russian search leader Yandex, as Google's bundling directly affects their business in the nation.

Reads the statement from the court: "[During the] course of the case proceedings, the Commission of the FAS Russia found that Google provided mobile devices manufacturers with Google play app store for pre-installation on Android OS mobile devices adopted for the Russian Federation. Conditions of app store provision include obligatory pre-installation of Google apps as well as its searching engine and their obligatory location on the main screen of a mobile device. Google actions led to prohibition of pre-installation of apps of other producers."

If Google loses the case, it could have implications across the EU, where the European Commission is looking into similar complaints filed by other tech giants like Microsoft.

Virtual reality darling Oculus is preparing to start shipping the first consumer Oculus Rift headsets this month, and gamers will have a full portfolio of games to play when they receive it.

These are the 30 games that will be available at launch, followed by an additional 10 or so set to launch next month. Description of games are via Tech Insider:

"Windlands"
Psytec Games Ltd.
Price: $19.99

"Windlands" is a great example of virtual reality enabling you to experience something you're unlikely to ever experience in real life: flying through the air at high speed, using your robot arms to fling yourself from place to place.


"BlazeRush"
Targem Games
Price: Not announced

"BlazeRush" is the video game answer to a the proposition of a mid-'90s Hot Wheels commercial. Watch from above and control the action as tiny, kitted-out race cars go to town on each other in a winner take all race to the finish.


"Vektron Revenge"
Ludovic Texier
Price: $9.99

"Vektron Revenge" is a simple arcade-style game where you control a ship using your gaze. Wherever you look, your ship goes (on a 2D plane) -- it was originally created during a "game jam," which is an event where a theme or objective is given and game developers have a set amount of time to create a game, either individually or in groups, based on those constraints.

Read more...

Sony and EA have teased that Star Wars Battlefront will be available in virtual reality via the upcoming PlayStation VR headset.

The device is set to launch in October for $399, but gamers are already getting excited about the prospects.

Sony CEO Andrew House gave scant details on the game or its availability except to say that it would be exclusive to the PSVR.

He will have more information when the companies make such details available.

Sony has launched a new PlayStation Video app for Android devices this week.

The app will let consumers stream purchased video content from the PlayStation Store on their phone or tablet, natively.

Additionally, you can use the app to purchase movies and TV shows, including PlayStation original content like Powers.

Sony also noted that there will be promotions on a "constant basis," likely meaning discounts on TV episodes.

The U.S. government has arrested and charged Ryan Collins with stealing hundreds of nude pictures of celebrities taken directly from their iCloud and Gmail accounts.

The pictures, released in 2014 to the public during an event that became known as "The Fappening," revealed private moments for many popular celebrities, most notably Jennifer Lawerence.

Government officials say Collins will plead guilty to a felony violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information. It is unclear what the punishment will be for his crimes.

While there had been rumors that the hackers had used brute-force methods to break into the iCloud accounts, it appears that Collins used a very simple method: phishing. The DOJ says Collins used emails such as "e-mail.protection318@icloud.com," "noreply_helpdesk0118@outlook.com," and "secure.helpdesk0019@gmail.com" and sent hundreds of emails to potential victims asking them to reset their iCloud and Gmail usernames and passwords. From there he would download the entire iCloud backup or would manually go through any email with picture attachments.

Collins is notably not being charged with releasing the photos, suggesting someone else purchased the pictures and then released them later.

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced support for cross-platform play through its Xbox Live platform, opening up gaming between the Xbox One and PCs as well as potentially with the Sony PlayStation 4.

Sony has responded to the move today, acknowledging that they could be interested (maybe).

"PlayStation has been supporting cross-platform play between PC on several software titles starting with Final Fantasy 11 on PS2 and PC back in 2002," says Sony. "We would be happy to have the conversation with any publishers or developers who are interested in cross-platform play."

The statement doesn't specifically mention Microsoft or the Xbox, but if big developers want the ability, there is little reason to doubt that Sony will jump at the opportunity.

Yesterday, Sony took that stage at GDC to announce the consumer version of their highly-anticipated PlayStation VR headset.

The PSVR is scheduled to launch in October for $399, pricing it under rival devices like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, both of which require PCs with high-end specs. The PSVR will also require the PlayStation Camera to work, so that will set you back another $50 or so. If you are thinking of the PSVR, you likely have a PS4 in your home, but you will need the console, as well, if you don't have it.

Says Sony boss Andrew House: "Today more than 230 developers are building content for PlayStation VR, from smaller independent teams to larger studios at the industry's top publishers. We expect to have more than 50 games available from launch in October 2016 until the end of the year. Of course, the full promise of PlayStation VR will continue to grow over time as talented developers create new experiences and new genres that wouldn't be possible outside of VR. The future looks bright indeed.

Additionally, The Playroom VR, from our very own Japan Studio, will be available as a free download from PlayStation Store for all PS VR owners at launch. The Playroom VR will include six games that can be enjoyed with friends and family, demonstrating why we believe VR can also be an impactful experience when it's shared."

Last year, Google began offering a $50,000 bounty for anyone who could compromise a Chromebook in guest mode.

Following zero successful submissions, the company has doubled the reward to $100,000. "Great research deserves great awards, so we're putting up a standing six-figure sum, available all year round with no quotas and no maximum reward pool," Google noted.

Additionally, Google has also added a Download Protection Bypass bounty, offering a reward to anyone who can bypass Chrome's Safe Browsing download protection features.

You can check out all the rewards here: Google Online Security

Sony has paid $750 million to buy out Michael Jackson's stake in a jointly owned catalog of over 4 million songs.

The catalog, which includes tracks from Jackson, the Beatles, Taylor Swift and many others, will help Sony to pad their streaming business revenue, which the company expects will jump to $5.2 billion by 2017.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing, as the joint venture is called, will pay a lump sum of $733 million to the Jackson estate, as well as a small portion of future distributions.

Jackson purchased the ATV catalog in 1985 for $41.5 million.

According to multiple reports, top tech companies like Facebook, Google and Snapchat are all working on increasing the encryption of their devices as Apple fights the U.S. government over access to anyone's data.

Facebook is planning to expand its secure messaging service WhatsApp by adding encrypted voice calls, as well. The company is also working on increasing security for its own Messenger tool.

Sources claim Snapchat is also working on a secure messaging system, and Google is said to be looking to expand their development of an encrypted email project.

The new projects all began after the Department of Justice began a court battle with Apple over a terrorist's iPhone, which is locked down and could contain information related to their crimes. Apple is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Microsoft has announced that the Xbox Live online network is now open to cross-platform play with the PlayStation 4 and Windows 10 PC gamers.

Said Microsoft exec Chris Charla: "We're enabling developers to support cross-network play . . . This means players on Xbox One and Windows 10 using Xbox Live will be able to play with players on different online multiplayer networks – including other console and PC networks.

"Of course, it's up to game developers to support this feature . . . We're thrilled to confirm that Psyonix's Rocket League will be one of the first games to take advantage of this new capability by enabling cross-network play between Xbox One and PC players, with an open invitation for other networks to participate as well."

If the new service becomes mainstream, gamers are likely to be very excited by the prospects. There will no longer be any need to buy multiple consoles just to be able to play games with different friends or family who may be a Sony or Xbox fanboy.

Despite an item that was posted to their own FAQ website, Microsoft has confirmed that they still accept Bitcoin as a payment option for its gaming and mobile content.

Last week, a post titled "Microsoft Store doesn't accept Bitcoin" was published, suggesting that the company was indeed ending support for the digital currency.

Microsoft has since called the post a mistake: "We continue to support Bitcoin for adding money to your Microsoft Account which can be used for purchasing content in the Windows and Xbox stores. We apologize for inaccurate information that was inadvertently posted to a Microsoft site, which is currently being corrected."

It's unclear how such a post made it past editing, but for the time being, you can continue to pay with Bitcoin.

Western Digital has cleverly released a 314GB PiDrive this week, a hard drive built for the Raspberry Pi micro computer.

"Adoption of Raspberry Pi computing devices is expanding at a tremendous rate, reaching eight million units in about four years. However, the millions of Raspberry Pi users are finding limitations from data storage devices (SD card, USB hard drive or cloud storage) originally designed for other applications," said Dave Chew, chief engineer, WDLabs. "The WD PiDrive 314 GB HDD is designed to support Raspberry Pi growth by addressing barriers to hard drive adoption such as affordability, power loading and system set-up. In addition, we've maintained the key strengths of hard drive technology, including mass-storage value, high data integrity and reliability."

Raspberry foundation CEO Eben Upton was happy with the release, as well. "With the extended capabilities of Raspberry Pi 3, we can't wait to see what new projects our community comes up with. WD PiDrive 314GB gives our members a low-cost, purpose-built hard drive solution that helps them develop even more innovative and unique ways to use Raspberry Pi."

WD says the company has customized the hard drive's "magnetic recording and electrical system operating set-points to align with Raspberry Pi's USB data and power design to reduce the electrical power load of the hard drive on Raspberry Pi, while still maintaining sufficient performance to deliver maximum USB data transfer rate." Theoretically, this makes the drive ideal for the device.

Streaming giant Spotify has ended support for its Windows Phone apps, although you can continue to use the app indefinitely without any new updates.

The company launched their Windows Phone 7 app in 2011 and then the Windows Phone 8.x app in 2013. There has yet to be a native Windows 10 mobile app.

"We can confirm Windows Phone 8.x is no longer supported. You can still use our Spotify application on the associated devices, but it will no longer receive any further updates and download the application. We apologize for the inconvenience," noted the company.

Microsoft has struggled to keep the attention of developers, including big boys like Spotify, which has led to the downfall of the mobile operating system.

Screening Room, a new startup backed by Sean Parker, wants to offer rentals of movies day and date when they hit theaters.

The company also promises completely secure anti-piracy technology for the releases, although there has yet to be a truly "uncrackable" protection for movies and streaming media.

Sources say Screening Room will charge $150 for the proprietary set-top box to play the movies, and then $50 for the 48-hour rental. Anyone who rents will also get two free tickets to the film at any theater of their choosing, helping to make the price more reasonable.

Parker and other reps for the company have been meeting with all the major studios and exhibitors for months, and there is a feeling that AMC could be ready to make a deal. The exhibitor could make as much as 20% of the revenue while the studios make an additional 20%. Of the majors, Universal, Fox and Sony are said to have shown sincere interest in the program.

For now, talks are in the early stages, but we may be on the verge of a true home theater experience.

Blockbuster mobile gaming developer Supercell has announced their financial results for 2015, and the company made an astounding amount of profit.

On just three games - Clash of Clans, Boom Beach and Hay Day, the company had profits of $964 million, on revenue of $2.326 billion.

The company only has 180 employees but is now one of the most profitable companies in the video game industry.

Supercell just released a new game, Clash Royale, which is already the top game for Android and iOS suggesting there are some more profits to go around for 2016.

In total, Supercell has 100 million daily active users.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is working on a plan to subsidize broadband prices for low-income families, giving households $9.25 per month towards the cost of high-speed Internet.

The government agency says that 95 percent of households with income over $150,000 have high-speed broadband at home while only 48 percent of those making less than $25,000 can afford such services.

FCC head Tom Wheeler says the plan will go to a vote on March 31st, and it is expected to be approved.

"When we talk about digital equity, we need to remember that we're talking a key part of the answer to many of our nation's greatest challenges -- issues like income inequality, job creation, economic growth, U.S. competitiveness," said Wheeler.

The broadband subsidy will be part of the greater 'Lifeline' plan that has been around for decades and now gives $2 billion in subsidies annually to low-income families to afford landlines and mobile phones. As with most government programs, however, Lifeline has been plagued by fraud and abuse and had to be completely remodeled last year.

Months after its launch, Android Marshmallow is finally getting wider availability.

The Sony Xperia Z5 group is getting the update to Android 6.0 starting this week, and some consumers in Japan, Thailand and Russia have already received it.

Both carrier and unlocked editions are seeing the OTA update.

In addition to all the standard Android 6.0 features, the Z5 update will have a Sony-fied version of the battery-saving Doze feature.

In celebrating their early release of Android N, Google has also dropped the price of the Pixel C Android tablet.

The tablet will be 25 percent cheaper with a special discount code, and that code is good for the 32GB and 64GB variants.

Google is the only seller of the Pixel C, meaning you aren't going to get it any cheaper elsewhere (except maybe on eBay or other second-hand stores) and the specs of the Pixel C (which will run Android N out of the gate if you want to test it) are pretty spectacular.

The tablet has a 10.2-inch LTPS LCD at 2560 x 1800, 500 nit brightness, is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra X1 and a 256 core Maxwell GPU and 3GB RAM. If you use tablet cameras, there are dual 8MP/2MP, and the above-mentioned internal storage options. Battery life shouldn't be an issue thanks to the 9243 mAh battery to power it all.

Buy it here: Google Tablets
Get your code here: Google Developer Discount

Google has pleasantly surprised the Android community by releasing a Developer Preview for Android N (Nutella).

The early preview is Google's effort to get the final N release out to manufacturers this summer rather than over the winter, as usual.

"As we look to the next release of Android, N, you'll notice a few big changes aimed at you as developers: it's earlier than ever, it's easier to try and we're expanding the ways for you to give us feedback. We hope these changes will ensure that you are heard and reflected -- that's what makes Android stronger," says Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google's SVP for Android, Chrome OS and Chromecast.

The Preview is available over-the-air, making it easier than ever to download.

For now, we can see the main changes are better notifications including "direct reply notifications," and the addition of split-screen view, allowing for multiple apps to run side-by-side.

The European Union is preparing to send Google a formal complaint over the Android operating system.

Google is having a rough go on the continent, as it just concluded a complaint from EU, over their comparison shopping search, and the company's advertising business and current taxes are also under review.

Previous anti-trust investigations by the EU, against Intel and Microsoft, have led to billion dollar fines for each. The initial search into Android began 3 years ago, after a consortium backed by Nokia and Microsoft submitted a complaint. The EU is worried mainly by Google's bundling of their own apps with Android, including YouTube, Chrome and Maps, and whether that practice harms rival developers.

The Olympics Broadcasting Services has announced that 130 hours of 2016 Olympic coverage will be shot in 8K (7,680 × 4,320-pixel resolution).

Besides the opening and closing ceremonies, there will be recordings of swimming, basketball and judo. 130 hours is just a fraction of the total of 7000 expected hours of coverage, but at the same time, there are probably very few people who will enjoy the 8K broadcasts.

Less than 10 percent of global TV owners have a 4K TV, so the 8K broadcasts are clear overkill. Sharp does sell 8K TVs, but they retail for over $100,000.

Additionally, the OBS says the 8K broadcast will only be streamed to Japanese households.

Chris Poole, the founder of popular anonymous online forum 4chan, has joined Google and will work in the Google Photos and Streams division.

Poole founded the forum in 2003 when he was 15 and ran it until last year when it was sold to 2Chan, a popular message board based in Japan.

"When meeting with current and former Googlers, I continually find myself drawn to their intelligence, passion, and enthusiasm -- as well as a universal desire to share it with others," Poole said. "I can't wait to contribute my own experience from a dozen years of building online communities, and to begin the next chapter of my career at such an incredible company."

Overall, Poole says Google's commitment to finding solutions to "some of the world's most interesting and important problems" made it a nice fit for him.

Poole also noted last year that 4chan was never profitable, and he had to use profits from his other company DrawQuest, and donations, to keep the lights on.

Google had to process over 77 million search takedown requests last month, an incredible amount that keeps increasing daily.

In February of last year, the search giant processed just under 40 million DMCA requests, and for the same period in 2012, the number was under 1 million.

Content holders and their watchdogs like the MPAA and RIAA sends thousands of requests per day automatically thanks to algorithms that are supposed to find pirated content, and although plenty are for actual infringing files there are also thousands of false positives that unfortunately take down legitimate content.

The leader, as usual, for takedown notices was 'Rivendell,' who sent 18 million requests last month. Rivendell does not own any content, and has a strange website, but appears to be a popular destination for anti-piracy.

Source:
Google

Dropbox COO Dennis Woodside has confirmed that the company now has over 500 million users.

Last June, the company claimed 400 million users, so growth still seems strong.

The company also now has 3.3 billion sharing connections (the amount of shared links and folders), up 50 percent year-over-year. 44 percent of new users come via another existing user, adding Woodside, great viral growth.

There have been recent concerns of the valuations of 'unicorn' startups like Dropbox (private companies valued over $1 billion) and the recent figures should help to alleviate some concerns although the company is certainly not worth its recent valuation of over $10 billion.

Microsoft has announced the cancellation of their latest 'Fable' game, and may shut down a few of their gaming studios.

'Fable Legends' had been rumored for release next year, and it is unclear if we will ever see it Microsoft or any other studio.

In addition, the company has proposed to close down the UK-based Lionhead Studios, and will be closing down the Denmark-based Press Play Studios.

Google's first foray into becoming a carrier, Project Fi, is now available to anyone in the U.S.

The service runs on T-Mobile and Sprint (depending on which network is more powerful wherever you are) and offers unlimited domestic calls and texts, free Wi-Fi tethering, free (3G) data coverage in over 120 countries, and free international texts.

Project Fi starts at $20 per month and costs $10 per GB of data. If you pay for 3GB and only use 2, Google will actually refund you the difference meaning you only pay for what you use.

As an incentive to try it, Google is offering an unlocked Nexus 5X for $200 if you activate the device with Fi. That leads to one of the main caveats of the service, and that is that the Fi only works with the Nexus 6, Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P currently, so most likely you will not be bringing your own phone to the service.

Romania's top court will extradite the hacker known as Guccifer, approving a request from U.S. authorities.

Marcel Lazar Lehel, aka Guccifer, will now have to face a U.S. court on charges of fraud, unauthorized access to a protected computer, aggravated identity theft, cyberstalking and obstruction of justice.

The hacker is accused of stealing data from email and social media accounts of U.S. celebrities and politicians, most notably the family of former President George W. Bush. Lehel already received four years in prison in Romania for similar crimes.

Guccifer became infamous in 2013 for hacking into the Bush family emails and then posting the unreleased artwork drawn by the President.

According to founder Lei Jun, the company has 16 million 'reservations' for its new Mi 5 flagship smartphone, beating expectations handily.

Reportedly, the company has only prepared 4 million units for the first round of sales, suggesting there will be major supply issues when the phone is released.

Local Chinese reports say the phone went out of stock immediately due to the demand, with stock not returning for weeks.

The Mi 5 startes at $300 and features a 5.2-inch 1080p display, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, an Adreno 530 GPU, 32GB internal storage and 3GB RAM.

After months of delays, Windows 8.1 phone owners will soon see their phones updated to Windows 10.

Microsoft has promised to begin rolling out the new mobile operating system starting tomorrow, although it is unclear which countries or carriers will be the first to receive it.

Vodafone Italy did tweet that their customers with Lumia devices should expect an update this week, although users will surely wait until they actually see the notification.

Ray Tomlinson, the inventor of modern email and the man who selected the "@" symbol for email use, has passed away at 74.

Although email already existed in an incredibly limited capacity, Tomlinson is credited with inventing the first network person-to-person email, allowing people to send emails to a specific person at a specific address. Tomlinson also contributed to the development of the ARPANET system, the computer network the U.S. government used before the Internet as we know it came into being.

Tomlinson once said in an interview that he created email "mostly because it seemed like a neat idea," and co-workers from the 1970s say he was just fooling around when he created the system that billions use daily now.

The Internet Hall of Fame inductee was still working for Raytheon as principal scientist, the same place he worked since 1967.

Sony has confirmed their PlayStation 4's next big system software update, version 3.50, is almost here.

The beta will be available tomorrow if you were selected, and Sony is sending out emails with instructions on how to download.

Here's a quick list of the new features, via Sony:

Sony has confirmed today that the PlayStation TV set-top box will no longer ship in Japan, as of today.

Earlier this year, the company confirmed end-of-life for the set-top in the U.S. and Europe, as well.

Originally intended as a way to play digital console games, Sony notes that the PS4 and the Vita are doing quite well across the globe, leaving the microconsole as an incredibly niche product.

"PS Store for PlayStation TV will continue to be accessible, and PlayStation TV-related information will continue to be updated. In terms of applications/service for PlayStation TV, we will make further communications to users as necessary," added Sony.

The device launched in Japan in late 2013 and everywhere else in early 2014.

Source:
Gamespot

William Moriarty has pled guilty to illegally copying and uploading DVD screeners of 'The Revenant' and 'The Peanuts Movie,' unreleased films that he acquired while working on a studio lot.

"As the Academy Awards ceremony this weekend highlights, the entertainment industry is the economic cornerstone of the Central District of California," said US Attorney Eileen Decker said in the statement. "The defendant's conduct harmed the very industry that was providing his livelihood as well as the livelihood of others in Southern California."

The FBI began an immediate investigation after a dozen DVD screeners appeared over the holidays including high-profile films like The Big Short, Revenant, Spotlight and more.

"The FBI will continue to pursue those who steal intellectual property, a crime that negatively impacts the U.S. economy, and in the case of a movie leak, victimizes everyday workers in the entertainment industry," David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said in the statement.

Moriarty could face up to three years but will likely see less for his plea deal.

The Raspberry Pi 3 is now available for sale, and the upgraded micro PC is still just $35.

Model B of the Raspberry Pi 3 now has a quad-core 1.2GHz 64-bit ARM Cortex A53 and embedded Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a massive upgrade from previous models that required USB adapters for the connectivity. The new PC supports 802.11n Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only) and Bluetooth 4.0.

The device is available now via Element14, Think Allied, and RS Components, the usual retailers for the PCs.

Raspberry Pi creator Eben Upton says the new model should run 50 percent faster and more efficiently than previous models. "The main reason we're excited about Cortex A53 is it's a better 32-bit processor [than A7]. You can run in 32-bit mode," Upton said.

Additionally, the Pi has 1GB RAM and a new Broadcom 400MHz VideoCore IV that will support 1080p video at 60fps.

A few months ago, it was rumored that HiFi music streaming service Tidal and its majority owner Jay-Z were in talks with Samsung over a possible acquisition.

It appears that those talks have restarted.

"Samsung is re-engaging; they are working on something really big, and they're keeping it very quiet in case it leaks," said a source.

Tidal, despite its star power, has struggled mightily to compete against Apple Music and Spotify and is reportedly burning through money. The company got a boost recently when Kanye West released his latest album exclusively through the service, but it is unclear if the publicity will lead to any more sales.