News written by James Delahunty (September, 2013)

Netflix will soon to available to subscribers of Swedish pay TV service Com Hem, securing its second deal with a cable TV provider in Europe.

Swedish subscribers of Com Hem will be able to access Netflix content through their TiVo set-top-boxes from December, the company announced. Com Hem boasts more than 600,000 subscribers in Sweden.

The deal is a boost to Netflix, who already managed to secure a similar deal with Virgin Media in the United Kingdom this month.

Getting its service right to set-top boxes is an important goal for Netflix as it seeks to make it as easy as possible for consumers to use its service, rather than having to switch over to games consoles, Blu-ray players or PCs to stream video.

"We would love to reduce the friction to the end consumer, and to be available via the existing device in the home which is the set-top box," Netflix CFO David Wells said at an investor conference in New York.

An NVIDIA executive has insisted that games consoles cannot keep up with PCs for performance any longer.

Tony Tamasi, senior vice president of content and technology at NVIDIA, said that the company spends around $1.5 billion every year in R&D related to graphics, which totals more than $10 billion in the average console life-cycle. Marketers of video games consoles, like Sony and Microsoft, just can't afford that kind of investment.

Outside of that R&D advantage, there are other reasons why consoles just can't keep up anymore.

"I'll tell you why. In the past, certainly with the first PlayStation and PS2, in that era there weren't really good graphics on the PC. Around the time of the PS2 is when 3D really started coming to the PC, but before that time 3D was the domain of Silicon Graphics and other 3D workstations. Sony, Sega, or Nintendo could invest in bringing 3D graphics to a consumer platform. In fact, the PS2 was faster than a PC," he said in an interview with PC PowerPlay.

By the release of the PS3 and Xbox 360, the consoles were on par with PCs, he said, but even by that time, all of the graphics innovations were coming from PC graphics companies.

T-Mobile US has revealed it will no longer stock smartphones made by BlackBerry in its stores.

The Canadian firm has hit hard times as of late as its new BlackBerry 10-packed devices fail to reverse a decline in demand from consumers.

T-Mobile US has decided that its time to stop stocking BlackBerry devices in its stores, but says it will still ship BlackBerry devices to interested customers directly.

"Keeping stock in the retail distribution system was inefficient," David Carey, executive vice president for corporate services at T-Mobile US, told the Reuters news agency.

Carey said that BlackBerry devices are mostly bought by businesses who do not make their decisions in stores anyway.

UK regulators are investigating practices of app developers who charge in-game fees, seeking to enforce guidelines to protect consumers.

We are all familiar with "freemium" game apps by now; they are games that are free to download and use but that attempt to generate revenue via in-app purchases. There is, of course, nothing wrong with generating revenue by marketing add-ons and other premium features, but the manner in which they are offered is the subject of a UK regulatory investigation.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is looking at "potentially unfair and aggressive commercial practices" after checking 38 very popular titles.

Among examples it disapproved of were the attempted exploitation of children by withholding previously promised rewards until they spent money. Other examples appealed to emotion, such as showing an ill virtual animal and promising they could be healed if something was purchased.

"I don't think children are always aware that when they click 'yes' it's spending money," Cavendish Elithorn, executive director at the OFT, told the BBC.

"Although parents can change their device settings to deal with some of that, many parents might not know, or it's only when they get the bill that they realise the setting was wrong. So, part of what we're keen to do is support parents in having the right tools to be aware of what their children are doing online."

A French regulatory body is investigating conditions in Apple contracts with national mobile providers that sell its iPhones.

DGCCRF is investigating clauses in Apple's contracts - such as sales volume requirements and restrictions on adverts - amidst reported complaints about the sway Apple holds in negotiations. Given the popularity of Apple's iPhone products, a mobile carrier would be at a severe competitive disadvantage if they did not offer them, giving Apple quite a lot of authority when it gets down to the details.

Clearly, France's competition authorities suspects this influence damages competition in the marketplace and probably hurts consumers in the long run.

This latest development adds to a growing number of headaches Apple is experiencing in France and indeed, the wider European market. The European Union is already probing potential antitrust violations in the market involving the distribution of Apple's i-devices.

In July, its offices in France were searched in an investigation into its relationship with wholesalers.

An airport in Alaska gas to close an aircraft access route and erect barricades because Apple's Maps app directed drivers across an actively used runway.

Fairbanks International Airport witnessed two incidents where drivers had driven along a taxiway and across a runway. It turns out the Apple Maps app on their devices had indicated that was a correct route to take.

Through the attorney general's office, the airport contacted Apple about the problem a couple of weeks ago, asking that they disable the service in the area.

"We asked them to disable the map for Fairbanks until they could correct it, thinking it would be better to have nothing show up than to take the chance that one more person would do this," Melissa Osborn, chief of operations at the airport, told Alaska Dispatch.

Apple has since changed their system to provide a message of "not available" rather than display the earlier route.

This is not the first time that the Maps app has been criticized on safety grounds. Australian police branded it "life threatening" after motorists were stranded in a national park after getting the wrong directions to Mildura, Victoria.

Valve has announced that 'Steam Machines' will be available in 2004, and it will be running a limited beta of its own hardware this year.

Just as with the announcement on Monday of SteamOS, Valve was light on details about Steam Machines, but did say that a variety of different hardware products will be available from different manufacturers - including Valve - and they would differ in specs, price and so forth. They will all run SteamOS and are all linked to bringing the Steam digital gaming system to the living room to compete with consoles.

Steam Machines will be on the market from 2014, but until then, Valve is running a limited hardware beta for its own product. It has designed a high-performance prototype that is optimized for gaming, for the living room and for Steam. It is also completely "open and upgradable."

Valve intends to ship 300 of these boxes to Steam users this year for free to be part of the testing program. If you want to apply, follow this link for details.

Valve will make another announcement on Friday, which is expected to address questions about input when a game is being streamed to a Steam Machine from a PC in another room.

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) was supposed to launch on iOS and Android devices over the weekend, but technical problems have pushed it back to next week on the platforms.

The issue stems from an unreleased app for Android that leaked to file sharing websites before the weekend. The app had a known flaw that resulted in volumes of data traffic orders of magnitude higher than normal for each active user, so it ended up really hammering BlackBerry's systems and putting the whole roll-out on ice.

The version that was supposed to roll-out to Android on Saturday fixed the known issue, but unfortunately for BlackBerry, it could not block users of the faulty leaked app. As users of the bad app neared a million, BlackBerry pulled the plug altogether.

"The team is now focused on adjusting the system to completely block this unreleased version of the Android app when we go live with the official BBM for Android app," wrote Andrew Bocking, head of BBM.

"We are also making sure that the system is reinforced to handle this kind of scenario in the future. While this may sound like a simple task – it's not. This will take some time and I do not anticipate launching this week."

A judge has found that HTC Corp. violated patents held by Nokia with several of its smartphone and tablet products.

Nokia filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) against HTC last year, alleging that it violated patents it holds with several of its tech products, including the HTC Amaze 4G, the Inspire 4G, Flyer, Jetstream, Radar 4G, Rezound and Sensation 4G.

A judge has agreed with Nokia, in a preliminary ruling for ITC finding that HTC violated two patents related to signal technology in the devices.

A final decision from the ITC is expected on January 23rd, 2014.

The ITC is approached constantly with such complaints, because it has the power to block products from being imported into the United States if found to be infringing.

A crowd-funded contest to hack Apple's Touch ID has ended with a verified hack that emerged during the weekend.

We reported on Friday that a website had been setup - IsTouchIDHackedYet.com - by security researcher Nick Depetrillo and Robert David Graham as a crowd-funded contest to see who could spoof the Touch ID system into accepting a fingerprint lifted from an item.

On Sunday, the Chaos Computer Club claimed that one of its hackers had managed to spoof the system, and now it appears to be verified as legitimate.

"Big congratulations to Starbug (of the Chaos Computer Club), the first to demonstrate the hack! Starbug is giving the challenge pledge funds to Raumfahrtagentur, a spinoff from CCC-Berlin," the hack challenge website reads now.

"We don't have exactly the video we wanted from him, but others have confirmed it, including Marc Rogers (@marcwrogers) and the team of Mudge Zatko and Dominick Rizzo. We are in contact with Starbug, he's working on the video for us (apparently he's got a day job that delays things), but since we have several confirmations, it's pointless to hold things up."

Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry has agreed in principle to a $4.7 billion takeover deal led by Fairfax.

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited already owns a 10 percent stake in BlackBerry, and now it seeks to bring the company under private ownership in a deal that would pay shareholders $9 per share. The consortium would acquire for cash all of the outstanding shares of BlackBerry not held by Fairfax.

Back in August, BlackBerry formed a Special Committee to review strategic alternatives for the company, and it has advised the BlackBerry Board of Directors to approve the terms of the LOI (letter of intent agreement) under which the consortium would acquire BlackBerry and take the company private subject to a number of conditions, including due diligence, negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement and customary regulatory approvals.

Diligence is expected to be complete by November 4, 2013.

During the Diligence period, BlackBerry is permitted to enter into negotiations for alternative deals.

Once a pioneer in smartphones, BlackBerry has struggled to regain its position in the market due to the emergence and rapid growth of iPhones and Android devices. It has made efforts to fight its downward trend with the release of new devices running a revamped BlackBerry 10 operating system, but according to reports it has a stock of over $1 billion worth of unsold phones.

Rockstar Games has confirmed it is working to fix a bug where players' upgraded vehicles vanish from their garages.

The developer says it has received reports from players about problems with cars and garages in the blockbuster title. Gamers found that when they upgraded vehicles in the game and then completed a mission, the vehicles can do a disappearing act.

"Unfortunately, we do not currently have a workaround to recover a car if it is missing," Rockstar said in a support page about the problem.

"This issue may occur if you drive another character's personal vehicle. We are looking into a fix to prevent this from occurring in the future. In the meantime, please try to avoid parking a car in a garage, driving one already in a garage, or getting in a default vehicle, when playing as a character other than the one with your upgrades."

Other reports about problems with GTA V included a PSN streaming lag issue, and reports of older Xbox 360 consoles freezing during gameplay.

Grand Theft Auto V reached $1 billion in sales in just three days of availability.

(via: GameSpot)

Valve has announced SteamOS, a linux-based free operating system aimed at bringing PC gaming into the living room.

Set to be available soon, SteamOS will be free forever and will help to bring better PC gaming into the living room. Not only does Valve claim to have achieved significant performance increases in graphics performance (and is working now on audio and reducing input latecy) but you can also stream games from your PC or Mac to a living room "machine" running SteamOS.

That in-home streaming feature might help some PC gamers to move to their HD TV, but the technical details jkust aren't available now. Gamers will likely have questions about whether they can use existing controllers in this setup or maybe concerns about the limits of Wi-Fi streaming.

Valve also promises that SteamOS will provide entertainment from the "media services you know and love," which to us means at least Netflix, but again, there is no confirmation on any service yet.

Family Sharing allows you to easily share games with family members, allowing you to take turns playing one another's games while earning your own Steam achievements and saving your individual game progress to the Steam cloud.

The New York Police Department is endorsing Apple's iOS 7 update for compatible iPhones and iPads.

According to numerous reports on Twitter and from media sources, NYPD officers were handing out fliers on the street encouraging iPhone owners to upgrade to iOS 7, due to a new feature that could discourage the theft of Apple's smartphones.

For the first time in two decades, New York City's crime rate rose, and officials are blaming it on "Apple picking", which is smartphone theft.

There has been calls for Apple and other smartphone manufacturers, like Samsung, to build in more anti-theft measures into their devices.

iOS 7 brings a feature that allows a device to be remotely secured if it is stolen. Once activated, the device cannot be wiped and used again until its associated Apple ID and password are entered.

Such measures may discourage smartphone theft, and so the NYPD is making it its business to let iPhone-owning New Yorkers know about the advantages of having iOS 7 installed.

Four uniformed NYPD officers were at my subway stop tonight asking me to upgrade to iOS 7. Not a joke! pic.twitter.com/CGdR2RqtKJ
-- Michael Hoffman (@Hoffm) September 21, 2013

Apple sold 9 million iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c smartphones in just 3 days since they launched on Friday.

Apple's iOS 7 update is also now present on 200 million iOS devices, which Apple claims is the fastest software upgrade in history.

"This is our best iPhone launch yet―more than nine million new iPhones sold―a new record for first weekend sales," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO.

"The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible, and while we've sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5s, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly. We appreciate everyone's patience and are working hard to build enough new iPhones for everyone."

Apple's press information doesn't indicate which smartphone sold more units but it was no secret that the iPhone 5s was out of stock in most places very quickly. In the UK, mobile providers were frustrated that Apple sent them ample supplies of the iPhone 5c and only "tens" of the iPhone 5s to sell at launch.

Nevertheless, Apple is entitled to celebrate yet another very successful launch.

There appears to be multiple reports that older Xbox 360 consoles are having trouble playing Grand Theft Auto V.

The issue seems to involve Xbox 360 consoles manufactured or refurbished between 2006 and 2008. Players report that they cannot play for more than thirty minutes without the game freezing up the console.

"I've probably reinstalled the game about 10 times now," a player reported at GTA Forums.

"I'm thinking it might be my 20GB HDD? After I installed the game I probably [have] a couple hundred MB left. Could it possibly be a problem that I don't have enough excess memory after the install?"

Other users report that they have run into the same problem even on larger capacity drives.

"Same problem here. Xbox from 2006, original 20gb model, sent in for repairs in 2009 for RROD," said another user.

"I bought a 250 gb hard drive for it, but otherwise it's the same console I've had for years. I can't play for more than 30 minutes without the game freezing on me, and I've tried every troubleshooting step I've seen here and on other websites."

The Chaos Computer Club has claimed that its "biometrics hacking team" has broken Apple's Touch ID, just days after the release of the iPhone 5s.

Apple has touted the security of its fingerprint scanner system that can be used to unlock an iPhone 5s and for iTunes purchases. It said that the system cannot be beaten as easily as some other fingerprint scanners, which have found to be particularly weak.

In fact, Apple even discounted the possibility that a severed finger could be used.

Enter the Chaos Computer Club, a group many of you will have heard of before. It now claims that just days after the iPhone 5s release, it can already spoof Apple's Touch ID "using easy everyday means."

"A fingerprint of the phone user, photographed from a glass surface, was enough to create a fake finger that could unlock an iPhone 5s secured with TouchID," CCC claims.

"This demonstrates – again – that fingerprint biometrics is unsuitable as access control method and should be avoided."

A hacker with the nickname Starbug claimed all the group had to do was ramp up the resolution of its fake. "As we have said now for more than years, fingerprints should not be used to secure anything. You leave them everywhere, and it is far too easy to make fake fingers out of lifted prints."

Apple CEO Tim Cook has put a time frame on when he believes tablet sales will surpass those of PC sales.

He has said in the past that tablets will eventually overtake the sales of PCs, but never attempted to pin down a timeframe for this transition.

"We're 24 months away from that," he told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview.

Cook pointed out that a substantial amount of tablet sales come from traditional PC manufacturers who have decided to produce low-cost Android devices.

Of course, he then went on to bash those low-cost Android tablets.

"I think if I bought [an Android tablet] and used it, and I thought that was a tablet experience, I'm not sure I would ever buy another tablet," he said.

"The responsiveness isn't there. The basic touch is really off. The app experience is a stretched-out smartphone kind of experience. It's not an optimized experience."

According to reports, the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States buys Zero Day exploits and other tools/information from French firm Vupen.

Vupen does research looking for vulnerabilities in popular software, like web browsers, and then sells that information rather than disclosing it to the software vendor.

According to paperwork released under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the NSA is a Vupen customer, buying a 12 month subscription to a "binary analysis and exploit service" sold by the French company, reports The Hacker News.

How much money exactly the NSA has given to Vupen is unclear, as the information is redacted in documents.

Vupen is criticized by security experts and has even been branded a "zero day cyber weapon merchant." It reportedly has promised not to sell services to non-NATO countries and not to deal with oppressive regimes.

Apple has updated its Apple TV software, bringing support for iTunes Radio, the store and Airplay from iCloud.

With Airplay from iCloud lets you "use your iOS device to play videos from iTunes in the Cloud," meaning that the streaming will go right to the Apple TV device rather than the iOS device. However, Apple TV takes reportedly a long time to buffer ahead before playing from the Cloud, so the feature is not enabled in the update by default.

In contrast, streaming to iOS device begins almost immediately, though AirPlay from iCloud is for iOS 7 devices only.

The update also brings support for the iTunes Music Store, and replaces Photo Stream with iCloud Photos and Videos.

The Apple TV update also supports iTunes Radio.

Sony has confirmed that the PS4's camera will support voice and gesture control.

Unlike Kinect, the PlayStation Camera is not bundled with the PlayStation 4 (PS4) consoles as Sony made the decision to keep the price lower.

If you do buy a $60 camera, you will be able to use voice and gesture control features, Sony confirmed to Engadget from the Tokyo Game Show this week.

The Amazon listing for the new camera listed "navigational voice commands" among its features beforehand, so Sony just confirmed what was already rumoured.

The PS4 launches in North America on November 15, in Europe on November 29 and only launches in its home territory of Japan in February 2014.

Facebook apologized this week after it emerged an ad running on the social network was using a photo of a teenager who committed suicide.

Seventeen year old Rehtaeh Parsons took her own life after months of cyber bullying and an alleged sexual assault. A Facebook user noticed an ad for an online dating site was using the girl's picture and grabbed a screenshot of it. After tweeting the screenshot, outrage quickly ensued.

Facebook became aware of the issue and took prompt action to remove the ad and ban the advertiser.

"This is an extremely unfortunate example of an advertiser scraping an image from the Internet and using it in their ad campaign," a spokeswoman for Facebook said.

"This is a gross violation of our ad policies. We apologize for any harm this has caused."

A report this week from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) blasted search engines for failing to fight copyright infringement.

The report, titled "Understanding the Role of Search in Online Piracy", claims that 58 percent of search queries people used before viewing copyright infringing content "contain generic of title-specific keywords only." What that means is people find infringing copies of content easily without specifically requesting them with keywords.

The results of a survey it conducted show that 74 percent of respondents admitted to using search engines as a means to find pirated content.

"Search engines bear responsibility for introducing people to infringing content - even people who aren't actively looking for it," said Chris Dodd, chairman of the MPAA.

"The television and movie community is working every day to develop new and innovative ways to watch content online, and as the internet's gatekeepers, search engines share a responsibility to play a constructive role in not directing audiences to illegitimate content."

However, Internet Association president and chief executive, Michael Beckerman, has rejected the MPAA's criticism, saying the trade group just blames the Internet and technology for all of its problems.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said that revelations about U.S. spying programs hurt users' trust in U.S.-based Internet services.

He was in Washington to attend an event hosted by the Atlantic magazine and to lobby congressmen about immigration reform earlier this week, when he gave his take the NSA surveillance programs that dominated much of the news over the past few months.

"What I can tell from the data that I see at Facebook is that I think the more transparency and communication the government could do about how they're requesting the data from us, the better everyone would feel about it," he said.

"From reading in the media, you couldn't get a sense whether the number of requests that the government makes is closer to a thousand or closer to a 100 million. ... I think the more transparency the government has, the better folks would feel."

To services like Facebook, the media reports combined with government statements served to hurt trust of users outside the U.S. most of all.

"Response to the NSA issues that have blown up are a big deal for the Internet as a global platform. And some of the government statements I think have been profoundly unhelpful," he said.

Prosecutors in the United States joined with the mayor of London in recommending that iPhone owners upgrade to iOS 7.

The issue of smartphone theft in urban areas has prompted politicians and prosecutors around the world to push manufacturers to build more anti-theft systems into their devices. On top of the agenda is the "Kill Switch" that would render a device useless remotely in the event that it is stolen.

Manufacturers are reluctant to make such features available, due to the potential for abuse. Still, there are other measures that can be taken that could discourage the theft of devices.

One such feature is the Activation Lock in iOS 7, present on the new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s. Users of iPhones from iPhone 4 onwards can upgrade to iOS 7.

Prosecutors in New York and San Francisco joined with London mayor, Boris Johnson in urging iPhone owners in their cities to upgrade to iOS 7, earlier this week.

Still, the presence of activation lock in iOS 7 is not likely to bring down the number of smartphone thefts. There will likely need to be an industry-wide effort to tackle the problem.

The 64-bit processor that powers Apple's iPhone 5s is fabricated by Apple's great South Korean rival, Samsung.

Of course, all of Apple's custom designed AX chips that power its iPhones, iPads and iPod touch have been fabricated by Samsung's plants, but in recent years the relationship between both companies has soured considerable.

A global patent war erupted over similarities between the iPhone and iPad, and Samsung's Galaxy-branded smartphones and tablets.

It's no secret that Apple would like to cut Samsung out of its supply chain as much as possible, and reports suggest that it is eyeing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to possible produce SoC's for future iPhones and iPads instead of its great rival.

An analysis of the iPhone 5s internal components by Chipworks found the A7 to be fabricated in Samsung's facilities, and seeks to confirm that the A7 utilizes Samsung's 28-nanometer Hi K metal Gate. The M7 motion coprocessor in the iPhone 5s is made by NXP.

Check the Chipworks analysis for more detailed information: chipworks.com

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has joined Twitter following the launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.

Twitter verified the account of the Apple CEO shortly after media reports pointed him out, and at the time of writing, he has already amassed over 120,000 followers. Given his position in the industry, that number is likely to explode over the coming days.

For his first tweet, Cook recounted visiting retail stores in Palo Alto as the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launched.

Visited Retail Stores in Palo Alto today. Seeing so many happy customers reminds us of why we do what we do.

-- Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 20, 2013

U.S. Senator Al Franken has written a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook requesting information about Apple's Touch ID fingerprint technology.

Franken asks Cook questions that Apple may have already answered in its PR campaigns about the iPhone 5s and the safely of the Touch ID fingerprint technology.

The Cupertino-based giant assured users that fingerprint data is safely stored in the A7 SoC that powers the iPhone 5s, and that it is stored as mathematical data. Franken asks Cook in his letter if it is at all possible that the fingerprint data could be converted into a digital or visual format, and whether the raw information could be extracted from an iPhone, which Apple doesn't think likely.

The senator also raised questions about Apple's ability to share fingerprint information with law enforcement or other federal authorities, asking Cook to provide assurances that Apple will never share fingerprint data with government agencies without due process.

However, Apple has already stated repeatedly that fingerprint data is stored in the A7 only, and is never backed up to iCloud or in any way transferred to Apple servers, or even to other devices.

"Passwords are secret and dynamic; fingerprints are public and permanent," wrote Sen. Franken.

Microsoft will provide no more updates for Skype on Windows Phone 7, the Skype blog has revealed.

The Skype for Windows Phone 8 app has been getting quite a few updates as of late. It was the first Skype mobile app to offer HD video calling, and more recently, the Windows Phone 8 app got a new Video Messaging feature that allows you to record and leave video messages for contacts when they are offline.

Given that the majority of Skype's Windows Phone base is running Windows Phone 8, there will no longer be any Skype updates for the older Windows Phone 7.

"As we look ahead to the future, we are focusing all our efforts to bring great experiences and improved performance to Windows Phone 8, building on the capabilities of the platform," The Skype blog reads.

"As a result we are not planning to release further updates to Skype for Windows Phone 7."

The Skype app for Windows Phone 7 will remain available for download in the Windows Phone Store.

Valve has setup a new teaser site to drive interest ahead of an announcement that will be made on Monday.

"The Steam Universe is expanding in 2014," we are told, with most expectations being that Valve is likely to announce the Steam Box, which is hardware the company has been working on for the living room.

"Last year, we shipped a software feature called Big Picture, a user-interface tailored for televisions and gamepads. This year we've been working on even more ways to connect the dots for customers who want Steam in the living-room. Soon, we'll be adding you to our design process, so that you can help us shape the future of Steam," the teaser website states.

A countdown clock is set to expire on Monday afternoon (Eastern Time, US).

Either this will be a Valve-branded Steam Box (Valve co-founder Gabe Newell did reveal already that the Steam Box will be distributed entirely by Valve) or perhaps its the announcement of partnerships with hardware manufacturers to make PCs that are more living-room/TV friendly?

What do you think Valve will reveal?

The Obama administration is petitioning the FCC to make moves that will thwart a law that criminalizes the unlocking of smartphones and tablets that are owned by users.

Through the NTIA - the President's principal adviser on domestic and international telecommunications and information policy - the White House is petitioning the FCC to make new rules related to unlocking smartphones and tablets.

The new rules would act thwart a law scheduled to take effect on January 26, 2014, that would make it punishable for up to five years to unlock a mobile phone without permission from a carrier.

It is common practice for carriers to lock smartphones to their networks when customers buy a subsidized device on a specific plan, like a two year plan. At the end of this time, customers may feel they want to take their device - which they now own - to another network.

Every three years, the Library of Congress examines possible exemptions to copyright laws. In the latest round, it decided not to renew an exemption that affects the unlocking of phones, setting the course for the law to take effect in January.

The Obama administration already asked the U.S. Congress to act on the issue, but as usual, the Congress has been slow to act. Therefore, the administration is looking to the FCC as another route.

Sony's PlayStation 4 (PS4) console will not support gameplay capture at launch, according to a Sony executive.

Shuhei Yoshida, President of Worldwide Studios, was responding to a question on Twitter about whether HDMI capture of gameplay footage will be possible from launch day, or if it will be something Sony rolls out later on.

The PlayStation 3 (PS3) console protected HDMI signals using HDCP, which meant users had to rely on analogue cables to record gameplay footage from the console.

It was announced this week that the PS4 will allow gameplay capture through HDMI, but now we know it will not be possible at launch.

@sagman12PC the latter

-- Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) September 20, 2013

An Apple stores in Southern California had an eventful launch for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5s when people were arrested for fighting.

Pasadena Police Lieutenant Jason Clawson said that two men among the line-up of hundreds waiting for a new iPhone got into a fight. The men, identified as 23 year old George Westbrook of Compton, and 43 year old Lamar Mitchell of Pasadena, were arrested for fighting in public.

In a separate incident at the same store, another man was detained for a 72 hour mental evaluation. He had gotten into an argument with another man whom he said paid him to keep his place in line. Several news sources report that it was a homeless man paid to keep a place in line by another man who clearly didn't feel like camping out.

Apple hired two Pasadena police officers to stay at the store throughout the rest of the day, and there was no major incident.

Apple fans waited in line to get their hands on a new iPhone 5s - or maybe an iPhone 5c - on Friday, but there was no shortage of complaints about supply, particularly of the gold coloured smartphones.

Apple has already pledged to fix a lockscreen bug on iOS 7, and now a second bug has emerged that enables users to make calls from a locked iPhone.

The bizarre bug was discovered by Karam Daoud, a 27-year old from Ramallah, who passed on a video and information about it to Andy Greenberg at Forbes.

A separate lockscreen bug was detailed almost right after the iOS 7 update was released, and it allows users to gain access to photos, contacts and even post to e-mail, and social media accounts from a locked iPhone.

This new bug affects devices locked with a passcode. Basically, all a user needs to do is access the emergency call screen and tap in any number. Then, repeatedly tap the Call button until it eventually appears to get stuck, and the iPhone crashes to the Apple logo.

Even though the Apple logo appears on the screen, the call is actually placed. The trick works with international numbers and premium rate numbers.

Take-Two has announced that its Grand Theft Auto V blockbuster has reached $1 billion in sales in just three days of availability.

The latest in the GTA series was expected to reach $1 billion in its first month, but after a staggering $800 million on its first day, it became clear that it was set to break new records. It has reached the milestone faster than any entertainment property has before it.

"Grand Theft Auto is a cultural phenomenon and Rockstar Games continues to redefine what can be achieved in interactive entertainment," Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said in a statement.

"We are incredibly proud of the extraordinary critical and commercial response to Grand Theft Auto V."

For comparison, Call of Duty: Black Ops II hit the milestone in 15 days.

Conan O'Brien has posted an awesome review of Grand Theft Auto V, which develops into a vendetta against a virtual Strip Club.

In his "clueless gamer" review, Conan shows that he would be utterly useless as a getaway driver in the game - he didn't even make it out of Michael's driveway - and that he likes a good fist fight with strangers.

The best parts of the review are Conan's reaction to finally getting Franklin onto a yacht on the back of a truck tearing down a freeway, and later on his encounter with bouncers at a Strip Club.

After being first thrown out of the club for getting too "handsy" with the ladies, Conan's character (Mike) ends up in a rundown hospital, but very much alive, after being shot to death at the club. Conan credits this incredible medical treatment to Obamacare.

He then returns to the club where he gets a private dance from two virtual ladies, but then once again his hands land him in trouble and he gets booted out.

Later on - unable to get over the encounter at the strip club earlier - Conan jacks a helicopter that fires missiles and returns to get revenge.. twice.

Here's the video (CONTENT WARNING: Rated R in US, Adult in most territories)

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has claimed Google has a monopoly in its business practices, and that it is worth of discussion with competition authorities.

His comments came during a presentation at Microsoft's financial analysts meeting. When responding to questions about how the Redmond giant can generate revenue from consumer services, Ballmer alluded to Google's alleged monopoly in the search space.

"They have this incredible, amazing, dare I say monopoly that we are the only person left on the planet trying to compete with," he said.

Microsoft's Bing service has grown to a 17.9 percent share of the search market in the United States, but still way behind Google at 67 percent. Most of Bing's gains have come from losses at other rival search engines other than Google.

"If we have exactly the same quality of algorithms, but a lot less scale in search advertising, we will get less revenue per search than Google does, which means they have more money to pay for distribution on Samsung devices, or Apple," Ballmer said, reports the Verge.

He then went on to explain that he believes the competition authorities may have a role to play.

UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has warned about the corrosive effect of violent video games in the wake of the recent Navy Yard shooting in the United States.

The Liberal Democrat leader and deputy to Conservative PM David Cameron was commenting on his LBC Radio phone-in show. Reports questioned the gaming habits of the shooter at the Navy Yard in Washington D.C. (though he also apparently heard voices in his head...) following the latest gun-related tragedy to blight the United States.

"These games can have an incredibly powerful effect, and I expect in some cases a corrosive effect, on someone's behaviour," said Clegg.

"They occupy a hermetically sealed world of their own and that can have a very detrimental effect."

Typical of a politician, Clegg offered absolutely no evidence for his statement.

Microsoft is advising against standing its upcoming Xbox One console upright, saying it is designed to be laid flat.

The Xbox 360 can be stood vertically or laid flat during use, but that doesn't extend to the new Xbox One console, according to Albert Penello, who leads planning for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Kinect at Microsoft.

"We don't support vertical orientation; do it at your own risk," Panello told Gamespot.

"It wouldn't be a cooling problem, we just didn't design the drive for vertical. Because it's a slot loading drive, we just didn't design it for both."

Interesting warning, given that other consoles use a slot drive and don't have warnings against vertical orientation. Nevertheless, you have been warned.

Internet security firm RSA is advising developers not to use one of its own encryption algorithms, fearing the NSA may be able to decrypt code that results.

A New York Times report indicated that the NSA may have intentionally introduced a flaw into the SP 800–90A Dual Ellipctic Curve Deterministic Random Bit Generation algorithm before trying to get the National Institute of Standards and Technology to adopt it.

RSA strongly advises customers to switch to other random number generators.

During the 90s, the NSA had argued publicly that it should be able to decrypt all cryptographic systems in order to be able to effectively fight against security threats, but privacy rights and free speech advocates won the day.

Nevertheless, the NSA has been in a tug of war with cryptographers who create increasingly sophisticated encryption systems. The NSA does have considerable super-computing power, and cryptographic expertise of its own too.

Google has posted a short video showing Google Chromecast working with a tablet, phone, laptop and TV.

Chromecast is basically another system that aims to bring content from your laptop and mobile devices to your HDTV over a home network, not that much unlike AppleTV and other services.

It works with Netflix, YouTube, Google Play, Chrome and more.

Working with Android tablets and smartphones, iPhones and iPads, Mac and Windows, you can choose what to play, control playback and audio levels with your device as your remote control.

The Chromecast hardware plugs directly into the HDMI slot of a HD TV, and is powered by connecting to a USB port. It costs $35.

At GamesCom in Germany this year, 974 people played a custom Super Mario Bros time trial, which has all been combined into this one video.

Have you ever wondered what it would look like if 974 different gamers played a Super Mario Bros time trial level, and were all combined into one 1:34 video? Well, neither did we frankly, but here is a video of that happening at GamesCom in Germany anyway.

There was a 3 second penalty for dying which explains all the frozen Marios. Also note that enemies and objects may not appear synced to the players - that is due to the way Mari0 (and the original SMB) works.

If you are looking to cut a few dollars off the cost of games this weekend, then go to Toys R Us and use a promo to get 20% off.

Unfortunately, the promo does not cover pre-orders of games for Microsoft's Xbox One, or Sony's PlayStation 4 (PS4). Still, you can get the discount on the recently released Grand Theft Auto V, Saints Row IV, Madden NFL 25 and more.

To avail, go to the Toys R Us website and add games to your shopping card. At the checkout, use the promo code FRIENDS20 for the 20% discount. Please note that the promo code is a one time use deal.

More info: Toys R Us (via Joystiq)

Sony revealed at the Tokyo Game Show that it made a business decision based on feedback to bump the PS4 from its original 4GB, to 8GB GDDR5 memory.

The upcoming PlayStation 4 (PS4) console was to feature 4GB of memory, but Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, revealed that it had made a decision to bump up the memory following feedback.

"And because we chose expensive memory...we really liked the performance, but it's pricy, right? So going to 8GB was a bit of a business decision," Yoshida told GameSpot.

"But we were able to make that decision because of a lot of the feedback from developers."

Sticking with 4GB would have caused some frowns in the gaming community as memory is vitally important to delivering optimal performance for the longest possible time.

Mobile networks in the UK are annoyed with Apple for under-supplying them with the new iPhone 5s smartphone.

Ahead of today's launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in the UK market, the BBC News website reached out to mobile providers in the region about the launch and found that they were frustrated over the stocks provided to them by Apple.

Basically, the providers were rolling in stocks of the cheaper, plastic iPhone 5c, but were reportedly "drip fed" stocks of the premium iPhone 5s.

None of the carriers the BBC spoke to wished to be identified by name, fearing further disadvantages when supplies were replenished. However, there was speculation that Apple was supplying them with far more iPhone 5c models to drive sales by inducing a shortage of iPhone 5s. The plastic iPhone 5c has reportedly failed to gain adequate attention from Apple customers prior to launch.

The iPhone 5s is listed on Apple's UK website as being unavailable for 7-10 business days, following the launch.

The iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c smartphones go on sale today and there is already an iOS update for them available.

The small update includes some fixes for bugs that Apple has found in its latest operating system, but the iOS 7.0.1 update is only available for iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c for now, and not for the older Apple devices that support the latest iOS iteration.

Specifically, the iOS 7.0.1 update fixes a problem with Apple's TouchID fingerprint authentication system. Apparently the bug is not related to unlocking the device using the fingerprint scanner, but instead is related to using the scanner for iTunes purchases.

Given that the iPhone 5c doesn't have a TouchID fingerprint scanner, it's unclear what bugs will be fixed by the iOS 7.0.1 minor update on the new lower-cost (but still fairly pricey) iPhone.

One bug not likely to be fixed is an embarrassing flaw that lets you bypass the lockscreen on iOS 7 to access photos and contacts.

Grand Theft Auto V is likely to be released for the PS4 and Xbox One consoles sometime next year, according to Colin Sebastian of Robert W. Baird & Co.

Sebastian predicted that Grand Theft Auto V would reach $1 billion in sales in its first month on the market, only to then watch it reach $800 million in sales in a single day, prompting him to call it the "largest entertainment property launch in history."

In a note to investors, he said the game will be launched on the next generation platforms - PlayStation 4 and Xbox One - sometime in 2014, saying it would help to extend the value of the franchise.

The next generation systems go on sale during November in the U.S. and Europe, with Sony aiming to sell five million before the end of its fiscal year, March 31.

While we ponder on when the new GTA will hit the next generation consoles, a petition seeking the blockbuster's release on PC has reached almost 480,000 signatures.

Apple's latest iOS upgrade fixed 80 security flaws in the older iOS 6 iterations of the software, according to reports.

Ironically, a fairly simple exploit can be used to bypass the lockscreen on iOS 7 and gain access to photos already, but the bugs fixed in iOS 7 are, in cases, very serious. Some could be used as part of DOS attacks on devices, or even be used to execute arbitrary code which could potentially leave a device open to being taken over.

One flaw (CVE-2013-0957) could allow an attacker to break an app in the third party Sandbox and determine the user's passcode.

The update also fixed a widely reported flaw that allowed a modified charger to be used to hijack a device. Other bugs included s Safari bug that made previously-deleted history visible again and a memory corruption issue related to the handling of XML by the Apple browser.

For more information on the other bugs, check out this article by Chris Brook at ThreatPost.

Sony has detailed how you can upgrade PS3 copies of select games to PS4 versions for just $10 after the PS4 launch.

So far only four titles will be included in the upgrade program, but they are big titles. If you have a copy of Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Watch Dogs, and Battlefield 4 - either on Blu-ray Disc or Digital - you can upgrade to a PS4 version for $9.99.

If bought on Blu-ray, you will find a code packed into the PS3 version that you can redeem on PlayStation Store. Note that you will still need to use the PS3 disc to play the PS4 version of the game, so don't think about selling it.

If you buy any of the titles as digital versions, then you don't need to redeem any code, just look for the PS4 version of the game on PlayStation Store – it will appear on PlayStation Store on your PS4 for the discounted price of $9.99.

For those of you who have a redeem code, you don't have to wait until the PS4 comes out, you can redeem it right away and then download the digital copy when your PS4 arrives.

The program last for a limited time one. You will need to redeem codes and make the purchases before January 31, 2014 for Assassin's Creed IV and Watch Dogs, before March 28, 2014 for Battlefield 4 or before March 31, 2014 for Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Apple has just launched the iOS 7 operating system for its iPhone, iPad and iPod touch products, but already there's a glaring flaw that lets users bypass the lockscreen. (And now a second lockscreen bug has been found in iOS 7 that lets users make calls to any number from a locked iPhone)

The bug was found by Jose Rodriguez, who previously found bugs to bypass the lockscreen in iOS 6 and iOS 7 beta. This time he has found a flaw in iOS 7 that lets you bypass the lockscreen, access photos and use photo sharing with twitter, flickr, email and so on. Apple is already aware of the problem and is promising a fix as soon as possible, according to Forbes.

The flaw is shown in the video embedded below. Basically, it works by first swiping up the lockscreen to access the phone's "control center", and then opening up the alarm clock. Holding the sleep button brings up the option to turn it off, but if you tap cancel and then double click the Home button you get to the multitasking screen (the second click should be stretched a bit, apparently).

Apple's TouchID fingerprint reader and authentication system will be a fun challenge for hackers after the launching of a crowd-funding effort to provide motivation.

IsTouchIDHackedYet.com has been launched by security researcher Nick Depetrillo and Robert David Graham, listing pledges from Twitter users to provide money (including BitCoin) and other prizes - like a bottle of wine and a "dirty sex book" - for whoever can demonstrate a working hack of the feature.

In order to be in with a shout of getting some rewards, the hacker will need to provide proof of a method to break into an iPhone 5s by lifting prints from other surfaces, like a glass, and using it somehow for authentication.

Fingerprint scanners have been defeated quite easily in the past. Mythbusters even beat one by simply printing out a finger print and using the print-out.

Apple insists however that TouchID is special, claiming it can't even be beaten by severed finger.

According to comments given to Forbes, Depetrillo decided to go ahead with this challenge because he has so much faith in the TouchID system not to be easily beaten, but that being proven wrong will be a "pleasant surprise."

A BBC TV programme in the UK has tested how a consumer can get the fastest possible response to their complaints to corporations.

It is hardly a surprise that The One Show on the BBC TV in the UK found that e-mailing a complaint is one of the worst ways of going about it. In a test, the show contacted five separate companies by e-mail with complaints, and only one responded within 24 hours.

Taking your grievance to Twitter has a much better result, it would appear, with the fastest response time after complaining on Twitter being just 3 minutes. The slowest was 1 hour and 10 minutes.

It is not difficult to understand these results. When you complain to a company by e-mail, the complaint is made in private for your eyes and the company's eyes only.

When you complain on Twitter or through other social media, you are effectively calling out the company in public, in full view. Therefore, it is in their best interest to get back to you as soon as possible.

Still, just because you get a quick response time doesn't mean you will have your problem solved quicker, but it's much better than checking your e-mail inbox, listening to elevator music on the phone (or talking to a badly programmed automated response system) or going out to complain in person. Of course, the public nature of a Twitter complaint is probably not suitable for all problems.

Hiroshi Yamauchi, who led Nintendo into a position as the most recognizable video games brand in the world, has died at the age of 85.

Nintendo announced the passing of Hiroshi Yamauchi on Thursday, who succumbed to pneumonia. He was the third president of Nintendo, joining the company in 1949, and was succeeded by Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata. He died as the largest Nintendo shareholder, with an estimated net worth of around $2.1 billion as of April, 2013.

In his early years at Nintendo, the company produced Hanafuda cards - a form of Japanese playing cards - and also introduced the plastic Western playing cards to Japan for the first time. In 1959, Yamauchi signed a licensing agreement with Walt Disney for playing cards.

Under Yamauchi, Nintendo listed on the stock exchange and became a huge name in Japan for card games intended for family use.

He realized very quickly the potential that the emerging markets for electronics had, taking note of the likes of Atari. It was with the entrance of Nintendo into the American arcade market that saw the eventual rise of Shigeru Miyamoto's Donkey Kong, in 1981.

In 1992, Yamauchi became the majority shareholder of the Seattle Mariners.

A U.S. Court has halted a deal that would see Activision buy Vivendi's $8.2 billion stake in the publisher.

A Delaware court put a temporary hold on the deal after an investor Douglas Hayes sued, claiming that the companies did not put the deal to shareholder vote as legally required. It is very rare for a U.S. court to take this action, but it is unlikely to kill the deal according to analysts.

The deal was announced in July by Vivendi, after it had agreed to sell its stake to the publisher for $8.2 billion.

Both companies can appeal the court's decision, and if successful, could close the deal very quickly. Otherwise, Activision can call a shareholder vote, which will take more time and likely won't change the outcome.

Verizon Wireless has responded to quite a bit of criticism for not activating Google's Nexus 7 following its launch.

Consumers who got their hands on the new Google tablet earlier this week were in for an unpleasant surprise when they tried to activate the device on Verizon's LTE network. It didn't take long before tweets were aimed at Verizon about the issue.

Verizon's response didn't exactly inspire confidence.

@jeffjarvis I'm excited you got your Nexus 7 but not all LTE tablets are created equal. It's not part of our line up & can't be activated^JH

-- VZW Support (@VZWSupport) September 17, 2013

Nexus 7 is not yet VZ certified; we expect it to complete testing soon, then we'll work to make avail on our network http://t.co/DmAhqYRPSF

-- Verizon Wireless (@VZWnews) September 18, 2013

A U.S. court has ruled that using Facebook's 'Like' feature to show support for a political candidate amounts to legally protected speech.

The decision was made by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case involving the firing of a former deputy sheriff in Hampton, Virginia. He claimed that he had lost his job because during an election campaign, he liked the Facebook page of a candidate running for the position of city Sheriff, against his boss.

In total, six former employees of Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts claim they were illegally fired for having supported his opponent, Jim Adams, in the election which took place in 2009.

"Liking a political candidate's campaign page communicates the user's approval of the candidate and supports the campaign by associating the user with it," Chief Judge William Traxler wrote for a three-judge panel.

"It is the Internet equivalent of displaying a political sign in one's front yard, which the Supreme Court has held is substantive speech."

The decision partly reverses a ruling that liking a Facebook page was "insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection," made by U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in Newport News, Virginia last year.

Sony Corp revealed an ambitious early goal for the PlayStation 4 console; to sell five million units by the end of its fiscal year.

That would mean that Sony hopes to sell 5 million PS4 consoles worldwide by the end of March 2014. Andrew House, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entrainment (SCEI) revealed the early ambitious goal in Sony's keynote presentation at the Tokyo Game Show today.

Given that the PlayStation 4 (PS4) breaks with Sony tradition by not launching first in its home territory of Japan - which won't get the PS4 until February - the target does seem to be set on the high end. It took Sony almost a full year before the PlayStation 3 (PS3) console sold five million worldwide.

The PS4 doesn't launch in Japan until February 22. It launches in North America on November 15, and in Europe on November 29.

Twitter has updated its apps for iPhone and iPad to coincide with the launch of iOS 7.

Of course, the updates are fully compatible with iOS 6 and iOS 5, but the main reason for the update was for iOS 7 and the new features it brings to Twitter.

In the Music app on an iPhone or iPad running iOS 7, you can now discovery music that's trending on Twitter through the Twitter #music station on iTunes Radio.

Siri on iOS 7 will now also search through Twitter to find tweets about topics or people that you have asked about.

BlackBerry has confirmed the new Z30 smartphone runnign BB 10.2, and featuring some upgrades over the previous BlackBerry Z10.

The new Z30 features a larger 5-inch Super AMOLED display (720p), an upgraded Snapdragon S4 Pro dual core processor at 1.7GHz, 2GB of RAM and an Adreno 320 GPU. Internal storage is also 16GB but can be expanded through the use of a microSD card.

Aiming at business users, BlackBerry has included its new generation of antenna technology that dynamically tunes reception to provide better connectivity in areas of poor signal. The Z30 is also BlackBerry's first smartphone to feature a 2880 mAh battery.

The Z30 is LTE-compatible (no specifics on bands), supports Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.

Another touted improvement is with sounds; the Z30 features stereo speakers that immerse you in your music, videos, apps and games, and makes conversations sound like you're face-to-face, the Canadian firm claims. BlackBerry Natural Sound is new technology exclusive to BlackBerry and part of BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2 that makes BBM Voice and BBM Video chats sound more natural and realistic.

Other improvements and features include the BaclBerry Priority Hub which organizes your e-mail, messages and social media data by priority, and also the new in-app message preview that allows you yo respond to a message from any app. However, both these new features come from BlackBerry 10.2, which will be available soon as an update for some older BlackBerry devices.

Apple has released iTunes 11.1 to coincide with the release of iOS 7, and the firm's new iTunes Radio service that will rival the likes of Pandora.

iTunes 11.1 delivers iOS 7 device support as the latest iteration of the Apple mobile OS also rolled out today. iTunes 11.1 will be a requirement for devices running iOS 7, so keep that in mind.

The big new feature delivered to the Desktop in iTunes 11.1 - albeit for U.S. users only at this time - is iTunes Radio, an ad-supported personalized radio service that rivals Pandora. For those subscribed to iTunes Match ($25 a year), you will not have to suffer the advertisements.

Like Pandora, iTunes Radio offers custom stations based on artists, genres and other factors.

For Podcast consumers, Podcast Station will also create custom stations featuring your regularly downloaded podcasts. These will automatically update with new podcast and sync the playback position for each across your Apple devices.

You can download iTunes 11.1.0 for Windows (or the 64-bit version), or iTunes 11.1.0 for Mac OS X from AfterDawn.

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will be available as a free download for both Android and iPhones this weekend.

Once available exclusively on BlackBerry devices, its upcoming availability on alternative platforms was announced earlier this year, much to the delight of former BlackBerry users who have switched to different smartphones in recent years that would like to still use BBM.

BBM will be available from Google Play for Android phones from Saturday, September 21, and then available for iPhones from the App Store on Sunday, September 22.

The app is free on both platforms. Android users will need to be running Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean to get the app, and iPhone users will need iOS 6 or iOS 7 installed.

BBM for Android and iPhone features:

• BBM Chat – Enjoy real, immediate conversations with friends on Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones. Not only does BBM let you know that your message has been delivered and read, it also shows you that your friend is responding to the message.
• More than chat – With BBM you can share files on your phone such as photos and voice notes, all in an instant.
• Keep your group in the loop – Multi-person chats are a great way to invite contacts to chat together. BBM Groups lets you invite up to 30 friends to chat together, and go a step further than multi-chat by sharing photos and schedules. And, with Broadcast Message, you can send a message out to all your BBM contacts at once.
• Post Updates and stay in the know – BBM lets you post a personal message, profile picture and your current status, and lets your contacts know instantly in Updates.
• Your unique PIN – Every BBM user has a unique PIN that maintains your privacy, so you don't have to give out your phone number or email address to a new or casual contact.

Google has announced the formation of Calico, a new company that will focus on human longevity, health and well-being, and particularly on diseases and the challenges faced from the aging process.

The new company will be headed up by chief executive Arthur D. Levinson, who is Chairman and former CEO of Genentech and Chairman of Apple.

Specifics about Calico are few and far between, but the upcoming September 30 edition of TIME magazine features a provocative cover asking; "Can Google solve DEATH?" The issue will profile Larry Page and this new venture.

One of the challenges for Calico, it seems, is to analyse how resources should be used on health research to get the best results. Page points out to TIME magazine that with all the exceptional amounts of money spent on cancer research, curing cancer would only add approximately three years to the average life expectancy of human beings. Of course, there are reasons why cancer gets so much attention, it affects us all at some point in our lives through our own health or the health of family and friends.

There are other efforts under-way too that seek to unravel the inner-workings of age-related illnesses and hopefully find ways to drastically delay the effects, halt, or even reverse them. The SENS Research Foundation is an example, also based on Mountain View.

Take-Two is reporting $800 million in retail sales on the launch day of Grand Theft Auto V, blasting analysts expectations out of the water.

Analysts point out the figure suggests between 13 and 14 million copies of the game have been sold on its launch day. By comparison, Grand Theft Auto IV sold 13 million copies in its first year.

When Grand Theft Auto IV first launched, there were far less Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles in homes. Five years later, analysts were expecting Grand Theft Auto V to easily outsell its predecessor within the first month - perhaps hitting a billion dollars in retail sales - but $800 million in a day comes as a big surprise.

"We're looking for 23 million units of games sold by March 2014 and we won't change that, but $800 million in the first day is phenomenal," said Mike Hickey, an analyst at the Benchmark Company.

Reviews of the game are by far mostly positive at this time, with gamers praising the beautiful Los Santos city, the three-main-character storyline and open-ended gameplay.

Rockstar Games has release the iFruit app for iOS devices, allowing you to interact with your GTA V world from your mobile device.

"iFruit hooks directly into your experience of Grand Theft Auto V with some fun activities to further postpone the need for real social interaction," its description reads.

With iFruit, you can keep up to date on the latest GTA V news, login to the Rockstar Games Social Club, stay connected with LifeInvader and launch other Rockstar Games apps.

A "Los Santos Customs" app lets you customize vehicles from your phone, or even create and reserve custom license plates for both Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. You can choose from paint jobs, window tints, smoke colors, wheels, hoods and spoilers. Upgrade your engine, brakes, exhaust, suspension, and accessorize with new lights, horns, tires and body armor.

NVIDIA has revealed the Tegra Note tablet platform, utilizing Tegra 4 and NVIDIA DirectStylus technology, in tablets starting at $199.

You may recall NVIDIA demoing the Tegra Tab at Computex in June, which was an early version of Tegra Note. Tegra Note is a complete tablet platform designed by NVIDIA, and will be brought to the market as physical products by its hardware partners.

The new platform goes beyond NVIDIA's Project KAI, which was a Tegra 3 reference design intended to direct the building of low-cost, high quality tablets that are powered by Tegra 3. Google's Nexus 7 was one of the hardware products that resulted. Tegra 4 goes beyond Project KAI by delivering a complete platform, not just the hardware, but also suggests retail prices starting at $199, as did Project KAI.

Of course, the actual price of a tablet based on Tegra Note depends entirely on the third part manufacturer.

In terms of specs, Tegra Note dictates...

• Processor - Tegra 4 mobile processor with quad-core Cortex-A15 CPU and 72-core GeForce GPU
• Display - 7-inch HD IPS LCD display (1280 x 800)
• Camera - Rear 5MP and front VGA webcam
• Storage - 16GB storage with microSD expandable up to an additional 32GB
• Audio - Front-facing "HD Audio" stereo speakers with a unique bass-reflex port
• Stylus - Chisel and Brush tips for natural writing and broad strokes
• Peripherals - Micro HDMI connector to drive big screen TV videos and gaming
• OS - 100% Android with latest version of the OS
• Software Updates - Over-the-air software updates directly from NVIDIA
• Battery Life - 10 hours HD video playback

Internet radio service Pandora has gotten an important court decision in its favor as it seeks to stop music publishers from narrowing a license that lets it stream their music.

Universal, EMI and Sony had sought to withdraw new media licensing rights from the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) so that they could negotiate directly with services like Pandora on the licensing of new media.

Pandora went to court, seeking a ruling that the withdrawal by publishers would not affect the ASCAP license, and that the existing antitrust consent decree requires that the publishers license all works through 2015.

ASCAP responded that Pandora was aware that, at any time, the content decree could be narrowed. Nevertheless, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote sided with Pandora in summary judgement.

"ASCAP argues that 'ASCAP repertory' refers only to the rights in music works that ASCAP has been granted by its members as of a particular moment in time," the judge wrote. "Pandora argues that 'ASCAP repertory' is a defined term articulated in terms of 'works' or 'compositions,' as opposed to in terms of a gerrymandered parcel of 'rights.' Pandora is correct."

A day after the launch of Grand Theft Auto V for Xbox 360 and PS3, a petition to bring the blockbuster to PC has hit 440,000 signatures.

The amount of people adding their names to the petition has significantly increased since the game launched yesterday. It had hit 200,000 in July, and was up to 350,000 just before launch. Now the petition is at around 442,000 signatures at the time of writing.

It needs 58,000 more to hit a target of 500,000 signatures.

Signatories add their name to an open request to Rockstar Games to consider bringing GTA V to PC.

"To:
Rockstar Games
Please release GTA V on PC. GTA games have been a large part of so many people's lives and it's a big shame not seeing the newest iteration of the game being released on the most powerful platform. Things like modifications have always been a HUGE part of PC gaming and modded GTA is some of the most insanely fun times you can have.

I hope you consider the release of GTA V on PC as it'll make many people very happy!
Sincerely,
[Your name]"

Rockstar Games has advised owners of Grand Theft Auto V on Xbox 360 not to install the Play disc on the console's hard disk drive.

The Xbox 360 copy of GTA V is spread across two discs. The first disc acts only as an install disc, and cannot be "manually installed" in the same way that other Xbox 360 games can be. Once the install is finished, the gamer is prompted to insert Disc 2 to continue, and after a few moments the install will be complete.

This second disc is the Play disc you need to insert to launch the game. Unlike Disc 1, you can manually install the second disc in the same way that you can manually install any other Xbox 360 games. However, if you are doing that to boost performance (as is the case with other games), then Rockstar is advising you to hold off.

"For optimal performance, we recommend not installing that disc," Rockstar Support said on Twitter on Monday just ahead of launch, promising more details after the launch.

The issue probably arises from the HDD being used to retrieve data from the installed Play disc, and the installed Disc 1 simultaneously, which might make using the DVD drive for the Play disc the optimal choice.

Either way, there doesn't seem to be any reports yet of performance problems from installing the disc, but the game has only been out over the past day.

YouTube has revealed that its mobile apps will get a new Offline Viewing feature this November.

The feature was announced on the YouTube Creator's blog. It will allow YouTube users to store videos on their devices for a temporary period, so they will not need an Internet connection to view the videos.

"This upcoming feature will allow people to add videos to their device to watch for a short period when an Internet connection is unavailable," The YouTube Team announced.

"So your fans' ability to enjoy your videos no longer has to be interrupted by something as commonplace as a morning commute,"

This is part of an effort at YouTube to maximise the way users of its mobile apps enjoy videos and channels.

A Robert W. Baird analyst is predicting that Rockstar Games' latest Grand Theft Auto title will beat the early success of its predecessor, released in 2008.

When released in 2008, Grand Theft Auto IV has sold over 25 million copies worldwide. It sold 3.6 million copies off the shelf on its very first day. The number swelled to 6 million copies in the first week, and 11 million in the first month.

Fast forward over five years to today, with the release of the hotly anticipated Grand Theft Auto V for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and there are plenty of reasons to expect it to beat GTA IV, according to Colin Sebastian, a Robert W. Baird analyst.

"Given the significantly higher installed base of relevant console platforms at launch, greater sales concentration among the top video game franchises, and unprecedented pentup demand, we expect GTAV to outpace GTAIV sales, and generate roughly $1 billion in retail sales during the first month," he said in a note to investors.

Grand Theft Auto V breaks from tradition by allowing you to control three different main characters; Michael De Santa is a retired bank robber, Trevor Phillips is a former criminal associate and Franklin Clinton is a repo man looking to expand his horizons a bit. Their stories are interconnected and they combine their skills to pull of missions.

Microsoft has acknowledged a zero-day vulnerability affecting all versions of Internet Explorer, and has rushed out a temporary fix while working on it.

The flaw affects all versions of Internet Explorer from 6 to IE11, although so far only Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 are subjects of attacks in the wild.

This issue could allow remote code execution if an affected system browses to a website containing malicious content directed towards the specific browser type. This would typically occur when an attacker compromises the security of trusted websites regularly frequented, or convinces someone to click on a link in an email or instant message.

While Microsoft is working on an update for its hrowser to immunize against exploits in the wild, it is offering IE users a workaround in the form of a Microsoft Fix It solution, which you can download from Microsoft.com.

Google's new Nexus 7 tablet is reportedly being shunned by Verizon, which has said the tablet cannot be activated on its network.

The news comes as a surprise given that the Verizon logo was clearly visible at the Nexus 7 unveiling. Customers who have just gotten their hands on the new Google tablet were running into problems activating the device on Verizon's network, and according to Verizon Support on Twitter, it simply can't be activated.

@jeffjarvis I'm excited you got your Nexus 7 but not all LTE tablets are created equal. It's not part of our line up & can't be activated^JH

-- VZW Support (@VZWSupport) September 17, 2013

Pre-orders of Apple's new iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S have hit 100,000 according to China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd.

When Apple released its iPhone 5 in China in December of last year, over 2 million units were sold in the first three days of availability. China is seen as crucial in the extremely competitive smartphone market, but it clearly is a hard nut to crack.

The simple fact is the vast, vast majority of Chinese mobile users could never afford to pick up an iPhone, but at the same time, China has a growing wealthy population and a growing middle class.

"Since Unicom began online preorders, order volumes have surpassed 100,000 units," China Unicom revealed on its Weibo account.

It provides the first indication for demand for the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C in the Chinese market.

Both devices will be available to purchase in China on Friday.

Mozilla has released the Firefox 24 update, addressing some serious security flaws in the open source browser.

In total, the update addresses 17 security advisories, of which Mozilla deemed it necessary to rate 7 as critical flaws.

"Mozilla developers identified and fixed several memory safety bugs in the browser engine used in Firefox and other Mozilla-based products. Some of these bugs showed evidence of memory corruption under certain circumstances, and we presume that with enough effort at least some of these could be exploited to run arbitrary code." MSFA 2013-76 states.

The bugs were also fixed Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release) 17.0.9 (the browser packed in the TOR browser bundle), Thunderbird 24.0, Thunderbird ESR 17.0.9 and Seamonkey 2.21.

Besides security updates, Firefox 24 also brings support for a new scrollbar style in Mac OS X 10.7, the ability to tear-off chat windows to view separately by simply dragging them out, and a new option to close all open tabs "to the right" of an active tab, by right clicking and selecting the option. This is intended to make life easier for those of us who end up with dozens of tabs open after shotgun browsing for too long.

SanDisk has unveiled the fastest memory card in the world, the Extreme Pro CFast 2.0.

As the product name suggests, it is based on the CFast 2.0 draft specifications released by the CompactFlash Association recently - the first of its kind. It will be available with storage capacity of 60GB and 120GB, and it should be noted that write speed drops to 225MB/s for the 60GB card.

According to SanDisk, the beast of a card supports read speeds of up to 450MB/s and write speeds up to 350MB/s. With the SanDisk Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 memory card, it takes only four minutes to transfer 100GB at max speed, according to SanDisk, though these numbers are subject to many factors such as host device, file attributes and so on.

"With the SanDisk Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 card, we are enabling a next generation card format to meet the needs of high-end professional cinematographers," said Dinesh Bahal, vice president, product marketing, SanDisk.

"These cards will enable new digital solutions for professional filmmakers looking to embrace technologies such as high-quality 4K video, and are another example of SanDisk's innovation and leadership in flash memory storage."

Netflix is a legal alternative to using piracy to get content online, but it admits that piracy sites give it valuable information about what subscribers likely want to watch.

One of the most difficult constant challenges for Netflix is gaining the rights to stream content. It needs to strike a balance between the often exceptional fees demanded by content providers, and making sure to have listings good enough to attract potential new customers to the relatively low-cost service.

Given that Netflix needs to restrict content it streams by region, the job is even more difficult, as is determining what content will be the best investment in each region.

That is where sources of online piracy offer a valuable, free service to the streaming giant; in order to figure out what to add to its listings in a particular region, Netflix checks the torrent (and other) sites to see what is the most pirated in that region.

"With the purchase of series, we look at what does well on piracy sites," Kelly Merryman, Vice President of Content Acquisition at Netflix, told Tweakers (Dutch).

Sony's PlayStation 4 (PS4) console is settling better with developers than Microsoft's Xbox One, according to developers who spoke to EDGE about the hardware.

It, of course, is stressed that both Sony and Microsoft are still tinkering with the hardware of both consoles at this time, with Microsoft just recently kicking up the clock speed on its console.

Still, according to the developers, at this point, the performance difference between the two is significant and obvious, with the PS4 touting memory reads at 40-50 percent quicker than the Xbox One. The PS4's ALU was also estimated at 50 percent faster.

It's not all doom and gloom for Microsoft though, with the next generation console finding its own areas where it edges its Japanese rival.

"Let's say you are using procedural generation or raytracing via parametric surfaces – that is, using a lot of memory writes and not much texturing or ALU – Xbox One will be likely be faster," said one developer.

One issue that seemed to affect both consoles was the continued development of drivers for each console, and the desire of Sony and Microsoft for developers to use unique features of their consoles (such as DS4's touchpad and the Kinect sensor), which right now there isn't that much incentive to do.

According to a New York Times report, Nokia had Android running on Lumia handsets before it was negotiating a deal to sell its phone and services assets to Microsoft.

The report cites two sources (unnamed) briefed on an internal Nokia project that ported Google's Android operating system to Lumia smartphones, which are sold running Microsoft's Windows Phone software only.

Nokia's Lumia devices were aimed at fighting the company's declining status in the smartphone business. In that regard, they largely failed given that Nokia's share of the smartphone market plunged to 3 percent during the first half of 2013, down from 32.8 percent in 2010.

However, over 80 percent of all devices sold running Windows Phone software are Nokia devices.

The iconic Finnish firm had the option to exit the Windows Phone partnership at the end of next year, and it would appear that releasing smartphones running Android was part of a "plan B".

According the New York Times sources, Microsoft was aware of Nokia's Android project, but that it was not a factor in the negotiations for Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's phone business.

Google has decided not to remove the Pirate Bay homepage from its search results after the URL was included among thousands in a DMCA notice.

The search giant receives requests to remove millions of URLs from its search results from content providers/trade groups looking to lighten the exposure that illegal sources of content have online. Google typically complies with requests as the URLs do usually point to infringing content or outright host it.

However, in a request sent to Google from the BPI with 2,056 URLs included, Google took no action on just one URL: thepiratebay.sx

The fact is, the Pirate Bay homepage does not link to any infringing content directly at all, and therefore Google likely finds that its removal is not warranted.

Google did temporarily block the Pirate Bay in the past following a request allegedly from "Remove Your Content," and later restored it admitting it was in error.

The European Commission is plotting the death of mobile roaming charges through the 28-nation bloc by 2016.

Reforming the telecoms market across the European Union is high on the agenda of the European Commission as it seeks to stop the region from falling behind other parts of the world.

There are 28 members of the European Union (Croatia became the 28th member in July) and as things stand, there are 28 different telecoms markets too. Anyone who has travelled between countries in the EU has had the unpleasant experience of an inconsistent telecoms market, with price hikes being the norm as you go "roaming."

The European Union has made moves in the past to reduce the cost of roaming charges, but they are still considerably higher than mobile communications costs for customers in most EU countries. By 2016, the European Commission would like roaming charges to be consigned to history.

Killing off roaming charges is just one part of an ambitious plan to combine all 28 telecoms markets into one EU-wide telecoms market. Regulations would be harmonized across the union, which the commission argues will be of benefit to providers and customers alike.

Police in the United Kingdom are to take on the issue of intellectual property violation in a renewed effort against criminals who profit from piracy.

The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (Pipcu) - of the City of London Police - will tackle serious intellectual property crimes. On Friday morning, UK detectives arrested two men in Birmingham for allegedly importing £40,000 worth of counterfeit DVD boxsets.

"Our focus will be the professional criminals using intellectual property crime to generate illicit gains," Det Ch Supt Oliver Shaw told the BBC.

The new unit will work with international law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI and Department of Homeland Security in the United States. It will also have the ability to press service providers to take down websites found to be selling illicit products.

In addition, it will inform legitimate advertisers who are running ads on illegal websites in an effort to disrupt revenue streams.

Outside of piracy of digital content, the unit will also tackle the problem of the physical production and sale of counterfeit goods, such as branded car tyres.

A federal appeals court has rejected Google's attempt to have a lawsuit concerning Street View data interception dismissed.

In May 2010, Google publicly revealed that the vehicles it uses to take panoramic shots of streets around the world had been accidentally intercepting and storing payload data from unsecured wireless networks. Analysis of the data done in various regions showed that the data included private communications of Internet users.

Since then, regulators around the world have instructed Google on what they should do about the accidental hoarding of the data, with pretty much all ordering it be destroyed as soon as possible.

On the litigation front, Google is facing a lawsuit which alleges it violated federal wiretap laws by intercepting payload data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks in the United States. It had asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the lawsuit - finding that Google was exempt from liability under the act - but the effort has failed.

Judge Jay Bybee wrote that Wi-Fi communications do not qualify as a radio communication, or electronic communication that is readily accessible to the general public.

"Even if it is commonplace for members of the general public to connect to a neighbor's unencrypted Wi-Fi network," Bybee wrote, "members of the general public do not typically mistakenly intercept, store, and decode data transmitted by other devices on the network."

Vodafone Germany has revealed that personal details of two million of its customers were exposed in a hack.

The information gained by the hacker included names, addresses, back account numbers and birth dates, but did not include phone numbers, PIN numbers, credit card details or passwords.

"Vodafone deeply regrets the incident and apologises to all those affected," the operator said in a statement/

The information was stolen from a database on the Vodafone Germany's internal network.

It is not clear when the attack took place, as Vodafone was asked by police to delay notification to customers while an investigation was underway. A suspect has since been identified and police carried out a raid on a house, prompting Vodafone Germany to notify affected customers.

Vodafone has 36 million customers in Germany.

Samsung will follow Apple by putting 64-bit processors into its smartphones, according to the South Korean electronics giant.

Apple unveiled its new iPhone 5S smartphone this week, featuring a 64-bit A7 chip that would work with its new iOS 7. Samsung backs the move to 64-bit chips, but of course it will have to wait on the development of Android too.

Upon unveiling the iPhone 5S, Apple boasted that the A7 offered "desktop-class architecture", but the benefit of 64-bit support won't be significant for some time in the smartphone market.

Nevertheless, Samsung is to follow suit, according to the Korea Times newspaper. It quoted co-chief executive officer Shin Jong-kyun as saying that 64-bit chips would not the used "in the shortest time" but will be in some of Samsung's next smartphones.

Apple has unveiled its new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c smartphones, catering to the high-end and low cost smartphone markets.

The iPhone 5s is available in gold, silver and grey, designed with high-grade aluminium with cut chamfered edges. As widely speculated before today, the new iPhone 5s supports fingerprint authentication through Touch ID. It uses a laser cut sapphire crystal, together with the capacitive touch sensor, to take a high-resolution image of your fingerprint and intelligently analyze it to provide accurate readings from any angle. It is built right into the Home button.

All fingerprint information is encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Enclave inside the A7 chip on the iPhone 5s; it's never stored on Apple servers or backed up to iCloud

The iPhone 5s is powered by the new 64-bit A7 chip, which provides processing and graphics performance twice as fast as the A6, according to Apple. The upcoming iOS 7 comes with native 64-bit kernel, libraries, and drivers, with Xcode support and backwards compatibility.

The iPhone 5s also includes the new M7 motion coprocessor that gathers data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass to offload work from the A7 for improved power efficiency. The new CoreMotion APIs will let developers exploit the advantages of the M7.