News written by James Delahunty (May, 2013)

Microsoft has unveiled the next generation of Xbox today, the Xbox One, the All In One Experience that covers your entire TV experience.

Microsoft has unveiled its next generation of consoles, Xbox One. The console, Microsoft says, is an All In One solution for your living room, demoing on stage how quickly the Xbox One can switch to live TV, and use interactive TV features, by just yelling voice commands at the console.

The Xbox One Guide also helps, allowing you to change channels by literally commanding "Watch MTV" or "Show the Guide."

The Xbox One console comes with a 500GB hard drive, USB 3.0 and WiFi Direct. As earlier reported, the Xbox One features a Blu-ray disc drive. It runs "three operating systems," the first being a raw Xbox OS, the second being a Windows Kernel and a third is an OS that lets the two interact. Music, movies and your game saves can all be stored in the cloud too. Unfortunately, we did not get confirmation on the previously rumored specs for the new Xbox, such as the octo-core 1.6GHz, x86 CPU.

Jolla, a Finnish mobile startup, has announced its first smartphone running the Sailfish OS.

Sailfish is developed by Jolla in cooperation with the Mer project (based on Intel's MeeGo). It sports a multi-tasking user interface that differentiates it from Android and iOS devices.

Today, Jolla announced its first mobile handset, "Other Half", and gave some limited spec details....

• Jolla original design with ample 4.5" Estrade display
• Dual core and 4G)
• Keep it and share with 16GB + microSD
• 8MP AF camera
• User-replaceable battery
• The Other Half
• Gesture based Sailfish OS
• Android app compliant

Microsoft has responded to a demand from Google Inc. to remove its updated YouTube app from the Windows Phone Store.

Google sent Microsoft a cease and desist letter, ordering it to remove the YouTube app from the Windows Phone Store. A recent update to the app violated the terms of the YouTube API, because it intentionally cuts out advertisements and cuts straight to the video.

Google not only pointed out that this is a violation of the terms of the YouTube API, but that it also denies the creators of the content ad revenue for their work.

Microsoft issued a statement in response, saying essentially that it would absolutely show the advertisements, but that Google needs to come to the table.

YouTube is consistently one of the top apps downloaded by smartphone users on all platforms, but Google has refused to work with us to develop an app on par with other platforms. Since we updated the YouTube app to ensure our mutual customers a similar YouTube experience, ratings and feedback have been overwhelmingly positive. We'd be more than happy to include advertising but need Google to provide us access to the necessary APIs. In light of Larry Page's comments today calling for more interoperability and less negativity, we look forward to solving this matter together for our mutual customers.

Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet PC running Windows 8 will be available in the United Kingdom from May 23.

The Surface Pro is Microsoft's effort to Showcase Windows 8 Pro. It is coming to the UK with similarly hefty price tags compared to other regions, with the 64GB device costing £719, and the 128GB config costing £799.

"The response to Surface RT has already been great to see," said Robert Epstein, UK Surface Lead.

"There has been strong anticipation for Surface Pro in the UK and we're excited to be able to offer people a fully blown Windows 8 PC packed with powerful processing features in the innovative Surface design."

Surface Pro, powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, is equivalent to a full-blown Windows 8 laptop that also boasts tablet capabilities.

Surface Pro will be available from http://www.microsoftstore.co.uk

YouTube subscribers with Channels claiming more than 1,000 subscribers might be eligible to enable YouTube Live.

Over the past year, many YouTube channels were able to take advantage of YouTube Live for sports events and music events and so on. Now, YouTube is expanding YouTube Live to far more users.

Basically, if a channel has over 1,000 subscribers and is in good standing, then they are eligible for live streaming. All that needs to be done is a click of an "Enable" button on the Account Features page.

Eligible subscribers can enjoy these key features:

• You get real-time transcoding in the cloud, so you only need to send us your highest quality stream and we make it instantly available in all resolutions and device formats
• You can show multiple camera angles, add closed captions, and insert ads and slates
• Viewers can watch the live stream from any device, get the best quality constantly adjusting to their Internet connection, and can skip back and forth in the live stream

Electronic Arts is dropping its controversial Online Pass program after three years, due to disapproval from customers.

EA's Online Pass consists of a one-time code that a buyer of a new game can use to unlock Online services and content. If the game is then sold on second hand to another player, then that player needed to pay a $10 fee to unlock the same services.

Frankly, if it took EA this long to realize that gamers don't like these measures, they need to clean their ears out.

"Yes, we're discontinuing Online Pass," John Roseburg, Senior Director, Corporate Communications at EA, told VentureBeat.

"None of our new EA titles will include that feature. Initially launched as an effort to package a full menu of online content and services, many players didn't respond to the format. We've listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it moving forward."

Of course, since EA adopted the measure, Sony, Activision and Ubisoft followed suit.

A German federal court has ordered Google to clean up its Auto Complete service on the Google.DE search engine.

In a decision that baffled Google, the German court has told it that it must ensure terms generated by auto-complete are not offensive or defamatory. The decision overturned prior ruling from two lower German courts.

The case started with a complaint from an unnamed businessman in Germany who claimed auto-complete linked him with "Scientology" and "Fraud."

The court has ordered Google to remove "defamatory word combinations" when told about them.

Google's auto-complete makes search string suggestions based on the frequency of searches by other Google users, and the search giant claims it has very little control over the combination of words that auto-complete might serve up. If a large group of people search a name with a keyword like "fraud" after it, then it's likely other users will see that search as an auto-complete recommendation.

A Google spokesman said the company is disappointed with the decision of the court, and said it was "incomprehensible" that Google could be seen as liable for the search content of its users.

Internet giant Amazon has come under fire for the relatively low tax it pays in the United Kingdom, whilst racking up billions worth of sales.

Amazon reportedly paid $3.7 million of tax despite UK sales being around $6.5 billion - or around £4 billion. Amazon's figures also show that it received £2.5 million in government grants during 2012.

Tax avoidance has become a hot topic in the UK, and Prime Minister David Cameron is calling for action at the international level to stop large corporations from shifting profits around the world to avoid paying adequate tax.

In Amazon's case, all sales to British customers are routed through affiliate "Amazon EU Sari", located in Luxembourg. Amazon EU Sari employs around 500 staff, while Amazon employs 4,191 people in the UK, and thousands more indirectly through contracting agencies.

"The government clearly needs to do a detailed study on how to handle the tax implications of e-commerce," John Hemming, a member of the Liberal Democrats, said. On the opposite side of the House, Labour MP Nick Smith is calling on the HMRC to go through Amazon's tax arrangements with a fine-tooth comb.

Sony is considering launching a version of the upcoming Gran Turismo 6 for the PlayStation 4 (PS4) console after it launches.

Gran Turismo 6 was announced today, and will be available for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) console this holiday season. Almost immediately, questions were raised about whether it will be released for PS4 too.

"We have a PS4 version in mind for the future" Polyphony Digital president Kazunori Yamauchi told GameSpot.

"But for this holiday season we thought that it would be best for users to release the PS3 version. I thought the best scenario would be for the game to come out, and we're planning to have new content, and DLC every few months."

The iconic franchise has reached a whopping 70 million sales since it first captured gamers attention in the 1990s. All of the cars and tracks from Gran Turismo 5 - which has sold 10 million copies - will be present in GT6, but the car lineup will expand to over 1,200. There will be a total of 33 locations (71 different layouts) available, including the UK's famous Silverstone Circuit.

Four UK-based men who were allegedly involved with several cyber crime cases as part of the Lulzsec group have pleaded guilty.

Ryan Ackroyd, Jake Davis, Mustafa al-Bassam and Ryan Cleary will be sentenced next week at the Southwark Crown Court. They are alleged to have been part of a group called Lulzsec, which authorities blame for a series of attacks in 2011 against targets including Sony Pictures, Electronic Arts and even the Metropolitan Police's Serious Organised Crime Agency.

"It's clear from the evidence that they intended to achieve extensive national and international notoriety and publicity," said Prosecutor Sandip Patel, according to the BBC.

"This is not about young immature men messing about. They are at the cutting edge of a contemporary and emerging species of criminal offender known as a cybercriminal."

Google has written a cease and desist letter to Microsoft, demanding that it remove an updates YouTube app for the Windows Phone operating systems.

Microsoft recently released an updated YouTube app for Windows Phone that raised some eyebrows as it clearly seemed to violate the terms and conditions of the YouTube API. At the center of Google's anger is the deliberate blocking out of ads by the app.

"Unfortunately, by blocking advertising and allowing downloads of videos, your application cuts off a valuable ongoing revenue source for creators, and causes harm to the thriving content ecosystem on YouTube," Google wrote to Todd Brix, Senior Director of Windows Phone Apps Team.

Another noted issue with the updated app since it was released is its apparent ability to download YouTube videos locally, making them available to other apps on the system.

Google is demanding that Microsoft remove the updated YouTube app from the Windows Phone Store and "disable existing downloads of the application," by May 22.

A U.S. Judge has denied class-action status to a copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube that would have included thousands of claimants from all over the world.

U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan refused to certify a worldwide class of copyright owners in the lawsuit, which stretches back to 2007. The same judge also recently threw out a $1 billion lawsuit Viacom had originally filed against Google in 2007 over the unauthorized use of clips from The Daily Show, South Park and other programmes.

Today, he gave Google yet another major boost by denying class action status to another lawsuit filed around the same time, which included the English Premier League, the French Tennis Federation, the National Music Publishers' Association and others.

"The suggestion that a class action of these dimensions can be managed with judicial resourcefulness is flattering, but unrealistic," Stanton wrote. "Generally speaking, copyright claims are poor candidates for class-action treatment."

One part of the proposed class would have included videos that were removed after YouTube received a DMCA takedown request, as well as music used in YouTube videos with prior permission.

Google is making it possible for U.S. users over the age of 18 to send money as an attachment in Gmail with Google Wallet integration.

It's free to send money if your bank account is linked to Google Wallet or using your Google Wallet Balance, but low fees do apple for a linked credit or debit card (flat fee of 2.9% per transaction), while receiving funds is always free.

To send money in Gmail, hover over the attachment paperclip, click the $ icon to attach money to your message, enter the amount you wish to send, and press send.

The option is rolling out to U.S. users over the age of 18 over the coming months, so keep an eye out for it. Sending money through Gmail is limited to a Desktop for the time being, though you can quite easily use Google Wallet to send and receive money through mobile.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the UK is set to grill Google on its tax affairs in the region on Thursday, for the second time.

Between 2006 and 2011, Google reportedly generated more than $18 billion in revenue from UK sales, but paid just $16 million in taxes. Matt Brittin, a former head of Google in the UK, told the PAC in November 2012 that Google was not taxes on the profits of its advertising business in the UK, because the sales were made from the Republic of Ireland.

Since then, it had emerged that Google's own website described its London offices as a base for a sales team, and even advertised dozens of sales vacancies based in London.

"When Google appeared before the Committee last year we were told they were not selling in the UK. There appears to be a clear discrepancy between that and the evidence that has now been uncovered by Reuters," said Committee chairwoman, Margaret Hodge.

"This hearing is their chance to explain themselves."

Due to a stagnating economic recovery and a growing national debt in the UK, questions have been asked about potential tax avoidance by major corporations in the UK. Google joins Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and Starbucks in the firing line of British politicians.

A report suggests that Microsoft is planning to phase out its Microsoft Points system, used to purchase content across several of its services.

The Verge is citing sources close to Microsoft in reporting that the Redmond giant will get rid of the Points system and allow customers to purchase content using real-world currency transactions (credit card, debit card etc.) and also will adopt an iTunes-like gift card.

The Points system has been in place as a means to sell content through Xbox LIVE, where 400 Microsoft Points can be purchased for $5. The system has been criticised often in the past for multiple reasons, but primarily because it can be a hassle for users who often would find themselves needing to buy more Points than necessary in order to make a transaction.

Reports last year suggested Microsoft would have made the change by the end of 2012, which will also apply to the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store. Microsoft is likely to announce the change at E3 next month.

Gran Turismo 6 has been unveiled, and will be available this holiday season on the PlayStation 3 console.

Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi made the announcement today at a Silverstone event held to celebrate 15 years of the series. The iconic franchise has reached a whopping 70 million sales since it first captured gamers attention in the 1990s.

Features revealed today include stunning new tracks and cars and an overhauled user interface. There's also a new engine, which will improve game operation.

All of the cars and tracks from Gran Turismo 5 - which has sold 10 million copies - will be present in GT6, but the car lineup will expand to over 1,200. There will be a total of 33 locations (71 different layouts) available, including the UK's famous Silverstone Circuit.

"It is amazing to think that it is 15 years since we first released Gran Turismo," said Kazunori Yamauchi, during the announcement at Silverstone Circuit.

"Things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream. We're pleased to deliver GT 6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform. However, we have refactored the game to make it very flexible and expandable, with a view to making many future developments. Read more...

Swedish prosecutors are going after the Pirate Bay again, this time telling a court that the .SE domain names used to access the site should be revoked.

Specifically, the prosecutors are looking to Sweden's Internet Infrastructure Foundation - which handles .SE domain name registrations - to "de-register" the domains, thepiratebay.se and piratebay.se.

"They have been used as a means to commit crime," prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad said on Wednesday, according to the Reuters news agency.

"There is a significant criminal copyright infringement which causes a great deal of damage to many."

The Internet Infrastructure Foundation does not seem enthusiastic to follow through on the requests, pointing out that people would still be able to block the controversial website.

"People who want to use the site would get to it anyway," Maria Ekelund, a spokeswoman for the Foundation, said.

The Pirate Bay is currently run by an unknown group.

Google has given Samsung's Galaxy S4 the Nexus treatment, showing it off at the Google I/O 2013 conference.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 variant runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and will be available contract-free for $649 supporting T-Mobile and AT&T's LTE networks. It will join the rest of Google's Nexus line-up on Google Play from June 26.

"We've worked closely with Samsung to create a special Samsung Galaxy S4 exclusively for Google Play," Google said.

"It brings together cutting edge hardware from Samsung with Google's latest software and services -- including the user experience that ships with our popular Nexus devices."

The device is largely the same in terms of specs, except for running the stock Android OS, the lack of a provider lock and an unlocked bootloader. Google has also promised prompt Android updates.

Google revealed at the I/O 2013 conference that there has been more than 900 million Android devices activated so far.

With such an astonishing figure, it's not difficult to understand why Google Play has just passed 48 billion apps delivered. At time of typing, Apple's App Store is approaching 50,000,000,000 apps delivered since it was launched (about 3 million to go at the moment).

With so many Android devices on the market, Google Play is more or less guaranteed to chase down and surpass Apple's app tally very soon. This month alone, more than 2.5 billion apps have been delivered from the Google Play store to Android devices.

Such colossal numbers really underline the rapid growth of smartphones and tablet PCs over recent years. Google only purchased Android in 2005, with the first major commercial Android device released in late 2008.

Samsung has confirmed that it has sold more than 6 million Galaxy S4 smartphones since the handset launched on April 26.

"As of the end of April, we supplied four million Galaxy S4 handsets to telecommunication operators around the world," an executive at the company said on Friday, according to South Korean site, The Chosunilbo.

"As of Friday, we have sold more than 6 million units, and we predict that we could break the 10-million mark by as early as the end of this month."

The figures make the S4 easily Samsung's fastest selling smartphone yet. It took 85 days for the S1 to hit a 3 million milestone, then 55 days for the S2 and just 21 days for the S3.

Skype has announced that a preview version of its app is now available for BlackBeery Z10 users.

The app has previously been made available for BlackBerry Q10 users, but now with the rollout of BlackBerry 10.1, Skype is making the preview app available for BlackBerry Z10 users who update the operating system to the latest version.

"When you download the Skype app, you can try all of Skype's popular features, and also see how seamlessly the Skype app integrates with the phone book and the BlackBerry Hub," Skype's blog announcement reads.

"Remember this release is still in preview version. We will continue working with BlackBerry over the next months to refine the performance of the Skype app. So keep an eye for any new Skype updates on BlackBerry World for your device."

Get it from BlackBerry World.

Sony is insisting that its entertainment division is not for sale, responding to calls from a Hudge Fund for an IPO of is entertainment unit.

The rumors of such a move pushed Sony shares upward on Tuesday, but a Sony spokesman said in a statement that Sony's entertainment business is vital to its growth strategy and is absolutely "not for sale."

Sony is being urged to hear Third Point's proposal for an IPO, as the iconic Japanese firm is crawling its way back to profitability after major revamps over recent years.

Third Point, managed by billionaire Daniel Loeb, has accumulated about 6 percent of Sony's shares, worth about $1.1 billion, making it the largest stakeholder.

In a letter to Kazou Hirai, Sony chief executive, Loeb said his fund would be willing to put up an additional ~$2 billion (200 billion YEN) to support an IPO of up to a fifth of Sony's entertainment arm.

"The entertainment businesses are important contributors to Sony's growth and are not for sale," Sony said in response to Loeb's proposal. "We look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with our shareholders as we pursue our strategy."

An app for Twitch is now available for the Xbox 360 console, allowing you to watch live streaming of gameplay.

Around 800,000 people use Twitch to stream gameplay with 34 million viewers looking on online at Twitch.TV. Now an app for viewing has been made available for Xbox 360/LIVE Gold users, although it would appear to be only in the United States for now.

Users can view top channels by popularity or individual game and the dashboard features curated channels, tournaments and shows happening now.

Twitch will also host an exclusive broadcast following the May 21st Xbox Revealed event next week live at 3pm ET/12m PT.

Facebook has moved to block an app that let users play Russian Roulette with their Facebook account.

Specifically, Social Roulette had a 1 in 6 chance of deleting a Facebook account if a user decided to dare put their Facebook life in its hands. Apparently, Facebook found this app to "violate its platform policy" and so has prevented you from putting the proverbial gun to your Facebook profile's head.

To be more specific, the app could not completely remove an account, but it promised to remove all your posts, friends, apps, likes, photos, and games before deactivating your account.

"Everyone thinks about deleting their account at some point, it's a completely normal reaction to the overwhelming nature of digital culture. Is it time to consider a new development in your life?," the Social Roulette website reads.

"Are you looking for the opportunity to start fresh? Or are you just seeking cheap thrills at the expense of your social network? Maybe it's time for you to play Social Roulette."

For those who decided to give it a shot, they either ended up with a mangled deactivated account, or 5 times out of 6 they had a new message on their timeline that simply read, "I played Social Roulette and survived."

BlackBerry has announced a new BlackBerry Q5 smartphone, which aims at markets outside of North America and at a younger, more price conscious group.

The company was remarkably short on details about the new BlackBerry 10 (BB10) device, but it does retain the iconic QWERTY keyboard and a 3.1-inch touchscreen.

"BlackBerry is excited to bring a new BlackBerry QWERTY smartphone, the BlackBerry Q5, to our customers in selected markets around world," said Thorsten Heins, President and CEO of BlackBerry.

"The BlackBerry Q5 gives you the best of everything with its cutting-edge BlackBerry 10 functionality and a physical QWERTY keyboard. It is for youthful fans that are passionate, confident and bold, and it makes it easy for them to have fun, create, share and stay connected."

The new, lower-cost BB10 device will launch in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia (including the Asia Pacific region), and Latin America, beginning in July.

How much is low cost exactly? Well, we don't know, as BlackBerry failed to deliver that vital detail, prompting more frowns for analysts.

BlackBerry has confirmed that its popular BlackBerry Messenger - or BBM - will be available for users of Android and iOS devices this summer.

BBM will be supported on iOS 6 and Android 4.0, or later. It marks a change in BlackBerry's services strategy, where once BBM was a major drawing factor of BlackBerry devices. Now, with so many former customers using iOS or Android devices, the company is willing to open it up to other platforms allowing those lost customers to keep in touch with their old BBM contacts.

"For BlackBerry, messaging and collaboration are inseparable from the mobile experience, and the time is definitely right for BBM to become a multi-platform mobile service. BBM has always been one of the most engaging services for BlackBerry customers, enabling them to easily connect while maintaining a valued level of personal privacy. We're excited to offer iOS and Android users the possibility to join the BBM community," said Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President, Software Product Management and Ecosystem, at BlackBerry.

BBM has more than 60 million monthly active customers, with more than 51 million people using BBM an average of 90 minutes per day. BBM customers collectively send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, almost half of which are read within 20 seconds of being received.

Users of Outlook.com will be able to chat to users of Google's Talk instant messaging service, but video and audio chats are not supported yet.

Microsoft's revamped e-mail service is putting emphasis on integration of other communications services, recently building in Skype integration and allowing users to contact Facebook friends, Twitter and LinkedIn and so forth.

"We heard that some of you who switched over from Gmail still want to chat with friends stuck on Gmail. Today, we're excited to announce that you can now also chat with your Google friends," wrote Office Blogs' Douglas Pearce.

"And if you're working together on an Office document in SkyDrive, you can send an instant message to a Google contact with just a click. We're rolling out Google chat integration now, so look for it in your inbox over the next couple of days."

NVIDIA's Project SHIELD is now just 'SHIELD', and can be pre-ordered from several retail partners or the NVIDIA website from May 20.

The 'console-grade' controller features a 720p display, powered by Tegra 4 and running Android. "SHIELD is the one device that taps into the planet's largest ecosystem of games -- spanning NVIDIA TegraZone, Google Play and Steam," NVIDIA's announcement reads.

"Rediscover your Android games with the mobility, control and performance of SHIELD. Connect to your Google Play account to enjoy your favorite movies, music and apps."

NVIDIA SHIELD's specifications:

• Tegra 4 – The world's fastest mobile processor delivers rich graphics and unbeatable performance thanks to 72 GPU cores, four CPU cores and 2GB of RAM
• Console-grade controller – Precise control thanks to dual analog joysticks, a full-sized D-Pad, left and right analog triggers, full-sized bumpers and A/B/X/Y buttons
• Multi-touch display – 5-inch, 720p retinal multi-touch display for high-fidelity visuals
• Integrated speakers – Custom, bass reflex, tuned port audio system – we think this is SHIELD's sleeper feature
• Wi-Fi – 802.11n 2X2 MIMO game-speed Wi-Fi for game streaming
• Pure Android – Latest Android Jelly Bean operating system from Google, for access to Android games and apps
• There's more – NVIDIA put into SHIELD everything we would want in a premium mobile gaming device: 16 GB memory, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, a mini-HDMI output, micro-USB 2.0, a microSD storage slot, a 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack

Microsoft's upcoming major update for the Windows 8 operating system has officially been dubbed 'Windows 8.1', and will be available for free later this year.

The package of updates will address concerns some Windows 8 users have had with the latest home Desktop OS from Microsoft. Some rumored changes included restoring the Start Menu which was dropped in Windows 8 Desktop Mode, and the ability to boot directly to the Desktop interface rather than the tiled Start Screen.

Speaking at the JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Boston, Tami Reller - Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Windows - said that Windows 8 users will be able to get the Windows 8.1 update later this year as a free download from the Windows Store.

A public preview of the update will be made available on June 26 for those interested, timed with the Build developer conference in San Francisco.

UK mobile operator EE has defended its user data selling practices after a report showed interest from the Metropolitan Police.

Wireless Operators around the world are amassing enormous amounts of data on their users' habits, and marketing it to a variety of potential buyers. EE, in the UK, has come under fire amidst media reports that the Metropolitan Police was interested in buying data.

However, EE blasted the initial report in the Sunday Times, saying it is misleading.

The Times report indicated that Ipsos Mori - which has a deal to sell on EE's user data - had held talks with the Metropolitan Police, and that information from 27 million customers was on offer, including gender, age, postcode, visited websites and so on.

"We would never breach the trust our customers place in us and we always act to comply fully with the Data Protection Act," a statement from EE said.

"The information is anonymised and aggregated, and cannot be used to identify the personal information of individual customers."

It said that Ipsos Mori only has access to data which has been anonymized and grouped into samples of 50 or more people. It does not sell on information that can be attached to any individual user.

The French government is reportedly flirting with the idea of taxing popular consumer electronics products as a way to maintain funding for cultural projects.

It is seeking to find sources of revenue to fund cultural projects during an economic downturn, which the government feels should be exempt from market forces. Since consumers in France spend more money on consumer electronics products like smartphones and tablets, rather than content, it is an area being seriously considered for "culture tax."

The relationship between the socialist government and the major technology companies has been cooling. Recently, Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg angered Yahoo! by blocking its attempt to buy a majority stake in French-owned Dailymotion.

Such intervention in the marketplace even seemed to stun Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, who has since denied any approval of the move.

Taxing popular products like Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy tablets is proposed by former Canal Plus CEO Pierre Lescure, who was tapped by the French government to find new ways to fund cultural projects.

"Companies that make these tablets must, in a minor way, be made to contribute part of the revenue from their sales to help creators," Culture Minister Aurelie Filipetti said, according to Reuters.

Aereo, the cloud-based DVR service that caused a legal stir when it launched, has simplified its pricing plans ahead of a launch in Boston this week.

Starting with a base plan of $8 per month, consumers will have access to Aereo's cloud-based antenna/DVR technology and 20 hours of DVR storage. For $12 perm month, subscribers will be able to utilize 60 hours of DVR storage.

All new Aereo members will get their first month for free, and can cancel at any time during the free month. Using Aereo's technology, consumers can pause, rewind and fast-forward any program that they are watching live, or save a program for future viewing.

Aereo works on 'smart' devices from tablets to phones to laptop computers. Aereo is currently supported on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Safari, Opera, AppleTV (via airplay) and Roku devices.

"We looked at our data and it was clear, consumers want a more simple approach to pricing," said Aereo CEO and Founder Chet Kanojia.

"With our new pricing structure, consumers begin with one base plan and then have the ability to upgrade their membership to triple their DVR storage capacity. We want to make it simple and easy for consumers to access our technology and we believe this updated pricing plan accomplishes just that."

Netflix subscribers in the UK and Ireland will be able to watch a variety of movies from The Walt Disney Company, the streaming service has announced.

Disney and Disney Pixar favourites including Ratatouille, Wall-E, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, as well as Disney classics like Dumbo and The Aristocats, are available to watch instantly, whenever and however members want.

In the coming months, further titles from Disney, Marvel and Dreamworks SKG will be made available, including The Help, War Horse, People Like Us and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

"We are delighted to be able to offer our members an incredible variety of fantastic family films, from recent hits like Marvel's Avengers Assemble to beloved classics like Mary Poppins," said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

"We aim to make Netflix better all the time and hope members enjoy the rich offering of films we are making available from the Disney studios."

Samsung Electronics has claimed a breakthrough in development of wireless communications technology that will be at the core of 5G networks.

It has developed the world's first adaptive array transceiver technology operating in the millimeter-wave Ka bands for cellular communications. It has been long believed that the millimeter-wave bands had limitations in transmitting data over long distances due to its unfavorable propagation characteristics.

Samsung claims its new adaptive array transceiver technology has proved itself as a successful solution. So far, the South Korean electronics giant claims it can transmit data in the millimeter-wave band at a frequency of 28 GHz at a speed of up to 1.056 Gbps to a distance of up to 2 kilometers.

The adaptive array transceiver technology, using 64 antenna elements, can be a viable solution for overcoming the radio propagation loss at millimeter-wave bands, much higher than the conventional frequency bands ranging from several hundred MHz to several GHz.

Don't start thinking about waiting on 5G handsets however, since these networks are still years away from being feasible. Samsung's new developments are promising but the rise of 5G networks will require so much more innovation from all areas of industry and government-funded sources before it is ready for mass usage. 5G services are not expected to be available until around 2020.

Google has decided to pool the free storage you get with Gmail, Google Drive and Google+ Photos, amounting to 15GB you can use for anything.

The change makes perfect sense as Google seeks to make all of its services work seamlessly together; inserting Drive files into e-mails or sharing a photo from Drive on Google+, and so on. It doesn't matter now how much of the 15GB you use on any of the services.

The Google Drive storage page has also been updated to make it clearer how you are using your storage. Simply hover over the pie chart to see a breakdown of your storage use across Drive, Gmail, and Google+ Photos.

Google also has premium storage offers, starting at $4.99 per month for 100GB.

Netflix has updated its Netflix Player for the PS3 console, with a design more akin to the Web Player and those that run on tablet devices.

The key feature in this update is the ability to easily manage your audio and subtitles selections. You can now do that directly in the player on the PS3, without having to return to the browse experience.

Select "Audio & Subtitles" and all options for that title are presented. Members who use the accessory Sony PS3 Blu-ray remote control can access "Audio & Subtitles" directly from the remote control by pressing "Subtitles." Users of the social features can also easily disable sharing of the currently playing Title.

The design and performance of "trickplay" have also been enhanced. The images load much faster, allowing you to quickly find what you are looking for. Also, you can easily go back 10 seconds in the title anytime by simply pressing the left arrow button once on your controller or remote control.

File locker service Mega has removed publicly available 3D gun designs from its service, following orders by founder Kim Dotcom.

The designs were made available by US-based company Defense Distributed, and can be used with certain 3D printers. The company successfully fired the world's first 3D printed gun recently, and made the design available on its website.

The Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance demanded that the design be removed, and a probe to establish whether the company broke arms control laws relating to overseas shipping is underway.

The design is still being hosting by other sites however, such as the Pirate Bay. Mega's controversial founder, Kim Dotcom, opted to order his staff to remove public copies of the designs from the file locker's servers after being made aware of them.

He denied that he had been contacted by anyone from the U.S. government about the matter, and said the decision was made out of public concern.

"I think it's a serious threat to security of the community. I think it's scary that people can print 3D guns that can't even be detected by metal detectors ... This should concern everybody," he told Radio New Zealand.

Microsoft has uploaded a couple of videos that poke fun at Google Docs, enlisting Rob Schneider and some other familiar faces.

In the first video, we are warned not to "gamble with Google Docs," and in the second video we're shown how Google Docs is not a productivity team player on the basketball court.

We're not entirely sure they were worth spending money on, but worth a look anyway.

Microsoft is offering a Fix It tool for concerned users of Internet Explorer 8 that addresses a security vulnerability being exploited in the wild.

The flaw (CVE-​2013-​1347) was exploited as part of an attack on the U.S. Department of Labor's website and its users. Visitors who were running the vulnerable Internet Explorer 8 browser had their computers infected with malicious software.

The issue does not affect any other version of Internet Explorer, but many home and business users still run the ageing web browser.

Microsoft has not yet issued a proper patch for the flaw, and so as a temporary fix it is offering concerned users a one-click Fix It tool that you can get at microsoft.com.

Facebook is reportedly close to buying Israeli start-up Waze for a reported fee of $800 million - $1 billion.

The news was broken by business daily Calcalist, reporting that due diligence is underway and a term sheet was signed. Waze specializes in satellite navigation, and uses members' smartphones to generate maps and traffic data.

In October 2012, it partnered with Facebook to let users share their drive with friends through the social network.

If bought by Facebook, it will be the third acquisition of an Israeli firm by the social giant, after buying Snaptu for $70 million in 2011, and Face.com for $60 million last year.

Following the months of speculation about the next Xbox requiring an always-online Internet connection, Sony reveals it never even considered it.

"Did we consider it? No, we didn't consider it," Sony president of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, told Game Informer magazine.

"The main reason being that many countries don't have robust Internet connections. It makes sense for people to have Internet connections to play online games, but for offline games there are many countries that we saw [that] do not really have robust Internet."

A leaked memo eased months of speculation that Microsoft would require the next Xbox console to be constantly connected to the Internet, even when a connection is unnecessary to play a single-player game.

In the PC area, always-on requirements have seen some snags. SimCity requires a constant Internet connection to play, which was a major problem when server ran into difficulty after launch, for example.

YouTube removed David Bowie's latest music video over "graphic content" that consisted of religious imagery, before admitting it was in error and reinstating it.

The Next Day is the latest video from Bowie from his comeback album of the same name. It features Gary Oldman and Marion Cotillard - the latter appearing to bleed from Stigmata wounds. The video had been removed from YouTube initially over its apparent "graphic content", but was later restored.

"With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call. When it's brought to our attention that a video has been removed mistakenly, we act quickly to reinstate it," a YouTube spokesman said.

The video is set in a basement bar occupied by religious figures, and shows a priest (Gary Oldman) fighting and then dancing with a prostitute.

AT&T has dropped the price of the HTC First handset running Facebook Home from $99.99, to just $0.99.

The carrier - second largest in the U.S. market - argues that price cutting promotions are not that unusual, but the proximity to the launch of the phone is raising eyebrows. The HTC First, which bundles Facebooks environment and apps, was launched less than a month ago and is available exclusively through AT&T.

"The final verdict on Facebook Home was brutally handed down yesterday with AT&T slashing the price of the HTC First from $99 to $0.99," Richard Windsor, an independent analyst, said on his Radio Free Mobile blog in as post titled 'Facebook - Jack of one trade.'

"If this was an isolated incident, then one could put it down to poor hardware, but installations and reviews of the software on other devices have also been poor."

Facebook looks to the mobile space as an area for potentially strong growth over the coming years.

Electronic Arts has said it dropped licensing deals with the manufacturers of weapons, citing constitutional rights.

The publisher was criticized for offering links to real-world weapons ahead of the Medal of Honor: Warfighter release, and responded by removing all links to external arms vendors and purging blog posts that endorsed firearms.

EA executive Frank Gibeau told Reuters that its gamers are "telling a story and we have a point of view," and points out that a book author does not need to pay to use the word "Colt."

EA is already engaged in a simial legal battle in U.S. courts, after it received a cease and desist letter from Bell Helicopter for "using" the AH-1Z Viper, the UH-1Y, and the V-22 Osprey in Battlefield 3.

EA has blamed a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on its servers for connection issues experienced by Battlefield 3 gamers yesterday.

The publisher used its Twitter account to explain the situation to frustrated Battlefield players. "The current BF3 and Battelog outages are a result of activity that appears to be aimed at overwhelming our game servers," it said.

"Thank you for being understanding. We are going to try our best to get everyone back onto the battlefield as soon as possible."

DICE and EA also decided to postpone the Battlefield Double XP event scheduled to run from May 9 to May 13 due to the issues.

So, are we really ready for always-on gaming?

Microsoft will release a preview version of its anticipated Windows 8 update at Build, the company has confirmed.

The Redmond giant is preparing a major update to the latest iteration of its consumer operating system, codenamed Windows Blue, following continued criticism of Windows 8's user interface changes since Windows 7.

Windows 8 aimed to both continue offering a Desktop environment for PC users, whilst also looking to get in on growing tablet PC sales. However, merging the two different environments has led to user confusion and an avalanche of criticism aimed at Microsoft.

For example, it is speculated that the Windows Blue update will restore the Start Menu in the Desktop environment, after it became clear that some long-time Windows users who upgraded were having trouble even figuring out how to shut down their PCs.

The update also is expected to allow users to boot directly into the Destkop mode, avoiding the Start Screen (Metro) where they have to select a tile to get to the Destkop.

Microsoft revealed that Windows 8 has sold over 100 million licenses since launch in October 2012, but a look at the figures show that sales for the first four months of 2013 were around 40 million, indicating Windows 8 is not following the accelerating growth in sales seen by Windows 7, which sold 240 million licenses in its first 12 months on the market.

BitTorrent is showing off its new Bundle Alpha, describing it as a multimedia format and selling it as a solution for direct-to-fan content delivery.

A BitTorrent Bundle can include a range of content, some of which might only be accessible by entering a key, or for example could be completely free but require a user enter an e-mail address.

BitTorrent explains the idea behind the new format as essentially a way to cut out the middle man. A couple of decades ago the middle man was the record store. The record store was replaced by the market chains, and then they were replaced by online middle men, like iTunes and Amazon.

The BitTorrent Bundle is not an album, an MP3, or an MOV. It's a multimedia format. It's an early build of a new type of torrent file where fan interaction, like email collection or donation, happens inside the torrent.

"We're collaborating with electronic music innovators Ultra Music to see what happens when you let people choose how they want to connect with content," BitTorrent's Matt Mason, wrote.

"Ultra's BitTorrent Bundle is a behind-the-scenes look at Kaskade's 2012 'Freaks of Nature' tour, designed to support the artist's May 14th documentary release. It's a flyer. It's a direct-to-fan social object. And it's the world's largest stage; ready to reach 170 million fans from all over the world."

Activision Blizzard has revealed that 1.3 million World of Warcraft subscribers have dumped the game in the past three months.

That drop represents about 14 percent of all WoW users, and is made up mostly of players located in the East where the publisher has made considerable efforts to get and retain players. Activision Blizzard has blamed the rise of free-to-play games for the subscriber loss.

It has told investors to expect subscriber figures to dip even lower.

"It's important to note that the nature of online games has changed, and with the environment becoming far more competitive," said chief executive Bobby Kotick.

"To address this, we're working to release new content more frequently to keep our players engaged longer and make it easier for lapsed players to come back into the game."

Despite the drop, WoW remains the most popular subscriber-based game in the world with 8.3 million players. In 2010, subscribers peaked at 12 million.

An Algerian man accused of developing, marketing, distributing and controlling the SpyEye malware has been extradited to the United States.

Hamza Bendelladj - who went by the handle Bx1 - has been charged with one count of conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and 11 counts of computer fraud.

Bendelladj was apprehended at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, while he was in transit from Malaysia to Egypt in January. He was extradited from Thailand to the United States on May 2, 2013.

"Hamza Bendelladj has been extradited to the United States to face charges of controlling and selling a nefarious computer virus designed to pry into computers and extract personal financial information," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman.

"The indictment charges Bendelladj and his co-conspirators with operating servers designed to control the personal computers of unsuspecting individuals and aggressively marketing their virus to other international cybercriminals intent on stealing sensitive information. The extradition of Bendelladj to face charges in the United States demonstrates our steadfast determination to bring cybercriminals to justice, no matter where they operate."

Google has failed in a test case challenging a YouTube video removal under Russian laws on Internet content.

A YouTube video was placed on a Russian blacklist in February, forcing the removal of the content (or blocking via ISPs). The video in question shows a woman using make-up and a razor blade to make it look like she cut her wrist.

Google decided to block the offending clip in Russia, or else it risked having its YouTube service blocked entirely. It then appealing the inclusion of the video on the list, using it as a test case to have the regulations of the blacklist clarified.

A Russian court has decided against Google's challenge.

"We do not believe the goal of the law was to limit access to videos that are clearly intended to entertain viewers," Google said, responding to the decision.

In the second half of 2012, Google said it received 114 requests to take down content in Russia, 107 of which were directly linked to the new law. That compares to just 6 requests in the first half of 2012.

A board member of the U.S. top derivatives regulator has hinted that BitCoin could be subject to the same rules it enforces on derivatives trading.

Bart Chilton of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said he requested staff explore whether consumers need more protection against BitCoin mishaps, following a dramatic and sudden collapse in BitCoin value last month.

"Here's what I know for sure: we could regulate it if we wanted. That is very clear," he told Reuters.

The CFTC's role has been expanded since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, which has been linked by many experts to the lack of adequate regulation on complex derivatives. Since there are no physical "BitCoins", Chilton argues that people investing in the currency are not participating in the cash markets, and are then in the remit of the CFTC's regulatory mandate.

"There is potentially a federal role here, and we have to make sure that we're on guard that whatever is traded is appropriately regulated," Chilton said.

On April 10, the value of a BitCoin plunged from $260 to $130.

Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop has said that the Finnish mobile giant remains dedicated to the Windows Phone platforms for its smartphone devices.

Figures released for Nokia's first quarter showed incremental gains in its smartphone business, which offers Lumia-branded devices running Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile operating systems.

While the figures did show a slight uptick for its smartphone business, concerns were raised about a plunge in sales of Nokia's cheaper feature phones - largely aimed at customers in emerging markets - which have been a traditional strong point of Nokia's strategy.

"We make adjustments as we go. But it's very clear to us that in today's war of ecosystems, we've made a very clear decisions to focus on Windows Phone with our Lumia product line. And it is with that that we will compete with competitors like Samsung and Android," Elop said, according to the Reuters news agency.

Some analysts had speculated that the drop in basic phone sales might require Nokia to make a radical change in strategy, such as dropping Microsoft's mobile operating system in favor of Android.

Electronic Arts and the Walt Disney Co have signed a multi-year licensing deal that will see EA develop video games based on the Star Wars universe.

EA will develop Star Wars video games for games consoles, PCs and mobile devices, though Disney retains rights to develop online and mobile games. The pair did not reveal the financial terms of the agreement.

EA reportedly invested between $100 million and $300 million developing Star Wars: The Old Republic, an MMO that made use over 1,000 voice actors. EA struggled to retain players - who pay a monthly fee - and has since offered 15 game levels for free as well as a free-to-play version of the game.

Disney acquired Lucasfilm Ltd last year for $4.05 billion, and has since shut down the 30-year-old LucasArts games studio that it inherited as part of the deal, preferring to license the Star Wars brand to other publishers.

The Sims 4 will not require an always-on Internet connection, according to EA and developer Maxis.

The launch of SimCity was marred for some users due to server errors which left the game unplayable. The developer, Maxis, insisted that the always-on Internet connection requirement for SimCity was necessary and not part of a Digital Rights Management (DRM) system.

After announcing the new Sims 4 title for 2014, Maxis and EA have confirmed that the game is a single player offline experience, which might come as a relief to some Sims fans.

Requiring that gamers have a constant Internet connection for single player games (or game modes) has been a controversial topic in the past few years. While most such requirements are part of anti-piracy measures, critics claim that they don't tend to halt piracy at all and just put legitimate customers at risk.

Those intending to buy the new Xbox console when it launches will have been pleased to hear that a previously reported requirement to have a constant Internet connection for all gameplay has been dismissed.

Microsoft's cloud storage service has hit a milestone of 250 million users, aided by a boost since the launch of Windows 8 in October, 2012.

Since the new Microsoft operating system launched, SkyDrive has seen 50 million new users flock to the service. It has also been aided by becoming the default save location for the latest Office software/services from the Redmond giant.

Recently, it has enjoyed improved mobile support with app updates across platforms, and increased security measures with two-step verification and Extended Validation Certificates integrated on SkyDrive.com.

Soon, Outlook.com users will also be able to attach anything from SkyDrive to an e-mail.

Here is an infographic from SkyDrive to highlight its 250 million user milestone.

Microsoft Corp has revealed that it has sold over 100 million licenses for its flagship Windows 8 operating system in the six months since its launch.

On the face of it, the figure puts Windows 8 license sales in line with Windows 7 sales after its first six months. Examining the figures a little more leaves less room for optimism however, indicating that Windows 8 is not likely to witness the same escalating sales as Windows 7.

In its first year of availability, Windows 7 reached 240 million sales. Microsoft would hope that Windows 8 can mimic such continued growth in its next six months on the market, but considering that early January sales figures for the new operating system were reported at 60 million, that would suggest sales of 40 million licenses in the previous four months.

Microsoft is well aware of the problem that it faces.

"Is it perfect? No. Are there things we need to change? Absolutely. We are being very real about what needs to change and changing it as thoughtfully and quickly as we can", said Tami Reller, head of business and marketing strategy for Windows.