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Yesterday, Motorola noted that the long-anticipated Android 2.1 update was headed to the DROID smartphone sometime this week.

Today, they have detailed the update, with Droid users getting many of the top updates that were heralded on the Google Nexus One.

Multi-touch will be available for the browser, Google Maps and the photo gallery. Voice recognition is added, allowing for speech-to-text.

3D Gallery is added for photos, video and album art display, including a 3D stack that moves when the phone is tilted. Additionally, a new News and Weather app widget is added to the homescreen allowing for easy and customizable forecasts and headlines.

Battery life is expected to be improved as well.

Google has announced that it will begin building an ultra fast broadband network to service up to 500,000 customers around the United States, with speeds advertised at about 100 times the current average speed for broadband connections.

The company will use fiber optic lines, and the entire network will be an experiment. The experiment is whether it can sell more Web ads, if it encourages citizens to be on the Internet more. Although the move would put the company in direct competition with Verizon, Time Warner, Comcast and others, a move to a standalone broadband business seems unlikely for the search giant.

Google says to: "Imagine sitting in a rural health clinic, streaming three-dimensional medical imaging over the web and discussing a unique condition with a specialist in New York. Or downloading a high-definition, full-length feature film in less than five minutes. Or collaborating with classmates around the world while watching live 3-D video of a university lecture."

James Burt of Queensland, Australia has agreed to pay Nintendo $1.5 million in damages as compensation for lost revenue caused when Burt uploaded a game before its official release date.

Burt made New Super Mario Bros. for Wii available online in early November, one week before its official Australian street date. As is the case in most countries, distributing games without permission is illegal and carries a hefty fine.

Rather than head to court, Burt and Nintendo settled and came to the $1.5 million figure, which also includes $100,000 to pay for Nintendo's legal fees.

"Nintendo will pursue those who attempt to jeopardise our industry by using all means available to it under the law," says the company.

Adds Nintendo Australia managing director Rose Lappin: "It wasn't just an Australian issue, it was a global issue. There was thousands and thousands of downloads, at a major cost to us and the industry really. It's not just about us. It's about retailers and if they can't sell the games then they have to bear the costs associated with that. Once it's on the internet it's anyone's really."

Google has introduced their own social networking service, dubbed Google Buzz, which will allow Gmail users to share status updates, photos, videos and more. Buzz will be a direct competition to Facebook and Twitter.

In response, Facebook announced today that FB Chat will be integrated into the AIM instant messaging service, which currently has 17 million users. There are 400 million Facebook accounts, as of this week.

There are currently 176 million Gmail users, and Buzz will create a "circle of friends" right from launch that is a group of people in which you communicate the most with through Gtalk or Gmail.

Buzz allows for status updates like Facebook, photo sharing from Picasa and Flickr, video sharing from YouTube, and Twitter messages.

The service is available for mobile phones as well at buzz.google.com.

According to the latest figures from research firm comScore, the Android mobile OS continued to take market share at a fast pace, jumping from 2.5 percent in September to 5.2 percent in December.

On the other hand, RIM, Microsoft and Palm all lost share.

The Apple iPhone gained share as well, jumping from 24.1 percent in September to 25.3 percent in December.

Despite losing share, RIM remained atop the smartphone market share with 41 percent.

Last week Microsoft announced that it was shutting down the Xbox Live service for the original Xbox console starting in April, effectively killing all online play for the orphaned console, as well as for Xbox games that can be played on the Xbox 360.

Bungie, the developer behind the Halo series, says it is saddened that gamers will no longer be able to play Halo 2 online.

"We're all saddened at the realisation that an era is coming to an end but looking back, we're incredibly fortunate to have had such a great run and such strong support from our fans," says Bungie. "Halo 2 has been at or near the top of the Xbox Live charts for original games since it launched over five years ago. We're extremely thankful to everyone who has played, enjoyed and supported Halo 2 over Xbox Live. We've had some great fun together, including far too many humpday losses to even recount."

With that being said, Bungie is inviting all current and former Halo 2 players to have one last battle on April 14th, the last day before the servers go down.

Motorola has announced via Facebook that DROID users will soon be receiving on over-the-air update for Android 2.1, making the phone the second to have the latest firmware, after the Google Nexus One.

It is unclear what will come with the update, but many are speculating that increased multi-touch support is coming along with API changes.

Says the post: "Motorola: Hi all-- we know you are frustrated with the lack of details regarding Android software upgrades and we sincerely apologize for not being able to share info sooner. We're happy to relay the 2.1 upgrade to DROID will start to roll out this week, and we will have more information to share on other device upgrades later ...this week as well. Thanks for your patience and continued support."

According to Cnet, Netflix will add 5.1 surround sound and closed captioning to their Watch Instantly streaming service soon, with 1080p playback coming later in 2011.

Current requirements for streaming include a 5Mbps connection, and it appears that that requirement should not change until 1080p streaming becomes available, even given the extra bandwidth necessary for a 5.1 audio stream.

Microsoft Silverlight, the technology used for the streaming, has supported 1080p streaming since March.

Google has started live phone support for the Nexus One this week, finally giving users a way to directly talk with representatives from the company. Until this week, live, phone support had been redirected to carrier T-Mobile, or hardware manufacturer HTC.

If you had wanted to contact Google, it had to be done through email with 24-hour turnaround.

Because the phone is only available online, many buyers have been reluctant to purchase the "superphone," especially without having support from a representative. Reports have shown that most new purchases of the Nexus One have come from users that have already tried Android in the past and are more familiar with the interface.

Adobe has announced today that Flash 10.1 will only work on Android smartphones running firmware 2.1 or later, a move that disappoints most Android phone owners out there, being that only one phone currently has 2.1, the Google Nexus One. Most Android phones still run firmware 1.5 or 1.6.

Additionally, the company has said browser plugins for Android, webOS and Windows Mobile will be available before June.

Adobe says that over 50 percent of all smartphones will have Flash support by 2012 and that most tablets will support it as well.

Of course, Apple users will probably never see Flash support, given the ongoing battle of words between the two companies.

Following an FCC investigation into the overall industry, Google has slashed the fee for Nexus One owners who decide to drop their contract early.

The early termination fee, or as Google calls it, the "equipment recovery fee," is now dropped from $350 USD to $150 USD for T-Mobile users who purchased the phone but no longer want their T-Mobile contract. The $150 is on top of the $200 that T-Mobile charges for breaking the contract early.

Says Google: "Google's overall financial philosophy with regard to operator service plans remains unchanged: We make no profit from commissions from operators or from equipment recovery fees, and our recovery fees are based on operator charges to Google for early termination of service."

Christopher Poole, founder of the infamous meme site 4chan came out this week claiming that Verizon was "explicitly blocking" access to the site, and it appears Poole may have been right.

Jeff Nelson, a public relations employee for the ISP said via Twitter this morning: "2 of 4Chan affiliates were staging for attacks." However, "They're green-lighted for tonight's network update."

Poole's full post earlier had read: "Over the past 72 hours, we've been receiving reports from Verizon Wireless customers having difficulty accessing the image boards," Poole wrote. "After investigating, we found that Verizon is dropping traffic... only on port 80 (HTTP). No other subdomain/IP/port is affected, which leads us to believe this block is intentional. After an hour and a half on the phone, we've received confirmation from Verizon's Network Repair Bureau (NRB) that we are "explicitly blocked."

Verizon had refused comment until today except to say that they were being bombarded with calls about the issue, adds PCWorld.

Sharp and Samsung have decided to end all ongoing patent infringement disputes over LCD displays this week, although it is unclear what the financial details are of the agreement.

"We have a confidentiality agreement but we can say these conditions will be in favor of Sharp," added Sharp spokeswoman Miyuki Nakayama.

Sharp filed the first suit in 2007, in the U.S., claiming that Samsung infringed on five of its patents relating to LCD modules. The suit then expanded to South Korea, wherein Samsung countersued for patent infringement, as well. The suits expanded to Europe in 2008, before finally being taken in front of the International Trade Commission.

The new settlement includes patent cross-licensing agreements.

The Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader, which sold out within hours when it launched over the holiday season, is finally available for sale again, says the company, with the company ramping up supply and making the device available in-store and online.

If you are looking to buy it in-store, B&N has created an online locator to see if the store near you has any in stock. Check that here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/instore/.

Online, the device is available for $259 USD with free shipping.

Additionally, current owners can now download Nook firmware version 1.2, which adds the ability to browse "books, magazines, and newspapers via Wi-Fi inside Barnes & Noble stores," says CNet.

Chinese officials have announced this week the bust of a large hacking ring that was allegedly the nation's largest distributor of hacking tools.

The Black Hawk Safety Net, which used the site 3800cc.com as a front, allegedly made $1 million in income in 2009 from 12,000 subscribers.

Three admins were arrested as part of the raid. Strangely, the arrests are said to have taken place three months ago, but only reported this week.

Black Hawk was known more as a hacking "training" group, mainly through the sale of malicious software and instructions on how to use them. In 2007, the group made the news for helping create a virus that took down corporate and government systems in Hubei.

Along with the arrest of 29-year-old Li Qiang and 28-year-old Zhang Lei (the third man was not identified), 1.7 million yuan ($250,000 USD) in assets were seized, mainly in cash and computer equipment.