Latest news

If you have Bill Gates money, you can now get a new top-tier version of the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.

The two new models of the popular devices feature 6th-generation Intel Core i7 processors, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage.

Microsoft says the Surface Book is available online only for $3,200 while the Surface Pro 4 will be available in retail stores and online for $2,700.

For more specs for the devices, please read our previous reviews here: Microsoft surprises with new, gorgeous Surface Book laptop

Microsoft has confirmed that its Windows 10 Mobile rollout for WP8 devices has been delayed until next month.

The rollout had initially been planned for December and the software giant then delayed it to January. In addition, the sources claim the new monthly service updates for the Lumia 950 and 950 XL have also been delayed.

It is clear that Microsoft needs this rollout to go perfect and is in no rush, either. Regardless, the sources say to expect the rollout to begin in mid-February.

Verizon published fourth quarter earning earlier this week stating "a strong, balanced" quarter. On the whole the company's wireless business is doing "fine" with a steady 4.6 percent yearly increase in revenue. And nothing going to change it, as long as the company keeps the status quo?

Many customers would disagree after Verizon gave up offering unlimited data plans five years ago. However, unlike within AT&T, Verizon doesn't see any reason to change the fact, at least as long as the business remains profitable.

Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo reiterated according to CNET that unlimited data is not coming back. "At this point, we are not going to entertain unlimited," Shammo said.

According to Shammo, Verizon is not looking to counter rivals. Instead the company is focusing on their own strategy which seems to be buying off customers from the rivals and charging for activation.

Thanks to transcripts from the court proceedings from Oracle's copyright lawsuit against Google, we have some incredible figures about Google's Android dealings.

The search engine giant paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to keep Google's search as the default on iPhones, and Apple made the money through a revenue sharing deal for a percentage of all revenue generated through the Apple devices. At one point, the revenue share was 34 percent, according to Oracle, showing the major lengths Google is going to to keep themselves front and center on iOS.

Oracle sued Google in 2010 claiming the search giant used its Java software without compensating Oracle. The company is seeking in excess of $1 billion to cover all devices created with Android for the last 5 years.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and four states are seeking $24 billion in fines from satellite TV giant Dish Network over illegal marketing calls over the last decade.

The trial starts today, and U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough will hear the case without a jury. The judge had already determined that Dish made 55 million illegal calls, and laws protecting consumers allow for damages up to $16,000 per violation.

As of writing, the company has a market valuation of $24 billion so a complete judgement against them would decimate the company.

Dish said they have improved compliance significantly and that most of the illegal calls were made as long as ten years ago. "Dish has long taken our compliance to the telemarketing laws seriously, has and will continue to maintain rigorous telemarketing compliance policies and procedures, and has topped multiple independent customer service surveys along the way," the company said in a statement.

Despite being on the Federal Do Not Call Registry, millions of U.S. consumers received robo-calls and telemarketing calls from Dish or from companies that Dish paid to make the calls. Dish already paid a $5.99 million fine to 46 states in 2009 over the same claims. California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio did not settle and their suits have finally gone to trial.

Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn has offered to purchase struggling electronics maker Sharp for ¥625 billion ($5.3 billion), handily outbidding a rival investment fund.

Sharp had previously received an offer from the Japanese government-backed Innovation Network Corp of Japan for about half of the current offer from Foxconn, but there may be other provisions we don't know about yet.

In addition, there are concerns about letting Sharp go under foreign control, and INCJ already owns most of Japan Display, a rival display maker.

"Japan's technology is leading the rest of the world and we would like to help make it even more competitive," industry minister Motoo Hayashi said earlier this week in promoting the INCJ deal.

Other industry watchers beleive that Foxconn's offer is so large that Sharp cannot say no. The company owes ¥510 billion to debtors this year, alone, and even more moving forward. Foxconn is willing to face the debt.

According to App Annie, the Google Play Store saw 100 percent more downloads than Apple's App Store, but Apple made 75 percent more in revenues in 2015.

From those figures, two things are clear. The Google Play Store is much larger than the Apple App Store and Android has a lot more users. iOS developers are likely not complaining, however, given the gap in revenue.

Additionally, Google strong growth came from emerging markets, namely Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey, and Mexico, where Android continues to proliferate.

Google says their latest algorithm will significantly increase Chrome's speed, with the ability to compress up to 26 percent more than the existing compression engine.

Brotli, as the new engine is called - will replace the existing Zopfli.

Google web performance engineer Ilya Grigorik says you can expect to see the speed jump in time for the next version of Chrome, which is always just a few weeks away.

Brotli "will help mobile Chrome users experience lower data transfer fees and reduced battery use." Google also noted that Firefox will eventually get access to the compression algorithm, as well.

Spotify has acquired Soundwave and Cord Project this week, two apps it hopes will help make it easier to discover music and then share it with friends.

Soundwave, which has been downloaded more than 1.5 million times, allowed users to browse "communities based on genre, mood or artist to discover new music and meet fellow music lovers!" The company was backed by tech billionaire Marc Cuban and was very highly rated.

Cord project "is an incredibly simple, incredibly fast voice messaging that lets you chat with one friend or shout to a whole group of friends," suggesting that Spotify is looking to improve messaging capabilities for its mobile app.

Spotify has over 20 million paying subscribers and has been fighting to differentiate itself from other streaming apps from much larger rivals such as Apple and Google.

First launched in October in Apple and Hermès retail stores only, the high-end leather bands built for the Apple Watch will be available online starting on Friday.

All three of the bands will be available online, starting at $1100 for the "Single Tour" band available in Noir or Fauve in 42mm or Capucine in 38mm. The next step up is the "Double Tour," starting at $1,250 and available in Etain, Fauve, Capucine and Bleu Jean.

If you want to go all-out, you can get the "Cuff" band starting at $1,500 and available in brown.

Furthermore, you can get a stainless steel Apple Watch with Hermès branding on the back, and a few special watch faces pre-installed.

"Uncompromising craftsmanship. Pioneering innovation. Groundbreaking functionality. Apple Watch Hermès is the culmination of a partnership based on parallel thinking, singular vision and mutual regard. It is a unique timepiece designed with both utility and beauty in mind. With leather straps handmade by Hermès artisans in France and an Hermès watch face reinterpreted by Apple designers in California, Apple Watch Hermès is a product of elegant, artful simplicity -- the ultimate tool for modern life," read the original press statement for the partnership.

Microsoft has announced it will do free exchanges for power cords on its older Surface Pro tablets due to minor overheating concerns.

"As a result of damage caused by AC power cords being wound too tightly, twisted or pinched over an extended period of time, a very small proportion of Surface Pro customers have reported issues with their AC power cord. We will be releasing details of how customers can obtain a free replacement cable shortly," a Microsoft spokesperson noted.

The program is good for Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3 models sold before July 2015 for most of the globe but only for those models sold before March 2015 in the U.S., suggesting the company knew about the issue for some time.

More information about the recall will be available "shortly."

Just days after announcing an expansion to 130 new countries around the world, Netflix reported record international subscriber growth.

The company announced its Q4 earnings today, bringing in $1.823 billion in revenue and $43 million in profit.

Netflix added 5.59 million new subscribers for the quarter, with 4.04 million coming from international markets. It appears that the U.S. has been saturated, as the company added just 1.56 million in the States. Notably, Netflix says it will add 6 million new international subscribers this quarter, well above estimates.

The streaming giant recently announced it will spend $6 billion this year in content, a figure that is almost as large as their annual revenue but is expected to lead to more subscribers.

John Smedley, the former chief of Sony Online Entertainment, has co-founded his own studio.

Pixelmage Games is already working on its first title, 'Hero's Song,' an RPG that 'revolves around a system of gods that shape the world' with the ultimate goal of becoming a god yourself.

The title will have a solo campaign and multiplayer online, as well.

To date, the company has raised $1 million from investors and it hopes for $800,000 from Kickstarter. Pixelmage also employs Everquest co-creator Bill Trost and fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss.

If you are willing to gamble on the game, a $25 Kickstarter donation gets you the game by the end of the year.

Metal Gear Solid superfan Airam Hernandez has released the first trailer for his MGS remake built using the Unreal Engine 4.

The game came out for PlayStation in 1998 and was one of the most popular games for the console.

While there is little chance that Hernandez gets to finish his remake, what he shows off in the first trailer is quite impressive. We see some of the most iconic locations, as well as Solid Snake and Cyborg Ninja.

Check the trailer here:

Alphabet's YouTube division will be expanding significantly, acquiring the 554,000 square-foot Bayhill Office Center for $215 million.

The five-building campus is located in San Bruno and is adjacent to the company's existing headquarter buildings.

Bayhill is currently full and existing tenants include Oracle, Walmart Labs and a plethora of smaller companies. It is unclear if prices will go up for tenants, or whether YouTube wants a good portion of the space for themselves.