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Struggling gamemaker Rovio has just lost another major executive as CEO Pekka Rantala has stepped down.

Rantala had taken over the position from co-founder Mikael Hed just 16 months ago and will now be replaced by Kati Levoranta, the company's chief legal officer.

In stepping down, Rantala said "I feel now the time is right for me to step aside and move on to new challenges."

During his tenure, the company laid off over 30 percent of their workforce and has struggled to remain profitable, as new games have not gained traction like the original Angry Birds did.

Moving forward, a lot of faith is being placed in the Angry Birds movie set for release in 2016, and in cutting costs.
"We are now positioned to make the most of the release of The Angry Birds Movie in May," says new CEO Levoranta, "and some exciting developments in the games and consumer products portfolios throughout 2016."

A few days ago, the never-ending search for the true identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto took another strange turn, when two publications claimed to have unmasked the founder as Australian finance geek Craig Wright.

Today, an email was sent out from satoshi@vistamail.com, an email that once (or is still currently) used by the true founder of the currency with the email subject "Not this again" and the brief message that says "I am not Craig Wright. We are all Satoshi."

Of course, email addresses can be spoofed, so there is the possibility that the mystery will remain a mystery for longer. Additionally, the email was missing his cryptographic signature.

Regardless, the evidence is compelling for Craig Wright being the real founder until there is a formal denial.

Sony has given fans what they want, a dedicated PlayStation Messages app for iOS and Android allowing for better communication for gamers.

"Use PlayStation Messages to instantly see who's online and message your gamer friends and favorite groups from your mobile device. Always stay connected with your gamer friends to talk about the games you love to play even while you're away from your PS4 system," says Sony.

A breakdown of the features:

- Check your Friends List to instantly see who's online and what they're playing.

- Send text or voice messages as well as photos and stickers to your friends or a group with up to 100 players.

- Quickly access your favorite message groups from your favorites list.

HTC has delayed their Vive VR system until April 2016, despite having promised fans that early adopters could try it out by the end of 2015.

The system combines a headset with two tracking stations and two controllers, but other details are hard to come by.

At least, that lack of details should be a thing of the past soon when HTC has a Vive-related media conference in China on December 18th, and the company will be showing off the device again at CES next month.

Additionally, 7000 more units will be made available for devs at the beginning of next year. Unfortunately for HTC, Oculus' first consumer Rift has a scheduled launch in the Q1, as well.

The RIAA has settled its lawsuit with music streaming service Aurous for $3 million. The service had been sued just 72 hours after launching in October.

Aurous had acted like a "Popcorn Time" for music, allowing users to search and find music from third party services, for free.

In their lawsuit, the major labels had alleged copyright infringement (and it seems they were vindicated) and demanded tens of millions in damages. Founder and developer Andrew Sampson initially seemed like he wanted to fight the charges but both sides went quiet just a few days after the suit. Sampson and co-founder Danielle Astvatsaturova now have permanent injunctions from committing any infringing actions ever again.

Although the full settlement was for $3 million, there was a separate agreement signed outside of court, likely with a significantly lower monetary figure. Sampson has long said he did not make a dime from the site.

For their part, the RIAA was pleased with the settlement and how quickly it came to fruition. "Aurous appropriately agreed to shut down. It was the right thing to do. We hope this sends a strong signal that unlicensed services cannot expect to build unlawful businesses on the backs of music creators," Sherman added.

Mozilla has launched their very own ad-blocker for iOS devices, following in the footsteps of many others using iOS 9's new content-blocking API.

The new 'Focus' app takes its blacklist from the browser plugin Disconnect.me, which currently has a list of 5000 trackers including those associated with ad networks.

Focus allows you to control what ads you see, and what kind of tracking can be done on your browsing even on social networks.

CONTENT BLOCKING + TRACKING PROTECTION
- Offers next-level privacy by blocking many common Web trackers in Safari.
- Lets you control the types of page content allowed on your browser.

BROWSE FASTER
- With content blocking and tracking protection on, Web pages may require less data and load faster.

FROM MOZILLA -- A BRAND YOU TRUST
- Mozilla strives to improve the Web for all and has been voted one of the Most Trusted Internet Companies for Privacy.*

COMMITTED TO TRANSPARENCY
- Mozilla gives users transparency online so you can take control of your personal information and choose what content you want to block. We work to provide feedback to content providers and build a healthy, open Web.

Just a few weeks after the release of the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X, Google has discontinued sales of last year's Nexus 6.

Other retailers are still offering the device, at a discounted price normally starting at $350, but it remains to be seen if Google still has inventory or if what is out there is all that's left.

Despite great reviews when it launched last year, Google has stepped away from the gigantic 6-inch screen and its newest flagship has a 5.7-inch screen and upgraded specs making the Nexus 6 irrelevant.

Earlier this week, Sony confirmed the first PlayStation 2 games that will be available via backwards compatibility on the PlayStation 4.

Says Sony: "Hello everyone. As we continue our celebration of the PlayStation 20th anniversary, we want to take a look back at the heritage that helped propel us to the brand that we are today. PlayStation 2 holds a special place in the hearts of many gamers who have fond memories of playing some of the biggest franchises in gaming."

The games are available via the PlayStation Store in North America and Europe.

List:

Dark Cloud -- $14.99
Grand Theft Auto III -- $14.99
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City -- $14.99
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas -- $14.99
Rogue Galaxy -- $14.99
The Mark of Kri -- $14.99
Twisted Metal: Black -- $9.99
War of the Monsters -- $9.99

Each game also has trophy support, have been upscaled to 1080p, and include Remote Play, Live Broadcast, Share Play, Activity Feeds, and Second Screen support.

As a reminder to our readers, OnePlus' new OnePlus 2 flagship device is available now (and forever) without an invite.

Additionally, the mid-range OnePlus X is available without need for an invite from today until December 7th and a few accessories are up to 90 percent off.

The invitation system has been criticized in the past, but it has helped OnePlus to keep supply and demand in check and it has also helped to keep some mystery around OnePlus devices.

"The invite system has been crucial to letting us scale our operations and has given our fans a unique way to share OnePlus with the people in their lives. But we are always trying to enhance the OnePlus experience for you and taking risks to push ourselves and show real improvements. That's why we're making the OnePlus 2 invite-free...forever!

That's right; you'll never again need an invite to purchase the OnePlus 2. We're proud to be able to make the OnePlus 2 invite-free so soon and hope this will make getting your very own OnePlus 2 a cheerfully easy experience," added Carl Pei, co-founder of OnePlus.

A month and a half ago Reuters rumored that Sony's booming camera business, one of the few divisions making profit in the company, would be acquiring more camera sensor know-how.

Now the rumor has been confirmed as the Sony and Toshiba have come to an agreement over Toshiba's camera sensor business. Sony will pay Toshiba 19 billion yen or $154 million for its sensor business. This includes approximately 1100 employees and the manufacturing facility in Oita, Japan.

Sony's Exmor camera sensors have been one of the company's few flagships that have kept the boat afloat during rather tough couple of years. This will certainly solidify Sony's competence more and give muscle against rivals for the ever-important deals like that of the iPhone camera sensors.

Toshiba and Sony are said to finalize the deal before April next year.

Samsung will pay $548 million to Apple by December 14, the latest news in a patent dispute that stretches back almost five years.

Apple filed the complaint against Samsung in early 2011, accusing the South Korean consumer electronics giant of patent infringement related to certain features in its smartphones. The iPhone maker ultimately won and was initially awarded $1 billion (it had sought $2.5 billion), which was later reduced to $548 million.

In a joint court statement, Samsung has pledged to pay Apple the $548 million by December 14, if Apple produces an invoice before the coming weekend.

The South Korean firm hasn't thrown in the towel fully yet, however, and asserts its right of reimbursement in the event of more favourable legal judgements in the near future.

"Samsung further reserves all rights to reclaim or obtain reimbursement of any judgment amounts paid by Samsung to any entity in the event the partial judgment is reversed, modified, vacated or set aside on appeal or otherwise, including as a result of any proceedings before the USPTO addressing the patents at issue or as a result of any petition for writ of certiorari filed with the Supreme Court."

To show off how tough its new Volvo FMX is, Volvo allowed a 4 year old girl to drive one with a remote control.

The video was filmed in Serbia in a closed-off gravel pit with all buildings empty, locked and sealed. The remote control system was specially made for the the experiment, which saw little Sophie torture the full-size dump truck and thoroughly enjoy it.

"This live test was set up to demonstrate the sturdiness and mobility of the Volvo FMX," Volvo's video description reads.

"A unique cage construction, cast-iron front plus corners and skidplate of high-grade steel make this a very tough truck indeed. And thanks to Automatic Traction Control – a revolutionary new feature that automatically engages the front axle when you need it – you won't get stuck."

It's an excellent PR stunt for Volvo's product, and worth a watch!

EFF files a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that Google collected and data mined children's personal information.

Google has rejected the Electronic Frontier Foundation's concerning claims with regard to how it collects and uses data when child students use school-issued devices, like Chromebooks, and Google's own Google Apps for Education (GAFE) core and non-core services.

Key among the EFF's complaint is the Google Sync service used by the Chrome web browser, and how Google utilizes student's information when using non-Core (or "consumer") services, including YouTube, Maps and Books.

We'll now take a look at the EFF's allegations about Google's practices, and the response from the Search giant, based on the information available publicly at this time.

EFF's Spying on Students campaign

The FTC complaint has arisen as a result of a noble cause, which is the EFF's "Spying on Students" campaign. Its goal is simply to raise awareness about privacy risks associated with devices and software provided by schools to children as young as 7 years old.

As part of this program, the EFF examined Chromebooks sold to schools by Google, and also examined its GAFE Core services (including email, Calendar, Talk/Hangouts, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Sites, Contacts and the Apps Vault) and non-Core services as used by students.

Early last year, when Microsoft completed its purchase of Nokia's handsets division, the company decided it was in their best interest to cancel a number of devices the company was preparing to release.

Among those sent to the 'graveyard' were Lumia phones, tablets and even some smartwatches.

Thanks to prolific leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks), we have a leaked render of the Nokia Mercury tablet, although we have very slim details about the device.

Basically, the tablet looks like an enlarged Nokia phone although the bezels seem to be extremely thin and the tablet looks like it had a SIM slot and possibly a PureView camera.

According to multiple sources, YouTube is seeking streaming licenses for movies and TV shows for its new YouTube Red subscription service in an effort to better rival Hulu and Netflix in the increasingly competitive industry.

The move is unsurprising given who is currently running YouTube. Robert Kyncl, formerly of Netflix, is YouTube's chief business officer; Susanne Daniels, former programming head at MTV, is a top exec and Kelly Merryman, formerly a Netflix content executive, is also a high-level executive for YouTube.

YouTube Red costs $9.99 per month and offers ad-free YouTube video watching, background and offline playback and streaming music playlists and channels. Additionally, the company will have 10 of its movies and series starring YouTube stars and other actors.

If YouTube wants to compete it will need to put down a ton of money. Hulu will spend $1.5 billion this year on content, as will Amazon. Netflix is expected to spend $3.3 billion this year on licensed and original content.

Source:
WSJ