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If you are one of millions who really, really, really do not want to upgrade from the ancient Windows XP operating system, a simple registry hack will give you the ability to continue getting updates, although with significant risks.

With a quick addition to the registry, your XP system will look like it is Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, which allows for five more years of updates.

Microsoft was quick to respond, stating: "We recently became aware of a hack that purportedly aims to provide security updates to Windows XP customers. The security updates that could be installed are intended for Windows Embedded and Windows Server 2003 customers and do not fully protect Windows XP customers. Windows XP customers also run a significant risk of functionality issues with their machines if they install these updates, as they are not tested against Windows XP. The best way for Windows XP customers to protect their systems is to upgrade to a more modern operating system, like Windows 7 or Windows 8.1."

If you are still interested, create a text file and give it a .reg extension. Add the following to the document (this has not been tested by Afterdawn and is also 32-bit only):

SoftBank, Japan's third-largest carrier and parent of Sprint, has admitted that the carrier's 4G LTE network sucks.

CEO Masayoshi Son confirmed the company would need "greater scale" if it could even pretend to compete in the U.S. market dominated by Verizon and AT&T. The U.S.' fourth largest carrier, T-Mobile, has been taking market share quickly thanks to innovative pro-consumer moves like price cuts and true unlimited data.

Sprint has been rumored to be trying to merge with T-Mobile, and Son had kind words for the carrier: "I strongly admire them. I strongly admire the price disruption." The executive also praised the leadership of T-Mobile CEO John Legere.

As far as Sprint's shoddy network is concerned, Son says, "I've only owned the company for six months. It takes a few years to build. We have to design the network."

Research firm IDC has predicted this week that smartphone shipments will hit 1.2 billion units this year, strong growth of 23 percent year-over-year.

Additionally, Android will keep their monster lead, with IDC predicting 80.2 percent market share in 2014.

"What makes smartphone growth so amazing is where the growth will be taking place. Smartphone shipments will more than double between now and 2018 within key emerging markets, including India, Indonesia, and Russia. In addition, China will account for nearly a third of all smartphone shipments in 2018. These – and other markets – will offer multiple opportunities to vendors and carriers alike, but the key will be balancing affordability with expectations," adds Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team.

Apple's market share is not expected to grow as most of the growth nations do not have large markets for phones above the $200 unlocked price range, leaving the iPhone on the outside looking in. Windows Phone continues to see strong growth, but from small figures to begin with. Nokia's lower-end devices remain popular across the globe.

Google has begun ranking ISPs in order of their streaming experience for customers in an effort to ensure ISPs offer service that allows for buffer-free HD streaming on YouTube.

So far, the company has only released a report for U.S. ISPs, but it is expected to move globally in the future.

The report names ISPs as "HD verified" if they can "consistently deliver HD video, a resolution of at least 720p, without buffering or interruptions -- it's HD Verified." YouTube monitored streams for a month, and HD Verified ISPs had to deliver the aforementioned performance at least 90 percent of the time.

Additionally, the report shows which ISPs deliver SD streams without buffering and who delivers the worst performance.

Microsoft is preparing to enter the smartwatch market, with sources claiming the software giant will make the device syncable across iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

The device will focus on fitness, and will continuously measure your heart rate 24/7 (as long as you are wearing it), and Microsoft wants to have the device out before the end of the summer, before Apple has a chance to unveil their iWatch that has been rumored since 2011.

Other than the active heart rate monitoring, the device will be similar to current offerings like the Samsung Gear Fit. The watch will have a color touch screen "about the size of half a stick of gum, positioned on the inside of the wearer's wrist," says Forbes.

Microsoft has slowly moved away from exclusivity, and having the watch available to all smartphone users seems to suggest that trend is here to stay. The company recently unveiled Office for iPad, before the software was even available for its own Windows 8.1 tablets.

According to a new report, Amazon is preparing to get into the streaming music business, adding such an offering to its Prime service that costs $99 per year and offers free streaming movies and TV and free 2-day shipping on millions of items.

The service could launch as early as next month, and will include millions of catalog tracks and newer tracks, as well, as long as they were not released in the last six months.

On that front, Amazon will not be able to compete with market leader Spotify, or newcomers like Beats Music, but that is not the point. The company just raised the price of Prime from $79 to $99 and adding free music will certainly sweeten the pot for those that were on the fence about keeping the service.

Reportedly, Amazon has deals in place with Sony Music and Warner Music and is working on Universal Music. It also has deals in place with prominent indies.

The labels' entire back catalogs will not be available to Amazon, but Amazon will get to choose what to offer, with the sources saying they will likely choose what has been popular on Amazon MP3 and via their retail CD sales to have better cross-selling capability.

HP has confirmed this week that it will keep its deal with Beats Electronics to integrate Beats Audio tech in its higher-end PCs through the end of 2015, despite Apple's recent acquisition of the company.

HP has been allowed to continue development on products with Beats Audio tech and can continue to sell devices with the tech and the Beats logo until the end of 2015.

In its statement, the PC maker says it plans to have an aggressive lineup of products with Beats included in 2014, with up to 20 percent of all their devices using the technology.

Apple just acquired Beats Electronics for $3 billion, so the company's previous relationships with rival smartphone and PC makers are most likely in limbo.

Into the future, Apple is expected to offer the Beats music streaming service alongside their own iTunes a la carte download service.

According to multiple Wall Street analysts, Apple's oft-rumored iWatch smartwatch will be unveiled later in the summer, launching in time for the holidays.

One analyst, Brian Blair of Rosenblatt Securities, spoke with Asian supply chain sources and claims that production will begin in the summer and that the watch will feature a round face, so far unseen with smartwatches except for the unreleased Moto 360.

Barclays wrote in a note to clients that shipments will begin after Thanksgiving, and that the watch will be marketed as a fitness tool.

Each analyst also agreed that the watch will act as a newer version of the digital music player iPod, which is slowly being phased out, having access to newly acquired Beats audio technology, as well as iTunes.

The company's stock is up 11 percent year-to-date, and at its highest level since 2012 despite no new product lines in nearly four years.

Source:
NYPost

With the first Android Wear-powered device just weeks away from launch, Google has now demoed how notifications will work for the upcoming smartwatches.

Google's Senior Developer Advocate Timothy Jordan explained that all Android apps can be extended to the wearable devices with little effort. In fact, with minimal code, developers "can deliver even richer experiences on the wearable by using stacks, pages, and voice replies."

The notifications will take up the lower end of the screen, with the app's icon taking up the top right. You can also use right-to-left gestures to view longer notifications (think long emails) on multiple screens.

Satellite TV giant DISH Network has become the largest company to accept the digital currency Bitcoin.

"We always want to deliver choice and convenience for our customers and that includes the method they use to pay their bills," Bernie Han, DISH executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. "Bitcoin is becoming a preferred way for some people to transact and we want to accommodate those individuals."

DISH has a market value of $27 billion, significantly higher than other notable companies that have begun accepting the currency. Coinbase will be the payment processor.

"This is a large step forward in the growing momentum of customers paying companies in bitcoin for things we do every day, like watching premium TV," says Coinbase founder Fred Ehrsam.

Bitcoin has remained relatively stable over the past few days, and is worth $570 as of writing.

Eli Peli, Google's official consultant optometrist for Google Glass, scared some potential future owners when he said the wearable could potentially cause pain and discomfort for wearers.

A month later, the ophthalmologist has posted his updated thoughts to "clarify a few points," insisting there are no health risks associated with use of the display.

"First and foremost, I have researched both HMDs and Glass for years and have found no evidence of any health risks," he wrote. Most of his previous statements were in regards to the need to look up when using the device, which is unnatural for most.

So far, Peli says, "very few" Glass users have reported discomfort, and strain disappears after an adjustment period of two days.

Glass is available to anyone in the U.S. who is willing to shell out $1500 for the "Explorer" beta models.

Sony has announced that as a celebration of the service's fourth anniversary, PlayStation Plus subscribers will now have access to two free titles per month via the Instant Game Collection.

Starting in July, the titles in the Instant Game Collection will be available starting the first Wednesday of the month and will be free until the first Wednesday of the following month.

Sony did note that a few of the games that have been available for some time will be phased out and replaced with a new collection. PS Plus subscribers are encouraged to download those games while they are still available.

For June, the new games on PS4 are the twin stick shooter Pixeljunk Shooter Ultimate and the popular mystery puzzler Trine 2: The Complete Story. For the PS3, the new games are NBA 2K14 and the psychological survival game Lone Survivor (Director's Cut).

Leaving PS Plus are Stick it to the Man, Payday 2, Brothers A Tale of Two Sons, Muramasa Rebirth and Everybody's Golf.

Popular cloud-storage service Dropbox has revealed that it has reached 300,000,000 users, adding 100 million since November 2013.

In a brief post on the firm's blog, Dropbox announced the milestone using a graphic of a door with a dropbox logo on it, with notches on the wall next to it showing the company's userbase growth from 100m, to 200m, and now to 300,000,000.

"Thanks for helping us grow," the post was titled, with the body only including the words: "New notch on the wall."

The growth is very impressive when you consider that Dropbox revealed it had hit 200 million users in November 2013, just around a half a year ago. On April 9, it had revealed the number swelled to 275 million.

Ninemsn offices evacuated and bomb squad called in after a 'suspicious package' was delivered to a journalist.

Ubisoft has admitted that it was a PR stunt that simply went wrong. A courier delivered a safe to Ninemsn offices in Australia square earlier this week, with a letter informing a journalist to check his voicemail. However, the journalist had no voicemail.

When staff entered a pin code into the safe, it began to beep. Unsure of what to do, they called the police and evacuated staff from the area.

The bomb squad arrived and opened the safe in the basement of the building, finding only a copy of Watch Dogs, a beanie and a baseball cap, along with a note saying it was embargoed until 5pm.

Ubisoft admitted that the PR stunt didn't go according to plan, as the publisher was unable to leave a crucial voicemail for the journalist explaining what was going on.

"This is definitely the other side of the line in terms of what it's safe for a PR company to send anonymously to a newsroom. The thing was black, heavy and slightly creepy," Hal Crawford, editor at Ninemsn, told Mumbrella.

"We did check with other newsrooms to see if they had received a similar package as we thought it was a PR stunt, but no-one else had. We weren't panicked at any point, but given there was no note explaining what it was, we had to take sensible precautions."

Spotify has notified its users of unauthorized access detected in its systems and has pushed out an updated Android app in response.

The evidence of the data breached showed that only one single user was affected, and that user has already been contacted by Spotify. Information at risk did not appear to include the users' password, payment or other financial information. There is also no reason to assume that other users are currently at risk.

Nevertheless, Spotify has pushed out a new app for Android devices and disabled older apps, forcing users to upgrade. It also has asked certain Spotify users to re-enter their username and password to log in.

"As always, Spotify does not recommend installing Android applications from anywhere other than Google Play or Amazon Appstore," wrote Oskar Stål, CTO, Spotify.

"At this time there is no action recommended for iOS and Windows Phone users."