Latest news

Casual gaming company Zynga has begun accepting Bitcoin as a payment option for a few of its most popular games, becoming the first gaming company to do so.

Zynga has partnered with BitPay as a payment processor for the web versions of FarmVille 2, CastleVille, ChefVille, CoasterVille, Hidden Chronicles, Hidden Shadows and CityVille.

"We wanted to share with the r/bitcoin community that Zynga Inc. is now conducting a Bitcoin test with BitPay (https://bitpay.com/), a leading Bitcoin service provider, in select Zynga.com web games," Zynga wrote in a statement.

"In response to Bitcoin's rise in popularity around the world, Zynga, with help from BitPay, is testing expanded payment options for players to make in-game purchases using Bitcoin. The Bitcoin test is only available to Zynga.com players playing FarmVille 2, CastleVille, ChefVille, CoasterVille, Hidden Chronicles, Hidden Shadows and CityVille. The games can be accessed at Zynga.com.

According to the latest NetApplications data, Chrome has regained some browser market share for December, and Internet Explorer 11 saw the strongest growth as more users upgrade to Windows 8.1.

Chrome gained 0.78 percentage points to settle at 16.22 percent share, while IE and Firefox each dipped marginally, to 57.91 percent and 18.35 percent, respectively.

Internet Explorer 11, which is the pre-installed browser for Windows 8.1, saw its share triple to 10.42 percent, with IE10 and IE9 falling an equal amount.

IE8 remains the world's most popular browser with 20.64 percent, which makes sense given that Windows XP users cannot upgrade past that version.

NetApp used data captured from 160 million unique visitors each month by monitoring some 40,000 websites for its clients.

For the first time ever, the U.S. music industry has seen a decrease in digital music sales.

Digital track sales as well as digital album sales fell for the year 2013. Individual track sales fell 5.7 percent to 1.26 billion units, and digital album sales fell 0.1 percent to 117.6 million units.

It has become clear that streaming services have cannibalized digital sales growth, with popular ad-supported and subscription services like Google Play Music All Access, Spotify, Rdio and others taking strong share.

Nielsen SoundScan, which provided the annual figures, has not yet released its streaming data, but it appears from early reports that streaming revenue will offset the declines elsewhere.

Including physical media, album sales fell 8.4 percent to 289.4 million units, although vinyl continued its comeback from the dead, seeing 30 percent growth to 6 million units.

There was only platinum album for the year, Justin Timberlake's "20/20 Experience," at 2.4 million units, but there were 106 platinum digital tracks, led by "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke at 6.5 million units.

Corning has announced its Gorilla Glass standard will soon makes it way to wearables and other curved designs.

The company has confirmed the availability of "novel 3D glass-forming technology" to shape Gorilla Glass.

Additionally, the company is working with GTOC to create vertical integration of the manufacturing process. "We can now take Gorilla Glass all the way from flat sheet to a finished 3D-shaped product in Asia, expediting turnaround times and minimizing logistical complexity," said James R. Steiner, senior vice president and general manager, Corning Specialty Materials. "That's a win for Corning and our customers."

According to the press release, the "3D-forming technology can achieve precise tolerances and high throughput on a platform that is more economical than alternative two-mold forming methods. This technology uses Gorilla Glass of uniform thickness, assisting designers to introduce thinner and lighter devices and leverage the emergence of conformable displays for mobile and wearable applications."

According to Edward Snowden, the NSA is building a quantum computer that will crack any code and break any encryption, including what is used to protect medical, banking and military records.

The whistle-blower's documents (via Washington Post) revealed a $79.7 million research program designed to build a "cryptologically useful quantum computer."

Dubbed "Penetrating Hard Targets," the project is in active development, but the documents reveal that the NSA is no closer to building the computer than other developers in the scientific community.

Quantum computing is not expected to be accessible for at least another five years, unless there is a breakthrough. While standard computers use binary bits (zeroes and ones), quantum computers use quantum bits (simultaneously zero and one), allowing for quicker and more efficient calculations.

At the heart of the NSA's alleged desire for the computer is for national security purposes as a quantum computer could theoretically crack the RSA 1,024-bit encryption key used for online transactions and to secure financial transactions. Earlier this decade, computer scientists cracked a 768-bit encryption key but it took hundreds of computers and almost two years.

Google has confirmed that YouTube is going 4K at CES, using the company's own VP9 royalty-free codec.

Most current 4K setups use the H.265 video codec, but Google has been actively developing the Ultra HD streaming codec as an alternative.

In 2010, Google tried a similar tactic with its VP8 codec, which would have become the default format for plugin-free video streaming but it was opposed by companies trying to establish commercial video formats who ultimately succeeded. Hardware support was limited and the codec was eventually relegated to limited use.

This does not appear to be an issue this time around, as Google has secured hardware partners including LG, Panasonic, Sony, Intel, ARM, Samsung and Sharp. The list totals 19 partners, some of whom will show off 4K streaming at their CES booths next week.

Samsung has shown off the sequel to their Galaxy Camera Android-based digital camera, the Galaxy Camera 2.

The new device has improved specs all across the board and updated the camera to a newer version of Android.

Equal to the first Galaxy Camera, the 2 has a 1/2.3" BSI sensor with 16.3 MP effective resolution, 21x optical zoom, optical image stabilization and pop-up xenon flash with a dedicated AF light. Additionally, you can shoot at 1080p@30fps, 720p@60fps and 512p@120fps just like the Galaxy Camera.

The display is the same 4.8-inch Super Clear 720p LCD as its predecessor, as well.

Under the hood, the Galaxy Camera 2 has a quad-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz, 2GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. Somehow, only 2.8GB are user-accessible, so you will certainly need to add a microSD card if you are an active shooter.

Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer has noted that the company considered a "purely disc-less console" as late as last year's E3 event, but ultimately decided to go with the optical disc drive we have in the current generation of the console.

"Obviously, after the announcement and E3, there was some feedback about what people wanted to change," says Spencer. "There was a real discussion about whether we should have an optical disc drive in Xbox One or if we could get away with a purely disc-less console, but when you start looking at bandwidth and game size, it does create issues.

"So we decided - which I think was the right decision - to go with the Blu-ray drive and give the people an easy way to install a lot of content. From some of those original thoughts, you saw a lot of us really focusing on the digital ecosystem you see on other devices - thinking of and building around that."

DreamWorks Animation has teamed up with OEM Fuhu to build a new tablet aimed at kids, the Dreamtab.

The Dreamtab will sell for under $300, have an 8-inch form factor and will feature apps and content for children with original content based on DreamWorks characters, as well.

Animation producer Nancy Bernstein is creating "character moments" for the tablet, like having Shrek characters performing a quick skit explaining how to turn off the tablet when the parental set timer reaches its limit, for example.

Additionally, the characters will provide drawing lessons and the tablet will include "the same stylus technology that DreamWorks artists use to make movies" to have the kids draw along. A Wacom stylus may be included, but that remains unclear.

The tablet can be used in "parent mode," say the companies, which "provides roughly the same computing power as an iPad."

Set for release in the spring, the company also says a 12-inch version is coming later.

According to Wedbush gaming industry analyst Michael Pachter, worldwide PlayStation 4 sales will reach 37.7 million by the end of 2016.

For the same period, the analyst expects Microsoft Xbox One sales to total 29 million.

In his research note, Pachter adds "We expect Sony's and Microsoft's new consoles to thrive over the next three years, with cumulative worldwide sales of 37.7 million PS4 and 29 million Xbox One consoles by year-end 2016. We do not expect Nintendo's Wii U to fare as well, with cumulative sales of under 20 million by 2016."

The forecast is not the first for the industry as IHS head of games research Piers Harding-Rolls recently made a similar announcement, anticipating that the PS4 will outsell the Xbox One at 49 million units to 38 million units by the end of 2017.

Harding-Rolls noted: "IHS believes that Sony's wider geographical brand allegiance - especially across continental Europe and Japan - will be decisive in allowing PS4 to outsell Xbox One on a global basis by the end of 2017."

Polaroid has announced today that it will be unveiling a 50-inch 4K TV for $999 at CES next week.

In addition, the company will release a $599 1080p 50-inch TV that includes a bundled Roku streaming stick that gives access to hundreds of apps just like the Roku set-top boxes do.

The 50GSR9000 50" 4K Ultra HD TV will provide "stunning colour contrast, fluidity of motion and exceptional clarity." The 50GSR7100 50" Roku Ready Smart has built-in WiFi and an HDMI input with MHL compatibility to allow for the Roku stick and mobile app control of the TV.

"Not many people realize that Edwin Land was a pioneer in developing the polarizing technology used in modern televisions," said Scott W. Hardy, President and CEO of Polaroid. "Televisions are a natural product extension for the Polaroid brand and we are excited to bring consumers a state-of-the-art product at an affordable price point. Families can share more movie nights together with our new home entertainment options."

More info will be revealed next week.

Following the failure that was the Iconia W3, Acer has released the updated Iconia W4 tablet with an 8-inch display, Windows 8.1 and an efficient Intel Bay Trail processor.

Acer was supposed to release the tablet in October, but it was quietly delayed for nearly three months.

To bring back media attention, the company is re-unveiling the tablet at CES.

The tablet is thick at 10.75mm, and on the heavier side at 0.92 pounds, and it keeps the plain form factor of its predecessor. The display is a 720p, 16:10 IPS LCD screen using Zero Air Gap technology for anti-glare.

Under the hood is a 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Bay Trail processor using the company's 4th generation Atom core for peak efficiency. The tablet has dual 2MP/5MP cameras, 32GB internal storage, a microSD slot, and microUSB and microHDMI ports. Promising 10 hours of battery life, the tablet also comes with a free version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 for free.

According to another leak by the prolific @Evleaks, LG will release a TV this year using the webOS platform made popular for a short period of time by Palm before its demise.

In the leaked images, you can see a brief snippet of the Cards interface, with a thumbnail overview of apps and content currently running on the TV.

You can see a web browser, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Skype in the images as well as LG's own SmartShare application.

Rumors had suggested that the upcoming LG HDTV would run on a 2.2GHz dual-core processor and 1.5GB RAM.

webOS TV, by LG, 2014 pic.twitter.com/xM8plvxJ4g

-- @evleaks (@evleaks) January 2, 2014

Following the major security breach last month that allowed hackers to collect the usernames and phone numbers of 4.6 million users, Snapchat says it will update the application with a more secure version.

The new version will allow users to opt out of the "Find Friends" feature that was the cause of the breach. The company also says it will block all future attempts to abuse the service or its features.

Security experts had warned Snapchat and its founders about the vulnerability multiple times but the company stated that the service was secure and that they had implemented "various safeguards."

The hackers, which released a database of the usernames and phone numbers (without the last four numbers to protect privacy), say their actions were done to protect users and show the company that security is paramount. The biggest issue at hand is the fact that Snapchat ignored a responsible report from reputable security experts.

Snapchat has over 20 million U.S. users and is valued in the low billions due to its rapid growth and popularity.

BlackBerry has unsurprisingly sued Ryan Seacrest's Typo Products startup for patent infringement over its new Typo iPhone keyboard case.

"This is a blatant infringement against BlackBerry's iconic keyboard, and we will vigorously protect our intellectual property against any company that attempts to copy our unique design," Steve Zipperstein, BlackBerry's general counsel and chief legal officer, said in a statement.

The multi-millionaire media personality founded the startup after not wanting to give up both his BlackBerry and iPhone, one of which was used for typing extensively and the other used for everything else.

Typo was set to officially unveil the accessory at next week's CES event for $99, with the product shipping before the end of the month.

Zipperstein of BlackBerry added: "From the beginning, BlackBerry has always focused on offering an exceptional typing experience that combines a great design with ergonomic excellence. We are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, but we will not tolerate such activity without fair compensation for using our intellectual property and our technological innovations."