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The PlayStation Network saw additional downtime this week, following the launch of the PlayStation 4 in Europe.

Just as with the North American launch, users reported issues signing into their new console.

Sony officially acknowledged the issue yesterday, saying "We are aware some users are currently experiencing issues logging into PSN on PS4 due to the heavy traffic we are receiving, we're investigating and will update. Thanks for your patience."

European console owners must also download mandatory system update 1.51, which incorporates all current patches seen on North American consoles.

Researchers have found a new and scary Linux worm that is infecting home routers, set-top boxes, security cameras and other devices with an Internet connection.

Linux.Darlloz can target devices that run on Intel-made CPUs, so right now the threat is considered 'low-level.'

Symantec researcher Kaoru Hayashi says minor modifications could make the worm potent, if they incorporate available executable and linkable format (ELF) files. Those ELF files can attack devices running on ARM, PPC, MIPS, and MIPSEL architectures.

"Upon execution, the worm generates IP addresses randomly, accesses a specific path on the machine with well-known ID and passwords, and sends HTTP POST requests, which exploit the vulnerability," Hayashi explained (via Ars). "If the target is unpatched, it downloads the worm from a malicious server and starts searching for its next target. Currently, the worm seems to infect only Intel x86 systems, because the downloaded URL in the exploit code is hard-coded to the ELF binary for Intel architectures."

In 2011, massive flooding in Thailand caused hard drive manufacturers like WD, Toshiba and Samsung to halt production in the nation, causing a shortage in hard drive supply and an almost 50 percent jump in prices as demand continued its exponential growth.

According to cloud data backup provider Blackblaze, prices have finally stabilized back to pre-crisis levels, although still higher than if the crisis had never occurred and the long-term trend had continued.

During that time, hard drives have gotten more efficient and larger drives, including 4TB, have become more mainstream.

A few of Blackblaze's charts:

HTC has confirmed that a new colorway of the powerful One smartphone flagship is headed to Europe, gold.

"Building on the all metal design of the HTC One, and the recent success of the HTC 18 carat gold MOBO phone, we are excited to have developed our own gold device, offering yet more choice to consumers," said Philip Blair, President of HTC EMEA.

The device will be the same as its silver counterpart, featuring a high-end unibody casing, a 4.7-inch 1080p display with 468 ppi, a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, Bluetooth 4.0/NFC/LTE and a 2300 mAh battery.

There was no word on release date, whether it would be available outside of Europe, or pricing.

Instagram has announced that Thanksgiving 2013 was the busiest day of all-time for the photo sharing service, thanks to the expected flood of food-related photos and videos and the addition of Hanukkah-related photos.

The company did not announce specific figures, as of yet, unlike last year when they celebrated a record-breaking day with a blog full of data.

This year, the company offered the vague sentence, "We saw record usage as Instagrammers shared a heaping help of holiday cheer."

Instagram, not including the new Thanksgiving data, has seen over 16 billion photos uploaded and 55 million new photos every day.

Reads the post:

Thursday marked a once-in-a-lifetime holiday as Thanksgiving and the first full day of Hanukkah shared the same calendar date for the first time since 1888, a confluence that won't occur again for tens of thousands of years.

Images of turkeys and latkes--and even an occasional "menurky"--from around the world flooded our Instagram feeds as friends and families gathered to celebrate and share these special holiday events.

We saw record usage as Instagrammers shared a heaping helping of holiday cheer. Your Thanksgiving and Hanukkah-related photos and videos helped make yesterday our busiest day on Instagram so far.

The world's second-largest PC motherboard maker, Gigabyte, has seen strong growth for 2013.

In 2012, the company shipped 19 million units, second to Asus at 22 million. So far, in 2013 (as of October 30th), the company has shipped 17.5 million units, giving it a forecast of 21 million for the year. If the company does reach the projection, it will be the highest ever volume shipped for Gigabyte, which has been in the business for 28 years.

Asus as shipped 15.5 million units in the same time frame, with a forecast of 20.5 million for the year.

Industry watchers believe Gigabyte could potentially surpass Asus this year, if the forecasts are accurate. Gigabyte ships motherboards for consumer PCs, workstations and servers, and both for AMD and Intel.

BlackBerry, getting in the holiday spirit, has dropped the price of their Z10 smartphone to just $199 off-contract, while supplies last.

The unlocked device works with all GSM carriers, including T-Mobile and AT&T here in the States, and is available in white and black.

Reads the company's site:

"Get $200 off an unlocked BlackBerry Z10 (your choice of black or white)

Enter code BFEMAILZ10 at checkout

Offer ends December 2, 2013, or while supplies last. Quantities are limited. Offer is not transferable. Orders placed under this offer must use the original offer recipients email address."

The Z10 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Dual Core CPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB Internal Memory (expandable with microSD), a 4.2" 1280x768 Display w/ 8MP Rear Camera & 2MP Front Camera, a small 1800mAh Battery and the most recent BlackBerry 10 OS.

Get it here.

Sony Europe has started a major sale through the European PlayStation Store, with the sales available from today through December 2nd.

The games are up to 80 percent off.

Full list (via CVG):

PS3 Games:

Deep Black, Was €14.99/AU$21.95/£11.99, Now €4.94/AU$7.24/£3.95, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Terraria, Was €14.99/AU$21.95/£11.99, now €4.94/AU$5.92/£3.95, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, Was €14.99/AU$17.95/£10.99, now €4.94/AU$7.24/£3.62, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? ACTIVE Bundle, Was €14.99/AU$21.95/£11.99, now €4.94/AU$7.24/£3.95, Not available in South Africa, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Disney Universe, Was €16.99/AU$24.95/£12.99, now €4.41/AU$6.48/£3.37, Not available in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Divekick, Was €9.99/AU$14.45/£7.99, now €4.99/AU$7.22/£3.99, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Port Royale 3, Was €29.99/AU$39.95/£19.99, now €5.09/AU$6.79/£3.39, Not available in Russia and South Africa, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
WRC 3 FIA World Rally Championship, Was €29.99/AU$39.95/£19.99, now €5.09/AU$6.79/£3.39, Not available in Norway, Finland, South Africa, Turkey, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
MUD - FIM Motocross World Championship, Was €39.99/AU$58.95/£31.99, now €6.79/AU$10.02/£5.43, Not available in Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Aliens: Colonial Marines, Was €29.99/AU$39.95/£19.99, now €5.09/AU$6.79/£3.39, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
The Cave, Was €12.99/AU$18.45/£9.99, now €4.93/AU$7.01/£3.79, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Kayne and Lynch: Dead Men, Was €19.99/AU$24.95/£15.99, now €4.99/AU$6.23/£3.99, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Kayne and Lynch 2: Dog Days, Was €21.99/AU$32.95/£7.99, now €5.05/AU$7.57/£4.13, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, Was €14.99/AU$21.95/£11.99, now €4.94/AU$7.24/£3.95, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Jurassic Park The Game, Was €29.99/AU$43.95/£23.99, now €5.09/AU$7.47/£4.07, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Back to the Future: The Game - 5 Game Series, Was €29.99/AU$43.95/£23.99, now €5.09/AU$7.47/£4.07, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Trilogy HD, Was €29.99/AU$43.95/£23.99, now €5.09/AU$7.47/£4.07, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Shaun White Snowboarding, Was €14.99/AU$17.95/£10.99, now €4.94/AU$5.92/£3.62, Not available in Turkey, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Shaun White Skateboarding, Was €14.99/AU$21.95/£11.99, now €4.94/AU$7.24/£3.95, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
From Dust, Was €14.99/AU$21.95/£11.99, now €4.94/AU$7.24/£3.95, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Call of Juarez Gunslinger, Was €14.99/AU$21.95/£11.99, now €4.94/AU$7.24/£3.95, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Call of Juarez Bound in Blood, Was €14.99/AU$17.95/£10.99, now €4.94/AU$5.92/£3.62, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Magic 2014 - Duels of the Planeswalkers, Was €7.99/AU$11.75/£6.49, now €3.99/AU$5.87/£3.24
Magic 2014 - Duels of the Planeswalkers Expansion, Was €3.99/AU$5.85/£3.19, now €1.99/AU$2.92/£1.59
Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends, Was €29.99/AU$43.95/£23.99, now €5.09/AU$7.47/£4.07, Only available in Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, UK
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, Was €14.99/AU$21.95/£11.99, now €4.94/AU$7.24/£3.95, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Prince of Persia Classic, Was €9.99/AU$14.45/£7.99, now €4.99/AU$7.22/£3.99, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Ukraine, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Prince of Persia, Was €14.99/AU$17.95/£10.99, now €4.94/AU$5.92/£3.62, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands, Was €14.99/$21.95/£11.99, now €4.94/$7.24/£3.95, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Racket Sports, Was €9.99/AU$12.95/£7.99, now €4.99/AU$6.47/£3.99, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Cloudberry Kingdom, Was €9.99/AU$14.45/£7.99, now €4.99/AU$7.22/£3.99, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Fatal Conspiracy, Was €14.99/AU$17.95/£10.99, now €4.94/AU$5.92/£3.62, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Flashback, Was €9.99/AU$14.45/£7.99, now €4.99/AU$7.22/£3.99, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Blazing Angels 2: The Secret Missions of WWII, Was €14.99/AU$17.95/£10.99, now €4.94/AU$5.92/£3.62, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Everybody's Golf 2, Was €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99, now €1.99/AU$2.94/£1.59, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Jet Rider, Was €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99, now €1.99/AU$2.94/£1.59, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Jet Rider 2, Was €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99, now €1.99/AU$2.94/£1.59, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Kula World, Was €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99, now €2.99/AU$4.41/£2.39, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Motor Toon Grand Prix 2, Was €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99, now €1.99/AU$2.94/£1.59, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
PAIN, Was €7.99/AU$11.75/£6.49, now €3.99/AU$5.87/£3.24, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Rally Cross, Was €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99, now €1.99/AU$2.94/£1.59, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Syphon Filter 3, Was €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99, now €2.99/AU$4.41/£2.39, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Toy Home, Was €7.99/AU$11.75/£6.49, now €2.95/AU$4.34/£2.40, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Warhawk, Was €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99, now €1.99/AU$2.94/£1.59, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Blast Factor Advanced, Was €7.99/AU$11.75/£6.49, now €3.99/AU$5.87/£3.24, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Operation Creature Feature, Was €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99, now €1.99/AU$2.94/£1.59, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Snakeball, Was €7.99/AU$11.75/£6.49, now €2.95/AU$4.34/£2.40, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Crash Commando, Was €7.99/AU$11.75/£6.49, now €3.99/AU$5.87/£3.24, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
The Trials of Topoq, Was €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99, now €2.99/AU$4.41/£2.39, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Beat Sketcher, Was €9.99/AU$14.45/£7.99, now €3.99/AU$5.78/£3.19, Not available in Israel, Kuwait, Ukraine, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Dark Mist, Was €7.99/AU$11.75/£6.49, now €3.99/AU$5.87/£3.24, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Tori Emaki, Was €2.99/AU$4.35/£2.39, now €0.98/AU$1.43/£0.78, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Mesmerize (Distort), Was €2.99/AU$4.35/£2.39, now €0.98/AU$1.43/£0.78, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
Elefunk, Was €7.99/AU$11.75/£6.49, now €2.95/AU$4.34/£2.40, Not available in Bulgaria, Hungary, Qatar, Additional 10% discount for PS Plus members
PSP/Vita Games:

According to Reuters, Samsung will have spent $14 billion on marketing and advertising in 2013, an enormous figure.

Samsung has an overall market value of $227 billion, below Apple at $500 billion but still one of the largest tech companies in the world.

Does Samsung get its money worth, however? Not everyone believes so.

"Samsung's marketing is too much focused on projecting an image they aspire to: being innovative and ahead of the pack," says Oh Jung-suk, associate professor at the business school of Seoul National University. "They are failing to efficiently bridge the gap between the aspiration and how consumers actually respond to the campaign. It's got to be more aligned."

By percent, Samsung spends the largest amount of its annual revenues on advertising, at 5.4 percent. By comparison, Apple spends just 0.6 percent. "When your brand doesn't have a clear identity, as is the case with Samsung, to keep spending is probably the best strategy," adds Moon Ji-hun, head of brand consultant Interbrand's Korean operation. "But maintaining marketing spend at that level in the longer term wouldn't bring much more benefit. No one can beat Samsung in terms of (ad) presence, and I doubt whether keeping investing at this level is effective."

Walmart boastfully reported today that the company had a 'record-breaking' Black Friday, boosted by tech sales.

"We said Black Friday is the Super Bowl of retail, we ran a play that only Walmart could deliver and our customers loved it," added Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. "Our Black Friday events were bigger, better, faster, cheaper and safer than ever. More customers chose us, we had the prices and products they were looking for, and we're not finished yet. Helping families get ready for a great Christmas – and get a lot of great deals while they're at it – is exactly what we're going to continue to do."

The company says the top sellers were HDTVs, the iPad Mini, notebooks, the new Xbox One and PS4 and Call of Duty Ghosts. Online, SLRs and the Nintendo 3DS were major sellers, as well.

Altogether, the company sold an incredible 1.4 million tablets.

Earlier this week we reported that Motorola had put the Moto G smartphone up for pre-order direct through their own store with a December 2nd ship date.

Today, Amazon has followed suit, but with a December 4th ship date.

The unlocked global GSM-based phone sells for just $179 (8GB) or $199 (16GB) without contract and features a 4.5-inch 720p LCD TFT display, a quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB RAM and dual cameras, 1.3MP/5MP. On the design side, the Moto G looks just like its more powerful and expensive brother, the Moto X with some minor cosmetic differences.

Moto G handsets will start with Android 4.3, but KitKat will be rolled out by December. The Moto G was not given access to Moto X's software gestures, like Active Notifications, Quick Capture, and Touchless Control, due to its lack of the Moto X's specialized CPU/GPU.

Google has begun offering $6 in Google Play credit with all new Chromecast purchases.

From Black Friday until December 7th, the credit is included if you buy the device through Amazon, Best Buy and directly from Google.

The offer is "valid for any movie rental or other content on Google Play valued at $6 or less," reads the offer, but you cannot put the credit towards new devices (Nexus, accessories, etc) or subscriptions.

At launch, Google offered three months of Netflix for free ($21 value) even for existing customers, and that deal does come back on occasion, as well.

Chromecast devices offer native Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora and HBO Go 'casting' ability.

Amazon users in the U.S. were able to buy the Pebble smartwatch today for Black Friday, but the device quickly sold out.

Selling, on sale for $150, the smartwatch is still available on Pebble's official site, although without Prime shipping.

The Kickstarter crowdfunded watch is available in black, grey, red, orange, and white.

Outside of Amazon and Pebble, the smartwatch is available at Best Buy, as well.

Although very buggy at launch, the device recently updated to add iOS 7 Notification Center integration, allowing for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram alerts, a huge boost in functionality for the watch.

The PlayStation 4 (PS4) launched in the UK and wider European area last night, and is already starting to burn through supplies.

The console went on sale at midnight and those who had pre-ordered waited to get their hands on Sony's shiny new system. Beyond pre-orders, it was a case of first-come first-served of course, but Sony reports that supplies are already running low.

"We are starting to sell out - very rapidly but [we] will continue to work with all parts of the supply chain including our partners at retail to get more, as and when we can," a Sony spokesperson said.

Sony will setup a stock tracker website to help consumers hoping to get a console before Christmas.

Those who had pre-ordered with Amazon had the option to get their console on launch day, but anyone who failed to pre-order before November 14 would have to wait until after Christmas to get the console shipped.

The absence of supplies is already seen driving web scams that hope to entice parents desperate to get the new consoles in time for the holidays, according to NetNames.

"To avoid falling victim to the latest online scams, consumers need to remember that if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is," said NetNames product director of brand protection, Haydn Simpson.

According to an advocacy group, Microsoft has made changes to Skype that will make monitoring and censorship of activity much more difficult in China.

The service had announced the end of an eight-year partnership with Hong Kong-based TOM Group, and has found a new partner in Guangming Founder (GMF), a joint-venture of Beijing-based newspaper Guangming Daily and the Founder Group.

According to advocacy group, GreatFire, Microsoft also has made changes to how its service works that should thwart Chinese monitoring and censorship activities.

"All user calls, chats and login information are encrypted and being communicated directly to Microsoft via HTTPS. This is a complete about-face for Microsoft from the TOM-Skype era, when all information was processed by TOM and stored by TOM on servers located in China with absolutely no privacy controls in place," the group said.