Latest news

Sharp has introduced a new 70-inch Aquos 4K Ultra HD LED TV for the U.S. market.

The company had initially projected a mid-August launch for the TV, but supply issues kept it off shelves until now.

Besides the high-end specs, the TV is also THX-certified and will sell for $7,499.99 MSRP.

"For the past several years the focus with high-end television panels was on delivering a more exciting experience through size. With the introduction of our AQUOS 4K TV, we now offer consumers an even more life-like TV experience coupling size with resolution and clarity," said John Herrington, President, Sharp Electronics Marketing Company of America.

The TV will upscale all non-4K content to 4K using Sharp's own 'Revelation 4K Upscaler.'

Check out the TV here.

Apple's latest iOS upgrade fixed 80 security flaws in the older iOS 6 iterations of the software, according to reports.

Ironically, a fairly simple exploit can be used to bypass the lockscreen on iOS 7 and gain access to photos already, but the bugs fixed in iOS 7 are, in cases, very serious. Some could be used as part of DOS attacks on devices, or even be used to execute arbitrary code which could potentially leave a device open to being taken over.

One flaw (CVE-2013-0957) could allow an attacker to break an app in the third party Sandbox and determine the user's passcode.

The update also fixed a widely reported flaw that allowed a modified charger to be used to hijack a device. Other bugs included s Safari bug that made previously-deleted history visible again and a memory corruption issue related to the handling of XML by the Apple browser.

For more information on the other bugs, check out this article by Chris Brook at ThreatPost.

Sony has detailed how you can upgrade PS3 copies of select games to PS4 versions for just $10 after the PS4 launch.

So far only four titles will be included in the upgrade program, but they are big titles. If you have a copy of Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Watch Dogs, and Battlefield 4 - either on Blu-ray Disc or Digital - you can upgrade to a PS4 version for $9.99.

If bought on Blu-ray, you will find a code packed into the PS3 version that you can redeem on PlayStation Store. Note that you will still need to use the PS3 disc to play the PS4 version of the game, so don't think about selling it.

If you buy any of the titles as digital versions, then you don't need to redeem any code, just look for the PS4 version of the game on PlayStation Store – it will appear on PlayStation Store on your PS4 for the discounted price of $9.99.

For those of you who have a redeem code, you don't have to wait until the PS4 comes out, you can redeem it right away and then download the digital copy when your PS4 arrives.

The program last for a limited time one. You will need to redeem codes and make the purchases before January 31, 2014 for Assassin's Creed IV and Watch Dogs, before March 28, 2014 for Battlefield 4 or before March 31, 2014 for Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Apple has just launched the iOS 7 operating system for its iPhone, iPad and iPod touch products, but already there's a glaring flaw that lets users bypass the lockscreen. (And now a second lockscreen bug has been found in iOS 7 that lets users make calls to any number from a locked iPhone)

The bug was found by Jose Rodriguez, who previously found bugs to bypass the lockscreen in iOS 6 and iOS 7 beta. This time he has found a flaw in iOS 7 that lets you bypass the lockscreen, access photos and use photo sharing with twitter, flickr, email and so on. Apple is already aware of the problem and is promising a fix as soon as possible, according to Forbes.

The flaw is shown in the video embedded below. Basically, it works by first swiping up the lockscreen to access the phone's "control center", and then opening up the alarm clock. Holding the sleep button brings up the option to turn it off, but if you tap cancel and then double click the Home button you get to the multitasking screen (the second click should be stretched a bit, apparently).

Microsoft has revealed the pricing scheme for Windows 8.1, which is set for release on October 18th.

If you have Windows 8 installed, 8.1 is a free update via the Windows Store.

However, if you don't have Windows 8, Windows 8.1 is going to cost you. Base price for the operating system is $120, and Windows 8.1 Pro will set you back $200.

Microsoft notes that 8.1 will be slightly different than 8: "One shift to note in Windows 8.1 is that we will be offering "full version software" at retail and online for download that does not require a previous version of Windows in order to be installed. The copy of Windows 8 that is currently available for sale at retail and online is an "upgrade version." This shift allows more flexibility for customers in specific technical scenarios and is in response to feedback we've received. It will be easier for those consumers who want to build PCs from scratch, run Windows 8.1 in Virtual Machine (VM) environments, or run Windows 8.1 on a second hard drive partition."

Apple's TouchID fingerprint reader and authentication system will be a fun challenge for hackers after the launching of a crowd-funding effort to provide motivation.

IsTouchIDHackedYet.com has been launched by security researcher Nick Depetrillo and Robert David Graham, listing pledges from Twitter users to provide money (including BitCoin) and other prizes - like a bottle of wine and a "dirty sex book" - for whoever can demonstrate a working hack of the feature.

In order to be in with a shout of getting some rewards, the hacker will need to provide proof of a method to break into an iPhone 5s by lifting prints from other surfaces, like a glass, and using it somehow for authentication.

Fingerprint scanners have been defeated quite easily in the past. Mythbusters even beat one by simply printing out a finger print and using the print-out.

Apple insists however that TouchID is special, claiming it can't even be beaten by severed finger.

According to comments given to Forbes, Depetrillo decided to go ahead with this challenge because he has so much faith in the TouchID system not to be easily beaten, but that being proven wrong will be a "pleasant surprise."

Dish Network has struck another victory as a NY judge has ruled to not issue a preliminary injunction against the company's 'Hopper' technology, a set-top DVR that allows for ad-skipping.

The hardware will remain legal in New York now, against the wishes of ABC, which had requested the injunction.

Besides ABC, CBS and other companies have all separately sued Dish over the Hopper and its native software, the AutoHop.

The decision marks the second victory for the company, as a judge in California made a similar ruling in July in a case brought by News Corp. (Fox).

ABC was understandably not happy: "Today's ruling is only a preliminary decision and the first step in the judicial process. We continue to firmly believe that Dish's AutoHop and PrimeTime Anytime services breach our retransmission consent agreement with Dish, infringe upon ABC's copyrights, and unfairly compete with the authorized on-demand and commercial-free options currently offered by ABC and its licensees."

Google has made their popular document editing software QuickOffice free for all Android and iOS users.

The PRO version of the software previously cost $19.99, and includes powerful editing software for Microsoft Office documents, and other file types.

QuickOffice was purchased by Google over the summer last year, after being a longstanding top 50 app in the Play Store. The app is now integrated directly to Google Drive, Google's cloud storage solution.

As part of the promotion (which is permanent), users who get the app and log in with their Google account before September 26th will be given an extra 10GB of free storage within Google Drive.

A BBC TV programme in the UK has tested how a consumer can get the fastest possible response to their complaints to corporations.

It is hardly a surprise that The One Show on the BBC TV in the UK found that e-mailing a complaint is one of the worst ways of going about it. In a test, the show contacted five separate companies by e-mail with complaints, and only one responded within 24 hours.

Taking your grievance to Twitter has a much better result, it would appear, with the fastest response time after complaining on Twitter being just 3 minutes. The slowest was 1 hour and 10 minutes.

It is not difficult to understand these results. When you complain to a company by e-mail, the complaint is made in private for your eyes and the company's eyes only.

When you complain on Twitter or through other social media, you are effectively calling out the company in public, in full view. Therefore, it is in their best interest to get back to you as soon as possible.

Still, just because you get a quick response time doesn't mean you will have your problem solved quicker, but it's much better than checking your e-mail inbox, listening to elevator music on the phone (or talking to a badly programmed automated response system) or going out to complain in person. Of course, the public nature of a Twitter complaint is probably not suitable for all problems.

Hiroshi Yamauchi, who led Nintendo into a position as the most recognizable video games brand in the world, has died at the age of 85.

Nintendo announced the passing of Hiroshi Yamauchi on Thursday, who succumbed to pneumonia. He was the third president of Nintendo, joining the company in 1949, and was succeeded by Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata. He died as the largest Nintendo shareholder, with an estimated net worth of around $2.1 billion as of April, 2013.

In his early years at Nintendo, the company produced Hanafuda cards - a form of Japanese playing cards - and also introduced the plastic Western playing cards to Japan for the first time. In 1959, Yamauchi signed a licensing agreement with Walt Disney for playing cards.

Under Yamauchi, Nintendo listed on the stock exchange and became a huge name in Japan for card games intended for family use.

He realized very quickly the potential that the emerging markets for electronics had, taking note of the likes of Atari. It was with the entrance of Nintendo into the American arcade market that saw the eventual rise of Shigeru Miyamoto's Donkey Kong, in 1981.

In 1992, Yamauchi became the majority shareholder of the Seattle Mariners.

A U.S. Court has halted a deal that would see Activision buy Vivendi's $8.2 billion stake in the publisher.

A Delaware court put a temporary hold on the deal after an investor Douglas Hayes sued, claiming that the companies did not put the deal to shareholder vote as legally required. It is very rare for a U.S. court to take this action, but it is unlikely to kill the deal according to analysts.

The deal was announced in July by Vivendi, after it had agreed to sell its stake to the publisher for $8.2 billion.

Both companies can appeal the court's decision, and if successful, could close the deal very quickly. Otherwise, Activision can call a shareholder vote, which will take more time and likely won't change the outcome.

Verizon Wireless has responded to quite a bit of criticism for not activating Google's Nexus 7 following its launch.

Consumers who got their hands on the new Google tablet earlier this week were in for an unpleasant surprise when they tried to activate the device on Verizon's LTE network. It didn't take long before tweets were aimed at Verizon about the issue.

Verizon's response didn't exactly inspire confidence.

@jeffjarvis I'm excited you got your Nexus 7 but not all LTE tablets are created equal. It's not part of our line up & can't be activated^JH

-- VZW Support (@VZWSupport) September 17, 2013

Given that Verizon Wireless made considerable commitments to device support while bidding for spectrum, and the display of a Verizon logo at the Nexus 7 unveiling, this tweet was received with confusion, and anger by some.

Verizon has gone on to use its main Twitter account (as supposed to support) to explain that the Nexus 7 will be "supported" soon.

Nexus 7 is not yet VZ certified; we expect it to complete testing soon, then we'll work to make avail on our network http://t.co/DmAhqYRPSF

-- Verizon Wireless (@VZWnews) September 18, 2013

Given that the Nexus 7 was unveiled months ago, it's difficult to believe that testing is still incomplete.

A U.S. court has ruled that using Facebook's 'Like' feature to show support for a political candidate amounts to legally protected speech.

The decision was made by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case involving the firing of a former deputy sheriff in Hampton, Virginia. He claimed that he had lost his job because during an election campaign, he liked the Facebook page of a candidate running for the position of city Sheriff, against his boss.

In total, six former employees of Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts claim they were illegally fired for having supported his opponent, Jim Adams, in the election which took place in 2009.

"Liking a political candidate's campaign page communicates the user's approval of the candidate and supports the campaign by associating the user with it," Chief Judge William Traxler wrote for a three-judge panel.

"It is the Internet equivalent of displaying a political sign in one's front yard, which the Supreme Court has held is substantive speech."

The decision partly reverses a ruling that liking a Facebook page was "insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection," made by U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in Newport News, Virginia last year.

Even though Canonical's crowdfunding efforts for the Ubuntu Edge fell well short, the Ubuntu Touch OS is still on its way.

The company now plans to release the OS on October 17th, after first announcing it back in January. In february, a preview release was made available for 20 smartphones including those made by Sony, Samsung and HTC.

Canonical QA community coordinator Nicholas Skaggs says the company "committed to delivering an image" of the OS for Android Nexus devices on that date.

For the time being, preview releases are still available and Canonical says interested users should download and forward any bus to their QA team.

Facebook has announced some shocking numbers about its photo volume since launch.

The social networking giant says over 250 billion photos have been uploaded since the site launched in 2004, and everyday, the company's 1.15 billion user uploads an average of 350 million photos.

Additionally, the company says 4.75 billion total pieces of content (comments, status updates, photos and more) are posted daily. 4.5 billion "Likes" and 10 billion messages are sent through Facebook Messenger everyday, as well.

The numbers decimate other photo sharing sites, as Flickr only sees 3.5 million photos per day and Instagram (owned by FB) sees 55 million per day.