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According to Develop, there are already several projects underway for the upcoming "Xbox Next" console.

Microsoft is looking to a 2013 release for the console, which has been dubbed by some as the "Xbox 720."

Multiple sources, including processor chip manufacturers and middleware firms, say they expect the console to launch in 2013, but early 2014 is a possibility.

Microsoft, of course, declined to comment.

In recent memory, a few tidbits of info have emerged that point towards at least development of the console and one funny easter egg is the reference to an "Xbox 720" in the futuristic robot fighting movie "Real Steel."

(Picture is random mockup)

Last week, Rockstar announced that as a 10-year-anniversary treat, the developer would be re-releasing GTA III for Android and iOS devices.

The game will be about 660MB large but will only be available on certain devices:

Apple iOS Devices: iPad 2, iPhone 4S
Android Phones: Droid X2, HTC Evo 2, LG Optimus 2X, Motorola Atrix, Samsung Galaxy S2
Android Tablets: Acer Iconia, Asus Eee Pad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Google has confirmed.

Matias Duarte, Senior Director of Android Experience at Google, let it be known after the company's launch of Android 4.0 ICS that all system applications can be removed, including the Chrome-variant browser and email client.

Today, thanks to the SDK, it is clear that carriers were not given the right to override that requirement and users can easily disable and hide such unwanted apps.

Hitting disable will give users the chance to bring the apps back, but disabling will also remove the icon and stop the app from ever running.

For more info on Ice Cream Sandwich, check here: Samsung unveils Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.0, SDK available now

Pic via Verge:

According to a note from research firm StatCounter, Google Chrome managed to pass Firefox as the second most used browser last Sunday.

Globally, Chrome took a 26.22 percent share compared to Firefox's 26.16.

The spike did only last a day, however, and Chrome is on pace to move to 24.85 percent share for the month of October, while Firefox falls slightly to 26.68.

Perhaps most notably is the fact that StatCounter says Internet Explorer has fallen under 40 percent for the first time ever, to 39.99 percent.

Just like with all browsers, the market share for Chrome is different on all continents. In North America it sits at just above 20 percent share while in South America it is just under 41 percent share.

Asus chairman Jonney Shih has noted today that the company's upcoming Transformer tablet update will run on a Nvidia "Kal-El" quad-core processor.

The Transformer Prime will launch on November 9th and be just 8.3mm thick.

Shih would not give any other details but to say that the Prime will include a USB and mini-HDMI port, as well.

The Prime will look and feel similar to the company's current EeePad Transformer, except for the updated processor.

Likely, the Prime will also come with Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 installed.

Shih says the company hopes to outsell all other Android tablet makers with its line of Transformers.

According to sources close to tablet PC vendors, 7-inch devices will continue to see price drops as makers compete for share.

7-inch tablets do not have a baseline model like the iPad is for the 10-inch sector so tablet makers can continue to tweak pricing to attract first-time buyers with the smaller tablets.

In just a few months, the average price of 7-inch tablets has dived to $300 from $450, and that number is expected to fall much further now that Amazon has launched the $199 Kindle Fire.

ViewSonic has just released their latest, as well, the ViewPad 7e, which has a 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, Android 2.3.4 and a $200 price tag.

Amazon's Kindle Fire will start shipping on November 15th and has seen over 500,000 pre-orders already.

Sony has launched its 3D PlayStation display today, with a November 13th release date.

First unveiled at the E3 event this summer, the display is Sony's first "gaming display" for the PlayStation console.

Rather than answer everyone's questions about the display individually, Sony released a huge FAQ which I have posted parts of here:

I pre-ordered the PlayStation 3D Display from a retailer that was offering a free copy of Resistance 3, but I notice that the promotion is no longer being promoted on the website. Am I still getting Resistance 3 for free?
Yes. If you pre-ordered the PlayStation 3D Display from a retailer that advertised a free copy of Resistance 3 on or before September 30, 2011, you will still be getting a copy of the game with your shipment. The offer officially ended on October 1st, 2011 and that's the reason retailers had taken down the promotion from their website.
What do I get in the box?
The 3D Display was made to play 3D games right out of the box. For the MSRP of $499.99, you get the 3D Display, one pair of 3D Glasses, MotorStorm Apocalypse Blu-ray game, and an HDMI cable. All you need to do is hook up your PS3 system and you?re ready to go.
Does the 3D Display work in normal 2D mode?
Yes. You can choose to play games and watch movies in regular high-definition 2D.
What's the difference between Active 3D technology used on the 3D Display and Passive 3D technology used on Passive 3D displays?
The most notable difference between the two is the 3D resolution. With active 3D, you get full HD 3D playback. With passive 3D, you will get half the resolution. Active 3D displays require active 3D glasses and passive 3D displays require polarized passive 3D glasses. The 3D Display supports active 3D and the highest resolution.
What 3D games are available right now on the PS3 system?
A full list of currently available 3D games is available here. Check back soon - it's updated frequently!

Google Senior Vice-President of Social Business Vic Gundotra told an interviewer at the Web 2.0 Summit that support for pseudonyms in Google+ is coming at some point in the future.

In July, at about the same time Google+ reached 20 million users, the company began suspending accounts where people weren't using their real names as Google+ user IDs.

They defended this by pointing out their terms of service specifically require users to go by their real names:

To help fight spam and prevent fake profiles, use the name your friends, family or co-workers usually call you. For example, if your full legal name is Charles Jones Jr. but you normally use Chuck Jones or Junior Jones, either of those would be acceptable.

Although Gundrota's answer seemed to be spinning what happened to save face, he did say the Google will be changing their policy in the future:

It was largely an issue of development priorities. It's complicated to get this right. It's complicated on multiple dimensions. One of the dimensions it's complicated on is atmosphere. You know if you're a woman and you post a photo and Captain Crunch or Dogfart comments on it, it changes the atmosphere of the product. And so we wanted the product to be a product where you could discover people you know. And they're not called Captain Crunch. They're called Lisa Adams, and that's how you discover the people that you know.

Despite shaky earnings, Groupon is looking to sell shares in an IPO that would value the company at around $12 billion.

While likely still grossly overvalued, the value is a lot smaller than the $25 billion the company was expected to be valued at earlier this year when it first made mention of going public.

The expectations have fallen in recent months alongside a falling stock market and Groupon's revision to its reported revenue, twice cutting it down.

Groupon itself would likely sell shares worth about $500 million to the company.

The daily deal giant has 115 million subscribers in 220 markets. The company also has 9,600 employees. Through the first half of the year, the company had revenue of $688.1 million but remains far from profitable.

Amazon has announced the expansion of their content deal with PBS, adding classic series like Sesame Street and Frontline.

Through its $79-a-year Amazon Prime service, users are given free 2-day shipping on all items through Amazon, and free access to over 12,000 shows and movies on their PCs, tablets and TVs.

Most notably, Amazon Prime Instant Video is a major selling point for the new Kindle Fire, Amazon's first foray into the tablet market. The $199 device is built around Amazon's ecosystem of services including Cloud Drive, Prime, MP3, VOD and their e-tailing store.

Says Amazon:

Our expanded relationship with PBS will bring the total number of titles available for Prime instant video to over 12,000. We are committed to bringing Prime Members and Kindle Fire owners even more compelling content very soon.

PBS joins recently announced FOX television shows 24, Arrested Development, The X-Files, Ally McBeal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Wonder Years.

Coming soon, we'll be adding Malcolm in the Middle, King of the Hill, and episodes from Julia Child's classic cooking series, The French Chef.

France's 3 strikes law to combat file sharing may not be making any more money for musicians, but it has, apparently been used to line the pockets of some online scammers.

The law, commonly known as HADOPI, the name of the agency tasked with policing the Internet for copyright infringement, involves sending out email notices to suspected infringers.

The scam took advantage of that by sending out notices which appeared to be legitimate but contained a link to a phishing site apparently setup by hacking the server of a legitimate online retailer. The page, which has since been taken down, instructed visitors to either send text messages or place a phone call to premium numbers, resulting in a payment to the scammers.

According to TorrentFreak, the SMS numbers have been identified as the same ones used in another scam.

This is the second online scam which has taken advantage of the HADOPI program. Just over a year ago a phishing scam was uncovered which used fake notices instructing the recipient to visit a website to pay a fine.

In Windows 8, Microsoft continues to refine the Start Menu search feature first introduced in Windows Vista according to the latest entry on the Building Windows 8 blog.

In Windows 7, Start Menu searching was expanded to include Control Panel apps and email messages and contacts. Since few email developers added support for this functionality, Windows 8 is dropping that feature.

What you will get from the Start Menu Search in Windows 8 is the option to search for Apps, Settings, or Files. Also, unlike Windows 7, the results will all be displayed in the Start Menu, instead of having a 'See more results' option to see the complete list in Windows Explorer.

Essentially what they've done is expand Start Menu Search so it can fill the entire desktop. That way you don't need a separate window for viewing detailed results.

As with Windows 7, the most commonly accessed items will appear higher in the list.

A number of iPhone 4S buyers have complained that the screens on their new phones don't look right. They say the displays appear washed out and have a yellowish tint.

Based on posts from Apple's official support forum, the problem appears to be most common on black iPhones, although some people also report seeing it on white models as well.

Last year, many early iPhone 4 buyers had issues with yellow patches on the display, which Apple explained was because they had been put together very recently and the glue needed time to finish drying.

The problem this time around appears to be different, as it affects the entire screen, not just small areas.

While some people are suggesting this is an intentional calibration change on Apple's part, that wouldn't explain why some iPhones don't seem to have the problem at all and others appear to have either a blue or green tint, rather than yellow.

Others have speculated it's a result of Apple getting displays from multiple manufacturers. It may be that the screens are the component which was causing the rumored production shortages last month.

In less than a year, the Galaxy S II has taken the world by storm. It was the first in a long line of so-called iPhone killers which appeared to live up to the title.

But along with all the hype and rave reviews came a campaign of lawsuits from Apple asking for Samsung phones and tablets running Android to be banned in nearly every major market in the world.

While most companies use their patents to extract licensing fees from their competitors, Apple has made it clear they have no intention of allowing other companies access to theirs.

Clearly that has led to a shift in strategy from Samsung. According to Korea's Yonhap News Service, Shin Jong-kyun, president of Samsung's mobile division, told reporters his company took great pains to ensure the Galaxy Nexus doesn't infringe on any Apple patents.

According to the owner of a large indie label, Google's long-awaited music store will launch in the coming months, with the Big 4 labels attached.

The indie owner, whose distributor is run by one of the majors, says he was contacted and let know that Google Music will launch in the Q4 with major catalog titles first and more "obscure" titles to follow.

Other sources say Google is allegedly hoping to have the store up and running "in weeks" but is having issues signing on at least one major label.

Google's own head of Android Andy Rubin has confirmed that the service will be "coming soon" but could not confirm any of the other questions posed by the sources.

Rubin did say the service will have "a little twist -it will have a little Google in it. It won't just be selling 99 cent tracks."

For now, Google Music is a free cloud locker for unlimited music that allows streaming on mobiles and any computer where you can log in.