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Skype has confirmed that it is imminently preparing an app for the popular Apple iPad 2 tablet.

Earlier today, a leaked video showed off the app and the VoIP company confirmed its validity later in the day.

It is unclear how long the app will take to get approved by Apple for the App Store but Skype seems to believe that approval is coming very soon.

Using the Skype for iPad app will give users a chance to make audio and video calls, as well as chat via IM, even while in a call.

You can use either of the iPad's two cameras and even make calls to mobile phones and landlines.

It is unclear, however, whether group chat will be available from launch.

Check the video here:

Apple has now released the final feature update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard this week, on the heels of the release of OS X 10.7 Lion.

With the update comes 36 patches in SL and SL Server.

Additionally, if you are still running the older Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Apple has released an update for you, as well, fixing 13 bugs.

If you are looking to download Lion eventually, you will probably need the new 10.6.8 Snow Leopard update, as one of the new features is "Enhancements to the Mac App Store to get your Mac ready to upgrade to Mac OS X Lion."

From now on, all updates to Snow Leoaprd will be security related only.

The update will be over 400MB, for those with bandwidth caps.

More information here from Apple: About the security content of Mac OS X v10.6.8 and Security Update 2011-004

According to new reports, free-to-play games are headed to Xbox Live.

Microsoft has been rumored to be speaking with developers for some time on adding F2P titles, as well as a micro-transaction service which would allow for quick in-game purchase.

F2P games, like those found on mobile devices, rely on in-game upgrades (like new armor, poker chips, new maps, etc) or on ads to bring in revenue.

The rumor has Microsoft starting the service in early 2012.

Rival Sony has one F2P game for the PS3 and Nintendo has bluntly said they will not be starting a similar service for their consoles. Steam on the PC has support for newly added support for F2P, like the new "freed" game Team Fortress 2.

Sony Ericsson's Xperia ray unveiled along with Sony Ericsson txt and Xperia active this week.

The new Xperia ray smartphone runs the Android operating system (Gingerbread 2.3), and is powered by a 1GHz processor. It features a 3.3-inch display and packs an 8.1mp camera with Exmor R for mobile and HD video functionality.

the phone incorporates a front facing camera and a scratch resistant screen with excellent resolution and brightness and integrated touch keys. Integration of Facebook inside Xperia creates a new customer experience for great social interaction with friends.

"We expect Xperia ray to appeal to consumers who are looking for a combination of beautiful design and a rich feature set. We are able to uniquely deliver this with a combination of premium materials and multimedia features provided by Sony," said Daniel Sandblom, Global Product Marketing Manager, Sony Ericsson.

Sony Ericsson's Xperia active unveiled along with Sony Ericsson txt and Xperia ray this week.

The new Xperia active smartphone runs the Android operating system (Gingerbread 2.3), and is powered by a 1GHz processor. It features a 3-inch display and 5 megapixel camera, is dust proof and water resistant. This smartphone features a corner user interface which comes pre-loaded with sports apps that enable users to easily track their fitness levels.

By using the built-in GPS, barometer and compass in combination with the on-screen heart rate & pulse monitor, and the iMapMyFitness app, users can easily monitor their day to day performance.

"Xperia active is the ultimate smartphone for an active life. Not only is it packed with all the features and applications consumers need for a worry free mobile life, it also comes with a set of accessories that make it fun and easy for them to take it everywhere, whatever their daily plans are," said Fredrik Månsson, Global Product Marketing Manager, Sony Ericsson.

Sony Ericsson txt is one of three handsets released this week (see Sony Ericsson Xperia ray and Sony Ericsson Xperia active).

The Sony Ericsson txt is a feature phone aimed at providing consumers with specifications inspired by Xperia at an affordable price. As its name suggests it is made for peoplee who like to send text messages very frequently, and sports a full QWERTY keyboard for the task.

The 2.6-inch screen and incorporates an SMS shortcut key for easy and fast messaging. It comes equipped with a "friends" application that integrates Twitter and Facebook more into the device.

Sony Ericsson txt is Wi-Fi enabled and comes equipped with a 3.2mp camera with video recording.

"Sony Ericsson txt is the perfect phone for easy and fast messaging on the move. We wanted to give consumers that prefer a full view QWERTY keyboard an entry point into the world of Sony Ericsson," said Quentin Cordier, Global Product Marketing Manager, Sony Ericsson.

Sprint has launched its first 4G Android tablet today, the HTC Evo View.

The Evo View can connect to Sprint's Wi-Max 4G data network, but will run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and not the new tablet-optimized Android 3.1 Honeycomb.

Furthermore, the carrier proudly boasts that the Evo View will be the first Android tablet to have Netflix support.

The Netflix app for Android was released for a handful of smartphones last month but tablets had not seen any love for the streaming movie and TV service.

As for specs, the Evo View 4G has a 7-inch 1024×600 screen, runs on a 1.5-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 1GB RAM, dual cameras and a free stylus.

The tablet is an expensive $400 with contract.

A few new Spotify rumors have hit the Web this week, mainly thanks to a leaked e-mail exchange between record label execs.

If accurate, the unlimited music streaming service will hit the U.S., after 18 months of delays, in July, sometime between the 5th and the 15th.

Additionally, the service will cost $10 per month for a subscription.

There is still no word on whether there will be any type of free version of the service in the U.S. like there is in Europe but it seems doubtful.

Although it has been unconfirmed by the private equity firms, multiple reports are claiming that KKR and Silver Lake are in deep talks to purchase domain site giant GoDaddy.com

The private equity firms are reportedly set to drop $2.5 billion for the company.

GoDaddy is the most popular site for commercial and private users to register domain names, and has regularly had Super Bowl commercials, which cost over $2 million per 30 second spot.

The company has been up for sale since September, but there were no bids forthcoming.

Reuters notes that private equity deal flow is up 42 percent so far in 2011.

In an update to our earlier story, it appears the Winklevoss twins will just not quit in their quest to make more money from Facebook.

Despite killing their Supreme Court appeal yesterday, the twins and partner Divya Narendra have launched a new motion today, one that asks the court to figure out whether Zuckerberg and Facebook "intentionally or inadvertently suppressed evidence" in the earlier (now settled case).

Original story after the break.

Rockstar Games has announced today that they have shipped 4 million units worldwide to date, with the game being a top-seller in the UK and US for multiple weeks consecutively.

Additionally, the game will be released for PC this fall at retail and digitally.

Says Sam Houser, founder of Rockstar Games:

L.A. Noire is a new type of game that makes players see through a detective’s eyes in 1940s Los Angeles. L.A. Noire is a new type of game that makes players see through a detective’s eyes in 1940s Los Angeles. Its unique blend of story, action and crime solving will be perfect to play on PC.

The company also confirms that the game will "feature customization, including keyboard remapping and gamepad functionality to both optimize and customize the performance and user experience."

Furthermore, the PC version will have 3D support, graphical improvements and increased fidelity.

U.S. Feds work with international law enforcement agencies to disrupt two FAKEAV peddlers.

Two Latvian individuals have been indicted, and more than 40 computers, servers and back accounts have been seized as part of Operation Trident Tribunal, which targets peddlers of fake anti-virus scams. It is estimated that the gangs involved caused more than $74 million in total losses to more than one million computer users.

Scareware works by alerting users to fake threats allegedly residing on their computers with terrifying scan results, then offers to clean up the non-existent malware if the user will pay a fee for a full version of the software, using a credit card. There are many ways scareware can show up on a victims' PC, such as being tricked into installing it from a fake alert on a webpage, or it may be downloaded and executed by an existing malware on the computer.

The first of the international criminal groups disrupted by Operation Trident Tribunal infected hundreds of thousands of computers with scareware and sold more than $72 million of the fake antivirus product over a period of three years. An estimated 960,000 users were victimized by the scheme, some paying up to $129. Latvian authorties seized at least five bank accounts that were alleged to have been used to funnel profits to the scam's leadership.

Yesterday we reported that PopCap denied earlier reports that it was being sold for $1 billion to an unnamed buyer, but TechCrunch has posted another report today claiming the deal is still very much on.

Citing multiple sources, the report claims Electronic Arts (EA) is the buyer, with the deal in late-stage negotiations.

At $1 billion, the deal will be a huge hail mary for EA, which has a tiny market value of just $7 billion.

PopCap, the company behind blockbuster games like Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled, made over $100 million in revenue last year and is a top social/mobile gaming outfit with around 4.3 million active daily gamers.

EA lacks a strong "casual game" catalog, and the PopCap acquisition is expected to help with that.

Man pleads guilty to copyright infringement after being nabbed in raids against software piracy ring.

James Clayton Baxter of Wichita Falls, Texas, was the seventh man arrested in a software piracy ring that allegedly racked up $3 million in illegal sales from $15 million worth of pirated software goods. Baxter operated five websites that sold illegitimate products from Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft, Symantec and others.

The websites he used included Amerisoftware.com, SoftwareCB.com, Costfriendlysoftware.net, TechKappa.com, and CigTechnologies.com. He faces up to five years in prison for his crimes, and a fine of up to $250,000.

"BSA appreciates the vigorous copyright enforcement efforts of the Justice Department and ICE," said Business Software Alliance Vice President of Anti-Piracy and General Counsel Jodie Kelley.

"What is happening to Mr. Baxter as well as the rest of the Wichita Falls piracy ring should serve as a warning to other software pirates: Breaking the law has real consequences."

The BSA assisted law enforcement in the investigation, performing evidence analyses and sharing information from its member companies.

Consumer groups attack proposals to block websites that offer illegal video streams.

The Open Rights Group (ORG) revealed earlier this week that a secret proposal had been presented to UK communications minister Ed Vaizey by rights holders. Consumer Focus, the official consumer watchdog, attended a meeting on June 15 where the paper was presented.

The Open Rights Group (ORG) were not invited to attend, nor were any similar groups.

"It is unacceptable for trade groups and government to conduct policy in this way. Censorship proposals must be made and discussed in public," said Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group.

"Many of us will oppose any censorship that impacts directly and widely on free expression. Governments would be wise to assess the strength of our arguments, rather than waiting for trade bodies to find their narrow, commercial arguments unravel once their proposals reach the light of day."

The proposals, which were presented by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the Publishers Association, the Football Association / Premier League and Motion Picture Alliance. The paper was titled, "Addressing websites that are substantially focused on infringement."