Facebook working on a mobile news app called "Reader"

Facebook is developing a newspaper platform for mobile devices. Formally called Reader, the service will act as a news aggregator that pulls together a multitude of stories coming from fellow Facebook users, as well as established publishers.

According to the Wall Street Journal, early versions of the design resemble those of Flipboard, a mobile app which collects news articles and social media reactions, and then presents the content in magazine format.

Currently, Reader is exclusively being designed for Apple products, consisting of iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad devices.

This move is a sign that Facebook is trying to reinvent itself, fully knowing that its share price has fallen to just 35% of the initial public-offering price (IPO). The current Facebook interface is primarily used to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. It is rarely used in a more professional manner; a space that LinkedIn has effectively cornered. As a matter of fact, LinkedIn has also set its sights on the news industry, acquiring mobile application Pulse for an estimated $90 million.

In another effort to extend its reach, earlier this month, Facebook announced that it would soon add hashtag-compatibility. This move should help the company to compete with Twitter; the rivaling social media destination is widely used to track trending news topics and follow events in real-time.

Unfortunately for Zuckerberg, many analysts believe that a shift to journalism might not go so well. Nate Elliot, who works for Forrester, added, "There are a lot of things people didn't do on Facebook several years ago that they now do. But I imagine it's going to be very hard to retrain consumers to see Facebook as a go-to hub for news."

So what’s pushing Facebook to make such a move? Not surprisingly, profit seems to be the driving force. News sites are an advertisers dream since users traditionally stay connected for an extended period of time. “The opportunity to own the place where people go for long-form reading is a very large opportunity, especially for advertising," explained Josh Elman, a venture capitalist at Greylock Partners.

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Facebook glitch exposed phone numbers, e-mail addresses of six million users

Facebook recently disclosed a bug found in their “Download Your Information” tool that accidentally exposed some members’ contact information. As a result, approximately six million users may have had their e-mail addresses or phone numbers exposed to another person according to a post on the social network’s security blog.

The post notes that describing the bug can get pretty technical but basically, here’s what happened. In the event that you elected to download a copy of your data using the above mentioned “Download Your Information” tool, there’s a change that the archive may have included the e-mail address or phone number for contacts or people with whom you have some connection.

The information is said to come from other people on Facebook and thus may not be accurate but either way, it was inadvertently included with the contacts of the person using the DYI tool. Facebook said the bug was patched within 24 hours of being reported.

Speaking of, the bug seemingly slipped past Facebook’s technical team and was reported earlier this month through their White Hat program. If you are unfamiliar, Facebook offers security researchers monetary rewards (minimum of $500) in exchange for information about bugs and security holes.

At present, the social network has no evidence that the bug was exploited in a malicious behavior and they have not received any complaints from users that would suggest any wrongdoing. As such, the impact of the bug is expected to be minimal.

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Mozilla's "Do Not Track" browser stirs up concern from advertisers

Online businesses often rely on advertising to bring in revenue. Unfortunately, when tracking the activity of users in an effort to drive targeted ads, the line between innocent observation and privacy violation begins to blur. The use of third-party cookies is one of the easiest ways for a company to learn more about prospective customers; something that Mozilla plans to tackle in an upcoming version of the Firefox browser.

Mozilla first announced the “Do Not Track” feature back in February, but later said that it had to undergo further testing. Despite the ongoing hiatus, the company continues to face backlash from the advertising community, with many claiming that this will have a negative impact on the entire online network. Mike Zaneis, general counsel for the Interactive Advertising Bureau, called the new browser a “nuclear first strike” against advertisers.

It’s important to note that Mozilla does not intend to block all cookies, just those that are deemed undesirable. After all, cookies can be beneficial and serve purposes such as remembering settings for sites that we frequently visit. The company has been working alongside the Center for Internet and Society (CIS) at Stanford to develop the list of websites whose data gathering priveleges will be axed; an initiative being called the “Cookie Clearinghouse”.

Aleecia McDonald, director of privacy at CIS, added, “The Cookie Clearinghouse will create, maintain and publish objective information. Web browser companies will be able to choose to adopt the lists we publish to provide new privacy options to their users.”

In response to the statement, advertisers argue that numerous online businesses, many of which are small web establishments, will cease to function if cookie-blocking browsers become the standard. However, this already seems to be the case; Apple's Safari browser carries a similar privacy feature, while Microsoft's IE10 has made the "Do Not Track" technology its default setting.  “It’s troubling,” added Lou Mastria, the managing director for the Digital Advertising Alliance. "They're putting this under the cloak of privacy, but it's disrupting a business model."

What are your thoughts on Mozilla’s new feature? Do cookie-blocking browsers pose a threat to the sustainability of the internet, or are ad agencies just trying to protect their own livelihood?

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Galaxy Tab 3 lineup pricing and availability detailed, starts at $199

After announcing a trio of Galaxy Tab devices over the last couple of months, Samsung is finally ready to share US availability and pricing details for the next generation of its tablets. In a nutshell, they’ll start at $199, $299 and $399 for the 7.0- , 8.0- and 10.1-inch models respectively, and will be available from retailers including Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon and others beginning on July 7, with pre-orders starting tomorrow June 25.

As a refresher, the entry-level Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 sports a dual-core 1.2GHz processor paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. For anyone desiring more space there’s also a microSD expansion slot. Other than that you get a 7-inch 1,024 x 600 TFT display, front and rear-facing cameras at 1.3 and 3.0 megapixel respectively, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, as well as Samsung's apps and built-in hubs.

The Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 bumps up the processor to an Exynos 1.5GHz dual-core, offers 1.5GB of RAM, and its 8-inch screen also improves resolution to 1,280 x 800. Base storage is doubled to 16GB while keeping the option to expand through microSD, and you’ll be running the latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean release. A 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front camera round out the specifications sheet.

Lastly, the 10.1 inch model is perhaps the most intriguing of them all, due to the fact that it uses a 1.6-GHz Intel Atom Z2560 "Clover Trail+" processor. This will be the first Intel Android device released in the U.S.

The tablet features the same 1280 x 800 resolution as the 8-inch model, which means it has a lower PPI at 149, and as you might expect it sports a bigger 6,800 mAh battery to support the power demands of a larger screen.  It is also lacking next to its smaller sibling in a couple areas. It has 1GB of RAM, down from 1.5GB, and while its front facing camera is the same, the rear unit is only 3-megapixels.

On the upside it does include a built-in IR blaster as well as Samsung's WatchON TV recommendation service,  so you can use it to control your TV. It comes with Android 4.2, 16GB of memory and a microSD slot.

To sweeten the deal Samsung is including a $10 Google Play Store voucher, one free year of Boingo’s hotspot service, three months of Hulu Plus, and 50GB of free Dropbox storage for two years with all three models.

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AOL launches their own Google Reader replacement

Who knew that Google’s decision to shutter their RSS reader would spawn so many replacements? Since theannouncement back in March, we’ve seen several clones launch or promise to do so in the coming weeks. Now we can add AOL’s name to that growing list as the company launched their own reader earlier today.

AOL Reader, described as bringing all your favorite websites together in one place, is now available on the desktop as well as mobile devices. The service can easily import your entire Google Reader library and allows users to share content across social networks like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

Functionality to save articles for later and tag articles for archiving comes baked right in. Developers will appreciate an available API to facilitate the creation of third party apps.

To get started, you simply need to sign up using an AOL account. If you don’t already have one, you can create one free of charge beforehand. From there, you’ll be asked to add new subscriptions or import ones already in use from other services – like Google Reader. AOL offers multiple pre-selected categories to choose from that are already populated with poplar websites in that genre.

Naturally, you can add your own or remove others from the list at will. Once subscribed, new stories will appear in your feed with the most recent stories being shown first.

While there’s no doubt that many are sad to see Google Reader go, there’s also no denying the impact that it will have on the reader community as a whole. More options are always welcomed and with any luck, perhaps some new innovative features will stick and become commonplace.

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PC Games That Weren't Cancelled, But Should Have Been

Although some decent games do poorly for no good reason, many titles are so headscratchingly bad that you have to wonder why the developer even bothered.

In the group of terribly bad games, there are the truly bad ones and then there are the big flops: those that have built an irredeemable amount of hype. Without further ado, here's our PC gaming hall of shame: games that weren't cancelled but should have been...

Outpost (1994)

We're digging way back into PC gaming history with this one, all the way back to the days of DOS and Windows 3.1. Developed and published by Sierra On-Line, Outpost was highly anticipated by science fiction fans and was noteworthy for having a former NASA scientist among its main designers. But while gamers were ecstatic about the possibilities the space-based gameplay claimed to offer, the game just didn't live up to expectations.

Reviewers at the time were given access to an early beta with plenty of missing features, but scores were pretty generous nonetheless based on the promise that they'd be added by launch. They weren't. In fact, many of the features described in the game's own documentation and reviews did not exist in the game at all, and the ones that were patched in later were merely cosmetic and didn't affect gameplay. All that on top of the game's general bugginess and perceived mediocre gameplay earn this title a spot on our list.

Streets of SimCity (1997)

The strategy gurus at Maxis actually released a PC game called Streets of SimCity back in 1997 that had players driving around and blasting foes. The one novel aspect of the game is that it allowed players to race in actual cities created in SimCity 2000, but that's where the positives ended.

While it might have appealed to hardcore SimCity fans, the game had really bad controls and was poorly optimized and full of bugs (ran sluggishly on fast hardware of its time). It was evident Maxis tried to ride on the popularity of the franchise and compete with a stellar vehicle combat game like Interstate 76 or the popular Carmageddon.

Extreme Paintbrawl (1998)

On one hand, I want to give the developers of this game a pass since they threw the game together in two weeks. However, that was the developer's choice, and with that in mind, they should have never released this game for public consumption. Far too many gamers gave this title a shot out of morbid curiosity, and as you might expect, they were disappointed. Many fundamental features were missing -- not least of which was a functional AI -- it used an outdated graphics engine and the 'perfect' aim was not truly a feature, it broke the entire gameplay.

Daikatana (2000)

This first person shooter got off to a rocky start when an ad for the game rubbed many gamers the wrong way. Then it missed its release date (John Romero first intended to get the 24-level game done in 7 months -- first big mistake), and between its conception in 1997 and its release in 2000, the game's release date kept being moved, causing a great deal of annoyance for players looking to get their hands on it.

Daikatana stained the legacy of John Romero, co-founder of id Software and designer of gems like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake. By the time Daikatana was released it was heavily criticized for its dated graphical engine, terrible save game mechanic, dull enemies (enemy AI was almost non-existent), and overall for being simply boring to play. Although Daikatana is not the worst game ever made by a long shot, it'd have been better left out of the history books.

Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (2003)

Widely regarded as one of the worst video games ever made, the object of Big Rigs -- as explained on its packaging -- is to drive a big truck across the country carrying some illegal cargo with police in pursuit. Unfortunately, the game doesn't actually have any cargo or police, while other cars lacked AI and the game wasn't even smart enough to tell if you were crossing the finish line or starting the race.

Everything that could be wrong with a game was wrong with this one. Out of five courses you could pick, only four were playable while the fifth would simply crash the game. Even the most basic driving mechanics were off as you could throttle indefinitely in reverse and come to a full stop by simply releasing the reverse key.

American McGee’s Bad Day LA (2006)

Intended as a political satire, this third-person action title actually had an interesting premise featuring a Hollywood agent turned homeless man after a series of natural and manmade disasters. Unfortunately, Bad Day LA failed to impress critics, receiving unanimously bad reviews upon release and being included on plenty of "worst game" lists since.

While the art style looked interesting, in-game visuals were poorly executed from a technical standpoint. The game's attempt at humor also fell flat -- unless witless and childish potty jokes are your thing -- and the actual gameplay mechanics left much to be desired.

"Halo 2 for Windows Vista" (2007)

Halo 2 on the PC wasn't really a bad game -- some might even consider it great -- but the fact that it was released almost three years after it debuted on the Xbox was an insult to any serious PC gamer. Worse still, Microsoft called it "Halo 2 for Windows Vista" as it was intentionally released to push sales of Vista (it only ran on Windows XP with a hack) and to promote the company's Game For Windows Live platform. The thing was, anyone who loved Halo would have already played it on the Xbox and by the time Halo 2 arrived on PC, plenty of other more sophisticated shooters had been released. Shame on you Microsoft.

Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust (2009)

Leisure Suit Larry was never a particularly great video game franchise, but it wasn't terrible either. A lot of the attention it received and possibly deserved was because it pushed the envelope in a certain direction. Leisure Suit Larry titles were mostly basic adventure games with some very adult themes.

The older games had been pretty decent, but 2009's release "Box Office Bust" was simply atrocious. It received universally bad reviews, and with good reason. The gameplay was repetitive and the game wasn't even remotely funny -- one of the redeeming qualities of the previous entries. It seemed like the creators were attempting to cash in on what little legacy the franchise had, but all they did was tarnish it, perhaps beyond repair.

Call of Juarez: The Cartel (2011)

There are some really good games in the Call of Juarez series, but The Cartel isn't one of them. Although it fares better than most -- if not all -- other titles on this list from a gameplay perspective, the title was riddled with bugs and glitches. The change of setting from the frachise's traditional Wild West to modern times wasn't all that well received either. In fact, many accused The Cartel of being racist and insensitive towards real world issues, inaccurately addressing issues such as human trafficking and the drug wars in Mexico.

Graphics are subpar, characters are unlikeable and underdeveloped, the dialogue and voice acting are bad, and the campaign feels unpolished and repetitive. Its co-op mode would have been a rare bright spot if it weren't for the scant online community. To top it all off, Ubisoft required an Internet connection to start the game.

Postal 3 (2011)

The first and second Postal games were received with mixed reactions, not so much due to their gameplay but because of the over-the-top violence that characterized the franchise. However, the third and last game in the series really messed things up. Original developer Running with Scissors outsourced development of Postal 3 to Russian game company Akella. Upon release, the reception was pretty negative as the game was marred with bugs and graphical glitches. The open-ended world that gamers expected after Postal 2 was no longer there and fans of the series also protested the game's poor attempt at being offensive (again, like its predecessors). As a last resort, Running with Scissors tried to distance themselves from the title, pulling it from their online store.

As if the Postal franchise didn't have a bad enough track record (depending on who you ask, of course), it has been made into a terrible movie by director Uwe Boll.

Duke Nukem Forever (2011)

When it comes to epic PC gaming fails, Duke Nukem Forever is unmistakably the first title that comes to mind. After a widely successful ride during the mid to late 90's, Duke's last episode has unfortunately become one of the biggest jokes in the video game community. The game was in development for what felt like a lifetime (15 years to be exact), only to be released with some renewed momentum and end up as an utter disaster.

Duke Nukem Forever's aiming and shooting mechanics were poor, game progress was tedious, level design confusing, the quintessential Duke one-liners weren't funny, and its graphics looked as if they came from a lousy console port. The development of Duke Forever spanned multiple PC and console hardware generations. After a few years of things not working out, 3D Realms should have realized that something was wrong and given up.

The War Z (2012)

Not to be confused by DayZ, a pretty awesome mod for tactical shooter Arma 2 (and upcoming standalone title with the same name), "The War Z" tried to ride the aforementioned mod's popularity by using a similar name but eventually changed it to "Infestation: Survivor Stories" to avoid confusion. Originally released in December 2012 on Steam, the title was deemed broken and incomplete, promoting several key features on its promo page thatweren't actually implemented. In spite of the fact The War Z was not free-to-play it tried to leverage microtransactions for purchasing items and respawning quicker after death.

According to Wikipedia, Sergey Titov is the executive producer of this game, who was also listed as a producer and developer for Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (see the 2003 title above). That's not to say he's to blame for all of The War Z's controversy, but it's a big coincidence that he's been involved in two of what are considered some of the most atrocious game launches in PC history... draconian DRM titles aside, of course.

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Gamers are a tough but forgiving crowd. A good game riddled with bugs can overcome a poor initial impression, especially when developers correct their mistakes publicly and promptly. But that's not the recurring theme here. Seriously, if you haven't played any of these games, consider yourself lucky.

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New Sony SmartWatch might be released next week

For a product that has yet to be released, Google’s Project Glass has definitely sparked an interest in wearable computing. In addition to their high-tech eyewear, the search giant is purportedly working on a phone-compatible smartwatch. On a similar note, rumor has it that Apple will soon announce plans for an Intel powered “iWatch”. But what few people realize is that smartwatches are not a new phenomenon – Sony has entered this niche before, and going by a tweet by the Sony Xperia division, they're set to release their third rendition of the device.

Accompanied by the hashtag #itstime, the tweet foreshadowed the watch’s release at the upcoming Mobile Asia Expo (MAE) being held next week in Shanghai. A follow up tweet also included a photo of the new hardware; something that closely resembles its predecessor from just a year ago. 

Unfortunately, the tweets are currently the only things we know about the new Sony product, but hopefully it will be a significant improvement over past models, dubbed the SmartWatch and LiveWare, respectively.

Sony's SmartWatch was able to connect with most Android phones and could display SMS, Twitter feeds, and it also offered convenient music controls. That being said, the devices were criticized for having a hard-to-follow interface, as well as difficulty with phone integration. Not to mention the fact that apps were of limited use, and at a price of $149.99 for the latest model, it was too expensive to be a novelty device.

However, with a newfound global interest in these type of devices, Sony might actually have the upper hand against Apple and Google. Neither one of them has dabbled in this space before, while Sony already has an existing product to build upon.

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Pirate Bay co-founder can be extradited to Denmark to face hacking charges

A Swedish district court has ruled that Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg can be extradited to Denmark to face charges that he was involved in one of the country’s largest hacking attacks. What’s more, Warg must remain in custody until he can be transferred and will have restrictions placed on who he can have contact with.

In an e-mail to ComputerSweden magazine, district magistrate Jonas Alberg said the transfer must take place no later than five days after the ruling goes into effect. Whether or not the transfer will take place and when it will happen isn’t up to the district court. Instead, the state prosecutor must determine that in cooperation with Dutch authorities.

Warg and another unnamed Danish co-defendant were accused last month of hacking into the country’s social security database, driver’s license database, a shared IT system in the Schengen zone as well as accessing e-mail accounts and passwords of 10,000 tax officials and police officers. We’re hearing that the data was all managed by IT contractor CSC.

Theft of social security numbers could prove most problematic as Danish social security numbers also include an individual’s birthday as part of the string of numbers. This makes them difficult to reissue and potentially more valuable with regards to identity theft. There are already reports of similar data being sold on the black market although it is unrelated to this case.

If found guilty, the men could spend up to six years in prison.

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Lenovo announces Mixx Windows 8 convertible, Ideapads with discrete GPUs, 1080p LCDs

Continuing to bolster its line-up of touchable consumer computers, Lenovo has announced the expansion its IdeaPad "S" and "U" laptop line-up. Amongst the fresh offerings are an 11.6-inch S210 and 13.3-14-inch U models equipped with Haswell silicon and optional 1080p screens. Additionally, Lenovo has announced its "Miix" tablet, a 10.1-inch hybrid convertible.

The 1.2-pound, 0.4-inch thick Miix is destined to sport an IPS display, but has been condemned to feature a resolution of 1366 x 768. Inside, buyers will find a dual-core Atom SoC, 64GB of flash storage, 802.11n connectivity and a purported 10 hour battery life. A specially designed keyboard cover promises owners the ability to switch between usage modes (i.e. tablet or laptop) on the fly. The Miix's price tag will be around $500.

Lenovo's new S series laptops will bear the following model numbers: S210, S400 Touch and S500 Touch. The diminutive S210 will sport an 11.6-inch screen and start at $429 while the larger S400 and S500 models are to feature touch-capable 14-inch and 15.6-inch displays, respectively, and cost $449 and $579. The S400 and S500 will be configurable with Intel Core i3 and i5 processors and can be paired up with discrete graphics, although no details about those options were provided. The S210's processor and graphics options were also not revealed.

The U330 Touch and U430 Touch models are Ultrabooks and will feature designs starting at just 0.77-inches thick and 3.7 pounds. U-series laptops will feature 4th-gen Intel (Haswell) processors and an optional Nvidia Geforce GPU, as well as 256GB SSD, 500GB SSHD and 1TB HDD options. Pleasantly, both the 13.3-inch and 14-inch models can be customized with FHD (1080p) display panels, as well. The starting prices for the U330 and U430 are $799 and $899, respectively.

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Lenovo launches the ThinkPad S531, a 15-inch Ultrabook for SMBs

Aside from pushing several ultrathin laptops and flashy hybrids aimed at the consumer market, Lenovo continues to produce reliable devices with a core focus on satisfying the business market. By unveiling the Thinkpad S531, the company’s first 15.6-inch Ultrabook, the Chinese computer maker tries to embrace the growing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement that has taken the corporate world by storm.

Lenovo announced the new Thinkpad at the London Fashion Week; an interesting venue for a high-profile computing release. Nevertheless, the Ultrabook offers its own stylish appeal, sporting an aluminum cover that comes in silver or graphite black, as well as a spill resistant backlit keyboard.

The company was also quick to point out that the Thinkpad’s beveled edges “give the illusion that the PC is floating over the desk”; although this design feature sounds better in principle than it is in reality.

Beneath the hood, the Thinkpad S531 has many features that should appeal to the corporate community. Lenovo claims that the laptop will offer a 15% performance boost over its predecessor, and it will also boast an impressive 9 hour battery life perfect for those long commutes. Interestingly, these performance metrics will be met without Intel’s new Haswell processor, but instead using the 3rd Generation Ivy Bridge architecture.

On the storage front, the Ultrabook can be configured with up to 500GB of internal storage and 10GB of memory. According to the product page, it will feature USB 3.0 ports and the ability to connect to a ThinkPad OneLink Dock, which offers gigabit Ethernet, additional 3.0 ports, and dedicated video.

The S531 retails for £575 ($900), and is now available through the company’s website.

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Stratasys acquires 3D printing startup MakerBot for $403M in stock

Stratasys recently announced plans to acquire MakerBot as part of a stock deal valued at more than $400 million. The deal will bring a leader in industrial 3D printing together with one of the emerging leaders in desktop 3D printing to help speed along the adoption of 3D printing across all categories, the company said in a press release on the matter.

Moving forward, MakerBot will become a subsidiary of Stratasys and will continue to operate as a separate entity. That means MakerBot will continue to work the desktop / consumer market as they have been while Stratasys will still focus on the industrial side of 3D printing.

MakerBot launched in 2009 and although not a huge commercial success by any stretch of the imagination, they have done a lot for the at-home 3D printing industry by selling 22,000 3D printers to date. The company’s most recent product, the Replicator 2, launched in September 2012 and has already sold around 11,000 units.

It’s seemingly good news for all parties involved, perhaps especially for MakerBot as they will be able to tap into Stratasys’ vast wealth of experience and gain access to what is likely more advanced technologies – stuff that could ultimately wind up in desktop 3D printers one day. What’s more, MakerBot will now have more marketing dollars to help pedal their wares.

What’s your take on 3D printers? Do you think it’s an emerging market that’ll one day have a huge impact or will it simply remain a hobby for the wealthy?

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Adobe Creative Cloud has already been cracked

Adobe Creative Cloud was revealed earlier this month and finally became available just a couple of days ago. The cloud-based software came about partially as a method to thwart piracy yet here we are just two days removed from the launch and Adobe’s Creative Cloud has already been pirated.

A Pirate Bay user by the name of Ching Liu recently uploaded a cracked version of the software onto the peer-to-peer sharing website. Comments left on the upload claim it works just fine, too. It’s worth pointing out that we don’t condone piracy but at the same time, it remains to be seen whether or not the cracked version will be able to reconnect with Adobe servers to re-validate on a monthly basis.

If you aren’t familiar, Creative Cloud allows users to pay a monthly subscription fee to use the company’s software suite instead of paying a one-time fee up front to download or buy a physical copy of a specific program. This subscription model was supposed to prevent widespread illegal use of programs like Photoshop but the problem is, Adobe still has to allow users to install an app on their computer to connect to the cloud. That app is exactly what’s been cracked.

If I had to take a guess, pirating of Adobe’s software will continue indefinitely until they are able to keep everything bundled on their servers and simply allow users to access suites through their web browser.

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First Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 benchmarks hit the web

Benchmarks for Qualcomm’s highly anticipated Snapdragon 800 SoC finally hit the web last night as a handful of publications convened in San Francisco for a day of testing and poking around. Although there’s still some waiting ahead before we see real-world performance and efficiency figures, going by the initial impressions from sites like Anandtech, it looks like the chip might actually live up to all the hype. 

As a refresher, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 600 and 800 series back in January at CES. But while the former is already available on a variety of high-end Android smartphones, the Snapdragon 800 has yet to reach the market. This is the company’s new flagship SoC featuring four Krait 400 CPU cores clocked at up to 2.3 GHz, Adreno 330 graphics, integrated 4G LTE and support for 802.11ac wireless.

The upcoming chip runs neck to neck in CPU oriented benchmarks against Cortex A15 based designs like the Samsung Exynos 5 and Nvidia’s Tegra 4, trading top positions depending on the test. It also offers a modest performance gain over the Snapdragon 600 series. But where Qualcomm’s latest SoC really shines is in graphics performance, delivering nearly twice the power of its competitors in a range of 3DMark tests.

3DMark isn't available for iOS, so that impressive margin only applies to ARM-based devices on the Android camp. While testing with GLBenchmark, Apple’s iPhone 5 and iPad 4 actually come out on top in most tests, but Snapdragon’s Adreno 330 GPU still beats everything else in more stressful simulated game benchmarks.

Unfortunately, there weren’t any power demos setup, so estimates about battery life performance are not currently available. For what it’s worth, Qualcomm says that despite the performance gains, it should be equivalent to the Snapdragon 600, due in part to the use of a more efficient version of TSMC's 28nm process.

Smartphones and tablets based on the Snapdragon 800 should begin shipping later this year and look to give Nvidia’s upcoming Tegra 4 as well as Apple’s A6X a run for their money. Things are looking good for the next generation of smartphones and tablets, especially if you are into mobile gaming.

For good measure, Anandtech also included benchmark comparisons pitting the Snapdragon 800 against entry level desktop graphics chips. And for all the progress that’s been made on this front -- considering the chip is intended for lower power devices -- Intel’s HD 4000 and AMD’s Radeon HD 8330 still come out on top.

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Microsoft releases Office Mobile for iOS, available to 365 subscribers only

Following many months of speculation and even a few leaked screens, Microsoft has finally launched a version of Office for iOS. The suite will be offered as a free download, though before you get too excited there are a couple of caveats: it’s optimized for the iPhone only and is limited to Office 365 subscribers.

Although that certainly thins down the potential user base for the apps, those who have already bought into Microsoft's vision for Office in the cloud will certainly appreciate the addition. Much like the Office Mobile suite that Microsoft preloads on Windows Phone, the iOS version allows users to access, view and edit any file previously saved in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint while keeping all the content and formatting intact.

Naturally, the mobile client is still a bit limited compared to its desktop counterpart, but it nevertheless supports rich media content such as charts, animations, SmartArt graphics and shapes. The app is tied to Microsoft’s cloud services so it pulls all of the users’ files from the cloud (SkyDrive, SkyDrive Pro or SharePoint) and any changes you make on mobile end up synced with your work on the desktop version of the software.

Moreover, Office Mobile can be used on up to five iPhones, and just like the Windows Mobile counterpart these devices won't count against the five-device usage rights that come as part of an Office 365 subscription.

Office Mobile comes in at 58MB on the App Store and is compatible with the iPhone 4 and up running iOS 6.1 or later. While it will work as a companion app for both Windows and Mac versions of the productivity suite, some newer features like recent documents and resume reading only work with Microsoft Office 2013 for PC.

There's no word yet on an Office Mobile for Android or a version optimized for the iPad’s larger screen.

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Law enforcement officials hope kill switches will deter phone theft

Law enforcement officials and consumer advocates have come together as part of a new initiative called Secure Our Smartphones. The goal here is to help to curb rising phone thefts by getting manufacturers and wireless carries on board with the idea of implementing a kill switch that would render stole phones useless.

While certain crimes are on the decline, those involving phones aren't. For example, 50 percent of robberies in San Francisco last year involved a handset. 20 percent of reported robberies during the same time frame in New York involved a phone which is a 40 percent increase over the previous year.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the technology for such a kill switch already exists but thus far, getting manufacturers and providers to go along with the idea hasn’t been successful. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said he met with Apple a year ago about the idea but was told it wouldn’t happen.

Perhaps that’s because Apple was working on a kill switch of their own. Earlier this week, Apple unveiled a new feature that’ll be part of iOS 7 called Activation Lock. This security feature is said to prevent a thief from reactivating a phone as they would need to know your Apple ID and password. Even if they turn off Find My iPhone and wipe the handset, they still won’t be able to reactive it.

Schneiderman said he hoped to get a kill switch installed in phones as early as next year.

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What do the Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U all have in common? AMD silicon

After consumers were told the final details about the Xbox One, Wii U, and PS4, many game enthusiasts have weighed their options and are ready to make a purchasing decision.

So who’s the big winner? Simply put, it's AMD. After all, chips produced by the California-based company are just about the only thing that the three gaming rivals share in common.

The Xbox One and Playstation 4 will both feature an AMD-manufactured x86 CPU and a Radeon graphics processor beneath the hood. Saeid Moshkelani, AMD’s vice president, would not disclose the underlying differences between the processors that were made specifically for each console, but he did express the importance of keeping the deals a closely regarded secret. In fact, Moshkelani admitted that neither Nintendo, Sony, nor Microsoft had any idea that AMD was supplying hardware to the competition; at least not until the official announcements had been made.

According to Computerworld, AMD has also been working with developers to produce games that can be played across a multitude of different platforms, including consoles, PCs, and mobile devices. During the Computex tradeshow hosted last week, Matt Skynner, the VP and general manager of AMD’s graphics division, explained the untapped potential of unifying the three markets.

Skynner added, “If we can create a gaming experience on the console and client as well as in the cloud … we’re going to build our brand, we’re going to build our market share, we’re going to win.”

To bring forth this vision, AMD is relying on a new processor that goes by the code-name Kaveri slated for release later this year. The core focus on Kaveri APUs will be to provide a big performance boost over its current lineup and the competition's (taking under consideration its integrated graphics processing unit). Not only is Kaveri the fastest processor in AMD’s product line, but it is the first to fall under their highly anticipated HSA (Heterogeneous System Architecture) program.

Although development towards integrated technologies is well on its way, AMD admitted that it’ll be a few more years before this kind of capability becomes a reality.

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Computer Tips & Tricks Everyone Should Know

Many hardcore computer users might think themselves above learning new tricks, but there's always new things to learn that will help improve your skills. Our bet: you will find at least one useful thing here that you didn't know before.

Inspired and with the help of this AskReddit discussion, we’ve compiled some of the most handy computer tricks you might not be taking advantage of. Our ultimate goal is to help you become more productive by shaving valuable seconds off your workflow. Of course, you can always pass along these tips to your not-so-savvy friends and family members to help them become better PC users as well.

General Tricks

Windows hidden "god mode" folder Windows offers a centralized Control Panel for all of the OS settings, which makes it easy for users to tweak everything from desktop background to setting up a VPN. To enter this mode, create a new folder with this exact name (copy and paste it): God Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}. The folder icon will change to a Control Panel-style icon, and you will be able to jump in and change all kinds of settings. Note: Don't try this on Windows Vista 64-bit as it's known to cause a reboot loop.

Use Problem Steps Recorder This handy tool automatically records any mouse clicks and takes screenshots for you. If you need tech assistance with your computer, go to Run by typing Windows + R, and then type "psr." Use the tool and by the time you are finished, you can send this information, neatly compiled automatically, to the person helping you with the issue. It will make the process of finding the problem much easier for them, which means you will be able to get your system up and running faster.

Find/Delete large files wasting space A handy tool called WinDirStat (Windows Directory Statistics) can be used to easily find which files and folders are taking up the most space on your drive. From there, you can delete them and open up a ton of storage space.

Reduce the number of programs running at startup If your PC is taking too long to boot, it’s probably because you have far too many programs running at startup. Reducing this is easy, it will make your PC launch noticeably faster and lighter upon first load. To change the items running at startup, go to Run using the hotkey Windows key + R, and type "msconfig." A small window will appear (see the screenshot below), select the Startup tab. From here you will be able to turn off many startup programs, which can shave several seconds (or minutes) off your boot time. (Note Windows 8 has moved this functionality to the Task Manager). Try to make sure you research what you are turning off as some processes might be needed by third party programs or drivers you have installed.

Cloud backup important files If you’re working on a critical paper for school, work, or any other major project, make sure you are backing up the file not just locally. You can use services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or any of the other popular cloud storage solution which will do the legwork for you on the background. Of course, you can also throw the files on a thumb drive or external HDD just to be safe but backing up to the cloud can be done seamlessly which is twice the advantage.

Typing Tricks

Delete an entire word Instead of deleting a single letter, pressing CTRL + BKSP will delete the entire word behind the cursor. This makes deleting text quicker if you screw up a whole word.

Move Cursor to beginning of the next or previous word Moving the cursor around manually while typing is a great way to make your work take longer than it needs to. To speed of the process, move the cursor around with keyboard shortcuts. To move it to the beginning of the previous word, use CTRL + Left Arrow. To move it to the beginning of the next word, use CTRL + Right Arrow. In OS X you can accomplish the same using the Option key.

Making sub and superscript text If you need to make sub or superscript text (think exponents for superscript), press CTRL + = for subscript and CTRL + SHIFT + = for superscript.

Paste plain text of what was copied When you copy text from any source, programs will usually copy any formatting that comes with it. To paste this as plain text, press CTRL + Shift + V instead of the standard CTRL + V, and the system will paste unformatted text. 
Note that many programs follow this parameter (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) but not all, particularly Microsoft programs like Word or Outlook. For those there's a few alternatives that go beyond copying and pasting in Notepad: 1)CTRL + ALT + V will show a 'paste special' dialog box. 2) CTRL + Spacebar will remove formatting in already pasted text. 3) Download Puretext and choose a hotkey to always paste plain text with it.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Copy only active window to clipboard Normally, the Print Screen key copies the entire display (or two displays if you got them), ALT + Print Screen only copies the currently active window to the clipboard. Whether taking a screenshot to diagnose a problem, or just because you want to show something to a friend, this will come in handy.

Fix those little mistakes Did you know you can undo almost any action? CTRL + Z is the ultimate hot key, and for sure you knew about it already, however note that undo doesn’t just apply to typing. If you accidentally delete or move a file, you can hit CTRL + Z to bring it right back to where it was. In Chrome and Firefox you can also undo closing a tab using CTRL + SHIFT + T.

Cycle through open windows Pressing ALT+TAB allows you to cycle through currently open windows. This makes switching back and forth between running processes quick and painless. If you want a more stylish method of cycling through open programs, Windows + TAB will do the job for you.

Interrupt all processes CTRL + ALT + Delete is one of the most common PC shortcuts, and one almost everyone is familiar with. The important thing to note is that it interrupts all processes, including the one that is bogging down your system, which can mean the difference between needing to restart or not.

Close the current program Typing ALT + F4 will close the program that is running. This is useful as it saves you time mousing over the "X" and clicking. People will often use this as a joke, telling you to press ALT + F4 to fix a problem. Don’t fall for it unless you want to close what you are doing.

Minimize all windows Sometimes you have a bunch of stuff running, and you want it all to go away so you can get to the desktop. Simply pressing Windows + D will minimize everything you have up, which will save you some time pressing the minimize button for each window. It should be noted that Windows + M offers similar functionality, but there is no undoing, so Windows + D is the more favorable approach.

Open the task manager directly If you want to bypass the interrupt that happens when pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL and jump right to the task manager, typing CTRL + Shift + ESC launches it directly.

Close the current window/tab Stick of moving all the way to that X button? Press CTRL + W and the current window will close. (Don’t do it now, or you will miss the rest of the tricks!)

Bring up the system information window This is so much quicker than digging this out the traditional way... Just press Windows + Pause/Break and the System Information panel will be ready to go. This might be the only use for the Pause/Break key you will ever find, so enjoy it!

Better multiple monitor control There are several useful keyboard shortcuts for controlling open windows on multiple monitors. Pressing the Windows Key + Arrow Keys will cause a window to quickly snap to each side of either monitor. Alternatively, hitting Shift + Windows Key + Arrows will cause the window to jump to the other monitor. Lastly, pressing Windows + P will allow you to quickly set up a second display or projector.

Web Browsing Tricks

Automatically add www. and .com to a URL You can shave off a couple of seconds typing in a URL by simply click CTRL + Enter after you type the name of the site. Need .net instead of .com, press CTRL + Shift + Enter instead.

Jump to address bar There are a number of ways to jump right to the address bar from anywhere in browser. Pressing CTRL + L, F6, and ALT + D all accomplish this goal.

Bring back a closed tab We covered this already, but it's super useful. Accidentally closed a tab? Simply press CTRL + Shift + T to reopen the most recently closed tab and get back to what you were doing.

Use private browsing The uses for not having cookies and history saved are obvious for certain activities, you know, like shopping for gifts on a shared computer (of course!). Pressing CTRL + Shift + N will launch a new private in Chrome, CTRL + Shift + P will do it in Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Cycle through open tabs Pressing CTRL + TAB while in a browser will flip between each one. This can be much faster than moving the mouse and clicking on a tab. CTRL + NUM (1, 2, 3, 4, n..) will also take you to certain tab in that numeric order.

File Management Tricks

Rename a file quickly Right-clicking and selecting rename is not very efficient. Instead, simply press F2 while a file is selected to change its name. To alter the name of another file, type TAB without deselecting the current file.

Rename files sequentially in Windows You actually don’t need to download any programs to perform a batch file rename in Windows. Instead, you can select all the files you want to change, right-click the first one in the list, select rename (or use F2), and type in the name. This will automatically change all the other files with the same root name with a suffix: (1), (2), and so on.

Select multiple files using the keyboard To select a bunch of files using your keyboard, you can press Shift + down arrow to select a single file or Shift + Page Down to select a large group of files at one time.

Security Tips

Run programs on an infected PC Often times, malware will prevent a computer from running certain programs. Changing the name of the .exe file can often override this. If that doesn’t work, changing the extension to .com is another useful alternative, and the program will still be able to run in spite of the extension change.

Read installers Even major programs can install toolbars and other unwanted pieces of software during installation. Take a few seconds to read each step to make sure you are not agreeing to install something other than the program you were actually seeking. Far too often people just push next over and over, and end up with a browser covered in various search bars that just aren't needed. In the worst of scenarios, these can have nefarious intentions.

Lock your computer if you get up Sick of your "friends" going onto your computer at work or home and posting things on your Facebook/Twitter page on your behalf? It’s certainly an annoyance, but an easy one to prevent. Windows + L will lock your system right away, requiring a password (if you've set one) to log in again.

Program-Specific Tricks

Photoshop: Drag the marquee without losing the ability to size it The marquee tool is, at its most basic level, designed for selecting a part of an image. It’s used constantly in Photoshop, and there is a handy trick many users miss. While dragging it around, you can press space, which will allow you to size it while moving it. This saves time by letting your perform two key functions at the same time.

Steam: Move games to another drive or partition By default, Steam installs all games to the same HDD or partition, but what happens if that fills up? The solution: download Steamtool Library Manager. It makes it easy to move games to another hard drive without messing with the functionality of Steam.

VLC: Fix unsynced audio and subtitles In the popular media player VLC, if your audio loses sync with the video or subtitles, there is an easy way to fix this. Simply pressing J or K will move the audio forward or backwards. Similarly, to sync the subtitles you can press H or G.

The combination of using these tips and tricks on a daily basis will most certainly make your computer life much more enjoyable, or at least more practical. And so, did you learn a thing or two that you didn't know before?

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