And after analyzing this, Microsoft has determined what trends are most prevalent right now. Among those things the company has picked on are that a computer that isn’t connected to the Internet 24/7 is now an oddity, that people use their computers as social devices, and that laptops are quickly becoming far more popular than desktops. Incorporating that functionality, here are the defined goals of Windows 8:

1. Fast and fluid
2. Long battery life
3. Windows 8 apps
4. Live tiles
5. Time-saving
6. “Roam experiences” between PCs
7. Make PC a device, not a “computer”

“Our vision for Windows 8 was to create a modern, fast and fluid user experience that defines the platform for the next decade of computing. One which upends the way conventional people think about tablets and laptops and the role of the devices they carry.
We wanted to create an experience that works however you want to work, powering a new class of PCs that you are proud to own and love having in your life,” Microsoft’s Jensen Harris summed up.

[via MSDN]

Hardware

Samsung has become surprisingly adept at putting out quality smartphone hardware, even on the low-end of its range. In general build and quality, the Focus 2 feels like a shrunken version of the white Galaxy S II: compact, light, glossy and very solid. The hard plastic shell isn’t the thinnest available, but there’s nearly zero flex, and its gentle curves feel comfortable in the hand. Controls are found mounted within the silver ring surrounding the phone: volume on the left side, power and two-stage camera button (yes!) on the right.

The front of the device is dominated by a 4-inch, 480×800 Super AMOLED display. Margins on the side are small, but fatten out on the top and bottom to accommodate the speaker, front-facing camera and Windows Phone controls. The screen itself is rather typical of Samsung – if you like bright, saturated colors, you’ll be right at home, but if you’re more used to a 720p display or can’t stand the slight fuzziness of PenTile panels, you probably won’t be convinced.

Around the back you’ll find a battery door that uses Samsung’s “snap-on” technique, beneath which is the 1750mAh battery, MicroSIM card slot and not much else. The 5.0 megapixel camera sits next to a tiny speaker. There’s a clever little loop in the speaker grill that pushes up the back of the phone about a millimeter – this ensures that there’s always some space between the back of the phone and a flat surface for speakerphone or video calls. The speaker itself is a little weak, but not nearly so much as some of the others I’ve seen, such as the Galaxy S III.

Under the hood are some respectable specs, even if they won’t set the world on fire. A 1.4ghz single-core processor is paired to 512Mb of RAM – not the best out there, but as we’ll see later, plenty for Windows Phone 7.5 Mango. Internal storage is just 8GB, which you’ll have to make due with, since the Focus 2 lacks a MicroSD card slot. Naturally it’s got all the wireless bells and whistles with WiFi and Bluetooth accompanying 4G LTE. In the box you’ll get the standard wall-wart and data cable combo, plus a surprisingly nice headset with in-line music controls that matches the phone’s glossy white finish.

Software

If you’ve seen one Windows Phone, you’ve seen them all, at least from a software perspective. Aside from AT&T’s rather annoying additions (U-Verse, Navigator, Yellow Pages and more, all of which can be uninstalled) there are no surprises here. If you’re not already familiar with Mango, check out our review here.

The Focus 2 handles Mango with aplomb, even as a budget phone. Navigating the slick and unique interface was quick and fluid, and I didn’t start noticing any slowdown until I began running dozens of apps at once. Speaking of apps, there’s nothing to be done about the lack of them on WP7. While you should be able to find utilities for most tasks, the absence of big names like Pandora is hard to overlook.

Those who are familiar with Windows Phone, or perhaps more likely at this price point, those who haven’t used a smartphone before, will not be disappointed. If you’ve been spoiled for choice of apps on Android or iOS, or you just don’t live in a Windows world, you may want to look elsewhere. WP7 Mango is undeniably beautiful and it’ll handle all the basic tasks of the other big players, but a platform lives and dies on its software support.

Camera and Media

The 5-megapixel camera on the Focus 2 is pretty much what you’d expect: reliable enough for candid snapshots, but “serious” photographers (if the term can be applied to mobile phones at all) will be better served elsewhere. Even in good lighting, I found myself having to adjust the white balance settings for shots where the sun wasn’t directly visible. Colors were erratically over-saturated or muted.

Video is likewise lukewarm. With plenty of lighting the 720p sensor does well enough, but you’ll see some banding when moving around (and with a phone this light, it tends to happen a lot). The VGA front-facing camera is suitable only for video chat – self-pics will turn out better with the rear camera and a little guesswork.

All that said, the two-stage camera button is a fantastic addition (though standard on Windows Phone 7 devices). The shutter is quick to focus and it activated when pressed and held, even when the phone is off. I do not exaggerate when I say, I wish every single smartphone had a dedicated camera button, even when the camera itself is nothing to write home about.

Music is a standard experience, even if it is a little weak coming out of the phone’s speakers. It’s a good thing, then, that the pair of headphones included is a step above the general lot, with easy-to use in-line controls and a microphone. It’s nice to see this inclusion, which is all too often absent on more expensive devices. Video plays well enough, though if you’re constantly browsing YouTube or the like, you’ll want something with a larger screen.

Battery and radio

The 1750mAh battery on the Focus 2 is something more usually found in a much larger smartphone. The combination of an efficient screen and WP7′s generally un-demanding workload mean that the Focus 2 can ho surprisingly long without a charge. Despite some pretty heavy browsing and talking sessions, I couldn’t drain the Focus 2 to less than 40% of its capacity over a 12-hour workday. Those of you who are frustrated with puny run-times shouldn’t have a problem here.

Likewise, the call quality on the Focus 2 is surprising. Speaking with friends and family member across the country was sharp and clear, despite the generally spotty coverage in my mountainous area. While I don’t yet live in an AT&T 4G LTE coverage are, I was at full bars nearly all the time, though actual speeds were a bit disappointing in the 1 to 1.5mbps range, where other AT&T phones tend to get at least 2mbps.

Value

The Focus 2 is undeniably a good deal at $50 on contract. The combination of solid specs, great battery life and good ergonomics would make it an instant recommendation… if it weren’t for other AT&T phones too close to it in the price range. For $50 more you can get the excellent Nokia Lumia 900, which beats it in nearly every category and looks great to boot. If you’re wiling to switch to Android, the 4.5-inch HTC Vivid is just $49.99.

If you’re in an area without LTE or you simply don’t care about the faster data speeds, your options grow even more. There’s the still-respectable iPhone 3GS, currently going for a dollar on AT&T’s website, the original HTC Titan for just a penny, or the 720p LG Nitro HD for the same price. Don’t get me wrong, the Focus 2 is a solid phone… but if I had my heart set on it, I might wait a couple of months for the price to drop to free or practically so.

Wrap-up

The Samsung Focus 2 is a very tidy device, and currently the cheapest phone on AT&T to combine LTE and Windows Phone 7. Anyone who purchases it won’t be disappointed, especially those who require long battery life. That said, if a great camera or a big, high-res screen are in your list of must-haves, look elsewhere.

It’s also hard to recommend the Focus 2 above the Nokia Lumia 900. The extra fifty bones is worth it in basically every category. Likewise, the other alternatives mentioned above can get you access to more apps (if not such a polished OS) for the same or less money. The Focus 2 is ideal for those who want to get into Windows Phone 7 for as little money as possible, without sacrificing build quality or an LTE connection. The phone is on sale starting today for $49.99 with a two-year contract.

According to the So.cl (pronounced “social”) FAQ, Microsoft fully expects users of the service “to continue using products such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other existing social networks, as well as Bing, Google and other search tools” rather than switch wholesale. “We hope to encourage students to reimagine how our everyday communication and learning tools can be improved,” the company says, “by researching, learning and sharing in their everyday lives.”

Initially, So.cl was available in limited beta to students at the University of Washington, Syracuse University, and New York University. Since then, the team behind the service has been busy refining it, adding concepts like “riffing” on topics – basically taking concepts or content others have posted and allowing users to give it their own spin – and public exploring through themed tagging.

There’s also “video parties” which pull together communal playlists of content guiding viewers through a tagged theme, complete with companion chat, and so-called “rich” posts of automatically created montages from text, photos, audio and video. By default, all So.cl content is available publicly – though it can be set to private – so as to encourage community learning.

You can try So.cl by logging in with your Facebook or Windows Live account here.

But after increasing how much it charges customers for access to its rentals and its streaming, and watching its content partners turn their backs on it unless it paid up, everything has changed. Now, Netflix is a shadow of its former self, and a company that, as far as I’m concerned, could very well be on its way to outright obsolescence.

The single thing saving Netflix right now, however, is the fact that it’s not really faced with any tough competition. Vudu is fine, but few people know about it. And although Amazon is trying its own streaming service, it’s not something the company has promoted effectively. At this point, Netflix is still a household name when it comes to streaming.

But before long, that will change. Based on what we’ve seen with Apple over the last several months, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the company is warming to the idea of streaming. And when that happens, expect movies and television shows to accompany it.

Don’t believe me? Let’s first start with the fact that, years ago, Apple bought out Lala’s music-streaming service. Sure, that hasn’t really been used in anything yet, but Apple has been known to pick up companies for the sole purpose of using their technologies years after.

Moreover, the company’s iCloud platform seems ripe for streaming content. Most people expect it to offer users the chance to stream their own content across multiple products, but what if Apple delivered a Netflix-like offering that includes not only what customers own but also what they don’t?

Out of all of the companies operating in the technology space right now, only Apple has the cash, the infrastructure, and the user base to deliver a solution that could take on Netflix. Even more concerning for Netflix, Apple is the only company with somewhat strong ties with Hollywood studios. The right deal might just get those studios to play ball — and in the process, hurt Netflix.

We’ve been hearing for years that Apple is a hardware company that wants nothing more than to generate huge profits off of computers, iPhones, and other products. However, in recent years, Apple has warmed to the idea of being more well-rounded, thanks to the launch of its App Store, MobileMe, and yes, iCloud. The days of Apple caring solely about hardware are long gone.

And that alone could be dangerous for Netflix. Apple realizes that today’s consumers want to be entertained, and it understands that cornering the streaming market is a key ingredient in maintaining its control well into the future.

Look for Apple to take aim at Netflix in the coming years. And when it does, expect Netflix to crumble under the pressure.

The film Battleship was indeed conjured up by Hasbro as they own the rights to the timeless board game. Besides a couple of nods to the fact that the board game exists inside the film, there’s nothing to connect the two – save the battleship, of course. The visual effects in this film are second to none, and there are a handful of excellent or otherwise famous actors onboard, but know this right out of the gate: the most interesting character you’re going to meet is the USS Missouri. Keep that name in mind as we go through a quick summary of the film for context.

Plot Rundown

Take one part Air Force One, two parts Independence Day, and add in about 10 parts patriotic love for the Navy, and you’ve got an idea of what you’re in for in Battleship. One of several main protagonists in the film, Alex Hopper, (played by Taylor Kitsch) gets in a fight several years before the main bulk of the plot of the film, meets a girl, and is convinced to Join the Navy. At the same time in an unrelated event (also before the main plot line’s time) NASA sends a signal to a planet, the signal originating here on Earth in Hawaii.

Fast forward 7 years to the present, 2012, and both Alex and his brother Stone are stationed aboard Navy Destroyer ships sitting comfortably in Hawaii – the plot thickens! The girl from earlier in the plot, Samantha Shane (played by Brooklyn Decker,) is revealed as the daughter of COMPACFLT Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson,) the Admiral being a superior of both of the brothers. Alex is set up for a coming-of-age-type situation, there’s love in the air, and five alien ships plummet to the Earth.

The rest of the film takes place (for the most part) in battle sequences in both Hawaii and Hong Kong – where one of the five ships has made berth. Of course the Aliens want war, the humans want to kill the aliens, and everyone has an awesome time getting blown up. In comes the most interesting character in the whole film as the new improved Destroyer ships prove useless against the alien threat. In comes the USS Missouri, aka the Mighty Mo, aka one gigantic battleship which in real life acted as surrender site for the Japanese fleet in World War II.

This ship is so interesting, one of the viral ads for the movie was dedicated to it alone. Have a peek:

And all the bad guys get killed and all the good guys win in the end and it’s a great time had by all – as you should well expect.

Why you should see it

I can’t overemphasize the idea that this is an effects-driven film. If you want to be impressed by the level at which the film industry – specifically ILM here – is able to operate on here in 2012, jump right in on Battleship. In our chat with ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Pablo Helman, we got an early taste of what we were in for this past week:

“It’s a ride. The visual effects work looks great – it’s a popcorn movie – and in regards to how some people ask me: can I actually turn off that part of me that actually just enjoys the movie? It’s definitely something you want to do here, you want to sit back, turn yourself off, and just be surprised and wowed by the images.” – Helman

BONUS: The soundtrack is headed by Steve Jablonsky, perhaps known best for having this same role on the Transformers series. Jablonsky composed the music for this film’s soundtrack, these compositions featuring guitarist Tom Morello – best known as lead guitarist and activist from the band that once was Rage Against the Machine.

Why you might want to skip it

In contrast with several high-impact science fiction films, action films, and even straight up love stories released this summer, the plot line for this movie has not been put under guard basically whatsoever. You can read the ending to the film on Wikipedia, for crying out loud. As a result, you’re going to get exactly what you payed for: explosions, gunfire, aliens death, and lots and lots of robots. If you’re looking for all the visual effects with an added bonus of a storyline that’s truly engaging, head to the Avengers. Industrial Light and Magic made that film a visual masterpiece as well – double down for the summer!

Wrap-up

Battleship is a movie made for filmgoers looking to pick up some snacks, select their favorite theater seat, and tune out. This film is nearly pure entertainment, with just a hint of storyline twist and love interest to keep all parties attending the film from having a terrible time – that’s your action-hating date we’re talking about here. Make no mistake here though, of course, there is no having a terrible time at this film – it’s all fun and certainly brings on the big-money next-level action film power at right around an hour and a half long – in theaters right this second.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of our ever-expanding [Entertainment hub] for the biggest premieres of the summer and the hottest interviews with the people bringing you the futuristic technology these films need – now and into the future!

Engadget called the F3′s grip “a cross between the NEX-5 and NEX-7″ because the shutter button is on the downward sloping portion on top of the grip, making it ergonomically friendly. However, it also noted, “The F3′s screen can’t tilt downward as far as the C3′s, which makes it more difficult to frame overhead shots.” In summary, though, Engadget writes, “Anyone who’s used the NEX cameras will instantly feel at home with the F3.”

Pop Photo pointed out that the NEX-F3′s tilting LCD screen is the first of its kind for the NEX product line. Meanwhile, Cnet praised the camera for its nice low-to-mid range sensitivity pictures and the automated self-portrait mode, but noted the LCD can be difficult to view in bright light, and the positioning of the SD car slot is not ideal for those using a tripod.

The Alpha NEX-F3 has Sony’s proprietary Exmor APS HD CMOS and has a 16.1-megapixel sensor. It has 180-degree tilting functionality and the ability to record in 1080p/24 video. It has an 18-55mm lens as well as a pop-up flash in the body. The NEX-F3 will be available some time next month, with a retail price point of $600.

The original Wii U controller, shown in the image below, had two nub-style analog controllers, similar to those found on the Nintendo 3DS. These have apparently been switched out for more user-friendly proper sticks. The tablet itself also appears to be wider, with more space around the D-pad and X/Y/A/B buttons.

Some of the peripheral controls have also moved. The Home key is still central under the touchscreen, but now the Start and Select buttons have shifted to the right edge, and the microphone has flipped from the right of the Home button to the left. A new, unlabeled square button has appeared beneath the D-pad, along with a second next to the power button in the lower right corner.

Interestingly, despite rumors of a name change prior to launch, the controller now has Wii U branding, suggesting that – at least when this developer test unit was distributed – Nintendo had decided to stick with the original name.

Nintendo won’t launch the Wii U until the end of the year, likely in Japan first, with more details – and demonstrations of the latest iteration of hardware and software – promised for E3 2012 in a few weeks time. The Wii U will introduce a new software download store, which promises release date parity for digital downloads and in-store game purchases.

[via GamesRadar]

According to a friend, the couple had been secretly planning the wedding for the past 4-5 months, and Zuckerberg himself designed the ring.

Although Zuckerberg and Chan have kept their relationship low-key in terms of the media, the new doctor was apparently instrumental in prompting one of the site’s recent new features. Earlier this year, Facebook added an organ donation system to users’ profiles, allowing them to specify whether they would be willing to donate organs after death. According to subsequent reports, numbers of those willing to donate spiked hugely following the update.

Facebook has made no shortage of headlines in recent weeks for its IPO, which saw sky-high estimates of potential profit for investors willing to fight to get in on the ground floor. The actual sale of stock proved less dramatic in the end, with Facebook’s top-end estimate of roughly $38 per share being met, but the predictions of another huge web bubble failing to materialize.

Called S Voice, it is supposed to be one of the crown jewels of the newly announced Galaxy S III, an Android phone that arguably received more hype than any before it. However, the S Voice software has managed to leak out into the wild, and it will apparently work on any phone running the latest version of Android, version 4.0 also known as Ice Cream Sandwich.

S Voice truly is a Siri clone. It encourages users to speak to the phone in normal human speech as opposed to only being able to use a few stale, specific voice commands. There will no doubt be a whole bunch of analysis comparing the two services as S Voice gets more ingrainted into the market, which is exactly what Samsung wants. It wants you to compare its phones to the iPhone, not to other Android phones.

[via Redmond Pie]

Select Eve gamers, along with those who were part of the Eve Fanfest convention in Iceland earlier this year, will gain entry to the online preview this week. Dust 514, which is slated to be available exclusively on PS3, will be a completely free-to-play affair. CCP had originally planned to charge a nominal price for gamers to download the title from the PlayStation Store, but that plan has been scrapped because, CCP says, it didn’t want to confuse gamers. The experience inside the game itself will not change at all.

Dust 514 was built on the freemium model, which means that players can download and play the game for free, but as they progress and want new items or expanded feature sets, that’s the point at which they’ll need to start forking over some cash. The price that would have been charged, around $10 to $20, would have been immediately converted into in-game currency, so gamers weren’t actually paying for the download but were forced into investing at least some money in the experience.

[via CVG]

That agreement was described as a “main condition” in order to secure approval, a source not authorized to publicly discuss the deal told Reuters. Android has been adopted by many Chinese OEMs, used in everything from phones to tablets to set-top boxes and more, though often in ways that do not validate the devices for Google’s official suite of apps and official branding.

For its part, though not commenting on any allegiance to openness, Google appears to be treating the deal – and its approach to Android – as business as usual. “Our stance since we agreed to acquire Motorola has not changed,” spokesperson Niki Fenwic said in a statement, ”and we look forward to closing the deal.”

Google’s announcement last year that it intended to buy Motorola Mobility in a deal worth $12.5bn prompted no shortage of surprise in the Android ecosystem. Until now, Google – and the Open Handset Alliance, officially the ruling body guiding Android development, of which Google is the most significant member – has generally taken a back seat from too much involvement in the device market itself, content only to give manufacturers a gentle shove with its Nexus range of “pure Android” phones.

With Motorola brought in-house, however, suspicions were raised that Google might take a more aggressive approach and follow in Apple’s footsteps, marginalizing other Android OEMs such as HTC and Samsung in the process. Google execs promised that would not happen, with talk of a “firewall” between the two companies, but have met with no small amount of skepticism in response.

The Chinese drive for openness would seemingly mean that Android will remain available for all who want it, at least for the next half-decade, though without full details of the deal it’s impossible to know under what conditions that will be the case. The acquisition is expected to close early next week, according to a Motorola spokesperson.

The way it will attach is through ribbon cable. The module is of course very small, which the company says makes it ideal for home automation applications or even advance robotics for those willing to take it to that level. Adding camera capabilities to an electronic device is nothing new, but this sort of takes it to the next level.

“We may downgrade the super-duperness of the camera to something with fewer than its current 14 megapixels before release; we need to keep things affordable, and a sensor of that size will end up pricey,” the company wrote in an official post on its website. There has been no announcement regarding a final consumer price or a release date, but things certainly look to be well underway.

[via Raspberry Pi]

[Image: Associated Press]

Nobody could quite predict what would happen in the IPO, and that’s probably what made it so popular a topic. Everybody would love to be an expert – especially in the aftermath of not only the original dotcom bubble, but the more recent economic downturn – and speculating online, in newspapers and on TV and radio about how shares in Zuckerberg’s empire could make not only him and his team rich, but the rest of us too, held an inescapable allure.

That Facebook is, by now, a household name made it all the more wonderful. Sure, if Samsung, or Microsoft, or even Google had their IPO over, there’d be plenty of tech and finance press hyperbole, but Facebook has managed to embed itself into non-techie culture. Your mom knows what Facebook is, though she might not quite understand what Microsoft does or why the new Samsung smartphone is whipping up geek frenzy.

One of the more prevalent questions has been why that excitement Facebook mustered came about in the first place: why, in short, anybody cares. Overlook the addictive frottage of punditry at your peril, however. In that way, the social site is no different from, say, Samsung’s Galaxy S III, or the Apple television: speculating, rumormonging and generally arguing about what-might-be is perhaps more interesting than the actual news itself. In fact, once that news coalesces into something legitimate – shares are sold, products launched – the core cadre of opinionists often move on to the Next Big Thing.

Facebook already had a bulging wallet of money; now it has even more. In itself, that’s not especially interesting. The tech world will really wake up when Zuckerberg & Co. reveals what it will do with all these new billions.

Much has been made of the comparative valuations of Facebook and Apple, with social network skeptics pointing out that Zuckerberg’s site is just a place to share anecdotes and photos of your breakfast, while Apple actually makes products that people buy. It’s a closed-minded view of value, however. Facebook may not have a physical device that you can walk to a brick-and-mortar store and exchange case for – at least, not yet; the Facebook Phone rumors simply refuse to die away completely – but it does have a service that has embedded itself into the lives of millions upon millions of people.

That degree of engagement isn’t going to go away easily. True, it will be perhaps more difficult for Facebook’s board to leverage those users into cold, hard cash – recent stats on just how few people consider ever clicking on a Facebook advert or promotional post have likely given those in charge a few sleepless nights, if the IPO itself wasn’t proving sufficiently insomnia provoking – but it’s certainly not impossible.

TV channels where ticker-tapes dominate the screen will soon move on to fresher financial pastures. For actual users of Facebook, however, nothing is different today, in the post-IPO glow, than it was on Thursday. Their excitement – and, a further orbit out, the rest of the world who will watch as Zuckerberg acquires, challenges or destroys companies, products and services we currently use or own – is still to come. Sixteen billion is a nice, hypnotic number, certainly, but it only really shows its true worth when it’s spent on something.

Featured: Here are some of the featured stories from this week:
Plantronics Bluetooth headset review
HP Z420 Workstation review
Why Halo 4 is the most anticipated game of 2012
Evernote 4.0 for Android hands-on
Huawei Ascend P1 unboxing and first impressions
SPIGEN SGP HTC One X Crumena Leather Pouch Series Review
LG Optimus LTE2 hands-on in Korea

Other Stuff: In our miscellaneous grouping of other stories that made news this week , we have this -  Diablo III error apology is sues by Blizzard. Also, more news from the company that isn’t part of AT&T – T-Mobile details restructuring, 900 jobs cut, 550 new hires. And moving onto potentially exciting speculation – iPhone 5 production starts in June. Finally, we’ll end the wrap-up with this nugget: Nielsen reports app downloads surge 28%.

“Microsoft sued Motorola in the ITC only after Motorola chose to refuse Microsoft’s efforts to renew a patent license for well over a year” Microsoft deputy general counsel David Howard said in a statement about the ruling. ”We’re pleased the full Commission agreed that Motorola has infringed Microsoft’s intellectual property, and we hope that now Motorola will be willing to join the vast majority of Android device makers selling phones in the US by taking a license to our patents.”

Whether that will actually take place will depend on Motorola’s interpretation of the final ruling, something the company says that it hasn’t had time yet to delve into. Its options are to remove or rework the implementation which the courts say infringe Microsoft’s patent, or to stump up the cash.

“Microsoft started its ITC investigation asserting 9 patents against Motorola Mobility. Although we are disappointed by the Commission’s ruling that certain Motorola Mobility products violated one patent, we look forward to reading the full opinion to understand its reasoning” Motorola said in a statement. “Motorola Mobility will not experience any impact in the near term, as the Commission’s ruling is subject to a $0.33/per unit bond during the 60 day Presidential review period. We will explore all options including appeal.”

The ITC’s ruling [pdf link] does not specify the exact handsets at risk, but previous confirmed models included the Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq XT, Devour, Backflip and Charm. However, it’s possible that other, more recent devices from Motorola’s stable could also be at risk.

“Will adjust limits for countdown in a few days” SpaceX tweeted, after the launch at 4:15AM Eastern was cut short at the last minute. No specific explanation for what happened to the fifth engine has been given.

However, the firm is keen to point out that today’s result should not be considered a failure. “We aborted with purpose” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told MSNBC. ”It would have been a failure if we had lifted off with an engine trending in this direction.”

The mission was an important – and much delayed – one for SpaceX, as it was intended to demonstrate that, with the aid of the six astronauts and cosmonauts currently on the International Space Station (ISS), a private, unmanned craft could successfully dock with the orbiting platform. SpaceX and NASA intend to use the ship to run supply missions among other things, now that the Space Shuttle has been officially retired, with a $1.6bn contract already agreed upon for twelve missions.

SpaceX’s next opportunity for the launch is Tuesday, May 22, at 12:44AM Pacific. The company has been forced to delay this test flight on several previous occasions, citing final tweaks of the rockets and software as the primary cause for postponement.

There are other augmented reality glasses out there, but they all look incredibly bulky and don’t belong out on the streets. Right now, the “wearable tech” market is pretty much dominated by glasses that are supposed to let users watch a movie with total immersion. And that’s what Silicon Micro’s new ST1080 glasses are mostly designed for. You wear them, load up a movie, and then it’s just you and the video content.

The device is capable of playing back both 2D and 3D content, and works with a variety of video formats. But inspired by Project Glass, it also lets users interact with augmented reality applications. So you can go out on the streets and see little icons and other forms of content in your peripheral vision. The ST1080 glasses have a retail price of $799.

Epic Mickey was one of the big holiday titles of 2010, and at the time everyone looked at it as a Wii exclusive. But the people behind the game never said it was tied exclusively to the Nintendo console. In fact, they even went on record saying they would want to bring it to other platforms if they were asked.

Well, it looks like other companies asked because Epic Mickey 2 is coming to the Xbox 360 and PS3 as well as the Wii. The new game’s official title will be Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Two. As you might expect from that title, multiplayer gaming will be encouraged, with a full cooperative gameplay mechanic. There is no confirmed release window yet for the new game title, but it will be on display at next month’s E3 trade show.

Featured: So in the category of featured articles, we have a couple things to highlight today, both of which are product reviews. First up is – Plantronics Bluetooth headset review. And the other is something that might set you back just a little bit more dough – HP Z420 Workstation review. So there are a couple things in case you were thinking of going on a shopping spree this weekend.

Xbox, Galaxy S III, & Halo 4: So as we finish up the final evening wrap-up for the week, we’ll move on to something exciting for consumers – Buy a Windows PC get an Xbox deal stars this weekend. Oh, and here’s something for you mobile fans – Galaxy S III rooted before release. And finally…Halo 4 release promises next-level multiplayer action.

At the start of the day, Facebook’s offering price had it set at almost double that of the previous largest company to complete an IPO, that being the United Parcel Service Inc. at $60 billion USD back in 1999 – this according to Bloomberg through the SFGate. Facebook’s IPO has raised $16 billion, this number very possible set to be enlarged to $18.4 billion should its underwriters buy an additional 63.2 million shares at the IPO price: this sets Facebook between Visa and General Motors for largest IPO offering of all time.

Have a peek at the rest of the statistics through our full day’s offering starting with our first update listing NASDAQ’s live stream alongside Facebooks 3rd place IPO price – again, upgraded to 2nd as the day passed by. One of Facebook’s co-founders made the news in congratulating Zuckerberg for taking the company so far since they invented the social network together in college – high five buddies!

Mid-way through the day Facebook was sued for $15 billion dollars in what can only be seen as a bit of attention-grab here on IPO day by a group claiming privacy violations. We got some insight into one of the only new devices to pop up in this whole situation throughout the day via Facebook developers in the NASDAQ Facebook opening bell “hack.” Finally it was revealed the Facebook broke the all-time record for IPO volume and is now well ahead of General Motors, the previous record holder.

Stay tuned for more Facebook IPO action as after-hours trading and all that good stuff takes place over the next few weeks. The day is over, but Facebook’s public persona has just begun to take shape. Expect a whole new world expanding starting now.

You’ve got two simple ways to wear this earpiece, one of them being a hook which holds the piece down over your ear, another being a brand new clear ear tip which Plantronics lets us know is their newest concentration for getting this piece to stay in your ear with finesse. This little clear ear tip is extremely flexible and yet holds the earpiece in your ear securely as it fits comfortably right in the side of your head. The photo you see above shows how nice the piece looks and fits in the ear and on the head with just the ear tip in, no hook necessary.

In testing the device, I had no trouble going through the simple pairing operation required to connect to any and all Bluetooth devices I had on hand, be they the iPad, several Android handsets, or a notebook computer. To pair this device to any of your Bluetooth-capable devices, you’ve just to hold down the Call button for several seconds until the indicator light flashes red and white – you’ll be pair-ready from there.

The Call button on this device is unmistakable as it’s essentially the entire side of the hardware, it requiring just a series of taps and holds to activate any of its many numerous functions. For the most part, you’ll be using this device to make and take calls and conferences, and you will be satisfied by the quality on both ends. The little notches on the sides of the device are there for noise cancellation, and they certainly do work well – much better, in fact, than most of the budget-level Bluetooth earpieces we’ve ever laid eardrums on.

Speaking with people through the earpiece resulted in clear, nearly perfect quality on the other end, with exceptions being of course when you’re in intensely crowded areas. This sort of situation is always going to result in you not having the most fantastic voice quality unless you’re going for a much, much higher cost headset – at the price you’re paying for the M55, the quality is excellent.

This device has such fantastic battery life that you’ll more than likely not have to charge it more than once or twice a year. We’ve not gotten to hold on to the device and use it for more than a year quite yet, but according to Plantronics, this device’s new DeepSleep mode will have your headset into such a deep sleep that its using up next to no battery life at all when its not being used. This DeepSleep function is activated automatically if 90 minutes have passed since you last been in-range of a paired Bluetooth device. NOTE here that the photos we’ve got are of the pre-production model – the final model will look and function exactly the same or NEARLY exactly the same as this unit, so says Plantronics.

Another fabulous function you get with this device is voice activation in the form of being able to say “Answer” when you get a call on a paired smartphone device. This device can also pair with up to two smartphones in the same area at once, both of them then hooked up with this same voice-activated call-answering ability. The M55 comes with a free full year of Vocalyst Basic, this being a service which can give you voice email, news, weather, and reminders right to your ear, this service normally $2.49 a month or $24.99 a year with this headset. As a bit of a bonus, this service can automatically upload audio clips at your request just so long as you’re paired with an internet-connected device at the time – fun for everyone, without a doubt!

This device is certainly worth the cash you’re going to spend on it at just $50, coming to the Plantronics online store soon! Have a peek at our timeline of Plantronics reviews below to see their full line of Bluetooth-capable audio devices and let us know what you think when you’ve got them in-ear!

Hardware

The Z420 Workstation is on the low end of HP’s full-sized Z-class, with only the even newer Z220 and the all-in-one Z1 below it. That said, it still gives you all the functionality of a full-sized workstation, and makes great effort to deliver first-class performance with a relatively economical price.

Our test unit came equipped with an eight-core Intel Xeon E5-1620 CPU clocked at 3.6Ghz, a relatively modest 8GB of memory and 1TB 7200RPM hard drive, and an AMD FirePro V5900 professional graphics card. Other additions include a multi-card reader and an extra guide and fan assembly for the graphics card. For these parts the total comes to $2762, up from the base price of $1169. A maxxed-out Z420 with the top end processor and graphics, an NVIIDA Quadro 5000 graphics card, 64GB of memory, huge SSDs and hard drives, integrated carrying handles and the like pushes towards $12,000.

For those interested in the Z420 or one of its bigger brothers in an IT environment, you really shouldn’t pay attention to the components. These are staggeringly configurable and in any case, the tower form factor is designed for replacements and upgrades. The case itself is of some interest to us here. HP’s workstations are renowned for being tough, and indeed this is the case: steel and hard plastic are hard to mess up. But what caught my eye is just how easy it is to add and remove parts, thanks to an ingenious system of tabs, handles, slides and slots.

When I cracked the case (which is itself quite easy thanks to a handled access panel) I found that every single component could be removed by hand, with the notable exception of the motherboard, processor and power supply. Since these are generally the components that are left alone, it seems just about right. The only problem I encountered was with the graphics card brace, which achieved a tool-less design with an unfortunately flimsy plastic lip. Have a gander at a true “unboxing” video below:

The outside of the case is just as important. The front of the case has three USB ports, two of which use the much faster USB 3.0 standard. You’ll also find FireWire and audio in/out. Around the back you’ll find another two USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, an extra FireWire port, the audio and Ethernet ports embedded on the motherboard, and two PS/2 ports (for you die-hard Model M users). A locking mechanism keeps your expensive interior safe, and a rear-mounted power button (identical in function to the front button, not just a switch) completes the build.

While not as pretty as a standard desktop, and indeed not as stylish as the new Z620 and Z820 monster machines, the Z420 clearly means business. Upgradeable components include three optical drive bays and 3.5-inch hard drive bays, two PCIe-16X slots, and a 600-watt power supply. Even the most demanding of users could keep this machine up to date for years.

Software

It’s rare that we see Windows 7 unencumbered by extra software, but naturally workstation-class users aren’t interested in bloatware. HP doesn’t disappoint: the only non-essential programs that came with Windows 7 Professional 64-bit were the Bing Bar (sigh), a Corel DVD viewer, Roxio Creator Business and HP’s proprietary Remote Graphics Software (RGS).

RGS deserves a special note here. In many ways it reproduces the functionality of Windows’ own RDP, but is tuned to the exacting demands of graphics professionals. Demonstrations showed the software keeping up with some rather amazing CAD visuals in real-time. RGS is free for use with any HP computer.

Needless to say, Windows users who are tired of bloatware will find a lot to love here. While many users and IT managers prefer to install Windows from scratch, this is the first machine I’ve seen in perhaps a decade where I didn’t feel the need. Performance is smooth and screaming fast, as you would expect with these components. Other pre-installed OS options include Red Hat Linux, and you can order recovery media for an extra $10.

Performance

Components with this kind of power are, quite frankly, far beyond our usual fare. While not exactly ideal for gamers thanks to the OpenGL-specific graphics cards, those whose work demands incredible amounts of power won’t be disappointed. Graphic design, CAD, medical imaging, financial tracking… there’s enough power and options here to satisfy everyone.

In my own personal usage, Photoshop and Premiere are about the toughest programs that I put my machines through. The Z420, as expected, put the other Windows laptops and desktops I’ve used lately (all of which had second-generation Core-series processors) to shame with its combination of an 8-core Xeon E5 processor and fast memory. For those with the inclination, even faster processor and storage options are available.

Benchmarks aren’t all that relevant on a machine as configurable as this one. Needless to say the Z420 has far outpaced any consumer-focused Windows machine we’ve ever tested, and only the latest revision of the Mac Pro comes close. PCMark 7 gives this configuration a score of 3168 – you can see the full test in the gallery section.

An important note about all that screaming horsepower: it doesn’t, in fact, scream. During extensive uses I never once heard the Z420 make noise that surpassed the ambient volume of my home, with the exception of some extremely fast disk writes. If it weren’t for the LED status lights I might never know it was on. There’s some incredible engineering that’s been put into airflow, heat, vibration and noise management, and it shows. This thing makes my home-built desktop (with some pretty high-end cooling components itself) sound like a sputtering B-52.

Wrap-Up

There aren’t many reading this that need massive amounts of power for specific and often crucial tasks. But for those who do, and can afford the premium that a workstation demands, the Z420 is an excellent choice. While not as flashy as the machines above it or as compact as those below it in HP’s line, it strikes a happy medium while keeping a wide variety of initial configuration and upgrade options.

When it comes to desktops, I nearly always advocate building from the ground up for those with the skills to do so. the Z420 is the first machine that’s made me reconsider. The sheer ease of replacing components along with a truly amazing level of sound suppression make me wish my own computers were half as user-friendly. If you need a full-size workstation, the Z420′s combination of features and price (depending upon your configuration) is very, very hard to beat.

This in-game online auction house is set to have users inserting real cash with credit cards and PayPal for which they receive currency which essentially work like game tokens at an arcade. This currency lives inside the auction house only and is not carried in-game by characters so as to keep the whole system as controlled as humanly possible. This system was created in reaction to player requests during Diablo II that the system of trading items back and forth between players be streamlined.

Have a look at what underground “Greatest Paladin in the World” gamer Athene has to say about the Real-Money Auction House to gain a greater understanding of what’s going on here – NSFW for a couple of swear words, btw:

Players from the age of Diablo II will remember hacks, duplication techniques, and evil in many forms when it came to trading items between players. In Diablo III no such evil shall exist, or so Blizzard hopes. The success of the Real-Money Auction House will rely heavily on how hardcore the players of the game become, of course. If Diablo II is any indication, Blizzard can expect playing and trading straight through the next 15 years when they release another installment – Diablo IV on the way!

This IPO is having several effects on those investment groups that got in on the business early, with such groups as Elevation Partners – associated with U2′s Bono holding a 2.3 percent stake in the company and raking in what may be $1.5 billion USD by the end of the day according to MTV. By Sarah Kessler of Mashable’s count, Mark Zuckerberg has jumped between the number 29th and 24th wealthiest people on earth today with a prospective $19.1 billion USD sitting in his pocket today via his 503.6 million shares and options in Facebook. This puts Zuckerberg in contention with Amazon’s own Jeff Bezos who currently sits in the number 23 spot on Bloomberg’s Billionairs Index.

For those of you counting, Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin sit at numbers 30 and 31 on the index today. As for the stock trends today for Facebook, the social network has thus far (at 3 PM EDT, specifically) accounted for a massive 6.9% of the total US stock market volume for the day, that also being 22% of the trading done in the entire NASDAQ composite. Have a peek in our timeline below to stay in-tune with everything that’s happened surrounding Facebook’s IPO today and stick with us as we wind up the end here in just a bit.

This deal will be starting on the 20th of May, that being this Sunday, with Microsoft requiring that students identify themselves a real live student sort of person before they grab the deal. Retailers joining in on this blockbuster deal include NewEgg.com, Best Buy, Dell.com, Fry’s Electronics, HPDirect.com, and Microsoft Stores galore inside the USA. Canada has its own line of stores jumping in on the deal including The Source, Best Buy (Canadian style), Dell.ca, Future Shop, and Staples.

Microsoft Communications Manager Brandon LeBlanc spoke this week on the new offer thusly:

“With all the hard work students put in for their classes in college, they need some downtime, right? That’s where the Xbox 360 comes in! To blow off some steam, you can just hop on Xbox LIVE and play some Halo with friends and family far away or just down the hall. Could be a great way to blow off steam and relax after a long day full of studying and classes. And this fall, Halo 4 hits – which you can now pre-order today! And the Xbox isn’t just for gaming – students will be able to enjoy a variety of entertainment options, including streaming movies and TV shows, sports, music and more!” – LeBlanc

You’ll want to head to our review archive to check out the massive amount of Windows machines already on the market and hitting the market imminently as well, these being the beasts you need to do the deed all summer long. Also as LeBlanc notes, this offer pumps up the release of Halo 4 as well – news pouring in on that release this week too! Head to our Review portals [Desktop Reviews] and [Laptop Reviews] to see what you’ll be picking up!

First and foremost, Chainfire revealed that unlike the Samsung Galaxy S original, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note, and more, the Galaxy S III uses what’s called a standard boot.img format. The other devices listed use a much more secure and harder to work with zImage format which is, for most developers, not nearly as easy to unpack and repack as the basic boot.img format. Another welcome oddity in the GSIII here is the fact that the recovery partition is being utilized, this allowing developers to flash recoveries completely separate from the kernel – helpful!

The most important bit of this whole situation is that Chainfire, generally accepted as an authority in matters such as this, reassures us that unlocking the Galaxy S III for modification is relatively easy. He notes “now, everybody say thanks to Samsung” for being what he says “are the only high-end Android OEM who aren’t complete *expletive deleted* in the unlock department!” In Chainfire we trust? You decide for yourself when the Galaxy S III comes to a hand near you this summer!

[via XDA]

The engineers behind this short film, Mike Myers and Chris Ruble, spoke up with Nokia about why they decided to take a hammer and nails to their beloved Lumia. They let Nokia know that it was quite simple, really: they saw someone else do it first! What they saw was the Sonim Mobile Phone which is also notorious for getting smashed by insane bits of destructive material without sustaining damage. Have a peek at the Lumia 900 video first and see if it’s stressful enough for you to start with:

Next have a peek at their inspiration, a mobile phone from the Sonim brand of “unbreakable” devices. See if you can find the broken example in our archives as a stress test of your own! Have a peek here at how Sonim and Nokia are now battling it out for who has the best smartphone that doubles as a hammer:

Finally have a peek at our Nokia 900 archive. Reviews and hands-on galore! No more hammering though, sadly enough, you’ll have to buy your own if you want to see any more of that!

Because last night was also a Facebook Hackathon event, it only seemed natural for Facebook developers to take advantage of the event with a stock exchange hack of their own. What they did, and what the images below and above will show, is to connect the opening bell tapped by Zuckerberg this morning to his own personal Facebook page where a status was then instantly posted as he rung in. This status read, sensibly enough, “Mark Zuckerberg listed a company on NASDAQ. — with Chris Cox and 4 others.”

Have a peek at the bell ringing here in video form:

Then take a peek at the gallery below, it including images photographed and added to Facebook by Facebook developer Colm Doyle. The gigantic button is pressed and the bell is rung, the bell is rung and the status is posted. As Doyle repeated per what was almost certainly something the developer crew behind this project repeated many times after hooking up the final wires: “don’t press the button, don’t press the button!”

Two hours after the button was pressed and Zuckerberg was able to sit back down at a computer console of some sort himself, he went ahead and commented on his own status he’d automatically generated earlier: “This is a pretty awesome hack.”

Truly the simplest things are the best when it comes down to gigantic events such as this. Stay tuned for more Facebook IPO action throughout the day!

BONUS: The other people included in Zuckerberg’s IPO-ringing status were as follows: Cipora Herman, Dave Kling, David Ebersman, Sheryl Sandberg (COO Facebook), and Colm Coyle. Gotta catch em all!

Best Buy pre-order users have reported to us today that they’re all receiving the same message, it saying essentially that Best Buy itself had received a note from the carrier of this device that they’d have their hands on it sooner than later, but that now they’d taken such a note back. In other words, Best Buy is caught with its pants down while the HTC EVO 4G LTE is sitting near the shore as US courts hash out whether or not HTC infringed on Apple’s IP with several elements in the software of these smartphones – not the best situation in the world for the smartphone makers at HTC.

Meanwhile though, we can report that case makers remain relatively confident in their push for the HTC EVO 4G LTE, the image you see above showing off the latest pre-production case we’ve gotten our hands on just this week. So fret not, ladies and gentlemen, this phone will see the light of day sometime – maybe not any time soon, but someday! Meanwhile have a peek at our HTC EVO 4G LTE full review while you wait as well – it’s pretty nice hardware, that’s for sure!

Halo 4 will be bringing no less than an infusion of the best bits of both multiplayer and single-player into the multiplayer gameplay portion of the whole game environment. What you’ll be working with here is “Infinity Multiplayer”, or at least that’s what its called for now. This new mode of play will have Halo lovers working with cooperative “Spartan Ops” as well as “War Games”, two different ways to play, both of them kill-heavy. Spartan Ops has been tipped to lift a lot from the game Call of Duty’s Spec Ops missions. War Games on the other hand will have Deathmatch and Capture the Flag mode like all good multiplayer shooters should.

The Limited Edition of this game will have the same options for gameplay that the standard edition does, but will be including several more single-player maps for you to interact with. At $99.99 upon its release, we’re certainly hoping it’s more than just maps that we’ll be getting – that and some physical items such as a USNC Briefing Packet, some armor schematics, and a bluetooth of the Infinity. UPDATE: Also included in the Limited Edition pack will be such lovely bits and pieces like armor and weapon skins, Avatar unlockables, and a 90-minute video feature Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. This feature will have you gaining an understanding of the storyline like only a hardcore character would want!

Have a listen in on some Sountrack samples while you wait for the big day!

Stay tuned as we continue to hunt down and deliver all the Halo 4 details you can handle, right up until – and beyond – the big launch!

[via Complex]

This update comes this week from Mohammed once again with no specific date mentioned but because it is indeed a second update, we can assume the cut-off is going to be imminent. For those of you running a version of Windows Phone before 7.5, you’ll want to head to the Windows Phone Update Central page to get pushed. The requirement for updating to keep access to both new apps and app updates is not today, again, but will be extremely soon.

It’s also important to note that this update and cut-off applies to both the phone and web storefronts and includes buying, downloading and updating apps from the Marketplace. This update hails a renewed dedication from Microsoft to making sure their software is uniform across their entire smartphone ecosystem, but has called up some complaints from users who’ve found bugs in their Mango builds with no help to be found. How about you, Windows Phone citizen? Are you on Mango yet?

[via Windows Phone Official]

This down time comes soon after not only emergency restarts this morning, but more than one glitch causing necessary patches to be sent out here in the first week after Diablo III has been launched. This does not bode well for the company that’s been working on the game now for 10+ years, players expressing frustration over the fact that they also cannot play offline single-player mode when online servers are down due to DRM requirements with this newest installment of the series as well.

Let us know if Battle.NET is down for you along with where you’re presently located in the USA, Europe, or Asia, and bear with us as we await word from Blizzard as well. Meanwhile feel free to head to our timeline below to see all the Diablo III action as it unfolds here in launch week!

This launch will be pushing the company’s Falcon 9 rocket into space with their Dragon spacecraft ready to make the journey all the way to the ISS this month. Elon Musk, owner and chief designer for Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is one of the centers of interest here because of his Tony Stark-like real life and history with blockbuster tech projects such as SpaceX as and Tesla Motors. Have a peek at the NASA-made animation of the process this SpaceX mission will go through extremely soon:

Currently SpaceX is getting lots of help from NASA engineers and flight controllers as they work hand-in-hand with the private company to coordinate efforts and reach a successful launch, birthing, and completion. If successful, this will be the first in a long line of NASA-funded cargo deliveries to the ISS. NASA’s COTS space act agreements to SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation have started this ecosystem up in recent years with this mission being a beacon for their future collaborations.

You can watch the launch of this SpaceX mission in the UStream-hosted NASA Television stream above starting at 3:30 a.m. with the launch scheduled for 4:55 a.m. EDT on May 19th. Until then you can check out SpaceX/Falcon 9 Dragon Pre-Launch Briefings from KSC through this same streaming window below all afternoon!

Stewarts Law, one of the firms leading the case, says that Facebook illegally tracked users activity even after they had logged out of the social networking service. “This is not just a damages action, but a groundbreaking digital-privacy rights case that could have wide and significant legal and business implications,” says David Straite, a partner at Stewarts Law.

It’s not the first time that Facebook has been the subject of privacy concerns. A German privacy watchdog believes that Facebook falls foul of German law, saying that it forces responsibility onto users rather as opposed to looking out for their best interests. Face-tagging in photos was the main cause for concern, especially for those who don’t have a Facebook account and wouldn’t want to be tagged.

At the moment, you’re not going to be able to walk into Verizon and start up a new Unlimited Data plan – that no longer exists for new customers. For those of you with Unlimited Data plans from the past, that is if you’ve been paying for Unlimited Data since it was still available for new purchase from Verizon, you’ll still be good to go through the future. If you do the following though, you’ll need to let go of your ever-loving Unlimited Data forevermore:

• If you want a new device at a subsidized price (that is, with a new 2-year contract), you will indeed need to drop your Unlimited Data.

If on the other hand you do not mind paying “full price,” that is the unsubsidized price for any smartphone on Verizon, you can keep your Unlimited Data, and that DOES include LTE. The price of an unsubsidized smartphone as opposed to a subsidized phone price can be relatively vast, so you might want to weigh your options before diving head-first into the future here.

For those of you looking to start up with limited data, as it were, you’ve got 2GB for $30, 5GB for $50, and 10GB for $80 USD on the market right now, and that’s per month. Verizon has not yet announced their prices for shared data plans that will be popping up later this year.

TRON: Uprising is the story of the rise of Clu 2, the evil form of the main protagonist Kevin Flynn from both of the main films. This rise to power is rebelled against by the main protagonist of this series “Beck”, voiced by Elijah Wood, a young program trained by no less than the original TRON character – voiced here by the one and only Bruce Boxleitner, the only person to ever play TRON throughout the whole series. Have a peek at what you’re in for here:

This series is the first giant-scale release from Disney XD, the company’s newest look at “Television Animation” as they call it and set to be released on June 7th. Here we’re seeing a style that, again, mixes computer animation and the most classic 2D animation style known as Anime – lovers of classic series such as the original Batman and Samurai Jack will recognize the roots of this style, and it is interesting to note that the director of this Uprising series, Charlie Bean, was also a storyboard artist for Samurai Jack for a run of 7 episodes in 2002 and 2003.

This TRON series has the likes of Mandy Moore, Lance Henriksen, and even Paul Ruebens playing characters throughout. Stay tuned for more TRON history as it unfolds, and stick around our Entertainment hub as it expands through 2012 and beyond – and don’t forget our reviews of both TRON: Legacy and the original TRON (believe it or not) as well!

Currently Nokia is said to have around €4.9 billion (~$6.2 billion) in cash reserves, with analysts predicting that the company will lose €2 billion (~$2.54 billion) over the next several quarters. At that rate, Nokia would be out of cash reserve by the end of the year. One analsyt believes even short-term debts could be affected: “In our opinion, the company’s ability to repay even its shorter-term 2014 bond could be an issue.”

The company recognizes that cash flow is important, saying in a statement: “Nokia is implementing a decisive action plan to position our company for future growth and success. The main focus of these actions is on lowering the company’s costs, improving cash flow and maintaining a strong financial position.”

Nokia is hoping that its Windows Phone partnership will pay off in the United States. So far sales indciators have pointed at a mostly successful launch for the Lumia 900, although the response for the Lumia 800 in Europe has been somewhat tepid. The company was also recently knocked off the global phone sales spot by Samsung.

[via Reuters]

What you’ll see in Saverin’s update to his own Facebook page is talk of how proud he is to have been part of the whole Facebook environment since its inception. He also notes that he congratulates Zuckerberg on doing what he set out to do all those years ago at the start of Facebook, that being to make the world a more open and connected place. Have a peek at Saverin’s full comment here:

“On the eve of the Facebook public float, 8 plus year in the making, I as co-founder wanted to look back and cherish Facebook’s early beginning. Congrats to everyone involved in the project from day one till today, and I especially wanted to congratulate Mark Zukerberg on keeping tremendous stead-fast focus, however hard that was, on making the world a more open and connected place.” – Saverin

This comment came with a screenshot Saverin grabbed back at the start of Facebook when the little blue fellow still sat up in the left-hand corner of the layout of the website, the whole situation being called “The Facebook” back then as well. This image shows Mark Zuckerberg being listed as “Founder” while Eduardo Saverin was tagged “Brazilian.” Now we watch and wait for them all to become “millionaire many times over.”

Have a peek at the live stream of the Facebook IPO today as well.

Facebook today beats the likes of Deutsche Telekom which generated $13 billion back in 1996 as well as General Motors which grabbed $15.8 billion in 2010. Facebook’s stock offering starts at $38 USD per share with 421.2 million shares, but is it possible that should demand be high enough, underwriters could purchase more stock and drive the price through the roof. Meanwhile we must expect Mark Zuckerberg is running around in circles and jumping for joy no matter the news – see the NASDAQ live-feed here via Livefeed:

For those of you wondering, Facebook’s stock ticker code is indeed FB, and Mark Zuckerberg himself did ring the starting bell today. This bell-ringing took place from Facebook’s own Menlo Park, California headquarters and the whole tech community is currently digging their fingernails into their knees at what will easily be the largest tech-centric IPO in the history of the United States. Stay tuned as trading begins and the price shoots!

In a perfect world they’d be selling new models, but even the refurbished price is a good deal. Taking a look at eBay, models seem to sell from around $300, so the Woot offer is worth a look. The tablet may be running webOS, but you can quickly put Android on there thanks to the efforts of those on xda-developers.

You may not be getting a Retina display, but the hardware is still pretty decent by today’s standards: a 9.7-inch 1024×768 IPS display, dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera. Head on over to Woot to secure the deal, and then mull over what you’ll do with the tablet while you’re waiting for it to ship.

[via Phandroid]