Nissan Unveils World's Fastest Electric Car

Just before the start of the 2013 24-hour LeMans race this weekend, Nissan revealed the ZEOD RC electric car. Dubbed the world's fastest electric car, topping out at 185 MPH, the ZEOD is a zero emissions full electric race car which the company hopes to race in next year's 24-hour LeMans race.

ZEOD stands for "zero emissions, on demand," and utilizes the same lithium-ion batteries as the Nissan Leaf electric car. The prototype is the brainchild of the company's Nismo racing division (creator of the all-electric Nismo RC) which plans to enter it in the so-called Garage 56 class, reserved for vehicles that showcase breakthrough technology.

Launched in 2010, the Nissan LEAF has become the world's best-selling all-electric car. The LEAF won the 2010 Green Car Vision Award, the 2011 European Car of the Year, the 2011 World Car of the Year, and the 2011–2012 Car of the Year Japan. Nissan launched the Nissan LEAF RC in 2011 – a race car prototype powered by the same 107-hp electric motor that is used in the road car.

While current battery technology does not provide the energy storage capacity to race a solely electric Le Mans prototype, Nissan ZEOD RC designer Ben Bowlby believes the development of the car will be an important step in the "electrification" of the race cars of the future. Nissan said it will test a variety of types and combinations of electric motors and gasoline engines in the ZEOD RC before the car hits the LeMans race track in 2014. Meaning even though the car is currently an electric only variant they may run it as a hybridized version.

The Nissan ZEOD RC will make its testing debut later this summer. Nissan's assault on the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hour will again target victory in the P2 class with 15 of the 22 entries powered by Nissan. In the opening rounds of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, Nissan has dominated, taking victory at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.


Source: Nissan

Celebrate Small Business Week, Visit A Small Business Or Website Near You!

While every week can be considered small business week at the millions of small businesses and website across America. Positive recognition and the chance to be noticed is always nice. National Small Business Week, which kicks off today, aims at doing just that. Recognize the contributions that small business across the country make.

First held in 1963 by the order of President John F. Kennedy, the annual event is a celebration that serves as commercial and political platform highlighting some of the challenges faced by small business owners. Events hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration will be held in Seattle, Dallas, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. Each city will offer tips, tools and trainings for small businesses to start, succeed and grow. Also, in Washington, D.C., June 21, award winners from across the country, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be recognized for their accomplishments.

In addition to in-person events, small business owners can participate in online-only panel discussions on hot topics like social media and business financing starting daily at 4pm ET. All events, in-person and online, will be streamed live on www.sba.gov/smallbusinessweek. Also visit this site for a full schedule of events and additional information.

The event hashtag is #SBW2013.

Small Business Week 2013 sponsors include: Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Microsoft, National Association of the Self Employed (NASE), Arlington Texas Chamber of Commerce, AT&T, ADP, Western Pennsylvania Small Business Network, Staples, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp., Visa, Women Impacting Public Policy, Lockheed Martin, National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, Business Forward and Office Depot.

Your Next Car May Feature Gorilla Glass

Anyone familiar with Smartphone technology know the name Corning Gorilla Glass. The ultra-durable glass is used in the displays of Apple's iPhones, Samsung's Galaxy devices and a large number of other mobile devices; it can be found in 1.5 billion electronic devices today. But the next market for the lightweight material might surprise you! The company is looking to auto manufactures looking to replacing some of their standard glass used on the windows of automobiles.

With today's trend to create quieter and more fuel efficient cars auto maker are constantly looking for new more effective ways to make lighter vehicles and improve fuel economy. Using Gorilla Glass would help reduce a vehicle’s weight and lower its center of mass, boosting fuel economy by up to a few percentage points depending on how much of the glass is used, according to Corning senior vice president Jeffrey Evenson, who was speaking after MIT Technology Review’s Mobile Summit in San Francisco today. Cars that use the material will also be quieter inside, he said. He expects at least one high-end auto maker to start making cars that use some Gorilla Glass within the next year.

Automobiles are just one of a few new application Corning exploring for their durable Gorilla Glass. The company is also working on the next generation of its display materials for other markets. For example, Evenson said he hopes that Corning’s development-stage “antimicrobial” glass will be certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within the next few months. The material would initially be used in the health-care industry to keep device interactions more sanitary, but smartphones are also a possibility. “The bacteria are obliterated,” he says. “The number of germs on a smartphone exceeds the number of germs on a public toilet. We think there might be a bigger market.”

The most anticipated product on the horizon for Corning, however, is Willow Glass, a material that is flexible like plastic and as thin as a dollar bill but has the durability and stability of glass (see “Glass Manufacturing That Bends the Rules”). Evenson believes that Willow Glass could spur the creation of “hundreds of new products,” ranging from flexible displays that conform to the human body to new insulating layers in semiconductors that will help sustain the continued progress of Moore’s Law.

Apple Agrees To $53 Million Settlement In Faulty Liquid Sensor Lawsuit, Refunds Coming Soon

Apple has agreed to a $53 Million dollar settlement in a class action lawsuit involving faulty indicators showing that iPhones and iPods were exposed to water which allowed the company to deny customers’ warranty claims. At the heart of the case were claims that Apple used positive readings on a faulty liquid sensor. The sensors would normally allow Apple to refuse to repair a device even if it was under warranty. The plaintiffs in the case claimed that the liquid damage sensor on their iPhone or iPad showed a positive reading just from every day use, even if the unit in question was only used in the Sahara Desert and never came within an inch of water or any other liquid.

The case is In Re Apple Iphone/Ipod Warranty Litigation, 10-01610, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco), was originally brought forth by Charlene Gallion of San Francisco. Back in April of 2010, she took her non-functioning Apple iPhone 3G to an Apple Store and was told she could not receive a free repair or replacement because the Liquid Submersion Indicator had a positive reading, indicating that the device had been submerged in a liquid. It was later determined that the sensor were indeed malfunctioning creating false positives.

The class action suit covers those with a rejected warranty claim before December 31, 2009 with affected devices which include the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the first-, second and third-generation iPod Touch. Payouts are expected to be around $200 and could be less or double based on the number of claims submitted.


The settlement, which still requires the court's approval, will be held in a fund to be distributed among the 153,000 members of the class-action suit, according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. 

Microsoft Unleashes New Xbox One

Microsoft looks to add to their presence in consumer electronics and the gaming console arena with the announcement of the new Xbox One. The new all-in-one gaming and entertainment system brings together games, TV, movies, music, sports and Skype and features many improvements over Microsoft's current market leading Xbox 360 console.

Xbox One

“Xbox One is designed to deliver a whole new generation of blockbuster games, television and entertainment in a powerful, all-in-one device,” said Xbox exec Don Mattrick. “Our unique, modern architecture brings simplicity to the living room and, for the first time ever, the ability to instantly switch across your games and entertainment.”

The console features a new processor, 8GB of memory, a Blu-ray Disc drive and 500GB hard-disk drive both HDMI in and out and a USB 3.0 ports and Wi-Fi Direct. It's based on a new architecture that combines a dedicated Xbox architecture with the Windows kernel, on which web apps are run.

Xbox Kinect also receives and update with a new 1080p camera and USB 3.0 for better data streaming to the console faster. Its overhauled system has a wider field of view, and can track more of your body's joints for better motion capture.Adding to the list of improvements is a new upgraded controller that Microsoft says has 40 new design innovations, including impulse triggers, Wi-Fi direct radio stack, integrated battery compartment and a precision directional pad.

Xbox Live is getting an upgrade, as well. To support the new cloud-based features, Xbox Live will run on 300,000 servers for the Xbox One -- up from 3,000 servers for Xbox 360.

Four blockbuster sports games from Electronic Arts will come to the Xbox One: "FIFA 14," "Madden 25," "UFC," and "NBA Live 14." "Forza Motorsports 5" is also coming exclusively to the new console and will be available at launch.

Some other highlights from today’s announcement:

• Use Snap to switch between live TV, a movie, talking with your friends on Skype, or playing a game.
• OneGuide will help you find your favorite entertainment with ease. You can search by network, name or time – all with the sound of your voice.
• An all-new world, an all-new cast of character and an all-new story for “Call of Duty: Ghosts,” which has next-gen technical innovations built to support incredible gameplay advancements, and features all-new downloadable content debuting first and exclusively on the Xbox platform.
• Blur the line between gaming and TV with “Quantum Break,” from Remedy Entertainment, which integrates drama and gameplay into a seamless, immersive experience.
• Steven Spielberg is executive producing a live-action “Halo” television series, in partnership with 343 Industries and Xbox Entertainment Studios
• A multiyear, landmark partnership with the NFL, which will leverage Microsoft devices and services both in-game and on the sideline.

Pricing and availability details are still unknown, with Microsoft simply stating the console with be available "later this year." Visit the Xbox Wire blog and read the press release for more in-depth features on the new system, including photos and video.

Sony Shows Off PlayStation 4 In Teaser Video

Details about the new Sony PlayStation 4 are still fairly sparse, however thanks to today's PSN blog post gamers get a sneak peek at the new gaming console and some of its accessories.

The short,39 second video, shows the camera slowly honing in on a blurry image of a black box amidst flashes to close-ups of the console and related hardware such as the new DualShock 4 controller and the PlayStation Eye camera. Gamers wanting to see more of the new device are asked to RSVP via an event page on Facebook. The event will be a live viewing of PlayStation’s E3 2013 Press Conference on 6/10 starting at 6:00pm Pacific Time.

To see more on the new PS4 checkout the official PlayStation page: http://us.playstation.com/ps4/

Samsung Announces $800,000 Smart App Challenge

Samsung Electronics has announced the second annual Samsung Smart App Challenge 2013, a global app competition aimed at finding new applications and fostering innovation in the smartphone application arena. A total of 10 entries will be selected as winners, receiving a record total of $800,000 in prize money along with a variety of promotional benefits.

The challenge is open to all mobile application developers across the globe. Developers who wish to participate should sign up directly on the App Challenge website (http://www.smartappchallenge.com) and register their apps on Samsung Apps from 20^th June to 31^st August.

Contest entrants will be one category. “Smart Chord Apps,” which can be used for development of ‘Group Play’ service on GALAXY S4, a panel of judges will decide the winning entries, which will consist of 10 innovative applications which use group management functionality in interesting and experiential ways. The applicants have to use “Samsung Chord SDK” which helps developers create a group with multi-devices in real-time, automatically, requiring no manual processing of devices which join or leave the group.
 
Winning entrants will be rewarded with high prize money and a variety of promotional benefits through Samsung’s global channels. They will be given a chance also to be pitched their app to Samsung Venture Investment just after the ceremony for the winners.

Entry Requirements: 

• Apps must have English language support and may offer multilingual support that includes English.
• You must submit an introduction of your app. (Click here to download the template)
• All entries should be sold on Samsung Apps after May 1, 2013.
• You cannot enter paid promotion apps or apps that are subject to a contract with Samsung.
• If you have incorporated IAP(In-App Purchase) function, you must use Samsung IAP.
  If you insert advertisements into the app, you must use Samsung AdHub.

Judging criteria will be based on the apps uniqueness, commercial potential, functionality, usability and overall design. Winning entries will be considered for investment from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation and offered promotional benefits through Samsung Apps and Samsung Developer site channels as well as promotion through a Samsung Electronics press release. With additional promotion through Samsung Mobile, Samsung Apps and Samsung developers’ social media channels.

For more information on Samsung Smart App Challenge 2013, please visit the challenge website (http://www.smartappchallenge.com).

NVIDIA Shield Gaming Console Gets Official At $349

NVIDIA has finally taken the wraps off their new Android gaming console know as Project SHIELD. The gaming device was revealed at CES and took many by surprise, but today NVIDIA’s released all the details you've been waiting for.

Before today all we knew about Project SHIELD was that it was coming soon, and it would rock a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor. But the full array of details weren’t yet know until earlier today.

For $349 here’s what you’ll get:

• Tegra 4 – The world’s fastest mobile processor delivers rich graphics and unbeatable performance thanks to 72 GPU cores, four CPU cores and 2GB of RAM
• Console-grade controller – Precise control thanks to dual analog joysticks, a full-sized D-Pad, left and right analog triggers, full-sized bumpers and A/B/X/Y buttons
• Multi-touch display – 5-inch, 720p retinal multi-touch display for high-fidelity visuals
• Integrated speakers – Custom, bass reflex, tuned port audio system – we think this is SHIELD’s sleeper feature
• Wi-Fi – 802.11n 2X2 MIMO game-speed Wi-Fi for game streaming
• Pure Android – Latest Android Jelly Bean operating system from Google, for access to Android games and apps
• There’s more – We put into SHIELD everything we would want in a premium mobile gaming device: 16 GB memory, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, a mini-HDMI output, micro-USB 2.0, a microSD storage slot, a 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack. See the full spec sheet, here.

SHIELD runs on a completely stock from Google, version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and will come out of the box pre-loaded with NVIDIA’s TegraZone for a suite of Tegra-optimized games that will make the experience top notch. As well as two free games for those who pre-order. You’ll get Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode II, and Expendable: Rearmed absolutely free. This means you can connect to your Google Play account to enjoy your favorite games as well as movies, music and apps. NVIDIA plans to add NVIDIA GRID and Geforce streaming support, which will give SHIELD the power to access your NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPU-powered computer and boost the consoles gaming power through the use of grid computing. There are also plans to add streaming of your favorite PC games to SHIELD, including great titles from Steam.

NVIDIA also has a few accessories they’ll also be offering. A dedicated hard carrying case will be available for $39.99 that will offer charging while in the case via micro-USB, then they’ll have some lid covers. The aluminum silver trim when the device is closed (as pictured below) will be customizable with a gloss black, and carbon fiber lid options starting at $19.99. We can expect some custom engraved gaming versions and more coming soon too.

Project SHIELD will begin shipping in June for $349 and will be available at NVIDIA’s online store, Newegg, Gamestop and Microcenter. Pre-orders will go live on May 20^th from the partners listed above, and on shield.nvidia.com.

Source: NVIDIA

YouTube Launches Paid Channels With More Than 50 Pilot Partners

YouTube on Thursday announced plans to let content creators earn revenue for their offerings buy selling paid subscriptions to their videos, creating a prominent new marketplace for programming on the Internet. The new pilot program is launching with a small group of partners that will offer paid channels on YouTube with subscription fees starting at $0.99 per month. Every channel has a 14-day free trial, and many offer discounted yearly rates.

For now the program only features about 50 of partners, with other video makers reportedly coming on board soon. Some of the current partners include UFC Select, SmartTV.com, PGA Golf Academy and PhotoGuide+. Missing from the list however, were the biggest names in media, like the Walt Disney Company and Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal. Instead there were a lot of start-ups and indie style channels.

There has been no official word from YouTube as to whether or not we can expect big media channels to climb aboard or any further details about the revenue process and what the split with content creators might be. Currently YouTube keeps 45 percent of the revenue from the ads it sells and gives producers the rest. 

If you’re a YouTube creator and are interested in more details on building your own paid channel, let YouTube know here.

Adobe's New Subscription Only Service Explained

Today, Adobe kicked off their MAX conference with a big keynote address, at which the company announced the newest version of what will be a re-branding of their popular Creative Suite software. The new versions will be branded as Creative Cloud and will only be available on a subscription basis. That means, if you want the newest versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver or InDesign you're going to need to subscribe.

What exactly is Adobe Creative Cloud?

Creative Cloud is the new mash-up of all the Adobe professional creative desktop applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, and more — plus new features and upgrades. Instead of a one time installation from your typical install media Creative Cloud offer users a subscription service that is renewed monthly. Your basic software files will be installed locally however the software will work with Adobe's online services to act as a storage and file repository giving you syncing capabilities to have access to your files wherever you are, even on your mobile device. Cloud-based services let you build and publish websites, mobile apps, iPad publications, and content for any medium or device.

Your Creative Cloud desktop applications (such as Photoshop and Illustrator) are installed directly on your computer, so you won't need an ongoing Internet connection to use them on a daily basis. You will however, need to be online when you install and license your software. If you have an annual membership, you'll be asked to connect to the web to validate your software licenses every 30 days. However, you'll be able to use products for 180 days even if you're offline.

What are the Adobe Creative Cloud pricing plans?

Right now Adobe offers two different levels one being a full suite and the other being an app by app plan. For new Creative Cloud members it will be $49.99 and $19.99 per month.

• The single app full version of one desktop application $19.99/mo will offer 20GBs of cloud storage for file sharing and collaboration and limited access to services
• The full suite version will the entire application catalog is $49.99/mo and offers full versions of all of Adobe's most popular desktop applications — Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, and more plus full access to services to help create mobile-ready content and apps. You also get 20GB of cloud storage for file sharing and collaboration

There are also plans for teams and businesses which will offer more applications and storage or for students and teachers discounted pricing. Click here for more details on pricing.

What's New in the Adobe Creative Cloud Applications?
Photoshop. Like other members of the suite, have been updated to take advantage of the syncing mentioned above, with the ability to migrate presets and settings. It also lets users share to Behance, a creative pro social network, and save to the Adobe Creative Cloud. The CC version also adds a smart sharpen tool, the ability to use Camera Raw settings as filters, intelligent upsampling, multiple shape and path selection, and more 3D features formerly only included in the Extended edition. There is also a new feature called Camera Shake Reduction, the tool analyzes your photograph for camera motion, comes up with a path representing the shake motion, and aligns the photo pixels to remove the blur.

Illustrator, InDesign and Muse ad new fonts and new Kuler iPhone app that lets you snap a photo and tap at objects' colors to create a color swatch that can be synced to Illustrator for use as a color theme in your design project. Also in Illustrator is the new Touch Type tool, which lets you customize individual font characters by scaling and rotating them. To continue the syncing theme, Adobe Typekit fonts can now be synced.

Dreamweaver gets a new CSS visual editing tool, a new redesigned interface, JQuery UI widget support, and build support for PhoneGap, which lets you create iOS and Android apps. Edge Animate now includes motion paths, custom templates, support for an Akamai CDN, and support for swipe interfaces. Edge Reflow, which lets your site respond to different screen sizes, now has an Assets panel and Adobe Typekit integration for a huge font choice. Flash Professional CC has been rebuilt in 64-bit architecture, a new code editor, and enhanced HTML5 support.

For video geeks both Premiere Pro and After Effects feature updates. Premiere Pro updates include a simplified, redesigned timeline, a clip locator, the Adobe Anywhere collaboration server, integration of the Lumetri Deep Color engine, better closed captioning support, and precise audio control.

After Effects now benefits from the Live 3D Pipeline between After Effects CC and CINEMA 4D, an enhanced 3D Camera Tracker, and layer and mask snapping. The very cool Refine Edge tool takes a huge amount of tedium out of rotoscoping. For more detail on new stuff in the other video-related apps, including SpeedGrade, Audition, Encore, Media Encoder, Story Plus, and Prelude, read Adobe Reveals New Features in CS6 Video Apps.

For more information be sure to checkout the Creative Cloud FAQs.

Solar Plane Takes 18 Hrs To Complete First Leg Of "Across America" Mission

Adventurer Bertrand Piccard piloted his solar-powered airplane called Solar Impulse from San Francisco to Phoenix on Saturday, marking the first leg of his "Across America" fuel-free flight. The flight, which would have taken less than 2/3 the time in a car, started out from Moffett Field in the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday and ended when a landing at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport at 12:30 a.m. MST.

Solar Impulse is being piloted by Andre Borschberg, Solar Impulse's co-founder and CEO, and Swiss psychiatrist and adventure balloonist Bertrand Piccard who is mote noted for his record-setting, round-the-world balloon trips.

The solar only plane draw its power from its 12,000 photovoltaic cells, which soak up sunlight and store the electrical energy in batteries for use when the sun isn't shining. The plane generates as much power as a motor scooter for its four 10-horsepower motors.

Over the next couple of months, Solar Impulse is due to fly from Phoenix to Dallas-Fort Worth, then to St. Louis, then Washington, then New York. As ambitious as this odyssey is, it's just a warm-up for the venture's ultimate goal: circumnavigating the world with solar power in 2015.

Skype Shows Off Browser Plug-In For Outlook.com Calling

Microsoft is showing off a preview version of a new browser based Skype plugin for Outlook.com which allows users to make calls and send instant messages directly from the Outlook.com webmail. The Skype for Outlook.com preview will initially roll out in the United Kingdom and will be made available in the United States and Germany in the coming weeks. In the coming months, audio and video calling powered by Skype will be available in every Outlook.com inbox.

Skype for Outlook.com requires a one-time download of a plugin for your browser (available for the most recent versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox). After you download the plugin, simply connect Skype to Outlook.com using your Microsoft account.

Customers with an existing Skype account will be asked to link Skype and Outlook.com in a few simple steps. Just merge your Microsoft and Skype accounts and you’re off and running. This will also allow you to add all of your Skype contacts to Outlook.com contacts.

For more details on the new service checkout the Skype Blog.

Google Street View Adds Hungary and Lesotho Marking Its 50th Countries

Google Street View is celebrating a milestone of sorts, reaching the 50 country mark with the launch of Street View in Hungary and Lesotho. The company says this most recent update is also the largest single update of Street View imagery ever pushed, including new and updated imagery for nearly 350,000 miles of roads across 14 countries.

Google originally launched Street View in 2007 in five U.S. cities as a new Google Maps feature that showed users a 360-degree view from the streets of select cities. Today the service features thousands of cities and villages worldwide, from Antarctica to Australia, from South Korea to South Africa, from the snow-capped peaks of Everest to the Great Barrier Reef. Street View has even been updated to allow users to view things like their favorite ski slopes as well as outdoor attractions like theme parkshttp://www.geek-news.net/2012/05/using-street-view-to-preview-your.html. You can even navigate indoors with businesses sharing photos of certain locations.

In all more than 5 million miles of the world can be previewed with the newest update to Street View.

Adobe Lightroom 5 Public Beta Now Available

For the serious camera buffs out there Adobe's Lightroom is likely one of the many must have tools in your toolkit. However for the average geek or the beginning photographer you may not yet be familiar with the software. Today that can all change, and even better, for free!

Adobe has announced that it will be making the Lightroom 5 Beta now available as a free download at labs.adobe.com. All you need to do is have or create a free Adobe account. Simply supply a bit of personal information and a valid email, and you are in! The new release doesn't add a ton of head-turning changes like its predecessor, but it does offer a would be users some serious tools that are definitely worthy of the download time. Users will find useful tools like a more capable healing brush, new perspective corrections, Smart Previews for more efficient editing, and video slideshow creation.

You can install it on a PC running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8, or on a Mac with OS X 10.7 Lion and later. The company is encouraging beta testers to leave comments at http://feedback.photoshop.com after downloading the free Lightroom 5 Beta from labs.adobe.com. The beta expires on June 30, 2013, which makes me suspect that we'll see the full released version around that time, if not before. Adobe has yet to release any pricing details on the new release, for now that doesn't really matter though since the beta is free.

Microsoft Teams With Lionsgate For The Hunger Games Explorer Web Experience, Internet Explorer Not Needed

The much anticipated second film in the blockbuster The Hunger Games franchise, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, is set for release November 22, Microsoft and the Internet Explorer team has teamed up with Lionsgate to bring fans a new highly interactive web experience dubbed The Hunger Games Explorer.

The first trailer for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” has been added to YouTube after premiering during last night’s telecast of the MTV Movie Awards. Following that launch Lionsgate debuted the new new site which features a customizable fan experience allowing visitors to tailor and filter content which includes fan blogs and tweets along side official content straight from Lionsgate, including trailers, exclusive videos, photos of the cast and more.

“We have the best fans in the world, and starting tonight they have a home on the web where they can be a part of The Hunger Games experience and contribute to the excitement for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” said Danielle De Palma, senior vice president digital marketing, Lionsgate. “The Hunger Games Explorer is not only a place for fans to spark the conversation around Catching Fire, it is also a destination for us to continue to provide fans with new content, experiences and unprecedented behind the scenes access.”

The  Hunger Games Explorer site showcases a responsive web design, multi-touch and HTML5, meant to promote Windows 8 with IE10, as well as other modern platforms across the web. However Internet Explorer is not needed to explore the site. It runs perfectly flawlessly with both Firefox and Google Chrome web browsers.

Facebook Home Now Available, Looks Like A Security And Privacy Nightmare

Facebook's newly introduced Facebook Home UI for Android is now available for those owners of the HTC First, HTC One X, HTC One X+, the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Samsung Galaxy Note II. The new Android launcher aims to bring a more "people-centric" view to your device and offers several changes and a more Facebook centric experience to Android.

For those that haven't had a chance to review the feature of the new app here is a quick rundown of what to expect. When you turn on a phone running Facebook Home, the lock screen and the home screen default to something called Cover feed. Cover feed is a running steeam from your News Feed, complete with post and images showing what your friends are currently sharing on their Facebook profiles. You will also see push notifications. These include updates from Facebook and other apps on your home screen. You can choose to move notifications away until you want to access them later or you can flick them away from view.

In addition to the Facebook centric side of the launcher you'll see a new app launcher that overwrites your standard view. From your profile bubble you'll be able to launch your phones apps, Facebook apps or even the messenger app.

Facebook Home Security and Privacy

When it was initially announced Facebook home faced sever scrutiny over privacy concerns, prompting Facebook to issue a response. This response however is very short sided and doesn't address any on device concerns. It more or less only address your concerns about how and what Facebook shares. The major concern should be with how the app handles security on the device, which is very poorly.

I download the app today and ran it on my Galaxy S III. Immediately I noticed you don't need to unlock the screen to see any of my friends or their posts. I re-adjusted my setting only to see that even with the highest level of protection my GS III offers (password), anyone with access to my phone did so in a totally unlocked state. This means not only can they see and comment on my Facebook (or my friends) they had total access to my personal info on my phone. COMPLETE CONTROL!

Needs to say I un-installed it as soon as I could! If you want to try to give it a go and see what I'm talking about for yourself visit the Google Play store.

Samsung Experience Shops Coming To Best Buy

Best Buy brick and mortar shoppers will soon see something new, a Samsung branded "Experience Shop" in the aisles at select Best Buy locations.

Samsung and Best Buy have announced the opening of Samsung Experience Shops in 1,400 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile specialty stores across the U.S. These shops within a shop will allow customers to explore, purchase, activate, and receive service on a wide range of Samsung devices including mobile products, laptops, cameras TV and accessories.

The SES stores are  going to feature Samsung Employees, specifically trained and equipped to handle Samsung specific questions. The stores will stock and support a full range of mobile products, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, connected cameras, and accessories, all available in a single location within Best Buy.

"Samsung has been delivering the latest innovation across the consumer electronics category for some time," said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America. "With the Samsung Experience Shops, we are ensuring consumers get the most of that innovation by learning how to leverage their mobile devices across our ecosystem of consumer electronics. Consumers will have one place to not only explore and learn about our full portfolio of mobile products, but also the support of a Samsung expert to help with selecting and servicing them. This will truly be a unique mobile shopping experience."

These specialized shops will vary in size, the largest being around 460 square feet. Larger shops will showcase a "Samsung Connected Solutions" area to demonstrate Samsung devices being connected to and sharing content with each other.

You can find more details, as well as location information on the Samsung Experience BestBuy.com landing page.

European Regulators Investigating Google Over Privacy Concerns

Google may soon be facing a new legal threat from across the pond as regulators from six European countries launch investigations over online data protection and privacy concerns.

Authorities in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.K. have voiced concerns over privacy policy changes Google enacted back in 2012. So far the search giant has refusing to reverse changes to its privacy policies leading regulators to take potential action which resulted int he regulators resolving to conduct investigations or inspections of Google's privacy policy. The precise nature of the actions will depend on how the European Data Protection Directive has been transposed in their respective national laws, however it could result in stiff penalties and fines. There is even the potential for regulators to sue to block Google from operating in Europe.

After the French National Commission on Computing and Liberty (CNIL) investigation concluded in October, CNIL said in a statement on Tuesday that "the EU Data protection authorities asked Google to comply with their recommendations within four months," . "After this period has expired, Google has not implemented any significant compliance measures."

The agencies complained that Google was not doing enough to comply with EU regulations and have stonewalled the agencies requests for over a year about their concerns that its unification of more than 60 separate privacy policies last year could confuse users and leave them unsure how their data was being used.

"We put our concerns to Google [in October] and gave them a date to respond," said a spokesperson for the ICO. "They failed to respond. We had a meeting in March and Google was present, and gave them a deadline to respond. They failed to respond. Google has failed to address the concerns or take on board the recommendations from the meeting held last month."

The UK's information commissioner's office (ICO) can levy fines of up to £500,000 ($756,400) for breaches of the Data Protection Act. A decision is expected by summer 2013.

April Fools Day Around The Web

April Fools day always marks a great day for tech geeks. Most of our favorite sites come up with some often unique, often surprising, and occasionally scary ideas. Aprils Fools 2013 has been no different.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Google: The search engine giant always comes up with some unique pranks. This year they told us YouTube was an eight year long contest and would be shutting down. Sunday morning, the day before April Fool's, YouTube posted a post titled, "YouTube's ready to select a winner." In it, employees from YouTube explain that, starting at midnight tonight, the site will go offline. They'll then begin narrowing down the best video, with a winner announced when YouTube goes back online in -- wait for it -- 2023.

"We're so close to the end," explains YouTube's "Competition Director," Tim Liston, in the video's opening scene. "Tonight at midnight, YouTube.com will no longer be accepting entries. After eight amazing years, it is finally time to review everything that has been uploaded to our site and begin the process of selecting a winner."

They followed that up with Google Nose a new service in beta that “leverages new and existing technologies to offer the sharpest olfactory experience available”.

SwiftKey: The popular smartphone add-on introduced SwiftKey Tilt, described as a “whole-body typing experience” by the company. SwiftKey Tilt works by using a pinball that moves across the keyboard, using the smartphone’s accelerometer. The accelerometer is targeted by the user’s moves, and when the pinball hits a prediction, you get a word.

Twitter: The popular social media site has has announced it will no longer allow the use of vowels in tweets. The service says that by eliminating vowels, they are helping users to a "more efficient, and 'dense' form of communication."

Mozilla Offering Free Firefox OS Phone Workshops To Developers

App developers looking to expand their reach to the newly announced Firefox OS have a have chance to attend a recently announced workshop series designed to help spark interest in app development for the forthcoming Firefox OS. As part of the program Mozilla is offering a chance to get hands-on access to Firefox OS devs, as well as Firefox OS Developer Preview hardware.

Workshops will be taking place in Madrid, Spain on April 20th, Bogota, Columbia on May 18th and Warsaw, Poland on June 1st. All applicants must go through an application process, in which interested developers must demo their skills to gain access to Firefox OS Developer Preview hardware.

Mozilla states that space is limited to these workshops, although an official number of how many developers will be let in has been provided. This move could bode well for Firefox, and possibly give the Firefox OS a chance against Android and iOS when it hits the U.S. in 2014.

What The Workshops Will Offer

• A great place to hack.
• Hands-on help from Firefox OS developers.
• Food, drink and demos. And t-shirts, of course.
• More code, less talk.
• Firefox OS Developer Preview phones, really!

How to Prepare

There’s more than one way to start building Firefox apps. Here are a few resources to get you started:

• Firefox OS Quick Start
• Getting started with Open Web Apps – why and how
• Using WebAPIs to make the web layer more capable
• Introducing Web Activities
• What is a FirefoxOS App anyways? (video introduction)
• Learn about the latest Firefox OS Simulator
• Read the docs: Creating Apps for Firefox OS

For those interested fill out the Firefox OS Workshop application form.