Author: Zach Walton

Much like the annual release of the iPhone, we can now count on an annual release for Samsung’s Galaxy S line. The latest model – presumably called the Galaxy S IV – will be unveiled sometime in March. The previous rumor said the date would be March 15, but a new rumor pegs it as one day before.

SamMobile reports that the Galaxy S IV will be revealed to the world on March 14 in New York City. The news comes from Eldar Murtazin, founder of a large Russian telecom Web sites. His tips are reportedly solid so many are assuming that this is the date Samsung has planned for the big reveal.

The Galaxy S IV, much like the iPhone 5S, has been the subject of many rumors and reports lately as people want all the information they can get on Samsung’s new flagship mobile device. The latest rumors say the device will feature a 4.99-inch Super AMOLED HD display with a 1920×1080 resolution, an Exynos 5 Octa CPU, a Mali-T678 GPU, 2GB of RAM, a 13 MP rear camera and a 2 MP front camera.

So, when will you be able to get your hands on the newest Galaxy S? The latest rumors put the launch date at some point in April. There’s no word on how much it will cost, but I would assume it would be about the same as the Galaxy S III.

Speaking of which, it’s probably safe to assume that the Galaxy S III will get a price drop around the time of the Galaxy S IV launch. That means Samsung’s current flagship device will become even more popular, which is kind of hard to believe after its already stellar success.

Prosthetic hands have been around for a while, but there have been a number of recent advancements in the field that have made them cheaper and more refined. The latest advancement revealed this week tackles a long sought after result of prosthetics – restoring one’s sense of touch.

The Independent reports that an unnamed man in Rome will be having his hand replaced with a prosthetic later this year after losing it in accident. The hand is unique in that it connects with two main nerves in the arm to bring a sense of touch through built-in skin sensors in the prosthetic hand.

Obviously, this is a huge advancement in prosthetics. The researchers working on the hand say it is “real hope for amputees.” The hand will “be the first prosthetic that will provide real-time sensory feedback for grasping.”

The arm does have a few risks associated with it though. For one, the psychological toll of the arm has not yet been fully tested. The researchers aren’t entirely sure how a patient would be affected by having the arm attached at all times. Those equipped with the prosthetic hand may have to take it off for regular breaks every so often. The other is dealing with how doctors will conceal the wiring in the hand that connects to the nerves in the arm. For now, the wiring will be inserted through the skin, but later versions may lay the wiring underneath it.

The test subject will be outfitted with the hand for a month. If the test goes smoothly, researchers hope to have a fully working model ready within two years. From there, it could be put through more rigorous testing in the hopes of a mass market prosthetic for more people.

For now, why don’t you 3D print your own robohand?

[Image Source]

Rock Band isn’t as popular as it once was. Heck, the entire rhythm/plastic peripheral genre is a mere shadow of its old self. That being said, Harmonix deserves a lot of respect for keeping weekly DLC updates for the titles alive all this time even after the genre all but died out. Everything must end, however, and Rock Band is finally climbing the stairway to heaven in April.

Harmonix announced today that Rock Band will stop receiving weekly DLC updates on April 2 after five years of non-stop updates. The existing 4,000+ songs will remain active for those who want to keep buying songs for their existing copies of Rock Band 1 through 3 and Rock Band Blitz. Just don’t expect anything new in the future.

Here’s the word straight from Harmonix:

As you may have seen in our recent announcement regarding the release of Rock Band Blitz tracks as singles, Rock Band DLC production has gradually slowed over the past 5 years. We’ve managed to maintain a consistent release schedule for a staggering 275 consecutive weeks, releasing over 4,000 songs for the Rock Band Platform, but in recent months we’ve scaled production down as we’ve transitioned resources onto other projects. With several new titles in development and developers needed to usher these new games along, April 2nd will be the last weekly DLC release for Rock Band.

While there is no content currently scheduled beyond April 2nd, we still have DLC releases lined up for the next few weeks, including the remaining tracks from RB Blitz, several Pro guitar upgrades, and a handful of artists who have not yet appeared in Rock Band. We’re incredibly proud of the DLC milestones we’ve set, especially producing the largest music library of any game available, and we wouldn’t have been able to release as much outstanding content without the support of our amazing community. As thanks to the community, we’re going to continue the ongoing DLC sale of 50% off over 1,100 songs so fans can continue to build their personal libraries from our back catalog.

We hope that you’ll all agree that this has been a tremendous run, and you should know it’s a ride that we at Harmonix have been thrilled to be a part of. We’re going to continue to support the forums and RockBand.com and hope to still see you rocking out online, in photos of Rock Band parties shared on Twitter and Facebook, or here on the forums. Whether you waited in line for a midnight release of Rock Band over 5 years ago, or you just joined the party with Rock Band Blitz… whether you’ve downloaded every single song we’ve ever released, or you’ve just played on disc songs until your neighbors moved away… whether you’re a metal shredder, or a bubblegum pop singer… thank you for being a part of our band.

It’s not too surprising to see Harmonix end DLC support for Rock Band. Many, including myself, thought they would give up on the title years ago after Dance Central proved to be a huge hit. Still, it’s gratifying to see a developer stick with its dwindling number of fans this long after a game ceased being relevant.

We’re sure going to miss you, weekly Rock Band update. You made the boring PSN updates of 2011 slightly less boring.

Since 1969, zoophiles have enjoyed protection under German law as the practice of bestiality was completely legal. Fast forward to last year, Germany was looking into getting rid of the law and replacing it with a ban on bestiality. The zoophile community didn’t like it one bit, and filed a suit against the government saying the law violated their rights.

A few months later, the folks at ZETA, a German zoophile-rights group, put together a peaceful protest/march that would make its way through the street of Berlin. The group used the mach to highlight the persecution that zoophiles face every day. The civil rights group, Equality for All, showed up to the protest as well. Here’s a picture of their display from Germany’s largest newspaper The Bird, courtesy of Free Thinker Unlimited:

It remains to be seen if ZETA’s efforts will have any effect on the national dialog regarding bestiality, but this first march may have inspired other zoophile groups around the world to go public. We may even start seeing other marches in other countries that ban bestiality.

That being said, it’s hard to believe that any progress towards legalization will actually happen. The core argument here is whether or not bestiality is animal abuse, and there’s no easy way to prove either scenario. Most lawmakers are probably going to err on the side of caution in the debate, however, and outlaw it until compelling evidence can validate either side’s argument.

Over the past few years, China has quickly become one of the largest consumers of smart devices. The iPhone is incredibly popular in the country, and cheap Android devices are obviously very popular as well. Despite that, the U.S. still held the lead as having the most activated smart devices.

Flurry, a mobile analytics company, released new numbers today which says China will surpass the U.S. in total smart device activations at the end of February. Using its tracking technology, Flurry was able to determine that China, if its growth continues like it has in the past, will have 246 million smart devices compared to the United States’ 230 million.

Will there be any way for the U.S. to catch back up after losing out to China later this month? No, at least according to Flurry’s statistics. The U.S. will hit a population barrier way before China ever does, and China has a quickly growing middle class that will be in the market for new smart devices for years to come.

Of course, all of this doesn’t mean that China will remain unchallenged in the world of smart device activations. India poses a small threat to China’s dominance with its massive population of 1.2 billion people. Flurry points out, however, that India only has 19 million smart device activations at this point, and the country doesn’t have the same middle class growth spurt that China is now experiencing.

In short, nobody will reasonably challenge China’s smart device dominance anytime soon, but there are countries experiencing massive growth in the proliferation of smart devices. China was number one in growth last year according to Flurry’s numbers, but now it’s in sixth place. Taking the number one spot this year is Colombia, followed by Vietnam, Turkey, the Ukraine and Egypt in that order.

With growth like this, it becomes obvious why companies like Mozilla and Canonical want to get into the smartphone business. These emerging markets are looking for entry smart devices that most of the major smartphone manufacturers can’t capitalize on without making some major concessions in regards to build quality or feature sets. Apple is rumored to be making a cheaper iPhone for these markets, and you can expect other OEMs to start making more entry level Android devices for these markets as well.

There’s something inherently fun about trying to throw wads of paper into a trash can from across the room. As kids, we held impromptu trash basketball tournaments to see who was the true master of trashketball. Now one Japanese inventor wants to take all the skill and challenge out of the revered “sport.”

At the most recent Japan Media Arts Festival, one inventor walked away with an Excellence Award for his smart trash can. It’s basically a trash can on wheels that communicates with a PC connected to Microsoft’s Kinect. The Kinect detects where the trash is, and moves the trash can to catch the object before it hits the ground.

This technology is being used in trash cans for now, but it has the potential to be used in other applications as well. There’s an increasing need for autonomous objects that can move and react to the world around them. The smart trash can is just one application made possible by the creation of autonomous objects.

Unfortunately, trash basketball may never be the same again if this takes off around the world. I weep for a generation that doesn’t know the shame of losing a game of trash basketball, and having to pick up all the trash from the floor as punishment.

Soon after Windows 8 came out, it was rumored that Microsoft would move the operating system to an annual release cycle called Windows Blue. It was to be a cheap, inexpensive option that would see Windows becoming more like Apple’s OS X. Nothing was confirmed, however, and we were left waiting for official confirmation. Now MIcrosoft themselves have confirmed the new OS in the most unlikely of places.

The Verge reports that Microsoft recently put up two job postings that explicitly referred to Windows Blue. The postings were looking for software development engineers that would work to bring Windows Blue to life later this year. The job postings have now been taken down, but The Verge managed to grab a snippet from one of the job descriptions:

We’re looking for an excellent, experienced SDET to join the Core Experience team in Windows Sustained Engineering (WinSE). The Core Experience features are the centerpiece of the new Windows UI, representing most of what customers touch and see in the OS, including: the start screen; application lifecycle; windowing; and personalization. Windows Blue promises to build and improve upon these aspects of the OS, enhancing ease of use and the overall user experience on devices and PCs worldwide.

The other job posting confirms that Windows Blue will be moving well beyond the desktop experience. Microsoft was looking for a senior development lead to work on building apps for Windows Phone Blue. It’s reported that the move to Windows Phone Blue essentially confirms that Windows Blue will be moving across all of Microsoft’s software and services. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Windows Blue also come to the next Xbox if rumors of it running Windows 8 are to be believed.

Still, we have no idea what Windows Blue exactly is, or when we’ll be seeing it. The last rumor pegged it for a mid-2013 release, and that still seems like the most plausible. It’s still unknown, however, if Microsoft will offer the cheap upgrades to current Windows 8 owners, or if it will offer a cheap upgrade to Windows 8 for those on Windows Vista and 7 in a bid to increase Windows 8′s marketshare.

Sony is planning to reveal the PlayStation 4, or whatever it’s called, this Wednesday. Before that happens, however, Sony has created a little history tour through PlayStation’s past. If you need to catch up on your gaming history, this is a good place to start.

First up, of course, is the original PlayStation. The result of a ruined relationship between Nintendo and Sony to build a CD-ROM add-on for the Super Nintendo turned into one of the most successful gaming consoles of all time. Sony was the first company to market video games to adults and it worked out super well for the company. It even beat out long time incumbents Nintendo and Sega.

Following up the original PlayStation with something even better seemed almost impossible, but Sony did that and more with the PlayStation 2. The PS2 has the distinct honor of being the best selling home video game console of all time with over 150 million units sold around the world. It helped that the console was the exclusive home to many of the generation’s best titles including Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Final Fantasy X and Shadow of the Colossus.

All good things must come to an end though. The PS3 didn’t have the best launch, and the $600 launch price was too much for many to swallow. Sony’s console also lost out on many of its exclusive franchises from the last generation as the Xbox 360 was also home to popular titles like Final Fantasy XIII. Regardless, the PS3 hit its stride a few years after launch, and now offers many of this generation’s best games, including Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and LittleBigPlanet.

Unfortunately, these videos don’t offer any hints to what we can expect on Wednesday. The hype is at an all time high though as the PlayStation faithful are figuratively frothing at the mouth for any and all information about the next generation of gaming from Sony.

All we can say is that it’s going to be big. This is the first true next-generation console debut, and people are already expecting a lot from Sony and Microsoft. Sony can’t really afford to mess this up like they did the original unveiling of the PlayStation 3, and Microsoft will be watching very closely to take advantage of any missteps. The worlds’ eyes are on you, Sony. No pressure.

For the longest time, the media industry has lobbied Google to censor its search results in favor of “legitimate” Web sites. Google gave in a little last year when it introduced a new ranking signal that puts pirated content lower on the search results page. Now Google may be working towards a new, more radical, way of removing pirated content from the net.

The Telegraph reports that Google is now working on a plan that would hit pirate sites where it hurts – their wallets. The search giant would work with payment companies to block funds from going to sites that collect fees or donations in return for access to pirated content. The hope is that blocking funds to these sites will hurt them far worse than Google censoring its results. In that way, Google’s search results can stay neutral and the media industry can kill off pirate sites.

Blocking funds from reaching certain Web sites is a slippery slope, however, and it’s reported that Google is a little concerned. The company reportedly fears that the big media players could use such a ploy to block funds from reaching smaller, yet legitimate, competitors.

Despite these concerns, it’s reported that Google is working with businesses to have something in place by Spring. Media companies would definitely want to have something out sooner than later, but hopefully Google will take its time to ensure this newest ploy doesn’t cause any collateral damage.

It should be noted that this plan may never actually see the light of day. Google and the media industry may not be able to reach an agreement that’s satisfactory for both parties. Heck, it may already be dead, and rumors of its existence may just finally be reaching the press.

Regardless, we’ve reached out to Google for comment on the matter, and will update if, and when, we hear back.

Sega bowed out of the hardware race in 2001 after the Dreamcast couldn’t keep up with Sony’s PlayStation 2. Since then, fans have prophesied the return of Sega hardware every September 9 in honor of the Dreamcast’s original release date of September 9, 1999. Finally, after 13 years of waiting, Sega fans can get their hands on some Sega hardware once again next month.

No, it’s not a new console, but Sega is releasing a number of notebook PCs with interchangeable covers inspired by the company’s past. There are covers for the Sega Mega Driver (Genesis), Saturn, Dreamcast and just a regular blue Sega cover.

The notebook PCs are only being made available in Japan for now. There will also be four models with varying specs ranging from decent to really good. The premium PC will retail for 194,250 yen, or $2,094 USD. For that price, you’ll get the 64-bit version of Windows 8, an Intel Core i7, 120 GB SSD, 8 GB of RAM, and a Nvidia GeForce GT650M GPU.

The computers will also ship with custom Sega themes and system sound effects. Fans have probably already made a collection of retro Sega system sounds, but hey, these are official.

Check out all the skins below:

I’m saddened by the lack of a Master System skin. The red/black color scheme would look awesome on a notebook PC.

[h/t: Eurogamer]

Earlier this week, President Obama surprised a lot of people in the 3D printing community by namedropping the technology during his State of the Union Address as a way to spur innovation and manufacturing in the U.S. It was the first time the technology had been brought up on the national stage in such a positive light.

Here’s what the President said about 3D printers:

There are things we can do, right now, to accelerate this trend. Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio. A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There’s no reason this can’t happen in other towns. So tonight, I’m announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask this Congress to help create a network of fifteen of these hubs and guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is Made in America.

Before the President joined in the chorus praising 3D printers, Rodney Brooks spoke at Solve For X on the potential of 3D printers to revolutionize American manufacturing. He also touches upon how robotics will help decrease costs. Check out his talk below:

[h/t: 3ders]

Canonical announced last week that Ubuntu Mobile would be launching across certain markets in October. The company didn’t say if the U.S. would be included in the initial launch, but U.S. based developers can start developing apps for the platform next month. There is a catch though – you must have one of Google’s Nexus smartphones.

The Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview will be launched on February 21, and will initially support Google’s Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 smartphones. The preview is intended for enthusiasts and developers who want to get a sneak peek at what Ubuntu has in store for mobile devices later this year. It will also be advantageous for developers who want to test Ubuntu Mobile apps on a real smartphone instead of an emulator.

There will be two ways for developers to get a hold of the Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview next week. The first will be a set of tools that Canonical will release on its Web site next Thursday that will allow you to flash your Nexus phone to Ubuntu. The other will involve meeting up with Canonical team members at Mobile World Congress on February 25. They will flash your phone to the latest version of the Developer Preview at their booth.

Those who don’t own a Nexus smartphone will be understandably saddened by the limited breadth of the first developer preview, but worry not, as new devices will be continuously added to the list of supported devices. There’s also a pretty big chance that developers will just build support for their own devices once the ROM is released. You can keep on top of developments at the Ubuntu Wiki.

[h/t: engadget]

Nintendo prides itself on making family friendly entertainment that anybody can enjoy. The Nintendo Wii was the best selling console in the last console generation largely due to it broad, casual appeal. That being said, a new study has found that the Wii may have been hiding a dark secret.

A study published last month in Mass Communication and Society looked to find if there was any correlation between hostility and the kind of controller being used while playing video games. The researchers at Mississippi State University found that players using a Wii remote and Nunchuck, combined with the physical activity required to play games using said controllers, led to increased hostility in players.

What game could the subjects possibly be playing on the Wii to lead to such hostility? As it turns out, the researchers chose Punch-Out!! as their game of choice. It’s a boxing game that’s very similar to the boxing game in Wii Sports. If you’ve played either, you know that you actually work up quite the sweat while playing these games. It’s no wonder that players become more hostile by swinging fists at the air.

Some gamers may be concerned that this study will only add to the perception that video games cause violent behavior, despite having no evidence backing up such claims. The good news is that it doesn’t as the research found that hostility was increased by a small amount during a 10-minute session. The researchers say they didn’t test long-term play, but I would assume you’d get more tired than hostile after playing Punch-Out!! for an hour.

What may be more interesting to gamers is that the study also looked at how controllers impact identification and presence. As in, which controllers allow players to relate better with the characters on screen. It found that motion-based controls increased both of these feelings in players, but found that they don’t necessarily create a feeling of immersion into the game’s environment.

You can find the full study here.

[h/t: Phys.org]

Despite claims to the contrary, it’s pretty much all but confirmed that Apple is working on a bigger iPhone. Previous reports had pegged the launch of this larger iPhone for next year, and a new report further corroborates the story.

AppleInsider says a recent report from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek found that Apple is indeed planning on launching a larger iPhone. The new device will reportedly feature a 4.8-inch screen, similar to the display found in rival Samsung’s Galaxy S IV. What’s interesting about this latest report, however, is that Apple was reportedly trying to get the bigger iPhone out this year before it ran into supply issues.

Misek’s report found that Apple tried to bump the phone into an October launch, but recently ran into trouble with its suppliers. They’re reportedly having trouble scaling the 4-inch display of the iPhone 5 to a 4.8-inch display. The issue has caused Apple to cancel its plans for a launch this year, and wait to launch the larger iPhone next year.

So, if Apple was planning on launching a larger iPhone this year, why did Apple CEO Tim Cook defend the size of the iPhone 5 earlier this year? Misek believes that Cook was trying to downplay any rumors of a larger screen size to keep people from waiting for the next iPhone instead of buying the iPhone 5.

Beyond display size, Misek’s report also features some details on what we can expect hardware wise from 2014′s iPhone. Apple is reportedly skipping the 28nm fabrication process entirely to build a 20nm processor that will feature four to eight cores instead of the dual-core now found in the iPhone 5. 2014′s iPhone may also feature an OLED screen, which would allow Apple to make the device thinner and less power hungry.

All of this is rumor for now, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see a larger iPhone in 2014. What about 2013 though? Will we see any major changes to the iPhone 5S that’s rumored for this year? All current rumors point to Apple not making any significant design changes, but this year may see the release of a cheaper, plastic iPhone designed for China and other emerging markets.

The latest NPD numbers for January were just released, and things aren’t looking good for Nintendo. The company that recently vowed to sell 4 million Wii U units by the end of March only managed to sell through less than 100,000 in January.

Gamasutra reports that the Wii U sold anywhere between 45,000 and 59,000 units in January according to numbers lifted from NPD’s private data. In its first three months on market, the Wii U has sold 38 percent less units than what the Wii did in its first three months.

So, is this a problem? Obviously, and Nintendo has to do something to get more hardware into more homes. Delaying multiple releases later into the year isn’t doing them any favors, and a rough casual market that’s increasingly focused on mobile gaming is definitely hurting them.

That being said, the rumors of Nintendo’s collapse are greatly exaggerated. Of course, this shouldn’t be anything new as industry analysts have predicted the collapse of Nintendo and other console manufacturers numerous times over the years due to disruptions in the gaming industry. Mobile gaming definitely presents the biggest threat yet, but I can assure you that Nintendo has plenty of cash reserves to stay afloat.

So, the Wii U is in a spot of trouble, but what can Nintendo do to get it selling again? First and foremost, it needs killer apps in the forms of software. Software sells hardware – not the other way around. The Wii U, much like the 3DS before it, launched without a killer app. Nintendo Land and ZombiU are both great games, but they aren’t exactly killer apps. Rayman Legends was the closest thing Nintendo had to a killer app, but we all know how that turned out. Now we’ll have to wait until Spring for the next great Wii U games to start trickling out.

Beyond killer software, Nintendo may need to drop the price of the Wii U. The Wii U is the most expensive console that Nintendo has ever produced, and the sales are looking like that of the 3DS when it first launched at $250. Dropping the price may help spur short term sales until killer software comes out that makes people want to upgrade.

For now, Nintendo is trying to spur sales with a ZombiU console bundle. It includes the entirety of the $350 premium console, and packs in a copy of ZombiU and a Pro Controller for $40 more. In all honesty, Nintendo should have kept the price of the new bundle at $350. It’s still a bargain at $390, but consumers don’t see an extra $40 as a deal.

Microsoft announced last month that Messenger would be merging into Skype on March 15. That’s not exactly the case anymore as Microsoft has extended the deadline by a month. That being said, Microsoft really thinks you should start moving to Skype now.

In a post on the Skype Big Blog today, Microsoft says that it will start to upgrade Messenger to Skype on Windows desktop starting April 8. The extension gives the stragglers a little more time to make their peace with the dying service. The upgrade process will take a few weeks so those using non-English versions will have a few more weeks. The company expects to finish the upgrades on April 30 withe the Brazilian Portugese client being upgraded last.

For those still concerned about the move, Microsoft offers a reason not to be. All the same features you enjoyed in Windows Live Messenger will be in Skype upon your arrival. You will also get the added benefit of many Skype features that were not in Messenger, including: