Updated: The BlackBerry Classic will blast in this December, boss lets slip

Are BlackBerry lovers living in the past, or do they just know what they want?

Update: A BlackBerry spokesperson confirmed with TechRadar that the company has yet to make any official announcements regarding the BlackBerry Classic's release date, and she was unable to confirm Chen's claim that it will be out in December.

That said, he would probably know, so we're going to bet on a December release date until we know better.

Original story follows…

The BlackBerry Classic is meant to be BlackBerry's return to form, a smartphone with several of the features that BB diehards miss from old handsets.

And it's going to launch this December, BlackBerry CEO John Chen let slip during a presentation at the MIT Enterprise Forum in Hong Kong this week.

Chen mentioned that BlackBerry's BES12 enterprise service will launch November 13, followed by the BB Classic "a month later."

We asked BlackBerry to confirm the Classic will be released in mid-December, but while we wait for their response you can watch Chen say as much in the video below around the 1:05 mark.

BlackBerry's Classic is an attempt to re-woo business users who don't want to give up physical keyboards and navigation buttons.

"Innovation is not about blowing up what works to make something new - it's about taking what works and making it better," Chen wrote in a recent letter aimed at former and current BlackBerry users.

He added that BB's current philosophy hinges on the adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Sign up at BlackBerry.com to receive official announcements as they happen. Or, better yet, keep checking in with TechRadar for the latest.

Will the Classic hold a candle to the iPhone 6?Via N4BB

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DxO Optics Pro 10 brings less noise and clearer skies

Cameras aren't perfect, lenses aren't perfect. You can put up with it, or dig deep and buy better ones. Or you could take a different route, using DxO's lab-developed correction profiles to correct image flaws digitally in DxO Optics Pro.

Optics Pro checks the EXIF data embedded automatically in your pictures to identify the camera and lens used, then looks them up in its database of correction profiles, which has now hit 20,000 camera-lens combinations, with new cameras and lenses being added all the time.

It uses these profiles to correct all the flaws associated with that camera-lens combination, automatically, and the transformation is often startling.

Optics Pro is also a raw converter, and uses the extra data in raw files to correct contrast, lighting, colors and more. This is where the new ClearView tool fits in – it detects distance haze in landscape shots, or smog in urban environments, and uses local adjustments to restore contrast and color. There's no need for selections, masks or graduated filter tools because the analysis and correction is done automatically.

DxO has also improved its PRIME noise reduction tool. This is used to smooth out high ISO shots while preserving detail and textures – this is where most noise reduction tools really struggle. Previously, PRIME worked really well, but it was slow – often taking several minutes to process a high-resolution image. DxO claims it's now four times faster.

But to get these new features, you'll need to get the more expensive DxO Optics Pro Elite edition. Optics Pro has always come in these Essential and Elite versions, but in the past the tools were the same in both and you only needed the Elite version for high-end or professional cameras.

The system has changed in Optics Pro 10. Now, all cameras are supported in both versions, but the Essential edition lacks some of the more advanced tools.

The Essential edition does benefit from the other enhancements in Optics Pro 10, however, including a claimed 10x faster startup time and 1.5x speed increase in use. DxO's Smart Lighting system has been improved so that it still brings out the shadows and highlights in your pictures, but with better automatic corrections and sharper looking detail.

That's not the only new release from DxO. The company has also announced version 2.5 of its ViewPoint application. This is a standalone program for correcting lens aberrations automatically and also fixing perspective issues like converging verticals and slanting skyscrapers.

ViewPoint 2.5 will straightened skewed buildings and correct converging verticals

It also fixes a thing called volume deformation. Never heard of it? You'll have seen it plenty, though, when someone is near the edge of the frame in a picture taken with a wideangle lens. It's what makes their head look oddly elongated.

DxO is very serious about optical corrections, as you'll have gathered, and you can buy and use ViewPoint 2.5 without Optics Pro, though it does now integrate fully with Optics Pro 10 as a plug-in, appearing in the sidebar in its own panel. ViewPoint 2.5 also works as a plug-in for Elements, Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture.

DxO's third announcement is FilmPack 5, a new version of its film simulation program. Version 5 adds 16 new analog film renderings, with classic films like Fuji Neopan 400 and Kodak Portra 400. These film simulations are created using laboratory analysis of real films and subjects to reproduce the grain, quality and style of the original film.

FilmPack 5 offers lab-tested classic film simulations

Like ViewPoint 2.5, FilmPack 5 can be used both as a standalone program and as a plug-in within DxO Optics Pro. It now supports RAW files and can apply DxO lens corrections automatically. A new Micro-contrast tool can give your subjects more definition and clarity, and the interface has had a redesign too.

Like DxO Optics Pro 10, FilmPack 5 is available in both Essential and Elite versions. Plug-in versions for Elements, Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture should arrive mid-November.

DxO Optics Pro 10 Essential will cost £99/US$129/AU$145, while the Elite version goes on sale at £159/£199/AU$224.

DxO Viewpoint 2.5 will cost £59/US$79/AU$89, while FilmPack 5 Essential is £59/$US79/AU$89 and FilmPack 5 Elite is £99/US$129/AU$145.

But DxO is running a special offer through to November 25 2014 where you can get all three programs at a reduced price. The Essential Photo Suite (DxO Optics Pro 10 Essential, ViewPoint 2.5, FilmPack 5 Essential) will cost £149/US$189/AU$213, while the Elite Photo Suite (DxO Optics Pro 10 Elite, ViewPoint 2.5, FilmPack 5 Elite) will cost £229/US$289/AU$326.

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Driven by GTA Online's success, Take-Two sees future in Internet games

Ahead of the re-release of Grand Theft Auto V for newer consoles, the game maker's fiscal second-quarter earnings shed light on its growing online business.

Grand Theft Auto V, the fastest-selling video game of all time, is seeing a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One release on November 18. Take-Two

Could Take-Two Interactive Software have found its equivalent of World of Warcraft?

Grand Theft Auto, the video game maker's most popular franchise, may be morphing into more than just a short-term cash cow by generating sales over longer periods of time. This is happening through an online world called GTA Online, which allows players to interact with one another and build homes, steal cars and pull off heists.

GTA Online's success gives Take-Two a product similar to Activision's World of Warcraft, itself one of the most successful online video games ever made. That game, which is set in a medieval fantasy world, attracted as many as 12 million gamers at its peak in 2010. Competitors have tried to replicate its success with mixed results, but Take-Two may have found its answer. That's part of what the company discussed during its better than expected fiscal second-quarter earnings, released Wednesday.

GTA Online was released alongside the fifth installment in the company's Grand Theft Auto crime drama series, which itself broke video game sales records when it was released last September. The game rung up more than $1 billion in sales in its first three days on the market. Now, GTA Online has become one of the company's most popular products.

Take-Two has said it plans to continue investing in GTA Online, offering new features when the company launches a remastered version of Grand Theft Auto made for PCs, as well as Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4 video game consoles.

"We expect this is something that will continue to grow," said Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two's CEO, in an interview. "We remain optimistic that GTA Online for next-gen will also delight consumers."

The move is part of Take-Two's broader efforts to sell games not just for PCs and consoles, but mobile devices as well -- and to do so over the Internet. Take-Two was one of the first video game companies to offer extended story lines for its games about a decade ago. The company has since expanded to selling full games over the Internet as well, an effort that swept the industry and became even more widespread after Apple's App Store became a popular way to sell apps for mobile devices.

Now, Take-Two said sales over the Internet reached $90 million in the second quarter, down slightly from the same time a year ago when Grand Theft Auto V was released.

Overall, Take-Two said sales in the quarter ending September 30 were $135.4 million, down from $1.27 billion in the year-ago period due to last fall's GTA V release, after adjustments for deferred revenue and other items. The company's adjusted loss came in at 44 cents a share, down from a profit of $2.49 a share a year ago when it released GTA V. Analysts had expected the company to report on average a loss of 59 cents on revenue of $110.9 million, according to surveys by Thomson Reuters.

Take-Two has long been known only for publishing and funding development for Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto, a series that boosts sales and profit with a new installment only every few years. Yet Take-Two has been changing its formula to stay competitive as other large publishers like Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard have moved resources toward sales through online marketplaces.

EA develops annual game titles for its FIFA soccer and Madden football franchises and has seen considerable growth in sales from the Ultimate Team fantasy sports services. Activision has spun off numerous titles from the Warcraft brand, including the free-to-play Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft tablet title. Take-Two is hoping its new titles can deliver similar long-term success that keeps players spending money online.

Investors responded favorably on Wednesday, sending Take Two's stock up more than 6 percent in after-hours trading. The company's shares have risen more than 31 percent so far this year.

For the third fiscal quarter ending December 30, Take-Two anticipates profit between $1.35 to $1.45 a share on sales between $735 to 760 million, after adjustments. Analysts on average estimate fiscal third-quarter earnings of $1.21 a share on sales of $778.6 million, according to surveys by Thomson Reuters.

Take-Two has raised its fiscal year sales guidance by $150 million to between $1.4 and $1.5 billion and increased its annual earnings forecast per share by 25 cents to between $1.05 and $1.30.

Ian Sherr Ian Sherr is a senior writer for CNET focused on social media and video game companies. He has previously written for The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and the Agence France-Presse. He's a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, though he knows what real weather feels like too. See full bio

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IBM can now push Twitter data into its analytics tools

Image via: The News International

Twitter and IBM have formed a partnership that will enable IBM to provide its clients with Twitter data as part of its suite of analytics tools.

The partnership will give app developers the ability to embed Twitter data into applications that leverage IBM Watson and IBM's Bluemix platform, among other uses.

As part of the agreement, the two companies will produce enterprise applications that integrate Twitter data with IBM's ExperienceOne customer engagement solutions. This tool will give sales, marketing, and customer service teams the ability to trace tweets back to product and brand sentiment.

IBM and Twitter have also collaborated on a consultancy that will provide specific verticals with practical information on how to leverage IBM solutions and Twitter data to improve business results.

This isn't the first time Twitter and IBM have gotten together to deal. Earlier this year, Twitter paid $36 million (£21.5 million, AU$39.5 million) to buy 900 patents from IBM.

Twitter bought the patents to avoid a legal dispute with IBM over the possible infringement of three or more of its patents, according to an SEC filing.

The industry has witnessed a significant amount of crossover recently, as analytics vendors and enterprise app developers partner with consumer-focused technology companies to improve access to data.

IBM recently formed a partnership with Apple to develop more than 100 industry-specific apps developed exclusively for Apple's mobile devices, including native applications.

Earlier this year, Twitter agreed to acquire social data technology provider Gnip. The acquisition was designed to enable Twitter to provide enhanced user data to third-parties.

Top CRM solutions for SMBs

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The Longest Journey arrives remastered for iOS

The hit point-and-click classic has been soft-launched in Australia and New Zealand, and is coming soon to the rest of the world.

Screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET

As Red Thread Games releases the next installment in the Longest Journey series -- Kickstarter-funded Dreamfall Chapters -- the studio is also gearing up for a global relaunch of the original 1999 game, remastered for iOS.

"The Longest Journey is truly more than a game -- it's more like a book, a movie and a game all rolled into one. Explore an interactive and beautifully created universe from the perspective of April Ryan, a young art student who soon discovers that there is more to her world than meets the eye," the description reads.

"With the power to pass between worlds like others pass from waking to sleep, April must embark on the longest journey of her life; a journey not only across twin worlds but also into her very own heart and soul. Embark on a voyage across phenomenal worlds, encounter a fantastic cast of unforgettable characters, and unravel one of the most epic stories ever told."

Three years in the making, the game is a faithful port of the original title, with graphics remastered for the high-resolution screens of iOS devices, both iPhone and iPad. The graphics can be a little rough around the edges in parts, but the point-and-click format works perfectly with the touchscreen platform.

At this point, The Longest Journey has only been soft-launched in Australia and New Zealand as a test market. It's expected to arrive globally soon, at which point it will come in at $6.99 (AU$8.99 | £4.99) in the iTunes app store.

Michelle Starr Michelle Starr is the tiger force at the core of all things. She also writes about cool stuff and apps as CNET Australia's Crave editor. But mostly the tiger force thing. See full bio

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Nintendo is building a sleep tracker, but you won't actually wear it

Zzzzzzz

Nintendo's mysterious 'quality of life' project is finally beginning to take shape, with the company announcing that it's working on a sleep-tracking device.

But what's most interesting about this product is that it isn't a wearable. Nintendo's gizmo is designed to work independently; it doesn't need to touch your body, it'll have very little waiting time, and apparently requires minimal setup.

The device, announced by Nintendo CEO and president Satoru Iwata in an investor briefing, uses radio waves to monitor a user's heart rate, movement, respiration and fatigue. It then fires that data over to servers for analysis.

The device is being built in collaboration with RedMed, a US manufacturer of technology for people with sleep disorders. Users will receive frequent updates about their quality of sleep, which will be sent to smart devices and dedicated Nintendo gaming platforms.

We won't be seeing it for some time though, as Nintendo is planning to launch its Quality of Life program in 2016.

"We expect the QOL-improving platform to provide us with new themes which we can then turn into games that operate on our future video game platforms too," said Iwata. "Once we have established such a cycle, we will see continuous positive interactions between the two platforms that enable us to make unique propositions."

The Wii Fit franchise was Nintendo's first foray into health, and proved a massive success for the company. But with a market now flooded with Fitbits, Jawbones and the likes, it'll be harder to stand out.

However, let's not forget that Nintendo has taken a variety of forms in its long lifetime, venturing into playing cards, love hotels, food, and even a taxi service, before it started making games. So we have faith that it can pull off health tech too.

Via Yahoo News

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Industry voice: Will Windows 10 be the catalyst for the remaining Windows XP users to upgrade?

Any OS upgrade must balance benefits against the cost

Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 recently and bolstered the new edition of the popular operating system with features end-users have been requesting from the company since it introduced Windows 8. From a business point of view, Windows 10 restores some familiar features, including the Start menu, but it is unlikely to act as a catalyst for a widespread business adoption as it doesn't have a 'hot new feature'.

Businesses have had ample time to move from Windows XP to Windows 7 or higher and that transition has proceeded quite well. Where there are still a number of Windows XP users out there, Windows 10 might seem like a great proposition for a system upgrade. However, those users on Windows 7 are likely to remain on Windows 7, mainly due to the lack of a major new feature, which would necessitate an upgrade. A portion of users will upgrade as they are early adopters, touchscreen users, and those who do like the post-Windows 8 look and feel.

Some of the key areas that could tempt the larger organisations to move to Windows 10 include the improved and expanded security features via Enterprise Data Protection (EDP). This means that users' personal data stays personal and corporate data stays on the corporate side, similar to Samsung Knox. For Windows power users, the virtual desktops could offer a new and exciting way of getting work done, but it means that Microsoft would need to find pockets of those users within businesses to make a case for the feature.

Another interesting area of focus for future development is whether Windows 10 will become a cross-platform operating system. Will this be the one operating system that runs from users' desktop, tablet, phone and Xbox? The interface is supposed to adapt to your end point device. At the moment, it may be a niche, but Microsoft's mobile ecosystem is still growing, so it could be something that would work favourably for Microsoft.

For businesses, any software upgrade will always come down to the benefits an upgrade will deliver balanced against what the cost will be. And an organization-wide upgrade to Windows 10 could be costly.

The final piece of the puzzle for businesses is the updates. No matter what the operating system, it will need to be kept up-to-date along with any third-party applications you are using. Companies need to apply relevant updates to keep their IT estates as risk-free as possible, and avoid any exploits that could lead to downtime or the loss of corporate – or customer – information.

In the consumer space, those who already run Windows 7 will most likely stick with it. Those on XP will most likely remain on XP as virtual desktops aren't relevant to their needs, and the refreshed interface with touch support will not change the applications they have used for years.

Sergio Galindo is general manager, infrastructure business unit, for GFI Software.

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Meet the Panono: a camera to make you throw up

Just don't forget to catch it.

Most people's idea of panoramic photography involves a tripod, a spirit level, a fiendishly complex panoramic tripod head and copious amounts of time.

The Panono's approach could hardly be more different. It's the size and shape of a grapefruit, it weighs just 440g and the cameras trigger automatically when it's thrown in the air. All the tricky stitching is taken care of by the Panono cloud service.

If you're working indoors where there's less light, the makers recommend using a tripod instead and controlling the Panono with its companion smartphone app, which comes in iOS and Android versions.

These aren't small images, either. The Panono's 36 cameras create a 108-megapixel image. Even so, the camera can store up to 400 of them in its internal memory. You can transfer them via WLAN or a regular USB connection.

Panono's maker says it will be available from Spring 2015 at an anticipated retail price of $US549/£340/AU$622. In the meantime, you can take a look at the camera and its specs at the Panono website.

You can also take a look at panoramic images which have been created with it – and some of them are quite breathtaking.

Panono sample image

You view them within a regular browser window – drag your mouse to pan and rotate the images and use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out.

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Tickets issued due to red-light cameras are illegal, says Florida court

An appeals court decides that in Florida, private companies that operate red-light cameras have no right to send out tickets.

Will the police department in Hollywood, Fla., now reissue thousands of tickets? StopOnRedFlorida/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

When we reach nerdvana, even the law will be automated.

A human court, however, has decided that a current form of automated law enforcement is actually unenforceable, at least in Florida.

I am grateful to the open-eyed bloodhounds at Watchdog for spotting a Florida appeals court ruling.

The judges mulled the fact that private owners of red-light cameras were the ones who sent out tickets. The judges concluded: "Hang on, that's not legal."

Clearly, those weren't the literal words used in the judgment (PDF). The Fourth District Court of Appeals phrased it like this: "The City is not authorized to delegate police power by entering into a contract that allows a private vendor to screen data and decide whether a violation has occurred before sending that data to a traffic infraction enforcement officer to use as the basis for authorizing a citation."

The city in question is Hollywood, Fla. The court went further and said: "Dismissal of the citation is the appropriate remedy where a private third party effectively decides whether a traffic violation has occurred and a citation should be issued."

This particular case involved American Traffic Solutions. It bills itself as "the leading provider of traffic safety, mobility and compliance solutions for state and local governments, commercial fleets and rental car companies."

It also boasts "over 3,000 Road Safety Camera systems installed and operating throughout the United States and Canada."

The company subpoenaed Eric Arem in 2011. He fought and lost, but won on appeal.

I have contacted the city of Hollywood to ask whether it will fight the ruling or whether it will have all the tickets reissued by the police department. There is also the option, presumably, of refunding money illegally obtained.

At the heart of the use of cameras -- whether at red lights or on highways -- is the suspicion that they're mere moneymakers. Last year, an Ohio judge described speed cameras as "nothing more than a high-tech game of 3-card Monty."

Earlier this year, residents of Tamarac, Fla., were incensed that a red-light camera had been mounted near the emergency room of a hospital.

Then there was the Baltimore case of a man who received a camera ticket that claimed he was speeding. It was sent with an image of his car completely stationary at a red light.

Authorities and private camera companies (see video above) say cameras improve safety. The National Motorists Association says they actually increase the number of accidents.

Of course, if this is all about money, the city of Hollywood may merely consider whether there's a cheap way to get tickets sent by its police department. If there is, perhaps nothing will change.

Who would be surprised, though, if the cost of actually having a member of law enforcement examine every ticket before it's sent means red-light cameras slink out of town?

Chris Matyszczyk Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. See full bio

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Intel plans to conquer the lounge (and your office) with this little device

The first of many Intel HDMI dongles

The first Intel-powered HDMI dongle has gone on sale on a popular Chinese retailing website, and while it is still more expensive than other ARM-powered dongles, it is also far more powerful.

The device, called the Meegopad T01, is the first of many of its type that are likely to be built with an Intel Bay Trail Atom processor in the build up to Christmas.

At $125 (about £77, AU$142), it supports Windows 8.1, Android and Linux, making it a more compelling option for businesses who might be interested in using it as a thin client like the Dell Wyse Cloud Connect.

The rest of the configuration is reminiscent of what you could find in the Pipo W2 (or indeed in any recently announced Baytrail-based tablet) bar the display, the cameras and the battery.

There's either 1GB or 2GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB onboard storage, a microSD slot, a HDMI port, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, two microUSB plus a USB 2.0 port and a 10W PSU.

Intel is systematically going wherever ARM is going and offering a comparable alternative based mostly on its BayTrail Atom processor family.

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Samsung supercharging enterprise servers with industry's first 8Gb DDR4 chips

8Gb DDR4 chips are being served

Samsung is looking to get its nose in front of the competition by producing the industry's first 8Gb DDR4 DRAM chips on 32GB modules.

Designed for use in enterprise servers, they are being produced using 20nm process technology and offer benefits such as improved error correction features and lower power usage, the South Korea-based company said in a statement.

According to Samsung, the new module's data transfer transfer rate per pin can reach up to 2,400 Mbps compared with the 1,866Mbps bandwidth of a DDR3 server module can manage - a 29% speed boost.

The new 8Gb DDR4 joins Samsung's existing line-up of 20nm manufactured DRAM that includes its 4Gb DDR3 chips for PCs and 6Gb LPDDR3 modules for mobile devices.

The company says that its new 8Gb chips will eventually allow production of server modules with a top capacity of 128GB through the use of 3D through-silicon-via (TSV) technology.

Via Businesswire

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NASA unveils fascinating images of Mars-buzzing comet

A large comet swooped in close to Mars over the weekend. NASA's orbiters had to hide from the debris, but still captured some great shots.

Siding Spring comet as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

NASA just released an image that shows four vague blobs of light. Normally, such an image wouldn't create much excitement, but this particular image is pretty special. Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring buzzed Mars over the weekend, putting NASA's three Mars orbiter spacecraft on high alert. The orbiters had to hide behind the planet to protect themselves from dust released by the comet, but they also managed to gather data and images of the comet.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter used its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera to capture images of Siding Spring from about 86,000 miles away. What researchers discovered after studying the images is that the nucleus of the comet is rather smaller than originally expected, coming in at less than a quarter-mile across.

A composite released by NASA shows two versions of the HiRISE images. The top blobs show the nucleus and coma (the hazy-looking envelope around the nucleus). The bottom images have the faint outer coma brightened. "The images are the highest-resolution views ever acquired of a comet coming from the Oort Cloud at the fringes of the solar system. Other spacecraft have approached and studied comets with shorter orbits," NASA notes.

The orbiters weren't the only human-made devices keeping an eye on the comet. The Opportunity rover looked up from the surface of Mars and captured images of the comet as it passed by. From Opportunity's viewpoint, the comet appeared as a bright object in the sky, not too much larger than a star.

"It's excitingly fortunate that this comet came so close to Mars to give us a chance to study it with the instruments we're using to study Mars," said Mark Lemmon, an Opportunity science team member. "The views from Mars rovers, in particular, give us a human perspective, because they are about as sensitive to light as our eyes would be."

The comet as seen from Opportunity. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./ASU/TAMU

Amanda Kooser Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET's Crave blog. When not wallowing in weird gadgets and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto. See full bio

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Form a new political party, fight zombies with the CraveCast crew

Halloween and elections are approaching, and sometimes it's tough to tell which is scarier. Join the CraveCast cabal Wednesday at noon Pacific when we'll talk about remaking democracy in our own image and siccing bears on the undead.

I'd bet on the bear here. AMC's "The Walking Dead;" video screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET

Nothing goes together better than politics and the living dead, so plan to join the CraveCast crew live on Wednesday at noon Pacific Time as we celebrate both Halloween and Election Day!

Kelsey Adams, Stephen Beacham, Bonnie Burton, Amanda Kooser and myself will take over the CNET studio to discuss the merits of forming a GNU political party for and by the nerds and geeks of the world. What would it stand for? Help us write our manifesto!

If you have a stronger interest in the zombie apocalypse then the democalypse, we'll also discuss the latest in zombie-proof real estate and answer the age-old question: Zombie vs. Bear -- who wins?

Bookmark this page and come back at showtime, when we'll embed the live broadcast below. Or watch on Xbox Live or on our YouTube Channel.

Send your questions and comments for the show now via Twitter to @Crave and @EricCMack or chat with us live during the show. And...go bears!

Eric Mack Crave freelancer Eric Mack is a writer, radio producer, and podcaster based in Taos, N.M., but he lives in Google+. He's also managing editor of Crowdsourcing.org and has written e-books on both Alaska and Android. E-mail Eric. See full bio

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Google acquires Firebase to help apps span Android, iOS, Web

Google will continue to offer Firebase's cloud-based synchronization service. It's a new step to making Google's tech foundation more compelling to programmers.

Firebase

Google has acquired Firebase, a company that offers developers a mechanism to write mobile and Web-based apps that stay in sync with each other.

The Firebase employees will become part of Google's cloud-computing team, Google said Tuesday. Firebase offers a service that lets apps running in browsers or on Apple's iOS and Google's Android mobile operating systems work in lockstep by saving and sharing data using central servers. Google will continue to operate the service.

"Over the past three years, we've gone from a crazy idea that 'just might work' to a proven product used by 110,000 developers. Today, I couldn't be happier to announce that we've joined Google," Firebase co-founder and Chief Executive James Tamplin said in a blog post.

The acquisition is part of Google's effort to cater to programmers -- the independent developers in the world who create software and applications and help cement the technology giants' power and keep them competitive with one another.

The current computing market is dominated by a handful of those technology giants, with Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon at the top of the list. Each has technology that reaches from low-level hardware to high-level apps and services. It's the programmers who help make those technology stacks relevant by building the apps and services that the rest of use -- everything from social networks to company expense-report tools.

Firebase should help Google lower hurdles for those programmers, Google said:

Mobile is one of the fastest-growing categories of app development, but it's also still too hard for most developers. With Firebase, developers are able to easily sync data across Web and mobile apps without having to manage connections or write complex sync logic. Firebase makes it easy to build applications that work offline and has full-featured libraries for all major Web and mobile platforms, including Android and iOS.

If you're already a Firebase developer, you'll start seeing improvements right away, and if you're a Google Cloud Platform customer, you'll find it even easier to create great mobile and Web apps. The entire Firebase team is joining Google and, under the leadership of Firebase co-founders James Tamplin and Andrew Lee, will be working hard to bring you great new features.

Google has a big jump on Apple when it comes to cloud computing foundations, but its primary mobile rival has been catching up. As for Microsoft, it already has significant cloud clout with its Azure service, and Amazon Web Services is the first port of call for programmers trying to get new online tools up and running quickly. Cloud services, ideally, are easy to tap into, and customers pay as they use them, thereby avoiding heavy upfront costs of buying hardware, software and network capacity of their own.

Tamplin said being under Google management should let Firebase improve its services faster.

Stephen Shankland Stephen Shankland has been a reporter at CNET since 1998 and covers browsers, Web development, digital photography and new technology. In the past he has been CNET's beat reporter for Google, Yahoo, Linux, open-source software, servers and supercomputers. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. See full bio

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Xbox One home screen customization confirmed for next update

Xbox One users will have way more customization options soon

Microsoft is absolutely killing it with Xbox One updates, and the next one to roll out is no exception.

The company promised when the new Xbox launched that it would frequently update it with new features, and the latest much-requested addition is the ability to assign background colors and images for each profile on your console.

Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Game Studios Phil Spencer signaled in early October, that this feature was coming, but he didn't say how soon.

Now Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has confirmed on Xbox Wire that users will be able to choose a custom background color or assign any high-res achievement photo - accessed by unlocking achievements in games - as their home screen image.

A later update will also let users set any image at all as their background, using the Xbox One's media player app.

There are also major changes to users' profiles, including the return of the "bio" section and the ability to pin certain screenshots, clips, achievements, and other materials to your profile as a sort of Xbox résumé.

The new live TV OneGuide also has trending lists and popular movie lists for users unsure what to watch, and there's a new "What's On" section of the dashboard that serves much the same purpose.

Finally the console's Internet Explorer app, SmartGlass, and the Xbox One store have all been improved as well.

Check out the video below to see some of these additions in action. The new update is rolling out to preview users now, and will arrive for more users in November.

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Review: Updated: Android 4.4 KitKat

Everyone was expecting Key Lime Pie to serve as the delicious moniker for the next version of Android. Google surprised us all by bucking tradition and releasing Android 4.4 under the name KitKat.

Version 4.0 started life as Ice Cream Sandwich, but the last three decimal additions came under the Jelly Bean banner. This new version was obviously deemed different enough to snag a new nickname, but not different enough to merit a jump to version 5.0. With version 5 now emerging as Android Lollipop, which is set to launch imminently.

That 0.1 bump hardly does it justice though. Don't be fooled: this is an important step up for Android. KitKat is super-smooth, the UI is refined and elegant, there are improvements to the long-neglected calling and messaging side of the platform, a new focus on productivity, and your fortune-telling digital assistant is brought front and centre as Google Now reaches maturity.

General surprise in the tech world wasn't just based on the erroneous supposition that Key Lime Pie had to be next; there were also some raised eyebrows at the idea of Google entering into a tawdry cross-licensing deal with Nestle which would see a flood of Android-shaped KitKats hitting the shops offering buyers the chance to win Nexus 7 tablets or Google Play credit.

According to Google the promotion was its idea, and no money changed hands. With Nestle producing 50 million Android KitKat bars it certainly looks like a sweet deal for them.

Naming conventions aside, the 4.4 update is about addressing some of the Android criticisms that simply won't go away, and it does so very well indeed.

There's a real focus on the consumer here, with a smattering of useful new features, a noticeable bump in performance, and some optimization to ensure that budget hardware is not left behind.

Android 4.4 is easily the best version of the platform to date, and Google has left the ball firmly in the OEMs' court when it comes to rolling out the upgrades.

Leading the field by extending the update beyond its Nexus line to the Moto G also neatly illustrates the move to improve the Android experience on low-end, affordable hardware.

Android KitKat started out as version 4.4, but it's since had various small updates in the form of 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3 and most recently Android 4.4.4 - this review has been updated to reflect the tweaks and changes experienced at each step to give you the most complete overview of the operating system, as well as highlighting how things will change in the move to Android 5.0 Lollipop.

KitKat really makes a mockery of the idea that iOS 7 is more refined than Android and even stands up well to iOS 8. This version of the platform is impressively fast, with stylish transitions and an intuitive feel that masks the potential complexity.

There's a paring back of the notification bar that introduces translucency and context awareness, enabling you to reclaim every pixel of your display for whatever you're doing.

There are a few new features here, and not all of them are perfect, but for the most part Google has cherry-picked improvements and refined them.

The contrast between the bloated OEM launchers and stock Android could hardly be starker, but there are still a few things that manufacturers like Samsung and LG could teach Google (split-screen apps is an obvious one) and some of these things will be addressed in Android Lollipop.

The familiar white Google logo, followed by four pulsing colourful circles, still greets you on booting up, but the process has sped up dramatically as the platform has matured. When I checked version 4.1 on a Galaxy Nexus it took 34 seconds. The Nexus 4 running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean clocked in at 19 seconds.

Android 4.4.4 took around 20 seconds to boot up on the Nexus 5 used for testing. Not quite as fast as the Nexus 4, but when you consider that my Galaxy S3 running version 4.3 of Android took just shy of 40 seconds to boot up, you get a feel for how speedy that is.

As the home screen comes into view, you can immediately detect the lighter feel that Google was shooting for. The status bar icons at the top are now white.

The custom Roboto font looks like it has been on a diet, which makes it feel that little bit more crisp and elegant. Looking at menu highlights and icons, what once was blue is now generally grey.

All of this is set to change again though with Android Lollipop, which will be giving the OS a 'Material Design' makeover which gives it a flat look while making everything that little bit more real.

The changes go further on the Nexus 5 because it has the Google Now Launcher. Those black bars top and bottom are gone. A subtle gradient is retained to ensure white icons are clear, even on light backgrounds.

Head into your app drawer and you'll find white dots at the bottom of the screen to illustrate which page you are on. The icons are now much bigger and clearer, at the cost of displaying just four across instead of five.

The widget tab has been dumped, and you won't miss it because a long press anywhere on the home screen gives you access to the widget menu, as well as wallpapers and relevant settings.

Swipe from right to left and you can access additional home screens. There doesn't seem to be any limit, you simply drag an icon to the right to create a new screen. Any home screen you empty will automatically disappear.

The only real surprise is that you have to scroll deliberately through each one; you can't take a shortcut by tapping on the page marker dots at the bottom.

Swiping from left to right on the home screen will bring Google Now into view, but I'll go into that in more detail later.

Initially none of these changes made it beyond the Nexus 5 by default, but the Google Now Launcher has since been made available for other devices in the Play Store.

I was disappointed and surprised that Google initially decided to keep this as a Nexus 5 exclusive, so it's pleasing to see it getting a wider release.

If it doesn't work for you, the good news is that popular launchers, such as the free Nova Launcher, can be used, and the status bar transparency is supported along with a number of other customization options, to help you get the look you want.

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In Depth: Sony Xperia Z4: what we want to see

The Sony Xperia Z3 has just arrived on shop shelves but with Sony now in a pattern of releasing two flagships a year we're surely only a matter of months away from the Sony Xperia Z4, so it's not too early to make a wish list of what we want to see.

There's not a huge amount of rumors surrounding Sony's next flagship just yet, but one report reckons the Japanese firm will return to an annual launch of its top device, ditching the recent trend of every six months.

What is it? Sony's next flagship smartphoneWhen is it out? Possibly early 2015What will it cost? A lot - this will be a high-end device

The Xperia Z3 hasn't been out for long, but already there's chatter on the web about its successor, the Sony Xperia Z4.

In fact we could be on for something quite special as Android Origin claims its source revealed specs which would make the Xperia Z4 the most powerful smartphone around.

A 5.5-inch QHD 1440 x 2560 display, 64-bit 2.8GHz octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB of RAM, Adreno 430 GPU, 32GB of storage and a Exmor RS CMOS sensor have all been touted for the Xperia Z4. This is one to keep an eye on.

We can also take a guess as to when the Xperia Z4 will launch (though whether or not the Z4 and the Z3X are one and the same is unclear). Sony announced the Xperia Z2 at MWC 2014 on February 24, so it's likely that the Xperia Z4 will arrive at MWC 2015, which next year is set to happen on March 2-5.

That will put almost six months between the Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z4, so it would make sense if Sony is sticking to two flagships a year. As for what we want to see, read on for all our thoughts.

Sony's been trumpeting its phones 4K video capabilities since the Xperia Z2, yet neither that nor the Xperia Z3 can actually record for more than around five minutes without heating up and shutting down the video.

That's obviously a major problem and while it doesn't quite render the 4K feature redundant it does severely limit it. The fact that Sony has left it unfixed in the Xperia Z3 is perplexing, presumably there isn't an easy fix, but if longer videos were possible it could be a genuinely useful feature, whereas right now it's just kind of an embarrassment.

So hopefully it will be fixed for the Sony Xperia Z4. You never know, some people might even have 4K televisions by then too.

The Sony Xperia Z, Z1 and Z2 all had 1080p displays and that was fine as that was the best any smartphone had at the time and the screen size was at least being increased.

But then the Xperia Z3 also launched with a 1080p screen and that was slightly more disappointing, since the size remained the same and other than increased brightness there wasn't much of an upgrade, plus some other phones, such as the LG G3, have started including QHD displays.

We want the Xperia Z4 to wow us and a 1080p display for the fifth time in a row won't do that, so we're hoping its QHD.

The Sony Xperia Z3 looks great, but the bezels above and below the screen are off-puttingly large. Presumably there's a reason for their size, they're likely housing vital components required to make the phone actually work, but they're unsightly and we hope they're smaller next time around.

For the most part the Xperia Z3 has a perfectly capable and even impressive camera, but its low-light performance could still use some work.

Sony made some strides with the Xperia Z3, improving it over the Z2, but seemingly more with software than hardware as its low-light photos tend to come out over-processed, leaving it trailing behind the likes of the iPhone 6 and the HTC One M8 in darker scenes.

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San Francisco passes Airbnb law, one step closer to making rentals legal

The Board of Supervisors votes to allow short-term rentals, ignoring Sen. Dianne Feinstein's heeding that the law could be detrimental to the city.

Thousands of rooms in San Francisco are offered on Airbnb on any given day. Screenshot by Dara Kerr/CNET

The city of San Francisco passed a law Tuesday that would amend local zoning laws and allow residents to rent out their homes on a temporary basis.

The Board of Supervisors gave a second and final vote, 7 to 4, to support a bill legalizing short-term rentals, a key rule that would make services provided through room-sharing apps, like Airbnb and VRBO, legal in the city.

Under the current law, San Francisco zoning rules dictate that most residential rentals less than 30 days are illegal. These laws were designed to protect citizens from exploitative landlords who would otherwise turn apartments into impromptu hotel rooms and to ensure that residentially zoned locations are safeguarded for permanent housing.

During the Board of Supervisors' discussion on Tuesday, there was a lively debate about whether the city's laws should be changed. Board President David Chiu authored the legislation and encouraged his fellow supervisors to pass the bill swiftly.

"We are ready to take action and we need to take action," Chiu said. "The status quo is not working."

Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors held a first meeting to discuss the bill and initially approved it by a 7-to-4 vote. Despite the law getting passed in two separate voting sessions, several supervisors voiced concerns about the legislation. Supervisor John Avalos has been especially critical of the bill and said Tuesday that he didn't support the legislation.

"I don't believe in the one-size-fits-all approach that this law takes," Avalos said. "I cannot support this legislation in this current form."

Other legislators have been apprehensive about legalizing short-term rentals. US Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a former mayor of San Francisco, penned an opinion piece against the law that published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday. In it, she said the legislators' moves were "shortsighted" and said if the law passed, it would "destroy the integrity of zoning throughout San Francisco, allowing commercial and hotel use in residential areas throughout the city." Feinstein's office declined to comment further now that the law has passed.

For its part, Airbnb has been mostly supportive of the bill. The legalization of short-term rentals could be a boon for it and similar services. Airbnb is a platform that makes a small profit when it pairs hopeful visitors with so-called "home sharing" hosts who are temporarily renting out their empty rooms, houses or apartments.

At any given time, nearly 5,000 San Francisco homes are available for short-term rentals through Airbnb, according to a survey by the San Francisco Chronicle in May. The privately held company has so far received almost $800 million in venture funding from 18 investors and now has a valuation of as much as $10 billion.

Airbnb has said short-term rentals boost the economy. Not only do these rental services attract tourists to neighborhoods not normally visited, Airbnb has said, but they also help "home sharers" make ends meet or pay off their mortgages.

"We want to thank the members of the Board of Supervisors and the countless San Franciscans who participated in this process," Airbnb said in statement on Tuesday. "This balanced and sensible legislation will help San Franciscans share their home and the city they love and earn a little extra money to pay the bills. We look forward to working with everyone to make this city an even better place to visit and call home."

Over the past couple of years, opponents of the legislation have attempted to introduce several amendments they said would help finance the city and better protect affordable housing, residential zoning and landlords. Among them was a requirement that Airbnb pay back taxes - which according to the Board of Supervisors is estimated to be more than $25 million -- and a limit of rentals to 90 days even when the host is present. The board rejected both of these amendments during its first vote on the bill earlier this month and again rejected both amendments in its second vote on Tuesday.

Now that the Board of Supervisors has fully passed the legislation, it will go to the desk of Mayor Ed Lee, who will either pass or veto the bill. The mayor's office didn't respond to requests for comment. In her op-ed, Feinstein urged Lee to veto the law and ask the board to re-examine both the bill and the rejected amendments.

"I believe there is a compromise solution, but it does not involve handing over the key to the city to Airbnb and other short-term residential rental companies," Feinstein wrote. "The board should re-examine this legislation and take another shot at getting it right."

Dara Kerr Dara Kerr is a staff writer for CNET focused on the sharing economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado where she developed an affinity for collecting fool's gold and spirit animals. See full bio

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Why are some sugars sweeter than others? Chew on this

The American Chemical Society looks at why some foods taste sweet, and why some sweeteners are, well, sweeter than others.

While most of us know we like ice cream, cookies and all sorts of other dessert-y goodness, we probably don't give much thought to why other than a vague "because, sugar." And while you might not realize it when you're chomping on that cake, our taste buds perceive some sugars as sweeter than others, and it all comes down to chemistry.

The American Chemical Society (ACS), by way of its "Reactions" YouTube series, looks to broaden our understanding of what makes things taste sweet in its latest video explainer. In the clip, ACS tells us about the Sweetness Triangle, a theory that for us to perceive something as sweet, it must have a triangular shape at the molecular level. This helps it bind to the sweetness receptors in our tongues, and the better the molecule fits the Sweetness Triangle, the sweeter the taste.

Artificial sweeteners like aspartame, commonly found in diet sodas, chemically resemble meat more than sugar. But aspartame, since it's been engineered to loosely fit the triangular shape, is still about as sweet as table sugar. New sweeteners like Stevia almost perfectly fit into the Sweetness Triangle, making them much sweeter (about 100 times more so) than sugar and other sugar substitutes.

To learn more about sugar and how our brains perceive sweetness, check out the video at the top of this post. And just try not to grab a cookie or some other sweet treat after watching.

Science has an explanation for why you want one of these. Ella Taggart/CNET

Anthony Domanico Crave freelancer Anthony Domanico is passionate about all kinds of gadgets and apps. When not making words for the Internet, he can be found watching "Star Wars" or "Doctor Who" for like the zillionth time. His other car is a Tardis. See full bio

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Razer Nabu SmartBand rolls through the FCC

Razer Nabu: part fitness band, part smartwatch

The Razer Nabu SmartBand has undergone a lot of changes over its lengthy development period, but we may know soon whether the wait was worth it.

The Nabu SmartBand recently made its appearance at the Federal Communications Commission, indicating it's passed muster and could be released in the US soon.

The Razer wearable began life at CES 2014, where a Spring release date was promised.

But for some reason the Nabu didn't appear again until E3 2014 in the summer, and when it did it was much changed from the wearable we saw earlier.

The Nabu SmartBand has many features of both a fitness band and a smartwatch, including a discreet screen on the device's underside.

It's meant to send you notifications from an Android or iOS device, as well as fitness feedback and other useful tidbits.

The FCC's filing for the device doesn't reveal much of note, but it's nice to know that the Nabu still fits into Razer's plans somehow.

We've asked Razer to confirm the Nabu SmartBand's launch details - if there are any to confirm - and we'll update if we hear back.

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Blip: Someone's finally made a working hoverboard, and no, it's not cheap

That blue light just PROVES it's from the future

Ah, the hoverboard. The most elusive of coveted future technologies. We've seen a number of products claiming to do the job, but so far none have come through. The Hendo Hoverboard, however, might just be the first.

Launched on Kickstarter, this so far looks like the real deal. The board uses electromagnetic technology to gracefully glide about an inch above the ground, though it can only work over conductive materials and runs for just seven minutes.

But limitations aside, it's still a working hoverboard, and its creators are hoping to turn it into something you'll actually be able to buy. All they need is $250,000 to make it happen, and if you actually want a hoverboard to call your own, you'll need to put up a cool $10,000.

But let us repeat: it's a working hoverboard.

Back to the Blips!

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IllumiBowl turns your toilet into a color-changing party light

If you install the colorful IllumiBowl light, it will look like someone's hosting a party in your toilet.

Going to the restroom at night gets colorful. Matt Alexander

Nighttime trips to the bathroom can be fraught with peril as you run a dark gauntlet of obstacles ranging from cats to locating the toilet itself. Sure, you can turn on the lights and sear your eyes with the sudden illumination. You could also install a nightlight somewhere in the restroom, but that's not much fun. How about lighting up the toilet bowl instead? IllumiBowl on Kickstarter places a nightlight right onto your toilet.

Toilet lights aren't a new concept. Kohler offers a Nightlight toilet seat with blue LEDs that costs $83. The IllumiBowl will set you back only $15 (about £9, AU$17) for a pledge. It also has the advantage of using a color-changing LED, so the light will slowly rotate through different colors every few seconds. This will be especially perfect if you ever plan on hosting a dance party in your bathroom.

IllumiBowl fits under your toilet seat, attaching with suction to the outside of the toilet bowl rim while a hook reaches over the edge to provide the light inside. Motion detection senses when a visitor arrives. The light turns on automatically and turns off once you're gone.

The lavatory gadget runs on two AAA batteries. Matt Alexander, the creator of IllumiBowl, writes in an update, "We are working with the manufacturer to make it water resistant." Here's hoping that all works out, because a non-water-resistant device hanging out near a toilet bowl could face some serious challenges.

Alexander currently has a working prototype of the IllumBowl and hopes to raise $20,000 to go into production. The project is currently up over $8,000 with 36 days left to go. This is probably going to be a love-it-or-hate-it sort of gadget. You're either the kind of person who wants a glowing toilet bowl, or you're not. But if you are, you're most definitely in luck.

Amanda Kooser Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET's Crave blog. When not wallowing in weird gadgets and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto. See full bio

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Updated: Best TV 2014: what TV should you buy?

Christmas is fast approaching and we all know what that means - time to buy a new TV! Right?

The stats don't lie, the Christmas period is the time when most of us tend to finally buy that new telly we've been talking about for ages. And with Christmas movies, big sports events and family occasions coming up, it makes perfect sense.

But what TV technology is best? Which is the best LCD TV? Which screen size is best for your living room? What's the difference between LCD and LED TVs?

The answers aren't always obvious. In fact, buying a new TV can be a stressful experience even for the tech-savvy - there are so many brands, so many features, so many screen sizes, colours, technologies and flavours to choose from.

So which one is right for you, your family and your living space? In this buying guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about buying a new TV.

There are a lot of different screen types out there, all working in different ways to produce the same results. Each technology has its own unique strengths and weaknesses so here are some basics to consider:

LCD TV: CCFL
Until recently, all LCD TVs were backlit by always-on, CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent) lamps. This ageing technology has been superseded by the superior LED method on more expensive sets, but is still standard on some cheaper models.

LED TV: Direct LED
These displays are backlit by an array of LEDs (light emitting diodes) directly behind the screen. This enables localised dimming – meaning immediately adjacent areas of brightness and darkness can be displayed more effectively – and greatly improves contrast. LED TVs are also more power efficient and capable of a wider colour gamut than CCFL sets. Because of the extreme cost of mounting these arrays of LEDs, Direct LED TVs have largely been out muscled by Edge LED...

LED TV: Edge LED
With these TVs, LEDs of the backlight are mounted along the edges of the panel. This arrangement enables radically slender displays and offers superior contrast levels to CCFL, but can't achieve the same picture quality as directly lit LED sets. However, they do come in far cheaper which is why most LED TVs out there now use this technology.

OLED TV
The backlighting on OLED (organic light emitting diode) sets is achieved by passing an electric current through an emissive, electroluminescent film. This technique produces far better colours and higher contrast and also enables screens to be extremely thin and flexible. This is the holy grail display technology and only in 2014 did a bigscreen OLED TV go on sale. So it's brand new, it's expensive and the top brands are still struggling to get their heads around it. To date, only LG has been able to release full sized OLED TVs.

Plasma TV
PDP (plasma display panel) TVs use glass panels containing millions of tiny cells filled with a mixture of inert gases. Electricity excites the gases, causing them to illuminate the pixels across the screen. Plasma, while arguably superior to LCD in terms of contrast and colour accuracy, is only viable on large (42in+) screens and has been dropped by all but a handful of manufacturers. You'll be lucky to find one on the shelves these days.

Curved TV
Some manufacturers are now making TVs that have slightly curved screens. But unlike old CRT TVs, the curve is inwards rather than outwards. The idea is that this makes every pixel equidistant from your eyes, delivering a more satisfying picture. However, there are drawbacks for this type of screen - the main one being that if you sit far enough to one side – more than 40 degrees or so – the curve clearly starts to affect the image's geometry, foreshortening content near to you and compressing the image's centre.

HD
HD TVs come in two resolutions. Sets with the HD ready are required to be able to display a minimum 720p picture, and generally has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Meanwhile, full HD TVs have a higher resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. It's highly advisable that you don't go for anything less than full HD in this day and age.

Ultra HD and 4K
The resolution of Ultra HD is exactly four times higher than full HD - 3840 x 2160. It means a far more detailed picture, with content requiring a lot more bandwidth and storage space. 4K TVs tend to be good at upscaling HD video to Ultra HD but there are currently very few options for watching native 4K content. Read more about 4K

TVs in the UK come with two types of tuner: DVB-T2 (Freeview HD) and DVB-S (Freesat HD). Some TVs such as many sets from Panasonic have both tuners on board, but most do not. So which should you go for?

Freeview HD
Freeview is the natural successor to the analogue TV signal of old, flying the flag for free-to-air TV through a traditional aerial. So your decision of which tuner to go for could well be decided according to what receiving devices you've already got strapped to your roof. If you've got a traditional TV aerial only, Freeview is the obvious option. Equally, if you're buying a TV for a second room, you might have to rely on a portable aerial which again would make Freeview your best bet.

Freesat HD
Freesat is similar to Freeview in that it's free-to-air, but different in that it's delivered through a satellite dish. Freesat uses the same satellite as Sky HD - the Astra/Eutelsat satellite which sits in the sky at 28.2E. That means if you've got a Sky dish, you can easily plug a Freesat TV or box in without having to move it. Freesat HD is ideal for large living room TVs as it delivers slightly higher quality pictures than Freeview, has fewer problems with signal, and also has a much larger selection of channels both in standard definition and high definition. It'll also likely be the first to carry 4K TV channels when they eventually launch.

The perfect size for bedroom TVs or sets for smaller rooms

Most living rooms can't physically take a TV much bigger than 32-inch, making this size by far the best for a lot of people in the UK. But within this size division, there's plenty of choice. A basic HD-ready set can be found for less than £300 is you search hard, though it's just as easy to spend over £2k on the best ones. There's only one certainty at this size – your new TV will be a LCD TV. If you're lucky it could have LED backlighting, but it won't be a plasma; LG used to make plasmas at this size, but there's not one on sale currently. 10 best 32-inch TVs in the world today

The sweet spot for plasma TVs offers lots of bang for your buck

Once known simply as 'plasma screens' in the collective consciousness, the 40-42-inch size is where the flatscreen dream started in the late 1990s - and where it's still at its most innovative and best. Now a lot more varied, with plasmas rubbing shoulders with (and quickly being outnumbered by) LCD TVs and their ultra-modern LED TV makeover, 40-42 inches is still the sweetspot for anyone not overly concerned with ruining the interior design of their living room. As well as being the fastest growing sector of the market, this size also offers possibly the best value TVs around. Serious home cinema addicts have moved on to 50-inch and bigger screens, leaving this category a swarm of slashed prices. 10 best 40 and 42-inch TVs

Offering the pinnacle of performance, this is where it gets serious

There was a time when plasma screens reigned supreme in the 46-inch TV market. But in much the same way as a meteor strike killed off the dinosaurs, the second coming of the LCD TV is the invasive species that has done for plasma. We're still huge advocates of plasma on TechRadar, don't get us wrong, but the tech is dying out at this size. Old-school CCFL tech has been replaced by LED backlight scanning and technical wizardry to make LCD tech viable in large sizes. So the majority of TVs in this size bracket are now from the LED side of the wall, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. LED TVs these days are brighter than plasmas, they're thinner and there's a lot more variety on show. So here's our selection of the best 46-inch, 47-inch and now also 48-inch TVs for your perusal.. 10 best 46, 47 and 48-inch TVs

Where the home cinema experience begins

The size where a home cinema turns from dream to reality, it's also at this 50-55-inch TV screen size that 3D starts to become immersive enough to convince and impress. This size, last year dominated by full HD models, is now being overrun by Ultra HD 4K models. While LED tech has gone a long way towards condemning plasma to a role on the outskirts of the TV industry, at 50-inches and above, plasma really comes into its own if you can find one. Most home cinema buffs still swear by plasma, with its cinematic colours and deep blacks making for a real movie-watcher's paradise. But 2014 sees the first batch of 50-inch LED-backlit panels off the production line, a development that further marginalises plasma technology at one of the sizes it previously dominated. If you're looking for a dream movie-watching experience, check out these home cinema beauties. 10 best 50 and 55-inch TVs

If you want the best, you'll need to pay the best

If you're feeling extravagant or want to furnish your big living room with a similarly big TV, 60 inches or more of television will certainly make a statement. There are some truly massive TVs available these days, with Ultra HD-toting 84-inch screens such as the LG 84LM960V, Toshiba 84L9300, Sony KD-84X9005A and Samsung UE85S9ST. But for most of us, 65 inches of screen space is luxurious enough, while still being manageable. Gone are the days when the over-60s were mere monitors; expect to find all the niceties a good living room-ready TV should have, such as Freeview HD tuners, perhaps even Freesat HD tuners, too, plus smart TV apps and 3D compatibility. There's a smattering of plasmas here - it's the size category where the original flatscreen TV tech truly excels. But as plasma fades, the real story in this category is the rise of the 4K LCD. So what's the best 60-65-inch TV for you? 10 best 60 and 65-inch TVs in the world today

The latest big thing in big screens

Everyone wants an Ultra HD 4K TV! Yes, okay, we all know there isn't much 4K source material to properly showcase the stunning picture quality, but Netflix has at least started to offer 4K content. There could also still be a 4K Blu-ray format later this year, and before you know it there'll be test transmissions and perhaps even a 4K TV channel from Sky or the BBC. It's all about future-proofing, though there's slightly more to it than that; some of the first batch of Ultra HD TVs pump out best-ever Blu-ray images, thanks to some wonderfully adept upscaling tech. The birth of 4K could also lead to the re-birth of 3D – it just looks so much better at this higher resolution. The big stumbling block – as always – is money, but already there are relative bargains to be had and, better still, some sumptuous designs stuffed with new innovations. The race for 3840x2160 pixels is on. 10 best 4K TVs in the world today

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Yahoo revenue rises in first results since Alibaba IPO

Now that Yahoo has claimed its cash windfall from the Alibaba IPO, Marissa Mayer and company unveil Yahoo's mobile revenue for the first time.

Yahoo

Yahoo is throwing investors a bone. The problem: They won't really know if there's any marrow left until next year.

As part of the company's third-quarter financial results announced Tuesday, Yahoo began releasing information about its advertising business for mobile devices, a key metric that has been driving growth at rivals like Facebook and Google.

Yahoo's mobile ad sales topped $200 million in the third quarter, the company said. Marissa Mayer, Yahoo's CEO, said mobile ad revenue this year should total $1.2 billion, before subtracting payments to partner websites. But Yahoo didn't reveal mobile sales for previous quarters, leaving investors without the context necessary to tell if the business is growing or shrinking.

But by even releasing this information at all, Yahoo has given investors another way to judge it against the competition. One example is Facebook, the world's largest social network that Yahoo once tried to buy, which said sales tied to mobile devices represented 62 percent of the company's overall revenue in the quarter ended June 30, up from 41 percent a year earlier. Yahoo, for its part, said mobile device sales represented 17 percent of its overall revenue, but didn't offer any historical figures.

Mayer was upbeat about the company's prospects and assured investors that Yahoo's turnaround was still in motion. "We had a good, solid third quarter," she said on a conference call.

The company faces intensified pressure since Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, went public last month. Mayer arrived in 2012 in an attempt to turnaround the lumbering company, but the bright spot in her effort thus far has been the company's stake in Alibaba -- a deal made almost a decade ago. Investors overlooked Yahoo's flagging core business because it gave them a chance to buy into Alibaba before its shares were available on the public markets.

Now, Yahoo must stand on its own.

The results, and the company's newfound decision to release mobile revenue information, may help to decrease investors' anxiety about the Web giant. But investors still wonder whether Mayer, once a top executive at Google, can turn Yahoo around.

For the three months ended September 30, Yahoo said sales, excluding payments to partner sites, rose a little more than 1 percent to $1.09 billion. Profit, after adjustments for stock-based acquisition and other items, was 52 cents a share. Analysts were expecting sales of $1.04 billion and profit of 30 cents a share, down slightly year over year.

Yahoo shares were up around 3 percent in early after-hours trading. The company shares closed the day roughly flat so far this year.

"We see strength in search and mobile," Mayer said. "We are gaining momentum in the four key areas of our strategy: Search, communications, digital magazines and video."

The company said sales of image-based ads continued its slip, falling 6 percent from a year ago. Google has an undisputed lead in global advertising share, with 32.4 percent of the market, according to eMarketer. Facebook comes in at No. 2 with 8 percent, followed by Yahoo with 2.4 percent.

Facebook is unusual in this regard, as mobile makes up more than 60 percent of its revenue stream, while Google and Yahoo still rely on desktops to thrive.

Mayer also faces an attack from activist investor group Starboard Value, a firm that last month said it owns a "significant stake" in Yahoo and wrote an open letter to Mayer urging her to consider a merger with AOL. The group criticized Mayer's acquisition strategy. The company has bought more than 40 small companies in the last two years, largely in an attempt to bring together mobile engineering talent.

In a conference call, Mayer addressed concerns about development, cost-cutting and acquisition strategy. She said that while the company has focused on growth through buying other tech firms categorized as talent acquisitions, building block acquisitions, and strategic acquisitions, Yahoo also has toughened employment standards -- apparently, with great success.

"To date we have had nearly 2,000 performance-related departures," she said, but added that "retention of our top performing talent has been at the highest level in years." The company laid off more than 400 employees in India and Jordan last month.

Yahoo is expected to get a $6.2 billion windfall before taxes from selling off a large portion of its stake in Alibaba in the offering, though Yahoo still retains 16 percent stake in the company. Yahoo expects it will have to pay $3.3 billion in taxes related to the Alibaba sale in the first quarter of 2015.

Yahoo made a splash last year when it bought the popular blogging service Tumblr. The company said that it expects more than $100 million in revenue from Tumblr in 2015, and positive earnings before taxes growth as well.

Seth Rosenblatt Senior writer Seth Rosenblatt covers Google and security for CNET News, with occasional forays into tech and pop culture. Formerly a CNET Reviews senior editor for software, he has written about nearly every category of software and app available. See full bio

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Fitbit, Microsoft are next to challenge Apple Watch

Two new high-end smartwatches with a fitness focus are expected to land soon. Meanwhile, another fitness tracker is giving its band away for free.

There are many smartwatch flavors to choose from -- and soon there will be two more. CNET Update goes over the reports on upcoming smartwatches from Fitbit and Microsoft, and we take a look at a fitness tracker that's practically free:

Other stories mentioned in this roundup:

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Augmented-reality startup nabs $542M from Google, others

As the battle for virtual reality heats up, Google -- along with other well-known firms -- makes a big bet on a little-known wearable headset maker called Magic Leap.

The head of Google's Android and Chrome operating systems, Sundar Pichai, will sit on Magic Leap's board. James Martin/CNET

Google's caught Facebook's virtual-reality fever.

The search giant led a $542 million investment round in a startup called Magic Leap, which hopes to eventually replace computer and smartphone screens with virtual-reality interfaces. The company, founded in 2011 and based in Florida, makes a head-mounted device that acts like glasses. Turn the technology on, and it displays computer-generated images on top of what a wearer normally sees.

The move indicates growing interest among tech's largest companies in firms that offer wearable technology that change what we see with computer-generated imagery. Facebook, the world's largest social network, closed a $2 billion deal in July for Oculus VR, a company that makes head-mounted virtual reality goggles. Sony, maker of the PlayStation video game console, is also developing a virtual-reality device, as is smartphone kingpin Samsung.

What Magic Leap offers that others don't is a technology that can keep users from experiencing nausea, a common problem for virtual-reality headset makers.

For Google, Magic Leap represents another investment into 3D technology. In June, Google unveiled do-it-yourself cardboard kits for creating virtual-reality goggles out of smartphones. At the same time, it also demonstrated an initiative called Tango, which attempts to bring 3D mapping and sensing capabilities to smartphones and tablets.

Google also develops a head-mounted device called Glass, which displays information from a smartphone and various apps on a tiny computer screen affixed to a metal frame or glasses. In May, Google released the product to the general public.

Now Google is investing in Magic Leap as well. And its interest goes beyond giving the company money: Sundar Pichai, the Google executive in charge of the company's Android mobile operating system and Chrome Web browser, will join Magic Leap's board of directors.

"We are looking forward to Magic Leap's next stage of growth, and to seeing how it will shape the future of visual computing," Pichai said in a statement.

Google's ultimate plans for Magic Leap are still unclear. Don Harrison, Google's mergers and acquisitions chief, will join Magic Leap's board as an observer. A source familiar with Google's acquisition strategy, however, said the company has no plans to acquire Magic Leap.

Google declined to further comment on the deal. Magic Leap did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Other investors in the company's funding round included chipmaker Qualcomm, film production company Legendary Entertainment, and well-known Silicon Valley venture firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Richard Nieva Richard Nieva is a staff writer for CNET. He previously worked for PandoDaily and Fortune Magazine, and his writing has appeared in the New York Times and on CJR.org. See full bio

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Get a 39-inch LED HDTV for $199.99

It's Black Tuesday! How else to explain such an impossibly good deal on such a spacious TV?

Sceptre

Is it Black Friday already? Oh, right, every day is Black Friday. If you need proof, look no further than this amazing deal, which comes to us on a Tuesday. In October.

For a limited time, and while supplies last, Amazon has the Sceptre X409BV-FHDR 39-inch LED HDTV for $199.99, shipped. This model normally sells for at least $40 more, and shipping (for any TV) will often bump the price even higher. (The less said about sales tax, which most Amazon customers won't need to pay, the better.)

Is it superslim? No. Is it Internet-enabled and stocked with apps? No. Does it have a sky-high refresh rate? No, and thank goodness for that: Any TV that ventures above 60Hz invariably produces that horrendous soap-opera effect.

What you have here, then, is a 39-inch 60Hz display with LED backlighting, 1080p resolution, and three HDMI ports. In other words, the basics, at a price that used to get you a mere 32-inch screen.

There's not much more I can tell you, except to point you toward the mostly favorable user reviews -- not just here, but also at Newegg and Walmart. One common gripe: the speakers, which appear to be terrible. Point of order: All HDTV speakers are terrible. Fortunately, there's a cheap and easy fix for that.

I don't know how long these will last at this price (if Amazon runs out, don't be surprised to suddenly see a higher price from a third-party seller). But if you're looking for a decent-size TV and don't want to wait for Black Friday (and stand in line for hours), consider taking action.

Bonus deal: Anker's five-port USB charger is a permanent fixture on my kitchen counter. Not the old one, but the newer model with "PowerIQ," which automatically identifies each connected device and adjusts its power output accordingly. For a limited time, and while supplies last, Newegg has the Anker 40W five-port desktop USB charger for $19.99, shipped. That's after applying coupon code EMCWPHW27 at checkout. Having perused the user reviews, I do have concerns about the failure rate -- but my unit has been humming along fine since January. YMMV. (A safer bet might be this Orico desktop charger for $23.99, which has much better reviews.)

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Industry voice: Apple Pay: what does the future hold for businesses?

Companies need to prepare for Apple Pay's arrival in the UK

The virtual wallet is far from a new concept – but Apple's new mobile payment service, Apple Pay, is a step in the direction of making this technology mainstream.

Apple Pay will let customers complete transactions without delving into their pocket for cash or a credit card, allowing for contactless payment with the swipe of a phone (or smartwatch). The system works because the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and the Apple Watch include near-field communication (NFC) chips, which allow you to hold your device up to contactless point-of-sale hardware at a retailer for payment.

The scope of NFC technology is almost limitless, and has been present in Android smartphones for some time. Manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony and Nokia have all incorporated the technology into their flagship device launches since the beginning of the year. Note, however, that Apple has confirmed that it is – at least initially – restricting this new technology to just Apple Pay.

What does this mean for retailers? If they want to accept Apple Pay, they will have to incorporate NFC readers into their checkout system, for starters. Apple has already partnered with American Express, Mastercard and Visa, as well as many US national banks – but the co-operation of vendors is equally important. Presently, the technology is already used by many big brands – Starbucks being one of them – with many others pledging to support the platform and bring in this technology from this month, such as McDonalds, Bloomingdale's and Macy's.

Depending on how quickly the virtual wallet takes off, it's likely that smaller businesses will have to switch to NFC hardware to remain in competition with bigger brands who do offer Apple Pay in their stores. According to Gartner analyst Mark Hung, NFC readers are currently being used by fewer than 10% of merchants. NFC technology is expensive – but might be a necessary investment to keep up with larger brands.

Much of the hype surrounding Apple Pay has revolved around the security it provides for the consumer. Apple Pay uses several layers of security – consumers must first enter their credit and debit card information manually, or take a photo of their card with their phone, and then verify their account with their bank. The first layer of security comes from the iPhone technology itself – when making a purchase, the buyer will hold their finger over the fingerprint reader embedded into their device, ensuring that thieves can't use Apple Pay on a stolen phone.

It's the next layer of security that affects the vendor – the NFC chip is designed to encrypt each user's payment information. Apple Pay doesn't send your card data to the retail merchant. A code system transmits a different code for each payment. Because merchants will no longer receive the consumer's account number, they will have a difficult time tracking consumers across multiple purchases.

Of course, vendors really shouldn't be using customer information in this way to track customer purchase behaviour, and in many ways, the development of Apple Pay is a response to this. Should this technology take off, Personalised Account Numbers (PANs) will no longer be a method for businesses to sneakily track consumer behaviour.

However, retailers will find new ways of engaging with consumers. While they won't be able to access consumer behaviour through PANs, there is considerable scope for new interaction. Apple Pay will potentially eliminate the divide between online and offline shopping, as retailers will be able to integrate Apple Pay into their checkout system on their website – widening the scope of e-commerce. It's early days though, but businesses would be wise to keep their eyes peeled for ways in which to incorporate Apple Pay into their e-commerce.

At this stage, however, looking at how Apple Pay will affect the future of commerce is in many ways speculation. The technology may be out in the US, but it certainly won't hit the UK for another year, and much hinges on how far and how quickly this technology will be taken up by the consumers themselves.

By having all the major banks on board, however, Apple seems to have the necessary backing in getting its virtual wallet off the ground. With this, we can expect big changes in the way businesses interact with their customers – and the smarter businesses will be pre-empting this already.

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