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Amazon says it won't be announcing a free streaming TV service next week | VentureBeat | Media | by Tom Cheredar - Amazon has denied rumors that it will launch a free streaming video service. Of course, that hasn’t stopped speculation about the company’s plans to take over the living room. It will be freely streaming if you're OK with the stream arriving in 3-8 days. If you want the stream now, it will require Amazon Prime.

Nokia's Lumia Icon is the best Windows Phone yet -- but it's strategically baffling (review) | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Devindra Hardawar - Nokia’s PureView camera technology is once again a highlight, though for some reason the Icon’s camera sensor is only 20 megapixels, half the resolution of the Lumia 1020′s 41 MP shooter. The Icon’s camera still produced sharp and vibrant photos, though I couldn’t crop into them as much as I could on the 1020′s camera. Keep your eye on this emerging trend, people!

The DeanBeat: What meme had wings at the Game Developers Conference? | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi - Yes, the silly mobile game that captured the world’s attention in February — hitting No. 1 in the mobile app stores in a hundred countries — made a huge impression on the 22,000 or so game developers who attended the show, and many of the speakers mentioned Flappy Bird and its creator, Dong Nguyen, the lone inventor in Hanoi who made the game about flying a bird through some narrow gaps in pipes. I actually heart the Flappy Bird story. The game is pretty hard, I spend more time with the Kandy.

Rumor: 12-inch Retina MacBook/Air updates coming soon without fan or mechanical trackpad button | 9to5Mac - A forum poster with a reputable history on WeiPhone.com [Google translate] (via MacRumors) claims to have information about an upcoming MacBook/Air refresh. According to this source, the new model will sport a 12-inch design close to the current 11.6-inch model, but will feature significant internal differences. Points to an extremely low-powered design a la Arm. What was that Intel chipset again?

Apple ends Windows 7 support in Boot Camp for new Mac Pro - Users attempting to install Windows with Apple's dual-boot solution are prompted to install "Windows 8 or later" by the setup assistant, according to independent Mac developers Twocanoes. Apple subsequently confirmed the changes with an update to its Boot Camp support documentation uncovered by MacWindows.com. I don't know that anyone misses Windows 7, but I'm sure many are missing XP.

Apple, Samsung sued by ZiiLABS over alleged infringement of graphics patents - In a lawsuit filed against Apple and Samsung on Monday, ZiiLABS, a subsidiary of A/V solutions giant Creative Technology, claims the companies infringed on ten U.S. patents, many of which deal with graphics processing. If this was a fabless semiconductor firm, would they be patent-trolls?

High-res display processing company Pixelworks reveals Apple as major customer - It's unknown exactly what Apple has purchased from Pixelworks, but the company makes video and pixel processing semiconductors and software, benefitting from high-resolution screens like Apple's Retina displays. This company is the sole source of blue pixels found on Apple devices. If the blue component of the RGB tuple is non-zero, it came from Pixelworks.

Rumor: TSMC now building quad-core 'A8' chips for Apple's next-gen iPhone - The latest claims about Apple and TSMC were published by Taiwan's Commercial Times, and were summarized by AFP. The report suggests that TSMC has won "most" of the orders for Apple's next mobile processor, said to be a quad-core CPU, taking business away from rival Samsung. Four on the floor and ready to roar!

Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres poses for Samsung sponsored selfie, but tweets from her iPhone - Samsung has regularly experienced difficulty in avoiding embarrassment after key sponsors continued using iOS devices, most notably via Twitter. In December, Samsung launched a "Galaxy 11" fantasy soccer team campaign that was intended to go viral, but instead went awry when star team manager Franz Beckenbauer tweeted out Samsung's prepared remarks from his iPhone. Pratfalls for Samsung. Alas, will have to settle for Android dominance as a booby-prize.

Google Hangouts updated with iPad and iOS 7 optimization, new video options - With the latest Google Hangouts, the Internet search giant's messaging service hits version 2.0 and gets a fresh coat of iOS 7-style paint with all-new features designed specifically for the iPad. Call me a naysayer, but Google Hangouts blows away Skype and FaceTime at least when it comes to calling in the US. Free calls work great from Chrome. Love it!

Cloning for good: Code.org eases kids into programming with Flappy Bird | GamesBeat | Games | by Jeff Grubb - The Flappy Bird phenomenon may inspire the next generation of coders. That’s what one computer-science group is counting on. Copyright infringement is the new viral marketing craze. Everyone get in on it ASAP!