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Rumor: Windows 8 will play Xbox 360 games

As we always do with rumors, we're taking this one with a grain of salt. But CNET sister site GameSpot is reporting that Microsoft's next operating system, Windows 8, may be able to play Xbox 360 games.

The source of the rumor is a site called Teknylate, which doesn't cite a source for the actual news. GameSpot points to another post on Insideris in May that teased the idea, but did little to back it up.

Whether it comes to fruition or not, this certainly seems like a plausible move for Microsoft, considering the company has begun to blur the lines of separation between Xbox Live and PC gaming. A quick visit to Xbox.com gives access to PC games in the Xbox Marketplace, as well as tracked achievements that fall under the Games for Windows Live brand. … Read more

Yahoo app searches for Android, iPhone apps

Yahoo has an app to help you find the right app for your smartphone.

The company unveiled a new tool this evening it promises will be a "fun, fast way to search and discover" the hundreds of thousands of available iPhone and Android apps.

"Yahoo AppSpot, a new mobile application, works like a flashlight in the darkness of more than 425,000-plus apps in the Apple App Store and 200,000 apps in Android Market," Yahoo said in a statement. "Yahoo AppSpot offers a new way to take the guesswork out of finding relevant and … Read more

4G Internet access roundup: Time to get some sunshine, nerds

It's been my personal experience that that nerds love their room in the basement, which tends to be kinda dark even during daytime, where they have fast Internet access and lots of gadgets. And I have to admit that it's nice down there here, where you I can do all kinds of fun things, such as playing games, programing, playing more games, or just quietly enjoying the sound of crunchy Cheetos while pondering over the prospect of some romantic date...without being bothered.

But it's not true anymore that you can only have fast Internet at home.… Read more

mSpot offers movie rental subscription service

mSpot has launched a new subscription service that claims to save customers cash on movie rentals.

When users sign up for mSpot Movie Club, they can opt to pay $4.99, $7.99, or $15.99 per month for inclusion in the program. The cheapest option gives people 20 credits to put toward their rentals, while the two higher options offer customers 40 credits and 80 credits, respectively.

mSpot is best known for allowing customers to rent films and stream them to iOS- and Android-based devices. The company's service, which includes new releases and older films, can also be … Read more

Hot spot on the AT&T iPhone remains easy to use, but not so fast

When the Verizon iPhone finally went on sale last month, it bested its AT&T cousin by offering a wireless hot spot that could support up to five devices. It was a welcome addition and, as we found in our Verizon iPhone review, the feature performed well. It wasn't necessarily better than other smartphone hot spots we've tested, but it offered a simple and relatively speedy way to get online.

When AT&T would join the hot-spot party became the next question, of course, but Apple offered an answer Wednesday when it delivered its latest software update a couple of days early. Though as iOS upgrades go, iOS 4.3 activates the hot spot on the AT&T iPhone 4 (earlier iPhones will not support the feature). It's almost the same experience as on Verizon's device, but there are some important and disappointing differences.

What's the same As with Verizon's handset, AT&T users will need to activate the optional tethering plan to use the feature (if you don't have the plan, the option won't appear in your Settings menu). And, like Verizon, AT&T charges an additional $20 for the plan. Though AT&T's data cap is 4GB per month for tethering and the hot spot (Verizon has a 2GB cap), the carrier requires you to select at least the $25-per-month Data Pro plan for basic data. … Read more

HubSpot raises $32M from Google Ventures, others

HubSpot, a company that makes a number of software products to help small and medium-size businesses handle digital marketing esoterica like search engine optimization and social media, announced today that it has raised $32 million in a Series D funding round from Sequoia Capital, Salesforce.com, and Google Ventures. A report two months ago in TechCrunch suggested that the company's valuation may be north of $200 million now.

"We agree with HubSpot's belief that search engines, social media, and mobile devices have fundamentally changed how businesses should market themselves," Google Ventures partner Rich Miner, who joined … Read more

Hot spot coming to AT&T iPhone 4

After it unveiled the new iPad 2 today in San Francisco, Apple also announced that iOS 4.3, the latest software version for the iPad and GSM iPhones, will be available for download March 11.

Compared with iOS 4.2 the update doesn't bring a lot of new features, but it offers all iPhone 4 owners the personal hot-spot feature that debuted on the Verizon iPhone 4. We've expected as much since we saw the beta release of 4.3 in January, and AT&T has yet to confirmed that it will support the feature on its … Read more

On the spot

Sometimes we come across programs that are kind of goofy and pointless that we like anyway. Hot Spot Studio is such a program. We can't say that we ever wished for a program that did what Hot Spot Studio does, yet we can't resist playing with it.

It's really a pretty simple piece of software. Using either a solid background or a specific background image, you place circles of whatever size and color you'd like on the canvas. Click the Render Picture button and the program transforms the colored circles into glowing orbs of light on … Read more

6 ways to use public Wi-Fi hot spots safely

Places like Starbucks, neighborhood cafes, Barnes&Noble, and universities are all jumping on the "free Wi-Fi" bandwagon--hey, it's trendy. As a result, more of us are connecting to these networks without realizing the security risks.

But did you read the fine print? Wi-Fi hot spots are unsecured networks that hackers like to take advantage of. Everything--including your data, account information and passwords, Google searches, and finances--can become available to the hacker who wants it badly enough.

So before you pay your bills or write your genius business plan at the local cafe, get to know these … Read more

AT&T announces Mobile Hotspot App pricing

Just a couple of days ago, we reported that the HTC Inspire 4G for AT&T would launch on February 13. Aside from being the carrier's first 4G smartphone, it's also the first device to feature AT&T's Mobile Hotspot application. No pricing information was available for the service at first, but we have it now.

AT&T announced today that the feature will cost $45 per month for 4GB of data when bundled with the Data Pro data plan, which is required on all smartphones. Broken down, the Data Pro data plan costs $… Read more