Infographic: Think Before You Sext

It's fine to document your steamy Valentine's Day with your new fling, but think twice if you're planning to snap a few risqu photos or record a video.

According to McAfee's 2014 Love, Relationships, and Technology survey, 54 percent of U.S. adults send or receive intimate content. Which is OK, except for those 46 percent of respondents who also share their passwords with another individualbasically handing someone the key to their private vault.

"With all the stories we've heard about intimate photos being leaked, it's hard to believe people are still sharing their passwords," Gary Davis, vice president of McAfee consumer business, said in a statement. "Ultimately, they're increasing the risks of these photos becoming public and possibly jeopardizing their identity and reputation."

To Davis's point, the study reported a whopping 70 percent of 18-24 year olds receiving sexually suggestive contentthe largest percentage of all age groups. And as nearly half of respondents admit to storing intimate content they receive, there's no telling where those racy photos you sent as a cheeky birthday gift could end up.

Especially in the case of the 96 percent of American adults who trust their significant other with private information like passwords. According to McAfee's results, a quarter of respondents have taken their partner's mobile device to check on other content, like messages and photos.

Perhaps they are just looking for holiday gift suggestions or a mutual friend's phone number. No matter, the security firm suggests you don't share passwords or mobile codes with others, in an effort to secure personal data.

Also avoid using weak, easily identifiable passwords like birthdays, numbers in a row, or repeating numbers. And, like 73 percent of people surveyed, remember to change your password after a breakup, just in case the other party is even a little bit vindictive.

People are distributing more than sexual texts, though: 47 percent share email accounts, and 43 percent give away bank details like Valentine's Day Sweetheart candies.

For more details on how people share personal information in romantic relationships, check out McAfee's full infographic below.

Via: Infographic: Think Before You Sext

January PS4 Sales Nearly Double That of Xbox One

In the January console wars, Sony's PlayStation 4 bested Microsoft's Xbox One, according to a new report from the NPD Group.

The research firm didn't break out the specific sales figures for the PS4 and Xbox One , with NPD's Liam Callahan saying only that "PS4 led overall hardware sales this month, followed by the Xbox One." But Sony executive John Koller on Thursday described the sales of his company's next-generation console as "nearly doubling the nearest next-gen competitor."

If so, it would mark a triumphant return to the top hardware gaming spot for Sony, which saw Microsoft sell more of its new consoles than its rival in December. In total, Nintendo's 3DS portable was the top-selling gaming device in the final month of 2013, but the two console titans surged back to the lead spots in January, according to NPD.

This just in: PS4 the 1 selling game console in the US in January, still 1 worldwide. Thanks, guys! pic.twitter.com/1vOFmtUukX

PlayStation (@PlayStation) February 13, 2014

In a separate blog post, Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of marketing, strategy, and business for Xbox, said that "Xbox One continue to be the best launch of an Xbox in our history."

"Xbox One consoles have sold at a rate of 2.29 times faster than Xbox 360 in the U.S. in the same timeframe for the first three months on the market," he wrote. "From our blazing start out of the gate, we have continued to see Xbox One delight fans in 13 markets around the world, with many more markets to come this year.

Meanwhile, Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty: Ghosts was the top-selling video game across all platforms. Overall, 2014 started out somewhat disappointingly for the video game industry as a whole, per NPD's latest tracking numbers of new physical sales of hardware and software (sales of used systems and games weren't included in the report).

Physical hardware sales jumped to $241 million compared with $205 million in January 2013, surely thanks in large part to the establishment of the PS4 and Xbox One in the market. That's an encouraging 17 percent increase, made even more impressive by the fact that, for bookkeeping purposes, NPD tracked five weeks' worth of sales for its January report last year as opposed to just four in 2014.

"Continued success of the new consoles drove a 17 percent increase in hardware sales in January 2014, and when taking into account the five-week month of January 2013 compared to the four-week month of January 2014, normalized sales of hardware were up 47 percent," Callahan said.

Meanwhile, the overall video game industry, including console, accessory, and software sales across multiple platforms, tumbled 21 percent from $835 million in January 2013 to just $664 million this past January. But Callahan cautioned that those numbers were skewed by the extra week of sales tracked a year ago.

"Overall retail video game sales ... would be down only 1 percent instead of down 21 percent, if sales were normalized to account for the five-week January 2013 compared to the four-week January 2014," he said.

In separate reports, NPD put revenue generated in January by used games and hardware, rentals, and other physical format sales at $113 million, while overall digital format sales came in at $335 million.

"We would estimate the total consumer spend [on gaming] in January to be $1.05 billion," Callahan said.

Breaking down January's new physical format sales further, NPD reported that overall gaming software sales, across the console, portable, and PC platforms, declined a whopping 41 percent year over year, from $393 million in January 2013 to just $232 million last month. Though the five-week versus four-week accounting period remains operative here, that's a stumble no matter how you slice it.

Excluding PC games, sales of titles for consoles and portables came in at $224 million in this five-week January, down 40 percent from the $373 million raked in during the longer period last year.

Accessory sales also took a hit, with NPD reporting that January 2014 sales of $199 million were down 23 percent year over year from $257 million in 2013. That decline would appear to be closer to flat, given the shorter January period this year. Still, the fact that Microsoft has bundled in its second-generation Kinect sensor with all packaging of the Xbox One may have something to do with a slip in accessory sales numbers, as the original Kinect was sold as a separate accessory for the Xbox 360.

NPD also listed the Top 10 selling video game titles across multiple platforms for January. Check it out below. Also see PCMag's full reviews of Sony's PS4 and Microsoft's Xbox One and the slideshow above.

Also, watch PCMag Live in the video below, which discusses PlayStation 4's success.

Via: January PS4 Sales Nearly Double That of Xbox One

Comcast Buys TWC; New Facebook Gender Options; Angry Birds Stella

Didn't have time to check out the tech headlines yesterday? Here's what you missed.

Time Warner Cable and Comcast announced a $45.2 billion merger. As part of the deal, Comcast will acquire Time Warner Cable's approximately 11 million subscribers, and Time Warner Cable will combine its products and services with those offered by Comcast. For a better idea of what this means, see 5 Reasons to Love and 5 Reasons to Hate the TWC, Comcast Deal, as well as What Can We Squeeze Out of Comcast-Time Warner?

Also making headlines yesterday, one of the world's most popular websites is taking a huge step toward gender equality: Facebook announced the addition of customizable gender terms. The social network's users now have the freedom to identify themselves as a female, male, androgynous, bi-gender, intersex, gender fluid, or transsexual, among other terms.

Meanwhile on the gaming front, Angry Birds maker Rovio is gearing up to release an all-new mobile game this fall. Dubbed Angry Birds Stella, the game will feature a new lineup of Angry Birds characters, including a pretty pink-feathered protagonist and her friends, the Finnish developer announced.

For more, check out yesterday's PCMag Live show in the video, as well as some news you might have missed in the links below.

• Verizon 'More Everything' Plan Adds Data, Cuts Prices: Customers can get double the data on select plans, 25GB of cloud storage, and international access.
• How to Make a Digital Love Connection: A new study shows that online dating is connecting more couples than ever.
• The Day We Fight Back Generates Nearly 100K Calls To Congress: The returns are in for "The Day We Fight Back," a nationwide rally against unfettered government spying.
• Intel Brushes Aside Rumor of 14nm 'Broadwell' Delay: Intel on Thursday dismissed a rumor that it is pushing back the release of its first 14-nanometer processors code named Broadwell.
• Kid's Facebook Birthday Surprise Goes Viral: What's the best birthday present you ever received? Probably not 2 million "likes" on Facebook.
• BBM Apps Get Voice Calls, Dropbox: Thursday's update also adds BBM Channels and more than 100 new emoticons.
• 'iPhone 6' Pics Leaked: Real or Fake?: As is usually the case with leaked iPhone pics, it's best to be suspicious.
• LG G Pro 2 Revealed Ahead of MWC: A follow-up to last year's LG Optimus G Pro, the G Pro 2 will arrive in Korea first.
• VMware Brings Windows to Google's Chromebook: VMware and Google have extended their partnership in an effort to bring Microsoft Windows to Google Chromebooks.

Via: Comcast Buys TWC; New Facebook Gender Options; Angry Birds Stella

Japan's Rakuten Buys Viber Messaging Service for $900M

Instant messaging app Viber has been acquired by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, owner of Buy.com and Kobo, for $900 million.

The free messaging and VoIP service boasts a global user base of 300 million registered users, and spans smartphone, tablet, and PC platforms.

"Simply put, Viber understands how people actually want to engage and have built the only service that truly delivers on all fronts," Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said in a statement. "This makes Viber the ideal total consumer engagement platform for Rakuten as we seek to bring our deep understanding of the consumer to vast new audiences through our dynamic ecosystem of Internet services."

Viber joins the 40 services that help make up Rakuten's Web ecosystem, which is centered around a "Super Points" rewards program. Rakuten has approximately 225 million global members, while Viber's user base grew more than 120 percent last year.

"Rakuten is one of the world's most important Internet companies. It is truly dominant in its home market of Japan and has been rapidly expanding globally," Viber CEO Talmon Marco said. "This combination presents an amazing opportunity for Viber to enhance our rapid user growth in both existing and new markets."

"Sharing similar aspirations with Rakuten, our vision is to be the world's No. 1 communications platform and our combination with Rakuten is an important step in that direction," Marco said.

For more, see PCMag's review of Viber for Android and the slideshow above.

Via: Japan's Rakuten Buys Viber Messaging Service for $900M

Valentine's Day Google Doodle Celebrates Real-Life Romance

Google is getting into the Valentine's Day spirit with a homepage doodle celebrating real-life stories of romance.

Those who visit Google.com will notice that the familiar Google logo has been replaced with six multi-colored candy hearts. Click on each of the hearts to launch an animated short story of love starring real-life people, with audio provided by Ira Glass and the team from public radio's "This American Life."

One heart, titled "Crush," tells the story of a high school senior who had her eye on a schoolmate for four years, but never said anything.

"This one time I sneezed, and he looked at me, he goes 'you know, you have a really cute sneeze," she recalled with excitement. "I was all day on that sneeze comment! I must have told every single one of my friends."

Another story, titled "Puppy Love" tells the humorous tale of a middle-school relationship.

"Is there anyone you like at the dance," the interviewer asks.

"There is," a young boy says.

"Does she know?"

"Yes, she does," he says.

"So how's that going?" the interviewer presses.

"Good, it just started, like, 20 minutes into this."

The boy said he was standing in his school's cafeteria, and had just taken a sip of root beer when a girl walked up to him and asked him out. But not everyone has high hopes for the budding romance.

"Usually they don't last, it's a middle school relationship," another voice says. "This isn't like, who you're starting your life with. You don't hear things about middle school sweethearts!"

Head over to Google's website to hear the rest of the short stories, titled "Mr. Right," "First Kiss," "4Ever Yours," and "Blind Date."

Meanwhile, if you haven't yet purchased a present for your special someone, there's still a few hours left; here's our tips fordoing Valentine's Day the digital way and gift suggestions based on your loved one's astrological sign.

If you're not coupled up, check out our tips for making a digital love connection, but be sure you're prepared for the five stages of online love. And if it goes well, always remember to think before you sext.

For the broken-hearted, here's our guide for avoiding your ex on social media.

Via: Valentine's Day Google Doodle Celebrates Real-Life Romance

Google, Comcast Want to Make Sure You Have Fast Wi-Fi

More than a dozen tech and cable companies have joined forces for a coalition hoping to expand and improve Wi-Fi networks.

WifiForward boasts heavyweight partners like Google, Comcast, Microsoft, Charter Communications, and Time Warner Cable. Its goal: free up more spectrum to lessen the stress on networks currently bogged down by massive use.

Specifically, the coalition's mission statement describes WifiForward as "an ad hoc, broad-based group of companies, organizations and public sector institutions working to alleviate the Wi-Fi spectrum crunch and to support making Wi-Fi even better by finding more unlicensed spectrum."

Use of unlicensed spectrum does not require an FCC license but users do need certified radio equipment and must comply with technical requirements like power limits. It applies to things like Wi-Fi hotspots, medical equipment, wireless headsets, baby monitors, cordless phones, remote care door openers, RFID technologies, and wireless keyboards.

But just as carriers have urged the release of more spectrum for mobile data use, the firms behind WifiForward also believe that Wi-Fi networks will suffer if more spectrum is not allocated. Wi-Fi devices are expected account for a majority of total Internet traffic by 2017, which is "like trying to fit rush hour traffic down a two-lane highway," the coalition said.

According to the group, lawmakers recognize the importance of Wi-Fi, but "we must move beyond policy statements and never-ending proceedings to decisive action."

"Policymakers and regulators should protect Wi-Fi and promote investment and growth through initiatives that strengthen existing Wi-Fi spectrum designations, free up new frequencies for Wi-Fi and establish transparent and predictable rules for Wi-Fi spectrum," WifiForward said.

In Sept. 2012, former FCC chairman Julius Genachowski submitted a proposal for incentive spectrum auctions that would allow TV broadcasters to voluntarily sell off unused spectrum to companies that would use it for mobile broadband purposes. But the proposal would also free up "a significant amount of unlicensed spectrum for innovative WiFi-like uses, and create the first uniform, national low-band unlicensed spectrum in any country," he said at the time.

Action on those incentive auctions has moved forward, but in the wake of the disastrous HealthCare.gov launch, current FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said recently that the commission will hold off on conducting the incentive auctions until at least 2015 to make sure it's done right.

Initial partners in WifiForward, meanwhile, include the American Library Association (ALA), Arris Group, Best Buy, Broadcom, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Charter Communications, Comcast, CompTIA, Engine Advocacy, Fastback Networks, Google, the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), Microsoft, Motorola, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB), and Time Warner Cable.

Not surprisingly, these companies have an interest in healthy Wi-Fi access. Google WiFi provides free wireless Internet service to the city of Mountain View, and the search giant has also committed to providing Wi-Fi to San Francisco parks and Starbucks. Comcast and Time Warner Cable, meanwhile, which just announced plans to merge, also offer customers free access to Wi-Fi hotspots.

Via: Google, Comcast Want to Make Sure You Have Fast Wi-Fi

Q&A With 40 Days of Dating's Timothy Goodman

For something to be a habit, some experts suggest that you have to do it for at least 40 days. Looking to break their bad dating habits and develop some better ones, friends Jessica Walsh and Timothy Goodman decided to date each other for 40 daysand blog about it. The result, 40 Days of Dating, became an addictive guilty pleasure. And while - spoiler alert - the pair didn't end up together, it did land them a movie deal.

That doesn't mean that theyand youcan't glean some wisdom from their relationship. PCMag talked to Goodman about the perils of putting your dating life online, which is what we pretty much all do these days.

PCMag: How do you feel technology has changed dating?
Goodman: In a digital age, where you can pick and choose a guy or girl on dating sites, the easier we make things the harder they become. With so many options, everyone thinks they can do better. And for some people, it's hard to settle down when there's always a seemingly more interesting or beautiful man or woman around the corner.

PCMag: Do you think opening up your dating life to the Internet has given you a different perspective on it?
Goodman: It was difficult, but also very liberating to release our story to the public. Our individual stories, issues, and approaches to relationships aren't very different from a lot of folks. We're happy that people have connected to it so much. It challenged both of us to confront issues that we swept under the rug a long time ago, and to have some accountability for it all. And because of that, it has allowed us to rethink the way we approach and handle relationships moving forward.

PCMag: What was the most challenging part of being so open online? Was it knowing that the other would read what you wrote or that a larger audience would?
Goodman: Yes, absolutely. We were in a constant state of worry about this before we began the project. We knew that if we were going to do it, we had to do it with as much sincerity as possible. We had to go the full distance. That also meant risking a sense of "professionalism" since we both run design businesses. We went back and forth several times about whether it was a good idea. More importantly, the biggest risk was hurting a great friendship. We've received thousands of messages from people all over the globe, of all ages and gender and cultures, about how much they relate to us and our feelings. Many people have written to tell us that the project has inspired them to try to improve their own lives, to take charge of their relationships, or to try out dating the best friend they've always been interested in.

PCMag: Do you feel there's been a gamification of dating? With people feeling like they have to eat at places Yelp deems worthy, drink at a bar that makes for a good Foursquare check-in, document it all on Instagram, and say things that will make for amusing tweets?
Goodman: Not really. Yes, our project exploited that kind of stuff, but that was because it was a documented experiment. We still find that most modern-day relationships have a sense of sacredness to them.

PCMag: Now that you're not together, has it been hard to see the other's dating life across social media?
Goodman: In many ways, it was like a real breakup, so there's always a bit of uncomfortableness with certain aspects of things, social media or not. However, we are extremely closeand there is no filter between us now, which is a nice place to be with a friend. Now that we've become business partners, we see quite a bit of each other, which eliminates the social media awkwardness.

For more, check out The 5 Stages of Online Love, as well as Valentine's Day Gifts for Her and Valentine's Day Gifts for Him.

Via: Q&A With 40 Days of Dating's Timothy Goodman

Struggling Windows 8 Tops 200M Licenses Sold

Microsoft's Windows 8 has reached a milestone 200 million sales, but continues to lag behind its predecessor.

Tami Reller, Microsoft's executive vice president of marketing, made the announcement during Thursday's Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference, the company's first mention of Windows 8 sales rates since May.

"We surpassed 200 million licenses now on Windows 8, which is pretty stunning," she said, adding that while the platform has received a lot of traction, there is still a lot more work to do.

Redmond launched Windows 8 in October 2012 and sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in a month, outpacing the previous generation OS in terms of upgrades. In May, Reller announced more than 100 million licenses sold.

But along the way, Windows 8 lost its footing, and fell behind its predecessor, Windows 7, which reached the 240 million mark in its first 12 months.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but told ZDNet that the number includes Windows licenses that ship on new tablets and PCs, as well as upgrades. It does not, however, include volume license sales to enterprise.

ZDNet noted that Reller did not specifically mention the Windows 8.1 update, but discussed producing operating system upgrades at a "more rapid cadence." More details about the next Windows 8.1 update are expected at Microsoft's April BUILD conference. Until then, check out Windows 8.1 Leaks Show Off Much-Needed Tweaks.

For more, see PCMag's review of Microsoft Windows 8.1 and the slideshow above.

Via: Struggling Windows 8 Tops 200M Licenses Sold

Flappy Bird-inspired 'Flappy Jam' at 206 Free Games and Counting

Sick of Flappy Bird yet? The game's creator sure was or, at least, Dong Nguyen claimed that all the massive attention and gameplay his super-popular indie title was receiving became the very reason why he pulled it off the Google and iOS App Stores.

If that news has been too tough for you and your fellow 'Flappy' addicts to hear, there's hope. Nguyen might have been able to kill the original, but in no way has he been able to harm the idea of the Flappy Bird-style game. You know the premise: Your character scrolls through a series of obstacles and it's your job to tap the screen to maneuver him, her, or it without touching anything.

Thus enters the Flappy Jam.

A group of unknown independent game developers launched the Flappy Jam a few days ago and, as of this article's writing, there are still nine more days of development left to go before the February 24 deadline.

The goal of the jam is simple: "Make a hard, almost unplayable game; use assets inspired (not ripped) from classics; FLAPPY word or gameplay not mandatory; have fun, be supportive. hate must not win," reads the description on the Flappy Jam's official website.

If that sounds a little strange to read at first, here's a bit more backstory: Once Nguyen announced that he was pulling Flappy Bird, he received a good amount of vitriol around the Web's social hangouts. People disgruntled Flappy fans, perhaps took to Twitter to blast him for ending the game and suggest that that he kill himself, among other online threats.

It might sound benign, and just words being thrown around the Internet by people who will never actually see or know each other in real life, but the Flappy Bird backlash is a good chunk of the reason why the Flappy Jam was created in the first place. As reads a description on the site:

"Indie gamedevs are friendly and supportive, envy and teasing should not belong to our community, nor be a cause of suffering."

The Flappy Jam is currently up to a whopping 206 games as of this article's writing. Yes, there's a Nyan Cat version; yes, some of the games look like they were designed in about seven minutes instead of several hours; yes, you can play every single one for free via your browser or a quick download.

Get flappin'!

Via: Flappy Bird-inspired 'Flappy Jam' at 206 Free Games and Counting