Wi-Fi Alliance announces Miracast wireless display certification program

The ability to transmit audio-visual content over WiFi is poised to launch a bit of a cable-free revolution in the living room, but before that happens, the Wi-Fi Alliance hopes that manufacturers will rally behind its standard set of technologies known as Miracast -- in the process, buryingWiDi and giving AirPlay a run for its money. While the certification program itself has yet to be finalized, it's said to launch later this year and will bless all compatible devices with the "Wi-Fi Certified Miracast" mark. Everything from televisions and set-top boxes, to notebooks, smartphones and tablets will be eligible for certification, which means that we may begin to see the seal in a hell of a lot more places. The PR itself provides scant additional details, but if you're so inclined, feel free to hop the break.

SoundHound now scavenging tunes in more tablet-friendly Android version

If you've ever had an earworm you just can't put a name to, the SoundHound music recognition app -- that even translates your humming -- can be just the sorcery you need. There's now an Android version with a more tablet-centric design and tighter Google integration that brings "streamlined sharing to Facebook, Twitter and more," according to the company. It also trumpeted a stronger relationship with digital music service Rdio, which added interactive music mapping to its SoundHounded track-linking abilities, letting you see others across the globe with the same musical tastes and bad memory. You can grab it at Google Play or Amazon's Appstore for Kindle, but if you're as tone deaf as some of us, don't forget the auto-tune.

MSI Slidebook S20 review: MSI's flagship Windows 8 Ultrabook has a flawed design

If you've been following our reviews of Windows 8 laptops, you know we haven't been too kind to the slider form factor. It's not like we set out to pan these machines, but time and again we've found that the propped-up display ruins the typing experience. Keep that in mind as we begin our review of the Slidebook S20, MSI's flagship Win 8 device, priced at $1,200 in the US. It's a bold move from a company whose bread and butter is not ultraportables, but gaming systems. In fact, the 11.6-inch S20 is the outfit's only high-end Windows 8 Ultrabook. So the company must have quite a bit of confidence in that form factor, then, if it didn't bother with dockable tablets or some other kind of convertible design. Could that mean the S20 has something all the others don't?

US Cellular to begin Samsung Galaxy S 4 pre-sales April 16th

AT&T's not the only operator to grant early adopters the opportunity to pre-order theSamsung Galaxy S 4 on April 16th -- US Cellular will be following suit as well. While the regional carrier hasn't announced pricing or any other details on availability yet, interested customers will be able to at least start the purchase process before it hits retail shelves. Head to the source to sign up for email alerts on pricing and availability, and we'll keep you posted as soon as we hear updates.

DOS emulator brings Raspberry Pi back to the '90s for Doom LAN parties

Who can forget the first time they obliterated their buddy with a BFG9000 during a spirited Doom game? Raspberry Pi coder Pate wants to resurrect those good times with an rpix86 DOS emulator that opens up the world of retro PC games like the aforementioned FPS pioneer along with Duke Nukem 3D, Jill of the Jungle and others. It works by creating a virtual machine your Dad would be proud of, based on a 40Mhz 80486 processor, 640KB base RAM, 16MB extended memory, 640 x 480 256-color graphics and SoundBlaster 2.0 audio. Of course, the Pi is worlds beyond that with a 700Mhz ARM CPU, 512MB or RAM and HDMI out -- so, most enthusiasts with one of the wee $35 boards will likely be all over hacking it to play those classics.

AMD Radeon HD 7990 says hello, plays a bit of Battlefield 4 at GDC

Gamers were down-right spoiled at this year's GDC with a full 17 minutes of beautifulBattlefield 4 in-game footage. Minds blown, AMD took responsibility for the part it played in the mess, admitting the demo was running on its Radeon HD 7990 graphics card. It's the first time the company's confirmed the existence of the long-fabled card, and went as far as calling the case-busting monster "the world's fastest." All we know is the card combines two of the HD 7970's Tahiti GPUs -- AMD's not sharing the full specs -- but the eagle-eyed folks at AnandTech have plucked a few extra details from the limited pictures available. They note the open-air cooling, which would require a drafty case but mean the fans should run fairly quiet, and that power consumption is likely to be no more than 375 watts. Not much to go on, we know, but we'll be waiting eagerly for AMD's full reveal. Now, your BF4 video awaits. (Warning: the game dialogue contains a few naughty words).

The After Math: a million Z10s, the UnCarrier's new plan and a 16-button controller

This week, there's been a mixed bag of interesting news numbers, from T-Mobile's New York event and the company's new perspective on the phone network business, to San Francisco (again) for the Games Developers Conference. We also got to take a look at BlackBerry's first financial results since the name change and its BB10 launch.

University of Illinois' Blue Waters supercomputer now running around the clock

At this year's New York International Auto Show BMW is expanding its portfolio of connected apps -- by four. The company announced iOS integration for Audible, Glympse, Rhapsody and TuneIn Radio and we couldn't help but swing by to check them all out. This integration (which also will work on Connected Minis) entails an update to those existing iOS apps. In other words, you won't need a dedicated BMW app nor second versions of these individual apps. You can use the ones you already know and love.

Join us below for a little more information on how that works, and a look at the company's in-car LTE router that's also on display.

Skype for Windows 8 gains contact blocking and performance improvements

Those of you using Skype in Windows 8 will be happy to know that Microsoft's just bumped the app to version 1.6. It's been a few months since the last update, and this revision brings more features to the table, including contact blocking and a slew of performance tweaks. You're now able to block users, with an option to remove or report the offending party. Speed and reliability have been improved, especially when loading contacts, and a number of bugs have been fixed, including one where the outgoing video was not always displayed after switching cameras. The update's available in Windows Store, so what are you waiting for?

Panasonic explains how its color splitter sensor works in a vividly detailed video

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You'd be forgiven if you weren't entirely on the same page with Panasonic regarding itsmicro color splitter sensor: it's a big break from the traditional Bayer filter approach on digital cameras, and the deluge of text doesn't do much to simplify the concept. Much to our relief, DigInfo TV has grilled Panasonic in a video that provides a more easily digestible (if still deep) interpretation. As the technology's creator says, it's all about the math. To let in so much light through the splitters requires processing the light in four mixed colors, and that processing requires studying the light's behavior in 3D. Panasonic's new method (Babinet-BPM) makes that feasible by finishing tasks 325 times faster than usual, all while chewing up just a 16th of the memory. The company isn't much closer to having production examples, but it's clarifying that future development will be specialized -- it wants to fine-tune the splitter behavior for everything from smartphone cameras through to security systems. Catch the full outline after the break.

How would you change Samsung's Series 9?

It's not that many devices that we ever really go to bat for, but Samsung's Series 9Ultrabook has a small place in our heart. When we reviewed the mid-2012 refresh, we could only find a few problems -- the flaky trackpad, the limited storage options and the fact it was a bit on the pricey side. We've known for a while that Samsung's product engineers scour your comments for useful suggestions, so if you bought one of these, why not share your experiences with 'em?

Tesla Model S axes 40 kWh battery option, surpasses sales goals

Thinking of picking up the budget Tesla Model S? Think again: the electric automaker just announced that it won't be sending its 40 kWh battery pack option into production, citing a lack of customer demand. Customers who opted for the lower range configuration will still get a car, of course, but it will be a 60 kWh machine with software restrictions on range. It sounds like a raw deal, but Tesla promises

--> customers that the artificially limited Model S will reap unexpected benefits from the battery swap -- that is, improved acceleration and a higher top speed. All of the company's 60 kWh cars will be built with Supercharger hardware, too. Finally, the company announced that it surpassed its first quarter sales goal, having delivered 4,750 Model S vehicles on its planned 4,500. This gives it a head start on its year-end goal of delivering 20,000 cars in 2013 and presumably secures the Q1 profits it promised shareholders back in February. Curious onlookers and Department of Energy collectors can find the details after the break.

X Prize Innovation Partnership Program gets official, lets companies bankroll breakthroughs

X Prize is known for doling out big bucks for tech leaps like Spaceship One and now the foundation is teaming with Singularity University and Deloitte Consulting to try to bring more cash-bearing companies on board. To that end, they created the Innovation Partnership Program (IPP) to get industry together with inventors, scientists and other developers twice a year with the goal of funding new competitions. The first meeting took place last week and included heavyweights like Google, Sprint Nextel and Qualcomm, who tossed around ideas like crowdsourcing, sensor tech and 3D printing. In exchange for their largess -- a seat at the table starts at $250,000 -- businesses get in on the ground floor to breakthrough tech and the fortunes it can bring. IPP cautioned that the four day event "is not a volleyball picnic or a plush retreat," so if you had visions of shirtless CEOs, Top Gun-style, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Sony Computer Entertainment to fuse Asian and Japanese units into one

As part of recent restructuring and cost-cutting efforts, Sony's Computer Entertainment (SCE) division will merge its Asian and Japanese operations into a single entity. The company said that it would result in a new management unit, with SCE Japan president Hiroshi Kawano taking the helm and the Asian unit's ex-chief, Hiroyuki Oda becoming his deputy.

-->  Departments like marketing and finance will also merge in an effort to save cash, as the company hopes to stanch all the recent bleeding and try to make its fiscal 2012 a throwback to the glory days.