Skype has been updated to version 5.8 for Windows PCs, bringing 1080p Full HD video chat to the table.

So long as you've got a Full HD webcam, an internet connection that can manage consistent 2Mbps upload and download speeds and some pals who don't mind seeing your ugly mug in high resolution, you can chat away at 1080p quality.

The update also adds group screen share, which lets Skype Premium subscribers share their entire desktops or a single app with pals on their friends lists, making Skype an even more powerful collaboration tool.

The last major addition is video calling with Facebook friends, regardless of whether or no they're on Skype. You can now also hide Facebook contacts from within the Skype client and set up mic-muting hot keys. Skype is now also integrated into the Bing toolbar, an inevitability following Microsoft's purchase of the VoIP service.

Skype 5.8 for Windows is available now by clicking here.

Back at the end of last year Tech Digest teamed up with the O2 Recycle scheme in order to raise some money for a great cause.

Collecting all our old tech gear from the Shiny Media towers, the O2 Recycling gurus went about reselling the items, and ethically disposing of the ones that had no value, pushing all profits made to two separate charities.

The Tech Digest/Shiny Shiny profits would go the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, who do amazing work helping our little loved ones battle illness. O2 would be giving their share to Think Big, their initiative which empowers youngsters up and down the country, giving them funding to run their own community projects.

We're now happy to announce that O2 Recycle have managed to raise and donate £500 for the Great Ormond Street Chidren's Hospital! A big pat on the back for everyone involved, well done!

But we can still do much more great work! We need your help to raise as much cash as we possibly can for these two great causes.

According to the O2 Recycle team's research, we throw away 17.5 million perfectly usable gadgets every year, with a potential value of £750 million!

We're asking if you can pool together any unwanted gadgets lying around your house to put towards the fund raising effort. Just pop them into the post, to the address found at this link, and we'll do the rest. We'll make sure that the owner of each profitable item sent gets credited on the site, so that you're hard work is recognised.

O2 offer a full price-match service on your recyclable gadgets too, meaning if you're offered a better price for the item elsewhere, they'll match it to the penny.

The recycling scheme can of course also be used personally if you've got a charity you'd like to support, or just need a little extra cash of your own. But you'd be helping out a great cause by teaming up with the Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny teams!

For more info, check out the video above, and then head over to www.o2recycle.co.uk to get started!

Grand Theft Auto V may currently be floating around in the "TBC" netherworld of release dates, but a new report from Take-Two has hinted at a Christmas 2012 release date for the open-world crime sim.

Take-Two, parent company of GTA publisher Rockstar Games, has reported a drop in profits for its fiscal Q3 ending December 31st. Despite this, they've bullishly tipped fiscal 2013 to be one of the most lucrative in the company's history, suggesting a late 2012 release for the next GTA game with the Christmas period being the most profitable point for boxed games.

"Fiscal 2013 is expected to be one of our best years ever, with substantial revenue growth and non-GAAP net income in excess of $2 per diluted share. We are well positioned to continue to deliver growth and profitability over the long-term," said Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick.

Though GTA V will lead Take-Two's profit charge, there are plenty of other promising titles heading out this year under their umbrella. Max Payne 3, Spec Ops: The Line, XCOM: Enemy Unknown and BioShock Infinite are all due later this year while there's also Borderlands 2 and the XCOM FPS game out in Take-Two's fiscal 2013 too.

Microsoft have lifted the lid on Windows Phone 8, the next major upgrade for their smartphone operating system.

Revealed to PocketNow via an internal Microsoft products video, Windows Phone 8 will be the official name of the update initially codenamed Apollo, which should follow the Tango update before the end of the year.

The OS will allow apps to work not only on your phone, but also with corresponding applications on the desktop version of Windows 8, also expected to land later this year.

Windows Phone 8 will also add NFC capabilities to handsets running Microsoft's OS, letting data be shared between two handsets just by touching them together, or for payments to be made at NFC checkout points.

The update will also introduce the DataSmart live tile, which helps a user manage how much mobile data they're using in order to keep their phone bills down. The app will also intelligently aim to connect to a Wi-Fi connection over a mobile data connection each time.

Looking a reasonably well-rounded update, we'll have more on Windows Phone 8 as it edges closer to launching.

It seems the major price cuts RIM offered on their BlackBerry Playbook tablets still hasn't been enough to shift the backlog of unsold slates, as today the company revealed they will be giving some units away for free to those who develop apps for their device.

The offer was revealed in a tweet from RIM's vice president of developer relations Alec Saunders, who stated that those looking to nab a freebie must first submit an app to the BlackBerry App World.

And they'll have to do it quickly too; to claim a free Playbook, the app must be submitted in under a fortnight, before February 13th. A few more (conveniently) as-yet-unannounced stipulations apply, which may make it difficult for potential developers to meet the terms within the time frame. If they do however, they merely need send an email to developeroutreachprogram@rim.com with the details of the app they've created to claim their prize.

"The plan is to provide one free 16GB BlackBerry PlayBook to every registered BlackBerry App World vendor who converts their Android app for use on the BlackBerry PlayBook and submits it to BlackBerry App World," reads a posting on the BlackBerry developer's blog.

It's thought that move is to encourage a rush of apps onto the BlackBerry App World store in preparation for the potential launch of two new BlackBerry tablets this year.

ASUS loo set to be adding a new model to their line of shape-shifting tablets, if this latest batch of leaked images are to be believed.

Following in the footsteps of the original Transformer with its model number being TF101, andits successor the Prime with TF201, the French site Blogeee which uncovered the shots are calling this theTF300T, suggestive of a ten-inch screen size.

But with no sense of comparative scale in the shots, the tablet could just as easily be the 7-incher ASUS CEO Jerry Shen was waving about at CES last month.

All will likely be revealed at this month's MWC event.We'll keep you posted on any updates.

Via: Engadget

Last night Facebook made good on the rumours that have been flying around the internet for weeks, announcing it had filed for its initial public offering, or IPO.

The move sees the world's biggest social network aim to raise $5 billion (about £3.15 million) of funding, in part by offering the public a chance to buy shares in the company.

As part of the filing, Facebook had to make public some financial stats that have until now been only speculated on. The Ad Age collected a handful of the most interesting ones below:

Facebook's total ad revenue in 2011: $3.15 billion
Share of revenue attributed to advertising: 83%
Amount of revenue sourced from Zynga: 12%
Amount Netflix spent advertising on Facebook in 2011: $3.9 million
Amount The Washington Post spent: $4.2 million
Facebook 2011 profit: $1 billion
Revenue generated from virtual goods: $557 million
Global monthly active users: 845 million
Daily likes and comments: 2.7 billion
Amount Facebook spent on advertising in 2011: $28 million
Likely Facebook market valuation: $75 to $100 billion
CEO Mark Zuckerberg's total 2011 compensation: $1.5 million
Mr. Zuckerberg's ownership stake: 28.2%
Mr. Zuckerberg's voting power: 56.9%
Mr. Zuckerberg's annual salary starting in 2013: $1

Profit of $1 billion in 2011? Who knew that all the s%!t ___ say videos I've been posting were worth that much!

After a September 2011 no-show from the annual iPod Nano range update, it now looks as if Apple are ready to reveal the next generation of their miniaturised MP3 players, and with it will come a much-missed returning feature.

Leaked images purportedly of the seventh generation iPod Nano show it packing both the rear clip AND video camera that had been dropped after the 5th generation of the device to scale it down even further.

The camera is said to be a 1.3MP snapper, but one with significant problems holding it back. According to MicGadget, its auto iris is causing images to blur, as well as capturing "overexposed photos".

It's not like Apple to release something with such notable problems, but as the blog states it's just a two-month old prototype, it's likely these issues will be ironed out before any eventual release.

That is, of course, providing that the leak is the real deal. Apple are rumoured to be re-launching the Nano in the Spring. We'll just have to wait and see what delights they eventually deliver.

Via: 9to5 Mac

Users of the cloud-based Google Docs word processor app for Android get a useful new feature added to the software today. You'll now be able to access a drop-down menu that allows you to cache files for offline access, allowing you to edit your documents without fear of losing the changes if you're out of range of a web connection.

Those using the app on tablet devices also get an upgrade, with a new high-res page preview option and sideways swiping controls for easier navigation of the app.

"There may be times when you don't have an Internet connection on your Android device, but you still want access to a file you've saved in Google Docs," said software engineer Freeman Liu over on the Google Mobile blog.

"Now you can select any file in Google Docs to make it available offline. So regardless of whether you're connected to the internet, you're always connected to those files.

"Even better, Google Docs automatically updates your offline files when you're on Wi-Fi. You can also manually update files anytime you have a data connection by opening the file or tapping 'Update' from the Offline section of the app."

Videogame retailer GAME are facing stiff financial challenges after poor profits last year rocked its credit insurance line.

The retailer is now in talks with individual games publishers regarding the financial difficulties to ensure its stores are continued to be stocked with new releases.

It's not only GAME's own fortunes that hang in the balance, but the profits of many videogame publishers, who see GAME as the primary retail channel for their wares. Most notably mega-publishers EA have rallied around GAME, noting the importance of the company staying afloat.

"We are concerned with the financial condition of one of our major European retail partners," said EA boss John Riccitiello told investors yesterday, "which could lead to both increased bad debt and lost sales."

CFO Eric Brown also added: "We are focused on some isolated European retailer issues that have recently been announced. A negative outcome could adversely affect our Q4 results."

We'll bring you more on this story as it develops.

Via: MCV

Google have lost over 500,000 Euros due to unfair practice concerning their Google Maps service in France.

Bottin Cartogaphes, who offer a similar mapping service to Google, but charge a fee, took the search giants to court, citing the free nature of the service gave Google an unfair advantage and constituted unfair competition.

A French commercial court sided with the local mapping service, and has ordered Google to pay 500,000 Euros of damages, as well as a 15,000 Euro fine.

"This is the end of a two-year battle, a decision without precedent," said Bottin Cartographes' lawyer, Jean-David Scemmama.

"We proved the illegality of (Google's) strategy to remove its competitors... the court recognised the unfair and abusive character of the methods used and allocated Bottin Cartographes all it claimed. This is the first time Google has been convicted for its Google Maps application."

A Google France spokesperson responded, saying: "We will appeal this decision. We remain convinced that a free high-quality mapping tool is beneficial for both Internet users and websites. There remains competition in this sector for us, both in France and internationally."

Marks and Spencers have teamed up with Samsung to deliver a new branded lifestyle app to the Korean tech firm's Smart TV platform.

It lets users check out a variety of useful tips, ranging from recipe suggestions to fashion trends, hot technology to tasty wines.

The app currently lacks the functionality to allow a user to shop directly from their sofas, but it's surely only a matter of time before an update allowing this to happen is piped through.

"The development of the M&S Smart TV App highlights the popularity of Smart TV as the most immersive and interactive format for consumers," said Guy Kinnell, marketing director for TV, Samsung UK.

And indeed, connected sets are quickly adding a variety of apps to their systems. Everything from RightMove estate agents apps to BBC iPlayer, Lovefilm, YouTube, Teletext Holidays, Thomson Local, Facebook and Twitter can now be accessed.

The free Marks and Spencers app is available from the Samsung Apps section of a Samsung Smart TV, or connected Blu-ray player.

Ready for some more iPad 3 rumour-goodness? Of course you are! BGR are the latest gang claiming to have been made privy to details concerning the latest Apple tablet's innards, and if they've got their facts straight it makes for some very exciting news.

Getting their info from a source that claims to have actually gotten its mitts onto a prototype iPad 3, the source claims that the next-gen slate will have LTE connectivity and a quad-core processor.

Posting screenshots from a debug tool called iBoot, the source also reveals two model numbers J1 and J2, or iPad3,1 and iPad3,2 as they've been listed elsewhere. These likely correspond to the Wi-Fi only version of the tablet and the GSM/CDMA/LTE variant too.

Some processor model number juggling also seemingly confirms the quad-core update; Apple's A4 chip is called the S5L8930X and the A5 is the S5L8940X. The protype is said to sport a S5L8945X, which is now thought to be the model number of the quad-core A6 processor.

Calling it "the fastest iOS device ever", Apple better hope the rest of the world see the iPad 3 as positively; Samsung are apparently preparing to launch some very tasty tablets of their own at this month's MWC 2012 show.

Right on cue, Microsoft have announced the availability of the Kinect for Windows hardware and Software Development Kit, hitting the February 1st release date that Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer promised at CES.

Built for developers as "a fully-tested and supported Kinect experience on Windows", it shares the same look as the regular Xbox 360 version, but has a few key differences.

Most notably, it comes with a "commercial ready installer that makes it easy to install Kinect for Windows runtime and driver components for end-user deployments", but also offers better speech and audio capabilities thanks to the inclusion of the latest Microsoft speech components, as well as improved skeletal tracking and the ability to work within a Macro mode of just 40cm away from the sensor.

"It's been just over a year since we launched Kinect for Xbox 360, and we're only starting to scratch the surface of what's possible with Kinect," said Craig Eisler, general manager for Kinect for Windows.

"By offering hardware and software that's designed specifically for Windows applications, we hope to inspire visionaries around the world to create transformative breakthroughs with Kinect - taking its gesture and voice capabilities beyond the living room into other industries such as education, manufacturing, healthcare, and retail."

Launching intially Stateside for $249, it'll hit Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom in the near future.

With Samsung's Galaxy S III handset almost a certain no-show at this year's MWC 2012 trade event, the Korean tech firm are now rumoured to be plugging the gap with a duo of new tablet devices instead.

Samsung are said to have applied for Wi-Fi interoperability certificates for two devices with product codes of GT-P5100 and GT-P3100, just in time for the Barcelona show.

Samsung's product naming conventions see that any device with the letter "P" in its ID will be a tablet, fuelling rumours already bandying about that Samsung are preparing to launch a whopping 11.6 inch tablet, perhaps one of the devices listed above.

It's thought the tablet will sport a Retina Display-trouncing 2560 x 1600 screen, backed by a 2GHz dual-core processor. The Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android is also thought to feature.

The rumours follow news today that the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone will not appear at MWC 2012, instead being revealed at it's own dedicated event.

Via: Android Authority

Here's an Android smartphone with a difference; Middlesex University student Kieron-Scott Woodhouse has put together a bamboo blower!

The 23 year-old Brit, working alongside ADzero, has been working on the project after a number of his previous concept designs were picked up on gadget blogs around the globe.

He's now working with the company to make the Bamboo ADzero a reality; an Android phone half the weight of an iPhone, with a unibody design crafted entirely from a single piece of four year-old bamboo.

"The whole experience so far has been incredible and completely unexpected," said Woodhouse.

"Completing my final year and working has been challenging, but my course and the project complement each other well and it's a great start of my career. I can't wait to see my mobile phone in shops this year."

Though initially only set for release in China, the buzz generated by the handset's design means it will now get a limited release through boutique shops in the UK too. We'll keep you posted on the details of the release, but for now marvel at the design in the video above.

Could this be the turning point for BlackBerry makers RIM? We hope so, as an apparent leaked shot of their first BlackBerry 10-packing superphone, dubbed the "London" leaks online.

Looking like a cross between a BlackBerry PlayBook and an iPhone, it's claimed to be RIM's newest flagship device, set to hit stores before the end of the year.

Revealed in what appears to be an internal corporate slide, the London has plenty of buzzwords bandied around it, calling it the "Ultimate Communication Device" and featuring a "Rich specification - hardware & software". Spotters CrackBerry are also claiming the device will have a 1.5GHz dual core processor either from Qualcomm or Texas Instruments, a .5GHz jump over the PlayBook tablet.

Hard to really judge the legitimacy of the image; we know RIM are hedging their bets to deliver something revolutionary by their standards this year, while the lingo used does seem full of enough chaff to be genuine executive-speak. The handset itself though looks far more like a render than a genuine photo of a device.

We'll bring you any updates on RIM's smartphone plans as we get them.

Via: CrackBerry

Those looking forward to the debut of the Samsung Galaxy S III look away now; you're going to have to wait a little longer to see Samsung's next superphone be revealed.

The Korean tech giants have just released a statement confirming that the Android handset will not be unveiled at the world's largest mobile technology show, but will instead launch at its own dedicated event.

"The successor to the Galaxy S II smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product," reads the statement from Samsung.

That's not to say Sasmung wont have plenty of other goodies on display at the show: "Samsung is looking forward to introducing and demonstrating exciting new mobile products at Mobile World Congress 2012," and is "committed to providing the best possible mobile experiences for customers around the world".

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to guest star in the milestone 500th episode of The Simpsons.

Approached by casting director Bonnie Pietila after Simpsons creator Matt Groening found that Assange was looking to be on the show, Assange recorded his lines in a secret location and did not meet the shows producers as his house arrest legal status in the US prevented him from travelling.

Whistle-blowing Assange is currently scheduled to appear at the US Surpeme Court on Wednesday, where he'll appeal potential extradition to Sweden where he is alleged to have committed sex crimes.

The shows producers spent quite some time discussing the potential appearance of the notorious internet figure, but came to the conclusion that the satirical nature of Assange's appearance does not have the potential to alter his legal situation.

The episode (which airs in the US on February 19th) sees Homer and Marge attempting to disappear from their regular lives after they discover the townsfolk of Springfield have secretly turned against them. While on the road they bump into Assange, who becomes a "new Ned Flanders" for the pair.

We've seen both Game of Thrones and Battlestar Galactica get the 16-bit RPG makeover treatment from the folks over at College Humour, but they've taken the biscuit with their latest effort.

AMC's Breaking Bad has been turned into a cute, sprite based RPG. Well, as cute as an RPG about a cancer-ridden chemistry teacher-turned meth cook ever could be.

Take a look at it in the video above, but NOTE THAT NEARLY EVERY SCENE HAS A SHOW SPOILER IN IT.

Just so you know.