"Microsoft is reportedly working on a microtransactions service that would allow users to play games for free while charging for additional features. According to Develop, Redmond is calling on developers to discuss possible free-to-play game deals. Under the free-to-play price structure, players can play the game for free and Microsoft will make its money from in game purchases of different objects or upgrades."

"In the world of browsers, where they're all free, companies like Microsoft, Mozilla and Google have to find ways of differentiating their offerings. While each browser has its own unique features that attract different types of users, only one can stake claim to Lady Gaga. This is Lady Gaga using Chrome and YouTube to speak to her Little Monsters."

"Users of Sony’s PlayStation Network remain offline for the fifth day running as the company scrambles to strengthen its network infrastructure before switching PSN back on. By close of business on Friday, Sony had yet to offer any explanation as to why PSN was down. However, at around 7:30 p.m. the company updated to say that an ‘external intrusion’ on its system had affected PSN and Qriocity services and that these had been switched off on the evening of April 20 (last Wednesday) pending an investigation into the issue."

"Mark Rein, Vice President at Epic has said that his company’s new DX11 Unreal Engine is a call for hardware developers to come out with next-generation consoles. Word on the street is that we’ll have to wait until 2015 to see the new Xbox 720 -- and the PS4? That’s not exactly set for a holiday release, either. However, it seems Epic is hoping its DirectX11 Unreal Engine demo will make console manufacturers want to pick up the pace.

"April Fools’ means mischief. But what if you’re stuck in front of a computer all day? There are plenty of tech-centric pranks to pull on your coworkers or friends..."

"Microsoft Confirms March 14 Release Date for IE9 Last week there were rumors that Microsoft would release the final version of Internet Explorer 9 at the SXSW conference next Monday. When word got out that Microsoft had it's own SXSW IE party scheduled for March 14, people seemed even more sure of the date. Though the official theme of the party was "Celebrate the Beauty of the Web," it looks like Microsoft was actually hinting at something much more significant.

"The Internet has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, again. ZoomLast year, to the surprise and ridicule of many, the internet was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. It lost, however, to a Chinese human rights activist by the name of Liu Xiaobo. Considering the impact that the internet has on the world today, it's no surprise that it has been nominated once again. This year the internet received 241 nominations which beat last year's 237."

Going bionic is usually depicted in media as haphazardly attaching an unwieldy piece of cyberpunk technology to your squishy bits. That might not be where the real world is headed, as University of Michigan researchers have come up with what's possibly the smallest computer ever built.

"A tragic story hit the news today about a teenage boy who killed his mother after she took away his PlayStation. Last November, the day after Thanksgiving, Rashida Anderson and her son 16-year-old son Kendall had a 90-minute argument. Rashida took away his PlayStation as punishment. After his mother went to bed, Kendall paced for three hours in the South Philadelphia home before he decided to attack his mother in her sleep. He hit her with a claw hammer 20 times.

"Next time the Catholic Guilt strikes, you can start the confession process on your iPhone. Senior officials in the Catholic Church have approved a $1.99 iPhone app aimed at helping Catholic users through confession. Approved by representatives in both the UK and the U.S., the app was developed with the help of several priests by a company in Indiana."