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During a press conference today, Microsoft announced their latest version of Office. Everyone welcome Office 365, a cloud-based and collaboration-orientated Office, a big change for both Microsoft, and Office.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer deems Office 365 the company's "most ambitious release ever in our history". Office 365 has been designed from the ground up to work flawlessly and without limitations across Microsoft's portfolio of upcoming Windows 8 devices, and with some cool features such as being able to create, edit and publish Office content from anywhere, on the road, or at your desktop.

Office 365 has Skype fully integrated, and includes a new "People Card" feature which provides more than one way to get in touch with your contacts or view their integrated social feeds. Microsoft have also baked in SkyDrive, which itself has some great features in Office. Signing into Office 365 applications now gives you instant access to your settings across all Windows 8-based devices, as well as your custom dictionaries, recently used documents, templates, and more.

Apple's sharp exit, but swift return to EPEAT has been a whirlwind of random behavior for the usually straight-shooter company. But, it seems that the pullout, and return to EPEAT could've been from a dispute over the status that had been given to the Retina MacBook Pro.

The two 15-inch models may have been threatened with a lower-than-top ranking, which would've been a first for Apple. The Retina-powered models now appear on the EPEAT website, this time with Gold rankings. Considering that critics have complained that the Retina models are less "repairable" than other notebooks, and that the fusion of the display to the casing itself, as well as the gluing of the battery make both components more difficult to recycle than models that don't sport those features.

The scoring is now identical for non-Retina and Retina models of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. Within this scoring, Apple loses points for "materials selection" as well as "energy conservation", without EPEAT explaining what these could mean, or how Apple could improve them. But, there is some light at the end of this Apple and EPEAT tunnel, in the way that the Retina MBP gets full points for "product longevity/life cycle extension", an acknowledgement that Apple's use of custom batteries, and the rMBP's new fused display is likely to decrease the chances of a defect, which could offset the new machines' lack of easy interior repair.

We've seen some serious hacking over the last few years, with the last notable tech-related hack being Sony, but now Yahoo! have joined the ranks of victims being hit. Yahoo! confirmed that it had the usernames, and passwords of over 400,000 accounts stolen from its servers earlier this week, and that data from these accounts were posted online briefly.

The data has since been yanked offline, but it turns out that it wasn't just for Yahoo! accounts, as Gmail, AOL, Hotmail, Comcast, MSN, SBC Global, Verizon, BellSouth and Live.com login info was also taken on the day and placed online. Those who hacked the servers said that they did it simply to show Yahoo! the weaknesses in their security software, elaborating:

The University of New South Wales housed competitive gamers and PC enthusiasts over the second weekend of July 2012. Nearly 300 gamers were competing against their friends to win a share of $20,000 AUD of cash and prizes. ESGN Winter had arrived!

Games that were featured at this event;

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (XBOX360 & PS3)

Those great Steam Summer Sales are on right now, where you can pick up some seriously cheap games, either individually, or in packs. But, a Reddit user has revealed what looks to be the full list of the Summer Sales for this year.

The list is unconfirmed, but it looks like 55 games will be up on offer over a period of 11 days, but we have no idea of pricing or any other details. The data reportedly comes from the team behind the Open Steamworks Database, which is a site that provides a description record database for every Steam game and subscription offered by Valve.

If you want a look at the unconfirmed list, take a look below:

If video cards these days weren't built crazily enough, Gigabyte's newest kid on the block sure is. Gigabyte's upcoming Super Overclock version of the AMD Radeon HD 7970 is looking like it'll stand out from the crowd, sporting five 40mm fans mounted on top of a triple-slot radiator.

Gigabyte's GV-R797SO-3GD is surely going to be one of the hottest cards (and not in the temperature sense) when it hits, sporting a Tahiti XT-based GPU running a 384-bit memory bus backed up by 2048 stream processors. The overclocked model comes with a core clock of 1080MHz, up from the stock clock of 925MHz, and 3GB of GDDR5 memory clocking in at 5500MHz. Output-wise we find ourselves being offered two mini DisplayPorts, one gold-plated HDMI port, a single dual-link DVI port, meaning the card is capable of running four displays simultaneously.

Gigabyte's SOC card uses the five fans mounted at the top of the GPU to "pul" the heated air off the radiator, which the company says reduces "hotspots" on the bottom of the card due to minimal airflow created with traditional cooler designs. What this means is that the HD 7970 SOC is totally silent below 30C, with Gigabyte's Anti-Turbulence Pull Airflow System hitting 53dB at 57C, almost 9dB quieter than a standard HD 7970 running at 64C.

It looks like Team Red have just taken a pair of scissors to the pricing of some of their high-end Radeon HD 7000-series GPUs. Three of the cards have just received a price cut, with the new pricing to go into effect on Monday morning with online retailers. Here are some details:

But, it seems that a few online retailers are already doing these AMD GPUs cheap. Newegg only charges $289.99 for their cheapest HD 7870, and just $339.99 for the cheapest HD 7950. So one would think that this "new" pricing from AMD, is not that "new", and that maybe something else might happen.

Maybe a larger variety of cards, from more graphics card makers will receive cuts thanks to AMD's cutting of the pricing from the top? Whichever way you look at it, price cuts are win-win for customers.

It looks as though Microsoft is going for a big change in regards to how they'll be selling their upcoming next-gen OS, Windows 8. Previously, Microsoft had sold Windows in full retail, on retail shelves, at retail stores. This was on top of the already-available OEM system builder and upgrade versions of Windows.

But, "Netcast" video show, Windows Weekly 269 carried an interview with Paul Thurrott of WinSuperSite, as well as Mary Jo Foley of AllAboutMicrosoft.com, that things are about to change. They've said that Microsoft will completely drop the full retail version of Windows 8, as anyone who wants to buy Windows for a PC that's never had Windows on before, or a newly-built PC, will just purchase the OEM system builder version.

The Redmond-based company has re-thought how they sell the Windows OS when it comes to upgrade pricing and availability. Anyone with a copy of Windows XP or newer on their PC is eligible for pretty decent upgrade pricing to Windows 8 at $40. This is definitely the way Microsoft need to take it, and it really shows how much they've come 180-degrees on the previous years, and their rules. People who buy PCs with Windows 7 on them now, have an even better deal: an upgrade price of just $14.99, available until next year.

ZTE have come out in the last couple of hours with a huge tease, the company used Twitter to catapult the tease, where they've said to expect "one of the most advanced gaming smartphones", where they add it will be in customers hands in just six days time.

Without much information, it's hard to guess what ZTE are going to release. A totally new smartphone, a new gaming-dedicated smartphone? Something else entirely? During Mobile World Congress earlier this year, ZTE did talk about a Tegra 3-powered device.

Since then, this device hasn't been talked about. Maybe we're to expect a new Tegra 3-powered device from ZTE targeted toward gaming? What could ZTE do to really claim that 'advanced gaming smartphone' name?

Apple is staring down the barrel of a record-breaking sales for their iPad, with sales of 20 million in the June quarter, according to one analyst. Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company issued a note to investors on Thursday, where he has increased his June iPad shipment forecast.

His previous forecast was 13.5 million units, and he's increased this to a significant 20 million. Wolf does admit that his initial estimate in April was "hastily formulated", which is why his latest prediction is so much bigger. Wolf says:

KitGuru didn't have to go to a bar and find this one for the scoop, but they've got their seductive powers switched on and some world exclusive photos of the next-generation iPhone. KitGuru say that this iPhone is a pre-release test sample, so it should be a little different when it hits.

The new iPhone doesn't look too different to the previous iPhone 4 and 4S, but it does sport a larger screen. One will wonder if this is an influence of Samsung, as they are big fans of the larger screen, while Apple have been stuck on the 3.5-inch screen for every single variant of the iPhone.

There's a plethora of pictures, if you'd like to check them all out, and here's one of the new dock connector. It's much smaller than the current iPhone dock connector, which means you'll need to replace all of your cables over time, I've got a feeling Apple will use this on all future iOS-based devices.

Imagine your brand new, shiny, fast Samsung Galaxy S III experiencing screen burn-in. Yes, it has happened to others, and Samsung seem to be unwilling to take responsibility for warranty replacements for the Galaxy S III smartphone and its (sometimes) premature screen burn-in.

Samsung opted to use the popular AMOLED screen in the S III, and it is often susceptible to burn-in, or permanent discoloration of particular areas of the screen itself. What causes burn-in? It can be from the combination of inconsistency in the materials used to make the screen (in this case, AMOLED), and the same image being shown on the screen for a long period of time.

Considering icons, widgets, and more stay on the screen more-or-less permanently, unless you move them, this can be a problem. In the past week or so, Korean bloggers and community members have been debating Samsung's recent denial of problems with the new AMOLED screens. In the product manual for the S III, Samsung warns their users by stating "Do not operating your device with a paused screen for a long time".

MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom seems to be positioning himself on the chess board that is his legal troubles right now, in a move that is right out of the left field. Dotcom has agreed to voluntarily travel to the United States where he'll face piracy charges, but has only agreed to do so if the Justice Department unfreezes his assets to help him cover living expenses and pay for legal representation.

Dotcom gave the proposal over Twitter, of all places. Dotcom's statement was delivered just a day after a New Zealand court postponed his extradition hearing due to the raid on his mansion being ruled illegal. The evidence collected was therefore obtained illegally, and the case has been postponed until 2013.

Kim Dotcom appears to be totally calm with his proposal to the DoJ, one would imagine he has a trick or two up his sleeve? What are your thoughts on this?

Apple's next-generation OS X Mountain Lion comes out later this month, with the OS hitting Golden Master status just 24 or so hours ago. This means the company has locked in which Macs will support the upcoming OS. Apple have listed which Macs will support Mountain Lion:

Ars Technica talks of the decision of why Apple dropped support for some of the early 64-bit Macs, that don't have support under Mountain Lion. They said:

While Google and ASUS' Nexus 7 tablet will retail in the U.S. for $199, and the companies saying they're selling it for a little over cost, a teardown by IHS iSuppli has shown that the Nexus 7's total build cost is $151.75 for the 8GB model.

The 16GB Nexus 7 costs $159.25 to make, and the BOM (bill of materials) is a little lower than previous estimates, pegging the Nexus 7 at around $184, seeing the companies make around $15 per tablet sold. Where the interesting part comes in, is that the 8GB is $199 retail, and the 16GB is $249 retail. Considering there's only $7.50 worth of difference in build prices, a $42.50 profit for the 16GB is not bad at all.

But, this is no different to other products and companies doing the same thing. It is known in the industry to make money from selling memory, storage and other options at disproportionate premiums. Considering the Nexus 7 is powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 3 SoC, it's a great alternative for $199 (or $249).

Microsoft talked of retail stores earlier this year, and those plans are now coming to fruition. The Redmond-based company behind Windows and Office plans to open up a Microsoft Store in Toronto, Canada later this year, as well as another store in Puerto Rico, according to Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner, where he spoke at the Worldwide Partner Conference.

Microsoft currently have 20 stores open across the United States, with 9 more coming this year. Microsoft is opening an Orlando-based store on August 18, and its Boston Prudential Center on August 23. The Canadian and Puerto Rican stores will be the first time Microsoft have stepped outside of the U.S. with a Microsoft-branded store.

The company also has plans to extend across the pond to the U.K. with a store in London in 2013. Microsoft hopes to have a tally of 44 retail stores open by June 2013. Comparing them to Apple, they are small fries for now, with Apple having 364 stores in 13 countries, with a whopping 246 of those in the U.S..

Back in May, Google redesigned the Google+ experience for the iPhone, which added some new visual elements into the social networking app. But today, the company has released the Google+ app for the iPad, as well as introducing new features into both the iPhone and iPad apps.

Google designed the Google+ for iPad app with the iPad in mind, with your stream styles content based on popularity, type and orientation. The team has also added unique ways to interact with the app, such as:

Google have also now created the ability to create, and manage Events on Google+ directly from the iPhone app. You can post a comment, upload a photo or check out who's going. Your past event invitations are saved with all of the photos and posts shared by your friends, allowing you to relive that party anytime you wish.

Just a few days ago, Apple pulled 39 of their products (old, and new) from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) and it looks like this move is already starting to haunt them. San Francisco will shortly cease purchasing Macs for the city's 50 agencies, and this could just be the tip of the iceberg for Apple.

This is all according to Department of Environment officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal, with the officials saying that within the next two weeks it will send out letters to agencies explaining that Macs "no longer qualify" for city money. This is all because Apple pulled 39 of their products from EPEAT, and while workers will still be able to buy Macs, they'll have to go through a process described as "long" and "onerous".

While this isn't the death bell ringing for Apple, it could be a sign of things to come. Only 1- to 2-percent of the city's computers are Macs, which amounts to around 500-700 systems. For Apple though, the loss of orders, and the press it receives, as well as the multitudes of other government agencies who pick up on the news could exclude Macs from purchasing departments. Legally, 95-percent of all U.S. federal government purchases must be EPEAT-certified.

As we get closer and closer to the next-gen iPhone launch, we see more and more pictures and details of the device. This time Gotta Be Mobile have posted a few pictures of what they're calling an "engineering sample" of the next-gen iPhone.

It's not clear what the sample itself represents, it just looks like a solid chunk of metal machined into the form of what would be the upcoming iPhone. If the picture and device are real, this would support previous information showing a large central section on the back plate that differs from the top and bottom portions of the rear casing.

Measurements also seem to be in line with previous information, where the next-gen iPhone looks to be the same width as the iPhone 4S (5.86cm) and a little taller (just over 12cm, versus 11.52cm of the 4S), this is to accomodate the larger display on the next-gen iPhone.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 may have been cancelled, but it seems from survival MMOFPS, Survarium, will definitely suffice. Considering Survarium is from the same developers, Vostok Games, and the fact that it's destined to be a free-to-play, massively multiplayer first-person shooter that's all about, er, surviving, it should be the goods.

Of course, it all takes place in a post-apocalyptic environment (what else, it is 2012 after all), the developers have teased the world with a bunch of screenshots, and a developer's diary video talking about the game. The video goes for a nice eight minutes, but unfortunately doesn't feature any in-game footage.

So, what is Survarium, what do you do? Well, players in the game have to complete missions for different factions in order to earn money and status, pretty much how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was played. Players can also work together for co-op missions, form teams for player-versus-player action, or play in "free play mode", where they'll be able to enjoy the freedom of interacting with human counterparts in the game. RPG elements will also be at play, such as leveling up and skill specialization.