The White House has responded to an online petition to pardon Edward Snowden, which generated more than 167,000 signatures since going live in June 2013.

The petition had the following description: "Edward Snowden is a national hero and should be immediately issued a full, free, and absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programs."

"Instead of constructively addressing these issues, Mr. Snowden's dangerous decision to steal and disclose classified information had severe consequences for the security of our country and the people who work day in and day out to protect it," said Lisa Monaco, President Obama's Advisor on Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

Acer is excited for the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, and consumers can purchase the Aspire E Series notebook powered by Windows 10 starting tomorrow.

The Aspire E Series will launch during the first week of August, Acer said in a press statement. The notebooks support either 15.6-inch or 17.3-inch displays, powered by Intel CPUs.

The cheapest model, the E5-573-58FN, has the following specifications: 15.6-inch display, 5th Generation Intel Core i5-5200U CPU, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive, and will be available for $499.99.

Intel and Micron have began production of 3D XPoint flash memory, a new class of inexpensive high-density, high-performance flash memory that heralds a new age of performance for high-end data management.

Intel's new 3D Xpoint class has been in development for over a decade and represents a breakthrough in next-generation storage solutions. 3D XPoint tech is 10 times more dense than standard memory, and Intel boasts that the new tech allows users to access data at "speeds previously impossible for non-volatile storage".

"For decades, the industry has searched for ways to reduce the lag time between the processor and data to allow much faster analysis," said Rob Crooke, exec Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. "This new class of non-volatile memory achieves this goal and brings game-changing performance to memory and storage solutions."

A startup company from Germany wants you to forget about your regular house keys, and use a hands-free fob that has been named the Kiwi Ki.

The system operates using radio-frequency identification (RFID) and unlocks a house door as the resident approaches. The mechanism is available for less than $450, and each key fob requires a monthly fee.

"It is much more secure than a normal key. A normal key can be copied easily, sometimes just from a photograph," said Henryk Ploetz, a security analyst, in a statement to Euronews. "With this one you can't do that. That is the case for all contactless keys, but this one is as secure or more secure than all other contactless systems."

The Obama Administration and law enforcement officials want access to encrypted data, arguing the government and law enforcement need to be able to retrieve information. Ideally, the government would receive warrants and conduct a legal and transparent operation, but companies are willing to stand their ground regardless.

Here is what cryptologist Matt Blaze said during a recent event in Washington, DC (per Washington Times):

"I don't think [FBI] Director [James] Comey wants the world that he's asking for," said .... "I think the world in which we build systems with this added constraint of ensuring law enforcement access is going to cause such an increase in the kinds of digital crimes that are going to become more serious that - even if we take all of the things that we disagree about about values and put them aside - we are going to have the things that we agree about get a lot worse, and that really scares me as we rely on those systems more and more."

Veteran Halo and Destiny alums have split from Bungie's studios to chase new virtual-reality dreams, forming their very own new studio called Endeavor One.

"We are artists, writers, designers, engineers, cinematic wizards, gamers, friends and professionals," reads the studio's credo on its official website. "We are makers who passionately believe in the future of VR and AR."

Shortly after their formation, the ex-Bungie team is ready to release their first VR-ready endeavor called Jump, which centers around players leaping around futuristic cityscapes--a concept that seems quite revolutionary and could be quite exciting for the immersive virtual platform. The object of the game is to reach the tallest skyscraper with as few jumps as possible while each city--New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, Tokyo, etc.--hustles and bustles in modernized flair.

Square Enix's Japan division today announced that it has expressed interest in releasing the new Dragon Quest XI: In Search of Departed Time on Nintendo's new NX hardware.

The Japanese publisher revealed the new game during a special Dragon Quest themed presentation, revealing that Dragon Quest XI will be releasing on PlayStation 4, the 2DS and 3DS handhelds, and possibly Nintendo's new NX system.

"In addition we are considering the launch of Dragon Quest XI on Nintendo's in-development console, the NX," the publisher said in a new expressed interest press release.

Bethesda wants to give gamers an enjoyable - and customizable experience - while playing Fallout 4, and won't rely on just pre-determined frameworks to get the job done.

If you remember purchasing a house in Skyrim, there was a minimum amount of customization available to gamers. That apparently won't be the case in Fallout 4:

"It's not just, 'Hey, here's Breezehome [one of the houses in Skyrim],' where we just picked a house, and you can buy it, and you can go to somebody and say, 'Here's this much gold, and put this thing into my house.'" said Pete Hines, VP of Marketing at Bethesda, in a statement to GameSpot. "[In Fallout 4] it's, 'Now I'm building it, I'm actually building the house, I'm building the wall, I'm placing the door, I made the table, I made the mattress.' It's that sense of making your own way in the world and defining, 'Who am I and where do I live and what's my story in this world?"

It turns out 92 percent of Americans think the US government should take some form of action in retaliation for cyberattacks and data breaches, according to a survey from the Vormetric cybersecurity company. The US government is under attack by cybercriminals, and they are proving to be successful in their efforts to steal data and compromise networks.

The survey found 45 percent of Americans believe the Obama Administration should initiate talks with the suspected country's leaders to stop future breaches. Thirty-six percent say trade sanctions should be created, and 31 percent believe diplomatic sanctions on a nation's representatives located in the United States should take place.

A surprising number of people think there should be more stringent measures, including 25 percent of respondents saying all ties should be cut off with the responsible country - and 10 percent even think a retaliatory cyberattack might help.

With the release of Windows 10 right around the corner, people are finding that the automatic installation of Windows 10 updates are annoying, and there are problems associated with some of the updates.

Microsoft has been listening to these complaints, releasing a new troubleshooting package, KB3073930, something that allows you to hide or block Windows driver updates. NVIDIA's driver updates were causing GeForce owners headaches with crashes with the latest updates included with Windows 10 build 10240.

This tool was developed for Windows 10 Insiders, but it will now work with normal users when Windows 10 launches on July 29. You can download the package from Microsoft Support.