Netbooks started out as this massive craze, where every man and his dog not only wanted one, but somehow, required one. But, the netbook light that once shone so bright is now a fading star thanks to the ever-increasing speed and power of smartphones and the entry of tablets.

Samsung know this and look to be ditching the netbooks and concentrating on more expensive ultraportable laptops and ultrabooks instead, if we believe an e-mail sent to trading partners is to be believed. The e-mail is quoted by French site Blogeee and reads:

Following the introduction of our new strategy in 2012, we will discontinue our 10.1-inch (netbook) product range in Q1 2012, in favor of ultraportables (11.6 and 12 inches) and ultrabooks to be launched in 2012.

Yesterday we reported that Ghost Recon: Future Soldier won't be coming to PC because "95-percent of PC gamers would pirate it." Think I'm joking? Check the article out. Today, we have news that I Am Alive won't see the light of day on PC, with the game's creative director Stanislas Mettra telling IncGamers the news in an interview.

The game will hit Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network sometime next year, but the PC version is doubtful as piracy makes profitably uncertain. Mettra is also aware that PC gamers have been quite vocal regarding the lack of official statement regarding a PC release. Mettra says:

We've heard loud and clear that PC gamers are bitching about there being no version for them. But are these people just making noise just because there's no version or because it's a game they actually want to play? Would they buy it if we made it?

Thanksgiving is a great time for not just consumers, but retailers. IBM reported that online Thanksgiving 2011 sales were up over 39-percent from last Thanksgiving, with mobile shopping on the rise. eBay and PayPal are seeing similar things, with PayPal Mobile announcing a 511-percent increase in global mobile payment volume when compared with the 2010 Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving in the U.S., consumers shopping through mobile via PayPal most frequently between 6pm and 7pm PST. Compared to the rest of the world where consumers shopped on mobile most frequently between 1pm and 2pm PST. There was more than a 350-percent increase in the number of global customers shopping through PayPal mobile on Thanksgiving compared to last year. These shoppers were mostly located in New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago.

eBay says that U.S.-based shoppers bought and spent more than double versus last Thanksgiving. GSI Commerce noticed a 345-percent increase in U.S. mobile sales compared to last Thanksgiving. And Searches through the local product listings platform Milo had an incredible 557-percent increase over Thanksgiving 2010.

For a while now, casual games on mobiles have been thought of the death knell of console games. But, according to a survey run by 3DS Buzz, mobile games aren't hurting console games at all. 3DS Buzz conducted a survey to find out who owns the latest handheld gaming consoles would disagree with the idea that it is dying out.

3DS Buzz wanted to ask those who had been DS gamers, but they had turned their backs on the latest gaming system. They found out nearly 300 people who had bought a DS but not a 3DS so 3DS Buzz asked them why they didn't buy the new 3D portable system. 3DS Buzz provided 16 options on the survey, which allowed participants to pick as many reasons why they hadn't made the purchase they wanted.

2-percent of voters selected "I'm happy with my mobile phone/tablet for handheld gaming." But, consider that 3DS gamers are a totally different kettle of fish, as personally, I know of only two people in my entire family and friends circle with one. Considering over half of them have a console (PS3 or 360) and every single one of them has a PC.

This is some good news for those who are based in Europe, your ISP cannot be forced to monitor or block you from using the Web. A European court has ruled that record labels and film studios can't use the courts to instruct your broadband ISP to track or try to block you.

The European Court of Justice ruled:

EU law precludes the imposition of an injunction by a national court which requires an Internet service provider to install a filtering system with a view to preventing the illegal downloading of files.

This is something that would make quite a lot of sense, and actually be quite good for customers and gamers alike. Industry sources are pointing toward two new Xbox consoles being launched sometime in 2013, which should give Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plenty of time to get their 28nm manufacturing process working like a charm.

Microsoft is said to be working on an entry-level system as well as a true next-generation hardcore gaming console. Multiple price points aren't anything new for Microsoft, as that's what they do with the 360 with multiple packages. Different hard drive sizes, limited edition bundles, game and accessory bundles.

The lower-end model is said to come at a very low price point and be positioned more like a set-top box, where it will target streaming media services such as Netflix and cater more to casual gamers, described as a Kinect-themed portal. The mainstream, hardcore gaming Xbox would be the upgrade we all want, dream and wish for. Sporting an optical drive (Blu-ray?), hard drive storage, and backwards-compatibility with existing 360 games. This system would have a price premium over the entry-level model, with price and graphics performance reflective of these features (awesome!).

Is this the change we're seeing in console development? They do a sloppy job on the PC version, sales are bad and they just blame piracy? Surely a stable-minded developer wouldn't think that way, well, think again. Ghost Recon Online is set to be a free-to-play game, and is a 'response' to piracy and an alternative to the restrictive DRM that has plagued previous Ubisoft games.

Ghost Recon Online producer, Sebastien Arnoult has said:

We are giving away most of the content for free because there's no barrier to entry. To the users that are traditionally playing the game by getting it through Pirate Bay, we said, 'Okay, go ahead guys. This is what you're asking for. We've listened to you - we're giving you this experience. It's easy to download, there's no DRM that will pollute your experience.'

Samsung have a new series of commercials where they poke fun at Apple fans, its not a dark insult, but more of a realistic view of most Apple customers. The ad starts in a lineup for Apple's iPhone 4S in New York, a similar site in most cities around launch day. A large group of Apple fans are lined up, talking about how this is "an event" and they will "remember it for the rest of their lives."

Just after this, another guy outside the line is on his smartphone and it attracts the people in the lineup, he's holding a Samsung Galaxy S II. The Apple fanboys comment on how light and thin the device is and how large the display is. Some of the quotes are "I could never get a Samsung, I'm creative", with someone saying "Dude, your'e a barista."

One of the Samsung owners says "Why don't you guys just get 4G phones?", with one of the Apple fans in the lineup says in a very sarcastic tone, "Why don't you just get 4G phones?". "The battery looks sketchy", "If it looks the same, how will people know I upgraded?" All of the things that most Apple fans (who aren't completely stuck in the Apple rose garden) would say. If the phones look the same, how does someone know if you have a iPhone 4 or 4S from a distance?

Microsoft back in 2008, had a very public failed takeover attempt of Yahoo, where they were willing to dish out $46 billion to purchase Yahoo. It failed, and now according to reports, have signed a confidentiality agreement with Yahoo which allows them to take a closer look at the struggling company's business as they explore various options for striking a deal.

Microsoft are joined by private-equity firms such as TPG Capital and Silver Lake, where they're going line for line over Yahoo's books and operations. Microsoft this time, is not looking for a complete takeover, but is only looking to help finance a bid as part of a consortium and not buy Yahoo outright, in a move to safeguard their ongoing web-search partnership with Yahoo.

When Carol Bartz was CEO of Yahoo, Microsoft forged a 10-year agreement to provide search technology to Yahoo, which has played an important role in Bing's growth. Should Yahoo go through any issues, or have another company take the keys and change or end the deal or demands of the deal, it would not be clear skies for Microsoft. But, if Microsoft were to hold a controlling [but minority] stake in Yahoo, it might be enough to allow Microsoft the power to continue the current arrangement without having to write a cheque for the full acquisition and operational responsibility of Yahoo.

At it stands right now, Apple is currently the second-largest PC vendor worldwide, with Hewlett Packard sitting firmly in first place. But, come to end of 2012, this could very well change. Research outfit Canalys, says Apple's share of the PC market has grown 6-percent in the past twelve months alone.

What is driving this growth? The super-famous iPad, which Canalys considers a personal computer. Canalys Analysis (say that three times fast) Tim Coulling says:

Apple has seen its PC market share expand from 9 percent to 15 percent in just four quarters, though iPad shipments in its core market - the United States - are likely to come under pressure in Q4 due to the launch of the Fire and Nook at extremely competitive price points. HP and Apple will fight for top position in Q4.