Something I've covered in my various editorials, that mobile SoC (system-on-a-chip) graphics performance will pass console level performance soon, and NVIDIA agrees with me. NVIDIA predicts mobile SoC graphics performance will surpass the Xbox 360 graphical capabilities by 2014. More so, mobile GPUs are expected to equal the graphics processing power of the Xbox 360 by next year.

NVIDIA provided a slide, which in usual fashion doesn't look like it makes a hell of a lot of sense, to Anandtech, highlighting how far graphics performance has come since 2001, and where they expect it to go by 2014. The solid lines in the chart are estimated performance, while the dotted lines represent trends.

The console line starts in 2001 with the release of the NVIDIA-powered Xbox, and continues with the ATI-powered Xbox 360 released in 2005. You can see it flatline as its released, as the hardware doesn't change. Mobile GPU is shown from 2007 with the release of the first iPhone and moves through to Tegra 2 and existing Tegra 3 parts. The solid green line are presumably NVIDIA GPUs throughout the years.

ASUS and Pegatron enjoy quite the relationship, but 2012 is the year of the end of everything, and ASUS now have plans to end their ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) partnership with Pegatron. ASUS first have plans to decrease ODM production of motherboards from Pegatron which will start mid way through the year, after which they'll completely end their ODM relationship by Q3 2012, according to component manufacturers.

After ending their ODM partnership with Pegatron, ASUS will have other companies stand up and take ODM motherboard production, these companies are: Thailand-based Cal-Comp Electronics, Taiwan-based Global Brands Manufacture, Info-Tek and Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS). ECS and ASUS aren't strangers to each other, either, as ECS has been an ODM of graphics cards for ASUS.

Notebook-wise, ASUS have set up ODM cooperation with Foxconn Electronics, Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics, and will reduce production by Pegatron too, the sources added. Considering Pegatron was a spun off from ASUS, it's clear that ASUS want to cut relations between the companies.

Apple's next iPhone isn't too far off, we should see it this year sometime, but how could it stand out from the crowd and change from the 2-year-plus design of the iPhone 4/S? Well, according to part suppliers claimed to DigiTimes, Sharp and Toshiba Mobile Display were "likely" producing in-cell touch panels that have reached yields good enough for the two companies to participate.

The two companies would start production of the in-cell panels sometime this spring, but it's not clear whether this schedule includes Apple. The same tipster pointed toward the actual phone launch in the summer, but as with any rumor, there's no exact concrete proof. Most rumors and talk have pointed toward a September/October release of the next iPhone.

In-cell touch has been talked about before, and if it's baked into the next iPhone, it would point toward a significant redesign of the popular smartphone. In-cell tech puts the touch sensors within the display's TFT layer instead of its own surface, which slims down the overall screen quite a lot. It also sports the additional upside of bringing the LCD, AMOLED, or similiar display closer to the surface, which leads to a more direct interaction with what's on the screen, and sometimes a brighter picture.

Valve are continuing their efforts on the free-to-play gaming front, with a new plan to release their sure fire hit, DOTA 2, as a free-to-play title. Good Guy Gabe has come out and said that Valve are not applying a wholly conventional freemium model for DOTA 2.

Usually, freemium games are made available to everyone and then later the company monetises it by selling optional in-game items, Team Fortress 2 has done this for example. In an interview with Seven Day Cooldown, Newell said that DOTA 2 would be "free-to-play [but] it'll have some twists". He continues:

Naming things can be difficult. Think about how hard it was to name your kids. If you don't have kids, think about how hard it was for your parents to name you! A similar crisis plays out when the Intel engineers are trying to come up with the codename for upcoming Intel CPU architectures.

I have to take a moment and apologize for the corny Shakespearean title. It's just that from Intel's perspective, it's true. It doesn't really matter what they call the chip as the name has no influence on the design. The codename just has to be something "nice name that could pass the legal test."

Usually Intel codenames are based on locations in North America, so Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge actually break this mold for, what I can tell, the first time ever. To understand how Intel came up with Ivy Bridge, we actually have to look at Sandy Bridge first. Arie Harsat is the Intel engineer who came up with Sandy Bridge.

Do you currently own stock? If not, is it because of all the fees and difficulties associated with buying and selling it? Well, it appears that shortly after Facebook goes public, you could be able to purchase stock in companies straight from their respective Facebook page without any fees or brokers. The minimum amount would be $10, so it's not like you have to spend a fortune to start.

All of this is according to former Facebook executive and current director at Loyal3 Chris Kelly. Loyal3 would like to point out that only 18% of American families own stock, a number which they hope to change with this CSOP, or customer stock ownership plan. Direct purchase isn't new, but few companies use it since it isn't cost efficient to oversee millions of tiny share holders.

Loyal3 hopes that by making ownership easy and without fees the average person will be more inclined to purchase stock. CEO Barry Schneider points out that ownership changes a persons point-of-view regarding an item. People usually care more about something they care than something they don't. Think about it, have you ever washed a rental car?

With construction completed on Facebook's new datacenter in Forest City, NC, Facebook has flipped the switch in one of the buildings and now it is serving Facebook traffic. The new datacenter broke ground in November 2010 and should be fully operational by the end of the year.

The datacenter is composed of two buildings which house the first major deployment of the v2 Open Compute Project web servers. These servers are based on Intel's lower power Sandy Bridge architecture. The whole of the datacenter was designed to conserve energy, hence the new web servers. The climate in North Carolina will test Open Compute's outdoor air cooling system, as the humidity and temperature is outside of what is normally needed inside a datacenter.

The datacenter stands as a trophy to Facebook's ongoing success as the servers are needed to power Facebook for its 845+ million users. The timing of the opening of the facility is almost perfect because Facebook is nearing an initial public offering which could value the company somewhere around $100 billion.

In a move designed to further differentiate itself from its competitors Netflix, Amazon and HBO Go, earlier this year Hulu announced it would spend $500 million on original content. Today brings Hulu's announcement that it is creating four new original shows to add to its vast library of online shows.

The announcement provided a brief synopsis for each of the upcoming shows that it plans to create. It also includes release dates for 2, and names and talent that will be involved with each show. The first two shows have release dates of 2012 and 2013 whereas the latter two have yet to receive a set date.

Hulu does have some competition in the original online show area. Netflix, too, is funding the creation of original content for its subscribers. This year, Netflix released Lilyhammer and plans to add House of Cards. They also are bringing back Arrested Development which happens to be a favorite of mine. I might just have to get Netflix after all.

Yet another assault on users' privacy has occurred today. Navizon I.T.S. (Indoor Triangulation System) is a system similar to what Google is using for indoor navigation at large venues. It, however, locates you for the owners of the establishment, rather than you locating yourself for directions.

Aimed at retail stores, shopping malls, museums, office buildings, and similar spots, the technology can be used for a couple of different purposes. One way is to use it as a security and surveillance system, as it could track approved Wi-Fi devices in a secure area or locate wireless devices on a campus.

Another way that it can be used is to study traffic patterns in certain areas or just generally see how many smartphone users there are at a given trade show. These ways are a bit less intrusive than using it for security, but it still raises concerns. Think about all of the pressure Apple and Google have gotten over WiFi geolocation.

Let's face it, Samsung doesn't like Apple. Apple is in Samsung's sights and it will do anything possible to beat Apple out of its market share. On May 3, in London, a press event is being held to release Samsung's new Galaxy S III phone. The launch is shrouded with Apple-like security and secrecy, so what I'm about to tell you is a rumor.

At the launch, in addition to the Galaxy S III, Samsung could be launching a new cloud service to compete with Apple's iCloud. Dubbed S-Cloud, it would be Samsung's competing service. They will be almost the same in what they do (sync data to the cloud and across devices), but it is rumored that S-Cloud won't come with the content-uploading limitations found in Apple's offering.

Samsung is continuing in the Apple-like security and secrecy and has not said anything about S-Cloud or if it will launch at the May 3 event. However, there have been several reports that have surfaced recently claiming that Samsung is working towards this goal. Originally it was thought that it could launch in August.