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Two much-anticipated games, Max Payne 3 and Diablo III, [could] bring respite from a five-month slump in video game retail sales.

The arrival of the third-person action game and the PC-based fantasy role-playing game will be welcomed by game fans and retailers, because the release schedule of potential hits so far in 2012 has been underwhelming.

Another sign of slumping sales: Retailer GameStop reported last week that first-quarter sales fell 12.5% on a drop in store traffic due to fewer blockbuster titles.

Overall April retail sales were $630.4 million, down 32% from $930.9 million in April 2011, reports market tracker the NPD Group.

"When we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever," says NPD analyst Anita Frazier. "We just saw a lot less this April as compared to last."

Other factors in the slump: growth in sales of downloadable games and add-on content, as well as a casual gamer shift to mobile and Web games. Some developers have turned design efforts to the next generation of video game consoles, even though only Nintendo's Wii U has been announced, says Geoff Keighley, host of Spike network's GameTrailers TV.

"Really, the only big game this year," he says, "has been Mass Effect 3," BioWare's science-fiction role-playing game, which has sold about 4 million copies in two months.

With Max Payne 3 ($60, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PCs, ages 17 and older), developer Rockstar Games (Grand Theft Auto) revived the police detective from two popular computer games out in 2001 and 2003. The success of the new game, coming to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PCs, "is critical for the video game market, not just for Rockstar," says EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich.

Since the impact of mobile games on interest in premium-price console games is hard to quantify,...

Cisco on Wednesday offered up findings from its "bring your own device" study and used the results as a jumping off point to announce new mobility solutions. But can Cisco carve out a niche in the nascent BYOD services space?

The Cisco IBSG Horizons Study surveyed 600 U.S. IT and business leaders to discover the benefits and complexities of allowing workers to use their own mobile devices on corporate networks. A whopping 95 percent of respondents say their organization allows employee-owned devices on the network.

The study also revealed that the average number of connected devices per knowledge worker is expected to reach 3.3 by 2014, up from an average of 2.8 in 2012. All in all, managers are balancing security and support concerns with the very real potential to reap significant cost and productivity benefits from the BYOD trend.

BYOD Meets Virtual Desktops

As Cisco sees it, BYOD is here to stay and managers are seeing the need for a more holistic approach -- an approach that is scalable and addresses mobility, security, virtualization and network policy management -- in order to keep management costs in line and realize savings.

According to Cisco IBSG, Cisco employees pay an average of $600 out-of-pocket for devices that will give them more control over their work experience. The benefits of BYOD vary based on an employee's role and work requirements. Cisco IBSG estimates that the annual benefits from BYOD range from $300 to $1,300 per employee.

While the BYOD trend gains momentum, desktop virtualization is on the rise. Sixty-eight percent of respondents agreed that a majority of knowledge worker roles are suitable for desktop virtualization and 50 percent noted that their organization is in the process of implementing a desktop virtualization strategy.

Cisco's 'Smart Solutions'

Cisco's answer to the opportunity and challenge is the Cisco Unified Workspace, which allows everything...

With some 900 million user accounts, Facebook would seem to be the perfect venue for advertisers. The question is, despite the amount of time people spend logged on, posting updates, chatting with friends and sharing pictures, how much does the advertising that has made Facebook a multibillion-dollar concern in a short eight years really move products?

Not enough, the nation's leading automobile manufacturer has apparently concluded. In its case, paid advertising on the world's biggest social network hasn't justified the cost.

$10 Million Campaign

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that General Motors was pulling its ads for cars on Facebook, while continuing to use free pages to publicize its products. The paid advertising had reportedly amounted to $10 million.

The decision may reflect a mindset of "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" That could be troubling on some level for the Mark Zuckerberg-founded company as it heads toward an initial public stock offering Friday that hinges on future profitability and revenue growth. The company could be valued as high as $100 billion.

"GM's move is certainly likely to give other advertisers pause, especially given the company's heft, its reputation for advertising savvy and its remarkable return from the grave," Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told us.

"There have also been numerous similar situations in the past, where an initially hot Internet property cooled swiftly -- in some cases, by Antarctic proportions -- when exposed to close scrutiny."

One example, King said, was Second Life, the virtual world created by Linden Research in 2003 that allows users to interact through avatars.

Virtual Showrooms Didn't Pay

"At one point, the site's fast growth and its popularity among the technology elite made it a go-to venue for numerous vendors and manufacturers, many of which built virtual 'showrooms' to market and advertise their goods," King...

Viruses have gotten a bad rap for their role in colds, diseases and malware. But now the reputation of some viruses is being redeemed, as researchers in California have developed a way to use them for the creation of electricity.

The technology works by converting mechanical energy from specially engineered, harmless viruses into electricity. To date, the research team from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab has created a generator that can produce enough current to power a small LCD display.

'Viral Electronics'

The research is described in a May 13 advance online publication of the Nature Nanotechnology journal.

Scientist and associate professor Seung-Wuk Lee said in a statement that, while more research is needed, the results thus far represent "a promising first step toward the development of personal power generators, actuators for use in nano-devices, and other devices based on viral electronics."

In the test generator, a finger tap of the postage stamp-sized electrode uses the viruses to generate an electrical charge. The electrode is coated with the viruses, and the generator is the first to create electricity by using the piezoelectric properties of biological material.

The viruses self-organize on a multilayered film in the generator that measures about one square centimeter, and are then placed between two gold-plated electrodes. A wire connects the arrangement to an LCD display. When pressure is applied, about six nanoamperes of current and 400 millivolts of potential are created, equal to about 25 percent of a Triple A battery's voltage.

Piezoelectricity is the build-up of a charge in a solid, as a response to mechanical stress. Potentially, electricity from this kind of generator could be produced from a variety of everyday activities, such as shutting a door, walking, or bicycling.

Stack of 20 Layers

The piezoelectric effect, first discovered in 1880, has been found in crystals,...

Advanced Micro Devices has launched a new A-series of accelerated processing units (APUs) designed for deployment in next-generation notebooks as well as in traditional desktop PCs. Code-named Trinity, the new series-A APUs reportedly double the performance of prior AMD offerings as well as boost processor performance by 29 percent through the addition of third-generation AMD turbo core technology.

AMD's turbo core technology shifts power between each chip's central processing unit and graphics processing unit to best match each application's specific requirements. As a result, AMD said CPU frequencies are able to rise to a maximum of 3.2 gigahertz.

AMD's new APUs also are capable of delivering up to 12 hours of battery life through CPU and GPU power enhancements, said AMD Corporate Vice President Chris Cloran.

"Our second-generation AMD A-Series APU is a major step forward in every performance and power dimension, allowing users to enjoy a stunning experience without having to give up the things that matter to them most," Cloran said.

The processing boost doesn't stop at mainstream notebooks, Cloran said.

"It carries over into affordable ultrathin form factors featuring the latest in AMD Radeon graphics," he said.

ARM No Threat This Year

Given the inundation of recent media reports about ARM-based processors expected to land in value-added notebooks after Microsoft launches its Windows RT operating system for mobile computing devices, we asked AMD about how the chipmaker's new chips stack up against the ARM-based offerings coming down the pike.

The A-Series APUs that AMD launched Tuesday are destined for deployment in notebooks from Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba and will likely be priced in the $500-$800 range by AMD's OEM partners, said AMD spokesman Phil Hughes.

"Value based notebooks come closer to the value proposition of our E-Series platform, which is designed for essential notebooks in the $250-$500 range," Hughes...

Nokia is struggling on many fronts, but the company is performing well in emerging markets -- and it's looking to boost its chances with two new mobile phones that play on its strategy to connect the next billion consumers.

The Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 aim to attract young, urban consumers who want to experience a fast, affordable online experience. Both devices incorporate social-media aspects, like Facebook and Twitter integration. And a Nokia browser promises to consume up to 90 percent less data by compressing Web sites in the cloud.

"Today's mobile phone users want a quick Internet experience that allows them to discover great content and share it with their friends -- but without being held back by high data costs," said Mary T. McDowell, executive vice president of Mobile Phones at Nokia. She's betting consumers will look to the Nokia 110 and 112, which combine browsing, social media, apps, entertainment and long battery life.

Casual Gaming Savvy

The devices have a 1.8-inch display that Nokia characterizes as "optimized for gaming." In the months ahead, the Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 will bring free EA Games, including favorites like Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed The Run, Monopoly Here & Now, and SimCity Deluxe.

The Nokia 112 features a preloaded eBuddy instant messaging service so users can tap into popular chat services from the mobile device. And both phones offer an upgraded camera that lets users customize contacts with photos, or share images via social networks and Bluetooth.

The VGA camera promises sharper, clearer pictures with support for up to 32GB of external memory, enough for more than 6,000 songs or 90,000 pictures. Consumers can tune into radio stations and share songs with friends over Bluetooth. And all this with a promised 10 hours of talk time and nearly a month of standby.

The Lumia...

All eyes are on all aspects of Facebook. As the social-media darling sets its sights on a historic initial public offering, though, it's doing a little housecleaning on the privacy front. And that housecleaning is making many angry.

Erin Egan, Facebook's chief privacy officer, let the world know on Friday what her team was doing to help Facebook's users better understand how it uses their data. She penned a blog post that outlined how Facebook has enhanced transparency in its data use policy.

For all Facebook's good intentions, though, its latest update has many users up in arms once again. In fact, privacy advocates organized flash mob protests against Facebook on Tuesday at locations in New York and San Francisco. Not exactly the kind of publicity a pre-IPO Facebook wants or needs, though it did not seem to affect offering share prices.

Privacy Changes Detailed

"We're adding more examples and detailed explanations to help you understand our policies. For example, we include additional tips, marked with a light bulb so you can find them easily. We've added new links to our Help Center," Egan wrote.

Facebook also created a new section explaining how it uses "cookies" and similar technologies and updated the corresponding explanations about cookies in its Help Center. Facebook went on to provide more information about how it uses data to operate the social network, to advertise, and to promote safety and security for its users.

Facebook also launched several new features in its Data Use Policy since its last update, including Activity Log. Egan described Activity Log as a new privacy tool that lets you see in one place the information you've posted to Facebook. From Activity Log, for example, you can control who can see each piece of information and decide whether it appears on your timeline.

"We...

In time for spring blooming, Lenovo is out with a fresh crop of updates to its venerable ThinkPad line. The new arrivals include the X1 Carbon laptop, which the company called the lightest 14-inch Ultrabook, as well as the addition of Intel's Ivy Bridge processors to an assortment of models.

The X1 joins a variety of Ultrabook models that are beginning to pop up from various manufacturers. Or, as Information Technology Intelligence Consulting analyst Laura DiDio put it, "this is like the Easter parade for Ultrabooks." Lenovo said that its X1 Carbon "exceeds Ultrabook specifications," specifically in its use of a carbon fiber rollcage that enhances durability but keeps the weight under 3 pounds.

3G, RapidCharge

Other highlights of the X1 include RapidCharge for a near-full battery charge within 30 minutes and Intel vPro technology to assist with management.

Senior Vice President Lu Yan said in a statement that innovative thinking extends beyond the X1 to the rest of the new ThinkPad models, which feature "a backlit keyboard, super-bright high definition display, Dolby Home Theatre and rich communications features that balance business performance with personal use."

New models in the ThinkPad X, T, W, and L Series feature Ivy Bridge third-generation quad-core processors, RapidBoot, and Lenovo Enhanced Experience 3.0. The refreshed lineup is designed to start 40 percent faster than a typical Windows 7 computer, with optimized system files, processes and hardware settings.

Several models offer 4G/LTE connectivity, USB 3.0, and an option for contract-free mobile broadband, purchased in time segments.

The X230 Ultraportable, intended for road warriors, provides 24 hours of battery, a weight under 3 pounds, and 4G. The T430s has docking and vPro, and the T530 delivers a full 15-inch HD display.

With Windows 8 coming, there has been a great deal of speculation about tablet-laptop convertibles. The ThinkPad X230t combines both with a...

Facebook is updating its data use policy in an attempt to give people more clarity on how the company uses information they share.

As part of the changes, Facebook is also signaling that it may start showing people ads on sites other than Facebook, targeting the pitches to interests and hobbies that users express on Facebook.

The move comes a week before Facebook Inc.'s expected initial public offering of stock. Facebook held events with potential investors this week, including one in Silicon Valley on Friday, and it has posted a version of its road show online. The offering could value Facebook at nearly $100 billion -- more than Kraft, Ford and other major brands.

The policy changes are in response to an audit by Irish data-protection authorities last year, Facebook said Friday. The commission had asked Facebook to be more transparent about how it collects people's data and uses it for advertising, as well as how long it keeps such information.

Facebook plans to notify its more than 900 million users of the changes through advertisements around the site and on its mobile apps. Users who want to dig deeper can read a version of the policy that highlights the changes word by word. Erin Egan, Facebook's chief privacy officer, will host an online chat Monday to answer any questions.

Egan said the company wasn't substantially changing its business practices, but wants to "err on the side of providing too much information."

Facebook's overseas headquarters are based in Dublin, Ireland, a member of the European Union. This means the company is required to comply with European data privacy laws. Facebook said the changes were also a response to feedback from its users.

As part of the changes to the policy, Facebook has created a section to explain how it uses technologies such as cookies to deliver ads,...

The death of the computer mouse is imminent, we're told, soon to be shown the door by touchscreens, track pads, gesture recognition systems and whatever new technology shows up no later than next Tuesday.

I know the mouse is on its way out because I'm reading a Web article -- which I'm navigating with my mouse -- that says so in no uncertain terms.

Oh. Wait. Just noticed the date -- 2008.

And the humble mouse, more than 40 years old, is still here. Hmm.

The mouse has had its ups and down, for sure, since it was invented at the Stanford Research Institute in 1963 by Douglas Engelbart, who named it because the cord exiting from its rear to connect to the computer looked like a rodent's tail.

The technology inside the computer mouse that interacts with the surface over which it moves has gone through changes; wheels, balls, optics, lasers, even gyroscopes, but its purpose has remained more or less unchanged: moving a cursor around the screen, in combination with some number of button to accomplish other actions.

Point-and-click. Drag-and-drop. It's even gone into the language.

Not that companies haven't tried to find a "new" mouse design, with sometime risible results.

Remember Apple's "hockey puck" mouse that came with the first iMac computer? The one that was absolutely, completely round?

Attractive in an Apple sort of way, except that when you put your hand on it without looking -- because you were looking at the computer screen -- there was no way to tell if you had the X and Y axis properly aligned to vertical and horizontal, with the result that you'd move the mouse one way and the on-screen cursor would go off in some other direction, as likely as not.

Oh, and for years Apple insisted that a proper mouse should have a button --...