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“Freemium” is the latest buzzword in mobile gaming, used to describe a game that’s free in the store, but loaded with items and power-ups within the game ‘s in-app store, to get you to part with your dollar once you start to play. It’s the “first taste is free” idea, used by many a back alley dealer, applied to the world of gaming. It’s easier to get an initial download when a game is free (and I’ve written in the past about our reluctance to impulsively spend 99-cents on an app). But what happens when a game’s paid content is so negligible that you never even consider spending a buck or two on in-app goodies? This brings us to Beeline’s official Ghostbusters game, which, depending on how you look at it, is either the worst or the best example of “freemium.”

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You’d think that Apple and Samsung would eventually just get tired of beating the stuffing out of each other on a daily basis, but nah, these two are pretty much mortal enemies locked in a death grip while tumbling off a cliff at this point. Even if one of them does “win,” it’s going to emerge battered and broken and unable to compete. I’ve long been of the opinion that the ongoing legal and patent war between the two companies is absolutely toxic for the mobile industry and is stifling innovation all over the place, but it genuinely feels like it’s worse than ever. It’s been too long since we’ve been genuinely blown over by a new device (although Google Glass may change that) and I place the blame squarely at the feet of these two dueling giants.

But what both companies have gotten especially good at is cultivating their respective images, images so powerful that’ll be hard to knock them off their pedestal even if (or when) something truly superior shows up.

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Unlocking your smartphone may be illegal now, but you wouldn’t know it. When the iOS 6 jailbreak “evasi0n” was launched earlier this month, the tech community responded by using it to unlock seven million iPads and iPhones, definitive proof that the internet wasn’t kidding when it managed to wrangle up over 100,000 signatures asking President Barack Obama rescind the law. Evasi0n was always going to be successful, but there’s something unique about this success: it’s doubling as protest.

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Is there room in the already crowded smartphone market for another operating system? With Apple and Android grappling for dominance while Microsoft and BlackBerry duel for third place, you’d think that another company would have a hard time getting a foothold, let alone becoming an actual competitor.

So, on the outside, it looks like Mozilla is heading toward certain destruction with their recently announced mobile operating system. But once you read their pitch, you can see where they’re coming from…and you’ll see why they may very well succeed.

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We know that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is going to be announced on March 14th (because it’s pretty much the worst kept secret in the history of poorly kept secrets) and we also know many of the features that will be included, thanks to frequent updates by Samsung as well as plenty of loose lips (which already sink ships, but do so far more effectively when the ship is already leaky). Still, sinking ship metaphors only apply to rumor control surrounding Samsung’s highly anticipated new smartphone — the Samsung brand is stronger than ever and if everything that we have learned is even half true, then the S4 will be a device to be reckoned with (and will hopefully force Apple to do something nuts and/or incredible with the iPhone 5S).

The latest Galaxy S4 feature to be announced is a familiar one to any smartphone user who likes to play with photography apps, but that doesn’t meant it isn’t any less cool. The Samsung Orb isn’t just another panorama app: it’s positioning itself as the panorama camera feature to end all other panorama camera features.

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The last time we talked about the sticky issue of smartphone jailbreaking, the Rocksauce Studios team was split on the issue. Q Manning thought that the recently passed law that makes unlocking your mobile device illegal was a terrible idea, saying “This is absolutely, ridiculously stupid. What I do with the device that I own, that belongs me, shouldn’t matter. If I want to unlock it, jailbreak it or do anything else to it, I should be able to.” Meanwhile, Peter Yoder fell on the other side, countering with “The laws that protect these big companies are the same laws that allow companies like Rocksauce Studios to operate and stay in business.”

But the internet has spoken and you can guess which side of the fence they ended up on. With over 100,000 signatures, the petition to legalize smartphone jailbreaking now requires a response from the White House.

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There was a time, many moons ago, when I used Microsoft Office on my MacBook Pro. To be specific, I used Microsoft Office on my old MacBook Pro, the one that shuffled off its mortal coil a few years back, prompting the purchase of my current loyal machine. But when I opened up my new laptop, I didn’t install Microsoft Office. I didn’t see the point. For my purposes, TextEdit and Pages were all I needed in a word processor. For my purposes, Numbers did everything that Excel could do. And then there’s PowerPoint — I haven’t made a PowerPoint presentation since high school, so what was the point? Why waste money on Microsoft Office when my Apple computer literally came with everything I needed? I know that I’m not alone. Heck, I’ve worked with people and companies who exclusively use Google Docs because it’s cheaper and easier to share, a completely different experience than the archaic principles practiced by Microsoft.

Which brings us to Office 365, which at first sounded like Microsoft’s attempt to enter the 21st century and is now starting to sound like a public relations nightmare.

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What is science if not the constant pursuit of something that will change the world? What is curiosity if not fuel for science? Another vague and somewhat rhetorical question verging on pretentious that let’s me say “SCIENCE IS AWESOME!” without sounding a like a child. Eh, screw it: SCIENCE IS AWESOME.

We can thank science for computers. We can thank science for the internet. We can thank science for smartphones. And now, we can thank science for graphene, which looks less like a cool discovery and more like the next big step forward for how our world and our machines will function. For real.

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Every so often, I’m reminded that the entire nation of South Korea has access to free, high speed wireless internet and I get bummed out because it truly feels like the United States of America is falling behind in the “Keeping Up With The 21st Century” competition. I understand that there’s a huge difference between hooking up a small nation like South Korea with instantly accessible internet and somehow wiring the vast American countryside, but you’d think that some progress would have been made by now.

As always, the why’s and the why not’s are more complicated than you’d initially imagine. It turns out the war over free wireless internet in America has been going on since 2004 and involves the clashing of two impossibly powerful groups. It’s going to take a ridiculous amount of cash to bring free internet to America, but it’s also going to take a few fortunes to stop it.

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There’s a reason the smartphone conversation tends to revolve around the Samsung Galaxy series and whatever number iPhone has been announced: they’re generally the best and most popular devices out there. It really is that simple. There are a ton of good phones out there (heck, I even like many of the Windows Phones that I’ve had the chance to try out), but you often hear people say things like “Yeah, I only have [INSERT NAME OF DEVICE HERE] because I’m waiting for the next [INSERT NAME OF APPLE OR SAMSUNG DEVICE HERE].” Other companies release solid products, but they’re rarely as sexy, for lack of a better word.

But HTC announced the HTC One yesterday and while it would be foolish and premature to say something stupid like “This is going to change everything!”, the latest from the veteran smartphone manufacturer looks like an absolutely incredible device.

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