7m smartphone downloads in 2013, says ABI Research
Analyst ABI Research has predicted that nearly seven billion smartphone apps will be downloaded in 2013, up from 2.4 billion in 2009. However, the company describes 2013 as a 'high point', saying that downloads from app stores will start a slow decline after that point.
Mobile Entertainment

Google Goggles turns cameraphone into translation tool
Google has announced an update to its Google Goggles phone app which translates foreign words found in the pictures you take.The service, which is available for Android devices running Android 1.6 and above, allows for automatic text translation, whether it be words on a street sign, menu or poster.
Tech Radar

Skype bringing group video chat - at a price
Skype has announced plans to overhaul its business model in order to better compete with a number of other VOIP services.The main addition is the ability to group chat with video - something consumers have long been asking for, given it's available for free on Macs with iChat. Skype is going to offer this service for free initially, but will begin charging in the near future as it looks to pick up more revenue of the platform.
Tech Radar

Computer input error leads to massive Dow losses
A huge fall in the Dow appears to have been caused after a trader inputting details hit the button for billion not million.The Dow's overall rate fell by nearly a thousand points in an anomalous pattern that had the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange announcing they would cancel all trades more than 60 percent above or below market that occurred between 2:40 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. New York time.
V3

ILOVEYOU virus is 10
Ten years ago yesterday, many of us unsuspectingly clicked an email attachment called ILOVEYOU. Quite why someone in senior management was sending romantically-themed email didn’t occur to us at the time. In those days, you saw, you clicked and the IT department stayed up all night trying to contain the ensuing chaos.
Stuff

Facebook turns off chat system after security lapse
Facebook shut down its chat system yesterday after it emerged private conversations were visible to other users.  Any user was able to view the live chats of their friends, as well as their pending friend requests, until the social media site was alerted to the problem and took Facebook chat offline. The glitch meant that people clicking on the "Preview my profile" button – which enables users to see how their information is shown to certain friends – were given information from their friends' accounts.
The Guardian

Seven in eight 3D TV buyers 'won't see 3D shows this year'
More than 800,000 households will have bought a 3D-ready television before the end of this year, but fewer than one in eight will actually be watching 3D programmes on it, a new report predicts. This year has been predicted to have a "3D summer" as consumers flock to buy 3D TV sets following the hype surrounding the hit film Avatar and the promise of viewing sport such as football via the new technology from BSkyB. But the report from Informa Telecoms and Media forecasts that while 845,000 households worldwide are likely to have 3D TV-ready sets by the end of the year, just 101,000 homes will be watching 3D shows.
The Guardian

Gamer Wins $1 Million Perfect Game Prize In Less Than 90 Minutes
Video game marketing, which frankly has been stale for several years, finally has its home run. Actually, make that its perfect game success. Back in January, we told you about the innovative marketing plan by the folks at 2K Sports - be the first person to pitch a perfect game in their new Major League Baseball 2K10 game and win $1 million. The idea got a lot of publicity, but the story behind the winner will get a lot more. Wade McGilberry of Mobile, Ala., a 24-year-old experienced gamer, bought the game at midnight on the night it came out. After debating with his wife Katy whether he should go to work or not, he decided he'd show up to work in his capacity as a 401K record keeper before he tried his hand at making $1 million.
CNBC
 
First Arabic domains arrive in historic move by ICANN
The first non-Latin script domains are now online, with Arabic script now being allowed by ICANN. Egypt's Ministry of Communications site is one site already taking advantage of the changes, which you will only be able to see if your browser allows IDN support. The Latin script had been the only allowed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, but the need for foreign alphabet sites has become increasingly clear.
TechRadar