Activision’s Eric Hirshberg bets that 40M Call of Duty fans will follow him to Xbox One (interview)

The next Call of Duty game will have Kinect voice integration, so says the man at the top of Activision.

E-commerce biz ChannelAdvisor stock soars 40% in IPO debut

Following the lead of other recent tech-focused IPOs, e-commerce software business ChannelAdvisor's shares popped almost 40 percent in its first day of trading as a public company.

Google reduces App Engine cloud costs by up to 25% (Amazon, next move is yours)

All that's missing are the streamers, balloons, and cheesy Best Price Ev-ah signs. Because the price competition between Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Rackspace is heating up so fast, the cloud market could be a massive virtual used car lot.

Shazam updates its iPad app with auto-tagging and integration with Spotify & Rdio

Media discovery startup Shazam released a new version of its iPad app today that adds a ton of new features boosting your ability to identify music, TV shows, and advertising.

Wibidata raises $15M so small businesses can compete using big data

Big data is a big trend right now, and Wibidata has raised $15 million to help businesses take advantage of it. Wibidata builds and sells big data applications that companies can use to uncover consumer insights and react in real time.

Lyft team gets $60M more; now it must prove ride-sharing can go global

Ride-sharing startup Lyft has closed a $60 million funding round led by venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, the company announced on its blog. It also confirmed raising $15M in October of 2012.

Marissa Mayer and Yahoo are on fire, acquiring gaming company PlayerScale

If I can paraphrase a popular Alicia Keys song, this woman is on fire. Marissa Mayer is clearly moving Yahoo back into the center of the Silicon Valley tech conversation.

Microsoft uses Siri to slam Apple in new Windows 8 ad (video)

We all know Microsoft likes to challenge its competitors head on, especially Google. Now Microsoft is taking a swing at Apple in a new 30-second ad that uses Siri's voice to make fun of the iPad.

Bacon for coffee beans: Bondsy’s freeform marketplace lets you trade anything with friends

"If you give tools that allow people to be creative, people get very creative," said Bondsy's founder.

Messaging app Imo.im chats its way into $13M, updates iOS & Android apps

Multi-platform messaging service Imo.im has raised $13 million in second-round funding and updated its iOS and Android apps with a new feature called “Broadcasts.”

Microsoft making $1B bet on Xbox One games, says bigwig Phil Harrison

Gamers are upset that Microsoft emphasized non-game entertainment in the Xbox One reveal. But Harrison argues games are still front and center.

Square breaks out of North America, starting with Japan

The next time you enter a tiny Shibuya noodle bar, you could end up paying with one of Square's payment technologies.

Jawfish launches real-time multiplayer game tournaments on mobile devices

Jawfish Poker and Jawfish Words will let players compete against each other in live games.

Who needs an Xbox One? Nvidia shows off new speedy graphics card

Nvidia says it is already ready for next-generation gaming.

Big Fish Games takes its cloud-gaming service to all four major screens

Big Fish Instant Games will be on PC, smart TVs, tablets, and mobile phones.

Developers say open standards will win in the native v. web war

Clearly, everyone and their dog is thinking mobile first these days. But what's more interesting in the survey is that the majority of developers aren't looking to iOS or Android to do so.