HTC is missing its own 90-day update deadline for Lollipop

HTC usually sticks to its goal of getting new OS updates out within 90 days of their release, but that deadline for Android Lollipop is about to arrive - and many HTC devices will miss it.

February 1 was HTC's own self-imposed goal, and the company's Vice President of Product Management, Mo Versi, has take to HTC.com to explain why it will come and go with no Lollipop for many.

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"We've been working hard in the labs with Google and our carrier partners ever since the code release and are making great progress so far, but if you've been following the progress of this rollout you will know that Google has had to address several issues with this release," he wrote.

"We've been diligently working to fix some of them on our end and incorporating Google's fixes as quickly as possible, but despite everyone's best efforts some carrier versions of the HTC One (M8) and HTC One (M7) will not meet our 90 day goal, which is February 1st," he continued. "While we are committed to delivering within this time period, we are even more committed to ensuring these updates result in an even better experience with your device because that is what the updates are intended to do."

He said that HTC is trying to get the updates out as soon as possible, but that their quality is more important than hitting the deadline.

At least we know Motorola isn't the only one having trouble getting Lollipop out. You can keep track of HTC's progress at the company's updates hub, so keep checking back if you're getting sick of KitKat on your HTC One.

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Sony Unlimited Video is also being rebranded as a PlayStation service

Sony this week announced that it will shut down Music Unlimited in March in favor of the Spotify-powered PlayStation Music service, but there was no word of Video Unlimited - until now.

Like Music Unlimited, Video Unlimited will be rebranded and revamped into PlayStation Video, reports IGN.

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The Video shift will reportedly occur in February, earlier than Unlimited Music will turn into PlayStation Music - possibly because the video service will remain largely the same, unlike the music service.

That means you'll still be able to rent and buy movies for whatever region in which you live, making this more of a branding change than anything else.

Expect to see PlayStation Video in February and PlayStation Music some time after March.

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Google Now is getting some help from Pandora, Lyft and other apps

Google Now up to this point has been a useful tool that's limited by its ability to pull and show information only from Google apps.

That's changing today with the introduction of third-party app cards in Google Now, as detailed in a Google blog post.

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"Starting today, the Google app on Android can help you keep up with all the good stuff in 40 different apps at a glance," wrote Google Director of Product Management Aparna Chennapragada.

The post gives a ton of examples, from Google Now cards with the latest news from The Guardian to cards with your daily language lesson from Duolingo.

Other apps Google calls out specifically include Instacart, Pandora, Airbnb, Lyft, and more than 30 others.

These new third-party Now cards will arrive on Android "over the next few weeks," Chennapragada wrote.

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Verizon will soon let you opt out of its persistent perma-cookies

Verizon has announced that it will soon allow users to opt out of the customer-tracking identifiers that have come to be known as "supercookies."

The undeletable cookies are part of Verizon's ad-targeting process, though users have been able to opt out of that part for a while.

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But even if you did opt out of letting advertisers access information about you via Verizon's "Unique Identifier Header" (UIDH), that didn't stop it from tracking you anyway - until now, at least, according to the New York Times' Bits blog.

Critics' choice

Critics - including the US Senate's Committee on Commerce and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) - have pointed out that advertisers and other third parties could potentially exploit the Verizon supercookies and use the data to track users whether we want it or not, and Verizon has now responded by announcing they'll soon let users shut the cookies off entirely.

"We listen to our customers and provide them the ability to opt out of our advertising programs," a Verizon spokesperson told the site. "We have begun working to expand the opt-out to include the identifier referred to as the UIDH, and expect that to be available soon."

The EFF, however, maintains that the carrier should go one step further and have the tracking shut off by default, allowing customers to choose to opt in if they wish. Whether or not that happens, this is still a positive step.

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Microsoft confirms 2016 launch for Windows Server

In a blog post, Microsoft has confirmed that Windows Server and System Center will not launch until 2016. The move is a departure from Microsoft's historic strategy of launching its server platform alongside the general consumer release of Windows. As it stands, Windows 10 will launch this year, and Windows Server won't be finalized until 2016.

"Our next preview is planned for the spring of 2015. Windows Server will continue to share the same core technology as Windows and we will continue working together on solutions for our customers," Microsoft's server and cloud team announced. " In fact, the next version of System Center Configuration Manager, which delivers support for Windows 10, will ship in a timeframe that aligns with Windows."

Though Windows Server won't officially debut until 2016, Microsoft will continue to launch preview builds for the platform through 2015. The first preview build of Windows Server was released in October alongside the preview of Windows 10.

"We're already busy building the next version of Windows Server and System Center, making it easier to implement hybrid by taking our learnings from running Microsoft Azure at hyperscale to Windows Server and System Center."

Prior to the official announcement, there had been speculations that Microsoft may delay Windows Server's launch.

"When I spoke to Mike Neil, General Manager of Windows Server at TechEd Barcelona in October, he told me the plan of record was to make the next public preview available in "early 2015," so something changed between then and now," ZDNet 's Mary Jo Foley states.

Microsoft has not elaborated on why it has pushed back the release of the next public preview from early 2015 to spring 2015.

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Lumia Icon Denim update will probably arrive in February

The Lumia Icon is one of the most well-regarded Windows Phone devices out there, despite its Verizon exclusivity.

Users have been waiting for their Denim update ever since late 2014, when Microsoft Operating Systems Group Corporate Vice President Joe Belfiore promised it would arrive in early 2015.

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To some that meant January, but with the first month of the year come and gone Belfiore has responded to users' concerns on Twitter.

"Lumia icon people asking what I meant by 'early 2015': The first part of the year. In my mind that means jan/feb or so. Less likely March," he tweeted.

"Know that Vzw & MS are actively, daily working on getting it done. The test process has unpredictability so we can't say a firm end date," he added in a subsequent tweet.

So while the Lumia Icon Denim update might be pushed back to March, according to Belfiore a February release is more likely. Fingers crossed!

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