ordering

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Wolfenstein: The New Order set for current, next-gen consoles.

- How a 17-year-old girl hacked her way to a spoiler-free "Game of Thrones."

- Downloadify lets Chrome users copy MP3s of Spotify songs for 24 hours.

- Nintendo's big problem, according to CNN.… Read more

President Obama invoked the pageantry of his State of the Union address this evening to announce a long-anticipated executive order on cybersecurity, a move that caps months of discussions with technology companies and could reduce pressure on Congress to move forward with controversial new legislation.

The order will "strengthen our cyber defenses by increasing information sharing, and developing standards to protect our national security, our jobs, and our privacy," Obama said.

Obama's executive order doesn't propose new and potentially onerous regulations targeting private businesses, which Democrats had proposed in their unsuccessful legislation last year. It also … Read more

After a week of silence, Apple has weighed in on reports that it cut orders on components for production of future iPhone. As in, it's not happy about them, but it's not about to confirm or deny them.

According to chief executive Tim Cook, the company's supply chain is "complicated," and so people shouldn't look too deeply into any one aspect of it to see the bigger picture.

"Even if a particular data point were factual, it would be impossible to interpret the data point for what it means to our overall business,&… Read more

Apple is reportedly dialing down its iPhone component orders, a possible sign that demand for the smartphone is not quite as strong as Apple expected.

The company cut its orders last month for iPhone 5 screens for the first quarter of the 2013 calendar year by roughly half its original target, sources tell The Wall Street Journal. The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant also reportedly trimmed orders for other screen sizes as well.

CNET has contacted Apple for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

The report appears to support the forecast of at least one analyst, … Read more

The Nexus 4 release has been anything but smooth. Google saw the launch day stock ordered up in just a few minutes. Then last week Google released some more inventory in the Play Store here in the U.S. and was met with more issues. The 8GB Nexus 4 started out at a 4-to-5-week ship time and eventually maxed out at 8-9 weeks before going back out of stock. The 16GB model is still available, although you'll be waiting 5-6 weeks for it to ship.

Google has been sporadically releasing more stock in other countries, such as the U.K. and Germany. … Read more

Samsung will be privy to some details of a confidential settlement agreement between Apple and HTC, a California judge ruled today.

Samsung's lawyers were given the go-ahead to view confidential details of the agreement that made peace between Apple and HTC earlier this month, following an impromptu hearing ordered by Magistrate Judge Singh Grewal this morning.

That deal, announced November 10, put an end to all litigation between the two companies. Many expect the same thing to eventually happen between Apple and Samsung, but recent comments made by officials of the South Korean technology giant suggest even talks about a deal are out of the question. … Read more

Windows 8 got pummeled today by analysts, who cited it as a major factor in tepid PC growth.

The launch of a new Microsoft operating system rarely, if ever, goes smoothly. But Windows 8 is having an especially bumpy takeoff.

The first reason Deutsche Bank listed today for cutting its PC estimates this quarter was a "lackluster initial uptake of Windows 8," in a research note from analyst Chris Whitmore.

After citing the impact of amorphous factors like "macro weakness" and the "fiscal cliff," Whitmore continues.

My Verizon contract was finally up, and it was time to upgrade my slowly dying iPhone 4 to the long-awaited iPhone 5. October 26 was the day, and I was ready.

I had heard I'd face some delays getting a new iPhone, but after calling a few nearby Apple and Verizon stores, I learned that "delays" meant three to four weeks. I've been waiting for months to be able to upgrade to a new phone, so three to four weeks seemed like a lifetime.

My co-worker Sharon Vaknin mentioned that I could do an in-store pickup if I timed it just right, and pointed me to this NBC News GadgetBox story on a possible trick to getting the new iPhone within 24 hours. What the heck, right? … Read more

The Mosaic Team sent me an early copy of the app and I was able to go through the process of creating a photo book, and have the finished product sent to me late last week. Today, the company unveiled the heymosaic Web site, where you can get more information and sign up to receive word when the app launches.

How does the Mosaic app work? It lets you gather up pictures from a vacation, party, barbecue, or other life event, and easily make a coffee table book of photos at a reasonable price. Once ordered, the finished product arrives … Read more