DIGITAL LIFE

NASA is challenging students, teachers, game developers and interested civilians to create web and mobile-based apps using data from the planetary data system.

New toys based on the ?Halo? franchise have given some insight as to which enemies will be included in ?Halo 4.? No information has been officially revealed, but leaked images of action figures show that a Crawler and Watcher toy are to come soon.

When Mass Effect 3, developed by Bioware and distributed by Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq: EA), was released in early March, gamers were surprised to learn From Ashes, a downloadable content, or DLC, package was available for an additional $20, a move the company made strictly for financial reasons.

Blizzard's next 'World of Warcraft' release known as 'Mists of Pandaria' will focus on the Pandarien race within the widely-received franchise. Although a release date hasn't been set yet for the upcoming RPG, Blizzard has been leaking some tidbits of information for satisfy fan curiosity.

Microsoft unofficially announced that Minecraft: Xbox 360 has broken all previous digital sales records, selling more digital copies in its first 24 hours available than any other title in Xbox LIVE arcade history. No official number has been disclosed, but an employee has revealed that over 400,000 copies were sold.

The Pebble Smartwatch, a wrist watch that connects to mobile devices such as a smartphone or tablet, recently became the most-financed project in the history of Kickstarter, the crowd-sourced funding platform. As of today, the project has raised more than $10 million.

The United States Postal Service has banned the international shipment of tablets, smartphones and other devices that contain lithium ion, lithium alloy and rechargeable batteries. The ban goes into effect starting May 16.

A behind the scenes trailer posted on YouTube on Friday showed fans of George R.R. Martin's epic-fantasy book series A Song of Fire and Ice, new footage from the Game of Thrones RPG. Developed by Cyanide Studios in France, the game's release date is set for May 15 on the Xbox 360 and PS3. You can watch the trailer here.

There?s been a lot of hype surrounding video game releases as of late, with titles such as ?Diablo 3? and ?Max Payne 3? quickly approaching. But what about the second half of 2012? With the holiday season being a critical time for retail sales, players should know what they have to look forward to. It?s no secret that ?Assassin?s Creed 3? will be launching at the end of October, but a list of other titles are set to launch around that time as well.

One ?Skyrim? fan has taken his obsession out of the virtual realm and into the kitchen. Vera of Baking Obsession has created a dessert that could be mistaken for a creature straight out of Tamriel.

The world premiere of the first gameplay footage from 'Assassin's Creed 3' launched on May 10th. Ubisoft's next installment of the stealthy action adventure franchise will take place during the American Revolution, is set for an Oct. 30th release date.

On May 10th Bethesda Softworks announced that ?Dishonored? will have a release date of Oct. 9th in North America, according to the official press release. The supernatural assassin game is being developed by Arkane Studios, and will launch in Australia on Oct. 11th and throughout Europe on Oct. 12th. ?Dishonored? will be a multi-platform titled available for Microsoft?s Xbox 360, Sony?s PlayStation 3 and PC via Games for Windows.

Fans of the ?Elder Scrolls? have been harboring excitement for the upcoming ?Skyrim? downloadable content. However, attention has recently shifted to the massive multiplayer online release ?Elder Scrolls Online,? which was confirmed on May 3rd and will be developed by Zenimax Studios.

Ever since the launch of the iPhone 4S in 2011, Siri has been an integral part of the Apple consumer experience. But while many experienced Users pretty much know what Siri can and cannot do, one group of researchers has decided to really put her capabilities to the test.

Although ?Black Ops 2? may be hogging the spotlight when it comes to the ?Call of Duty? franchise, Activision hasn?t forgotten about ?Modern Warfare? fans. A new multiplayer mode has just been announced for ?Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3? that will be included in the second DLC collection released later this month.

The long-running ?Halo? franchise is more than just a widely-successful first person shooter; it has been a flagship title of Microsoft?s Xbox system for over a decade. And just as the gaming console has evolved since its inception, so has the action-shooter game formerly owned by Bungie Studios. The Official Xbox 360 Magazine UK (OXM) notes that Xbox Live developed alongside ?Halo 2,? and the case may be the same for ?Halo 4? and the next-generation console.

Best Buy has dropped the price on Hewlett-Packard's Folio ultrabook down to its lowest ever, just $798. The lightweight laptop, which is similar in design to Apple's MacBook Air, got its new low price on Wednesday as rumors of a $799 MacBook Air continue to grow.

Mark Zuckerberg?s appearance in the kickoff to Facebook?s IPO roadshow this week was generally seen as a success, except for one tiny detail: Some Wall Street veterans thought that Zuckerberg?s attire -- his trademark hoodie and jeans -- was an abomination.

?Dead Space 3,? the follow-up to Electronic Arts action adventure horror, may include drop-in drop-out co-op, reports IGN. Players will have the option of slaying aliens alongside a male character with a ?gnarly scar? on his face, his own engineering RIG, and ?glowing red eyes peering from his helmet.?

AOL is shopping TechCrunch, Engadget, Joystiq and other properties of AOL Tech according to a recent PandoDaily report.

The passionate fans of 'Mass Effect 3' that have been tirelessly campaigning for a new ending may have something new to fuel their reflections on the controversial conclusion. A feature-length documentary has just launched to explore the ending theories behind the final segment in BioWare's space-adventure RPG.

BioShock Infinite, which was supposed to have a release date set for this October, will now be delayed until February 2013. But gamers shouldn?t be too disappointed, as the pushed-back launch only means that fans will get an even better game.

Draw Something, the popular doodling app that was recently bought by Zynga as part of a $200 million deal in March, appears to be losing its mojo: Recent data from Appdata shows that Draw Something players are leaving in droves.

The release date for LightBox Interactive?s ?Starhawk? is finally here, but the surprise isn?t over for gamers. LightBox Interactive announced that all future downloadable content maps will be free.

Hackers claiming allegiance to the online hacktivist organization collectively called Anonymous, have reportedly hacked into Twitter Inc's servers and stolen the login information of over 55,000 Twitter accounts. Read on to find out how to check if your account has been hacked.

The ?Assassin?s Creed? franchise is more than just a sandbox-style video game; it?s a piece of historical fiction. Ubisoft plans to uphold and further the themes of history present throughout the series, tackling the American Revolution with its third installment.

Blizzard Entertainment released an animated short titled Diablo III: Wrath on Tuesday, May 8 in order to provide back-story and build hype for the upcoming title in the popular role playing game (RPG) franchise. Watch the video here.

Sony has announced that a white version of the PlayStation Vita will launch in Japan on June 28th. It will sell at the same price as the original black base model and is sold in Wi-Fi only or 3G versions, reported CNet.

?Robopocalypse? author Daniel Wilson explains how to surivive a robot apocalypse in an animated YouTube video.