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The torrent-downloading site The Pirate Bay announced last week in a blog post that the Swedish authorities had launched a new criminal investigation into its activities.

"The Swedish district attorney Fredrik Ingblad initiated a new investigation into The Pirate Bay back in 2010," the blog said. "Information has been leaked to us every now and then by multiple sources, almost on a regular basis."

Today, the torrent news site TorrentFreak confirmed that the Swedish police were looking into The Pirate Bay. Apparently, authorities requested that the Swedish hosting company Binero, where The Pirate Bay is registered, … Read more

Those who adore a symphony of gunfire and explosions should pay close attention to the upcoming Battlefield 3 downloadable content pack Close Quarters.

Due this June, this four-level package seems slightly different than Battlefield expansions of old. Close Quarters (for PC, Xbox 360, and one week earlier on PS3) feels and looks like a scene you'd normally expect from a Call of Duty release.

The tight-knit, destruction-filled vertical maps in the explosive trailer below may leave you breathless at times. Players will undoubtedly find it tough to resist firing off salvos of rockets at one another in these settings. … Read more

From the makers of previous cult PSN classics like Flow and Flower, Thatgamecompany has provided gamers with totally original gaming experiences all while maintaining a somewhat mysterious persona.

The developer's latest gem is Journey, where players take control of a character made of wavy cloth through a desert world.

Jeff: It's unfortunate that originality has become such a rare commodity in gaming lately, but with developers like Thatgamecompany, gamers who wish to walk the path less traveled are rewarded kindly.

While some may have written off the studio's previous two games as "screensavers you can also play," Journey is by far the most "game-y" of the trifecta yet. … Read more

Some Android apps are about to take a lot longer to download, but they'll also have more interactive 3-D graphics, audio, and video. Google boosted its maximum app size from 50MB to 4GB today, according to the Android Developers blog.

"Android applications have historically been limited to a maximum size of 50MB. This works for most apps, and smaller is usually better -- every megabyte you add makes it harder for your users to download and get started," software architect Tim Bray wrote on the blog. "However, some types of apps, like high-quality 3D interactive games, … Read more

With each major milestone in its App Store, Apple hands out some serious cash. And this time is no different.

After announcing that the App Store reached 25 billion downloads over the weekend, Apple today said that it has awarded Chunli Fu of Qingdao, China a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card for downloading the app that put the marketplace over the mark. According to Apple, Fu downloaded Where's My Water? Free, a Disney game.

Apple has given out $10,000 gift cards in the past, including last January when its store hit 10 billion downloads. Although a gift card … Read more

It's official, Google's new unified privacy policy is now in place, allowing all of your data to be shared across the various Google services. This is definitely going to make some users uneasy. If you're one of those users, and have been thinking about ditching Google, you will want to make sure you back up your data first, then delete your account. Here's how to carry out both of these tasks.

To begin, you will need to visit Google.com/settings.

You will want to back up your account data before you delete the account. To … Read more

I used to have hundreds of DVDs. They lined an entire bookshelf. I knew I never watched many of them; besides, the future was digital, wasn't it? It was 2006. My iPod Video told me so.

I sold about half my discs to the departed Kim's Video up the street, and then--pressured a bit by my family needs and small apartment--I did the unthinkable: I tossed out the remaining boxes and stuffed the discs in a binder.

It felt like sacrilege for my treasured and somewhat hard-to-find discs--my Canadian version of Cronenberg's "eXistenZ" with a commentary track, my various out-of-print Criterion movies. I gambled that I'd never really play these discs many more times, what with Netflix instant streaming and iTunes movie rentals.

Mostly, I was right. Then came "Kiki's Delivery Service."… Read more

CNET Download.com, social gaming company Kabam, and Sweetlabs, makers of Pokki, have teamed up to bring Windows users full-screen desktop versions of four popular (formerly) social network-based games.

Formerly only available on a Web browser, users would need to log in to social sites to play. With this launch using Pokki, the games require neither a Web browser nor a connection to social networking sites--these new Pokki desktop apps let you experience The Godfather: Five Families, Dragons of Atlantis, Edgeworld, and Thirst of Night in full screen on your Windows PC.

Teaming up with Pokki and Kabam brings apps … Read more

Apple's begun a countdown--or count up in this case--to its 25th billion app download.

Earlier today the company launched a timer that sits on its front page, counting to the metric. The person who downloads the 25th billion app gets a $10,000 iTunes Store gift card.

Last January Apple ran a similar promotion for the 10 billionth app sold, awarding an identical $10,000 gift card. That was a follow-up to the company's 2009 award to the person who downloaded the one billionth app. That first time was a bit more generous, with 13-year-old Connor Mulcahey nabbing … Read more