Hackers Steal Card Data from Neiman Marcus  —  Responding to inquiries about a possible data breach involving customer credit and debit card information, upscale retailer Neiman Marcus acknowledged today that it is working with the U.S. Secret Service to investigate a hacker break-in that has exposed an unknown number of customer cards.

“Threshold” to be Called Windows 9, Ship in April 2015  —  Microsoft tries to put Windows 8 in the rear-view mirror  —  At the BUILD developer conference in April 2014, Microsoft will discuss its vision for the future of Windows, including a year-off release codenamed “Threshold” that will most likely be called Windows 9.

Beats Music launches in US on Jan. 21 for $10 monthly, $15 monthly for families through AT&T, no free tier  —  Beats Music Enters Online Streaming Market  —  SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Jimmy Iovine, whose career as a recording engineer, producer and music executive stretches from John Lennon to Lady Gaga …

Smart TVs, smart fridges, smart washing machines?  Disaster waiting to happen  —  This is a Samsung smart fridge, and it lets you run Twitter on your fridge for who on Earth knows what reason.  —  Samsung  —  If you believe what the likes of LG and Samsung have been promoting this week at CES, everything will soon be smart.

Samsung exec says their Tizen phones won't be launching soon in the US, citing competition  —  Samsung: Don't hold your breath for a Tizen phone in the U.S.  —  LAS VEGAS—Samsung Electronics is unlikely to bring its first phones running the Tizen operating system to the U.S. market, according to a U.S.-based Samsung executive.

Sony still in discussions with Microsoft over Windows Phone  —  EXCLUSIVE “We don't want to be a single OS manufacturer” … Sony has confirmed to TechRadar that it is actively looking into the possibility of launching a Windows Phone as it seeks to move away from being a single OS manufacturer.

What It's Like When The FBI Asks You To Backdoor Your Software  —  At a recent RSA Security Conference, Nico Sell was on stage announcing that her company—Wickr—was making drastic changes to ensure its users' security.  She said that the company would switch from RSA encryption …

Path receives additional $25M in funding led by Indonesia's Bakrie Global Group, an “up round” according to CEO  —  Path Closes $25 Million Funding, Led by Indonesia's Bakrie Global Group  —  Path, the private social network, said it had finally closed a $25 million Series C round …

Senators and privacy advocates push back against car manufacturers increasing data collection  —  The Next Data Privacy Battle May Be Waged Inside Your Car  —  Cars are becoming smarter than ever, with global positioning systems, Internet connections, data recorders and high-definition cameras.

Tech we're looking forward to in 2014: a realist's guide to CES  —  The annual Consumer Electronics Show is all about showing off what's in the future of hardware and gadgetry.  But although there are thousands of announcements and prototypes to sort through, most of what's announced at CES …