“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.

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.

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.

Stop Trying to Judge CES  —  Pepcom festivities came to a screeching halt as some of the 4k televisions were showing the BCS championship game, which became a nailbiter in the closing minutes.  Florida finally closed out the game with a 34-31 win over Auburn and the nerds went back to looking at iPhone cases and wearables.

How and when the iMac and Mac Pro can go Retina  —  Three major factors have probably prevented a proper 2×-in-each-dimension “Retina” version of today's 27″ iMac and standalone Thunderbolt Display, which would need to be 5120×2880 pixels:  — Nobody makes general-purpose LCD panels with that resolution today.

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.

With original 4K content, studio partnerships, and infrastructure at the ready, Netflix could be the de facto 4K destination  —  How Netflix won CES  —  It's not the TVs, it's what you watch on them  —  The television industry has been holding its breath.

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.