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LulzSec Members Charged; Google Announces Play; Mass Effect 3 Released

Topping tech headlines on Tuesday: LulzSec was dealt a blow, Google announced it is re-branding its Android Market, and Mass Effect 3 hits retail shelves.

March 7, 2012

Anonymous and LulzSec topped tech headlines Tuesday after the FBI announced that it had for cyber attacks on high-profile targets like Fox, Sony Pictures, Stratfor, and more.

According to Fox News, the hackers were brought down by one of their own. Hector Xavier Monsegur, who goes by the name "Sabu" online, cooperated with the government for months after being uncovered back in August.

Google also got the tech world talking after announcing it is , Google Music, and its eBookstore as a single brand, Google Play. The change will happen over the next few days.

Also, a district court this week to Apple. Cupertino made the request earlier this month, about two weeks after the Department of Justice and the European Commission approved the $12.5 billion merger of Motorola Mobility and Google, which has yet to formally close.

Meanwhile, sci-fi gaming nerds huddled up outside of gaming shops at midnight to be the first people to BioWare's highly anticipated space-drama, Mass Effect 3. The $59.99 Mass Effect 3, the latest entry in BioWare's action-RPG sci-fi series, concludes the story arc of the heroic Commander Shepard.

Also making news on Tuesday:

  • : Here's a final look at all the gossip ahead of Apple's big product event in San Francisco, widely believed to be the launch party for the next-generation iPad tablet.
  • : Fourteen smartphones and tablets are going to get a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich this year, the wireless carrier announced.
  • : Features that Microsoft is building into Office 15 include a new Read and Touch Mode for Word, as well as "Peeks" and a weather bar for Outlook.
  • : Verizon's lengthy filing with the Federal Communications Commission irked some for containing so much redacted information.
  • : Watson's strengths, that of parsing a question asked using natural language and then returning relevant results, will presumably be used to facilitate customer interaction with Citi automated banking systems.
  • : The new screens use a combination of camera, microphones, and touchpad to provide a control scheme that seems more like a cross between Microsoft Kinect and Back to the Future than normal home theaters.
  • : Tired of waiting for your laptop to fetch your e-mails and social media messages? We check out Intel Smart Connect, the technology that has your messages waiting for you instead.