Nikon is to launch a new online photo-sharing service on January 28. The successor to the Japanese firm’s my Picturetown will be open to all, although Nikon camera users will be able to upgrade to a special account with increased storage and advanced features, for free.

The basic version of the service will give users 2GB of online storage. Nikon owners who upgrade through the dedicated verification app will get 20GB, and the option to password protect images and restrict downloads.

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Popular open-source, cross-platform sound recording, editing and mixing tool Audacity 2.0.3 has been released. Despite the minor revision number, the new update boasts several key new features, including a new resampling library, tweaked Time Tracks tool and several new effects.

Audacity 2.0.3 also includes a number of key bug fixes, but does ship with a number of other issues as yet unresolved, all of which are documented in the release notes.

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Windows 8 special pricing expires on January 31, but it is not the only Microsoft special offer that goes away on that day. The company kicked Media Center somewhat to the curb with the new operating system. It no longer comes as a part of Windows, but requires the Pro version and a special add-on pack that will be sold for $9.99. To boot, there are no new features included. Media Center remains unchanged from Windows 7.

Still, there is a small but very dedicated group of followers who love Media Center, and for good reason. If you own an HTPC (home theater PC) then Microsoft's solution remains one of the best options available and, if you act before the end of this month, you can grab that $9.99 media pack for free.

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Twelfth in a series. It's slow week for new application releases for Windows 8. The number of new apps in the US Windows Store is 635, down from 961 the week before. While I would not - yet - say that this is a sign of things slowing down, it is definitely something that I'll pay attention on in the coming weeks.

The total number of apps in the US store this week is 25,384 of which 20,373 are free to install and 5,011 paid; that is a ratio of 4:1 in favor of free apps.

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Amazon has created a mobile MP3 store optimized specifically for use on iPhones and iPod touches. Built on HTML5, the new store lets users browse the 22 million strong MP3 catalog, and buy tracks directly.

"Since the launch of the Amazon Cloud Player app for iPhone and iPod touch, a top request from customers has been the ability to buy music from Amazon right from their devices," Steve Boom, Vice President of Amazon Music said. "For the first time ever, iOS users have a way do that -- now they can access Amazon’s huge catalog of music, features like personalized recommendations, deals like albums for $5, songs for $0.69, and they can buy their music once and use it everywhere".

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While other file sharing sites have come and gone, closed down by the authorities or voluntarily removed by the owners, The Pirate Bay remains a constant. Sure, if you live in the UK your access to it is now blocked by court order, but the site is still up on the web, still serving links to infringing content, and seemingly unstoppable -- even though plenty of people have tried to stop it.

A forthcoming documentary, TPB AFK, charts the "away from keyboard" true-life story of The Pirate Bay and is set to be released this spring, timed to coincide with a "major film festival". The new trailer for the film, up on YouTube, has already racked up over 1.3 million views, and its success has spurred Simon Klose, the director, into trying to make a little money from it.

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Eleventh in a series. Microsoft has updated two of the native apps that Windows 8 ships with this week. The News and Finance apps have received updates that enhance performance, improve network connectivity and add support for additional regional sources.

A total of 24,749 apps are listed in the US Windows 8 store this Friday. Of those, 20,019 are free to download and install, while 4,730 are paid applications. That's an increase of 961 apps this week.

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The most important tech news this week isn't from the Consumer Electronics Show. Amazon earns distinction, with a new service that, if rightly executed, could change how everyone buys digital content. Not since Apple licensed digital tracks for the iTunes Store in early 2003 and later secured deals allowing consumers to buy a single and get the rest of the album for appropriately-reduced cost is a music service so provocative. Amazon AutoRip is as big as DRM-free and looms over Apple's iTunes Match -- and both transform music licensing and consumption.

Can you feel it? The Earth shook today, and nothing will be the same because of it.

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If you’re one of those people who still prefers audio CDs to digital downloads (because you can’t beat a physical product with album art and sleeve notes, right?), but then rip the tracks so you can actually play them, Amazon’s new AutoRip service is for you. Purchase an AutoRip CD from the site and you’ll get the MP3 version for free.

The tracks will be automatically uploaded to Amazon Cloud Player, where you can stream or download them immediately, even before the CD arrives. And that’s not all. Any eligible CDs you’ve purchased from Amazon after 1998 will be added to your Cloud Player too, for free. If you don’t have a Cloud Player account you’ll be able to sign up for one.

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Third in a series. Some readers of my last column in this series seem to think it was just about the movie business but it wasn’t. It was about the recorded entertainment industry, which includes movies, broadcast and cable television, video games, and derivative works. It’s just that the movie business, like the mainframe computer business, learned these lessons first and so offers fine examples.

Whether from Silicon Valley or Seattle, technology companies see video entertainment as a rich market to be absorbed. How can Hollywood resist? The tech companies have all the money. Between them Amazon, Apple, Google, Intel and Microsoft have $300 billion in cash and no debt -- enough capital to buy anything. Apple all by itself could buy the entire entertainment industry, though antitrust laws might interfere.

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Maybe you’re having problems with Flash, and would like to do a clean reinstall. Or perhaps you’ve decided the technology causes more problems than it solves, and would like to delete it forever. Whatever the reason, you may one day find you want to completely remove Flash from your PC -- but that can sometimes be a problem.

You won’t be able to use the standard uninstaller if there are other background processes using Flash, for instance. And your Flash installation can sometimes become corrupted, causing further complications. Don’t give up, though -- with just a little perseverance your PC should soon be Flash-free (apart from embedded plugins via apps like Chrome, anyway).

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CyberLink has released a notable update to its popular and powerful consumer video editor range. With release GM4, both CyberLink PowerDirector 11 Ultra and CyberLink PowerDirector 11 Ultimate add ultra hi-def resolutions to file production, support for editing GoPro HERO3 clips and an additional seven transitions to the Transition Room.

The new release, which is available for a 25 percent savings with exclusive bundle of extra goodies worth nearly $70 from the Downloadcrew Software Store, also promises improved program stability and frame accuracy, plus resolves a number of issues.

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Some trends are really bad. Take set-top box designs, which are headed in the wrong direction. Entertainment devices used to have traditional box shapes. Some were longer or deeper or taller, but they all stacked on a shelf. They fit neat and tidy in your media center. Those days are gone.

Where did this madness all begin -- insanity that sweeps though the Consumer Electronics Show this week? Boxee is as good a place to start as any. The original Boxee Box had a "unique" shape -- I am being kind. However, version two, not surprisingly, went with a more traditional shape in an effort to raise sales and fit better within the living rooms of customers. Lesson learned.

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Netgear read my mind. Hopefully not all of it, but the company is welcome to my tech thoughts at least. Just recently several of us here at BetaNews wrote about the tech we used most in 2012. In my column I mentioned that my trusty HTPC grows long in the tooth -- you think dog years are rough, try computer years. I started using a Netgear NeoTV instead. As I mentioned then, and will reiterate now, the interface is not flashy, but it works seamlessly. the hardware is robust as well.

In the end though, I admitted my plans in 2013 were to move to Google TV because of the added features -- web browser, apps, you know the routine.

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Consumer Electronics Show 2013 commences in about 24 hours with the pre-show keynote. I won't be there, and wonder why you will be. Apple is right to be a perennial no show, and Microsoft demonstrated wisdom pulling out -- and this year giving up the coveted kick-off presentation. Tradeshows like this are dinosaurs. Where's the meteor -- the oh-so needed extinction-level event? To everyone inviting me to their CES booths and parties, perhaps now you understand why I didn't respond to your email.

I hate the Consumer Electronics Show and the tsunami of products crashing down in mass self-mutilation and destruction. Who needs them anyway? Will your life really be better because a new cell phone's screen is 0.1 inch larger? Or there's a new Google TV box just like the others, only from a different manufacturer? NPD says not. The analyst firm released data today that tickles my CES-loathing soul: According to surveys, 68 percent of US consumers are happy with the tech they've got. What they do care about: Tech that meets their, ah, digital lifestyle.

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