Huge Windows Phone Event in NYC Brings Us 4 Small Devices and One Giant WinPho - The UpStream

Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.

With over ten years of audio engineering experience, Nick's addition to PLuGHiTz Corporation is best served when he is behind the mixing board every Sunday night to produce the audio side of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Piltch Point and PLuGHiTz Live Night Cap. While mixing live every week, his previous radio show hosting experience gives him the ability to co-host as well, giving each show a unique flare with his slightly off-center, yet still realistic take on all things tech. An integral part of the show, you can find Nick always enveloped in coming up with new (and sometimes crazy) ideas and content for the show and you can always expect the most direct opinion on the stories that he feels need to be shared with the world. During the few hours where Nick isn't sleeping or working on ways to improve the company, he spends his free time going to hockey and football games and playing the latest titles on Xbox 360. Email him for his gamertag and add him today for a fun escape from the normal monotony and annoyance that the Xbox LIVE gaming community can sometimes be!

Jon is a F5 Live co-host and UpStream contributor as well as the Chief Cash Officer of PLuGHiTz Corporation. We don't know how he wears so many hats so well or how he still finds time to feed his need for all things tech but some questions are best left unanswered. If you're up for a challenge go find him on Xbox Live @shinobiJon and if you figure him out...let us know.

Avram's been in love with PCs since he played original Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple II+. Before joining Tom's Hardware, for 10 years, he served as Online Editorial Director for sister sites Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag, where he programmed the CMS and many of the benchmarks. When he's not editing, writing or stumbling around trade show halls, you'll find him building Arduino robots with his son and watching every single superhero show on the CW.

Microsoft had a huge Windows Phone 7 event this week. It was enormous in both size of the event and size of one of the device they showed off, which puts the 4.3" screens to shame. The Microsoft team constructed and displayed a six-story model of a Windows Phone, smack in the middle of NYC's Herald Square for their launch event of four new phones.

It's not uncommon for the U.S. Air Force to contract out businesses for the development of technologies through their Air Force Small Business Innovation Research & Small Business Technology Transfer portal. However, there is one project titled "Floral Disruptor - Directed Energy Weed Abatement and Prevention Tool" that is particularly odd in about every single way. Yes indeed, 'Directed Energy' implies a technology similar to sound or energy weapons and all for the purpose of keeping the yard neat and trim, like the military traditionally likes things. The Air Force outlines the objective for the device as follows.

Smartphone gaming is not a new concept. If you don't at least have Angry Birds Lite front and center on your device, then you are one of the few who practically does no mobile gaming (if you are, don't feel bad, I'm part of the 1% as well). What's interesting is how the landscape of mobile gaming has shifted from 2009 until now. Flurry Analytics and the NDP Group have released some statistics that show a dramatic increases in smartphone game sales for the iOS and Android platforms and corresponding decreases in Nintendo DS and Sony PSP game sales.

When AT&T is not focusing on eliminating T-Mobile or capping your data, they are working to position themselves in emerging markets with high growth potential. In this case, they are transitioning their communication services into the third fastest-growing mobile device, your car. Audi is already experimenting with its implementation in their 2012 A7 and Glenn Lurie, President of AT&T's Emerging Devices division is working with Ford, Nissan and BMW to see their technology roll out with these car manufacturers in three to four years.

Tobii is a company that offers eye tracking software and hardware solutions that can be applied to a wide variety of industries like surgery, assessment and diagnostics, consumer computer, law enforcement, automotive and, most importantly, gaming. While all of those other industries are relevant I just can't get past the fact that their eye control technology combines two things I greatly enjoy, playing videogames and not moving. Don't get me wrong, Kinect and PlayStation Move are just fine and offer enhanced gaming experiences but sometimes my hands need to stay out of the equation to keep me comfortable. Thankfully, this is also a philosophy that Tobii has taken to heart.

It has been a hard fought war between Adobe and Apple, leading Adobe to throw in the towel. They have even gone farther than conceding to Apple, they have conceded to mobile, closing up shop on their Flash Player for mobile project.

It's not just Ford that is going to enjoy some tunes on the go. Windows Phone 7 is finally getting some streaming music love that is not just the Zune Marketplace. This week, after all of the Spotify talk and hype, if you swing over to the App Marketplace, you can download Spotify Mobile and get streaming.