The UpStream (Page 396)

There's not a whole lot so say here that isn't already in the title but it only took about 4 hours for the R4i team to hack the 3DS after launch. You can't play pirated 3DS games on the device yet but you can play Gameboy Color and original DS games so things are starting off pretty well but you can expect Nintendo to push out a firmware update that will set R4i back temporarily. They did offer up an explanation about their accomplishment on their YouTube channel,

Let me just clear things up. This is not a 3DS flashcart. It is the R4 used on DSi. It is not possible to play 3DS games from it. You can't use your current DS flashcart (no matter what brand) on it. The R4 team has managed to hack the 3DS in order to make it run. Nintendo has made a "whitelist", built into the 3DS. It's a list that contains the names of all games that can be played on the 3DS, and guess what; the R4 is not on that list. These guys have modified this list, making it possible to run their flashcart. Therefore, YOU can not do this, unless you hack the system yourself. Expect Nintendo to release a firmware update to block the R4 cards once again.

Check out a video of the hack in action by hitting the break.

Media analysts are very strange people. In a market where competition drives creativity and uniqueness, they are quick to downplay certain companies yet promote others as revolutionary and breakthrough before they even launch, or better yet, when they weren't doing too well and relaunch. Spotify is an example of the former and the new and improved Amazon Prime is an example of the latter.

Prime was a service where you could buy pretty much any and everything with free two day shipping to anywhere in the US. We're talking things from soup cans to nuts and bolts, and it included a lot of the Amazon.com inventory. All of this was available to any interested consumer for an annual rate of $79 per year, similar to Sam's Club or Costco's membership packages.

Amazon Prime is now looking to enter into the video streaming market at a time where Netflix is doing more and more good for themselves and Hulu can't seem to catch a break. The relaunched Prime service is looking to go right after Netflix with over 5,000 shows and movies for its customers. Also, the added video streaming options won't cost existing Prime members any more money, which means the price of the service is $20 cheaper than the lowest Netflix plan.

For more on the story, follow the break.

Sony continues to turn up the heat on GeoHot this week when a Federal Magistrate, Joseph Spero, allowed Sony access to sensitive information concerning GeoHot and anyone who seems to have had contact with him in almost any way. If you have visited GeoHot's website anytime after 2009 then congratulations because odds are you will be included somewhere in the IP logs, server logs and account records they are legally obligated to turn over to Sony.

Some of the other subpoenas that were approved require Google to remit information about GeoHots's blog, his YouTube account and anyone who has posted or published a comment in regards to his "Jailbroken PS3 3.55 with Homebrew" video will also be caught up in the mix. If you follow him on Twitter don't feel left out, Sony is getting all the information associated with his Twitter account as well.

To find out what's next for GeoHot, hit the break.

Netflix has been doing some great things as of late. On top of them already hitting the $2 billion mark and adding an exclusive deal with Disney, they've been getting help indirectly from their main competitor, Hulu, who has seen some serious troubles in recent weeks.

This week Netflix hooked up with CBS to stream some of the shows on its network, though none seem to be current on-air episodes. This two-year deal will include shows like Medium, Flashpoint, Frasier, Cheers and Hawaii Five-O and includes a two-year extension option for CBS when the deal nears its completion. CBS seems to be excited about this deal, which could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the company.

At a time where the next deal could be the make-or-break for either company, it seems like Netflix keeps going up and Hulu is just down in the dumps at this point. Things could turn around in the blink of an eye, especially in this new market with lots of potential. Good streaks can either come to an end abruptly or see a ton of success for a very long time. I hope Netflix can keep doing what's got them to the dance and I wish Hulu would get back on the ball and start making some better moves forward.

It seems like every week I have Spotify updates for everyone. Starting in January, I mentioned Spotify would make its way from Europe to the US very soon. So far, the streaming music company has finalized a deal with Sony and EMI and has even hinted at arriving the the US sooner than we think. The only problem holding them back was the ability to land a significant deal with another big record label, which would force analysts to consider Spotify as a serious competitor. That is, until now.

Want to know who Spotify scooped up this week? Hit the break.

Mobile Apps started to become advertised around 2007 along with the iPhone and the concept was adopted very quickly resulting in mobile apps spreading to almost every mobile OS imaginable. Today iOS has over 350,000, Android has around 270,000, BlackBerry boasts over 65,000 and let's not forget about WebOS or Windows Phone 7 who are continuously climbing the ladder. According to Forrester Research, revenue generated by customers purchasing apps will hit $38 billion in 4 years. The current revenue generated is around $5.5 billion, meaning that Forrester expects a 7 fold increase by 2015. They also attribute part of the mobile apps future success to a new category of apps that will store information via the cloud making the information easily accessible on many devices. There are already some Apps utilizing the cloud such as Evernote, but the trend is just beginning.

Hit the break to get the 411 on the future of mobile apps.