High-Tech Nova Weekly: Top five trends for 2/27-3/2

Here's what made headlines this week in the world of high-tech!

Mobile World Congress 2012

Without a doubt, Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 owned the news this week. First, the 41-megapixel camera in the Nokia 808 PureView seized everyone's attention with its absurdly high megapixel capabilities -- compared to the usual 8-megapixel smartphone. Then, the HTC One X "superphone" evolved the smartphone with its NVIDIA Tegra 3 hardware and insane PC-esque potency. Novelties abounded as well, like Intel's ReacTable where Technology Jockeys could mix music on a dynamically interactive table.  A cheap computer that could bridge the digital divide arrived in the form of the $35 Raspberry Pi which sold out in less than 2 hours of going on sale. Less flashy but no less impactful software was offered, like Cisco's Next-Generation Hotspots (NGH) wi-fi technology and Qualcomm's LTE Broadcast. Look for our upcoming Best of MWC 2012 article. Consider the power packed into gaming peripherals like the PS Vita, is there a market for a hybrid smartphone and Vita?

Tech and social media patent wars

Yahoo, in what many surmise is just a vain effort to squeeze some much-needed funds from the lucrative Facebook IPO, threatened to sue Facebook for 10 to 20 patents related to things like ad, messaging systems and newsfeeds. Were companies more inclined to innovate rather than patent troll, even successful giants like Google, Apple and Microsoft would be spending more time doing strategic research and development rather than burning cash on needless bickering.

Microsoft Windows 8 wins, Azure embarrasses

After an embarrassing meltdown earlier this week of Microsoft's Azure cloud service that snagged the wind in their Windows 8 sails with a dose of negative public relations, Azure seems to have finally stabilized. Fortunately, the Windows 8 press has been so positive, for those unconcerned with cloud computing, there is much to be excited about. Now that beta is getting off the ground and rumors of the nine editions available for Windows 8 are swirling around, we've not heard the end of this development in the upcoming OS wars. 

Anonymous, the Vatican and the FBI

As the wars between lawmakers, institutions and hacktivists like Anonymous rage -- with no signs of letting up -- the sophistication and seriousness of both 'white hats' and 'black hats' in the cyber security arms race is gaining ground. Today, the FBI declared that online attacks will swiftly become a more serious issue than traditional terrorism. 'We are losing data, we are losing money, we are losing ideas and we are losing innovation," Mueller said at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. "Together we must find a way to stop the bleeding."

Given the China hacking attacks against corporations, Anonymous' attacks against national governments -- and most recently a failed attack on the Vatican -- and the dangers of cloud storage computing, it will be fascinating to watch just where the frontlines of cyber warfare will next be draw. Keep an eye  on the new face of cybercrime as well, where anything from cars to homes can be taken over. Heck, even voting can be hacked these days.

Privacy: Not even your texts and photos are safe

The increasingly intrusive peeking by corporations into our personal data, which last week prompted a Consumer Bill of Rights blueprint, continues building in intensity. While Google is being taken to court in the European Union for privacy complaints that it breaches the right to be forgotten, other companies like Panasonic are trying to offer solutions like their personal data protection for the Android -- considering how many apps can just read text messages and photos with permissions users are not even aware of having granted. Speaking of apps, keep an eye on the App marketplace wars that are beginning to take shape.