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Netflix passes 50 million members, says price hike hasn't hurt it Netflix is doing pretty darn well Netflix ain't got no worries Just in case you had any doubt Netflix did the right thing when it chose to start producing original content, the company has revealed it now has over 50 million subscribers in over 40 countries. With original shows like Orange is the New Black, House of Cards and others becoming evermore popular, Netflix's growth shows no signs of stopping. Even the World Cup can't slow Netflix down - during the company's second quarter earnings conference call today, CEO Reed Hastings said viewership showed no drop-off during the competition, even in host country Brazil. Of its $1.14 billion (about £670m, AU$1.22b) in total revenue during Q2 2014, $307 million (about £179m, AU$327m) came from international streaming. It's no wonder Netflix is "stepping up on the international expansion," according to Hastings.

Apple may open OS X Yosemite's beta gates to all later this month Bring the whole family Yosemite, open to the public? Apple isn't in the habit of releasing public betas of new OS versions. In fact, it's been over a decade since it has. But that changes with OS X 10.10 Yosemite , which will enter public beta this month, reports 9to5Mac . The public will gain access to a beta build of Apple's latest OS X overhaul by the end of July, with the fourth version of the developer preview arriving today, sources told the site. ( Update: OS X Yosemite Preview 4 did arrive to developers after we first posted this story.) Apple previously said a public preview of Yosemite would take place by the end of summer. Plans change The same sources told the site that a new developer preview of iOS 8 will arrive today as well, though the report is tempered with a warning that "these plans are fluid" and might change. ( Update: It did indeed arrive to d

Windows 9 release date, news and rumors Updated What do we know about the future of Windows? Windows 9 will build on the touchscreen nature of Windows 8 Update : We've gathered some brand new information on when we'll see Windows 9 and how much it might cost. Read on to learn what's up! With Windows 8 and now Windows 8.1 , Microsoft tried – not entirely successfully – to make tablets part of a continuum that goes from number-crunching workstations and high-end gaming rigs through all-in-one touchscreen media systems and thin-and light notebooks down to slender touch tablets. The general consensus is that it still has a long way to go to produce a unified OS. Despite rumors of an aggressive development and shipping schedule, there's no official word about what's in the next version of Windows, but there are plenty of rumors (many of them from Chinese enthusiast sites that claim to have leaked builds), plus more reliable information from jo

iPhone 6 sapphire display flunks sandpaper test, isn't scratchproof after all Oh, and someone shot an arrow through it too Sandpaper 2 iPhone 0 (credit: Apple Insider / Marques Brownlee) The purported iPhone 6 sapphire display panel came off worse in an encounter with a sheet of sandpaper in a new video test, ending hopes the new screen tech would be completely scratchproof. After taking a knife and keys to the display with no negative impact, YouTuber Marques Brownlee decided to get serious with some rather coarse sandpaper, in his latest post. Compared with the Gorilla Glass iPhone 5S display, the iPhone 6 emerged from the battle in better shape, showing the new material is indeed tougher, but by no means invulnerable. That led Brownlee to the conclusion the display is not pure sapphire, which is higher on the Mohs scale of hardness than the sandpaper used in the test. Pure sapphire (a 9 out of 10 on the scale) would not have been scathed by garnet

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 'going metallic and bendy in a premium version' Flexible display and camera specs crop up again Samsung might be reserving the best for the prime Note 4 It sounds like Samsung's packing a lot of tech into the Galaxy Note 4 , but some of that may be reserved for a second premium version of the handset. Word from Korean media source ET News is that Samsung is working on a prime version of the Note 4 and is pumping a load of materials such as stainless steel, aluminium and magnesium into the device. Word of that flexible display has also popped up again. However, this could be limited to the premium model too, meaning the standard Note 4 handset will keep things flat for now - but if true, would really be the start of flexible phones entering the mainstream. Bendy and beautiful Samsung dabbled with flexibility screens with the Galaxy Round , and the new report states that Samsung has upped its flexible display capacity by 50% f

Why the Nokia X is the best phone you'll never buy In Depth What's its X-factor? The Nokia X hasn't made much impression in the US and UK, but it's a bestseller elsewhere in the world While 2014 will likely be remembered for its Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony and Apple flagships, it's a trio of budget Nokia handsets that have been among the most unexpected and surprising releases so far. We're talking of course about the dramatically named Nokia X and its siblings the Nokia X+ and Nokia XL . They're phones which had tongues wagging ever since they were first rumoured for the simple reason that they were Nokia devices running Android . When they were finally revealed there was perhaps a sense of disappointment at just how low end they were, but that hasn't stopped the Nokia X from selling. According to Saulo Passos, Head of Communications, Mobile Phones at Microsoft Devices Group it's "getting a tremendous consumer response.

13 features the PS4 needs to be a kick-ass console In Depth Come on Sony, you know you want to add these features The features we want to see added to PS4 Now Sony, it's not that we're not grateful for the PS4 . It's so shiny (well, half shiny), pleasantly shaped and ever so full of games at 60fps. It's still the best selling next-gen console and it's a more capable gaming machine compared to Xbox One . But there are just a few niggles we'd like ironed out sooner rather than later. We're not ungrateful in any way for the intuitive UI, great social features and easy ways to share screenshots and gameplay but we are a bit like eighth generation Oliver and just want a little bit more. Here are the thirteen features that we'd like as soon as possible. Please. 1. CD and file playback Get a beautiful soundtrack CD with your super shiny special edition? What happened when you put it in your eighth generation console? Ah yes: unsupp

Week in Tech: Microsoft ditches Android, but the robots get smarter Week in Tech And Google wants to clean up the internet It's been both a good and bad week for Androids Related stories Week in Tech: LG G3 busts out the big guns and Apple buys its groove back Revealed: the reason the OnePlus One is so cheap IBM and AT&T create global alliance for the Internet of Things Remember the famous photo of Steve Jobs flicking v-signs at IBM's head office? Pretend you don't, because Apple and IBM are now best friends forever. And that's not the only surprising bit of news this week. Google's hired one of the world's most notorious hackers, some OnePlus One owners are getting unpleasant surprises, and it turns out that one of the world's best phones is one you can't buy. It's the week in tech! Apple and IBM up a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g Apple and IBM have teamed up to give Windows a wedgie and BlackBerry the boot. Tha

Why the Nokia X is the best phone you'll never buy In Depth What's its X-factor? The Nokia X hasn't made much impression in the US and UK, but it's a bestseller elsewhere in the world While 2014 will likely be remembered for its Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony and Apple flagships, it's a trio of budget Nokia handsets that have been among the most unexpected and surprising releases so far. We're talking of course about the dramatically named Nokia X and its siblings the Nokia X+ and Nokia XL . They're phones which had tongues wagging ever since they were first rumoured for the simple reason that they were Nokia devices running Android . When they were finally revealed there was perhaps a sense of disappointment at just how low end they were, but that hasn't stopped the Nokia X from selling. According to Saulo Passos, Head of Communications, Mobile Phones at Microsoft Devices Group it's "getting a tremendous consumer respon

BMW i8: the incredible high-tech supercar that changes everything In depth 155mph and 135mpg sounds incredible, but what is BMW's eco-supercar actually like? Super car looks and performance, supermini fuel efficiency? A near £100,000 / $150,000 supercar tuned for fuel efficiency and sporting a mere three-cylinder engine? The all new BMW i8 is surely proof that the modern obsession with emission has finally driven the car industry round the twist. As it turns out, the BMW i8 is one of the most brilliantly resolved cars we've driven all year – maybe even years when you consider just how complex it is. It's a genuine revelation that pretty much implodes expectations of a hopelessly compromised, conceptually borked four-wheeled irrelevancy. OK, it's not perfect. But much of what it wrong with the i8 comes down to rules and regs BMW has no direct control over. And we reckon the i8 hits is bang on BMW's intention for this new class of super

Why contextual awareness is about to change the way you use tech In Depth Technology is about to make your life even easier Apps will soon be more personalised, thanks to contextual awareness Fed up with constantly staring at your smartphone to accomplish menial tasks? Apps for this, apps for that, all needing to be downloaded, found, then launched at the appropriate time. Siri and Google Now may think they know what you want, but they have no idea where you are or what you're doing - yet. Step forward contextual awareness: a new breed of app coming to a smartphone or wearable near you. It promises to make use of the data it collects to second guess, and automate, a lot of your daily tasks. Soon, apps with some degree of contextual awareness will begin to fire up automatically. "While Google Now and Siri may be useful in spotting how the weather may change or how far you are from home, systems where the smartphone instantly enters relevant modes will