As promised back in December, Samsung has started to rolled out the Android Jelly Bean update and a host of 'Premium Suite' features for owners of the original Galaxy Note.

The Korean manufacturer is gradually furnishing owners of the 5.3-inch smartphone/tablet device with the update, with immediate availability depending on region and mobile network.

The update brings early phablet adopters the chance to parade the newest Android and Samsung-made features alongside those Johnny-come-lately Galaxy Note 2 owners.

Android 4.1 obviously brings the awesome Google Now app into play, while a host of Samsung Premium Suite features are also piggy-backing along for the ride.

Multi Window and Page Buddy

Original Galaxy Note owners will get the neat Multi Window functionality which allows users to use two apps simultaneously (i.e. sending an email and watching a video) without switching screens.

It also brings Page Buddy, which launches a window featuring relevant apps when a user, for example, pops out the S-Pen or plugs in headphones.

There's also a customisable notifications panel and the Smart Rotation feature that also proved popular on the Galaxy Note 2.

It's little surprise that Samsung has furnished the device with the update. The Galaxy Note was insanely popular and proved a lot of people wrong with its stellar sales performance.

The update, when it hits your part of town, will be available to download over-the-air or using Samsung's Kies desktop software.

Not much is known about Microsoft's upcoming "Windows Blue", but if a couple of recent job postings are any indication, the secretive project will introduce user interface and experience "improvements", particularly in relation to the Windows Start Screen, windowing and customization features.

Based on the most recent information available, Windows Blue should be more akin to a service pack than a full-fledged successor to Windows (i.e. *not* Windows 9), but will encompass more products than just its desktop OS. The project is believed to be the precursor to more rapid and incremental Windows-family update schedule, possibly even setting the stage for a future subscription model. 

Windows Blue is expected to bring numerous tweaks and improvements to various aspects Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 2012 Server. Additionally, the update is rumored to introduce changes to Microsoft's peripheral services, such as SkyDrive and Outlook.com.

The February 15 job posting for a software engineer was found here, although it was recently taken down -- presumably Microsoft either filled the position or didn't like the attention. According to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, the posting read:

We're looking for an excellent, experienced SDET to join the Core Experience team in Windows Sustained Engineering (WinSE). The Core Experience features are the centerpiece of the new Windows UI, representing most of what customers touch and see in the OS, including: the start screen; application lifecycle; windowing; and personalization. Windows Blue promises to build and improve upon these aspects of the OS, enhancing ease of use and the overall user experience on devices and PCs worldwide."

Although that particular position has since been removed, another interesting "Windows Blue" job offering cropped up: a development lead for Excel MX. In the job post, Excel MX is billed as a "high quality Excel app for Windows Phone Blue".

Rumors suggest Blue's launch could happen as soon as this year, with all platform releases occurring around the same time.

With the Wii U already on shelves and Microsoft's next-gen console imminent, Sony will be looking to set its PlayStation 4 apart from the competition. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, one such feature may be the inclusion of games streamed in real-time over the Internet.

In 2012, Sony acquired Gaikai for $380 million, a company who's claim to fame is streaming graphically-intense games from the cloud.  "Our technology is such that we can stream the world's most graphically rich video games and other content instantly to almost any device, anywhere," Gaikai claims. The PlayStation-maker may be leveraging Gaikai's game-streaming technologies for its own use in console gaming.

Cloud-based gaming brings a number of potential benefits to PlayStation 4 owners, although what we'll actually see remains unknown. Sony is expected to announce more details about its plans for streaming (amongst other things) this Wednesday.

The PS4's backwards compatibility with PS3 titles despite its anticipated architectural overhaul is just one possible example of the benefits of streaming. Other potential advantages include persistent game worlds, persistent progress saves, platform independence by way of virtualization (playing high-end games on any type of low-end hardware -- PS4 games on the PS3?) and on-demand-style gaming for ultimate convenience. Additionally, Sony and other game makers will likely be pleased by the natural anti-piracy effect which accompanies hosting protected content remotely.

Despite its perks, streaming also brings with it a few conceivable perils for gamers. With the disappearance of physical discs, gamers will also see the evanescence of both used games and local game rentals. By extension, borrowing, swapping and selling games may become tougher, if not impossible. Of course, any form of Internet dependency also comes with its own set of obvious drawbacks, not the least of which are availability and down times -- some people simply don't have access to quality connections or even broadband at all.

If all of this "cloud" talk makes you nervous, it's important to note that it won't all be streaming though -- Sony is still expected to incorporate a physical media drive into its next-gen console.

Future Google Nexus devices will boast 'insanely great cameras' according to the head of Google+ Vic Gundotra.

In a post on his Google+ page, Gundotra revealed he was struggling to decide on the camera equipment to take on a trip to the mountains, beyond his Android phone and prototype Google Glass unit.

Commenter Sizar Adam quite pertinently asked: "I hope that someday we will just carry our future Nexus and we won't worry about heavy cameras. Is that possible, Vic Gundotra?"

In response, the Google executive wrote: "We are committed to making Nexus phones insanely great cameras. Just you wait and see."

Tantalising

The tantalising post will raise questions about what the Nexus team has up its sleeve and which manufacturers it is working with to improve the camera tech on future own-branded smartphones.

The most-recent device, the LG Nexus 4, boasted an 8-megapixel camera, which "could have been better," according to the in-depth TechRadar review.

"We found it to be good in a variety of situations. It won't blow your socks off – but as long as you don't go into this expecting a miniature DSLR, you'll not be disappointed," the review read.

Indeed, smartphone cameras continue to improve steadily, to the point where on most occasions some people are happy to rely on them to capture memories rather than carry a compact camera.

However, when picture quality has to be relied upon, there really is no substitute for the real thing. Can Google and its OEM partners change this?