The successor to Microsoft’s wildly popular Xbox 360 gaming console, tentatively known as the Xbox 720, will feature a power plant that is reportedly six times faster than what the current console is capable of.

Sources close to the project have told IGN that production on the GPU used in the next-generation console will kick off by the end of 2012 for a fall 2013 release.

Stop using pcAnywhere.

The recommendation that users disable or delete the software is the takeaway from a surprise security advisory issued by Symantec late Tuesday, which warns customers to "only use pcAnywhere for business-critical purposes," and even then, only after configuring the software "in a way that minimizes potential risks."

Those risks stem from the theft of Symantec source code in 2006. The worry is that attackers, after studying the code, may have found a way to crack pcAnywhere's encryption, which would allow them to use the remote-access software to remotely access any PC on which it's active. That, in turn, might give attackers access to data stored on corporate networks.

Amazing strides have been made in recent years towards standardized chargers and connectors for smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, and many other gadget species. In just five years — with the obvious exception of Apple’s iOS connector — Micro-USB has single-handedly destroyed the industry’s penchant for wildly customized and proprietary connectors. Today, you can charge your phone at your friend’s house, plug your Kindle into any computer, and download photos from a digital camera directly to your TV, all thanks to a standardized connector.

In its place, though, another problem has arisen: USB power. Not all USB chargers, connectors, and cables are born equal. You might’ve noticed that some wall chargers are stronger than others. Sometimes, one USB socket on a laptop is seemingly more powerful than the other. On some desktop PCs, even when they’re turned off, you can charge your smartphone via a USB socket.

Believe it or not, there’s a method in all this madness — but first we have to explain how USB power actually works.