Virgin Media says its upgrade will bring an £8 billion boost to the UK economy. Andew Cowie/AFP/Getty Images Virgin Media is giving its network a boost, pumping £3 billion into upgrading its existing hardware — a plan that the network says will bring broadband speeds of 152Mbps to 4 million more UK homes. The provider’s …

Flash logo Through a Firefox project called Shumway, Mozilla on Thursday took an important early step toward building a Web that works without Adobe Systems’ Flash Player. Flash spread widely more than a decade ago so website developers could embrace games, streaming video, animation, graphics and other features that were hard or impossible with a regular browser. Such browser plugins …

Workflow on an iPad. Jason Cipriani/CNET Workflow is one of those apps when you first start using it on your iOS device, you have a moment of questioning how it’s possible for such an app to exist on iOS. After using the app for the last few months, I still don’t know how it was allowed through the App Store. …

The new View-Master enables viewers to explore detailed images of the moon, Alcatraz, or even a land of dinosaurs. Ben Fox Rubin/CNET NEW YORK CITY — It’s been decades since Mattel’s View-Master was a must-have item for every kids’ toy box. But Mattel is hoping to reintroduce the toy stereoscope — first unveiled 75 years ago at the New York …

Samsung’s new software platform, TouchWiz, will be unveiled at Unpacked in March. Samsung Samsung will remove many of its own programs in the upcoming version of its TouchWiz user interface, a new report claims. The new version of Samsung’s TouchWiz will be stripped down to not include any Samsung-built applications, Sammobile is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge …

AT&T’s latest deal offers 7GB of shared data for for $75 per month. AT&T AT&T announced a limited-time rate plan on Friday that gives subscribers 7GB of shareable monthly data. Available starting February 15, the $75 plan also includes Rollover Data. The new Mobile Share Value plan, which includes unlimited talk and text, is available to new and existing customers. …

Sony’s SmartGlass Attach is designed to glom onto existing eyewear and provide relevant information around town. Screencapture by Lori Grunin/CNET Sony’s Google Glass competitor, SmartEyeGlass Attach, has cropped up in a new video showing what it’s like to wear the device. Sony’s Xperia Development team on Thursday uploaded the video to YouTube, showing people wearing the SmartEyeGlass Attach while playing …

Xiaomi executives Hugo Barra, left, and Lin Bin address journalists in San Francisco. Josh Miller/CNET For Xiaomi, customers aren’t just nameless, faceless people. They’re more like friends. Four years ago, the upstart Chinese phone-maker had 100 customers. Today, it has over 100 million. Ask co-founder and president Lin Bin and he’ll tell you an important ingredient in the company’s success …

Pinterest may be more actively seeking ways to make money off its popularity. Pinterest Pinterest, which lets people “pin” photos, websites, products and other items on virtual boards for others to see, has begun removing links to third-party marketing networks, possibly as part of a plan to boost revenue. Pinterest has informed “power pinners” that pins will not be removed …

It looks like a classic watch, but has modern features. Sarah Tew/CNET Editor’s note: this contest closed at noon ET on Monday, February 16. Congratulations to Brian C. of Jaffrey, N.H., for winning a pair of A-Audio Icon wireless headphones in last week’s giveaway. Like the idea of getting subtle phone alerts sent to your wrist? Look no further. This …

James Martin/CNET South Carolina’s Department of Corrections punished nearly 400 inmates of using social media over the last three years, with some of the cases resulting in lengthy solitary confinement. The statistics, collected by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and released on Thursday, highlight the state prison system’s strict social media policy and Facebook’s involvement with the removal of inmate profiles. …

Free sticks with your $60 Sling TV commitment! David Katzmaier/CNET Sling TV launched earlier this week with the promise of no commitments and freedom from cable TV bundling, but its latest promotion requires a commitment and bundles devices with the service. “For a limited time,” according to Sling TV’s site, you can pick up a stick for free. Or you …

Freeview is taking the fight to YouView. Freeview Freeview is going toe-to-toe with the likes of YouView with a new online service called Freeview Play that will combine live TV with on-demand programming delivered over the Internet. A free-to-receive terrestrial TV service that launched as a joint venture between the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Arqiva and Sky, Freeview has been …

Now playing: Watch this: Update Facebook from the grave 1:19 I know people who have passed away suddenly — don’t we all? — and the last thing loved ones should have to deal with is figuring out how to access and update their dearly departed’s Facebook page. If you have a Facebook page of your own, now you can make …

Xiaomi is launching an online store in the US in a few months, but won’t be bringing its flagship Mi line of smartphones. Aloysius Low/CNET SAN FRANCISCO — Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is bringing its products to the US, but perhaps not the ones consumers might clamor for most. The company announced Thursday at a fireside chat with press here …