Samsung eyes 20 megapixels for 2014 smartphone: Report

Samsung is indulging in the mobile camera craze, according to a new report. The handset maker is working on a 20-megapixel camera it'll bundle into mobile devices in the second half of 2014, Korea's ET News is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the company's plans.

Several reports have surfaced over the last several months suggesting Samsung is at work on bigger and better camera technology. Rumors have been swirling that the eventual Galaxy S5 will come with a 16-megapixel camera. Many analysts have predicted that Samsung is planning on a camera bump in its next-generation handsets.

Camera technology is an important component in smartphones. Nearly every major vendor, including LG, Nokia, and Apple, has emphasized aspects of its photographic savvy as a way to separate its phones from the pack. If the ET News report is true, Samsung plans to make its own splash in that space in the next year.

Windows 8.1 overtakes Mac OS X 10.9 among desktop OS users

Windows 8.1 is now the fifth most popular desktop OS, at least as recorded by Web tracker Net Applications. For November, Microsoft's latest version of Windows snagged 2.64 percent of all desktop OS traffic recorded by Net Applications.

The rise also pushed Windows 8.1 just ahead of Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks with a 2.42 percent share and just behind Windows Vista with a 3.57 percent share. Windows 8.1 popped up in June as a preview edition before officially launching in October. The upgrade is free to Windows 8 users and offers several improvements over its predecessor.

Windows 8 continued to shed its share of traffic in November as more users upgraded to its successor. But combined, Windows 8 and 8.1 took home a 9.3 percent share, easily outscoring Vista but still playing a distant third to Windows 7 with 46.6 percent and Windows XP with 31.2 percent.

XP has gradually lost ground since giving up its dominance to Windows 7 in August 2012. But the 12-year-old XP continues to hang on among users and businesses. Time is running out, though. Microsoft is set to cut off support for XP in early April.