Nothing has been formally announced yet, but 
if online reports are to believed (and they’re coming from reputable outlets) Apple has most of its ducks in a row for its long-awaited cloud music service.
Warner Music Group, Sony Music Group and EMI Group have all reportedly gotten onboard with the Cupertino tech giant, though it’s still not certain if the agreements are in principle or if they’ve been signed. The status of a deal with Universal Music Group is unclear.
We’re about two-and-a-half weeks from the start 
of E3, but if you weren’t able to get a pass to the video game industry’s annual trade show, you’ll still be able to see some of the big moments.
Spike TV and Microsoft have struck a deal for the network to broadcast the Xbox 360 E3 media briefing on June 6.
Sony has acknowledged another security hole 
in its PlayStation unit – and while it might not be as catastrophic as the recent security breach, it’s bound to be an embarrassment for the company – and another hurdle officials have to overcome as they work to regain consumers’ trust.
The company has blocked user logins on all PlayStation Websites after being informed of an exploit (or workaround) that could let unauthorized people take control of user accounts using the very same information that was stolen from Sony roughly four weeks ago.
While Sony has been apologetic over 
the last month about the breach of its PlayStation Network (and subsequent personal data theft), CEO Howard Stringer is apparently adopting a new tone.
The head of Sony, who found himself personally under a lot of fire for his silence on the matter as it was unfolding, had angry words Tuesday for critics who have accused the company of taking too long to inform consumers that their data had been stolen.
With the PlayStation Network up and running 
once again, gamers jonesing for some “Call of Duty: Black Ops” multiplayer action or the chance to truly break in their copy of “Socom 4” are finally able to scratch that itch.
But the relaunch of the system is only a partial one – and there are still plenty of questions floating around about what’s next. Here’s where things stand:
As Sony continues to struggle with its recent 
cyberattack, another video game publisher has had its database hacked.
Square Enix has confirmed hackers gained access to a database on Wednesday, taking 25,000 email addresses along with 350 employee resumes.
For only the third time in the past year, retail 
game sales saw a year-over-year increase in April. And what a rise it was.
The NPD Group reports that software sales were up 26 percent last month to $503 million. Overall (including hardware and peripheral totals), the industry had brick and mortar sales of $930.7 million – a 20 percent increase.
For the past few weeks, the online multiplayer 
game “Wizard 101” has been toying with its users. The expansion pack – called “Wintertusk” – came with a soundtrack that the developer teased was from a well-known musician, but it wouldn’t say who.
The guessing game can now end, though: Nick Jonas is the artist behind the music.
As if Facebook weren’t a big enough time 
suck, one of the most addictive titles in the video game industry is set to invade the social network.
“Civilization World,” which has been development for years and in closed beta testing for months, may finally go live to the general public this summer, says developer Sid Meier.
Google’s planning to get more aggressive in 
the mobile and tablet markets – and it’s looking to pick a fight in the digital music space as well.
At its I/O developer conference, the search giant announced the next iteration of its Android operating system, codenamed “Ice Cream Sandwich,” which should hit the market by the end of the year. Google also announced its long-awaited cloud-based music storage system, which will compete with Amazon.
Chris Morris: Journalist 