Last 
week, Oculus VR was one of the most loved companies in the gaming world. Today, it’s in damage control mode.
Facebook’s $2 billion acquisition of the virtual reality headset company shocked gamers and game makers alike, who worry that the new owners will lessen the impact Oculus has on the videogame industry.
The 
smart home has come a long way since the Clapper.
While many home-automation products are still nothing but talk, this past year has seen a number of viable smart-home devices hit the market—focusing more on practical applications and affordability than in previous years. The technological advances in smart-home devices on display at the January CES in Las Vegas show that the industry is moving out of its infancy—and quickly toward its promise of creating a house that can anticipate the needs of its occupants, saving energy and money at the same time.
Here are a few smart-home devices to watch if you’re interested in raising your home’s IQ.
Every 
industry has its critics, but few are quite as vocal as an enraged video gamer whose game has just inexplicably stopped working—especially when a new console or game is involved.
With consumer expectations set high, and the demand for instant gratification pressing, irritating problems—like new games going on the fritz, or screens blacking out—can be magnified, and consumers’ tempers can be short. Customer service wait times can feel epic, and some problems never seem to get fixed.
Add the echo chamber of social media, and one can get the impression that video game companies are uniquely bad when it comes to customer service. But is that true?
As 
the video game industry says goodbye to one generation of hardware, it’s also saying goodbye to a number of high-profile names.
In the past several weeks, well-known, high-ranking executives at Microsoft’s Xbox division and Sony’s PlayStation unit—as well as other less familiar names—have announced their departure, and some analysts say these could reflect broader shifts in the industry.
Sony 
may have gained an early lead in the battle of the next generation consoles, but Microsoft is launching its counteroffensive—and it’s a big one.
“Titanfall,” a new game from the creators of the “Call of Duty” juggernaut, hits shelves on Tuesday. It’s expected to be one of the biggest games of 2014. And it’s exclusive to Microsoft systems.
The 
David and Goliath battle in the world of beer is starting to tip slightly in David’s favor.
Craft beer production was up 9.6 percent in 2013, while overall beer production fell 1.4 percent, according to Technomic’s “2014 Special Trends in Adult Beverage Report: State of the Industry” report. And that continued popularity of specialty beers is paving the way for a new crop of beer makers.
Microsoft 
may have led the charge in gesture and voice recognition in the home with Kinect, but the competition is coming fast.
And given the growth in this market—user interface is expected to top $25 billion by 2016, according to Visiongain—there’s no shortage of interest in what the company may announce at its Microsoft Build event in April, where the company is expected to focus in part on Kinect 2.0 for Windows.
Getting 
ahead of the competition is never easy, but sometimes a little technological advantage can go a long way.
Whether it’s something that can help your sales force in the field or something that can let you complete a task better and quicker than the competition, a simple gadget can make all the difference. At this year’s International CES in Las Vegas, there were dozens of companies displaying existing and upcoming technologies that could impact one or more industries. Here are some of the more intriguing items we saw.
The 
growth of adult novelties is starting to turn heads in private equity.
Diamond Products, a portfolio company of New York’s Brookstone Partners, has acquired high-end sex toy manufacturer Jimmyjane. The companies did not disclose the amount of the all-cash deal.
No 
matter how rough times get economically, we still love to pamper our pets.
Americans spent more than $61.4 billion on their pets in 2011 (the most recent figures available), according to a report by the U.S. Department of Labor. The average household spent more than $500 (beyond the typical amount for alcohol and men’s clothing). And tech companies are looking to get a slice of that pie.
Chris Morris: Journalist 