Happy 2013, ladies and gentlemen! Late Night Computing is here as winter trudges onward.

How were your holidays? Hopefully they went well! I made it out into the blustery cold to see The Hobbit, while the movie theatre blasted air conditioning on the crowd. It made the winter scenery all the more chilly. How are you kicking off the new year? Playing anything fun?

News bits:

• Smartphones look to replace your car keys by 2015. Blizzard said to be working on an authenticator. [via Wired]

• Is there room for a fourth mobile operating system? Ubuntu and Canonical present a brand new OS for superphones. [via Ubuntu]

• Intel's set-top box, offering a la carte service in place of the traditional cable subscription, hits a slight snag. [via TheNexWeb]

• In lieu of the budget debacle Congress created for itself, MIT Technology Review takes a look at where research and development money goes in the United States. [via MIT Technology Review]

• Reset the annual 'Year of Linux' timer, ladies and gentlemen, as 2013 is upon us. [via PC World]

Chatty posts of the moment:

Make sure you log-in and check your filters if you can't see the following:

• "What are some of the best board/group games around right now? A few friends want to start having a game night and are looking for ideas. We played Risk 2210 and Puerto Rico a few years ago, and they were decent. Only played Dominion once, but had a blast." [by liquidlies]

• "I want to play Dark Souls again but I want to try something unique. I'm not sure what though. I've never beat the game without a shield. Or maybe only target shield + bandit knife and go full on parry mode. Any other ideas?" [by NastyJack]

Nightly file:

• Resonance version 1.0 for Starcraft. "Resonance tells the tale of Lieutenant Kevan Storm of the Koprulu Liberation Front. Sent on a covert ops mission with his squad to the frozen Dominion wasteland of Floe, his primary objective is to scout the area and assess whether or not it would be profitable to destroy the Dominion encampment there. A surprise assault from the Zerg appears, and his ship crash lands, killing his men... and forcing him to work with the Dominion forces of Floe. As the events of Resonance unfold, Storm will begin to find his true allegiance... as well as become part of a much larger plot that begins to unfold around him." Download the mod here.

Media:

Aliens: Colonial Marines pre-order trailer:

Pre-order Aliens: Colonial Marines for access to exclusive weapons and characters as you take on the acidic xenomorphs.

Forza Horizon also brings the Recaro pack for players this January in a new trailer preview.