Merry Christmas Eve: A Time for Celebration and Chaos

As we gather around the tree with our festive sweaters, adorned with polar bears or other holiday-themed designs, it's hard to believe that another year is coming to a close. For some of us, this means a time for relaxation and indulgence, while others may be bracing themselves for the chaos that comes with the start of a new year.

In the world of gaming, fans are eagerly anticipating a special announcement on New Year's Eve. The Facebook page for the Batman Arkham series has posted a cryptic photo, urging fans to visit their page on December 31st for a major reveal. With speculation running rampant, it's anyone's guess what this announcement might be – perhaps a new game in the series? Only time will tell.

On a more serious note, DARPA's Robotics Challenge trials have seen teams of programmers and engineers compete to demonstrate their own robots' ability to carry out certain tasks. While the Shafts team from Tokyo took home the trophy, it's clear that this challenge is pushing the boundaries of what we thought was possible with robotics. As these machines become increasingly autonomous, we're left wondering – have we truly created something revolutionary, or are we playing with fire?

In a more sinister vein, a notorious virus known as Cryptolocker has been wreaking havoc across the globe, infecting over 250,000 PCs in the process. This ransomware demands payment in exchange for restoring access to infected systems – and it's not uncommon for users to shell out a hefty sum. According to reports, hackers have made at least $300,000 worth of bitcoin so far, which translates to approximately $210,000 USD.

On a lighter note, the folks at Hardware Magazine are hosting a contest where you can win a brand-new gaming PC worth $2,000! Congratulations go out to Superfly x3, whose wishlist clocked in at a whopping $1,994.17 and still managed to leave them with a tidy $5.17 leftover – who knows what they might have done with that extra cash?

However, it seems that even our favorite tech websites won't be immune to the holiday spirit – Net Link, the creators of Insects, will be taking a small hiatus over Christmas break due to some staff vacations. But don't worry – they'll still be churning out tech tips episodes and unboxings until 2014, so keep an eye on their social media channels for updates.

In conclusion, as we bid adieu to the old year and hello to the new one, it's clear that technology is always pushing boundaries and leaving us in awe. From autonomous robots to cunning cyber-villains, there's never a dull moment in this brave new world. So here's to 2014 – may it be filled with wonder, excitement, and just the right amount of chaos.

And finally, as we bid each other farewell for now, let's take a moment to appreciate the little things in life: a great gaming PC, a fantastic YouTube channel like Insects, and perhaps most importantly, a few dollars left over after buying that Christmas sweater.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enMerry Christmas Eve in one is that time of year where we all gathered around when our Christmas sweaters mine has a polar bear there's apparently going to be some sort of crazy Batman announcement on New Year's Eve the Facebook page for the batman arkham series posted this photo telling us to visit on december 31st for a special announcement my guess Batman Arkham for cribs edition Google's robots are getting more legit DARPA's Robotics Challenge trials which saw teams of programmers and engineers compete to demonstrate their own robots ability to carry out certain tasks to place this weekend and the shaft team from Tokyo took the trophy shaft is however not the black actor played by samuel l jackson but the company owned by google as is the Atlas robot developed by Boston Dynamics that was used by ihmc robotics mmit in the competition robots are getting more autonomous yay oh god what have we done and cryptolocker the virus that locks your hard drive and then demands you pay to get back has infected around a quarter of a million pcs across the globe according to report by Dells Security Division and of that number point four percent of users actually paid the ransom the amount of money the program demanded varied but currently is around point three bitcoins so that means the hackers have made at least around 300 bitcoins which is currently worth around two hundred ten thousand dollars whoever said crime doesn't pay yeah I'm sorry and we're announcing the winner of our contest with Hardware tonight's where you enter to win your two thousand dollar gaming PC wish list congratulations are due to Superfly x3 you want your wishlist with 1994 dollars and 22 cents I don't know what you're thinking though because you still had five dollars and seventeen cents left over you could have gotten a handstands Yoga dogs mousepad a bit of sad news even those Christmas or because of Christmas really net link is going to be taking small hiatus over the Christmas break mostly because some of us are going on vacation it will be back in 2014 but there still will be tech tips episodes and unboxings to check out until then all of us at insects really really appreciate all the love you guys have shown us it's been awesome reading all the comments and seeing what we can work what you guys really like and all that goodness thanks for being the most awesome subscribers ever Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah happy Kwanzaa happy festivus whatever you guys are celebrating over this holiday season I pray it doesn't suck okay bye super fighting robot man nnnnn and a mega manMerry Christmas Eve in one is that time of year where we all gathered around when our Christmas sweaters mine has a polar bear there's apparently going to be some sort of crazy Batman announcement on New Year's Eve the Facebook page for the batman arkham series posted this photo telling us to visit on december 31st for a special announcement my guess Batman Arkham for cribs edition Google's robots are getting more legit DARPA's Robotics Challenge trials which saw teams of programmers and engineers compete to demonstrate their own robots ability to carry out certain tasks to place this weekend and the shaft team from Tokyo took the trophy shaft is however not the black actor played by samuel l jackson but the company owned by google as is the Atlas robot developed by Boston Dynamics that was used by ihmc robotics mmit in the competition robots are getting more autonomous yay oh god what have we done and cryptolocker the virus that locks your hard drive and then demands you pay to get back has infected around a quarter of a million pcs across the globe according to report by Dells Security Division and of that number point four percent of users actually paid the ransom the amount of money the program demanded varied but currently is around point three bitcoins so that means the hackers have made at least around 300 bitcoins which is currently worth around two hundred ten thousand dollars whoever said crime doesn't pay yeah I'm sorry and we're announcing the winner of our contest with Hardware tonight's where you enter to win your two thousand dollar gaming PC wish list congratulations are due to Superfly x3 you want your wishlist with 1994 dollars and 22 cents I don't know what you're thinking though because you still had five dollars and seventeen cents left over you could have gotten a handstands Yoga dogs mousepad a bit of sad news even those Christmas or because of Christmas really net link is going to be taking small hiatus over the Christmas break mostly because some of us are going on vacation it will be back in 2014 but there still will be tech tips episodes and unboxings to check out until then all of us at insects really really appreciate all the love you guys have shown us it's been awesome reading all the comments and seeing what we can work what you guys really like and all that goodness thanks for being the most awesome subscribers ever Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah happy Kwanzaa happy festivus whatever you guys are celebrating over this holiday season I pray it doesn't suck okay bye super fighting robot man nnnnn and a mega man\n"