New York's mayor says the city will wheel out the world's biggest Ferris wheel in 2015, overtaking the current record holder in Singapore and leaving the London Eye in the dust.

The 625 foot (190 meter) high wheel is planned for the Big Apple's least developed borough, Staten Island, across the water from Manhattan's Financial District. It will be able to carry 1,440 people at a time.

Phil Orlins knows everything about producing TV in three dimensions. The ESPN producer has captured the undulating greens of Augusta National and the flying motor bikes of the X-Games for ESPN's 3-D channel. But he can only guess how well his shows resonate with viewers. That's because 3-D audiences are so small they can't be measured by Nielsen's rating system.

"The feedback on The Masters was fast and furious. You could go on Twitter at any moment, and there'd be comments coming in every minute about 3-D coverage," said Orlins while giving a tour of a production truck at this summer's X-Games. "But then you go to some other events where it's pretty quiet."

For students seeking to become cyber warriors, the US government has a sweet deal.

Full tuition, expenses and a stipend will be paid at any of dozens of universities for students to get specialized cybersecurity training, in exchange for an equal number of years working for a federal agency.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Thursday called the new Windows 8 operating system scheduled for release next month "a very exciting new product" and "a very big deal" for the world's largest software maker.

Gates said in an interview with The Associated Press that he is already using Windows 8 "and I'm very pleased with it."

Electronics giant Sony will invest 50 billion yen ($645 million) in scandal-tainted Olympus, the firms said Friday, as they both look to turn the page on disastrous chapters.

The investment will make cash-bleeding Sony the single biggest shareholder in Olympus, with slightly more than 11 percent of its outstanding stock.

The U.S. military's current fleet of drones will soon be overtaken by a new wave of robots that will be faster, stealthier and smarter -- operating virtually without human intervention, experts say.

The Pentagon is investing heavily in "autonomy" for robotic weapons, with researchers anticipating squadrons of drones in the air, land or sea that would work in tandem with manned machines -- often with a minimum of supervision.

Facebook on Thursday added a feature that lets people send cupcakes, coffee, stuffed animals or other gifts to friends at the social network.

Facebook said it was rolling Gifts out gradually, starting in the United States.

Sleek new PlayStation 3 consoles took their places in U.S. homes on Thursday as Sony tapped into its video game prowess to put itself at the heart of Internet Age entertainment.

The PS3 model that made its U.S. debut was slimmed to be stylishly unobtrusive but featured a beefy 250-gigabyte hard drive to store more films, music, games and other digital content.

Japanese firms on Wednesday showcased incontinence devices that combine a diaper with a personal bidet, removing waste before cleaning and then drying the wearer as they sleep.

A number of companies taking part in this year's International Home Care and Rehabilitation Exhibition in Tokyo had their automatic toilet-cum-washlets on display, aimed at Japan's burgeoning senior care market.

"Angry Birds" maker Rovio is to launch a new title Thursday allowing users to play as the "Bad Piggies" from the smash-hit game, and take revenge on the birds who attacked them with slingshots.

Rovio Asia senior vice president Henri Holm said the new game would be launched in the Taiwanese capital Taipei in the first of a series of global events.