SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: December 28th, 2012

This morning we're getting in deep with not just everything pre-CES 2013, but privacy, gaming, and acquisitions too! You'll be glad to know that we've got a whole new batch of photos of Mars from the Mars Express – hot and red as always! Barnes & Noble's NOOK business is about to get a massive amount of cash from Pearson in the very near future. LG has all but spilled the whole bucket of beans on their CES 2013 showings well before the show!

There's an amazing Valve-signed Portal Gun up for auction right now for charity – just about as close to the real thing as you're going to get! You can now work with Amazon Instant Video with your Google TV. There's a report out there that basically noone uses their Smart TV to full capacity.

Apple has been fined a drop in the bucket in China for a copyright violation. RIM is set to pay Nokia significantly more than a drop in the bucket for their very first patent settlement with the group. You'll want to check out the rumors surrounding the next-generation Motorola DROID RAZR M HD – it's higher-definition, imagine that!

There's been a bit of a break in the new Facebook Poke app in which sneaky users are able to keep video for extended periods of time. You'll be able to pick up The Walking Dead for cheap this afternoon on Xbox Live – ironic! Sony has ended the PS2 in Japan – the end of an era!

CES 2013 will be the home to some next-level SDHC memory card technology from Toshiba going by the name TransferJet. The folks making the Android-based console gaming machine OUYA have detailed some special edition translucent developer editions. And what's this – McAfee labs have decided they know the future and have predicted that Anonymous attacks will decline through the next 12 months – like magic!