Byte size news: Sony races away with No1 racers

Who would have thought playing cars would be so lucrative.
Sony says that cumulative sales for its wildly popular Gran Turismo franchise have exceeded 60 million units.
The ninth instalment of the world's best-selling racing franchise was released only in November, but has already sold more than 5.5 million units.
With its outstanding gameplay, graphics and true-to-life driving simulation, the franchise is recognised as the world's No1 automotive game title on PlayStation.
From it's humble beginnings on PlayStation in 1995, the original launched with 180 cars and 11 racetracks, while the latest version has an impressive line-up of more than 1000 licensed cars from the world's top manufacturers, 71 tracks, stereoscopic 3D support, real-time car damage, dynamic weather effects and a huge online community.
Other spin-offs have included the hugely popular GT Academy where the best online racers from around the world compete to win a seat in a real-world racing car.
World's town square
It may have been a bad day that Antoine Dobson was interviewed by his local TV station, but the 16-year-old Canadian has since managed to buy a house off the interview. A parody of the animated interview he gave after a local crime spree also became the year's most-watched YouTube video that wasn't made by a major music label.
Justin Bieber (pictured) had four of the top 10 most-watched music videos for the year. Baby took the top spot with more than 400 million views.
Other YouTube favourites included a parody of singer Keisha's hit Tik Tok and a video posted by 13 year-old Greyson Chance singing his version of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi at a school recital.
YouTube community manager Mia Quagliarello says: "YouTube has become the world's town square - a place where culture is created and shared."
Navy tests its shocker
The United States Navy is trialling a new weapon with shocking potential.
It has recently tested an electromagnetic cannon that's capable of firing a projectile 200km at five times the speed of sound.
"This demonstration moves us one day closer to getting this advanced capability to sea," chief of naval research Rear Admiral Nevin Carr says.
This powered-up weapon uses 33-megajoule shot when firing.
A megajoule is equivalent to the energy released when a one-tonne vehicle hits a wall at 160km/h.
"The 33-megajoule shot means the Navy can fire projectiles at least 110 nautical miles, placing sailors and marines at a safe stand-off distance and out of harm's way."
It doesn't look like your typical weapon of far-away destruction, with black cables plugged into a long rectangular grill.
That casing holds the rails together as a powerful surge fires the projectile forward.
If you have any news, gadgets or queries contact lindsay.harvey@apn.co.nz