These days, the recommendations of important companies and groups can carry a lot of weight in the technology industry. It should stand as good news, then, that the reference Blu-ray player of the Criterion Collection happens to be the PS3.

It seems the murder of a taxi cab driver in Thailand has taken an even stranger turn, besides the whole "It's linked to Grand Theft Auto" business. It seems the Thai government has released a list of games that have been deemed as violent games to avoid.

The only thing about it? It seems to have been taken from a list made in Detroit. More after the jump.

For those of you waiting for the release of Maxis' Spore (PC, Nintendo Wii, DS, Mac, and Mobile), it seems like the long wait is finally drawing to a close. During a studio visit from producer Thomas Vu, he confirmed to CNET that the game will be going gold by next week. Everything seems good to go for the game's September release on the PC and the Mac. More details on this development in our full article.

Word is out that CBS corporation has entered a deal which will allow it to acquire CNET Networks, Inc. If this pushes through, CBS will become one of the major players among the internet companies in the United States. Care to know more? Head on over to the full article.

Is this retribution for Jeff Gerstmann's untimely departure from GameSpot? Josh Larson, CNET's Vice President of Games and Gerstmann's superior has been fired from his post after being implicated for business violations that may or may have been instrumental for bringing about the GameSpot controversy. Details in the full article.

After Jeff Gerstmann,  Frank Provo, and  Alex Navarro's resignation from GameSpot, yet another long-time reviewer left the GameSpot offices: Ryan Davis. Davis, a close friend of Gerstmann's, was deeply affected by his friend's departure from the gaming information site. Do check out the full article to read Davis' statement.

It seems that Ricardo Torres has a lot on his hands (and mind) right now, since he's been chosen by CNET to pick up where Jeff Gerstmann unexpectedly left off. Now, we get some insight from the man himself, via some snippets of a recent interview. Check out what drives the man in the full article.

CNET seems to be beyond the recent shakeups at GameSpot - or at least, they're working around the negative air looming over the controversies. CNET Networks just announced that a former editorial director will now take the seat of editor-in-chief at the gaming news site. And this was just after former editorial director Jeff Gerstmann left the gaming news site under mysterious circumstances.

After his stint with GameSpot in 2007, Jeff Gerstmann is raiding the airwaves as part of IGN's internet talkshow, GameSages. For the pilot show, the show's host invited Gerstmann as a guest along with other editorial big wigs such as Dan Hsu, Francesca Reyes, and Will Tuttle.

A podcast was made for those who want to hear their thoughts regarding the gaming industry. Details on Gerstmann's guesting can be found in the full article.

We've heard of exploding laptops, and now get ready for a new mobile shocker: laptops that give off electrical charge. Check out why Dell's new XPS M1530 aren't so pleasing to the touch in the full article.