In today’s NewsDesk news roundup: McAfee’s Stonesoft bid looks to be a bit overpriced; Adobe launches Creative Cloud subscription and new tools for tablets; LTE Broadcast turns your cellphone into a modern TV antennae; Researches use silver ions to purify water; US Senate approves tax for online shoppers; iPod contributor joins Qualcomm; Intel’s annually refreshed chips to come to tablets later this year; Apple bumps HP out of the Fortune 500 list; and Nintendo modifies Wii U for smartphone apps compatibility.

McAfee’s Stonesoft bid a bit overpriced

McAfee said yesterday that they have plans to buyout Finland’s firewall-maker Stonesoft. McAfee has already executed the offer of $389 Million, which is quite a high offer, considering the stock value for the entire company is less than half that. Looking at Stonesoft’s 31% annual growth, there’s reason to believe McAfee and Intel should make up the difference in only a few short years.

Adobe launches Creative Cloud subscription

Adobe announced that it will cease development on standalone versions of its creative software to focus all of its efforts on its Creative Cloud subscription software. Users who want the latest features from software programs such as Adobe Photoshop, will have to pay a monthly subscription fee of up to $50. Adobe will continue to support CS6.

Adobe launches new tools for tablets

Adobe is also releasing what they are calling the Mighty Smart Stylus and Napoleon Digital Ruler. Mighty works with tablets and stores a wide variety of personal settings and preferences in the cloud. Napoleon, named after the “short ruler”, allows you to easily draw straight lines and arcs with snap functionality, adding extreme levels of accuracy. These tools are expected to work in addition to the Adobe Creative Cloud.

LTE Broadcast turns your cellphone into a modern TV antennae

Your cellphone may become a modern day TV antennae with new technology that allows video to be transmitted over LTE networks. The name of this technology is “LTE Broadcast” and it’s goal is to clear up some of the data congestion currently caused by streaming video and hopefully alleviate some of the high costs subscribers are paying. No carriers have committed to using the technology yet, but hints by Loewll McAdam, Verizon CEO, indicate that he has interest in possibly streaming the 2014 Super Bowl to their mobile subscribers.

Researches use silver ions to purify water

According to the W.H.O., 11% of the world lacks access to clean water, and researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras have developed a purification device that will provide clean drinking water to rural communities for less than three dollars a year per family. The researchers mixed nanoparticles that release a continuous stream of silver ions to destroy microbes in the water.

US Senate approves tax for online shoppers

The U.S. Senate has approved an Internet sales tax proposal. The Marketplace Fairness Act would allow the states that currently charge sales taxes to require online retailers to collect taxes from online shoppers. Organizations with less than $1 Million in sales are exempt, and need not collect taxes. President Obama has endorsed the bill, which means its fate lies in the Republican controlled House.

iPod contributor joins Qualcomm

Jon Rubinstein, the computer scientist behind the iPod just got a new job at Qualcomm. Having Jon on-board will mean that they have a board member from Amazon in their payroll, and they now have strong ties with Rubinstein’s former employers which include mobile companies such as Apple, Palm and even his current employer, HP. Additionally, Rubenstein’s experience makes him easily the most technically experienced director on the entire Qualcomm board.

Intel’s annually refreshed chips to come to tablets later this year

Intel announced details about Silvermont, the first in a family of annually refreshed chips, will come to market later this year in tablets, and early next year in phones. The 22nm chip has tri-gate non-planar transistors that significantly increase transistor performance. The 14nm Airmont chip will be released in 2014. The following year, another brand new architecture will be released.

Apple bumps HP off the Fortune 500 list

For the first time, Apple made its appearance in the top 10 of the Fortune 500 list, replacing Silicon Valley’s previous top-10 tech entry, HP. Oil companies dominated the top 5 of the list but Apple took a huge leap from 17th place last year to a respectable 6th position.

Nintendo modifies Wii U for smartphone apps compatibility

Nintendo is modifying Wii U consoles so customers can use smartphone applications on them. The console reported a $36 Billion loss for the year. Nintendo hopes smartphone software will help with console sales and in turn lead to an increase in popular game titles for them. The company is slated to release a new title in the popular Pokemon series in October for the 3DS.

Curated by Mellisa Tolentino