For the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, being “closeted” has long been an issue. Now according to Facebook, social media is creating a new space for coming out.

A study by Facebook earlier this month found that three times as many people will come out on the site this year than last, according to USA Today. A new Facebook feature introduced last year allows people to designate a custom gender, and Facebook users can also set or change their profile to express same-gender attraction. Users choosing either setting qualified as “coming out” for the study.

Six million Facebook users in the U.S. identify as LGBT, with 800,000 coming out on the site last year. In June, on the say the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, Facebook saw a 250 percent spike in users coming out.

Additionally, in the days following the ruling, 26 million Facebook users changed their profile picture, adding a rainbow display in solidarity with the LGBT rights movement.

A spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation told USA Today that the social media changes reflect the growing trend towards LGBT equality, and noted that social media also provides an important tool for the social change movement.

For years, California has been planning for a high-speed train to link the major cities from North to South. Now a group of Chinese companies wants to build California a railroad.

The companies, including the major train firm China Railway International, submitted a comprehensive plan for a California high-speed rail system earlier this week, according to Business Insider. The companies also noted that their bid could be financed by the Chinese Export-Import Bank.

California has raised about $13.2 billion towards its high-speed railway, but need almost $55 billion more. The Chinese team has urged the state to raise additional public funds to attract private investors and lenders.

The project would include design, construction, equipment, and rolling stock, all of the major aspects of the rail system. The proposal stresses that delivering all the elements through a single entity would cut costs and make for a more efficient project.

The proposed train system would initially run between San Francisco and Los Angeles, with future add-on to San Diego and Sacramento. Trains would run at speeds up to 220 miles per hour.

If granted to the Chinese group, the California project would not be the first railway deal with Chinese operators. Last month, the world’s largest train maker, China’s CRRC Corp finalized a deal to build a high-speed line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. China has also won contracts for Russian rial systems, although bureaucratic issues have derailed the companies in Indonesia and Mexico.

Headlines this week confused many market observers when some suggested that a beverage company was getting into the business of making cell phones.

In fact, Pepsi’s foray into China’s competitive mobile phone sector is a licensing deal, according to a Forbes story. The Pepsi-branded phones will be made by a well-known manufacturer that has similar co-branding deals with other major companies.

The story began with several posts on the Chinese “Twitter” site Weibo, which implied that the soft drink company would be making smartphones for the Chinese market, with models starting at about $200. The blog posts suggested the phones and related accessories would be made available as early as next week.

It later became clear that the Pepsi-branded phones will be made by the Chinese firm Wanfeng Technology. Wanfeng is simply licensing the Pepsi name, likely for a significant price, in order to attract buyers in the hyper-competitive Chinese cell phone market.

Wanfeng already has similar licensing deals for making branded smartphones with Hello Kitty, Konica Minolta and other major companies.

Other than the soda-maker’s name, the Android-based Pepsi phones have few significant features that can’t be found on other smartphones. While the initial buzz may create early sales, analysts say they don’t expect that cola-labeled cell phones will have much staying power in the cut-throat Chinese technology market.

Streaming video just isn’t enough for Netflix. The entertainment company’s first feature film was released on Friday, not only for viewers online but also in local theaters.

But the move is angering some movie theater owners, according to Wired. The leading movie chains AMC, Regal, and Cinemark say they won’t show the Netflix production, in response to the competition the streaming service offers to their business.

The theater owners are also upset about the simultaneous release of the film online with the theatrical release. Typically, feature films have about ninety days to run in theaters before viewers can find the film online.

Without exclusive access, movie theater owners say they have no incentive to spend money for marketing and holding theater space for a movie that viewers can see from home. The owners are also unhappy that Netflix did not discuss their plans for a simultaneous release, but rather they found about it through a Netflix press release.

Netflix has been wildly successful with its television productions, garnering 34 Emmy nominations for its slate of original programs this year alone. The company is hoping for similar artistic and commercial success with its upcoming roster of original feature movies.

The Netflix movie, called “Beasts of No Nation,” stars former “The Wire” star Idris Elba as a soldier leading a mercenary army in a civil war in an unnamed African nation. Previews have been well received with Oscar buzz for the star and director Cary Fukunaga, best known for TV’s “True Detective.”

‘OK Google’ was a feature of the previous version of Google’s chrome internet browser, but will no longer be available in the desktop format. The feature allowed users to use the phrase ‘OK Google’ and then follow up with a request such as something to search or a website to go to, similar to ‘Siri’ for Iphones.

The feature will no longer be available for use on Windows and Mac desktops but will still be available to use with android smartphones. Google said the reason for the elimination of the feature was the lack of use in the desktop format according to a Forbes report.

The concept of communication with devices is still new and therefor not widely used. Seemingly this concept is more fit for a smartphone when there are moments like being in a car or away from your phone when the communication makes more sense than with your internet browser, when the control is already at your fingertips.

Voice search will still be available on Google.com, it will just not be triggered by the phrase ‘OK Google’ any longer. Because of the lack of use the feature being still there but not regularly updated actually posed a security risk for users, because attackers could use the feature even if the primary user does not. The added expense of updating the feature even though it was not popular was another reason for it being completely removed rather than just being still available while not being updated.

This past Friday a jury ruled that Apple must pay the University of Wisconsin-Madison $234 million after they infringed on their patent. The tech giants used the University’s microchip technology in their Iphones and Ipads without permission and now must pay damages.

The technology that Apple used helped improve the performance of the processors in their devices, and the company has stated that they will appeal the decision but did not comment any further.

The University was initially seeking $400 million in damages and the jury in the case eventually settling at the $234 million number reported by Reuters. The suit was filed in January 2014 and alleged that Apple illegally used the University’s “predictor circuit” in their A7, A8 and A8X processors used in several different versions of their Iphones and Ipads.

The University of Wisconsin has sued over this patent previously in 2008 when they received $110 million from Intel. Apple was arguing that this amount was even too much, but in the end the jury settled on the number they did pending the appeal that Apple has stated they will seek.

Wisconsin recently filed another suit against Apple stating the same infringement on the same patent, but this suit focuses on chips used in even more recent apple products such as the Iphone 6s and Ipad Pro.

Millions of people use online dating sites, hoping to meet their match. Now the online dating firm Match Group is hoping to appeal to investors in an initial public offering.

The company, parent of the dating sites Match.com, Tinder and OKCupid, filed papers for an IPO on Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “MTCH.”

Online dating is booming, and Match is an industry leader. The company took in more than $888 million in 2014, up about eleven percent from 2013, with net income in 2014 of more than $148 million, up eighteen percent for the year.

The company’s IPO filing shows it has 59 million active monthly users, and about 4.7 paying members.

Match is owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp, which would retain voting control of the company under the terms of the IPO. The preliminary papers say the company hopes to raise $100 million with the offering, though that figure may change. A portion of the proceeds, based on the total amount raised, would be paid back to IAC for debt repayment.

Other dating sites’ IPOs have recently stalled. Zoosk Inc dropped its bid earlier this year, after more than a year of delays. The recent hacking scandal of the infidelity site Ashley Madison seems to have ended that company’s chances for an IPO anytime soon.

Amazon’s successful foray into online video and other streaming digital content has shown the value that digital offerings can bring to e-commerce companies. Now the massive Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding is looking to enter the streaming video market in a big way.

This week Alibaba announced its offer for all outstanding shares of the Chinese video streaming site Youku Tudou, according to Reuters. The cash offer represented a thirty percent premium over the stock’s closing price on Thursday.

Youku Tudou’s chairman, who owns eighteen percent of the company, said he supports the offer. Alibaba already controls about eighteen percent of the shares, after buying a minority stake last year.

The deal would cost Alibaba more than $5 billion, but the company expects the investment to pay off with increased traffic to its retail site.  Online video is considered the best way to attract views.

The deal is just the latest involving Chinese owned forms that are listed on U.S. stock exchanges going private by bids from major shareholders. About 30 similar deals have been made this year, suggesting strengthening of the Chinese economy.

The largest previous deal involved the Chinese software company Qihoo 360 Technology, which went private to a group of investors who put up about $10 billion.

Millions of Americans own personal computers, but with the advent of tablets, smartphones and other devices, sales of new PCs are lagging. Now three leading makers of PCs, with Microsoft and Intel, have joined forces to convince you that you need a new PC.

The joint campaign, with the tagline “PC Does What?,” will run for six weeks, according to PC World. Computer makers Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo teamed up with Intel and Microsoft to create and launch the effort.

PC sales are down nearly eight percent this year, and competition has pushed the price of new PCs well below the average cost just a decade ago. The five 16-second videos in the ad campaign intend to highlight the power of Intel’s new processor coupled with Microsoft’s Windows 10, and to show potential buyers new features in today’s PCs.

For example, the ads show users logging in with biometrics, enjoying improved graphic capabilities, and relying on the improved battery life of new PCs.

Each ad ends with the thrilled PC user exclaiming, “PC does whaat?”

The joint campaign is the first such collaboration from the computer industry. Following the ads’ six week run, the companies intend to begin their individual holiday shopping season advertising.