It's long been rumored that Google, among other companies, has been paying Adblock Plus in order to get through its filters. Now, Financial Times says that it's not only Google that's been paying the ad-blocking service to be part of its whitelisted websites, but also Microsoft, Amazon and ad platform Taboola. Adblock Plus, as you might know, is a popular Chrome and Firefox extension that blocks ads: as such, some websites that rely on advertisements for revenue haven't been too happy with it, with a handful of German publishers taking the service to court. While what these companies are doing might not sit well with some Adblock Plus users, it's not bribery and is entirely legal.

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Remember BD-Live? Other than being the reason so many Blu-ray discs take forever to load, it's a way for them to pull in continuously updated content from the internet and HBO's using it to reach people who only watch its shows on disc. The new feature is called "HBO Sampler" and it unlocks full episodes of some of the network's other shows for streaming. Currently that list includes the season one premiere episodes of Girls, Looking, Banshee and Togetherness, while in the future Veep, Silicon Valley, Game of Thrones and True Detective premieres will pop up too. It's only a single episode so it's no HBO Go or even Amazon Prime, but if you already own some of the boxed sets in the last year or so (Game of Thrones S3, True Detective S1, etc.) or will buy any of the ones coming out in 2015 then you can get a peek at what HBO subscribers are watching.

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Apple has long had dreams of bringing more manufacturing to the US, but the reality has been harsh at times -- the Arizona sapphire plant it helped build went down the tubes last year after its key partner, GT Advanced, went bankrupt. However, the tech giant has at least managed to salvage something out of this messy situation. Apple tells Bloomberg that it's converting the failed factory into a solar-powered "command center" for its worldwide networks. The effort will see it pour $2 billion into the facility (one of Apple's biggest investments yet, the company claims) and create 150 direct jobs, not to mention 300 to 500 related positions in construction and support. It's not clear when the data center will be ready, but GT has control of the place until the end of 2015.

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In today's Daily Roundup we have a bargain price for a multi-million dollar maritime vessel, some serious upgrades for Raspberry Pi's latest board and it wouldn't be a post-Super Bowl Monday without at least one mention of our favorite ads. Read on for these stories and more!

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It's no secret that Mountain View and Uber are friends, what with Google Ventures investing $258 million into the ride-sharing service in 2013. But if both companies really are developing their own ride-sharing services that use driverless cars, as some publications are saying, then these friends will turn into rivals in the future. Now, Uber might be years behind Google when it comes to autonomous cars, but TechCrunch says the company's teaming up with Carnegie Mellon scientists to develop its own technology. While the ride-sharing service didn't go into detail when it announced the partnership earlier, TC reports Uber is building a robotics research lab in Pittsburgh, PA for the newly hired lead engineers, scientists and commercialization experts.

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Samsung's pre-announcement clues are sometimes cryptic at best, but it's not being especially subtle this time around. Hours after Tinhte first revealed that something was up, Samsung has posted a "what's next" teaser for a March 1st Galaxy Unpacked event in Barcelona whose centerpiece is the shadowy profile of a curvy-looking device. While it's not perfectly clear what this image represents, it bears an uncanny resemblance to the right-hand side of the Galaxy Note Edge, where the smartphone's signature curved display tapers off. Seeing as how Samsung isn't about to re-unveil a phone, our money's on the teaser alluding to a Galaxy S6 with an Edge-like screen, whether it's optional (as SamMobile rumored earlier) or standard issue. Whatever shows up, it's pretty obvious that March 1st is going to be a very busy day in the Android world -- we'll be sure to attend those events and let you know what Samsung, HTC and others have to offer.

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If you've been missing Breaking Bad, you can try and get that taste back as its spin-off series Better Call Saul! launches on AMC this week. It comes right after the winter premiere of The Walking Dead, and on the same night as the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. Game of Thrones isn't back yet on HBO, but there is a new trailer, and gamers can check out episode two of the videogame series this week. ABC also has its new series Fresh Off the Boat premiering Wednesday, while NBC takes the wraps off of Allegiance on Thursday night. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

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The US's web-based health care portal didn't launch as planned, to put it mildly, but the digital task force created to salvage that mess (and prevent others) showed that it's possible to have modern, responsive government services on the internet. Accordingly, the White House wants more -- as part of its proposed fiscal 2016 budget, the Obama administration is asking for $105 million to give each of its top 25 agencies a digital team of its own. The hope is that these new divisions, along with a bolstered central task force, will both improve your experience dealing with government bureaus online and help fend off malicious hackers.

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Lollipop didn't exactly take the Android world by storm when it first launched. Early adoption was slow enough that it made no real impact in usage share stats for the first couple of months. People are starting to take to Google's latest dessert-flavored OS, however -- it's finally on the official radar. Google's data now shows that about 1.6 percent of active Android users were using Lollipop as of the start of February. That's certainly not a lot, but it's clear that all those Nexuses and early Lollipop upgrades (most notably from HTC, LG and Motorola) count for something.

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The rollout started in Europe already, but Samsung Galaxy S5 owners in the States are about to get a taste of Lollipop -- so long as you're on Verizon. Big Red is ready to update those handsets, and it's the first carrier in the US to offer the latest version of Android on said device. The new version packs in Lollipop's new features and a heavy dose of Material Design, all while still sporting Sammy's latest TouchWiz skin. You likely won't see a notification to install Android 5.0 immediately, as these things usually roll out in stages. However, folks with a Verizon GS5 can rest easy knowing that Lollipop will arrive shortly.

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