Tech Roundup: Apple Watch Pre-orders, Microsoft Payments & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• Measurements made by Rosetta and Philae (which remains shut down) during the probe's multiple landings on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko early this year show that the comet's nucleus is not magnetised, latest findings reveal.
• NASA's Curiosity rover finds evidence of liquid water on Mars just below its surface.
• Apple Watch pre-orders go live; lures nearly 1 million customers on April 10, the day Apple's new product since the iPad became available for purchase, according to estimates.
• Google's wireless service in partnership with Sprint and T-Mobile revealed as Project Fi, Android Police's extensive Nexus 6 firmware teardown shows.
• Apple releases iOS 8.3 update for iPhones and iPads with improved performance, bug fixes, and a redesigned Emoji keyboard; users report Touch ID issues post update (this despite a public beta release!).
• Google publishes a new developer tool called App Runtime for Chrome (ARC) to run native Android apps on Chrome (and Chromebooks).
• Facebook Messenger follows WhatsApp's footsteps; becomes the latest high-profile mobile-centric app to land on the web.
• Microsoft readying its own mobile payments service "Microsoft Payments" to compete with Apple Pay, Google Wallet and yet-to-be-released Samsung Pay (post acquiring LoopPay).
• An ad-free paid version of YouTube to be out as early as this year, reports Bloomberg (note: you're already covered if you are using YouTube Music Key for US$ 10/month).
• Samsung said to be surprised by higher-than-anticipated demand for its curved Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone; Mobile chief JK Shin admits to challenges in manufacturing the screens (paywall).
• Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), 'the epicenter of change', starts June 8 this year.