Lost among their more high-profile announcements yesterday was the launch of an entry-level GoPro camera for the occasional action junkie.
The device is built into the rugged, waterproof house like its more expensive brothers, but can only capture 1080p at 30fps and 720p at 60fps.
Adds the company: "The HERO captures the same immersive, eye-popping footage that's made GoPro one of the best-selling cameras in the world--all in a simplified package that's accessible to everyone with an MSRP of $129."
At 4 ounces, the device is light yet still rugged and can be used underwater as deep as 131 feet.
If you have a jailbroken iOS device, your wait is over: Popcorn Time is finally available for iPads, iPhones and iPods.
The team behind the popular streaming service has made the download available through their own Cydia repository.
Reads the email we received:
iPhones, iPads and iPod touch users can start watching the coolest most awesome movies and TV shows directly on their device.
We're so happy and proud.
After only 5.5 months, Popcorn Time is available on all major platforms!
And this is only the beginning, trust us. Our future plans are huge.
We're on the road to becoming not only the ultimate watching experience but also the safest with the free built in VPN we've worked so hard on to ensure our user's safety."
There were a few notes, however, since the iOS version is still a clear beta.
* This first version of Popcorn Time for iOS doesn't have Chromecast and Airplay support like the Android and desktop versions do, but we're already working on them so it should be available in one of the upcoming releases.
*The free built in VPN is not yet available, but since as we already mentioned our user's safety is of top priority to us, we promise to release this feature asap. It's nearly ready.
HP has officially unveiled their Chromebook and Android tablet competitors, the Stream 7 and Stream laptop.
On the tablet side, the HP Stream 7 will cost $99 and feature a 7-inch display at 1280 by 800 pixels, an Intel Bay Trail Atom Z3735G and 1GB RAM. The device has 16GB internal storage and runs on a full Windows 8.1. In addition, HP is throwing in a free year of Office 365 Personal, 1TB of OneDrive storage and free 60 minutes of Skype calls per month.
The company is also offering an 8-inch model for $149 that comes with free 200MB of LTE per month for as long as you own the device.
For the Stream laptops, HP is offering 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch models, each of which feature Intel Celeron processors, 32GB internal storage, the free year of Office 365 Personal and a ridiculously cheap price of $199 and $229, respectively. Each laptop also comes with $25 of Windows Store credit.
GoPro has unveiled their fourth-generation high-end cameras: the Hero4 Black and Hero4 Silver.
The sports, action cameras will feature notable upgrades from their predecessors, including either a touchscreen or 4K video capture at 30fps.
At the top of the line is the Hero4 Black which offers 4k video capture at 30fps, double the frame rate of last year's model, and can also record 1080p at 120fps. The powerful camera should no longer have any "rolling-shutter effect," adds the company.
The Hero4 Silver sells at a discount to the Black, but cannot record 4K. The camera can record 2.7K video at 30fps, 1080p video at 60fps, and 720p at the full 120fps. The camera does have touchscreen controls, however, which is new to the line.
Both devices are waterpoof to 131 feet, include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for easier transfers, and can take stills at 12MP if you need to do so.
"For the past twelve years, our passion has been to make it easy for people to self-capture jaw dropping, professional quality footage of themselves engaged in their favorite activities," said GoPro Founder and CEO, Nicholas Woodman. "That passion led us to embark on our most ambitious design and engineering effort ever, and the result is nothing short of the ultimate GoPro--the HERO4 Black. We can't wait to see what the world captures with it."
According to multiple reports, Apple is expected to begin selling the iPhone 6/6 Plus in China on October 10th.
Most of the rumor comes via an alleged internal Apple memo and from the news that China's MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology) is in the final stages of approving the devices.
The memo says demo units will reach stores on the 7th, followed by sales starting on the 10th.
Both devices have been extremely popular in the U.S. and all other nations they have been released so far, but Chinese fans were disappointed when the approvals needed to begin selling the phone were delayed by the Chinese officials. The iPhone 6 Plus still has a 4 week waiting time, while the iPhone 6 has a one week wait time.
Both those times are expected to increase when the devices go on sale in China.
Early next week, Microsoft is expected to give more information and even name its next Windows iteration, the operating system set for release next March.
The company has accidentally listed the name, or at least a preview name for the upcoming operating system- 'Windows TH,' which likely stands for Windows Threshold. The company has been using Threshold as its codename for development, but many still expect the OS to be called Windows 9 eventually. Microsoft does not often deviate from tradition.
Microsoft has already planned an event for Tuesday for the OS, and TH could be acting as a placeholder while Microsoft continues to play the waiting game on an official name.
As of writing, the company has taken down its Windows Technical Preview Site.
BitTorrent has confirmed that Thom Yorke's latest experimental release has been a hit, with 116,000 downloads in its first day online.
Yorke, the frontman for Radiohead, released his album via P2P distribution, offering a free 8-track-long version or the full album for $5.98.
It is unclear how many paid for the full, unlocked album, but it's safe to assume that many of the downloads were of the free variety, just as they were when Radiohead released their "In Rainbows" album in 2007 with a pay-what-you-please model.
At the time of the release, the album's producer said: "As an experiment we are using a new version of BitTorrent to distribute a new Thom Yorke record. The new Torrent files have a pay gate to access a bundle of files. The files can be anything, but in this case is an 'album'. It's an experiment to see if the mechanics of the system are something that the general public can get its head around. If it works well it could be an effective way of handing some control of internet commerce back to people who are creating the work...Enabling those people who make either music, video or any other kind of digital content to sell it themselves."
Sony has announced that its PlayStation Home service will be shuttering in March.
Says the company: "Due to a shifting landscape, PlayStation Home will cease publishing new content on November 12. Gamers in Europe, the US and Canada will be able to download content until December 3. As a token of our tremendous gratitude to the community, we will also be releasing a series of free content prior to the platform's closure on March 31, 2015."
Home is a virtual 3D social gaming platform that allows you to create your own avatar/sim which has its own apartment that you can furnish and fix up. You can travel the world which was updated by Sony and partners. The open areas had ads from the companies.
Unfortunately, if you spent money on Home, you will not get any refunds. "Due to the progressive and innovative nature of the gaming industry, PlayStation is unable to refund on legacy platform or service experiences," added Sony.
Microsoft has thrown its hat into the HDMI dongle ring, launching the Wireless Display Adapter (tad bland on the name there Microsoft) to take on Google's Chromecast and Roku's Streaming Stick.
The device is powered by Miracast, allowing you to quickly share content from your Windows 8.1 devices to the big screen. Just like its rivals, you can fully mirror your mobile device or PC, as well, since Miracast does not have any individual app limitations.
Microsoft is targeting the device for enterprises, as well, due to its quick Office document sharing, such as PowerPoint slides.
The company also confirmed that the Adapter will work with Android devices, as well, although it is less clear what app you will need.
Microsoft has priced the Adapter higher than its rivals, at $59.95, set for release next month.
Publisher Ubisoft has confirmed that its Watch Dogs for Wii U will not be receiving any of the DLC that its counterparts on other consoles will receive.
Back in March, the game was released for PS4, Xbox One and PS4, but Ubisoft announced that the Wii U version would be delayed. The company even admitted that its Wii U devs had moved to the more important PS4 and Xbox One teams to make sure the game was released on time for those consoles.
The game is now set for release in November, but it wont get the DLC, even with the delay, angering gamers.
Unfortunately, this latest slight is part of a larger trend of third-party developers staying away from the Wii U, due to its perceived lack of a large gamer base.
Following its $4 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, Disney has unsurprisingly taken the franchise to new levels by announcing new feature films, a licensing agreement with EA for console video games, and more recently, their first mobile title.
This week, the company has unveiled a second mobile 'Star Wars' title for iOS and Android: "Star Wars: Galactic Defense." Developed by mobile F2P giant DeNA, the game will be tower defense encompassing both trilogies of the Star Wars films. As always, you will get to choose what side of the force you want to fight for, and there will be online multiplayer as well.
"We're honored to work with Disney and Lucasfilm on Star Wars: Galactic Defense," said Barry Dorf, the vice president of partnerships and alliances at DeNa. "We can't use the Force, but we do have one of the world's most talented and passionate mobile development teams working to create an unforgettable Star Wars gameplay experience."
The game uses in-game currency of 'gems' that can be acquired through missions or through direct purchases.
Just a few months after releasing their $10,000 Signature Touch, the high-end luxury smartphone maker Vertu is preparing to launch their sequel, the Aster.
The device has just received Chinese and American regulatory approval, and will therefore be seeing the light of day in the coming months.
Vertu's Aster runs on Android 4.4 with Vertu's own UI overlay, has a 1080p 4.7-inch display, and features a design of titanium alloy and leather.
Powering the device is a quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon processor, 2GB RAM and the device features 64GB internal storage, dual 13MP/2MP cameras, LTE and NFC.
Because of its titanium body, the Aster weighs in at a hefty 6.9 ounces, much heavier than the much bigger iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 4, which weigh 6.01 and 6.21 ounces, respectively.
Pricing has not been revealed, but expect the Aster to sell right in line with the Signature Touch, at around $10,000. Vertu appeals to a very niche clientelle, and the company is said to have sold less than 500,000 units since its inception in 2004.
Radiohead's Thom Yorke has once again offered his latest album in a unique and digital way, releasing "Tomorrow's Modern Boxes" via the official BitTorrent client for just $6.
The band made headlines back in 2007 when it released its "In Rainbows" album online with no pricing except that consumers could pay whatever they felt was right. Most downloaded for free, but many paid at least a few dollars, raking in millions for the band directly. The experiment also helped the band gain new fans, especially those that would have never paid for a CD from the group.
"If it works well it could be an effective way of handing some control of Internet commerce back to the people who are creating the work," frontman Thom Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich wrote in a note about the new release.
Over 170 million people use the BitTorrent system to share files, says the company, and the company's executives have been quietly striking more and more deals with artists and schools for releases. The new album is the first "pay-gated bundle," however, meaning users can only download it after they have paid. BitTorrent takes a 10 percent cut while the artist gets the other 90 percent. Compared to a record label taking the lion's share for a traditional release, the new experiment is certainly worth it for the artist - if they are as big and well known as Radiohead, for example.
It appears that GoPro will finally have a large competitor.
HTC has teased their upcoming GoPro rival, the REcamera, a video camera for the action junkie.
In their teaser video, HTC shows off underwater footage, soccer moves, bike rides and street performing, all in wide-angle lens. The video also suggests high FPS is a possibility with the camera.
HTC added a promotional page at www.recamera.com, and shown off a possible mount to be used for the camera.
The device will be officially unveiled on October 8th.
9to5Google has reported on the upcoming Nexus 6/Nexus X today, posting a mock image and full specs of the upcoming Android reference device.
The new device will be the biggest smartphone yet in the Nexus line, with a massive 5.92-inch display with 1440p resolution.
Under the hood is a 2.6GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage (base model), dual 2MP/13MP cameras (with 4K shooting ability), a large 3200 mAh battery, and stock Android 5.0 L.
In appearance, the device will look very similar to the second-generation Moto X that was released last week.
While the 5.9-inch screen may not float everyone's boat, there are rumors that Google will be releasing a 5.2-inch model, as well.
In what appears to be an ongoing theme in the industry, electronics giant Samsung has bowed out of the notebook business, at least in Europe.
The company has halted sales of its Ativ Windows 7/8 notebooks and its popular Chromebooks, as well. The move is not too surprising given the company's lack of new devices in the past months, and no announcements at the recent IFA event.
"We quickly adapt to market needs and demands. In Europe, we will be discontinuing sales of laptops including Chromebooks for now. This is specific to the region – and is not necessarily reflective of conditions in other markets," said a Samsung spokesperson.
Sony was the last major manufacturer to get out of the market, selling its once-popular Vaio line and slashing jobs.
"We will continue to thoroughly evaluate market conditions and will make further adjustments to maintain our competitiveness in emerging PC categories," concluded the spokesperson.
Despite being around four years old now, enthusiastic but impatient Finns showed up at stores today to buy an iPhone 4 for €99.90.
While we have been so entertained by a video of a guy dropping his brand new iPhone 6, and several others showing that it will just bend right out of shape if you stick it in your tight jeans pocket (not a feature!), today's iPhone video from Finland is a little surprising.
Retailer Verkkokauppa got its hands on some ancient refurbished iPhone 4 models (the one that can't get iOS 8!) and wanted to sell them off for €99.90 a piece to make a quick return. They sent out units to multiple stores, limited to just 50 in each store. The problem is, a lot more people showed up at stores.
At stores in Helsinki and Pirkkala (near Tampere), police had to come to calm people down. Stores were only allowing ten people in at a time once they opened at 9AM, so naturally that ticked off quite a large number of people.
Witnessing mobs of people fighting in America on Black Friday every year to get deals before the holidays is rather sad, but witnessing Finns getting rowdy and upset over a four year old iPhone is one of the saddest videos I have seen in some time. Check this video out from Pirkkala...
Vizio has officially priced and made available their P-Series 4K LCDs, the sets that drew rave reviews at this year's CES.
The powerful sets include full-array backlit panels with local dimming, Active Pixel Tuning tech for greater light bleed elimination and overall picture that should rival OLED and its perfect picture quality.
Vizio promises excellent 1080p HD picture, and normal content will upscale to "near Ultra HD" resolution. 4K video is supported up to 60fps and the sets have built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi for streaming.
Each one of the sets have a native refresh rate of 240Hz, and also a "Clear Action Rate" of 960Hz, whatever that means. The sets have a quad-core GPU and a dual-core CPU powering the processing.
The 50-inch P-series sells for $1,000, the 55-inch model will sell for $1,400, the 60-inch is $1,700, the 65-inch model is $2,200, and finally the 70-inch model is $2,500.
In a shocking move, Apple has pulled their latest iOS update, as tens of thousands of downloaders were experiencing a wide range of issues.
iOS 8.0.1, which was released to help with some bugs in the original iOS 8 released last Wednesday, has been killing cell/data service and bricking the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, making the phone useless as a cellphone in many cases.
So far, only iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with the update seem to be having the issues, meaning your 5, 5S and iPads are probably okay, but regardless, it isn't worth updating at this time.
The main issues with iOS 8 will remain, including a broken Healthkit and a broken virtual keyboard for certain apps.
Apple is expected to release iOS 8.0.2 in the very near future.
After delaying its release in the nation, Microsoft has revealed the updated launch date for the Xbox One console in China.
Set originally to be released yesterday, the console will now go on sale on Monday, September 29th.
"After receiving government approval for the first wave of games, we will launch with the first 10 games now and continue our work to bring more blockbuster games and a broad offering of entertainment and app experiences to the platform in the weeks and months to come," said Enwei Xie, general manager of Xbox China.
When it launches, it will be the first console to be sold in China since consoles were banned in the early 2000s. Of the approved games, there are few blockbusters but Microsoft says over 70 titles are in the pipeline waiting for approval from the Chinese regulators, including Titanfall and Destiny.
Microsoft has priced the console at 4,299 yuan ($700), including Kinect, a hefty premium to its price in the U.S. and Western Europe.
When they announced the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the company also announced that their upcoming ads would include the popular celebrities Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake.
This week, the company has revealed the first two clips, each promoting specific features of the new iPhones and iOS 8.
Mainly though, the company just makes it clear that the phablet is huge, which it certainly is at 5.5-inches.
"The new iPhones are here and their size is just the beginning," Apple added.
According to a new report, the new alleged Apple iPad Pro is expected to launch in the Q2 2015.
The device will have a giant 12.9-inch display, but little else is known about the tablet. Recent conflicting reports had claimed the device could launch this year, while others claimed Apple had canceled the tablet, due to production issues with such a large display.
In addition, Apple is said to be building an even thinner iPad Air and a iPad Mini Retina with Touch ID and better cameras.
If accurate, expect Apple to at least speak about Mac OSX Yosemite and the new iPad Air at their October event.
Sony has announced they will be releasing their PlayStation TV set-top box in North America beginning on October 14th.
The company says the mini console will have 700 playable games at launch.
Using PlayStation TV, you can stream PlayStation 4 to another TV in your house and "remote play". It can also be used to play most PS Vita games on a bigger TV screen. Coupled with PlayStation Now, PlayStation TV will also be able to provide access to PlayStation 3 games, and later on games from other Sony consoles.
Finally, Sony gives you access to video and music streaming via Sony Unlimited.
The console will cost $99 for the system only, or you can pay up and get the $140 bundle which includes a DualShock 3 controller, 8GB memory card and The Lego Movie Videogame.
Apple was quick to deny a report that it was preparing to shut down its newly acquired Beats Music service.
Spokesman Tom Neumayr said bluntly that the rumors were "not true," although it is possible that the service will be rebranded in the future.
Beats Music subscribers pay $10 per month for unlimited streaming access to a large catalog of tracks on desktop or mobile devices. The service and its contracts with the major record labels is said to be a big reason that Apple purchased Beats for $3 billion this year.
Apple recently added Beats Music to its Apple TV set-top, and CEO Tim Cook said in an interview he was so impressed by the service that he could barely sleep. Hardly something a company would do if they were on the verge of shutting down a service.
We would expect that Beats Music will be folded into iTunes Radio, giving Apple users a much better overall service with more options.
According to sources, private equity firm Silver Lake is preparing to acquire online photo sharing and printing service Shutterfly for over $2 billion.
Shutterfly allows users to upload and share their photos, as well as use their uploaded photos to create customized books, cards, mugs, and much more. You can print your photos and have them mailed, as well.
Silver Lake is a massive $23 billion firm that specializes in tech acquisitions. It helped Michael Dell purchase back Dell, and also owns talent agency IMG Worldwide.
Shutterfly's main competitor is SnapFish, owned by HP but also allegedly up for sale.
BlackBerry's strange new square-shaped Passport smartphone will go on sale on Wednesday at $599 unlocked, once again guaranteeing that they will sell no units.
The device has a full physical keyboard and a 4.5-inch square touchscreen at 1440x1440 resolution. Under the hood is a quad-core Snapdragon MSM8974 processor and 3GB RAM with Adreno 330 OpenGL. A 3450mAh battery will allegedly provide better battery life than high-end iPhones and Android devices.
Little else is known about the device, or at least confirmed, but we should know more on Wednesday.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen seems happy about the phone and pricing, claiming that they could sell it for $700 to be in line with other devices of its caliber, "but I figure that to try to get the market interested, we're going to start a little lower than that."
Besides the keyboard, Chen says the strange screen will benefit users who need to read more or be more productive on their phones. "You really are seeing a more entire picture than seeing a sliver of a screen," he added.
The device may have some enterprise or international fans, but nobody in the U.S. is going to pay $599 for the Passport when the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S5 cost $650 unlocked. Sorry.
According to a new report, the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) industry trade group has sent nearly 275,000 DMCA takedown notices, encompassing 100 million URLs.
Despite the huge figure and Google's speed at taking down infringing links, the trade group believes ISPs and the search giant can do more to stop widespread piracy.
BPI sent their first takedown notice in June 2011, and the URL count was at 50 million just 10 months ago showing how much more efficient the group is getting at sending them out, whether they are accurate or not. BPI just beat out "multimedia protection company" Degban, who has 99 million URLs reported, and everyone's favorite music trade group RIAA, at 57 million.
A BPI spokesperson discussed the "milestone," and begged Google to do more to stop piracy:
According to the WSJ, Google has selected HTC as its partner for the upcoming Nexus 9, the company's new Android reference tablet set for release in the coming months.
HTC has not touched tablets since its failed Flyer hybrid tablet in 2011, but executives did say in 2012 that if a tablet could make an impact in the market, they would reconsider getting back in the market. It appears that that time is now.
Google and HTC have a long history, and HTC even built the original Android device; the T-Mobile G1. Google has worked with HTC, Samsung and LG for its line of Nexus smartphones and tablets. By having a broad base of manufacturers for its products, Google avoids creating a monopoly or favoritism for one OEM.
HTC has created excellent smartphones over the years, and many have their 2014 One (M8) as the top phone of the year. However, sales have remained stagnant and the company has lost major share to Samsung, LG and even Motorola over the past few years.
Apple has crushed their own records for launch weekend smartphone sales, confirming 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus being sold over the weekend.
Last year, the company sold 9 million iPhone 5S and 5C, but that included sales in China, which makes the new numbers more impressive.
Also of note, Apple has only included pre-orders and sales that shipped or were sold over the first weekend, so pre-orders from last week that aren't shipping until next month are not included. With those figures included, the numbers were expected to be over 13 million.
"Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn't be happier," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin. While our team managed the manufacturing ramp better than ever before, we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible."
The new, larger iPhones will launch in 20 more nations starting this Friday.
Microsoft has doubled its free OneDrive cloud storage, taking advantage of Apple user's recent troubles with upgrading to iOS 8 due to a lack of available storage.
Says the software giant of the move: "We've been listening to the commentary about storage on the new iPhones released today and we wanted to get you more storage right away. We think you'll appreciate having more free storage while setting up your iPhone 6 or upgrading to iOS 8."
Apple angered some fans when its iOS 8 updated required tons of space, as much as 6.9GB depending on your device. With most iPhone and iPad owners owning 16GB models that have just 12GB available to start, the required storage meant deleting photos, apps, games or texts. Alternatively, you could have hooked up to your PC/Mac's iTunes and upgraded that way, but not everyone was in front of a computer with hours to spare.
Microsoft has made the offer available until the end of September, and it includes the OneDrive camera roll seeing a jump from 3GB to 15GB.
Google has listened to the people and made Google+ registration no longer mandatory for new accounts.
If you are signing up for a new Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs account, you will now have the ability to say "No Thanks" to creating a Google+ account. Previously, you had to create a social networking profile whether or not you wanted one.
The latest move follows Google's decision in July to no longer force users to use their real names in Google+. Additionally, reports have Google spinning off Google+ Photos into its own standalone service.
While no one ever really used the service, especially compared to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social networks, Google+ did have its place in the market and was popular among some. Back in April, longtime Google+ chief Vic Gundotra left the company, and since then it appears that the search giant is looking to phase out the product.
Microsoft has confirmed it will delay the launch of the Xbox One console in China.
The console was set for launch on Tuesday, but Microsoft now says it will be released "before the end of the year."
Microsoft did not give any reason for the delay, but did say the press event on Tuesday would go as planned where they will give away 100 free consoles.
"At Xbox, we pride ourselves on delivering first-rate gaming and entertainment experiences, and to allow us to deliver on that promise, we need to reschedule the launch of Xbox One," a Microsoft spokesperson added. "Working with our partner, BesTV, we look forward to launching in China by the end of this year."
The Chinese government removed its long-standing ban on gaming consoles this year and Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony all promised to bring entertainment to the Chinese mainland. Microsoft would have been first, pricing the console at 3,699 yuan ($602.37) without the Kinect motion detection system and 4,299 yuan ($700) with Kinect. Sony and Nintendo have not given any time frames for the release of their consoles in the nation.
Earlier this month, Microsoft confirmed rumors and announced the acquisition of Minecraft creator Mojang AB for $2.5 billion.
Having released the game for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PC and mobile devices, one platform is noticeably absent: Windows Phone.
This week, Xbox boss Phil Spencer took to Twitter to confirm that the game is eventually headed to Windows Phone. The company already noted that all other versions will remain alive and updated, as well.
Using Microsoft's new universal apps infrastructure, a Metro-style Windows 8.1, Windows Phone and even Windows RT version should be easier to create once the acquisition is completed in a few months.
While Windows and Mac users have enjoyed the ability to use Netflix from their browser since 2007, a small part of the greater tech community has been left out; Linux.
The issue has been Netflix's use of the Microsoft Silverlight video plug-in, which is not and will likely never be supported in Linux officially.
In recent time, Netflix has begun using HTML5, a proven standard, so it appears that Linux users will get official Netflix support in the coming months. Netflix Senior Software Engineer Paul Adolf took to the Ubuntu developers forum and stated that "Netflix will play with Chrome stable in 14.02 if NSS version 3.16.2 or greater is installed." NSS is the Network Security Services founded by Google, Mozilla and Redhat and is key to in-browser application security.
Currently, Ubuntu 14.04 has an older NSS than 3.16.2, but the next version of the operating system will ship next month with the update.
Dead smartphone maker BlackBerry has announced a new modified version of the Q10, sporting a "Porsche Design."
The P'9983 modifies some features of the 720x720 3.1-inch touchscreen device, including its full physical keyboard, which now has glass keys.
Under the hood the device sports the same Dual Core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 processor and same RAM, but internal storage has been boosted to 64GB.
There is little else to differentiate the phone from the normal Q10, although BlackBerry did add the following: "Be instantly recognizable amongst Porsche Design users. The Porsche Design P'9983 smartphone from BlackBerry provides an exclusive Porsche Design PIN ID group – 2AAXXXXX, which sets you apart and makes you instantly recognizable among other Porsche Design users."
BlackBerry did not announce price but it is expected to command a premium.
Android L will be fully encrypted by default, says Google, part of smartphone makers ongoing efforts to thwart "snooping" from the NSA, police or other government agencies.
While Google has offered encryption for some its Android devices since 2011, the average user has no idea how to turn it on, or figure out what it does. Google is changing that by making encryption default as soon as you activate the device. You must have the devices's password/pin to be able to see anything stored on the device.
"For over three years Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement," added Google's Niki Christoff. "As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won't even have to think about turning it on."
Apple's iOS 8 also offers the same out of the box encryption and Windows is likely to move in the same direction in the near future. Apple says the encryption is so good that nobody can unlock or recover data, including law enforcement agencies.
OnePlus, the Chinese startup behind the cheap and incredibly powerful OnePlus One device, is finally making the device available without the stupid invite-only system that kept thousands and thousands of customers on the sidelines.
The company will offer "flash sales," of the device, with limited quantities being sold on first come, first serve basis. Anyone who orders after the limited quantity are sold, will have their order turned into a pre-order for next time. OnePlus will tell you when it expects to ship your device before you hit "Buy" in the checkout.
Last week, when Apple announced its new iPhone 6, 6 Plus, Apple Watch and iOS 8, it made a less splashy but also significant announcement: It would be giving away U2's new 'Songs of Innocence" album, for free, to all iTunes users.
Over 500 million people with iTunes accounts were given the album for free, but if Twitter and blogs are any judge, nobody was happy with the album, free or not.
Apple was so inundated with complaints that it even set up a website with step-by-step instructions on how to remove the album.
Conan has made a hilarious quick video about how Apple wants to make sure you appreciate the album, by any means necessary.
In another shocking announcement, Sony has raised the forecast for their expected annual loss by 400 percent to $2.14 billion.
For the fiscal year ended March 30th, 2015, the company expects to lose 230 billion yen, up from an already raised 50 billion yen forecast.
Sony cited poor sales in its smartphone business, due to major competition in the space.
"The new MRP (Mid-Range Plan) was modified to address the significant change in the market and competitive environment of the mobile business," Sony said in a statement. "Under the new MRP, the overarching strategy for the (mobile) segment has been revised to reduce risk and volatility, and to deliver more stable profits. This revision includes changing the strategy of the (mobile) segment in certain geographical areas, concentrating on its premium lineup, and reducing the number of models in its mid-range line up."
Sony has taken significant share in Western Europe, as high as 11 percent by some accounts, but the price reductions and marketing have taken their toll on profits. Sony also has no share in the U.S., at just 0.2 percent of the market dominated by Samsung, Apple and LG.
Netflix has announced the official launch of the streaming service in Germany, including support for the Apple TV that is lacking in other nations.
The company said: "Guten Morgen! Netflix ist in Deutschland. Und ganz bald auch in Österreich und der Schweiz netflix.de." Roughly translated, the message was "Good Morning! Netflix is in Germany. And very soon in Austria and Switzerland netflix.de."
Netflix recently expanded to France and will continue its expansion very soon to Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. The international expansion has been top priority for the company as it greatly expands its catalog of original programming and exclusive programming.
The service will start at 7.99 euros per month and include German content, and Netflix's own original content and other movies and shows. "We are proud to bring the future of television to Germany," added Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings. "German consumers now have instant access to a great selection of shows and movies, anytime and anywhere."
Microsoft is making its Xbox One controller for Windows PCs available in the very near future for its millions of PC gamers.
The software and gaming giant will add the controller to its existing lineup that includes the Xbox 360 controller for Windows, and the new controller will be wireless and wired if using on your actually console.
Reads the bio: "Experience the action like never before with the Xbox One Controller + Cable for Windows. Redesigned thumbsticks and an all new D-pad provide greater precision. Enjoy the reliable wired connection to your PC – and forget about replacing batteries. The Xbox One Controller + Cable for Windows can be used as wired or wireless on your Xbox One."
The new controller is compatible with Windows 7, 8 and 8.1.
Priced at $59.99 Microsoft says the controller is coming "soon."
Chromecast has added more support for popular streaming apps.
As of this week, the HDMI dongle has support for WATCH Disney, WATCH Disney Junior and WATCH Disney XD apps. The apps include on-demand access as long as you have a TV provider login, right from your iOS or Android apps.
iHeartRadio support has been added, as well, which allows you to stream thousands of radio stations from the U.S.
Perhaps most notably is the addition of Twitch, allowing for the streaming of next-gen gaming content and other content from 60 million registered gamers.
Finally, Google has added support for DramaFever, which has over 15,000 TV episodes from foreign dramas.
According to multiple sources, Apple may have to delay their iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launches in China until next year.
It appears that Apple has not yet received Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) approval, which is necessary to begin selling in the nation. A date for a re-application has not been determined, meaning it could be until 2015 until the phone can go on sale.
The delay would be a setback for the company that was able to launch its iPhone 5S in China in its initial wave of launch nations. With an official delay, the company will once again have to deal with grey market resellers who import the devices from other countries to sell them at a hefty premium for buyers that just must have them.
Apple announced its largest iPhones yet last week, and saw 4 million pre-orders in just one day. The device will be available for consumers in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK on Friday followed by another 20 countries next Friday.
Netflix has purchased two seasons of Judd Apatow's new comedy series "Love," meaning the series will be available on the streaming service and nowhere else.
The series will debut in 2016 with a 10-episode season followed the next year by a 12-episode second season.
'Love' "follows Gus (Paul Rust) and Mickey (Gillian Jacobs) as they navigate the exhilaration and humiliations of intimacy, commitment, and other things they were hoping to avoid," reads the description.
"Judd Apatow has a unique comedic voice that manages to be delightful, insightful, and shockingly frank -- often at the same time," added Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. "Together with Paul and Lesley, he's bringing a whole new level of agony and ecstasy to this modern day comedy of manners."
Netflix started the trend by giving House of Cards a two season deal without piloting it, and Starz recently upped the ante for comedies by signing a two year deal for a Seth MacFarlane comedy featuring Patrick Stewart.
According to new reports, Apple will take a cut of all Apple Pay transactions, a market moving event, if accurate.
Sources say banks and payment networks will pay 0.15 percent of each purchase to Apple. With tens of millions of transactions expected to be done daily in the future with the NFC-based service, Apple will effectively have added another huge revenue stream.
Banks remain at the center of the service, so supposedly Apple Pay was not seen as a threat, and the service will also save the banks and processors millions of dollars per year with less debit/credit cards to replace and less fraudulent transactions to investigate.
Speaking of the security of the service, MasterCard executive Jorn Lambert, explained that Apple Pay uses a token system that encrypts every single step of the payment process. Each credit/debit card is assigned its own Dynamic Account Number token. Every token is then stored securely within the iPhone and each transaction gets its own unique cryptogram. By making a purchase using the Touch ID fingerprint reader, the Touch ID authenticates the security, and then sends the cryptogram along with the token to the merchant. If the network decrypts and authenticates the crypto, it is then passed to the bank who decrypts the token. Your actual card numbers are never shared nor stored anywhere.
For the last few years, Netflix has been quietly and not-so-quietly expanding into Europe.
As of this week, the streaming giant has made the service available in France, one of its biggest European expansions yet. In addition, Netflix says the expansion should continue over the next week, with five more nations getting access, as well.
It was unclear if Netflix would ever be made available in France, since there is a rule in France that 40 percent of all media provided must be French in origin to promote domestic artists. It appears that Netflix is not technically subject to that law, as the streaming catalog is certainly not 40 percent French.
Following a month of rumors, Microsoft's Windows 9 tech preview event is finally official.
Invites have been sent for the Windows event on September 30th, in which top execs Joe Belfiore and Terry Myerson will lead a discussion that is focused "on enterprise and power users" of Windows.
The oft-rumored "Windows Technical Preview" will be made available to enterprise and developers after the event, with many of the operating system's features made available for testing. Virtual desktops, a return of the Start menu, the removal of the Charms bar and an updated Notification Center are key.
Not expected to be included is integrated Cortana support, the voice activated personal assistant found on new Windows Phone devices.
Windows 9 is expected to launch for consumers in March.
The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) has announced the new A/V standard DisplayPort 1.3.
Currently, the standard is DisplayPort 1.2a, but the new update will increase the maximum link bandwidth to 32.4 Gbps, "with each of four lanes running at a link rate of 8.1 Gbps/lane--a 50% increase from the previous version of the DisplayPort standard. Allowing for transport overhead, DisplayPort's 32.4 Gbps combined link rate delivers 25.92 Gbps of uncompressed video data."
With higher bandwidth, 5K monitors should be able to use a single DP 1.3 cable, without any compression, a very impressive feat given the 5120 x 2880 resolution necessary.
In addition, a single connection can now use two 4K monitors using DisplayPort's Multi-Stream feature.
For connectivity, DP 1.3 keeps its VGA, DVI and HDMI. DisplayPort 1.3 support and adds HDCP 2.2 and HDMI 2.0 with CEC, support for 4K video with copy protection and new support for a "4:2:0 pixel structure, a video format commonly used on consumer digital television interfaces, which enables support for future 8K x 4K displays."
"While becoming a mainstream video standard, DisplayPort continues to be at the cutting edge of A/V transport," said VESA Board of Directors Chair Alan Kobayashi, Fellow & Executive R&D Management for DisplayPort Group at MegaChips Technology America. "These new enhancements to DisplayPort will facilitate both higher resolution displays, as well as easier integration of DisplayPort into multi-protocol data transports, which will satisfy consumer's desire for simplicity and ease-of-use."
Apple has proudly boasted of a new record for their iPhone sales, with 4 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus pre-ordered in the first 24 hours of availability.
As always, Apple does not have enough supply to keep up and most iPhone 6 Plus orders are shipping in mid-October (or later) now directly from Apple. Carriers and Apple Stores will have some additional supply on the 19th, adds Apple.
"iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled customers love them as much as we do," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "Pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set a new record for Apple, and we can't wait to get our best iPhones yet into the hands of customers starting this Friday."
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are the largest iPhones yet, featuring 4.7 and 5.5-inch screens, respectively. The phones are available in 10 countries this Friday followed by another 20 next week.
Microsoft has confirmed it is acquiring Minecraft creator Mojang AB for $2.5 billion, a huge bet that the popular game will remain popular into the future, and that the company can build other hits, as well.
Mojang founder Markus 'Notch' Persson, who is notably anti-corporation and thus a popular figure among gamers, will not remain with the company after the sale, effectively "selling out" for nine figures and going back to his roots. Notch says he can't wait to going back to being "a nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter."
While the company rejected previous offers outright, it became clear over the summer that the founders were finally ready to sell. With all three founders leaving, that leaves just 37 other employees. Microsoft did not reveal plans for the company's current office nor employees.
Minecraft has sold over 50 million copies since launch in 2009, across platforms that include the PC, PlayStation, Xbox and phones. The game is also wildly profitable, with Mojang bringing in over $100 million in profit last year from game and merchandise sales. The company had nearly $300 million in revenue last year. Mojang has also recently signed licensing deals with Scholastic for tutorial books, LEGO for toys and even Warner Bros. for a feature film.
Earlier this week, when Apple announced its new iPhone 6, 6 Plus, Apple Watch and iOS 8, it made a less splashy but also significant announcement: It would be giving away U2's new 'Songs of Innocence" album, for free, to all iTunes users.
Over 500 million people have iTunes accounts, and U2 lead singer Bono joked around that Apple "would have to pay for it. Because we're not going in for the free music around here."
Apple is spending over $100 million to market the album, and paid U2 an undisclosed lump sum for the album itself, making it one of the biggest album launches of all-time. The company is integrating U2 into its new iPhone TV spots, billboards and more, thus helping themselves, as well.
The giant has over $160 billion in cash on hand (more than most countries), so the figure is a drop in the bucket but it certainly shows the power an A-list musician has and how little power the record industry has nowadays in a world where people will always prefer to consume their music for free.
Canonical will launch its first commercial Ubuntu Touch-based phone in conjunction with partner Meizu later this year.
The Meizu MX4 will feature the Linux operating system, and should be released in December.
Meizu, Bq and Canonical announced the first Ubuntu Touch partnership back in February, but only gave a "Fall 2014" time frame for the first phone release. Canonical devs have been working on the RTM version of the software, but it still needs stability and performance tweaks before it can go live.
"Under the request of some fans that have contacted Canonical, they assured us that from December will be available on Ubuntu Touch Meizu MX4 with MediaTek SoC MT 6595 . Still no details regarding the variant "pro" of the device, which should be announced in the coming weeks , but we feel pretty confident in saying that the OS will be developed for it, with the timing probably a little more dilated," read the Google translation of Meizu's Italian blog.
The Meizu MX4 runs on an octa-core MediaTek MT6595 processor, has a 5.4-inch display, runs on Android 4.4.4 and has a 20.7MP camera, making it a high spec juggernaut that should easily run Ubuntu.
According to multiple sources, Samsung is preparing their 'Gear Blink' Google Glass rival for launch in March of next year.
If accurate, the launch would coincide with the expected launch of the Galaxy S6 flagship phone.
Among the features of the Gear Blink are an augmented reality app that will turn your hands (or possibly other surfaces) into virtual keyboards. Although it is a bit difficult to decipher, it appears that the patents show one-handed and two-handed variations of the virtual keyboard, with letters specified to different parts of your fingers.
The Blink itself seems to look like a sportier version of the Google Glass, but otherwise looks very familiar. It charges via standard microUSB.
Just like their new Gear S smartwatch, Samsung is expected to run the Blink on a variant of the Tizen OS.
Earlier today, TechCrunch reported on Square's recent $100 million raise, at a $6 billion valuation that firmly places the mobile payment service as one of the hottest tech startups in the world.
Interestingly, the report also claimed that Apple had talked with Square over a possible acquisition, but that Square was the one to walk away. Read the report:
"Separately, TechCrunch has heard from multiple sources that Square and Apple were recently in acquisition talks, but that Square walked away. Apple wanted the company to come aboard, according to one source, but the discussed price was a sticking point: The tipster held that Apple wanted to buy Square for less than half of the $6 billion valuation it eventually would raise at (around $3 billion). Square, valued at the time at a firm 66 percent delta to that price point, declined to accept.
Apple also showed Square a software register, restaurant and spa booking services and a payment system for iPhones said the same source. This did not sit well with Square execs, who felt like the products would compete with their own offerings."
Longtime Apple insider Jim Dalrymple was quick to refute that report, however, simply saying "nope" to the fact that the talks even happened. We tend to agree with the latter, as there is no way Apple could justify paying $3 billion or more for a hardware based solution when they were working on a digital solution for mobile payments.
Rockstar has revealed the release dates for Grand Theft Auto V for PC, the PS4 and the Xbox One.
Current-gen gamers will be happy to know the game will be available on November 18th, while PC gamers will have to wait a few more months until January 27th, 2015.
In addition to the slightly improved graphics and higher resolution, the games also have increased draw distances, and denser traffic and foliage as well as new vehicles, weapons and extended activities. Pre-orderers will also get $1 million in-game cash.
Since the music is a big part of the game, as well, Rockstar has added 100 new songs and DJ mixes to the radio.
If you own the game for Xbox 360 and PS3, you can migrate your character to the current-gen systems and keep on playing.
According to multiple source, Oculus VR could begin rolling out their Oculus Rift VR headset for consumers starting next summer.
Supposedly, a beta model will be released in limited quantities as early as April.
Currently, there have been tens of thousands of Dev Kits released including those sent to backers of the crowdfunded company.
How expensive can we expect the consumer model to be? Co-founders Palmer Luckey and Nate Micthell say they would prefer to keep the prices the same as the Dev Kits, which are $300-$400. "We want to stay in that $200-$400 price range," said Micthell. "That could slide in either direction depending on scale, pre-orders, the components we end up using, business negotiations..." Luckey added.
Oculus' final consumer tech is said to be so great that gamers are eagerly awaiting its release. Oculus even has some "secret" tech that supposedly was so mind blowing that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a bid for the company immediately after having tested it. The company ended up buying Oculus VR for $2 billion.
German tech site WinFuture has posted a few videos showing off the features of the upcoming Start Menu for Windows 9.
Microsoft also showed a demo earlier this year, mixing Live Tiles, Modern apps and legacy apps.
Account options are pinned to the top, while shutdown/restart have their own button. The Start Menu itself has two sections, one for legacy apps and then a second section on the right for modern apps with Live Tiles. It will work in general like the Windows 7 start menu, allowing for pinned apps, favorites, recently used and a full list of your installed apps.
Tablet users can continue to use their regular Start Screen, but keyboard/mouse users can choose to default right to the desktop.
A few months ago, following decades of myth, construction workers and a documentary crew were able to find over 1200 Atari 2600 games including the infamously bad E.T. in a landfill in New Mexico.
The games had been dumped in 1983 when the video game industry crashed, and the story had never been confirmed until they were unearthed.
What will they do with the game now that the documentary has been completed? "The primary goal is that they go into museums and the story be told," said dig site manager Joe Lewandowski. "The second is that they go into the city inventory for whatever we decide to do with them. The balance is what we will sell."
That being said, about 800 of the cartridges will be sold, and the first lot is headed to eBay in the coming weeks. Some of the titles are expected to get a couple of hundred each, but the story itself is much more important than the actual games. There was also a lot less games found then had been rumored. Most of the rumors of the last three decades had assumed there were over 500,000 games buried, but the final figure was a fraction of that.
It is unclear which museums will have interest in the collection.
Nintendo has unveiled a new model of the 3DS XL that should excite some retro gamers.
The new device is themed after the original NES, with the device looking like a controller and the box designed like the console. Nintendo says the handheld will be available on October 10th for $200, but if you want it you will have to get it through Gamestop, who has the exclusive.
In the past, Nintendo also offered the Gameboy SP and the Gameboy Micro with an NES design so it's not a completely original idea.
If you don't care for the NES but still want an updated 3DS XL, Nintendo is also offering a red Super Smash Bros starting next week, and a blue Persona Q available in November, both for $199.99. Shockingly, Nintendo is not including the games with the themed DS consoles.
Microsoft will drop the Nokia and Windows Phone brands after the holiday season, sticking instead with Lumia and Windows for their products.
The evidence comes via an alleged internal document, although Microsoft had not yet confirmed the move.
In the document, Microsoft says "As part of our phased transition, we will drop the manufacturer name [Nokia] from product references during the Holiday campaign. Windows will take the place of Windows Phone, with Lumia for phone models."
The move to get rid of the Nokia name makes perfect sense given that Nokia is still an active company and Microsoft only acquired their handset business. Getting rid of Windows Phone as a brand also makes sense since the company is looking to complete its Windows ecosystem. Windows Phone and Windows RT are the odd men out.
Most new Lumia commercials and spots don't even show Windows Phone anywhere now, so the move is not unexpected.
Amazon has updated their Android phone app this week, adding Prime Instant Video streaming services for users in the U.S., UK and Germany.
In addition to being able to shop as usual from the app, Prime subscribers can also watch tens of thousands of TV episodes and movies.
Unfortunately, Amazon has made it a bit of a process to actually start watching the shows and films. Once you update your Amazon app, you will be re-directed to an in-app download of the Amazon Instant Video player app, which needs to be downloaded from the Amazon Appstore, not the Googly Play Store. To be able to download from the Amazon App Store you will have to change your phone settings to be able to install apps from "unknown sources."
Not the easiest process, but it only has to be done once. If you don't feel comfortable downloading from "unknown sources" (even a giant like Amazon) you will not be able to stream the video on your phone.
Amazon has recently made some big deals for their streaming service, including adding older HBO shows and adding a number of original shows. Prime costs $99 per year and gives you free two-day shipping on most items, free Prime Instant Video, free Kindle books and free Amazon Prime Music.
Following its recent launch in the nation, the Microsoft Xbox One had a rough time selling in Japan.
Just like its predecessor, the Xbox One had a terrible launch, selling just 23,562 units in its first week of availability. While the Xbox 360 was also a failure, it sold over 60,000 in its first week back in 2005.
Japanese-based Sony and Nintendo had much more impressive launches for their current-gen consoles, with the Wii U seeing 300,000 units sold in two days and the PS4 seeing 322,000 in its first week.
Microsoft just launched the console in 27 new nations including Japan.
Qualcomm has introduced their Snapdragon 210 chipset for mid-range devices, offering solid specs at an affordable price.
The chipset adds LTE Cat.4 connectivity and dual-SIM support among other features.
Boasting a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor with up to 1.1 GHz, the chip has an Adreno 304 GPU with 720p display support, 8MP camera support, 1080p video recording/playback, the aforementioned LTE and dual-SIM LTE support.
Additionally, the chip has Quick Charge 2.0 support allowing for faster charging.
Qualcomm says it believes the chip will be used in the world's first sub-$100 LTE-A smartphones starting in the Q1 2015.
Russian hacker 'tvskit' has released 4.93 million Gmail email addresses and passwords on the popular Russian Bitcoin forum BTSec, although the forum was quick to remove the files and also redact the passwords.
Tvskit claimed that 60 percent of the passwords were still valid, but Google denied that claim, stating that the list was created from previous lists of compromised email addresses, and that current accounts are unaffected.
Other forum users say the list had passwords that were upwards of 10 years old, and that many of the accounts had been deactivated or suspended for some time.
Besides the Gmail list, there was also a smaller list for Yandex emails.
Hidden among their high profile announcements today, Apple quietly discontinued the iPod Classic and the old 30-pin connector.
With today's website refresh to add the Apple Watch and iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple has removed the iPod Classic page, leaving just the iPod Touch as the only dedicated media player.
The death of the Classic was a long time coming. The original design started in 2004, and the Classic was last updated 5 years ago when they added a large HDD model. Audiophiles were fans because you could store tons of music on the devices, but they featured old-school clickwheels and did not fit in Apple's elegant touchscreen lineup.
In addition to the iPod Classic, Apple also said goodbye to the iPhone 4S, meaning they no longer offer devices with the old 30-pin connector, so that to has been removed from the site.
Electronic Arts, who recently took their EA Access gaming subscription service out of beta, has added a new title.
As of writing, EA Access subs can now play Need for Speed Rivals, joining Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, Peggle 2, and Madden NFL 25 as fully playable titles.
The service is available in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and the US. The service costs $5 per month or $30 per year and give access to downloadable games through "The Vault," a small but growing collection of EA games.
In addition to the cheap gaming on older games, EA Access members also get 10 percent off EA games and other content including DLC and free trials of new EA games up to five days before their retail dates.
You can buy passes to EA Access on Amazon and at GameStop.
According to multiple sources, Microsoft is in deep discussions to buy 'Minecraft' maker Mojang AB, at a $2 billion price tag.
The Swedish gaming company has so far stayed away from investments, especially from major corporations, giving founder Markus 'Notch' Persson a highly regarded reputation amongst gamers.
Minecraft has sold over 50 million copies since launch in 2009, across platforms that include the PC, PlayStation, Xbox and phones. The game is also wildly profitable, with Mojang bringing in over $100 million in profit last year from game and merchandise sales. The company only has 40 employees, and had nearly $300 million in revenue last year. Mojang has also recently signed licensing deals with Scholastic for tutorial books, LEGO for toys and even Warner Bros. for a feature film.
Mojang also charges a one-time fee for their games, unlike most others that offer freemium models. The games range from $7-$30 depending on system.
A Microsoft purchase would be a move away from new CEO Satya Nadella's decision to focus on core products, although adding Minecraft could help the company's mobile division, its Xbox gaming division and and its PC Windows division if used correctly. The game has never been available for Windows Phone and Windows 8 users have to download it directly from Mojang as Notch refuses to have it available through the Windows Store, where Microsoft takes a cut.
Apple Pay is a new mobile, contactless payment system developed by Apple Inc. that will soon be available to use online and offline. What should you know about it?
Today in Cupertino, Apple unveiled its new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and introduced its Apple Watch line for the first time. It also dated iOS 8's public release for later this month and gave away a U2 album to iTunes customers.
Another service announced by Apple - and strongly linked to the new iPhones and Apple Watch - is Apple Pay, which the company promises will revolutionize how to pay for physical goods and services offline, and how you pay for things in apps on your iPhone.
So here is a quick run down of what Apple revealed to this point.
What is Apple Pay?
Apple Pay is a new mobile payments and contact-less payment service provided by Apple, which the firm promises is simple to use, private and secure. Using NFC (near-field communication) built in to the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, you can pay for goods and services easily without having to produce a credit card or debit card, using Passbook, and TouchID as part of the authorization process.
When will it be available?
Apple Pay will be available as a free update in October.
Apple has finally shown off its upcoming Apple Watch wearable device to the public, slating it for release in earlier 2015. So what was the fuss all about and did Apple deliver?
Describing it as its most personal device ever, Apple showed off the upcoming Apple Watch in Cupertino today. The smartwatch will come in three varieties - Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition - in either 38 mm and 42 mm sizes and with enclosures rafted from custom alloys of polished or space black stainless steel, space gray or silver anodized aluminum and 18-karat rose or yellow gold. A line of watch straps are also available.
UI, Controls and Fitness
Each Watch comes with a Retina display that tout a Force Touch feature, which can essentially tell the difference between a tap and a "press". The user interface is of course based on the company's iOS operating system, though obviously redesigned for such a small display and to support the Watch control mechanisms.
Apple has introduced the "Digital Crown" which you can use to control the UI, for navigation, zooming or scrolling. It also serves as the device's Home button and can be used to access Siri.
Apple Watch puts a strong emphasis on fitness and exercise. The Activity app is designed to motivate you to be more active throughout the day while the Workout app provides the metrics you need during your sessions, as well as goal-setting and pacing during popular session-based workouts, such as running and cycling.
As expected, Apple has shown off two new iPhone models, claiming they are the biggest advancement in the iPhone line so far.
Information leaked about the new iPhones turned out to be largely correct. As rumored, Apple introduced two new iPhone models - the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus - with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch retina HD displays, respectively. The 4.7-inch display touts a 1334 x 750 resolution (38 percent more viewing space than an iPhone 5s) and the 5.5-inch display boasts a full hd, 1920 x 1080 resolution (88 percent more viewing area than an iPhone 5s).
Both run iOS 8 powered by Apple's second generation 64-bit "Destkop-class" A8 chip. Both also include the M8 motion coprocessor that gathers motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass and the new barometer, which senses air pressure to provide relative elevation.
The new iPhones also support high quality voice calls over LTE (VoLTE) and Wi-Fi calling if supported by the carrier and support 802.11ac Wi-Fi with speeds up to 433 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0.
The iSight camera has gotten a new sensor featuring Focus Pixels for faster autofocus. High-definition video on iPhone improves with faster frame rates up to 60fps for 1080p video and 240fps for slo-mo, as well as continuous autofocus, cinematic video stabilization and time-lapse video. iPhone 6 Plus users also benefit from new image stabilization features.
It has already been a year since Apple unveiled the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c smartphones, which means it has almost been a year since iPhone 6 speculation really kicked off. Today, Apple will hold an event in Cupertino, California, in which it is almost certain to show off the iPhone 6, making it first iPhone not unveiled in San Francisco.
The Flint Center for the Performing Arts can hold a lot more media personnel than the Yerba Buena Center, so perhaps Apple feels this event is of greater importance than its most recent ones, or maybe it is simply that the iPhone is not what it is most eager to show off this time.
Since the iPhone 6 is something you could put your house on showing up today, what do we know about it? Well, for starters there is almost a consensus already that it will be available with either a 4.7-inch or 5.5-inch screen, the latter providing a sixth row of apps on the home screen. One rumor spreading today suggests that the 5.5-inch device will be called iPhone 6 plus, or iPhone 6+.
It is also expected to pack Apple's new dual-core A8 chip and 1GB of RAM, run iOS 8, and for the first time may be available with 128GB of storage. Until now, only the iPad provided a 128GB option, while the iPhone was limited to 64GB. Previously though, every doubling of internal storage provided in the line-up added an additional $100 to the price tag.
Amazon's Fire Phone has been an unmitigated disaster since its high profile launch in June, and now the e-commerce giant seems to be confirming that fact.
The company has dumped the price of the Fire Phone to just 99 cents with a two-year AT&T contract, down from its normal $199 price, a full 99 percent discount.
Overseas, the price has been cut to 1 euro for O2 and Deutsche Telekom, meaning the price slashing is global.
While the phone itself may not be worth owning, even at the 99 cent price tag you still get a free year of Amazon Prime (which normally costs $99 per year) and you get unlimited cloud storage through Amazon. Those perks alone may be worth the purchase.
There have been recent reports that Amazon has only sold 35,000 Fire Phone units since launch, a number so small that it makes BlackBerry look like Apple.
If you were looking to get one of the top smartphones available at a decent price, eBay's daily deal has a solid sale on the new LG G3 flagship.
Normally priced at $200 with contract or $600 without for the U.S. model, the phone is selling for just $480 unlocked (off-contract), although it is the international model meaning you will not be getting LTE in the U.S. on T-Mobile or AT&T.
The version available has a 5.5-inch QuadHD 2560 x 1440 IPS display (538ppi), 2GB RAM, a high-end quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 16GB internal storage and a microSD slot in case you need more room. On the back side there is a 13MP OIS+ (Optical Image Stabilizer Plus) camera with "revolutionary Laser Auto Focus that can shoot stunningly sharp images in a fraction of the time required by conventional phone cameras" and the device has a massive 3000mAh battery. The smartphone has NFC and can wirelessly charged.
While it is not as powerful as the U.S. model, the deal is still pretty decent given the QHD display and powerful processor.
Popcorn Time has proudly announced the launch of beta 4.4 for Windows and Mac users, including much better VPN, Chromecast, Airplay and codec support.
The release is the first cross platform desktop version from the team, and it has all been built in C++ for Mac, Windows and Linux. The Linux beta will be available in a few days, but the major OS versions are available now.
Reads the post:
So what's new??
Macs, for the first time you're also getting FREE BUILT IN VPN!!! Yes. Now you can also be anonymous!! (powered by Kebrum)
Also we added Chromecast and Airplay support for Mac and improved the Chromecast and Airplay support for Windows.
And, and we believe that you've been waiting anxiously to read these words coming from our mouths....
SUBTITLES support FOR CHROMECAST!!!
Yes, this one was a tough cookie, but we ate it and now you can cast all your favorite movies with their subtitles using Chromecast! ;-) Apple TV, you're next to get subtitles, don't worry.
And what else?
Better cpu usage!
Free built in VPN
Improved Chromecast support
Chromecast subtitles !!!! (don't tell the Android users, they're also waiting for this... and they'll have it soon!!)
Improved airplay support
Smoother and improved video player.
It's now supporting more video codecs.
Subtitles size control
The option to help the community and flag bad torrents... Cause no one like'em shitty torrents!!! :-)
Major bug fixes
Lot's of love hard work and sweat from your devoted PT team.
So enjoy, and if anything doesn't work for you, please fight the urge to report it here, but just click this link here and post it there.
It doesn't matter that under 5 percent of households have moved to 4K TVs or monitors, because Dell has a new 5K monitor ready to roll.
The UltraSharp 27 Ultra HD 5K monitor is the first in the world with the 5,120 x 2,880 resolution, boasting 218 PPI.
In addition to the huge resolution, the monitor features Dells' own PremierColor tech and anti-smudge/anti-reflection edge-to-edge glass. Dell has integrated "immersive acoustics" Harmon Kardon 16W speakers and connectivity should not be a problem with six USB ports and a card reader.
"Dell is continuing to emphasize a customer promise to create the most secure and manageable environments," said Patrick Moorhead, founder, president and principal analyst, Moor Insights & Strategy, in Dell's press release. "Each of these areas is a critical component for any IT department, but so is the need to satisfy the user. Dell has wrapped its core IT strengths with new thoughtfully designed and attractive products geared for enhanced productivity in a variety of customer use cases."
The UltraSharp 27 Ultra will debut in the Q4 for $2500.
Bungie's new epic 'Destiny' is finally here, with its launch set for Tuesday on the PS3, Xbox 360, PS4 and Xbox One.
If you buy the blockbuster game for one of last generation's consoles, Bungie is giving you a free "digital upgrade" to migrate to the Xxox One or the PS4, at least for the next few months. Keep in mind the deal only works from Sony to Sony and Microsoft to Microsoft, so no Xbox 360 to PS4, for example.
Everything will migrate, including season passes, DLC, game saves, etc. You'll be able to start off on the new console right where you left off on the old console.
Alleged Silk Road creator and operator Ross Ulbricht is still facing trial for running the dark web site, and the FBI may have just rebuffed his biggest argument.
Ulbricht had been claiming that the FBI was able to find the Silk Road's location through illegal means, therefore making all the agency's evidence illegal to use in the case. The FBI says that is simply not true.
In their court filing, the FBI says the IP address of the server was "'leaking' from the site due to an apparent misconfiguration of the user login interface by the site administrator." The agency then exploited this bug to obtain the server's location.
The FBI found a way to use that login page to produce an IP address that was not hidden by TOR standards, and then used that IP on a regular browser. That IP then produced some code from the login page, confirming that it was in fact the true location of the Silk Road.
If the court agrees with the FBI's claim, the alleged Silk Road operator may have a tougher time defending his case.
Getty Images has sued Microsoft this week over the launch of their new "Bing Image Widget," a piece of software that the company claims leads to "massive infringement" of copyrighted images.
The Widget lets publishers create an easy to use panel on their sites or blogs that can show off images that are supplied through Microsoft's Bing image search.
Getty claims that Bing's engine does not only just take pictures from a pool of licensed digital images, but rather from the billions of images that can be searched for online, copyrighted or not.
"In effect, defendant has turned the entirety of the world's online images into little more than a vast, unlicensed 'clip art' collection for the benefit of those website publishers who implement the Bing Image Widget, all without seeking permission from the owners of copyrights in those images," the lawsuit claimed.
Getty is asking for an immediate injunction and monetary damages and appears to have a strong case.
Google has confirmed that its Nexus smartphone screen replacement policy has been tweaked, with service representatives able to make more "exceptions" for accidental damage.
Until now, the consumer had to pay to replace the screen for accidental damage (water, cracked screen) at a cost of about $150. This was certainly expensive given that a new Nexus 5, for example, costs $299. The new policy would get you a replacement, for free.
Google has released some guidelines for the new exceptions policy, via TC:
Google has confirmed that its Android Wear operating system will be getting a significant update in the coming months.
Among the new features are the addition of offline music playback and GPS support. The GPS support is great as you an track your distance and your speed right from your watch, even if you leave your phone at home. If you want to take your watch to the gym and listen to music and leave the phone at home, as well, offline music playback is great via Bluetooth headphones and most Android Wear watches have at least 2GB of internal storage.
The next update will also allow for downloadable watch faces, allowing you to customize your home screen and your most used apps.
"Our goal with Wear is to build technology that helps you connect with others and get stuff done. So often, technology can become something that gets in the way of everything else. But we want to build devices that you can use when you need and forget about when you don't--technology that's built for your sake, rather than its own sake. Coming throughout the rest of this year, we're making some updates to Wear that will help you get even more out of your watch--and the rest of your life, too," says Google.
Garmin has unveiled their second-generation fitness tracker, the vívosmart, a significant upgrade to their original vívofit.
The new device is a bit more than just a fitness and activity tracker (sleep, steps, calories), as it also notifies of you of your smartphone alerts.
Featuring a touch-sensitive OLED, you will receive viewable notifications for your synced smartphone, including vibrations for texts, emails, calls, calendar reminders, etc.
The smart wearable has a November release date with a price tag of $169 or $199 if you want to bundle a Garmin heart rate sensor.
Twitpic is officially shutting down, meaning millions of your photo links on Twitter will soon go dark.
The service, once the most popular way to post images to Twitter, says they will be shutting down on September 25th. A photo exporting tool will be made available next week.
In their parting post, Twitpic says Twitter has been pressuring the company over their name for some time, even demanding that they drop their pending application to trademark the Twitpic name. The filing was made in 2009. The company says Twitter threatened to cut Twitpic's acess to the Twitter API, effectively killing the service anyway.
"Unfortunately we do not have the resources to fend off a large company like Twitter to maintain our mark which we believe whole heartedly is rightfully ours," Twitpic founder Noah Everett wrote. Rather than try to fight the multi-billion company, Everett and the company will shut down instead.
While Twitpic was extremely popular when Twitter was smaller, the company was not necessary now. Twitter has its own image posting links, and now even has its own GIF URL ability, which had kept Twitpic relevant over the years.
Twitter, for its part, says they are sad at the outcome, but reiterates that the company was free to use the name as long as they dropped the trademark filing. "We're sad to see Twitpic is shutting down. We encourage developers to build on top of the Twitter service, as Twitpic has done for years, and we made it clear that they could operate using the Twitpic name. Of course, we also have to protect our brand, and that includes trademarks tied to the brand," added a Twitter spokesperson.
Although the device is still in its "Explorer" beta, Google has made the Google Glass headset available to all directly from the Google Play Store.
The price will still leave your wallet $1500 lighter, but at least the Glass comes with a free accessory (regular frames or sunglasses frames)
Google has kept the same five colors available: Black, Orange, White, Brown and Blue. As of writing, all models are still fully available and will ship in 1-2 business days.
In addition to the Glass and frames, you get a charger, microfiber pouch and a mono earbud.
There is still no word when Glass will come out of beta, although it seems very unlikely that happens in 2014. At that point, Google is expected to make the glasses available for under $500.
Microsoft has updated popular video chat and messaging service Skype for Xbox One to version 1.8, bringing with it a number of well received features.
The company has touted its new photo viewing features from mobile, updated "Snap" functions and the ability to answer phone calls using a voice command.
First, "Skype 1.8 for Xbox One allows you to view photos sent from mobile phones on Skype for Xbox One. Skype users from Windows Phone and iOS mobile devices can now share pictures with Skype for Xbox One users either in a 1:1 or group chat." If there are more than one photo being sent, you have the option to make a large screen slide show.
In Snap mode, "the frame rate has doubled and the size of the video window has increased" meaning you may be able to actually see your friends and family.
If you are playing a game or using other features of the Xbox One, you will be able to see the Skype call come in and use the voice command "Xbox Answer" to Snap the call without interrupting your current gaming or TV viewing.
Thanks to Chinese site cnBeta, we appear to have full pics of the upcoming iPhone 6 along with the rumored updated Passbook app for mobile payments.
The design looks similar to previous leaks, patents and designs we have seen, showing off the 4.7-inch display, rounded corners and edges, and different volume rocker.
In the software, the Passbook app has been updated with a red stripe that appears to have a credit card, suggesting Apple will be getting into the mobile payments market as expected. In addition, the home screen has a full new row for icons (6 compared to 5) supporting the purported 1334 x 750 resolution.
As far as leaks go, these photos do not seem like obvious fakes we have seen in the past, and the device certainly looks like Apple's purported next flagship.
In addition to their other higher-profile launches, Motorola also announced the refresh of their popular Moto G mid-range device.
The incredibly cheap yet serviceable device will still sell for $179.99 unlocked, but with improved specs. The phone now has a 5-inch 720p display with Gorilla Glass, a Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, dual SIM capabilities, 8GB internal storage and a microSD slot for 32GB expansion.
Stock Android 4.4 is pre-loaded (with some basic Moto apps that are helpful), and Motorola has already guaranteed an update to Android 5.0 Lemon Meringue Pie.
Dual cameras, double stereo speakers, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE and 720p HD video capture are the rest of the upgrades for the mid-range device. The 2070mAh battery is good for one day of mixed usage, says Motorola.
Available now for $180 unlocked, in the U.S., India, France, the UK, Brazil, Spain and Germany.
Motorola introduced the second-generation Moto X today, a powerful refresh to their popular flagship device.
The company has updated the specs, moving the device to a 1080p 5.2-inch AMOLED display, and slimming down the design to just 144 grams.
Powering the smartphone is a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz, a 578MHz Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Base models have 16GB internal storage, and Motorola has added Gorilla Glass protection, and a "splash guard" water-repellent coating.
Like its predecessor, the Moto X will run on almost stock Android 4.4 (to be quickly upgraded to Android Lemon Meringue Pie), with Motorola adding a few of their own features, all of which are well received. The company kept their Migration tool to help you bring over your old contacts, texts and data. Moto Actions, Moto Display and Moto Assist are back and each are extremely helpful. Moto Actions uses new IR sensors which allow you to, for example, snooze your alarm by waving your hand over it. Tapping and swiping to use gestures are the same, as well. Moto Display is a specialized home page that shows three notifications, allowing you to get a quick preview of each. Moto Voice also takes custom phrases, taking voice control to a new level. "Take a selfie" opens the front-facing camera, "Play YouTube" launches the YouTube app, etc, etc. Very cool.
Motorola has released their long-awaited Moto 360 smartwatch, arguably the first smartwatch that is actually comfortably wearable with a suit.
The device, which runs on Android Wear, has already sold out via Motorola and Google Play, and it should be available in Best Buy retailers later this month.
Priced at $249.99, the device is the most expensive Android Wear device to date, and it will set you back $299.99 if you want metal bands when they become available next month. If you really want the watch now, the metal bands cost $79.99 as an accessory.
Making the watch different is its round face with (almost) edge-to-edge display. The display is 1.56-inch with 320×290 resolution, 205ppi, with a total 46mm diameter watchface. Under the hood is a TI OMAP 3, 4GB of internal storage and 512MB of RAM.
The watch has a pedometer, wireless charging support, heart rate monitor, and as expected, a mic for voice controls. To protect your investment, the watch is IP67 dust and water resistant and has a Gorilla Glass protected screen.
Early reviews of the device have been very mixed. While the design has seen universal acclaim, the battery life is atrocious. Most people claim that the battery life is even worse than current Android Wear devices, with moderate wear leading to just 12 hours of battery life, which is unacceptable by any standards.
Samsung unveiled their Galaxy Note 4 earlier this week, showing off a phablet with killer specs and a plethora of features.
The note 4 has a 5.7 inch inch Quad HD Super AMOLED screen, (2560 x 1440 resolution) and is powered by a 2.7 GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 805 CPU or a 1.9 GHz Octa-Core Exynos CPU depending on your network and country.
Additionally, the phone has 3GB RAM, 32GB external storage, microSD slot for up to 64GB, a 16MP rear camera with Smart OIS, a 3.7MP front facing camera with "Wide Selfie" features.
The phone runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat, the phone has support for 4G Cat 4, 4G Cat 6, 3G / HSPA+. 2.5G support and has a large 3220 mAh removable battery with Fast Charging tech.
On the software side, we have Air Command with Action Memo, Smart Select, Image Clip, Screen Write, S Note, Snap Note and Direct Pen Input, also it comes with improved Multi Window, Ultra Power Saving Mode, Voice Recorder, Interview Mode Recording capability, Dynamic Lock Screen, Briefing, Download Booster, S Health 3.5, UV sensor, Heart Rate Monitoring, Bluetooth v4.1, IR LED, HDR rich tone software for camera along with Selective Focus, Rear-cam Selfie, Dual Camera, Virtual Tour Shot, Shot & More, Beauty Face, and others.
Using the IFA event as their venue, Sony has unveiled two new smart wearables including an update to their line of smartwatches.
First, the company unveiled its new SmartWatch 3, an Android Wear sequel to its previous proprietary Android smartwatches. Sony says the watch will work as a standalone and will also sync to your Android Wear capable smartphone for better functionality.
The SmartWatch 3 has a 1.6 inch 320 x 320 LCD touch display, a stainless steel body, and IP68 dust and water-resistance. Under the hood is a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 chip at 1.2GHz, 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage. As is standard, the device has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, NFC, GPS, an ambient light sensor, accelerometer, magnetometer and a gyroscope. Most importantly is the microphone which allows for voice control.
Better than other current devices, the SW3 has a 420mAh battery good for 48 hours of usage. The watch is also extremely light at 38 grams.
Second, Sony introduced the SmartBand Talk, a fitness band used to monitor your movements and help you keep a log of your activities. The device has a 1.4 inch E-ink display (296 x 128) that can show you the time, synced notifications and the status of monitored activities. Since it doesn't need any major power, the device has an ARM Cortex-M4, 256KB RAM and Bluetooth 4.0 BLE and NFC. The band has a 70mAh battery and also has a microphone and speaker for some basic voice controls.
Finnish casual gaming giant Rovio has released their latest spin-off of the popular Angry Birds franchise, dubbed 'Stella.'
Stella is the main female character of the series, having been featured in a few of the past games including Angry Birds GO! and Angry Birds Star Wars.
The game has a familiar feel to past games, with familiar birds and pigs and stars and unlockable characters. The game does add a new slow motion tap-and-hold mechanic which allows for more pointed flight and attacks.
As usual, the game is free, and the first levels are ad-free. Afterwards, there are banner ads and video ads that you will have to sit through. There are also in-app purchases of coins if you need them for special power upgrades during a level.
Rovio has also announced a set of Telepod toys that can be used for new characters or features after you scan them.
Just a few weeks after Apple settled over the same policy, Google has settled with the FTC over their in-app purchasing policies and unlawful billing of unauthorized purchases.
Google has settled for $19 million and will refund parents whose kids may have made unauthorized in-app purchases that did not require passwords. Apple recently settled for $32.5 million, as they had more angry consumers.
When the Google Play Store first launched, in-app purchases did not require a password, meaning a parent could have downloaded a free app, let their kids play, and unknowingly had their kids buy in-app upgrades or DLC that were then charged to an attached credit card.
In 2012, Google updated the policy to add authentication every 30 minutes, but that was still a large open period and some accounts racked up hundreds in charges before parents noticed.
If you made any in-app purchases during that time frame, you will receive an email from Google with steps on how to apply for part of the refund fund.
Nokia will soon release their HERE mapping services for iOS and Android, looking to take some share from its bigger rivals.
Currently, HERE maps are the default mapping service for Windows Phone devices, but will soon be available for free for the two major operating systems.
Giving HERE a major leg up on Google and Apple is the fact that Nokia will make full maps available for downloading when offline. "We will go where the scale is," says a Nokia exec. "I'm convinced people are looking for alternatives. Google Maps is a good solution for many--their maps work very well--but it has looked the same and done the same for a long time."
Nokia is not expected to see any financial gains from the move, since there is really no advertising yet, especially compared to Google Maps. The mapping business makes money through corporate license fees for use of the digital mapping platform especially to companies that have major logistics needs, like a Fedex for example.
According to a new report, the upcoming Apple iTime smartwatch will include a near-field communication (NFC) chip, allowing for one-tap mobile payments and other transfers of information.
Apple is expected to unveil the watch at next week's iPhone 6 launch event. Additionally, the company is expected to also launch a mobile payment platform, one where you can keep all your credit and debit cards in a digital wallet and pay with a simple tap or scan.
There are expected to be two models of the watch, which is not expected to be available to consumers until February.
Although obviously unconfirmed, the iTime is also expected to have a curved screen and be available in black, white and gold.
If you are looking to get a full Windows 8.1 tablet without style or powerful specs but at a crazy cheap price, Toshiba has got the device for you.
The company has revealed the 7-inch Encore Mini for just $119, featuring low-end specs and a ship date on September 17th.
Under the hood is a quad-core Intel Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, a microSD slot, dual cameras and a micro USB 2.0 port. The 7-inch 16:9 widescreen display has a low 1024 x 600 resolution.
From a design standpoint, the Toshiba Encore Mini has huge bezels, and a plain, rectangular shape. It is not winning any awards.
At its price point, the device is easily the least expensive full Windows 8.1 device out there, undercutting the newly announced $199 HP Stream 7, although that device has a better screen and more RAM.
Netflix has set a new precedent in the streaming industry, signing a streaming deal for a broadcast series that has not even yet aired on TV.
The deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution is for the new series 'Gotham' and Netflix will be the exclusive SVOD (subscription video on demand) provider for the show in all of its territories. The show will be available to Netflix subscribers after its U.S. broadcast run, with the first season expected to be made available in September 2015 right before the launch of the second season.
Deadline's report says Netflix is paying $1.75 million per episode, a huge figure only surpassed by the company's alleged 'Blacklist' exclusive deal at $2 million per episode.
Gotham premieres on September 22 on Fox and will tell the origin story of a younger Bruce Wayne and a younger Commissioner Gordon.
Microsoft has quietly begun dropping the 2GB file size limit for its OneDrive cloud storage service.
Last month, Microsoft group program manager Omar Shahine confirmed that the limit was to be removed in the near future, saying "It's not arbitrary. It's simply an old limit that we've been working on removing for far too long now. The good news is that we are actively working on this."
Currently, the the limits are being removed, but it will be a slow rollout.
"As we mentioned on our UserVoice, we have started the work to increase the file size limit for all OneDrive accounts. We have started the process with a small number of customers and will continue to roll it out to our full customer base. We will have more to share on this update in the near future, stay tuned to the OneDrive blog," says Microsoft.
All free OneDrive accounts have 15GB free storage.
Ouya, the Android console maker, is up for sale and has some major possible suitors in China, and in the U.S.
According to sources, preliminary discussions have been had with Xiaomi and Tencent in China, and some minor discussions with Google and Amazon in the U.S. There have been no offers made, but a full acquisition seems much more likely than the company raising more money in the near future.
The company raised over $8 million on Kickstarter in late 2012, and remains one of the highest funded campaigns in the site's history. The flagship product was a $99 set-top console called the Ouya that had its own gaming controller and had a library of Android games that were "free to try" and could then be purchased or updated through in-app purchases.
Sources say the acquisition but be strictly for talent rather than the failed console, and the Chinese companies could use the boost in set-top talent as they approach new markets.
Most recently, Ouya partnered with Xiaomi to put the company's own proprietary software on smart TVs and set-tops made by the Chinese giant, so an acquisition does not seem out of the question.
Microsoft China "accidentally" leaked the upcoming Windows 9 logo earlier today, before quickly removing it and taking down the accompanying post.
In the post, the company asked "Microsoft's latest OS Windows 9 is coming soon, do you think the start menu at the left bottom will make a come back?" The post suggests the operating system is on its way soon, which previous reports and leaks have also implied.
The logo was later confirmed as a mockup, but could certainly still be used in the future, as it keeps with Microsoft's style.
Microsoft is expected to unveil the OS on September 30th, and release an early "tech preview" soon after for developers, enterprise users and early adopters.
Windows 9 will add a new mini Start Menu, remove the stupid Charms menu and add other UI features making the OS more accessible for non-touchscreen users.
Microsoft has announced the timeline for the launch of the Xbox One in an additional 28 markets.
Most notably is the gaming haven of Japan, although Microsoft has always had a very hard time making any headway in the nation that is dominated by hometown giants like Nintendo and Sony.
"But what makes September truly special is that gamers from 28 additional countries will get to experience the games and entertainment on Xbox One for the very first time. I know that many of you have waited patiently since we first announced Xbox One. And it has been very important to both me and the team that we launch with a great experience in your market," said Microsoft's Phil Spencer.
Lost among their more high-profile announcements yesterday was the launch of an entry-level GoPro camera for the occasional action junkie.
If you have a jailbroken iOS device, your wait is over: Popcorn Time is finally available for iPads, iPhones and iPods.
HP has officially unveiled their Chromebook and Android tablet competitors, the Stream 7 and Stream laptop.
