Microsoft planning December fix for Windows Phone 8 random reboots

Microsoft planning December fix for Windows Phone 8 random reboots

What's up with you?

Fear not, Windows Phone 8 adopters: if your HTC 8X or Nokia Lumia 920 has up and rebooted itself without warning, Microsoft is going to issue a fix...in December.

The Softies have apparently identified whatever is causing some WP8 handsets to randomly restart and plans to send out an over-the-air software patch-up next month.

"We're continuing to investigate some reports of phones rebooting and have identified a cause with our partners," the company said in a statement.

"We are working to get an over-the-air update out in December."

Booted

TechRadar first reported the booting blues beguiling some Windows Phone 8 users Nov. 18.

Microsoft didn't release information on what exactly is causing the unwarranted restarts or how widespread the issue is in terms of which phones are affected.

Users across the web, including TechRadar readers, have reported reboots occurring without warning, while others said they haven't run into such an issue and are perfectly pleased with their WP8 handsets.

Reports also had the Lumia 920 exhibiting sub-par battery life and freezes, but there's been no word on what's up with the 920, or any potential fixes, yet.


Source : techradar[dot]com

BlackBerry L-Series BB10 handset reportedly leaked yet again

BlackBerry L-Series BB10 handset reportedly leaked yet again

Leaked more times than a Kardashian home movie (credit: TechSuplex)

While RIM continues to hold off on an official launch for its new full-touchscreen BlackBerry 10 handset, the internet continues to hemorrhage purported photos of the device.

The much-anticipated BlackBerry L-Series handset, all-but-confirmed by RIM months ago, has apparently shown up in some new blurry-cam test shots picked up by the TechSuplex blog.

The images were initially posted to Twitter and have since been removed, but not before the pics speedily made the way across the internet like an acute dose of head lice at a primary school.

The latest shots (there are plenty more and more still) of the handset do not reveal all that much in the way of new information, but the new-style homescreen app icons are depicted.

Exorcising ghosts

Just last week the BlackBerry L-Series appeared in photos next to a current BlackBerry Bold smartphone, showing-off a stark contrast between the by-gone era at RIM and the one about to commence.

In many ways, for the romantic smartphone enthusiast, it was almost like A Christmas Carol, with the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.

Currently, however, the Ghost of Christmas Present is played by a BlackBerry fan who still can't get his hands on BB10 device and is on the verge of ditching his old one.

RIM has pencilled in January 30 for the long-delayed BB10 launch, but by then will the company's chance at a Scrooge-esque redemption be nothing more than a fleeting dream?


Source : techradar[dot]com

Microsoft sells 40 million Windows 8 copies a month after launch

windows 8 install microsoft

Despite mixed reviews and rumored slow start, Microsoft claims to have sold 40 million copies of Windows 8 merely a month after it was made available for purchase.

If you’re one of those tried-and-true Windows XP or Windows 7 users who has a strong dislike for Windows 8 and its controversial Metro UI, we’ve got some news for you. You’ll be seeing the OS on more and more computers in the near future. In a blog post written Tuesday by Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc, the company announced that since its October 26 launch, 40 million Windows 8 licenses have been sold to date.

This revelation comes after a number of reports of Windows 8 being off to a slow start, and that Microsoft is failing to reach its target sales numbers. Those reports weren’t difficult to believe either, as opinions about the system’s new user interface have been divided even prior to release due to Windows 8′ layout, which is more suited for mobile devices than computers. Moreover, many Windows 7 users are actually fond of – and prefer – their current systems. 

Microsoft selling 40 million licenses within four weeks means Windows 8 has sold as well as Windows 7 did when it was first launched. The much-loved (much, much more than Windows Vista, at least) Windows 7, which became the fastest-selling operating system upon release, also hit the 40 million mark within its first month. According to PCWorld, Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer for Windows, Tami Reller, called Windows 8 the company’s biggest project since Windows 95, and said that “Windows 8 is shaping up as one of the company’s most successful products.”

Still, that doesn’t mean there are 40 million people out there using Windows 8. According to Reuters, most of the sales came from PC manufacturers whose computers will ship preloaded with the new operating system, and many of these computers have yet to be bought. Research firm StatCounter puts the actual number of Windows 8 users to roughly 15 million or around 1 percent of the 1.5 billion PC users around the globe. While Microsoft didn’t detail where the 40 million sales came from, Reller – as well as LeBlanc, as evidenced by the blog post announcement – suggests that aside from sales that came from computer manufacturers, the company’s also raking in numbers by way of Windows 8′s relatively inexpensive $40 upgrade option. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

BlackBerry L-Series BB10 handset reportedly leaked yet again

BlackBerry L-Series BB10 handset reportedly leaked yet again

BlackBerry L-Series: Leaked more times than a Kardashian home movie

While RIM continues to hold off on an official launch for its new full-touchscreen BlackBerry 10 handset, the internet continues to haemorrhage purported photos of the device.

The much-anticipated BlackBerry L-Series handset, all-but-confirmed by RIM months ago, has apparently shown up in some new blurry-cam test shots picked up by the TechSuplex blog.

The images were initially posted to Twitter and have since been removed, but not before they speedily made their way across the internet like an acute dose of head lice at a primary school.

The latest shots (there are plenty more and more still) of the handset do not reveal all that much in the way of new information, but the new-style homescreen app icons are depicted.

Exorcising ghosts

Just last week the BlackBerry L-Series appeared in photos next to a current BlackBerry Bold smartphone, showing-off a stark contrast between the by-gone era at RIM and the one about to commence.

In many ways, for the romantic smartphone enthusiast, it was almost like A Christmas Carol, with the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.

Currently, however, the Ghost of Christmas Present is played by a BlackBerry fan who still can't get his hands on BB10 device and is on the verge of ditching his old one.

RIM has pencilled-in January 30 for the long-delayed BB10 launch, but by then will the company's chance at a Scrooge-esque redemption be nothing more than a fleeting dream?

Follow the link in the hat-tip for the full BlackBerry L-Series gallery from TechSuplex.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Droid Razr M now only $50 at Verizon with two-year contract

Motorola DROID RAZR M review front

Verizon is now offering Motorola's Droid Razr M for $50 as part of a holiday promotion. Be sure to check it out. It's one of our favorite handsets on the market.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be over, but that doesn’t mean the holiday sales are finished. Motorola just announced that its Droid Razr M is on sale for $50 with a two-year contract. Motorola slashed the handset’s price in half for the holidays (down from $100). This is one of the cheaper high-end devices on the market right now, especially for Verizon users who don’t have many options in that price area. By point of comparison, phones such as Nokia’s Lumia 820 are typically priced in that $50 range.

On the whole, Motorola’s Droid Razr M is a rather impressive device.  It may not have the same attention-grabbing flash as Samsung’s Galaxy S3 or Apple’s iPhone 5, but for $50 it has a solid battery life, a speedy Snapdragon processor and it feels great to hold. We praised it in our full Razr M review.

The device comes equipped with a 4.3-inch AMOLED display and Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), which is one of the most recent iterations of Google’s Android software. It also features an 8-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM, and 4G LTE connectivity. The only downside is its rather paltry 8GB of internal storage, but it features a microSD card slot for expanded storage. For those who like to customize, the Droid Razr M offers users the ability to create and add home screens as needed, rather than stocking a bunch of blank ones that usually remain empty. This isn’t found in other Android-powered phones, nor is the Quick settings menu Motorola has implemented.

Check out the promotional video from Verizon below.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Hands on: 365Scores tries to unseat the champ, but falls short of ESPN

Sports is always full of showdowns between top contenders and underdogs looking for an upset. 365Scores aims to play David to ESPN's Goliath, but seems to have forgotten its slingshot. A great option for soccer fans, but there's too much missing for American sports.

ESPN has been the undisputed king of sports for some time now. Though the company attempted to break into mobile technology in a uniquely terrible way back in the mid-2000′s, it was a misstep that led the “Worldwide leader in sports” to the top of the heap for sports-centric mobile apps. As for any top contender, though, there is always an underdog that presents an unexpected challenge in its own attempts to dethrone the king. For ESPN and its top-seeded ScoreCenter app, the sixteen seed here to play Cinderella is 365Scores.

Designed with the sports fan’s incessant need to be in the know about his or her favorite teams in mind, 365Scores delivers constant and customized updates to users regarding games as they are occurring. Firing up the app allows you to set up your account, giving you the option to start from scratch or link to your Facebook, allowing the app to draw information from your likes and interests to create your content stream. Regardless of what you pick, you’ll be able to select what teams and leagues you follow regularly and would like information about. The selection is pretty impeccable, with thousands of leagues available thanks to a robust list of soccer leagues from around the world. There are all of the American favorites as well, including the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Hockey, volleyball, rugby, and handball teams are all represented, as are tennis players. This comes up a little short of ESPN’s app, which includes X-Games performers and racing events like NASCAR, but still has more than the average fan could ask for.

With customization options set for teams and leagues, you’ll move into the standard home screen. This will show recent scores, news, videos, and tweets from the teams you’re interested in. News is aggregated from across multiple mediums, including official team and league websites and Yahoo! Sports. All that is available in the app is a title and a link to the full article, which will then require you to do your reading in a web browser. The video works essentially the same, as its drawn in from official sources and then played through YouTube. None of 365Scores’ content is original so if you already browse for your sports news and media elsewhere, you’re never going to come across a piece of commentary you haven’t heard.

The real appeal to 365Scores is the ability to set alarms for important moments in the games that matter to you. Options vary depending on the sport, but for the most part you can set an alarm for the start of the game, the end of any quarter or period, any major score, and the end of the game. Obviously for basketball, there is no alarm for every score because it’d drive you to treat your phone like a basketball and the trash bin like a hoop.

While there is content for most major sports, it’s pretty clear that 365Scores was originally designed for soccer. Footy fans have the option to see a video of a score within 5 minutes of its occurrence. That means you won’t just get to see the number pop up on your screen to let you know your team took the lead, but you’ll be able to watch it shortly after it happened in real time. There are also parts of that original soccer-centric build that plagues the app in other ways. Using 365Scores to stay updated on the Monday Night Football game, every touchdown was announced as a “Goal!” The message is still received, but these are little tweaks that are needed to reach the right audience in the long run.

It’s also worth noting that, on Android, tapping the notification that a goal was scored will take you into the 365Scores app but drops you on an empty page. There’s no information about the scoring play and you have to hit the back button in the app after every notification. That lack of information theme continues in the fact that there are no stats, even in completed games. There’s a quarter-by-quarter score, but no box score or individual stat lines. It’s literally all about the score. Soccer fans can see goal scorers, but there’s nothing to indicate time of possession or other general tale-of-the-tape type stats.

Going back to that number one seed versus the sixteen seed from earlier, it’s clear that 365Scores is a major underdog. There’s some promise with the scoring updates that, if developed further to include players and stats, could become a real contender. Of the non-elite options out there, 365Scores is probably one of the best – especially for soccer fans. But when taking on a top seed in the NCAA March Madness Tournament, the sixteen seed has never won. That streak continues.

You can download 365Scores for free on iPhone and Android.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple fires manager in charge of iOS 6 Maps app

ios 6 apple maps

The manager responsible for Apple's map app that launched with iOS 6 in September has been fired from the company.

It looks like Tim Cook was serious when he vowed that Apple would take some serious moves to improve its Maps app in iOS 6. Today Apple fired the manager responsible for spearheading Apple Maps, its navigation app that launched alongside its newest mobile operating system in September.

Senior Vice President Eddy Cue ousted Richard Williamson, who previously managed Apple’s mapping team, according to Bloomberg who spoke with unnamed sources familiar with the situation. Cue is currently recruiting mapping experts from outside the company and is also working with navigation brand TomTom NV to correct the landmark and navigation data it shares with Apple.

One source said that Cue hopes to find a replacement for Williamson, but there are no known candidates at this time. A team at Apple has been working to address some of the most crucial flaws with Apple Maps, one person said to Bloomberg, and some issues such app’s satellite view of the UK and labels for some well-known U.S. landmarks have been fixed.

Apple eliminated the Google Maps app from its mobile software in an attempt to distance itself from Google, two sources familiar with the development of Apple’s maps said to Bloomberg in September. When Apple launched iOS 6, Maps was under fire from critics and users alike who reported bugs with the navigation software. The app was largely slammed for inaccurate landmark searches and a lack of public transportation directions, prompting the Apple CEO to issue a public apology - a rare move for the company.

“At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers,” Cook’s apology began. “With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.”

Apple’s spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment on Cue’s move to fire Williamson.  This just marks yet another switch-up in Apple’s chain of command. After former mobile software chief Scott Forstall announced his departure in October, Apple saw an executive shakeup that placed Cue in charge of iTunes, the App Store, iCloud Services and now Siri. This also isn’t the first time Cue has had to deal with a troubled Apple product. As Bloomberg reports, Cue was assigned to oversee the MobileMe Internet storage service that eventually evolved into today’s iCloud after a series of mishaps.

Back in September, a source told TechCrunch that Apple was “aggressively” recruiting ex-Google workers to assist in developing its own maps, but this has not been publicly confirmed.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

X-Men: Days of Future Past brings back Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen

xmen v

X-Men: Days of Future Past has more than just a classic X-Men director on board. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, the original Professor X and Magneto, will be in the new installment when it comes out in 2014.

With box office records broken by movies like The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises and a slate of even more superhero movies coming like Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel in 2013, it’s time to face facts: The Golden Age of superhero flicks is over. We are now into the Silver Age, that period of refinement and invention. The movies from that naïve era of the early ’00s are now officially old school. The franchises like Spider-man and X-Men have already been successfully rebooted! That doesn’t mean there isn’t still room for some of the old in the new school, though. The cast of X-Men: Days of Future Past will have cast alums from both First Class and the decade-old franchise.

Director Bryan Singer confirmed via Twitter on Tuesday that Ian McKellen would play Erik “Magneto” Lensher opposite Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier in the new movie. The elder mutant leaders will appear alongside their younger counterparts as Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy will return as Magneto and Professor X respectively as well.

It’s been ten years exactly since Singer’s last X-Men movie, X2, which is still a gold standard for movies about aged super beings yelling at each other in plastic prisons.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Nintendo’s Wii Mini is $100 and only available in Canada

new wii

Nintendo confirmed the existence of its rumored Wii Mini on Tuesday, but the new version of the famous game console will only be released in Canada. Nintendo is mum on if and when the console will be released in the US.

The Wii is dead, long live the Wii. The Monday rumor that Nintendo is planning to release a brand new model of its six year old console has turned out to be entirely true. Nintendo officially announced the Wii Mini on Tuesday morning. As expected its smaller than current models of Wii and sports a very different look to boot. Rather than the glossy black plastic of the last Wii redesign, the Wii Mini has matte finish with a bright red border for a color scheme similar to models of the Nintendo 3DS XL. Like the first Wii redesign, Wii Mini doesn’t support Gamecube games or have ports for Gamecube controllers. Strangely it also doesn’t support Internet connectivity, meaning no Virtual Console or WiiWare games.

That’s not the only thing strange about Wii Mini, though. The budget priced console is only releasing in Canada on December 7. Digital Trends contacted Nintendo representatives in both the US and Canada to try and find out whether Wii Mini would be releasing in other territories.

“The Wii Mini is available exclusively in Canada during the holiday season,” said Nintendo of America’s representative, “We currently have no information about its potential availability in other territories (such as the U.S.) in the future.”

The question then is: Why Canada? Is that market in particular open to an ultra cheap Wii? Nintendo’s representatives in Canada said that they have no comment at this time as to why the console is exclusive to the region.

As mentioned in our Monday report, what makes the release of this new Wii model so strange is that Nintendo has officially stated that it’s no longer making new Wii games. When Nintendo released hardware revisions at the tail end of a console’s lifecycle in the past, it was always supported with new games. The top-loading NES for example was released in 1993, two years after the Super Nintendo, but it was supported with new games published by Nintendo through 1994. The Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance followed similar patterns.

Wii Mini is part of what seems to be a trend in the game industry. Sony also released a cheap model of PlayStation 3 with only 12GB of flash memory outside the US that doesn’t focus on downloadable content.

The Wii Mini will be released in Canada on Dec. 7 and retail for $100.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Memoto lifelogging camera breaks funding goal, but it’s back for more

Swedish startup Memoto exceeds its Kickstarter funding goal for its lifelogging camera, but now it hopes to raise more money to create additional accessories.

After securing $500,000 through two phases of Kickstarter funding (reaching its initial $50,000 goal in just five hours), Swedish startup Memoto is now shooting for $700,000 to bring its Memoto lifelogging camera into fruition. The company has a mere three days until its November 30 deadline, but it may just succeed, because it seems people in the Kickstarter community are genuinely interested in capturing every moment of their lives. If you thought vacation photos are miserable to sit through, devices like the Memoto may just open a whole new door.

In case you’re unfamiliar, lifelogging is the concept of wearing instruments, such as a computer and a camera, to record everything that happens. The photos or videos serve as a way to remember or relive the past. The idea isn’t new, but technology has allowed the condensing of cumbersome equipment into a small, wearable device, making it less geek niche and more mainstream.

The Memoto is one example: A clip-on, button-less device that contains a camera which automatically turns on and takes photos every 30 seconds while attached to your garment. It even has built-in GPS to log location. Memoto claims the battery will last two days (it recharges through Micro USB), and the onboard storage can hold up to 4,000 photos. Unlike lifelogging of yore, the Memoto is designed to work without much fuss. It ensures that you capture every “Kodak moment,” as the saying goes, without having to constantly whip out the camera or smart device. To organize and share the photos, Memoto is also building apps for iPhone and Android to work with the camera.

While it has far exceeded its original funding goal, Memoto is hoping to use the additional money raised to help create some accessories to go with the camera, such as a wide-angle lens, waterproof case, and Wi-Fi dock. The product is aiming for availability in early 2013, and the camera will sell for $280. Early backers can get one for $250 via the Kickstarter campaign.

With its miniature size and effortless usability, the Memoto presents an intriguing way in how we view photos. There are many possibilities in how people could put lifelogging cameras to use – both good and bad. So before you think about gifting one of these babies to your older relatives who can appreciate a boost of memory, imagine the consequence. Otherwise, good luck sitting through Uncle Bob’s daily breakfast routine.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two review: When fan service isn’t enough

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is a big, honking love letter to Disney fans, though it's held back time and again by an assortment of design issues.

Whether or not you’re entertained by Junction Point’s work on Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, you have to admire the level of fan service going on. Warren Spector and his team dug deep into Disney’s library of forgotten lore for the first Epic Mickey, and the double-dip in Epic Mickey 2 is marked by the same level of loving attention. If that sort of attention had also been paid to delivering an enjoyable, polished experience, Junction Point might have delivered a worthwhile, significantly improved sequel. Instead, Epic Mickey 2 is consistently held back by a less-than-stellar technical execution that is big on ideas, but short on delivery.

The Less Than Magic Kingdom

Epic Mickey 2 returns Disney’s most-loved mascot to Wasteland, a place where scrapped characters and creations continue to live on in their own sort of Disney-fied otherverse. The story picks up after the events of the previous game, with Mickey Mouse being called back to the Wasteland after an earthquake ravages Mean Street and Oswald is charmed by a newly returned Mad Doctor, who claims to have abandoned his villainous ways. It’s clear that something fishy is afoot, though exactly what is a mystery at the outset. It’s enough to get Mickey and Oswald to team up as they work to figure out what’s wrong.

Much of the open-ended platforming of the original Epic Mickey returns intact in The Power of Two, with the addition of Oswald as a constant companion and potential co-op character being the main enhancement. Mickey returns to Wasteland armed with the same paint/thinner abilities afforded to him by his Magic Brush and you’ll only take control of him in single-player games. Oswald wields his remote control, which is used to activate certain switches and re-program machines. He’ll also stun enemies with electric attacks in combat, and use his helicopter rotor-like spinning ears to glide across long gaps while Mickey clutches his feet.

The fundamentals remain largely the same outside of Oswald. The world of Wasteland is broken up into discrete environments, but each one is large, elaborate, and marked by its own identity. The broken, scattered bits of Mean Street still feel like a slightly twisted take on Disney’s own Main Street, with the small-town vibe coming to feel more and more “off” as you get to know the local residents. This sort of not-Disney personality shines through in every location, and it’s all enhanced significantly by The Power of Two‘s move from the previous game’s Wii exclusive to a multiplatform release for HD consoles (plus the Wii).

The writing in general earns high marks, shining especially bright in cutscenes that run the gamut from standard CG animation to hand-drawn 2D cartoons. There are even a handful of songs to enjoy in the early game, though the musical element is definitely downplayed more and more as The Power of Two progresses. Players also have a similar sort of control over the story’s outcome as they did in the last game thanks to the open-ended gameplay opportunities offered by Mickey’s paint/thinner abilities. Whether you’re fighting enemies or tackling environmental puzzles, there are typically multiple solutions to any given obstacle that generally boil down to using either paint or thinner to fill in or blot out different parts of the environment.

The original Epic Mickey showed similar promise and, unfortunately, The Power of Two falters in many of the same spots that its predecessor did. For starters, basic game concepts aren’t explained very well. You’ll be introduced to your basic controls in the opening moments, but more advanced concepts such as the open-ended opportunities offered by the paint/thinner divide are merely glossed over. You’ll be fine if you’ve played Epic Mickey, but newcomers are expected to simply feel things out. Similarly, while it’s great that Wasteland is once again packed with secrets to uncover, the game doesn’t do an effective job of communicating what you should be looking for. The in-game map is equipped with filters that help you figure out where you’re supposed to be going and what other things you could go looking for, but the sub-par tutorial skips over it entirely.

Then there’s Oswald. The rabbit plays second fiddle throughout The Power of Two, to the point that you’ll only ever control Mickey in single-player games. Co-op play gives the second player control over Oswald, but the puzzles tend to be pretty Mickey-focused and Oswald’s remote control ability lacks any sort of depth. While Mickey can edit large swaths of the environment in one way or another, Oswald is basically limited to serving as an on/off switch in select locations. Epic Mickey 2 also features local co-op play only, which means you’ll have to struggle with split-screen if you want a second player to join in.

Unfortunately, having that second player handy is helpful since the AI-controlled Oswald is so unreliable. You’re supposed to be able to call him over to Mickey with a single button-press, but things rarely go so smoothly in practice. You’ll frequently find yourself waiting for Oswald to catch up, and you’ll sometimes struggle once he arrives to get him to do whatever it is that needs doing. Contextual commands that require the use of the remote control work fairly well, but getting the rabbit into position for pressure plate puzzles and things like glide-required jumps can be a trying ordeal more often than not.

The great shame of these shortcomings is that there’s a compelling, smartly designed game that pays great service to deep-cut Disney fans. The problem is that it’s buried beneath an avalanche of design woes. It’s as if development was rushed. Hell, maybe it was, but the reason matters little in light of the result. As smart as the open-ended level design is — both for the 3D open worlds and for the 2D side-scrolling sequences that connect them — that appeal is frequently lost amidst a wash of frustrating design choices.

Pii U

I’m not going to hold the Wii U-specific issues against the game too much since the Nintendo console was added late in The Power of Two‘s development, but there are problems with the Wii U version that any prospective player should be aware of. On the positive side of things, the Wii U release is as visually strong as any other HD version of the game. Wasteland looks gorgeous in HD, and that holds true just as much on Nintendo’s platform as it does on any other the others.

The technical performance, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. The frame rate in general is noticeably slower than you would expect from a 2012 console game. You’ll spot the performance slowdown even when you’re just panning the camera slowly around Mickey, especially in large, detailed environments, such as Mean Street. There’s a basic level of choppiness that you would typically expect to see in a PC game running at higher settings than its graphics card normally allows for. Slowdown is also an issue during the busiest moments, with the already-inconsistent performance dipping to unacceptable levels. There was even one entire cutscene that played out with no sound at all; I thought it was my TV until the scene ended and sound was restored. This is a port that is in desperate need of optimization; perhaps a patch could fix it, but one hasn’t been issued yet.

Then there’s the missed opportunity of the Wii U’s second screen interface. Players have quick, touch-based access to the in-game map and its filters on the GamePad. You can also quickly switch between any sketches you’ve unlocked — Epic Mickey‘s limited-use “magical” abilities — by tapping the desired icon. And that’s it. No GamePad-only play. You can’t even dump the splitscreen in co-op games over to the smaller screen. In fact, the best way to play Epic Mickey 2 on your Wii U is with a Wii Remote and Nunchuk, since the remote offers a finer degree of control over Mickey’s paint reticle than any analog stick could.

Conclusion

Steer clear of the Wii U version until an update is released to fix the technical woes. Slowdown and frame rate issues aside, it’s easily the best version when you come at it with a Wii Remote+Nunchuk. The PlayStation 3 version potentially offers the same as well with Move controls. Your goal should be to avoid any version of the game that only supports analog stick-based controls.

As a game, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is a marginally improved sequel that adds just as many headaches to the experience as it does enhancements. It isn’t a terrible game at all, but it’s a flawed one for sure, held back most of all by a general level of user-unfriendliness that is particularly troublesome for series newcomers. For any issues, lingering or otherwise, The Power of Two is still a difficult thing for any serious Disney fan to say no to. For whatever ails this game, it’s clear that Spector and his team have a deep love for the Mouse House.

Score: 6.5 out of 10

(This game was reviewed on the Wii U via a review copy provided by the publisher)


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Future LG Nexus 4 Orders Now Limited To Max of Two Handsets per Order



When the very first shipment of LG Nexus 4 handsets hit Google Play, there was technically no order limit. While it’s hard to say how many some users grabbed the first time around, Google doesn’t want a bunch of us going out there and buying a bunch to sell at high-cost on Ebay any longer. The solution? A 2-handset cut-off.

If you ordered two handsets the first time around, you are done– at least for now until they get a full amount of stock, then they may or may not change the policy back. If you ordered today and got two, you are done, etc. This is a good move on Google’s part and makes a great deal of sense.

Now if only they could get an ample amount of devices in stock, wouldn’t that be nice? Have you got your hands on the Nexus 4 yet? If so, did you do it first time around or in today’s very short restocking?



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

Doom 3: BFG Edition source code released on GitHub

Game developer id Software has released Doom 3: BFG Edition’s source code to a GitHub repository under the GNU General Public License, giving the modding community a chance to tinker with the game’s engine and release their own creations without having to worry about licensing fees.

The release comes about a year after the source for the original Doom 3 title was made public, and joins other id Software code releases including Wolfenstein 3D, Quake 3 Arena, and Doom for iOS.

Doom 3: BFG Edition is an update to the company’s eight year old first-person shooter. Released only last month for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, BFG enhances the graphics and sound effects, adds a checkpoint save system, and includes support for 3D displays and HMDs. The game also includes the previous expansion Resurrection of Evil and a new single player expansion pack called The Lost Mission.

The source release does not contain any game data, which is still covered by the original EULA, nor functionality for integrating with Steam, for rendering Bink Videos, for rendering of stencil shadows via the "depth fail" method, a functionality commonly known as "Carmack's Reverse”, or other resources. Basically, the released source code covers the game engine for developers to work on mods or their own games.

Along with the source code the company has also released a patch for the game on steam. Among the changes are new field of vision settings, controller bind options, extra anti-cheat measures, and several bug fixes. You can read the full release notes on the official Bethesda blog.


Source : techspot[dot]com

iOS No. 1 OS in US once again thanks to iPhone 5, not so overseas

iOS No. 1 OS in US once again thanks to iPhone 5, not so ohttp://techradar.com/verseas

The iPhone 5 has put Apple back on top

New data from research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech indicated on Tuesday that Apple's iOS reclaimed the top U.S. spot from Google's Android, thanks to the iPhone 5.

But just barely - in the 12-week period leading up to and after the iPhone 5's release (ending Oct. 28), iOS earned enough new users to claim 48.1 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, while Android now holds 46.7 percent, according to the report.

Apple and Android are ehttp://techradar.com/ver at odds for the top spot, and Kantar Worldpanel's Global Consumer Insight Director Dominic Sunnebo commented in the latest report that the last time Apple stole the crown from Android was when the iPhone 4S came out in 2011.

Sunnebo added a prediction that Apple will surpass its prehttp://techradar.com/vious high of 49.3 percent, which would mark its highest ehttp://techradar.com/ver chunk of the market, within the next two quarters.

Huge growth for Apple

A report from digital business analytics firm comScore in early October claimed that Apple and Android's market shares were growing, though Android was still in first place as of July of 2012.

At that point, Google's mobile operating system held 52.2 percent of the U.S. market, while Apple's iOS comprised a mere 33.4 percent.

If those figures are accurate, then Tuesday's report from Kantar indicates huge growth for Apple.

That's mostly thanks to sales of the iPhone 5, 60 percent of which went to existing iPhone users looking to upgrade, while 13 percent of iPhone 5 adopters switched from Android, and 6 percent switched from BlackBerry, according to Kantar Worldpanel's research.

Android's global dominance

The prehttp://techradar.com/vious report from Kantar was also released in October, and focused on Windows Phone's increasing traction in Europe, where it surpassed RIM's BlackBerry offerings to achiehttp://techradar.com/ve third place ohttp://techradar.com/verseas.

That same report indicated that Android had grown the most in the prehttp://techradar.com/vious year, though sales of Apple's iPhone 5 had not yet been taken into account.

Midway through 2012, a different report from Kantar claimed that Android was the dominant OS worldwide, making up more than 50 percent of smartphones in sehttp://techradar.com/veral markets.

At the time, Kantar attributed that success to Android phones being cheaper and earning the loyalty of their customers.

Going back to the latest research, it seems Android remains dominant in Europe and the U.K., though Apple maintains a strong presence there as well.

Despite Apple's recent http://techradar.com/victory, upcoming Android phones like the inehttp://techradar.com/vitable Samsung Galaxy S4 and the rumored LG Optimus G2 and Sony Odin could put Google back on top.


Source : techradar[dot]com

What a Windows user needs to know about Mac and OS X

Are you a former Windows user making the switch to a Mac? Find out what to expect and learn the basics of using an Apple computer.

Now that we know Apple’s new iMac will be available starting Friday, November 30, it’s time to prepare yourself – especially if this is your first time using a Mac. Mac newbies will find that the homescreen appears foreign, the trackpad will do confusing things, and there will likely be a plethora of helpful tricks that you’ll never unearth. Luckily, we’re here to help. You don’t have to learn everything from scratch, but Apple’s OS X is different enough that you might just find this guide useful. 

Macs come with OS X

First things first: You don’t need to install Windows on a Mac computer. You certainly can if you want to, but you don’t have to. Mac computers come with Apple’s own operating system (OS) called OS X, with versions named after big cats. Think Leopards, Lions, and, according to rumors, even Lynxes. The newest release to date, version 10.8, is called Mountain Lion.

OS X isn’t a complete departure from Windows. Nothing’s so shockingly different that you’d feel as if you’re navigating something that’s not a computer. That said, there are many OS X-exclusive features and applications that you won’t find on a Windows machine. Some applications, like Reminders and Notifications, are tightly connected to the cloud. You can write a reminder on your computer and access it on your iPad or iPhone if you happen to have either.

A handful of the OS X features you need to know to get started are:

  • Dock and menu bar: You can use the dock at the bottom to launch apps or go back to an open app if you’ve temporarily navigated to another homescreen. You can customize your dock to display oft-accessed programs. The menu bar is at the top of the screen. Here, you can find small icons of programs that work in the background (cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive, among others). At the top left-corner of the menu bar is the Apple icon where you can find the Log Out and Shut Down commands. 
  • Mission Control: One of the default dock icons is Mission Control. Mission Control gives you an overall view of all the windows and desktops you have open. Yes, you can add and subtract as many desktops as you want – something that’s especially useful for MacBooks with smaller screens. To access a desktop, you can either go back to Mission Control and select one, swipe upwards with three fingers on your trackpad, or double-tap with two fingers using a Magic Mouse. We’ll discuss OS X touch gestures in more detail later on. 
  • Launchpad: Want to see all your Mac applications and not just those displayed on your dock? Find the silver icon with the rocket graphic to launch your app screens. 
  • Dashboard: When you access Mission Control, you’ll notice that the screen at the very left is not another desktop. It’s called the Dashboard, and you can pin various widgets on it, including currency and measurement converters, virtual Post-it notes, clocks, and more. 
  • Finder: Think of finder as Mac’s My Documents’ folder. It’s where you can access all your files. 
  • Spotlight: You’ll find the Spotlight window situated next to the time on the thin menu bar on top of your screen (look for the little magnifying glass). Spotlight is a text search bar that’ll help you find files and even word definitions via OS X’s built-in dictionary. 

How to install, exit, or delete Mac apps

  • How to install Mac apps: When installing a Mac app, you’ll be prompted to drag the app’s icon into the Applications folder. By doing so, you’re making the app available on the apps homescreen accessible via Launchpad. You can download apps from the Mac App Store (similar to the iOS App Store, except it sells OS X apps), or anywhere on the Internet.
  • How to quit Mac apps: Clicking the teeny “x” button on the top right-hand corner of an application won’t truly close the app. In order to properly exit a Mac app, click the app name at the menu bar on top, then find “Quit” on the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can right-click an app icon on the dock and click Force Quit. If all else fails, you can always hit “Command + Q.”
  • How to delete Mac apps: To delete Mac apps, open Finder and go to the Applications folder. Drag the icon of the app you want to delete to the Trash icon on the dock. You can also download third-party Mac apps like Appcleaner (free) to delete previously installed programs on your computer. 

How to use keyboard shortcuts and gesture controls

  • Forget the Control Key; the Command key is your new best friend. Command is the new Control when using a Mac. For example, if you’re used to pressing “Control + I” on a Windows machine to italicize text, it’s now “Command + I” on Mac. 
  • You’ll find yourself using a lot of keyboard shortcuts on Mac. Check out this handy list of shortcuts compiled on Apple’s website. Believe us when we say it’s a must-check, as it contains incredibly useful info. Know how to take screenshots on a Mac? It’s “Shift + Command + 3 (or ’4′ to take a screenshot of a specific area).” How’d we know that? We learned that from the shortcuts list.
  • You’ll also be using gesture controls a lot. MacBooks have built-in trackpads. If you have an iMac or don’t want to use your laptop’s trackpad, you can use either a Magic Mouse or a Magic Trackpad – both of which recognize gestures. While gestures vary subtly depending on the accessory used, the ideas are similar. Swiping sideways using multiple fingers, for instance, lets you scroll horizontally or switch desktop homescreens. Pressing down on the trackpad or mouse is double-clicking, while tapping with two fingers means right-clicking. To learn more about your device’s gesture control settings – and to tweak it, if you want – launch System Preferences and click on the trackpad or mouse icon. 

How to share external drives between OS X and Windows

If you have an external hard drive you’ve been using on Windows that you also intend to use with your Mac, know that it won’t work right out of the box. All hard drives used with Windows use the NTFS proprietary file system, and that – surprise, surprise – doesn’t work on OS X. You can either choose to convert your drive into a Time Machine for exclusive use with a Mac, or follow either of these instructions so you can use it with both systems:

  • Download and install compatibility programs on Mac. Two programs you can use are Paragon ($20) and Tuxera ($32). Simply installing them on a Mac computer will make it compatible with the hard drive you use for Windows. We recommend going this route as it is easy and hassle-free, but if you’re really not willing to shell out that much for a program, you can choose the option below.
  • Change your external hard drive’s format from NTFS to FAT32, which works with both Mac and Windows. Before you do this, make sure you back up your all your files because formatting your drive will wipe it out. A downside to converting your file format to FAT32 is that it doesn’t support files larger than 4GB.

    One way to convert your external hard drive to FAT32 on a Windows computer is to download third-party software programs. Search for “NTFS to FAT32 converter” on Google to find a number of free programs, such as FAT32 Format.

    You can also format your drive on Windows via the Command prompt. Click the Start button, type “Run” (without the quotation marks) in the search box, then type “cmd” in the box that pops up. This will launch the command prompt. Type “format /FS:FAT32 X:” in the prompt, changing “X:” with the drive’s letter. You can find the drive’s designated letter by checking Windows Explorer – it will look something like “Removable Disk (X:).”

    On OS X, go to Applications with your external hard drive plugged in. Find the Utilities folder and click on Disk Utility. Choose the hard drive you want to format on the left-hand side, choose Partition, and pick FAT under the Volume drop-down menu. 

More to discover

Did you know that you can share your MacBook’s Internet connection? If you only have a USB Wi-Fi dongle instead of a mobile hotspot that you can wirelessly connect to, simply plug the dongle into your Mac, go to System Preferences, click Sharing, then tick the check box next to Internet Sharing. Your phone or tablet can now hitch a ride on your MacBook’s Internet connection via Wi-Fi.

We’ve barely scratched the surface with this guide. Don’t be afraid to discover what a Mac can do. After some exploration, your Mac will soon become more of a familiar sight than an intimidating alien environment.

Anything to add for Windows users new to OS X and Mac computers? Sound off in the comments!


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

iOS No. 1 OS in US once again thanks to iPhone 5

iOS No. 1 OS in US once again thanks to iPhone 5

The iPhone 5 has put Apple back on top

New data from research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech indicated on Tuesday that Apple's iOS had reclaimed the top U.S. spot from Google's Android, thanks to the iPhone 5.

But just barely - in the 12-week period leading up to and after the iPhone 5's release (ending Oct. 28), iOS earned enough new users to claim 48.1 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, while Android now holds 46.7 percent, according to the report.

Apple and Android are ehttp://techradar.com/ver at odds for the top spot, and Kantar Worldpanel's Global Consumer Insight Director Dominic Sunnebo commented in the latest report that the last time Apple stole the crown from Android was when the iPhone 4S came out in 2011.

Sunnebo added a prediction that Apple will surpass its prehttp://techradar.com/vious high of 49.3 percent, which would mark its highest ehttp://techradar.com/ver chunk of the market, within the next two quarters.

Huge growth for Apple

A report from digital business analytics firm comScore in early October claimed that Apple and Android's market shares were growing, though Android was still in first place as of July of 2012.

At that point, Google's mobile operating system held 52.2 percent of the U.S. market, while Apple's iOS comprised a mere 33.4 percent.

If those figures are accurate, then Tuesday's report from Kantar Worldpanel indicates huge growth for Apple.

That's mostly thanks to sales of the iPhone 5, 60 percent of which went to existing iPhone users looking to upgrade, while 13 percent of iPhone 5 adopters switched from Android, and 6 percent switched from BlackBerry, according to Kantar Worldpanel's research.

Android's global dominance

The prehttp://techradar.com/vious report from Kantar Worldpanel was also released in October, and focused on Windows Phone's increasing traction in Europe, where it surpassed RIM's BlackBerry offerings to achiehttp://techradar.com/ve third place ohttp://techradar.com/verseas.

That same report indicated that Android had grown the most in the prehttp://techradar.com/vious year, though sales of Apple's iPhone 5 had not yet been taken into account.

Midway through 2012 a different report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech claimed that Android was the dominant OS worldwide, making up more than 50 percent of smartphones in sehttp://techradar.com/veral markets.

At the time, Kantar Worldpanel attributed that success to Android phones being cheaper and earning the loyalty of their customers.

Going back to the latest research, it seems Android remains dominant in Europe and the UK, though Apple maintains a strong presence there as well.

Despite Apple's recent http://techradar.com/victory, upcoming Android phones like the inehttp://techradar.com/vitable Samsung Galaxy S4 and the rumored LG Optimus G2 and Sony Odin could put Google back on top.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Foxconn rumored as Surface phone manufacturer, Amazon phone too

Foxconn rumored as Surface phone manufacturer, Amazon phone too

Mobile hardware is like potato chips, Microsoft can't do just one

Microsoft's rumored Surface phone has, for lack of a better word, resurfaced with word that Foxconn is manufacturing the device.

According to a Digitimes report, Foxconn International Holdings, a subsidiary of Foxconn Electronics, has received orders from Microsoft for a handsets with a proposed launch in mid-2013.

The report follows rumors last week from Chinese site IT Home, which cited anonymous sources claiming a Microsoft smartphone to already be in production at Foxconn.

The rumors are piling up

Earlier this month reports indicated that Microsoft was testing its own-brand handset with various suppliers in Asia, presumably looking for a manufacturing partner.

Sources indicated that the smartphone will have a display size between four and five inches and of course run on Windows Phone 8 for its OS.

After Microsoft jumped into the mobile hardware ring with its Surface tablet, many analysts believed that a Surface phone would be next. Potential competitor Nokia even welcomed the idea to encourage competition for a strong Windows Phone ecosystem, though that tune may change should the rumors prove to be true.

Amazon's smartphone debut?

The Digitimes report also brings another company into play, adding that Amazon has chosen Foxconn to manufacture its own smartphone.

The Kindle maker has so far stuck to tablets for its mobile devices, but rumors have been circulating all year that a smartphone makes sense for the company's next step.

In September Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos noted that the company has some new devices in the works for next year, which rekindled Amazon smartphone rumors.

Between the rumored Surface phone for Windows Phone 8 and the Amazon handset expected to run on Android, it seems that next year will see two industry giants make their smartphone debuts. If the mid-2013 launch timeframe is true, then they could arrive just in time to go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 6, or possibly iPhone 7 at the rate Apple goes through iterations.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Windows 8 app store has 20K apps, but revenue is a different story

Unfortunately for the Windows Store, a high volume of downloads does not mean more money, and Apple is still trouncing Microsoft in terms of app revenue.

One of the highlights of the Windows 8 OS is the expansiveness of the Windows Store. Microsoft built up the marketplace quickly to offer more than 20,000 apps within the first month of operation. Data from Distimo, a company tracking app analytics, showed that the daily download volume of the top 300 apps in the Windows Store is three times greater than the downloads of the top 300 Mac App Store selections. However, the important qualifier for that finding is that many of those Windows 8 downloads are free, meaning the store isn’t nearly as valuable as the Apple App Store. In fact, about 86 percent of the offerings in the Windows Store don’t cost a penny. 

Distimo provided other interesting insights about the Windows Store, noting that the available apps cater about evenly to tablets and PCs. It’s a big contrast to the App Store, which has just 13,000 selections for the Mac and a whopping 275,000 apps just for iPad. Microsoft has also pushed the local angle for its apps with the new store. More than 10 percent of those top 300 apps are popular in a specific geographic market. Just 65 percent of the Windows Store offerings are U.S. only, compared with 85 percent or more for other platforms. So while the money isn’t pouring in from apps, Microsoft has latched onto a strategy that seems to have a good chance for success. 

There’s an interesting split in the purpose of OS X/iOS apps and Windows apps. The Apple App Store has made a hefty chunk of change on games for iPhones and the iPad, whereas not only are the bulk of the Windows apps free, but they seem to have a different focus. Many of the top Windows 8 apps are either designed for productivity or easier use of your Windows 8 device, or they are apps tied to popular websites. It is a subtle indication that Microsoft machines and the people who use them still have a serious edge. 

Source: TechCrunch 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Gearbox Software: No Borderlands 2 for Nintendo Wii U

borderlands 2 dlc

Even if Assassin's Creed III and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 made it to Nintendo's Wii U, that doesn't mean that every one of 2012's most hyped games are going to make it to the new console. Borderlands 2 is one of this big guns that won't make the leap.

The popular consensus is that the Wii U’s success will be determined by how adept game designers are at leveraging the console’s unique tablet controller. The Wii U GamePad doesn’t necessarily require thinking wholly outside the box, though. There are plenty of existing games that would benefit greatly from having the touch screen controller. Just imagine how smooth Borderlands 2 would be if you could navigate its cumbersome inventory using the Wii U’s touch screen. Too bad it’s not going to happen, so says Gearbox Software’s Randy Pitchford.

Speaking with magazine GamesMaster (via Nintendo Everything), Pitchford put the kibosh on a potential Wii U version of Borderlands 2. “We get asked if there is going to be a Wii U version of Borderlands, and the reason why there’s not is because we couldn’t think of a natural, obvious, ‘OMG, I want that for what the Wii brings to the table’ feature.”

Gearbox’s upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines and its iconic motion tracker is the perfect example of an ideal Wii U feature according to Pitchford. “[With] Aliens, the first thing we though was, ‘Holy shit, I can have a motion controller in my hands!’ When it’s there in my lap it feels like I’m part of the movie.”

Way back in April during our very first hands on preview of Borderlands 2, I asked producer Sean Reardon if Gearbox Software was considering a Wii U version of the game. His answer then was, “We don’t have anything to announce right now.” In marketing speak, that translates as, “We haven’t decided just yet.”

Now that Borderlands 2 and Wii U are on shelves, the decision seems final if not a little confusing. Pitchford in particular has been vocal about wanting to get Borderlands 2 onto platforms besides PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360. He mentioned wanting to make a Vita version of the game multiple times back in September, but he also said that Gearbox didn’t have the time to port the game over to the handheld. It wouldn’t necessarily be making the Wii U version either. Demiurge Studios is actually developing the Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines, so it’s not without precedent for Gearbox to contract out a port job.

As the Wii U matures, it will be important for developers to remember that the Nintendo DS’ greatest innovations were simple. At first it seemed lazy for developers to use the second screen as a constantly open map, but that actually made games like Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow significantly better than if they were on a one-screen system. Borderlands 2 would benefit in the same way.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Google issues Android 4.2.1 update, December apocalypse back on!

2012 plane escape

Google is re-adding the month of December to Android 4.2, which rolls out to Nexus devices today. If you're born in December, rejoice. Your month of birth is back while the entire world is resumes the countdown to world's end on December 21, 2012.

We love Android 4.2. It’s fast and sleek, and we’ve never tried to add a December birthday to one of our contacts. If we had more friends (with December birthdays), we might care more about this update. So for Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 users, however many of you there may be, Google is pushing out an over-the-air update today to fix the missing December issue and other small bugs, reports TalkAndroid

2012 John CusackIn addition to adding December back to your phone, Android 4.2.1 (Jelly Bean) should improve battery life, stability (less crashes), and fix other minor issues. We don’t precisely know what’s being fixed because Google appears too shy to share, but since the update is only about 1MB large, we assume this is mostly targeted at December babies. Your birthdays have always had to compete with Christmas, but at least you know Google cares.

Well, except for the Mayans. With December back on the calendar, the end of the world is back on track, which means any of you with a birthday after December 21, 2012 had better start celebrating before the power goes out and we’re all stuck flying through the ruins of society with John Cusack.

Problems we hope this fixes before the end of the world

In the last days of our Earthly existences, we do hope that this update will fix some nagging issues with our Nexus devices. In the first weeks that Android 4.2 Jelly Bean was made available, users have reported a wide number of bugs. Some, such as the folks over at Android Police, have even referred to Android 4.2 as “one of the most bug-ridden releases since Honeycomb.” Below is a list of the glitches we’ve identified with the next-generation of Jelly Bean. Hopefully all of these issues will be gone after today’s update, and we can have a good 23 days of smooth phoning before we all drown in the impending apocalypse.

  • Android 4.2 December bug (Nexus 10)December Bug:  See above. Android 4.2 completely bypasses the month of December in its People app on all Nexus devices. The People app’s calendar goes directly from November 2012 to January 2013, missing the last month of the year.
  • Dysfunctional Bluetooth: Bluetooth capabilities on devices such as the Nexus 10, Nexus 7, and Galaxy Nexus have choppy audio and insecure connections. Bluetooth often loses its connectivity on these devices, and third party apps that create a Bluetooth connection with other non-Android gadgets become completely dysfunctional. The Nexus 4 is the only device running on Android 4.2 that does not experience this problem.
  • Poor battery performance: After updating to Android 4.2, services from Google Play can eat away at battery life immensely. This affects the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, and Nexus 4. The Nexus 7, however, also has its own exclusive battery issue; After updating to Android 4.1, Google’s 7-inch tablet tends to charge very slowly in certain circumstances, as some users in the XDA developers forum have acknowledged.
  • Auto-brightness bugs: The auto-brightness function on Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 devices has acted flaky since the upgrade, according to some users. For example, the Nexus 7’s glitch causes the screen to flicker when you turn on auto-brightness. Although this issue was present in previous builds, Android Police says that it got worse after the 4.2 update. The auto-brightness on Android 4.2 also randomly adjusts without any changes in ambient light.
  • Random reboots: Devices are randomly rebooting after updating to Android 4.2. This bug affects the Nexus 10, Nexus 7, Nexus 4, and Galaxy Nexus – and has occurred while performing tasks and remaining idle. Some Nexus 10 users report suffering from random reboots multiple times each day. Interestingly enough, HTC’s Windows Phone 8X also suffers from the same issue.
  • Slow and unstable UI: The user interface, which Google boasted to be “buttery smooth,” appears to have taken a turn in the complete opposite direction with the update. Some devices upgraded from Android 4.1.2, (i.e. the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7) are slow and sluggish while opening apps and navigating through the user interface. A factory reset may remedy some of these concerns, but a laggy UI isn’t the only issue. Some Galaxy Nexus owners have said that their screen will light up without any interaction, much like an iPhone when it gets a notification.
  • Lockscreen widgets and camera apps: The lockscreen widgets for certain behave strangely for select users. In one instance, lockscreen controls for Google Music completely disappeared once a third party music app launched. If you try to launch a third party music app, pause it, and then re-open Google Music, the controls for Google Music will not appear until you reboot the device. As for the camera app, reports have stated that it could take up to three seconds to switch between portrait and landscape modes.

It is important to keep in mind that while these glitches seem to affect at least some users on every Nexus device, that does not mean that your smartphone or tablet will suffer from each and every bug. But again, it probably won’t matter soon. 

Additional bug reporting by Lisa Eadicicco


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Windows 8 app store has 20K apps, but revenue is a different story

Unfortunately for the Windows Store, a high volume of downloads does not mean more money, and Apple is still trouncing Microsoft in terms of app revenue.

One of the highlights of the Windows 8 OS is the expansiveness of the Windows Store. Microsoft built up the marketplace quickly to offer more than 20,000 apps within the first month of operation. Data from Distimo, a company tracking app analytics, showed that the daily download volume of the top 300 apps in the Windows Store is three times greater than the downloads of the top 300 Mac App Store selections. However, the important qualifier for that finding is that many of those Windows 8 downloads are free, meaning the store isn’t nearly as valuable as the Apple App Store. In fact, about 86 percent of the offerings in the Windows Store don’t cost a penny. 

Distimo provided other interesting insights about the Windows Store, noting that the available apps cater about evenly to tablets and PCs. It’s a big contrast to the App Store, which has just 13,000 selections for the Mac and a whopping 275,000 apps just for iPad. Microsoft has also pushed the local angle for its apps with the new store. More than 10 percent of those top 300 apps are popular in a specific geographic market. Just 65 percent of the Windows Store offerings are U.S. only, compared with 85 percent or more for other platforms. So while the money isn’t pouring in from apps, Microsoft has latched onto a strategy that seems to have a good chance for success. 

There’s an interesting split in the purpose of OS X/iOS apps and Windows apps. The Apple App Store has made a hefty chunk of change on games for iPhones and the iPad, whereas not only are the bulk of the Windows apps free, but they seem to have a different focus. Many of the top Windows 8 apps are either designed for productivity or easier use of your Windows 8 device, or they are apps tied to popular websites. It is a subtle indication that Microsoft machines and the people who use them still have a serious edge. 

Source: TechCrunch 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Nintendo gives away classic levels as DLC in New Super Mario Bros. 2

New Super Mario Bros. 2 will literally recreate the classics with the next downloadable content pack for the 3DS platformer, with stages from Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., and Super Mario Bros. 3.

 new super mario bros 2

New Super Mario Bros. 2 isn’t the best game in Nintendo’s foundational franchise, but it is an important one. This platformer for Nintendo 3DS is the face of Nintendo’s nascent digital distribution business in 2012. No more WiiWare or eShop-only releases for the big N. It’s gone full swing, putting games in key series out at retail at the same time as on its download services and New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the canary Nintendo’s sent into the mine. Not just to see if it can turn the same profit on downloadable games as it does with cartridges at stores, but to see if it can properly support a game with regular downloadable content.

Nintendo certainly seems to understand how to bait its proverbial hook. The company announced on Tuesday that it’s planning a round of free downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. 2. Due out in Japan this week, the Golden Classic Course Pack actually recreates levels from classic Mario games, including the first, second, and fourth levels from Mario Bros., the warp whistle-hiding fifth level from Super Mario Bros. 3, and arguably the most famous video game level ever made, Level 1-1 from the original Super Mario Bros.

While the pack is free at first, it will cost 200 yen (about $2.50) after January 31st.

This is actually the fourth downloadable content pack for New Super Mario Bros. 2. Nintendo released the first three sets back at the beginning of October, including the Gold Rush Pack, Coin Challenge Pack A, and the Nerve-Wrack Pack. Each one augments the game’s competitive Coin Rush mode and costs $2.50. Very expensive for content that doesn’t expand the core campaign.

Nintendo is smart to release the classic level DLC now, though. By offering it for free close to the holidays, when there’s a guaranteed flush of new players, it’s enticing potential customers to check out its digital offerings with no risk. Once the free sample’s consumed, there’s a readymade library of additional content to buy immediately.

People are buying Nintendo’s DLC slowly and steadily. This new pack for Mario should see the canary thrive down in the digital mines.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Firefox 18 beta adds JavaScript improvements, Retina Display support

Mozilla has released a new beta version of Firefox for Windows, Mac and Linux that adds a number of new features to the popular web browser. Firefox 18 beta includes, among other things, improvements to make JavaScript web apps and games perform more smoothly thanks to a new compiler called IonMonkey.

IonMoney has been in development for some time now. In layman’s terms, it provides a more efficient way for Firefox to process JavaScript and is able to run new optimizations that simply aren’t possible with JagerMonkey.  It can also quickly emit native code translations of JavaScript functions on ARM, 32-bit and 64-bit architectures.

Download: Firefox 18 Beta (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Those running a Mac will be happy to know that Firefox 18 now supports Apple’s Retina Display. This of course will make virtually everything you do on the web look significantly better on a supporting panel.

There’s also a built-in PDF viewer that works across all platforms and standard support for W3C touch events. Those interested in security features may want to take note that you can now disable insecure content on HTTPS secure websites through the about:config menu.

The full change log has been republished below for your convenience.

  • NEW: Support for Retina Display on OS X 10.7 and up.
  • NEW: Preliminary support for WebRTC.
  • NEW: Built-in PDF viewer.
  • CHANGED: Experience better image quality with our new HTML scaling algorithm.
  • CHANGED: Performance improvements around tab switching.
  • DEVELOPER: CSS3 Flexbox implemented.
  • DEVELOPER: Support for new DOM property window.devicePixelRatio.
  • DEVELOPER: Support for @supports added.
  • DEVELOPER: Improvement in startup time through smart handling of signed extension certificates.
  • HTML5: Support for W3C touch events impemented, taking the place of MozTouch events.
  • FIXED: Disable insecure content loading on HTTPS pages.
  • FIXED: Improved responsiveness for users on proxies.

Interested parties can download the new beta browser by clicking here.


Source : techspot[dot]com

Independent iBook textbook publishers like School Yourself thriving despite the “Big Three” publishers

school yourself

Apple has democratized textbook publishing, enabling indie publishers like School Yourself to offer interactive iBook textbooks for the iPad, despite the "Big Three" publishers that dominate the textbook market.

Tablets are going to change the way students interact with textbooks, much in the same way that your Popular Science or Wired magazine apps have been reimagined for a touchscreen device. As classrooms are adopting new technologies, it’s becoming incredibly normal for students to tote tablets and smartphones to school, and the reality is that the next revolution in education will be marked by these devices. Among the first companies modernizing textbooks is School Yourself – a four person startup co-founded by Zach Wissener-Gross, a PhD graduate from Harvard and MIT alumnus, and ex-Googler John Lee, who are envisioning and building digital interactive textbooks for tablets in a way that educators have not yet seen before.

If you can think back to the days when you were using a textbooks, a couple of things you might remember are the jacked up prices and the eye strain of pouring over thousands of lines of text. School Yourself’s textbooks are free or just $4.99, and use the haptic and visual learning styles backed by a trio of core features you won’t find in hardcover and paperback. Students will find short 45 second videos followed by a question, text, a scratch pad to manipulate interactive modules, and a hint system that walks students through problems step-by-step.

Digging deeper into School Yourself’s system, every time a student interacts with the textbooks their progress and “signals” are being logged. What this means is that School Yourself is able to see the questions that students are getting right and wrong, the time they spend on the questions, trends, and other signals and data. By tracking progress, the team can know how each user is learning and will customize its textbooks to fit their studying habits.

“When a user is touching the screen, and working in a sandbox where they can build any function they want, we can collect a lot of data from the user than just if they get a question right or wrong. We can see if the user learns better by correlating how well they do on the questions, if they have this more hands on experience, or if they prefer to just watch videos, or if they just want to read the text,” says Lee.

Apple, after the launch of its line of iPads and iPad mini, promoted iBooks to educators and opened up the doors to a brand new distribution channel for textbooks. What Apple has done is democratize the textbook industry, although few like School Yourself have stepped up to the challenge. To give you a cursory glance at the state of the textbook industry today, there are three major players that account for 90 percent of the textbook market. These are Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw Hill, and Pearson. If you browse to Apple’s iBook textbook page, you’ll notice that these are the same publishers that Apple is prominently promoting as partners in its digital textbook program.

top textbook publishers apple

For corporations that push updated editions of $100 textbooks just about every year to encourage yet more purchases, it’s surprising that the “Big Three” jumped on Apple’s initiative from the get go. It’s uncharacteristic since these e-books cost just $14.99, a fraction of its hardcopies.

To Apple’s credit, it’s expected that it would promote the major publishers that know more than a thing or two about publishing credible textbooks. The top 25 publishers in the iBooks textbook store are from these major publishers. Teachers want the best for their students, and may rather not take a risk on a little known publisher. Currently there’s a huge range in the quality of textbooks, Wissener-Gross tells me. He offers an example of a class that collaboratively created a textbook. While it’s a fun exercise, unfortunately the textbook was riddled with mistakes.

“People are still exploring what you can do with iBooks. You get a real range in quality from these smaller publishers, whereas with the bigger ones, you know what you’re going to get,” says Wissener-Gross. The market is still in its infancy and slowly maturing.

What users are paying for in the major publisher’s e-textbooks are essentially static pages – in other words it’s like reading a paper textbook but on an iPad. “When it comes to the interactive components, they’re falling behind,” says Wissener-Gross. But where the Big Three are inadequate, independent publishing startups like School Yourself is compensating.

It’s worth noting that Houghton Mifflin, accounting for 40 percent of the K-12 education sector filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, and Wissener-Gross has an inkling that the publisher partnered with Apple as a way to find its footing in the changing $10 billion dollar textbook industry (Association of American Publishers).

school yourself books

School Yourself isn’t necessarily a “substitute,” a word that Wissener-Gross is not a fan of, for textbooks but rather supplementary to a student’s curriculum. That said, it seems like this independent publisher is doing a far better job with developing a superior experience and material suited for the iPad. The preliminary reviews for School Yourself’s two textbooks out on iTunes appear to be overwhelmingly positive with 4.5 stars and its users credit the cost and interactive modules. It also helps that the team members responsible for the content come from backgrounds in teaching at MIT and Harvard. The Big Three publishers however seem to be a hit or a miss with their textbook ratings ranging between 2 and 4 stars with the majority of issues stemming from constant crashes, typos, and the fact that these iBooks aren’t meant for substituting an in-class textbook.

The fate of independent iBook textbook publishers like School Yourself is at this point partially in the hands of Apple. Much like how mobile apps that get featured in the App Store see tremendous growth, it’s critical to be among Apple’s featured textbooks. “Apple is in a position of power right now, certainly in the iBooks market,” says Wissener-Gross. How Apple vets submitted textbooks works on a binary scale, he explains. A publisher will submit a textbook and Apple will decide whether to include the textbook in the Featured list.

At the same time, School Yourself’s Software Architect Kenny Peng tells me that Apple offers a flexible distribution model that enables customers to find material easily. Smaller publishers are no longer forced to pitch the Big Three on textbooks to gain access to the consumers.

It also helps that Apple has been actively partnering with schools around the U.S. to distribute iPads. At the iPad Mini unveiling, Apple revealed that the full-sized iPad is already being used in 2,500 classrooms. Wissener-Gross was informed by a teaching colleague that Apple was distributing “bundles” of iPad Minis in Long Island, New York.

In retrospect, looking at the textbook market from the consumer’s perspective, Peng adds, “Education as a space is becoming commoditized and accessible to anyone that’s interested.” Students (and even non-students) can quickly gain access to a plethora of affordable auxiliary material in just minutes.

For now, School Yourself is on the verge of launching its Calculus book, which would be the third math textbook that the startup has published. It does have intentions of delving into other types of subjects. The next slate textbooks will be in physics considering the team’s extensive background in the subject, and Biology, Chemistry, even engineering are other subjects that School Yourself has been thinking over. The team is working on textbooks for Android and Kindle Fire devices as well. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

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