New SteamOS beta tempts more testers with support for older PCs and dual-booting
Valve released its SteamOS beta with a warning: only touch this if you know what you’re doing. While that surely did something to separate true testers from the first wave of eager users, there were a few problems. Even the qualified needed a relatively new machine with UEFI, and a dedicated one at that, given attempts to make the OS a secondary boot option were troublesome at best. However, a fresh beta that folds in efforts by both Valve and the community is now available. On top of fixing the aforementioned issues, thereby welcoming more to get to grips with early SteamOS, other major updates include partition, recovery and DVD install support. This doesn’t mean it’s ready for general consumption, though, so we’ll point the brave to the source link below and swiftly wash our hands of you.
Via: PC Perspective
Source: Valve
Sharp’s AQUOS Serie mini phone has a Full HD IGZO display, bright colors, limited stateside availability
With phone specifications often reaching a terminal velocity before the next new technology or trend, giving your hardware a differentiator can be hard. Sharp’s new AQUOS Serie mini SHL24, however, is having a stab at a couple. Firstly, the TV-maker is leveraging its IGZO screen tech, and spicing it up by cramming a full (1080p) HD display into the 4.5-inch panel — that’s almost 490 PPI. Secondly, in what it’s calling an “EDGEST” design, the AQUOS Serie mini SHL24 seems to have some of the thinnest bezels we’ve seen for some time (bar the bottom one where the buttons are) making that screen really take pride of place. Thirdly? Colors of course! As for the rest of the specification, well it’s not too shabby either. First up it’s running Android Jellybean (4.2), sports a 13-megapixel camera, 16GB of storage (with an SD card slot) and a Snapdragon (MSM8974) quad-core processor — clocked at around 2.2 GHz. Oh, and it’s even waterproofed to IPX57 standards. That’s quite a few boxes ticked. But, sadly there’s one biggie that currently remains empty — as far as we can see right now, this is a Japan-only device. Sorry.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: Phone Arena
Square Enix finally outs Deus Ex The Fall on Android
It’s not exactly summer anymore, but Square Enix has finally released Deus Ex The Fall on Android. Square Enix announced the mobile version of its rebooted Deus Ex franchise in June last year, and while an iOS version of the game materialized to the delight Apple munchers everywhere, the Android version was no where to be seen. Thankfully, the wait is over and you can now purchase Deus Ex The Fall on the Google Play Store for $6.99 USD. Check out the trailer that was launched when the game was announced:
Deus Ex The Fall is set in the same universe as its console counterpart, Deus Ex Human Revolution, that is, the year 2027; “a golden era for science, technology and human augmentation” but with plenty going on between the lines. You play Ben Saxon, ex-SAS but now augmented, and go on a journey of discovery as you try to uncover the plot which led to his betrayal. As you can see in the trailer, the controls of the game are heavily optimized for mobile and for the most part are quite unique and intuitive, which is always a great thing.
Are there any fans out there of the new (or old) Deus Ex franchise that has been dying for this game to come out? Let us know if you are going to pick it up and try it out.
Source: VG247
Game: Deus Ex: The Fall
Price: $6.99
A brief booth tour of MEElectronics at CES 2014
You may have seen some of our reviews of MEElectronics‘ products before including the M9P earphones and most recently the Air-Fi Bluetooth Wireless “Runaway” headphones. From these reviews, we know MEElectronics makes some great looking and sounding audio gear for great prices so we just had to check out MEElectronics at CES 2014 and see what they had on show.
The first products we were shown were devices from MEElectronic’s Signature Series which included their new Atlas headphones. Apart from looking groovy, has an interesting backstory in that it is created using IML Printing Technology which allows them to layer on and print “striking graphics” on the headphones themselves. We thought the Atlas were definite lookers, and we’ll be taking a closer look at them in the near future; stay tuned for our full review.
In the Sport-Fi Series, we had a brief look at the S6P which featured Memory Wire to help keep its shape while engaging in sporting activities.
The next port of call was the EDM Universe line of audio products. Those of you who engage with EDM won’t need an introduction to it, but for those who don’t, EDM stands for electronic dance music, a movement that MEElectronics sees itself and its EDM Universe line blending in very well with. Being the very first EDM headphones, you might think it might have been more of the same but MEElectronics’ EDM Universe line looks really unique without seeming gaudy.
The final stop on this trip was to visit the Air-Fi Series, which includes the Runaway headphones we just reviewed. The darling of the Air-Fi Series is the Matrix which incorporates all the strengths of the Air-Fi range and adds NFC and voice prompts. We had a brief try of the Matrix headphones and they were extremely comfortable and sounded great. For a MSRP of $149.99, it’s pretty good value which is probably evidenced by the fact it is currently out of stock on MEElectronics’ own store at the moment.
So that was our brief tour of the MEElectronics booth. If you have any questions regarding what we saw there, don’t hesitate to shoot us a line in the comments, of if you want more information about these products or any of MEElectronics’ other products, you can visit www.meelec.com to check it all out.
Gallery of photos
Checking out the new gaming goods with Steelseries at CES 2014
If you’re any sort of a PC gamer, the name Steelseries should elicit some kind of a bodily response. The PC accessory maker is well known for making relatively understated, but very high-quality, products for gamers and has recently started to branch into accessories cross-compatible between PC and mobile devices as well as some devices purely for mobile use. Much like our meeting with them at E3 2013, we meet with Steelseries at CES 2014 to see what was new and what we should be getting excited for this year. Let’s dive in.
First out, we checked out their new Stratus gaming controller for iOS. Unfortunately, seeing as Steelseries already has the Steelseries Free which we saw at E3 as an Android compatible controller, the Stratus will probably not be made for Android. That’s kind of a shame because the Stratus has some cool additions over the Free, not least of all the plastic cover that doubles as both a cover to protect the buttons while travelling but also gives the controller more width if you mount it on the bottom of the controller; if it’s any consolation for Android gamers, we can take solace that Steelseries actually had a gaming controller compatible for Android before iOS. Winning is everything, right?
Next on the list was the Steelseries Siberia Elite. The Siberia Elite was commissioned as the 10 year celebration of the Siberia class of headphones and is the culmination of Steelseries’ experiences in one headset. The headsets go for $199.99, which might seem like a lot, but spending a little time with them, you start to understand and feel the pedigree in the headphones.
Having only spent about 10 minutes total with the Siberia Elite, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that they are the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn in my life. Those “extra-large memory foam ear cushions” may as well be clouds because they felt so comfortable to wear. The sound was great too, though I definitely didn’t have enough time with them to make a true judgement. Steelseries packed the Siberia Elite with all its telltale goodies like a retractable mic, but one other unique thing about the Elites was the fact that each earcup had a dial to control the volume of both microphone and sound; I thought that was super neat.
The last product we got to take a look at was Steelseries’ new H-wireless headphones. Part of the H-series line, from which we’ve had a look at the 5Hv3 before, The H-wireless literally cuts all its cords in favour of becoming a truly multi-platform device, compatible with PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Mac, iOS and of course, Android. With the addition of its mixer box, the H-wireless becomes your living room’s best friend as it delivers Dolby quality sound but with the benefits of Steelseries’ gaming innovations like ChatMix and LiveMix.
Not always in your living room? The H-wireless can of course go mobile with its assortment of cables and accessories. We had a brief demo with the H-wireless gaming headset while playing Call of Duty: Ghosts on the PS4 that happened to be there and they held up incredibly well. While our stay was short, we will be getting a pair of these later on so stay tuned for our full review. The asking price for the H-wireless is $299.99 USD, which might seem like a lot, but for something that can be used anywhere and everywhere and sound great doing so, that might be a small price to pay.
So that was our visit to Steelseries at CES 2014. It looks like they are going to have yet another exciting line-up for 2014 and we can’t wait to see what they have coming up next. Feel free to ask us any questions about the stuff we saw here, or you can visit steelseries.com for more in-depth information about any of their products.
Snapchat enlists its ghost mascot to thwart potential bot accounts
It’s anyone’s guess what Snapchat’s done behind the scenes to patch up its data vulnerabilities, but the firm’s continuing to address the issues with a new public-facing measure. For instance: the app now has a new (and surprisingly cute) security measure in place to prevent the mass creation of dummy accounts usually made to harvest users’ phone numbers. When new folks sign up, they’re shown nine images instead of the usual captcha, and they have to prove they’re not a bot by choosing the ones with Snapchat’s ghost mascot. In addition, the company now implements server-side checks to ensure that those who use the Find Friends feature are real people with verified phone numbers. In theory, this double security layer should make it hard for scammers and spammers to collect private info en masse. Those still worried about their privacy, however, can always unlink their phone numbers for their own peace of mind.
Source: TechCrunch
Judge Invalidates Two Samsung Patent Claims Ahead of Second Patent Lawsuit with Apple
Last May, Apple filed a motion detailing five patents violated by the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Google’s voice activated search assistant Google Now ahead of a second patent infringement lawsuit to take place on March 31, 2014. However, both Apple and Samsung agreed in September 2013 to drop one patent each from the trial, as Judge Lucy Koh ordered both companies to narrow the scope of their ongoing legal battle.
Now, FOSS Patents reports that Judge Koh yesterday invalidated a Samsung patent and ruled that that Samsung infringed on an Apple patent, leaving the Korean company with only four patents to bring to the upcoming trial. In detail, Judge Koh nullified a Samsung multimedia synchronization patent and stated that Samsung’s Android devices infringed on an Apple patent for a “method, system, and graphical user interface for providing word recommendations”, also known as autocomplete.
As Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents suggests, the infringed autocomplete patent could also be problematic for Google and Android device manufacturers:
If Samsung infringes this autocomplete patent (which is what Judge Koh concluded), then other Android device makers also have a problem. Google, which may be (possibly in close cooperation with Samsung) involved with an anonymous reexamination request against the word recommendations patent, will clearly be unhappy about this finding by its own home court.
The ruling by Judge Koh is also likely to affect the mediation meeting between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon scheduled to take place on or before February 19. In addition to the second infringement lawsuit in March, both companies will also partake in a trial centered around Apple’s new call for a U.S. ban on Samsung products set for January 30. 
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Toshiba’s ready to make better SSDs following its takeover of OCZ
Toshiba made its first move to rescue faltering solid state drive manufacturer OCZ Technology back in November, and now that sale is final. In the deal, OCZ gets to keep its identity and independence, but will now operate as OCZ Storage Solutions. It’s a slight change in nomenclature to be sure, but hopefully that won’t make picking its drives out from Newegg’s stock any harder. Just think: for a cool $35 million, maybe you could have bought the drive-maker for yourself.
Filed under: Storage
Source: Financial Post
Android 4.4.2 for HTC One arrives in the hands of French carrier SFR, rolls out in February
HTC One owners have been patiently waiting for their update to Android KitKat for some time now, buoyed by the release of Android 4.4.2 for the Google Play edition of their device, but to no avail as the airwaves went silent over the Holiday Season. Thankfully, the airwaves are starting up again as French carrier, SFR, has gone on record saying that Android 4.4.2 for HTC One has arrived in their hands, but won’t be rolling out till the first half of February.
This is mostly in line, give or take a week, with the promise that HTC made when Android 4.4 KitKat was first announced which was that the HTC One would receive Android 4.4 within 90 days of the announcement. Obviously, this won’t be completely successful unless the roll-out is completed on a global scale but it looks like it will be a colossal effort if HTC is going to roll out the update within the 90 days, though perhaps we should be giving HTC a break seeing as it’s gone through so much the last few months.
Despite their financial toils, do you have more faith in HTC now that they have delivered Android 4.4.2 for HTC One as they promised? Let us know what you think.
Source: SFR via Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Judge voids two Samsung claims before Apple patent trial even starts
A US judge has just awarded Apple two summary pre-trial judgements, significantly reducing Samsung’s chances of prevailing in the second patent clash between the two tech giants. Judge Lucy Koh invalidated a Samsung multimedia synchronization patent and determined that the Korean company breached an Apple autocorrect IP — meaning Koh thought the infringement was so clear that there’s no need for a jury to see it. As Foss Patents pointed out, Google could also be unhappy about the autocorrect decision, since it may affect the entire Android ecosystem. With each party bringing five claims to trial, Samsung’s chances have effectively dropped by 20 percent since it only has four of its own claims left and Apple has already prevailed on one. That could also impact Samsung’s leverage in upcoming negotiations between the company’s CEOs, since it hasn’t won a single non-FRAND (standards essential) patent dispute through any of the two proceedings. If those discussions don’t pan out, then the Apple v. Samsung, part deux trial will begin March 31, 2014.
Filed under: Cellphones, Apple, Samsung
Source: Foss Patents
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