Microsoft to use Foursquare data in Bing and Windows products
It may not be the biggest news to come out of Redmond in recent hours. Still, the Windows faithful will no doubt be interested to hear about a licensing agreement involving two pretty notable outfits. Today, Foursquare announced it has struck a deal with Microsoft to use its location data in Bing services and Windows-powered devices. This, naturally, includes search and maps for Bing; and, for Windows, phones, tablets, laptops and desktops — and yes, convertibles too. In a statement, Foursquare notes that, “in the near future,” Microsoft will be utilizing the newly acquired license to enhance its products with “contextually-aware experiences and the best recommendations of any service in the world.” That’s not it, however, as Foursquare also revealed Microsoft has invested ($15 million) into its socially-driven company, which it says will help the service continue to grow and be accessible by more people.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Foursquare
John Carmack quit id Software because it wouldn’t support VR games
We know the basic reason why John Carmack left id Software: he wanted to concentrate on his work at Oculus VR. However, we now know that it was more complicated — it was the result of a dream denied. The game developer explains to USA Today that he had proposed a deal between ZeniMax (id’s parent company) and Oculus VR that would have games like Doom 4 and Wolfenstein: The New Order support the Oculus Rift. He was heartbroken when the pact didn’t come to be. “When it became clear that I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to do any work on VR while at id Software, I decided to not renew my contract,” Carmack says. The departure is ultimately “bittersweet,” but it reflects his sincere belief that wearable displays represent the next big thing.
Filed under: Gaming, Wearables
Source: USA Today
Apple Hires Sleep Expert From Philips Research to Work on iWatch
Apple has hired Roy J.E.M Raymann, from Philips Research, for its iWatch team, according to a report from 9to5Mac. The hire is the latest in a long series of recent reports that suggest Apple is hiring a wide variety of health and medical sensor experts for its upcoming iWatch product.
According to Raymann’s LinkedIn biography, his main research is in “how to optimize rest and activity”, “non-pharmacological approaches to promote sleep”, and “interpretation of ambulatory physiological and biomechanical data”. He did other research on sleep and coffee, power napping, and he founded the Philips Sleep Experience Laboratory, a non-clinical sleep research facility.
Philips Research has been involved in many major technological advancements, including the development of the compact disc, LED lightbulbs, the MRI, and more.
Philips Research is a global organization that helps Philips introduce meaningful innovations that improve people’s lives. We provide technology options for innovations in the area of health and well-being, targeted at both developed and emerging markets. Positioned at the front-end of the innovation process, we work on everything from spotting trends and ideation to proof of concept and – where needed – first-of-a-kind product development.
The hire suggests Apple could be looking to help iWatch buyers with tracking and improving sleep, while also possibly tracking other health data like pulse and activity, and blood data like glucose levels. Several current fitness tracking devices are designed to track both sleep length and sleep quality. For example, bands like the Jawbone UP and the Fitbit Force are both able to slip into a night time monitoring mode that keeps track of sleep.
Philips confirmed to 9to5Mac that Raymann no longer works at the company, but would not say where he was currently employed.
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AllCast gets Chromecast Support Again, in Beta
The ups and downs of being a developer and playing “Google Game” is a tricky one. Over the years we have things change, be taken down, forced out or blocked by updates. All good things to come to those that wait, and those that continue to do things behind the scenes. When the Google Chromecast came out Koushik Dutta, better known as Koush or ClockworkMod in the Play Store, created an app. This app changed names, if I remember correctly, due to copyright claims. It settled in on AllCast and away it went. It didn’t take very long for Google to push an update to the Chromecast that blocked the app from working. Koush kept working on it and make it work with various other devices like the Roku, Apple TV, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Now that Google has released the Cast SDK for developers to start implementing Chromecast support to their apps, Koush’s AllCast app heads to the Play Store for all.
The AllCast app, for those that haven’t heard about it until now, is an app that lets you send your photos and videos from your device to various devices. Being able to play your locally saved files to through your Chromecast was always a desire of many people. The last iteration of apps that came to the Play Store from some of the bigger company names gave some support in that area, but many people prefer to support developers they know and who they have used apps of before.
There are a few things to mention before you go running off to the Play Store to and pick up AllCast. First, Chromecast support is still in a beta stage. So expect some bugs as Koush works out the bugs for various devices and other issues. Next, you absolutely have to have the latest Play Services update, which we have waiting for you over at gappsearly if you don’t have it. The app is FREE, however you are only granted about 1 minute of playback to test if it works for you. If you are happy, then pick it up for $4.99. If you do happen to have issues, there is a nice wiki all set up to help you out.
I took the free app for a test run on my Sony Xperia Z running a stock Sony Android 4.3 firmware and I had no issues at all. Fired it up and it found my Chromecast, labeled ‘Beachcast’ just as quick as the app updated. I played a video from our CES trip and displayed some photos. Looks like I will have to buy the app now. (bad images, I know. TV sits under a window with no blind)
Still interested in giving it a whirl? Hit the Play Store via the button below to get it installed. Just please make sure you have the latest Play Services first. Settings > Apps> All Apps > Google Play Services.
Source: Koush G+ via Android Community
ASUS Bringing ‘Smallest-Ever’ Chromebox in March
ASUS has announced the Chromebox that it promised the world last year and is finally giving it a release date and starting price. The new Chromebox from ASUS will start off at $179 and increase in cost depending on the processor version you choose. You can either go with the base model which sports a Intel Celeron 2955U, a Intel Haswell Core i3 or the Intel i7. The later of the two are capable of driving 4k video to your 4k TV or monitor. However, the i7 variant is said to not be coming to the U.S.
“The Asus Chromebox offers the simplicity, security, and speed of Chrome OS in the most compact and powerful Chrome device to date,” said Felix Lin, director of product management at Google. “Perfect for home, the classroom or the office, Chromebox is designed for the way we use computers today” …
The new ASUS Chromebox measures in at 5 x 5 x 1.65-inches. The device packs in plenty of connectivity options as well with 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI, DisplayPort and USB 3.0. On top of all that, you also are getting a 16GB SSD and two-years access to 100GB of Drive.
Source: 9to5Google
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