Blizzard to fund competitive gaming at the college level
The world of competitive gaming revolves around young players, but it’s not always easy for them to participate — many of them are college students without the resources to host large tournaments. They’ll soon get a helping hand from Blizzard, however. The StarCraft II developer is now promising support for college gaming groups that are part of the The eSports Association (TeSPA); as groups get larger, Blizzard will offer increasing amounts of cash, in-game bonuses and promo material. Groups with over 200 members will even get special guests. While the move is no doubt meant to sell more games, it could also create a stronger eSports community that nurtures rookies until they’re ready to hit the big leagues.
[Image credit: Glenn Batuyong, Flickr]
Filed under: Gaming
Via: The Daily Dot
Source: Activision, TeSPA
Engadget Podcast 383 – 2.7.14
Your host Terrence O’Brien weaves his way through this week’s hot topics with the agility of an Olympian athlete, aided by what can only be described as: the cult of Joseph Volpe’s personality. Missing from today’s podcast is Ben Gilbert, who will be back next week if he can manage to escape the soul-crushing grip of Sin City. This week we’re making a nod to the illustrious Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner, discussing Microsoft’s change in direction with Satya Nadella at the helm, and offering some insight into the sale of Sony’s VAIO PC business. So settle in, the Engadget Podcast is about to begin. Simply head on down to the streaming links below, and please enjoy the show.
Hosts: Terrence O’Brien, Joseph Volpe
Producer: Jon Turi
Hear the podcast:
06:40 – Microsoft chooses cloud and enterprise head Satya Nadella as third CEO
16:43 – Meet Satya Nadella, the man tasked with reinventing Microsoft
40:42 – Sony sells its VAIO PC business, is splitting TV arm into a separate company
54:45 – Sony to close Reader store and move users to Kobo’s e-book platform in ‘late March
Subscribe to the podcast:
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Download the podcast:
Contact the podcast:
Connect with the hosts on Twitter: @terrenceobrien, @jrvolpe
Email us: podcast [at] engadget [dot] com
Filed under: Podcasts
OpenTable launches pilot mobile payment program in San Francisco
Soon you’ll be able to use OpenTable to not only book your restaurant reservation, but pay for your meal as well. As rumored last year, the program is currently being tested at new diners and restaurants in San Francisco area, with plans to expand to new eateries and locations in the future. Similar to how PayPal allows you to pay at restaurants by having you check in when you arrive, OpenTable treats your reservation as a check-in of sorts. Paying for your night out with the app involves simply adding a credit card before your eat. When you’re done with dessert, you can view your check and complete the transaction on your phone without having to get a bill from your waiter, freeing you up to head on to your next adventure that much faster. With any luck, additional tester tables will open up soon — the company says it plans to let users request access to the pilot program in the near future.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: OpenTable
Tim Cook: ‘Android is Like Europe’, Many Different Things Under One Name
Apple CEO Tim Cook compared Android to Europe in his wide-ranging interview with The Wall Street Journal yesterday, saying that the PC and mobile platform wars couldn’t be compared. Cook said that Android is made up of many different things under one banner, as opposed to Windows which was one uniform platform.
Cook’s statement was in response to a question asking if the mobile device market will ultimately follow the PC market, where Apple remains a comparatively niche player compared to the dominance of Windows.
He said that the examining the PC and mobile markets as a direct comparison doesn’t work, largely because one of the historical differences between the Mac and Windows was the lack of availability for applications on the Mac, while iOS has a very strong developer base.
“There was a vast, vast difference in the number of applications that were available for the Macintosh”, Cook said. And, over the years, the gap continued to grow because the Mac lost some key applications.
However, on mobile devices, Apple has more than one million applications with half of those specifically optimized for the iPad. On Android, Cook says, there are only 1,000 apps optimized for tablets. He says the lack of properly optimized apps is one of the reasons “why the experience on Android tablets is so crappy”.
The other thing is that Windows pretty much was one thing. Android is like Europe. Europe was a name that somebody came up with for Americans who didn’t understand that Europe was a lot of countries that weren’t like U.S. states. They were very different. Android is many things. How many people who use a Kindle know that they’re using Android? And you see what Samsung is doing by putting more and more software on top. I think it’s night and day. The compare is so off.
Cook also noted that he doesn’t view the PC market a a monolith because he works at Apple — he joined the company from Compaq and said he understands the PC world “at that time because [he] was in it”. He continued, “if you really talk to the people who went through it… I don’t think any of them would tell you it’s the same” as the mobile device market today.
Elsewhere in the interview Cook revealed that Apple has repurchased $14 billion in stock over the past two weeks, and that the company is open to making large acquisitions if it makes sense. He also reiterated that Apple is working on “some really great stuff” in new product categories, an assertion that Apple executives have made numerous times over the past few months, and that Apple is spending an enormous amount of time and money on the “Macs of the future”.
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Bobsled and Skeleton Olympic Teams Analyze Performance With iPad [iOS Blog]
Coaches for the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Olympic teams are using a slow-motion video iPad app to record, analyze, and improve athlete performance ahead of competitive events that will begin next Wednesday.
Ubersense Coach, the app being used, specializes in slow motion video analysis, allowing coaches to record up to 120 FPS video using the iPhone or iPad camera. Captured video is then played back in super slow motion for a frame-by-frame analysis of technique.
The app, which Ubersense says is used by professional and amateur coaches alike, also includes zooming and panning tools, side-by-side comparisons, and both audio recording and drawing tools for making notes.
Along with being used by the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Olympic teams, the Ubersense Coach app has also been promoted by international figure skating coach Ghislain Briand and U.S. speed skating Olympian Joey Mantia.
USA Bobsled & Skeleton coaches record and analyze their athletes sliding over 80 mph using Ubersense on iPad. pic.twitter.com/HT56bHnbPl
— Ubersense (@Ubersense) January 29, 2014
Though Apple has never highlighted Ubersense Coach, it has focused on similar apps in several segments on its “Your Verse” iPad page, which shares stories of how people use their iPads.
In one segment, for example, Apple describes how hockey team LA Kings uses the ThunderCloud iBench app to capture video and evaluate players. Apple also shares the story of Bridie Farrell, a champion speedskater who uses the Dartfish Express app to train. Like Ubersense, that app in-depth provides video analysis of technique.
Ubersense has actually had a long-running partnership with the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, originally teaming up in 2011 to license the Ubersense app to the U.S. national team for training.
The first U.S. Skeleton team event will take place on February 12 and the first Bobsled event will take place on February 16.
Ubersense Coach: Slow Motion Video Analysis can be downloaded from the App Store for free, with an “Elite” add-on available for $4.99 per month. The Elite in-app subscription adds cloud syncing, higher quality recording, and premium video content packs. [Direct Link]
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U.S. Cellular calls up $99 Moto G for no-contract plans
U.S. Cellular on Friday announced that the Moto G has been added to its no-contract lineup. Available for $99 (with instant rebate), the Moto G can be picked up through the carrier’s website starting today. Effective February 10 the device will be sold in retail stores at the same price. Nothing changes in the Moto G; it’s the same Android 4.4 KitKat handset with a 4.5-inch display, and quad-core processor. U.S. Cellular offers a new unlimited voice, messaging, and data plan for $50 per month.
The post U.S. Cellular calls up $99 Moto G for no-contract plans appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Camera and photography deals of the week: 2.7.14
If you’re still looking to make good on that New Year’s resolution to kick your photography habit into high gear, we might have a few options that can help. From an entry-level Nikon DSLR to a Wacom peripheral to aid with edits, there are a few options for spicing up those snapshots. Head on past the break and peruse the full lot.
Just window shopping? No worries. Join us and add the gadgets you’re shopping for to your Want list; every time there’s a price cut in the future, you’ll get an email alert!
Fujifilm X-Pro1 (body only)
Price: $849
Regular Price: $1,300
Engadget Global Score: 82
Buy: 42nd Street Photo
Sure, you could nab up a highly capable mirrorless compact for less, but if you don’t mind the extra investment — now with a handsome discount — you can expect retro stylings, “film like” images and full manual control. The current sticker price is also consistent with the lowest it has been in the last three months.
Nikon D5200 (body only)
Price: $459
Regular Price: $700
Engadget Global Score: 85
Buy: 42nd Street Photo
The predecessor to Nikon’s D5300 doesn’t pack the WiFi chops that the latest model does, but the D5200 is still a solid buy for a beginner DSLR. In fact, this model is barely a year old and the $200-plus price drop is certainly worth considering. See how both old and new stack up against each other with our compare tool.
Canon 60D (body only)
Price: $599
Regular Price: $800
Engadget Global Score: 82
Buy: 42nd Street Photo
Looking for a step up from the entry-level DSLRs? Well, Canon’s 60D is a solid bet with 18-megapixel shooting, and many have noted its fast performance and respectable image output. We’re currently seeing pricing that’s $50 above the 90-day low, so if you’re willing to hold out a bit longer, add the 60D to your Want list and we’ll let you know when the price drops even further.
Wacom Intuos5 touch (medium)
Price: $270
Regular Price: $375
Engadget Global Score: 92
Buy: Amazon
Perhaps you’re in the market for tools that will make that photo-editing workflow a bit snappier. If so, a Wacom pen tablet could certainly lend a hand with its stellar stylus input and multi-touch gestures. The medium-sized Intuos5 touch (the same size we reviewed) is currently offered with a $105 price cut to soften the blow for the peripheral investment. According to our price drop tool, the current cost of admission is in line with the 90-day low.
Filed under: Cameras, Peripherals, Nikon, Canon
Facebook lets users rewrite the past by editing their ‘Look Back’ videos
Let’s be real here: the nostalgic “Look Back” videos Facebook rolled out for its tenth birthday are… let’s say, hit or miss. Sure, some of them are tremendously meaningful. Most of them are much less so. But fear not! In the event that your Look Back video doesn’t really tell your personal story (or at least not the version you want people to see), Facebook is giving you the chance to edit it.
Clicking the shiny new ‘edit’ button on the Look Back page lets you choose which images and status updates you want to highlight. There are, sadly, some pesky limits. As TechCrunch points out, you’re stuck choosing from only a slightly wider pool of content, not the entirety of your lives on Facebook. Then again, even a bit of selective surgery could go a long way in making these videos more tolerable, so tweak away.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Facebook
Tim Cook: Apple ‘Spending an Enormous Amount’ on ‘Macs of the Future’
Apple hasn’t “given up on the Mac” like some of its competitors and has “some really cool things” coming, according to CEO Tim Cook who sat down for a wide-ranging interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Answering a question about new product categories, Cook said the company is going to focus on “only doing a few things and doing them great”, but that Apple does have significant new products, in new categories, in the works.
He went on to say that he felt Apple has a long way to go in its existing categories as well, the Mac in particular.
I think Apple can grow well with great improvements and new products on its existing category of products.
[…]
And we haven’t given up on the Mac. A lot of people are throwing in the towel right now on the PC. We’re still spending an enormous amount on really great talent and people on the Macs of the future. And we have some really cool things coming out there. Because we believe as people walk away from the PC, it becomes clear that the Mac is what you want if you want a PC.
According to the well-sourced KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is planning to release an ultra-slim 12-inch Retina MacBook in the middle of 2014 and it could be one of the “really cool things” that Cook talked about.
Elsewhere in the interview Cook revealed that Apple has repurchased $14 billion in stock over the past two weeks, and that the company is open to making large acquisitions if it makes sense. He also reiterated that Apple is working on “some really great stuff” in new product categories, an assertion that Apple executives have made numerous times over the past few months.
Investor Carl Icahn, who has been agitating for an increase in Apple’s stock repurchase program, tweeted today that Wall Street is “still not listening” to Cook’s statements and Apple’s stock price remains relatively flat.
Tim Cook again confirms $AAPL will launch new products in new categories (plural) this year. Wall Street apparently still not listening.
— Carl Icahn (@Carl_C_Icahn) February 7, 2014
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Snapchat Vulnerability Can Lead to iPhone Denial-of-Service Attacks
A vulnerability in the Snapchat app opens the iPhone up to denial-of-service attacks that can cause the device to freeze and crash, according to cyber security researcher Jamie Sanchez [Google Translation] (via The Los Angeles Times).
A weakness in the app’s system can allow a hacker to send thousands of messages to a Snapchat user in seconds, which can cause a crash that requires a hard reset to fix. Tokens generated by the app used to verify user identity can be reused by hackers to send a flood of messages.
By reusing old tokens, hackers can send massive amounts of messages using powerful computers. This method could be used by spammers to send messages in mass quantities to numerous users, or it could be used to launch a cyber attack on specific individuals, [Sanchez] said.
Sanchez demonstrated the flaw for The Los Angeles Times, sending a reporter 1,000 messages within five seconds in a denial-of-service attack, which caused the reporter’s iPhone to freeze until it restarted.
The security researcher declined to contact Snapchat with his findings as he believes the startup “has no respect for the cyber security research community” after ignoring previous app vulnerability reports.
Snapchat has faced multiple problems as its private messaging app has grown in popularity, including vulnerabilities that allowed users to bypass screenshot notifications and a recent security breach that compromised the user names and phone numbers of more than 4.6 million customers, which Snapchat was warned about ahead of time by a security group.
When asked about this particular vulnerability, Snapchat said it was unaware of the problem but interested in learning more.
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AIVAnet 