Syfy’s ‘most ambitious TV series to date’ is based on ‘The Expanse’ novels
If you can believe it, Syfy may be getting back to its pre-name change roots. A notable addition to its plans for the next year is a new TV series based on a popular series of sci-fi books known as The Expanse. The first book Leviathan Wakes snagged nominations in 2012 for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Set 200 years in the future, it focuses on a ship captain and detective searching for a missing young woman, with a sprawling story and scope that have netted comparisons to both Star Wars and Game of Thrones. We’d be more than pleasantly surprised if it reached anywhere near those heights, but Syfy president Dave Howe is claiming this is the network’s “most ambitious series to date.”
The books are written under the pseudonym James S.A. Corey by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who will be among the show’s producers. Whatever happens with the show, we’ll get the full 10-episode season Syfy ordered based on a script by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men – sort of, Iron Man) who are the show’s writers and executive producers. Whether it is anything like Game of Thrones it’s at least a return to Battlestar Galactica-style scifi for the network instead of a new series of Celebrity Ghost Stalker Makeup Artists. Syfy alone is also working on new series 12 Monkeys, Dominion, Ascension and the second season of Helix, which combined with Netflix’s Sense8 from the Wachowskis, Amazon’s The After from X-Files creator Chris Carter and the return of Heroes on NBC next year make this an interesting time to be a sci-fi fan.
A big thanks to @Syfy @SyfyTV for giving us a shot. We’re very excited to be part of their new lineup. Syfy is making big moves, everyone.
– James.S.A.Corey (@JamesSACorey) April 12, 2014
Yes, it did. Can’t wait to see it! RT @JamesSACorey: So, I guess this happened http://t.co/qRFagwVtD6
– Ted A’Zary (@Syfy) April 11, 2014
Oh wow, this is exciting, loved book! RT: @James_Hibberd Syfy orders ‘The Expanse’ series based on ‘Leviathan Wakes’ http://t.co/OQ4s1slji7
– Felicia Day (@feliciaday) April 11, 2014
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: NBC, DanielAbraham.com
Audi competition aims to unlock the potential of connected cars
We’ve all heard about how connected and self-driving cars from Google, BMW and others are going to change our lives, but how? Audi wants to find out with its Urban Future Award, a four-city, multidisciplinary competition. Each team has a different quest, but all center around the ways that connected cars — like Audi’s “Piloted Driving” model — can make city transportation better. For example, a Boston group will see if vehicles can take up less space using self-parking features, while in Seoul, researchers will help connected commuters socialize over in-dash displays. The Berlin team will bridge private and public transit for more efficient commuting and, finally, Mexico City’s crew will crowdsource traffic data to reduce the city’s notorious congestion. Audi will update each project regularly in its blog, with the best plan taking a $140,000 prize.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Slashgear
Source: Audi
Chrome Beta 35 for Android makes casting video easier
Google has pushed out version 35 of the Chrome Beta app for Android, more specifically bringing the app to version 35.0.1916.34 which should be in Google Play as of writing.
Amongst the usual bug and performance fixes, the most notable feature of the Chrome Beta 35 update is support for making it easier to cast some videos with Chromecast since the previous version would struggle with certain videos.
Changes also include:
- Undo Tab Close
- Fullscreen video with Subtitles and HTML5 controls
- Support for some multi-window devices
- Support for casting some videos with Chromecast
So if you’ve been struggling casting some videos to Chromecast then be sure to update your Chrome app for Android to see if it’s improved.
The post Chrome Beta 35 for Android makes casting video easier appeared first on ChromeWatching.
Read the rest at the source, ChromeWatching.com
The post Chrome Beta 35 for Android makes casting video easier appeared first on AndroidGuys.
HTC training slides show how HTC One M8 trumps Samsung Galaxy S5
A recent leak shows the HTC aren’t leaving it up to the consumers, benchmark scores, and reviews to prove that the HTC One M8 is better than the Samsung Galaxy S5; instead have created training material which has been distributed to sales reps across the US showing the top 5 reasons why the HTC One M8 is better.
HTC highlights a few factors that prove the HTC One M8 is superior, and the features singled out are quite straightforward: Metal Unibody Design, BoomSound front-facing speakers, Motion Launch gestures, Duo Camera, and HTC Advantage.
Whilst it should be obvious for sales reps to focus on the features which make the HTC One M8 against the competition, it’s interesting that HTC felt the need to specifically focus on comparing it to the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Let us know in the comments section below which device you prefer.
[Source: HTCSource]
The post HTC training slides show how HTC One M8 trumps Samsung Galaxy S5 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Webcomic explains Heartbleed bug like you’re five
So, you understand what that terrible Heartbleed bug’s all about, but you can’t really explain it in words even a five-year-old can understand. Here’s what you should do when someone asks at your weekly family dinner, then: launch the XKCD website and show them its two recent Heartbleed strips. With just a bit more detail from your end, the webcomic should make the concept easy to grok, like what it did for global warming, radiation and Saturn V rockets in the past.
Filed under: Internet
Source: XKCD
MTV Artists connects you to your favorite music artists [App of the Day]
For a while now it would seem that MTV as a TV channel has all but lost its ties to music completely. However, this is not the case with the MTV Artists app, which proves that the company still has its music roots intact.
If you’re anything like we are, then you know that browsing Google and Wikipedia tirelessly when researching a musician or band can get pretty difficult. With MTV Artists, though, you have everything at your immediate disposal. They’ve taken everything and compiled it into one go-to app for anything related to your favorite musician or band.
MTV Artists lets you use Sound ID, and even a lyric search to find that one song that’s been on your mind since you heard it at a friend’s house or on the radio. It also lets you search through an abundance of free music videos/songs to stream, biographies, and even live concert pictures of the particular artist.
It has a couple of cool special features added in as well like the “top 10 songs in 90 seconds” which is pretty much what the name implies. It gives you the option to follow the artist on Twitter/Facebook as well, and includes a full list of tour dates, so you can catch your favorite artist when they’re in your area as well.
All in all the app is a must have for anyone who likes to have all the information on your favorite artists right in front of you, instead of scrolling through endless pages of search results that may or may not match what you need. You can get it at the Play Store for free, and be an expert on any musical artist in minutes!
The post MTV Artists connects you to your favorite music artists [App of the Day] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Feedback Loop: Fire TV questions, remembering Windows XP, Chromebooks and more!
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There’s so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week.
This week, we took a closer look at the Fire TV and answered your questions about Amazon’s latest gadget, reflected on the end of Windows XP, discussed options for coding and writing on a Chromebook and shared our impressions of RBI Baseball 14. Head on past the break to find out what other Engadget users like you had to say and then join the conversation in the Engadget forums!
Everything you want to know about Fire TV
Earlier this month, Amazon announced its entry into the streaming set-top box race with the Amazon Fire TV. Terrence took it for a test drive and shared his impressions of it in his review. Over in the forums, vize asks what sorts of apps you’d like to see on the Fire TV. And for those who are curious, check out our Fire TV Q&A thread. Do you have a question about Amazon’s latest gadget? Ask it right here.
Looking back on 12 years of Windows XP
Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows XP this week. While that unfortunately means no more security updates or patches, it could mean good news for those of you who provide tech support to your grandparents. “Sorry, Grandpa! I can’t fix your computer, because they don’t make anything for this OS anymore. Here’s a Chromebook…” Frankspin looks back on Windows XP and wonders how people will remember it.
Productivity on a Chromebook
Speaking of Chromebooks, the newest generation of Chromebooks is almost here. However, Chrome OS’s reception has been less than enthusiastic (and user reviews for Chrome OS in our product database are fairly mediocre). That said, the newest Chromebooks are more powerful than their predecessors. Can they be used for productive endeavors such as coding and writing? Or do they suffer from the same perception problem as tablets — that they’re only good for media consumption?
RBI Baseball 14: A classic rebooted?
After a long wait, Major League Baseball’s Advanced Media office released RBI Baseball 14 for consoles and mobile devices. Does it live up to our fond memories of the original? I took a crack at it with the Good Guys playing the Bad Guys and shared my impression in the forums. If you’ve downloaded it, share your own experiences and tell me what you think.
That’s all this week! Do you want to talk about your favorite gadget or have a burning question about technology? Register for an Engadget account today, visit the Engadget forums and start a new discussion!
Filed under: Misc
Sprint to team up with Spotify to offer exclusive discounts
Are you a Sprint customer? Do you enjoy listening to Spotify? Then a new partnership between the two may be about to be announced which could see the similar AT&T and Beats partnership rivalled.
According to Re/code, a package deal could be offered to those on a Sprint family plan. Some other Sprint customers may also be eligible for the deal, including free trials and carrier billing.
The deal is reportedly set to be announced at an event in New York on April 29th, so until then it may be worth holding off on renewing your Spotify subscription if you’re a Sprint customer.
Source: Re/code
The post Sprint to team up with Spotify to offer exclusive discounts appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Explore Ample Offers to Buy Computer Accessories
Keeping your computer updated requires you to buy computer accessories time to time. Certainly, you have to cope up with the latest technology by adding advanced accessories to your computer. It makes you feel sick when you find your computer running at low speed or bugging all the time. Moreover, it is very vital concern for the people who generally execute their official task. They need to keep it updated with latest software and accessories to prevent crashes and data loss.
There is always something new in cyber world. These innovations are introduced to make the flow of information uninterrupted. Since the inception, computer has undergone through multiple changes. Though it has been developed so far but innovations are still being introduced to make better and faster. Usually, the changes are occurred in regard with the accessories of computers.
Buying computer accessories can be overwhelming because there are endless offers in the market. The advent of technology facilitates us with internet, the source of massive information and gateway of e-commerce. However, buying accessories wisely is what you need to opt for to put your hand on the best deals.
Can you avoid buying new accessories?
There are many people who never pay attention to upgrade their existing computer. The reason behind this conception is that either they are not much aware about the innovations happening in cyber world or they don’t know importance of having upgraded computer. As far as avoiding buying new accessories is concerned, it is totally a bad idea. To enhance the performance of your computer you have to buy computer parts online that also ensures the quality of the products purchased.
Do accessories increase only performance?
Accessories are not only for increasing the performance but they also improve the longevity. Moreover, some accessories are used to enhance look of the computer. Here are some most common accessories of computer such as External DVD writer, Wi-Fi, Pen drive, Designer hard disk, Head phones, Web cam and etc.
Where to buy computer accessories?
There are numerous online sources where you can find accessories at very low prices. However, for having low price accessories, you need to compare multiple online stores. Moreover, don’t look for only e-commerce stores rather you need to find some informative websites that provide you relevant information about the latest accessories in market. The more you are informed, the better decision you can make. Thus, you need to first collect relevant details about latest advancement in computer parts. Inarguably, buying computer parts online is the best source of putting your hand on best deals.
Are all accessories good to buy?
Never entrust to bogus online stores while you buy computer parts online. There are some counterfeit websites that can claim to offer you highly inexpensive computer parts but you need to prevent from being trapped. It is the quality of accessories that enhances the performance and look of your computer. If you choose the low quality accessories you will surely put your computer into trouble. While buying accessories you need to ensure that accessories are compatible with software. Additionally, you need to have updated software to support your hardware accessories. However, accessories are not limited to hardware parts rather you can buy software to upgrade the system.
It is all about how you start buying process of computer parts. The more you will be prepared for your purchase, the better deals you can expect. The online stores can only offer you deals but you need to compare several deals to choose the one that meets your expectation and preferences. Therefore, spend some quality time in research over web and buy computer parts online Australia at reasonable prices.
Advantages of Using CAD Software
Computer Aided Software is an abbreviation of CAD, which refers to Software that helps professionals to design architectural designs and industrial designs. The criteria of using CAD are not limited to design only industrial designs. In fact, professionals can use it in designing residence structure and electrical structure designs as per their needs. There is huge demand of these kinds of software packages. Depending on the requirements, people choose type of software they need. The proper selection of software is highly recommended because most of the times people get disappointed by having wrong type of software. Therefore, start with determining your preferences and requirements. The online stores are the best place to search for CAD modeling software.
Here are some advantages that professionals avail using CAD software:
Enhance Productivity:
The most significant reason behind selecting this software is enhancing the productivity of the organization. This software facilitates faster project completion, lesser efforts and lower costs. Moreover, this software has animation feature that enables the designer to check how the product will look in real life. Thus, after evaluating the look of the product, designer can implement required modifications to make it better and flawless.
Quality of work:
Certainly, the work quality aspect will be increased with the implementation of CAD software in process. Meticulous and flawless designs are always appreciated in market. Therefore, all efforts are exerted to produce immaculate designs. Here comes the importance of this software, which enables designers to produce flawless design. There is a huge set of pre-installed tools in this software, which allows the designer to prepare designs accurately. Moreover, the accuracy level of this software is very high. Quality work doesn’t only produce the best results but reduces waste also.
Ease of work:
It has totally simplified the designing work of the professionals. Now even novice person can also draw some designs and structures because this software has preinstalled templates and instructions to help the designers. This software tremendously saves the time and efforts of the personnel producing design complying with guidelines in no time. Therefore, it is regarded as the must have software in industries where structural designs are frequently required.
High Standard Design as per guidelines:
Through this software, designer can draw high standardized designs meeting their requirements of projects. It increases efficiency to produce designs with fewer errors. Designing structure complaint with guidelines of the project is strongly recommended.
Document creation:
One of the most important tasks during product designing is creating detailed response. Hence the best design CAD software must offer detailed project report consisting of material specifications and geometrics of products. Moreover, this software provides strong database to the designers in regard with the design. Thereafter, saving and storing database of design is another vital feature that this software provides.
Can you avail this software at lower price?
As above mentioned this software has several advantages to your business. If you are looking for the easy CAD software at very nominal rates, you first have to find sources that offer this software. Nothing is better and easier than Internet to explore and accumulate relevant information of your quest. After compiling data, you can compare prices and services offered by the company before selecting the one.
Don’t forget that due to the competition in market most of the agencies are offering free trail. You can take advantage of free trail software to check compatibility of software with your requirements. It is something that benefits you in selecting the appropriate type of software because there are numerous types of free cad software packages available. Therefore, while selecting the CAD software, first determine your requirements and needs.
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