New ‘Rainbow 6: Siege’ is on the way from Ubisoft
Worried the Tom Clancy universe of games wouldn’t be as widely represented on next-gen consoles? After giving us a new peek at The Division Ubisoft doubled up with this multiplayer match from a new version of Rainbow 6: Siege. The video displays two teams (Raven and Rogue) fighting over a hostage, with the action and interactive environments we’ve gotten used to from the series. As one of the developers described it on the livestream, this one is all about building up your own defenses and/or breaking down the other team’s to survive attacks. He also said this is a completely different project from the Rainbow 6:Patriots game that went back to the drawing board last year. It has deformity and destruction of environments so you can shoot through walls and other objects, and he promised campaign, co-op and competitive modes would be included. There’s no word on a release date or what systems it will arrive on however. Check after the break to watch the video clip yourself and come back here at 9PM ET for Sony’s E3 2014 press conference.
Welcome to #RainbowSix Siege! #UbiE3 || pic.twitter.com/N6Augj2DJ5
– Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) June 9, 2014
Ubisoft’s ‘Shape Up’ uses the Xbox One camera to try to make fitness fun
“Fitness is boring,” says Ubisoft’s Charles Huteau at the company’s E3 press event. He’s right, it is: there’s a whole industry growing around our attempt to make exercise fun. Hutaeu, however, thinks the answer lies on the Xbox One. “Your workout will finally become an epic game.” The name of that game is Shape Up, an Xbox One exclusive fitness title that leverages Kinect 2.0′s higher resolution camera. It sounds old hat, we know – but Hutaeu put his body where his mouth was, standing in front of the sensor and scanning his body into the game. He pulled up a mini-game called “Piano Step” and within moments, the presenter was competing against a pre-recorded version of himself in a modernized version of Dance Dance Revolution.
The mini-game is brightly colored and musical, but asynchronous self-competition is just the first step. Hutaeu brought out a colleague, and the two immediately dropped to the floor, kicking off an impromptu push-up competition. On screen, the two presenters are pitted against each other in a Street Fighter-esque arena while the game stacks virtual weights (well, statues and trucks) on their back. It’s hilarious and over the top, but it’s also a good showcase of what developers can do with the new Kinect’s lower latency. Of course, you’ll have to buy Microsoft’s more expensive Xbox One configuration to use it.
Apple Shares WWDC OS X Yosemite Video Highlighting Design Changes
Apple today posted the OS X Yosemite video shown during its Worldwide Developers Keynote, which gives a look at some of the new features and design changes introduced with the operating system.
Covering the changes to the dock and icons along with showing off Yosemite’s translucency, the video also highlights AirDrop, Finder, Messages, and Notification Center, giving an overall view of the revamped OS.
We reconsidered every element of the Mac interface, large and small. The result is something that feels fresh, but still inherently familiar. Completely new, yet completely Mac.
First introduced last week, Yosemite includes significant design changes that focus on translucency and a flatter, more modern look, along with a push towards deeper integration with iOS 8. Yosemite introduces several new features that work with iOS 8, including Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and the ability to make and receive phone calls and SMS messages.
Multiple apps and features have also been updated, including Spotlight, Mail, Notification Center, and Safari, and there’s a new focus on iCloud with iCloud Drive. More information on Yosemite’s major changes can be found in our OS X Yosemite Roundup, while details on smaller tweaks can be found in the “OS X Yosemite: All The Little Things” forum thread, created and maintained by MacRumors forum users.
Apple Releases Battery Fix SMC Firmware Update for MacBook Air [Mac Blog]
Apple today released MacBook Air SMC update 2.0 for mid-2013 MacBook Air models, addressing an issue that could cause excessive battery drain when the computer’s lid is closed.
This update is recommended for MacBook Air (Mid 2013) models.
This update addresses an issue which may cause the battery to drain faster than expected when the lid is closed.
This is the second battery fix released for the 2013 MacBook Airs, with update 1.9 fixing a battery issue that could cause the battery to unexpectedly cease functioning.
The update can be downloaded from Apple’s support site or via the Software Update tool in the Mac App Store.
Amazon takes on PayPal with subscription-based payments
With plenty of third-party sellers populating its online store, Amazon is well accustomed to playing the middleman for processing transactions. Now the e-tailer’s taking that middleman role one step further; it will now manage monthly subscription payments for companies such as wireless service provider Ting. It’s just the latest move in Amazon’s ongoing effort to overtake PayPal.
Amazon users will be able to use their stored credit-card information to make monthly payments at participating sites. For anyone who’s used PayPal, the process will be very familiar; you’ll see a payment button that will pull in your billing info from Amazon to process a transaction. Beyond Ting, it isn’t clear which companies will take advantage of the service, but we’d expect to see digital music services, additional wireless providers and gaming sites.
Naturally, Amazon will get a fee for each transaction. For partners, the benefit comes in the form of Amazon’s name, which will theoretically make you feel safer when shopping at little-known web merchants. For many customers, though, privacy concerns remain. VP of seller services Tom Taylor told Reuters that Amazon will only collect the dollar amount of customers’ transactions, rather than information about which items were purchased. In any case, it all depends on customer trust – and a long list of partner merchants – for Amazon to make a dent in PayPal’s business.
Source: Reuters
Secret’s new Dens will keep your confessions within company walls
When you spill your guts on Secret, that post is sent anonymously to a network based on the people on your phone’s contacts list, and if it gets enough hearts, it might even go viral and spread out to the rest of the world. But say you want to post an inside joke that only your co-workers might understand, or maybe a secret lunch tip that you’d only want people in your college to know about. Well, you just might be able to do so thanks to a new feature that the folks over at Secret are testing called Secret Dens. A “den” can be an organization like a company or a school, and anything that you post to that den will be strictly confined to those walls — no outside sharing allowed.
If your organization has signed up for the Den feature, you can add yourself to the Secret Den with your work or university email address. From there, you can post to the Den by adding “@yourdomain” to the post. Posts shared to that Den will have the den’s name on the bottom left corner, and interestingly, anyone from that domain can remove anyone else, which might be trouble if anyone gets into a petty spat at work. You’ll need to be on Secret’s invite-only list to sign up and the feature is still in its pilot stage, so maybe it’ll change once it’s ready for release. Head on over to the source to find out more about the “den” feature and if it’s something you want for your organization.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Secret
Watch Ubisoft’s E3 press conference right here!
Seeing Assassin’s Creed: Unity and The Division this morning at Microsoft’s press conference was just a tease, and we expect to see much, much more at publisher Ubisoft’s own briefing. Aside from that, expect to hear more on Ubisoft’s open-world racer The Crew and possibly some other franchises that’ve been missing in action for a few years. The second to last conference of the day starts at 6 pm Eastern, 3 pm Pacific and you can watch it below.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Facebook’s Snapchat competitor appears then disappears quickly, just like its messages
The rumors are true: Facebook has indeed been working on a Snapchat competitor called Slingshot, and true to its ephemeral nature, it showed up ever so briefly on the App Store today before it was taken down. Prior to that though, we managed to glean enough information from the app description to get a few hints as to how it works. Similar to Snapchat, you can send photos and videos to friends, and once they view them, those messages will disappear. You’re even able to add captions and scribblings on them just like Snapchat. But the key differentiator between Slingshot and other ephemeral messaging apps is that before your friends can see your missives, they must reciprocate and “sling” something back. After receiving your message, they can either tap to react to it or swipe it to remove it for good.
We’ve since received a confirmation message from a Facebook spokesperson that simply states: “Earlier today, we accidentally released a version of Slingshot, a new app we’re working on. With Slingshot, you’ll be able to share everyday moments with lots of people at once. It’ll be ready soon and we’re excited for you to try it out.” Though it isn’t clear, it seems that Slingshot could be the latest project from Creative Labs, the same team that brought us Paper, Facebook’s dedicated news-reading app. This arrives a month or so after Facebook sunsetted its Poke app, which was supposed to be an earlier attempt at a Snapchat challenger.
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
Source: TechCrunch
‘The Sims 4’ launches this September on PC
You like playing with people’s lives, right? When The Sims 4 hits this fall, you’ll be able to take that to an entirely new level. Your virtual people will have “heart,” can die of laughter and you can import someone else’s custom person (or house, even) directly into your game, pretty simply from the look of it. When and where does it all happen? September 2nd this year, and on PC.
Bioware teases next installment of ‘Mass Effect’ and new, unnamed title at E3
Prepare for a huge tease Mass Effect fans: Bioware showed off some “conceptual footage” of the game’s next installment at Electronic Arts’ E3 event. While we didn’t get much in the way of actual gameplay footage, Bioware did go on at length about how fan feedback has helped to shape the new title under development at its Montreal Studio. The developers also hinted that the game would give players the opportunity to “pick a planet, fly there and see what to discover.” Though no release date was given.
Beyond a new Mass Effect, Bioware’s Edmonton studio’s also working on a brand-new IP. And it showed off even more concept designs to back that up. Again, we don’t have much more to go on for the title aside from Bioware’s focus on creating a fully fleshed out fictional world. Expect to hear more on that title later this year.
AIVAnet 