Bjork’s interactive ‘Biophilia’ album is the first downloadable app in MoMA’s permanent collection
We’ve seen lots of crazy things on display at the Museum of Modern Art — a “rain room,” a sex toy that works with your phone, a sleeping Academy Award-winning actress. Now you can add “tablet app” to that list. Bjork’s “Biophilia,” an interactive album released on iOS and Android, has become the first downloadable app to join MoMA’s permanent collection. First released in 2011 (and still available for sale), the album allows listeners to “contribute” to songs by playing with interactive on-screen visuals. In “Solstice,” for instance (pictured above), the orbits actually allow you to control the string music, with the option to save and record your own version. Ultimately, it was that interactivity that earned the app a spot in the collection. “With Biophilia, Björk truly innovated the way people experience music by letting them participate in performing and making the music and visuals, rather than just listening passively,” said MoMA senior curator Paola Antonelli in a blog post.
Of note, this isn’t the first app to join MoMA’s collection; it’s just the first downloadable one. The first app was actually John Maeda’s 1994 collection “Reactive Books” — floppy disks tucked inside physical books. (Oh, the nineties.) “Apps are highly ‘collectible’ because of their finite or semi-finite nature-they might be connected to live feeds and to the Web, but their infrastructure design is stable and defined, unlike that of websites,” Antonelli wrote. As one of MoMA’s own collectibles, the app is on display at the museum seven days a week. That said, to spare you the $25 ticket price (and the trip to Manhattan), we’d suggest you just download it yourself for $12.99.
Filed under: Internet
Via: AppleInsider
Source: Museum of Modern Art, Biophilia (iTunes), (Google Play)
See Handoff on OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 in Action
With iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, Apple is focusing heavily on increased integration between desktop and mobile through several new “Continuity” features, including Handoff, which allows users to start a task on one device and swap to another nearby device.
While Handoff doesn’t appear to work reliably at this point in time and is listed as one of the features currently unavailable in the beta software, some users have been able to get it working, giving us a quick glimpse at how the feature works.
A video from French site Mac4Ever displays how the feature works with Maps, Safari, and Mail. A map opened on the iPhone is automatically picked up by the Mac, displayed in the lower left corner of the screen, with the process repeated for a site in Safari and an email message in Mail.
Handoff is also demonstrated in a second video from Cult of Mac, which explains how Handoff works and shows the feature being used with Safari and Mail. The video also demonstrates a second Continuity feature, which allows Macs and iPads to make and answer phone calls relayed through an iPhone.
Handoff, Mac/iPad phone calls, and the other Continuity features will continue to be refined during the iOS 8/OS X Yosemite beta testing period. Both iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite are currently available to developers and are expected to be released to the public in the fall.
LinkedIn to face lawsuit for sending repeat invitations to your contacts
If you’ve given professional-networking site LinkedIn access to your email account, you may be aware that the site uses your contact list to recruit new members. What you probably weren’t aware of, though, is that LinkedIn can send your contacts invitation emails followed by reminder emails — at the risk of making you look like a needy user who can’t take a hint. This practice is at the crux of an upcoming lawsuit against the company, with a District Judge in San Jose, California ruling that the repeat emails could injure users’ reputations.
US District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose ruled that members who sued can continue to pursue damages for the revenue LinkedIn made using their email address contacts. The site apparently doesn’t include any disclosures about sending multiple invitations to contacts. Judge Koh also explained that the networking site may have violated California’s right of publicity, which protects against the use of someone’s name for commercial purposes without consent. Members of the class-action lawsuit are currently looking to expand the case to include more members.
For LinkedIn’s part, spokeswoman Crystal Braswell said: “We are pleased that the Court rejected plaintiffs’ unfounded “hacking” claims and found that LinkedIn members consented to sharing their email contacts with LinkedIn. We will continue to contest the remaining claims, as we believe they have no merit.”
Filed under: Internet
Via: Bloomberg
Source: LinkedIn class action
These are the biggest Xbox One games at E3 2014
Sure, you could spend the rest of your days playing Titanfall online, but what if you’d like to give your Xbox One something a little different to play? Microsoft’s message for this E3 was clear: games, games and more games. We took to the company’s booth this week to find out what you’d be playing this fall, and whether you like shooters, driving games or indies, you should be all set for first-party titles. How does Redmond stack up to Sony’s plan for the PlayStation? We’ll let you be the judge.
FABLE LEGENDS
For a lot of people, the Fable franchise has been heartbreaking from the word “go.” The series’ promise of ultimate freedom was never truly fulfilled and even the series’ creator, Peter Molyneux, has said the last was a “train wreck.” If the past three entries left you wanting, Fable: Legends might not change that. Instead of going for the series-typical action-RPG, Legends looks more like a shallow co-op romp than a lengthy single-player game where your actions determine your appearance (doing good deeds caused a halo to form around your head, for example). Three players work to take down waves of enemies and gather loot; even if you play solo, you’ll have comrades fighting alongside — they’ll just be AI-controlled. Where it gets unique, however, is when a fourth person plays as the villain. From there, you’re taking almost a tower-defense-style look at each match, and directing enemies toward the advancing heroes.
I thought this aspect was fun, but couldn’t help but pine for a traditional Fable game where I could kick chickens, have a wife (or husband) in every city and collect a trail of flies. A beta for the title launches this fall, and a full release is planned for next year.
SUNSET OVERDRIVE
Sunset Overdrive is absolute mayhem. Developer Insomniac Games’ latest takes everything it’s known for (colorful action, ingenious weapon systems and pure irreverence) and poured it into a game where you can fire explosive propane tanks at glowing orange monstrosities whilst grinding around on power lines and defending a vat of the energy drink from the monsters it created. In the multiplayer match I joined, there were countless explosions, particle effects and monsters on screen at the same time, and the game never once stopped being silky smooth as I bounced off of trampolines and onto roofs so I could rain hell from above with a freeze ray — even with seven other players. Granted, this was a very controlled setup in Microsoft’s E3 booth, so anything could happen when it launches this fall. While I’m confident that multiplayer should be a blast, I’m curious as to how the experience translates to a solo campaign. Insomniac knows how to tell a story though (just look at Resistance 3, for example), so I’m not too worried.
FORZA HORIZON 2
Not everyone wants to spend more time virtually tuning an absurdly expensive car’s engine than they do actually, you know, racing it. Forza Horizon 2 doesn’t force that, much like its predecessor didn’t. For better or for worse, Horizon 2 doesn’t immediately feel all that different from the first Horizon. I drove my bright red Corvette Stingray through the desert, carving out corners on cliffside roads, shunting anyone who came too close, while electronic dance music beats thumped in my headphones. Looking back, however, at least one aspect of my race stood out: I was encouraged to drive off-road. It sounds minor, yes, but seeing the suggested racing line (and my opponents) lead into tall grass changed the pacing of the competition a bit. We were all in low-slung, high-powered automobiles designed for racetracks — this forced us to slow down, and gave me a chance to overtake those who decelerated too much. And when I crossed the finish line in eighth place? A few fighter jets scrambled overhead, leaving multicolored contrails in their wake. It seemed a bit familiar, yes, but I was okay with it and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel this autumn.
ORI AND THE BLIND FOREST
Ori and the Blind Forest is one of the bigger pushes for Microsoft’s indie-game initiative, and it’s gorgeous. During my brief demo, I guided a charming, little white creature around a beautiful setting, hopping from platform to platform and launching fire attacks at pink and pulsing enemies. The PR reps on hand told me that all of the backgrounds are procedurally generated, meaning an algorithm assembles them, so if you go back through the same area three different times, you’ll see three different backdrops. Given that this game plays in the style of a classic Metroid or Castlevania where earning new abilities opens hidden areas in previously traveled areas, you’ll probably see the same scene more than once when the game launches this fall.
HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION
You didn’t think we’d keep Halo out of this, did you? Halo: The Master Chief Collection (MCC) packs four games onto one disc, some 100 multiplayer maps, a totally remastered Halo 2 and a whole lot more all into one $60 package this fall. Halo 2′s overhauled graphics don’t measure up to other recent shooters, but pressing the Xbox One controller’s “view” button brings the original 2004 graphics back, and you can see just how different the two games look. Better shadows, more detailed textures and, well, a lot more drama, come to light with the new visuals. Developer 343 Industries is remastering the audio, too if you’re into that sort of thing. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4 aren’t getting revamped, but that’s because they already looked pretty great running on the Xbox 360. I was told, however, that some post-processing effects have been added so they look a touch better. What’s more, the MCC is how you’ll access the Halo 5: Guardians beta this December, and Ridley Scott’s Halo: Nightfall live-action series after the collection’s November 11th release.
[Image credits: Microsoft]
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Netflix is shutting down its API, but helpers like InstantWatcher aren’t going away
Over a year ago, Netflix announced it was no longer issuing keys to its public API platform, cutting off any potential new developers from joining. That’s the service that allowed third-party developers to build apps that gave you different ways to browse and access its library of movies. Today, Netflix’s VP of Edge Engineering announced in a blog post that the API will go away entirely as of November 14th. Not all is lost however, as a “small set” of developers have been approved for private access, and the list includes helpful sites and apps like InstantWatcher, FeedFliks, Can I Stream It?, NextGuide, Flixster, Fanhattan and a few more. Not familiar with them? If you use Netflix, you should be, since they make it easy to browse movies by year, rating, or even what others have recently queued. Of course, some of our other favorite sites like AllFlicks aren’t on the approved list, and we’ve contacted them to find out their fate.
[Image credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Netflix Developer Blog
Playdate: Engadget plays the Destiny alpha on PS4!
Welcome, ladygeeks and gentlenerds, to the new era of gaming. The one where you get to watch, and comment, as other people livestream gameplay from next-gen consoles. Because games! They’re fun!
PlayStation’s Adam Boyes dropped a bomb during Sony’s E3 media briefing this week: PlayStation Plus members would get to check out a test-version of Bungie’s newest shooter, Destiny. Don’t have a PS4 or can’t otherwise jump in? Join us here at 7 pm Eastern / 4 pm Pacific as we explore a ruined Russia, drive speeder bikes and shoot lots and lots of aliens.
Watch live video from Engadget on www.twitch.tv
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Twitch
Apple Plans to Encrypt iCloud Email in Transit Between Providers [Mac Blog]
NPR Yesterday wrote a story on the efforts of tech companies to protect consumer data, which included an extensive chart on how companies measure up when it comes to encryption.
While Apple was found to be encrypting iMessage end-to-end, as well as email from customers to iCloud, it was found to be one of the few global email providers based in the U.S. that does not encrypt customer email in transit between providers. That means emails that are sent from iCloud to iCloud are encrypted, but emails sent from iCloud to other providers, such as Gmail, are not encrypted.
Following the post, however, Apple told NPR that it is planning to encrypt those emails in the near future.
Apple encrypts e-mail from its customers to iCloud. However, Apple is one of the few global email providers based in the U.S. that is not encrypting any of its customers’ email in transit between providers. After we published, the company told us this would soon change. This affects users of me.com and mac.com email addresses.
As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple’s response to NPR mentions only Me.com and Mac.com without a mention of the newer iCloud.com email addresses, but Google’s data protection transparency website suggests that outbound iCloud.com emails are not encrypted, so it is likely Apple’s plans include changes to the iCloud.com domain as well.
As noted by NPR, end-to-end encryption of emails sent back and forth between service providers requires cooperation between providers. Both email services involved (such as Apple and Google or Apple and Yahoo) must implement encryption, which means Apple will need to work with other email providers for true end-to-end encryption of iCloud.com email.
NPR’s study also noted that many app installations and iOS updates are sent unencrypted to iPhones, as are configuration files sent from telecom companies, and pre-login browsing/shopping traffic from the Apple Store.
Can Electronic Arts make a ‘Battlefield’ game that works?
I stopped playing Battlefield this year. Why did I stop playing the massively popular first-person shooter? Because it never works when it launches. For those who haven’t experienced the promise and defeat of a Battlefield launch, it goes as such:
- A multiplayer beta precedes the launch, often by a slim few months, which is chocked up to server testing.
- Players enjoy the beta, which is sometimes buggy, but often stable enough. And hey, it’s a beta.
- The game launches; millions of players splash into online servers; and it becomes unplayable for days, weeks and often months at a time.
Battlefield games come out every year. This was not always the case, but in the past four years, we’ve seen three Battlefield games. Zero of those three worked at launch (I actually wrote about this back when Battlefield 3 came out, at our sister site Joystiq). Battlefield 4 launched last October; it just started operating consistently. At E3 2014, EA announced this year’s entry in the series: Battlefield Hardline. It’s with this tremendous amount of baggage that I approached our interview with Battlefield studio head Karl Magnus Troedsson.
“You man up to the problems you’ve had, and you fix it.”
Troedsson knows my plight well. Aside from having heard as much from me in the past, my issues with Battlefield are far from unique. One look at the Battlefield help site demonstrates how widespread the issues are. In so many words, he hears complaints about Battlefield 4 quite often these days. As such, he’s prepared a characteristically positive response. Troedsson asks me, “I hear you. I hear you absolutely. But have you played Battlefield 4 lately?”
I haven’t. After several months of major issues — buggy gameplay, being kicked mid-game from online servers, unbalanced weapons, straight-up glitches — I quit. And I’m not alone. Around 150,000 people are actively playing the game across five game platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PC. Estimates put sales of Battlefield 4 in the range of 7 million. It’s pretty stark. How many of those folks will come back this holiday when the next game, Battlefield Hardline, launches?
Troedsson says the only thing he can do is be much more vocal with the community and create a great game. He says the studio culture has changed as a result of the last several years of botched launches. He says evidence already exists of that change.
“It’s a cultural thing of how we engage with the community. It’s a hardening experience to launch these kind of games, especially when we have challenges at the launch. The easiest way of going about something like that is becoming more closed off. As a company, as teams, it’s basically a human reaction to something like this. We’ve decided to opt the other way — to open up the kimono and say, ‘You know what? You know why it’s hard to make these games? Because it’s very complicated.’ That’s not an excuse!”
Except that it is an excuse. And Troedsson knows it, because he said, “That’s not an excuse!” before I could point out that customers who pay $60 for a broken product aren’t assuaged when the product maker says, “Making this product is really tough.” It absolutely is complicated making games, especially ones as sprawling as Battlefield 4. That, of course, doesn’t excuse DICE from making a working product.
So, will Battlefield Hardline function when it comes out this year? I truly doubt it, but — for what it’s worth — DICE is introducing a beta earlier than ever. Troedsson called it a “true beta.” Keep in mind that the last several Battlefield games all had beta periods ahead of launch. What’s a “true” beta, then? That remains unclear. It’s not that I didn’t ask, but this is what I was told when I did:
“The Battlefield 4 beta for instance; that was pretty close to the actual launch. That was more for the actual backend system. Because from that perspective, it is a true beta. The actual clients that people are playing on are very near final, but the backend is about doing the beta testing on those kind of systems.”
Regardless, considering Battlefield 4 only just recently started working, why in the world is EA releasing another Battlefield game this year? It’s hard to not see it as a naked cash-in on a franchise being milked for all it’s worth. Troedsson defends EA’s decision.
“We’re shipping another Battlefield game a year after, which some people feel is too close. But there is a commitment here from us that we’re gonna keep taking care of the products much more in a parallel way. People shouldn’t think of this as a serial exercise of dropping games; as soon as one is dropped, the other one dies. Naturally, unless people really scream for it, we perhaps won’t continue building a lot of paid DLC for BF4 after Hardline comes out, but will we still take care of the experience? Absolutely. If new problems occur, will we take care of them? Absolutely.”
Here’s the thing: Troedsson’s missing the whole point. It’s not just that fans who bought the past several games feel burned because they worry the game they bought will stop receiving support. The issue is that EA is asking them for money hardly a year after selling them a broken product. And the new product looks an awful lot like the broken one from last year.
Troedsson and I spoke for almost 20 minutes about mostly this. I’ve included the full audio below, which longtime Battlefield fans may be interested to hear. Troedsson is sympathetic to the plight of spurned fans, no doubt, and it’s worth hearing his tone. Though I might not agree with all his answers, he’s at least trying. Check it out for yourself below.
An interview with DICE head Karl Magnus Troedsson
Buyer’s Guide: Discounts on Retina MacBook Pro, iPad mini, Beats Headphones, and More [Mac Blog]
There are some great deals on Apple-related accessories and services this week, as well as some decent discounts on the iPad mini and the 13 and 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro.
Beats Studio over-ear headphones can be purchased (in six colors) for $180 through Groupon, which is $89 off the price when purchased directly from Beats. Target is also offering 25 percent off Beats Music gift cards, dropping the $50 card to $37.50 and the $25 card to $18.75, essentially dropping the price of a yearly subscription from $99 to $75.
Speck’s CandyShell Case for the iPad mini/Retina iPad mini can be purchased through Groupon for $14,99, a discount of $30. The iHealth Blood Pressure Monitor for iOS devices can also be purchased from Groupon for $30, a discount of $70.
Best Buy is offering the 16GB non-Retina iPad mini for $199, a discount of $100 from the standard $299 price. It’s available in both white and space gray. Best Buy is also offering a $25 iTunes gift card with the purchase of a $99 Apple TV.
The higher-end 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM is available for $1,399 from Amazon, which is a $100 discount and one of the lowest prices we’ve seen on that configuration.
The lower-end 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro with 8GB of memory and 256GB of RAM can be purchased for $1,849.99 from Amazon, Adorama, and B&H, a $150 discount. The higher-end Retina MacBook Pro 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM can be purchased for $2,449 from Amazon, Adorama, and B&H, also a discount of $150.
Customers in many states may find it preferable to order from Adorama or B&H, as these sites only charge sales tax in New York/New Jersey and New York, respectively.
Before making a purchase of a Mac or iOS device, make sure to consult our Buyer’s Guide to find out if it’s a good time to buy. For example, while there are some good deals to be had on the current iMac, our Buyer’s Guide does not recommend a purchase at this time because an update is coming soon — and prices will drop even lower.
MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. 
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