PS4 owners will be able to play ‘FarCry 4’ with friends who don’t own the game
Looking forward to playing FarCry 4 with your friends? Sony says if you buy it for the PlayStation 4, you’ll only need one copy between you. Taking the stage at the company’s E3 2014 PlayStation event, Sony VP of developer relations Adam Boyes explained that folks playing the game on PSN will be able to invite their friends to play with them even if they don’t own the game. How is this possible? Boyes didn’t say, exactly, but it sounds like an ideal use case for PlayStation Now — Sony’s Gaikai-sourced cloud streaming service.
Developing…
HTC Dot View Case for the HTC One M8. A Cool Idea that Needs Work.
HTC has been on an up and down spiral over the last couple of years as Samsung took the lead in the Android smartphone race. That’s not to say they haven’t made some awesome hardware, but they lost their way a couple of years ago and flooded the market with too many options and nothing spectacular.
With the Release of the HTC One and now the HTC One M8, HTC appears to be on the right track and the release of the HTC Dot View case for the HTC One M8 showed they were thinking out of the box.
The HTC Dot View case protects your phone while still allowing notifications and touch control without opening the case itself. There are a couple of issues that stop it being what it could have been, but it’s still a cool case, just not one that I’d have for myself.
Read the full review now on TheSavvyTechs.
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Bloomberg built a virtual trading terminal using Oculus Rift
No matter how many screens they add to their setup, traders are limited to a finite amount of display real estate. To solve that problem, Bloomberg LP’s turned to the virtual-reality headset Oculus Rift. Don’t expect to see a room full of Oculus-equipped traders anytime soon, though; it’s just a prototype, albeit one that Bloomberg’s showing off at its Next Big Thing Summit this week.
Bloomberg’s prototype puts infinite screens before your eyes, allowing you to view as much financial data as you desire. Beyond the obvious benefit of unlimited space, a virtual trading desk would allow for a more mobile workspace (you could take the Oculus home or on the road) and the ability to change screen arrangements based on the time of day. It’s unclear whether an Oculus-powered trading desk would cost less than a brick-and-mortar Bloomberg terminal, which costs about $2,000 a month.
Currently, the rig is merely a mockup, with screenshots and videos rather than real-time information. Bloomberg’s Nick Peck told Quartz that the proof-of-concept may eventually work with a Leap Motion for gesture control. While the virtual trading terminal is still far from a final product, it’s an exciting look at how Oculus Rift — and virtual reality in general — could benefit the workplace.
Filed under: Displays
Source: Quartz
iOS 8 makes it tougher for WiFi hotspots to track your location
Apple made a hullabaloo over iOS 8′s user-accessible privacy controls during its WWDC keynote, but it now appears that some of the biggest safeguards are under the hood. Security guru Frederic Jacobs has noticed that iOS 8 uses random network identifiers when scanning for WiFi access, and will only reveal a device’s true ID when it connects. In other words, hotspot operators can’t get your position simply because you’re walking by with an iPhone in hand — you have to sign in first.
It’s a relatively simple move, but it could have far-reaching effects on data collection. Both cities and retailers have experimented with tracking phones as they pass by WiFi hotspots, helping to gauge foot traffic. When iOS 8 launches, it could render those trackers useless; at best, they’d paint an incomplete picture. There’s no word on whether or not other platforms will follow suit. Even if no one else adopts the idea, though, it’s good news for privacy advocates who want to limit access to their location.
Filed under: Cellphones, Networking, Mobile, Apple
Source: Frederic Jacobs (Twitter)
Skype’s redesigned iPhone app is all about sharing things faster
Skype has been lavishing attention on its Android and Windows Phone messaging apps as of late, but it’s now time for the iPhone client to get a makeover — and it’s one of the company’s biggest overhauls in recent memory. The new software brings a much fresher-looking interface that’s both in step with other platforms (chiefly Windows Phone) and lets you accomplish many common tasks faster. You can now start group chats right from the hub, and you don’t have to wait until someone hops online to send a message.
There are a lot of subtler tweaks that should go a long way toward improving the experience, too. The app’s overall performance is up to five times faster, and it’s much better at syncing message statuses as you move from device to device. So what’s the catch? Simply put, the app isn’t ready yet; Skype is launching the new iPhone version in about a week. Until it’s available, you’ll just have to make do with the teaser video below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Microsoft
Source: Skype
‘Just Dance Now’ lets anyone with a smartphone and internet connection join in to… dance
Ubisoft’s just kicked off its E3 presser with a look at Just Dance 2015 which is — let’s be honest — expected and not all that exciting. But the company also has a trick up its sleeve for this new edition of the motion-controlled dancing game: online multiplayer from any connected device. The service, called Just Dance Now, lets any player with a smartphone, tablet, smart TV or PC join in the game using the accelerometer on their phone. And, according to Ubisoft, there’s no upper limit on how many players can connect at once using the Just Dance Now app, which the company demoed using a song by ‘ol Lady Gaga.
Filed under: Gaming
‘Assassin’s Creed: Unity’ gets redesigned open world, ships October 28th
Earlier today at Microsoft’s Xbox One E3 event, we got a glimpse of four-player co-op in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Unity. But the developer’s giving the new title a proper unveiling at its own show, with an extended trailer showing in-game footage and a release date: October 28th.
Alex Amancio, Creative Director for the title, said that his team “redesigned the building blocks of Assassin’s Creed” for Unity to let players “carve [their] own unique path through the game.” Gameplay for Unity focuses on assassin Arno Dorian and looks to feature more of the same stealth and murder mechanic we’ve seen in previous installments of the franchise. This time, though, all that cloak and dagger carnage takes place during the French Revolution.
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.
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