‘Minecraft’ for iOS Gets Major Update With Infinite Worlds, New Blocks, and Tons of Other Content [iOS Blog]
Minecraft – Pocket Edition, a game that has managed to stay on the App Store’s top charts for several years running, has received a major update that Mojang calls “the biggest update to Minecraft – Pocket Edition so far.”
Today’s update introduces infinite worlds and caves for the first time, plus it includes new blocks and items like Monster Eggs and mushroom blocks. It’s now possible to tame a companion with the addition of wolves, and the game also includes new flowers.
New monsters, like spooky endermen and Mooshrooms have been introduced, and the iOS version now offers biomes from the PC version of the game including mesas, jungles, swamps, and more.
0.9.0 – biggest update EVER!
Infinite worlds!
Caves!
Loads of new blocks and items including Monster Eggs and huge mushroom blocks.
Wolves! Tame a loyal companion.
Loads of new flowers! So pretty.
New mobs, including the spooky endermen and less spooky Mooshrooms.
New biomes from the PC version, including mesas, jungles, swamps and extreme hills.
Abandoned mineshafts, villages, and many other cool places to explore.
A brand-new “interaction” button. Never accidentally punch a sheep again!
New feature generation, including lakes, vines and monster rooms.
Many bugs fixed, and possibly a few added.
First released for iOS devices in 2011, the initial version of Minecraft – Pocket Edition was highly limited, lacking online play and devoid of animals and creepers. Since its debut, though, the game has been updated countless times, adding a slew of features that put it more on par with desktop versions of Minecraft.
Minecraft – Pocket Edition can be downloaded from the App Store for $6.99. [Direct Link]
Claimed iPhone 6 Front Frame with LCD Shielding and Home Button Bracket Shown in New Photo
Purported parts for the iPhone 6 are continuing to surface, with Apple.club.tw sharing a new blurry photo [Google Translate] of what appears to be the front LCD frame of the device, complete with metal shielding that would separate the LCD itself from the remainder of the internals, as well as a metal bracket covering the home button.
While it is not confirmed that this part is indeed from the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, it is consistent with similar parts seen on previous iPhones. Apple.club.tw claims that it is the proper size for the larger iPhone 6, and that certainly appears reasonable based on how it looks in the hand.
The front panel seen in several recent photo and video leaks would attach to the opposite side of the frame shown in the new photo, covering the LCD and providing the smooth look of the device’s front. That entire assembly would be fitted to the rear shell also seen in recent leaks, sandwiching around the battery, logic board, and other internals of the iPhone 6.
Elon Musk pledges $1 million to help build Nikola Tesla Museum
Nikola Tesla just scored a very generous birthday present. The “father or electricity” was born 158 years ago today, and several fans are trying to preserve his legacy with a museum, to be built on the site of his final laboratory in Shoreham, New York. A 2012 Indiegogo campaign helped raise more than enough to cover purchasing the land, but nowhere near the $8 million that’s needed to refurbish the property and actually build a museum. Fortunately, Elon Musk, the father of the modern day Tesla, has pledged $1 million and has promised to install a supercharger in the parking lot. That’s still not enough to complete the project, but you can help out my making your own contribution here.
[Image credit: Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe]
Filed under: Household
Source: The Oatmeal
Acer upgrades its C720 Chromebook with more power… and a higher price
Looking for a more powerful Acer Chromebook? It’ll cost you — the company announced today that its C720 Chromebook is getting a processor bump and a new price tag. $350 buys a notebook with a 4th generation Intel Core i3-4005U CPU clocked at 1.7GHz with a 32GB SSD, a modest bump from the 1.4GHz Celeron CPU, 16GB SSD and $200 starting price of the current model. Acer says the new CPU will give the machine a noticeable performance boost without affecting the 8.5 hour runtime consumers have come to expect from the laptop. Little else about the Chromeboook seems to have changed; its still available with 2GB or 4GB (in a $380 model) of RAM. Still, if you want to save some money with Acer’s cheaper, slower laptop, buy now: the new models hit store shelves later this month.
Source: PRWeb
BlackBerry opens BBM for Windows Phone beta
“We’ve gotten an incredible number of requests for BBM to come to Windows Phone,” BlackBerry proclaimed in its post announcing BBM for Windows Phone beta today. Whether that means 10 or 10,000 of you have been begging for the service is unclear, but either way, it’s just about here. You’ll get the usual list of features, such as individual and group chats, contacts and feeds, albeit with a refreshed Windows Phone-esque UI. BBM Voice, Channels and Glympse location sharing won’t be available initially, however. You can sign up for access to the limited beta today, or wait for BlackBerry to open up access to everyone within the next few weeks.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: BlackBerry
Apple’s App Store Turns Six, Developers Discount Apps in Celebration
Today marks the sixth anniversary of the App Store, which first debuted on July 10, 2008 in an iTunes update. App Store access came to original iPhone and the new iPhone 3G the next day with the July 11 introduction of iOS 2.0.
Since its introduction, the App Store has grown by leaps and bounds. As of June 2014, the App Store had seen 75 billion total app downloads, a massive number compared to the 1 billion apps downloaded milestone Apple hit in 2009. Apple is seeing 300 million visitors to the App Store per week. To date, Apple has paid out more than $15 billion to app developers, and in 2013, App Store sales topped $10 billion.
According to app tracking site AppShopper, 1.7 million total apps have been approved, with 1,188,063 apps available for download (a number also confirmed by Apple during WWDC). One million of those are iPhone apps, while nearly 600,000 are for the iPad. There are also a total of 20,801 Mac apps, a solid number given the fact that the Mac App Store has only been around since 2011.
In celebration of Apple’s sixth App Store anniversary, several developers are offering steep discounts on popular apps. Some of the best deals can be found below:
– Monument Valley $1.99, down from $3.99 [Direct Link]
– Threes $0.99, down from $1.99 [Direct Link]
– The Room 2 $0.99, down from $1.99 [Direct Link]
– Kiwanuka $0.99, down from $1.99 [Direct Link]
– Tengami $1.99, down from $4.99 [Direct Link]
– Eliss Infinity $0.99, down from $2.99 [Direct Link]
– Out There $1.99, down from $3.99 [Direct Link]
– Blast-A-Way $0.99, down from $4.99 [Direct Link]
– Lost Toys $1.99, down from $3.99 [Direct Link]
– Drafts for iPad $2.99, down from $4.99 [Direct Link]
– Blek $0.99, down from $2.99 [Direct Link]
To find even more apps on sale, make sure to check out AppShopper.com, which keeps track of all App Store changes, including price drops.
With iOS 8, set to be launched to the public later this year, Apple will offer several App Store improvements, including a new “Explore” tab to make it easier to discover content, improved searches, app bundles, and integrated beta testing.
‘Assassin’s Creed Pirates’ Named App of the Week, Available for Free [iOS Blog]
Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Pirates has been named Apple’s app of the week, and as a result, it’s available for free for the first time since it debuted on the App Store back in December of 2013.
While Assassin’s Creed Pirates is not a full-fledged Assassin’s Creed game, it lets players take on the role of Alonzo Batilla, a young pirate captain on a quest to complete missions, attack ships, gather booty, and defeat fearsome enemies.
Pirates features real-time naval battles on the Caribbean sea with iconic boats from the Golden Age of Piracy. Players can upgrade their ships, their crews, and learn new pirating techniques.
EXPLORE THE IMMENSITY OF THE CARIBBEAN
Sail throughout a vast array of islands as you explore a Caribbean huge map
Enjoy more than 50 story and side missions, search for nearly one hundred treasures and lost parchments and compete with your friends for the highest bounty.EMBARK ON AN EPIC QUEST FOR A LEGENDARY TREASURE
Live an adventure that will reveal the truth about La Buse’s mysterious lost treasure.
Cross paths with Assassins and Templars and take part in their age-old struggle.
Meet the most notorious and colorful pirates of the era, including Sam Bellamy, Ben Hornigold and Blackbeard!
Our sister site TouchArcade reviewed Pirates when it was released, and found both the ship upgrade system and the visuals to be impressive, though gameplay can be a bit monotonous.
As Apple’s App of the Week, Assassin’s Creed Pirates will be available as a free download from the App Store for the next seven days. [Direct Link]
You can get LG’s flagship G3 on Verizon next week for $99 on contract
Historically, Verizon’s not often the first carrier in the US to announce availability for a new phone. In the case of LG’s latest flagship smartphone, the G3, it’s actually the last. But good things come to those who wait — and are willing to sign two-year contracts: Big Red’s version of the G3 will go for $99 when you sign the dotted line. This is $100 less than AT&T’s on-contract price. Pre-orders start today and will ship out on July 17th. There’s no special discount for Edge customers or for those who want to buy the phone outright, however: it’ll be $30 per month or $600, respectively.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon, LG
Source: Verizon Wireless
MSI’s latest gaming laptop brings a more grown-up design, a couple big-ass fans
It seems like just yesterday we reviewed MSI’s beastly GT70 Dominator gaming laptop. Indeed, that was only a month ago, but it seems MSI has already moved on: The company is now showing off the GT72, a redesigned version with a slightly thinner profile, an improved cooling system and a less dorky aesthetic. We’ll get to that last bit in a minute, but first: the fans. MSI apparently took a lot of flak for the GT70′s single-fan setup. Not effective enough, according to some hardcore users. Well, in case that wasn’t heavy-duty enough for you, MSI has stepped up to two fans, with the vents taking up pretty much the entire bottom side of the notebook (have a look at the photo after the break if you don’t believe us). Only time (and review-testing) will tell if the new setup is quieter, but MSI says if nothing else the heat management should be better this time around.
Those gigantic fans aside, the GT72 otherwise has a more streamlined look, with fewer plastic elements, a glass-composite palm rest, discreetly placed multimedia buttons and a seamless trackpad that doesn’t flex or bend as you press down on it. The bottom meanwhile is covered by a single piece, sealed by a handful of screws in the corners. Hopefully that’ll make in-home upgrades a little easier the next time you wanna replace the RAM or storage. Finally, the whole thing is slightly thinner and lighter than the last generation, measuring in at 48mm, or 1.9 inches (down from 2.1). Make no mistake, this thing’s still pretty cumbersome. But then again, this is a 17-inch gaming laptop we’re talking about and also, NVIDIA’s current-gen 880M GPU requires a bit of space for the heat sink, anyway. (The more you know!)
Lest you think the all-black design is too safe, MSI is keeping the same backlit SteelSeries keyboard used on the GT70. And that’s a good thing: Not only are we suckers for programmable LEDs (aren’t you?), but this is also one of the most comfortable keyboards we’ve tested on a gaming laptop. This time around, too, the perimeter of the touchpad lights up, sort of like Dell’s older Alienwares. Also intact: the DynaAudio speakers. Which is great, because we loved the audio quality on the last-gen model. Not something that needed to be changed, in our humble opinion.
On the inside, the GT72 makes do with last season’s specs — at least for now. At launch, it will ship with a 1080p display and either the NVIDIA 870M or 880M, though an MSI rep told us it will update the specs as NVIDIA and Intel announce fresh chips. As before, MSI will offer the GT with what it calls “Super RAID 3″ — basically, three solid-state drives arranged in a RAID 0 configuration. As for connectivity, MSI says this will be the first to ship with Killer’s DoubleShot Pro setup combining an 802.11ac WiFi radio with 1Gbps Ethernet, which you can use at the same time.
Look for these to ship soon, with prices ranging from around $2,499 to $2,899 to start. Over time, though MSI plans to add more configurations at both ends of the price spectrum. And, of course, there are new chips a’coming. So best to wait, even if you do choose to check out the hands-on pics now.
Stream: Spielberg’s ‘Extant’ brings sci-fi mystery to Amazon Instant Video
Steven Spielberg. Halle Berry. A robot son and an unborn half human/half alien baby. Got your attention yet? Good, because if you’re looking to add a new TV series to your viewing schedule, Amazon hopes you’ll choose to watch its latest original. It’s called Extant and it revolves around an astronaut (played by Berry) who returns home to her family from a year-long solitary space mission with a new life inside of her. All that we know is that her experiences “will change the course of human history.” Could the baby have something to do with it? Possibly. The 13-episode first season is executive produced by Spielberg and is available on Amazon Instant Video each week a day after it airs on CBS in the US. After checking out the premiere episode, we liked the overall plot and reckon it offers enough mystery and tension to keep us watching (even if it starts a little slow). If you have a Prime subscription, then you’ll be able to stream Extant right now via the web or on your smartphone, tablet or console.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Extant (Amazon Instant Video)
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