Activision wants its own movie studio to turn games into big-screen blockbusters
Activision games like the Call of Duty series are practically movies between their big-name actors and Michael Bay-like action scenes, so this begs a question: why doesn’t the company actually make movies? Apparently, it may do just that. The Information hears from sources that the developer is tentatively planning to launch a studio that would produce movies and TV shows based on its brands. The new outfit would theoretically be a Marvel-style hit factory that produces exactly the titles it wants to see on the big screen, rather than licensing out to third parties that historically botch the job. That certainly makes sense — for every successful adaptation like Resident Evil, there’s a dozen Wing Commanders that tarnish an otherwise fine legacy.
Whether or not this project pans out is another matter. CEO Bobby Kotick is still in talks to get the necessary executive talent, and Kotick himself has been worried that movies might sour people on the franchises. Activision certainly isn’t commenting on the rumor at this stage. However, the firm might feel like it has little choice. Call of Duty sales have been gradually dropping for a while, and there’s no guarantee that Skylanders will remain a cash cow forever — movies may rekindle interest in these well-worn properties and prevent a Guitar Hero-level burnout.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: The Information
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Amazon’s first Fire phone update tackles its big interface problems
Generally speaking, Amazon’s Fire phone hasn’t had the warmest of receptions, and the online retailer is looking to improve things with its first major update for the device. To start with, the flagship smartphone from Amazon is finally capable of multitasking, a feature that’s hard to believe could be missing to begin with — double-pressing on the home button now lets you quickly switch between apps and tasks. In this new version of the handset’s Fire OS, Amazon has also introduced App Grid Collections, aka application folders; Carousel Pinning, which lets users pin their favorite apps to the main home screen; and the ability to take Lenticular photos with 11 images rather than only 3, something that should make the optical illusion better on those type of images. Perhaps most importantly, however, this update is said to bring “dozens” of system tweaks which improve the Fire phone’s battery life, and we all know how important that is.
We should mention that, strangely enough, these features have been there for people with review units, including ours, but this is the first time Amazon is making them available to formal customers — the company said it was waiting for AT&T to approve the update. So, knowing this, give the refreshed software a try and let us know in the comments what you think of the handset now.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Amazon
Via: Android Police
Source: Amazon
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DARPA wants future tanks to use technology in place of armor
Tanks and other land-based fighting vehicles are typically fitted with layers upon layers of armor for protection, but they move real slow as a result. Since more advanced weapons are being developed to punch holes through thick plating anyway, DARPA wants to find a way to develop faster, more agile fighting vehicles that don’t depend on armor for safety. To accomplish that, the agency has launched the Ground X-Vehicle Technology (GXV-T) program, which aims to conjure up technologies that’ll lead to slimmer tanks that can avoid getting shot at. The program wants to cut vehicles’ weight and the number of operators needed to operate them in half, as well as to make them twice as fast so they can dodge incoming threats. It also plans to give these new breed of vehicles the power to drive through rough terrain and to evade enemy detection. DARPA’s slated to work on GXV-T technologies for the next 24 months before it awards any contract, so it might take a while before we see a finished product.
Filed under: Misc
Source: DARPA
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‘District 9’ star cast in lead role for PlayStation’s ‘Powers’ series
Every story needs a hero, and comic-book based yarns aren’t any different. Good thing Sharlto Copely has some experience in that department because the upcoming Powers adaptation for PlayStation would be awfully different without Detective Christian Walker. The District 9 alum has been cast in the lead role alongside Michelle Forbes (Orphan Black, Battlestar Galactica) as Retro Girl. Series co-creator Brian Michael Bendis writes on the PlayStation Blog that while the actors don’t resemble their 2D counterparts in appearance, neither he nor co-creator Michael Avon Oeming ever intended a faithful version of the book to hit the screen. He says that the pair were looking more for actors that captured the spirit of the characters instead and he wants the show and the book to exist, more or less, in parallel universes and play to the strengths of each respective medium. How much will those universes cleave? Well, we should know come December.
[Image credit: Associated Press]
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Sony
Source: PlayStation Blog
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Cincinnati residents will have access to gigabit internet
Gigabit internet is still pretty hard to come by — Google’s Fiber widening rollout is ironically slow, and mainstream providers just don’t offer it universally. Folks in southeast Ohio, at least, can rest easy: their own Cincinnati Bell is now offering fiber optic services to consumers. The company has been testing the high-speed lines with businesses since early summer, but says it’s finally ready to offer it to a wider market as part of its “Light Up Cincinnati” program starting September 8th. If you’re not a local, at least you’ll be able to take advantage of the upgrade when you visit: the company is setting up free WiFi hotpsots throughout the city, too.
[Image credit: Jodi Jacobson]
Filed under: Internet
Source: Cincinnati Bell (1), (2)
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‘Minecraft’ might actually come to virtual reality after all
Earlier this year when the Facebook purchase of Oculus VR went down, there were more than a few detractors but none as prominent as the man behind Minecraft. At the time, Markus “Notch” Persson said that his company Mojang was in talks to bring the blocky construction set to Oculus Rift, but cancelled the deal because Zuckerberg’s social network creeped him out. That’s all changed now. Notch recently tweeted that he’s officially over being peeved about the transaction, and was now more upset about a hole in one of his favorite socks (yes, really). That musing didn’t go unnoticed by Oculus. Specifically, the outfit’s chief technology officer and all-around game-industry legend John Carmack, who offered:
“Say the word, ship the source and I’ll make sure it runs well on you-know-what…”
Yep, that’s right: one of gaming’s most prominent programmers has formally offered to help port Minecraft to VR. Oculus courting one of the, if not the, biggest indie developers and his absurdly successful games makes a lot of sense. Minecraft is infinitely more recognizable to a mainstream audience than something along the lines of, say, EVE: Valkyrie is, and this sort of deal might land Notch enough money to buy another Aphex Twin record — everyone wins.
@notch @brendaniribe say the word, ship the source, and i'll make sure It runs well on you-know-what…
– John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) August 17, 2014
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Via: IGN
Source: John Carmack (Twitter), Markus Persson (Twitter)
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Sprint family promo lets you share at least 20GB of data for $100 per month
T-Mobile has lately enticed families by giving them a big, 10GB bucket of mobile data at a relatively low $100 rate, but Sprint isn’t about to take this competition laying down. Big Yellow has just unveiled a Family Share Pack promotion that lets you split a minimum of 20GB of data (and unlimited voice/text) for a relatively modest $100 per month, plus $15 per line. You’re almost certainly getting more than that, too. Sprint throws in another 2GB for every line, so a family of four will have 28GB to play with. If you max out the plan with 10 people, that’s a pretty hefty 40GB. You won’t get the carrier’s signature unlimited data, but this may eliminate worries that Snapchat-happy kids will chew up all your bandwidth.
Of course, there are gotchas that may make it tough to take advantage of this seemingly sweet offer. You’ll have to switch to Sprint between August 22nd and September 30th; existing customers (and procrastinators) need not apply. Coverage also remains a sore point, so you’ll want to find out if there’s a good Sprint LTE signal nearby before moving everyone over. This looks to be a good deal if everything checks out, though, and don’t fret if you’re only interested in service for yourself — Sprint hints that it’s tweaking individual plans this week.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Wireless, Mobile, Sprint
Source: Sprint (1), (2)
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Aphex Twin’s first album in 13 years unveiled through the secret web
Fans have been waiting for a new Aphex Twin (aka Richard James) album ever since 2001′s Drukqs. Well, he finally put out the first details of this follow-up today — and in a very modern (if characteristically cryptic) fashion. The electronic musician revealed both the title and track listing through a Tor web link, which requires the kind of privacy-minded “secret web” browsers used by NSA whistleblowers and black market dealers. In fact, trying to visit the public version of the site gives you seemingly everything but what you’re looking for; all you’ll see is your own internet connection details and James’ signature “A” logo. It’s almost an anti-publicity campaign, in that sense. You can look at the image below if you’re willing to spoil the surprise, but be sure to check out Aphex Twin’s excellent/disturbing “Windowlicker” video (the music starts around 3:50) while you’re at it.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Pitchfork
Source: Aphex Twin (Tor only), (public)
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What’s on your HDTV: ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Bojack Horseman’, ‘Diablo III’
Shark Week is no longer upon us, and real NFL action is almost here. But first, we’ve got a few more things to get around, including the premiere of a new season of Doctor Who, with Peter Capaldi taking over the title role of The Doctor. Netflix also has a couple of premieres this week, with its new series starring Will Arnett as the voice of Bojack Horseman plus a US/Canada premiere for the BBC drama Happy Valley. The F1 series continues in Belgium, and on HBO fans will be able to see the last episode of True Blood. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition brings the series to next-gen consoles this week as well (in 1080p on Xbox One and PS4) and with some options for cross-platform saves. On Blu-ray there’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and a new Y Tu Mama Tambien release from Criterion. Check after the break for a list of what’s new this week plus a few trailers, and drop a note in the comments if you see any highlights we’ve missed.
Blu-ray, Streaming movies & Games
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (3D)
- Y Tu Mama Tambien (Criterion)
- Boardwalk Empire (S4)
- Only Lovers Left Alive
- Once Upon A Time (S3)
- The Flintstones
- Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
- Toy Story of Terror!
- Revolution (S2)
- Leviathan
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (PS4, PS3)
- Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition (Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360)
- The Last Tinker: City of Colors (PS4)
- Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number , PC(PS4)
- Counterspy (PS4, PS3)
- Tales of Xillia 2 (PS3)
- The Golf Club (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
Monday
- The Awesomes, Hulu
- Browns/Washington pre-season football, ESPN, 8PM
- Switched at Birth (season finale), ABC Family, 8PM
- Running Wild with Bear Grylls, NBC, 8PM
- WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
- Whose Line Is It Anyway?, CW, 8PM
- Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart, HBO, 9PM
- Dallas (summer premiere), TNT, 9PM
- Fast n’ Loud, Discovery, 9PM
- Partners, FX, 9 & 9:30PM
- American Ninja Warrior, NBC, 9PM
- The Fosters (summer finale), ABC Family, 9PM
- Street Outlaws, Discovery, 10PM
- Anger Management, FX, 10 & 10:30PM
- Under the Dome, CBS, 10PM
- Teen Wolf, MTV, 10PM
Tuesday
- Food Fighters, NBC, 8PM
- Pretty Little Liars, ABC Family, 8PM
- 4th and Loud, A&E, 9PM
- Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
- Matador, El Rey, 9PM
- Rizzoli & Isles, TNT, 9PM
- Royal Pains , USA, 9PM
- Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Atlanta Falcons, HBO, 10PM
- The Singles Project, Bravo, 10PM
- Finding Carter, MTV, 10PM
- Drunk History, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Perception (summer finale), TNT, 10PM
- Tyrant, FX, 10PM
- Covert Affairs, USA, 10PM
- Nathan for You (season finale), Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- Sullivan & Son, TBS, 10PM
Wednesday
- Happy Valley, Netflix, 3AM
- Penn & Teller: Fool Us, CW, 8PM
- Unsung: Martha Wash, TV One, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Young & Hungry, ABC Family, 8PM
- So You Think You Can Dance, Fox, 8PM
- Mystery Girls, ABC Family, 8:30PM
- Legends, TNT, 9PM
- Suits (summer finale), USA, 9PM
- Franklin & Bash, TNT, 10PM
- Extant, CBS, 9 & 10PM
- The Bridge, FX, 10PM
- Taxi Brooklyn, NBC, 10PM
- Motive, ABC, 10PM
- Virgin Territory, MTV, 11PM
Thursday
- Quick Draw, Hulu
- The Quest, ABC, 8PM
- Defiance, Syfy, 8PM
- Rookie Blue (season finale), ABC, 9PM
- Rush, USA, 9PM
- Dating Naked, VH1, 9PM
- Mythbusters, Discovery, 9PM
- Welcome to Sweden, NBC, 9PM
- Rectify, Sundance TV, 9PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
- Dominion, Syfy, 9PM
- Working the Engels, NBC, 9:30PM
- Married, FX, 10PM
- Satisfaction, USA, 10PM
- Ridiculousness, MTV, 10PM
- Garfunkel & Oates, IFC, 10PM
- You’re The Worst, FX, 10:30PM
- Black Jesus, Cartoon Network, 11PM
- Seven Deadly Sins, Showtime, 11PM
Friday
- Bojack Horseman, Netflix, 3AM
- Raiders/Packers pre-season football, CBS, 8PM
- Masters of Illusion, CW, 8PM
- WWE SmackDown, Syfy, 8PM
- Jonah from Tonga, HBO, 10PM
- The Knick, Cinemax, 10PM
- The Almighty Johnsons, Syfy, 11PM
Saturday
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ Bristol, ABC, 7:30PM
- 2014 ArenaBowl: Rattlers vs. Gladiators, ESPN, 8PM
- Doctor Who (season premiere), BBC America, 8PM
- Cedar Cove, Hallmark, 8PM
- #Popfan, Lifetime, 8PM
- Hell on Wheels, AMC, 9PM
- Outlander, Starz, 9PM
- Intruders (series premiere), BBC America, 10PM
- Dr. Who: After Who Live, BBC America, 11PM
Sunday
- F1 Belgian GP, NBC Sports Network, 7:30AM
- Chargers/49ers pre-season football, Fox, 4PM
- IndyCar Series @ Sonoma, NBC Sports Network, 4:30PM
- Sunday Night Baseball, ESPN, 8PM
- Wipeout, ABC, 7PM
- Bengals/Cardinals pre-season football, NBC, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- 2014 Video Music awards, MTV, 9PM
- Breathless (series premiere), PBS, 9PM
- Ray Donovan, Showtime, 9PM
- Unforgettable, CBS, 9PM
- True Blood (series finale), HBO, 9PM
- The Last Ship (season finale), TNT, 9PM
- The Musketeers (season finale), BBC America, 9PM
- Rising Star (season finale), ABC, 9PM
- Manhattan, WGN, 10PM
- The Lottery, Lifetime, 10PM
- The Strain, FX, 10PM
- Masters of Sex, Showtime, 10PM
- The Leftovers, HBO, 10PM
- Falling Skies, TNT, 10PM
- Reckless, CBS, 10PM
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
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Maybe it’s not Maybelline: Omote paints your face with digital makeup
Enhancing the world around us with projectors and 3D scanners is nothing new. But what about stylizing yourself? With Omote, you can use face-tracking tech to paint on digital makeup — or anything imaginable, really. In the demo below, it renders a variety of makeup styles and visual effects (like changing eye color) on a model’s face. What’s most impressive, though, is that the CGI-like projection reflects her movements in real-time. This doesn’t necessarily mean your face-painting days are coming to an end though, ladies. Omote’s visual magic is equipment-heavy and limited; the woman in the video below never leaves her seat and doesn’t crack so much as a smile. But if you someday find yourself using the technology to virtually try a new shade of foundation, we wouldn’t be surprised.
Filed under: Software
Via: Slash Gear
Source: Nobumichi Asai
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AIVAnet 