California will fine companies that try to silence disgruntled customers
Remember the New York hotel that imposed $500 fines for any guest who wrote disparaging reviews on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor? The state of California does, and has decided that it wants to stop the practice of any business, including hotels and restaurants inserting “non-disparagement” clauses into their terms of business. Under the law, any outlet trying to enforce financial penalties onto upset keyboard warriors would be met with a $2,500 slap. Subsequent violations would set them back $5,000, and there’s a $10,000 bonus non-prize if a company is found to be recklessly violating the rules. Let’s hope that the trend carries over to other states, but also that some canny legislator widens the definition to cover gadget reviews for, er, no specific reason.
Filed under: Internet
Source: California Legislature
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Oculus co-founders donate $35 million to erect computer science wing at University of Maryland
New York City is a town of names: Rockefeller, Astor, Trump. Legacies of the vast wealth held by dynastic families in early 20th century New York City. America’s college campuses are littered with the same convention; wealthy alumni donate large sums to expand a university, and subsequently name that expansion after themselves. The University of Maryland, for instance, is getting a $35 million computer science wing from two of Oculus VR‘s co-founders. And what’s it named? “The Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Innovation,” apparently, after Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe. Oculus chief software architect (and co-founder) Michael Antonov is footing another $4 million.
The new facility is planned to “feature state-of-the-art maker spaces,” says UMD’s Jayanth Banavar. Iribe describes it as, “designed for hackers, makers and engineers, which will help give rise to future breakthroughs, products and startups that will transform the way we live and interact with the world around us.” More bluntly, the space is being built to educate the next generation of virtual reality and other future computing platforms. “This gift positions Maryland to be one of the leading institutions for virtual reality in the world,” Iribe says.
And yes, your guess is at least partially right: Iribe has that kind of money to throw around because the company he most recently co-founded was purchased by Facebook for $2 billion. But his gigs before Oculus were similarly lucrative. First, Iribe co-founded Scaleform with Antonov, which sold to Autodesk for $36 million in 2011. Then, he worked as chief product officer at Gaikai before it was sold to Sony for $380 million. And now he’s CEO of Oculus. Not a bad run!
So, why the University of Maryland? It’s where Iribe and Antonov met, as well as their alma mater. It’s also what Iribe calls “the beginning of a long-term commitment toward transforming education”; not the first we’ve heard from him on the subject. Iribe’s mother is even in on the donating, adding another $3 million on top of Iribe and Antonov’s $35 million to establish two leadership positions for the new computer science wing.
UMD says the center will specifically target research in “virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, computer vision and human interaction.” In so many words, it’s an attempt to build out education in burgeoning engineering fields. And that whole “getting your name on a building” thing doesn’t hurt either.
There’s a video with Iribe and UMD folks right here, if you’re into that kinda thing.
[Image credit: Oculus VR/University of Maryland (Brendan Iribe), Flickr/Matt Chan (University of Maryland)]
Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software, HD, Mobile, Facebook
Source: University of Maryland
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Virgin Media’s giving its TiVo UI a welcome makeover
If you were one of Virgin Media’s early TiVo adopters, you won’t have noticed the user interface change much over the last four years. Well, Virgin’s decided it’s high time for a significant redesign, and it’ll begin hitting several thousand set-top boxes next week, with a wider rollout starting late October. We were treated to a preview of the update today, and the visual differences are immediately obvious. The red background has been ousted by a new “plum” colour (that’s purple, to you and me), and is joined by a new font and minimalist logo that’s part of Virgin Media’s ongoing rebrand. The whole menu system is displayed in a higher-resolution than before, too, but it’s not just a reskin, and should be quicker and slicker to navigate.
The visual refresh is accompanied by new features, which Virgin tells us are a reaction to how customers usage has changed over time. Most of these are changes to the menu tree. The layout is more or less the same, though, with a picture-in-picture of the current channel top right, and the contextual recommendation panel alongside it. This pane is still a work in progress, mind, so it looks kinda funky in the preview build. Basically, the idea behind the new menu system is to make everything accessible in fewer “clicks,” which is why catch-up and on-demand categories now have their own spots at the highest level of the tree.
The “What to Watch Now” section is a brand new way of finding what’s hot, and uses a similar “intelligent” algorithm already at work in the general search feature. It serves up recommendations based on a combo of your viewing habits and what’s popular with other Virgin viewers at the time. Right now, it only scans live TV, but will grow to include on-demand services in the future. “Suggestions,” a similar feature that pre-records content based on what you already watch, used to be buried within the general list of recordings, but now has its own spot in the menu for quicker access. Another revamp to the “My Shows & Recordings” section is a new list dedicated to partially watched programs, making it easy to find that episode of Sherlock you couldn’t stay awake to finish last night. Recommendations are getting increasingly more attention from various content providers, and they’re a big part of Sky’s recently updated program guide.
There are some behind the scenes changes to Virgin’s TiVo platform that may not be immediately obvious, too, including HTML5 support for newer apps. An extra app store, courtesy of Opera, will also be added to set-top boxes some time in early 2015, and will include video portals like Vimeo and TED talks that are currently inaccessible. Finally, a setup guide has been added for those wanting to take advantage of the upcoming “self-install” option for new or upgrading subscribers. This means if you’re comfortable plugging in a few cables and following an on-screen setup guide, you can dodge the installation fee.
To bring them in line with the new TiVo UI, Virgin’s TV Anywhere apps will receive a complimentary plum makeover, too. The iOS version is almost ready to go, and might even be updated before the UI refresh hits set-top boxes, but the Android app is still a few months from completion, as it’s being rebuilt from scratch. As mentioned previously, the TiVo update will start popping up for the majority of subscribers in late October, but with a couple million boxes across the UK to push it to, you might not see it until late December — so don’t worry if you’re still looking at a sea of red in several weeks’ time.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Virgin Media
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‘Grand Theft Auto V’ coming to PS4 and Xbox One November 18th, PC version delayed until 2015
Great news next-gen (well, guess that would be “current-gen” now, wouldn’t it) console owners — you’ll be able to snag Grand Theft Auto V for either the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One on November 18th. Along with the usual slew of graphical improvements, the enhanced version of GTA will feature new weapons, vehicles, activities and mani interesting furry animals. Not to mention new songs, denser traffic and a completely new foliage system! PC players will get all the same perks, but they’ll sadly have to wait until January 27th of 2015 to get their hands on it. On the plus side, if you already own GTA V for Xbox 360 or PS3 you can easily transfer your character.
Filed under: Gaming
Via: Joystiq
Source: Take-Two
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Get ready for a ‘Football Manager’ movie
When their dreams of growing up to become a footballer don’t materialise, many Brits turn to a career in football management. Deciding not to earn their UEFA badges, gamers past and present have grabbed a copy of Sports Interactive’s Football Manager (formerly Championship Manager) in a bid to take Woking from the Conference to the Champions League in six seasons. The game’s popularity has seen its player database become a bona-fide tool for helping Premiership clubs scout future recruits, and soon it’ll make its debut on the big screen. According to Sports Interactive, An Alternative Reality: The FM Documentary is a feature length film that investigates the game’s effect on the world’s most popular sport. It’ll head to a minimum of 26 Vue cinemas throughout the UK on October 7th for one night only, after which it’ll find its way online. If you’ve always wanted to become part of Football Manager folklore, the game’s creators will add one luckily cinemagoer to the next instalment of the franchise, which launches in November.
Filed under: Gaming
Via: MVCUK
Source: Sports Interactive
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Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus Pre-Order Shipping Estimates Slip to 3-4 Weeks
Approximately four hours after Apple began taking pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Store shipping estimates for new orders of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus have now slipped beyond their original September 19 delivery date in the United States.
The larger 5.5-inch model now shows an estimated ship time of 3-4 weeks, pushing online availability of the handset into October. Customers still may be able to secure select configurations for launch day in-store pickup, but availability varies based on geographic location.
Those who attempted to pre-order the iPhone 6 at Apple’s after 12:01 AM PST experienced a number of problems, including frequent crashes and errors with Apple’s own Apple Store app on both the iPhone and iPad. Apple’s own online store also did not go up until more than an hour after the target Midnight start time.
Customers may still be to purchase launch-day iPhone 6 Plus units by going to an Apple Retail Store on September 19. The phone will also be available through carrier stores and select third-party retail outlets, although supplies at those locations are usually more limited than at Apple’s own stores.
Last year it took around four hours for pre-orders of the iPhone 5s to sell out, as all gold iPhone 5s models saw their shipping estimates slip to October. In 2012, it took all of one hour for pre-orders of the iPhone 5 to sell out.
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Fashions fade, but Acer’s selfie sombrero is forever
Once the Earth has burned and all that remains is humanity’s high score floating on the arcade cabinet of the universe, aliens will wonder what the 2010-2020 generation contributed to culture. Googly-eyed academics will scrub through countless Twitter posts, news programs and songs to reveal that, for some reason, we were all obsessed with documenting our own faces with relentless abandon. Acer’s contribution to our mutually assured destruction vanity is to team up with fashion designer Christian Cowan-Sanluis, who adapted his trademark pink glitter suit and visor hat into something more selfie-appropriate.
The fashionable headwear now accommodates an Acer Iconia A-1 840 tablet, while the static drop-down visor has been ditched in favor of a sombrero peak that spins all the way around your head. Of course, this is nothing more than some attention grabbing for London Fashion Week, and it doesn’t hurt for a traditional PC maker like Acer to borrow some much-needed glamor. The company is even allowing ordinary (okay, not that ordinary) members of the public to try on the Selfie-Hat if they make an appointment through the company’s service. Except there’s no details on who to speak to in order to get such an appointment, so presumably if you don’t know already, you’re clearly not fash enough, dahling, to warrant a go. At the same time, Cowan-Sanluis has also knocked up ten tablet cases that resemble the original, clad in the designer’s now trademark sparkly pink. Meanwhile, a gargantuan snot beast from the planet Piscium B will read this story in horror, exclaiming that “most of them aren’t even that good looking!”
Filed under: Cameras, Tablets, Acer
Via: Pocket-lint
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HTC’s next device could be an action camera
It’s been a testy couple of weeks for HTC. It’s had new phones, plus rumors of a canceled wearable, a new tablet and a fragile deal with Amazon. What’s a company to do? If reports are true, the answer is “release a camera.” More specifically, a rugged GoPro-like device. Bloomberg’s sources suggest the forthcoming action cam would be tube-shaped (so more like Contour’s design), have a 16-megapixel sensor and an ultra-wide lens (though no specifics). The camera also reportedly has both Bluetooth and WiFi. WiFi isn’t uncommon in helmet cameras, letting you control it with apps and accessories, but Bluetooth suggests a closer relationship with a phone. More likely meaning it could be a standalone device, and one that’s tightly integrated with an HTC handset — much like Sony’s QX line of lens cameras. As luck would have it, HTC’s hosting an event in October, so whatever it is, we shouldn’t have to wait too long.
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile, HTC
Source: Bloomberg
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Apple Now Taking Pre-Orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Through U.S. Online Store
Three hours after it began taking pre-orders via the Apple Store app, Apple has now begun taking pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus through its official U.S. online store. Currently, all iPhone 6 models are showing a delivery date of September 19, while all iPhone 6 Plus models are estimated to ship in 7-10 business days.
Apple’s online store comes online once again as many users experienced technical problems while attempting to pre-order both models on the Apple Store app. Several U.S. carriers including AT&T and Verizon have also been experiencing problems with pre-orders, with both of their respective sites crashing for many users. Those interested in buying an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus directly from Apple’s website should likely do so right away, as supplies are sure to run out within the next few hours.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will be available in stores beginning next Friday, September 19. The smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is offered in 16, 64, and 128 GB capacities for $199, 299, and $399, respectively, with a two-year contract. Contract-free pricing for the device also begins at $649. Meanwhile, the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus is available in 16, 64, and 128 GB storage capacities for $299, $399 and $499, respectively, with a two-year contract. Contract free pricing for the larger device begins at $749.
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Report Claims Apple Launching New 27-Inch 5K Display Later This Year [Mac Blog]
Apple may launch a new ultra-high definition 27-inch monitor later this year, according to LCD market research firm WitsView (via Digitimes). The firm claims that the display will boast a 5120 x 2880 resolution, which would be significantly higher than the 2560 x 1440 resolution found on the current Apple Thunderbolt Display
However, it is unknown as to how exactly Apple would power such a high resolution display with the current DisplayPort 1.2 standard used in Thunderbolt 2. A number of Apple’s computers including the Mac Pro (late 2013), 27-inch iMac (late 2013), and Retina MacBook Pro (late 2013 and mid 2014) are able to power 4K displays with one Thunderbolt port, but can only do so at designated refresh rates.
It is more likely that Apple would release a new monitor with a “Cinema 4K” resolution of 4096 x 2160, which is the maximum supported resolution by the DisplayPort 1.2 standard. Such a monitor would also be able to take advantage of the 20 Gbps data transfer rate of Thunderbolt 2 to stabilize performance at a high resolution.
An 27-inch 5K ultra high-definition monitor from Apple would also come after Dell’s 5K display, which was announced last month and boast a 5120 x 2880 resolution at 218 pixels per inch. It is also unknown as to what technology Dell with use to power the monitor, although AnandTech speculates that the company may use Multi-Stream Transport (MST) to stitch together two 2560 x 2880 panels in order to provide 5120 pixels horizontally.
Apple’s Thunderbolt Display debuted nearly three years ago, although it is hard to predict when the company will unveil a new monitor based the erratic upgrade cycle of past displays. In addition to a higher-resolution screen, a new Apple display would also likely feature an iMac-like design and USB 3.0.
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AIVAnet 