Anki Drive’s robotic race cars will play nice with Android starting in October
Ever since Anki Drive — a toy car racing system powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning — made a big splash at Apple’s WWDC 2013 keynote, it’s been iOS-only. That ends next month, however, as Anki Drive is finally coming to Android for the first time. Sean Levatino, Anki’s lead designer, tells us that one of the company’s big core commitments is accessibility, and Android compatibility is a big part of that. “We want to support as many platforms as possible,” he says. Anki’s goal, after all, is to bring robotics to the masses.
So what took Anki so long? Mark Palatucci, Anki’s co-founder, says that it really had to do with Apple’s early support for Bluetooth low energy. “Only really in the past year have we seen Android phones adopt the standard in any real capacity,” he says. Now as more modern Android devices support the standard, Anki’s finally able to roll out support for Android on a wide scale.
There is an important caveat however: for the time being, there is no cross-platform play. That means iOS users can’t race their cars against Android users and vice versa. That’s because the Android version uses WiFi for multiplayer support while the iOS app communicates via Bluetooth LE. “Eventually we’ll work on interoperability,” says Palatucci, but the team wanted to focus on bringing the Android app to market first.
In the meantime, the iOS app is getting a huge update in terms of gameplay. For one thing, now you’ll be able to play in “Team mode.” Players can gang up against an AI, or users can play team versus team, or you could even go up against three AI cars by yourself if you feel like a challenge. “We never really supported that,” says Levatino, though he says that according to surveys, people were doing it unofficially anyway. The most recent update lets folks mix and match up to four human or AI players in teams, even letting you pair up with an AI if you wish.
Another welcome update to the iOS app is something called “Balance Cars Mode” which essentially lets new users play with higher-level folks without getting their asses whooped. When this mode is enabled, upgrades in the higher-level cars will be disabled to match that of the lowest level car for a more even playing field.
Anki is also rolling out a new character as part of this announcement. Called “Spektrix,” the car has a trickster personality, with a special “Scrambler” ability that messes with other car’s systems and causes them to go out of control. “It’s fun to play on its own, but it really shines in team play,” says Levatino. “It’s a great support character.” The Spektrix is available today on Anki.com for $69.99 and you can purchase it from other retailers later this week.
And that’s not all. Anki has also dropped the price of the Anki Starter Kit from $199.99 to $149.99 in the US (£149.99 in the UK). The Starter Kit, as a reminder, comes with two cars, their charging cases, a 3.5 foot by 8.5 foot race mat, a tire cleaner and a fast charger. The aforementioned iOS update should be available starting today while the Android app will be in the Google Play store some time in early to mid October.
Filed under: Misc
Source: Anki
.CPlase_panel display:none;
EE will honour its iPhone 6 preorders from Phones4u tomorrow
Since EE is somewhat responsible for the reason Phones4u can no longer honour iPhone 6 or 6 Plus preorders, the network’s trying to make it right, at least for some of you. The carrier’s just told us that when Apple’s latest handsets launch tomorrow, anyone that preordered on an EE plan through Phones4u can walk into a store and pick one up. If you’re still keen on getting a day-one device, then take along a copy of the Phones4u preorder confirmation to get hooked up. EE’s putting aside as many handsets as preorders it received via the troubled retailer, but you’ll have to take out one of the network’s own contract options, rather than whatever you may’ve opted for originally. Reserved iPhones will be spread out across the carrier’s many stores, however, so there’s always a chance you won’t be successful at the first location you visit, but we guess that depends on how many went elsewhere when Phones4u folded. Sure, this is a bit of clever PR on EE’s part, but if you helps you get the handset you want when you want it, then so be it.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
.CPlase_panel display:none;
We made weed butter with a ‘magical’ machine
WARNING: This story contains references to the use of marijuana. Do not try this at home — unless, of course, you’re an adult living in a state or city where the use of such substances is legal or, you know, you like the way it feels.
I’m writing this while under the influence of semilegal marijuana. Mostly to replicate my state of mind from multiple weekends ago. I’d gathered a group of coworkers at my North Oakland home to test a single-use kitchen gadget called the Magical Butter, and doing so required that we get high.
Basically, it’s a high-tech weed butter maker.
Testing a device that looks something akin to an electric water kettle isn’t a daily occurrence at Engadget, but Magical Butter claims to be “the world’s only botanical extractor.” It boasts “fully automatic, microprocessor-controlled program sequences,” an “integrated digital thermostat and sensors” for “laboratory-grade temperature control” and something called “Digital Fire Technology.” Basically, it’s a high-tech weed butter maker.
Both Washington and Colorado recently legalized recreational marijuana; New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd chronicled a candy bar-induced psychedelic freakout, while the paper called for an end to pot prohibition; and Wired‘s Mat Honan likened the rapid growth in weed-related startups to the Gold Rush in an article entitled “High Tech.” This is the time for a technologically advanced “botanical extractor,” if there ever was one. And given our position as a trusted voice in consumer electronics reviews, we considered it our duty, nay, our calling to put it to the test.
The day’s adventures started at the grocery store. First, we needed butter — lots of butter. The standard Magical Butter recipe calls for four to 10 sticks and four to eight grams of “botanicals” per stick. Since our local grocer doesn’t carry the sorts of “botanicals” called for in this recipe (you know, the sort that comes in quotation marks), we obtained some the night before. The only other ingredient necessary was lecithin, a binding agent that we somehow forgot in our frenzy to amass munchies for the post-“botanical” comedown.
Compared to the manual alternative, making Magical Butter in “the world’s only botanical extractor” is a lot less messy and a whole hell of a lot less smelly.
Back at the house, we unpacked the groceries and popped a bottle of champagne. Nothing goes better with “botanicals” than champagne. Then we got to grinding, which took an extraordinarily long time due to the density of our “botanicals.” Unfortunately, we failed to notice the ALL CAPS print at the bottom of the recipe that read “FOR BEST RESULTS DO NOT PRE-GRIND BOTANICALS.” We did, however, “adjust botanical weights according to personal preference,” in an effort to avoid any Dowd-style meltdowns.
Meanwhile, we looked into lecithin substitutes, which, according to Livestrong.com (yes, it still exists), can be replaced with eggs since they contain naturally occurring lecithin in their yolks. From there, the process was pretty simple. We plugged the Magical Butter machine in and then dropped four sticks of butter, an untold amount of “botanicals” and an egg into the stainless steel pitcher and reattached the lid, which is equipped with a commercial immersion blender. As instructed, we set the temperature control to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, and selected the “2 Hours/Butter” setting. Moments later, the machine beeped and a ring of multicolored LEDs lit the rim of the lid, indicating that things were operating according to plan.
For the next two hours or so, six adult human beings stood around my kitchen drinking champange, watching a very small-scale LED light show and discussing the finer points of manual botanical extraction. As we noted the relative lack of odor coming from the machine, which boasts a “ScentLock Lid,” it alternated between a gentle purr and a sound appropriately reminiscent of an immersion blender. A subtle, but steady stream of steam escaped as we, having underestimated the time necessary to churn Magical Butter, dipped into the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Puffs, gnawed on powdery doughnuts and emptied a few bottles of Rosé.
The substance wasn’t the bright green concoction pictured in the promotional material; instead we ended up with what looked like a mass of runny baby poop.
Compared to the manual alternative, making Magical Butter in “the world’s only botanical extractor” is a lot less messy and a whole hell of a lot less smelly. That is, until it’s time to separate the botanicals from the butter. Once the infusion was done, the machine beeped a couple of times, beckoning us to what we’d all been waiting for. One of my colleagues slipped on the love glove (a neon green oven mitt) and popped the lid off the pitcher. What we saw was, well, disgusting. The substance wasn’t the bright green concoction pictured in the promotional material; instead we ended up with what looked like a mass of runny baby poop. Did that stop us from digging in? Hell no.
We strained out the murky bits, leaving behind a lump of something that brought the words “lung butter” to mind. The end result was a nearly clear, subtle-tasting butter. It smelled, looked and tasted better than any “botanical” butter I’d ever had, but as anyone who’s eaten the stuff will tell you, it should not be eaten alone. So we whipped up some homemade brownie batter, poured it in a Pyrex pan, threw it in the preheated oven and set about plowing through a platter of artisanal cheeses and meats. While we waited, we gave the machine’s self-cleaning function a try. It works something like throwing hot water and dish soap in a blender and turning the thing on. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to free the baked green egg we’d cooked up in the process.
When the brownie bell tolled, it was time to test the Magical Butter machine’s ultimate claim. Could it, as advertised, alleviate us of our dependency on pharmaceuticals? We each took a brownie that fit our perceived tolerance and sat down to watch what I estimate to be the perfect movie for such an occasion: Freeway 2: Confessions of a Trickbaby.
If you were expecting oddball high jinks and adventure to ensue, you’ve probably never gotten high with a collection of 30-something tech journalists.
To its credit, that particular film (if it can be called a film) is enough to make even the most seasoned burner feel like they’re tripping, but about an hour in, it was clear that our new butter machine was working its magic. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all bleary eyes and uncontrollable giggles. In fact, if you were expecting oddball high jinks and adventure to ensue, you’ve probably never gotten high with a collection of 30-something tech journalists.
Reactions ranged from disappointed to comatose, but the final verdict was that it worked. For my part, I spent the rest of the evening trying to keep my eyes open while a pair of our senior-most colleagues worked their way through what remained of the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Cracker Jacks and gummy things, and eventually moved on to ordering pizza. I vaguely recall playing Mario Kart 8 and sucking at it, while one of our coworkers spent the evening glued to his phone collecting high heels or selfies or whatever in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. (For the record, he claims he’s still never been stoned.) Another editor didn’t fully feel the magic until he got in an Uber to head home, at which point he became antisocial and paranoid, convinced that his driver was taking him for a ride. At least three of us woke up stoned the next day.
So is the Magical Butter machine a must-have for green gadget connoisseurs? As someone who only partakes in edibles about twice a year and has no intention of making his own lotions or essential oils (other apparent uses for the machine), $175 dollars is a lot to ask for a single-use kitchen appliance. If you ask me, you’d have to be high to buy one of these things. But isn’t that the point?
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Toshiba’s shift away from consumer PCs means 900 lost jobs
Toshiba has been slinging Satellites and Qosmios and Kirabooks for basically ages now, but its days a purveyor of consumer computers may be winding down in a market near you. According to a statement the company issued last night, it’s shifting its focus a bit — the big priority is now crafting PCs to woo business customers, and Toshiba’s going to cut about 900 jobs as part of the transition. Don’t fret too much, though: Toshiba might be looking to streamline its consumer computer operations, but it’s not going to give up entirely. To hear them tell it, the new Toshiba will “withdraw from unprofitable markets” and continue bringing those consumer-friendly PCs to developed countries, though we’re still not sure how its mix of gadgets will wax and wane ’round those parts. The move will be a somber one in some places (especially for anyone who’ll soon be out of a job) but there’s not much else to be done — the global PC market may not be shrinking as fast as some thought it would, but the seas are still rough for companies trying to plot a course to PC profitability.
Via: ZDNet
Source: Toshiba
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Panasonic and Red hope to replace photos with frames of video
If you’re worried about missing a once-in-a-lifetime photo op, Panasonic and Red have a proposition: Why not shoot ultra high-res video and just grab still images? Both companies had the same idea at Photokina 2014 (though Red had it long before that), albeit with wildly different thoughts about price and quality. Panasonic’s system is called “4K Photo,” and allows you to extract a still from its 4K, 30 fps, 100 Mbps video stream, for as little as $900 on the new LX100 compact camera. Red, on the other hand, has got a more extreme plan: Capture up to 100 fps, 19-megapixel RAW stills starting at $17,000 for its Red Scarlet Dragon cinema camera.
We spoke with both companies at the bi-annual photo show about shooting video for still photos. Panasonic has implemented the new “4K Photo” feature on its new high-end compact, the Lumix LX100, along with the FZ1000 superzoom, CM1 camera phone and the HC-X1000, its latest 4K camcorder. The feature is also now available on the Lumix GH4 thanks to a new firmware upgrade. Here’s how it works: Simply shoot 4K video and search through the resulting footage to retrieve a desired still, complete with EXIF data. Images can be captured at 16:9, 4:3, 3:2 and even 1:1 (hello, Instagram). With a data rate of 100 Mbps, that will give a compressed .MP4 still image of about 400-plus KB, not very much for an 8-megapixel photo, but still equivalent to about a 70 percent compressed JPEG image. You could use an external recorder to capture better-quality stills on the GH4 too.
Panasonic sees it as a way for the average Joe to extract that one fleeting, perfect moment. With a 1/16,000th of a second shutter speed, you could freeze a water splash from Junior’s cannonball, for instance. This can all happen while you’re also grabbing video, though there’s one drawback. In order to capture still frames, the necessary higher shutter speed will eliminate the normal (desirable) motion blur from video. That means that event videographers who want to grab still photos from video will need to choose between natural-looking video or non-blurry still images. Still, having more options is always better, and this is opening up a new way of shooting photos on a $900 camera.
On the other end of the scale, professional photographers have been using Red cinema cameras to do the same thing since a Megan Fox photo spread appeared in Esquire back in 2009. For Photokina this year, the company has formalized the process with a new tethering system that lets you send RAW images across an Ethernet network. On top of that, the company’s RedcineX Pro now supports frame tagging, making it easier to pre-select still frames from a video feed of up to 100 fps.
The company gave me a quick demo of the process. It starts by shooting 6K RAW video at 15 fps on the Red Epic Scarlet ($16,700 for the body only) up to 100 fps on the Red Epic ($31,200). While shooting, the photographer can tag frames to help the editor find the best shots. With the new Dragon sensor, Red claims you’ll get a 16.5-stop dynamic range (DR), with 16 bits of color information from its sensor — which is larger than APS-C, but smaller than full-frame. That beats every other DSLR on the market for DR, though 19 megapixels is half of a Nikon D800’s resolution — and many photographers prefer larger full-frame or medium-format sensors. I tried hefting a stripped-down RED Scarlet Dragon camera (above) with a Canon EF mount and it’s definitely heavier than any DSLR I’ve hoisted, but certainly feasible.
The photos can instantly be transferred along an Ethernet network thanks to a camera tether, though that option is still in the testing stages. But to prove its point, Red was grabbing stills from a swimsuit photo shoot (yes, it’s a trade show) and printing them out at poster sizes from a large, professional printer. Judging by the results, the cameras could be equally at home on a Vogue photo shoot or the set of a Hobbit movie.
Of course, all of this was possible before Red and Panasonic put a label on it. There’s no reason why you can’t take high-quality stills out of cameras from Sony, Samsung, Blackmagic Design (above, with 4K RAW DPX) or others. What has changed is that 4K video is becoming more and more common — and 4K can give you an 8-megapixel still, compared to only two megapixels for HD. Since most of us aren’t professional photographers with perfect instincts and reflexes, that means we’ll no longer need leave it to pure chance to capture the perfect image.
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Qualcomm offers developer support for virtual reality and digital eyewear
Smartwatches may be the most popular wearable products right now, but facewear is certainly on the up and up. Devices like Samsung’s Gear VR and the Epson Moverio glasses are either already on the market or will be coming in the very near future, but what good are these devices if developers have limited access to them? Qualcomm’s working on a solution of its own by releasing a developer kit for digital eyewear, and companies like Samsung, Epson and others are on board. The new platform, called the Vuforia SDK for Digital Eyewear, is supposed to aid developers in building hybrid virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) apps that are capable of recognizing objects and images that are within your field of view; the company hopes this ability to lay interactive 3D content over the rest of the world will result in handy apps for gaming, education and shopping. The kit will be available this fall as a beta that will only be available to a small group of developers, and the company hasn’t specified when it’ll be open to everyone else.
Filed under: Wearables, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung
.CPlase_panel display:none;
StickR TrackR 2 Pack: Coin-sized attachment to GPS track anything $29.95 [Deal of the Day]
Never lose your stuff again by attaching these small coin-sized devices to your valuables. Bluetooth Low Energy allows the StickR to communicate with the TrackR app and locate your belongings. There’s no recharging necessary; the StickR lasts for over a year with a replaceable coin cell battery. Throw one of these on your keys, backpack, or anything you don’t want to lose or misplace. For just $29.95, AndroidGuys readers will receive (2) Black StickR TrackR devices, (2) batteries, adhesive, and lanyards. It’s a smart and reasonably priced investment to keep your gear safe and sound.
Check this deal out, and many others at deals.androidguys.com!
Deals, Discounts, Freebies, and More! Click here to save today!
The post StickR TrackR 2 Pack: Coin-sized attachment to GPS track anything $29.95 [Deal of the Day] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
.CPlase_panel display:none;
We can’t get enough of wallpaper apps
I’m someone who loves changing wallpapers. What I love even more than changing wallpapers, is searching, more like scouring, the interwebs looking for the next wallpaper to grace my various home screens. What’s great about Android, is that there are a plethora of various wallpaper applications that help me change my wallpapers on an almost daily basis. Plus, if there is integration with Muzei, it gets even better, since the wallpaper will just change automatically. Sure, there are those times where I’ll look at my home screen and be surprised, but Muzei almost makes it feel like a new experience all the time. Well today, we are taking a look at a couple of wallpaper applications that I’ve been using for awhile now.
Zyden
Zyden was created by a few folks, one that you may have heard of, OffCorner, and Triple Triangle Design. Zyden offers more than just a few different wallpapers, and was one of the first applications to take advantage of the gorgeous Android L design. The developers for Zyden, surely didn’t disappoint in trying to make Zyden one of the most beautiful overall applications available in the Play Store today.
As with most icon packs, and other wallpaper applications, Zyden is Cloud based, meaning that all of the wallpapers are stored in the cloud, and all it takes is a couple taps, and the wallpaper is applied to your device. The benefit of having a cloud based dashboard is to save storage on your various devices, and you only have your favorite wallpapers readily available.
Zyden also offers 29 different categories of wallpapers, so there is more than plenty to choose from. If you’re looking to use Zyden for your tablet? No worries. OffCorner, and Triple Triangle Design also optimized Zyden to be compatible with your tables so that you can get your favorite wallpapers no matter what device you are using.
There are two versions of Zyden available. The paid version, at $1.50, offers users integrated Behang Blink support, as well as the ability to use Zyden in unison with Muzei. In terms of if there are any differences in the wallpapers available between the paid and free versions, again there’s no need to worry, as all the selections are available regardless of what version you have.
OYM Alpha
OYM Alpha is next on our list today, and comes from Neffstarr and Jhey. OYM is THE place to go in regards to having the biggest choice in wallpapers for your devices. Neffstarr is constantly, and I mean CONSTANTLY updating the servers for this application to include as many wallpapers as your mind can contemplate. The Play Store description lists OYM as having 4048 custom walls and still adding”, but I know for a fact there are WAY more than 4048 available.
If you follow Neffstarr, you can start to get an idea of what kind of wallpapers are being added to the list, and how quickly they will be available for your devices. OYM Alpha has 25 different categories to choose from, and as you are scrolling and discovering where OYM takes you, the dashboard has the ability to favorite wallpapers so you can choose them later.
OYM Alpha also offers tablet optimization, the ability to crop images, and there are no issues with worrying about whether any wallpaper you choose will fit your device, as it detects the resolution and sets it accordingly. If you’re looking for a TON of wallpapers, look no further than OYM Alpha.
OYM Alpha is available via the Play Store widget below for $1.50, and is a welcome site to see on any device.
wlpapR
Okay, I know there hasn’t been any type of MAJOR redesign to wlpapR since it was released by Jacek Malinowski, otherwise known as yackovsky. However, wlpapR was one of the first wallpaper dedicated applications that I purchased for my Android devices. With an accompanying website, wlpapR offers loads of various wallpapers that, like every other application mentioned today, are stored remotely, so that the wallpapers don’t take up unnecessary storage on your devices.
wlpapR offers 19 different categories to choose from, and with yackovsky being able to upload new ones at his discretion, there are countless wallpapers available with this application. In addition to OYM Alpha and Zyden, wlpapR also offers the ability to use as a Blink extension with Behang, as well as support for Muzei.
If you want to get an idea of what kind of wallpapers are offered by wlpapR, you can head on over to yackovsky’s dedicated website, here, and take a look. You may even find a wallpaper that you would love to use for your desktop, and be able to do so with ease.
wlpapR is available on the Play Store for $1.38, and is well worth the purchase, considering the type of dedication and hard work Jacek puts into everything he does.
This is just a few of the wallpaper applications that are becoming more and more available on the Play Store, and these are my top 3 favorite ones. What wallpaper applications do you use? Do you use any in unsion with Behang or Muzei? If so let us know in the comment section below.
Keep Customizing.
Deals, Discounts, Freebies, and More! Click here to save today!
The post We can’t get enough of wallpaper apps appeared first on AndroidGuys.
.CPlase_panel display:none;
iOS 8 Downloads Cause Spike in Web Traffic as Adoption Rate Climbs Slowly
Apple yesterday released iOS 8 to the public, opening the doors for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners to download and install Apple’s latest version of iOS on their devices. According to The Guardian, this release caused internet traffic to surge in the UK by as much as 60 percent compared to the same time the previous day as millions of iOS users rushed to update their devices.
Data from LONAP shows that web traffic surged just as iOS 8 was released at 6:00 PM UK time. Traffic remained strong for several hours, with a peak at 8:00 PM in the UK as more than 70 gigabits per second were being transferred through LONAP’s exchange.
iOS 8 adoption from Mixpanel
iOS 8 may have caused web traffic to briefly increase, but the first-day adoption rate of the mobile operating system is relatively low when compared to previous iOS rollouts. According to analytics firm Mixpanel, only 14 percent of the iOS devices that it tracks are currently running iOS 8. Data from mobile marketing company Fiksu shows a similar slow uptake in iOS 8 with the adoption of Apple’s latest iOS version trailing the last that of the last several iOS launches.
Fiksu iOS 8 Tracker
The slower update rate may be due to a record number of iPhone owners purchasing new devices. Apple sold more than four million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units in the first 24 hours that pre-orders were available last week. Customers who are receiving a new phone in the coming weeks may delay upgrading their current device, opting instead to prepare the handset for sale.
Another factor may be the large storage size required for the over-the-air updates. Though the iOS 8 update was just over 1 GB in size, it required 4.6 GB of free storage space on an iPhone and almost 7 GB of free storage on an iPad for installation. That’s almost half the free space available on a 16 GB device, forcing many owners to decide whether to delete content from their devices or install the update.
.CPlase_panel display:none;
iOS 8 Keyboards Climb to Top of App Store Charts
With yesterday’s launch of iOS 8, devices running the new operating system are now able to install third-party keyboards that work on a systemwide basis. Most of the major keyboard makers were ready for the launch, introducing iOS 8 versions of their keyboards into the iOS App Store. One day after launch, three of these keyboards, including Fleksy, SwiftKey and Swype, are now at the top of the top iOS paid and free charts in the U.S. and other countries.
Within 24 hours of their debut, paid keyboards Swype and Fleksy climbed to the top two spots in the U.S. paid iOS app chart, displacing popular games such as Minecraft Pocket Edition and Five Nights at Freddy’s. On the free app chart, Swiftkey jumped to the number one spot, beating out the now freemium and very popular 1Password password manager and the newly launched Amazing Thief game. Perhaps most impressively, SwiftKey has even displaced longtime number one Facebook Messenger from its spot atop the rankings.
The new keyboards are of course benefiting from launch-day momentum of the iOS 8 debut, and it remains to be seen where they will settle in the charts following the initial surge of interest. Still, it is clear that many users are interested in at least trying out alternatives to Apple’s default keyboard, even with its new QuickType suggestions implemented in iOS 8.
These three keyboards and more are available to all iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners running iOS 8. SwiftKey [Direct Link] is available for free from the iOS App Store, while Fleksy [Direct Link] costs $1.99 and Swype [Direct Link] is 99 cents.
.CPlase_panel display:none;
AIVAnet 
