Apple Seeds First OS X 10.10.5 Beta to Public Beta Testers
A few days after seeding OS X 10.10.5 to developers for testing, Apple has released the first OS X 10.10.5 beta to public beta testers. With only a few months until the public release of OS X 10.11 El Capitan, OS X 10.10.5 may be one of the last significant updates to Yosemite.
The new beta can be downloaded from the Software Update mechanism through the Mac App Store on Macs enrolled in the Apple Beta Software Program. The pre-release software’s build number is 14F6a, the same as the OS X 10.10.5 beta seeded to developers earlier this week.
It also appears that the first OS X 10.10.5 beta is now showing up in Software Update for developers who were unable to see the pre-release software following its release on Tuesday.
OS X 10.10.5 beta includes stability, compatibility and security improvements.
OS X 10.10.4, the current version of OS X Yosemite, was publicly released on June 30 with multiple bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements, including the removal of the problematic Discoveryd process.
Samsung and TSMC Begin Production of A9 Chips for ‘iPhone 6s’
Apple manufacturing partners Samsung and TSMC have started volume production of A9 chips for the so-called “iPhone 6s,” according to DigiTimes. The report claims Apple requested last-minute changes to the chip layout, requiring both chipmakers to rework wafers, but the modifications are not expected to impact the release schedule of the next-generation iPhone.
Apple’s iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and new iPod touch are powered by the A8 chip
TSMC will reportedly begin mass production of A9 chips based on a 16nm process in the fourth quarter of 2015, and is also expected to manufacture fingerprint sensors and audio chips on a contract basis for future iPhones. Conflicting reports have surfaced over the past several months suggesting that Samsung, TSMC or a combination of the two would be responsible for A9 chip production.
DigiTimes has a mixed track record at reporting on Apple’s upcoming plans, but it does have close connections with the overseas supply chain, and A9 chip production in July is reasonable with less than two months until the next iPhone is expected to launch. Apple will reportedly order a record-breaking 85-90 million “iPhone 6s” units from suppliers by the end of 2015.
The much-rumored “iPhone 6s” and “iPhone 6s Plus” are expected to be announced in September and could feature the same 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes, an A9 processor with 2GB of RAM, Force Touch, a faster Qualcomm LTE chip, an improved 12-megapixel rear-facing camera and 7000 Series aluminum. The overall design of the smartphones will likely be nearly identical to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Motorola holding events in London and NYC on July 28
Motorola has just sent out a rather coy invite to press events being held in New York City and London on July 28th. The invite, which promises that our “relationship status is about to change” doesn’t reveal a lot of details but what is likely to be announced at Motorola’s event?
Judging by recent leaks, the Moto G (2015) is certainly on the cards but given the wood background on the invite, maybe we’ll also see a bamboo-backed high-end smartphone? The invite signature seems to contain Xs and Gs; does that mean a new Moto X alongside the Moto G or are we reading too much into it? After all, we’re still waiting for the Moto X (2015) so maybe that’s also on the cards for a launch.
Like most Motorola teasers, there’s very little we can judge based on just the invite but that being said, a launch at the end of July means Motorola is likely to get everyone’s attention and hopefully there’s a new flagship or two to drool over.
Whatever Motorola do announce on July 28th, we’ll be there reporting live from the event so put it in your diary and tune in on the morning of July 28 for all the latest news.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus visit the FCC
Bolstering claims that Samsung will release two new top-tier devices in August, variants of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus have both appeared in the FCC database. This is a good sign that the devices are very close to being ready to hit the market and the appearance in July hints that their release will be before Samsung’s traditional September launch date. The latest indications are that Samsung will announce the devices on August 12th and sales will commence on August 21st.
According to the FCC database, the Verizon version of the Galaxy Note 5 gets model number SM-920V while the AT&T version is model number SM-N920A, both coming with support for the carriers’ LTE bands. Two other devices listed as the SM-G928V and SM-G928A are believed to be the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus for Verizon and AT&T respectively.
Versions for Sprint and T-Mobile will likely show up in the very near future.
source: SamMobile
Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus visit the FCC
Ingress gets Android Wear support
Niantic Labs, part of the Google collective, has released an update for their popular Ingress augmented reality game. Whether playing for the Resistance or for the Enlightened, users will finally be able to hack portals using their Android Wear smartwatch.
Support for smartwatches makes sense since one of the concepts of the Ingress title was to get gamers out from behind their computers and out into the real world. Moving around to portals also introduces some health and exercise facets to the experience. Even with this construct, users still had to use their smartphones to participate. The move to support Android Wear will hopefully keep players more “in” the real world instead of the screens on their devices.
Niantic Labs first announced Android Wear support was coming to Ingress earlier this year, although the release has been delayed since the expected March release. If you want to give Ingress a try, including the Android Wear support if you have a smartwatch running Wear, hit the download link below.
Come comment on this article: Ingress gets Android Wear support
Misfit Unveils $20 Flash Link Activity Tracker and Link App, Drops Prices on Shine and Flash
Misfit today announced the debut of Misfit Link, a new app that’s designed to add new capabilities to the Misfit Flash, which is the company’s inexpensive activity and sleep tracker.
With the Misfit Link app, a Misfit Flash can be morphed into a multi-function Bluetooth-connected smart button that can perform tasks like controlling music or activating the camera button on the iPhone for selfies.
The new Misfit Link app lets you use any Flash to take a selfie with your phone camera app or Snapchat; control your music with Spotify, Pandora, and more; or advance slides in a presentation. Additional functionality is coming soon, including IFTTT and Logitech Harmony integrations. The iOS app is available for download now; an Android version will be released next month.
Misfit is also debuting the Misfit Flash Link, an even less expensive activity tracker and smart button that’s able to work with the Misfit Link app, much like the Misfit Flash. The company is also lowering its prices on the Misfit Shine and the Misfit Flash, which are now available for $70 and $30, respectively. Previously the two devices were priced at $100 and $50.
Both the Misfit Shine and the Misfit Flash look similar, but where the Shine uses aluminum, the Flash uses a cheaper plastic. The Misfit Flash is lighter, but the Shine has better water resistance. The even cheaper Flash Link has the same circular design as the Shine and the Flash, and it includes the same activity and sleep tracking functions, but it comes with a clip rather than a bracelet.
All three products can be purchased from the Misfit website. The Misfit Shine is priced at $69.99, the Misfit Flash is priced at $29.99, and the Misfit Link is priced at $19.99.
The new Misfit Link app is available from the App Store for free and will work with both new and existing Misfit Flash devices.
Mario and Sonic look absolutely stunning in Unreal Engine 4
Unreal Engine 4 has shown us what the next generation of video games can look like: large, realistic and mind-bogglingly gorgeous. Frankly, its tech demos are breathtaking — technical marvels that show off photo-realistic apartments and stunningly beautiful landscapes; but what happens when you cram cartoonish mascots like Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog into these technical marvels? Mind-blowingly awesome YouTube videos, that’s what.
It was bound to happen eventually. Back in March, Unreal made its incredibly popular game engine free to anybody who wants to use it, leaving amateur game developers with immediate access to professional game creation tools. Search around YouTube, and you’ll find more than a few folks using it to put our favorite game characters into hauntingly realistic worlds. Check it out:
See that vast landscape? That’s the setting for Unreal Engine 4’s Kite demo, which shows off the engine’s ability to handle large worlds and procedural asset placement. YouTube user CryZenx decided it was the perfect place to drop in Sonic The Hedgehog. The resulting demo isn’t much of a game (though it does show off just how fast a blue hedgehog can run), but it binds the potential of Unreal Engine 4 to a familiar face — letting us imagine what the coming generation of games could really look like. CryZenX made a Mario demo, too — but the plumber looks a little out of place in the Unreal’s endless prairie.
YouTuber Aryoksini put Mario in a more familiar environment, a series of castles and caverns more suited to his adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom. The canned environments (taken directly from the Unreal marketplace) look a little too polished for the off-beat world Nintendo’s mascot normally inhabits, but it’s still a stunning look at where console gaming could be in a few short years. Want to see more? Hit up the YouTube search bar with “Unreal Engine 4″ and your favorite video-game mascot. Let us know if you find anything good.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: YouTube (1), (2)
GPS gets a satellite launch for its 20th birthday
GPS was declared fully operational two decades ago, and what better way to celebrate your 20th birthday than with a rockin’ party satellite launch. The US Air Force’s Space Command (probably) toasted with military-grade champagne after firing a shiny new GPS satellite into orbit on an Atlas V rocket from Florida. GPS IIF-10 is the seventieth piece of navigation hardware that’s been sent into space as part of the program that’s been running sine 1978 and has been available for everyone to use since 1995.
It’s a different world now, of course, since both Russia and Europe are building their own proprietary GPS offerings, although there’s been a few hiccups along the way. As such, the US will begin launching the first true third-generation satellites at some point in 2017, that’ll eventually be able to offer greatly-enhanced search and rescue capabilities.
For now, however, the event is being used by the state of Colorado to celebrate its own role in the success of GPS over the years. After all, the ULA (Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s new rocket partnership) is headquartered there, and every satellite has been propelled by its vehicles, or those of its parents. As such, July 17th is being declared GPS Day in the state, and we’re hoping for a ticker-tape parade full of people all celebrating finding the route on their smartphones.
Filed under: Transportation, Science
Source: PR Newswire
Marshall’s ‘London’ is a smartphone for music lovers
For a long time, Marshall’s bread and butter was guitar amps. Then came headphones and Bluetooth speakers (via its partnership with Zound, makers of Urbanears) — a fairly fitting diversification. Today, the brand is moving on to phones, announcing the “London,” an Android (Lollipop) device for music lovers. We bet you weren’t expecting that? Us neither, to be honest. But it’s happening, and we’d be lying if we said we weren’t a little curios.
The Marshall London looks a lot like you might imagine it would, if you’ve ever set eyes on one of the company’s other products. the Flat, rectangular handset has a soft-touch faux-leather finish, with knurled gold color buttons. There are dual speakers on the front, along with two stereo jacks up top. All of which hint at the London’s music focus. More on that later.
What about the actual phone? Well, it’s a 4.7-inch (720p/IPS) device, with 16GB of internal storage (expandable via SD card), running on a Snapdragon 410 chip (1.4GHz, quad-core), 8- and 2-megapixel cameras and a Wolfson DSP. Some of that specification may seem a little modest by today’s flagship standards, but it’s fair to say Marshall’s not going after the typical flagship-phone buyer here. Marshall partnered with Finnish firm, Creoir, whose previous collaborations include Jolla and Nokia, to create the hardware to Marshall’s specification.
The London’s music focus is a mix of hardware and software. The dual headphone jacks let two people listen to music in stereo, and mean no more having to split a pair of earbuds. Neat enough, but the London also has a bespoke DJ app, and the dual outputs lets wannabe jocks cue and mix their tunes in headphones, while the current track plays through a speaker. Something that other phones cannot do (without crude workarounds).
If you’re into recording, rather than mixing, London’s dual microphones will scoop up your impromptu acapellas, and help your calls with active noise cancellation too. Again, Marshall has installed a custom app to help you along with your recordings. We hear there will be some app goodies for guitarists, too, but we’ve no details on specifics just yet.
Should you just want to consume, rather than create music, then the London’s got a few tricks in that department also. We saw a quick glimpse of an app that combines all your music sources (Spotify, music collection etc.) into one place, along with a global E.Q., which sounded impressively loud on the phone’s dual speakers. There’s also support for FLAC files, which will please audio fiends.
The question is, is all this enough to woo buyers? The London will cost $499/£399 when it’s finally available in August (21st). This makes it a tough choice when you compare it to other, higher spec phones at that price (and a world of third-party music apps to choose from). Believers, bands and beat-lovers can pre-order starting today.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Buying a Slingbox finally gets you free TV streaming apps
As handy as a Slingbox can be for watching TV away from home, it’s not as good a deal as it sounds. You usually have to shell out another $15 or more just to get the Slingplayer streaming app for your phone or tablet. Sling is starting to see the light, however. It’s shipping a $200 Slingbox M2 bundle that lets you download the Slingplayer Android and iOS apps for free, not just the desktop versions. While this kit costs $50 more than what you’d pay for the M1, it’s potentially less expensive if you want apps for multiple mobile devices — especially if you’re not the only one that wants to watch. You’ll have to endure “seamlessly integrated” ads for the privilege, but that could be a small price to pay for viewing your favorite shows on every possible screen.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Slingbox
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