OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman leaves the company she co-founded
Julie Uhrman, CEO of OUYA, has announced that she’ll be leaving the Android gaming company that she co-founded. The executive took to Twitter to make the statement, spending the better part of an hour thanking employees, developers and backers. Her tweets also confirm the long-rumored purchase of the company by gaming PC specialist Razer that, until now, had only been hinted at by third parties. The firm was one of the biggest early hits on Kickstarter, but when the micro-console was released to backers in July 2013, received plenty of criticism. Critics and users both attacked the build quality of the controller, game library and UI, and attempts to remedy the issue proved unsuccessful. Razer still hasn’t spoken about what it plans to do with the hardware, but its plans will now be run without the input of the console’s guiding light.
.@juhrman OUYA was a once in a lifetime experience. Now, I’m off to find the next…stay tuned!
– Julie Uhrman (@juhrman) July 27, 2015
.@Razer Can’t wait to see what you do. Take care of my incredible team and community…I know you will.
– Julie Uhrman (@juhrman) July 27, 2015
While Uhrman was making her speech, Razer was confirming to TechCrunch that it had, indeed, purchased the company. Nobody’s revealing how much was paid, but Razer founder Min-Liang Tan has revealed that the deal was done in cash. Most notably, he has picked up OUYA’s software assets as well as portions of its staff, but left the hardware portion of the business on the table. Instead, those assets will be folded into the team that’s behind Razer’s living-room gaming platform (itself another Android micro-console) the Forge TV.
If you currently own an OUYA, you’ll continue to have your device supported for another 12 months as a goodwill gesture on Razer’s behalf. It’s likely that you will, however, be encouraged to ditch the device in favor of a Forge TV as the year rolls on, with various “freebies, giveaways and promotions” planned.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: Julie Uhrman (Twitter)
BT’s broadband prices are going up this September
Stick with the same phone, broadband or TV provider for long enough and eventually your bills will go up. It’s just a matter of when and by how much. BT is the latest in the UK to announce some price rises, which will be coming into effect on September 20th. Broadband packages are going up “by no more than 6.94 percent” — you can check your own plan here, and BT is keen to stress that some won’t be changing at all. Line rental, meanwhile, is going up by a pound — making Standard Line Rental £17.99 and Line Rental Plus £19.99 per month — and its call plans will be rising between 14 and 50 pence.
BT’s TV packages are being bumped up too — perhaps to offset its Champions League and Premier League splurge. The Entertainment Starter pack (20 premium channels) is rising from £5 to £5.30 per month, while Entertainment Plus (25 premium channels) climbs from £10 to £10.65. Its most expensive tier, Entertainment Max, will cost £16 rather than £15 per month. Higher bills are never welcome, but with some lead time you can at least be prepared and, if needed, weigh up the competition for a potential provider switch. BT is sending letters to its customers now to make them aware of the changes, and if you contact them within 30 days you can cancel your plan without paying a penalty fee.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet
Via: The Guardian
Hawking, Musk and others call for a ban on autonomous weapons
If you don’t like the thought of autonomous robots brandishing weapons, you’re far from alone. A slew of researchers and tech dignitaries (including Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking and Steve Wozniak) have backed an open letter calling for a ban on any robotic weapon where there’s no human input involved. They’re concerned that there could be an “AI arms race” which makes it all too easy to not only build robotic armies, but conduct particularly heinous acts like assassinations, authoritarian oppression, terrorism and genocide. Moreover, these killing machines could give artificial intelligence a bad name. You don’t want people to dismiss the potentially life-saving benefits of robotic technology just because it’s associated with death and destruction, after all.
There’s nothing legally binding in the letter, but it lends weight to the United Nations’ preliminary talk of a global ban on deadly automatons. If officials, academia and the tech industry are all against removing humans from the equation, it’s that much more likely that there will be rules forbidding lethal bots. While that doesn’t preclude rogue nations and less-than-ethical companies from forging ahead with their own equipment, you might not see a world full of AI-driven warriors.
[Image credit: AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini]
Filed under: Robots
Via: CNET
Source: Future of Life Institute
UFO Flight: Unpolished or unfinished?
After a few minutes of playing UFO Flight, there’s a bit of nostalgia that began to creep in. At first I wasn’t sure what it was, but I soon remembered my old rival: Flappy Bird. There’s no denying that UFO Flight, albeit probably unintentional, steals some gameplay from the old classic. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the addictive and entertaining gameplay.
Setup
To put it bluntly, there is no setup. For such a basic game, it simply doesn’t require it. There’s a big ‘Play’ button next to the leaderboard/Google Play Games button and a mute button, which actually stays on the screen even when you’re not at the main menu. The tutorial, which always shows when you open the game, tells you which sides of the screen to tap on to duck or jump. It’s very basic, and while you could argue that it’s all what’s necessary, it took me a couple of runs to realize that I could double-tap to jump even higher.
Gameplay
Do you remember how, in Flappy Bird, you had to avoid the pipes and fly in-between them? To sum the game up, replace the bird with a UFO, and the pipes with obstacles such as birds, bees and a few vicious blocks of LEGO. Jump, duck and double-jump to make your way past these. One of the highlights was that I could have a decent game with no lag and adverts while playing. This, however, was not enough to make up for the repetitive obstacles that sometimes glitch, leaving you stuck between two obstacles and inevitably making you lose the round. The user interface was rather nasty, as buttons were oddly placed with half an advert showing at the end of the round. And the graphics? They could’ve been better. But hey, at least there’s a highscore for you to beat.
Is it for me?
Probably not. Unless you don’t mind a few glitches and lame graphics, you’ve probably got better things to do. If you have a child, they probably don’t care too much about what they play and might enjoy the obstacles. Excuse the birds and the bees pun.
What we liked
- Ability to play anywhere, anytime
- Simple gameplay
And not so much…
- The user interface
- Being trapped between obstacles as a glitch
- Ugly graphics
While it’s not a bad game, some elements create a stronger negative impression that did not leave me begging for more, namely the combined lame graphics and not-so-great user interface. The gameplay simply weighs less than the negatives.
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Score this Raspberry Pi Hacker Bundle for only $39 [DEAL OF THE DAY]
Build Robots, Sensors & More with This Complete Hardware Programming Training
If you’ve spent much time following tech, life hacking, and general computer sites you’ve likely come the Raspberry Pi. A small computer that’s designed to programmed and tinkered with, there’s an almost endless number of things you can do with one. But, as you might expect, a lot of that know-how doesn’t just show up out of the ether; you’ve got to educate yourself.
Today’s Deal of the Day is a Raspberry Pi Hacker Bundle, five related educational tools spanning the topic of playing with and design programmable computer. With an estimated value of around $625, you can grab the entire collection for only $39 through our store.
You’ll find hundreds of lectures, videos, and interactive content to help you learn how to get a Raspberry Pi to do what you want. What’s more, you’ll also have get an education on other, similar topics such as Python.
- Introduction to Raspberry Pi – Enter the World of Coding & Hardware with This Miniature Computer
- Hardware Projects Using Raspberry Pi – Utilize Raspberry Pi as a Tool for Learning Physical Computing
- Python Programming for Beginners – Conquer This Beginner-Friendly Programming Language
- Real World Guide to Hardware Design – Get Expert Tips & Tricks for Designing Hardware with Ease
- PiBot: Build Your Own Raspberry Pi-Powered Robot – Experiment with Raspberry Pi & Bring a Small, Mobile Robot to Life
You can find this, and many other great tech bargains through our Deals page. Backed by Stack Commerce, there are daily promos, giveaways, freebies, and much more!
The post Score this Raspberry Pi Hacker Bundle for only $39 [DEAL OF THE DAY] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Three new Motorola devices get vaguely hinted at, including the Moto X Play, Droid MAXX II, and Moto Surround
Three new Motorola devices have been vaguely leaked on Twitter thanks to @evleaks, although there’s pretty much no clarification on what any of them are. The Moto X Play, Droid MAXX II, and Moto Surround were mentioned, and aside from the Droid MAXX II, there’s definitely some wiggle room for speculation on what they could end up being.
My first thought about the Moto X Play was a Google Play Edition Moto X, which doesn’t make a ton of sense considering how close to stock Android Motorola’s interface is. There’s always a chance that they reveal a heavy skin for the 3rd-gen Moto X tomorrow, then follow it up with a Play Store edition device, but I don’t think that’s likely. The X Play could end up being some kind of Android TV device with a companion controller, possibly a sporty version of the new Moto X, or it could just be the name of whatever their 2015 flagship will be. Moto X Play does sound a little better than Moto X 3rd-generation, right?
The Droid MAXX II is pretty straightforward. There’s going to be a second Droid MAXX, it’ll probably have fantastic battery life, no surprises there.
The Moto Surround could be a few different things, but I don’t think it’s going to be a phone or tablet. The Surround could be a Bluetooth headset, possibly to go with a sporty Moto X, which would make sense in how fitness-focused smartphones are becoming. I think there’s also a chance that the Surround turns out to be a VR headset, especially since every other company on the planet is looking into VR, but I think Surround is a pretty terrible name for that.
Until Motorola officially announces anything to clear these up, we’ll just have to keep guessing. Have any guesses as to what some of these devices will end up being?
source: Evleaks (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: Three new Motorola devices get vaguely hinted at, including the Moto X Play, Droid MAXX II, and Moto Surround
Luxe valet service launches in Boston
Joining current cities San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and New York City, the Luxe valet service is now available in the Boston area. Luxe offers commuters an option to valet park their vehicles at secure locations so that drivers do not have to deal with the frustration of finding parking themselves when visiting urban centers. Luxe also announced they plan to expand into the Washington, D.C., Austin and Philadelphia areas later this year.
To use Luxe, customers use the service’s mobile app to request valet service when they are departing for a destination. Luxe monitors your location and when you are close to your drop-off point, a valet is dispatched so they will be ready. Users then request when and where their vehicle will be returned to them, including locations other than the original drop-off point. Luxe will even drive the vehicle home for you if your activities include a night of partying that leave you unable to drive.
Although valet parking might sound like a luxury, Luxe’s rates are only $5 per hour with a $25 per day cap or overnight parking for an extra $10. Luxe assures potential customers their employees are background checked and go through a “rigorous” training process.
To celebrate their expansion into Boston, Luxe is offering a $30 credit to new users who sign up using the code “WICKEDGOOD.”
source: Luxe (PR)
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LG brings old fashion back with the LG Gentle, a Lollipop-powered flip phone
If you thought smartphones and tablets ushered in the death of flip phones, you may have thought wrong. LG is bringing old fashion back with a Lollipop-powered flip phone, the LG Gentle, aimed for the South Korean market.
The Gentle features a 3.2-inch 480 x 320 LCD touch display, a 1.1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, expandable via a microSD slot, LTE connectivity, and a 1700mAh battery. On the software side of things, it’s running Android 5.1.
LG hasn’t shared any plans to release the device in anything but the South Korean market, and in all honesty, it probably wouldn’t be economical for LG to go any further than that.
source: LG
Come comment on this article: LG brings old fashion back with the LG Gentle, a Lollipop-powered flip phone
T-Mobile’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge get minor software update with improved battery life
T-Mobile’s Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are both receiving a minor software update that brings some performance tweaks and battery improvements. No new features or other software, unfortunately, but with battery life being one of the top complaints about the S6 and its curved counterpart, any extra juice Samsung can squeeze out of it through software optimization is welcome.
If you own either variant of the S6 on T-Mobile, you should expect the OTA update to hit your phone soon.
source: Galaxy S6
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Samsung refining marketing strategy for Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Galaxy Note 5
According to new reports coming out of Korea, Samsung is refining their marketing strategy relative to the release of a couple new smartphones taking place in August. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus are both large screen smartphones slated for release in mid-August. Samsung is in the process of finalizing how they plan to market two flagship-class smartphones simultaneously and determining what resources will be applied.
The Galaxy Note 5 is a continuation of Samsung’s popular Note line of devices which set the standard for large screens and stylus-equipped smartphones. The Note line has traditionally enjoyed success in the Korean and U.S. markets. The Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is Samsung’s attempt to ride the success of their curved screen Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone by giving it a bigger screen and beefing up the the internal hardware.
Sources indicate Samsung plans to not only release the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus globally, but they will be pouring more marketing resources into selling that device. Apparently Samsung is close to finalizing carriers to offer the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, but work is still to be done on the Galaxy Note 5. All of this is to try to avoid having the two products competing against each other too heavily. This will result in a more efficient use of marketing dollars and hopefully prevent cannibalization of the market.
Do you think Samsung can successfully bring two large screen smartphones to market at the same time or would they have been better off staggering their release dates?
source: The Korea Herald
via: PocketNow
Come comment on this article: Samsung refining marketing strategy for Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Galaxy Note 5
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