‘Showtime’ Launches on Apple TV for $10.99 per Month [iOS Blog]
Showtime today confirmed that its self-titled standalone streaming service will be released today for the Apple TV, allowing viewers to pay for Showtime’s exclusive series directly without needing a cable subscription (via Re/code).
First announced just over a month ago, the service will cost those interested $10.99 per month and everyone can sign up for a 30-day free trial to test the experience before subscribing. The service will cost users a few dollars less than HBO NOW’s $15 streaming cost, which debuted exclusively on Apple TV earlier in the Spring.
Showtime’s launch today comes in a bit ahead of the previously-announced July 12 release date for the standalone service, a date that coincided with the network’s big summer premieres of Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex. No doubt giving users a few days to prepare before the summer premieres, those interested should be start seeing the Showtime app on the Apple TV shortly.
Tech21’s New Apple-Exclusive iPhone Cases Designed to Match Apple Watch Sport Bands [iOS Blog]
Tech21 today announced that its Evo Mesh Sport and Evo Elite case lineup for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are now available exclusively through the Apple Store and Apple Online Store. The new Evo Mesh Sport is the first iPhone case to identically match the Apple Watch sport band colors, in blue, green, pink, smokey black and white, while the new Evo Elite has a scratch-resistant aluminum finish.
Both of the new Evo cases for iPhone feature Tech21’s impact-absorbing material FlexShock, which is capable of withstanding drops up to 6.6 feet and is both thinner and lighter than many competing cases. The cases also provide full access to all of the iPhone’s ports and buttons, with corner and edge encasing and a raised screen bezel for added protection.
The new Evo Elite case can be purchased in space gray, silver and gold for $49 for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, while the new Evo Mesh Sport case is available in blue, green, pink, smokey black and white for $39 for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The new Evo Mesh Sport with matching band colors has yet to become available on the Apple Store in the United States, but some of the new colors have surfaced on the U.K. store.
The IoT data onslaught is coming: can you hide from it?
We’ve been hearing predictions about the Internet of Things for a while now. It’s easy to find research, like this IDC report, suggesting that billions more devices will soon be connected to the Internet. IDC reckons that there are 200 billion devices that could be connected, but only around 20 billion actually are right now. Naturally, that number is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years as cars, dog collars, dishwashers, traffic lights, toys, microwaves, air purifiers, AC systems, and many, many other things get hooked up.
In theory, this will create a huge network with behind-the-scenes analytics filtering enormous amounts of data and using it to make automated decisions. The amount of information being collected will enable some serious profiling to go on, and not everyone is enamored at the prospect. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? We’re not really going to know that for quite some time to come.
What are the potential benefits?
The utopian future that IoT potentially heralds is still kind of murky. There are obvious applications of big data analysis where it can be used to improve efficiency, as it has been for years already in things like traffic light and power grid management. How these things scale down for the individual is not as clear.
Maybe your heating or AC system manages itself automatically, turning on at optimum times based on your established routines, but also catering for unexpected absences or early home times. That could offer some potential saving, though the initial cost for a system like that right now means that it will take years to pay off.
There are lots of potential safety benefits. Systems in cars can help us navigate and avoid problems on the road. They can also automatically contact emergency services in the event of a crash. Going forward with driverless cars, you can imagine a future without accidents as every vehicle is accurately tracked.
Security could also be improved. You can remotely monitor and control your home and devices. Maybe the combination of machines talking to each other can easily establish interlopers and lock them out to prevent theft.
In the health industry, better tracking could lead to alerts when we display the early signs of a problem. Maybe our devices tell us to seek medical help because they’ve picked up on something irregular.
Could the IoT bring that our futuristic fantasies to life? Imagine a morning where your alarm automatically calculates when you actually need to get up, the shower is on, your morning coffee is waiting, and the car pulls round as you open the door. All that’s missing is the robot that dresses you.
The IoT isn’t just about consumers, though. Big business is driving the trend because it sees all sorts of new ways to improve efficiency and better exploit the masses. And as we know, what’s good for big business isn’t necessarily good for the rest of us.
What is there to fear?
Invasion of privacy is probably the top of most people’s lists. Who is going to own and use the data that’s being collected about us? Do you trust these companies to safeguard your data? Who will they share it with and what might they use it for? Taken together, the IoT could be producing enough detailed data to build a precise profile of you.
Two obvious concerns are hackers or cyber-criminals, and the government. If they can get access to your data, they can use it for all sorts of undesirable purposes. Do you want the government to know exactly what you eat, read, and say? Imagine criminals hacking into your TV or security system and watching and listening to you in your own home. Who is going to stop that from happening?
Even if we look beyond obviously illegal uses of our data, there are plenty of big businesses that might use it in morally questionable ways that certainly won’t benefit us. For example, insurance firms would love to get their hands on this kind of data. They can adjust premiums for your actual lifestyle. Businesses might look at your background and ability to pay to determine pricing, or choose what goods to advertise to you (they’re already doing this). You could be discriminated against behind the scenes because of your background, your sexuality, or your interests.
There are wider risks here for society. Will an over-reliance on technology lead to a loss of skills? Will massive improvements in efficiency lead to job losses? The utopian vision would be that we all work less and have more leisure time without a loss in earnings, but who is going to make sure that happens?
Shutterstock
How do you stay off-grid?
If you’re worried at the prospect of some of these fears, and you don’t see much potential benefit then how do you avoid the IoT trend? Right now it’s easy. You don’t buy Internet connected devices that track you. But that’s going to get increasingly hard as manufacturers start to put chips in everything as standard. When you come to upgrade or replace devices it will get increasingly difficult to opt out.
Maybe it’s already too late
The mobile phone revolution has been impressively fast. Back in 2007 there were less than 500 million global users, we pushed past the 2 billion mark last year, and a recent report by Ericsson has suggested that there will be 6.1 billion smartphone subscriptions by 2020. That means 70 percent of the world’s population will be using a smartphone, and for most people it will be their primary link to the Internet.
If you’re concerned about the IoT then the smartphone should be top of your list because it’s packed with sensors and capable of tracking your movements and communications in a very sophisticated way. If you have real concerns about privacy then your smartphone should definitely concern you more than the prospect of a connected fridge.
Maybe the IoT trend and big data analysis is inevitable. But what’s not inevitable is the hijacking of the trend for nefarious purposes. If you’re concerned then it’s time to demand more transparency. Big business is always motivated by profit, so voting with your money is a powerful way to ensure that companies are held accountable and adhere to good standards. With the right pressure, it’s possible to secure opt outs, and with the right research, you can find ways to protect your privacy without giving up technology.
Failing that you could always start a machine-smashing revolution from your mud hut in the desert and lead a neo-luddite charge back to the stone age.
PS2 game emulator arrives for Android, still in very early stages
While our Android devices still pale in comparison to conventional consoles when it comes to gaming, this is slowly starting to change. We are seeing more big name studios get involved with mobile gaming, and many more in-depth games that go beyond the traditional time-waster approach of titles like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope.
Of course, many of the best mobile games coming out today are ports from yesteryear, with companies like Rockstar and Square both eagerly putting out some of their biggest titles from years past onto Android. Another way to get an AAA gaming experience on Android is to turn to emulators, even if many of these emulators (or at least the ROMs used) fall into a very gray area (morally and legally speaking). A quick look at the Play Store will unearth emulators for all the classics from Atari to NES, to Playstation to Nintendo 64.
What about more modern consoles? As the power under the hood continues to increase for mobile devices, we are finally at a crossing point where higher-quality 3D console gaming is almost possible. Recently we wrote about a demo of the Dolphin (Gamecube/Wii) emulator being shown off for the Shield Android TV with reasonably decent results. Now it’s the Playstation 2’s turn to make its way to Android via emulation.
The newly announced Play is an emulator for the PS2 that is in very early stages, though according to its community pages many games will actually boot — though expect massive load times, tons of lag, jagged text, and many other issues.
Obviously Play is far from ready for primetime and not worth downloading to actually play games, making it more for testing and proof of concept at this stage. Still, this is a pretty impressive feat. While today’s gaming devices are more than capable of handling ports from the PS2 era, emulation is a very different (and highly unoptimized) animal, making it much more difficult. The fact that a PS2 emulator exists for Android at all is pretty awesome news and we imagine it will only get better in time.
To get involved with the Play emulator community, you’ll want to head on over to their Google+ community page where you can sign up as a beta tester and give the app a download.
Deal: Purchase a Galaxy Note 4 at full price and receive a $200 rebate through 7/26 (US only)
We may still be a few months off from getting our first look at the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 5, but the company still wants you to purchase its 2014 phablet, the Note 4. If you happen to live in the United States and have been waiting for the price to drop on the Note 4, now may be your chance to score the device for cheap.
From today at 12pm ET until Sunday, July 26th, Samsung will give you a $200 rebate if you purchase a Galaxy Note 4 at full price from a participating carrier or national retailer. Sprint and U.S. Cellular purchases are not permitted for this offer, unfortunately. Once you purchase your device, head to this link to enter in your contact information, device details and a picture of your receipt to receive your $200 rebate.
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Just like most other rebate offers, the company says it will take anywhere from 8 to 10 weeks to mail your rebate. If you’re thinking of taking advantage of the offer, you may want to skim through the Terms & Conditions to make sure you know about all of the details.
Will you be taking advantage of the deal? Or are you holding off for the Note 5?
I won’t be playing ‘Halo 5: Guardians’ and here’s why
In the early 2000s, four-player, split-screen Halo was a revelation for my then-girlfriend Jenn (who would later become my wife), her two sisters and me. It was amazing, frantic, swear-filled fun. Controllers were thrown; tempers flared. But that’s all sadly in the past. Last week, Halo‘s current custodian, 343 Industries, revealed that it’s abandoning local split-screen multiplayer and native LAN support for this fall’s Halo 5: Guardians. We knew from earlier reports that local campaign co-op was out of the question, at least at launch, but the Ars Technica report confirms we won’t see any split-screen multiplayer modes or native LAN support. Allow me to repeat: No local multiplayer. None. In a Halo game. For me, and likely many other longtime Halo fans, the news is a bitter pill to swallow.
Look, I get it. I spent a year and a half as a game tester — working alongside some great folks who are actually now part of the hard-working team at 343. Incorporating something like split-screen mode isn’t as easy as flipping a switch. Everything needs to be tested to make sure no single aspect brings the whole game down. It would require an intense amount of resources from engine optimization to level design to tweaking the UI to testing. It’s a big investment to make for something comparatively few Halo players likely utilize these days; for something so niche. And if any studio knows the danger of promising the moon and failing to fully deliver, it’s 343 — the launch of four full games under the umbrella of Halo: The Master Chief Collection proved to be a bit too ambitious and the studio spent months post-launch addressing issues. To successfully launch Halo 5: Guardians, it needs to focus on delivering the most popular and most lucrative aspects of the franchise. And in this day and age of widespread broadband access, split-screen local multiplayer just doesn’t make the cut.
With 343’s goal of fluid, 60fps gameplay, it’s unlikely two-player, let alone four-player split-screen would have been possible without some serious compromises — compromises the studio is evidently unwilling to make. And reports of uneven split-screen performance in Halo: The Master Chief Collection likely made 343’s decision to forgo it a bit easier.
In one Halo 3 match, I brought a sniper rifle to a Brute Chopper/Warthog fight and immediately regretted it.
Beyond all that, I understand the notion that local, offline multiplayer doesn’t give developers the sort of real-time stats and telemetry that online matches provide — data that can be used to improve the existing game and provide insight for future titles. Split-screen multiplayer, in some ways, is a vestige, a throwback to a simpler time when we played games with our friends in person because we didn’t have much of a choice. In my gaming heyday, we didn’t have broadband access. We had to invite our friends over to our house to play Halo… and we liked it. A lot.
Split-screen multiplayer is a throwback to a simpler time when we played games with our friends in person because we didn’t have much of a choice.
2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved was more than a game for me; it was a bonding experience like no game I had played to that point. During one typically intense 2v2 local match, I calmly explained to Jenn that perhaps she should switch from the shotgun during a long-range shootout since it’s a close-range weapon. I considered it a sensible suggestion. Her reply? “Fuck you!” It was a visceral, in-the-moment reaction to a logical, practical suggestion — the kind of impassioned reaction split-screen Halo reliably provided. And it was the kind of interaction that worked so much better in person.
When Jenn’s youngest sister eventually bought her own Xbox, we dabbled in two-screen/multi-room LAN play, a cumbersome setup that amped up the excitement even more (it’s amazing how much more intense Team Slayer gets when you can’t screencheat!) As the years rolled on, we still enjoyed the occasional split-screen and LAN multiplayer session with each successive Halo release. But the Halo of today is a much different beast than the one we grew up with. It’s now a multibillion-dollar machine and 343 Industries is understandably more concerned with a return on investment rather than nice-to-have, but ultimately expendable features.
Using local split-screen co-op and Xbox Live, my wife (right, with rocket launcher) and her sister ride in to save the day.
For the first time in 14 years, Jenn and I are sitting this Halo out.
It’s a decision, however, not without consequences. Case in point: I still don’t have an Xbox One, but I was planning to pick one up in time for Halo 5. It seemed like good timing considering the many, many, many kinks 343 Industries had to work out after Halo: The Master Chief Collection‘s troubled release. I would be jumping back aboard Master Chief’s bandwagon in time to enjoy a mostly functioning collection of all-time favorites and the latest entry in the series. Jenn and I could explore co-op together and occasionally invite friends and family over to pile up on the couch and enjoy some good, ol’ split-screen fun. But last week’s news threw a UNSC Infinity-sized wrench into those plans.
I’m sure Halo 5: Guardians will be a polished, highly acclaimed entry in this long-running series with enough content and features to lure in new fans and keep most longtime disciples happy. But I’ll likely just have to read about it. For the first time in 14 years, Jenn and I are sitting this Halo out.
[Image credits: Microsoft/343 Industries (Halo 5 teaser video)]
Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida reacts to the ‘Nintendo PlayStation’
Not long after our last intimate chat with Shuhei Yoshida, the President of Sony Computer Entertainment’s Worldwide Studios at E3, a Redditor managed to dig up a prototype of the never-released “Nintendo PlayStation” that eventually led to the birth of Sony’s very own gaming console. Naturally, when we caught up with Shuhei-san again at a Project Morpheus event in Hong Kong, we showed him our article on the priceless gem and asked for his thoughts. After some reminiscent giggles, the exec gave a brief account on the time he spent with a device with matching description, as you can see in our interview video after the break.
“When I joined Ken Kutaragi’s team [in 1993], there was a system called ‘Play Station’ that had both Super Nintendo cartridge support and some disc game support. Actually, I played some games [on it] as well.”
It’s worth pointing out that Shuhei joined Sony back in 1986, which was five years before Kutaragi’s division unveiled — and pretty much instantly canned — the SNES-CD add-on.
Alas, the exec made it very clear that he couldn’t confirm whether the recently surfaced “Nintendo PlayStation” device was legit, but he did give a cool reason.
“Somehow, I think it’s more fun to keep it kind of a mystery.”
Fair play, Shuhei-san, fair play.
Engadget giveaway: win a smart home starter kit courtesy of Wink!
The changeover to smart homes seems inevitable, but you do have to make a reasonable investment in networked gear or you’ll be stuck building a smart(ish) home one lonely, Bluetooth item at a time. This week, though, one lucky Engadget reader is going to get a boost into the future with a selection of Wink and other compatible smart home items. There’s a Wink Relay so you don’t always have to dig out your phone to control settings and a Wink Hub to unify the system — compatible with WiFi, Z-wave, ZigBee and Bluetooth frequencies. That will cover the lamp dimmer, LED lightbulbs, connected lock and sensor pack in this prize bundle as well. If you get hooked, it’s easy to expand your smart home’s abilities by adding more items to the network as you go. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this IoT starter pack courtesy of Wink.
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. One (1) winner will receive one (1) Wink Relay (PRLAY-WH01, one (1) Schlage Connect (BE469WK V CAM 619), one (1) Wink Hub (PWHUB-WH01), one (1) Quirky Smart Window / Door Sensors (PTRPP-WH02), two (2) GE Link Connected LED Bulb (60W replacement, one (1) Lutron Plug-In Lamp Dimmer.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email or Facebook login. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Engadget and AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until July 8th at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Filed under: Announcements
Withings’ fitness watches automatically track your swimming
Most activity trackers and smartwatches won’t monitor your swimming, and those that do usually require that you kick in a swimming mode before you dive in. Withings doesn’t think you should have to switch things up just because you’ve left dry land, though. The health tech firm has added automatic swim detection to its Activité and Activité Pop watches, so you only need to start that breast stroke for it to register as a workout. You probably won’t want to take your tracker on a deep scuba dive (both wearables are resistant down to 164 feet), but this could be very helpful if you’d rather hit the beach this summer than roast during a run.
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile
Via: Withings (Twitter)
Source: Withings
Watch thousands of unseen British films released by the BFI
For decades now, Brits have been shooting amateur movies about their holidays, personal celebrations and experiences at huge, historic events. They’re valuable snippets of UK history, but often they’re never seen by the wider public. Today, the British Film Institute (BFI) is launching a project called “Britain on Film,” which offers free online access to thousands of archived videos. Some were shot by amateurs, while others, such as this tour of Edinburgh by Sean Connery, were commissioned for professional projects. Roughly 2,500 film and TV titles are being released today, with 90 percent of them being free to watch. Many have never been seen before, or not since their first showing, and reveal unique, personal perspectives of how British life has changed over the years.
To support the initiative, BFI will be holding 85 screening events in 46 locations, from Belfast to Canterbury. Highlights of specific cities will also be shown on large screens in town centres and Caffe Nero has agreed to set up 10 special viewing pods in some of their coffee shops. If you’re wondering where to start, BFI has built a handy search engine that lets you look up clips from specific locations. Maybe give your hometown a try?
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Source: Britain on Film
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