Challenge friends to real-life wizard duels with ‘Maguss’
Harry Potter‘s brand of magic may not exist in the real world, but smartphone applications, electrical engineering and plastic wands sure do. Maguss uses all of these things, plus a badge that acts as a motion-sensing receiver, to bring wizard duels to the physical world. Maguss is on Kickstarter right now, seeking $66,191 to create and ship a kit allowing wannabe wizards to challenge friends to duels in-person and online. Players cast spells by waving the wand in specific motions — in-person, the motion is picked up by the enemy’s badge and smartphone app. Online, players conduct spells at their own badge and the motions are transferred to the rival wizard’s app. In either scenario, whoever has the best wandwork wins.
Maguss starts with this simple premise, but the Kickstarter campaign features stretch goals offering a more robust game system. At $120,000, Maguss will add a “complex game mode” inspired by RPGs where players can uniquely level up, join factions, earn a spot on the ranking boards and embark on quests. At $180,000, the Maguss team promises to add GPS tracking and an interactive map to the game, meaning players would be able to find and challenge nearby people to duels. But, for now, the team needs $66,000 to make the standard Maguss magic happen.
Say it with us, Muggles: Accio Maguss!
Via:
Refinery29
Source:
Kickstarter
Tags: app, HarryPotter, hdpostcross, kickstarter, magic, maguss, wand
OnePlus 2 delayed 2-3 weeks in North America
Unfortunately, the OnePlus 2 hasn’t gotten off to the start I’m sure the company were intending and despite attracting a huge number of people to the reservation list, shipments of the OnePlus 2 in North America are to be delayed by 2-3 weeks.
The big launch day is tomorrow, August 11th, and those with invites will be itching to press that order button and part with their hard-earned cash for the OnePlus 2. However, the phone won’t ship straight away to the US or Canada and will experience a substantial delay. Shipments to the rest of the world appear to be unaffected.
The production of the OnePlus 2 is in full swing and we’re excited to get the OnePlus 2 in your hands. However we do want to tell our users in North America that due to production schedules, shipping to the States and Canada will commence 2-3 weeks after shipments to Europe.
The reasons are unknown – perhaps it was to give OnePlus a bit more time to get the logistics side ironed out in the US, but breaking this news one day before sales begins does seem rather drastic.
But don’t worry, this won’t affect our selling date. You can still use your invite codes to purchase the OnePlus 2 starting August 11.
How can OnePlus expect users to buy a phone they’ve never seen, using an invite, to be shipped at an unknown date?
Source: OnePlus Forums
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Huawei’s Android Wear smartwatch is “right round the corner”
Will the Huawei Watch be made available next week, next month, or next year? That is the thought of many since Huawei’s Android Wear smartwatch was announced almost six months ago. The company still has not offered a release date or specified its price. Huawei has remained silent on sharing any details. A new signup page, though, could be an indication that Huawei is preparing to release its smartwatch very soon.
The page is headed by a teaser saying that the Huawei Watch is “right round the corner.” You would be correct in seeing two meanings there. The smartwatch will indeed have a round design and its release is in the near future.
Taylor Wimberly, a Huawei employee, also posted to his Google+ account the following:
Huawei may be waiting for a major update to Android Wear before sales of its first Android Wear smartwatch begin. Until then, you can marvel at the Huawei Watch’s alleged retail packaging.
Source: Huawei
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DIRECTV app gets UI refresh, ESPN streaming, other features in latest update
Fresh off their acquisition by AT&T, the DIRECTV app for Android has received an update that brings some handy new features along with a slightly refreshed user interface. DIRECTV has made some changes that make it easier to use all of your devices – smartphones and tablets – along with the DIRECTV receivers to start, stop and resume programs on different devices.
DIRECTV says the new homescreen should make it easier for users to find and watch or even record shows. A quick peek at the screenshots show some prominent access to options to watch a show on your smartphone or tablet, although your device can also serve as a remote control.
One new feature that will be welcomed by sports fan is direct access to ESPN Live which can be streamed to any receiver or device. In the past, accessing ESPN Live meant having to fire up the separate WatchESPN app, so having access while within the DIRECTV app will cut down on the app switching requirements.
Although cable and satellite companies have been advertising the ability to “switch” screens easily, the reality has not always been so smooth. DIRECTV says they have made improvements so it will be easier for users to start a show on their device and switch it to their receiver hooked up to a big screen or vice versa. This is true not just for regular shows, but also for On Demand content now. DIRECTV also added a restart button so users can launch a show from the beginning in case they start watching it late.
You can grab the new DIRECTV app if you are a subscriber from the Google Play Store using the link below.
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Vulkan API promises significant graphical improvements for Android gaming and 3D graphics
3D graphics have been moving very quickly in the mobile space, getting increasingly competitive with traditional home video game consoles and the like. That trend will continue now that Vulkan, a 3D rendering API, is coming to Android to improve the graphics experience on mobile devices.
Vulkan is a much more efficient API than Open GL ES that Android currently uses, offering a significantly lower CPU overhead and better tools for developers. A video showcasing a horde of gnomes was created to really show off the difference between the two APIs, and it’s incredibly apparent how much better Vulkan should be for mobile gaming.
The video shows tons and tons of gnomes on screen, and while both video stay pretty close in FPS at first, once the camera starts panning around and scrolling, Open GL fails to keep a decent framerate. On top of that, not only does Vulkan offer a drastically smoother experience, but CPU usage is much lower, too. That gives more room for game developers to squeeze some extra processing power out of an app, but it also means that energy consumption should be vastly improved.
The Vulkan API isn’t publicly available just yet, but once it is we should start to see some pretty quick improvements on gaming on Android devices, including things like Android TV consoles. Something like Razer’s Forge TV and NVIDIA’s Shield TV stand to gain the most from a more efficient API, since they’re competing more directly with home consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
source: Android Developers Blog
Click here to view the embedded video.
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Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime with 4.7-inch IPS HD display coming to India
Xiaomi has officially unveiled the Redmi 2 Prime which is a memory upgrade to its counterpart, the Redmi 2. Over the course of the past month, most rumored specs about the upcoming device have stood true. The smartphone will include a majority of the same specifications as the budget Redmi 2 smartphone.
The Redmi 2 Prime will offer the same 4.7-inch IPS HD display, Snapdragon 410 processor and 8 MP rear-facing camera as the original Redmi 2. However, it will differ from its counterpart when it comes to the RAM and memory departments. The Redmi 2 Prime will be coming with 2GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory, double that of its predecessor.
Xiaomi plans to use this smartphone to continue its high focus on the Indian market. The company believes it has a real shot at huge growth in the territory.
Xiaomi was sure not to leave pricing details for the Redmi 2 Prime out of the announcement. The smartphone will go for $109, just $15 more than the original Redmi 2. For an extra 1GB of RAM and twice the storage capacity, it should be worth the extra penny to the majority of buyers.
The company will try and meet the strong demand by using a new facility in Sri City that offers a much larger capacity. Unfortunately, the smartphone probably won’t hit other countries worldwide.
Source: Xiaomi
Come comment on this article: Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime with 4.7-inch IPS HD display coming to India
Huawei’s Honor 7i might launch on August 20 with a sliding camera system
Late last week, we saw a mysterious Huawei handset with a sliding camera setup pass through China’s TENAA. The ATH-AL00 is now being called the Honor 7i and may make its debut on August 20.
The handset will indeed come with the sliding camera system that makes it stand out from competitors. Huawei recently teased the handset and said “You Can Change The Vision Together.” By this. it’s talking about the camera setup. We are hoping it brings an advantage to picture quality and won’t just be for its unique looks.
The specs will likely include a Snapdragon 615 processor backed with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM and 16GB of on board storage. The handset will also include a new Xenon front-facing flash to bring better quality lighting to selfies. Pricing for the handset is expected to be between 1999 and 2499 Yuan.
Source: Huawei (Weibo)
Via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: Huawei’s Honor 7i might launch on August 20 with a sliding camera system
Sprint’s Direct 2 You service expands to four more major cities
Today, Sprint announced its Direct 2 You service is expanding. The service will now be available in Atlanta, Boston, Houston and Philadelphia.
The purpose of the Direct 2 You is to bring a carrier expert to your home or business, benefiting people that are too busy to schedule an appointment at a Sprint to store to get help. Representatives who work directly for Sprint will help set-up the phones exactly how customers want, making it fitted to individual preferences without having any complications. Sprint says this is a far more reliable service than others similar to it and is even willing to share some training tips.
Sprint stated it’s looking forward to adding more cities to the service later this year. Direct 2 You is already available in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Franscisco, Tampa Bay, Washington D.C., and their surrounding areas.
Source: Sprint
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Internet giants team up to fight child porn through shared lists
The world’s larger online companies have already been doing quite a lot to combat child porn on their own, but they’re now teaming up to fight that sexual abuse across the internet. Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo are partnering with the UK’s Internet Watch Foundation to share hash lists (aka digital fingerprints) of blocked indecent images. In theory, the move makes sure that a photo pulled on one site doesn’t simply pop up elsewhere. All of the IWF’s members will eventually use the list, so you could soon see this collective blocking in use at Amazon, Apple, Dropbox and PayPal, among others.
This isn’t a magic bullet. The screening only works when offending images are on the list in the first place, and it won’t function on the Dark Web and other places where peddlers can trade content in relative secrecy. Still, this could do a lot to prevent child porn distributors from operating on publicly operated sites, even through private sharing — they’d have to retreat to those darker corners just to operate at all.
[Image credit: Microsoft]
Filed under:
Internet, Google, Facebook
Via:
BBC
Source:
Internet Watch Foundation
Tags: ChildPornography, facebook, google, hashlist, internet, internetwatchfoundation, iwf, sexualabuse, twitter
‘Faster, sleeker and simpler’ Hangouts arrives on Android
Google released its Hangouts 4.0 for the Android platform on Monday. First and foremost, the app now has been reskinned with material design. It also features a simplified compose button as well as a streamlined contacts list and file attachment function. What’s more, the company has reportedly has even gotten the app to consume less power thanks to improved messaging speeds and “obsessively fixing bugs.” They’re basically the same set of UI and performance tweaks that we saw at the end of June when the iOS version updated to the new material design version.
[Image Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Filed under:
Internet, Apple, Google
Tags: Apple, google, hangouts, ios, materialdesign
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