Fox releases ‘The Martian’ VR teaser alongside Samsung’s $99 Gear VR
Fox and Samsung are looking to fly Gear VR owners to the red planet this coming week. The virtual reality teaser puts users in Matt Damon’s vacuum-sealed space boots and will give audiences a taste of the longer, 20-minute cinematic experience slated to hit VR devices in 2016.
See also: Samsung Gear VR lands in stores today from Amazon and others
The Samsung Gear VR started shipping earlier today, so if you pre-ordered one of the $99 devices, your Gear may already be in the mail. Physical stores will be able to start selling Gear VR devices on November 27. This is a pretty important step for virtual reality overall. In essence, Samsung is stating that they believe VR is ready for the commercial market. Although the technology is still relatively young, the improvements made over the last few years have been impressive. Now it seems like the only thing keeping VR content from the market at large is the lack of a device ecosystem to support it. By partnering with Oculus to develop the Gear, Samsung demonstrated a strong belief in this technology’s market potential. Their release of the affordable Gear VR may be one small step for Samsung, but it’s a giant leap for VR community as a whole.
EXPLORE THE GEAR VR EXPERIENCE
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And what better way to draw in public attention than to pair the device’s release with content related to one of the biggest theatrical releases of 2015? What we’ll be getting is just a small taste of ‘The Martian’ experience, showcasing a few key scenes in 360-degrees of three dimensions. The VR project was in development alongside the film and is being produced by Ridley Scott. Robert Stromberg is acting as director.
See also: Gunjack puts Samsung Gear VR gamers in charge of a turret
If you’re an early adopter of the Gear VR, ‘The Martian’ teaser is already available in the Milk VR store. Give it a watch, then head back here and let us know what you thought in the comments!
Apple Developing Support iOS App to Streamline Repair and Troubleshooting Process
Apple appears to be working on an iOS app that will provide customers with easy access to Apple support staff, troubleshooting tips, and repair options for their iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices. A series of screenshots of the app were provided by Sonny Dickson to uSwitch Tech, revealing key details about the app and what it’s capable of.
There are direct options for chatting with an advisor, scheduling an in-store visit (which lists the next available appointment at a local Apple Store), and sending a device in for service, along with a list of support documents and guides to solve common problems like using iTunes to do a restore, maximizing battery life, or upgrading to the latest version of iOS.
According to an “insider,” the app is tied to an Apple ID and will automatically list all of the devices that each person owns, giving them direct access to pre-defined troubleshooting problems, much like Apple’s support site does now. From there, it walks users through all of the available support options. It’s said to be “highly interactive and well integrated.”
Having a centralized spot to access support documents and repair options will be hugely useful for many users who may not know the extent of Apple’s online support offerings. The app will also further streamline the repair and support process, taking some of the pressure off of in-store Genius employees who work on repairs and potentially cutting down on the number of people coming in to the store for small issues.
It is not clear if the app is a standalone support app that will be added to iOS devices in the future or if this is functionality that will be incorporated into the existing Apple Store app. At this time, the Apple Store app has limited functionality when it comes to support, only allowing users to schedule appointments with Geniuses at their local Apple Stores.
Discuss this article in our forums
Best Buy Now Offering Apple Pencil, Orders Arrive as Early as Next Week
Best Buy has the in-demand Apple Pencil in stock and is accepting orders for the device as of today. Supplies may go quickly, but for the time being, Best Buy’s site says orders will arrive as early as Tuesday, November 24 with express shipping, or Thursday, December 3 with standard shipping. Best Buy’s stock may already be low as the site sometimes lists the Apple Pencil as unavailable before listing it as purchasable upon refresh.
Best Buy appears to be one of the only stores with actual stock of the Apple Pencil. At Staples, the Apple Pencil is listed as “Coming Soon” with stock arriving on November 25, which is the only other upcoming availability date. MacMall is accepting orders, but shipments won’t arrive for three weeks, while B&H Photo is also accepting pre-orders without an estimated shipment timeline. At Adorama and Walmart, the Apple Pencil is listed as out of stock.
On Apple’s own site, the Apple Pencil has an estimated shipping date of four to five weeks, with orders placed today arriving between December 23 and December 30 at the earliest. Apple retail stores have been receiving shipments of the Apple Pencil, so the best way to get one immediately may be to check in regularly at a local Apple Store.
Discuss this article in our forums
The best wireless exercise headphones
By Lauren Dragan
This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. Read the full article here.
After considering a total of 145 sport-specific headphones and testing 82 of the best-reviewed options, our experts agreed that the JLab Epic Bluetooth is the best set of wireless exercise headphones for most people. The tough, lightweight Epic Bluetooth headphones fit in a wider variety of ears than the competition, offer better battery life than many other Bluetooth models we tested, and produce great sound for a lower price than that of most comparable cordless and water-resistant models. And because this set supports Bluetooth, it has no cord to get in the way of whatever you do to stay in shape.
Experience the Paris vigils using the New York Times’ VR app
The New York Times launched its virtual reality news app last month, and in the wake of the Paris attacks last week, it’s giving readers a glimpse at the heartbeat of the city. The NYT VR app allows viewers to experience the vigils taking place in Paris, offering people in other parts of the world a look at some of the stories unfolding in the days following the tragic events. While The New York Times’ use of VR is still in the early stages, it’s already showing its potential. NYT VR provides a platform where readers are better able to relate to events and stories by stepping inside them rather than simply reading about them. “Our mission as journalists is to answer questions,” an article accompanying the video explains. “In this case, we sought to answer the question of how a city gathers itself and begins moving forward.” If you don’t have access to a VR headset, you can watch the interactive piece via 360-degree videos on both Facebook and YouTube.
[Image credit: LightRocket via Getty Images]
Source: New York Times
Watch live streamers play developers at their own games for charity
Erin Robinson Swink, developer of the hand-painted space-physics game, Gravity Ghost, has a simple reason driving her passion for green energy and environmental advocacy: asthma. “I remember how awful it was needing an inhaler as a kid,” she says. Air pollution — driven in large part by burning coal — contributed to her respiratory disease.
Today, Robinson Swink is combining these two passions — game development and clean energy — for a three-day live-streaming event called Beat the Dev on Twitch. The show is live right now, featuring developers behind titles like Borderlands 2, Uncharted 3, Super Meat Boy, Octodad, Nuclear Throne, Journey, Darksiders II and 17 others playing their own games against a lineup of live-streamers. Donations made during the event will benefit The Sierra Club and its clean-air, green-energy advocacy efforts.
Tesla recalls 90,000 Model S sedans to check possible seatbelt defect
Due to a possible defect in the front seatbelt assembly, Tesla issued a voluntary recall for the 90,000 of its Model S electric sedans currently on the road. The company added that the cost of recalling so many vehicles is “immaterial” as it checks to ensure the restraints are safe. First revealed back in 2012, the Model S is no stranger to safety issues, including a number of fires, all of which Tesla has been quick to respond to. The potential problem with the seatbelts was first reported to the company earlier this month when a customer in Europe turned to speak with back-seat passengers and the assembly broke.
7 awesome gaming gifts
Winter is coming. And with it also comes the need to show the loved ones in your life just how much you care for them by spending, spending, spending on gifts. Trouble is, there are just so many options to choose from. What you really need is someone, some outside force to hold your credit card-holding hand. And boy, do we have some suggestions for you. Happy Holidays! You’re very welcome.
Chances are you know someone you hold dear who just loves video games. Heck, that person might even make a living from playing them online for an audience. Whatever the case may be, there’s no better way to treat the gaming enthusiast in your life this holiday season than with a fresh new console and some interactive art. Take a peek at our picks below.
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Image credit: SSPL via Getty Images
‘Zooshi’ from Fun Propulsion Labs showcases open source game development
Within the Google organization, there is a group of employees working to build sample games that demonstrate how available technologies can be used by game developers to create easy-to-build, performant, cross-platform games. This group comprises the Fun Propulsion Labs and their most recent creation, which supports Google Cardboard, has been released to the Play Store as Zooshi.
Although it is available in the Play Store for Android mobile devices, Google Cardboard, and Android TV, Zooshi also runs on Windows, OSX and Linux. The code is open source and available from the Fun Propulsion Labs’ GitHub page if developers want to dig in to the code to see how Google technologies can be used. Some of the tools used in this latest title include some new or recently updated open source game technologies like:
- Motive which drives the Animation system, giving life and movement to the characters and environment.
- CORGI, the Component Oriented Reusable Game Interface, which is an Entity-Component system designed to allow users to define complicated game objects as collections of modular, custom-defined behaviors.
- FlatUI which is a straightforward immediate mode GUI system with a light footprint that makes building up user interfaces a breeze.
- Scene Lab, a tool that allows designers to design levels and edit entities from right in the game without needing to use an external editor.
- Breadboard which provides an easy to use node based scripting system for editing entity behaviors that’s accessible to designers without deep knowledge of programming.
- FPLBase which is a cross-platform API layer, for abstracting low-level tasks like reading input and creation of graphical contexts.
If you want to check out Zooshi yourself, hit the link below to get it from the Play Store. If you are a developer or are interested in checking out the code and how to build games using open source tools, hit the source link for more details from Google.
Click here to view the embedded video.
source: Google
Come comment on this article: ‘Zooshi’ from Fun Propulsion Labs showcases open source game development
Verizon introduces a host of simple prepaid plans
Verizon has again been adjusting prices for their prepaid service plans. You can now choose from one of their five new prepaid plans and have no commitments to an annual contract, with no “hidden costs”.
Smartphones
For $60 or $45, you get a package that includes unlimited talk and 3Gb or 1Gb of data respectively.
$30 will get you unlimited talk and text with Wi-Fi only access for data.
If you need more data, sign up for Autopay and you will get credited with an extra 1GB of data every month on both $45 and $60 options, or you can top-up with the following deals through the verizon website, or by using their app:
- $5 for 500MB (good for 30 days)
- $10 for 1GB (good for 90 days)
- $20 for 3GB (good for 90 days)
Feature/basic phones
$15 per month will give you 300 voice minutes, texts or multimedia messages (in any combination), plus unlimited mobile web on a basic phone. $30, however, will take the limit off calls and give you unlimited talk, text and mobile web access.
Press Release:
Verizon introduces simple prepaid service plans
Choosing a prepaid plan just got easier. You can now select from five new prepaid plans for your basic phones and smartphones with no annual contract and no credit check. Simply choose the device you want and the plan that suits your needs, pay ahead of time and commit for as long (or as little) as you want — with no surprises or hidden fees — on the best network.
Prepaid smartphone plans
- $60 per month for unlimited talk and text with 3GB of data
- $45 per month for unlimited talk and text with 1GB of data
- Need more data? Sign up for Autopay and get an extra 1GB of data every month on the $45 and $60 smartphone plans
- $30 per month for unlimited talk and text with Wi-Fi only access for data
Prepaid basic phone plans
- $30 per month for unlimited talk, text and mobile web
- $15 per month for 300 voice minutes, texts or multimedia messages (in any combination), plus unlimited mobile web
Need more data?
It’s always easy to add more data to your prepaid plan whenever you need it. Simply use the My Verizon app or visit My Verizon online to add one of the following optional packages:
- $5 for 500MB (good for 30 days)
- $10 for 1GB (good for 90 days)
- $20 for 3GB (good for 90 days)
Visit the Verizon Prepaid Pricing site and pick the prepaid plan that’s right for you.
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