Living the trainer life with ‘Pokemon Go’
Niantic senior product manager Tatsuo Nomura and I are walking directly across the street from San Francisco’s Embarcadero waterfront. It’s a beautiful day for a stroll. His phone vibrates as we amble under the Bay Bridge and we stop. It turns out this “landmark” doubles as a PokeStop in the upcoming Pokemon Go mobile game. We pause and he collects an egg that will eventually hatch into a pocket monster ready for battle.
In this way the Pokemon Go mobile game drops perfectly into the mythology surrounding the phenomenon that recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. The company says to expect both iOS and Android apps launching sometime later this year. Instead of battling your tiny digital terrors from the comfort of your couch, it nudges you (well, actually forces you) outside to catch new Pokemon, hatch the ones you’ve already harvested and battle for supremacy of local “Gyms” (a locale where teams battle for supremacy). Sort of like the characters in the actual game and animated series.
“The whole world of Pokemon is based on the trainer going out into the woods and finding Pokemon with his Pokedecks and Poke ball,” Niantic CEO John Hanke told Engadget. “You can live the story of being a Pokemon trainer.”
Part of living that world is the new Go Plus device (no word on price). It looks like a cross between a Google pin and a Poke ball. Designed and built by Nintendo, it allows folks to keep playing the game without taking their phones out of their pocket by alerting them when they are near a Pokestop. Variations in vibrations and colors will tell gamers what’s going on and with a few taps of the button they can gather up new Pokemon without staring at a screen.
Unfortunately, I did not get to see a demo of the Go Plus device during our quick jaunt around San Francisco. Instead Nomura checks his phone and tells me that because we’re near the bay, the creatures we capture will be water-based. “If you’re in a park there will be more grass type Pokemon. We actually try to map the real world with the Pokemon types,” he said while we head to our next destination.
The second PokeStop is only a few yards away from the one below the Bay Bridge. It’s a series of plaques in the concrete. I’ve never noticed them before. “These are points of interest that people are not aware of. We’re trying to have people visit these places to learn more about their neighborhood. To discover the places that they would normally ignore, “Nomura said.
I’m assured that even in small towns, there will be stops for gamers — many of which were suggested by players of Niantic’s other alternate reality game, Ingress. Those players and the company are constantly adding new waypoints in the real world to visit in the digital. Some of those spots are in Pokemon Go with others constantly being evaluated to see if they will be added to the game.
“‘Adventures on foot,’ that’s our motto,” Nomura tells me after we battle (and lose) to try and oust one of three teams (you can join team blue, red or yellow) from the local Gym. Each of these interactions with the game only took about the time it takes to send a few texts. Pokemon Go is probably destined to be a huge hit. Mostly because it’s Pokemon. But also, it looks like a fun way to explore your town with a game that doesn’t require your constant attention.
ICYMI: Gravitational waves and holographic Holocaust memory
Today on In Case You Missed It: NASA’s mission to figure out where black holes are located won’t actually deploy until 2034, but the science behind the sound experiment is being worked on now. University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies created a 3D video rig to capture people’s memories, saving the video and sound mash-up for future generations to hear first-hand accounts of the Holocaust.
The “In Good Company” shoe for turning off phone notifications automatically is here; in case you’re interested in the human ancestor story, NPR has a good summary here. As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
‘Bluetooth 5’ to be Announced Next Week, With 4x Speed and Better Range
Bluetooth 5, the next generation of Bluetooth standard, will be formally announced next week, offering double the range and quadruple the speed of the current low-energy wireless protocol.
Executive director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, Mark Powell, revealed the news in a published email sent to UK health and monitoring company Blue Maestro. The Bluetooth SIG, which is backed by Apple, Intel, and other major technology companies, will officially make the announcement on June 16 in London.
The standard’s adoption of the title “Bluetooth 5” drops reference to both the version and point number, indicating both a significant revision of the protocol and an effort by SIG to simplify its marketing strategy.
The new standard is also said to offer significantly wider support for smart home devices and enhanced Internet of Things (IoT) functionality, in addition to increased support for location-based connectionless services, such as assistive navigation beacons.
It’s unclear whether Bluetooth 5 will come to existing devices as a firmware update or require new hardware, but the latter is more likely. Previously, Bluetooth 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 devices were not upgradeable to newer versions of the standard, but Bluetooth 4.0 devices could be upgraded to Bluetooth 4.1 via software patches.
In October last year, Apple quietly added Bluetooth 4.2 support to the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPad Air 2, bringing 2.5x faster speeds and up to ten times higher data capacity to the devices.
Rumors of impending upgrades to Apple’s MacBook range typically make no mention of wireless protocols, while iPhone 7 leaks and speculation are also usually silent on the subject.
However, given the increasing likelihood that Apple will remove the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, Bluetooth will become the primary means of connecting headphones for most users unless wired Lightning earbuds are included in the box.
Tag: Bluetooth 5
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NYC Apple Stores Being Targeted by Thieves Dressed as Retail Staff
Thieves in New York City are reportedly posing as company employees in order to steal thousands of dollars of hardware from Apple Stores.
According to DNAInfo, last week a man dressed as an Apple staff member walked into the company’s SoHo store and gained access to a backroom, stealing iPhones worth a combined $16,130.
Similar incidents occurred back in March when a store on the Upper West Side was targeted by Apple staff imposters twice. In those thefts, the store lost $50,000 in iPhones.
Gizmodo notes that the tactic appears to have been adopted since Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts introduced a policy which sees all staff wear blue shirts with smaller Apple logos. Ahrendts’ announced the new uniforms internally in 2015 with the catchphrase “Back to Blue… But All New”, which introduced several different styles of shirts for employees to wear.
Previously, Apple staff changed their uniforms on a semi-regular basis, with colors and styles linked to seasonal holidays, specific themes, or product launches.
NYPD has connected the two robberies as “related”, and hasn’t specified whether the thieves were wearing official shirts or close approximations. Either way, the incidents are likely to make Apple revise its security arrangements and look again at its more standardized uniform policy.
Tag: Apple retail
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Spotify Says App Store Changes Don’t ‘Get to the Core of the Problem’
After Apple announced a handful of new changes heading to the App Store under Phil Schiller’s reign — including a new revenue split for subscriptions and ads in search results — Spotify recently commented its opinion on the announcements. Speaking with The Verge, Jonathan Prince, Spotify’s head of corporate communications and global policy, said simply, “It’s a nice gesture, but doesn’t get to the core of the problem.”
One of Spotify’s major hangups centers around the fact that the new rules still prohibit apps from offering “special offers or discounts,” because price flexibility is prohibited. The Cupertino company’s policy makes sure that it’s a constant presence between the customer and developer, “which means developers will continue to lack visibility into why customers churn.”
“Unless Apple changes its rules, price flexibility is prohibited, which is why we can never provide special offers or discounts, and means we won’t have the ability to share any savings with our customers,” Prince continued. “Apple still insists on inserting itself between developers and their customers, which means developers will continue to lack visibility into why customers churn — or who even qualifies as a long-term subscriber.”
Prince also said that the rules make it hard to even determine which customers could be considered as a long-term subscriber – an important factor to take into account now that Apple will take only a 15 percent cut if a user stays subscribed to a service for more than a year. Apple currently takes 30 percent of a subscription fee when users sign up to a service on the App Store.
Spotify’s concerns follow an uptick in subscriber activity in the year since Apple’s rival subscription music service, Apple Music, launched to the public. While the latter platform is on track to gain 15 million subscribers for its one-year anniversary in late June, Spotify has grown from 20 million paid users last June, to 30 million in May of 2016. The company noted that since Apple Music launched it has “been growing quicker and adding more users than before.”
Tags: App Store, Spotify
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New Survey Highlights Substantial Developer Dissatisfaction With Mac App Store
A new DevMate survey recently polled around 700 Mac developers to get responses on how they feel working on OS X, and the lack of app visibility on Apple’s Mac App Store. As The Next Web reports, the developers’ responses highlight a stark difference in the iOS and OS X platforms, with a majority of DevMate’s surveyed developers dissatisfied with Apple’s 30/70 revenue split and poor distribution policies.
When asked, “How do you distribute your Mac applications?” nearly 35 percent of the quizzed developers preferred to specifically share and market their apps outside of the Mac App Store, on their own third-party websites. About 23 percent stick solely to Apple’s Mac App Store for distribution, while 42 percent are straddling the line and working with both. Sources of revenue for the developers in the dual-distribution approach are said to be “split almost evenly.”
All the same, those in the weeds of the Mac App Store say they would advise another developer against selling their app within Apple’s OS X storefront. Of those 35 percent of developers living exclusively outside the Mac App Store, “a whopping 97 percent say they’d try to talk someone out of using Apple’s official App Store.”
Another section of the survey asked if developers believed Apple’s 30 percent revenue cut was worth all of the features gained from using the Mac App Store, with 62 percent responding with “no.” Problems arise from the developers’ inability to address and communicate with reviewers directly, or offer trial periods for apps.
Apple’s OS X App Store has been a pale comparison to its iOS relative since its launch five years ago. Rumors swirling around a possible rebrand of OS X to “macOS” have led to hopeful speculation that changes could also come to Apple’s lackluster desktop App Store, but the company has yet to comment on any of these reports. With a software-heavy WWDC predicted for next week, it’s possible that Apple will address some OS X-related concerns during its keynote speech.
Tag: Mac App Store
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Cyrus Audio will start selling its One compact amplifier this summer for £699
UK-based Cyrus Audio has introduced a compact amplifier that’s affordable.
The high-end stereo system maker is describing its new Cyrus One amplifier as a provider of “high quality audio” but at an tolerable price point. It is a 100-watt-per-channel amp with features like a built-in phono stage for connecting a turntable and Bluetooth streaming. It offers Bluetooth aptX connectivity, so it’s always discoverable and lets you easily stream music from phones and tablets.
There’s also a built-in class AB headphone amplifier that automatically activates when headphones are plugged in. The power supply going to the main amplifier switches over to the headphone circuits, which Cyrus Audio has claimed performs better than any standalone headphone amplifers. Also, when your headphones are unplugged, volume will be returned to zero to protect your hearing and headphones.
The amp has been fitted with a phono stage to boot, thanks to the resurgence of vinyl. And there’s four additional inputs for other devices. You can even us the Cyrus One in home cinema systems due to its AV Bypass mode. You won’t have to worry about which speaker models match your amp either, because it has an automatic speaker impedance detection system that tests speakers and adjusts the amp accordingly.
Cyrus Audio
This compact amp therefore does all the hard work for you. As for updates, Cyrus Audio said you will be able to grab the latest firmware and new features via the amp’s microUSB port. The Cyrus One, which measures 85x220x390mm, also has front panel LEDs you can manually dim and a a high-gloss black finish with rubberised controls.
If any of this interests you, the Cyrus One will cost £699 and be available from retailers across the UK starting this summer.
Konami isn’t only games company making bionics, behold the Deus Ex cybernetic arm
A few weeks ago we brought you a BBC documentary that detailed the creation of a fully cybernetic arm, designed by Konami and based around the one worn by Snake in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
That garnered a lot of attention, because not only did the arm work for an amputee, it really looked the part.
It seems though, Konami isn’t the only games company building bionics for people who have lost or were born without limbs, Square Enix is too.
Its latest game in the Deus Ex series, Deus Ex: Manking Divided, is coming out on 23 August for PS4, Xbox One and PC and like former titles in the series features human characters heavily laden with cybernetics. It inspired the publisher to explore the possibility of building a working prosthetic arm in the style of the one worn by Adam Jensen in the game.
READ: Watch Bodyhack: Metal Gear Man and the story of a real-life Snake bionic arm
Square Enix partnered with Intel, Razer and Open Bionics, a British company that specialises in developing robotic limbs. and even by the 3D printed prototype, they are both well on the way to create an excellent replacement arm. What’s more, the latter company is making all of its progress open source, so others can 3D print every element and build their own arms too.
The end goal is to make something much similar to Jensen’s Deus Ex equivalent, with a shiny chrome finish, but even the model sported by the one-handed Dan Melville in the video below is impressive stuff. What’s more, it could be made on a budget.
READ: Deus Ex Mankind Divided preview: Cyberpunk satisfaction
So check out the Deus Ex Augmented Future video and we’re sure you can’t fail to be impressed, like us.
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst review: On the edge of greatness
The original Mirror’s Edge, released in 2008, was the very epitome of a Marmite game. Despite having an inordinate amount of glaring flaws, and not selling particularly well, it still managed to generate a passionate cult following.
It was easy enough to see why: Mirror’s Edge dared to be different, basing its gameplay on free-running yet taking a first-person perspective, paired with a gorgeous Scandinavian-influenced art style plus a thoroughly alluring protagonist, Faith.
Can the follow-up, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, eradicate its predecessor’s weak points and establish Mirror’s Edge as a top franchise?
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst review: Stockholm syndrome
Catalyst certainly has a good stab. Perhaps the most egregious drawback in the original, its single-path linearity, has been replaced by an open-world you can traverse at your leisure.
And that potentially has the knock-on effect of eliminating another gripe: that the original was far too short. Catalyst is rammed with side-missions and challenges, has an online component which adds plenty of replay value. Although to finish the game you’ll only need about 9-hours total.
What really sets Catalyst apart from other games is how it looks. It’s set in the amazing-looking Glass City, which appears far too pristine to actually have any inhabitants, and leaves no doubt that the game’s developer, DICE, is based in Stockholm, Sweden. There’s the Scandi art-style again, which we rather like. It’s perhaps the first must-buy game if you’re a Wallpaper subscriber. We jest.
Catalyst also trumps its predecessor by giving you more of a feeling that you’re involved in what is going on in Glass City, which is a pretty dystopian place – even though you spend the vast majority of the game on its rooftops.
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst review: Up to no good
The story begins with Faith being let out of a juvenile detention facility. The initial cut-scenes will strike a chord with millennials: she is told that she has 14 days to find a job, or she will be locked up again.
Thankfully, her old runner colleagues are there to remove the implant that briefly allows her to see what the “employees” see – a mess of ads and propaganda beamed direct to their visual cortices.
EA
But she soon resumes her old life as a free-runner and general thief-for-hire, hooking back up with mentor Noah, plus various rival runners and associated hackers, as well as crime boss Dogen, to whom she owes money.
Story-wise there are some interesting aspects, but too many of them are touched on and then abandoned. Too much plot establishment takes place at the start of the game, interspersed with a number of pretty trivial, tutorial-like missions, so Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst takes an absolute age to get going. And in a relatively short game that throws the balance.
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst review: Perseverence rewarded
It is worth persevering, though, as there is plenty of satisfaction to be found. Faith has some fantastic moves (which are added to as you level-up), and when you get her flowing along a route pointed out by her red “runner’s vision” it can be a great feeling.
However, you will encounter moments when what looks like it ought to be a straightforward move turns out not to be (usually, at least, at non-critical moments), which can result in her repeatedly plummeting to her death. Catalyst is heavily checkpointed, so you aren’t really penalised for dying. If you’re the sort of gamer who thinks you should be penalised when the character you control dies, you’ll hate Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst.
EA
This time around, there are plenty of story-missions and side-missions of various types – delivering fragile goods, for example, or time-trials which you can design yourself and post to the game along with other challenges. Plus there are control and security chips to collect (which help you gain XP).
But by far the best missions are the Grid Nodes: towers guarded by lasers that you must work out how to climb. They prove that first-person platforming works beautifully, and outshine most of the story missions.
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst review: Clunky combat
Later in the game, things hot up as Kruger Security starts to target Faith, and her brawling engine comes into play more. But her melee abilities are a mixed bag. If you can get her launching into a chain of attacks by jumping, sliding and mantling into enemies, the action feels quick and responsive. But when she is face-to-face with enemies, proceedings feel oddly ponderous.
EA
Essentially, you must constantly side-step then kick – which is a tad unforgivable for a game in which the protagonist literally runs everywhere, even through closed doors, thanks to a rather excellent forearm-slam move. And even when you die at the hands of K-Sec, you aren’t penalised in any meaning way, beyond having to endure a loading screen.
Faith’s upgrade path is also unconvincing. You can add abilities and useful items such as a grapple via four categories – movement, combat, gear and skill. But most of the latter two remain locked during the first half of the game, and you’re often given new moves in story missions, rather than having to earn them. RPG enthusiasts will feel that she has a rather basic upgrade path.
Verdict
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst has various gripes, then, but they don’t entirely detract from Catalyst’s enjoyment. Without doubt it is much more fun and, crucially, substantial than the first game.
However, hardcore gamers will note those flaws, and react with revulsion, in much the same way as they did to Mirror’s Edge. Its best gameplay is also hidden in side-missions, and its key mechanics, such as the brawling system, are just off.
Which is a bit frustrating, because Catalyst comes close to greatness. It has a truly iconic protagonist, who is a joy to control, some unusual gameplay, and an innate stylishness which puts pretty much all other games to shame.
Apple Stores are being targeted by thieves dressed as employees
People say carrying a clipboard, wearing a hard hat and acting like you belong can get you into any place you want. Well, a number of thieves in NYC adopted that idea to steal thousands of dollars worth of iPhones. They simply dressed like Apple Store employees and went straight to the shops’ storage drawers. Back in March, a store on the Upper West Side was targeted by fake personnel twice. The location lost 67 iPhones, which amounts to almost $50,000, from the heist. This time, someone stole 19 iPhones from the company’s retail store in SoHo.
According to DNAInfo, the man used the same MO: he also dressed up as an employee to get into the backroom and nab $16,130 worth of devices. He and an accomplice simply stuffed the phones in their shirts and walked out. As Gizmodo notes, Cupertino’s new uniforms might be to blame. The company used to make its store personnel wear themed shirts for every new product launch or for every season.
Last year, however, retail chief Angela Ahrendts introduced permanent blue shirts with tiny Apple logos, which are pretty easy to dupe or to buy online. While smaller stores will obviously be harder to infiltrate, the company’s larger locations remain susceptible to the same scheme until it imposes tougher security measures.
Via: Gizmodo
Source: DNAinfo, New York Post
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