Xbox One S UK pricing: what you need to know
As is the case with many Microsoft announcements, the new Xbox One S console leaked before the company had the chance to confirm it at its E3 keynote. Now that it’s official, we know that it will come with 4K and HDR support, a 2TB hard drive and front-facing USB port for that rarely-used Kinect accessory (if you buy an adaptor). Oh, and it’s 40 percent smaller than its predecessor and has an integrated power supply, ditching that clumsy power brick. But how much will it cost?
When the Xbox One S goes on sale in August, the 2TB model — which Microsoft is calling the “launch edition” — will set you back £349, with the 500GB and 1TB coming in at £249 and £299 respectively. The console will come complete with a new controller that has twice the range of the current gamepad, thanks to Bluetooth support, textured grips and a new thumbstick. When it launches alongside the Xbox One S in the coming months, expect to pay £50 for the Windows-compatible gamepad.
Everything we saw at Microsoft’s E3 event
Microsoft’s E3 press conference is over, and we got a lot of news. There are two new Xboxes: a slimmer Xbox One S with 4K video support due out this August, and Project Scorpio, an Xbox with 4K gaming and VR support due out next year. Confusing much? Elsewhere, we got hefty chunks of gameplay from Recore, Sea of Thieves and Scalebound, pretty trailers for Forza Horizon 3 and Halo Wars 2, and zombie fun in the form of Dead Rising 4 and State of Decay 2. While we (literally) recharge our batteries before Ubisoft and Sony’s shows, you can watch trailers for all the big announcements in the gallery below.
The After Math: Apple WWDC 2016
Apple pulled out all the stops at WWDC 2016 on Monday, announcing major updates to its iOS, macOS (formerly, OSX), watchOS and tvOS platforms. Not only that, the company announced a number of milestone achievements, including hitting 2 million apps in the App Store. It also now boasts being able to offer more than 1300 programming channels through AppleTV (depending on your cable service provider of course). Come see what Apple’s got in store for you, by the numbers.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
‘Ghost Recon: Wildlands’ goes after the cartel on March 7th
Ghost Recon: Wildlands made its first appearance at Ubisoft’s showcase last year, but now we get to see it in action in a new sumptuous gameplay trailer. The terrain is particularly beautiful, and as we heard last year, vehicles are a major part of traversing it all. In the (seemingly edited together) demo, GRW seems to involve an almost constant stream of bro-talk from your fellow soldiers, but it at least offers an audio-based way of keeping you up to date with your teams progress. The attack on the Bolivian-based cartel starts on March 7th next year, on PS4, PC and Xbox One.
The next ‘South Park’ game will launch on December 6th
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone just jumped up on stage to share more details about the next game based on their long-standing cartoon. South Park: The Fractured But Whole was announced last year, but today we’re seeing a lot of footage from the game, and we also got a release date: it’ll be out on December 6th.
In the game, you join a host of the South Park characters, and you’re all playing as super heroes. As such, there’s a whole bunch of ridiculous combat to be had, including time-ripping farts. You can customize your character from a dozen different classes and mix and match between them. So even though the main South Park characters are treating you like crap since you’re the “new kid,” you’ll be able to make that new kid your very own.
For those who order the game, Ubisoft will throw in a copy of the previous South Park game (The Stick of Truth) on your platform of choice. A full trailer of the game was shown at the event and we’ll add it to this post as soon as it’s live on YouTube.
Cyber ‘bombs,’ digital D-Days and other nonsense
Cybergeddon is coming. To the disappointment of many, it’s just going to look like some dude sitting at a desk, typing, and probably farting into his Department of Defense office chair.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter was quoted recently as saying the United States was going to be “dropping cyber bombs” on ISIS, and the newly invented rhetoric produced its desired effect.
In expressions of both eagerness and incomprehension, outlets wrote, “Pentagon hits ISIS with ‘cyber bombs’ in full-scale online campaign.” Scientific American even went so far as to try and explain the skin-crawlingly crazy phrase in a piece titled “How U.S. ‘Cyber Bombs’ against Terrorists Really Work.”
India Times took it all quite literally, in an article titled “There’s Something Called a Cyber Bomb and the US Is Planning to Drop It on ISIS.” It explained, “The proper definition of a cyber-bomb is still a little convoluted and has been kept under wraps mainly because an operation of such magnitude is yet to be carried out.”
One month after officials injected that deranged rhetoric into popular consciousness, the FBI and Apple had a public Hatfield vs. McCoys moment on encryption — a war of words over unlocking the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone.
During this embarrassing media circus, the local DA told a federal judge the phone had to be unlocked, because it may hold the trigger to unleash a “dormant cyber pathogen.” The quote was reported with a straight face by more than a few outlets in news items declaring that the “San Bernardino shooter could have introduced ‘dormant cyber pathogen.’”
Shortly after making the remark, San Bernardino DA Michael Ramos admitted that the alleged ‘dormant cyber pathogen’ was entirely made up.
So far, he’s the only authority to fess up to his painful linguistic chicanery, which is more than we can say for any other cyber-doom loons on the stage right now. These voices happen to include hippie activists who scare frail old politicians with boogeymen “digital arms” dealers and lawmakers spooking one another at congressional sleepovers with an ever-looming “cyber Pearl Harbor.”
The problem is, a “cyber Pearl Harbor” is a thing of fiction. But words are powerful. More than ever, catchy rhetoric about hacking does more than create linkbait. It shapes policy.
Right now we’re in a situation where press, policy makers, soldiers, officials and citizens don’t realize there’s no such thing as a “cyber bomb.” Unless told otherwise, they will think there are actual bombs, which will obliterate, destroy, somehow flatten and put an end to whatever — or whoever — the so-called bombs are “dropped” on.
As Defense One put it, “One gets [the] sense from recent statements that “cyber bombs” are the wonder weapons that will make all the difference and deliver victory. But this is just as untrue as the equally hyperbolic statements of cyber doom.”
“We ought to be wary of claims that the dropping of a few U.S. cyber bombs will soon lead to the surrender of the Islamic State’s United Cyber Caliphate on the deck of a virtual battleship.”
And they’re right. Officials need to stop saying “cyber bombs” when what they really mean is changing spreadsheets, intercepting email, jamming comms, penetrating networks, doing recon and data exfiltration and planting malware.
It’s hard to imagine people saying things like “cyber bombs” with a straight face, let alone imagine how they’d navigate riding the bus unescorted or tying their own shoelaces. Infosec, for its own part, is doing a good job of calling bullshit when it plops into headlines. And news outlets are finally starting to listen to them, even though reporters don’t quite have their don’t-quote-the-discredited-nutjob filters adjusted just yet.
I joke that it’s an age thing, but it might be worse: laziness or even ignorance. It’s no secret that our government, like many world governments, is struggling to figure out its relationship with computer security.
Applying old-world war terms to hacking might work for Hollywood films from the 1980s. If they keep training people to expect cyber D-Days and World War II homecoming parades after we’ve cyber-flattened our distant enemies, the reality is going to be one of the greatest disappointments this country has ever known.
Basis halts Peak smartwatch sales due to overheating concerns
When we first reviewed the Basis Peak back in 2014, we noted the wearable’s ability to track your activity while lacking some core smartwatch features. The company has continually added new features to the device, but today it announced that sales have been halted. Citing the wrist-worn gadget’s tendency to overheat, Basis is putting sales of the Peak on hold until it can issue a software update to remedy the issue. What’s more, it’s recommending current owners avoid using the device until that patch is released.
In a message to Peak users, Basis says the issue was reported in 0.2 percent of the total smartwatches sold, but that it’s pausing sales because “nothing is more important that your safety.” The pending software update will shut off the wearable when if starts to overheat, so you won’t have to worry about noticing the issue before its too late. Basis is also recommending that other retailers temporarily put a stop to sales as well.
The company is also looking into reports that the device is overheating and melting charging cradles. Right now, Basis says it hasn’t determined if the issue is the device itself or third-party charging accessories. For current Peak owners who would rather just get a refund than wait on the issues to be resolved, the company is offering just that. Basis plans to provide another update when the software patch is ready or when it knows more about the reported charging issue.
Woah – Basis immediately halts sales of Basis Peak due to overheating/burn issues. Recommends users not wear watch. pic.twitter.com/2mGjKHLJ5Y
— Ray Maker (@dcrainmakerblog) June 13, 2016
Via: Ray Maker (Twitter)
Source: Basis
‘Star Trek Bridge Crew’ puts you inside a VR starship this fall
While the news leaked before Ubisoft’s big E3 showcase, the games company brought together several Star Trek alumni (from all over the series), to play test its debut VR title Star Trek Bridge Crew, which will be coming to Oculus, Vive and PS VR systems this fall. (Alas, no concrete date just yet.) The game involves collaborating with other players to ensure your starship runs smoothly and fight off enemies or simply escape from them. According to the teaser, captain, tactical and engineering players will all work together, communicating what each person has to do, which looks like it could descend into cries of “maximum warp!” and “shields up!” — but if Levar Burton is in the room, then, heck, why not? Take a closer look after the break.
Twitter makes it easier to block abusers
Twitter has already taken a few steps to curb harassment, but what about the basic act of blocking someone? That’s getting easier, too. The social network is introducing a simpler blocking experience that takes some of the headaches out of the process: just go to the offending tweet, choose Block from the “…” button and that person vanishes from your timeline. It’s not going to get rid of systematic abuse (such as people who create dummy accounts or put you on targeted lists), but it will help you get back to your regular tweeting a little bit sooner.
Starting today, we’re making Block easier to help you control your Twitter experience. https://t.co/8pee8rzN1I pic.twitter.com/gCzkTwoglP
— Safety (@safety) June 13, 2016
Source: Safety (Twitter), Twitter Safety Center
Apple Debuts New tvOS Features Including ‘Single Sign-On’, Enhanced Siri and More
Today at WWDC, Apple announced an updated version of tvOS that includes new functionality and features for Siri, single sign-on and more. Apple also announced that a few new apps will be arriving on tvOS, including Sling, Fox Sports Go, Molotov TV, and a handful of game-based apps like Minecraft Story Mode and Sketch Party.
Siri has gained a handful of new abilities, including the ability to search for movies by topic. For instance, a user can now ask Siri to find the latest superhero movies or documentaries about cars. Siri can even partner themes with other pieces of context, like searching for high school comedies from the 80s. Siri will also be able to search through YouTube later this month.
Siri can also be directed to tune-in to live channels within apps now. For example, if a user asks Siri to “Watch CBS News” or “Watch ESPN,” Siri will instantly open the live feed within the app, rather than transporting the user to the app’s home screen. Finally, Siri can also manage a user’s HomeKit devices via Apple TV.
Fourth-generation Apple TV users will no longer need to individually sign into each of their Pay-TV apps with the new tvOS update. tvOS now supports single sign-on, so when users sign into Apple’s new feature, they’ll never have to go through the process again. Once a user enters their credentials in one app, tvOS will automatically authenticate every other app that requires authentication. Additionally, when a user is entering their credentials for the first time they’ll be presented with a page featuring all the authenticated apps their pay-TV provider offers support for, allowing users to easily discover what other content they can watch.
Single Sign-On is available for any network-TV app, though it must be enabled by the developer. The feature will also be available for iOS 10, which the Cupertino company also announced and detailed at today’s WWDC keynote. Apple also debuted a new dark mode for Apple TV, making it easier for users with darker rooms.
The new Apple TV and tvOS are compatible with the revamped Remote app, which mirrors the abilities of the Apple TV’s Siri Remote on an iPhone. The app, like previous Remote apps, allows users to control their content, but it also allows users to use Siri to control the Apple TV. Users can also use the app to play games on Apple TV and enter text via the iOS keyboard.
Apple also announced a couple new tvOS APIs for developers, including support for PhotoKit and HomeKit. One of those APIs is ReplayKit, which allows developers to record live broadcasts from their apps. Apple TV apps can also badge their icons on the home screen, notifying users to potential changes within the app. The Apple TV can also support up to four game controllers as well.
Many of the new features coming to iOS and macOS have also come to tvOS. The newly redesigned Apple Music, with a simplified and more colorful design, is also available on Apple TV. The revamped Apple Music is easier-to-navigate and read, with bigger fonts and more emphasis on album art. It also includes a new “For You” tabled that has better-curated content. Finally, the new Apple Music also gained support for lyrics. Photos for Apple TV now has gained the new Memories feature debuted with iOS 10, allowing users to easily rediscover moments from their past. Universal apps will also automatically download when downloaded to an iOS device, and when a keyboard appears on the Apple TV, it’ll also appear on an iOS device signed in with the same iCloud account.
Related Roundups: Apple TV, WWDC 2016
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Neutral)
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