Abduct four pals for couch co-op in PS4’s ‘Alienation’
What’s better than mowing down (virtual) alien hordes with a buddy sitting right next to you? When it comes to video games, not much. That’s why the fine Finnish folks at developer Housemarque are adding local co-op to the top-down, xenophobic shooter Alienation next week. Come July 5th, up to four players can join in on the same-screen mayhem according to a post on the studio’s blog. That’s not all either, because the update also brings in a competitive play system dubbed “leagues,” and a pair of crushing new difficulty levels for the folks who could probably play the game with their eyes shut by now.
This doggie in the window is free, but if you want to show the Resogun developer some love with your wallet, there are options for that as well. Paid add-ons include weapon unlocks, different colored bullets and a season pass that grants access to the game’s forthcoming expansions. Oh, and dropping $10 on that opens up the game’s soundtrack and a dynamic (read: moving) theme for your PlayStation 4. For a refresher of what it all looks like in action, peep the video embedded below.
Source: Housemarque
Evernote Announces Price Hikes and Two-Device Limit for Free Users
Cross-platform note-taking service Evernote has announced new limits for its Basic account holders on the same day the company hiked the prices on its paid subscription plans.
Users of Evernote’s free Basic plan will soon be limited to using the service on no more than two devices, such as a computer and a phone, two computers, or a phone and a tablet.
Meanwhile, Plus and Premium subscriptions are now $3.99 per month (or $34.99 a year) and $7.99 per month (or $69.99 a year), respectively. Previously a Plus plan cost $2.99 per month, while a Premium account was $4.99.
News of the two-device limit imposed on Basic plan holders came in an email last night, explaining that users had 30 days to adjust to the change. The company said Plus and Premium account subscribers would continue to enjoy the note-taking service from an unlimited number of devices.
Evernote CEO Chris O’Neil explained the new pricing tiers and the device-limit decision in a blog post:
We don’t take any change to our pricing model lightly, and we never take you for granted. Our goal is to continue improving Evernote for the long-term, investing in our core products to make them more powerful and intuitive while also delivering often-requested new features. But that requires a significant investment of energy, time, and money. We’re asking those people who get the most value from Evernote to help us make that investment and, in return, to reap the benefits that result.
Evernote isn’t a vast corporation, and note-taking isn’t a sideline for us. It’s what we do, and we strive to do it better than anyone else. We hope you’ll continue to capture your thoughts and develop your ideas with us.
Evernote is a free download for Mac on the Mac App Store, and available for iPad and iPhone on the App Store. [Direct Link]
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Live Video Streaming App ‘Live.ly’ Reaches #1 Spot in App Store
New live streaming app Live.ly has shot to the top of the App Store, beating regular jostlers Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, and Instagram to the coveted #1 ranking in the Top Free iPhone Apps chart (via TechCrunch).
Live.ly lets users broadcast video of what they are doing in real time, and has received over half a million downloads since its full rollout last Thursday.
The app’s popularity follows the success of musical.ly, an app by the Shanghai company of the same name which lets users create music videos. Musical.ly has seen 100 million downloads by mostly U.S. teenagers since it launched last year.
“We want to thank the musical.ly community for embracing live.ly as an exciting new platform and canvas for creativity and self-expression,” Alex Zhu, co-CEO of musical.ly, told TechCrunch. “The fact that this comes almost one year after musical.ly hit #1 on the same chart makes the news even more exciting.”
Competition for the mobile live streaming space has been hotting up in recent months, with Facebook Live and Twitter’s Periscope gaining increasing popularity. The services have been used to document a variety of sporting and political events, such as NBA Final press conferences and the recent sit-in at the House of Representatives.
Last week, Google also threw its hat into the ring, announcing it was rolling out support for the feature through its YouTube mobile app.
Live.ly is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Tag: Live.ly
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Pentax K-1 review – CNET
The Good The Pentax K-1 delivers excellent photo quality and a ton of features in a sturdy, well-designed body.
The Bad The autofocus is inconsistent and the image stabilization isn’t as good as competitors’.
The Bottom Line For photographers who want great photo quality for less than $2,000, the Pentax K-1 hits the bullseye.
Pentax’s full-frame dSLR debut, the K-1, hits at an opportune time. Canon hasn’t updated its 6D or 5D Mark III in at least a couple of years, nor has Nikon done so with its D750 or D610. That makes a new model at an aggressive price a welcome option. The K-1 offers a ton of features with excellent photo quality and a great shooting design, but it also has one of the least-sophisticated autofocus systems and occasionally sluggish performance.
The K-1 costs $1,800 (£1,600, AU$2,900) for the body. Pentax recently released two lenses optimized for the camera: the company’s K mount works for both APS-C and full frame, but the older lenses aren’t designed for the K-1’s high-resolution, 36-megapixel sensor. There’s the fast, wide-angle HD Pentax-D FA 15-30mm F2.8ED SDM WR ($1,450, £1,550, AU$1,350) and a more consumer-focused, less-expensive HD Pentax-D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6ED DC WR ($500, £580 and AU$850).
I tested it with the 28-105mm. While it’s nice that Pentax offers a relatively inexpensive lens for the K-1, I really didn’t like it much. It feels very much like an APS-C kit lens: I do recommend it for Pentax’s other cameras, but it just doesn’t do the K-1 justice.
Great photos, at its own pace
The camera’s photo quality is generally excellent. I don’t like the default Bright image setting, which overdoes contrast and saturation, but Pentax gives you plenty of options to fine-tune the options to your taste, and the camera can produce quite accurate colors. I’m a Natural girl.
JPEGs look clean through ISO 1600 and depending upon the image, remain usable at least up through ISO 12800. The JPEG processing is pretty good, too; while you can get a little more detail shooting raw, out-of-the-camera JPEGs will suit a lot of people.
The camera retains color well as sensitivity rises, too, though the raw files show a lot of hot pixels in dark images. That said, between the high resolution and solid dynamic range, I was able to get decent results cropping way into photos where I had to bring the exposure up five stops because the flash didn’t fire (not Pentax’s fault). I wouldn’t count on photos beyond ISO 51200, though. Blown out highlights are more hit-and-miss when it comes to recoverability.
Pentax K-1 full-resolution photo samples
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I didn’t see much moire in stills; there was a bit in video, though. The video quality is OK. You’ll need to play with the settings to retain highlights (there’s a flat image profile), and it’s just not very sharp.
Analysis samples
The K-1’s JPEGs are clean through ISO 800. They’re not exceptionally sharp at ISO 800, but I think that’s just the lens I used for testing.
Lori Grunin/CNET
You can see some blurring at ISO 3200, but JPEGs aren’t bad through ISO 12800.
Lori Grunin/CNET
Depending upon the scene, you can still get usable JPEGs through ISO 51200. Above that they’re pretty noisy.
Lori Grunin/CNET
With the Natural image settings, the colors are quite accurate.
Lori Grunin/CNET
Even as high as ISO 51200 you can recover some highlight detail.
Lori Grunin/CNET
Google and Qualcomm are making Snapdragon chips Tango ready
Manufacturers can make their devices Tango compatible simply by equipping them with Qualcomm’s new and upcoming Snapdragon 800 and 600 SoCs. According to Ars Technica, the chipmaker has been working with Google for the past year-and-a-half to make its products ready for the tech titan’s augmented reality technology. See, when the big G showed off its Project Tango (as it was called back then) prototype, it had an extra computer vision chip. But the first Tango phone, Lenovo’s Phab2 Pro, doesn’t have one at all.
Phab2 Pro relies on its quad-core Snapdragon 652 processor to run Tango’s AR capabilities. Qualcomm even says that since its processors are optimized for the technology, Tango ends up using less processing power than a normal app and consumes less than two watts. By removing the need for extra hardware besides a depth sensor and a motion tracking camera, the partners are making it easy for phonemakers to adopt the AR tech. Tango, if you’ll recall, can superimpose images over the real world through a device’s camera. One of its applications is helping you visualize what your house would look like before you even start renovating or replacing your furniture.
Source: Ars Technica, VentureBeat
Oakter brings home automation to India
Oakter gives you the ability to control your appliances from your phone.
Home automation hasn’t taken off in India quite the same way it has in Western countries, but a local startup called Oakter is about to change that. The Noida-based startup has developed a smart home kit that lets you control your appliances — air conditioners, geysers, or coffee makers — through your phone.
The smart home kit consists of a hub, which connects to your local Wi-Fi network, and Smart Plugs (called Leaves), which are available in 6Amp, 16Amp, and 25Amp variations. There’s a Smart Thermostat as well, which has a temperature and humidity sensor, and a Touch Leaf that lets you control connected devices wirelessly.
To get started, all you need to do is attach a Leaf into your regular wall socket, and plug in your appliances. You can set up and configure Oakter over your local network via the companion app. Once the initial setup is finished, you have the ability to set schedules for individual Leaves, allowing you to automatically switch your appliances on or off at a set time. Given that most parts of the country still witness sporadic electricity cuts, the scheduling feature is useful. Along with setting schedules, the app lets you view the activity log for each Leaf.
All Leaves also come with an auto-cutoff feature, another addition aimed at ensuring that your appliances don’t get damaged in the event of power failure. I’ve been using Oakter for three weeks now, and I love the fact that I can schedule lights to turn on automatically and switch off the air conditioner with my phone.
Yes, Oakter’s smart home kit is a novelty, but there’s something inherently cool about controlling your appliances with your phone. If you’ve been looking for a home automation product designed for the Indian market, Oakter’s your best bet right now.
The price? Oakter’s basic home kit includes the hub and two Leaves (6Amp and 16Amp), and is available for ₹4,750. The smart home kit comes with a hub, a 6Amp Leaf, a 16Amp Leaf, a Smart Thermostat, and a Touch Leaf, all for ₹10,000. You can pick up the kit from Amazon India, or head to Oakter’s website to get your hands on its home automation products. You can also customize your kit by ordering directly from Oakter. The company is looking to make its products available offline at brick-and-mortar retailers shortly.
See at Amazon India
Evernote hikes up prices, limits free users to two devices
Evernote has announced that it will increase the prices for its Plus and Premium tiers, while limiting the sync functionality for Basic users to two devices. Under the new pricing plan, Plus users have to shell out $3.99 per month (up from $2.99) or $34.99 yearly, and Premium users will have to pay $7.99 per month (from $5.99) or $69.99 annually.
Plus users get 1GB of uploads, while Premium users can upload 10GB monthly. Meanwhile, Basic users get 60MB uploads. Both paid tiers come with the ability to sync across an unlimited number of devices. From Evernote’s blog:
Beginning today, the prices for our Plus and Premium tiers will change for new subscriptions, and access from Evernote Basic accounts will be limited to two devices. Current subscribers and Basic users who are using more than two devices will have some time to adjust before the changes take effect. If you are impacted, look for a message from us in the coming days.
We don’t take any change to our pricing model lightly, and we never take you for granted. Our goal is to continue improving Evernote for the long-term, investing in our core products to make them more powerful and intuitive while also delivering often-requested new features. But that requires a significant investment of energy, time, and money. We’re asking those people who get the most value from Evernote to help us make that investment and, in return, to reap the benefits that result.
Evernote isn’t a vast corporation, and note-taking isn’t a sideline for us. It’s what we do, and we strive to do it better than anyone else. We hope you’ll continue to capture your thoughts and develop your ideas with us.
Evernote’s FAQ page details how the device limitation will be enforced:
Each device where you’re signed in to Evernote counts toward your device limit.
If you have multiple devices of the same type, each one counts toward your device limit. For example, if you sign in to your Evernote account on two different iPhones, it’s counted as two devices.
If multiple people sign in to separate accounts on the same Evernote app, on the same device, that device counts as one device for each Evernote account. For example, if you and your spouse share a Mac at home and use account switching to sign in to each of your accounts on the same Evernote for Mac app, the Mac counts as one device for you and as one device for your spouse. Each of you can use Evernote on at least one additional device.
I’ve been a long-time user of Evernote Basic, and I use the app for all of my writing needs. I have the app installed on more devices that I can remember, which means that I now have to pony up for the service. I went with the Basic tier as that was more than adequate for my use case, which was to have my notes synced across all of my devices.
Would I be willing to pay to retain that functionality? Absolutely. Also, Evernote’s regional pricing means that I can subscribe to the Plus tier for just ₹850 a year ($12), and the Premium plan for ₹1,500 ($22) annually.
Samsung is giving new Galaxy smartphone owners a $20 voucher for using Samsung Pay
Samsung is rolling out a promotion where it is offering a $20 voucher — redeemable on Samsung’s website — to those those making their first purchase using Samsung Pay. Those that have bought the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+, S6 active, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S7 active or the Galaxy Note 5 on or before June 22 are eligible for the promotion.
To avail the offer, you’ll need to add a qualifying card to Samsung Pay, and make your first purchase between June 22 and August 1. Samsung is also offering a $10 gift card for American Eagle Outfitters, Best Buy, Domino’s, GameStop, Nike, P.F. Chang’s, and Regal Entertainment Group:
Every Friday through July 8th, Samsung Pay will award the first 777 users each hour with a $10 gift card. Be the first to shop on the hour, every hour from 12pm – 7pm ET to participate. You’ll find out if you will receive a gift card instantly!
T-Mobile Galaxy S6 and S6 edge now picking up June security patch
T-Mobile’s Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge are now picking up the June security update. The update comes in at 250MB, and brings new firmware to both phones in addition to the latest security patch.
As noted by SamMobile, the firmware on the Galaxy S6 is incremented to G920TUVU4EPF1, with T-Mobile’s changelog noting an update to the anti-theft feature as well as bug fixes and improvements as other additions.
The Galaxy S6 edge sees its firmware version updated to G925TUVU3EPD1. If you’re rocking either handset, now would be a good time to head into the phone’s settings to manually initiate the download.
Google is making it easier to view your data and set ad preferences
Google is working to make it easier for those who rely on its services and platforms to control what adverts are displayed on PCs, smartphones and other connected hardware. The search giant will also provide a tool that will allow for certain ads to be blocked from being displayed on search results. This will save you some time by not having to manually fire off special requests per ad on each device.
Notifications are being sent out to those using Google’s search engine, its Chrome web browser or Gmail. Fear not if you’ve yet to receive one as it’ll take some weeks for everyone to receive an alert to check out these new tools. From the DailyMail report:
“Google also is introducing a “My Activity” feature that will enable users to delete records of their online search requests and videos watched on YouTube in a single location instead of having to visit different websites or apps. Google’s business has been built on its longtime practice of monitoring its users’ online behavior in an effort to learn about their interests so it can show ads most likely to appeal to them.”
If allowed, Google will now store all your web browsing histories, along with all other collected data in the My Activity area of My Account. This is a massive change from how it’s currently set up, which sees data stored in different locations. This will help create a more consistent online experience using Google’s own services, while also providing Google the means to combat certain privacy complaints.
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