Microsoft and Xamarin Plan WWDC Afterparty to Discuss Development of iOS Apps
Microsoft recently announced that it will be holding an afterparty at WWDC this year, taking place next week on Monday, June 13 following Apple’s State of the Union keynote (via WinBeta). In partnership with its software-focused company Xamarin, Microsoft’s party is centered around “The Future of Apps,” and is confirmed to last from 5 PM to 8:30 PM PDT, located in Twitter’s headquarters near the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
Any iOS and OS X developer is welcome to attend Microsoft’s party, even if you aren’t directly attending WWDC, and the company is also giving anyone who checks in a chance to win either an Apple Watch Sport or Xbox One every hour. Microsoft hopes to discuss the latest iOS apps and updates created by the company at the event — everything from Outlook to Excel and SwiftKey apps for iPhone and iPad devices — including their future on the platform.
Likewise, Xamarin’s inclusion in the afterparty will generate some talk surrounding its Test Cloud platform, which lets developers run and test every feature of their apps “on more than a thousand devices,” without having to worry about inconsistencies fragmenting data due to different smartphone designs and OS interfaces. The company’s tools in the past have helped developers design apps for iOS, Android, and Windows platforms.
Xamarin Test Cloud lets teams test every feature on more than a thousand devices and on every commit. Catching bugs before release shortens development cycles and allows more time for innovation. We’ll also be offering exclusive one-on-one time with a Xamarin Test Cloud Engineer to walk you through the best way to automate testing on your apps.
Any developer interested in attending Microsoft and Xamarin’s WWDC afterparty can RSVP to the event here.
Related Roundup: WWDC 2016
Tag: Microsoft
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Apple Pay Said to Launch in Switzerland on June 13
Apple Pay will expand to Switzerland on Monday, June 13, marking the seventh country where the mobile payments service is available, according to German-language financial website Finews (via iPhone-Ticker).
Swiss private bank Cornèr Bank will purportedly be one of the first participating issuers in Switzerland, but the report did not specify if the country’s two “big banks” UBS and Credit Suisse will also support Apple Pay upon launch.
Apple Pay’s arrival in Switzerland has been expected since Apple filed a trademark for the service with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in February. The U.K. is currently the only other European country with Apple Pay.
Apple is “working rapidly” to expand the service to additional regions, including Hong Kong and Spain, and possibly France, Brazil, and Japan, in partnership with American Express, MasterCard, Visa, and other payment processors. Apple Pay has also expanded to ANZ in Australia, five large banks in Singapore, and Canada’s big five banks BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD Canada Trust.
(Thanks, Nicolas!)
Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Switzerland
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Apple Seeds Second iOS 9.3.3 Beta to Public Beta Testers
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 9.3.3 update to public beta testers, one day after seeding the second iOS 9.3.3 beta to developers. iOS 9.3.3 has been in testing since May 23 and comes three weeks after the release of iOS 9.3.2, an update focusing primarily on bug fixes.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple’s beta testing program will receive the iOS 9.3.3 update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on their iOS device.
Those who want to be a part of Apple’s beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and OS X betas.
As another minor 9.x.x update, iOS 9.3.3 includes under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements to address issues that have been discovered since the release of iOS 9.3.2. No outward-facing changes or immediately apparently bug fixes have been discovered in the first two developer betas of iOS 9.3.3.
Related Roundup: iOS 9
Tag: iOS 9.3.3
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Apple Seeds Second OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan Beta to Public Beta Testers
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.6 beta to public beta testers, one day after releasing the second OS X 10.11.6 beta to developers. OS X 10.11.6 has been in testing since May 23 and the second beta comes three weeks after the public release of OS X 10.11.5, the fifth update to the El Capitan operating system.
Beta 2 is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store for those who are enrolled in Apple’s beta testing program. Mac users who want to join the program can sign up on Apple’s beta testing website.
OS X 10.11.6, like most of the previous updates to the El Capitan operating system, appears to be minor in scale, focusing mainly on bug fixes and security improvements that are not immediately obvious to testers and developers. No outward-facing changes or major bug fixes were discovered in the first two developer betas.
Related Roundup: OS X El Capitan
Tag: OS X 10.11.6
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How to register to vote online – CNET
As the presumptive nominees for the Republican and Democratic parties are beginning to emerge, there’s no better time to take a moment to ensure you’re registered to vote.
Depending on where you live in the US, you may be able to register online instead of having to visit an office or fill out a form and mail it in.
To figure out the registration process for your state, visit vote.usa.gov on your phone or computer and select your state from the list, then follow the instructions.
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Jason Cipriani/CNET
For states that offer online registration, the process usually involves following a link to your state’s respective registration site and entering your name, date of birth and driver’s license number.
For states that don’t offer online registration, such as Arkansas, the site directly links to the necessary form you’ll need to fill out and mail in.
It’s streamlined and incredibly simple.
Here are some additional details to keep in mind:
- Currently 31 states plus the District of Columbia offer online registration. You can view the complete list here.
- You must register before you can vote in all states, save for North Dakota.
- In order to ensure you are registered in time to vote in the November election, register now. Depending on your state, you’ll need to be registered up to 30 days before the election or you’ll have the option of registering on election day. But why chance it? Register now.
- Some states allow you to change your address or alter your party affiliation through the same website used for registration.
For more information surrounding registration for primaries and caucuses, or other notable information visit this website.
Jabra Halo Smart Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
The Jabra Halo Smart ships in late June and costs $80
Jabra
Welcome another neckband-style headphone to the world: The Jabra Halo Smart.
What’s special about it? Well, since it’s from Jabra one would hope that it works really well as a headset for making calls. And that’s exactly what Jabra is billing it as, touting its “high-quality microphones with integrated wind noise protection for enhanced in-call quality.”
It also has very good battery life. At least according to the specs, which peg it at 17 hours of talk time and up to 15 hours of music listening.
I can’t tell you how well it fits or sounds because I haven’t tried it yet, but we’ll have a full review once we get our hands on a review sample. In the meantime, here are the Halo Smart’s highlights, according to Jabra (sorry, UK and Australian readers, no word on international pricing yet):
- Jabra Halo Smart Silver Edition is available exclusively at Best Buy stores and online at http://www.bestbuy.com in late June with an MSRP of $80 (around AU$110 or £55, converted)
- Jabra Halo Smart is also available in black at Jabra.com in July
- Fits the 79 percent of users who want one set of headphones for both calls and music, but find the call experience on most music devices inadequate
- Built for calls, Jabra Halo Smart uses high-quality microphones with integrated wind noise protection for enhanced in-call quality, and subtle vibration alert to ensure calls are never missed
- Excellent sound quality thanks to 10mm speakers and Jabra’s audio capabilities
- Neckband wearing style for comfortable, all-day use and seamless switching between calls, music and media
- Extended battery life provides up to 17 hours talk time and up to 15 hours of music listening
- Dedicated Google Now or Siri button lets you use your voice for more
FIFA 17 release date, trailer and Frostbite Engine graphics revealed
Electronic Arts has released a teaser trailer for the next FIFA game and the biggest revelation so far is that the graphics have been completely overhauled.
That’s because FIFA 17 has been rebuilt from the ground up using the Frostbite graphics engine, as seen in Battlefield games and, more recently, Star Wars Battlefront.
In addition, EA has revealed that the game will be available from 27 September in North America, 29 September everywhere else – a week after the release of the best Pro Evolution Soccer game we’ve seen in years. PES 2017 itself has had a major graphical refresh, with Metal Gear Solid 5’s Fox Engine being used for that game.
We’ve already played a first-look build of the new PES but will have to wait until E3 2016 starts to get our hands-on FIFA 17. Thankfully, that’s this weekend coming.
READ: PES 2017 preview: First extended play of potential FIFA beater
It will debut during the publisher’s pre-E3 press conference – EA Play – on Sunday, 12 June. That starts at 9am BST and you can watch the livestream at ea.com/play2016.
For now, sit back and watch the teaser trailer, which does have some sneaky peeks at what will be possible with the Frostbite Engine when it comes to rendering footy players.
Let’s hope the gameplay matches what are bound to be incredible visuals.
OnePlus 3 specs all but confirmed in detailed leak, here’s what to expect
Despite the OnePlus CEO showing of pictures taken with the OnePlus 3 and an official release date already dished out, the leaks keep flowing. The latest has all but completely revealed the OnePlus 3 specs.
Spotted by Hungarian site Napidroid, the GFXBench test details what’s claimed to be the specs of a OnePlus 3, also named A300x. This is filled with specs including camera details that corroborate with the photos shown by the OnePlus CEO.
The leaked specs include, as previously rumoured, a 5.5-inch 1080p display. The very capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 CPU will be running the handset at 2.2Ghz with Adreno 530 GPU and will be backed by a jaw-dropping 6GB of RAM plus a generous 64GB storage.
The cameras are listed as 15MP and 7MP. Since these aren’t sensor sizes, usually, this is likely a rounding issue. The OnePlus CEO already shared photos taken on the OnePlus 3 and the data showed that was on a 16-megapixel camera. Also the front facing selfie camera has leaked before as an 8-megapixel shooter.
The system running the phone was listed as Android 6.0.1 with the OxygenOS, as expected. It was also listed as having one SIM slot and there was no mention of a fingerprint reader.
OnePlus is due to unveil the OnePlus 3 at a VR event aired to its Loop headset owners on 14 June at 17:30 BST.
READ: OnePlus 3: What’s the story so far?
Napidroid
Life-drawing at the Royal Academy with an iPad Pro
As the model in front of us drops her dressing gown to reveal her naked body, we realise the enormity of what we are about to do. We’ve drawn before, the odd doodle here and there, but never at a life-drawing class, and certainly not in the famous Life Room at the Royal Academy in central London.
The room, which has seen the likes of Turner and Constable learn their trade, hasn’t traditionally been open to anyone. When the Royal Academy was started almost 250 years ago by a group of artists, sculptors, and architects, it could take some students up to 10 years to be allowed in to the Life Room to draw a subject. Yet, there we were about to give it a “go”.
Taking a class with the iPad Pro
We’ve been allowed to bypass the basic skill qualifications and years of learning (over 800 people applied for the 14 places in 2016) because we are here to learn how to draw using with the iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil.
Teaching the class is Mark Hampson, head of fine art processes at the Royal Academy, and probably one of the bravest lecturers at the RA to allow a gaggle of amateurs into the building.
To capture the experience, we are using Procreate for iPad. The app (£4.49/$5.99), best described as Photoshop for drawing artists, even goes as far as describing itself as “the most advanced painting app ever designed for a mobile device”.
The painting app allows you to sketch, paint, change brushes, work over multiple layers, create any colour, choose your canvas size, and that’s just the start.
Pocket-lint
Layering your drawings
It is the layers feature that Hampson is most interested in to get us started. Working through a series of tasks to build up a drawing, it is one of the features of Procreate that we like the most.
We’ve never used the app before, but it’s easy to get to grips with balancing a wide range of options with an interface that is simple and intuitive to use.
We first start by plotting key points of the body using the “6B pencil” brush. Once we’ve done with that, we move on to a new layer, which Hampson calls “energy”. Here the task is to draw the model in front of us without taking the Pencil off the screen. It’s much harder than it sounds, but certainly frees our creativity.
The next layer encourages us to express our abstract creativity. Procreate features 12 different brush collections, each with a further eight defined brushes within each collection. Beyond that you can take things further by changing the size and the opacity of the brush. Brushes range from charcoals to abstract to more traditional options that recreate watercolour or oil painting.
The abstract brushes are as abstract as you might expect. We opted for Polygons, Opticon, and Spicule for our drawing. It’s an effect that to create on paper would have taken hours, and yet here we are in the Royal Academy creating (for better or worse) the effect in seconds. When we go wrong there is an undo button that goes back hundreds of steps, while a pinch to zoom feature allows us to work the image at close range.
One of the best ways to create a life-drawing, Hampson tells us, is to not only look at the shades and light on the body, but to look at the negative space around the body. That’s our next layer before moving on to attempt the same trick for inside the body too.
Multiple layers and around an hour later and, unbeknown to us, we’ve created our first life drawing without picking up a piece of paper or a physical paint brush or piece of charcoal.
Mark Hampson’s five tips for drawing like a master
1. Look at the model more than your paper
There is no point in having a figure in front of you if you don’t learn from it. Take the time to familiarise yourself with its weights, proportions and pose.
2. Focus on the wood not the trees
Don’t obsess about capturing isolated details and treat the drawing as a cohesive whole. Give equal attention to everything you draw.
3. Don’t avoid the difficult bits
Fragments and close ups can be interesting but are often embraced as an excuse to avoid facing up to the challenges of drawing heads, faces, hands and feet.
4. Practice may make perfect, but…
… technical perfection rarely makes great art. Learn to develop the differences and imperfections in your drawing. Creative interpretation is more valuable than sedulous aping. Experimentation is essential in developing a unique style and approach.
5. Not every drawing you make will be a masterpiece
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Correcting, erasing, and on occasion abandoning a failing drawing is worthwhile. There is no shame in starting again sometimes.
Pocket-lint
Sharing made easy
When we’ve drawn things on paper sharing them has perhaps been the hardest part. You’ve got to be physically there. Here Procreate plays its digital card allowing you to not only export the drawing in a number of different formats, but also as a video that has silently recorded your drawing efforts from the moment you created the canvas.
The end result, which is automatically sped up by the app, is a fascinating insight into how you’ve journeyed through your creation, mistakes and all.
Fit for exhibition
Ours probably isn’t, but we’ve learnt a lot and found that for beginners the iPad Pro is a great place to start.
So can the iPad replace paper? That’s a question we put to Hampson over a drink in the RA member’s bar afterwards and the answer is, as you would expect, politically answered.
Hampson, who has only been using the iPad Pro for drawing for a couple of weeks, tells us that the freedom the iPad delivers is certainly welcomed and that it brings a wealth of different possibilities to the artist’s arsenal.
Best games coming in 2016: Top PS4, Xbox One, Wii U and PC trailers for upcoming games
With E3 2016 soon to start and game release schedules ramping up as we enter the second half of 2016, it’s a great time to be a gamer.
Whether you have a gaming PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Nintendo Wii U there are plenty of amazing games coming that you’ll want to keep an eye out for. And if you own multiple platforms, you’re very fortunate indeed.
We’ve put together the current trailers for some of the biggest games still to be released this year, in order to give you an idea of what to pop on your wishlist. Some are multi-format, some exclusive to one machine or another. All are well worth a watch.
We’ll also be updating this round-up regularly, especially with E3 trailers as they are released, so bookmark and come back often. All games are listed in order of release date.
READ: E3 2016: All the launches, games and consoles to expect
Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps
Release date: 21 JuneFormats: PS4, PC
Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE
Release date: 24 JuneFormats: Wii U
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Release date: 28 JuneFormats: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Wii U, Xbox 360, PS3, PS Vita, 3DS
No Man’s Sky
Release date: 9 AugustFormats: PS4, PC
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Release date: 23 AugustFormats: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Madden NFL 17
Release date: 23 AugustFormats: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360, PS3
FIFA 17
Release date: 27 September (US), 29 September (UK & ROW)Formats: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Final Fantasy 15
Release date: 30 SeptemberFormats: PS4, Xbox One
NBA 2K17
Release date: September (TBC)Formats: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Mafia III
Release date: 7 OctoberFormats: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Gears of War 4
Release date: 11 OctoberFormats: Xbox One
Battlefield 1
Release date: 21 OctoberFormats: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Civilization VI
Release date: 21 OctoberFormats: PC
WWE 2K17
Release date: October (TBC)Formats: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Release date: 4 NovemberFormats: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Dishonored 2
Release date: 11 NovemberFormats: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Gran Turismo Sport
Release date: 15 NovemberFormats: PS4
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