Re-skin Kratos with the offficial PlayStation coloring book
What do you get when you mash up a coloring book for grown-ups with a wildly popular video game platform? The entirely unnecessary, but completely official PlayStation coloring book, featuring colorless artwork from some of video gaming’s most beloved franchises.
“Since the PS one first came into our homes, PlayStation has always been a symbol of quality gameplay, pushing the boundaries of entertainment,” an announcement from Sony EU says, attempting to justify the existence of Art For The Players. “One of the unique factors which has made it such an exciting platform for players is the incredible creativity and eye-wateringly good art at the heart of the games.”
So, what better way to celebrate that boundary-pushing art from games like Bloodborne, Little Big World and Uncharted than to strip it all down to nearly nothing and re-create it with even fewer colors? So, forget the PS4 Pro. And leave your PSVR headset in the box. Next time you’re looking for some PlayStation action, reach for the your PlayStation coloring book and a well-sharpened, old-fashioned set of colored pencils. At least you won’t have to worry about PSN outages.
The book is available for £9.98 from Amazon UK or you can just download and print a couple high-res pages here.
Source: Amazon UK, PlayStation Blog
Single Sign-On Now Available in tvOS 10.1 and iOS 10.2
Sometime over the course of the last few hours, Apple appears to have quietly activated the much-promised Single Sign-On feature for the Apple TV and iOS devices, making it available to developers running the tvOS 10.1 and iOS 10.2 betas.
Single Sign-On, as rumored, appears to support only a limited number of cable services, including Dish, GVTC Communications, Hotwire, and Sling TV.
On the fourth-generation Apple TV, Single Sign-On settings can be accessed by opening the Settings app and navigating to accounts, where a TV Provider section is now available alongside Home Sharing. Customers can sign in to a service at this menu and will presumably be able to access all content associated with that subscription.
On the iPad and the iPhone, the same TV Provider section is available in the Settings app, located below the section for signing into social networks.
Single Sign-On is designed to allow users to sign in once with their cable credentials to access all live cable content available through their cable subscription, even when it’s spread across multiple apps. Apple’s aim with Single Sign-On is to simplify and streamline the television-watching experience on the Apple TV.
Dish and Sling TV are well-known television providers, while GVTC and Hotwire are smaller regional services. Hotwire is available in Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, while GVTC is only available in a small part of Texas, including north of San Antonio and the Gonzales area.
With the limited availability of Single Sign-On, it will only be available to a small number of Apple customers to begin with, but Apple is undoubtedly working to get more providers on board.
Discuss this article in our forums
Daily Briefing: Good news for people who love bad news
Android news for Thursday, November 3rd.
It’s no surprise that Android continues to dominate the smartphone market. Increasingly, better components are getting cheaper, and companies have figured out how to churn out decent devices for under $100.
The problem isn’t market share, but profit. When a company like Motorola — or Lenovo itself — fails to make money from the Android space, and we hear of HTC, LG, and even Samsung struggling to turn their momentum into black ink, you have to wonder how much longer all of them can co-exist. I hope it doesn’t happen, but some consolidation in this industry, more so than just Lenovo picking up Motorola, may be just the ticket.
And now, today’s news!
Qualcomm posts strong Q4 results
Buoyed by new license agreements in China and strong chipset shipments, Qualcomm posted a healthy 13.3% YoY increase in revenue. Overall revenue for the quarter was $6.2 billion, with the company seeing a 4% uptick in chip shipments to 211 million. More
Android continues to dominate the smartphone market
If market share, not profit, is your metric of choice, then Android continues to be the market’s dominant player. According to Strategy Analytics, Android now comprises 88% of worldwide smartphone share, up from 84% the same period a year ago. While smartphone growth has slowed to just 1% year over year, Android shipments still rose in total, reaching 329 million in Q3.
The Huawei Mate 9 is the new big phone to beat
Huawei unveiled its latest, greatest smartphone today, the Huawei Mate 9, and in a Note 7-free market it has become the big phone to beat. We have all the info you need to learn about it and its $1500 Porsche Design special edition. More
Google is making it easier for developers to earn money from the Play Store
Google unveiled a number of new developer tools aimed at helping them make money, and get noticed, in the Play Store. In particular, developers will be able to set temporary subscription discounts. More
Lenovo is struggling to make money from Android, but the Moto Z is a bright spot
The Moto Z sold just over a million units since its debut in July, according to parent Lenovo, and is on track to sell 3 million in the first year. Not huge numbers, especially when compared to Apple and Samsung, but the company says it is on track to turn around Moto’s business by the middle of next year. More
Motorola and Indiegogo will make new Moto Mods happen
Motorola is using Indiegogo as its funding platform for its burgeoning Moto Mods Development Kit (MDK), and all great ideas could get the help of Lenovo in the amount of $1 million in funding. That, plus Hackathons, will make it easier for these new modular add-ons to go from fiction to fact. More
Samsung Gear S3 lands in the U.S. on November 18
It may not run Android, but Samsung’s latest oversized smartwatch is coming to the U.S. on November 18 for $349, a hefty starting price but, if you recall, the same as its predecessor’s debut last year. Some things never change. More
That’s it for today! See you tomorrow 🙂
Lenovo hoping to spur Moto Mod development with new investment, partnerships
Several months removed from the launch of the Moto Z, Lenovo is still courting developers to make Moto Mods
Even though the initial wonderment of the modular Moto Z family has worn off, Lenovo isn’t slowing down its thoughts on getting the next generation of Moto Mods out there into the world — and it doesn’t want to make them itself, it wants independent companies to. This all started with the launch of the Moto Mods Developer Kit (MDK), and continues on today with three new initiatives that get more companies (and individuals) interested in making Moto Mods.
Starting today and running through the end of January 2017, hardware developers can design their own Moto Mod and enter to win a Moto Z. Lenovo is also hosting Moto Mod hackathons to bring hardware developers together, with the first one taking place in New York City in December and another in January in San Francisco. Winners of the Moto Mod design contest and hackathons will have the opportunity to meet the Moto Mod development team in Chicago, receive potential investment from the companies and even have their Mods distributed by Verizon.
Moto is putting extra time and money into the Moto Mods program, and for good reason.
Developers who create prototype Moto Mods will also be able to launch a campaign on Indiegogo to raise funding to potentially make it into a consumer-ready product. Indiegogo experts will offer help with setting up the campaign, while Moto and Verizon will help promote the best campaigns to Moto Z owners who would be potential backers of the projects.
Lenovo has already partnered with well-known brands like JBL, Incipio and Hasselblad to launch Moto Mods — which is far better than LG ever did — but in order for the ecosystem of these swappable components to really flourish you need even more participation. Together with the promise from Lenovo that the Moto Mods platform is sticking around for future versions of Moto phones, these developer-focused offerings of help, investment and structure are extremely important.
Whether or not people will eventually back and fund a ton of new Moto Mods on Indiegogo is kind of secondary — the important part is the show of support for independent hardware devs, and getting the MDK into as many hands as possible.
Moto Z, Moto Z Force and Moto Z Play
- Our Moto Z review!
- Moto Z Play preview
- The Hasselblad True Zoom is a Mod to remember
- Moto Z specs
- Moto Mods custom backs
- The latest Moto Z news
- Discuss in our Moto Z forums
Motorola
Verizon
HTC Vive 2 VR headset aka Oasis is in the works
Even though high-end VR headsets aren’t selling so well among consumers, HTC is giving it another try.
HTC introduced the HTC Vive VR headset last year and started selling it this year, and now the company is rumoured to be working on a second-generation version, which is codenamed Oasis, according to a tweet by @LlabTooFeR, who has tweeted accurate information in the past.
HTC is working in refreshed Vive headset… Internal codename is Oasis…
— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) November 2, 2016
We really don’t know much about this headset, but HTC is rumoured to be working on a wireless version Oculus VR is also working on a standalone version of the Rift, and even Google is thought to be making a cord-free VR/AR headset. It’s unclear if the next Vive will be standalone or simply a slimmer and lighter version, but a new one is probably coming, and it might launch at the end of 2016. But that’s just speculation.
HTC could unveil even the headset at CES 2017. Stay tuned to Pocket-lint’s HTC hub for all the latest.
The Deep Learning & AI Introductory Bundle will teach you the secrets behind today’s tech marvels (91 per cent off)
Deep Learning has become the driving force behind today’s innovations.
From self-driving cars to face-recognition software, we are seeing the results of this science firsthand. If you’re interested in exploring Deep Learning for yourself, getting the Deep Learning & Artificial Intelligence Introductory Bundle is a great way to start, and it’s on sale for just £32.11 ($39 USD).
The Deep Learning & Artificial Intelligence Introductory Bundle features the following courses:
- Deep Learning Prerequisites: Linear Regression in Python
- Deep Learning Prerequisites: Logistic Regression in Python
- Data Science: Deep Learning in Python
- Data Science: Practical Deep Learning in Theano & TensorFlow
Dive into this 12-hour collection, and you’ll discover the techniques used to create neural networks. These networks are groups of machines that effectively learn as they’re fed more information, making them perfect for applications that require a high volume of data.
You’ll start by learning about linear and logistic regression, the sets of algorithms that form the cornerstone of any neural network. This course bundle comes loaded with hands-on projects designed to sharpen your understanding, like using linear regression to predict a patient’s blood pressure. You’ll also flex your programming skills using tools like Python, TensorFlow, and Theano to build your own neural networks and explore their groundbreaking uses.
The Deep Learning & Artificial Intelligence Introductory Bundle normally retails for £395, but Pocket-lint readers can get it on sale for only £32.11 ($39 USD).
The ARMOR-X Mini Flexible Phone Tripod makes for more dynamic photoshoots (42 per cent off)
Your smartphone might have a nice camera, but it won’t do you much good if you can’t get it to shoot at the right angle.
Fortunately, the ARMOR-X Mini Flexible Phone Tripod is here to open up your shooting options. On sale for only £16.40 ($19.99 USD), this tripod lets you take dynamic photos on the go.
Designed with flexible legs, the ARMOR-X Mini Flexible Phone Tripod lets you take photos at unique angles. You can mount the legs on uneven surfaces or wrap them around fixtures like streetlamps and trees for a more dynamic shot. What’s more, the feet are covered with durable rubber, ensuring that they won’t slide around.
While traditional tripods are heavy and bulky, the ARMOR-X Mini Flexible Phone Tripod is made to be lightweight and portable. Thanks to its collapsible design, you can take this tripod on your outdoor photoshoots without slowing yourself down. It’s also made for universal compatibility, so you can use a wide range of phones to take pictures.
The ARMOR-X Mini Flexible Phone Tripod also comes with a Bluetooth remote shutter. With this handy device, you can easily snap photos wirelessly, allowing you to experiment with even more creative shots.
The ARMOR-X Mini Flexible Phone Tripod normally goes for £28.70, but Pocket-lint readers can take 42 per cent off and get it on sale for just £16.40 ($19.99 USD).
GoPro’s production issues cut into its sales and stock price
Despite including the release of its new Karma drone and Hero5 camera, GoPro’s quarterly earnings report had some bad news today. With sales falling to $240.6 million (compared to $400 million in the same period last year), and a forecast for the year that dropped from a range of $1.35 billion to $1.5 billion, to $1.25 billion to $1.3 billion, shareholders sent its price diving to under $10 per share in after-hours trading. The company lost $104 million during the quarter, but founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman said: “Looking forward to 2017, we expect to return to profitability, driven by the strength of our new products.” On a call about the earnings, Woodman said the company launched fewer cameras and drones than expected due to production issues that will also probably keep it from meeting demand during the holiday season.
His optimism was more easily appreciated two years ago when the stock price climbed above $80, and displays were rolling out in stores like Best Buy, long before it had to quickly slash prices on products like the Hero4 Session. Now, investors are spooked by the lowered results and a poor report from fellow gadget maker Fitbit yesterday. Still, the two new products, plus updates like its GoPro Plus cloud-based service, Quik video editing app and other tweaks provide something to look forward to — especially if we all start taking more exciting vacations.
Source: GoPro Q2 2016 Earnings
MIT and NASA’s flexible wing could be the future of aviation
A wing is one of the most technologically advanced pieces of an aircraft, designed with all manner of moving parts that take advantage of the Bernoulli Principle. Previous efforts to make the wing more flexible, like a bird’s, have run into snags too. “The biggest problem was that most of these attempts relied on deforming the wing through the use of mechanical control structures within the wing,” MIT News writes. “But these structures tended to be so heavy that they canceled out any efficiency advantages produced by the smoother aerodynamic surfaces.” More than that, they apparently made the wing more complicated and had some issues with reliability.
New research from MIT and NASA could bring the wing into the 21st century, though. And it involves rebuilding it from scratch, in a manner that makes the entire piece flexible rather than just moving the flaps. Using a an “array of tiny, lightweight structural pieces” dubbed “digital materials,” the scientists were able to put something together that was able to twist when put under pressure from a pair of motors on the wingtip.
MIT describes the wings as a sort of skin comprised of many overlapping identical pieces that can move while still being as smooth as needed for aerodynamics. What’s more, they could even be broken down back to their base parts and reassembled into something else. Perhaps the biggest benefit is the impact this sort of thing could have on efficiency, both for aerodynamics and fuel.
“Wind-tunnel tests of this structure showed that it at least matches the aerodynamic properties of a conventional wing, at about one-tenth the weight,” the post reads.
Test flights have been pretty impressive so far, and the team is looking to bring the tech to drones as a way to possibly deliver medicine in rural areas of developing countries. The applications go beyond airplanes too, as the materials could be used for infinitely bendable robot appendages or even skyscrapers or bridges — structures that benefit from being flexible and strong.
Via: MIT News
Source: Soft Robotics (PDF)
VRMark will tell you if your PC is ready for Virtual Reality
Oculus and Valve’s own virtual reality compatibility tests will tell you if your PC is VR-ready, but how ready is a bit of a specification guessing game. Will you be able to run games at their maximum settings, or are you just going to scrape past virtual reality’s minimum requirements? Futuremark’s trying to make that question easier to answer with a new benchmarking suite designed specifically for virtual reality.
Think of it as a more comprehensive version of Valve and Oculus VR’s official compatibility tools — not only does VRMark check the system’s hardware against both the Vive and Rift’s minimum recommended specification requirements, but it also runs it through one of two live VR demos to make sure it stays above the target frame-rate. The VRMark ‘orange Room’ is the basic test most users will need to pass for a good VR experience, but the suite also has more advanced ‘blue room’ designed to simulate the highest fidelity VR experiences available today. Both tests will give users a straightforward score and several comparable metrics. A score of 5000 in in the orange test, for instance, meets the minmum requirements for a VR-ready PC. If your machine scores any lower, you risk having a sub-part (and potentially nauseating) VR experience.
If you already have a VR headset, you’ll be able to experience your PC’s performance first-hand, too. In addition to offering straight benchmarks, VRMark has an “experience” mode for each of its tests, allowing you to personally view a virtual reality museum of flying space ships and alien UFOs. Just make sure your PC is up to snuff with the benchmarks, first.
Via: UploadVR
Source: Futuremark
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