Raspberry Pi gives its PC-on-a-stick a big speed boost

Raspberry Pi has taken its latest computing board and squished it onto the stick-sized Compute Module 3, giving it about ten times the power of the original Compute Module. Unlike the Raspberry Pi 3 upon which it’s based, however, the device is built for industrial applications, prototypers and advanced hobbyists, not students or casual users. It can now play that part a lot better, thanks to a 1.2GHz Broadcom processor, 1GB of RAM (double that of the original) and upgradeable storage.

Raspberry Pi points out that NEC used the device in its latest signage and presentation monitors (below), giving you an idea as to the intended market. It fits into a standard DDR2 SODIMM form factor, making it easy to find inexpensive sockets from several manufacturers. Developers will also want the Compute Module IO Board, giving you Pi-like pin and flexi connectors, MicroSD, HDMI and USB “so that you have an entire system that can boot Raspbian (or the OS of your choice),” the organization wrote.

The idea with the Compute Module is “to provide the ‘team in a garage’ with easy access to the same technology as the big guys,” Raspberry Pi wrote. As such, manufacturers can add it into a dumb device to make it smart, since it can single-handedly do processing, memory and routing chores. At the same time, it should be relatively easy to program for anyone with some Pi experience.

The Compute Module 3 with upgradeable MicroSD storage runs $30 (£27), but if you’re fine with 4GB of fixed flash memory, you can go for a $25 (£22) “Lite” module. The IO board is sold separately for £96 (around $116) or together with the Compute Module 3 for £126 (about $143). For details on how to get it in the UK, US and elsewhere, hit Raspberry Pi’s announcement post.

Via: PC World

Source: Raspberry Pi

Virtual Credit Card Service ‘boon’ Now Available to Apple Pay Customers in France

Wirecard launched its mobile payment solution, boon, in France today, allowing iPhone owners to use prepaid virtual credit cards in their Apple Pay wallet.

Launched in the U.K. in May of last year, boon is independent of any bank and offers a pre-paid account with a digital MasterCard that users can top up via wire transfer, debit or credit card. The moble payment app works at any NFC-enabled terminal where the MasterCard contactless logo appears.

“By launching boon with Apple Pay in France, even more users in Europe can experience a new level of mobile payments without being a customer of a specific bank. Thanks to its ease of use and maximum security standards, boon is a state-of-the-art payment solution”, said Georg von Waldenfels, Executive Vice President Consumer Solutions with Wirecard.

Users who want to pay with the mobile app boon outside of France, can upgrade to the level “boon. PLUS” which has a maximum top-up limit of 5000 euros and does not include any additional costs.  

Apple Pay became available in France in June of last year, with cards issued by Banque Populaire, Ticket Restaurant, Carrefour Banque, and Caisse d’Epargne available for use on eligible devices.

The boon app is a free download from the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
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Nest Smart Home Products Coming to Four More European Countries

Smart home brand Nest has announced it is making its products available in four more countries across Europe, with Spain, Italy, Germany, and Austria being added to its official retail roster.

From February 15, customers in the above regions will now be able to buy the Nest 3.0 learning thermostat (249 euros), the Protect smoke alarm (119 euros), and the company’s indoor and outdoor cameras (199 euros). Nest products can be pre-ordered now from Amazon, local retailers, and select energy suppliers.

Now that we’re in four more countries, twice as many European homes have the chance to become Nest homes. We also plan to make our products available through even more energy, insurance and telco partners, as well as enlist the help of thousands of Nest Pro installers. So getting and installing Nest products, and connecting them to Works with Nest products, will be simple.

The latest market expansion will be a boost to Nest. The company’s products are used in homes in over 190 countries, but were previously only officially sold and supported in seven. The last market rollout occurred in September 2014. Nest says it will continue to expand into more countries as demand continues to grow.

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Nintendo Switch launch line up is poor but “not be all and end all” for console

Most who have played with a Nintendo Switch so far will agree that it has great potential. It is a clever piece of technology that has a chance of finding a gap in the market and therefore do much better than its predecessor, the Wii U.

However, almost everyone also agrees that the meagre launch line-up of games do it no favours – at least on day one.

Only five titles are so far confirmed for release day, 3 March: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Bomberman R, 1 2 Switch, Skylanders Imaginators and Just Dance 2017. They will be followed in March by Snipperclips, Fast RMX and Has Been Heroes, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – an enhanced remaster of the Wii U classic – to follow in April.

Take a look at a sampling of titles for #NintendoSwitch from Nintendo and our third party partners coming this year with more on the way! pic.twitter.com/aYSizTQDsS

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 13, 2017

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• All the Nintendo Switch games: Launch titles and every game for 2017 revealed

Other third-party games might bolster that list, but it’s not exactly overflowing with titles that’ll convince non-die hard Nintendo fans to part with more than £300 from the off (£280 for the Switch, much more for a game or two).

Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime isn’t worried, however. A proliferation of launch games is less important that ensuring regular, quality releases appear throughout the year: “Launch day is not the be-all and the end-all,” he told CNET.

“It really is the steady pacing of content that continually reinforces for the people who bought into the platform why they made a smart choice, as well as what compels people who might be sitting on the sidelines to jump in.”

Certainly, putting Super Mario Odyssey down as a “holiday 2017” release could be the biggest move, ensuring that Switch has a great Christmas. And the Wii U had 34 launch titles when it came out in 2012 and look what happened to that. Fils-Aime believes a new strategy is needed this time around.

NASA video recreates Huygen probe’s historic landing on Titan

Before NASA’s Cassini probe captured the most detailed images of Saturn we’ve ever seen, it dropped its companion Huygens on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. The probe’s historic landing took place on June 14th, 2005. Now, the space agency has taken the data and actual photos Huygens sent 12 years ago to recreate part of its two-and-a-half hour descent into Titan’s hazy atmosphere. The video, which you can watch below the fold, features what the probe saw from an altitude of around 6 miles, including the moon’s rugged highlands and deep ravines.

Thanks to both Cassini and Huygens, we’re now more familiar with Saturn and its complex moon, where temperatures can drop as low as hundreds of degrees below freezing. Huygens remains the only spacecraft we’ve ever landed on a celestial body outside the solar system. However, that could change if NASA pushes through with its plan to send a sub to find any sign of life in Titan’s methane sea.

Source: NASA JPL

Filmic Pro app makes it easy to color correct iPhone 7 video

If “the best camera is the one that’s with you,” then you always have a pretty damn good camera if you own an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus. To give you more options than Apple provides, Filmic has just released a beta version of its Pro app that lets you shoot 4K video in a “log” or flat profile, a feature found on pricey cinema cameras like the Red Weapon. Filmmaker Matteo Bertoli got his hands on it and showed exactly why you’d want video output that, at first, looks fairly drab (above, top). The idea is that you can then adjust the video so that it really pops (above, bottom) without losing details in the shadows and highlights.

“Of course the footage will look weird at the beginning, but this is totally normal,” wrote Bertoli in PetaPixel. “Once we start grading the clips in post production we’ll be able to apply a look-up table (LUT) … [and] capture those details in the shadows and in the highlights that would otherwise be lost.”

To prove his point, Bertoli shot 4K test footage in downtown Salt Lake City using the beta log profile and produced one of the more filmic looking iPhone videos you’ll ever see. At the same time, he made the original, ungraded footage available for download, so you can see the stark difference with the original and try some color correction tricks yourself.

The main problem with the app, he said, was that the darker areas of the image tended to be noisy, so he had to “crush” the blacks (reduce to a single black tone) to avoid it. “This happened probably because the app is still a beta or maybe just because the sensor on a phone is super small,” he said. “What is sure is that you will notice way more noise shooting log on any camera.”

That’s a fairly small quibble, though, and as mentioned, the app is still in beta for now. Mainly, if you’re a student filmmaker with an iPhone 7, the app will let you “experiment in post production without spending a fortune for a camera,” Bertoli wrote. There’s no date for when the feature is coming, but Filmic Pro wrote on Twitter that it’s “coming soon … stay tuned for the official release announcement.”

Via: No Film School

Source: PetaPixel

Apple Hikes U.K. App Store Prices by 25 Percent Due to Weak Pound

Apple announced changes to its App Store pricing policy today in India, Turkey, and the U.K., citing fluctuating foreign exchange rates and taxation changes as reasons behind the move.

In the United Kingdom, Apple is rising the prices for apps and in-app purchases by over 25 percent, in light of the weak pound exchange rate, which has been down against the dollar by about 19 percent since the Brexit vote.

Apps on sale for $0.99 cents will now cost an equivalent £0.99, rather than £0.79. Apps at price Tier 2 will cost £1.99, up from £1.49, with similar equivalent hikes for higher tiers and in-app purchases.

In India, a service tax of 14 percent as well as levies of 0.5 percent were introduced by the government from December 1, 2016. In Romania, the tax rate has increased from 19 to 20 percent. Apple will submit the collected revenue to authorities on developers’ behalf.

Apple’s notification to developers today covered the iOS and Mac App Store, but price increases are likely to come into effect across iTunes purchases like TV shows and movies. In October, Apple hiked Sterling prices across its Mac lineup for similar reasons.

The App Store price increases are set to go live in the next seven days.

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‘Resident Evil 7’ Season Pass gives you access to bonus episodes

A Steam page for Resident Evil 7’s Season Pass has revealed what you’re getting if you pay extra for the feature. The pass apparently comes with two volumes of “banned footage” composed of three episodes each, as well as an additional story content. Volume 1’s episodes are entitled Nightmare, Bedroom and Ethan Must Die, while Volume 2’s are 21, Daughters and Jack’s 55th Birthday.

All these come bundled with the Resident Evil 7 Deluxe Edition that costs $90. The Steam page doesn’t have a price for the pass as a standalone download, but considering the basic game costs $60, it’ll likely set you back at least $30. It’s also unclear when all these extras will drop, just that they’ll all be available by December 31st, 2017.

Source: Steam

Mastercard built a mobile marketplace for farmers in East Africa

More than two billion people across the world continue to stay unbanked. One of the biggest reasons for that exclusion is accessibility. In developing countries in particular, low-income groups tend to get left out of the fold because they don’t have access to basic banking services. But now, as simple services like mobile banking have proven to help people transition out of poverty in Africa, organizations are starting to focus on the financial inclusion of vulnerable communities. 2Kuze, a mobile payment solution from Mastercard Labs, is one such initiative that is built for farmers in Kenya.

2Kuze, which translates to “let’s grow together” in Swahili, is a digital platform that connects farmers with agents and buyers for cashless transactions. When a buyer enters an online inquiry, the system generates a text message that taps into the farmer community. A farmer can choose to respond with an offer to provide that produce entirely or pitch in with what’s available at the time. An agent, who works with Mastercard Labs, then goes in to verify that offer and to negotiate the price with the farmer.

Traditionally, farmers have had to walk for miles to buy and sell or make and receive payments. But with 2Kuze, which is currently being used by about 2,000 Kenyan farmers, they’re instantly connected with all the critical points of the marketplace.

The solution is the result of a $11 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It has been in the making since late 2015, when the Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion in Nairobi, Kenya, launched a brainstorm session that brought together designers, developers and local non-profit partners to find a solution for smallholder farming communities. It’s a group that makes up a large chunk of about eight million Kenyan farmers who rely entirely on their produce to support their households. But over the years, faced with climate and economic changes, small-scale farmers who continue to cultivate small stretches of land for a low output have failed to break out of the poverty cycle.

2Kuze is built for small-scale farmers who have less than one to two acres of farmland. It’s a community that comprises 80 percent of the farmers in Africa.

Bringing low-income groups into the fold of digital financial services has gained significance in recent years. Improving their connectivity with the larger economic landscape helps them manage their finances in a powerful way that has only been made possible by a mobile revolution. Services like phone banking allow safer and less-tedious transactions. It enables people to track their transactions and also encourages savings, especially among women in developing countries.

While there isn’t a dearth of ideas, the lack of infrastructure often tends to get in the way of executing those solutions. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been working towards customized low-cost digital solutions for rural populations across the world. In countries like Bangladesh and India, for instance, where banking infrastructure and mobile connectivity continues to get in the way of digitizing financial transactions, the Foundation has been working with local partners to develop a combination of digital banking and physical financial institutions. So you could conduct transactions online but also have access to facilities for converting cash into digital currency.

But in East Africa, Kenya in particular, where the use of mobile banking through M-Pesa has seen a massive boost over the last decade, the Foundation is funding Mastercard’s vision to focus on extending features instead of building new habits. So the 2Kuze platform builds on top of the existing mobile framework to make financial services more accessible to low-income farmers.

“We believe that by using mobile, a technology that is so ubiquitous among farmers in Africa, we can improve financial access, bring in operational efficiency and facilitate faster payments,” Daniel Monehin, head of financial inclusion for International Markets at Mastercard, says in a statement. “The collaboration between the Lab team and farmers in the market helped to deliver a solution that can be implemented and make an impact without any major changes to the day-to-day.”

(Image: 2Kuze, Mastercard Labs)

The ‘Titanfall’ mobile game will die on the vine

If you managed to get access to the Titanfall: Frontline beta, congratulations: You’re playing a mobile game marked for death. “We’ve learned an incredible amount in the beta test of Titanfall: Frontline, but in the end felt the experience wasn’t ready to deliver the intense action-packed gameplay synonymous with Titanfall,” a post on the game’s website says.

Maybe that has something to do with the fact that Frontline is a card game a la Hearthstone versus any other genre that might be a better fit for the series. Servers will shut down this Friday, but it doesn’t sound like this will be Titanfall’s last go round on portable devices. “We’re excited to take some of the concepts we saw resonate with players and build off of them in future Titanfall mobile games,” the message reads.

If the folks at Square Enix Montreal can make mobile games out of Tomb Raider, Hitman and Deus Ex that feel true to the series and not like cheap cash-ins, then there’s hope that Respawn’s in-house mobile team, Particle City, can do something similar.

Via: GamesIndustry.biz

Source: Titanfall Frontline