‘Halo’ will bring back local multiplayer

When I critiqued Halo 5: Guardians, the lack of split-screen co-op was low on my list of gripes with the game. But that’s not to say it wasn’t a problem. In the lead-up to the 2015 game’s release, developer 343 Industries crowed that there were no sacred cows on the road to hitting 60 FPS in the campaign mode — including the local co-operative play that’d been a part of the series since 2001. That’s changing, though. “I would say for any [first-person shooter] going forward we will always have split-screen,” 343’s head Bonnie Ross said recently at the DICE summit in Las Vegas, according to Polygon.

“We’ve also had a lot of learnings along the way,” she continued. “You know when we fell down with the multiplayer launch of [Halo: The Master Chief Collection], or when we didn’t put split-screen in with Halo 5. I think it’s incredibly painful for the community, as the community is part of our world building.”

Beyond that Ross addressed the sloppy ways 343 has handled story in the games. And it doesn’t sound too promising if you’d rather not have to read the myriad novels, comic books or watch web videos just to understand what the hell’s going on with the narrative before playing the latest Halo.

“While we love our transmedia, sometimes I do think we tell a bit too much story in our games,” she said. “You know when you have a gun and aliens shooting at you, it is kind of hard to digest a lot of story. Hopefully we’re showing in Halo Wars 2 a more simple story and using transmedia as part of the way to get the deeper story, but keeping the game story more simple.”

Considering the way that 343 brought in a main villain to Halo 4 from the book universe and never explained his motives, and that Halo 5 leaned extensively on the extended fiction for character development, I’m not so sure the studio knows how to craft an in-game narrative. It’s something that Eurogamer recently examined in detail. Extending the fiction into novels is fine, but crippling the in-game experience for people who don’t have the time for reading books of varying quality isn’t ideal. No, not even in Star Wars.

Source: Polygon

MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Thunderbolt Station 3 Lite From CalDigit

For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with CalDigit to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Thunderbolt Station 3 Lite, which is designed to work with the new 2016 MacBook Pro.

The new MacBook Pro is equipped with Thunderbolt 3, but it offers a limited number of ports, making a dock or some form of dongle essential for most users who have older accessories. The TS3 Lite, a small hub that includes support for Thunderbolt 3, is ideal for users who need a robust but portable solution.

The TS3 Lite features two Thunderbolt 3 Type-C ports with 40Gb/s throughput, two USB 3.1 Type-A ports, 1 USB 3.1 Type-C port, a DisplayPort, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and Audio In/Out ports. It doesn’t support 85W charging though, so you’ll need a separate cable to power your MacBook Pro.

It’s able to support a single 5K monitor at 60Hz or dual 4K monitors, and it ships with a Thunderbolt 3 cable. With daisychaining, up to six Thunderbolt 3 devices can be connected to a single computer, and the included USB-A and USB-C ports can be used to connect a variety of other accessories.

For instances when a computer is not available, the TS3 Lite features a Stand Alone Charging function that allows users to charge devices like an iPad or an iPhone using the USB-A ports on the TS3 Lite even when it’s not connected to a computer.

The TS3 Lite, which features a brushed aluminum enclosure that matches well with Apple devices, measures in at 8 inches by 3.15 inches and it weighs less than a pound, so it’s easy to pack into a bag with your computer and it doesn’t take up much space on a desk.

CalDigit charges $199 for the Thunderbolt 3 Station Lite, but we have two to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The contest will run from today (February 24) at 11:15 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:15 a.m. Pacific Time on March 3. The winners will be chosen randomly on March 3 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Tags: giveaway, CalDigit
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Apple Says Third-Party iPhone Screen Repairs No Longer Fully Void Your Warranty

iPhones that have undergone any third-party screen repair now qualify for warranty coverage, as long as the issue being fixed does not relate to the display itself, according to an internal memo distributed by Apple today. MacRumors confirmed the memo’s authenticity with multiple sources.

Previously, an iPhone with a third-party display was not eligible for any authorized repairs under warranty.

When a customer with an iPhone that has a third-party display seeks a repair for a non-display issue, Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers have been advised to inspect the device for any fraud or tampering, and then swap out the device or replace the broken part based on Apple’s in-warranty pricing.

iPhones with third-party displays must still be within their warranty coverage period, whether it be Apple’s standard 1-year manufacturer’s warranty or extended AppleCare coverage, in order for warranty service to be honored.

If the iPhone is out of warranty, or the repair involves a display-related issue, customers will be offered the option to pay Apple’s flat rate out-of-warranty pricing. If a customer declines this out-of-warranty pricing, then Apple Authorized Service Providers are instructed to decline service altogether.

If the presence of any third-party part causes the repair to be unsuccessful or breaks the iPhone, Apple said customers will be required to pay the out-of-warranty cost to replace the third-party part, or the entire device if necessary, in order to resolve the issue that the iPhone was initially brought in for.

If a customer wants to pay for an Apple genuine display to replace their third-party display, Apple Authorized Service Providers have been instructed to quote the typical out-of-warranty price for a new display. Apple said AppleCare+ will not cover third-party display or battery repairs.

Apple Authorized Service Providers are still instructed to decline service for any iPhone with a functional failure related to a third-party aluminum enclosure, logic board, battery, Lightning connector, headphone jack, volume buttons, mute switch, sleep/wake button, and certain microphones.

MacRumors has confirmed that the policy applies to repairs in the United States and Canada, while other regions are likely included.

Tags: warranty, AASP
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Adobe Comp CC makes mobile design simple and easy (Review)

Overview:

Adobe Comp CC is an editing and drafting program for exporting into other Adobe suite programs for easy, on the go project managing.

Developer: Adobe

Cost: Free

Impressions:

Adobe software is often used by professionals for graphic design and other media creation professions to great effect. Adobe has added most of their most popular software to the Play Store as mobile-optimized applications for on-the-go productivity. The newest member of the Adobe mobile suite is Comp CC, an all new app that eases the editing load on the go.

Comp CC is, essentially, a wire-frame and concept creation tool for exporting into other Adobe software for refinement. It has preconfigured templates for web, paper, and mobile layouts that you can edit and export to InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator as well as Adobe’s cloud where you can pull it down to any machine you wish.

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Compared to the offerings of other Adobe software, Comp CC is rather limited. You can choose a template or create your own, import images, add text and graphics, and do some minor manipulation of color and such. From there, you can export it or share it to your email or social media. That is pretty much all it does.

The idea behind Comp appears to be that it’s something to get you started on a project, lay out a plan while on the go without having to use draft paper or lose progress by starting over on your main editing machine. It’s almost like a draft program but lets you get real progress on what would eventually become a more complex design for a web page, magazine, business card or what have you.

In terms of the app itself, it works really well but I would recommend using a larger screen device like a tablet, I used it primarily on my Samsung Chromebook Plus which has a touch screen and stylus making it a dream to use. The experience on the phone felt rather cramped and it’s not the most ideal place unless you don’t have another choice. The user interface is clean and minimal, with only a few options available. It’s easy to use and straightforward, without being confusing at all which is a big plus.

Some negative points now, but they’re minor. The app seems rather pointless without at least one or two other adobe apps to compliment it, so it’ll be a hard sell for the average user who doesn’t do any graphic design or use Adobe at all. Also, the templates for Comp CC aren’t all that helpful, as they’re just blank pages sized and oriented to the selected format. I would have liked to see some more helpful guidelines or page layout tools to help you make your own pages faster, especially if you’re a novice like me.

Conclusion:

I really like Comp CC more than I thought I would. It does exactly what it sets out to do, and is a handy tool to draft projects on the go for the busy graphic designer or other professional. It’s clean and simple and even novices can get some use out of it. I’d recommend it for anyone who uses Adobe software regularly, or someone looking for a simple editing app for basic manipulation.

Download Adobe Comp CC on the Google Play Store

You can now search your Google Drive directly from Google’s Android app

Why it matters to you

Android users can now find their Google Drive files with slightly less hassle than before.

Searching for your own information just got as easy as searching for others’ information. We’re talking about a new update to the Google app on Android devices. On Thursday, G Suite unveiled a new update that promises to make it “easier to find your Google Drive files wherever and whenever you need them.” All you have to do is head over to your handy Google app, type in a keyword, and tap the “In Apps” tab to check out any files in your Drive that contain that keyword. From there, you can open the file in its appropriate app.

While it doesn’t exactly save you all that much time (you’re basically replacing the Google Drive app with the standard Google app), it’s nice to know that you can quickly switch between surfing the web at large and surfing your Google Drive within a single application. That said, you’ll have to remember to click over to the In Apps tab — otherwise, you’ll just be sending your query through the internet search engine.

More: Make the most out of Google with this list of ‘OK, Google’ voice commands

It’s yet to be seen if a similar functionality will be making its way to iOS, but if the new feature proves popular, perhaps us iPhone owners can expect our own version of this new search functionality. Variations of the feature already exist online — for example, you can add a Chrome extension that allows you to search directly in Drive by simply typing the word “drive” before your search terms in your search bar.

Thursday was a busy day for G Suite, as it also made it possible to preview password-protected Microsoft Office documents, presentations, and spreadsheets in Drive. “Going forward, when you attempt to open one of these file types in Drive on the web, you’ll be prompted to enter the password and, upon doing so successfully, you’ll see a read-only preview of that document,” the team said in a blog post announcement.

For more information on other new features, check out the G Suite blog.

Can you hear me now? Researchers one step closer to reversing hearing loss

Why it matters to you

Researchers have figured out how to generate sound-sensing hair cells in large numbers, which could lead to a cure for acquired hearing loss.

Mom used to say, “Turn that music down or you’ll lose your hearing!” And for good reason. Humans are born with 30,000 sound-sensing hair cells, which die off over time due to loud noises, medications, and natural aging. The problem is, these cells don’t grow back. We only really get one chance to protect our hearing.

But a few years ago researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear managed to restore partial hearing in mice by converting a small number of inner ear cells into hair cells.

More: This music app uses a clever new technique to preserve (and improve) your hearing

Now, a team of researchers from Mass. Eye and Ear, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have demonstrated that this technique can scale by increasing the number of regenerated hair cells from 200 to 11,500. The research shows promise for restoring hearing for those of us who ignored the adolescent warnings of our mothers. They published their findings this week in the journal Cell Reports.

“Acquired hearing loss occurs when hair cells are damaged or destroyed by loud noise or exposure to toxic chemicals,” Will McLean, first author of the study, told Digital Trends. “However, even after hair cells die, progenitor cells are still present in the tissue. From our work, we believe small molecules could be delivered directly to the inner ear to activate these native progenitor cells to divide and regenerate new sensory hair cells, restoring healthy tissue to the inner ear and ultimately restore hearing.”

In 2012, researchers discovered that some inner ear cells had properties similar to cells found in the intestines — namely, they both contain Lgr5, a protein that lets intestinal cells regenerate and replace the intestinal lining every eight days. They were able to transform these Lgr5 cells into new hair cells in mice, but only in small numbers.

In the recent study, researchers extracted the Lgr5 cells from the inner ears of mice, placed them in a petri dish, used drugs and growth factors to make them multiply, and then converted the Lgr5 cells into hair cells.

Having identified the cells of interest, the researchers now aim to develop specific drugs to treat acquired hearing loss. They plan to begin clinical trials within the next 18 months.

Video cameras could soon determine your heart rate from across the room

Why it matters to you

New heart rate software could make sports broadcasts more interesting, liven up action cam footage, or even prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel.

Video cameras may be able to read your heart rate without any extra accessories as early as next year. Panasonic recently demonstrated Contacts Vital Sensing during a private show in Tokyo, a software that can estimate heart rate just by analyzing video from any camera — even a webcam.

The program analyzes the change in the way the skin reflects light. According to Nikkei, a Japan-based technology analysis company, blood absorbs light, but just how much light the blood reflects changes with heart rate.

More: Fitbit wearer’s heart rate drops after breakup

The software measures how that skin reflection changes and uses that data to estimate a heart rate. Panasonic didn’t say how accurate the software is at measuring heart rate, but said any visible skin, including a face, can be used to estimate heart rates.

The software could add a unique angle to sports broadcasting by estimating an athlete’s heart rate, but Panasonic is also looking into the possibility of using the program to determine if a driver is a about to fall asleep, as well as other commercial applications.

While the idea of monitoring a heart rate simply through a video may sound far-fetched, Panasonic isn’t the only company to take this same approach. Startup Oxehealth announced late last year a similar program that could measure heart rate from a video using subtle skin changes they called “microblushes” — and clinical studies showed the system was actually just as accurate as standard medical equipment.

Panasonic’s software could be available commercially as early as 2018 and in multiple different applications, the company said. While Panasonic’s first suggestion is sports broadcasting, action camera manufacturers are already working to integrate heart rate integration into their feeds, such as GoPro’s collaboration with Polar fitness trackers and the Garmin VIRB’s sensor based heart tracking. Unlike those options already on the market, however, the software could potentially do all that tracking without a physical sensor.

Report: U.S. Cellular will join the unlimited data party with its own plan … sorta

Why it matters to you

Thanks to competition, more carriers now offer unlimited data plans, but some have fine print.

February 2017 will be remembered for the revival of the unlimited data plan, and it looks as if U.S. Cellular will join the party with a plan of its own, reports Droid Life.

The regional carrier will reportedly revamp its data plan lineup under the new “Total Plans” banner. The revamped plans start at $40 per month for 2GB of high-speed data, while the $50 plan bumps the data bucket to 6GB. Finally, the Unlimited Total Plan includes “unlimited” data for $60 a month, though an Unlimited Plus option sits alongside it for $20 more per month.

The latter plan is there if you want “high definition” video resolution, which brings us to one of the Unlimited Total Plan’s quirks: you are capped at 480p if you opt for Unlimited Total Plan. Even then, Unlimited Plus Total Plan caps videos at 720p, whereas the 2GB and 6GB plans allow video streams at “full network speed.”

More: The best unlimited data plan: Verizon vs. T-Mobile vs. AT&T vs. Sprint

Even weirder, U.S. Cellular reportedly suggests that Unlimited Total Plan customers will have their data throttled to 2G speeds once they hit 22GB for the month. It seems as if network congestion will not be factored in when imposing the throttle, so once you hit that cap, you will need to wait until the next pay period to get back to higher speeds. At least these quirks allow Unlimited Total Plan to remain consistent with other carriers’ offerings, but we would not exactly call this “unlimited” in the truest sense.

Going back to the Total Plans’ prices, customers will reportedly get those prices if they sign up for Auto Pay. Even if you opt to not go for automatic payments, the prices looks to include activation fees, upgrade fees, monthly connection charges, and overage fees. Unlike T-Mobile’s One plan, Total Plans will charge customers for taxes, regulatory fees, and other subscriber services.

The last two things to keep in mind is that U.S. Cellular will not advertise the Unlimited Plus Total Plan and that plans with 6GB and up will include unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada. The new Total Plans are expected to be announced sometime today. You can see how prices play out across all four plans below.

Lines
2GB
6GB
Unlimited
Unlimited Plus
Phone 1
$40
$50
$60
$80
Phone 2
$35
$45
$55
$75
Phone 3
$25
$35
$45
$65
Phones 4-10
$20
$30
$40
$60

AMD’s Ryzen 5 processors set to launch in second quarter of 2017

Why it matters to you

Competition between AMD and Intel is heating up, and these new details on the Ryzen line suggest that the processor market is only going to get more aggressive in 2017.

Earlier this week, AMD opened pre-orders on certain models of its hotly anticipated Ryzen processors — but the company has yet to spill any more information about the midrange and entry-level versions of the CPU. Now, information has leaked about the Ryzen 5 series, giving us a little more insight in what to expect from the components.

The midrange Ryzen 5 processors will apparently be made available in the second quarter of 2017, while the entry level Ryzen 3 series will launch in the second half of the year, according to a report from PC Perspective. These parts are priced to give PC builders plenty of options, a strategy that’s surely intended to draw attention away from Intel’s suite of CPUs.

The Ryzen 5 1600X will apparently retail for $259, while the Ryzen 5 1500 will come in at $229. These are pretty competitive prices, given the capabilities of the hardware.

More: Leaked roadmap shows AMD may release three classes of Ryzen desktop processors

The 1600X and the 1500 are equipped with six cores and twelve threads, with the former boasting support for AMD’s XFR (Extended Frequency Range) technology. Both processors are unlocked, and lend themselves to overclocking, which is sure to be appreciated by PC gamers looking for peak performance. AMD’s 1600X is set to go head to head with the Intel Core i5-7600K CPU, and the 1500 is being touted as a direct competitor to the i5-7500.

There’s also some new information regarding how AMD plans to construct its six-core processors. The company will disable one core from each of the component’s two four-core complexes, maintaining a balance and ensuring that the full 16MB L3 cache is enabled, according to a report from Forbes.

AMD certainly looks poised to give PC builders some compelling new options over the course of 2017. Expect to hear plenty more about the Ryzen 5 series over the coming months, as we draw nearer to the rumored second-quarter release date.

The best Chromebook you can buy

Chromebooks occupy a unique section of the laptop market — they’re not quite as full-featured as typical notebooks running Windows 10 or MacOS, and instead they run the featherweight Chrome OS from Google. They’re lighter, more portable, and generally have better battery life than their larger counterparts. These are notebooks for students, professionals, and anyone else who needs a laptop designed to spend more time on the go than on a desk.

Nearly every major manufacturer offers their own spin on the Chromebook, and the market has never been more crowded. There’s a lot of options available that look similar at a glance, so we’ve narrowed things down for you by sorting through them all to pick three of our favorite Chromebooks.

Our pick

Samsung Chromebook Pro

Why should you buy this: You want a Chromebook prepared for the future of Chrome OS

Our Score

The best

Samsung Chromebook Pro

The Samsung Chromebook Pro is the best Chromebook on the market, full stop.

$449.00 from Best Buy

$449.00 from Amazon

Who’s it for: Students, professionals, and anyone in between.

How much will it cost: $550

Why we picked the Samsung Chromebook Pro:

Between the powerful, efficient Intel Core M processor, and the gorgeous 2,400 x 1600 display, this little thing isn’t just an impressive Chromebook, it’s an impressive ultralight laptop.

Building on the legacy of the Chromebooks that came before, Samsung has elevated the design and capabilities of their latest offering, rolling in support for Google Play apps alongside a versatile touch-screen display. Fold it back, and it becomes an Android tablet, set it upright and it’s a mobile workstation.

The Samsung Chromebook Pro is like a Swiss Army knife, capable of filling a variety of roles throughout your day. It’s still a little expensive for a Chromebook, but it’s well under what you’d pay for a comparable Windows 10 notebook.

Our full review