War Robots VR Review: A taste of something ridiculously fun

There are sparks everywhere, and the hail of bullets seems endless. I am probably going to die here.

My mech is spent. Red warning lights are everywhere. Armor gone, rockets reloading, and there are two enemy units a few meters away with crosshairs trained right on me. My partner’s railgun flashes bright yellow, and suddenly bright blue sparks start to fly from the closest unit. The second my rocket reload finishes, my body slams back against the chair as my mech runs forward and unleashes everything at the remaining target.

The rain of sparks and smoke tell me I’ve succeeded and it’s ok to relax a little, but as my robot torso rotates left I see two more units inbound. This is so very far from over.

Read more at VRHeads

Moto Z2 Force now available to purchase in the U.S.

Moto significantly improved its launch strategy compared to year’s past.

For the first time in a few years, Motorola has made its flagship phone for the year available to all U.S. carriers at the same time. There’s no timed exclusive, nor is there a special Droid version this year. Each carrier has a different price for the Moto Z2 Force, but there are some deals to make things better. Each carrier is offering a free Insta-Share Projector Mod for a limited time.

Verizon For those that want to buy the Z2 Force outright from Verizon, the Big Red carrier is offering the phone for $756. However, there’s a fantastic deal available for customers with an unlimited data plan. Those customers can pick up the Z2 Force for $15 per month for 24 months, or only $360 total. Verizon is also the only carrier that will carry the Gamepad Mod, but there’s nothing stopping a non-Verzon subscriber from purchasing one. Verizon is offering the Moto Z2 Force in either Black or Gold.

See at Verizon

AT&T Big Blue is offering the Moto Z2 Force for $27 per month for a 30-month lease, which translates to a whopping $810 total. AT&T is offering the phone in any color you’d want, as long as that color is black.

See at AT*T

T-Mobile The Uncarrier has the Moto Z2 Force available for $30 down payment and $30 per month for 24 months, or $750 outright. JUMP subscribers can get the Z2 Force for $0 down and $34 per month for 18 months, totaling $612. T-Mobile is also offering a buy-one, get-one deal when users buy the Z2 Force for two lines, though this comes in the form of a prepaid card. T-Mobile is only offering the Z2 Force in its exclusive Lunar Grey coloring.

See at T-Mobile

Sprint Sprint is offering the Moto Z2 Force to lease for $33 per month for 18 months, totaling $792 when all is said and done. Sprint is offering the device in either black or gold.

See at Sprint

Best Buy Best Buy will have the Verizon, AT&T and Sprint models of the Moto Z2 Force in its stores and on its website. Best Buy will do periodic sales on the device; for example, the white Sprint version is available for only $24.66 per month for 24 months (totaling $591.84) at the time of writing. In addition to the projector mod, Best Buy is also bundling a JBL speaker mod when a customer buys any of the Moto Z2 Force models.

See at Best Buy

Are you planning on picking up a Moto Z2 Force? Let us know down below!

Moto Z2 Force

• Moto Z2 Force reviewl
• Moto Z2 Force specs
• This is the Moto 360 Camera Mod
• The ultimate guide to Moto Mods
• Moto Z2 Force vs. Galaxy S8
• Join the discussion in the forums!

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Chromebook Back To School Deals 2017

Be ready for the new school year with these Chromebooks.

Chromebooks are perfect for students of all ages. They offer a familiar and easy-to-use form factor for doing research and classwork and their portability means they go home with a student every day for larger assignments. On the software side, they allow students and teachers to collaborate through Google Docs and Google Drive as well as communicate through Gmail. They have evolved into an excellent learning tool that gets students prepared for the future.

While many schools provide Chromebooks through Google’s Chromebooks for Education program, they’re also affordable enough that you can buy your own if you want or need to. Let’s take a look at the best Chromebooks you can buy for anyone heading back to school in the fall.

For the younger crowd: Lenovo Flex 11Chromebook

The Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook is built tough, inexpensive and offers all the features you expect to see in a Chromebook. That makes it perfect for kids under 13, or any situation where there’s a chance it will need to live through some abuse.

It’s not flashy by any means; the stoic gray on gray color scheme and hard plastic shell can look a little drab next to thin aluminum models. But it makes up for it by being tough as nails. Lenovo says the Flex 11 is designed to survive a 2.4-foot drop and has a water-resistant keyboard pan. We put both claims to the test and the Flex 11 survived with flying colors.

While you’re not dropping it or spilling water on it, the Flex 11 can also handle just about anything a student can throw at it when it comes down to getting some work (or play) done. The ARM processor lets you have multiple browser tabs open without any sluggishness and the 4GB or RAM lets you multitask with ease. While the keyboard is a little mushy, the excellent trackpad makes up for much of it. USB C charging and support for Android apps from Google Play round things out and make it a great Chromebook.

If you’re looking for a tough and capable Chromebook for a young student this is the best buy in 2017, starting around $299.

See at Amazon

For students on the go: ASUS Chromebook Flip C100

When it comes to thin, light and ultra-portable the ASUS Chromebook Flip C100 is still the champion.

This aluminum 10-inch model checks in at under 2 pounds and is just 15.6 mm thick. That makes it almost unnoticeable in a bag or backpack. And with a price of about $200, your wallet won’t be complaining either! But its small size doesn’t mean it isn’t a very capable device.

The keyboard is nice and solid, the trackpad might be a little cramped but is still very usable and the internal hardware can handle multiple apps and browser tabs with ease. Best of all it has great battery life and you can expect a full day of real use from the little Chromebook Flip. The 180-degree hinge lets you work or play in both laptop mode or tablet mode, which can be great when you’re using Android apps from Google Play.

This convertible Chromebook has been around for a while, but constant updates and the robust hardware keeps it at the top of the list when it comes to a Chromebook built for carrying around.

See at Amazon

Big screen on a budget: Acer Chromebook 14

When you see the Acer Chromebook 14 you’ll notice two things right away: the great 1080p 14-inch screen and the beautiful aluminum build. And you’ll be impressed at both when you realize that this is a Chromebook that costs around $250.

The Intel quad-core processor and 4GB of RAM means a student will have no problems doing schoolwork or researching anything, and when it’s time to relax, you’ll love watching movies or web surfing on the big, clear display. The full-size chassis also means a big, roomy keyboard and trackpad to help get the work done easier. Other features like 802.11 ac wireless and a wide angle HD webcam (that can even record and broadcast in HDR mode) make the Acer Chromebook 14 an awesome Chromebook

If you need something designed to work on the go or at a desk comfortably, the Acer Chromebook 14 is a great value.

See at Amazon

The best Chromebook of 2017: Samsung Chromebook Plus

Samsung and Google have partnered together to build the best Chromebook of 2017 with the Samsung Chromebook Plus.

It’s incredibly well-built, has one of the best displays of any laptop, and is the first Chromebook with the new Pen that adds pressure sensitive drawing. The 12.3-inch 2400×1600 IPS touch panel steals the show. It’s beautiful to look at and supports a stylus, which makes it the first Chromebook with a pen. under the hood, there is plenty of power to run Chrome and Android apps, and you can do it all day without charging. To top it all off, the Chromebook Plus is incredibly well built with an aluminum chassis and full-size keyboard and trackpad.

If you’re shopping for a student who needs the extra features a pressure-sensitive stylus brings or just want to make sure you get the best price-to-feature value in a Chromebook, the Samsung Chromebook Plus is the one to buy. Pricing starts around $419.

See at Amazon

For advanced users: The ASUS Chromebook Flip 302 and Samsung Chromebook Pro

ASUS and Samsung both make Chromebooks that are completely over-the-top and designed for anyone who needs the very best when it comes to processing power.

The ASUS Chromebook Flip 302 ($469) features a 12.5-inch FHD display, 64GB of storage, 4GB of RAM and an Intel Core M3 processor. The Samsung Chromebook Pro (around $580) features an amazing 2400×1600 display, an Intel Core M3 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage plus the same pressure-sensitive stylus as the lower-priced Chromebook Plus.

This level of hardware makes for a wonderful Chromebook experience, but engineering students or CompSci majors who need to install an alternative operating system for work with DevOps or programming will absolutely love either model. Both are designed to be excellent high-end laptops, with the bonus of using Chrome OS to keep things simple and secure.

These are specialty devices built for anyone who needs a little more. We love them, but still think the Samsung Chromebook Plus is the better option for most people.

See the ASUS Flip 302 at Amazon

See the Chromebook Pro at Amazon

GM expands car rental service for gig economy workers

With Uber’s money-losing car lease program apparently ending, GM is rushing in to fill the void with Maven Gig. The automaker announced that it’s expanding from its current San Diego and San Francisco locations to other cities across the US. Starting today, you’ll be able to rent vehicles like the Chevy Bolt EV and Cruze in Los Angeles, and by fall of 2017, grab one in Boston, Phoenix and Washington, DC. Baltimore and Detroit will follow soon after.

Pricing starts at $189 a week for the Cruze and runs up to $229 for the Bolt EV (plus taxes). That sounds like a lot (over $1,000 per month for the Bolt), but the price does include unlimited miles, commercial-use insurance and maintenance. That covers most of the expenses required, except gas, and you can walk away if you no longer need it. Considering that drivers earn around $14.50 per hour with Uber on average (about $580 per week), however, that doesn’t leave a lot at the end.

Drivers want the Bolt EV because of cost savings as well as helping with energy and environmental goals.

Chevy says the Bolt EV is the most popular ride for Maven Gig renters, and it will be available in the new cities, with 20 available in Boston to start with. “We are committed to bringing Bolt EVs to all Maven Gig markets,” says GM’s Rachel Bhattacharya. “Drivers want the Bolt EV because of cost savings as well as helping with energy and environmental goals.”

Indeed, since electricity is a lot cheaper than gas, the Bolt may be the cheapest way to do ride-sharing. The only problem is the 238 mile range, which could limit the number of hours drivers work — a typical taxi drives about 250-300 miles per day in New York City, for instance (70,000 miles per year).

Chevy points out that the cars can be used for hauling restaurant or grocery deliveries as well as passengers. As such, it recently teamed with HopSkipDrive, a ride service for when parents can’t drive their kids themselves, as well as GrubHub, Instacart and Roadie.

GM is bullish on the gig economy, but Uber, for one, has seen recently drivers leaving in droves, according to analytics outfit Apptopia — in part due to lower rates of pay. If they’re using GM’s Maven Gig rental service, however, they’ll at least be able to make a clean break.

Source: GM

ASOS adds visual search to ease your fashion hunt

Visual search is fast becoming a staple of shopping apps, and ASOS is the latest online retailer to welcome the feature. The UK-based online fashion giant has updated its iOS application with the ability to search for clothes and accessories using photos. Just click the new camera icon in the search box, and you’ll be able to either upload a photo you saved on your Camera Roll or to take a picture of something you’re looking at in real life. Adjust the image to focus on what item you want to look for, and you’re set. I was able to take it for a spin in my little corner of the world here in Asia, so the feature is definitely already available outside the UK.

I used the feature to look for a pair of brown booties and for a simple black dress like JLaw’s, and it worked pretty well both times:

The move is a no-brainer for ASOS when 80 percent of its traffic in the UK comes from mobile devices. Its mobile users are only bound to grow in number now that it’s investing $40 million to expand its presence in the US. Andy Berks, its digital product director, said in a statement: “We know this (mobile devices) is where our customers are and it’s how they interact with us everyday, so we are always looking for ways that are mobile native to make their experience even better.”

As you probably noticed, ASOS’ new feature works just like Pinterest’s and eBay’s own visual search tools. Pinterest rolled out Lens earlier this year as a way to boost its status as a shopping platform. eBay announced its own take on the feature last month, though you won’t be able to search for the best deals on the website until the company rolls out its visual search capabilities this fall.

Via: VentureBeat

Source: iTunes

TalkTalk fined £100,000 for long-forgotten 2014 data breach

Enough time has passed that TalkTalk has bounced back from its reputation-damaging data debacle of 2015, which saw hackers steal the personal details of over 150,000 of its customers. That earned the company a £400,000 fine from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and today an older data breach in 2014 has cost the company an additional £100,000. The ICO has handed TalkTalk the invoice as a slap on the wrist for failing to adequately protect customer details after third-party support staff were found to have gained “unauthorised and unlawful access to the personal data of up to 21,000 customers.”

TalkTalk became aware something was up in September 2014 after customer complaints began rolling in. Scam callers had been targeting subscribers under the pretense of providing technical support, and knew their names, addresses, TalkTalk account numbers and, of course, their phone numbers. Ironically, these wannabe identity thieves had actually gleaned this information from a customer database belonging to Wipro, a company that resolves complaints and provides legitimate tech support on TalkTalk’s behalf.

Upon lengthy investigation, TalkTalk discovered three Wipro employee accounts had been used to access customer details unlawfully. As it turned out, employees could access the data by logging in from any device with an internet connection, and simple search terms would allow staff to view and export the data of 500 customers at a time. It was this lax approach to data handling that the ICO found to be a breach of the Data Protection Act, hence the fine of £100,000 today.

This kind of breach is completely different to the “significant and sustained cyberattack” that hit the provider in 2015, but we imagine TalkTalk would just like to pay the piper and let us go back to forgetting this earlier breach ever happened.

Source: Information Commissioner’s Office

Cult game ‘Night Trap’ gets limited physical release on PS4 and PC

If you’re keen to get your hands on the remake of Night Trap, you’ll have to be quick. To build on its cult standing, the campy horror game will only be available in a limited run when it lands tomorrow. Physical versions of the game will be restricted to 2,000 copies on PC, and 3,000 copies for the PS4. A collector’s edition, housed in an individually-numbered throwback case, will launch the same day for Sony’s console. Priced at $55, it will also include a bunch of retro goodies, including a cassette tape with the game’s theme song. Considering an original Night Trap poster can net over $200 on eBay, it may be a worthwhile investment for fans. But, with just 3,000 copies available, you’ll have to snap it up fast. Xbox players, on the other hand, will have to settle for a digital edition, expected later in the fall. Steam and the PlayStation store, however, will get the game on August 15.

It’s been 25 years since Night Trap first arrived on the Sega CD. Its use of full-motion video (FMV) and surveillance-style gameplay was groundbreaking for its time — and was later emulated by Phillips CD-i title Voyeur. The game sees players take on the role of a secret agent tasked with protecting a gaggle of teen girls from marauding vampires. Using secret cameras and traps, your task is to vanquish the beasties before they disrupt the group’s slumber party.

Like other retro FMV titles, the game was touted as an interactive movie upon its release, but it looks more like a Troma flick than a Hollywood blockbuster. Night Trap received an unexpected infamy after it was (incorrectly) branded a game in which players “trap and kill women.” Along with Mortal Kombat, it landed Sega in front of a series of congressional hearings on violence in video games, which in turn resulted in the creation of the ESRB rating system. In hindsight, the game seems pretty timid compared to what would follow.

Fans can grab physical copies of Night Trap exclusively from Limited Run Games’ online store starting tomorrow, August 11. Orders are limited to one per customer for both the standard and collector’s edition.

Vertu’s fire sale phones are still too expensive

Last month, we reported that British luxury phone maker Vertu was closing up shop due to financial difficulties. Now, the company is auctioning off pretty much everything in its warehouses. If you ever wanted to snag a Vertu phone on the cheap, this is your chance.

The company is liquidating the contents of its UK factory, which included a Vertu museum. That means that a lot of the company’s older phones (and newer as well) are available for grabs. Personally I think that spending 1,000 GBP (about $1,300, starting bid) for a phone that still has number keys (even if it’s made of 18-karat gold and alligator leather and has a ruby key) is ridiculous, but who knows what people enjoy collecting.

If you’re in the market for multiple phones, the auction has those as well, with sets of archive collection Vertu phones. If you need to outfit your gang with the most stylish (and probably most outdated) matching phones, you can pick up a set of 37 Vertu Constellation Ayxta flip phones for a starting bid of 2,150 GBP (roughly $3,000).

It’s not just phones you can grab from this auction though. Have a hankering for a large bronze sculpture of a guy on a horse holding the Vertu logo? How about a wooden letter rack that plays the Vertu signature tune? These can be yours as well.

Vertu was a respected name in the phone world, even if their phones were ridiculously expensive, so it’s sad to see them come to this. And it’s terrible that so many people lost their jobs. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to poke through the auction catalog and see what exactly you can get from the now-defunct company.

Via: The Next Web

Source: Bidspotter

Uber Updates With In-App Chat Between Riders and Drivers

Ride hailing app Uber today announced an in-app chat feature that lets riders and drivers communicate with one another without leaving the app. Uber said this update allows drivers to better communicate with riders when sudden road closures or other delays happen en route to the rider’s location.

Riders can also send chats to drivers to indicate where they’re waiting for the car, or give a distinct piece of clothing or accessory to allow the driver to easily identify them.

To do so, riders can navigate to the Uber feed, tap “contact,” and then tap “Chat,” and when the driver gets the message the app will read it aloud to them automatically so they aren’t distracted. A one-tap response feature sends a quick thumbs up to the rider so they know their message was read.

Every great ride starts with the pickup, so we’re always thinking about ways to make the pickup experience as frictionless as possible for riders and drivers alike. That includes helping riders and drivers connect should they need to get in touch with one another to solve for things like road closures, or to just provide information on their exact location.

So we’re adding a way for riders and drivers to chat right in the Uber app. It’s now easier than ever to get in touch.

Speaking with TechCrunch, Uber product manager Jeremy Lermitte said this will help keep user data more private, because drivers and riders won’t have to share personal contact information outside of Uber. Additionally, the company is considering adding the chat feature into other apps, including UberEATS.

In-app chat is rolling out globally over the coming weeks to all Uber riders and drivers, and the company described the update as a “first step” towards introducing more communication and messaging experiences within its app.

Tag: Uber
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W Magazine shows how fashion is embracing augmented reality

The fashion world loves augmented reality. From Gap to Nike, brands are trying to find different ways to integrate the technology into their retail experience. And now W Magazine, one of the most prominent fashion publications, is treading a similar path with a new AR-powered issue. Done in partnership with The Mill, a visual effects production studio, the magazine’s September 2017 Collector’s Issue features an interactive, computer-generated image of Katy Perry on the cover. At first glance, it seems like a traditional magazine, but that changes when parts of it come to life when viewed through the lens of a smartphone or tablet. For W Magazine, it’s about using tech to keep its print publication modern.

To make this possible, W Magazine created a companion app called “Beyond the Page” for iOS and Android. Once you install the application, you can point your device’s camera at various parts of the magazine, which goes on sale today, and experience an extra layer of virtual content. With the cover, for example, Katy Perry’s face actually becomes a 3D model made up of colorful projected images. If you tap her lips or forehead, a short film pops up, wherein she delivers a message about “rebellion” while wandering the streets of Paris donned in Saint Laurent. W Magazine says the videos starring the pop star are an ode to the current political landscape, adding that the hardest part was convincing her and photographer Steven Klein that using augmented reality wouldn’t detract from the art, but enhance it.

There are other pages in the issue that are powered by AR, but none of them are as immersive as the Perry cover. Whereas with the cover you can move around and zoom in or out of the photoreal shot, the rest are simply traditional still images that bring up videos intended to complement photoshoots. Alex Israel and Collier Schorr are two of the artists featured in the additional AR collaborations, which come in the form of a futuristic fictional piece and another designed to capture fashion’s obsession with gender fluidity, respectively. W Magazine made it easy to figure out which pages of the issue are AR-compatible by adding a “Beyond the Page” label, which prompts readers to download the app.

While this implementation of augmented reality may seem like a gimmick, you can’t blame W Magazine for wanting to experiment with the technology. The New Yorker and Elle have made similar attempts, also with AR covers. And it makes sense: print editors can use modern flourishes where they can find them, and technology gives them more room to be creative. According to research firm MagNet, magazines sales have been have fallen 53 percent since 2011, with revenues down 43 percent. To put that into perspective, roughly 353 million magazines were sold at newsstands in 2016. In other words, publishers have nothing to lose by experimenting with new-fangled tech.

“What keeps W relevant is our startup mentality,” said Stefano Tonchi, the magazine’s editor-in-chief. “We want to make it clear that technology for us is not just an add-on to make the magazine more exciting. It’s a key part of how readers experience this collectible, luxurious object, in a way that’s highly tactile that builds on what we’ve produced in print.” As an example of its efforts with tech, he points to W being one of the first fashion magazines to create exclusive content for Snapchat. Tonchi says the idea is to make more stories available on the Beyond the Page app in the future, noting that the top priority will be to deliver a consistent narrative across issues and their AR components.

“In a world where content is more abundant than ever, and where there is a sea of sameness when it comes to fashion media,” Tonchi said, “what helps us stand out is our bold, provocative, and truly differentiated approach to putting fashion in the context of culture.” Sure, W wasn’t the first one to introduce the concept of AR in a magazine, but it’s important that it managed to convince two major pop culture artists, Perry and Klein, to play a role in an unconventional issue.

W Magazine

Over the past few months, augmented reality has become something of a darling in the fashion world, even more so than virtual reality, which otherwise has had more momentum. Earlier this year, Gap revealed its plans to build augmented-reality “dressing rooms,” envisioning a future where shoppers can use an app to try on clothes from home. Nike, on the other hand, recently started using AR to sell limited-edition shoes through its SNKRS app for iOS. The sportswear giant first tested this during the launch of the Nike SB Dunk High Pro “Momofuku” in June, which required you to point the camera at a menu of David Chang’s Fuku restaurant in order to buy the shoe.

As more and more fashion entities continue to experiment with augmented reality, chances are others will want to do the same — though that’s going to depend on whether customers actually buy into these ideas. In W Magazine’s case, AR can expand the narrative of stories in future editions, as it did for the September 2017 Collector’s Issue. Above all though, W Magazine needs to its print issues to remain relevant, and that’s something augmented reality can potentially help with. Just look what it did for Pokémon Go.