Google and Microsoft want to put Brazil’s favelas on the map
To the Brazilian government, favelas, often referred to as “the slums,” don’t portray an image they’re willing to share with the world. So much so, in fact, that during the past World Cup some favela residents were reportedly being forced to leave their homes behind, as Brazil officials were looking to polish areas surrounding the stadiums playing host to the most watched sporting event on the planet. In Rio de Janeiro, favelas make up roughly a quarter of the population, yet somehow they aren’t often found city maps, either physical or online. To help with the latter, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google and Microsoft have begun mapping Rio’s favelas, albeit both companies are doing so in separate initiatives.
Interestingly enough, the two giant technology companies are crowdsourcing the information; given the lack of cooperation from Brazil’s government, they are relying on the favela communities to gather data for Google Maps and Bing Maps. “Online presence is really important to opening them up and getting them integrated into the city,” Google Director of Marketing for Latin America, Esteban Walther, said to The Wall Street Journal.
[Image credit: Getty Images]
Filed under: Misc, Internet, Microsoft, Google
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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Microsoft built a life-size interactive cube powered by Kinect
Third-party developers have grown very fond of building neat stuff with the Kinect, so it’s no surprise that Microsoft itself would create projects using this technology. Enter the Cube, a five-sided, Kinect-powered box which can interact with people around it — the company describes it as a “canvas for a new kind of creative expression” and a “technological sculpture that’s a venue for new types of interactive art.” You can dance, or make other random body gestures, in front of it and the Cube will project that image onto one of its panels, in a rather colorful way, no less; think of it as what you would see on a game like Just Dance, but minus the layer of flashy outfits. Microsoft’s Cube isn’t all about the Kinect, however. Inside, there are also five computers and five projectors which, paired alongside a total of four new Kinects, are what make the magic possible. You can watch the Cube in action after the break.
Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Alt, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
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Engadget Daily: Blackberry’s $2,000 smartphone, Microsoft’s new streaming adapter and more!
Does your love for exotic sports cars bleed over into every aspect of your life? If so, you might like Blackberry’s new $2,000 Porsche-designed smartphone. That’s not all we have on deck, though. Read on for the rest of our news highlights from the last 24 hour.
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Xbox One UK pricing drops again to £330
Wherever you look, the PlayStation 4 is outselling the Xbox One by a considerable margin. In fact, Sony sold twice as many consoles in the UK as Microsoft in Destiny’s launch week, leaving its rival with another considerable hill to climb. One way Microsoft could claw back some of its lost market share is to drop the price of the Xbox One, again, which is something it’s decided to do today. To little fanfare, Microsoft slashed £20 off the price of the Kinectless Xbox One on its official store, meaning you’ll now pay only £329.99. Amazon has reacted to the price cut too, but has gone one better by offering Sunset Overdrive White Xbox One bundle pre-orders for the exactly the same price. It means that in the space of 10 months, the console has undergone three price reductions, saving late-adopters at least £100 in the process. For the time being, the Xbox One is officially cheaper than the £349.99 PlayStation 4 (which is also the subject of some seriously good deals), but as both consoles have already dipped below the £300 mark, we’re pretty sure Sony won’t be too worried by today’s discount.
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
Via: Eurogamer
Source: Microsoft Store, Amazon
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Microsoft’s new adapter beams video from your PC (or Android) to a TV
Want to wirelessly share video from your Surface without worrying about whether or not your TV can handle it? Microsoft now has you covered. Its simply titled (and previously hinted at) Wireless Display Adapter can beam content from Miracast-capable Windows 8.1 PCs and Android devices to any HDMI-equipped screen. Since you’re just mirroring your output, you can easily watch movies and presentations on a grander scale without requiring explicit app support, like you do with Chromecast. The add-on should reach North America in October for $60 — a fairly reasonable outlay if you want to avoid tethering yourself to the living room set.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Peripherals, HD, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
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Xbox One to launch in China this month after all
Having just discovered that Halo’s Master Chief is actually Chinese, we were about to call out the irony of the Xbox One’s delayed launch in mainland China, but now we have some good news. According to our brethren over at Engadget Chinese, Microsoft has just confirmed that its latest console and Kinect sensor will be on sale in China on September 29th, which means local gamers will be able to enjoy them over the week-long national holiday commencing on October 1st. Alas, only 10 games — including Forza Motorsport 5, Dance Central: Spotlight and Neverwinter — have been approved by the authorities in the first batch, but the company claims that over 70 titles are already “in development.” There’s still no word on what caused the original delay; our guess is Microsoft initially felt there aren’t enough approved launch titles, but there’s always the grey market, of course. Sony, your move now.
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
Source: Engadget Chinese
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The fun and weird moments of Tokyo Game Show 2014
The annual Tokyo Game Show has just wrapped up, and while there weren’t any major console announcements, we still had our fair share of memorable moments on the show floor. On top of trying several different virtual reality demos, we also watched Japanese girls giggle away at a romance simulation booth, and we even bumped into Japanese porn stars without realizing who they were at the time. Check out our list of TGS highlights in the gallery below.
Filed under: Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo
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Microsoft makes it easier for students to get Office 365 at no cost
Back when it launched the Student Advantage program, Microsoft made it possible for 35,000 educational institutions across the globe to receive free access to Office 365. As part of that, students and teachers alike could get a subscription to the productivity software at no cost to them, so long as their school had enrolled in the initiative. Problem is, since then, each student depended on the school to be the one to create an Office 365 account they could use — until today. Microsoft’s now simplified the process, opening up a self-serve service for students to get the license without the need to check with the school’s IT department first. Those who qualify will need a valid .edu email address to receive the free subscription, from a school that’s currently participating in the Student Advantage program, and that’s about it. The only caveat is that this is limited to US students at the moment, but Microsoft says it plans to bring the sign-up feature worldwide later this year.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Microsoft
Source: Office Blogs
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Get 30GB free OneDrive storage in limited time promotion
Recently, we have seen cloud storage costs dropping significantly, and it has become extremely affordable. However, companies are still increasing the amount of free storage they are offering, and Microsoft has joined in. A post on the OneDrive blog explains that Microsoft is giving away 30GB of OneDrive storage to its users. This is mostly focused towards iOS users, but thankfully Microsoft did not forget those using Android. If you are using the OneDrive camera roll, then you qualify for the offer, but if not, you can still download it and be eligible, as well. Now go get some free storage!
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The post Get 30GB free OneDrive storage in limited time promotion appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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Microsoft will double your free OneDrive storage if you auto-upload photos
Microsoft has been rather generous with free OneDrive storage lately, and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Now Redmond is bumping the previous gratis 15GB up by 100 percent, to 30GB. What’s the catch? There isn’t much of one, really. All Redmond says you have to do (regardless of if you’re a new user or seasoned veteran) is activate auto-upload on your device of choice’s camera roll between now and the end of the month — even on a Windows PC. Seems simple enough. The announcement focuses on the storage woes that’ve been associated with upgrading to iOS 8, and given the iPhone 6 Plus‘ fancy video tricks like HD time-lapse capture we’d imagine the off-device storage should come in pretty handy.
Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Storage, Internet, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: The OneDrive Blog
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AIVAnet 