NSA claims that technology firms are aware of its data collection
If you ask technology leaders like Apple or Google, the NSA has been snooping on their customers without permission. However, the NSA has a very different story. Agency general counsel Rajesh De tells an oversight board that these companies are fully aware of and assisting data collection under the PRISM surveillance program, whether it targets servers or internet traffic. There’s a “compulsory legal process” for the firms involved, the attorney says. If accurate, the statement at least partly contradicts repeated claims from these companies that the NSA leaves them in the dark. With that said, it’s still possible for both sides to be right. Leaks from last June suggest that company staff handling these government requests are required to keep the details secret, even when speaking to coworkers — higher-ups won’t necessarily hear about cooperation with the intelligence community.
Filed under: Networking, Internet, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook
Via: CNET
Source: The Guardian
Titanfall delayed again on Xbox 360, now launching April 8th
If you’re an Xbox 360 owner that hoped to get your hands on a copy of Titanfall before the end of the month, we have some bad news: you’re going to need to wait a little longer. EA announced today that for the second time in just over a month, the launch date will be pushed back, this time until April 8th in North America and April 11th in Europe. EA says the delay will help developer Bluepoint Games make things “even better.” The game was originally due to hit stores on March 11th, but was delayed by two weeks to “put the finishing touches” on the current-gen title. What those finishing touches were, we don’t know, but given reports of graphical imperfections on the Xbox One, Bluepoint’s decision to push back the launch to “get the last details right” could be the right one.
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
Source: EA News
Microsoft’s Project Spark beta now open to all wannabe game makers (video)
If you haven’t had the chance to make the Flappy Bird or Minecraft clone of your dreams just yet, Microsoft is removing the final barrier to Project Spark’s entry. The game-creation title’s been in open beta for a bit, but now you can download it directly from the Xbox One dashboard — no waiting required. Should you need something to, ahem, spark your creativity, the embedded trailer’s montage of user-creations set to a Linkin Park song might do the trick. If that somehow doesn’t help, Major Nelson will be joining the dev team on its Twitch stream this week, and you can pick his brain for ideas there. Or, maybe just kick back while Xbox’s blogger plays the game (where he’ll presumably make a game) on your game console. It’s all up to you!
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: Major Nelson
New Skype for Android promises not to drain your battery
If you’re anything like us, then you know how valuable it is to have great battery life on mobile devices. Which is why a number of apps, like Skype, need to be monitored a little closer than others — in particular, ones that are constantly running in the background. Knowing this, Skype’s releasing a fresh version, 4.7, of its Android application that changes the way it handles your smartphone’s or tablet’s battery. “We are introducing aggressive battery life savings that will allow most of our users to leave Skype running without noticeably affecting battery life,” said Skype in a blog post.
In order to make this happen, message notifications in group chats had to be turned off by default, though there is an option to flip the switch for folks who would like to continue using them. According to Skype, we’ve only seen the beginning, as it expects to further improve battery usage in future versions of its mobile app. We’ll have to see it to believe it, but hopefully it turns out to be true — because mo’ juice, mo’ Flappy Bird.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Software, Mobile, Microsoft, Google
Source: Google Play
Microsoft to take Xbox One to 26 new countries in September
On sale in 13 countries, Microsoft’s Xbox One is already pulling in the sales. Now that A+ titles like Titanfall and Twitch game streaming are finally with us, the company is ready to take the next-generation console to new markets: 26 of them in fact. Gamers on all continents will be served, but you’ll have to wait until September to get your hands on Redmond’s new black box. In the meantime, check out if you reside in one of the confirmed markets in the list after the break, and then wait a few short weeks until Microsoft shares more information on its local launches.
The full list: Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and UAE.
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
Source: Xbox News
Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes: The Joystiq Review
It’s a pleasure being lost in the universe of Metal Gear. With every game, and with every return of director Hideo Kojima, the fascinating stealth series redraws the boundaries of its dense military fiction, pushing them back to include more and more characters and conspiracies. We feel like time-travelers in Metal Gear’s byzantine blend of fact and fiction, leaping back and forth between the future and past of a legendary soldier named Snake. Now we enter 1975 in Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, and bless its prequel heart – there’s a spot in the statistics screen reserved for time paradoxes.
Kojima’s fiction may be impenetrable to the newcomer, but one man’s convoluted is another man’s complex, and it’s your job to infiltrate the latter. Ground Zeroes effectively acts as the cold open for the upcoming and separately released Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, sending Snake through a massive rain-drenched encampment in Cuba. It’s not quite the glorified demo your cynical self might suggest, but this tantalizing playground does show how Metal Gear Solid will change its crouching silhouette yet again.
The mission to rescue Chico and the duplicitous Paz, two important figures from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, is just the first step in a new, freely explorable environment. It feels daunting at first, but clear goals keep you pointed in the right direction. Ground Zeroes is a confident game for the confident player – the one who sees the playground hiding beneath Metal Gear’s tankers and army bases. This one’s just a whole lot bigger.
Click here for more
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Sony, Microsoft
Source: Joystiq
Latest Xbox One update preview revives friend log-in notifications
The Xbox One’s March update is so last month, those enrolled in the update preview program are already being invited to test the latest batch of upcoming tweaks. Version 1404, the April update, or whatever else you’d like to call it, will be rolling out over the next couple of days, with features and fixes being implemented piecemeal. Nevertheless, we know the full intentions of the next update, which will bring back friend sign-in notifications, make it clear who on your buddy list is engaged in multiplayer action, and allow you to check their favorite apps. A ‘saving game’ progress bar will be added, as well as flags that show what games/apps are being updated or have been recently. Beyond that, there’s another fix for the European 50Hz media playback problem, this time for Blu-rays, and improvements to voice and motion controls, game recording quality and compatibility with A/V gear under the One’s control, like TVs and set-top boxes. Most of us will have to wait until the update is properly tested, remember, but take comfort in the knowledge it’s on the way.
Microsoft is announcing an ‘intersection of cloud and mobile computing’ later this month
How does Satya Nadella run a Microsoft press event? We’re about to find out: the company’s new CEO will is coming to San Francisco later this month to talk about “news focused on the intersection of cloud and mobile computing.” The topic certainly plays to his strengths. Before taking the helm as the company’s new chief executive, Nadella played a major role in launching Office 365, Microsoft’s subscription and cloud-based Office platform. While that application is already accessible from mobile devices, native Android and iOS Office apps have reportedly been on Microsoft’s roadmap for some time too, and we wouldn’t be surprised if they surfaced at this event. Microsoft won’t speak further on the specifics of the event, but we won’t have to wait long — Nadella takes the stage on March 27th.
Filed under: Microsoft
Daily Roundup: 8GB iPhone 5c rumor, Microsoft OneNote goes free, and more
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Apple reportedly launching a cheaper 8GB iPhone 5c on March 18th
Rumor has it that Apple’s cheaper and more colorful iPhone 5c hasn’t sold quite as well as the 5s. That might soon change, though. According to leaked documents unearthed by O2 Germany, Apple’s releasing a cheaper 8GB version of the 5c overseas on March 18th.
Apple’s Jony Ive: ‘We’re surrounded by anonymous, poorly made objects’
During a rare interview, Apple’s Jonathan Ive offers some insight into his own design process and how Apple products graduate from the drawing board. Every detail is given incredible thought, and for Jony, “It’s not just about aesthetics… Our success is a victory for purity, integrity – for giving a damn.”
Microsoft’s OneNote goes completely free, launches for Macs
OneNote, Microsoft’s productivity tool and Evernote competitor, has been available to Windows users for a long while, but now it’s finally arrived for those running OS X. Starting today, Mac users can download the full desktop version from the App Store for the wonderful price of $0.
Microsoft intros an LTE version of the Surface 2, arrives tomorrow for $679
We knew a cellular version of Microsoft’s slate was coming, but now the company’s made it official. The $679 LTE Surface 2 comes in a 64GB flavor, packing the same battery life as its less-connected counterpart. You can pick one up from Microsoft and Best Buy starting tomorrow.
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Xbox leader Marc Whitten is leaving Microsoft for Sonos
Microsoft’s launch of the Xbox One has had a rocky start — DRM 180 anyone? — and now Chief Product Officer Marc Whitten is leaving the company. Whitten will become the Chief Product Officer at wireless speaker company Sonos, continuing an executive reshuffling that started with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and also saw former Xbox leader Don Mattrick leave last July. In a note to the fans, he reflected on fourteen years as part of the Xbox team, proclaiming “utmost confidence” in the group and its products — similar to what he told us at CES in January. Microsoft says the rest of the executive team (including Yusuf Mehdi and former Sony exec Phil Harrison) will remain intact and, for now, report to software platform EVP Terry Myerson, who oversees Windows Phone, Windows and Xbox. The news is an unexpected start to this week’s Game Developer’s Conference where we’re expecting to hear about Microsoft’s Xbox One plans for indie game developers and DirectX 12 news — if any execs get a Titan dropped on them we’ll let you know.
Will always love @xbox. Thank you for the well wishes everyone. Very stoked to join the great @sonos team as well. Many emotions today!
– Marc Whitten (@notwen) March 17, 2014
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Source: Xbox Wire (1), (2), Marc Whitten (Twitter)
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