Johnnie Walker’s drunk-driving VR experience lacks subtlety
You’ve probably considered the importance of avoiding drinking and driving, but I’m guessing you’ve never experienced the consequences of it in VR. Johnnie Walker teamed up with Samsung to create Decisions, a virtual reality video that lets you see, first-hand and in 360 degrees, what happens when you drink and drive. The idea is to make the consequences so real that you’ll be deterred from driving while intoxicated. I tried out the full experience this week (complete with a vibrating “4D” chair), and left feeling less chastened than I thought I would.
I received a link to the 360-degree YouTube video prior to taking the full-fledged demo, and was underwhelmed by what I initially saw. I was hoping for a first-person experience that put me in the driver’s seat; one that would somehow make me feel like I was responsible for the consequences of my decisions. But there is no decision-making for you in this video (which is fair, it’s not a game) and therefore you aren’t really responsible for what happens later. Instead, you’re an onlooker watching the bad choices made by someone else, which somewhat defeats the purpose of using virtual reality as a medium. I could watch a movie the old-fashioned way and get the same results.
Decisions follows a woman who has just received a call while on the road, saying she’s been offered a job she wanted. The film also features two other cars carrying a couple on a date and a trio of friends, respectively. The main character stops for some celebratory drinks with her soon-to-be colleagues, and chugs down a bunch of pints in an effort to bond with her future coworkers.
The video cuts between the three vehicles about eight times throughout its four-and-a-half-minute runtime, which I found distracting. The idea in cutting back and forth between the three cars is to encourage the viewer to connect with the characters, which is a bit morbid because you know from the onset that something horrible is going to happen to them. It’s also a little unrealistic, because drivers in the real world don’t know the strangers in the cars next to them. But Decision‘s creators want you to empathize with the drivers here, so that you can mourn them when they eventually die. Insisting on this relationship between the viewer and characters feels forced, though, especially since the story is finished in all of four minutes.
The heavy-handedness of the video gets especially extreme at the end of the clip. As you look on at the victims of the crash, you start floating in the air, as if you were the spirit of someone who had just died. I know it’s supposed to be poignant, this moment where you’re thinking about the people who were just killed. But it was ultimately distracting and cheesy.
My experience was slightly different at a recent event hosted by Samsung and Diageo, Johnnie Walker’s parent company. There, I was given the latest Gear VR headset and a set of headphones, then strapped into a chair that vibrates, moves and swings around in sync with the video. It simulated the feeling of being in a car, from the gentle rocking of a smooth drive on a highway, to bumping and swerving during the accident.
This was definitely a more immersive experience, and to be honest, sort of fun. I was apparently the only person who started giggling just as the simulation’s car collided with the surrounding vehicles. I felt sheepish, but couldn’t help enjoying what felt like a tame roller coaster ride, despite the awful accident unfolding before my eyes. That’s probably not the reaction the company was hoping for.
Diageo will be taking this experience (with the chair) to shows such as South by Southwest to let more people try it out. Meanwhile, those with their own headsets at home can find the video on YouTube or Facebook. The company says it will be taking in user feedback and using that to come up with new and better content in future.
The question is whether future iterations can ever be effective. My main problem with this version is that it doesn’t make the viewer decide what to do, thus absolving them of any responsibility. But even if an upcoming edition put you in the hot seat, offering options such as “Don’t pound that extra pint” or “Wait till you’re sober,” it still might not be very instructive. Picking the right option is easy, especially when the answers are so obvious. No one experiencing this demo is going to choose to drink too much or drive while intoxicated — not unless they’re curious to see what happens.
If Diageo is going to fine-tune this experience, it would do well to look at more successful efforts to generate empathy through VR. The game The Circle puts you in the body of a wheelchair-bound transgender woman who’s suffering from PTSD. It places objects out of the frame, showing how difficult simple tasks like picking up a phone from the floor can be when you can’t use your legs. The game lets you decide whether you want to engage with family members, or ignore them. Finally, The Circle induces motion sickness — a common side effect of VR — to help you further empathize with the protagonist, who feels uncomfortable in her own body.
To its credit, Decisions does use some tactics that were effective in making me feel as if I were inebriated. During the lead-up to the accident, the surrounding landscape grew blurry, I felt slightly nauseated with motion sickness, and the point of view finally shifted to show me what I had wanted to be focusing on all along: the road in front of me. But before I had time to understand that the blurriness was a result of being “drunk,” I was thrown sideways as the car slid out of control.
That’s something Diageo can improve on for its next iteration: timing. A longer experience that’s more immersive and told from the viewer’s perspective would be a better use of the medium. I also would have needed to be in an enclosed space to truly feel the terror of being in an out-of-control car. Instead, I was in a mostly open area, acutely aware that at least five people were watching my reaction.
Even if Diageo implements those tweaks, though, it still runs the risk of talking down to the viewer. One reason The Circle is so compelling is that it introduces the player to someone they probably don’t know in real life: a transgender woman trapped in a wheelchair. But everyone knows, theoretically, that you shouldn’t get behind the wheel when you’re intoxicated. You can send the same message by making people sit through a civics class full of videos of horrifying car crashes, although a better-executed, more realistic VR experience might be more compelling.
Consider AT&T’s VR experience for its “It Can Wait” campaign to combat distracted driving. That video puts you behind the wheel, and you watch as the character whose body you’re occupying repeatedly reaches for her phone to reply to texts. During your drive to work, you narrowly miss killing several pedestrians, and nearly collide with other vehicles not once, but a few times. It’s only when a car crashes into you at the end of the clip that you’re forced to understand how dangerous distracted driving is. I never saw it coming, because I had been conditioned by the first few close calls to believe that I would not get into a fatal accident.
That’s a big difference between AT&T and Diageo’s efforts: only one felt surprising. While Diageo’s video had better production value and a more dramatic storyline, AT&T’s experience was far more realistic. It also uses the first-person perspective, which I found more effective. Even though both clips have equally noble intentions, it was the subtlety in the “It Can Wait” video that made it scarier — and therefore more impactful.
As a first attempt, Decisions is underwhelming, but Diageo’s willingness to accept feedback is encouraging. But future iterations need to be more subtle and engaging to influence the viewer and let them feel like they could, under the wrong circumstances, make the same bad choices. Together with the chair and an enclosed space, Diageo’s VR setup could eventually create an experience harrowing enough to leave a more lasting impact.
Former Uber drivers can appeal bans in New York City
If Uber kicks out a driver, that’s usually all she wrote. They have to look for new work, even if the final offense was something beyond their control. In New York City, however, it’s a different story. A newly instituted appeals process, the result of negotiations with the Independent Drivers Guild, will let ex-drivers challenge certain bans and potentially resume their ridesharing. They’ll face a panel of five other drivers (jointly picked by the Guild and Uber) who can reverse deactivations where there’s some room for dispute, such as excessive cancellations or passing on too many rides.
Drivers won’t have an appeal in less ambiguous situations. If their passenger rating is too low, or they’re booted for criminal allegations, the deactivation is final. There is the option of taking a training course if their “quality” is considered poor, however.
This won’t completely satisfy drivers wanting to be treated as full-fledged employees, especially in cities where appeals aren’t even an option. Even so, it could make a big difference in one of Uber’s largest markets. New York City drivers won’t feel quite so much like they’re walking along a knife’s edge — they won’t necessarily lose their livelihood just because they couldn’t take a passenger one night.
Source: BBC
‘The Walking Dead’ season three lands on December 20th
Telltale’s The Walking Dead is back. Season three, A New Frontier, is set to premiere worldwide on December 20th across PC, PlayStation 4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, iOS and Android. Keep in mind that this is the first of five total episodes, the rest of which are set to hit throughout 2017. For Xbox One and PS4, the complete game, including access to all episodes as they come out, will be available as a boxed product starting on February 7th.
A New Frontier begins four years after the zombie outbreak first struck and introduces Javier, a young man searching for his family in the ruins of society. He runs into series star Clementine, who’s now older, wiser and tougher than ever, and their fates are entwined from this moment on. Telltale promises it’s a story “where every choice you make could be your last.” As usual, of course.
We’ve seen a teaser for season three featuring Clementine, Javier and one zombie who’s unlucky enough to cross their path. The first full look at A New Frontier will be during The Game Awards on the evening of December 1st.
A New Frontier follows two full (and, frankly, fabulous) Walking Dead seasons, the 400 Days DLC and the Michonne miniseries. There’s a ton of emotional baggage heading into the third season, but at least there’s one glimmer of hope: Clementine is still alive. For now.
Fake news sites are using Amazon to hire their writers
It appears that right wing websites that traffic in “alt-right” fake news are using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk system to recruit writers to produce content for them. The Mechanical Turk platform is an “odd-job board” where companies can hire random folks from the internet to perform a variety of menial online tasks, like filling out surveys or transcribing audio. In this case, white supremacist outlet The Goldwater wants people to produce “news” articles for $5 a pop.
The advert, which has since been removed, requested that applicants write in the style of Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones and other white nationalist media personalities. “At times, we may give you a conspiracy theory to write about. Roll with it,” the post continues. “You are a reporter now!” Of course, regurgitating baseless conspiracy theories on the web doesn’t make you a reporter any more than pouring water in a Cup-Noodle makes you a chef. These people aren’t covering actual news, they’re generating SEO fodder that pads the site’s Google page rankings and provides a platform for banner ad sales — which is why http://Google has recently taken steps to bar its adsense ads from running on such garbage sites.
This isn’t the first time that The Goldwater has crowdsourced its writers. A similar ad for a post titled “Predictable: First Lesbian Bishop of Stockholm Boots Out Christ and Welcomes Mohammed” has already been published on the Goldwater website. And it certainly won’t be the last.
“When objectionable HITs are posted, there is a link on the HIT for workers to report it to Amazon, but there is no follow up from Amazon with the worker on what action is taken, if any, Online labor “advocate Rochelle LaPlante told Motherboard. “I reported the HITs last night using that report button, but there’s no way for me to know if Amazon saw and removed it before it was completed by workers, or if Amazon has taken any action against the requester’s account.”
Via: Motherboard
Source: Rochelle LaPlante (Twitter)
Xbox One games stream to your Oculus Rift on December 12th
You can already stream Xbox One games to your PC. But what if you’d rather not make it patently obvious that you’re playing Gears of War? You’re in luck. Microsoft and Oculus are launching an app that, as promised, will let you send Xbox One games to an Oculus Rift headset attached to a Windows 10 PC. The software, which arrives December 12th, won’t magically turn your favorite titles into virtual reality experiences. Instead, you’re getting a Netflix-style virtual screen. This is more for private gameplay (say, to prevent your kids from seeing gore) or giving yourself a larger screen than you can fit in your den.
The app will be free, although this clearly isn’t the cheapest way to play Xbox One games away from your TV: on top of the Xbox One, you’ll need a fast PC and a Rift. Still, this might beat having to sit in front of your monitor the entire time… or having to awkwardly explain an ultra-violent game to your little ones.
Via: The Verge
Source: Xbox Wire
Maliciously crafted video can freeze your iOS device
If you thought last year’s iOS text crash bug was a headache, you’d better brace yourself. EverythingApplePro and other users have confirmed that at least one maliciously crafted video is guaranteed to trigger a memory leak and freeze iOS devices, even if they’re running something as ancient as iOS 5. All you have to do is play the linked video file in Safari — your iPhone, iPad or iPod will lock up within a few seconds, forcing you to hard reboot to regain control of your gear. It’s so far useful only for cruel pranks (you should be fine afterward), but these kinds of quirks can occasionally be used as part of security breaches.
The trick is limited to unaltered files, so you don’t have to worry about a YouTube link or other processed video bringing your device to a screeching halt. And of course, the immediate precaution is to avoid tapping direct video links (particularly from known hosts like vk.com and testtrial.site90.net) if you don’t know that you can trust them. The problem, as you might surmise, is that attackers may use link shorteners or otherwise try to hide the nature of the video.
We’ve reached out to Apple about its plans for a fix, and we’ll let you know if can outline plans. It won’t be surprising if there’s already a patch in the works. Don’t be surprised if it’s focused strictly on iOS 10 users, though. The latest version already had 60 percent adoption as of late October, and many of those running iOS 9 can upgrade. An iOS 10-only fix would (eventually) cover the vast majority of users.
Via: 9to5Mac, MacRumors
Source: EverythingApplePro (YouTube), Reddit
Twitter suspends Tila Tequila following pro-Nazi posts
Twitter’s quest to clamp down on hatemongers, trolls and similar provocateurs isn’t slowing down any time soon. The social network has suspended Tila Tequila’s account after the reality show star (shown at left) posted a string of pro-Nazi tweets, including one showing her giving a Nazi salute at a white nationalist conference in Washington. While she has previously sworn that she isn’t racist (she’s of Vietnamese heritage), she hasn’t exactly hidden her shift toward the extreme right. She once posted a photo of herself wearing a Nazi armband in front of Auschwitz, and in her Twitter bio described herself as an “alt-reich queen” and “literally Hitler.”
Twitter doesn’t normally discuss the circumstances surrounding a suspension, but we’ve reached out regardless and will let you know if it has something to say. However, this follows shortly after Twitter expanded its abuse reporting to let you flag hateful tweets targeting people based on race, ethnic groups and other demographics, whether or not they’re targeted at you. Tequila may not have been singling people out, but her posts weren’t exactly promoting cultural acceptance and compassion.
It won’t be surprising if bans like this continue. Twitter’s reluctance to combat trolls may have cost it an acquisition bid from Disney, among other suitors. The last thing it needs is a verified user whose very presence on the service makes Jewish and non-white people feel unwelcome. While the ban won’t allay questions about Twitter’s support for freedom of expression, it’s important to remember that this a private business. It has no obligation to host speech it doesn’t like, especially if that speech intimidates other users and ultimately hurts its bottom line.
Source: Huffington Post
Black Friday Deals on Apps and Software for iPhone, iPad, and Mac
With fewer than three days until Black Friday, a number of developers are beginning to offer deals on their apps and software. Below, we have rounded up some of the notable discounts available for popular iOS and Mac apps and software. More deals will inevitably be announced, so keep an eye on our Black Friday roundup.
Final Fantasy Tactics
Square Enix has discounted both the iPhone and iPad versions of Final Fantasy Tactics to $3.99 for a limited time, marking the game’s lowest price ever. The lowest previous sale was $6.99 for the iPhone version and $7.99 for the iPad version. Regular prices are $13.99 for iPhone and $15.99 for iPad.
TouchArcade gave the title a rather mediocre 3.5/5 stars rating back in 2011, but noted Square Enix has significantly updated the game since then. “The graphics got redrawn, iCloud support was added, making it a significantly better port than when it was first released,” said editor-in-chief Eli Hodapp.
A gameplay overview from the 2011 review:
You’ll be taking over a squad of characters and battling on grid-based maps in a turn-based system. As you play through, you’ll be able to level up your characters, equip weapons and effects and change jobs. Since the iOS port is based on the PSP version, you’ll also get an updated story, a better translation than the PS1 version and a few fancy cutscenes.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is available on the App Store for iPhone [Direct Link] and iPad [Direct Link].
Lumines Puzzle and Music
Mobcast’s falling-block puzzle game Lumines Puzzle and Music is on sale for just 99 cents for a limited time. The app has normally cost $2.99 since it first launched in September. Lumines universally supports both iPhone and iPad.
A mobile rebuild of the classic PSP title, LUMINES PUZZLE & MUSIC is an action packed puzzle game synchronized to a musical beat, featuring newly-produced tracks and classics such as “Shinin’” by Mondo Grosso. Players swipe and tap their screen in portrait mode to properly align their Lumines blocks to clear blocks of four matching colors in rhythm to the beat.
TouchArcade gave Lumines Puzzle and Music a favorable 4/5 stars rating, with editor Shaun Musgrave noting the game “nails the core gameplay” and has “exceptional aesthetics.” Here’s a bit more on gameplay:
In Lumines, 2 x 2 blocks composed of two different colors drop in the field and begin falling. You need to move them left or right, rotate them, and drop them at the bottom of the playfield. As opposed to making lines as in Tetris, here you are trying to make 4 x 4 squares of a single color. When you do that, they will be marked for clearing. As you play, a bar is constantly moving across the field in line with the tempo of the current song. That bar will removed any marked squares you’ve matched up, and the remaining blocks will settle into place.
Lumines Puzzle and Music is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad [Direct Link].
Other Apps and Games
Name: Talisman
Developer: Nomad Games
Sale Price: $1.99
Previous Price: $3.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad (Universal)
TouchArcade Review: 4.5/5 stars
Links: AppShopper | iTunes | YouTube Trailer
Description:
Talisman: Digital Edition is a classic fantasy adventure board game, where you embark on a dangerous quest, fighting dragons, battling serpents, and avoiding the deadly curse of the Hag. These are some of the many obstacles you will face. So choose your character wisely, Warrior, Assassin, Thief or Wizard? There are 14 available, unique in their strengths, weaknesses and special powers. To win the game race your opponents through a perilous realm, journeying to the heart of the land to find the crown of Command.
Name: Heroes of Loot 2
Developer: OrangePixel
Sale Price: 99 cents
Previous Price: $3.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad (Universal)
TouchArcade Review: 4/5 stars
Links: AppShopper | iTunes | YouTube Trailer
Description:
After their job, of keeping the dungeons in balance, was done, our heroes needed a new job. Roaming the lands they found a call for heroes, a castle in need, possible even a damsel in distress?
Pick two heroes to take into the adventure, controlling both heroes and using their special skills to navigate the dangerous castle hallways, rooms and floors. Switching between the two characters to solve quests, puzzles, and of course clear the dungeons of all evil.
Name: Space Grunts
Developer: OrangePixel
Sale Price: 99 cents
Previous Price: $3.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad (Universal)
TouchArcade Review: 4/5 stars
Links: AppShopper | iTunes | YouTube Trailer
Description:
Space Grunts combines fast paced arcade action with turn-based gameplay.
The year 2476, Earth’s space-federation has been building moon-bases across the galaxy. One of those moon-bases has been sending a distress signal.
Space Grunts are a group of intergalactic “problem” solvers, sent to investigate..
You play one, out of a team, of Space Grunts, and your mission is simple: find your way into the moon-base, and figure out what has happened. You’ll have to fight your way through aliens, robots, security drones and base-systems. Find the lower levels of the moon-base, and get to the core of the problems.
Name: Screens for iOS
Developer: Edovia
Sale Price: $9.99 (Late Thursday to Early Tuesday)
Previous Price: $19.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad (Universal)
Links: AppShopper | iTunes
Description:
Leave your computer behind and travel light! Screens lets you connect back to your Mac, Windows or Linux PC and control it from the comfort of your living room, the corner coffee shop or anywhere in the world.
Name: Screens for Mac
Developer: Edovia
Sale Price: $14.99 (Late Thursday to Early Tuesday)
Previous Price: $29.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.10 or later
Links: AppShopper | iTunes
Description:
Access your computers from wherever you are! Screens is a beautiful, yet powerful Screen Sharing and VNC client that lets you connect back to your Mac, Windows or Linux PC from the comfort of your living room, the corner coffee shop or anywhere in the world.
Name: Scanner Pro
Developer: Readdle
Sale Price: $1.99 (Wednesday to Friday)
Previous Price: $3.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad (Universal)
Links: AppShopper | iTunes
Description:
Scanner Pro is the best app for quickly scanning and saving a digital version of a paper document. Scan any papers, ranging from a receipt to multi-page documents. Scanner Pro will automatically detect borders, correcting distortion and geometry. Share, email and upload your perfect scans. Use OCR to convert any scan into a text.
Name: PDF Expert
Developer: Readdle
Sale Price: $4.99 (Wednesday to Friday)
Previous Price: $9.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad (Universal)
Links: AppShopper | iTunes
Description:
PDF Expert 5 is a must-have app for anyone who reads, annotates or edits PDF documents on iPad or iPhone. It allows you to mark up documents with highlights and handwriting, insert text and stamps, sign and even merge PDFs. Moreover, PDF Expert 5 is the best choice for filling out PDF forms right on your iPad and iPhone.
Name: Printer Pro
Developer: Readdle
Sale Price: $3.99 (Wednesday to Friday)
Previous Price: $6.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad (Universal)
Links: AppShopper | iTunes
Description:
Printer Pro lets you wirelessly print from the iPhone or iPad. It can print directly to many Wi-Fi printers or any printer attached to your Mac or PC via helper application installed on your computer.
Name: Calendars 5
Developer: Readdle
Sale Price: $3.99 (Wednesday to Friday)
Previous Price: $6.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad (Universal)
Links: AppShopper | iTunes
Description:
Calendars 5 is complete re-imagining of what the best mobile calendar experience should be. Calendars 5 is smart, excels in both tasks and events and runs on any iOS device you might have. It’s the calendar app you have been looking for.
Name: PDF Converter
Developer: Readdle
Sale Price: $1.99 (Wednesday to Friday)
Previous Price: $3.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad (Universal)
Links: AppShopper | iTunes
Description:
Make PDFs from any file that you have on your iPad or iPhone. Save Word, Excel, Powerpoint or iWork documents, web pages, photos and even clipboard content as professional quality PDFs. Everything from a multi-million contract to a web page you want to read later can be saved as a PDF in just a few taps.
Name: Luminar
Developer: Macphun
Sale Price: $59
Previous Price: $209
Compatibility: OS X 10.10.5 or later
Links: Macphun
Description:
Meet the world’s first photo editor that adapts to your style & skill level. Luminar is the supercharged photo software that makes complex editing easy & enjoyable. And it is as responsive and beautiful as your Mac.
Name: 2017 Aurora HDR
Developer: Macphun
Sale Price: $79
Previous Price: $89
Compatibility: OS X 10.10.5 or later
Links: Macphun
Description:
The world’s most advanced HDR photo editor for Mac gains powerful new features and a new look which will amaze, inspire and help you to make incredible HDR photos.
Parallels
Parallels is offering a Black Friday bundle that includes seven free Mac apps with the purchase of Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac (available for $79). The bundle has been available since November 21.
Software includes:
• 1Password for families
• PDFpenPro 8
• Pocket Premium (1 year subscription)
• Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac (1 year subscription)
• TextExpander
• Hotspot Shield Elite (2 year subscription)
• Acronis Online Backup (500GB, 1 year subscription)
VMware
VMware will offer up to 55 percent off all of its software products, starting on November 23 and running through December 2. Deals are as follows:
Fusion Pro & Workstation Pro Discounts
• Nov 23 – 27: Save 40% on new licenses and upgrades
• Nov 28 – Dec 2: Save 35% on new licenses and upgrades
Fusion & Workstation Player Discounts
• Nov 23 – 27: Save 30% on new licenses and upgrades
• Nov 28 – Dec 2: Save 25% on new licenses and upgrades
Fusion Pro/Workstation Pro Bundle Discount
• Nov 23 – Dec 2: Save 50%
Fusion vs Parallels Discount
• Nov 23 – Dec 2: Save 55%
VMware Certification & Training Discount
• Nov 23 – Dec 2: Save 25%
Keep an eye on our Black Friday roundup for further software deals as they are announced. The roundup also tracks good deals on Apple products such as iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple TVs, accessories, and more from retailers such as Best Buy, Kohl’s, Target, and Walmart.
Related Roundup: Black Friday
Tag: App Store
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Apple Inks Apple Music Deal With Indian Ride-Hailing Company Ola
Apple has partnered with Indian ride-sharing company Ola to make Apple Music available to customers who order a ride, reports The Los Angeles Times. Apple Music, along with services from Sony, Fynd, and Audio Compass, will be incorporated into a platform called Ola Play, allowing customers to control music, watch videos, read ebooks, and adjust in-car temperature, all from a tablet inside the car.
Apple Music will be one of the audio choices, letting customers choose which music to listen to on the car’s audio system while on their journey. Ola, which holds 75 percent of the ride-sharing market in India, believes the platform will “completely transform” the ride experience.
Image via YourStory
According to a Brulte and Co. analyst that spoke to The Los Angeles Times, Apple’s Ola deal, combined with Apple’s stake in Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing, points towards deeper connected car ambitions.
“Apple invested $1 billion in [Chinese ride-hailing giant] Didi, so it has access to all their data. Now Apple will have access to Ola’s Apple Music data,” said Grayson Brulte, president of technology consulting firm Brulte and Co. “So you start to put the pieces together. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple try to gather all the data in the food chain.” […]
Brulte said it wouldn’t be surprising to see Apple shift from working on self-driving cars to working on the services and interfaces with which drivers and passengers interact. Think: The sleek and simple design of iOS, for cars.
With its own car development ambitions on hold, Apple is said to be working to develop autonomous driving software that could be incorporated into vehicles made by third-party companies. Such a system would undoubtedly be able to be deeply integrated with iOS devices, offering a heads-up display and other functionality.
Apple has been dabbling in the car market for several years with its CarPlay offering, which is built into many new 2016 and 2017 car models available today, and an autonomous driving system could be a natural evolution.
Speculation has suggested that Apple could use Didi Chuxing to test such software in the future, as it provides Apple with a huge fleet of cars to work with. Apple first invested $1 billion in Didi Chuxing in May of 2016 and now holds a seat on the company’s board.
Ola Play will be available in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi for Ola Select customers starting next week. It will expand to all Prime rides in three months time.
Tags: Apple Music, India, Ola
Discuss this article in our forums
Google announces major contest for indie game devs in Europe
Google to European indie game developers: Show us what you got!
One of the hardest challenges indie game developers face is getting publicity and exposure for their finished product. The fine folks at Google are doing their part to help, launching a new initiative for European indie developer teams of 15 people or less — they’ve put out the call for submissions to the first-ever Google Play Indie Games Contest in Europe.
The European contest is the latest way Google has attempted to support indie game developers, whether it’s by highlighting the best new indie games in the Google Play Store — where we’ve discovered some recent favorites of ours such as Reigns — or by hosting Indie Games Festivals in North America and Korea.
From the announcement blog post:
If you’re based in Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France (coming soon), Germany, Iceland, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Poland (coming soon), Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, or UK (excl. Northern Ireland), have 15 or less full time employees, and published a new game on Google Play after 1 January 2016, you may now be eligible to enter the contest. If you’re planning on publishing a new game soon, you can also enter by submitting a private beta.
Submissions close at midnight on December 31 with the finalists scheduled to be announced sometime in mid-January. The contest culminated in a final event to be held on February 16 at the Saatchi Gallery in London, where the finalists will get a chance to showcase their games to the public and winners will ultimately be selected by a panel of industry experts.
Google is offering up an impressive list of prizes for winners and finalists alike, which include a Pixel XL for each finalist team, heavy promotion in the Google Play Store’s Indie Corner for the top 10 games, and more exposure and promotion for the top three finalists.
Qualifying developer teams can go here to submit a game. If you live in London, you can pre-register to attend the live event on February 16.
And if you’re just excited to see what games are showcased, you can keep it locked to Android Central, as we’ll surely be keeping an eye on this contest — and can’t wait to see what great games are showcased in the new year.
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