Play-Doh’s new toy-to-life app is pointless, but fun
If you had a decent childhood, you probably crafted some Play-Doh masterpieces back in the day. Today, however, kids are less likely to play with the modeling compound and more likely to spend time on an iPad. As such, Hasbro is taking a stab at making the 60-year-old brand relevant to modern kids with its new “Touch” app for iPads and iPhones. The game scans your creations and animates them in a virtual world that’s as immersive as it is entertaining, even if you’re nearly 30 years old (ahem).
You can play the game for free with any can of Play-Doh you already have, or buy the $40 Shape to Life Studio set, which includes cutters, character and action stampers, along with seven cans of modeling compound. The set expands the environments and characters you can interact with, and makes the game a lot more fun.
When you first launch the app, you’ll enter a mostly blank world, where your soon-to-be-created main character will live. You’ll then see a virtual can of Play-Doh with a cloud hovering above it; you will need to tap on that before progressing further. This launches your camera, which will scan whatever masterpiece you’ve crafted, and bring it into the app. In my experience, this typically took about 10 seconds, including lining up the image and processing it. This might take longer if you don’t have the right lighting (white light from top) and a white platform to match. The latter is provided with the Studio set; if you don’t buy that, though, any white surface should do.
This is where the fun starts. Once the app has loaded your character, Touch animates your new pal, very accurately identifying limbs and faces. My odd-looking blob (which I shall name Blobby) with three feeble, deformed legs (I’m really not very good at crafts) transformed into a squealing, energetic creature. Of course, over time the noises got a bit annoying, especially when I was trying to make another model and Blobby just wouldn’t shut up. For the most part, though, the app’s background music and sounds were enjoyable.
Your initial creation is just the first of dozens of components you can add to the environment. Each world has five character cans (for adding new creatures) and 10 environment cans. The latter let you add whimsical trees or cannons or waterfalls to the background, and these can even interact with your virtual friends. A cannon can blast your pal onto a higher platform, while a bouncy drum on the ground propels him upward. I was impressed not only by how accurately the app scanned my lumps of clay, but also how well it integrated those misshapen, colorful blobs into the background of whatever world I was in.
Those using the Studio set can also use stamps to create balloons, wings, musical notes and potions to make the characters fly, dance and multiply. These differ in style based on the color of Play-Doh you chose. For instance, using different hues for the music note changes the background song to which your creature dances.
For an app that’s designed for kids four and older, Touch is a tad confusing. During a demo, scanning and dragging a musical note over my character made him groove, but I couldn’t recall how to do that during my own playtime. After looking at the in-app tutorial and the included instruction sheet, I still couldn’t figure out how to do so and had to ask a Hasbro rep to clarify. That’s not a luxury most kids have.
Speaking of luxuries, while it’s nice that you don’t have to invest in the Studio set to enjoy the game, there are benefits to getting it. You can use the included character stamps to unlock five more worlds, bringing the total to six. Each world houses 15 more cans so you can add more characters and wacky backgrounds. That’s a lot of combinations with which to explore and personalize the Play-Doh Touch universe.
Discovery and expression are going to have to be enough to maintain your child’s attention to Touch. There’s no real objective to the app, other than encouraging the player to be creative and artistic. No score is kept, nor are there levels to advance. You’ll only need to collect orbs of light to have enough energy to unlock new cans to add more to your world. And while that doesn’t provide a lot of motivation to keep returning to the game, it’s not a bad thing either. What Play-Doh’s Touch provides, just as its modeling compound has done for decades now, is a way for kids — or maybe even adults — to be imaginative for hours on end.
Atlas Recall is a cross-platform search with a big caveat
Imagine if you had a personal assistant that was constantly taking screenshots of everything you looked at on your computer and filing them away for future reference. Imagine then, if you could call upon that assistant to pull up that obscure Wikipedia page you were looking at while you were working on your business proposal at 3pm yesterday. That tool now exists, and is called Atlas Recall.
You’re probably thinking, “I’ve heard of this before. Doesn’t it already exist?” You’re most likely thinking of Universal Search in Mac OS or Spotlight in Mac and iOS. Or, perhaps, Google. But Atlas Recall is more like an amalgamation of these different services. While Google can only search the indexed Web and information from accounts you’ve signed into, it can’t look at documents stored locally on your laptop or iPhone. And although Spotlight and Universal Search trawl your apps, files and even the internet, they can’t pull up a page from your browsing history or make associations with other things you were looking at. Atlas Recall is unique in its ability to sort your results by other events at the same time.
During a demo, Atlas Informatics’ founder Jordan Ritter showed off how the program was able to pull up the resume of a specific candidate by looking up the words “security engineer.” You can also look for something based on time you opened it, or what you were doing when you saw it. Search results were laid out visually, with screenshots of each listing organized by file type (images, documents, web pages etc). This layout supposedly helps jog users’ memories and enables them to more quickly find what they were looking for. It’s this graphical sorting system that led Ritter to describe Atlas Recall as “a searchable photographic memory.” It’s a bit cheesy, but comes close to describing the tool.
Obviously, privacy concerns are huge with something that can watch your every digital move. To assuage these, Ritter said each user has full control over what gets indexed and what doesn’t. There’s a Pause mode that temporarily stops the tool from capturing your sordid browsing behavior for 15, 30 or 60 minutes. And if you never want your sensitive data, such as banking information, captured, you can block certain sources, like your bank’s website, from being scanned altogether. As for the content you do allow, it is all encrypted “at rest and in motion,” said Ritter. So when it’s being beamed to the cloud and when it’s on your device, your data is scrambled for security.
Right now, Atlas Recall is only available as an open beta on Macs and iOS (as a companion app that requires the desktop version). A Windows 10 option will be available soon, but the outlook for an Android version isn’t clear. Only Chrome and Safari are supported right now, although other browsers are being tested. The service’s limited availability makes the whole “search everything!” spiel a lot less convincing, but with more time and testing, Atlas Recall has the potential to become a really powerful and useful tool.
Scribd adds unlimited access to ‘New York’ and ‘Time’ magazine
Last summer Scribd axed romance novels because it couldn’t afford them. Business has apparently stabilized because now it’s adding magazines to the fold. Not those types of magazines, though. Starting this month, what’s being added to the subscription-based reading service is unlimited access to publications Bloomberg Business Week, Fortune, Money, New York, People and Time. The magazines are a value-add and won’t bump the existing $8.99 monthly fee, according to Wall Street Journal.
These are full magazines, that will apparently be linked by interest and related articles based on what you’re currently reading. It’s worth noting that Scribd’s offering isn’t nearly as robust as what you can get with Amazon’s all-you-can-read Kindle Unlimited subscription, of course.
In all, this seems like an experiment for publishers more than it does Scribd itself. Scribd appears to be happy just to increase what it offers to subscribers. Heads of licensing and biz dev for Time Inc. and New York magazine, on the other hand, seem to be doing it more for insights of how people read their product than seeing it as a revenue driver.
“We’re interested in new emerging platforms where we may gain exposure to readers we may not be already reaching,” New York’s Camilla Cho said.
Source: Wall Street Journal
ICYMI: Sims yourself into a new VR social network
Today on In Case You Missed It: A new social network for virtual reality just launched, geared towards users who will decorate rooms to their taste, then have online friends over to hang out in their rooms, sharing content and chatting in real time about whatever movie they might be watching. Meanwhile, a bike path in Poland is made of material that glows for 10 hours after being charged by sunlight. It’s being watched through the winter and if it handles cold temperatures well, researchers will begin work on commercializing the material in the spring.
Nissan’s EV mobile office video is here, and if you’re interested in that GoPro contest, the mountain biking video is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Amazon’s bookstores charge more if you’re not a Prime member
If it wasn’t clear already, Amazon really wants you to sign up for Prime. As GeekWire reports, the company has adopted a unique pricing model inside its physical bookstores: one sticker price for Prime members, another for regular customers. Subscribers get the same amount shown on Amazon’s website, while everyone else has to pay the normal (usually higher) list price. The unusual system has been in place since August, according to one store clerk, but this is the first we’ve heard of it. The message from Jeff Bezos is simple: sign up for Prime if you want the true Amazon experience.
Credit: GeekWire
Much of the company’s revenue comes from Prime subscriptions. You can pay on a yearly basis or subscribe month-to-month; either way, it’s a sizeable chunk of change that builds on Amazon’s baseline e-commerce business. The bookstores in Seattle, Portland and San Diego (Amazon is planning two more in Chicago and Boston) are, therefore, ideal places to explain and sell Prime to the public. Amazon’s strategy is to increase the perceived value of Prime until it’s impossible to avoid taking out a subscription. Access to better book prices is but one lever at its disposal.
Via: The Digital Reader
Source: Geekwire
Apple says why the new MacBook Pro doesn’t have an SD card slot
Did you take one glance at the new MacBook Pro and wonder why Apple removed your precious SD card slot? The company isn’t about to bring the slot back, but it’s at least ready to explain its decision. In an interview with the Independent, Senior VP Phil Schiller says there were a few reasons for axing the card reader. It was a “bit of a cumbersome slot,” he claims, since your card juts outward. He also argues that the slot was a compromise, since it forced high-end camera owners (who often use CompactFlash or XQD cards) to get an external reader. And any slot is less necessary these days, Schiller adds. Many newer cameras have built-in wireless transfers, so you may never need to plug something into your laptop.
The points have some validity, but we suspect that there will still be lots of disagreement from potential customers. An SD card sticking out of your laptop isn’t that much of a pain, and numerous pro-level cameras use SD storage. Also, while it’s true that many cameras from recent years have WiFi, not all of them do — and not everyone can justify buying a new camera to complement their new laptop. This should be less of an issue as time goes on, but it’s no small matter today.
This wasn’t Schiller’s only answer, as you might guess. For one, he explains why Macs don’t have “hey, Siri” voice activation like iOS devices do. It’s a combination of “system electronics” with expectations, the exec says. You’d want to use Siri even while the computer is asleep, but current Macs aren’t equipped to listen with the system off. In other words: while Schiller isn’t promising anything, don’t be surprised if Macs get hands-free Siri activation at some point down the road.
And while the uproar over the MacBook Pro has been a “bit of a surprise,” Schiller is quick to address concerns that Apple made a mistake. Virtually every new Apple product has its “share of early criticism and debate,” he says, alluding to the original iMac’s lack of legacy ports. The company has to “help people through these changes” and have confidence that it made a good long-term decision. And despite the outcry, Apple’s online store is taking more orders than “any pro notebook before.” That last part isn’t completely surprising (Apple has plenty of pent-up demand given an unusually long update cycle), but it does suggest that the new design is alluring to at least some would-be buyers.
Source: The Independent
Security camera uses AI to tell humans from animals or cars
Netatmo’s WiFi-connected Presence security camera is now on sale, making it one of the first on the market with built-in AI. That helps it distinguish between people cars, or animals, then send you a smartphone message like “car seen” or “person seen.” You can program it to start recording or, say, turn off the sprinkler if it detects an animal, thanks to smart home and IFTTT integration. It also lets you watch activities discreetly using the camera’s infrared night vision, or flip on the built-in floodlight manually.
We first saw the Presence at CES in January (see the video, below), when Netatmo promised to release it in Q2 2016. It obviously missed that deadline by a mile, but the Presence is still one of the first security cameras on the market using AI to distinguish specific objects, as far as I can see.
The company says the device can help you avoid monthly monitoring fees by doing work normally done by security personnel. “The camera instantly detects unusual situations and sends precise notifications to the users’ smartphone,” says CEO Fred Potter. “[It then] alerts them in real time if there’s a break-in, an intruder, or property damage.” Netatmo doesn’t say exactly how the AI works, but it presumably needs to connect to company servers over the internet.
You can program the system so it only notifies you in specific circumstances. For example, you can set up specific zones around your gate or garage door and only send alerts when something is detected there. It can also let you know if a package is delivered when you’re not home. The camera stores videos locally on a micro SD card, but you can also save them to Dropbox or another cloud service. The app uses “bank-level” encryption to transmit data to your smartphone, Netatmo says.
The camera has 1080p resolution, a 100-degree field of view and a weatherproof design for outdoor use. Other features include a time-lapse feature that shows the previous 24 hours in just one minute, a DIY installation process that lets you replace an outdoor light, a live video display, and a timeline showing past events.The app works on a iOS or Android devices, and on a PC or Mac via the web, and is now available in the US at Home Depot, Apple or Amazon.com for $300.
Vinfusion wine robot blends a glass based on your taste
Take it from a former wine seller when I say that wine snobs are the worst, constantly trying to prove the the extent of their oenophilia. For everyone else, it’s nothing but a wave of unnecessary intimidation thanks to the complexity and variety of wines and the potential risk of embarrassment. Cambridge Consultants feels that technology should be able to get us past that moment of panic that comes when you’re asked to choose a wine. The company has created Vinfusion, a device that enables people to blend a glass of wine that’s been customized to their specific requirements. Cheers!
Vinfusion itself is a series of pipes, pumps, sensors and controllers that are designed to sit below the counter of a high-end bar or in a rich person’s kitchen. Mounted into the tabletop is a tap that’s connected to a conical centrifuge that rolls down toward the pouring spout. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Sat beside the Vinfusion tap is a tablet with an app that lets you pick a wine to match your menu or customize one yourself. Should you opt for the latter, you’ll be shown three volume sliders that let you choose between light and full-bodied, soft and spicy, and sweetness. Each one is selected by drawing your finger left or right, and when you’ve made your selection, you hit the pour button.
Lurking inside Vinfusion’s guts are four reservoirs of red wine: a Pinot Noir, a Shiraz, a Merlot and a red Muscat — a dessert wine that provides the sweetness. When the particular mix is determined, the liquid is pulled up into the centrifuge via four small nozzles in the lid. The mix is then spun around to be blended together and aerated in a nice piece of theater before rolling down into the glass below.
Wine-blending machines aren’t a new invention, but Cambridge Consultants’ researchers believe that they have uncovered the secret to identifying the elements of taste. That way, they can produce a blend on demand that will theoretically satisfy anyone’s palate. Although it’s worth noting that certain types of wine snob get very tetchy around the notion of blended wines — which they see as a cheapo affront to grapekind.
I wanted to try and get a nice wine for day drinking; a medium-bodied, reasonably dry wine, and the system said my selection was close to a Cabernet Sauvignon. The end result, however, came out a little bit more like a Pinot Noir, thinner than I was expecting with a very strong ethanol-y kick at the back. But that shouldn’t take away from the fundamental soundness of the project, which seems to be quite compelling at first blush.
Cambridge Consultants is a big freelance R&D outfit, a privately-owned mad science factory that sells its ideas to big-name tech companies. It’s looking to perfect Vinfusion and sell it on to a third party that can commercialize it for the world. It’s not just red wine that it could be used for, since it’ll work with any form of blended liquid, from white wine all the way through to customized perfumes. It’s not too expensive, either, with the components only costing a few thousand dollars at most.
It’s not the first time that the firm has dabbled in the food and drink space, either, having released Té, a tea machine that brewed a stunning cup of chai. The business then turned its attention towards ales to develop Hoppler, a smart beer tap that produced dry-hopped ales in the style of an espresso machine. Unfortunately, neither of those devices were picked up by industry, and are currently languishing inside the company’s archives. Let’s hope that Vinfusion doesn’t suffer the same fate.
* That’s a $500 word for “being a wine geek.” Told you wine was unnecessarily intimidating.
Adobe Announces Upcoming 2016 Creative Cloud Updates at MAX
Adobe’s MAX creativity and design conference is set to kick off this morning, and during the MAX event, Adobe plans to show off several upcoming software updates and new software experiences that are coming to its product lineup later this year.
All of Adobe’s Creative Cloud apps are being updated with new features. Photoshop, for example, is gaining a new universal search bar with visual search options, stock templates, tighter integration of SVG elements, and better support for SVG color fonts, while Illustrator is gaining font, text, and glyph enhancements along with new alignment tools for creating pixel-based artwork.
Adobe Experience Design CC (XD), Adobe’s tool for designing and prototyping, is gaining support for layers and symbols, along with the ability for users to comment on shared designs, making it easier to get feedback from clients. During the first half of 2017, XD will also support real-time sharing and collaboration features along with visual versioning to make it easier to keep track of changes.
After Effects features a new 3D rendering engine that can render 3D elements up to 20x faster, while Premiere Pro is gaining new virtual reality capabilities and optimized video publishing for social networks. The new software is able to auto detect virtual reality video, applying the proper settings. Character Animator is getting faster puppet creation and animation that better integrates with Photoshop and Illustrator. Team and Enterprise users will soon be able to co-edit video files in Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Prelude with updated workflows.
Mobile apps are also being updated. Photoshop brushes will be able to be used in Sketch, and both Sketch and Draw will gain layer blend modes. Comp, meanwhile, will gain auto mockups and the ability to copy/paste within and across documents.
Project Felix, being unveiled at MAX, is an upcoming tool that allows graphic designers to make high-quality photo-realistic images using 2D and 3D assets, even without experience using 3D software. Project Felix includes 3D models, materials, and lights sourced from Adobe Stock, and there are options do to things like adjust camera angles and lighting to make the perfect product shot.
Adobe Spark, available today as a free service, is designed to allow Adobe Creative Cloud users to create social graphics, web stories, and animated videos. Spark is available to everyone, but paid members will have exclusive features, including the ability to remove Adobe branding from projects.
Adobe is officially bringing its Adobe Stock Contributor site out of beta, allowing Adobe users to sell their photographs and design work to other Adobe users. Adobe Stock is gaining an improved image search feature and a new auto-keyword option that makes it easier to find what you’re looking for.
Adobe is also announcing a new partnership with Reuters, incorporating Reuters video and photography of news, sports, and entertainment events, and it is introducing a new way to purchase fonts through the Adobe Typekit marketplace.
Adobe’s Creative Cloud updates will be available to Creative Cloud subscribers before the end of the year. For more details on the upcoming features that will be available in Adobe’s range of Creative Cloud apps, make sure to check out Adobe.com.
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LastPass Announces Multi-Device Password Sync as Free Option for All Users
Password manager LastPass today announced that all users are now able to sync their passwords across multiple devices for free, whereas previously the service’s multi-device feature was locked behind its $1 per month subscription service. Now, users can gain access to their most secure sign-in information on a smartphone, tablet, desktop, or laptop using any of the company’s free mobile and computer apps.
The new LastPass free plan works without any user input needed, so anyone who doesn’t have the app downloaded can do so and begin using the service across all devices LastPass is available on. The $1 per month premium option is still available and includes exclusive features including family sharing with up to five users, no ads, priority tech support, 1GB of encrypted file storage, and more.
LastPass founder Joe Siegrist mentioned in a blog post that the company hopes the move makes it “easier for everyone to make good password habits,” since it’ll be much less of a hassle to create, store, and discover passwords.
From day one here at LastPass, we’ve been on a mission to help you simplify your online life, and make it a whole lot easier to achieve strong password security. By offering LastPass for free across all your devices, we’re making it that much easier for everyone to make good password habits the norm. Because when you have a password manager that goes everywhere you do, you have a strong foundation for securing and taking control of your identity.
Besides the main LastPass iOS [Direct Link] and macOS [Direct Link] apps, the company has made its password managing service available to download as extensions on Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Opera web browsers.
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