Batman: Arkham Knight headed to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC in 2014
In a move that won’t surprise Batfanatics, a new Batman game is headed to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC at some point this year. The latest caped crusader game entry is titled Batman: Arkham Knight, and it’s set to complete the trilogy that Rocksteady Games started back in 2009 (which includes Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, and doesn’t include Arkham Origins). We’ve dropped the first teaser video below the break, which heavily features both very serious sad talking and a totally sweet Batmobile. We’ll let you decide which is more exciting.
In our count, the first tease shows Penguin, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, and we can hear Scarecrow. That all makes sense given the video’s blurb:
“In the explosive finale to the Arkham series, Batman faces the ultimate threat against the city he is sworn to protect. The Scarecrow returns to unite an impressive roster of super villains, including Penguin, Two-Face and Harley Quinn, to destroy The Dark Knight forever.”
Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Sony, Microsoft
Source: Warner Bros.
Xbox One’s Project Spark available to everyone starting today in beta mode
Project Spark is pretty, encourages creativity, and incorporates Kinect directly. The sandbox/game creation tool became available for Windows 8.1 users back in December, and today it’s entering beta on the Xbox One as well. “Does that mean there’s a new, free thing on my Xbox One?” you might be asking. Yes, yes it does. Hot dog!
Project Spark isn’t in the XB1 store, so how do you get it? The announcement points to a still-active beta sign-up page, so it seems that interested parties still have a few hoops to jump through before getting in. (If you’re already in the Windows 8.1 beta, you’re in the XB1 version.) Interestingly, there are already several entries on the store for “Spark Tokens” in 500 token increments ($4.99 equals 500); beta or not, it looks like Microsoft’s interested in monetizing Spark from the jump. For the full FAQ on the beta, head right here.
Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Weathered old HTC HD2 dresses up like a Nokia X
You may remember the HTC HD2 from posts such as “will it play Tekken 3?” and “wait, it runs Windows RT now?” Despite the handset’s age, a stalwart community keeps it relevant by getting anything and everything to run on the developer favorite. It’s only fitting, then, that the HD2 be one of the first to don Nokia’s heavily skinned version of Android, other than the unreleased X family, of course. That’s right: An XDA Developers forum member by the name of gilbert32 has apparently succeeded in porting some form of the Nokia X Android build onto a rather beat-up-looking HD2. We say succeeded, but while it looks the part and plays a booting sound when fired up, “everything else” is admittedly non-functional. Then again, if the goal was to show the HD2 still has legs after all this time, then mission accomplished, sir.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, HTC, Nokia
Via: GSMArena
Source: XDA Developers
Hands-on with Apple’s CarPlay: when Siri met Ferrari (video)
Apple’s in-car infotainment system has been a long time coming. After it was announced at the company’s annual WWDC conference in June last year, “iOS in the Car” flew under the radar, only to undergo a rebrand and launch publicly yesterday under a new moniker: CarPlay. Sharing part of its name with the company’s AirPlay media streaming protocol, CarPlay combines all of the iPhone’s most important features and mirrors them inside the car, allowing car owners to call, text, navigate and listen to music (and more) using touch or Siri-based voice inputs. The new in-car interface is compatible with new Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo models unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show, and it’s there we got the chance to test Apple’s automotive assistant inside a suitably-equipped Ferrari FF coupe.
Will CarPlay force you to buy an iPhone to go with your car (or vice versa)? Not really — the Ferrari we tried actually deployed Apple’s dash system alongside it’s own, while Mercedes-Benz and Volvo (two of Apple’s other partners) have said they’ll continue to develop Android and MirrorLink solutions for their new models. Compatible with the iPhone 5 and up, CarPlay is “loaded” into the Ferrari’s built-in navigation system by way of a Lightning adapter located underneath the armrest. Wireless connections are coming, at least from Volvo, but our test was limited to traditional cables. Once it’s connected, Ferrari will continue to utilize its own infotainment system, but users can load CarPlay by hitting a dedicated dashboard button, allowing all touch and voice inputs to be diverted to your iPhone. This loads the CarPlay dashboard, which features a familiar array of icons and services you’ll recognize from your iPhone. From here, it’s a case of using the touchscreen or calling upon Siri to load each of the services — the latter of which can be summoned with the Siri Eyes Free button located on the reverse of the steering wheel.
The first thing we noticed is how speedy everything is. Apps load quickly, and Siri’s contextual algorithms hastily recognized our voice commands and responded appropriately. Apple has also implemented safety features to ensure services do not draw your attention away from the road and push forward its “hands-free” theme. For example, when we sent or received a message from a contact, Siri would only read the message back to us and we never once got the chance to see its contents. An Apple representative was able to talk us through each CarPlay feature, so do make sure you check out our in-depth hands-on video below to get a better idea of what Apple and its car maker buddies are aiming for.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Software, Mobile, Apple
Twitter accidentally mass-resets user passwords, blames ‘system error’
Don’t freak out, your Twitter account wasn’t hacked. Well, probably. Many users were summarily locked out of their Twitter account on Monday evening, and were then sent an email requesting that they reset their password. However, it wasn’t nefarious hackers or bots, but a system error. Twitter has released a statement, saying that it had “unintentionally sent some password reset notices tonight due to a system error.” According to Recode, the error affected less than one percent of Twitter users. If you’re an unlucky one-percenter, you should be able to reclaim access after you’ve updated your password.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
Oh boy, I got the forced password reset for Twitter too. Even though I use a unique password for Twitter. pic.twitter.com/Id8Hq4WTsc
– Steve Streza (@SteveStreza) March 4, 2014
Myst and SimCity enter the History of Electronic Games collection
Broderbund Software’s legacy is sure to live on through ports, sequels and source code, but what about the game developer’s behind-the-scenes history? Thankfully, it won’t be fading away any time soon. Company founder Doug Carlston has donated Broderbund’s software and corporate records to The Strong, a museum dedicated to all forms of play. The move should help illustrate the creation process behind every title that Broderbund published, including classics like Myst, Prince of Persia, the original SimCity and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. The collection isn’t limited to game assets — Carlston is donating correspondence, photos and other material that reveals the studio’s culture. Few people will get to see this treasure trove of gaming nostalgia in person, but it should preserve Broderbund’s accomplishments for a long time to come.
Source: The Strong
Android 4.3 OTA Outed for T-Mobile Sony Xperia Z, Starting Today?
In typical information cruising we came across a post over at Android Geeks that said the T-Mobile Sony Xperia Z Android 4.3 update was starting to roll out. The page they referred to was the T-Mobile support page for the Xperia Z. That is is all on the up and up, but it seems that shortly after it was published, it was removed.
Priory to its vanishing act, the AndroidGeek guys got a screenshot of the page. It outlined that as of March 3rd, today, there would be an update to Android 4.3 for the Xperia Z. It would be labeled with firmware version 10.4.C.0.797. The improvements sections lists a few niceties though.
- Software Stability Improvements
- UXP Air user interface redesign
- WiFi Calling user interface redesign
- Stock keyboard switched from Nuance XT9 to Swiftkey
- 5 signal bars instead of 4
A few things could have happened that forced it to be pulled back down. One, the publication wasn’t finished. Seriously, there is an extra bullet point with no writing.
Second, while today is March 3rd, they have all day to start the roll out. It is most likely still coming, just not until later this evening. Or third, which we don’t want to have happen, it started its roll out and and failed or screwed up some devices. We didn’t see any reports of issues, or of anyone getting the OTA yet for that matter, so we are going to go with the first two reasons for now.
For those sporting the T-Mobile branded Sony Xperia Z, keep your device charged up and don’t stray to far from a WiFi connection. The file size that was listed comes in at 308 MBs. If you happen to see it pop-up, let us, and the rest of the users, know about it.
Source: Android Geeks / Android Police
Microsoft’s new Office Graph will help you discover what’s trending around your workplace
Microsoft Office is about to get more personal with something called Office Graph. The new feature incorporates your web searches and online interactions, allowing it to highlight files and projects it thinks are important to you based on who you’re talking to. It can also let you know how you’re connected though people or projects to others at your organization. Over time, Office Graph will come into play in a number of Microsoft’s apps and services, one of the first being a standalone product codenamed Oslo — not to be confused with the previous Microsoft Oslo. (Coming up with new names is hard!) The app will display information like who attended a meeting or what conversation topics are trending at your business on digital cards like Google Now. You can also track what files are being shared — so you’ll know if everyone’s passing around a video of John breakdancing at the company party.
The Office Graph will also power a new Groups function that integrates with Yammer and allows you to share email, files and calendars across a group of coworkers. And Inline Social, a feature that will be integrated with Lync and Skype for having conversations inside documents that are stored in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for business. There are also plans to create a secure Video Portal where you can upload, stream and share company-wide videos, like your own private YouTube. Anxious to try it out? You’ll have to wait a little while. Oslo is expected to be available for Office 365 customers the second half of this year, with additional Office Graph implementations headed our way in 2015.
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Via: ZDNet
Source: Office Blog (1), (2)
Chromecast Support coming to Vudu App Soon
Chromecast supported apps are on the rise as of late and boy are we excited to see all the great things coming. The Walmart owned company, Vudu, has announced via its website today that Chromecast support is right around the corner. The update will bring integration to stream your from Vudu on your PC, Mac, Tablet or Smartphone directly to our Chromecast device.
Vudu does keep the time frame out of the update post sadly. We will monitor the Vudu app on the Play Store and see if we can catch it when it updates. If you prefer, you can go ahead and install the free app yourself, take a look through the extensive library and get a feel for it prior to Chromecast support. That would also help you know if you will even care.
Source: Vudu
Via 9to5Google
Uber adds surge pricing push notifications to its iOS app
A week after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick promised push notifications were on the way to help riders cope with surge pricing, the outfit has added the feature to its iOS app. With the latest update, those handset-based pop-ups alert you when the dreaded surge pricing window has passed and replace SMS messages for updates. For customers in the UK, PayPal integration has also been tacked on as an alternate payment option. No word on when Android users can expect the new alerts, but we’d surmise it’s not too far out as add-ons have been quick to grace both OSes in the past.
Filed under: Transportation, Software, Mobile
Via: The Next Web
Source: Uber (iTunes)
AIVAnet 