Latest News - Page 2863

If you are a fan of Minecraft, you may be familiar with some of the mods out there that turn the game into a shooter of sorts. Atari is getting a game ready called Minimum that reminds me a lot of Minecraft focusing heavily on crafting, but having a lot of third-person shooter aspects as well.

In Minimum, players will use blueprints and acquire the materials needed to build their own weapons and armor. Once those weapons and armor are done, players will wear it into combat. As you kill more enemy players, the armor and weapons power up making the character more powerful.

Minimum was created by TimeGame Studios. When the company went bankrupt, Atari stepped in and kept this interesting game from failing. The game will launch for early access this spring and you can sign up at the source below for more details on the game.

Throughout the course of modern day history, companies have paid billions to lawyers to come up with elaborate plans to prevent consumers, workers, and other companies from having the right to file a lawsuit against them. Today we have learned that cereal maker, General Mills, has quietly slipped in a clause within its privacy policy that bars consumers from bringing forth litigation on the company if that individual uses a coupon offered by the company, enters a sweepstakes, or even "Likes" the company on social media.

The new policy states: "Anyone who has received anything that could be construed as a benefit and who then has a dispute with the company over its products will have to use informal negotiation via email or go through arbitration to seek relief, according to the new terms posted on its site." This is also known as "forced arbitration."

General Mills is clearly trying to avoid costly lawsuits such as one last year over packaging of a product that resulted in $8.5 million in settlement fees. The new policy is forcing consumers to enter into arbitration which means that your lawyer and their lawyer will meet in a room somewhere, and hash out how much compensation, if any, will be given to you. With companies sneaking in clauses like this into their privacy policy and forcing US citizens to give up rights, it may be time to rethink who you give your money too.

Next year is going to be a big year for both the automotive market, and more specifically, Toyota. The Japanese giant will be offering up a new hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle in 2015.

The new car will be a mid-sized saloon, something the company compares to its current Avensis, and will feature a high-density fuel stack that will be capable of 500 miles from a single tank of fuel. But, according to Toyota's European President Didier Leroy, fuel cell technology will take a while to become common: "To help that happen we will bring a reasonable number of cars to Europe. The volume will be limited, but they will be visible on the streets".

Toyota has teamed up with BMW to boost its fuel cell research and development, where Toyota Europe's second in command saying the company would pioneer the technology, pointing to Toyota's position in the widespread adoption of hybrid drivetrains. He said: "There is of course a long way to go, as with any game-changing technology, but remember the same was said about hybrid only 10 years ago. Toyota is ready to back and lead this change, so we will be pioneering fuel cell step-by-step".

Nokia has announced a product advisory in some countries for its Lumia 2520 tablet. The advisory has to do with a charger that was sold with the tablet in some European countries and the UK. The charger is the AC-300 unit and it is only used with the 2520 tablet.

Nokia says that customers in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, and the UK are advised to stop using the charger immediately. Nokia discovered the issue during its normal QA process noting that the cover around the plug adapter could come lose and pose a risk of shock.

Nokia is also warning people who purchased the travel charger accessory for the tablet to stop using that charger. Together there are about 30,000 chargers covered in the advisory with 600 of the travel chargers sold in the US. The travel chargers were also sold in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, and the UK. Sales of the tablet have been stopped in European countries and sales of the travel charger have been stopped in the US.

Sony and Nissan have announced that they have teamed up again to bring another season of the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy to gamers around the world. The 2014 season will be the sixth and for the first time Canada will get to participate.

Qualifying will begin online using Gran Turismo 6 and the PS3 on April 21. Participants will compete in virtual races to see who gets the chance to move forward into the real-world competition to see if they can put virtual racing skills to work on a real race track.

Qualifying for the season will run from April 21 to June 16. Participation is open to anyone with a PSN ID and a copy of Gran Turismo 6. One catch is that the region of Quebec isn't included in the opportunity to participate.

It looks like Intel is heading into the mass production of its next-generation processor codenamed Skylake. Skylake will be manufactured on Intel's 14nm process, and will be released next year.

Intel's Chief Executive Officer, Brian Krzanich, said during a conference call with financial analysts and investors: "We have a lot going on, the ramp of Broadwell, the ramp of Skylake in the second half of next year". The Skylake-based processors will be the second lineup of processors based on Intel's 14nm process.

We don't know much about Intel's upcoming Skylake processors, but we should expect four x64 cores, a high-performance integrated graphics engine, and multiple special purpose accelerators. On top of that, we should expect DDR4 support, AVX 3.2 (512-bit instructions), SHA extensions (SHA-1 and SHA-256, secure hash algorithms), MPX (memory protection extensions), ADX (multi-precision add-carry instruction extensions) and other innovations.

This week, BlackBerry's CEO Jon Chen, announced that his company had purchased a minority stake in a privately held healthcare IT firm called NantHealth. Chen said that he sees healthcare as one of the business sectors that BlackBerry can do very well in due to its enterprise security concerns.

"BlackBerry's capabilities align closely with NantHealth's," said Chen in a statement on Tuesday. "This investment represents the type of forward-looking opportunities that are vital to our future."

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but we do know that the investment was small enough to be considered a minority investment, and BlackBerry is not as wealthy as it once was. I do see this entry into such a niche market as a good move for BlackBerry, and if the company continues to make smart investments it could pull itself out of the big hole it currently resides in.

Today Google announced the launch of a new app for Android called Google Camera, confirming recent rumors that the company was working on developing a new camera app with some unique features. The new standalone app branches away from the current Android 4.4 camera app, and features a more refined UI and is overall, easier to use. The camera app brings several new features to Android devices as well including Spherical images, software-based lens blur, and even a more intuitive panorama mode.

"Achieving this optical effect has traditionally required a big lens and aperture, and therefore hasn't been possible using the camera on your mobile phone or tablet. That all changes with Lens Blur, a new mode in the Google Camera app," Google said in a blog post. "Lens Blur replaces the need for a large optical system with computer vision algorithms and optimization techniques that are run entirely on the mobile device, simulating a larger lens and aperture in order to creating a 3D model of the world."

The Camera App also features new Spherical and Panoramic imaging modes that let the user align dots with a central point on the camera screen to create large images of their surroundings. I did notice that when taking spherical images larger than 5 points would slow my HTC one down quite a bit as the image began to process. The same happened with a panorama that was larger than 7 images.

We have talked about BitTorrent Sync in the past. This is a feature that launched to the public last year and allows users to save and access data on a storage device in the home over the web. BitTorrent Sync has now gained support for NAS devices.

The first NAS maker that is offering a BitTorrent Sync app for their storage devices is Netgear. The company has an app available right now for several of its home, business, and enterprise NAS units. BitTorrent says that Sync support will make it easy for users to create a simple path between their NAS and desktop or mobile devices.

Sync eliminates the need for users to go through complex setups for remotely accessing data like opening ports on the router, setting up VPNs, managing security settings, or making user names and passwords. Despite not needing to do any of that, access to the NAS devices claims to be safe and secure.

Pioneer has announced that it will be among the first car audio names to bring support for Apple CarPlay to the aftermarket. Rather than having to buy a new car stereo to get CarPlay support, some existing Apple receivers will get CarPlay support via a firmware update. The updated firmware will be offered for five of the 2014 NEX in-dash multimedia receivers.

All five of those receivers have large LCD screens. CarPlay will add Siri voice control to the mix to let the driver use their phone while keeping eyes on the road. The five models that support CarPlay include the AVIC-8000NEX, 7000NEX, 6000NEX, 5000NEX, and 4000NEX.

Those units range in price from $1400 to $700. Pioneer hasn't said exactly when the update for the firmware will launch. All it has said on a launch date so far is in early summer.

It's been a long journey for Kim Dotcom after the New Zealand police and US Government raided and seized his home and assets back in 2012, but today a New Zealand high court has ruled that the former Megaupload owner is to have his assets including property and money returned to him within the next 14 days. Dotcom announced the ruling via his Twitter account earlier this morning.

The property seized includes a car collection valued at more than $6 million, his massive mansion, and more than $10 million in financial assets. In addition, Dotcom's wife, Mona, will see her belongings returned that were seized as well. This ruling is not a sure thing just yet though as the Crown of New Zealand could appeal the decision, and cause Dotcom to enter into yet another court battle.

Dotcom says he will be renting the Taupo race track to celebrate the court win and will invite the Internet Party members to the track for a day of racing when his cars are returned. With his new political party in full swing, and this recent win in the courts, it appears that Dotcom may be unstoppable as we head into the second half of 2014, and maybe into 2015!

More than one-quarter of Avast's current Microsoft Windows XP customers don't plan to leave behind the OS that is now no longer supported by Microsoft, according to a recent survey conducted by the security company.

Prior to the end of support date on April 8, XP users were already under increased threat of cyberattacks, and that trend is only expected to continue.

"XP users were not planning on doing anything," said Ondrej Vlcek, Avast Chief Operating Officer, in a blog post. "As Avast users they are protecting themselves since we will continue to support Windows XP users for at least the next three years."

The Galaxy S5 is here, with millions already enjoying their new flagship smartphone from Samsung, but just how many Galaxy S5 handsets does Samsung expect to ship in the next couple of months? 35 million - that's how many.

According to The Korea Times, Samsung shipped 1.3 times as many Galaxy S5 smartphones in the first 24 hours of sales than the South Korean giant did with the S4 launch. Both investors and analysts are impressed with how well the S5 is selling, removing the fears they once had about market saturation or a shift away from Samsung.

One Senior Fund Manager spoke with The Korea Times, saying: "Against earlier expectations, the S5 was well-received by consumers in the global market. We don't have any plans to advise our big clients to unload their Samsung stock". According to insiders at Samsung, the company is hoping to ship over 35 million Galaxy S5 units by the end of Q2 2014.

Call of Duty: Ghosts' upcoming DLC will see Snoop Dogg as the announcer for multiplayer matches of Infinity Ward's first-person shooter. Snoop Dogg didn't write the lines, but he seems like a natural at speaking them.

The new Snoop Dogg-enabled Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC drops on April 22 for the Xbox, with other platforms receiving it shortly after. The Snoop Dogg Voice Pack will cost $2.99, but it isn't the only one that will be made available. There will be the Drill Instructor Voice Pack that is voiced by the infamous R. Lee Emery, known as The Gunny, also for $2.99.

Does this make you want to play COD: Ghosts more? I'm sure there will be a large number of people who will be in love with this news.

Today Google began rolling out a new feature to GMail that allows users to quickly insert images that were backed up from a mobile device into emails. The new feature has been added to the "insert photo" button located at the bottom of the toolbar of new email compositions, and will give users the option to insert an image located in their mobile device image backup folder.

"Unless you're a budding Ansel Adams, odds are you take most of your photos using your phone. And whether it's photos of your hiking trip or a night out, sending photos to friends and family just got easier," Google said in a blogpost. "Starting today, you can save time and insert your Auto Backup photos from your phone into Gmail messages on the web using the new Insert Photo button."

Google has retained the ability to upload images from your PC and the web, and the new feature will pop up the familiar Google+ image grid and allow you to pick a photo the same way you would if you were sharing it in Google+. Auto Backup is available for iOS and Android and now with GMail integration, it has become more appealing than ever.

Tesla is a company that makes electric vehicles that are some of the best EVs on the market today. Tesla got its start with a small sporty car called the Roadster that was more of a targa top car than a real convertible. Buyers can now get an unofficial convertible version of the Model S EV from a company called Newport Convertible Engineering.

Newport says that it is working with a Chinese investor to make 100 Model S convertibles. The exact steps it takes to turn these cars into convertibles is unknown. The process would involve cutting and lots of bracing for the chassis.

If you want a Model S and want it turned into a drop top, you can buy your own. The cars will be built-in one of three Newport facilities located in California, Dubai, or Barcelona. There are two versions available to purchase with one offering a soft tonneau cover and costing $29,000 and the other offering a hard tonneau cover and selling for $49,000.

I was one of those 50 million users who installed "Brightest Flashlight" onto my Android smartphones, but location data from each user - which is a number that climbs over 50 million - was transmitting users' real-time locations to ad networks and other third parties.

The Federal Trade Commission in December last year exposed Brightest Flashlight's wrong doings, announcing a proposed settlement with GoldenShores Technologies, the maker behind the app. GoldenShores Technology is actually a one-man operation based out of Idaho. The FTC explained how the app deceiving tactics in its privacy policy and user license agreement.

Last Wednesday, the FTC confirmed that GoldenShores' owner, Erik Geidl, are not to collect users' geolocation data without clearly outlining how and why they're doing it, and they have to confirm who is receiving the location data. Geidl is forced to inform the FTC about any new businesses he decides to start in the next ten years, and just a few days left to delete all of the data he had collected. The problem here is, that the FTC does not even touch down on the money that Geidl made selling 50 million users' geolocation data. There would have to be a very large sum of money there, but for now it seems like the FTC gave him a simple slap on the wrist.

If you're like me, you're tired of the old and sometimes proprietary laptop chargers in the world of technology. Well, FINsix wants to change that with Dart, the "world's smallest, lightest laptop adapter," which is now on Kickstarter.

Dart is very powerful, packing in 65W of laptop charging prowess into its small form factor. Not only is it small, but it's simple, compatible - with most laptops, stylish and cool. It has AC input of 90V-265V and 50/60Hz, weighs just 60gm, and has a cable length of 6 feet. Dart is designed to work with all major laptop brands and models.

How does Dart do this where others have either failed, or not even attempted? FINsix has managed to get Dart small by using a patented MIT technology called very high frequency (VHF) power conversion. Where a standard AC/DC power converter sucks the power out of your wall, regulating it to the right voltage, and pushing it into your devices, the VHF platform makes these converters much, much smaller.

Microsoft is pushing another update out for the Xbox One, which includes quite a few new features and improvements. We have the ability of a silent reboot after system updates are installed, and a system update on-demand is now available. That's just scratching the surface, though:

In a recent report from the academic journal Perspectives on Politics, the United States is not a democracy, but is instead, an oligarchy. For those who aren't up with fancy words, this means that the US government is very, very corrupt.

The study's opening question is quite an eye-opener in itself, where it asks: "Who governs? Who really rules?" in the United States. The answer: "Despite the seemingly strong empirical support in previous studies for theories of majoritarian democracy, our analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts. Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association, and a widespread (if still contested) franchise".

They continue: "But... America's claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened". The findings in the report shows that there is instead "the nearly total failure of 'median voter' and other Majoritarian Electoral Democracy theories [of America]. When the preferences of economic elites and the stands of organized interest groups are controlled for, the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy".