World News: October 2014

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

MSN's simpler, mobile-savvy homepage is rolling out to everyone

byJon Fingas|@jonfingas| 16 hours ago

Well, that was quick -- after just a few weeks in preview mode, the revamped MSN homepage is rolling out to everyone. You should see Microsoft's simple, desktop-like web portal in your browser sometime within the next three days. If you're using Windows devices, you'll also see updated Bing and MSN apps that draw on the site's many services; the Food & Drink app will keep track of your recipes, for instance. Windows Phone users get a few perks on their lock screens in the process. The Health and Fitness app will show pedometer stats if you're using a Lumia 630, 635 or 1520, while Weather will show your local forecast. You'll still have to wait for MSN apps on Android and iOS, but all the other pieces of Microsoft's grand vision are otherwise in place.

Source: Official Microsoft Blog

Tags: android, bing, healthandfitness, ios, microsoft, mobilepostcross, msn, weather, windows, windows8.1, windowsphone Hide Comments 0Comments

Microsoft Windows 8.1

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Key specs Reviews • 9 Prices Discussions Type Computer OS Source model Closed Architecture 64-bit, 32-bit Released 2014-04-08 see all specs → 9.3average user rating Ease of use 9.1 Speed 9.6 Configurability 9.5 Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.) 9.3 Openness 8.3

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HP Touchsmart 14z 5

MS Surface 3?

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Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1 Key specs Reviews • 8 Prices Discussions Type Mobile / embedded OS Source model Closed Released 2014-04-14 see all specs → 9.1average user rating Ease of use 10 Speed 10 Configurability 9.3 Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.) 7.8 Openness 8.3

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What's the smallest UI design flaw that bothers you most? 0

When will there be a replacement for the Lumia 1020 25

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Hands-on with Nokia's Here Maps for Android22 hours ago 0Basis unveils its first fitness tracker since getting acquired by Intel1 day ago 0HP's $199 Windows laptop arrives alongside a pair of tablets1 day ago 0Murata's cheerleader robots move around on balls and do it in J-Pop unison6 days ago 0BlackBerry's Passport is a square in looks, but not personality7 days ago 0Acer Chromebook 13 review: long battery life, but performance falls short7 days ago 0BlackBerry put a $2,000 smartphone into our pauper's hands8 days ago 0 Compare Your Gadgets

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Playdate: We're livestreaming 'Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor' on PS4! (update: game over!)

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Arduino's new 3D printer lets you modify just about everything

byJon Fingas|@jonfingas| 14 hours ago

If you're a fan of Arduino's tinker-friendly approach to computing, you'll be glad to hear that it's now extending that open philosophy to 3D printers. The company has teamed up with Sharebot to unveil the Materia 101, a small (5.5 inches by 4 inches) printer that's built to be both friendly to beginners and very accessible. You can modify the code on the underlying Arduino Mega mini-PC, of course, but you also have access to the full schematics of the printer -- you can upgrade it or even make your own, if you have the know-how and parts. Arduino hasn't said when it plans to ship the Materia, but it'll be available both as a build-it-yourself kit (priced under $800) and fully assembled (under $1,000).

Source: Arduino

Tags: 3dprinter, 3dprinting, arduino, arduinomega, materia101, opensource, printer, sharebot Hide Comments 0Comments

Arduino Materia 101

Arduino Materia 101 Key specs Reviews • 0 Prices Discussions Dimensions 13.78 x 12.2 x 12.99 in Weight 22.05 lb Announced 2014-09-30 Colors White see all specs → There are not any reviews for this product yet.
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Engadget Daily: Windows 10, the $200 laptop you've been waiting for, and more!

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Stationary bike MMO lets you race the world without leaving home

byJon Fingas|@jonfingas| 13 hours ago

Indoor cycling normally isn't as fun as the outdoor variety, and it certainly isn't as social. Where's the thrill of blowing past a rival? That's what Zwift's upcoming massively multiplayer cycling game promises to solve. So long as you have a training bike with at least speed and cadence sensors, you can race people around the world in virtual environments -- think of it as an online role-playing game that builds up your real abilities. You can chat up other riders if you have a mic, and virtual reality support (through Oculus Rift headsets) might help you forget that you're still at home.

The game will cost $10 per month to play (much like other online games), and you'll naturally have to factor in the costs of both the indoor bike and sensors if you don't have them already. Right now, though, the real catch is simply getting to play. Zwift just launched its beta test with a mere 1,000 open slots, and you'll have to wait until the winter if you don't request an invitation in time. Having said this, it might be worth the wait if you've ever wanted to compete against other cyclists all year round.

Source: Zwift, Wall Street Journal

More Coverage: BikeRumor

Tags: biking, cycling, fitness, game, games, gaming, mmo, racing, zwift Hide Comments 0Comments

Bloomberg: Apple's splashing gold paint on the iPad too

bySean Buckley|@seaniccus| 12 hours ago

The nice thing about living in Apple's ecosystem is everything is consistent: the app library, the user interface and design motifs echo across all of the company's devices. Well, unless you have a gold iPhone -- then any iPad you could possibly buy just simply wouldn't match. According to Bloomberg, however, those days might be over: the usual people familiar with Apple's plans say that the company will launch a 9.7-inch iPad next month with a gold backplate. You know, in case your buying habits are governed more by fashion than new features.

Source: Bloomberg

Tags: apple, gold, ipad, ipadair, rumor, trinidadjames Hide Comments 0Comments

Apple iPad Air

Apple iPad Air 16GB WiFi 32GB WiFi 64GB WiFi 128GB WiFi 16GB AT&T 4G 32GB AT&T 4G 64GB AT&T 4G 128GB AT&T 4G 16GB Sprint 4G 32GB Sprint 4G 64GB Sprint 4G 128GB Sprint 4G 16GB T-Mobile 4G 32GB T-Mobile 4G 64GB T-Mobile 4G 128GB T-Mobile 4G 16GB Verizon 4G 32GB Verizon 4G 64GB Verizon 4G 128GB Verizon 4G Buy from $469 Key specs Reviews • 60 Prices Discussions Form factor Tablet Operating system iOS (7) Screen size 9.7 inches Storage type Internal storage (16 GB, Flash) Maximum battery life Up to 10 hours Dimensions 9.45 x 6.67 x 0.3 in Weight 1 lb Released 2013-11-01 see all specs → 9.3average user rating Features 8.9 Display 9.6 Battery life 9.4 Ease of use 9.5 Storage capacity 8.3 Design and form factor 9.5 Portability (size / weight) 9.4 Durability 8.6

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"The iPad is just a big iPod touch" 11

Does an iPad Pro make sense? 19

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Stationary bike MMO lets you race the world without leaving home

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Pavlok needs you to shock more people into breaking bad habits

byMariella Moon|@mariella_moon| 11 hours ago

There's no way you'd use a shock collar to train your beloved dog, but you wouldn't mind using one on yourself if it means breaking your nastiest habits, eh? If that's the case, then your day has come: Pavlok (a wearable band that can zap you with electricity) is now up on Indiegogo, with its designer hoping to raise $50,000 to develop more features and to begin mass production. In order to train yourself to stay away from bad habits or continue doing good ones, you'll need to program the Pavlok app -- for instance, you can instruct it to zap you awake if you hit snooze twice on your alarm. The good news is that you can set the electricity the wristband zaps you with from 17 to 340 volts, so you can adjust it accordingly and make sure each it's not strong enough to actually hurt.

According to the device's Indiegogo page, its creator (Maneesh Sethi, a Stanford alumnus) is working on IFTTT integration and also opening up the Pavlok platform so anyone can make an app to go along with it. It even listed some possible software tie-ups, such as instructing the wristband via IFTTT to zap you if you send a message to an ex, to beep loudly and embarrass you whenever you step into a McD's with the help of a navigation app, or to remind you to walk more when paired up with an exercise app.

When we saw Pavlok earlier this year, the prototypes cost $250 each, but now you have the opportunity to grab one for $125 via Indiegogo if you can wait until it ships out by April 2015 at the earliest. By the way, Sethi's no stranger to the idea of receiving pain to break bad habits. Back in 2012, he hired a girl off Craigslist to, erm, slap him every time he went on Facebook -- something he claims quadrupled his productivity.

Source: Indiegogo

Tags: CrowdFunding, ifttt, IndieGoGo, mobilepostcross, pavlok, productivity Hide Comments 0Comments

The government insists airlines replace WiFi-allergic cockpit displays

byMariella Moon|@mariella_moon| 9 hours ago

A fleet of 737s and 777s are definitely in line for an upgrade, now that the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to replace their cockpits' displays with ones not vulnerable to WiFi signals. Let's go back a few years to understand what's going on here. See, back when the use of wireless internet aboard airplanes was only just starting to take off, Boeing conducted a test, which discovered that WiFi signals affected 737 and 777 cockpit displays. These screens, which showed pilots important flight data such as altitude and airspeed, flickered and even blanked out completely in the presence of WiFi. In one particular bad test run, the screen remained blank for a full six minutes.

While that's obviously not ideal, all the outages happened on the ground and only once during last year's round of testing. So Honeywell (the displays' maker) and Boeing just advised airlines to take their planes in and have those screens replaced -- an action the FAA was content with back in 2012. (To note, Boeing has started fitting planes built in September 2012 and beyond with updated displays.) Now the FAA is changing its tune, and Honeywell wants to know what has changed since then that has compelled the agency to make the upgrade mandatory.

We're guessing it's because airlines are becoming more and more open to the use of WiFi devices onboard, not just by passengers, but also by the flight crew itself, and that has raised safety concerns. After all, six minutes of outage could be fatal when you're thousands of feet up in the air. It's unclear how many airplanes will be affected by the mandate at the moment. According to Reuters, though, around 1,300 US planes will have to be refitted with the new screens within the next five years. Since each display costs more than $10,000 each and each plane has several, the upgrade will cost airlines roughly $14 million in total.

[Image credit: Bill Abbott/Flickr]

Source: The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Reuters, Federal Register

Tags: 747, 777, airplane, Boeing, Honeywell, wifi Hide Comments 0Comments

iPad, I choose you: 'Pokémon' officially hits the App Store

byTimothy J. Seppala|@timseppala| 9 hours ago

Remember that Pokémon iPad game that was teased not too long ago? Well, if the mere mention of it stoked a fire inside that made you want to abandon Blizzard's Hearthstone forever, Joystiq has spotted that the pocket monster trading card game is available on the App Store now. Pokémon TCG Online is free to download, but there are a few catches. As the name suggests, it requires an internet connection to play and your Apple-branded slate needs to be of the Retina-display variety -- your first- and second-gen iPads won't cut the mustard, according to iTunes. If you're already heavily invested in the game on OSX and Windows, Time points out that progress you've made in the last three years transfers over to the mobile version as well. Handy! And just like that, a Nintendo property is appearing somewhere other than on one of its own devices. Somewhere, an investor is probably smiling.

[Image Credit: Josh Wittenkeller]

Via: Joystiq

Source: iTunes

More Coverage: Time

Tags: apple, gaming, hd, IOS, ipad, IpadMini, mobile, mobilepostcross, nintendo, Pokemon, PokemonTcgonline, RetinaDisplay Hide Comments 0Comments

Apple iPad Air

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If i buy a cellular ipad air does that mean i can hook up to wifi still? 44

Favorite features of iOS8 and your impressions so far 0

Best Retro Video Game Set Up for Jailbroken iPad?

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Apple iPad mini with Retina display 16GB WiFi 32GB WiFi 64GB WiFi 128GB WiFi 16GB AT&T 4G 32GB AT&T 4G 64GB AT&T 4G 128GB AT&T 4G 16GB Sprint 4G 32GB Sprint 4G 64GB Sprint 4G 128GB Sprint 4G 16GB T-Mobile 4G 32GB T-Mobile 4G 64GB T-Mobile 4G 128GB T-Mobile 4G 16GB Verizon 4G 32GB Verizon 4G 64GB Verizon 4G 128GB Verizon 4G Buy from $364 Key specs Reviews • 37 Prices Discussions Form factor Tablet Operating system iOS (7) Screen size 7.9 inches Storage type Internal storage (16 GB, Flash) Maximum battery life Up to 10 hours Dimensions 7.87 x 5.3 x 0.29 in Weight 0.73 lb Released 2013-11-12 see all specs → 9.2average user rating Features 9 Display 9.4 Battery life 9.1 Ease of use 9.6 Storage capacity 7.9 Design and form factor 9.5 Portability (size / weight) 9.6 Durability 8.8

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16GB WiFi-Gray 16GB WiFi-Silver 32GB WiFi-Silver 32GB WiFi-Gray 64GB WiFi-Silver 64GB WiFi-Gray 128GB WiFi-Silver 16GB AT&T 4G-Gray 16GB AT&T 4G-Silver 32GB AT&T 4G-Gray 32GB AT&T 4G-Silver 64GB AT&T 4G-Gray 64GB AT&T 4G-Silver 128GB AT&T 4G-Gray 128GB AT&T 4G-Silver

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1Password shows off their iOS8 app extension, and it looks awesome! 44

Favorite features of iOS8 and your impressions so far 4

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The government insists airlines replace WiFi-allergic cockpit displays

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