some tech news

[The Somalian]

Lmao

[Sub_Zero]

 

Lol

[Kurtis]

just seen news that google maps has been delayed for Wii U

 

can someone explain why anyone would need google maps on a games console?

[dub]

same reason why you'd want it on a wifi tablet

[Rippy]

Won't a lot of games be banned anyway because of violence etc...?

 

I know many people in China who still have consoles, just cos the black market for them is big.

 

/

 

also just saw china just built a £30m illagal starcraft/warcraft themepark

[Mizchif]

Any news on when the Ouya starts shipping?

[Kurtis]

i thought it was next month

[gattsu]

Any news on when the Ouya starts shipping?

i bid for one of the dev kits on ebay ,then forgot about it then i lost

kmt

[Kurtis]

 

 

Apple halting Mac Pro sales in Europe on March 1st in the wake of new standards

 

 

Apple has hinted that it will give Mac Pro aficionados some love with aprofessional Mac follow-up sometime this year. For Europeans, though, it might not come soon enough: the company has confirmed that it's officially stopping sales of the current Mac Pro in European Union-affiliated countries as of March 1st. Why? Soon-to-be-implemented tougher standards require that companies shield their fans and electrical ports more thoroughly than we see in the existing system, Apple says. While there's no immediate sign of a replacement, prospective customers who want the tower for projects won't be completely left out -- resellers will be free to sell what stock they have after the cutoff date. That might still be small consolation to European pros who need heavier iron for their tasks than an iMac.

 

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/31/apple-halting-mac-pro-sales-in-europe-on-march-1st/

[Kurtis]

BT offers mobile cloud storage service to broadband customers in the UK

 

Your BT broadband account now comes with one more perk to justify its existence: a locker service that takes a leaf out of AT&T's book in offering online storage accessible via iOS and Android apps. How much you get depends on the value of your current contract, with an apparent minimum of 2GB and upgrade options extending up to 500GB. If your cloud needs aren't already being catered for, hunt down those BT login details and then use the links below to activate the service and pick up the app. Think of it as a 2GB gift horse.

 

 

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/01/bt-cloud-storage-service/

 

 

im on 80gb infinity, just did it, the cunts gave me 2gb and basically held me to random saying if i want 50GB ill have to renew my contract

 

when ive had this shit for a month and a half

 

 

 

Im weak.

 

so thats 50GB + 75GB Drobox with 4 files in it and 5GB Google Drive

 

no idea why i collect storage

 

im so sad

[dub]

Electronic Arts Suffers $45 Million Loss

Weak Medal of Honor: Warfighter sales have forced Electronic Arts to scale back its earnings forecast for 2013.

 

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121817-Electronic-Arts-Suffers-45-Million-Loss

 

 

 

dunno why they're even still investing in Medal of Honour

[mp*]

They have taken it out of rotation now.

 

BF4, Crysis 3 only

[Kurtis]

 

 

Lynx A 3D camera hits Kickstarter, ready to motion capture your donations

 

Every time we write up a 3D printer, we get a deluge of folks asking just how easy it is to render a 3D model. The answer is, unless you're well-versed CAD, not very. Austin-based Lynx Laboratories is working to help bring the learning curve for 3D rendering down a bit, with the Lynx A, a "point-and-shoot 3D camera" it claims is even easier to use than many standard digital cameras. The list of things the tablet-shaped device can do is impressive, indeed, including digital measure, architectural rending, object modeling and motion capture -- the latter of which has some interesting applications in the movie and gaming spaces. The project's Kickstarter is now open, steadily heading toward its $50,000 goal, with 44 days to go. A starting pledge of $1,799 will get you one of the 14-inch devices to call your own. Not convinced? Perhaps the video after the break will put you over the 3D edge.

 

 

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/02/lynx-a/

 

vid on there

 

this would be SICCCCCK

[dub]

pretty cool

[Kurtis]

 

 

Liberty Global buys Virgin Media for $23.3 billion

 

Some British cable subscribers will soon have a new master: international telecom giant Liberty Global has just acquired Virgin Media for $23.3 billion in cash and stock. The deal gives Liberty an even larger stake in Europe than it had before and, if you believe the new partners, creates one of the bigger broadband companies on the planet at 47 million homes covered across 14 countries. Liberty also sees Virgin as good at tackling the business and mobile spaces that have been its relative weak points. How this will affect the UK isn't immediately apparent, although Virgin Media will continue to run under its existing name -- that moebius logo isn't going anywhere in the foreseeable future. We'll at least have some room to ponder the consequences when the buyout isn't poised to close until sometime in the second quarter.

 

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/05/liberty-global-buys-virgin-media-for-23-3-billion/

 

didnt even know they were trying or open to selling

[dub]

Google Could Pay Apple $1 Billion Next Year To Remain Default Search Engine On iOS, Report Says

http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/12/google-to-pay-apple-1-billion-next-year-to-be-default-search-engine-on-ios/

 

cray

[Kurtis]

them man gonna have to use yahoo or bing

 

or that russian site that recently passed bing

 

PAIN

[Kurtis]

W3C to explore a proposal bringing DRM hooks to HTML

The web is defined by the free, open exchange of information, right? Not necessarily. The W3C has decided that it's "in scope" for its HTML Working Group to explore a specification for the Encrypted Media Extensions framework, which would allow companies to plug in their own copy protection for web content. In other words, the effort would add support for DRM extensions to the web itself, rather than leave it to content plugins like Flash. The W3C's Philippe Le Hegaret is careful to note that this isn't an explicit endorsement of EME as it's suggested, or even the call for consensus on the proposal -- there are already concerns that the spec would lead to an abundance of DRM plugins that wouldn't work in certain browsers or operating systems. However, there's a chance it may become reality when EME's backers include content hosts or producers like the BBC, Google, Microsoft and Netflix.

 

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/12/w3c-to-explore-a-proposal-bringing-drm-hooks-to-html/

[Kurtis]

Intel confirms new internet-based television streaming product, 'working with entire industry' to launch this year

 

 

Welp, the rumors are true. Erik Huggers, Corporate VP & GM for Intel Media, just sat down here at D:Dive Into Media 2013 in order to confirm that Intel's getting into the set-top / TV provider business, and everything will be delivered to your home using your existing broadband internet connection. Straight from the man's mouth:

"We have been working for around a year now to setup Intel Media -- it's a new division that includes a lot of people from outside of the company. We've hired people from Apple, Netflix, Google, BBC, etc. We're aiming to develop an internet television platform. My opinion is that not many of those rivals have cracked it -- have truly delivered.

For the first time, we'll deliver a few things to consumers. We'll deliver a new consumer electronics product under a new brand. It's associated with Intel, but you'll have to wait to hear what exactly that is. It'll be an Intel-powered device with beautiful industrial design. Where it really gets interesting is here -- we're working with the entire industry. It's an over-the-top service, delivering network channels, pay-TV channels, catch-up television, on-demand, and a host of applications."

He also affirmed that the box (and service) would launch "this year," and while the box won't provide Intel's "entire vision" at launch, a fair amount will be. That should include live television, on-demand, and catch-up. We're guessing it's the app ecosystem that'll take some time to truly develop.

 

 

Host Walt Mossberg asked Huggers if the bundles that people are saddled with today through existing pay-TV carriers will remain in Intel's service. Huggers chuckled a bit, noting:

>>"I agree that consumers want choice and convenience, but I think there is value in bundles. If bundles are bundled right, I think there's real value in that, and opportunities to create a more flexible environment where end-users have more choice than they do today. I don't believe the industry is ready for true à la carte."

In other words, those hoping that Intel's venture into the pay-TV would be the first blow in destroying bundles, you can casually keep dreaming. That said, it doessound as if Intel's aiming to give its users more choice over what channels are bundled -- something of a compromise. You may be forced to buy bundle packs, but at least you'll get the chance to select some of what goes into that bundle.

Oddly, Huggers confirmed that there will be a "camera" on the box, to which Mossberg responded fairly negatively. He brought up (reasonable) concerns of privacy and creepiness, and that's where things got truly weird. It sounds as if Intel's box will rely on a camera (at least) to target advertisements to users. Naturally, marketers are likely licking their chops -- and Intel's doing everything it can to play up the "social and sharing" aspects of all of this -- but it'll be interesting to see if consumers buy into that pitch. And moreover, if allowing Intel into your home in such a way will result in cheaper access to programming. In response, Huggers set up a situation:

"When my family uses Netflix, we have a household account. My kids may watch programming geared towards them, and I'll watch programming geared towards me. If there's a way to distinguish who is watching what, advertisers can then target ads at the proper parties."

Curiously, this actually sounds similar to what Dish's Charlie Ergen said last night, noting that marketing companies are just blindly shooting ads at whoever is watching the screen, instead of specific demographics. We're assuming that Mossberg's thoughts are correct -- he told Huggers to "expect a lot of skepticism from consumers" regarding the plan. We're guessing "a lot" really means "a truly overwhelming amount."

 

 

In response to a question from TechCrunch's Ryan Lawler regarding Intel's choice to build a completely new piece of hardware instead of just building a software piece that would interact with existing platforms, Huggers replied:

"If we want to deliver the experience that we want to deliver in the living room, there's no platform out there today that'll do it. You need to control everything. You need to control the app layers, the sensors, the chip, everything. If there were platforms out there where we could deliver everything we have in mind, we'd go there -- but there isn't. I believe in a world where there's a 'good, better, best' experience, and ours will be in that 'best' category."

In closing, Huggers confirmed that this "wasn't a value play," and told co-host Peter Kafka that users shouldn't expect to save money by using Intel's service. So, let's recap: it'll look great, perhaps the UI will be superior, but you won't actually save money (or stick it to any of those greedy content providers), and you'll be duly freaked out by targeted advertising. Oh, and you may get a lot closer to breaking through your broadband bandwidth cap. Good luck, Intel.

We'll be reporting live from D:Dive Into Media as it continues on February 11-12. You can follow our coverage by using the "dmedia2013" tag.

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/12/intel-confirms-new-internet-based-television-streaming-product

 

scene

[Skola]

a camera to identify users?

 

big brother is truely watching

[Zizouz]

surely people aint gonna pay to be watched

[Kurtis]

dontt even know what theyre watching, are they gonna be watching just race, age, sex

 

is the camera gonna be able to identify all 3 instantaneously?

 

what if the whole fam is watching??

[Zizouz]

it gets targeted to the demographic so I'd assume families would get the appropriate adverts as well

 

apparently if it's a man and a woman watching

 

the camera will assume they're a couple and you'll get adverts for condoms and such

 

heard about it a while ago, didn't know they'd press on ahead with it

[Kurtis]

itll make tv packages cheaper though, so i guess people will go for it, will be niche, but still

[Gambino]

They can stick that where the sun don't shine.