Headlines Archives - Page 17 of 58

Facebook’s Internet.org is Now Called Free Basics

September 25, 2015 By Nancy Young Leave a Comment

Facebook’s free-internet project Internet.org is now called Free Basics. It’s a controversial $1 billion project that is somewhat a huge marketing stunt for Facebook, some say.

Free Basics is almost two-years old today and it aims to bring free internet access to about four billion people on the planet. Four billion people who didn’t have the means to access the internet prior to Facebook’s meddling.

Facebook’s project is aimed especially at Asian emerging markets. This seems like an extraordinarily awesome thing, but users will only be allowed to use Facebook services and a few select websites for jobs, information, updates on sports and health related issues. At least, that’s what their initial statement said.

In essence, the whole issue is about net neutrality. If Facebook is pushing their services, and only theirs, it will have the power to dictate what content is accessible through their project. This means more exposure and money for them and their partners.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder and CEO, took to write an editorial piece in two Indian newspapers after Free Basics launched in the country. He defended he company’s project, but received a ton of flack mainly because users can’t access Google.

However, according to a message posted on the project’s official website change is coming. Zuckerberg took to Facebook to post what this entails.

Basically, any developer that wants his services to be included in Internet.org can do so. According to the Facebook post, everything is encrypted and the platform now supports HTTPS web services.

More so, the motive behind renaming the project is as simple as it gets. They want it to be crystal clear that every app used via Internet.org is free and that they provide basic services that every individual has a right to access.

Those strict guidelines seem to be getting loosened up. How much, we don’t know yet, but it’s a step forward.

Free Basics is available across 19 countries, offering more than 60 services.

As of 25th of September 2015, Facebook’s Free Basics can be accessed across 19 countries, offering more than 60 services – people that reside in Asia, Africa and Latin America can take full advantage of Free Basics.

Facebook has allied itself with tech giants such as Ericsson, Qualcomm and Samsung to provide the very best connection.

Zuckerberg ends his Facebook post by saying that connectivity isn’t a thing that should be seen as an obstacle in this day and age. It’s not and end. It’s more about what people do with the possibility of connecting to resources, free knowledge on the internet.

Raising a healthy family may be a given in first world countries, but, unfortunately, it’s not something that emerging markets are all that used to.

Image Source: 1, 2

No more IPv4 addresses for North America, It’s Time for IPv6

September 25, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The time has come. North America has finally exhausted their IPv4 addresses. If you’re not aware what this entails, it means that the numbering system which the Internet is based on, sort-of, is running out of numbers allocated for IPv4.

We are on the brink of meeting the new era of networking.

ARIN, which is the American Registry for Internet Numbers, is a non-profit NGO that distributes these addresses for the NA region. They have announced on the 24th of September that it has run out of numbers. Yesterday, the organization assigned their last addresses.

This comes after years of warnings from ARIN and other related companies. The time has come to see who has listened to them. Carriers, enterprises and the majority of the tech industry will need to quickly adopt the next-in-line protocol – IPv6.

In 1981, IPv4 was brought to life with 4.3 billion unique addresses. In 1999 IPv6 was introduced and ARIN notes that this protocol has enough addresses to last Internet users for generations to come.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t get hold of an IPv4 address. If somebody relinquishes his, or hers, authority over an IPv4 address, you’ll be able to take the returned address for yourself. But the waiting list is pretty huge. It has been set up at the beginning of 2015.

Furthermore, if IANA, which is the global Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, gives North America more IPv4 addresses, users will be able to request one. Yet again, firstly you’ll have to wait in line.

What's the difference between IPv4 addresses and iPv6 addresses?

The difference between IPv4 addresses and IPv6 addresses, thanks to ARIN.

If you aren’t keen on waiting, you can take to the transfer-market. There are quite a few users who want to make a quick buck out of this situation. Currently, addresses are going for around $10 to $12 each. Yet, we expect the price for an address to go up once people find out they can’t request one from ARIN.

Quite the tech-shock considering that other Regional Internet Registries across the world, simply called RIRs, have announced that they are also depleting their existing pool of IPv4 addresses at a fairly alarming rate. Until the end of 2015, we might not have any IPv4 addresses available.

The change from IPv4 to IPv6 will definitely cause a huge ruckus for different types of organizations across the planet. The thing is, some companies are waiting for consumers to start using IPv6 so they can also migrate to the new protocol.

It’s basically a chicken-and-egg problem.

However, we have to thank Google and Facebook. In the past couple of years, both companies have gone out of their way to make IPv6 more common. With their continued help, the Internet world won’t reach Bedlam level anytime soon.

Image Source: 1, 2

Vertu New Signature Touch Smartphone Price and Availability

September 24, 2015 By Deborah Campbell Leave a Comment

The Vertu New Signature Touch smartphone makes Apple’s iPhone 6S look like the greatest bargain smartphone on the market.

The British-based smartphone manufacturer that was once a part of Nokia has hinted that they are more than keen to go into the wearable line. During the unveiling of their latest product called the Vertu New Signature Touch device, CEO Max Pogliani said that wearables might be an interesting space for the company.

This probably means a new diamond-encrusted sapphire-polished product line.

However, Pogliani has the task of making the company’s latest smartphone a hit if they want to move forward. A tough goal, considering that the phone costs $10,000. Vertu is slowly reaching brand maturity and they have to capitalize on their position if they don’t want to lose crucial market shares, Pogliani adds.

But Vertu isn’t the only one developing wearables. We have Apple and Samsung, both witnessed a huge popularity in 2015. However, it that has started to dwindle mainly because its novelty wore off pretty quick. Among them we observe countless other heavy hitters form the tech and fashion industry that try to make it in this fairly new market.

Pebble isn’t suffering, or at least the company doesn’t show it.

And on the other hand you have fitness trackers with Fitbit leading the trend.

There are a couple of luxury brands that have formed an alliance with Apple – Tag Heuer and Hermes; but we don’t have sufficient data to say if their strategy was worth it or not.

The big issue here is where would Vertu place their wearable line, Pogliani says. It can’t resemble any other device on the market, it has to have a full serving of design, functionality and materials. Or so Pogliani would like to.

To better understand what Pogliani is trying to achieve, we have to take a look at the company’s latest Vertu New Signature Touch smartphone.

For starters, it runs Google’s Android – we assume that it’s capable of running Marshmallow, if not, at least the latest Lollipop update. It comes with premium materials – alligator skin, sapphire crystal display, and probably the hand of God along with it. But that’s not the highlight of Vertu’s new device. It comes equipped with a one-touch-to-access feature that employs a human concierge to do the user’s bidding.

The company promises users that this service will meet their wildest dream – within common sense and, of course, whatever laws people should abide.

Pogliani adds that while he does wear a luxury smart watch, it’s not a fitness tracker. He sees them as toys – as gimmicky little devices. They are interesting, but at the end of the day, a high-class man, or woman, doesn’t get out of these mediocre devices the highly sought-after elegance they require and need.

The 4k-capable, 130-carat encrusted, 21-megapixel smartphone will go on sale globally from the middle of October.

Is there anyone among us that will buy the Vertu New Signature Touch smartphone?

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

Asus ZenFone 2 With 4GB of RAM, 16GB Storage Costs $229

September 21, 2015 By Nancy Young Leave a Comment

Asus ZenFone 2 is the first smartphone to house 4 gigs of RAM

If you’re looking for a cheap mid-range smartphone, then the new variant of Asus ZenFone 2 might tickle your fancy.

The new Asus ZenFone 2 variant houses 4 gigs of RAM, 16 gigs of internal storage and it costs $229.

Previously, the Taiwanese-based phone manufacturer had only two ZenFone 2 models. According to tech-reviewers it has a great price to value ratio and it offers exactly what Asus claims their smartphone can do.

For $199 you can get an Asus ZenFone 2 with 2 gigs of RAM and 16 gigs of internal storage;
For $299 you can get an Asus Zenfone 2 with 4 gigs of RAM and 64 gigs of internal storage.

Their new smartphone is a blend between the two – the new $229 model packs the built-in storage from the cheaper version, but adds more RAM. Reviewers note that it’s the cheapest smartphone that houses 4 gigs of RAM.

The new Asus ZenFone 2 model touts a few different specs also.

For starters, it has the same quad-core 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z3560 CPU as Asus’ ZenFone 2 ZE551ML – which was recently unveiled in India.

The ZenFone 2 new variant comes equipped with a dual-Sim capability and microSD card support. It has a 5.5-inch full HD IPS display, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It has a 3000mAh power-unit and its main camera consists of a 13-megapixel unit.

The smartphone’s secondary camera unit boasts 5-megapixels.

The product description for the Asus ZenFone 2 notes that the company’s new smartphone was designed with the user in mind. It has a completely new layout and a physical rear key, which is part of the product-line’s new Ergonomic Arc design.

Everything comes natural now – selfies, lowering or increasing volume, searching for websites and more. All of this can be easily done regardless of the user is left or right-handed.

ZenFone 2 versus Note 4

The ZenFone product line will include new variants that Asus showcased at this year’s IFA event. In the near future, the company will add: Deluxe, Max, Laser, Selfie, and Zoom.

The Deluxe version, which is the line’s top-notch device, has a staggering 256 gig of internal storage built-in. Yet, if you’re living in North America don’t get your hopes too high. The Deluxe variant is only available in Brazil. For what reason, we don’t know at the current moment.

What we do know is that 2015 is witnessing a surge of cheap mid-range smartphones that destroy the trend of buying a flagship smartphone. Take a look at the ZenFone line, but more importantly take a look at the OnePlus 2 flagship killer.

Why would you want to buy a $700 smartphone when you could pay almost half and get the same performance out of a mid-range device?

Image Source: 1, 2

Google Glass Team Re-Branded as Project Aura, Not Ara

September 17, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Project Aura is Google’s new Glass team name. This time around Google is looking mostly at business rather than focusing on consumers.

The Project Aura team has been hiring straight from Amazon’s Lab126. Software developers, engineers and even project managers are being swooped over to Google’s side – It is unknown at the moment if there were cookies involved or not.

Regardless, Google capitalized on Amazon’s phase 1 of laying off staff members. Due to their Fire smartphone failure, Amazon fired more than a dozen engineers.

Ivy Ross will be in charge of Project Aura. However, she still reports to Google’s head of connected-home business Nest Tony Fadell. There hasn’t been any significant change in the hierarchy that comprises the Glass team. Ross previously ran the project.

While Project Aura is working hard on the new iteration of the Glass, the team is also meddling with other kinds of wearable technology. This is according to job descriptions found on LinkedIn.

One software development manager that worked on Lab126, and later on joined Project Aura in August of 2015, described the project simply as Glass and Beyond. He also noted on his LinkedIn profile that the team is developing cool wearables.

Dimitry Svetlov, the manager in this case, didn’t quickly reply to a message seeking answers on LinkedIn, the Wall Street Journal adds.

Unfortunately for Google, their first try at selling the Glass failed, miserably. Partly do to the whole NSA scandal and because it featured a more than hefty price. Their first iteration of Glass retailed at $1,500.

People across the US were seeing Google’s Glass as a devilish thing that someone can use to record them in public places without nobody noticing.

Google couldn’t handle the backlash. They stopped selling the Glass in January and the company’s execs confirmed that their device was clearly not ready for consumers.

Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman at Google, noted earlier this year that the big G won’t give up trying to develop and market the Glass because they see this kind of technology as having a huge potential.

It’s a new market that doesn’t yet have a standard of quality imposed.

In the last couple of months, Google has been spreading Glass 2.0 to select few companies in the energy, health care and manufacturing industries.

Project Aura won’t have a consumer release this year, and rumors have it that they probably won’t have it ready even for 2016. What we do know is that it’s going to be released sometimes in the near future.

Will you give it another go when the time comes? Do you think people will forever hate the Glass?

Image Source: 1, 2

Apple TV Apps – Plex and VLC Incoming

September 15, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The next gen Apple TV was announced last week. It has been redesigned to better suit its target demographic. It has an overhauled Siri, which comes with a new search function and also its very own App Store.

Apple CEO Tim Cook noted, during the announcement, that the future of television is apps. Therefore, expect a plethora of Apple TV apps in the near future.

This also means that we’ll witness a ton more new apps that were not available for the earlier versions of Apple’s TV. The first to see the light on day on Apple’s TV will be Plex and VLC.

Jean-Baptiste Kemp, one of the lead developers of VLC, unveils that video playback is now possible. He has been also reported of saying that Plex, who he co-founded, will be available on Apple’s new platform. It’s only a time of evaluating their position and which path it’s best to take Plex on.

This isn’t shocking news, but still it’s important, not only for the Cupertino-based company. With these new Apple TV apps, users will have the possibility to stream local content to their box-of-wonders using different devices. This frees up the dependency of using Apple’s pre-installed online streaming services.

Plex will be available on Apple TV soon, founders note.

This is relevant in countries like India and any other place where Netflix’s presence is absent. Apple’s TV, or Amazon’s Fire TV, turns from a highly-appreciated device into a literally useless box in 5 seconds flat.

These Apple TV apps aren’t revolutionary. That’s not the case. They have been available for the majority of Android-enabled set-top-boxes. In India they are witnessing a surge of popularity.

An Android set-top box manufacturer reports that the most used app on his product is YouTube. Following in second, third and fourth place are Plex, XMBC and VLC.

Their target demo for India is going to be different than what Apple has been focusing on in Europe or the US. Yet, it’s a great sign that the big A is starting to focus on markets like China and India.

Huawei and Xiaomi have been relentlessly trying to push their products there and they have achieved brand recognition, among other things.

Huawei is also a big player in Europe. Their smartphones product-line is starting to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung. It’s just a matter of time until Huawei has the perfect opportunity to go deeper into the set-top box market in Europe and US.

Image Source: 1, 2

Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight Platform Makes Drones Cheaper

September 14, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

We all know that when it comes to mobile phones processors, Qualcomm is top dog. But what about drones?

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight platform is the company’s answer to the ever growing drone market. It’s been reported that Qualcomm is aiming at a second wave of growth.

The complexity of smartphone chips is growing at an exponential rate, and Qualcomm is noting that now they have powerful-enough procs that make them best suited for drones. Amazon and Facebook have both reported testing drones for either product delivery or drone-delivered internet access.

In a recent statement, regarding their Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight platform, the company notes that they believe they can bring robotics to a whole new level. Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight platform is aimed at helping manufacturers and developers across the world to build consumer drones. The company notes that they don’t shy away from robots either.

It’s going to be a platform that consists of a highly integrated board. This board will be based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 proc.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight platform will consist of a Snapdragon 801 SoC paired with a quad-core 2.26GHz proc. It will support dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. It has support for real-time flight control system, 4K video processing and GNSS, which is Global Navigation Satellite System.

Another sweet feature is that it has quick charge enabled – it’s the size of a business card.

Now, consumers wishing to acquire a drone are met face to face with a huge question. Do I want to buy a powerful and expensive UAV? Or will I get the same amount of fun out of a cheap drone?

This confusion will most likely disappear with Qualcomm cementing its position in the drone industry.

They even have their first customer. Yuneec, a Chinese drone manufacturer will launch a drone based on Qualcomm’s board in 2016.

Every drone manufacturer meets this challenge – all the parts that make a drone are expensive. From cameras to navigation to wireless tech. They all come from different vendors, and keeping it cheap is a pain in the chipset.

However, expensive drones that will be the epitome of the industry will still remain highly sought after. Take the DJI Phantom 3 drone, it costs $799, it can shoot in 2,7k and it can fly around for twenty five minutes on a single charge.

Yet, Parrot continues to make bank with their toy-like drones. They cost slightly over $200 and they come in all shapes and sizes.

I would very much love the Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight platform to reduce the prices of UAVs, but how cheaper can you get?

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

Find Out How Much Did The Witcher 3 Cost to Make

September 13, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Art by Jakub Różalski

How much did The Witcher 3 cost to make? This question has plagued our thoughts ever since we first heard that it was going to feature more than 200 hours of playtime.

The Polish company announced yesterday how much money they actually spent for the beloved open-world RPG – The Witcher 3 The Wild Hunt.

An English translation was published today. CEO Adam Kicinski notes that the budget for The Witcher 3, including marketing and development costs, was 306 million złoty. That is $81 million USD.

Star Wars The Old Republic, an MMO, had a budget of $200 million to develop, and Rockstar Game’s GTA V cost $265 million, including marketing, rumors have it. Considering things, The Witcher 3 is a hit. For their latest financial period, the company made a net profit of 236 million złoty, which translates to $62.5 million USD.

CD Projekt Red has announced that The Witcher 3 was a good investment.

During the presentation, CEO Kicinski notes that CD Projekt Red had to conduct 40 different marketing campaigns for the Witcher 3. He continue to describe them as a frustrating and daunting task. He adds that besides region-specific campaigns, a global marketing campaign accompanied them.

View post on imgur.com

CD Projekt Red unveiled how much time it took for their team of professionals to efficiently develop the game. It took them 3.5 years, 240 in-house staff members that worked on the title, and about 1,500 people across the world that worked on production.

The Witcher 3 was localized in 15 different languages, with seven of them featuring full voice acting. 500 voice actors have worked on the game for its various language versions.

The bottom line is, Kicinski and the whole team at CD Projekt Red is more than happy with their latest Witcher title. It sold over 6 million copies in its first six weeks.

Screenshot of Kaer Morhen

They’ve added countless free DLCs and a the sought after New Game+. On the 13th of October 2015, CD Projekt Red will be launching their first paid DLC. It’s called Hearts of Stone and it won’t be the companies last expansion.

However, don’t expect a Witcher 4 anytime soon. CD Projekt Red wants to take a breather after this. In its stead, the company will focus on a brand new title – Cyberpunk 2077.

You can watch the whole CD Projekt Red presentation down below.

I haven’t finished it yet. I’ve spent more than 200 hours in-game but I’ve just breached Skellige. It’s fascinating how many activities you have. I’ve been gazing at the marvelous world and forgetting to actually play the main story.

If you have any fun stories about Geralt of Rivia’s night-time escapades in Novigrad, or his adventures in Skellige, tell us in the comments section down below.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

GoPro Has Started Selling Odyssey, A 16-camera VR Rig

September 12, 2015 By Deborah Campbell Leave a Comment

The crazy 16-camera VR rig which GoPro announced at this year’s Google I/O conference is now available for purchase. Its official name is Odyssey and it costs $15,000.

However, not everyone can buy it.

Not because of its hefty price. You see, GoPro only sells it to a particular clientele. Customers need to submit an application on their website. If you aren’t a professional content creator or a producer, you’re out of luck.

Is Odyssey worth the bulky price tag?

For $15,000 you get a pretty great amount of gear. Buying the Odyssey entails that you own 16 top-shelf GoPro Hero 4 Black, a high-quality microphone, the essential rig with all the cables you need for film-making and a warranty in case something breaks.

You’ll also receive a Pelican case to carry the Odyssey in.

This is a great option for a new VR studio that isn’t looking to build a rig themselves. Yet, the fact that you need to submit an application to buy it seems a little bit annoying.

We’ve witnessed a huge frustration on tech forums regarding the OnePlus 2 and its stupid invite system. We know it’s a marketing stunt, and we know that it keeps the price down, but still – people want to buy it and they can’t.

This frustration may very well be present within the VR enthusiast community.

Odyssey is the first VR rig built for Google’s Jump platform announced at this year’s I/O conference. Jump will be the first VR ecosystem that will make VR development easy and its content consumption within a click away. At least, that’s the plan that Google envisions.

I think they will be a little bit out of luck when Steam catches on with their SteamVR headset and VR store.

Regardless, Jump will eventually lead to its inclusion within YouTube. Considering the addition of 360-degree videos earlier this year, this may very well be what the company is thinking.

Frustration aside, Google’s strategy for Jump is pretty tight. Not everyone is looking for this kind of machine. Only a certain type of company, or individual, is going to want to cough up $15,000. This means that Google and GoPro will not have to wade through countless beginner VR vids before they reach the ones that deserve to be featured on Jump.

This ensure that we won’t witness badly made, or downright boring, VR experiences in the first few months, years, of the Jump.

Both companies want to go further into the VR medium and will do so by outputting exceptional quality.

Image Source: 1, 2

Facebook Mentions and Live Available for Verified Profiles

September 11, 2015 By Karen Jackson Leave a Comment

Facebook Mentions and Live are now available for verified profiles. Facebook’s new features are aimed at journalists and the social media behemoth wants reporters to use their new tools.

Basically, Facebook gives journalists the ability to stream live on Facebook.

In a statement today, the company notes that experts, journalists and other influencers, who are verified, now have access to Facebook Mentions – an app which was formerly available only to a select few celebrities.

Q&A sessions, live breaking news reports, behind the scenes and countless other possibilities for free, Facebook notes.

Vadim Lavrusik, the company’s product manager for Facebook Mentions, notes that they want people to use Facebook for news-gathering and to better connect readers with journalists.

Facebook’s new app lets its user monitor what people have to say about them. The app offers the ability to easily follow certain topics of interest, observe what’s trending on Facebook, and choose with whom to share their content.

Anyone can apply for Facebook Mentions, but the company notes that only those who qualify will be approved to use their app. However, nobody knows the criteria for approval. Facebook will most likely release a guideline for applying to Mentions in the near future.

Yet, livestreaming isn’t that popular. Sure, in Silicon Valley it’s the hot new trend that everyone goes crazy about, but for the rest of the world – radio silence.

Facebook has the perfect platform to make livestreaming possible. With their 1.5 billion monthly users, they are in an unique position to make this happen. Frankly, they are the only ones who can do it.

Ricky Gervais, a prominent Facebook Mentions user.

The time is ripe for livestreaming.

Twitter acquired livestreaming service Periscope earlier this year and YouTube is taking it more seriously now with their YouTube Gaming side. Twitch is a different kind of beast in this scenario.

Ricky Gervais, a beloved comedian and extrovert, has used Facebook Mentions to give viewers a sneak peak of his life, a behind the scenes VIP pass if you like. He seems to enjoy his popularity and the exposure he gets. What extrovert wouldn’t?

But, do we really want Fox News livestreaming their ignorant journalism? What does this imply for the average Joe? Is Facebook going to transform into a news riddled platform, or it will somewhat divide itself in the near future?

Real time coverage of news sounds great, but we all know how media twists and turns every little thing. If you can do something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should do it.

We’ll keep a close eye on Facebook Mentions and we won’t sugarcoat what problems there are bound to happen.

Image Source: 1, 2

Categories