Category Archives: Technology

News Corp. unveils ‘The Daily’, the first iPad-driven news publication

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“New times require new journalism. Our challenge was to take the best of traditional journalism, competitive shoe-leather reporting, good editing, a skeptical eye, and combine it with the best of contemporary technology.” That’s how News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch opened up the launch event for his company’s brand new digital newspaper The Daily. It’s being described as “the industry’s first national daily news publication created from the ground up for iPad.” News Corp. and Apple worked together to come up with a news source tailor-made for the tablet community. The Daily will push out new content every day and publish up to 100 pages focused on these specific areas: news, sports, gossip and celebrity, opinion, arts and life, and apps and games. It takes advantage of the iPad’s multitouch display by providing interactive methods of implementation.  For example, the home screen of the app provides readers with a carousel view of the day’s news, and you can easily swipe through them and tap on the ones that interest you most. Also, you can use your fingers to take a 360 degree view of a photograph. In addition to photos, the paper will highlight news using text, embedded videos, audio, information graphics, and real-time data and social feeds. For example, inside the gossip and celebrity section you might find a Twitter feed of a celeb who is making headlines and discover what she is up to that way. In short, The Daily allows its editors to deliver stories to their readers in new and exciting ways that simply are not possible in the realm of TV, radio, and traditional papers.

The Daily also includes… A selection of articles can be read aloud to you by actual people (read: no GPS-like robotic voices); the paper can be customized with your preferences (think: weather, sports teams); the apps and games section provides reviews and ratings for select iPad applications and will link you directly to the App Store if you decide to purchase an app; Sudoku and crossword puzzles are available to play within the app; readers can leave comments on Daily stories in either written or audio form; said stories can be bookmarked and saved for reading later; stories can be shared with others via Facebook, Twitter, and email (those who receive shared stories can read Web-friendly versions of the articles even if they’re not subscribers).

Readers are promised a new Daily to be automatically downloaded to their iPad straight from the either 365 days a year with new content everyday. If a day happens to be packed with breaking news, the editors can jump into the paper at any time and provide readers with the latest news (they can even change the cover story if they like). All of this comes at a price; since The Daily is an iPad-driven news source News Corp. does not have to worry about paper, factory, and delivery costs and the savings trickle down to the subscriber. It’s priced at $.99 per week or $39.99 annually, not bad at all. The first two weeks of use are free, thanks Verizon Wireless. It’s first application made available on the App Store featuring a subscription model; subscriber fees are billed directly to an iTunes account. The Daily app is available to download today right here.

The Daily promises a new voice for a new technologically-advanced era. I’m excited that a powerfully influential force in Murdoch’s News Corp. is behind the first digital paper made from the ground up for the iPad, and I’m equally curious to see how newspaper readers respond to it. It’s easy to assume that the young crowd of 20-somethings will take the charge in signing up for subscriptions, but what I’m most interested in seeing is whether or not those people who are used to reading traditional (read: physical) papers will take a liking to The Daily and transition over to it. At the get-go it certainly takes advantage of Apple’s tablet in terms of browsing and visually immersive experiences, so we’ll have to see if the editorial team can keep things up all throughout the year. If they continually pump out new content and update the app appropriately with readability improvements, I envision a bright future for the newspaper readers of tomorrow.

Look after the break a visual tour of The Daily and official PR.

[Via The Daily] Continue reading News Corp. unveils ‘The Daily’, the first iPad-driven news publication →

Google Art Project brings galleries from around the world to your computer screen

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Today Google dipped its paws into the art industry.  Art Project is “a unique collaboration with some of the world’s most acclaimed art museums to enable people to discover and view more than a thousand artworks online in extraordinary detail.”  In short, over the past 18 months Google’s traveled to 17 art museums around the world and captured super high resolution images of famous artworks.  Now online users can take 360 degree tours of individual galleries using the same Street View click, zoom, and pan techniques most are used to using when navigating Google Maps.  Google hit up many world renowned museums including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, State Tretyakov Gallery, and Van Gogh Museum.  And check this: each of the 17 museums hand-picked one piece of artwork to be photographed using gigapixel technology; these super super high definition selections contain around 7 billion pixels allowing users to explore them in extreme detail.  For example, the people hidden behind the tree in Ivanov’s ‘The Apparition of Christ to the People’ suddenly become visible thanks to the gigapixel capture.  In addition to browsing the beautiful works of art, Google is enabling users to create their own collections, share them with others, and make them sociable with commenting support.

Head over to http://www.googleartproject.com/ to check it out!  Look after the break for official PR and some videos detailing the project.

Food for thought: Libraries are dead because of the digitization of books; with instant access to high definition galleries are museums on their way out now as well?

[Via GoogleBlog] Continue reading Google Art Project brings galleries from around the world to your computer screen →

Motorola takes a bite into Apple with “Goodbye 1984″ advert

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Here’s a sneak peek at Motorola’s flashy Super Bowl ad.  The Motorola Xoom tablet was teased last month and detailed at CES, so now it’s time to build hype before its mid-February release.  The Honeycomb packin’, dual-core processin’, 4G capable tablet is nearly ready to take on Apple’s iPad.  More than that, Moto is going so far to spit on Apple’s “1984” ways (“One authority. One design. One way to work.”) and replace it with ideals including “choice,” “exploration,”and “freedom.”  Gone is a world dominated by Apple and their pesky white iPod buds and ready to take over is a red gaseous planet with a giant M emblazoned on it.  Tablet competition is about to get fierce.

[Via Engadget]

IntoNow app is Shazam for your TV

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Shazam is to music as IntoNow is to television.  Get it?  Simply hold your compatible device up to your TV and the app will scan the program’s audio to determine what you’re watching.  The app can even recognize a show even if it’s airing live for the first time.  You’re thinking, how does it work?  The embedded “fingerprinting” tech is dubbed SoundPrint and it runs a series of algorithms that can quickly identify a show based on the audio from that program.  SoundPrint’s index covers over 140 million minutes of previously aired shows, or 266 years of video.  Over 2.6 million airings have been indexed over the past five years and that number is constantly growing.

So the app can tell you what you’re watching, big whoop!  The social aspect of IntoNow is what makes it most interesting.  In addition to displaying the program being watched, the app will provide all kinds of relevant data about the program including episode and cast information.  In turn, this can be shared with your friends over social networks such as Facebook and Twitter (i.e. “Larry is watching “House” can be shared with your friends across networks).  What’s more you can create and manage an in-app friends list, see what your friends are watching, receive notifications when your friends are watching the same episode or show as you, and comment on their statuses. The feature list goes on…you also have one-click access to Netflix from the app, so you can add your favorites shows to your Instant Queue right then and there before you forget.

IntoNow is available in the App Store today, it’s free, and it’s compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

[Via Engadget; IntoNow]

A brand new Angry Birds game based on ‘Rio’ animated flick coming soon [Update: Super Bowl embedded code]

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App developer Rovio has teamed up with 20th Century Fox to put together a new Angry Birds game for iOS and Android.  Following the original Angry Birds and Seasons games, this new installment is inspired by the upcoming Fox animated feature Rio (watch a trailer for it here).  Angry Birds Rio will pack 45 new levels, increased graphics performance, and “a few new twists.”  Future updates will add more levels.  Look out for the app to hit iOS, Android, and Symbian app stores this March, ahead of Rio‘s April 15 theatrical release.

And if you you didn’t know, Team Rovio is currently developing an animated TV series based on the Angry Birds universe.  After watching this trailer for the Rio-inspired game I cannot wait to see what they come up with for the show.  Who needs dialogue when you’ve got furious birds yelling and slimy green pigs snorting?

Update: It’s been revealed that during the Super Bowl 20th Century Fox will air a 30-second commercial promoting Rio that features an embedded code, the first of its kind.  The secret code will be inserted into a single frame of the ad.  When it’s entered into the Angry Birds app a new level will be unlocked and it will enter players into a Rio sweepstakes.  Winners will attend the animated flick’s world premiere in Rio de Janeiro on March 22. That also happens to be the day Angry Birds Rio hits the App Store, in case you were wondering.

[Via Nerdist; UnwiredView; Reuters]

SOCOM 4 ships April 19, new multiplayer trailer and game stills enclosed

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Fans of the beloved PlayStation franchise SOCOM, listen here!  Developer Zipper Interactive announced a release date for the latest installment.  SOCOM 4 hits shelves April 19 exclusively for the PlayStation 3.  As promised the game will boast multiplayer support we’ve come to know and love, as well as a significantly enhanced single player campaign.  As I’ve shared with you before, all SOCOM games following PS2’s SOCOM II never sat well with me. Thankfully, Zipper promises that they’re going back to their roots with SOCOM 4, eliminating all of the fluff and nixing all the problems of past iterations (namely SOCOM 3, Combined Assault, and Confrontation; online lag issues and weak (and sometimes totally absent) single player modes plagued these titles).  After previewing SOCOM 4 at E3 2010 I am happy to report that the updated graphics are stunning and at the same time the title manages to capture the classic feel I last experienced playing the 2003 sequel.  Add in the PlayStation Move support, and you’ve got a PS3 shooter that deserves wild anticipation.

Preorder SOCOM 4 at GameStop.  Why?  Because you’ll receive a GameStop exclusive map. “Abandoned” is a modern take on SOCOM & SOCOM II’s “Suppression” map and it’s being described like this: “Abandoned takes place in the daytime around an ancient Thai village deep in the misty jungle. Fight your way over dense hillsides, through dark caves, and into the close-quarters mayhem of the archeological site. Classic SOCOM heritage meets evolved SOCOM 4 action.”  That’s what I like to hear.  You’ll also receive a weapon, the Super M90 Shotgun.  Whether you purchase the game online or pick it up in-store, you will be given instructions and a code to download the exclusive map and weapon when you load the game.  Want to get in on the action early?  For a limited time new copies of Killzone 3 (which releases February 22) will include an access code to the SOCOM 4 multiplayer beta. Specially marked cases for the Killzone 3 standalone and Helghast editions are your ticket into the beta, so keep an eye out of them.  Zipper has not announced when they will turn the beta on.

According to a Zipper rep, “the good news is that this is just the beginning of an upcoming flood of SOCOM goodness.”  So stick it right here for the latest news in SOCOM 4 single and mulitplayer news.  For now, check out the brand new multiplayer trailer (embedded after the break) called “Not For Self” and look in the gallery below for game stills.  And that’s some slick box art up there, huh?

[Via PlayStationBlog; Socom]

Continue reading SOCOM 4 ships April 19, new multiplayer trailer and game stills enclosed →

Sony unveils the PSP successor, brings PS games to Android devices with PlayStation Suite

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Today Sony hosted PlayStation Meeting 2011 in Japan, and there they announced the successor to the PSP (codenamed NGP) and provided details on how they plan to expand the PlayStation brand to Android devices.

Let’s start with what you’ve been waiting oh-so-long for.  The oft-rumored PSP2 has finally been unveiled.  But don’t call it that; Sony has branded the new device “Next Generation Portable” or NGP for short.  Though at first glance the NGP aesthetically appears similar to its predecessor, additional control options and the spec sheet will blow your mind.  The NGP packs a 5-inch 960×544 OLED capacitive multitouch display (OLED screen technology allows for great viewing angles, and the screen resolution is 4x greater than the PSP’s), a powerful quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, a quad-core Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX543MP4+ GPU, dual analog sticks (as opposed to the PSP’s single analog nub), front and rear-facing cameras, built-in GPS, WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, microphone, stereo speakers, the same Six-axis motion sensing system that’s featured in the PlayStation Move controller (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), and there’s a three-axis electronic compass.  Buttons-wise, you’ll find the usual suspects: the D-Pad, action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square), left and right shoulder buttons, start, select, volume, power and PS buttons.  And I’ve managed to save the coolest new input implementation for last. The NGP packs a rear-mounted multitouch pad; it’s the same size as the front-facing OLED display, so the location of your finger is mapped directly to the game screen.  This new kind of input allows for “touch, grab, trace, push and pull” finger gestures and will open up a whole new world of gaming opportunities for developers.  All of this is stuffed inside a “Super Oval Design” form factor that is, again, similar to the PSP (there is no slide-up mechanism as featured in the PSP Go). Continue reading Sony unveils the PSP successor, brings PS games to Android devices with PlayStation Suite →

Duke Nukem Forever gets a trailer and release date: May 3, 2011

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If you’re a Duke Nukem fan, you’ve been waiting for this news for quite some time.  Over a decade long to be exact.  Duke Nukem Forever, the sequel to 1996’s Duke Nukem 3D, releases May 3, 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.  In addition to revealing the release date, game developer Gearbox Software rolled out this tongue-in-cheek trailer and it includes some radical game footage.  The sheer amount of nudity and expletives alone has got me amped for the Duke’s return.  The gameplay looks slick, too.

[Via Joystiq]

Apple App Store hits 10 billion downloads

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On Sunday Apple proclaimed that it hit the incredible 10 billion mark in terms of number of iOS apps sold.  Today the App Store offers more than 350,000 apps to iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users in 90 countries around the world.  Says Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing: “With more than 10 billion apps downloaded in just two and a half years–a staggering seven billion apps in the last year alone–the App Store has surpassed our wildest dreams.”  Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK downloaded the 10 billionth app (it was Paper Glider) and will now receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card.  She should host a party with Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia; he also received the enormous gift for downloading the 10 billionth song using iTunes.

This really is a remarkable milestone for Apple, and I hope that competitors Android and Windows Phone 7 take this news and use it as fuel to amp up their respective app development following.

[Via Apple]

Eric Schmidt leaves Google CEO post, Larry Page steps in

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On Thursday Eric Schmidt announced that he will be leaving his post as Google CEO come April 4 and Google co-founder Larry Page will fill the role.  From that day on, Page will “lead product development and technology strategy” and “take charge of [Google] day-to-day operations,” while Schmidt will stay with the company as Executive Chairman.  In a blog post Schmidt says, “I will focus wherever I can add the greatest value: externally, on the deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership that are increasingly important given Google’s global reach; and internally as an advisor to Larry and Sergey.” He hands the reigns to Page under amicable conditions.  “In this new role I know [Page] will merge Google’s technology and business vision brilliantly,” he said. “I am enormously proud of my last decade as CEO, and I am certain that the next 10 years under Larry will be even better! Larry, in my clear opinion, is ready to lead.”  And what of the other co-founder, Sergey Brin?  He “has decided to devote his time and energy to strategic projects, in particular working on new products.”  Schmidt adds, “He’s an innovator and entrepreneur to the core, and this role suits him perfectly.”  And he concludes, “Larry, Sergey and I have worked exceptionally closely together for over a decade—and we anticipate working together for a long time to come.”

This is certainly a big shakeup for one of the world’s most dominant companies.  Whether or not this transitional shift of control affects Google’s products and services…time will tell.

[Via GoogleBlog]