Over the last few years, Google and Android have increasingly dominated the mobile scene, with Microsoft relegated to bit-player status. Once-massive players like BlackBerry scarcely stir a ripple in the market. Nonetheless, Ubuntu has chosen to stick its neck out and create a mobile operating system based on its own software to hopefully compete against the massive entrenched players. A new review of the Ubuntu Phone OS puts the operating system through its paces — and finds a great deal wanting.
As the Windows 10 ship draws close to port, we’ve seen confirmation from multiple sources that yes, Windows 10 Build 10240 is the RTM version that was sent out to OEMs for installation. The problem with this classification, however, is that Microsoft now refuses to use it. When Mark Hachman of PCWorld reached out to the company for confirmation, he was met with the following: “This build is the latest Windows 10 build, and we’ll continue to update Windows 10 code as we head toward launch and beyond,” a Microsoft spokeswoman said in a statement. “We are embracing a new way to deliver Windows.”
You know those full-screen "interstitial" ads that pop up when you load a mobile site and suggest that you install the app instead? It just dawned on Google that they actually make you rage-quit the entire site and go somewhere else. The search giant decided to take a look at interstitial ads for its own Google+ -- a site that's not exactly beloved in the first place. It found that while nine percent of visitors did press the "get app" button, 69 percent abandoned the page completely.
Japan is yet to create any towering bio-machines in the style of Neon Genesis Evangelion, but it's doing the next best thing: decorating a Shinkansen bullet train to look like the iconic purple Unit-01.
It's being put together by Japanese train operator JR West to celebrate the the 20th anniversary of the hit mecha anime, as well as the 40 years that have passed since the completion of the Sanyo Shinkansen line. In addition to its striking paint job, the "500 Type Eva" train will have an Evangelion-themed interior and heaps of special memorabilia for fans to buy. JR West says it'll launch this autumn and run until March next year, completing two trips between Hakata and Shin-Osaka each day. We're on board, as long as the train isn't required to fight any formidable Angels along the way.
Microsoft has always struggled to get consumers to install important Windows updates, but it’s pulling out the big guns with Windows 10. The company has confirmed that Home users of Windows 10 will have to agree to receive system updates automatically as part of the terms and conditions. So you’re going to be up-to-date whether you like it or not.
The free upgrade to Windows 10 can’t come soon enough for those of us left frustrated by the desktop-unfriendly interface of Windows 8. Hopefully Windows 10 fixes all the issues and gives us a much more Windows 7-like experience. But the next version of Windows has another welcome change that Microsoft hasn’t talked too much about: if you purchase a boxed copy of the operating system it won’t require an optical drive for installation anymore.
Intel says its next-gen "Cannonlake" chips will be delayed by six months, marking the second time in a row it hasn't released a CPU on a two-year "Moore's law" cycle. Last year's 14-nanometer Broadwell chips were similarly delayed, and even Haswell and Ivy Bridge were behind schedule. Intel said that the setback for the new 10-nanometer chips was caused by the increasing complexity in building transistors that small. Addressing the elephant in the room, CEO Brian Krzanich said that "the last two technology transitions have signaled that our cadence today is closer to 2.5 years than two."
To address the lack of chips in the pipeline, Intel said that it's going to release new "Kaby Lake" code-named 14-nanometer chips based on the previous-gen Skylake architecture. Krzanich said that "we expect that this addition to the roadmap will deliver new features and improved performance, and pave the way for a smooth transition to 10-nanometer." Nevertheless, he admitted that Intel is now on a "tick-tock-tock" cycle rather than a "tick-tock" as before. That bodes poorly for an already-struggling PC industry, as consumers will have one less reason to get excited about new products.
Intel also admitted that PC demand was weaker than expected, and expects it to get worse by year's end. Nevertheless, Krzanich thinks the July 29th launch of Windows 10 will provide a tonic. "A lot of the really good features of Windows 10 -- things like Windows 10 Hello, where you have facial log in, and you don't have to use all your passwords, the Start screen, the touch usages of gaming as the new games come to this product -- those are going to run with PCs that have the latest features," he said. Despite the gloomy PC talk, Intel still managed to pull in a better-than-expected $13.2 billion for the quarter, thanks to a new focus on data centers, Internet-of-Things and memory.
WITH EACH PASSING DECADE, THE MARSHALL STORY HAS GROWN STRONGER. AND NOW WE ANNOUNCE THE NEXT CHAPTER. INTRODUCING MARSHALL LONDON.
With over 50 years of audio wisdom, Marshall London is the phone of choice for those who like to live life in stereo. High quality listening, minimal fuss. It’s time to change the way you listen to music. Join the revolution.
To celebrate the upcoming EVO 2015 fighting game tournament, Sony has launched a sale featuring fighting games discounted up to 60 percent across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita.
PlayStation 4 features a number of recent fighting game releases, including discounts on Mortal Kombat X, WWE 2K15, Towerfall Ascension, and Guilty Gear Xrd Sign. The bulk of the discounts can be found on PlayStation 3, including sales on Ultra Street Fighter IV, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle, Blazblue: Chrono Phantasma, and Darkstalkers Resurrection.
Last week, giant robot builders MegaBots slapped Japan with a white glove. They decided to challenge an imposing and impressive robot from Japan, Kuratas, to a mecha battle. The video above, released this weekend by Suidobashi Heavy Industry, confirmed that it is indeed on.
And Japan doesn’t seem intimidated in the slightest by MegaBots’ mech. “Come on guys, make it cooler,” said Suidobashi Heavy Industry founder Kogoro Kurata.
“Just building something huge and sticking guns on it. It’s….Super American.” (Awww sh**.)
Citing the role of giant robots in Japanese culture, Kurata accepted the duel, claiming that another country couldn’t win on principle. But Kurata doesn’t want just a manned mech paintball battle. He wants actual steel on steel melee contact.
“If we’re gonna win this, I want to punch them to scrap and knock them down to do it.”
There’s no word on when or where the battle will take place, but I think we’re all imagining the same thing:
A minor Chinese consumer protection group has filed lawsuits against Samsung and Oppo to contest the pair's use of bloatware on their smartphones. The Shanghai Consumer Council believes that the two companies install far too many additional apps on their devices and then make it difficult for them to be easily removed. The group says that it was motivated to launch the legal broadside after a high number of complaints from users. It believes that people are aggrieved that they've got less storage space than expected, and that these apps slurp down excessive quantities of data.
The council told the Shanghai Daily that, when it tested a local Galaxy Note 3, it found 44 pre-installed apps, while the Oppo Find 7a had 71. It's important to point out, however, that the agency doesn't explain how it reached those figures or how it defines an unwanted app. We're skeptical since we know that many of the additional apps on the Find 7a are simply user guides with shortcut buttons. In addition, carriers probably are partly to blame for bundling their own software on top.
The council hopes that the move will deter other businesses from going heavy with the extra software, and to force persistent offenders to inform consumers of the bloatware. According to the paper, both companies now have two weeks to issue a response, and we've reached out to both just in case they've got any more comment.
Oh, the irony. Disgraced former senator Leland Yee has pleaded guilty to charges of taking bribes in exchange for votes, racketeering and promising to smuggle guns into the US from the Philippines. Of course, like so many beautiful twists of fate, Yee was a prominent moral crusader who led a campaign against violent video games. The senator authored AB-1179, legislation that would have outlawed the sale of said titles to California's teens, which was defeated by the Supreme Court. Way to keep our kids safe, Leels.
As part of the deal Yee has made, he'll only face punishment for the racketeering charge, with the other offenses dismissed. That doesn't mean he's off the hook, however, since he's still facing up to 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine, not to mention repaying the money he received as bribes. Yee's sentencing hearing is pencilled in for October 21st, which is when we'll find out for sure how long he's going to have to spend behind bars. Sing it with us, Leland, "It's like rain, on your wedding day..."
Heads up, YouTube users: The Google-owned video service on Tuesday announced that you can now watch videos at a smooth 60 frames per second on its mobile apps.
"HFR FTW! High frame rate playback is available on the YouTube app for both Android and iOS," according to a post on the YouTube Creators Google+ page. This brings the mobile apps in line with YouTube on the desktop, Apple TV, PlayStation 3, and PS4.
The move comes after YouTube in June 2014 first announced plans to begin supporting 60 frames-per-second videos. Initially, just a handful of game trailers were available at the full 60 frames per second, but the feature began rolling out more broadly that fall.
In May, YouTube extended support for 60fps to livestreams as well, bringing it up to speed with Twitch. Before that, YouTube's live streams were only able to run at 30fps.
At this point, however, the new 60fps support on iOS and Android is just for videos, not livestreams, according to VentureBeat. You'll also need the official YouTube apps to take advantage of the higher frame rate playback, as it's not available via YouTube on a mobile browser or third-party apps (such as the one for Windows Phone).
To see the silky smooth video for yourself, check out the video below on your iOS or Android device. Just be sure to change the quality to either 720p60 or 1080p60.
Meanwhile, YouTube last month announced plans to launch a new gaming-focused site, which will rival Twitch. YouTube Gaming, slated to arrive this summer on mobile apps and the Web, will exist as a separate entity from YouTube so searches for "call" will bring up Call of Duty, not Call Me Maybe.
