Hasta La Gadget!

Apple teased that it had “a little more to show” us prior to today’s San Francisco event, but it’s clear now that the phrasing was humble at best. Not only has the much-anticipated, rumored and leaked 7.9-inch iPad mini been officially revealed, but so has a smattering of new and refreshed offerings across its range of gizmos. The standard iPad is seeing its fastest refresh yet (about six months) to a Lighting port and A6X-packing fourth-generation model, and the iMac has ditched its optical drive to go Air-thin in its Ivy Bridge-driven seventh-generation. Mobile power users should be especially be pleased, too, as a 13-inch variant of the MacBook Pro with a 2,560 x 1,600 Retina Display is now a reality. Lest we forgot that the iBooks app and iBooks Author have both been updated — right on cue with that book-like iPad Mini. Hop past the break for a full listing of all the news and all of our on-scene coverage that came out of today’s event.

Continue reading Apple’s Oct. 23rd event roundup: iPad mini, 4th gen iPad, new iMac, 13-inch Retina MBP and more

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Displays, Misc, Laptops, Tablets, Storage, Software, Apple

Apple’s Oct. 23rd event roundup: iPad mini, 4th gen iPad, new iMac, 13-inch Retina MBP and more originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier today, we heard that Zynga had laid off a number of workers and had shut down its Boston studio. At the time, those were only reports, but this afternoon Zynga CEO Mark Pincus confirmed the layoffs and the studio closure to employees in an internal letter posted by Joystiq. In the letter, Pincus explains that not only will Zynga be closing its studio in Boston, but also reducing the workforce at its Austin branch.

In all, Zynga will have to layoff 5% of its full time employees. More layoffs may come later on down the road, as Pincus says that executives are proposing the shut down of studios in Japan and the UK. Not only that, but Zynga will be retiring 13 games and “significantly reducing” its investment in The Ville, a game which Electronic Arts is currently suing the company over.

Those 13 games aren’t named in the letter, so it could be any combination of social and mobile games. The fact that Zynga will stop supporting 13 different games and could potentially close down three studios entirely signifies that the company is in a heap of financial trouble, which won’t come as a surprise to a lot of folks.

After all, Zynga has been struggling financially for a while now as its customers move from Facebook to mobile gaming, and tomorrow’s financial report probably isn’t going to bring any good news. Pincus says in his letter that “These reductions, along with our ongoing efforts to implement more stringent budget and resource allocation around new games and partner projects, will improve our profitability and allow us to reinvest in great games and our Zynga network on web and mobile.” Here’s hoping that’s the case, because it’s never good to hear to that people will be losing their jobs.

Zynga confirms layoffs, Boston studio shut down is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’re fans of the LG Optimus G, although the custom ROM lovers among us might want to tamp down their expectations after this. We’ve confirmed comments to Android Central that the late 2012 flagship has a locked bootloader much like the Optimus 4X HD and Optimus Vu that went before it — any serious experimentation with a typical carrier variant could at least require jumping through some hoops, if it’s possible at all. It might not matter much for the sort who cares about bootloaders, though. If statements by other LG staffers are more than just wishful thinking, there could be a Nexus variant of the Optimus G next week that’s as good as a blank slate for modders.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

LG Optimus G comes with locked bootloader, might not be cause for panic originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amidst all the announcements made at the California Theatre earlier today, Apple very quietly pushed out a fresh version of its famed (and at times controversial) video editing software, Final Cut Pro. Inside v10.0.6 users can find an array of new additions and improvements that will most certainly be welcomed with open arms by the FCPX crowd, making this the most notable update since bundling in those multicam and broadcast monitoring features. Among these new traits are RED camera support for native REDCODE RAW editing, the ability to add freeze frames to the timeline with a simple keystroke, novel audio controls for use while tinkering with multicam clips and a revamped “Share” interface for exporting projects. The Final Cut Pro update can be downloaded now from the usual spot, and, of course, it comes at no extra cost for those who’ve already shelled out the $300. The full and hefty changelog can be found right after the break.

Continue reading Apple updates Final Cut Pro X with slew of new features, now available for download

Filed under: Software, Apple

Apple updates Final Cut Pro X with slew of new features, now available for download originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’re just drinking your coffee, minding your own business when you look down your cup and spill all over yourself. Because what is that at the bottom, a lobster? Yes, it’s a lobster. But never fear because it’s just ceramic and it’s supposed to be there. More »