We’ve all seen our share of food porn. But what can we do with food when it’s off the plate? That’s the space of food art. And for this week’s Shooting Challenge, your task is to elevate food beyond smut. More »
OUYA and NVIDIA have a kind of love thing going on right now. The $99 Android-powered game console designed by Yves Béhar’s fuseproject is powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 — this much we already know. What we didn’t know is that the folks at OUYA are working directly with a team of folks at NVIDIA on the project, and that NVIDIA is helping the company to max out its Tegra 3 processor for use on a console rather than a mobile (no battery dependency means the little chip can go much further than usual).
“The partner that we’ve worked the most with, that is incredibly supportive of developers, NVIDIA, they have multiple people on their team dedicated to our account,” OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman told is in a recent interview. She was responding to a question regarding partnerships the company’s forged to make OUYA a reality, such as the aforementioned involvement with Béhar’s fuseproject studio. Despite the OUYA running Google’s mobile OS, Uhrman said, “We haven’t worked very much with Google.” As for NVIDIA, however, the American chipmaker is going all in, helping the OUYA to be the, “best Tegra 3 device on the market,” according to Uhrman.
That praise isn’t all one-sided, of course; NVIDIA had praise to heap as well. “We have a dedicated team working with OUYA to ensure that Tegra 3’s performance is being maximized. They’ve been amazing to work with,” NVIDIA senior VP of Content and Technology Tony Tamasi told us. “The rich catalog of optimized and differentiated TegraZone games — along with the work being done with developers — ensures a flourishing ecosystem is in place and continues to grow.” That support is unlikely to end with this year’s OUYA. Uhrman said her company’s console, unlike the big three console manufacturers, will launch anew annually, following the mobile model. And that model means beefier internals, such as NVIDIA’s Tegra 4, announced just over a month ago at CES. In so many words, we very much expect NVIDIA and OUYA’s lovefest to continue.
The Apple TV could finally be getting a developer SDK that would allow third-party apps to appear on the platform, according to an analyst note from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek today. The note cites channel checks as the source of the info that Apple will hold an Apple TV-related event in March, at which time it may introduce an SDK for “iTV” development.
Misek also predicts that there will be an actual hardware Apple television set launching later in the year, around September or October, meaning Gene Munster isn’t the only analyst singing that particular tune. But so-called iTV or no, the possibility that Apple will finally open up its set-top box to developers the way it has done with the iPhone and iPad is exciting.
But we’ve been here before. The Apple TV has always seemed ripe for a third-party developer SDK, ever since it originally launched back in 2007, and especially once the second generation model came out in 201o. It was even running a version of iOS when the little black model debuted, which seemed like a guaranteed sign that it was only a matter of time before we’d see Apple do the same thing they’d done with the iPhone: unlock the potential of the platform with an SDK and developer program.
Instead, what we actually saw was Apple roll out third-party apps with various updates, one or a few at a time, carefully gating access to the platform. As to why it would do that, there are a few reasons, but I’d guess that at least part of it has to do with Apple’s ongoing efforts to negotiate content deals with major providers including networks and film studios. Move too quickly to unlock the platform, and you risk incurring the enmity of content distributors who want to have a say in who has access to a channel. Those old media giants probably aren’t too comfortable with a Wild West App Store-type vibe making its way to the living room, especially when it has the popularity and install base of Apple’s iOS users.
In a roundabout way, there are already apps on the Apple TV, and not just the native ones Apple has given golden approval. AirPlay means most apps can mirror their content from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to the big screen, and do so with a high degree of fidelity, for the most part. But the difference is akin to when Apple originally said that third-party developers can build apps for iPhone, but they’d have to use the web browser to do it. There’s a lot you can accomplish, but it’s not the same as if the apps were operating natively on Apple TV itself.
So how likely is it that this time we’ll actually see Apple open things up? If it is planning a full television launch, an App Store ready to go and populated with content ahead of time would help it greatly, but that depends on Misek’s sources being right on both counts. Misek has been hit or miss when it comes to Apple rumors in the past, but he did get pretty close on iPhone 4S details ahead of its launch back in 2012.
While we’ve been hearing rumors of Apple releasing an actual television, it looks like the company is also going to release an Apple TV SDK for developers. Apple is said to be holding an event next month that will reveal the new developer program that will allow app developers to make apps for the Apple TV platform.
According to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek, Apple will be releasing the SDK next month, with an event to show off the new kit. While Misek doesn’t think that Apple’s rumored television set will be making an appearance at the event, he does think that they will announce it sometime in September or October, and suggests that Apple might be preparing for the television’s release by introducing this developer program.
Apple has been open to the idea of opening up the Apple TV to developers for a while. The late Steve Jobs even said back in 2010 that an app store for the Apple TV could launch when the time is right, and since the Apple TV runs iOS, the process shouldn’t be all that difficult, and might be able to fit right into the iTunes App Store.
As far as the Apple television set goes, Misek expects that various size options will be between 42- and 55-inches, with prices starting around $1,500, which is right around what we’ve been hearing in the past. The SDK that we could see next month may definitely be a precursor to bigger things, and it’s also possible we could see a refreshed Apple TV STB come to fruition as well.
[via Business Insider]
Apple TV event rumored for March, new SDK tipped is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This week the FCC’s proposal for opening up a new large bit of spectrum in the USA reserved for wifi internet having some car trouble. The auto industry – via the Transportation Society of America (ITSA) has sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission asking them to to heed their warning. Their warning, in this case, was that these new wifi networks could potentially interfere with vehicle-to-vehicle communications networks coming in the near future.
This call to action (or call to stop action, as it were), comes after FCC Chairman Julius Genachoski spoke up at CES 2013 about cracking open unlicensed spectrum for a speed boost in wireless internet across the USA. It was then that Genachowski let it be known that this move would “free up a substantial amount of spectrum for wifi to relieve wifi congestion and improve wifi speeds” across the country – conferences, airports, and homes included.
Image above via SlashGear Chevrolet Sonic post about Siri integration and other wireless-related technologies therein. Slightly different from what the future holds with car-to-car communications.
The FCC’s plan includes a clearing of 195 MHz of spectrum in the 5GHz band to be used by wifi networks exclusively. The ITSA has spoken up this week with a note that their future plans for a highly secure wireless technology connecting network-ready cars could be interfered with by the FCC’s new move. This technology would allow cars to get information about their speed, acceleration, breaking, trajectories, and destinations to allow them better knowledge on how they’ll be getting where they’re going.
Instead of asking that this wifi expansion be stopped before its started, the auto group has asked that the FCC put safeguards in place to guarantee their future networks would not be hindered in any way. If the two sets of wireless technology did cross over in one way or another, the auto industry would be on the short end of the stick. Any sign of safety being at risk in vehicles using this up and coming short-range technology would be a big boon for the whole collection of auto makers hoping to make usage widespread.
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America is made up of members such as Chrysler, Hyundai, and Mercedes-Benz – not to mention AAA. This should be an interesting battle (or kind, gentle, measured talk between friends) that you’ll want to follow!
[via GigaOM]
FCC Wifi expansion sees slight Auto Industry hold-up is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
I love the GoPros or whatever cameras the people at the Carrier Strike Group 8 used to make this awesome video. It shows the complete experience of flying a VFA-103 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower. [Flight Global] More »
Opera has announced that it would stop using its in-house rendering engine in favor of the open-source Webkit project, a web page rendering engine created by Apple and used in numerous browsers including Google Chrome and Safari (of course). Opera says that it has 300 million active users, so this change will make an impact on quite a nice chunk of internet page traffic when implemented. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Facebook Sued Over Dead Man’s Patent, Facebook Buy Ticket Button Could Make Things Easier,
Those who are fans of true horror games may like where this is going. It has been said that more “true” horror games will come when we finally make the move from disc to digital. The comments come by way of Cliff Bleszinski, who many will recognize from not only being a creative director with Epic Games, but also one of the people behind the Gears of War franchise. The interesting part here, the comment from Bleszinski came at the end of some rather normal Dead Space 3 talk.
Basically, he has stated that when “we’re fully digital we’ll see more true horror games coming back.” The lead in to this comment deals with the current set-up and how the true horror games not ideal in the high-priced disc based market that we are seeing today. Bleszinski has said the true horror games come in better where they are played for a few days and then traded in, something that he believes EA is well aware of. Aside from giving some hope for true horror fans as we move forward, there was also some interesting comments on the topic of Dead Space 3.
He has said that while the game is “still quite a bit of fun,” he was still having a hard time getting his head wrapped around the weapon crafting and upgrading system. Noting that he could have used a bit more hand holding when it came to generating and crafting circuits. And in what seems like an effort to be fair, he went on to say that “overall game pacing is something that’s really hard to get right.” Other comments included how parts feel like Lost Planet and that there are a lack of memorable locations.
Putting the game play specifics aside, he went on to say that “this franchise feels like it’s starting as a solo experience, a solitary and confined horror game, and now it’s evolving into much more than that.” Bleszinski has said that you can either fight this or embrace it. You can likely guess where he is going — with the embracing. This brings us back to the topic of true horror games coming back as we move to digital, something we hope to see happening as we move forward.
[via Bloody-Disgusting]
Gears of War creator promises future with “true horror games” is written by Robert Nelson & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Amazon only managed to land a slice of CBS’ library for Prime Instant Video on the first pass; it’s coming back for a second helping, including one of its first cracks at genuinely recent content from the network. A widened licensing deal gives subscribers access to further CBS and Showtime series that include Jericho, The L Word and an unspecified number of other shows. And for those intrigued by the broadcaster’s upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s Under the Dome, Amazon will be the only choice for many viewers: Prime Instant Video will be the exclusive home for subscription streaming and purchased downloads of the series, delivering streaming episodes about four days after their air date in order to shelter CBS’ traditional advertisers. Amazon may not have have completely locked in an audience between this and the Downton Abbey deal, but the recent set of exclusives is likely to leave Netflix feeling nervous.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Amazon
Source: Amazon Instant Video
Apple is no longer the most trusted company in America, according to the 2013 Harris Interactive Reputational Quotient survey. Instead, the title is given to Amazon. The survey has been done by 14,000 people who have ranked different companies. Google is on number four position, while Microsoft is on fifteen. Last year, Apple was the leader in the race with Google closely following in second place and Amazon was behind in fourth place, but the trend has changed this year. Have the American consumers lost faith in Apple products? Is it possible that consumers have been putback by issues clouding the accuracy of Apple Maps app, or has the new iPhone not lived up to everyone’s expectations? Rober Fronk from Harris Interactive blames the recent stock price falling. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Orangutans Now Use iPads , Study: Apple Maps Three Times More Likely To Give Wrong Directions Compared To Google,
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