Last night, Star Wars: Episode VII cinematographer Dan Mindel announced that the J.J. Abrams-directed movie will be shot on 35mm film, as opposed to digital video. The decision symbolizes the changing of the guard from the reign of George Lucas, and hopefully adds some much-needed vigor to the beloved franchise.
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Though they’ve not said so in so many words, the folks at Hon Hai Precision (aka Foxconn) have just sold patents to Google that’ll allow the US-based company to expand their hold on the world of augmented reality through head-mounted displays. This buy can quite readily be traced to the wearable device known as Google […]
Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida is a passionate man. He cares about games, he plays games, and it shows. When we ran into him at Sony’s Gamescom 2013 press briefing, he was sitting next to and casually chatting with indie game dev Rami Ismail — one of the dozens of indie devs bringing a game to the PlayStation 4. He kicked off PlayStation’s Gamescom show with a confident and persuasive argument for his employer’s new console: a casual walkthrough of the dashboard, followed up by a demonstration of watching a friend’s livestreaming game which he seamlessly jumped into.
He then grabbed a screenshot of the game in-action and posted it to Twitter directly from the console he was using on-stage. It was muted and powerful in terms of delivery; in so many words, Yoshida and Sony “showed,” while Microsoft merely “told” (Redmond’s equivalent demonstration was shown to press but not allowed to be filmed). We sat down for a lengthy interview with Yoshida — commonly known as “Shu” in the game world — to talk about not just his presentation at Gamescom, but also his affinity for the world of indies and gaming in general. “It’s personal to me and many of us working at PlayStation,” he said of his work with indies. “For many years, we’ve been big fans of working with small teams. They take chances. They come up with something unique, and sometimes it’s very personal.”
Given our love for Oculus Rift’s virtual reality tech, we couldn’t help but ask Shu once more how he felt about the system and what his love for it might mean for the PlayStation 4. Head below for the full interview, full of wide smiles and thoughtful commentary from one of gaming’s most passionate individuals.
Fujifilm is still producing new models of instant film cameras, and its newest flagship looks like a blast from the past. Fujifilm Japan’s recently-announced Instax Mini 90 is an instant film camera that wears the same retro styling seen in …
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Are you a shop owner looking for an eye-catching advertising platform? Perhaps you have a design firm and you want a flashy way of presenting your concepts? Or maybe you’re a genius, billionaire, playboy and philantropist who already has plans for an armored suit but not the extravagant display worthy of your grand schemes? Check out the new Holocube HC40. And give me a pair of your spare jet boots while you’re at it.
While it’s not as arresting as Holocube’s human-sized displays, the 2013 release of the HC40 boasts a number of improvements over the previous model that make it a visual spectacle nonetheless. First off, it’s got a new LED backlight display with 1080p resolution and a 178º viewing angle; the previous HC40 only had a 720p resolution. Rated at 170W, it consumes 100W less power than its predecessor, perhaps due to its switch to a 4GB CF for storage and its use of a heatsink for cooling. The previous model used a 40GB HDD and fans to keep cool.
The new HC40 is also lighter than the previous model, thanks to its sheet metal housing and synthetic optics. Its housing is also much slimmer and is finished with matte white or matte black to provide more emphasis on the hologram. Finally, Jan Vanbriel of Holocube boasts that the new HC40′s built-in 7W sound system is also much better than the previous model. Man, we really bashed the previous model didn’t we? Technology is harsh.
The HC40: a display fit for Cortana. Or at least her upper half. Fire up your omni-tool and head to Holocube’s website to order the HC40.
Welcome to Engadget’s back to school guide! We predict plenty of campus parties in your near future, which is why we’re tackling digital cameras today. Head to the back to school hub to see the rest of the product guides as we add them throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back; in early September, we’ll be giving away a ton of gear.
You don’t need to pick up a dedicated shooter before you head off to college — your smartphone can likely fill in until you’re able to drop some serious cash on a model that’ll last all four years. Still, you’d certainly be better off with a device that can capture memories at concerts, football games, in the dorm and at parties without hesitation. For that, you’re going to want a camera with serious capabilities, and many don’t come cheap. We’ve sorted our favorites based on model type — there’s something for everyone, and in every price range, too. A point-and-shoot will suit most students just fine, but photography and journalism majors will definitely want to step up to an interchangeable-lens camera, such as a compact mirrorless ILC or a full-size DSLR. Click through for our picks.
I make no secret of the fact that I’m a huge fan of Razer and all its products. They make some of the best gaming peripherals currently on the market, and I absolutely love my mouse and keyboard. Even so, there’s one nagging little elephant in the room I don’t much care for: it’s called Razer Synapse.
Windows Phone 8 users partial to Telenav Scout can now leave the long line of people twiddling their thumbs waiting for their favorite apps to arrive on the OS. Previously available on iOS, Android and older Windows Phone versions, the newest Scout on the Marketplace works on all WP8 devices. It comes with all of the bells and whistles one would expect from a personalized navigation platform, including a user’s current location, nearby establishments, real-time traffic flow, possible routes to take and the commute duration for each. Voice guidance (and voice command), as well as traffic and red light alerts are also available — assuming you’re willing to pay $25 per year for the privilege. If, however, you’re immune to Scout’s navigational charms, there’s always alternative options like Drive+, MapQuest and CoPilot to help your not-so-aimless wanderings.
Filed under: Cellphones
Source: Windows Phone Marketplace, Scout
Nature in all its unspoiled glory has played muse to many artists through the years, but the ever-increasing ways we’ve sullied the earth have, themselves, offered new inspiration for eco-conscious creative types. John Sabraw, an artist and professor at Ohio University, was checking out some abandoned coal mines in his home state during a sustainability immersion course and was struck by strange gradients in the runoff. “They’re a little clear right at the beginning, then the whole rest of the stream is just yellow once the suspended metals begin to oxidize," he explained to me.
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This purported image of an iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C side-by-side is just one in a growing abundance of leaks.
(Credit: Sonny Dickson)
The normal hype and buildup ahead of a new iPhone release, which is typically punctuated by a painfully slow trickle of leaks that accelerate as Apple’s big media event nears, seems to be reaching a crescendo a little early this time around.
We’re still two and a half weeks off from Apple’s expected unveiling of an iPhone 5S and lower-cost iPhone 5C — Apple hasn’t even confirmed the September 10 event — and yet I’m already gasping for air amid a deluge of leaked pictures of both devices.
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