Analysts and market observers have long been chanting the death of tablets as we know them. Now Dell is dancing to their tune and has formally announced the death of its Android-powered Venue tablets. Which isn’t much of a surprise given it hasn’t exactly put out a brand new model since last year. The PC maker, however, isn’t ditching tablets … Continue reading
Google had a lot to say about its VR ambitions at this year’s I/O, and it looks like a more immersive web browsing experience will be part of those plans. Road to VR reports that the latest versions of Chrome Beta and Chrome Dev for Android have a co…
Earlier this week, Blizzard announced that they would be releasing a patch for the PC version of Overwatch that would include the Competitive Play feature. As for consoles, Blizzard stated that console gamers could expect Competitive Play to arriving in the coming weeks, but it seems that Xbox One gamers did not even have to wait that long.
In a recent patch released by Blizzard, it seems that Competitive Play for the Xbox One has arrived much earlier than anyone had anticipated, but we guess that’s actually a good thing as we’re sure that console gamers would rather not wait around while PC gamers got all the competitive fun ahead of them.
Unfortunately there was no announcement regarding the PS4 yet, but hopefully the patch for the PS4 won’t be too far behind. Competitive Play on the Xbox One will be more or less similar to the PC version and will only open up for gamers when they hit level 25. Once they do, the experience should be the same across the board.
The patch also introduces some gameplay changes, which once again is similar to what PC gamers have already received earlier this week, except for the Xbox One. The patch notes can be found on the Battle.net forums for those who are interested in seeing what changes Blizzard has made.
Overwatch’s Competitive Play Arrives On The Xbox One Early , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Musicians releasing their own video games isn’t new. Heck, in the past we’ve seen bands like Linkin Park release their own mobile game, and earlier this year Iron Maiden announced plans for their own game as well, which is why it really isn’t surprising to learn that Deadmau5 will also be releasing a video game.
However this won’t be your standard video game. Instead it will be a virtual reality video game and to top it off, Deadmau5 will also be releasing a limited edition VR headset which is essentially what appears to be the Google Cardboard, except with the Deadmau5 logo emblazoned on the front of it.
So what is this game about? For those who have always aspired to be a DJ, this is your chance to live out that fantasy. Basically the game will take you through the life of Deadmau5 himself. You will get to play with his cat, go around the city trying to get gigs, and the game will ultimately conclude with gamers playing a “live” set in front of thousands of fans where it will also serve as an opportunity to promote Deadmau5’s latest songs.
Gamers interested in pre-ordering the game and the limited edition VR headset can do so here where it will be priced at $17.95, with a release scheduled for the 27th of July.
Deadmau5 Will Be Releasing His Own VR Game And A Limited Ed Headset , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Back in 2012, Disney launched a movie based around video games called Wreck-It Ralph. In case you did not watch it, it featured a character called Ralph who in the videogame Wreck-It Ralph is the game’s “bad guy”, but at the end of the day he’s actually more like an actor who plays a bad guy, but he still gets a bad rep for it anyway.
It’s actually a rather interesting take on video games (more so than Pixels) and while we would have been happy with the movie ending there, we guess a sequel might not be such a bad idea, which is what the folks at Disney were thinking as well. The company has announced on Facebook Live that a sequel to 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph is being made and that it is expected to be released in 2018.
The movie will see the return of Wreck-It Ralph director Rich Moore and screenwriter Phil Johnston, both of whom also worked on Zootopia, and also John C. Reilly who plays the movie’s protagonist, and Sarah Silverman who voice Vanellope in the original movie. While the actual plot and additional characters were not revealed, the sequel to Wreck-It Ralph is expected to take place on the internet.
As you can see in the concept art above, several famous internet companies will be getting parodied, like Gugle (Google), Amazing (Amazon), and Lubhub (we’re guessing Pornhub?) just to name a few.
Disney Confirms Wreck-It Ralph Sequel For 2018 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Yesterday we reported that Sony had reminded gamers that if they wanted to get their hands on the PlayStation VR in a timely manner, today would be the last day that they would be able to pre-order the headset. We know that it is only releasing in October, but presumably Sony was trying to give themselves some wiggle room to manage their inventory better.
Now if you were slow on the uptake and were only planning on pre-ordering the headset later tonight, we’re afraid you’re out of luck. According to GameSpot, they have been told by a representative of GameStop that they have since sold out their entire allocation of PlayStation VR pre-orders.
There will no longer be anywhere else that you can pre-order them, meaning that you’ll have to wait until October for its release in order to purchase it, but then again that’s assuming that retailers are able to maintain enough inventory. Given the demand we’re seeing right now, we reckon you might have some trouble at launch as well.
That being said, Sony did warn us that supply could be constrained at the start, and given that the PlayStation VR is the cheapest out of the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, we guess this shouldn’t really be a surprise.
Sony PlayStation VR Pre-Orders Have Been Sold Out , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
The Xbox console is one of the icons of gaming these days, but it seems that at one point during its inception it almost never came to be. Speaking in an episode of IGN Unfiltered, the Xbox’s co-creator Ed Fries revealed that during a pitch to Microsoft, Bill Gates had initially disapproved of it and even called it an insult to the company.
As you probably know, the Xbox does not run Windows, and the meeting was to propose to Microsoft the idea of moving away from Windows to its own operating system. According to Fries, “Bill walks in, he’s holding our Powerpoint deck, throws it down on the table and says, ‘This is a [blanking] insult to everything I’ve done at this company’—basically was the quote. And that was the start of the meeting.”
Other Microsoft execs tried to chime in but they too got shot down and yelled at. It did not help that Microsoft’s then-CEO Steve Ballmer noted that the company would lose a lot of money in this move, but it was only until someone in the meeting brought up Sony that things started to change, as Sony had been slowly creeping into the living rooms of gamers, and obviously this is something Microsoft did not want to happen.
It’s interesting to see how things turned out the way they did. Can you imagine a world where Nintendo and Microsoft had partnered up for consoles? Or if the Xbox ran on Windows?
Bill Gates Had Initially Disapproved Of The Xbox , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
From time to time, Facebook launches new apps, but they’re not always successful. For example earlier this month, Facebook shut down its Notify app after it was launched for a little over half a year, and now it looks like Facebook will be shutting down its Paper app, which admittedly lasted much longer as it was launched in 2014.
The app was launched a couple of years ago and was touted to be Facebook’s answer to Flipboard, which back then was still a pretty big deal. Essentially it was a dedicated app designed to bring stories in a magazine-like format to users, but we guess it just wasn’t popular enough to warrant Facebook to keep maintaining it.
According to a statement from Facebook, “Today we’re announcing that we are ending support for the app and users will no longer be able to log into the app after July 29. We know that Paper really resonated with you–the people who used it–so we’ve tried to take the best aspects of it and incorporate them into the main Facebook app.”
Interestingly enough we have to wonder if this kind of goes against the changes Facebook made to its News Feed. Recently the company announced that they would be tweaking its News Feed to show more posts from friends and family, meaning that if anything, Facebook Paper would have made more sense for users who want to read the news specifically. Either way we guess there’s really no going back now.
Facebook Paper App Will Be Shutting Down , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
In some circles, PDF files manipulation is an absolute necessity. It’s very easy to find a free PDF Viewer such as the official Adobe PDF Viewer, but many people think that to edit PDF files, they must purchase the Adobe paid app. That’s not true, and here’s a list of the best PDF editors you can find on Mac.
That seems like a “duh”, but many people don’t know that Preview can edit PDFs because they think it’s just a viewer. As a viewer, I think it’s great and fast, but it offers nearly most of the most common features people need:
In addition to the fact that Preview is built-in, it is also faster than the Adobe app. I haven’t tried the older versions, but the current one (from the publication date) works well for the most basic tasks.
Some people have pointed out that it would be great to be able to sign using the touchpad, and I agree, but I have a signature file around, so it doesn’t bother me much — overall, this is the “best” option for most people. Here’s how it looks in action:
This is not really a “Mac” app, but since PDFescape also works online, Mac users can go for it. It’s an online web editor that lets people create and edit PDF files. If you don’t mind uploading your file to the site, it’s possible to edit existing files too.
The user interface is extremely basic, but it’s one of the cheapest ways to edit PDF files (<10MB), so you can try it for free (ad-supported) if Preview does not do it for you. If you have to pay, the starter cost of $2.99/mo is a low barrier to try out and see if it does what you need: essentially, it would let you upload larger PDF files.
PDFPen isn’t free, but it costs less than the Adobe Acrobat PDF editing software. The app can create/edit PDF files and even has an optical character recognition (OCR) function.
PDFPen is one of the closest apps to the official Adobe one regarding functionality, and in recent years, its creators have made it very proficient for a group who care about digitally signed documents. This means that you can verify the authenticity of a PDF, which came to you, and others in your team will be able to verify yours.
PDFPen also supports file attachments and annotations in PDF files and is smart enough to extract them for a quick skimming. It is also possible to add record audio annotations into a PDF you’re that working on. MS Office users will appreciate the high-quality PDF to Word converter.
The PDFPen Pro version offers more options, many of which are mostly related to OCR, form-filling, and automatic field generation – compare the two (official link).
Of course, the most complete and guaranteed 100% compatible with the latest functionalities remains the official Adobe Acrobat PDF Editor. Although many competitors can get close, no-one can claim to be 100% equal to the original. It makes sense because Adobe drives the functionalities, but also the form factor and specifications, so clones will always be one step behind.
I can say that I don’t edit PDF files at a level for which I care, and I suspect that the overwhelming majority is just like me. However, it’s important to realize that there’s a gap, which will always be present. If you always need to live on the bleeding edge of PDF – check the subscription model from Adobe (official site), it will guarantee that you can access the latest version.
Skim is a free (open-source ) PDF reader which lets you add/edit notes and has some cropping functions. It’s not a true PDF “editor”, but it keeps coming back in conversations, so it’s probably a good thing to know that it exists, especially since it’s free.
As I was checking for free PDF editors for Mac, I was a bit disappointed that Google listed many paid apps as “free” in the top results. It’s understandable why it did it, but it’s quite frustrating.
For example, iSkysoft PDF Editor is a paid app, but you can access a trial version, but by the time users get to it, they are already furious for landing on a page about a supposedly “free” app… we do not like this approach.
Wondershare PDF Editor Pro is another one. Listed in the “Free PDF Editor” in Google’s search results, it is a paid app ($69 on Amazon).
The reviews are mixed, especially for the most recent version, but I didn’t like that the company did not make it clear enough that it was a paid app, and that it was trying too hard to get people to download, possibly waste time, and discover that they have to pay.
That said, some folks are really happy with the OCR feature, while many left lower scores on their review. If you want to take a chance, at least you know that it’s out there.
That said, some folks are happy with the OCR feature, while many left lower scores on their review. If you want to take a chance, at least you know that it’s out there.
You may be disappointed by the lack of “great” free PDF editors for Mac. However, PDF editors are complicated pieces of software, and they replace an expensive option from Adobe. If the price is too close to Adobe’s offering, it seems smarter just going for the real thing.
If the savings are substantial and if the replacement gets the job done, there’s no harm in saving a few bucks. If you need to edit PDF files as a one-time task, you may want to check for subscription models from Adobe and others. It may end up being cheaper.
Absolute Best PDF Editors For Mac , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Environmentalists in Senator Bernie Sanders’ progressive, Left Wing camp are demanding some major reforms in a way more akin to a dictatorship than a democracy.
They want the 2016 National Democratic Platform to include an immediate total ban on the widespread natural gas extraction process known as fracking. Also sought is a declaration that whatever fossil fuel deposits still remain in the ground should stay there permanently. Curbing greenhouse gas emissions to slow, and eventually stabilize the global warming trend is the rationale behind these demands.
From a purely environmental perspective, the Sanders crowd’s ambitious goals are unassailable. But desirable as they might be, we live in a democracy where policy is normally established through due process rather than decree. In a totalitarian state, political leaders usually have the leeway to impose a sea change overnight. (A society of this sort has to hope its dictator is benevolent, but few dictators are.) Such arbitrary behavior is deemed inappropriate here unless the crisis is an obvious, immediate matter of survival that merits declaration of a national state of emergency.
Even though they are environmentally bad actors, fossil fuels are too entrenched in our society to be summarily dismissed. So is the industrial practice of fracking that Sanders and his followers contend should immediately be discontinued. Too many people are dependent on these energy sources for daily usage and/or employment to be abruptly cast aside. In a Democracy, pollution’s demise ordinarily must take a more circuitous route unless a blatant affliction is wreaking highly visible havoc. The desired objective is achieved primarily through thoroughly vetted regulation. Scientifically-based environmental restrictions gradually close the vise on the targeted activity until it becomes so untenable as to constitute de facto elimination.
We are already seeing this scenario play out in the Arctic Ocean. Stringent antipollution regulations helped to ultimately dissuade oil companies from completing their plans for extensive offshore drilling in an ecologically fragile marine environment where a significant spill would be an ecological catastrophe.
The same pattern is emerging with fracking as restrictions tighten against the process’ pollution of air and water as well as its seismic proclivity for stimulating local earthquakes.
Yet the campaign to transition from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy through the democratic process won’t be easy. A lower Court has ruled that states, with their varying degrees of conscientiousness, rather than the federal government, have the authority to regulate fracking on public lands. {The decision is being appealed.)
At least the Sanders crew is on the right track by insisting–so far unsuccessfully–that a carbon tax be included in the Democratic National Platform. Carefully crafted, the tax offers the public a more palatable alternative than a draconian edict to cut greenhouse gas emissions or face a penalty. Revenues from the carbon levy could be returned to the public as rebates or offsets to the payroll tax, averting any onerous fiscal burden. Meanwhile, Americans would be steered by market pricing towards the use of clean, renewable alternates to fossil fuels.
Mission accomplished through the framework of democracy.
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