Feb 12
Since being awarded a trademark for the term “Candy,” King — the company behind Candy Crush Saga — has come under fire from developers and companies alike. The latest among … Continue reading
Feb 12
The Flappy Bird obsession continues this week as the creator of the original game has completely shut down his app and – in the wake of this event – clones … Continue reading
Feb 12
It would appear that Microsoft is either unaware of the existence of BlueStacks, or they’ve decided it might be time to take the technology mainstream. In a chat with the … Continue reading
Feb 12
We know that music has the ability to evoke all sorts of emotions and images from the listener, and despite an artist’s attempt to evoke a particular emotion, the listener could interpret it and feel something completely different, and that is something the band Radiohead is trying to find out with the release of their app called PolyFauna. The app itself will be free and it is sort of like a game where gamers walk through a never-ending series of abstract environments which are populated by lifeforms. These lifeforms can be created by the player by drawing on the screen and it is basically an open-world concept where players can explore the game however they want.
According to a description of the game found on the band’s website, “PolyFauna is an experimental collaboration between us (Radiohead) & Universal Everything, born out of The King of Limbs sessions and using the imagery and the sounds from the song Bloom.” Radiohead frontman, Thom Yorke, described the game as, “It comes from an interest in early computer life-experiments and the imagined creatures of our subconscious.” Players are also encouraged to take snapshots of the environment and upload it onto the band’s website where they can share the images and perhaps talk about a moment in the song(s) that might have inspired them to take that image. [iTunes App Store / Google Play Store]
Radiohead Releases Experimental Music Game For Mobile original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Feb 12
Meet (yet) another gizmo aiming to convert dumb old school technology into smarter connected tech that can be controlled via a smartphone. Jalousier, currently bidding for crowdfunding on Indiegogo, is a connected device that clips on to the venetian blinds in your home and automatically adjusts the position of the slats, depending on the temperature, light conditions/weather and time of day.
What’s the point of that? The idea is to save you a spot of time/hassle in having to manually wrangle with bits of string of course. But also to potentially accrue heating/cooling energy-savings based on Jalousier’s ability to automatically react to temperature and weather changes — so it can know to let sunlight and heat in when it’s cold, or move to block rays when the weather outside is hot.
To power those functions the device includes light and temperature sensors. It also includes Wi-Fi and ZigBee for wireless connectivity, allowing it to be integrated (in theory) into home automation systems, and to be controlled via the inevitable app.
As well as the companion app acting as a remote control for all the blinds you’ve connected up — including allowing you to create groups of blinds to manage together, or use particular gestures to open/close the slats — the app will include other features such as weather notifications, letting you know when it’s worth peeking outside to check out the full moon, for instance.
On the home automation front, Jalousier’s makers say they are considering integration with Almond+, SmartThings, WigWag and NinJa Sphere. Support for IFTTT is guaranteed — assuming, that is, Jalousier hits its funding target and actually makes it to market. As with all such crowdfunding campaigns, it’s still a prototype at this point.
Other recent examples of inventors ploughing an ‘upgrade your old tech by adding an Internet of Things gizmos’ type furrow include the likes of Cozy (a smart radiator cover), and bRight Switch (a touchscreen tablet light switch).
Expect plenty more such upgrades to follow. Perhaps a gizmo for automatically lowering the loo seat after it’s been left in the vertical position to automatically oil the wheels of domestic harmony? Or bedroom doors that swing suggestively open when they sense more than two footsteps approaching.
If the Internet of Things pushes its wireless tentacles into our homes to such a pervasive extent, then our increasingly auto-animated surroundings may end up resembling scenes from Fantasia – just hopefully without any such chaotic consequences.
Jalousier’s Bulgaria makers have just under a month to raise $140,000 to get their slice of the connect home puzzle to market. If successful, they are aiming to ship the product to backers by October. The device is currently up for grabs to early Indiegogo backers starting at $89 for one unit.
Feb 11
Have you ever wondered if people are spying on you? Not to be paranoid or anything, but we all leave our phones unattended sometimes. It’s not hard for a friend—or foe—to take a quick look at your text messages. But don’t fret.
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Feb 11
After nearly two years and a ton of media attention, you can now download an iPhone app that alerts you every time a drone strike kills someone abroad. It only took the app developer six tries and several different names to get Apple to approve it.
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Feb 11
When work or family needs put significant distance between you and your partner for extended periods, it can put serious strain your relationship. Luckily, staying connected — even over vast distances — isn’t nearly as difficult as it used to …
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Feb 11
Flappy Bird is dead
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Feb 11
As your RSS feeds and Facebook News Feeds have probably informed you by now, the stunningly popular game Flappy Bird has been removed from its respective app stores. The reason? Well according to a post by its creator, Dong Nguyen, he stated that he couldn’t take it anymore. Some have speculated that legal trouble could be the reason, especially from Nintendo which the company has since denied, so what could it be then? After all earning $50,000 a day is something very hard to walk away from, but apparently it was done for our own good.
This is according to an exclusive interview that Forbes managed to land with Nguyen who has been notoriously shy when it came to the press. According to him, the game was designed to let players blow off some steam when they had a few minutes to spare, but apparently it grew out of hand and turned into an “addictive product” that caused him and everyone else issues. Nguyen has no issue with removing the game from the app stores and he seems perfectly fine at the thought of not being able to rake in $50,000 a day. He states that he doesn’t think it is a mistake and that he has thought it through. In any case the game will be missed, but at the same time there are just as many alternatives available out there for those looking to get their Flappy Bird fix.
Flappy Bird Creator Removed The Game For Our Own Good original content from Ubergizmo. 
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