A number of iOS 7 users have reported problems sending and receiving using iMessage (not that it’s thefirst time), and tonight Apple has responded. The Wall Street Journal has a statement from the company claiming the issue affects “a fraction of a percent” of its iMessage users, and says it will be fixed in a future software update. TechCrunch points out a support document that may provide temporary relief to those experiencing the issue, otherwise users may need to fall back to one of the many, many, many other messaging services out there (but not BBM, yet, and Google Hangouts had its own issue recently) to make sure those messages are getting through.
Web traffic for a major new operating system typically grows at a consistently faster pace than its predecessor. That’s not true for Windows 8, however — NetApplications now estimates that Windows 7 outpaced its newer counterpart for the first time in September. While Windows 8 did grow to a symbolic 8 percent of web use last month, its ancestor grew slightly faster, hitting 46.4 percent. We wouldn’t necessarily say that Windows 8 is in trouble based on these figures, though. The rise in Windows 7 use corresponds to a drop for Windows XP (shown after the break), which suggests that corporate customers are in the midst of upgrades; they’re less likely to choose a young OS. Microsoft still faces long-term problems, but they’re more likely to stem from customers’ shift toward mobile devices and away from PCs.
When Google acquired Waze back in June, the Federal Trade Commission decided to investigate the deal to see if it violated antitrust regulations, and today, it looks like Mountain View is in the clear. According to Bloomberg’s sources (unnamed people “familiar with the matter,” naturally), the FTC will not interfere with the acquisition, as the $1 billion purchase isn’t seen as an aggressive act designed to stifle competition. The review’s outcome is indeed welcome news at Google, as the company can now proceed with integrating Waze’s crowd-sourced traffic and mapping capabilities with its own services. By this point, antitrust challenges must be awfully familiar to the folks at Google, but we’re pretty sure that winning them never gets old.
New videogame systems all have one weakness: there are barely any games that come out at the same time as the hardware. The PS Vita and the Wii U are the most recent victims of this dilemma. Even though the Oculus Rift is a head-mounted display and not a console, it’s so different from other monitors that it’s going to have the same problem. But not if VorpX can help it.
The VorpX stereoscopic 3D driver converts Windows games that make use of DirectX 9, 10 and 11 so that they’ll be compatible with the Oculus Rift. It currently works with 90 games, including Bioshock Infinite, Fallout 3 and Mirror’s Edge, all of which you’ll see in the demo below. You can read the full list of compatible games here.
Aside from converting games, the driver also has a number of features to make it easier to play today’s games with the next-generation display. Users can make a virtual keyboard pop up on the screen, which I assume they can then operate with a mouse, negating the need to see the keyboard that they’re using. Users can customize the virtual keyboard as they see fit. VorpX also has a feature called Edge Peek. Activated by pressing the mouse scroll wheel, Edge Peek lets you look at the edge of the screen.
Edge Peek may not be needed in future Oculus Rift-ready games, but it might be a requirement for games from the current generation or earlier. That’s because the headset crops what you’d normally see on a traditional display, which means anything that’s on the far edges of the screen won’t be visible. But many games place critical information like radar or items on the edges of the screen, hence the need for Edge Peek. It’s not an optimal solution, but it’s better than nothing. Another feature related to Edge Peek is the option to zoom out the view, which should come in handy for viewing cinematics.
VorpX also supports two 3D modes, one of which results in better graphics but is more resource-intensive than the other option.
The driver is currently in beta, but VorpX is already charging for it. If you want to take the plunge, head to Road to VR to order the software; $40 (USD) gets you two licenses. Check out Road to VR’s article to find out more about the driver.
If they didn’t have the lock on the name before today, Valve certainly does now: Half-Life 3 has been entered in to trademark application with the European Union’s Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market, for real. For those of you unfamiliar with the title, Half-Life 3 is a game that’s been long-awaited, having seen […]
Paper making a Book? That would follow logic. But the Paper we’re referring to here is actually an iPad sketchbook app and the book? Why, that’d be a product of Moleskine. An update released today to Paper’s popular app adds a new ‘Make a Book’ service which allows users to self-publish their collection of doodles and designs into physical books. The end result is 15 matte pages of custom quirk in a 4:3 aspect ratio (to match the iPad) — users can even design their own covers. But this kitschy road to self-publishing comes at a steep cost: $40 per Book. Sure, there are other, cheaper means of getting your work out into the world, but not all of them’ll do it with a fold-out flair.
In August Google pushed out an update to its Chrome Beta channel that included quicker access to search by image via a long press or right click along with a slew of other features. Today, version 30 of the browser is hitting the stable channel, along with its revamp of gestures for the Android version. Over the coming days, users will receive an update on their handsets and tablets that moves all the gestures to the toolbar: swipe down to open the tab switcher and flip through open tabs by running your finger left or right. Chrome 30 also includes a host of backend improvements and access to new APIs such as MediaSource and DeviceMotion, for better integration between webapps and your handheld hardware. For more details about all the changes to both the mobile and desktop versions of Chrome, hit up the source.
When you’re focused on music editing, you don’t want to switch back and forth between a computer screen and a hardware controller. With Native Instruments’ newly unveiled Maschine Studio, you won’t have to. The peripheral expands on the original Maschine with dual color displays that let musicians edit patterns and samples without having to glimpse at the host PC. The upgrade also adds new editing controls, and a revised Maschine 2.0 software suite simplifies plug-ins. Maschine Studio will ship on November 1st for $999, although you won’t have to buy one to get the new software. NI promises that anyone who buys a Maschine or Maschine Mikro from now on will get a free update to 2.0; existing owners can also pay $99 for an upgrade.
There’s already an official LEGO calendar, but design studio Vitamins made a more practical version with the help of custom software. Even though the calendar is made entirely out of LEGO pieces, Vitamins were able to make it interactive and sync to the studio’s online calendar.
Each month is represented in the calendar by long rectangular panels. For instance in the image above you can see a three month timeline. Each month is divided into columns that represent the days of the week. To assign a project, employees simply attach a brick onto the proper date. One brick represents half a day alloted to a particular project, with the color of the brick representing a particular project. Should there be a specific employee assigned to a project, that employee will be represented by a minifig.
The LEGO calendar helps employees take note of their schedule at a glance, but what if they’re not at the office? That’s where Vitamins’ custom program comes in handy. Anyone can take a picture of the calendar and send it to a certain email address, and in doing so the studio’s Google Calendar account will be synced to the LEGO calendar. The syncing program was made using openFrameworks.
Vitamins said that they’ve been using their system for almost a year and are very happy with it. They love that they have a tangible representation of how much time they have – the bricks – and that they can literally share their time with each other by trading bricks. They promise to upload the code for their program to encourage more people to adapt or play with their design. Perhaps the syncing can be automated with a camera or a color sensor?
Sure it’s launched plenty of successful music apps, but to us, Smule will always be the company that gave us iPhone-based AutoTune in the form of I Am T-Pain (which we managed to try out on half of They Might Be Giants). Obviously, the Bay Area developer is looking to be a lot more. In fact, it’s opening itself up to the web in the form of a social network that’ll let visitors peruse its one billion or so user-generated songs. You can create playlists of Smule-created music and find folks to collaborate with for cloud-based jam sessions. The network opens today through Smule’s site. There’s a tad more info in the offering just after the break.
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