IRL: UNDFIND's One camera bag and FIFA 13 for Xbox 360
Former Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie joins HP's board of directors
Head of Google China, Dr. John Liu, stepping down after six years
The After Math: Nokia puts PureView into the Lumia 1020 and there's a whole lot of gold
Alt-week 7.13.13: cancer-smelling machines, singing synchronicity and the solar system's tail
Can't bring yourself to spend $300-plus on a leather camera bag? Get a $130 one made out of EVA, says Darren. (And he should know: he's tested just about all of them by now.) As for Edgar, he's not recommending you buy anything, per se; he just wants you to know how much he loves FIFA 13.
"It's not me, it's you," scolds the distant WiFi hotspot as your connection drops for the ninth time in an hour. As much as you may dream of buying a 20 meter Ethernet cable, Amped Wireless is determined to curtail that flirtation with its latest piece of 802.11ac hardware, the ACA1. The USB 3.0-powered unit clips to Windows and OS X machines, utilizing the company's long-range mojo to ensure that you'll be the envy of frustrated tweeters on the periphery of a public router. The gear arrives on July 22nd, but pre-orders begin today with $89.99 securing you a piece of the action -- and if the idea of that big Ethernet lead still appeals, we've got a video to convince you otherwise after the break.
Aviary has come a long way from its humble origins as a Flickr plugin -- over the last year it's graduated to a standalone app, been given a makeover and has even been ported to Windows 8. Today the popular photo-editing software lands on yet another platform: Windows Phone 8. As on iOS and Android, the app itself is free and comes with a bunch of filters and stickers. Extra packs can usually be purchased for two bucks a pop, but WP8 users can get them for free for a limited time -- not bad for a digital lizard sombrero. Follow the source link below to check out the (temporarily) gratis photo editor yourself.
Sprint announced its first tri-band 4G LTE devices back in May, and now the recently acquired carrier says they'll start shipping on July 19th. The Novatel MiFi 500, Netgear Zing Mobile Hotspot and Netgear 341U USB dongle all support the 800MHz, 1900MHz and 2.5GHz bands. The hotspots will set you back $49.99 with a new contract, whereas the dongle is $19.99 -- that's after a $50 mail-in-rebate, of course. The Zing can roam on GSM networks and has a 2,500mAh battery and, while we don't know how big the battery is in the MiFi, Sprint says it should last 10 hours on a single charge. Plans start at $34.99 per month for 3GB of combined 3G/4G data, with an extra $15 doubling that and another $30 on top of that quadrupling your bucket to 12GB. Sadly, there's no unlimited data option.
Canadians can finally say goodbye to the dreaded three-year cell contracts they've been strapped with for too long: Telus is now offering a two-year contract per Canada's new wireless code. The company announced as much today in a statement which said the new plans kick off on July 30th, with both unlimited talk and text included (not to mention shareable data on a single account). It's the latest addition to the company's long-standing "Clear and Simple" plan. The plans are available for individuals, families, and small business as well -- with up to 15 devices connected under a single plan with the latter option.
Most importantly, of course, Canadians can now enjoy the same two-year cycle of buyer's remorse that us Americans have been dealing with for years now. Just 23 months and 30 days until you can get that new phone!
In a wholly unsurprising move, Finnish game dev studio Rovio Entertainment is creating yet another entry in its prolific Angry Birds series -- Angry Birds Star Wars 2. As its name implies, ABSW2 is the sequel to the first Star Wars-themed Angry Birds entry, which launched on various mobile devices last November. Its sequel will arrive on September 19th, and apparently features "over 30 playable characters." There aren't set launch platforms just yet, but we're guessing "iOS and Android devices" is a pretty safe bet; Windows Phone 8 as well, perhaps.
What is surprising is that the newest Angry Birds entry has a physical twist that we've yet to see from the brand: something called "telepods." The Hasbro-created toy is a physical representation of an in-game character, and Rovio Entertainment's VP of marketing Philip Hickey tells us it works by using a mobile phone or tablet's built-in camera to read the toy and implement it in-game -- an interesting choice in a world where Activision's NFC-based Skylanders rules the toy-based game landscape. As such, the toys likely won't function on game consoles, making it likely that any non-mobile version of the game will require some custom work to adapt. Hickey also tells Engadget that the toys will be available at retail alongside the game's September 19th launch, and that Rovio's exploring the possibility of making them function with previous series entries.
Interested parties can get a first taste at San Diego Comic Con this week, and we've dropped the debut trailer just below for your viewing pleasure.
The artist famed for fronting Radiohead, and not so much for toeing the line, has withdrawn his solo tracks from Spotify and some smaller streaming services in order to highlight the low payments given to new musicians. Thom Yorke explained the decision by re-tweeting his producer, Nigel Godrich, who had complained that "new artists get paid f^@k all," and that the current streaming model only suits those with an existing back catalog. Yorke added that Spotify shareholders "will shortly be rolling in it," implying that the distribution of wealth is unfair. Some followers reacted badly to his decision, accusing him of "hurting his fans" with a "small [and] meaningless rebellion," but others spoke out in support -- including electronic artist Four Tet (aka Kieran Hebden) who said he'd pulled his music off Spotify for the same reason.
Spotify responded to the criticism this morning in a statement provided to TechCrunch, saying that it is "still in the early stages of a long-term project," and adding that "we've already paid $500 million to rightsholders so far and by the end of 2013 this number will reach $1 billion." The spokesperson further went on to say that "we're 100% committed to making Spotify the most artist-friendly music service possible, and are constantly talking to artists and managers about how Spotify can help build their careers." Yorke is hardly the first star to make a stand, but unlike Coldplay, Adele and the rest, his specific focus on industry newcomers (rather than himself) is -- we've gotta say -- quite refreshing.
Microsoft's Surface RT is hardly the world's most popular tablet, but the software giant clearly wants to create some momentum for its aging Windows 8 slate. MS just dropped the device's price to $349, representing a $150 decrease for the 32GB model. Staples was the first reported retailer with slashed pricing -- the tablet went on sale there yesterday -- and Microsoft's UK and Australian online stores have followed up with pricing of £279 and AU$389, respectively. The new MSRP appears to be live on at least three continents, and you can take advantage at our source links just below.
It's no secret that some British residents want an active-by-default internet filter to keep kids away from salacious content. However, the BBC now claims that the UK government wants to falsely imply that this filter already exists. According to a reportedly leaked letter, the Department of Education is asking internet providers to refer to their filters as "default on" without changing what's ultimately a voluntary system. As you'd imagine, the companies are supposedly quite unhappy: ISP sources believe the phrasing would mislead customers and encourage complacency. Officials have declined to comment on the demands, but we may know the truth soon enough as the Department of Education's letter says an announcement could come "shortly."
Ray Ozzie may have left Microsoft back in October 2010, having directly focused a lot of the company's recent efforts on cloud connectivity, but he's now got a new job. Ozzie will be joining HP CEO Meg Whitman on the company's board. Increasing the board size to twelve, he will join James Skinner, currently the chairman of Walgreens and former CEO of McDonald's and former CEO of Liberty Media Robert Bennett. The influential former MS software chief, who succeeded Bill Gates in the position back in 2006, will join groups looking into human resources, compensation and governance -- some pretty important spheres. HP isn't done, however, and will apparently be hunting down yet more directors in the next few months.