GLENN’S SHOWNOTES
DOCTOR WHO COMES TO MINECRAFT ON XBOX
BBC Worldwide are delighted to announce a deal with Microsoft Studios and Mojang which will bring Doctor Who- the world’s longest running science fiction drama – to ‘Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition’.
From September 2014, Minecraft players will have access to a range of Doctor Who assets which will allow them to change their avatar to resemble their favourite characters from the show. The first pack will include a character inspired by the Twelfth Doctor as well as five other Doctors, each of their on-screen companions and some of the Doctor’s most well known adverseries including his arch-nemeses, the Daleks.
The deal will bring more packs as time goes on, introducing many of the most recognisable characters from the past 50 years of Doctor Who. Each skin pack will feature at least six Doctors and will be released regularly following the broadcast of the first episode.
Minecraft is one of the fastest selling Xbox game of all time with over 13 million sales to date
Packs will be available to purchase by players from the XBox Game Store, with the first pack priced at $2.95AUS.
Dropbox slashes prices to match Google Drive
The company said it would consolidate its three existing Pro account plans – which previously offered customers the choice of 100GB, 200GB or 500GB of storage for US$9.99, US$19.99 and US$49.99 a month – into one at US$9.99 (AU$10.99 for Australian users) per month, that offers 1TB of online storage.
The price cut brings the cost of Dropbox’s offering in line with the US$9.99 Google charges for its 1TB Drive plan.
Telstra, JB Hi-Fi, Dick Smith to sell Jabra Sport Pulse “smart” earbuds
heart-rate monitoring Jabra Sport Pulse earbuds that feature a voice-coach to train users as they work out.
The Jabra-Pulse Wireless “smart” earbuds will go on sale for $249 from 1 October.
The Bluetooth earbuds include an app with pre-defined training programs, including interval training, zone training and target pace training. The app can measure time, consumed energy, distance, speed, pace, heart rate, workout start, end and length, and also notifies users when they achieve goals.
Users can set goals based on distance, time or energy burned.
The Jabra Sport Pulse design includes the use of Kevlar and carbon fibre and are built to “take a pounding”, according to the vendor.
The earbuds comply with IP55 certification, which covers drop, strength, dirt, temperature and humidity testing. According to the manufacturer, the earbuds are sweat and “storm-proof”.
Seagate ships world’s first 8TB HDD
The 8TB hard drive uses fewer components and Seagate claims the drive has the best watts per GB available for enterprise bulk data storage.
Seagate is shipping drives to select customers now with wide scale availability next quarter. Pricing has not been announced.
The hard drive features multi-drive RV tolerance for consistent enterprise-class performance in high density environments and incorporates a SATA 6Gb/s interface for cost-effective, easy system integration in both private and public data centres.
Apple to replace faulty iPhone 5 batteries
“Apple has determined that a very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently,
The affected iPhone 5 devices were sold between September 2012 and January 2013 and fall within a limited serial number range. If your iPhone 5 is experiencing these symptoms and meets the eligibility requirements noted below, Apple will replace your iPhone 5 battery, free of charge.”
To determine whether an iPhone has a faulty battery, users can check the serial number on the Apple website. The company said that it will cover the hardware until March 2015. Users who already have purchased a replacement iPhone 5 battery can apply for a refund.
Microsoft to announce Windows 9 in September?
Microsoft is tipped to unveil its latest desktop OS, Windows 9 “Threshold”, pencilled in for 30 September.
Microsoft has released two tiny teasers for Windows 9, codenamed “Threshold”. The first showed a reimagined Start Menu combining the familiar design of the menu that had been in place from Windows 95 to Windows 7 with the “Modern UI” layout from Windows 8. The second showed Windows Modern apps running in a window on the desktop, rather than full screen.
ERIK’S SHOWNOTES
Time for the iWatch: Apple’s wearable set to be revealed on September 9th alongside iPhone 6 – and it could control your house as well as monitor your health
Apple will launch its much anticipated wearable device next month alongside the new iPhone 6 handsets, is has been claimed.
Tech blog Re/Code said the firm is preparing to reveal the gadget, which is believed will be called iTime, alongside larger 4.7inch and 5.5inch handsets.
The wearable device will be able to monitor it’s wearer’s health, as well and show them alerts from their phone.
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Reports have previously claimed Apple’s iWatch could double up as an activity tracker. This concept image reveals how the rumoured device and health tool might look. Dubbed the Diet Watch, it could track calories and steps as well as heart rate. It could launch at an event in October, alongside Apple’s next iPad range
TWO YEARS OF IWATCH RUMOURS
Speculation around Apple’s iWatch began at the end of 2012 and a rumoured release date was initially set for the fourth quarter of 2013.
Chinese websites reported in December 2012 that the computer giant was working with chip-maker Intel on a wrist-worn gadget.
It was said to have a 1.5inch screen and use Bluetooth to communicate with other devices, including an iPhone.
Other rumours suggest the iWatch will feature Siri voice controls that let users dictate messages, rather than use the tiny screen.
The watch could also be used as a remote control to change music tracks or pause video, on the phone or tablet.
In July last year, reports in the Financial Times said Apple was hiring outside help to tackle design problems with its iWatch.
It could also act a remote for ‘smart’ home gadgets.
‘Apple plans to unveil a new wearable alongside the two next-generation iPhones we told you the company will debut on September 9,’ Re/Code said.
Apple has already hinted at the wearable in the latest update to its iOS software, which includes health tracking capabilities.
More…
‘The new device will, predictably, make good use of Apple’s HealthKit health and fitness platform,’ Re.Code says.
‘It will also — predictably — make good use of HomeKit, the company’s new framework for controlling connected devices — though it’s not clear how broadly or in what way.’
Earlier this month one analyst claimed Apple’s iWatch had been delayed and will not go on sale until 2015.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says difficulties with manufacturing the new device will likely be the cause of the delay, according to 9to5mac.
‘We reiterate our view that iWatch, as compared to existing products, and as Apple’s (US) first attempt at a wearable device, represents a much higher level of difficulty for the company as regards component and system design, manufacturing and integration between hardware and software, he said.
‘While we are positive on iWatch and believe that the advantages of the design and business model behind it are difficult to copy, we think, given the aforementioned challenges, that the launch could be postponed to 2015.’
Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2736107/Time-iWatch-Apples-wearable-set-revealed-September-9th-alongside-iPhone-6.html#ixzz3Bg1Z9FvB
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Apple’s iPhone 6 and iWatch: all the good, bad and hopefully true rumours
ANOTHER day, another Apple rumour.
It’s less than a fortnight to Apple’s biggest launch of the year . And to help Apple fans sing along to “On the 12th day of iChristmas, Tim Cook gave to me …”, here is a quick guide to some of the best and worst rumours about the iPhone and iWatch.
1. The iPhone 6 will be unveiled on September 9:
This was is set in stone, assuming that stone is not quite solid and subject to change. Apple hasn’t actually announced a date for the iPhone 6, nor has it said it will call its next smartphone the iPhone 6. Actually, you could write a book about what Apple has not said, although it would be a very small book. With no words.
Re/Code’s John Paczkowski broke the news of this date back in August 22 and his leak still stands. We like this rumour much better than the old rumour that the 5-inch iPhone won’t be released until next year.
Rumour quality: Solid gold. This is as good as a certainty and will be confirmed in the next few days. Still not sure? Think about this: when they send out an invitation to an event on September 9, the reflection of the nine will be in shape of a 6. Dan Brown couldn’t write stuff that good.
Expect queues … September 9 is expected to be the release date for the new iPhone as well as the new iWatch. Source: News Limited
2. The iWatch (aka iTime, iBand or iWearablethingie) will be unveiled on September 9:
This is hot news today, courtesy of another scoop from Re/Code’s Paczkowski who says Apple will use the iPhone 6 launch to show off a new wearable. Interestingly, he doesn’t call it the iWatch. Interestingly, he also doesn’t call it a iWheelbarrow. Analyse that for the next few hours and you won’t be alone. Also, Paczkowski calls it “a new wearable” rather than “thenew wearable”. Does that mean there is more than one, in the way a bigamist has “a wife” in here, “a wife” in there and so on until he’s doing the hokey pokey.
Rumour quality: Paying respect to Paczkowski, it’s good enough for us. One big question remains, however. Given there are so many leaked photos of the iPhone 6, why are there no leaked photos of the iWatch?
3. This is the iPhone 6 in a box. (By which we mean no, it’s not)
In the race to be first with the latest iPhone leaked pics, it’s easy to opt for speed over certainty. TechRadar, to be fair, didn’t say they were certain this was actually an iPhone 6 in a box. Still, the fact the same iPhone 6 box was shown off in a YouTube video about a fake Made in China iPhone rip-off is a fair sign that this rumour was way off the mark.
Rumour quality: Some rumours are rated as “hits”. This is a rumour that puts the ‘s’ at the other end of that ranking.
Band on the run … A possible vision of the Apple iWatch. Source: Supplied
ANOTHER day, another Apple rumour.
It’s less than a fortnight to Apple’s biggest launch of the year . And to help Apple fans sing along to “On the 12th day of iChristmas, Tim Cook gave to me …”, here is a quick guide to some of the best and worst rumours about the iPhone and iWatch.
1. The iPhone 6 will be unveiled on September 9:
This was is set in stone, assuming that stone is not quite solid and subject to change. Apple hasn’t actually announced a date for the iPhone 6, nor has it said it will call its next smartphone the iPhone 6. Actually, you could write a book about what Apple has not said, although it would be a very small book. With no words.
Re/Code’s John Paczkowski broke the news of this date back in August 22 and his leak still stands. We like this rumour much better than the old rumour that the 5-inch iPhone won’t be released until next year.
Rumour quality: Solid gold. This is as good as a certainty and will be confirmed in the next few days. Still not sure? Think about this: when they send out an invitation to an event on September 9, the reflection of the nine will be in shape of a 6. Dan Brown couldn’t write stuff that good.
Expect queues … September 9 is expected to be the release date for the new iPhone as well as the new iWatch. Source: News Limited
2. The iWatch (aka iTime, iBand or iWearablethingie) will be unveiled on September 9:
This is hot news today, courtesy of another scoop from Re/Code’s Paczkowski who says Apple will use the iPhone 6 launch to show off a new wearable. Interestingly, he doesn’t call it the iWatch. Interestingly, he also doesn’t call it a iWheelbarrow. Analyse that for the next few hours and you won’t be alone. Also, Paczkowski calls it “a new wearable” rather than “thenew wearable”. Does that mean there is more than one, in the way a bigamist has “a wife” in here, “a wife” in there and so on until he’s doing the hokey pokey.
Rumour quality: Paying respect to Paczkowski, it’s good enough for us. One big question remains, however. Given there are so many leaked photos of the iPhone 6, why are there no leaked photos of the iWatch?
3. This is the iPhone 6 in a box. (By which we mean no, it’s not)
In the race to be first with the latest iPhone leaked pics, it’s easy to opt for speed over certainty. TechRadar, to be fair, didn’t say they were certain this was actually an iPhone 6 in a box. Still, the fact the same iPhone 6 box was shown off in a YouTube video about a fake Made in China iPhone rip-off is a fair sign that this rumour was way off the mark.
Rumour quality: Some rumours are rated as “hits”. This is a rumour that puts the ‘s’ at the other end of that ranking.
YouTube
4. I came, I saw, iWatched … everywhere
VentureBeat broke the news that Swatch and Timex were working on dozens of models of iWatch. That broken news was still broken, when the watchmakers said they weren’t.
Rumour quality: Missed it by that much. To be fair, Swatch makes a iSwatch so really it wasn’t a rumour that was wrong – just misspelt.
5. Name game: What comes after 5S?
One of the biggest challenges for those of us writing about as yet unannounced Apple products is that they are so unannounced nobody has even announced their name. The next iPhone will be probably be the iPhone 6 for the 4.7-inch version and the 5.5-inch version will probably be called iPhone Air, or the iPhone 6L — as in L for “larger than the other one” or “lame name”.
Rumour quality: Definite, by which we mean the next iPhone will definitely have a name. Unless of course Apple repeats the mistake of the New iPad which was a brilliant idea for a name until offcourse the next new iPad came out.
6. The iWatch will measure 2.5 inches
Take your wrist. Draw a 2.5-inch square on it. Does that look good? As a runner who straps his iPhone 5S to his arm, I’m already considering hitting the roids so that the bigger screen 4.7-inch or 5-inch iPhones don’t make my stick-like biceps look even more stick-like. The idea that Apple’s wearable band would be as wide as a playing card — surely they’re joking. It’s not an ace idea. Do they come in pairs? (I’ll see myself out).
Rumour quality: Big deal, no way.
7. Hot dog! The iPhone 6 is good enough to eat
Joey Romaine, a member of the Second City Network comedy theatre group, got the world scoop on the iPhone 6. This is the new iPhone. It’s edible.
Rumour quality: Trash talk but please make it so.
8. The iPhone 6 will look like the original iPhone
Well, yes, it will — by which we mean that it will look more like than the original iPhone than it will look like a bucket. Unless you have a bucket that has an Apple logo, is either 4.7 inches or 5.5 inches in diagonal and has slightly rounded edges on the metal frame. This rumour came about following an observation that leaked photos by Feld & Volk reminded people of the original iPhone although one that had been flattened by a steamroller. Now, there’s a way to upstage the famous Steve Jobs moment of removing an iPad Air from out of an envelope.
Rumour quality: Sure, I look like my 103-year-old Grandma although she doesn’t run on iOS8.
Morgan Stanley predicts the iWatch will cost $300 and Apple will sell 30 to 60 million in the first year. How likely is that? $300 seems a reasonable price, given the factors — one of which is that Apple doesn’t do cheap. That would make it about the price of an iPad Mini and yet still much easier to wear it on your wrist.
Rumour quality: On the money.
10. The iPhone 6 will let you “feel” objects on a screen
According to some reports, the next iPhone 6 will come with “haptics” which is a technology that gives you the impression of feeling objects on the screen. The technology is supposed to imitate the feel of touch a button — but it sounds a little icky to us. Of course if you think it’s a good idea, we can take the conversation offline — I’ll begin by sending you the emoji of a smiling poo.
Rumour quality: I feel not.
Feeling lucky? … Haptics could be a touch too far. Source: Supplied
11. The iPhone 6 will have a better camera
The iPhone 5S is only 8 megapixels yet it still is, arguably, the best camera in the smartphone market (yes, we said it’s an argument — but that’s the side take in the debate). Still, reports that the iPhone 6 will step it up to more megapixels seems to make sense.
Rumour quality: Very likely.
12. The iPhone 6 will have a sapphire screen
Yes, it will because there is evidence Apple is ramping up production of sapphire, the product that will mean you’re less likely to shatter the glass screen of your iPhone. But then again, there is the rumour that Apple can’t make enough sapphire in time.
Rumour quality: Half and half — we’re predicting at least one iPhone model will have a sapphire screen. That way we can only be half wrong.
Speculation … Set Solution has uploaded a YouTube clip of what the Apple iWatch will look like, based on the most recent rumours. Picture: YouTube Source: Supplied
13: The iWatch will monitor your health
Yes, it will. Apple has hired about 100 people who are experts in wearable technology and fashion and they’re not there to make the coffee at Cupertino. (Disclaimer: I’ve been in the cafeteria at Cupertino and you can already buy coffee, or at least what Americans call coffee). The iWatch will monitor all sorts of bodily functions, with likely contenders being your heart rate, sweat, energy burn and perhaps even UV exposure. What else will it test? We’re not sure but we are wishing we hadn’t already used the smiling poo emoji.
Rumour quality: Top shape.
14. The iWatch will let you control your house
Back to Paczkowski and his rumours. While dropping the whole “the iWatch is coming” scoop, he also joined the cast of many who point out that the wearable device from Apple is likely to be able to be used as a remote for app-control devices. This isn’t so much a rumour as a logical connection. You can control gadgets now through your iPhone or iPad, using things such as Belkin’s WeMo Switches or Philips Hue Lighting. Surely, using the iWatch is the next step.
Rumour quality: Low on sources but high on common sense.
The day after the iPhone 6 is released, some people will start counting down to the iPhone 7. Actually, some people have already started. This is not a rumour, it’s a fact of life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gL073OlHqfY
JASON’S SHOWNOTES
Ever wanted to shoot a video on your iPhone as you stroll across town, then speed it up into a 15-second cinematic romp that you can post to Instagram or Facebook with a single tap?
Well, maybe not, but now you can with the launch yesterday of a new stand-alone app from Instagram called Hyperlapse.
Instagram, which Facebook snapped up last year for a jaw-dropping $US1 billion ($1.07 billion), appears to be playing a game of one-upmanship against popular rival Vine, the six-second video loop app owned by Twitter.
Many “viners” have perfected the art of time-lapse video using stop-motion – such as this Californian man’s film of his wife’s pregnancy, which has clocked up 38,500 likes in the three days since it was posted.
Time-lapse videos are relatively straightforward to make by holding your phone or camera still (a tripod comes in handy), taking stills at intervals and then stringing them together into a film using basic video-editing software such as iMovie.
Making a time-lapse video with the camera changing angles and traversing long distances, however, usually requires far more advanced cinematographic expertise and equipment as it is difficult to keep the frame steady while filming in motion. Any discrepancies are magnified when a video is sped up.
The new app overcomes this problem by using motion data from your mobile device’s accelerometer and gyroscope – sensors that measure orientation and rotation – to stabilise jerky camera movements into a smoother video with a “real-time” feel.
If you have an Android or Apple smartphone or tablet, there’s a good chance Google has a fairly comprehensive idea of what you do and where you go every day.
Assuming you have the location history and location reporting settings activated — which you likely will if you regularly use apps like Google Maps, Facebook or Foursquare — and are logged on to a Google account, the various points of reference being recorded can be taken together to reveal a map of your movements.
Using a little-known Google site, you can actually view the data the firm has accumulated about your activities and see it expressed as a shockingly detailed map. Here’s how:
First, make sure you’re signed in to the same account you use on your phone, then go to this Google website.https://maps.google.com/locationhistory/ The default view shows your movements from today.
The calendar on the left allows you to look at a specific day and view your movements. Selecting a greater range of dates (up to a month) lets you spot patterns in your movements. You can zoom in or out as you like and even shift into Google Maps’ “satellite” mode for a better view of the surroundings. There’s also an option to delete the data.
Apple collects this type of data from its users too, sparking controversy in 2011 when it was found its phone was collecting data from location services even when they were switched off. A similar claim was made against Android shortly after.
After teasing for a few days, LG has officially announced their round faced smartwatch competitor – the LG G Watch R. The watch will be available to view at IFA, before becoming available in Q4 later this year.
The watch will feature a 1.3″ Plastic OLED (P-OLED) display, similar technology to that used in the G Flex, with a 320×320 resolution screen, which makes full use of the circular display. LG has used this fact to take subtle shots at the Motorola Moto 360.
The internals of the LG G Watch R are similar to the original LG G Watch, which LG notes was one of the first Android Wear devices to market. The Snapdragon 400 is again back to power the watch, with 512MB RAM included and 4GB of on-board storage. There is a slight bump in battery capacity going from 400mAh in the original G Watch to 410mAh in the G Watch R. There’s even a heart rate monitor (photoplethysmography – PPG) now. The watch again comes with IP67 dust and water resistance but at this stage only comes in Black, with no White and Gold option available at this stage.
To be a part of the Internet, CloudFlare buys bandwidth, known as transit, from a number of different providers. The rate we pay for this bandwidth varies from region to region around the world. In some cases we buy from a Tier 1 provider. In other cases, we buy from regional transit providers that either peer with the networks we need to reach directly (bypassing any Tier 1), or interconnect themselves with other transit providers.
CloudFlare buys transit wholesale and on the basis of the capacity we use in any given month. Unlike some cloud services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or traditional CDNs that bill for individual bits delivered across a network (called “stock”), we pay for a maximum utilization for a period of time (called “flow”). Typically, we pay based on the maximum number of megabits per second we use during a month on any given provider.
Australia is the most expensive region in which we operate, but for an interesting reason. We peer with virtually every ISP in the region except one: Telstra. Telstra, which controls approximately 50% of the market, and was traditionally the monopoly telecom provider, charges some of the highest transit pricing in the world — 20x the benchmark ($200/Mbps). Given that we are able to peer approximately half of our traffic, the effective bandwidth benchmark price is $100/Mbps.
To give you some sense of how out-of-whack Australia is, at CloudFlare we pay about as much every month for bandwidth to serve all of Europe as we do to for Australia. That’s in spite of the fact that approximately 33x the number of people live in Europe (750 million) versus Australia (22 million).
If Australians wonder why Internet and many other services are more expensive in their country than anywhere else in the world they need only look to Telstra. What’s interesting is that Telstra maintains their high pricing even if only delivering traffic inside the country. Given that Australia is one large land mass with relatively concentrated population centers, it’s difficult to justify the pricing based on anything other than Telstra’s market power. In regions like North America where there is increasing consolidation of networks, Australia’s experience with Telstra provides a cautionary tale.
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