AfterDawn: Tech news

Latest news

AfterDawn: News

Xbox One hits 10 million units sold, long after the PlayStation 4

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2014 1:50

Xbox One hits 10 million units sold, long after the PlayStation 4 Microsoft says Xbox One sales are on the rise, thanks to new bundles and a price cut.

The company posted this week that they have shipped 10 million units to retailers, with all those units expected to sell through to consumers.

Microsoft dropped the price of the console last week by $50, including bundles with popular new games like Assassin's Creed Unity, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and Sunset Overdrive, giving a jolt to sales. In addition, the highly-anticipated Halo: The Master Chief Collection launched to rave reviews.

Says the company (press release): "The response to this wave of blockbuster game releases and new bundles has been amazing, and sales have skyrocketed since the new price took effect on Nov. 2. Compared to the previous week, Xbox One sales in the US have more than tripled, which is exciting as more and more friends will be playing together this holiday. As we head into the busy holiday season Xbox One led generation 8 console sales in the US for the past two weeks."

While the sales and the milestone are significant, the company is still playing catchup with Sony, whose PlayStation 4 reached 10 million units sold over the summer, and has led new console sales for 10 straight months.




AfterDawn: News

Samsung's Gear VR headset to go on sale next month

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2014 1:35

Samsung's Gear VR headset to go on sale next month Samsung will once again be first to market with a new consumer wearable, with their "Innovator's Edition" Gear VR headset set to go on sale in December.

The device will launch with Oculus' software ready for installation on your phone, including a "VR-specific home screen for navigating between apps, a VR movie theater experience, and the Oculus app store." The company did note that you will need a Samsung Galaxy Note 4, as the device is the only one compatible with the Gear VR and Oculus' mobile SDK.

"Innovator Edition" VR headsets will cost $200 for the headset or $250 for the headset and a Bluetooth 4.0 controller. Given that the Galaxy Note 4 is the only compatible (and apparently powerful enough) device, the whole set will cost you around $1000 if you bought the phone unlocked, a hefty price for a likely early version of the tech.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Sony is here to kill the traditional cable TV experience with PlayStation Vue

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2014 12:59

Sony is here to kill the traditional cable TV experience with PlayStation Vue Sony has announced the launch of PlayStation Vue, a cloud-based TV service that will "reinvent" the traditional cable TV experience.

The service will start in beta for PlayStation consoles, and will launch with content from 75 networks including the majors like CBS, Fox, NBCU, Viacom and Discovery. More partnerships are expected in the future especially since Disney and Time Warner are noticeably absent. Disney is the owner of ABC and ESPN, two of the more popular stations for content on all of TV.

PlayStation Vue will offer both live TV and on-demand content but the company did not announce pricing except to say they would be "fair and competitive." Major media outlets have pegged that "fair" figure at about $70 and Sony did note that there are no contracts necessary, nor any additional fees or service charges. You will need a PS3 or PS4, however, which ranges from $150-$400.

"Everyday TV is about to become extraordinary with our new cloud‐based TV service, PlayStation Vue," said Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment and group executive in charge of the network entertainment business. "PlayStation Vue reinvents the traditional viewing experience so your programming effortlessly finds you, enabling you to watch much more of what you want and search a lot less."

"PlayStation Vue brings the best of live TV and a robust catalog of the latest content, always keeping you connected to what's popular, new and trending."

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Apple Watch ready for mass production with at least 30 million units expected?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2014 12:45

Apple Watch ready for mass production with at least 30 million units expected? If the latest rumors are accurate, Apple is ready for mass production of its Apple Watch smartwatch, with an order of at least 30 million units already placed.

The device is expected to launch in February, and the rumors come via Apple's east Asian chip manufacturers.

30 million for an unproven product is certainly a big figure, and rival Android Wear devices have struggled to reach the millions even after months of release meaning Apple appears to be very, very confident.

For the Apple Watch, the company is using a new system-in-package (SiP) chip called the "S1." The S1 is a custom silicon chip "that stacks and integrates multiple subsystems into an area small enough to fit within a wristwatch's small footprint." Jony Ive has said the S1 is "is entirely encapsulated in resin for superior protection against the elements" but little else is known about the SiP.

See our featurette on the wearable device here: What is the Apple Watch all about?

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Toy maker Hasbro to merge with DreamWorks Animation studio?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2014 12:32

Toy maker Hasbro to merge with DreamWorks Animation studio? According to new reports, DreamWorks Animation studio is in talks to merge with major toymaker Hasbro.

Hasbro, the second-largest toymaker in the world behind Mattel, could certainly have some nice synergies after a merger given the ability to create consumer products off the popular films from DWA including How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar, Shrek and Kung Fu Panda. Hasbro recently announced that most of its revenue growth has come via toys related to movie franchises.

DreamWorks Animation could also expand into TV and live-action films, categories in which they have actively been trying to enter in the past couple of years.

Habro has made good partnerships in recent years for their properties to be turned into films, including the Transformers, GI Joe, Candyland and Magic: The Gathering.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Warner Music Group, Tencent sign distribution partnership in mainland China

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2014 12:19

Warner Music Group, Tencent sign distribution partnership in mainland China Large record label Warner Music Group and major Chinese web portal and social network Tencent have agreed to a deal for the industry's "first ever master distribution partnership between a major music company and a leading Internet provider in mainland China."

Tencent will distribute WMG's large catalog and manage new track releases for "all legitimate audio services" in mainland China.

China has long been infamous for rampant software, music and movie piracy and the record labels recently stated that China accounted for just 1 percent of all global revenues for music in 2013, a shockingly low number given that there are over 1.3 billion people living in China.

There are a few questions about how the new deal will work, however. Most streaming audio services in China are free and are ad-supported, begging the question of how the revenue share will work between the partners. Another question is how WMG will monetize its catalog through Tencent's QQ microblogging platform, which has over 800 million active users but does not have an active music-sharing strategy.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

The servers for the Silk Road 2.0 were housed in Lithuania

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2014 12:00

The servers for the Silk Road 2.0 were housed in Lithuania According to new reports, the servers for the deepnet drug marketplace Silk Road 2.0 were housed in Lithuania.

Earlier this month, the FBI and Europol took down over 400 illicit .onion domains, arrested 17 people and most of the major marketplaces were taken offline. Drug markets Cloud 9 and Hydra were taken offline as were contraband marketplaces Pandora, Blue Sky, Topix, Flugsvamp, Cannabis Road, and Black Market. In addition, money laundering sites Cash Machine, Cash Flow, Golden Nugget and Fast Cash were also taken down.

Despite the success of Operation Onymous for law enforcement, those on the other side have been scrambling to answer how such a raid could have occurred. There have been worries that the entire Tor network could be compromised, meaning the end of the deepnet as it stands currently.

According to reports, the FBI found the servers in May, worked with Lithuanian authorities to temporarily take them down so they could clone the data and from there began down the path of taking down the Silk Road and other marketplaces. Apparently, the servers were registered to Blake Benthall using his own personal email of blake@benthall.net. Benthall was arrested this month along with the others and now faces at least 35 years in prison.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

YouTube Music Key now available in beta

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Nov 2014 11:10

YouTube Music Key now available in beta Announced months ago, Google's YouTube music subscription service "YouTube Music Key" is now available in beta.

The service offers full albums to stream, including offline listening, for $10 per month. In addition, the subscription also gives access to Google Play Music, which has a 30 million track catalog and also allows you to upload your own tracks to build your library.

YouTube Music Key will also allow you to watch music videos via the app, as well.

The app is launching in the US, UK, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Ireland and Spain and beta testers get the first 6 months free and then a promotional monthly price of $7.99.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Nexus devices starting to see Android 5.0 Lollipop rollout

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Nov 2014 10:21

Nexus devices starting to see Android 5.0 Lollipop rollout Google has finally begun rolling out the new Android 5.0 Lollipop update to its Nexus reference devices.

As of this morning, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (both generations) and the Nexus 10 will start seeing the OTA operating system update. So far, the Nexus 9 and the Nexus 6 are the only devices to receive the updates officially via Google.

In addition, the update has been added to AOSP, so you can download it manually.

To be expected, the rollout will be done in waves, meaning it should take a few days before everyone gets it.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Analyst Kuo: Rumored iPad Pro won't ship until at least Q2 2015

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Nov 2014 9:53

Analyst Kuo: Rumored iPad Pro won't ship until at least Q2 2015 KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who specializes in Apple, says the rumored 12.9-inch "iPad Pro" will not ship until the Q3 2015, after going into mass production in the Q2.

The analyst says the Pro will require an oxide panel to achieve its "high resolution, quick response, and high color saturation," and Apple needs plenty of time to ensure sufficient yield and assembly, pushing delivery time back.

In addition, Kuo believes Q1 2015 sales of iPads will be mediocre at best, with Apple expected to sell under 10 million, a 54.5 percent drop year-over-year.

"We believe that, in a major shift, while Apple (US) used to be able to use new form factor designs to boost demand, it has failed to do so this time around," Kuo said. "The lighter and thinner iPad Air 2 will face strong headwinds in increasing sales in 1Q15, we believe; we also hold that this means that iPad, along with the entire tablet market, is faced with structural challenges characterized by a lack of new applications and market saturation. We don't think these challenges will be easily overcome by upgraded specs, new form factor designs or lower prices."

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Microsoft confirms all Windows Phone 8 Lumia devices will get Windows 10

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Nov 2014 8:32

Microsoft confirms all Windows Phone 8 Lumia devices will get Windows 10 Microsoft, via their Lumia Twitter account, has confirmed that Windows Phone 8 devices will be getting Windows 10 in the future.

When Windows Phone launched, early adopters were screwed when they could not upgrade from the first-gen Windows Phone 7.x to Windows 8.x due to hardware restrictions. Basically, Microsoft told early adopters "thanks for beta testing but now that the OS is good, you have to buy again." Thankfully, that will not be an issue for current buyers.

Interestingly, the company made sure to note that the update will be Windows 10, not Windows Phone 10, seemingly confirming that the next Windows iteration will be a completely cross-platform option.

Here's the tweets:

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Fun but useless: Programmer installs Windows 95 on his iPhone 6 Plus

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Nov 2014 10:23

Fun but useless: Programmer installs Windows 95 on his iPhone 6 Plus A Chinese programmer has installed Windows 95 onto his iPhone 6 Plus, a move that falls squarely in the very fun but completely useless category.

Using a software tool called 'iDos,' forum user xyq058775 installed the nearly two decade old operating system on his brand new hardware.

The FAQ, translated via Google via Crunch:

1.Q: Can I install WINDOWS XP? A: The answer is yes you can, but certainly not by idos, because idos simply simulate the DOS environment is not the true sense of the virtual machine, so the system is more difficult to run the DOS and idos simulation environment and do not have XP running basic environmental needs, so later if transplanted XP system, then I will make use of their leisure time with friends ios platform to write a plug-in to run XP virtual machine system.
2.Q: Why are you doing this? Why not use Remote Desktop. A: First, to show that this kind of thing tall Remote Desktop is currently no support on win98 systems, not to use during system installation and tool methods have sent me here.

3.Q: Why is the process I installed the explorer process wrong? A: Because idos simulator only simulates the 16's dos environment, although win98 16/32 hybrid system but Explorer and exe process large part needed is a 32-bit environment, so when they need 32 program calls some system environment variables and support libraries when an error occurs, LZ modify some of the resource is designed to allow him to run in idos environmental good, However, this modification will change the part of the machine, which has led some device errors when using LZ modify the good image. After LZ according to everyone's feedback slowly improve!

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Personal data on 800,000 United States Postal Service workers stolen

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Nov 2014 9:13

Personal data on 800,000 United States Postal Service workers stolen Another major institution has been hit my a major cyber security attack.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) was the victim and 800,000 employees appear to have had all their personal information taken including social security numbers.

"The intrusion is limited in scope and all operations of the Postal Service are functioning normally," USPS spokesman David Partenheimer said in a statement.

While "limited in scope," nearly a million employees' names, addresses, SSN, and phone numbers were taken, which could sadly lead to batch attempts at identity theft. In addition, customers who called the USPS customer support line from January through August have also had their info taken, depending on what they provided to the service reps. What that means is there are likely hundreds of thousands of email addresses out there now.

The USPS says the attack was first found in September, but they waited two months before coming forward because "communicating the breach immediately would have put the remediation actions in jeopardy." A blanket statement like that will likely do nothing to appease the fears of employees whose socials are now in the wild.

Employees will all receive one year of free credit monitoring.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Microsoft unveils new Lumia 535, their first branded Windows Phone

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Nov 2014 6:29

Microsoft unveils new Lumia 535, their first branded Windows Phone Microsoft finally unveiled their first non-Nokia branded Lumia device today, the 535, including a familiar look but with Microsoft logos everywhere.

At $140 USD (€110) it is clear the device is aimed at everyone, and it will be an upgrade from previous 5-series Lumia devices.

Microsoft's latest has a 5-inch IPS display, a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200, 8GB internal storage (expandable to 128GB with microSD), 1GB RAM and dual 5MP cameras. It also includes dual-SIM capabilities for European and Asian consumers who can take advantage.

The device runs on Windows 8.1, and as expected, Microsoft has bundled its suites including Office, Skype and OneNote.

Microsoft is releasing the phone in China, Hong Kong and Bangladesh this month, with a more global rollout expected before the end of the year.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

LG has unveiled its new mid-range Aka smartphone, a strange device that actually has digital eyes with "emotions."

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Nov 2014 5:01

LG has unveiled its new mid-range Aka smartphone, a strange device that actually has digital eyes with "emotions." LG has unveiled its new mid-range Aka smartphone, a strange device that actually has eyes that have their own "emotions."

There are four different Aka phones, with different colors and different personalities. The yellow phone is called Eggy, the white phone is Wooky, the pink phone is YoYo and the black phone is Soul.

The eyes act as a notification bar of sorts. They look down when you haven't read your messages/emails/etc, and the colors change indicating different emotions.

Featuring a 5-inch 720p display, the devices runs on Android 4.4, a quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 1.5GB RAM, dual 2MP/8MP cameras, 16GB internal storage, LTE, a 2610 mAh battery and a microSD slot.

Launching in South Korea, the device goes on sale this month for KRW 500,000 (about $450).

Read more...



  Newer entries Older entries  

News archive