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Apple store construction leads to discovery of 15th century ruins

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 10 Jul 2013 6:57

Apple store construction leads to discovery of 15th century ruins During construction of the new Apple flagship store in Madrid, Spain, workers discovered 15th century ruins belonging to an old hospital.

The workers came across the ancient hospital while digging out the area for the store's basement.

Buen Suceso hospital, as it was called, was demolished in the 1850s to make room for more buildings. A church that was next to the hospital was also demolished at the time. The remains of the church were discovered in 2009 when construction workers were building the Cercanías light rail station.

Apple was actually informed they may find ruins while building the 6000 square-foot flagship before construction started.

While Apple had considered putting the hospital wall in a display case, it has decided instead on "changing the design of the store to symbolically trace the outline of the walls of the old hospital."

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AfterDawn: News

Review: The first 8-inch full Windows 8 tablet, the Acer Iconia W3

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2013 3:23

Review: The first 8-inch full Windows 8 tablet, the Acer Iconia W3 I've had about a week to review the highly-touted Acer Iconia W3, the first Windows 8 tablet in the new, popular 8-inch form factor.

While there is plenty to like, there is also plenty to dislike with this attempt, which is unfortunate as the tablet market really has stagnated recently, with the only real "innovations" coming in the form of aesthetics and larger (or smaller) display sizes.

The biggest pro, as can be expected, is the full version of Windows 8. Unlike its crippled brother, Windows RT, Windows 8 allows you to download and access all applications that are available for Windows on desktops. That means all your favorite programs for video playback (MPC, VLC, etc) and audio playback (iTunes, Winamp, etc) are available, as are your favorite torrent clients, download managers, anti-virus programs and your favorite desktop versions of anything that may run Adobe Flash or Silverlight (looking at you Android and iOS).

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AfterDawn: News

Here is the 5-minute long GTA V official gameplay video

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2013 11:41

Here is the 5-minute long GTA V official gameplay video Rockstar Games has released a 5-minute long gameplay video for their upcoming blockbuster, GTA V.

This is the first video to show off actual gameplay, as past teaser trailers have have mainly displayed cut scenes.

GTA V will feature three protagonists, each of which are already established in the world, unlike in past games where you really have to start from the bottom. The game allows you to control all the characters at any time you want and others move to "autopilot" until you switch back.

In the demo, you can see a few new features like the ability to go skydiving and play tennis, or even meditate if you choose to.

In this author's opinion, the game looks incredible.

Check it out:




AfterDawn: News

Designer of original Twitter logo only made $4 for drawing

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2013 11:26

Designer of original Twitter logo only made $4 for drawing Designer Simon Oxley and his drawing of a bird in a tree were Twitter's first logo, but he did not receive much for his drawing.

Oxley designed the picture (below) for iStockPhoto, the subscription depository that offers hundreds of thousands of pictures that customers can pay to use for design and other projects.

Twitter's founders browsed the site when looking for a logo and selected Oxley's drawing. That decision made the designer about $4.

The designer says he spent just 30 minutes on the original drawing, and doesn't actually remember doing it.

Oxley is also famous for designing the GitHub Octocat. The cat-headed octopus rights were purchased by GitHub directly, avoiding iStock rules.

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AfterDawn: News

Sprint gets first WP8 device, the HTC 8XT

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2013 11:07

Sprint gets first WP8 device, the HTC 8XT Sprint has made its first Windows 8 phone device available.

Last week, the carrier revealed plans to begin offering two Windows Phone 8 devices over the coming month.

On July 19th, the HTC 8XT will go on sale for $100 with two-year contract. The device has a 4.3-inch 800x480 display, is powered by a 1.4Ghz dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB RAM, and 8GB of internal storage.

Additionally, the phone is the first with "BoomSound":

"Developed by HTC's award winning design team, the HTC 8XT is the first Windows Phone with HTC BoomSound™ - dual front-facing stereo speakers with a dedicated amplifier that deliver bigger sound with less distortion and more detail.. In addition, Beats Audio™ enables studio-quality sound, so listeners hear music the way the artist intended with unique audio tuning that delivers thundering bass, soaring midrange and crisp highs," reads the press release.




AfterDawn: News

iOS 7 moves away from thinner font

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2013 10:52

iOS 7 moves away from thinner font As part of Apple's beta update to iOS 7, it appears that lead designer Jony Ive has had a change of heart in regards to the company's move to a thinner font.

When first unveiled, iOS 7 moved away from its traditional thick font, moving the entire OS to Helvetica Neue Light. As of beta 3, Ive has moved back to Helvetica Neue at a regular weight.

The lightweight font had been one of the bigger criticisms of the completely revamped operating system.

Read up on the new operating system here: iOS 7 beta 3 to hit on July 8th




AfterDawn: News

France kills off its three-strikes piracy law

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2013 10:36

France kills off its three-strikes piracy law A number of years ago, the French government enacted a new law that would punish repeat offenders for piracy violations.

Internet users who were accused of pirating video games, movies, TV shows, music or other unauthorized downloads were first sent a letter. If you continued, a more threatening letter was sent and finally if you continued, a "third-strike" could mean the temporary shut down of your Internet connection and being blacklisted from joining other ISPs.

As of this week, the government has stepped away from the controversial method, removing the possibility of file-sharers to have their Internet cut off. Instead, alleged pirates will now be subjected to a system of automated fines.

The changes came thanks to a 700 page report "advising on policies for advancing entertainment industries in the digital age" by a nine-member panel published in June.




AfterDawn: News

Source: 'Army of Apple products' coming this fall

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2013 10:12

Source: 'Army of Apple products' coming this fall According to Apple blogger Mark Gurman, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other high-level executives recently held a summit in San Francisco with the heads of retail operations in an effort to brainstorm ways to sell more iPhones in-stores.

More importantly, Gurman says the executives "left the meeting feeling confident about Apple's fall product pipeline." The source said it was time to expect "an army of new products this fall."

During the company's quarterly earnings report, Cook made a similar statement, adding "We will have some really great stuff in the fall and all across 2014."

The next iPhone, expected to be the 5S, is expected to launch in September alongside a final version of iOS 7. The company could also potentially announce an HDTV or a smartwatch, as have been rumored for years now.




AfterDawn: News

James Cameron: Hollywood is forcing 3D on filmmakers for higher profits, not to make movies better

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2013 9:41

James Cameron: Hollywood is forcing 3D on filmmakers for higher profits, not to make movies better Mr. billion dollar movie, James Cameron, who helped make 3D mainstream again with his hit 'Avatar,' says Hollywood is forcing the tech on filmmakers not to enhance movies but just to maximize profits.

While Cameron says he hoped Avatar would "get as many people shooting in 3D as possible," 3D production has now "become a studio-driven top down process to make money." Additionally, Cameron adds that directors may not even have any say as 3D elements are added in post-production.

When asked for examples, Cameron cited two new hits, Man of Steel and Iron Man 3, as movies that did not really need 3D. "If you spend $150 million on visual effects, the film is already going to be spectacular [and] perfect," he added.

Cameron will use 3D for his upcoming Avatar sequels and likely for his next project, Battle Angel, based on the popular graphic novels.




AfterDawn: News

Barnes & Noble CEO resigns following disastrous Nook sales

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2013 9:22

Barnes & Noble CEO resigns following disastrous Nook sales Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch has resigned from his position, as of yesterday, as the company continues to review "its current strategic plan."

Lynch has been replaced by CFO Michael P. Huseby, who will now have the titles Chief Executive Officer of NOOK Media LLC and President of Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Max J. Roberts will remain Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble College and Mitchell Klipper will remain as Chief Executive Officer of the Barnes & Noble Retail Group.

Lynch, who became CEO in 2010 after years at B&N's web division, was expected to help the company jump into a digital future, but so far they have failed. The company began its Nook brand, which was successful for e-readers but not so much for tablets. The underpowered tablets never saw strong sales and the company recently began a fire sale, dropping prices by as much as $130 for already cheap devices.

During the company's last earnings report, it was revealed that the Nook division only saw revenue of $108 million, down 34 percent year-over-year. The company has discontinued manufacturing Nook tablets, and will now license the platform to OEMs.




AfterDawn: News

The cancelled Nokia Windows RT tablet, pictured

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2013 9:03

The cancelled Nokia Windows RT tablet, pictured Over the last few months, there have been plenty of rumors about Nokia's expected step into the tablet market.

One such rumor was that the company was planning a Windows RT device, which features a crippled version of Windows 8 but works in an ARM architecture allowing for more compatibility with current processors and (usually) cheaper prices.

Today, the Verge has posted pictures of the device (via a gaming forum), which was cancelled so the company could create a full Windows 8 version.

In the photos, we can see a magnetic connector (as made popular by Macs and the Microsoft Surface) along with some other ports, a SIM slot, and other expected features.

The device ran on a Tegra 3 processor and the owner of the tablet says he received it from a Nokia employee as a gift. Check them here:

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AfterDawn: News

Google reveals Android fragmentation report for early July

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 08 Jul 2013 11:01

Google reveals Android fragmentation report for early July Every few weeks, Google updates its Android distribution data, showing off the popularity of each version of its operating system.

For the week ended July 8th, Android 4.1 (and higher) Jelly Bean is now on 37.9 percent of devices, making it the most used OS of the bunch. The extremely old Android 2.3 Gingerbread is now on 34.1 percent of devices, down from 36.5 percent last month.

Android 4.0.x Ice Cream fell to 23.3 percent from 25.6 percent, as more customers saw their phones updated to Jelly Bean.

Somewhat shockingly, Donut, Eclair, Froyo and Honeycomb still account for 4.6 percent of devices, almost as much as Android 4.2.

The data is collected by logging the devices that access the Play Store.

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AfterDawn: News

Ubisoft: ZombiU for Wii U was not even profitable

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 08 Jul 2013 10:43

Ubisoft: ZombiU for Wii U was not even profitable ZombiU, one of the Wii U's flagship games, was not even close to profitable, says its publisher Ubisoft.

Chairman and CEO Yves Guillemot says there will not be a sequel, citing the lack of sales.

The news is another bad hit for the struggling gaming company, which cannot retain third-party support and is increasingly dependent on its own library of Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda for sales.

Majors publishers like Electronic Arts (EA) have almost completely pulled support from the console. CEO Peter Moore recently stated "It's been a disappointment when you look at sell-through and, as a company, we have to be very judicious where we deploy our resources."




AfterDawn: News

Final version of Windows 8.1 to be ready by late August

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 08 Jul 2013 10:19

Final version of Windows 8.1 to be ready by late August After releasing their preview version last week, Microsoft has announced a final version of Windows 8.1 will be available for OEMs by late August.

Windows CFO Tami Reller stated the company will have finalized the software by the end of August, slightly ahead of the expected September availability.

It is unclear when end users will be able to download the OS directly.

For more on what updates are coming in Windows 8.1, check our preview here: Windows 8.1 is here

You can also download the preview here: Download Windows 8.1 Preview ISOs




AfterDawn: News

UPDATE: Yahoo purchased smart email service Xobni for $48 million plus incentives

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 08 Jul 2013 10:04

UPDATE: Yahoo purchased smart email service Xobni for $48 million plus incentives Originally reported as a $30 million acquisition, ATD is now reporting that Yahoo paid $48 million for smart email service Xobni, with the ability for employees to earn millions more in earn-outs if they remain with the company.

Initial investors will get a slight return, after investing about $39 million since 2008.

CEO Jeff Bonforte and other employees can receive up to $5 million per year in earn-outs as long as they stay with the company.

Original Story:

Yahoo has acquired the "smart" email service Xobni, continuing recent string of high profile purchases.

Xobni will be integrated into Yahoo's mail service, which has over 300 million users, but has been lacking in cutting edge features.

The 'smart' service "re-organizes email according to the user's social contacts, meshing connections from SMS history, phone calls and Facebook or Twitter," says the company. Xobni users will get the same service they have until July 2014 but paid premium services will be discontinued. By that time, the service is expected to be fully integrated into Yahoo.

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