Grave is bringing its strange brand of survival horror to PS4

Grave is bringing its strange brand of survival horror to PS4

Grave, an unsettling desert survival horror game with shrieking boogeymen who stalk you at night, is headed to PlayStation 4 next year. I'm somehow only now hearing about this port.
Broken Window Studios' modest Kickstarter didn't bring in enough money for its PS4 stretch goal back in April but, as noted on the PlayStation Blog, it's coming to the platform anyway. It will join the existing 2015 release plans for Steam (PC/Mac/Linux) and Xbox One.

Destructoid

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Angry Birds Go tops 100 million downloads, adds team multiplayer

Angry Birds Go tops 100 million downloads, adds team multiplayer

To celebrate more than 100 million downloads of its free-to-play avian kart racer Angry Birds Go, the development team at Rovio has added team multiplayer functionality to the game's latest update.
Though Rovio's unveiling is light on details, we know two crucial things. First, the game now supports races that pit teams of three players against one another. Second, unlike the vast majority of features available to players of Angry Birds Go, this new team multiplayer mode is not an in-app purchase, and is actually, legitimately free. Alongside the new team multiplayer mode Rovio has also added night racing to Angry Birds Go, for those who prefer their unrealistic motosports under the cover of darkness.
Beyond the break you'll find footage of the new team multiplayer racing in action. If any of that sparks your interest, you can grab a fully updated copy of Angry Birds Go from Google Play, the iOS App Store or whatever other distribution service your mobile device of choice relies upon.
[Image: Rovio]
Rovio
Joystiq

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Harry Styles Sends Taylor Swift 1989 Roses? !

Harry Styles Sends Taylor Swift 1989 ? !

Taylor and Harry relationship on the best of terms, but now, the ‘Blank Space’ singer is noticing that Harry has matured! New Weekly Magazine claims that he sent the "Blank Space" singer 1,989 roses to congratulate her on her 1989 album release He has been calling and texting her, ‘begging for a rematch!

Since he's such a sweetheart, we'd believe that he sent her flowers to congratulate her release. He's already complimented her album, so we know he loves it. But we're not so sure he actually wants to get back together with her besides we don't think she would reunite with him since she is focusing on her friends more.

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Apple releases iOS 8.1.1 to improve performance on old products

Apple releases iOS 8.1.1 to improve performance on old products

Apple's just rolled out iOS 8.1.1 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Aside from the usual promise of bug fixes and security updates, Apple says the latest release should speed things up on iPad 2 and iPhone 4S, two of the company's aging devices. We've seen it several times: installing major new versions of iOS on old hardware can often result in degraded performance, making the user experience slower and worse than it had been before. That was true with iOS 7 last year, and now again Apple is working to make things better for customers still holding onto old products.
There's also an update on the Mac side: Apple has released OS X 10.10.1, its first update to Yosemite. Apple says the release should result in better Wi-Fi reliability, improved Microsoft Exchange connections, and fixes for reliability in Mail when sending messages using "certain" email providers. And if you use Apple's Back to My Mac feature, OS X 10.10.1 should make that work better in Yosemite, as well. You can download the latest release from the updates tab at Apple's Mac App Store.

By Chris Welch

The Verge 

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China has arrested three suspects for spreading Wirelurker iOS malware

China has arrested three suspects for spreading Wirelurker iOS malware

Less than two weeks after the bug was first discovered, the Wirelurker iOS malware has already led to three arrests. First discovered by ZDNet, the Beijing Bureau of Public security has announced the arrest of three suspects charged with spreading the Wirelurker malware through a third-party app store. Police say the program that spread the malware has also been shut down.
Wirelurker was notable as the first malware program able to penetrate the iPhone's strict software controls, thanks to an "enterprise provisioning" setting designed to let businesses install their own software. Once a desktop computer was infected with the bug, the virus would infect any attached iPhone through the USB slot, supposedly lurking in the wires. Shortly after Wirelurker was announced, researchers at FireEye published a report on a similar bug that exploited the same loophole, which was enough to inspire an official government warning. Neither bug seems to have infected very many devices, but it's a rare blemish on the company's security record, and one that China appears to have taken very seriously.

By Russell Brandom

The Verge 

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Chromebooks Get Blanket Approval For NYC Schools

Chromebooks Get Blanket Approval For NYC Schools

Google is already leading the pack in terms of tablets and notebooks sold to K-12 education providers, according to recent numbers from research firm IDC, and now it has gained another powerful new ally: The New York City Department of Education. The NYC CIO has signed on with Chromebooks, and Google Apps for Education, as par of their approved and supported (from an IT standpoint) tools for this school year, and they’ve also built a guide to help teachers in their district get started.
The arrangement is good for Google because it means the company can reach another 1 million plus students, across 1,800 schools more easily. NYC’s CIO explains in a blog post that the reason they ended up supporting Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education is that a number of schools were already using it, so this isn’t all new customer gain. It is a big vote of confidence in Google’s education push, however.
Google is basically doing all it can to seed education markets with its affordable Chromebook tech, and these minimal devices are the perfect partners for the mostly web-based Google Apps for Education. Google also made a commitment earlier this year to keep Apps for Education user data from being used to sell and target advertising, which has probably helped them convince more boards, schools, teachers and education departments to partake.
The recent announcement by Microsoft that Skype support will be coming to browsers, and eventually to Chromebooks as well, does a lot to make these more useful in educational settings, too.

By Darrell Etherington

TechCrunch

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Artificial intelligence is now creating its own magic tricks

Artificial intelligence is now creating its own magic tricks

You might not have to be a professional magician to come up with clever tricks in the near future. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have developed artificial intelligence that can create magic tricks (specifically, those based on math) all on its own. Once their program learns the basics of creating magic jigsaws and "mind reading" stunts, it can generate many variants of these tricks by itself. This could be particularly handy if you like to impress your friends on a regular basis -- you could show them a new card trick every time without having to do much work.
The best part? You can try some of these computer-generated tricks yourself. The 12 Magicians of Osiris magic jigsaw is available as a web pack, and you can download the Android component for one card trick, Phoney, from Google Play. Neither will give you as much satisfaction as developing tricks from scratch, but they're proof that computers can do more with math than solve equations.
QMUL
Frontiers

By Jon Fingas

Engadget 

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Google Play Services 6.5 Adds New Features To Maps, Drive, Wallet, And Fit APIs

Google Play Services 6.5 Adds New Features To Maps, Drive, Wallet, And Fit APIs

The latest version of Google Play services will include several interesting new features in Google Maps, Google Drive, Google Wallet, and the recently launched Google Fit. The rollout will be made in the next few days.
In Google Maps, the API now includes a default toolbar that makes it quicker to get directions and navigation by automatically giving turn-by-turn directions to a destination, as well as a “lite mode” map option that allow developers to put thumbnail images of maps in their apps. Users who want to see a larger version can tap on the thumbnail, which launches the Google Maps app.
Google Drive now lets developers add public and application private custom file properties to a Drive file, which the company says will make search queries more efficient. It also claims that Drive’s new API makes syncing Drive files easier and more battery friendly, with the ability to control when files are uploaded based on network type and the amount of battery charge still left in phone. In addition, users can also now cancel pending uploads.
Meanwhile, Google Wallet’s API know lets developers add a “Donate with Google” button in addition to the “Buy With Google” button. Google Fit’s API update means that it is now easier for developers to support pauses in their apps or workouts with multiple activities by adding activities in “sessions,” or specific intervals of time.

by Catherine Shu

TechCrunch

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U2's Bono injured while cycling, 'Tonight Show' gig delayed

U2's Bono injured while cycling, 'Tonight Show' gig delayed

Reuters

U2 frontman Bono was injured while cycling in New York's Central Park, forcing a delay in the Irish rockers' return to "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," the band said on Sunday.
U2 was scheduled to perform on "The Tonight Show" from Monday to Friday. The band helped Fallon launch the late-night show in February as his first musical guest.
"It looks like we will have to do our Tonight Show residency another time - we're one man down," the band said on its website in a message signed by members The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.
Bono, 54, "has injured his arm in a cycling spill in Central Park and requires some surgery to repair it. We're sure he'll make a full recovery soon, so we'll be back!" the band said.
The website did not give details about the incident or the injury.
Bono suffered a spinal injury in 2010 while preparing for a tour and underwent emergency surgery in Germany. The injury delayed part of the tour.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Ryan Woo)

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Kids can now program toys that talk to just about anything

Kids can now program toys that talk to just about anything

Jon Fingas

Engadget 

There's no shortage of smart toys, but they tend only to talk to each other. What if your kid wants the freedom to use them with just about anything? That's where Dynepic's upcoming DynePod might help. It may look like a simple 25-pixel block of LEDs, but it's really the centerpiece of an "internet of toys" that lets it both respond to simple programming and dish out input of its own, whether it's talking to another DynePod or something else entirely. You can tell it to light up when there's movement, or buzz if another device is nearby; built-in motion sensors let it serve as a controller. Parents can even use it to set alarms, and at least the initial kits will come with a mounting clip and a bracelet. Yes, you can turn this into Junior's first smartwatch. The long-term plan is to have an open platform that has toys of all kinds speaking to each other.
If you want in early, you can pledge $79 or more to Dynepic's crowdfunding campaign to get a DynePod of your own. The first wave should ship in June, if all goes well. That's quite a bit to pay, but the hope is that young ones will learn to program and start tinkering with gadgets; if the DynePod helps them get comfortable with connected technology, it might pay for itself.
Kickstarter

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Toyota's hydrogen car gets a name and more US filling stations

Toyota's hydrogen car gets a name and more US filling stations

Steve Dent

Engadget

Toyota's $69,000 fuel cell vehicle (FCV) coming next year is called the Mirai and will have a network of hydrogen stations in the US Northeast to support it. The Japanese automaker proclaimed that "the future has arrived," (Mirai means "future" in Japanese) which may make the thousands of people who've owned a Honda FCX Clarity FCV since 2005 gag. But despite being late to the game, Toyota is now making a huge bet on FCVs. It has teamed with Air Liquide to build 12 hydrogen stations in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The stations will be "strategically placed" so that drivers of the 300-mile-range Mirai can tool around the region without (much) range anxiety. Previously, Toyota said that 19 hydrogen stations would be installed in California.

Ironically, Toyota's announcement comes at the same time Honda said that its own hydrogen car would be postponed until 2016. That must be galling for a company that built the first production FCV, but Honda added that it would soon announce its own infrastructure plans too. Hydrogen-powered cars are about half as energy efficient as battery-powered vehicles, because not only is energy lost in making hydrogen, but fuel-cells (like Toyota's) are only 60 percent or so efficient. In addition, both Honda and Toyota now have to play catch-up with Tesla and others on re-fueling infrastructure. Despite those issues, FCV's do have one big advantage for drivers -- it only takes 5 minutes to fill one up.
[Image credit: Autoblog]
Toyota

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Taylor New Song About Justin Bieber Trying to Win Selena Gomez Back?

Taylor New Song About Justin Bieber Trying To Win Selena Gomez Back?

In an all-new interview, T-Swift reveals interesting details about her song “How You Get The Girl” that sounds like it could totally be about Selena and Justin!

“How You Get The Girl,” a song from her latest album, is eerily similar to Justin and Selena’s relationship struggles. 

“It’s written for a guy who has broken up with his girlfriend, then wants her back after six months,” she told Us Weekly. “But it’s not going to be as simple as sending a text like, ‘Sup? Miss you.’”

Justin and Selena have broken up more times than we can count, and it’s been pretty easy for Justin to win her back until now.

That type of easy reunion wasn’t going to be OK anymore, according to Taylor’s song. “That won’t work,” she continued. “You need to do all the things I say.”

Now that sounds even more like Selena! After their latest breakup, Justin has tried all his old tricks to win her back, but to no avail. Justin’s not getting the easy way back in this time around so maybe this song is about selena and justin.

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