"There's no such thing as a free lunch"
Xbox One used game fee to be paid by retailers?
Who’s going to pay the Xbox One used game fee? According to reports from Eurogamer and MCV, you won’t, but the retailer will.
When used Xbox One games are sold, they must be entered into a tracking database provided by Microsoft as a “trade-in.” The money from the sale then goes to both Microsoft and the game publisher, and that game license is cleared from the previous owner’s account. This is one reason why the Xbox One must be connected to the Internet at least once every 24 hours. Sounds decent, right?
Think about it. If all games are tied to your Microsoft Account, there will be no more independent sale of games as all games must be entered into the tracking database and the license cleared from the previous owner’s account. Want to sell your game on eBay? A pawn shop? To your friend? Nope! You must trade your game in at a store.
Source: Eurogamer, MCV
Via: TheNextWeb
Minimalistic is in
Microsoft unveils the XBox One’s game case design
You’ve seen the hardware, you’ve seen the software, and now it’s time for you to see the game case – Microsoft’s “Major Nelson” just revealed the XBox One’s game case design with an image of the just announced Forza Motorsport 5′s cover art. The new design is just about as minimalistic as you can get, with a pleasant solid green playing backdrop to the XBox logo wit “XBox One” written in white type on top. All in all, these games won’t look out of place sitting next to your current crop of original XBox and XBox 360 games – though remember, your XBox One won‘t be able to play those old games.
Source: Major Nelson
Could the Nexus program expand to HTC?
HTC One model with stock Android coming soon?
Google made waves when they introduced the “Google edition” Samsung Galaxy S4 the other week at I/O 2013, which brought the pure stock Android experience traditionally found in Google’s own Nexus devices to Samsung’s high end Android device. But what about us fans of the beautiful and powerful HTC One – don’t we have anything to look forward to? We do, according to sources who have spoken with popular Android blog AndroidAuthority, who say that HTC will soon be announcing the HTC One “Google Edition” to match Samsung’s efforts.
The device is said to be coming sometime this summer and will include an entirely stock version of Android 4.2.2, the absolute latest version of Android available. The hypothetical device would sell alongside the Nexus 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 “Google Edition” on Google’s own Play Store and would come unlocked for use on either T-Mobile or AT&T, and yes – unlike the Nexus 4, it will retain LTE capabilities.
So you can pay $649 for a piece of plastic running stock or… You can wait :) #IO13
— Leigh (@jetleigh) May 15, 2013
To add to the rumors, HTC employee Leigh Momii recently tweeted her thoughts on the stock Samsung Galaxy S4, coyly telling users to wait if they’re interested in a stock Android device.
Source: AndroidAuthority
These are some great deals
Apple lowers prices of refurbished iPad mini and iPad 4
We’ve long been fans of Apple’s online Refurbished Store, however today the deals got just that much more juicier as Apple has just lowered the prices of various models of the iPad mini and iPad 4. Apple’s refurb models are exactly the same as brand new models in that they’ve been heavily inspected and tested, have brand new bodies, and a full warranty – but with the added benefit of a hefty, hefty price cut.
Every model of the iPad mini and the iPad 4 has been cut, with the Wi-fi only iPad mini starting at $279 for the 16GB model, $359 for the 32GB, $439 for the 64GB; the LTE models clock in at $389 for the 16GB model, $469 for the 32GB, and $549 for the 64GB.
Meanwhile, the iPad 4 is priced at $419 for the 16GB model, $499 for the 32GB, and $579 for the 64GB; meanwhile, LTE models will set you back $529 for the 16GB model, $609 for 32GB, and $689 for the 64GB.
Strike one for Facebook on mobile
HTC not bringing the HTC First to the UK after Facebook Home’s poor reception
While there’s no denying that Facebook Home is a promising alternative to the standard Android home screen, there’s also little denying that it’s been – well – somewhat of a flop until now. With poor reception of the software, poor sales of the HTC First (the first and as of yet only phone with Facebook Home preloaded), and few download numbers putting a damper on Facebook’s vision of a Facebook Phone, everyone knew it could only be a matter of time before Facebook made some sort of comment on the matter.
Well, today’s the day we hear such a comment – according to HTC carrier EE, Facebook and HTC have opted not to bring the HTC First to the UK due to what the carrier is calling poor “customer feedback”. In the statement, EE said they were told by none other than Facebook and HTC themselves not to carry the HTC First “at this time”, saying: “While they are working to make a better Facebook Home experience, they have recommended holding off launching the HTC First in the UK, and so we will shortly be contacting those who registered their interest with us to let them know of this decision.”
Don’t worry EE/Facebook/HTC, we’re sure nobody has really shed a tear for this today.
New update brings the excellent mail client to iPad
Mailbox for iPad coming out today
We were big, big fans of Mailbox back when we reviewed the new email client a couple of months ago; as a matter of fact, I still use Mailbox as my primary email client on my iPhone to this day. But in our review we noted that for all the good Mailbox does you, for all the handy ways Mailbox has improved the way I consume email, it has always been just one small piece of the puzzle. My iPhone is not the only way I read and write emails – it’s not even my most primary one. In my review, I wrote: “When I am on another platform and another email client, or even GMail’s native web interface, I feel as though I am using email “wrongly”. They encourage what I now consider bad behavior – when I’m on Mail.app on OS X I never think to archive messages after I’m done needing them like I do on Mailbox, and there’s no way to get the same ‘reminder’ system that I’ve grown to rely on in Mailbox. It has revolutionized the way that I use email, thus making other systems seem almost unusably archaic.” And though I’ve gotten better about simply swiping and hitting “Archive” on a message after I’m done reading it on my iPad, it hasn’t felt the same.
Thankfully, Mailbox is changing all that today with the release of their brand new Mailbox for iPad update. The Verge got a hands on with the iPad version of the app and seemed to have walked away fairly impressed. Screenshots of the new app reveal a very familiar take on email for tablets, but with Mailbox’s signature style and use – exactly the sort of combination I was looking for.
The Mailbox team also revealed that they’re considering developing a native Mailbox client for OS X and Windows, however nothing is set in stone yet. There’s even better news for Android users however – Mailbox has confirmed that an Android version of Mailbox is in active development. Praise all that is good!
Mailbox for iPad will be released as a free update to the current Mailbox application today, so keep an eye out on those iPads friends. You won’t want to miss this.
Login verification for all
Twitter now supports two-factor identification
Twitter has just joined the ranks of the likes of Apple and Microsoft with the launch of two-factor identification. The new login method is entirely optional, and when activated will require users to provide a unique “verification code” sent as an SMS message to a user’s cell phone before being allowed to login – every yes, every time.
The new feature has yet to be officially rolled out to all users, however we’d assume that this will be coming pretty soon now that it’s been formally announced. Twitter has long been considered insecure after numerous successful hacking attempts on big Twitter accounts have caused panic, concern, and riotous laughter.
Check out Twitter’s login verification announcement video after the break.
Via: Engadget
Source: Twitter (YouTube)
Still invite only, but now developers need not apply
Google rolling out Google Glass Explorer Edition invites to consumers
Google has just announced on their official Google Glass page on Google+ that the company will now begin expanding their Google Glass Explorer Edition (essentially the first run edition of Google Glass devices sans eye glasses support) to those who have requested early access who also happen to not be developers. According to Google, all developers should now have the ability to purchase to their Google Glass device, so they seem read to expand to the rest of us mere mortals.
Unfortunately, it’s too late to apply for an Explorer Edition Glass at this point – applications closed months ago. That said, Google Glass should be available at retail by the end of the year, so you probably won’t have that long to wait either way.
Everything you need to know
The XBox One: Microsoft hopes to revolutionize not just gaming, but all of entertainment
The XBox One – Microsoft’s answer to not only the Sony PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Wii U (not to mention an array of other contenders), but also a revolutionary change in the entertainment industry as a whole. Combining the highest power gaming console ever made with a revolutionary new social television aspect, ultra fast direct Wi-Fi, HDMI input-output, and much, much more, the XBox One isn’t just a successor to the XBox 360 – it’s a successor to everything on our entertainment cabinets today.
In an ongoing effort to collect everything we know to date about the XBox One, we’ll constantly be updating this post with the latest specs and functionality as we learn them. But first, let’s get this party started with a comprehensive list of confirmed specifications – or in simple terms, what’s actually inside this beautiful, glossy black box?
Read more to get the scoop.
Big Brother is watching you
Xbox One never shuts off; knows everything you do
Cue the creepy – We’ve known for some time now that the Xbox One has made the Kinect mandatory and you might have been fine with it… until you hear this tidbit:
The Xbox One never shuts down, and is listening to everything you do. Why is that? The new Xbox OS puts heavy emphasis on voice control, as Microsoft has designed the Xbox One to respond quickly to your every demand. In fact, Microsoft boasts the new Kinect is so sensitive, it can record an individual’s heartbeat.
On one hand, it’s nice to have a system that’s always listening and can always react quickly to your commands. On the other, it is always watching you; what happens if a black hat hacker manages to get into your Xbox One and monitor everything you do?
Source: The Verge
That huge game library of yours? Time to throw it all out.
Xbox One drops backwards compatibility for Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade
The new Xbox One was unveiled today, and with it comes a bit of bad news: Your entire Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade library will not run on the new console. Your Gamerscore, however, will transfer.
The excuse Microsoft gives is the fact that the Xbox 360 is based around a PowerPC processor, while the Xbox One is powered by an eight-core x86 chip. This means that native code Xbox 360 games will not run. Xbox Live Arcade games also will not run even though they are built on the .NET Framework. It’s likely the move is part of Microsoft’s choice to kill of XNA Game Studio.
Thankfully, not all is lost. Microsoft has said that the Xbox 360 will still be supported and will still have new games and apps developed for it well into the future.
Source: Engadget
Let's say it in unison - "finally"
Yahoo! announces a totally redesigned Flickr
Yahoo!’s had a big day today, first officially announcing that they would be acquiring tumblogging service Tumblr for what we’ve heard to be a whopping $1.1 billion, and now officially announcing that, for the first time in… well, more time than I care to remember – a totally redesigned new Tumblr layout. The update brings with it “Biggr”, their new “full resolution, original quality” file uploading service that offers users 1TB (yes – 1TB – like, 1024GB) totally free of charge for all users; “Spectaculr”, a silly name for their new homepage which is “now a gateway to everything you care about, and all the photos Flickr has to offer” complete with a new Activity Feed because, well, a major redesign would be silly not to also bring along some superfluous social features these days; and “Wherevr”, a new mobile initiative that brings a redesigned Flickr application to iOS and a new Android app.
Flickr is available “now in its most beautiful form, and available to everyone”. The site is asking users for feedback on the new redesign, so if you’ve got a thing or two to say head on over to their ideas and feedback forum. Marissa Mayer certainly appears to be cleaning house, doesn’t she?
Source: Yahoo! (Flickr Blog)
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