2kazi

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

The 10 coolest games from E3 2016

E3, the video game industry’s annual digital carnival, has once again come and gone. Despite countless leaks, game makers held back just enough secrets to make this year’s model genuinely interesting. Huge franchises, artsy indies, and innovative VR experiments co-mingled in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center as they jockeyed for position in the future fight over your quickly diminishing entertainment dollars.

But a few stood head and shoulders above the rest. Here are ten games destined to deliver (we hope, no promises).

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo | Wii U/NX | Spring 2017)

We all thought Nintendo was a little nuts they announced they would only be showcasing one game at E3. But Breath of the Wild, a massive, open-world Zelda, isn’t just any game. It’s a match made in video game heaven, marrying the franchise’s renowned style and control with the sort of deep role-playing systems found in games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. It’s wildly intriguing, though Nintendo let some of the air out of its tires by only showing it on the company’s doomed Wii U console (it’s due out on their forthcoming NX as well). But even that couldn’t stop the biggest Zelda yet from becoming the biggest game of E3 2016.

God of War (Sony | PS4 | TBD 2017)

For once, Kratos isn’t angry with the gods — he’s angry with his son for accidentally skewering his shoulder with an arrow during a fight with a troll. Indeed, the next God of War game offers a very different take on the world’s grumpiest demigod, trading his lust for blood for the love of a child. A father/son tale set against the unfriendly forests of the sprawling Nordic wilds, it’s a startling change of direction for the well-worn franchise and an oddly personal statement by lead designer (and new father) Corey Barlog. Bad dad, cool game.

Dishonored 2 (Bethesda | PC/PS4/Xbox One | 11/11/16)

Shooter? Role-playing game? Action game? Stealth game? The sequel to the awesomeDishonored is all four, and then some. Set in the crumbling coastal town of Karnaca,Dishonored 2 lets players zip through the world as master assassin Corvo or his equally skilled protégé Emily. Branching stories, multiple routes, and a wealth of diabolically cool powers set the table for another potential Game of the Year contender.

Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony | PS4 | 2/28/17)

Some gamers took Sony to task for an E3 show filled with games releasing too far in the future. But Horizon, a star at last year’s show, is at least within sight. That’s good news for PS4 owners, because this impressive open-world romp features a fascinating setting (a post-apocalyptic prehistoric robot world?), a mysterious story, and tight combat controls. And robot dinosaurs. Robot. Dinosaurs.

We're one step closer to robot butlers doing our dishes

SpotMini is Boston Dynamics' newest, and cutest, robot.

Say hello to SpotMini. The newest robot from the super-brains out of Alphabet's Boston Dynamics, this ridiculously cute bot is small enough to fit in your home and capable enough to do at least some of your chores.

Yes, we’re one step closer to robot butlers doing our dishes and bringing us beer and … slipping on banana peels like cartoon characters.

SpotMini is just 55 pounds, which is incredibly lightweight compared to Boston Dynamics’ other relatively large robots. It’s completely electric instead of also using hydraulics, which means it’s the company’s quietest robot, as well.

In a video posted by Boston Dynamics to YouTube, SpotMini is seen walking into a mock-up of a typical suburban home, walking past a table where two people are sitting and avoiding bumping into another piece of furniture. The robot then ducks down and walks under the table like a dog.

Boston Dynamics then added an arm to the top of SpotMini, which makes it look like the cutest robot dinosaur ever created — though not as cool as the car-devouring Robosaurus.

The robot uses its arm to pick up a glass from a sink and place it into a dishwasher, then grab a soda can and drop it into a recycling can.

To show off how stable the arm is, Boston Dynamics had SpotMini dance around in a circle while the arm stayed still.

I grew up with video games, Transformers and “Jurassic Park,” so SpotMini is essentially my childhood come to life. Here’s hoping SpotMini actually makes it into our homes at some point in the future.

New FAA rules open the skies to commercial drones—mostly

Bananas – although high in calories (so only eat a few a week) they are still a fruit so will burn as such, also they help protect from asthma symptoms and are said to help boot moods and help fight depression. Hey Fitfam!! It’s another beautiful Wensday! Hope you all had an awesome, at least somewhat healthy weekend. Just in case you didn’t (and even if you did it definitely won’t hurt) here are 10 power foods that you can add to your meal plan this week! Olive Oil – a healthier oil, it lowers blood cholesterol and its antioxidants can help protect against some cancers. Apples – this fruit contains quercetin, a compound that can protect brain cells from tissue damaging and its also a great source of fibre which can aid weight loss. Avocados – delicious and a good source of potassium, avocados can help prevent high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

When it comes to drones, there are the well-wishers: “What an advance in farming, search and rescue, construction, engineering, forestry, firefighting, law enforcement, filmmaking and photography!” And there are the naysayers: “I don’t want eyes in the sky invading my privacy, churning up a deafening racket and crashing into crowds!”

Today, after years of trying to reconcile these two viewpoints and wading through thousands of proposals, drafts and public comments, the FAA has finally issued its rules for commercial drones. (These rules cover drones flown for payment; the FAA already has guidelines for amateur, just-for-fun drones.)

The new rules for commercial drones, which go into effect in late August, are far more relaxed than many drone fans had feared. For example, the final rules abandon the requirement that you have to have a pilot’s license—for airplanes—to fly a drone. Now you just need a drone pilot’s certificate, which is far faster and cheaper to get.

(The FAA doesn’t call them drones—it prefers the poetic term “small unmanned aircraft system,” or sUAS—but they’re not fooling anybody. We’re talking about drones.)

With today’s ruling, the rules for commercial and amateur drone flights are now fairly similar. Here’s the official FAA document (624 pages), here’s the FAA’s summary document…and here’s plain-English version:

The New FAA Rules for Flying a Commercial Drone

The pilot. You must be over 16 and speak English. You have to pass a knowledge test at an FAA-approved test center, which are listed here. (If you already have a pilot’s license—a “part 61 certificate”—you can take this test online.) You also have to get a drone operator certificate (a “remote pilot certificate” that never expires) or be supervised by someone who has one. You have to take a flight-knowledge test every two years.
The drone. You have to register the drone with the FAA, which costs $5. The drone must have “aircraft markings” (an ID number that can be traced back to you, the owner) and weigh less than 55 pounds. There must be at least one pilot for every drone.
The site. You can’t fly the drone while you’re under a roof (of a building or a parked car, for example). You also can’t be in a moving vehicle if you’re in a populated area. You have to keep the drone within your sight at all times, or at least within the sight of an observer who’s in communication with you.
The flight. Before you fly, you have to inspect the drone to make sure it’s safe. You can’t fly at night unless the drone’s lights are visible for three miles. Once you take off, you have to keep the drone below 400 feet, unless you’re within 400 feet of “a structure.” (That loophole lets drones inspect towers and buildings.) You can’t fly the drone over people (except your own team), you have to avoid other flying craft, and you can’t exceed 100 miles an hour.

(For amateur drones, the FAA doesn’t issue rules—they’re called only “safety guidelines”—but they’re similar. If your drone weighs between 0.55 pounds and 55 pounds, you have to register the drone with the FAA. You have to keep the drone below 400 feet, you can’t fly over people or cars, you have to keep the drone at least 25 feet away from people, you have to keep it within your sight, you have to avoid other flying craft, you can’t capture images where there’s “a reasonable expectation of privacy,” you can’t fly over infrastructure like power stations and prisons, and you can’t fly within five miles of an airport without permission.)

The Impact of the New Rules

The new commercial guidelines are a big, big deal, and hundreds of thousands of companies are breathing a sigh of relief. Compared with the previous, temporary rules (called Section 333), the new ones (called Part 107) are much less restrictive.

No longer do you need a pilot’s license to fly a drone. You don’t need a medical certificate anymore. The requirement to stay at least 500 feet away from any building is gone.

Apple’s next iPhone might have one very

Apple’s upcoming iPhone will have one major difference that distinguishes it from the current model: the lack of a headphone jack, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

Those buying the newest iPhone model will instead have to connect headphones via the device’s Lightning port or use wireless headphones, the report suggests. The news comes after rumors have been indicating for months that Apple will eliminate the headphone jack from its forthcoming smartphones. The omission will allow Apple to make the next iPhone slimmer and more water-resistant, according to the Journal.

The successor to the iPhone 6s/6s Plus, which is expected to be released this fall, will likely have few other notable changes. While Apple typically redesigns its iPhones every two years, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is planning a bigger change for the 2017 model, which also marks the iPhone’s 10th anniversary.

If true, this would be a departure from the product cycle Apple has established over the past several years, which could effect when iPhone users decide to upgrade. Apple is delaying a more significant upgrade for this year because it will take more time to implement the new technologies, which could include an OLED screen that has a fingerprint sensor built into its display, according to the Journal.

The change would come at a time when the iPhone, which accounts for 65% of Apple’s revenue, is facing tougher times. The company revealed in its April earnings report that iPhone sales had decreased by 16%, marking the product’s first ever year-over-year drop. Apple CEO Tim Cook defended this slowdown when speaking to CNBC’s Jim Cramer in May, saying that customers are upgrading their devices at a slower rate than last year. Cook also teased Apple’s forthcoming devices in the same interview.

“We’ve got great innovation in the pipeline from new iPhones that will incent you and other people that have iPhones today to upgrade to new iPhones,” said Cook. “We’re going to give you things that you can’t live without that you just don’t know that you need today.”

Still, Apple has historically been able to count on big iPhone upgrades every two years to juice sales. It’s unclear if the company would see any sales bump with a new model if it is not a major upgrade over the last model. Apple representatives did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment.

esla rival Faraday approved to test self-driving cars on California roads

Faraday Future plans to begin testing prototype self-driving electric vehicles on California roads later this year after winning approval from the state, an industry source said on Tuesday.

The China-backed, Los Angeles-based startup plans to begin building and selling electric vehicles next year in the United States, but has not disclosed details of its self-driving program.

A spokesperson from the California Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday confirmed that Faraday had been approved to test self-driving vehicles on public roads on June 17

Samsung has built ‘an entire VR ecosystem’ — with its own products, of course

Samsung wants you to start making your own virtual reality movies. And to do that, the company has launched its new Samsung Creators initiative and rebranded its VR video site to support user-generated content. It’s also selling its own 360 camera.

Samsung’s Creators is a way for the company to share its virtual reality tools with everyone from video bloggers to filmmakers in an effort to get them to create their own VR movies.

“We want to bring the power of VR technology directly to the people,” Samsung Electronics America’s chief marketing officer Marc Mathieu said in a press release.

“To help creators learn and perfect the art of VR storytelling, we’ve built an entire VR ecosystem that pushes beyond the frame and empowers them to develop unforgettable, immersive stories, and inspires us all to do the same.”