Russian Flying Fortresses

In 1930s Russian army was ... by the idea of creating huge planes. At that times they were proposed to have as much propellers as possible to help carrying those huge flying fortresses into the air, jet propulsion has not been implemented at those times yet.
Not much photos were saved since that times, because of the high secrecy levels of such projects and because a lot of time passed already. Still on the photo below you can see one of such planes - a heavy bomber K-7.
Now modern history lovers in Russia try to reconstruct according the plans left in once to be top-secret Russian army archives their look in full color. This is one example based on ideas of Russian aviation engineers of that time


Source : http://englishrussia.com

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 - How to Bring Back High and Ultra Settings on PC

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is arguably one of the better PC ports this generation, and a feature pakced entry in the long running first-person shooter series. From advanced options like downsampling - the ability to render games at 4K, and to then project them at 1080p for a higher quality image - to options for tweaking textures and lighting there's a host of ways for you to enhance your experience.

However, a month or so after release, developer Treyarch removed the ability for users with video cards that have 2GB or less of VRAM to choose options above and beyond medium settings. It's an odd move considering that new cards like Nvidia's GTX 960 can comfortably manage the high settings even with 2GB video memory. While the developer has been quiet about the reason for this change, the Call of Duty community believes this change was done to ensure cards with lesser memory don't run the game at settings that may impact performance adversely.

Find your Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 configuration file. It's usually config.ini in your Steam folder, Steam\steamapps\common\Call of Duty Black Ops III\players

Open config.ini with Notepad or any text editor.

Look for "RestrictGraphicsOptions = "1" ". Change 1 to 0. It should look like RestrictGraphicsOptions = "0".

Save the file and close it.

When you boot up the game you should be able to select high and ultra options with a video card that 2GB VRAM or lower. What do you do to optimise your Call of Duty experience on PC? Let us know via the comments


Source : http://gadgets.ndtv.com

The Division Beta: 7 Things You Need to Know

After a prolonged time in development, The Division, published by Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell hitmaker Ubisoft, will finally be playable for gamers in the form of a beta test this week. This third-person shooter features role-playing game elements, and an unsettling post-pandemic open-world to uncover with friends. Here's what you need to know if you want to give The Division beta a go.

1) You don't have to pre-order to get access
Sure the publisher would love for you to pre-order The Division in order to get access to the beta, but that's not the only way you can experience post-pandemic New York. As is the case with beta events over the years, you can expect code drops on Instagram, Twitter, Google+, and Facebook during the week. There's a waitlist you can sign up for on the official site at as well
2) Don't worry if you don't get a code on the first day
In the past we've seen games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 open up beta events to everyone, while others like Rainbow Six: Siege were extended twice over. So don't worry if you don't get a code of The Division early - there's a pretty good chance that you'll get some game time in before the beta is over on the 31st, or there could be another beta before the planned release in March

3) You will need a Uplay account at the very least
Much like Electronic Arts' Origin service for its games, Ubisoft has Uplay. To access The Division beta on the PC, PS4, or Xbox One, you will need a Uplay account. The good news is that although the game is focussed on multiplayer and online play, you won't need to pay for Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus just to check it out.
4) The Xbox One has a 24-hour headstart
As a part of an exclusive marketing deal announced at E3 2014, the Xbox One gets it on January 28, a full day prior to the PS4 and PC. If you don't have Microsoft's console, you'll have to make do with a January 29 start date. The Division beta ends for everyone on January 31.

5) You can start downloading it 48 hours prior
In an age where entire digital games can be preloaded almost a month prior to release, it's no surprise that Ubisoft has brought this feature to The Division beta. Rightfully so considering it's around 26.25GB on the PC. So far, no file sizes for the PS4 and Xbox One versions have been announced but with the Xbox One alpha build of the game clocking in around 23GB, you can expect an equally heavy download for both consoles.

6) Playing it on PC? Prepare to upgrade
Ubisoft has finally announced the specifications for the game and you're going to need a pretty powerful PC to enjoy this one. The announced specifications are completely in line with the leaked requirements we had seen a week earlier.

The Division Minimum Requirements

OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 | AMD FX-6100, or better
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 with 2 GB VRAM (current equivalent Nvidia GeForce GTX 760) | AMD Radeon HD 7770 with 2 GB VRAM, or better
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection

The Division Recommended requirements

OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770 | AMD FX-8350, or better
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 | AMD Radeon R9 290, or better
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
The full game will need about 40GB of hard drive space. As for the beta, it's around 26.25GB on the PC.

7) Here's what you can expect to play in The Division Beta
From all the trailers and reveals over the months it's clearly established that the game takes place in a pandemic-ravaged New York.

"Beginning on Manhattan's Chelsea Pier, the beta will take you through early story-driven missions that establish your foothold in New York," Ubisoft Editor Mikel Reparaz explained. "You'll team up with other agents to battle for loot and outwit other agents in the PvP-enabled Dark Zone."

It is important to note that the game will only have the Manhattan borough of New York at launch - ostensibly leaving other boroughs like Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island for free updates or paid downloadable content. The reason for this is that the developer Ubisoft Massive was aiming for a dense, one to one re-creation of how the outbreak happened.


Source : http://gadgets.ndtv.com

Google Glass goes dark on social media accounts

Google Glass
Ole Spata | AFP| Getty Images
Google Glass
Four years after unveiling its wearable glass headset, Alphabet's Google shut down several social media accounts linked to the Glass gadget, ending its push to popularize the pricey eyeglasses with consumers.

On Tuesday, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts for Google Glass were no longer active, a development first reported on the website 9to5Google.

A statement on the Google Plus page said: "Hi Explorers, we've had a blast hanging out with you on G+ throughout the Explorer Program." It went on to instruct users to get in touch with questions on the support page for Glass.
The company declined to comment on the decision.

Google stopped selling Glass to consumers last year noting that it was time for a strategy reset, and the head of the Google X research lab has since then said that the hype surrounding the $1,500 device became overblown considering it was merely a prototype and not a finished product.

Glass was greeted with enthusiasm among tech aficionados when it was first unveiled in 2012. But the device, which allows users to access e-mail messages on its eye-level screen and to record video with a tiny camera, quickly ran into problems. Some mocked its awkward appearance, while others expressed concern it could be used to make video recordings surreptitiously.
On Twitter, many interpreted the disappearance of Glass's social accounts on Tuesday to mean a final end to efforts to market the product to consumers


Source : http://www.cnbc.com

Apple sees first sales dip in more than a decade as super-growth era falters

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc forecast its first revenue drop in 13 years and reported the slowest-ever increase in iPhone shipments as the critical Chinese market showed signs of weakening, suggesting the technology company's period of exponential growth may be ending.
The slowdown comes as Wall Street analysts worry the company does not have another blockbuster product to replace the iPhone. Apple does not report Watch sales, but it does not appear to have the makings of being a hit on the same level as the iPhone a year after launch.

And while the company is reportedly working on a car, what it plans to do in that area and when are still unclear.
The company's shares, which have fallen 5 percent this year, bounced around in after-hours trading and were down more than 2.6 percent.

"It's disappointing to see them miss on an already downward adjusted sales number and the fact is that with their iPhone growth slowing what was needed was a product to be excited about," said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. "Pressure on the shares will continue without a well-defined plan to grow sales or a new product."

The company said on Tuesday it sold 74.8 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter, ended Dec. 26, the first full quarter of sales of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. The 0.4 percent growth in shipments was the lowest since the product was launched in 2007.

IPhone sales were expected to fall for the current quarter compared with the same quarter last year, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said on a conference call with analysts.

But suggesting there is still room for growth, 60 percent of people who had an iPhone prior to the launch of the iPhone 6 have yet to upgrade to an iPhone 6 or 6S, Cook said.

And iPhones remain popular with American consumers. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 86 percent of iPhone owners were somewhat or very likely to buy another iPhone.

Of those likely to buy a phone, 15 percent are currently looking to upgrade and 17 percent will when the next iPhone is released. The January poll had a credibility interval of 2.0 percentage points.

Source : http://www.todayonline.com

Small Plane Forced To Land On US 27

WESTON (CBSMiami) – A small place landed on US 27 early Sunday morning.

The plane was going from Palm Beach to Key West with a pilot and two passengers.

The pliot confirmed the plane had some kind of problem and he was forced to bring it down.

It landed in the southbound lanes of US 27 just south of I-75.

The small plane landed on the street before moving into the grass.

A mechanic arrived and is hoping that he can fix the problem so the plane can take off again.


Source : http://miami.cbslocal.com

Apple’s Latest Virtual Reality Hire Hints At A Future Of Cars With 3D Interfaces And Gesture Control

Apple hires one of the leading virtual reality researchers in the United States in an effort to make a prominent presence in the scene, hinting at cars with 3D interfaces and gesture control in the future.

To keep up the pace with rival companies such as Alphabet, Facebook, Microsoft and Samsung, the Cupertino brand employed Doug Bowman, who is a computer science professor and director of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech with five years of experience under his belt.

According to the Financial Times, Bowman joined Apple after a "sabbatical from his post." His studies mainly involve the design of 3D user interface and the advantages of immersing in virtual environments. To further lay out his credentials, he is part of the 3D Interaction Group of the aforementioned state university, where he takes on the role of primary investigator.
"We participate in a worldwide community of scholars and researchers in VR, AR, and 3D UIs," the association says.

He has also won numerous industry awards (PDF) and a Microsoft HoloLens academic research grant back in Nov. 2015, where he along with Associate Professor Joseph Gabbard earned $100,000 and two Development Edition units of the untethered holographic computer.

With a rich experience in the fields of both virtual and augmented realities, Bowman is definitely an asset to Apple. However, both the virtual reality expert and the company haven't given out an official statement yet.

The technology in question is widely sought after in the automobile industry, where several top carmakers have started to implement controls and user interfaces based on gestures. More to the point, Apple has been displaying a strong interest in vehicles, including the much-rumored Project Titan.
To put two and two together, this recent development indicates that there's more or less a chance that the Cupertino brand is looking into producing a smart vehicle fitted with 3D interfaces and gesture controls.

One of the latest projects Bowman had a hand in is titled "Designing Effective Travel Techniques with the Leap," giving a glimpse of what he can bring to the table.

Now, Apple comes across as a secretive firm when it comes to adopting new technologies, revealing little or no public initiatives, but analysts thought it was unlikely for the company to not take part in the growing virtual reality sector.

"I'd wager that there is a substantial team within Apple figuring out how the company will play a role in this technology," Ben Wood, an analyst at CSS Insight, says.

To serve as more evidence to the fact, Apple purchased PrimeSense, a company that's known to have played a part in Microsoft's Kinect motion device, back in 2013 and acquired the German augmented reality startup Metaio last year. To top them off, the company also bought Faceshift, the motion capture team team behind the animated avatars of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

It appears that Apple has set its eye on yet another field of technology, integrating 3D and gesture-based interfaces with automobiles. It's safe to assume that with Bowman, the company will be able to catch up – assuming that its research is left behind – or take a position in the frontlines of the industry.


Source : http://www.techtimes.com

APPLE INC. HIRED DOUG BOWMAN TO SUPERVISE VR-ORIENTED RESEARCH

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), in its life-long quest towards innovation, has recently announced a new change of plans. According to its official declarations, in order to increase the company’s market shares, the board wants to enter the VR and AR market. Thus, Apple Inc. hired Doug Bowman to supervise VR-oriented research.
This can be only construed as a daring move from Apple, because, over the last 3 years, the tech giant did everything in its power in order to promote its own VR-ready products. In 2013, Apple Inc. took its first steps into the VR reality market. The tech giant managed to buy PrimeSense, the same company which developed the first visual depth sensor. Currently, this sensor is employed by the Kinect 3D camera.
Taking one step at the time, Apple Inc. manages to build a little VR enterprise. Purchasing the visual depth sensor was the next step, closely followed by the events which took place in May 2015. Last year, Apple managed to purchase the augmented reality technology from Metaio.

Apple’s last step in completing this intricate VR puzzle was to seek the help of someone who really knows his way around computers. And who can better help them develop new technologies based on the VR and AR concepts than the foremost expert on the matter.
In a recent press conference, Apple Inc. acknowledge the fact that the firm has begun a collaboration with Doug Bowman, a computer scientist and formerly a professor working for Virginia Tech. Bowman’s research into VR and AR technologies was crucial in the development of popular products such as the Oculus Rift, Samsung Headgear VR or Microsoft’s HoloLens.

But Apple Inc. isn’t only interested in pushing forward the boundaries science. First of all, the tech giant in engaged in an avid VR race and its competitors seemed to have hard a head start. With competitors such as Facebook with Oculus Rift or Microsoft with HoloLens, the tech giant is in for a hard battle.

Lately, we’ve heard that Apple Inc. hired Doug Bowman to supervise VR-oriented research. Moreover, Apple Inc., as well as other economic analysts, believes that the VR and AR technologies are two gold mines, ready to be exploited.

And according to a recent report published by Digi-Cap, the VR and AR technologies should return a total revenue of over 120 billion dollars by 2020.

Apart from enlisting the help of Doug Bowman and buying VR and AR capable technologies, the tech giant is also keeping close tabs on the recently released VR-compatible applications such as VRSE or DinoTrek VR experience.


Source : http://www.capitalwired.com

Microchip Technology to buy Atmel for $3.56 billion

Chandler-based Microchip Technology Inc. announced a deal Tuesday to acquire rival chipmaker Atmel Corp. of San Jose, Calif. for roughly $3.56 billion in cash and stock.

Atmel said it broke off its merger with Dialog Semiconductor from September. It called Microchip’s offer “superior.”

Microchip and Atmel say their agreement is worth $8.15 per share, or $3.4 billion, excluding $155 million in Atmel’s cash and investments.

The deal has been approved by each company’s board of directors and is expected to close in the second quarter. It still needs the backing of Atmel’s stockholders.

Microchip said the combined company is expected to generate $170 million in savings and increased revenue beginning in fiscal 2019.
Microchip makes semiconductors used in a variety of computers and electronic devices.
"The Atmel acquisition is the latest chapter of our growth strategy and will add further operational and customer scale to Microchip," Microchip President/CEO Steve Sanghi said in a prepared statement.

Atmel President/CEO Steven Laub said the board of directors determined the deal was superior to the deal with Dialog that was terminated.

"Under the Microchip transaction, Atmel stockholders will receive a much higher cash consideration per share compared to the Dialog deal, as well as the opportunity for further upside through the ownership of stock of Microchip," Laub said in a statement.


Source : http://www.azcentral.com

North Berkeley BART Station Reopened After Fatality On The Tracks

BERKELEY (CBS SF) — The North Berkeley BART station has been reopened after a person was struck and killed by a train earlier Tuesday prompting the station to shut down, BART officials said.

A train operator reported at 1:15 p.m. that they had possible struck a person on the trackway just north of the North Berkeley station, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said. The train was just leaving the station heading towards Richmond.

BART crews shut down the station to investigate, confirming by about 2:30 p.m. that a person had been struck and killed there.

The Alameda County coroner’s bureau responded to the station, according to Trost.

The station reopened as of about 3:30 p.m. Riders can expect residual delays of 10-20 minutes on the Richmond and Fremont lines.


Source : http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

All that Mercedes-Benz will showcase at Auto Expo 2016

The country's largest luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz India will showcase its global best-sellers such as GLC and S-Class Cabriolet at the upcoming Delhi Auto Expo. The lineup includes its first open-top luxury 4-seater S-Class Cabriolet, a highly customised Mercedes Maybach S 600 Guard and Mercedes AMG F1 W06 Hybrid.

The W06 Hybrid is Merc Petronas F1 team's FIA World Championship title winning car and is targeted at racing enthusiasts.

Announcing the Auto Expo line-up, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director Roland Folger said, "This year Mercedes-Benz will showcase its range of 'winning' products and we are excited to unveil the much awaited GLC and the S-Class Cabriolet." Mercedes-Benz has clawed back to the top position in the domestic luxury car market after a 5-year hiatus, selling 13,502 units in 2015, and is on a bullish mode. Earlier this week, the company started off the new year with the launch of a new imported SUV AMG, priced at Rs 86.40 lakh. It will launch 11 more models this year. The 13th Delhi Auto Expo will be held from February 5 to 9 at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida.

Source : http://www.moneycontrol.com

MERCEDES-BENZ AT DETROIT: The year of dreams

DETROIT — Mercedes-Benz says 2016 will be the year of dream cars, and when one looks at the product offerings revealed at the North American International Auto Show, it’s hard to disagree.
The models launching this year definitely have an aspirational quality to them.
The year just passed was a very good one for the Mercedes-Benz brand, with worldwide sales up 13.4 percent globally and 5.2 percent in North America in 2015.
It was a really good year for Canada in particular, where the company posted another record-breaking year with an overall sales increase of 9.8 percent and just under 40,000 total units sold.
With four new models on the way, the company aims to keep the momentum going in 2016.
Leading the way is the all-new 2017 E-Class mid-size sedan, which is due to begin arriving in North America this summer.
The car will launch with a 2.0-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder gas engine rated at 241 horsepower and 273 lb.-ft. of torque, mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission. Other powertrains will be announced closer to launch.
Dimensionally, the new E will grow a bit over the car it replaces, with a wheelbase 66 mm longer.

A sleek and athletic exterior design gives way to a high-tech interior that comes with a 12.3-inch hi-rez display and touch-sensitive control buttons on the steering wheel that respond to swiping movements, just like a smartphone or tablet.
Also on the way are a trio of drop-tops, two from Mercedes and one from Smart.
Making its world premiere, the 2017 Mercedes-AMG S 65 4MATIC Cabriolet is all about serious performance thanks to a 6.0-litre turbocharged V12 that produces 621 horsepower and 738 lb-ft. of torque and will go from 0-100 km/h in four seconds. A 7-speed automatic transmission is standard. Availability is expected to begin in late summer.
On other fronts, the long-running SLK roadster will become the SLC, 20 years after it first debuted.
The 2017 SLC300 features a 2.0-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder (241 hp / 273 lb-ft.), while the AMG SLC43 packs a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 (362 hp / 384 lb-ft.). Both come standard with a 9-speed automatic and will begin arriving in late spring.
Finally, the 2017 Smart fortwo cabriolet will arrive this summer powered by a 0.9-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder engine (89 hp / 100 lb-ft.) and a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.


Source : http://www.thestar.com

Detroit Motor Show: Top five cars dazzle at NAIAS

DETROIT: Once again the Cobo Center in Detroit hosted this week the annual North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The show is without doubt the largest auto show in North America and is also one of the oldest — starting in 1899. This year NAIAS will continue until January 24, opening its doors to the public after press, industry and charity previews.

This year is unique in introducing many practical production cars and fewer concept cars. Most of the concept cars were either showcasing new technologies such as the Audi h-tron or innovative design such as the VW Tiguan GTE Active Concept. Most concepts at NAIAS are expected to enter production in some form in the near future.

On display at NAIAS there was flair, style and excellence in abundance. New hybrid and plug-in hybrid were overshadowed with the lowest fuel cost in a decade. Yet, some model got media interest for their environmental credentials. 

Arab News monitored five major updates at NAIAS and many innovations. Most notable of these were the Lincoln Continental, the Lexus LC 500, the Audi h-tron quattro concept, the Buick Avista and the Mercedes-Benz E Class. Mercedes Benz also revealed several models that got visitors’ attention. Volvo too revealed a luxury model, the S90 which rivals the German premium sedans.

These vehicles showcase some of the highlights of NAIAS 2016:

• Lincoln Continental: Lincoln is a brand on the rise and its latest offering, the Continental, does not disappoint. While the underpinnings may share roots with other Ford vehicles, the turbo V-6 powertrain and interior are unique to the Continental — and that may give it enough separation from Ford brand vehicles to make it a success. Quiet, understated luxury is always what Lincoln has stood for. The car looks elegant and close to the concept which the company has previously displayed at the Dubai motor show. The new Continental is said to represent Lincoln’s new philosophy of “Quiet Luxury,” with intentions of offering a more pleasurable traveling experience instead of focus on performance.

• Lexus LC 500: Lexus has been accused in the past of lack of flair, of copying opposition and being too close to the parent company, Toyota. The concept car LF-LC unveiled at the 2012 auto shows changed all that and gave Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda an idea to silence critics. The LC 500 comes to imbue the brand with some excitement and enhance its sense of identity. Styling is close to the original LF-LC concept. Underneath that long snout sits the 5.0-liter naturally-aspirated V8 from the Lexus RC F and GS F. It produces the same 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque it does in those models, and is mated to a new 10-speed automatic transmission. That will get the LC 500 from 0 to 60 mph in under 4.5 seconds, Lexus says.

• Audi h-tron: This is a hydrogen-powered concept that beats Tesla for range of 372 miles. It has three fuel tanks hidden beneath the passenger and luggage compartments which can be replenished in just four minutes. The fuel cell has an output of up to 110 kW, supported by a lithium-ion battery which supplies a further 100 kW for short, temporary bursts of acceleration. During driving, this secondary power source slowly recharges every time the driver taps the brake. It boasts a top speed of 124 mph and can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in under seven seconds The fuel cell and the high-voltage battery power two electric motors, which are located on the front and rear axles for 90 kW and 140 kW of power respectively. Rounding out the car's green credentials are a heat pump for the interior air conditioning and a solar roof that generates up to 320 watts of power, or an extra 620 miles of driving each year.

• Buick Avista: This is a sparkling new coupe based on the same GM platform as the Chevy Camaro and offers up to 400 horsepower. The all-new Avista concept is Buick’s best effort yet, showing how a Buick can move right past "sporty" to become "seductive." Buick executive director of global design Bryan Nesbitt sums it up simply, "It was designed to capture the spirit of the perfect drive."

The Avista relies on a 400-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 to make good on the subtle threats issued by its mean glare. The engine sends power to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The car has GM's Magnetic Ride Control, active fuel management (cylinder deactivation) and stop/start technologies. Inside, Buick covers the 2+2 layout with sweeping, uninterrupted lines that mimic the exterior. The concept wears a futuristic iteration of Buick's IntelliLink infotainment system, with touchscreen controls stretching across a wide instrument panel and down the center console.

• Mercedes-Benz E Class: One of the most relevant cars for Europe and the Middle East is the Mercedes-Benz E Class, which was unveiled at Detroit for launch in 2017. It looks like a scaled down S Class and is very strong on technology. The company describes it as “the most advanced vehicle the Mercedes-Benz product portfolio." Big features include Drive Pilot, a semi-autonomous system that can handle highway driving up to 130 miles per hour — and still up to 81 mph when road markers are unclear or non-existent.

Some of the NAIAS products on display are expected to filter down to regional markets during the year. These products promise higher levels of technology, clean driving and better designs. Consumers are likely to be spoilt for choice.

Source : http://www.arabnews.com

Apple iPad Pro is nothing more than a companion device: Microsoft

Microsoft was one of the initial partners during Apple’s giant iPad Pro launch. The company took to the stage alongside Apple’s Phil Schiller to demonstrate it’s Office productivity tool undermining the fact that iPad Pro is direct competitor to Surface Pro range of devices.
Now, Microsoft has now come out with a statement which calls the iPad Pro as little more than a companion device. Even the reviews for Apple’s iPad Pro were mixed. Critics called it great but not a must buy like original iPhone and original iPad.
According to Forbes, a CES executive has called Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 as a more complete device than iPad Pro. While Surface Pro 4 can handle desktop class applications like Adobe Premiere, on the iPad Pro there is only a lite version called Adobe Fix.
Microsoft says Surface Pro is a full PC while iPad Pro isn’t a computer. Interestingly Apple even made a stylus called Pencil for iPad Pro but developers are yet to take great advantage of it. Even at the time of writing the best app to ever take advantage of stylus on digital canvas is StaffPad. Arguably the best music writing app is still a Microsoft Surface exclusive.

Apple started selling iPad Pro just this November so it’d be just too early to call it a failure or failed product. Like other Apple products, developers could write great and powerful apps for the device and make it a grand success. Of course, this is not the first time that we’ve seen Apple and Microsoft come together in the recent past. At the September launch of the new iPhones and the iPad Pro, Apple had sprung a surprise addition to its list of speakers with Microsoft’s Kirk Koenigsbauer making an appearance to talk about the productivity side of the iPad Pro.


Source : http://indianexpress.com

NASA Selects SpaceX, Sierra Nevada And Orbital ATK For Space Station Cargo Contracts

Yesterday, NASA announced that it has awarded three new contracts with American companies – SpaceX, Orbital ATK, and Sierra Nevada Corporation – to provide cargo resupplies to the International Space Station.

Each contract provides for a minimum of six flights for each company between the years 2016 through 2024. According to the space agency, the combined contracts are potentially worth up to $14 billion.

Both SpaceX and Orbital ATK have already been successful at delivering cargo to the space station. Orbital ATK has had four successful missions to the International Space Station and SpaceX has six. Both companies have also each suffered a launch failure in the performance of the previous contracts.

SpaceX delivers cargo to the space station using its Dragon capsule. It can carry 13,228 pounds of cargo up to the station and return 6,614 pounds. The company also has a contract with NASA to develop its Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts to the space station as well.

Orbital ATK delivers cargo to the ISS using its Cygnus spacecraft. Cygnus is capable of delivering about 7,700 pounds of cargo to the ISS.

The Cygnus spacecraft can be delivered in one of two ways. First, it’s capable of being launched to the ISS via the company’s own upgraded Antares rocket, the first launch of which is targeted for the first half of 2016. It’s also capable of being delivered to the station via United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket.

The newcomer to NASA’s commercial resupply services is Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser spacecraft. Dream Chaser is unique from the other two spacecraft because it’s designed to be capable of a runway landing, rather than a splashdown in the ocean. It can deliver about 12,250 pounds to the station and its low-g, runway re-entries makes it more cost-effective for reuse – the company claims that each one can be reused a minimum of fifteen times.

For the commercial resupply missions, SNC will be using the uncrewed variant of its spacecraft. It’s also developing a crewed version and had applied for the contract to deliver astronauts to the station that was eventually awarded to SpaceX and Boeing. The cargo version has a folding wing design which allows it to be used with several different rockets to improve its versatility.

“SNC is honored to be selected by NASA for this critical U.S. program,” Sierra Nevada Corporation President Eren Ozmen said in a statement. “In such a major competition, we are truly humbled by the show of confidence in SNC and look forward to successfully demonstrating the extensive capabilities of the Dream Chaser spacecraft to the world.”


Source : http://www.forbes.com

Hands-on: Slaying mammoth monsters in Dragon's Dogma's long-awaited PC port

If you’ve been holding out hope that last-gen RPG Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen would get a PC port someday...uh, well, that happened. Or it will happen, rather—the port hits Steam tomorrow, nearly four years after the game’s original Xbox 360/PS3 launch.

I booted the game earlier this week and ran through the first few hours. As you might expect, the game runs quite a bit better on a modern PC than it did on the old console hardware. Testing Dragon’s Dogma on my GeForce GTX 980 Ti-equipped machine was (no surprise) overkill, easily maxing out the game at 1080p and maintaining north of 100+ frames per second. That’s good news for Dragon’s Dogma fans, given that the original console versions often dipped down to 15fps to 20fps.

Here’s a look at the graphics options:

The catch? For all Capcom’s talk of “Stunning visuals”—I took that quote directly from the Steam page—Dragon’s Dogma looks decidedly like a last-gen game. It’s quite a bit crisper played at modern PC resolutions and the lighting effects nabbed an overhaul, but the textures, weirdly-empty streets, and sparse vegetation all scream 2012.

But visuals were never the real appeal of Dragon’s Dogma anyway. The game had one claim to fame: Its combat system, which had you climb all over mythical beasts like some sort of bloodthirsty Shadow of the Colossus clone. Hundred-foot tall dragon threatening your village? Yeah, climb on its leg. See how far that gets you.

This is still the best part of Dragon’s Dogma, in large part because nobody else has come along and cribbed it yet. The Witcher 3 is much better at telling a story, for instance, but its monsters rarely get more complicated than “Hit it a bunch.” Dragon’s Dogma, the bosses are equal parts combat and puzzle.

And Dragon’s Dogma has an interesting denouement, for those willing to plod through the full 30 to 40 hours to the game’s ending. Unfortunately I don’t think the game—not even a masterpiece in 2012—has aged particularly well. The open-world genre is probably one of the fastest to evolve nowadays, and much of Dragon’s Dogma feels conspicuously empty and archaic to me.

For those who are already fans or are curious about the combat, however, this seems like a perfectly competent port. There are a few oddities, like the fact you can’t use a gamepad to input a name during character creation, but by-and-large it seems to run well. Here’s hoping a more-refined Dragon’s Dogma II is in the works at Capcom.

Source : http://www.pcworld.com

Lady Gaga Gets One Step Closer To An EGOT With Best Song Oscar Nomination

You know Lady Gaga's inner teenage theater geek is fully LIVING right now.

After winning a Golden Globe (and some Leonardo DiCaprio side-eye) for her performance as The Countess in "American Horror Story: Hotel," Lady Gaga, 29, scored a much-deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Til It Happens to You."

Gaga co-wrote the track with Diane Warren for "The Hunting Ground," a shocking expose of rape crimes on college campuses across the US. The film, unfortunately, was shut out of the documentary feature category.

The "Born This Way" singer posted a powerful note on Instagram, dedicating the nomination to "victims & survivors all over the world."

"Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the movement of people who have come together around 'The Hunting Ground' and 'Til It Happens To You' in the name of sexual assault," she said in an official statement. "Diane Warren and I are simply honored to represent the voices of so many survivors.”

Although her Golden Globe won't count toward the much-coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), if Gaga wins the Oscar, she will be halfway to securing the ultimate title in Hollywood, shared only by greats like Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli. 

She already has six Grammy wins to her name. 

The singer just has to beat out "Earned It," from "50 Shades of Grey," "Writing's on the Wall" from "Spectre," "Simple Song #3" from "Youth" and "Manta Ray" from "Racing Extinction."

Sam Smith took home the Golden Globe for his snoozeworthy "Spectre" theme on Sunday, but we have a good feeling Gaga might take home the crown come Oscar time. She is queen, after all. 

Watch the music video for "Til It Happens to You" below.

Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Alton Towers to open virtual reality rollercoaster

Alton Towers has announced plans to open a rollercoaster ride on which passengers wear virtual-reality headsets.

The Staffordshire-based adventure park said Galactica would open in April, following two years of planning.
It is resort's first big new ride since one of its rollercoasters crashed in June, seriously injuring five people.
Visitor numbers have been down since the accident, which Alton Towers blamed on "human error".

It said 190 jobs remained at risk and the park would close on several mid-week "quieter days" this year.

Several virtual-reality recordings simulate rollercoaster rides, but Alton Towers said Galactica would combine the two experiences for the first time.
Over the course of the three-minute ride, the headsets will show passengers a journey across a series of different galaxies, timed to coincide with the ride's twists, turns and falls.
Lying facedown, they will experience a maximum g-force of 3.5gs, which the park says is more than astronauts typically experience during rocket launches.
Gill Riley, the park's marketing director, said it represented a "multi-million pound investment".

"Obviously the safety and welfare of our guests is our number one priority," she added.
"Following the incident last year, we immediately put into effect additional safety protocols on our multi-car rollercoasters, of which this is one.
"In addition, once this ride is installed, as with every other new ride and experience, it will be subject to comprehensive pre-opening assessment [by us] and by an accredited independent inspection body."

Galactica in numbers:
Each train will contain 28 passengers, and three trains will be set into motion at one time
The track length is 840m (2,755ft)
The height of the biggest drop is 20m (66ft)
The maximum speed is 75km/h (47mph)
The ride duration is 189 seconds
The capacity per hour is 1,500 passengers

Safety precautions
Two women had legs amputated after the rollercoaster carriage they were riding in collided with an empty carriage on 2 June.
Fourteen other people on the Smiler ride were also injured.
Alton Towers' owner, Merlin Entertainments, later said the accident had been caused by operator error rather than a mechanical fault.

"A ride shutdown message was misunderstood by staff at the ride," it said in November, adding workers had overridden the control system to manually restart Smiler.

Ms Riley said the park had learned from the mistake.

"We have enhanced our training and also included an extra level of authorisation when we have to stop and reset and restart a ride, which involves senior management," she said.

She confirmed that Smiler was still set to reopen in 2016, but was unable to provide a date.

Merlin Entertainments' share price sank by more than 20% following June's accident, but is currently trading at about 4% below its pre-accident level.

"Certainly, the accident at Alton Towers has been difficult for Merlin and been a drag on its performance, which is not surprising," said Keith Bowman, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"But other parts of the business - Legoland in particular - have been making progress and generally compensating for this."

Source : http://www.bbc.com

2017 Honda Ridgeline debuts at Detroit auto show looking like a regular truck

Ten years after the original Ridgeline debuted at the North American International Auto Show, the second-generation model made its debut at the 2016 edition of the Detroit-based event. And you know what? It doesn't look half bad, which combined with improved versions of features that made the original so innovative put Honda in a good position to move a good number of trucks.

Unlike its predecessor's polarizing styling, the new truck ditches the high and sloping side rails, and adopts a more traditional three-box design. From the A-pillar forward, the Ridgeline looks like a blown-up CR-V with no mistaking of the family resemblance when it comes to the grille. Again, that's not a bad thing considering Honda is selling CR-Vs and HR-Vs like hotcakes.

Like the midsize Pilot crossover SUV, the Ridgeline is based on Honda's global light truck platform. Being a unibody instead of a full-frame as in other mid-size pickups like the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins, Nissan Frontier, and Toyota Tacoma, Honda says the Ridgeline will deliver superior on-road ride comfort and NVH. The 3.5-liter V-6 and six-speed automatic transmission combo is also shared with the Pilot, though Honda has not released output information for the Ridgeline yet.

Unlike the original, the new Ridgeline will be offered with either front- or all-wheel-drive. The latter features torque vectoring capabilities, and different settings including Normal, Sand, Snow and Mud modes

Innovative features like the dual-action lift gate and in-bed trunk now with a fully flat floor returns. The bed itself has a 4-foot wide flat space between the rear wheel arches to enable owners to haul items like sheets of plywood and drywall flat. The composite, scratch-resistant bed also features an available 400-watt AC power outlet, a 540-watt in-bed audio system, and is standard with eight 350-pound tie-downs. The power source and audio system may come in handy the next time you throw a tailgate party.

Honda also points out that the new Ridgeline is a capable mid-size truck with an estimated payload capacity of nearly 1,600 pounds. Final figures will come at a later date.

Inside, the Ridgeline will offer leather trim, tri-zone climate controls, push button start, and a color TFT center display. An 8-inch Display Audio touschscreen infotainment system is available, and compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The rear 60/40-split seats can fold-up adding to the Ridgeline's cargo carrying capabilities inside the cabin.

Optional safety features include lane-departure warning that will beep when the car senses you drifting out of a lane, forward-collision warning to alert drivers of a potential crash, collision-mitigation braking that will slow the vehicle to reduce the severity of an unavoidable impact, road-departure mitigation that automatically dials in slight steering inputs to keep you in a lane, and lane-keeping assist.

All Ridgelines will come standard with a rearview camera system, while premium trims will offer Honda's LaneWatch system that displays the image of the vehicle's right side blind spot on the center screen or a blind-spot monitoring system.

A Honda spokesman said addition details on the 2017 Ridgeline will be releases as we get close to the on-sale date, which is currently planned for this spring.


Source : http://www.cnet.com

Man who allegedly went to DC to kidnap Obamas' dog arrested

WASHINGTON -- Officials in Washington say they've arrested a North Dakota man who allegedly travelled to the nation's capital to kidnap a dog belonging to U.S. President Barack Obama.
D.C. Superior Court documents say Secret Service agents interviewed Scott D. Stockert of Dickinson, North Dakota, at a Washington hotel after receiving information that he was on his way to the capital to kidnap a "pet" owned by the first family. The first family has two Portuguese water dogs, Bo and Sunny. Officials arrested Stockert after finding weapons in his car.
A court document says that Secret Service agents interviewed Stockert on Wednesday after they received information from a Secret Service office in Minnesota that Stockert "was on his way to Washington, D.C., to kidnap the pet that belongs to the first family." During the interview, agents asked Stockert whether he had access to any weapons, and Stockert acknowledged having two guns in his truck. Agents searched the truck and found a shotgun and rifle as well as a machete, a billy club and ammunition. The court document says Stockert was not a registered gun owner and that he was charged with violating District of Columbia laws on carrying a rifle or shotgun outside a home or business.
According to court documents, Stockert told agents that he was "Jesus Christ" and that his parents were President John F. Kennedy and actress Marilyn Monroe and that he came to Washington to announce he was running for president. His attorney, Michael Madden, did not immediately return an emailed request for comment late Friday. His telephone voicemail was not accepting new messages.
Online court records show Stockert was ordered released from custody Friday but must wear an ankle monitor.
The first family's search for a dog to join them at the White House was widely publicized. On election night in 2008, then President-elect Obama said that his daughters, Sasha and Malia, had "earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House." Bo, a male Portuguese water dog, joined the family in 2009 and was a gift from then Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy. Sunny, a female Portuguese water dog, joined the family in 2013.
The dogs have been a regular presence at White House events. Late last year, they accompanied first lady Michelle Obama to receive the White House Christmas Tree and to welcome children to the White House during a preview of the home's holiday decorations. The decorations included larger than life replicas of the two dogs.

Source : http://www.ctvnews.ca

Ruthless and roofless: The limited edition Callaway Camaro

Callaway has pushed the amount of horsepower on its latest limited edition Camaro through the roof, so it's a good job the SC600 is a convertible.
For 40 years, Callaway Cars has been taking the best vehicles the U.S. has to offer and making them better -- particularly those with a Chevrolet bowtie badge on the grille -- whether for street legal or dedicated track use.
"The 2016 Camaro is a superb car that's light, nimble and fun to drive," said Reeves Callaway, founder and CEO of Callaway Cars. "We designed the Callaway Camaro SC600 to deliver an even more driver-focused experience for those seeking even more power. Using the TripleCooled technology we developed for the Corvette Z06, we created the most powerful Callaway Camaro available today."

How powerful exactly? Callaway has given a conservative figure of 600+hp and these horses are not only street legal, the work is covered by a three-year, 36,000-mile warranty.

The GenThree supercharger at the heart of this performance revolution also takes center stage from an aesthetic perspective.

Clearly visible through the car's already imposing hood it will give anyone seeing it in their rear-view mirror a fright, but being exposed to the elements also ensures the best airflow and cooling.

"It produces serious horsepower, run after run and lap after lap. The Callaway Camaro SC600 offers supercar capabilities with superb drivability and full compliance. It's simply an amazing car," said Mike Zoner, Callaway Cars' Managing Director.

Just as impressively that huge blower provides its extra power across the rev band, rather than all being delivered in one big, overpowering lump of performance only suitable for drag racing.

The car based on the flagship Camaro SS also gets distinct doorsill panels, Callaway badging inside and out, special key fobs and a number of little interior tweaks.

When the first deliveries begin in the first quarter of 2016, the car will be offered as an automatic and a manual, and, as well as the soft top, a coupe version will also be available.

Prices will start at $54,290.

Source : http://www.ctvnews.ca

Scandal-hit Volkswagen sees sales fall 2%

German carmaker Volkswagen says its global sales fell two per cent last year as it struggled with a scandal over cars it had rigged to evade diesel emissions tests in the US.

Sales volume dropped to 9.931 million vehicles from 10.14 million the year before.

The scandal became known only in late September, so it could only have affected figures in the last months of the year.

Sales plunged 37 per cent in Russia and 38 per cent in Brazil as those economies slowed, accounting for much of the overall drop.

Weaker sales in China, the source of much of the company's profits, also hurt.

Deliveries rose by 1.2 per cent in the United States for the full year, though they fell slightly in December.

The figures announced on Friday were for all Volkswagen's brands, including SEAT and Skoda as well as luxury makes Audi and Porsche.

The Volkswagen flagship brand saw sales fall a sharper 4.8 per cent.

"Delivering almost 10 million vehicles is an excellent result, particularly in view of the continued challenging market situation in some regions as well as the diesel issue in the final quarter of last year," chief executive Matthias Mueller said in a statement.

In 2014, Volkswagen finished just behind Toyota in the contest for the title of world's largest carmaker by sales, while General Motors was third.

GM and Toyota announce full-year figures later this month.

Volkswagen briefly pulled ahead for the first six months of 2015 but then slipped behind Toyota.

The company originally set a goal of passing Toyota by 2018, but since the scandal broke has said it is placing less emphasis on raw sales numbers.

Mueller says the company is working to change its culture to prevent future wrongdoing.

The company has commissioned an investigation by US law firm Jones Day.

The US Justice Department is suing Volkswagen, saying it equipped 600,000 cars with software that turned off emissions controls when the vehicle was not on the test stand.

Volkswagen says 11 million cars worldwide have the software. It faces billions in potential fines and costs for recalls as well as lost sales.


Source : http://www.skynews.com

Fusar Mohawk Turns Any Helmet Into A Powerful Smart Helmet

Meet Fusar, a helmet kit. Instead of trying to reinvent helmets, the Fusar system works with any helmet. You just have to clip the main component, the Mohawk, to your existing helmet to turn it into a safe, smart helmet. The full kit will be available for $549, and early adopters can buy it for $349. The company is competing in our Hardware Battlefield competition at CES.

With only the Mohawk part, you can add an action camera, activity tracker, communication device, navigation unit, music player, black box and emergency alert system to your helmet. It uses a standard action camera mount and works on the side or at the top of your helmet.

And that’s it. Once it’s on your helmet, you control everything through Fusar’s app on your phone. For instance, you can start recording videos from the mobile app.

The Mohawk camera shoots 1080p videos or 12MP photos. But the best part is that you can use the HotShot feature to shoot a quick 15-second video and send directly to your social media accounts.

In other words, the Mohawk also competes directly with a GoPro. You have to take this into consideration when looking at the retail price as you won’t have to buy a GoPro in addition to the Fusar Mohawk. And as you can see from the pictures, the Mohawk looks much better than mounting a GoPro on your helmet. You can leave the Mohawk on your helmet.

Now, there are other components on the Fusar kit as well. For example, if you don’t want to use your phone when riding a bike. Fusar also provides a button with LED indications for your handlebar or wrist. There’s also a communication headset so that you can chat with your buddies in walkie-talkie style.

Finally, the Fusar system tracks your activity with an accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope and GPS. You’ll not only get all your stats once you’re done with your ride, but it could also prove to be an essential tool thanks to the built-in crash detection system.

If something goes wrong, the Fusar Mohawk will alert emergency contacts with a map and the local phone numbers of the three nearest EMS dispatchers. The Mohawk is expected to ship in Q3 2016 and the company has already done a successful Indiegogo campaign


Source : http://techcrunch.com

The EHang 184 Is A Human-Sized Drone Taking Off At CES

We’ve seen some pretty cool stuff on day 1 of CES 2016, but probably nothing more eye-catching than the EHang 184, a human-sized drone built by the Chinese UAV company EHang.

Yes you heard right — a giant autonomous drone that fits a human.

It’s basically what you would expect to see if someone shrunk you down to the size of a LEGO and stuck you next to a DJI Inspire. Except no one was shrunk, and the giant flying machine was sitting smack in the middle of the CES drone section.

EHang, which was founded in 2014 and has raised about $50M in venture funding to date, was pretty gung-ho about telling everyone at CES that the 184 was the future of personal transport. And for the most part, people were too in awe to question them.

But the reality is that the company probably was using the 184 as more of a marketing tool for their standard-sized drones like the Ghost. Not that we’re saying that the 184 will never be a real thing, just that it probably isn’t coming to a Best Buy near you anytime soon.

None of their employees were in tune with the drone’s technical specifications, let alone an MSRP or release date. But we did snag a press kit from the company, which actually provided some worthwhile information.

The drone is about four-and-a-half feet tall, weighs 440 pounds, and will be able to carry a single passenger for 23 minutes at a speed of 60 MPH. The 184 also has gull-wing doors and arms that fold up.

EHang said that the drone will be totally automated, meaning passengers will input a destination and have no control during the flight. The company says this will make the machine safer by eliminating “the most dangerous part of standard modes of transportation, human error.”

This also means that passengers are basically helpless in case anything goes wrong, but the company notes that their fail-safe systems include multiple backups for each flight system, as well as a feature where the aircraft will immediately land if a passenger’s life is at risk.

Ultimately, it’s probably going to be a few years before we ever see the EHang 184 flying in anything more than a demo video. Plus, we can’t imagine what the FAA would say about the thing.

That being said, it’s nice to see a company thinking ahead and inspiring the drone community.

Source : http://techcrunch.com

Snap, The 4K Flying Camera With Auto-Tracking, Is Ready For The Spotlight

Snap, a flying camera we first wrote about in September, is ready for the spotlight as it takes the stage today to compete in the TechCrunch Hardware Battlefield at CES. The device, made by Vantage Robotics, provides an alternative for those who want professional aerial shots but don’t want the hassle of controlling a cumbersome (and expensive) drone like the DJI Inspire.

We now have specs for Snap (which will ship this spring), and they look pretty great. Snap will weigh just 1.1 pounds, and have 20 minutes of flying time per charge.

The camera itself will be a 4K-capable Sony Exmor sensor, mounted on a mini mechanical smooth-lock gimbal, which the company says is about 6 times lighter than standard drone gimbals.

While users will be able to use their phone or tablet to control Snap, Vantage Robotics has included a ton of software-based features that will let users capture professional quality camera shots without even having to control the drone.

Some of these features are air tripod, which lets the camera stay in place while automatically turning to keep the subject in frame; virtual wire, which allows the camera to follow a subject along a predefined wire (while avoiding any obstacles); and free-form following.


Source:http://techcrunch.com

Mark Zuckerberg Is Building A Real-Life Version Of Iron Man’s Digital Assistant ‘Jarvis’

Mark Zuckerberg is known for setting himself tough challenges — whether that’s learning Mandarin, promoting equality, or (controversially) trying to solve global Internet access — but this year the Facebook founder just took things to another level. His personal project for 2016 is to bring Jarvis, Iron Man’s trusty digital assistant, to life.

That isn’t exactly true. Zuck wants to build his own AI (artificial intelligence) bot to help him run his life more efficiently — but he references Jarvis, probably the best example, to explain his lofty ambition.

Here’s what Zuckerberg said:

My personal challenge for 2016 is to build a simple AI to run my home and help me with my work. You can think of it kind of like Jarvis in Iron Man.

I’m going to start by exploring what technology is already out there. Then I’ll start teaching it to understand my voice to control everything in our home — music, lights, temperature and so on. I’ll teach it to let friends in by looking at their faces when they ring the doorbell. I’ll teach it to let me know if anything is going on in Max’s room that I need to check on when I’m not with her. On the work side, it’ll help me visualize data in VR to help me build better services and lead my organizations more effectively.

This is hardly a small side project, by any means. It’ll be interesting to see how much time and what resources that Zuckerberg dedicates to this project, and how it turns out. Maybe he can develop Iron Man’s suit in 2017?


Source:http://techcrunch.com