Friday 21 December 2012

Ouya! to Arrive on Time

Hey Guys,

I'm in IT and I've got no work to do so I have time on here.

If you can remember, I wrote an article about the andorid based video games console, Ouya. The firm behind it have announced that it will be released on time! It should be out for the 28th! after Christmas but still awesome!!

The project started in July this year and has had a kickstarter page since then. The have successfully managed to raise $8,596,474 with 63,416 backers! Since the console is powered by Android, it will also run all the programs and applications a tablet or smartphone can, but even better. It already has its own line up of games!! The have also revealed it will run on JellyBean!!
The special thing about Ouya! is that it comes with a development kit to create your own games, also known as the ODK. They will also have a game hub set up where everyone who wants to share their games can do so on a massive comimunity.

Backers who threw in a pledge of more than $699 (£437) get access to the first-round of Ouya shipments so they can be first to have a play with the ODK. They also get an extra help advertising their games for a year, and a founder emblem to mark their game!

I am looking forward to this is it will only cost about £60! To read my original post click here!

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Sunday 9 December 2012

Britain Needs to up it's Technology Game

Hey Guys,

I was given an English task where I had to write about something that concerns me about Britain and writing about technology came naturally to me, so that's what I did. Since this is an important piece of work and I have a technology website, I'd thought I'd use it to my advantage and ask you what you think about it. Please give me comment or email me some feedback. It would be much appreciated :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Modern Britain is like an ostrich when it comes to innovating new technology. We have wings but we can’t fly.

All the revolutionary and new twists to technology in our era country have originated from elsewhere. Google, Apple and Microsoft, which of these influential businesses specialising in technology were born in Britain? Absolutely none of them!

The outstanding problem with this is that we are always last to get the latest technology. For example, the Kindle fire, even if it is inferior, was released in the United Kingdom a catastrophic 6 months after the US release. Furthermore, everyone is this country is getting way too excited over 4G as if it’s cutting edge and up to date technology . But no. 4G was available in South Korea in 2006, America in 2008, Lithuania in 2009 and a whole 6 years after it had been originally released, in the United Kingdom. 4G is a worn and outdated facility in a countless amount of countries but in our nation, it is new, state of the art technology.

Another unforeseen aspect of our poor technological status is our internet download speeds. The typical internet download speed for our country is only 18.37 Mbps. This ranks us at an average 23rd globally. Hong Kong is at the top the table with 42 Mbps! Over two times our speeds. With our pathetic upload speeds, we are at a scandalous 51st place with a shameful 3.37Mbps upload speed. Whereas, South Korea and Hong Kong have around 28Mbps, which is almost 10 times our crawling speeds. We really need to pull something out of the bag and dramatically increase our speeds if we are ever going to be able compete against rival countries. Our people are brainwashed into thinking we have fast internet when in comparison it is actually incredibly slow, just because we give our technology names like “Fibre Optic”, it doesn’t mean it’s good.

Our nation needs to get back into the technological area. During the industrial revolution throughout the 18th and 19th century we were renowned for our technological advances. We invented the television, the telephone, the World Wide Web, the train, photography, the electric motor, the computer, the tank and the light bulb. What great inventions are we thinking of now?

Everything we create is now useless and pointless. We’re coming up with things such as DAB which completely failed. It is a fact that during the industrial revolution, Britain’s economy soared and that has been taken away from us because we are too lazy to innovate more technology and we are leaving it to countries such as Japan, Korea and America.

More people need to be educated in the field of computer science and people in education should be more encouraged to use technology rather than told to write with pencil and paper, children should be taught how be more creative rather than following the rules and ideas of other people, to make their work special to themselves instead of a duplicate of everyone else’s work. If we are to exist as a thriving country we must start thinking creatively and teaching to think creatively, or we can be lazy and keep on falling behind.






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Friday 7 December 2012

Cool Tech Fact: The Text is 20 Years Old

Hey Guys,

The first ever text message was sent 20 years ago today, an appropriately festive phrase, "Merry Christmas".
To celebrate the text message's 20th birthday, Ofcom has done a bit of research into its history, did you know that we now send around 50 text messages a week each?

Little bit of techy trivia for you.

Apple CEO says Something Obvious.

Hey Guys,

Apple CEO Tim Cook says TV is an area of "intense interest".. WELL OBVIOUSLY
LOL





I previously had the title SEO instead of CEO. I am an idiot

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Archos GamePad: the Handheld Android Game Console

Hey Guys,

The Archos Gamepad, an the second android based console. And  ideal Christmas present for only £129.98

Unlike the Xperia Play, the Archos Gamepad is a tablet and has only just been released. So it would be unfair to compare the two.

The GamePad aims to bring classic control systems to modern mobile gaming rather than a touch screen. This bad boy has a 7-inch 1024 x 600 (169.55 PPI") five-point capacitive screen to work with its 16 physical buttons and dual analogue sticks. You can also get up to 9 hours of battery life, about average for a 7-inch tablet.

The Archos GamePad is as much a tablet as a gaming device. It runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) for tablets, it therefore includes all the improvements that came with the Jelly Bean update, including even smoother interface animations, voice assistant and Google Now that shows you the right information at the right time.

Since there will be a requirement for 3D games, a powerful graphics card and processor is necessary, the Archos GamePad uses a super-powerful quad-core Mali-400 MP4 GPU and a 1.6GHz Dual Core CPU. More than enough power for even the most graphically stunning 3D games and casual browsing.

Coming with 8GB of internal memory, the Archos GamePad can accept micro-SD cards of up to 64 GB. The ARCHOS GamePad also has a mini-HDMI port so you can plug it into your TV and enjoy your games up on the big screen. Sounds a bit like Wii U.

Strangely, the UK is the only place to be getting it at the moment. The United States will have to wait a year.

This is a much better alternative to the crappy iPad Mini, with the Android OS, the graphics, the gaming standards. Great! If you still want to find out more visit the Archos website or read the Tech Specs Below!

Tech Specs

Display• 7’’: 1024x600 capacitive 5 points multitouch screen
Application Framework• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Processor• ARM CORTEXTM dual-core A9 @ 1.6GHz
• GPU quad-core Mali 400 MP
• 3D OpenGL (ES 2.0)
Capacity• Flash Memory: 8GB* + microSD Slot (SDHC compatible up to 32GB)
RAM• 1GB RAM
Video playback1• H.264 HD (up to 1080p@30 fps)
• MPEG-42 HD (up to 1080p@30 fps)
• With the above codecs, the device can play video files with the following extensions: AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP, MPG, PS, TS, MKV, FLV
Audio Playback1• MP3
• WAV (PCM/ADPCM)
• AAC3, AAC+ 5.13
• OGG Vorbis
• FLAC
Photo viewer4• JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
Webcam• Front camera
Interfaces• USB 2.0: Mobile Transfer Protocol (MTP)
• microSD (SDHC compatible)
• mini HDMI output6(Mini HDMI / HDMI cable sold separately)
Wireless technologies• Wi-Fi
Miscellaneous• Built-in speaker
• G-sensor
• Built-in Microphone
Power source• Internal: Lithium Polymer battery
• External: Power adapter/charger
Dimensions & weight• 229.8 x 118.7mm x 15.4mm (9’’x 4.6’’x 0.6’’)
• 330g (11.6 oz)
Software update• Updates can be downloaded at www.archos.com
Minimum system requirements• Microsoft® Windows® 7, Vista, XP, or higher and Windows Media Player 11
• Mac OS. X with Transfer Files application (not included)
• Linux with android MTP tool (not included)
• USB 2.0 interface


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Friday 30 November 2012

Get free Microsoft stuffs for Students!!

Hey Guys,
I know it's been a while since my last post and this isn't news but I'd like to enlighten you about a website that allows you to get free Microsoft Software if you're a student. All you need to do is create an account and enter your school/college/.etc and verify it. Then you are able to download tons of products from Small Basic to Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio. Microsoft Mathematics to Kodu Game Lab, XNA Game Studio 4 or Kinect for Windows SDK. The list is almost endless.

The website to get the software is here!

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Saturday 17 November 2012

Apology for Lack of Posting and new YouTube Channel

Hey Guys,

I know I haven't posted for 2 weeks or so and I just wanted to explain why. As you may know, I am starting my first year of GCSE's this year and during the past 2 weeks I have been incredibly busy and I haven't had much time at all to do anything.

I would also like to tell you about a new YouTube channel me and my friend are starting up called TheTeckstation. We will try and do reviews as much as possible. We have recorded one but editing has been a nightmare since neither of us have enough time.

I am sorry I have been unable to post but please keep checking for more updates.

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Friday 2 November 2012

Google Announces Nexus 10, Avaliable to Buy for the 13th!!

Hey Guys,

Earlier LG and Google made the Nexus 4 and now they made the Nexus 10. As expected, it’s made by Samsung and it will feature a 2560 x 1600 display with a crazy 300ppi (pixel density). It’s the highest resolution tablet out there. It will feature a battery that will give you 9 hours of playback time and 500 hours of standby time. It will sport Google’s latest update, Android 4.2 and front-facing speakers just like the Galaxy Note 10.1. It will be the first truly sharable tablet with support for multiple users that you can easily switch from the lockscreen. This means, when someone I know often uses the tablet, they won't have to log out of everything. Genious.

The Nexus 10 will be available for £319 for the 16GB version and £389 for 32GB starting on November 13 in the Google Play Store in U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Canada and Japan. So I'm guessing it won't be a budget device :p

There is a promotional vid below for all three tablet sizes, the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. With the specs below...

The Specs are below:

Tech Specs

SCREEN
10.055" diagonal at 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution for 300 ppi
WQXGA
Corning(R) Gorilla(R) Glass 2
CPU/GPU
CPU: Dual-core A15
GPU: Mali T604
SIZE
263.9 x 177.6 x 8.9 mm
WEIGHT
603g
CAMERAS
5 MP (main)
1.9 MP (front)
WIRELESS
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (MIMO+HT40)
Bluetooth
NFC (Android Beam)
MEMORY
32 GB internal storage (actual formatted capacity will be less)
2 GB RAM
CONNECTIVITY
Micro USB
Magnetic Pogo pin charger
Micro HDMI
3.5mm headphone jack
BATTERY
9000 mAh Lithium polymer
OS
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
SENSORS
Microphone
Accelerometer
Compass
Ambient light
Gyroscope
Barometer
GPS

Google Reveals the Nexus 4 Avaliable for the 13th

Hey Guys!

Google has officially revealed the highly anticipated LG Nexus 4 over on the Play Store, boasting wireless charging capabilities and the latest version of Android Jelly Bean (version 4.2). Before you get confused, I would like to point out that it is a phone and not a tablet!

It will be sold as an 8GB version for £239 and a 16GB version for £279 on November 13 from the offical Play Store. It will be unlocked and without a contract, with first availability for customers in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Spain and Canada.

The Nexus 4, along with the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10, will all run Android version 4.2. It includes a new “Photo Sphere” feature, which allows users to capture images that the company says “are literally larger than life”. It essentially means that users can stitch photographs not only from left to right for panoramic images, but up and down too to create stunning 360-degree images. Google says any “Photo Sphere” can then be uploaded to Google+ or added to Google Maps. (Sounds a bit Appleish). It will also have Google Now!

There is a promotional vid below for all new three tablet sizes, the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. With the specs below that



The Specs are below...

Tech Specs

SCREEN
4.7" diagonal
1280 x 768 pixel resolution (320 ppi)
WXGA IPS
Corning(R) Gorilla(R) Glass 2
CPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon(TM) S4 Pro
SIZE
133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm
WEIGHT
139g
CAMERAS
8 MP (main)
1.3 MP (front)
NETWORK
Unlocked GSM/UMTS/HSPA+
GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
3G (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz)
HSPA+ 42
MEMORY
8 GB internal storage (actual formatted capacity will be less)
2 GB RAM
CONNECTIVITY
Micro USB
SlimPort HDMI
3.5mm headphone jack
WIRELESS
Wireless charging
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
NFC (Android Beam)
Bluetooth
BATTERY
2,100 mAh Lithium polymer
OS
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
SENSORS
Microphone
Accelerometer
Compass
Ambient light
Gyroscope
Barometer
GPS

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Wednesday 31 October 2012

3G/HSPA+ Nexus 7 32GB Officially Announced

Hey Guys,

Google has renewed the Nexus 7 with a new 32GB version. This version brings in HSPA+ and 3G for wireless internet access. Apparently, Google isn’t apparently working with any one specific carrier with the 3G version of the Nexus 7. Instead, it’s offering it as a SIM-free, unlocked device. 

The device currently costs £239.99 and will be coming soon, the item is on the Play Store. Click HERE to access it.

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Lots of Droid News Today

Hey Guys,

Earlier this week there was quite a bit of Apple news, now there's a lot of Android news (haven't got to Microsoft yet)

But yeah, I thought I'd let you know. (There is no coincidence that one day I focused on Apple and the today I'm focusing on Android

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Tuesday 30 October 2012

Control Your Xbox With Your Phone

Hey Guys,

Xbox Smartglass is a genius app/program, made by Microsoft, avaliable for controlling your Xbox which can be used on your computer, phone or tablet, has arrived on Android. This means you can easily control your Xbox even when you're away.

Head on over to the Google Play store and you’ll see the app for Android available as a free download (Nothing known yet on the iPhone equivalent, I don't think it should be much further away). It works in much the same way as it does on Windows 8 and Windows 8 tablets: you can launch any of your apps and control them as long as you’re connected to the same network as the Xbox. You can also see second screen information about videos on supported apps, like actors on screen and more. 

Unfortunately, it will only work on Android phones running Android 4.0 with a screen resolution of 800×480 or higher. If you're lucky you may get a special review...


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Sunday 28 October 2012

iPad vs Nexus! THE TABLET SHOWDOWN!

Hey Guys,

I know this is a bit late but YOLO. Anyway the long awaited iPad Mini has been revealed, by the looks of things, it's arrived to compete against the Kindle Fire HD and the amazing Nexus 7. And here are all the latest specs in comparison the the Nexus.

Size and Things

The iPad's thickness is 7.2mm and it weighs at 308 grams. Whereas the Nexus 7 is about 30% thicker and 10% heavier. Whether the iPad has an advantage here is debatable, this usually means the Nexus is stronger and some prefer a bulkier device to a thin and light device, this section is a matter of opinion. But I can imagine the iPad being favourable in this aspect. [1 point to iPad]

Display

The iPad Mini has a 7.9 inch screen with 1024×768 resolution, ( Same as the iPad 2). The Nexus has a 7 inch screen with a 1280x800 resolution. Just to simplify the resolution comparison  the iPad's pixel per inch density is 163 and the Nexus' pixel per inch density is 216, so the Nexus' picture quality for each inch is better. [1 point to Nexus]. The iPad Mini's display has a 4:3 aspect ratio and the Nexus 7 has a 15:9 aspect ratio. This means the iPad Mini has more viewable real estate, but the Nexus 7 has a higher-resolution screen. I'd prefer the Nexus display.

POWER!!

Apple's 1GHz dual-core A5 chip powers the iPad Mini. It (probably) has 512 MB of RAM. The Nexus 7 uses Nvidia's Tegra 3 chip with four cores operating at 1.3 GHz each. The Nexus 7 has 1 GB of RAM. The iPad Mini boasts 10 hours of battery life, as does the Nexus 7. This earn the Nexus a point. [1 point to Nexus]

Internet Access

The iPad Mini comes in two versions, one with only Wi-Fi and one that pairs Wi-Fi with one of three different LTE networks. LTE 4G, of course, lets the iPad Mini surf the Web wherever AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon Wireless provides network access. The Nexus 7 only has Wi-Fi, no 3G or 4G. So it can only use magical wireless internet powers near a WiFi hotspot. But of course the 4G version of the iPad Mini will be considerably more expensive. [1 point to iPad]

Cameras

The iPad Mini has a 5-megapixel camera at the back. It can also capture video at 1080p HD. The front camera shoots 1.2 megapixel images and can capture 720HD video. The Nexus 7 does not have a rear camera, but it's front camera also shoots 1.2 megapixel images and captures 720p HD video. This gives the iPad is a clear winner in this aspect. [1 point to iPad]

Software

The iPad has iOS6, the Nexus has Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Nexus Wins! (Because I am biased) [No points to anyone because I don't want to seem totally biased]

The Price!

The 16GB Nexus 7 has the price of £169.99 (at PC World) and the 16GB iPad costs £269 pounds (at Apple Store). This gives the Nexus the biggest advantage of them all, Nexus 7 has an overall better value for money. [1 point to Nexus]

Adding up points!

This is the final judgement! iPad has... 3 points and the Nexus has.... 3 points. 

MY OPINION 

I think the Nexus is the better tablet, it's about £100 cheaper and all the specs more or less cancel each other out. And as you probably know, I will always favour an Android over an Apple.


Please Like and share.. this took over an hour



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iPad Mini Trailer

Hey Guys,

As we know the iPad Mini has been released this week, I thought it might be a good idea to post the trailer, so here it is:



If you want to see the specs, look at my comparison of it to the Nexus 7. HERE

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Borderlands Game Coming to iPhone and iPad!

Hey Guys,

We all know Borderlands 2 came out recently and it is a very fun game, and so is the original. So good, that the developers have been developing an iPhone/iPad app to go with it. To be called Borderlands Legends.

The Borderlands Legends description doesn’t give much away, but it does reveal that you’ll be able to play as some of the characters from the original version: Roland, Lilith, Mordecai and Brick. It promises a “strategic cover system.” They also said that they will have "randomised missions" so it will be just as fun to play over again.

We dont know when it will be out but according to The Gadget Show, it will be out by next month which isn't roo long away. At the moment we are unsure whether we are likely to get an Android version too but I will tell you if that happens.

Thursday 25 October 2012

Google Now! (This isn't something new)

Hey Guys,

This isn't really news since this is quite old but I only noticed it's existence today. Google Now is something included with Android Jelly Bean, it is a quick way of finding out necessary information from the weather to sport or finding a restaurant. These different uses are called "cards". There are only 10 cards avaliable at the moment but they will add more soon enough.

Here is a video made be Google which is a simple explanation:

It's a bit like Siri

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Samsung Confirms Jelly Bean Update for Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1 Before End of Year

Hey Guys,

Samsung Sweden has announced a bunch of Jelly Bean updates, for a range of devices: the Galaxy S2, Galaxy Note (original) and Galaxy Note 10.1. According to the official statement, all three devices are due to receive the upgrade to Android 4.1 before the end of the year.

The S2 will see the update in November, while the Note and Note 10.1 are both slated to get the firmware upgrade at some point in Winter, (the website said Q4, but im not sure what that means.) All updates will be available OTA via the Samsung’s  Kies app. Of course, this announcement applies only to Sweden-specific devices but it is almost certain that after this it will be released in the UK or the US.

Just incase you are unsure what the update will bring, Jelly Bean with give you:
- Better performance, thanks to Project Butter it’s even smoother and faster
- Reorganized settings menu
- 2 Home screen modes
- New Notifications bar
- Google Now
- Sizable Pop-up play screen

Source: SamMobile

Wednesday 3 October 2012

Who Needs a DS When You Have Meep!



Hey Guys!

Most people during the time of Christmas would spend a £150 of their money on the latest model of the DS for their 10 year old child.

Well you can throw that silly idea away because Oregon Scientific has designed a new tablet designed just for kids. Which has an estimated retail price of £92.00 (Converted from dollars).

The tablet has been named Meep! It consists of a 7-inch screen, 4GB internal storage, a 1.0GHz Cortex A8 processor with 512MB RAM, WiFi connectivity, a 0.3mpx camera and it also runs on android 4.0! And as you'd expect, it is very rugged and has a silicon case on the outside for extra grip.

If as a parent you are worried about your kids going wild with internet and supper happy fun time, there are easy to use parental controls. You can observe websites visited, games played set time limits and much more all from your phone or internet device without even touching it! There is also an allowance setting on the Meep app store to make sure your child doesnt overspend.

There are also tons of accessories! For more information CLICK HERE or watch the following video

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Saturday 29 September 2012

25p Apps to Celebrate 25 Billion App Download!

Hey Guys,
This is just a short update to bring to your attention that Google are offering some of the top android apps for just 25p! This is to celebrate the recent event of 25 billion downloads from the store.

To check out what's on offer select the first box at the top of the Play Store homepage.

Some of these apps include legends like Cut the Rope and Camera Zoom FX!

The apps are only there for a limited time so be quick!

I have downloaded 3 apps and will definately get more tomorrow. These are bargains!

Friday 24 August 2012

Nexus 7 Review!


Hey Guys!
This is my review of the Nexus 7 Tab (this is the 16zGB one). This is my only my second review and I did have difficulty recording and using the tablet with my digital camera without a tripod.

Excuse the shakiness and sound, visual blips. A new camera/tripod is on my list of things to buy.

Please Like and Subscribe because it makes me feel happy and motivated to do more things!! :)



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Monday 6 August 2012

Windows 8 Could be very bad for new Indie Developers

Hey Guys,

Markus Persson (AKA Notch), the creator of Minecraft and founder of Mojang, has echoed Valve and Blizzard on the negative repercussions of Windows 8 for developers.

In an interview with the Reddit community, Notch predicted a bright future for independent game developers as long as there are "open and free" platforms to support their work. However, he believes that Microsoft's plans for Windows 8 could be a serious hindrance.

"If Microsoft decides to lock down Windows 8, it would be very, very bad for Indie games and competition in general," he said. "If we can keep open platforms around, there's going to be a lot of very interesting games in ten years, mixed in with the huge AAA games that we all love."

I agree with Notch, Valve and Blizzard. For brilliant games to happen we need to have more free platforms. Minecraft for example has been pretty successful and we want more great games like that, so it will be a great help if "open platforms" are around.


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Galaxy Note 2 Confirmed for August 29th

Hey Guys,

Samsung has confirmed that it will be unveiling the next Galaxy Note later this month. The successor to the Galaxy Note will be unveiled at the Samsung event in Berlin, Germany on August 29th. The confirmation follows past rumours surrounding the device, said to have an even larger screen than its 5.3-inch predecessor. Now it’s official. 


Samsung has yet to confirm anything else about the new Galaxy Note. Rumours suggest that it will have a larger 5.5-inch screen, 12-megapixel camera, a faster quad-core processor, and the latest Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean” operating system.


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Friday 13 July 2012

Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition Update

Hey Guys!


As you will most likely know, Mojang recently released Minecraft for Xbox 360. The one time I had played it at a friends house, I really struggled. There was poor lighting, poor mob AI and default skins.

Well, an update has just come out for and it has many features and fixes listed below!
Features:-
- Added Pistons & Sticky Pistons.
- Added Stackable fences.
- Added Shears – required to get wool from sheep, and to collect leaf blocks.
- TNT needs Flint and Steel or Redstone to detonate.
- Redstone wire will now connect to a repeater.
- New textures for Cobblestone and Brick.
- Added Character Skin Selector to allow players to choose their skin from the default skins, or from Downloadable Content skin packs.
- Added lighting improvements (brought forward from 1.8.2 update) and snow & rain improvements.
- Added a save file cache to improve the speed of displaying the saves list.
- Added ban list functionality to allow players to self-ban from levels they feel contain offensive content.
- Added a ban list section to the How To Play menus.
- Added an option for the host to limit online games to only players in their friends list (no friends of friends).
- Added a seed display to the level load screen (requires existing levels to be saved out again to add the display).
- Changed the tooltip display setting to in-game tooltip display, so that tooltips always display in menus.
- Added the crosshair to the list of things affected by the opacity slider.
- On using the quickselect bar, the opacity of the quickselect, tooltips, splitscreen gamertag display, and crosshair will be set to 80,
and will fade back down to the user opacity setting after 6 seconds of no quickselect bar use.
- Added some more Tips & Trivia to the loading/saving screen display.
Tutorial World changes & additions:-
- Added optional tutorial for Pistons and Redstone.
- Added a self-building bridge to the castle using Pistons.
- Added some sugar cane, cactii and clay to the world.
- Added a few other things for players to discover.
Fixes:-
- Fix for only the host being shown the pop-up when any player attempts to place lava near the spawn point.
- Fixed tooltip for Flint and Steel.
- Fix for Note blocks not showing notes.
- Fix for Leaderboard reads taking too long.
- Fix to block players re-entering a level they have been kicked from, until the level is restarted.
- Fix to stop players being able to join a game when they are not a friend of any player in the game.
- Fix for Netherracks re-appearing after being mined.
- Fix for a rare crash on entering the Nether.
- Fix for attacking enemies at a different level not damaging them.
- Fixed a problem causing some save games not to load.
- Removed Herobrine.


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Thursday 12 July 2012

Starbucks app release on android devices, adds PayPal

Hey Guys,
Starbucks, the coffee shop of coffee shops, it finally has an android app. It requires android 2.2 which means no review :( but I can still copy and paste the Google Play description :P

It's the fastest way to pay, track your Stars, and reload your Starbucks Card!A Starbucks Card is the fastest, most convenient way to pay at Starbucks. And Starbucks
for Android™ is the perfect companion to your card. Your Android™ phone will
display a barcode that you use just like your card to make purchases at Starbucks.
With Starbucks for Android, you can check your balance, reload your card with any
major credit card, view your transactions and conveniently track your Stars in
the My Starbucks Rewards program.
Features
• Use a widget to pay, check balance, track you’re My Starbucks Rewards Stars, or find a location
• Check your Starbucks Card balance
• Reload your Starbucks Card with a major credit card or PayPal
• Transfer balances between Cards
• View your transaction history
• Pay with your Android™ phone at participating stores
• Locate a Starbucks near you
• Track your Stars in the My Starbucks Rewards program
Known Technical Limitations
• This application supports US, UK, & Canada Starbucks Cards only, including Gold cards
• Starbucks Store Credit Cards or Duetto Cards are not supported
• Starbucks for Android supports your personal Starbucks Cards. Cards may only
be loaded onto one device at a time. If you wish to reload a friend or family
members’ Starbucks Card, please visit Starbucks.com/card.
For more information, please visit http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/mobile-apps/If you are experiencing login or other technical issues, please email
Starbuckscardmobile@starbucks.com


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Ouya Android Console Unveiled

Hey Guys,


I have been taking a break from blogging recently but my friend told me about this android console so I did my research and here is the latest on it.


So as the title give away, news has been released on an android gaming console to be named "Ouya". I have no idea where the strange name came from but it's quite catchy and easy to remember.

According to a range of sources it runs on Android and only cost $99 or in people speak, £60!! This is some cheap ass console and the company insists it will be a next level console. I have high douubs on how many hardcore gamers will ditch their Xbox's or PS3's for a droid console. My thoughts are that the games will consist of small casual games such as Minecraft.

The Ouya has specs that are on par with high-end Android phones and tablets, including a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage. It outputs 1080p video through an HDMI slot, uses Bluetooth 4.0 and USB 2.0 for connecting external devices and includes a wireless controller. All sounds very nice, but for £60 it can't be as amazing as the features suggest.


To raise money for a March 13 launch, Ouya has turned to crowd-funding site Kickstarter, where the company is taking pre-orders and other donations. Ouya hopes to raise $950,000 through the site and I give them full support. I'd love to see Google software made for my TV screen at a low price!

Unfortunately, not all games that you play on your phone will be compatible on the big screen. There will be different resolutions and the controller will have a joystick!

Ouya wants to lower the barrier for game development compared to traditional game consoles, so there are no licensing fees, and every console will include a software development kit. There's just one big rule that all developers must follow: All games must have a free-to-play element, whether it's a timed trial, a feature-locked demo or a complete experience filled with microtransactions, so no expensive games to have to waste too much money on.

We don't have any knowledge on when it will be released or a list of games but I really am looking forward to it, for once there will be tech I can afford. It's just a shame getting a TV for that price may be a different story.

So guys, what do you think? Is it worth a buy? Will you be making games? Do you think it will sell? Will Apple, Microsoft and Sony make their console's cheaper and more available to casual; gamers? Leave a comment below!

Sunday 8 July 2012

Full Android History!

Hey Guys,


Since Jelly Bean was confirmed I have decided to create a full list of the android history just to show the technological Evolution of our lovely green robots. Enjoy!!


Android 1.0 and 1.1


Android was born in 2008 on the fuck ugly but nevertheless powerful and fun T-Mobile G1. Made by HTC and sold by T-Mobile, this early version of Android was full of potential, but we deemed it best suited to early adopters and gadget hounds.

Although the G1 couldn't beat the iPhone in when it came to style but it offers most of the major Android features that we've come to know and love. Like the awesome notification bar.



What you get:
  • The Android Market served up apps without the stringent entry rules of the Apple App Store, leading to a vibrant selection of apps, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.
  • The Android browser made surfing the Web on your phone a pleasure rather than a pain, thanks to the ability to render pages quickly and accurately.
  • Google Maps used the phone's GPS and Wi-Fi to pinpoint your location on an infinite map, so you need never be lost again.
  • Syncing with our contacts, email and calendar online initially made us wary of sharing all our data with Google, but our privacy concerns were soon vanquished by the sheer convenience of accessing everything, from anywhere.
Android 1.5 Cupcake

The dessert themed code-names started with Cupcake, the first major update to Android, which dropped in May 2009. Cupcake was packed with new features, but perhaps the most significant was the virtual keyboard, which paved the way for buttonless blowers such as the HTC Magic.
What you get:
  • Shortcuts and widgets on the home screen meant our mobiles could now be obsessively tweaked and personalised.
  • An on-screen keyboard meant tapping virtually could replace typing on the real thing, making phones lighter and leaner.
  • Video recording was added to the camera, and the ability to upload videos straight to YouTube
  • Stereo Bluetooth
  • The Web browser gets a speed boost and the copy and paste function.

Android 1.6 Donut

In October 2009, we got Donut. It offered fewer major improvements, now that most of the key features were in place. But it brought Android to a new crowd, thanks to the addition of support for CDMA -- the technology used by some American mobile networks.

What you get:
  • The universal search function helped us pinpoint our apps and contacts on the phone, or jump to searching the Web.
  • Support for more screen resolutions opened the door to Android phones of different sizes.
  • Google Maps Navigation added free turn-by-turn sat-nav and an alternative to the stand alone Sat-Navs


Android 2.0 and 2.1 Eclair


We didn't have to wait long before Android 2.0 arrived, 1 month after Donut! in November 2009. Eclair reached out to the suits with support for Microsoft Exchange server, which most businesses use for email.

Android 2.1 Eclair arrived in January 2010. It fixed some bugs and let app developers play with more features, but it didn't add any features for users.


What you get:
  • Exchange support, so you can finally get your Outlook email. There's also a unified email inbox. However, it's still kept with POP and IMAP email in a separate app to Gmail.
  • Support for multiple Google accounts lets you stock up on all your Gmail.
  • Camera settings including support for a flash, digital zoom, white balance and colour effects.
  • Searching within text messages and MMS messages.
  • Multi-touch support in the on-screen keyboard helps it figure out what you're trying to say if you accidentally type two letters at once. The dictionary incorporates your contacts so you get people's names right, too.
  • The Web brower gets a refresh with a new address bar and thumbnails for a sneak peek at your bookmarks.
  • Kian gets a phone!!


Android 2.2 Froyo

Arriving in May 2010, Froyo spiced up the little green robot again. It introduced Flash, which has become one of the defining differences between Android and its main competitor, the iPhone.

What you get:
  • Flash Player 10.1 came to Android, which filled in the holes in the Web. Videos, photo slideshows and streaming audio, not to mention plain old site navigation, suddenly became visible on your mobile.
  • Your settings joined your contacts and email in backing up to Google's servers, so theoretically they should be automatically restored if you switch to a new Android phone.
  • Yet more features for connecting to your Microsoft Exchange account, including access to your Outlook address book and the ability for your IT department to remotely wipe your phone.
  • If your phone has a flash, it can be used to light up your videos, too.
  • The portable Wi-Fi hotspot lets you share your phone's 3G Internet connection with your other gadgets, over Wi-Fi.
  • Speedier Web surfing thanks to changes to the browser.
  • Better Bluetooth compatibility with docks and in-car speakers, and the addition of voice dialling over Bluetooth.
  • Kian gets pissed off because his phone doesn't get updated


Android 2.3 Gingerbread

Gingerbread was cooked up in December 2010, but its main features didn't make much of a splash. NFC, for contactless payment, and SIP, for Internet calling, both lay the foundations for future developments, and aren't much fun at the moment.
Android 2.3.3 took some time, but when it did arrive on phones in April 2011, it only added one new feature, the ability for single-core phones to run apps designed for dual-core processors. Android 2.3.4 added yet more bug fixes.
What you get:
  • User interface elements, such as the notification bar, go from grey to black, in a bid to avoid screen burn-in and increase battery life.
  • The on-screen keyboard gains number shortcuts across the top, and a cursor helps to select and copy text.
  • NFC theoretically lets you wave your phone in front of an NFC-enabled emitter to make things happen, whether it's buy a train ticket or check out a website. But, until more NFC systems are in place in the UK, this perk of Gingerbread won't affect us much. 
  • Apps are juggled more adeptly in the background, saving battery and processing power.
  • Support for a front-facing camera for video calling and your emo self-portrait.
  • A download manager so you can keep your eye on everything you've downloaded.
  • Kian is even more pissed off because Sony Ericsson make a new Mini Pro with Gingerbread and Kian's X10 Mini Pro gets left behind.

Android 3.0 and 3.1 Honeycomb

Honeycomb expanded Android to fit the big screens of tablet computers. This version of Android is a separate branch that's only for tablets, and will never come to phones.

Android 3.1 was announced in May 2011, and adds a peck of user interface refinements to Honeycomb. We haven't tested this version yet, but Google writes that the tweaks will make "UI elements easier to see, understand and use". Widgets will also gain the ability to be dragged bigger or smaller, to suit your screen. Android 3.1 also adds support for plugging USB flash drives into your tablet to transfer files without connecting to a computer, as well as USB keyboards, mice and joysticks.


What you get:
  • A blue wireframe design gives Honeycomb a Tron-inspired look.
  • Home screens appear to rotate on a 3D carousel as you swipe through them.
  • Widgets are bigger and bolder to suit the tablet-size screen.
  • The hardware buttons -- home and back -- have been moved on to the screen as virtual buttons that move with you as you rotate your tablet. Meanwhile, the app menu is repositioned to the upper right-hand corner. There's also a new button that fires up a list of currently running apps, visible as thumbnail images.
  • Key apps, such as Gmail and YouTube, are heavily redesigned to take advantage of the space available.
  • The Web browser introduces tabbed browsing, a feature familiar from desktop browsers such as Chrome. There's also an incognito mode to browse on the quiet.
  • A larger, multi-touch keyboard lets you hold down multiple keys to temporarily switch between letters and numbers, for example.


Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich


Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) was announced at the Google I/O conference in May 2011. We had to wait until the Samsung Galaxy Nexus landed in our laps in December before we could see it first-hand. ICS was designed to merge Gingerbread -- Android for phones -- together with Honeycomb, which was designed for tablets.

What you get: 
  • A speedier, smoother browser
  • A data traffic monitor to help you avoid busting your network data limit.
  • More storage space for apps.
  • A new user-friendly action bar replacing the Menu button.
  • Face recognition for unlocking your phone.
  • The ability to decline calls with pre-penned text messages.
  • And most fun of all, live video effects for making your mates look grotesquely disfigured.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Jelly Bean, announced in 2 weeks ago, 2012, may not be a big jump in version number, but adds a host of important updates to Android. Here are the features you can expect to see in Android 4.1.


What you get: 
  • Google Now, an assistant tool that displays relevant information based on your search history and location data.
  • A higher frame rate makes swooping through menus and homescreens feel buttery smooth.
  • View photos you've taken quickly by swiping from the camera to filmstrip view.
  • Widgets and apps politely move out of the way when you add new ones.
  • Notifications now include more information, such as photos or subject lines in emails.
  • Search results can now display answers to questions, rather than simply a list of Google web links.
  • A new gestures mode to improve accessibility for blind users, letting you navigate the UI using touch and swipe gestures, in combination with speech output.