Category: reader

Nvidia turns on 1080p 60 FPS streaming for its Grid cloud gaming service

Starting today, Nvidia has enabled 1080p 60 FPS streaming from its Grid cloud gaming service . To use the new mode, you need to be part of the public Shield Hub beta group , have a Shield device, and at least a 30Mbps connection to the Internet. For the moment, around 35 Grid games support 1080p60 streaming, with Nvidia promising that rest (another 14 at the moment) will get a resolution bump after a server-side hardware refresh. Nvidia won’t say what that hardware refresh entails, but did confirm that its servers would be using the same Kepler-based Grid GPUs. Grid streaming remains free until June 30, after which Nvidia will offer a paid-for premium tier in addition to the free service. While Nvidia still won’t spill the beans on exactly what the premium tier gets you, or how much it’ll cost, we can confirm that 1080p streaming will not require a premium subscription. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Nvidia turns on 1080p 60 FPS streaming for its Grid cloud gaming service

NYT Now news app goes free, ending a subscription experiment

Say goodbye to the $8 a month curated news app NYT Now , and say hello to the free, ad-supported news app of the same name. More than a year after launching NYT Now , which was basically a way for the New York Times to test out an inexpensive subscription offering, the paper is changing course. The basic gist of the app is the same: It serves up a hand-picked selection of NYT stories, which are continuously refreshed throughout the day. The paper’s editors are also highlighting even more stories from around the web, which makes NYT Now feel more like a social news app like Feedly or Flipboard. The revamped app is yet another sign that the NYT is trying to be nimble in a time where major newspapers are struggling to hold onto subscribers and stay relevant. While we never got official stats on how many people subscribed to NYT Now, reports pegged the number around 200, 000 — not exactly a success. It’s also unclear how many of those people were existing New York Times subscribers. So what went wrong? At $8 a month, NYT Now was only slightly cheaper than the paper’s other digital offerings, which range from $15 to $35 a month. Sure, it was fairly inexpensive, but it’s tough to get consumers to cough up anything for content these days. By going free, the Times opens up Now to a far larger audience, and it may even end up making more from advertising than it would from a handful of subscriptions. Unfortunately, there’s still no Android version of NYT Now. Bt now that that the paper is no longer relying on subscriptions, there’s a better chance we’ll see the app on other platforms. Filed under: Mobile Comments Source: NYT , NYT Now (iTunes Store)

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NYT Now news app goes free, ending a subscription experiment

With vinyl sales on the rise, this startup lets anyone press their own LP

We often talk about the lost magic of owning a physical thing , whether that’s books, CDs, or the wondrous black slab of plastic that is the vinyl record. Holding that object in your hand, flicking through its dog-eared pages and admiring its intricately crafted artwork, imparts a sense of ownership that you just can’t replicate with a Kindle or a convenient subscription to Spotify. The trouble is, making physical objects is hard , not to mention expensive. That’s especially true of the vinyl record, where pressing plants aren’t exactly ten a penny. And yet, despite the high cost of manufacturing and end price to the consumer, vinyl sales are very much on the up. According to Nielsen , vinyl album sales in the US have grown an impressive 260 percent since 2009, reaching 9.2 million units last year, while in the UK sales reached a 20-year high of 1.29 million in 2014 . Of course, these numbers are but a tiny fraction of music sales as a whole, but—regardless of whether it’s customers chasing that creamy analogue sound, or there are just a lot more hipsters around these days—there’s a demand to be satisfied. But if you’re not a big record label with deep pockets, getting the capital together to produce a run of vinyl is tricky. Even if you do raise the cash, how do you decide how many to make? Too few and people are left wanting; too many and you’re left with stock you can’t sell. It’s a problem that the recently launched Qrates  is hoping to solve. Qrates is an intriguing mix of the old and the new, consisting of a vinyl pressing service, a crowdfunding system, and a digital store all rolled into one. Using the site’s online tool, you can upload your music, design the label and sleeve, choose your preferred playing speed (33 or 45), the weight and colour of the actual record, and how many you’d like (there’s currently a nice low minimum order of 100). Qrates gives you an estimated cost, and then works with a regional pressing plant to fulfil your order. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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With vinyl sales on the rise, this startup lets anyone press their own LP

A Tiny Video Game-Playing Business Card You Can Smuggle In Your Wallet

A year ago Kevin Bates singlehandedly justified the antiquated tradition of swapping business cards with a thin and tiny handheld console that could even play video games. He originally created the Arduboy as the ultimate business card to show off his electronics skills to potential employers, but now anyone can finally buy one through Kevin’s recently-launched Kickstarter campaign. Read more…

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A Tiny Video Game-Playing Business Card You Can Smuggle In Your Wallet

AT&T to fix Internet congestion before it can be hit with complaint

With a month left before net neutrality complaints can be filed to the Federal Communications Commission, Internet service providers are continuing to sign agreements to prevent network congestion and a potential scolding from regulators. The latest agreement was announced today between AT&T and Level 3 , an Internet backbone operator that has accused broadband providers like AT&T of not upgrading interconnection points, allowing Internet performance for consumers to be degraded. A month ago, Level 3 told National Journal  that it was “evaluating our options” and “still experiencing interconnection point congestion as some large consumer ISPs continue to attempt to leverage control over access to their users to extract arbitrary tolls.” While the FCC’s net neutrality order  bans paid prioritization of traffic after it enters providers’ networks, it doesn’t ban payments for interconnection, which happens at the edges of the network. However, the FCC set up a complaint process so it can decide whether particular demands are unreasonable and prod companies into providing enough capacity to prevent Internet slowdowns. Complaints can be filed beginning June 12. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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AT&T to fix Internet congestion before it can be hit with complaint

How to Turn Your PC (or Other Device) Into a Retro Arcade with Lakka

If you’re looking for a fun way to use an old PC, Lakka can turn it into an amazing retro gaming machine. This easy setup doesn’t require any advanced Linux knowledge, and you can even use the controllers you already have lying around. Here’s a step-by-step guide to making your own all-in-one retro arcade in no time. Read more…

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How to Turn Your PC (or Other Device) Into a Retro Arcade with Lakka

An Interactive Map Of Murder Rates Around The World

The interactive Homicide Monitor allows you to click on a country and see its murder count in a specific recent year, and the rate the number represents per 100, 000 people. For some countries, you can also see the weapon most commonly used. (No surprise, the good ol’ USA has some of the more terrifying stats.) Read more…

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An Interactive Map Of Murder Rates Around The World

MetroPCS shuts off its old phone network on June 21st

You’d better move quickly if you’re holding on to an older MetroPCS cellphone. The T-Mobile-owned carrier has posted a Frequently Asked Questions warning that its outgoing CDMA network will effectively shut off on June 21st. Any legacy phones are “not guaranteed” to work after that, the contract-free network says. It’s no secret that the end was nigh given that MetroPCS began winding down CDMA last year . However, we won’t blame you if this early transition is catching you off-guard. T-Mobile only said it was turning off MetroPCS’ old network sometime in the second half of the year — it’s clearly eager to conduct some spring cleaning, even if it means asking people to upgrade sooner than expected. [Image credit: Jim Carroll, Flickr ] Filed under: Cellphones , Wireless , Mobile , T-Mobile Comments Via: FierceWireless , Android Central Source: MetroPCS

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MetroPCS shuts off its old phone network on June 21st

CHIP is a $9 Raspberry Pi killer

The Raspberry Pi was definitely a game changer when it hit shelves at only $35. But CHIP is hoping to make the Pi look positively pricey by comparison. The Kickstarter campaign has already blown way past its $50, 000 goal. In fact, at the time of this writing its approaching $500, 000. Like the Pi, CHIP is a fully functional computer. The tiny board is home to a 1GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage, all of which power a full-fledged (if light-weight) Linux desktop. Even more impressive is that there’s both WiFi and Bluetooth on board. It’s mostly aimed at tinkerers and DIYers , hence the I/O pins waiting for your attention, but you could certainly use it as an inexpensive general purpose computer… so long as you’re not particularly demanding. Now, to be fair, if you want a VGA adaptor or HDMI adaptor you’ll have to shell out a little more ($19 and $24 respectively), but you could hook it up to most TVs with the built-in composite video port. The $50 PocketCHIP, however, is truly impressive. It’s the same versatile board, but it comes with a case that’s home to a battery, a keyboard and 4.3-inch touchscreen. Yes, your smartphone is definitely more powerful, but for $50, this is incredibly impressive for something no bigger than an OG GameBoy. Filed under: Misc Comments Via: TechCrunch Source: CHIP (Kickstarter)

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CHIP is a $9 Raspberry Pi killer