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VMware brings Windows 10 and graphics boost to Fusion and Workstation

VMware’s desktop virtualization software for Macs, Windows PCs, and Linux are being upgraded today to support Windows 10 and new features to boost performance. VMware Fusion for Macs is up to version 8, while Workstation for Windows and Linux is up to version 12. Both products have an improved graphics engine to support DirectX 10 and OpenGL 3.3. VMware’s release comes one week after Parallels upgraded its desktop virtualization software for Macs. Here’s what Fusion 8 looks like: Read 26 remaining paragraphs | Comments

The gorgeous faces and stunning cinematography of ‘Until Dawn’

The PlayStation 4’s latest exclusive Until Dawn is absolutely stunning visually. In particular? Its faces. By using 3D performance capture techniques that include strapping an HD camera rig attached to their heads to grab practically every minute detail and expression, the actors (including Hayden Panettiere and Peter Stormare) bring life to the characters in a pretty realistic fashion. What’s really cool is that oftentimes once you let the DualShock 4 sit idle for a moment, the camera will zoom in on the face of whichever of the randy teens you’re controlling. If motion controls are enabled, you can tilt the gamepad this way and that and the possibly-doomed cabeza will follow suit accordingly. It’s pretty neat! Slideshow-314565 Sadly, Until Dawn is severely lacking a proper photo mode though. I never thought I’d praise a game’s cinematography, but I was consistently wowed by how every scene was composed and framed during my playthrough. Those sometimes-annoying camera angles, combined with just how good the game looks, scream for the ability to futz with exposure, saturation and depth of field adjustments for even more stunning, shareable shots. Seriously. Take a gander at the gallery below and try telling me that something like The Last of Us: Remastered ‘s or Infamous: Second Son ‘s digital dark-rooms couldn’t make the screenshots look even cooler and more desktop-image worthy. Slideshow-314571 Filed under: Gaming , Home Entertainment , HD , Sony Comments Tags: 3dMotionCapture, cinematography, faces, gallery, gaming, HaydenPanettiere, hd, hdpostcross, PerformanceCapture, PeterStormare, photogrpahy, PlayStation, playstation4, ps4, sony, supermassivegames, untildawn

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The gorgeous faces and stunning cinematography of ‘Until Dawn’

Tesla starts testing its autopilot features with Model S drivers

As promised, Tesla’s latest autopilot features are out in the wild. A handful of Model S drivers are now testing the electric car’s upcoming semi-autonomous tech, including highway autosteer (which tackles lanes, passing and vehicle distance) and automatic parallel parking. Ideally, these vehicular pioneers will find the last remaining quirks in both the autopilot’s behavior and its interface — those edge cases that tend to creep up only in the real world. It’s not clear exactly when everyday Model S owners will get their turn, but it’s important to temper expectations. The technology isn’t really a peek at a future dominated by self-driving cars … at least, not yet. You’ll still need to flick the turn signal to pass cars (to indicate intent and absolve Tesla of liability), and the additions won’t help much when you’re stuck in city traffic. Think of this more as a step up from the lane and braking assists that you see on other cars . They’ll eliminate more of the monotony of driving, but there’s no point at which you can completely glaze over. Filed under: Transportation Comments Via: Autoblog Source: IEEE Spectrum , Teslarati Tags: autopilot, car, electriccar, electricvehicle, ev, models, semi-autonomous, tesla, transportation

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Tesla starts testing its autopilot features with Model S drivers

Parallels 11 brings Microsoft’s Cortana to Macs before Siri

The latest version of Parallels, the popular Windows virtualization tool for Mac OS X, almost feels like it’s trolling Apple. One of Parallels 11’s key features, alongside full Windows 10 support, is its ability to put Microsoft’s Cortana right on your OS X desktop. That’s right — you could have a Windows-powered virtual assistant on your Mac long before Siri reaches the desktop. Parallels has already made it possible to run Windows apps directly on your Mac desktop for years with its “Coherence mode, ” but this latest update marks the first time it’s brought over a Windows feature on its own. Slideshow-313636 In a brief demonstration, Parallel’s Cortana feature (which requires a Windows 10 virtual installation, naturally) worked just like it did on Windows 10 proper, with decent voice recognition and no noticeable delays. It can even take advantage of your Mac’s location data, making it practically indistinguishable from a native OS X app. Parallels 11 also packs in the usual performance improvements: It can launch and shut down Windows around 50 percent faster than the last version, and a new “travel mode” can save up to 25 percent of your battery life. But really, the main reason you’d want to upgrade is to put Cortana on your OS X desktop and freak out all your friends. Parallels 11 is available today for $80, though users of the past two versions can upgrade for $50. And if you need more out of your Windows virtual machine, there’s also Parallels 11 for Mac Pro Edition, which will take advantage of that machine’s beefy hardware. It’ll cost you $100 a year, or $50 a year if you’re upgrading from Parallels 9 or 10. Filed under: Software Comments Tags: Cortana, Macs, OSX, Parallels, Parallels11, Windows10

Privacy-focused Blackphone 2 is ready for pre-order

Blackphone 2, the second iteration of Silent Circle’s privacy-focused handset, is now available for pre-order — assuming you don’t mind reserving a device without knowing its price. The original Blackphone was sold at the flagship-level cost of $629, but remember, this one’s more sophisticated than its predecessor, with its front and rear covered in glass. It has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, and inside, it boasts an octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. What makes it different from other phones with similar specs, though, is that it runs an Android-based platform called PrivatOS which includes a suite of secure apps, including ones for encrypted messaging and voice calls. We saw Blackphone 2 at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year, and we have a preview you can read to know a bit more before you pre-order a unit. The device is expected to arrive sometime in September — if you’d rather get the the Blackphone+ tablet, though, you’ll have to wait a bit more, since Silent Circle hasn’t revealed when that one will be available. Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile Comments Via: TechCrunch Source: Silent Circle Tags: blackphone2, mobilepostcross, silentcircle

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Privacy-focused Blackphone 2 is ready for pre-order

The software Stephen Hawking uses to talk to the world is now free

For almost 20 years, Intel has been building technology to help Stephen Hawking communicate with the world — and now the company is making the same software the world renowned physicist uses to write books, give speeches and talk available to everybody . For free. It’s called the Assistive Context-Aware Toolkit (ACAT), and it’s the very same software Intel baked Swiftkey into for Hawkings early last year. Releasing it as open source software was always the plan, giving engineers, developers and researchers a groundwork they can use to create technology that improves the lives of patients with motor neuron disease and other conditions that make using typical computer interfaces impossible. Right now ACAT uses webcam-based face recognition for user control, but Intel says developers can augment it with custom inputs. As is, it still works pretty well: I installed it on a Windows tablet for a quick test run and was able to type simple words by flexing my face muscles in the same manner as Professor Hawking — patiently waiting for the ACAT system to highlight the menu, letter or predictive text word I wanted before moving my cheek. The system can also open documents, browse the web and gives users surprisingly precise cursor control. The base software is available for free on Github , and Intel is hosting a separate site with documentation, videos on features and compatible sensors and a detailed manual to help users get started. If you’re having trouble, you can even contact the project’s lead directly (his email is published on the ACAT website) for help. All in all, the project’s public release is a great step forward to achieving Professor Hawking’s dream of making connected wheelchair and assistive computer technology to every person that needs it. Check out the project’s official Git.Hub page or Intel’s project page at the source link below. [Top image credit: Jason Bye / Alamy] Filed under: Misc , Intel Comments Source: Wired , ACAT , Github Tags: acat, AssistiveTechnology, hawking, intel, stephenhawking

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The software Stephen Hawking uses to talk to the world is now free

Chrome add-on helps you watch Netflix with friends

If you’ve ever wanted to watch Netflix with someone not in the same room as you, here’s your chance. Thanks to a new Chrome extension called Showgoers , people can now share a viewing experience from afar by linking their Netflix accounts. It works fairly simple: once the users’ info is entered, you click the Showgoers button and it sends an invite to whoever you want to watch a movie or TV show with in real-time. The person on the other end then receives a URL, clicks and, in a matter of seconds, the synced programming will begin automatically — you can play, pause or start something else anytime. Keep in mind that Showgoers is a public beta, so you may encounter some hiccups along the way. Still, the developer says “it generally works great.” According to Showgoers, you must follow these steps for the extension to work smoothly: Be signed into their Netflix account before opening the invite URL. Have installed the Showgoers Chrome extension. Open the invite URL in Chrome. [image credits: AFP/Getty Images] Filed under: Home Entertainment , Internet , HD Comments Via: BGR Source: Showgoers Tags: hdpostcross, movies, Netflix, streaming, streamingvideo, TVshows, videostreaming

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Chrome add-on helps you watch Netflix with friends

Hack Amazon’s Dash buttons to do things other than buying stuff

Amazon’s Dash buttons are tiny adhesive physical triggers that can order for you, through the magic of WiFi, anything you need to stock up on. But that’s not the limits of their power, if you’re willing to tinker with them. Ted Benson, (who works at a company that likes to regularly perform such shenanigans with the aid of its web tools), reckons it”ll you take under 10 minutes to repurpose Amazon’s physical iteration of Buy It Now. (I think he’s underestimating the degree of incompetence this editor possesses, but anyhow.) Benson managed to hack a diaper-ordering Dash button to act as an Internet Of Things -style tracker for how often his (adorable) baby poops. Or how many times he wakes up in a night. The trick lies in the fact that Amazon’s buttons aren’t constantly connected to WiFi. For the sake of battery life, the buttons only come to life when pushed, meaning the workaround picks up when your button is trying to access the internet, and registers that as a trigger for anything but buying stuff from Amazon. With a little bit of python code, a simple program can track when the button tries to connect to the WiFi, and once it gets a hit, record a datapoint. (In this case, inside a Google Doc spreadsheet.) Of course, you need to ensure you’ve setup the button not to order something every time you press it –easily done when you first start using the button. If you’re looking to make the idea of smart diapers seem suddenly very stupid, you can find all the code and instruction needed in the Medium post right here Filed under: Wearables , Internet , Amazon Comments Source: Medium Tags: amazon, amazondash, dashbutton, diapers, internetofthings, poop, video

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Hack Amazon’s Dash buttons to do things other than buying stuff

Microsoft working on an app that reads the news to you

Microsoft is testing a new app called NewsCast, which makes a playlist of news story summaries and reads them to you, according to Neowin . The publication came across a page on the Microsoft Azure Web Sites domain that had the app for download. In it, the company mentioned that the program was created by the Bing team and is meant to make commutes more productive, since you can listen to playlist even while driving. Unfortunately, the download’s no longer available , but Neowin managed to take some screenshots that you can see below the fold. NewsCast reportedly uses Bing’s text-to-speech program to read out blurbs that last 30 seconds each, though the voice isn’t as organic as Cortana’s . It allows you to save summaries for later and also has a feedback button that launches a three-question survey for testers. Curiously, the app that was on Azure was available only for iOS devices, though it’s probably because a lot of Microsoft employees/testers use iPhones and iPads. As you can see, it’s not quite identical to the breaking news app Facebook’s reportedly developing, as well, but the two could very well be rivals in the future. [Image credit: JeepersMedia/Flickr , Neowin ] Filed under: Misc , Mobile , Microsoft Comments Via: PCWorld Source: Neowin Tags: app, ios, iphone, microsoft, mobilepostcross

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Microsoft working on an app that reads the news to you

New Xbox dashboard and backwards compatibility come in November

At E3, Microsoft unveiled a revamped dashboard for the Xbox One that put an emphasis on speed and community. It’s now here at Gamescom when the company has revealed when exactly this revamped user interface will be filtering down onto your console: this November. The biggest additional feature is backwards compatibility , which means that around 100 Xbox 360 titles will be available to play on the hardware. Of course, if you’ve already paid for these games for the older console, you won’t be charged again for the privilege. In addition, the company’s Mike Ybarra has revealed that all future Games with Gold that are available on the Xbox 360 will also be accessible on the Xbox One. At the same time, he also announced that DVR functionality — which is also free — will come to the console in time for the holidays. The rest of the dashboard’s features were outlined at E3, the most notable being the integration of Cortana, Microsoft’s digital voice assistant. She can be used to perform minor tasks — like recording and sharing in-game footage — without you having to stop your epic career mode run on Fifa 16 . The revamped UI also offers a new quick-launch menu that pops up when you double-tap the Xbox button on your controller. We’re live all week from Cologne, Germany for Gamescom 2015. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show. Filed under: Gaming , Microsoft Comments Source: Xbox Tags: BackwardsCompatibility, Dashboard, FallUpdate, Gamescom2015, GamesWithGold, Microsoft, Xbox, XboxOne

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New Xbox dashboard and backwards compatibility come in November

Ken May

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