Tag: gaming

1 billion people used Facebook on Monday

What were you doing Monday? According to Mark Zuckerberg, it probably included using Facebook. He just posted that for the first time, the social network notched one billion individual users in a single day, calling it “just the beginning of connecting the whole world.” With that kind of scale, it’s no wonder the exec is focused on drones , lasers and satellites to connect the rest of the world to the internet ASAP, because he’s got an idea what they’ll be logging in to eventually. We just passed an important milestone. For the first time ever, one billion people used Facebook in a single day.On… Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, August 27, 2015 We made this video to celebrate all you’ve done to help our community connect one billion people in a single day. It’s an amazing milestone. I hope you enjoy. Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, August 27, 2015 [Image credit: AFP/Getty Images] Filed under: Internet , Facebook Comments Source: Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) Tags: activeusers, billion, facebook, MarkZuckerberg, video

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1 billion people used Facebook on Monday

There’s a new Tesla Model S long-distance record: 452.8 miles

There’s a reason this guy’s so popular. Bjorn Nyland might be familiar to readers because he just earned himself a free Tesla Model X by successfully getting ten people to buy a Model S . He was able to promote the all-electric car so well because he’s been doing it for ages. He’s proven the capability of the S by taking it 233 miles on a charge even in the deepest, darkest Norwegian winter . He also knows how to wring a lot more miles out of an electric car when the weather’s warm. A little over 452 miles, to be exact. Decked out in a Model S with a “Slow” sticker on the rear end, Nyland and his friend Morgan Tørvolt drove for 18 hours and 40 minutes at an average speed of just 24.2 miles per hour (ouch) to get 452.8 miles out of their battery pack. They started and ended at the Supercharger station in Rødekro, Denmark. That’s an extreme bit of hypermiling that I think throws down the challenge gauntlet to Wayne Gerdes or anyone else who wants to see just how far a big EV with two people inside can go. Unsurprisingly, the duo did the drive in a P85D, which has an 85-kWh battery pack, the biggest Tesla currently sells. A P90D model is on the way , so we’ll open up the floor to comments to see how many miles you think can be be stretched out of an extra 5 kWh. Pure math would say Nyland and Tørvolt got 5.3 more miles per kWh, which would translate to 26.5 more miles. Somehow we think that’s a floor, not a ceiling. The previous record for hypermiling an 85-kWh Model S was set by the father-son duo of David and Adam Metcalf in last 2013. Their record was 423.5 miles . The Metron 7 team took their modified all-electric Mazda minivan 513.3 miles on one charge , but that was using a 108-kWh pack. Filed under: Transportation Comments Via: Teslarati Source: Bjørn Nyland (YouTube) Tags: autoblog, bjornnyland, hypermiling, ModelS, morgantorvolt, p85d, partner, syndicated, tesla, tesla p85d, video

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There’s a new Tesla Model S long-distance record: 452.8 miles

Windows 10 is on 75 million PCs after only one month

If you’re still wondering why Microsoft made Windows 10 free, just consider the latest stats: It’s now on 75 million computers one month after its big launch, Windows corporate VP Yusuf Mehdi tweeted today. In comparison, it took six months for Microsoft to sell 100 million Windows 8 licenses , a more nebulous stat that didn’t necessarily include actual installs. None of this is a surprise though: We’ve written extensively about Microsoft’s desire to build a long-lasting Windows platform , and that starts with prioritizing the number of people running Windows 10 rather than mere revenues. Mehdi also divulged some other intriguing tidbits: More than “90, 000 unique PC or tablet models” have upgraded to Windows 10; over 122 years of gameplay have been streaming to Windows 10 PCs from Xbox One consoles; and, perhaps most intriguingly, the Windows 10 store “has seen 6x more app downloads “per device than Windows 8.” That last point is likely yet another big reason Microsoft chose to make Windows 10 a free upgrade. Microsoft worked hard to promote the Windows 8 app store, but it never managed to land a killer app (and in many cases, Windows 8 apps were simply worse than their iOS and Android counterparts). Developers waited until people actually started using Windows 8 apps, but that never really happened because there weren’t many to choose from. But with Windows 10, there’s an influx of new users eager to try out newer apps, and Microsoft has also made it easier for devs to bring over iOS and Android apps . 1. #Windows10 : More than 75 million devices running Windows 10 – and growing every day. 1/10 pic.twitter.com/g0kqGizU0c — Yusuf Mehdi (@yusuf_i_mehdi) August 26, 2015 Filed under: Software , Microsoft Comments Tags: microsoft, Windows10

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Windows 10 is on 75 million PCs after only one month

Uber’s self-driving car efforts get help from the University of Arizona

Uber’s ambitions in the self-driving car space took a step forward today — the company just announced a partnership with the University of Arizona that will see the university become the home of Uber’s mapping test vehicles. According to a press release from Arizona governor Doug Ducey, the partnership will focus on research and development for optics systems focused on mapping and safety for self-driving vehicles. Uber is also donating $25, 000 to the University of Arizona’s College of Optical Sciences, and an internal email obtained by The Verge indicates that the donation will be for scholarships. This partnership comes after Uber officially partnered with Carnegie Mellon University earlier this year; since then, Uber’s self-driving cars have been spotted driving around Pittsburgh . There’s also been accusations of Uber poaching many of the university’s researchers, something the University of Arizona might want to keep an eye out for. Either way, this partnership is just another sign that Uber sees its future as one where drivers aren’t behind the wheels of its cars. [Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images] Comments Source: State of Arizona , The Verge Tags: selfdrivingcars, uber, universityofarizona, uofa

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Uber’s self-driving car efforts get help from the University of Arizona

GOG Galaxy lets you roll back broken or unwanted updates

The latest version of gaming platform GOG Galaxy now supports patch and update rollbacks, letting you quickly restore a game to a previous version. Rollbacks were originally touted by the company as an DRM-free, anti-Steam feature , letting you skip an update if you hated it. “We know that patches can occasionally break a game or affect your mods, ” said tech VP Piotr Karwowski. GOG Galaxy has other ways you can avoid being locked down, like an opt-out for automatic updates and the ability buy games straight from its store sans the platform. Other game clients, including Steam, generally require such updates, a bone of contention for some players. The main drawback to GOG is a dearth of the latest games, though it does have fairly recent, popular titles like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt . The company describes the Galaxy client as “fully optional, ” though you’ll miss things like multiplayer, achievements and chat if you don’t use it. Along with rollbacks, the new version brings download pausing, extra installation options, improved friend searching, more speed and an updated UI. It’s now available to anybody in the preview program (you can enroll just by selecting the “receive preview updates” option), and will roll out to everybody else a bit later. Filed under: Gaming Comments Tags: Galaxy, GOG, GOG Galaxy, GoodOldGames, PCGaming, Platform, Steam, update, Windows

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GOG Galaxy lets you roll back broken or unwanted updates

MIT’s newest 3D printer spouts 10 materials at a time

One of the biggest hindrances to current 3D printers is that they almost exclusively stick to a single precursor be it plastic, metal or glass . At most, you can get one that extrudes three materials at a time and they’re going set you back a quarter of a million dollars . However, a team of researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory ( CSAIL ) have debuted a novel solution that allows users to create more complex items in a fraction of the time and cost by printing up to ten different materials simultaneously. Dubbed the MultiFab, this machine doesn’t extrude materials. Instead, it mixes microscopic droplets of photopolymers together and shoots them through inkjet-style printers. The system is also quite complex despite being constructed primarily from off-the-shelf components. A central computer directs the printer while receiving a continual stream of data from a 40-micron resolution 3D scanner and camera array as the item is being created. This feedback data — which measures in the dozens of gigabytes — allows the machine to correct and re-calibrate itself as the item is being printed. It also allows the user to place other objects, say a CPU chip, into the project and then print around it. The team envisions users being able to place a cellphone in the machine and 3D-print a case directly onto it. “The platform opens up new possibilities for manufacturing, giving researchers and hobbyists alike the power to create objects that have previously been difficult or even impossible to print.”says Javier Ramos, CSAIL research engineer at CSAIL co-author of the paper. The team believes that the technology could easily be scaled for use in commercial and hobbyist applications alike. Filed under: Science Comments Via: Popular Science Source: MIT Tags: 3D, 3D printing, 3D scanner, camera, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, MultiFab, scanner

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MIT’s newest 3D printer spouts 10 materials at a time

Microsoft’s prototype keyboard cover has an e-ink touchscreen

Tablets are becoming more useful for getting real work done. Looking to further bridge the gap between slate and laptop, Microsoft Applied Sciences built a prototype device it calls the DisplayCover: a keyboard cover that houses an e-ink touchscreen display. The 1, 280 x 305 resolution panel not only provides access to app shortcuts, but it can also handle touch gestures for navigation and accept stylus input. The stylus feature seems to make things like signing documents and scribbling notes a breeze, based on the demo video. In the case of an app like Photoshop where you need constant access to tool palettes, those items can be parked at the top of the keyboard so they don’t take up valuable space on the tablet’s display (in this case a Surface ). Why e-ink? Well, the team says the material was selected because it wouldn’t put too much added strain on battery life like a full-color touch panel would. Sure, the DisplayCover is a prototype that’s obviously far from finished. However, it’s interesting to take a look at what companies are doing to make efficient use of small screen sizes for maximizing productivity. [Thanks, Antonio] Filed under: Peripherals , Microsoft Comments Source: Microsoft Applied Sciences Tags: cover, displaycover, e-ink, keyboardcover, microsoft, surface, tablet, touchscreen

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Microsoft’s prototype keyboard cover has an e-ink touchscreen

Twitter shuts down accounts monitoring politicians’ deleted tweets

After suspending API access to the Open State Foundation’s (OSF) primary American account in May, Twitter went ahead and nixed the foundation’s 30 remaining satellite accounts over the weekend. OSF employed these accounts to monitor and publicize the deleted tweets of elected officials in countries worldwide. Twitter also shut down the group’s Diplotwoops account, which served the same purpose but for diplomats. Notice:Twitter have killed part of @politwoops that powers this account. No new posts for now but tweets available at http://t.co/w6y19ppzRZ — Tweets MPs Delete (@deletedbyMPs) August 22, 2015 Twitter reportedly decided to shut out the OSF after “thoughtful internal deliberation and close consideration of a number of factors.” The foundation cited a note from Twitter regarding its decision, stating “Imagine how nerve-racking – terrifying, even – tweeting would be if it was immutable and irrevocable? No one user is more deserving of that ability than another.” The OSF has since released a statement on the matter: What elected politicians publicly say is a matter of public record. Even when tweets are deleted, it’s part of parliamentary history. These tweets were once posted and later deleted. What politicians say in public should be available to anyone. This is not about typos but it is a unique insight on how messages from elected politicians can change without notice. It should be noted however that Twitter is not a government entity and, even here in the US, has precisely zero responsibility to allow accounts that it feels violate its TOS. In light of the shutdown, the foundation states that it will continue working ensure messages sent by elected politicians remain visible. Just not on Twitter. Filed under: Internet Comments Via: The Next Web Source: Open State Foundation Tags: openstatefoundation, OSF, politics, twitter

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Twitter shuts down accounts monitoring politicians’ deleted tweets

PSA: Apple will replace your iPhone 6 Plus’ wonky camera

Did you buy an iPhone 6 Plus sometime between last September and this January? Do you notice that your shots taken with its back camera come out all blurry? Yeah, it’s not just you . Turns out, a limited number of these phones shipped with a manufacturing defect. However, Apple is aware of the issue and has already begun issuing replacements for the iSight camera. If you think that you have one of these borked units, go to this website and type in your phone’s serial number. If your unit is part of that bad batch, Apple will replace the camera (not the entire phone) at no charge. Also, if you’re rocking one of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6’s , don’t worry; none of those units suffered from the defect. [Image Credit: Getty Images] Filed under: Cellphones , Cameras , Wireless , Mobile , Apple Comments Via: 9to5Mac Source: Apple Support Tags: apple, iphone, iphone6, iphone6plus, isight, mobilepostcross, PSA

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PSA: Apple will replace your iPhone 6 Plus’ wonky camera

Google gives the world a peek at its secret servers

Google has given everyone a rare look inside its server rooms and detailed how keeps up with the massive growth of its search business. In a blog post , Google Fellow Amin Vadat said that the company’s current network, Jupiter, can deliver a petabit per second of total throughput. That means each of its 100, 000 total servers can randomly speak to each other at a speed of 10Gb/s, a hundred times faster than the first-generation network it created in 2005. To get there, Google did something surprising — it built its own hardware from off-the-shelf parts. It was back in 2004 that Google decided to stray away from products by established companies like Cisco and build its own hardware using off-the-shelf chips from companies like Qualcomm. The aim was to put less onus on the hardware and more on software, something that’s impossible with off-the-shelf switches. Vadat said hardware switching is “manual and error prone… and could not scale to meet our needs.” Using software switching was not only cheaper but easier to implement remotely — critical for a company whose bandwidth requirements have doubled (or more) every year. Google considers its servers as a key advantage over rivals like Microsoft and Amazon, so why is it talking now? For one, it’s recently started selling its cloud services to other businesses, so it’s keen to brag about them. It’s also being pragmatic — its data requirements are now so huge that it needs academic help to solve configuration and management challenges. That’s why it’s presenting the paper at the Sigcomm networking conference in London, and if you’re in the mood for a (much) deeper dive, you can read it here . Filed under: Peripherals , Internet , Google Comments Via: WSJ Source: Google Tags: DataCenters, google, GoogleCloud, Growth, Servers, Switches

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Google gives the world a peek at its secret servers