'Far Cry 4' isn't on Steam anymore because EA wants to sell it directly
What happened not too long ago with Electronic Arts and its Origin platform appears to be happening with Ubisoft too. As Kotaku has noticed, Ubisoft's trio of tentpole releases for this fall -- Assassin's Creed Unity, Far Cry 4 and The Crew -- are no longer available on Valve's game store, seemingly disappearing overnight. Curiously, older entries in each respective franchise are still available (and reasonably priced) on Gabe Newell's one-stop PC-gaming shop. Even weirder yet? VG247 has spotted that ACU and FC4 are now listed on Origin. No, it doesn't make a lot of sense especially considering Ubisoft has its own digital storefront. We've pinged the outfit's PR team for details about what's up and will update this post should we hear back.
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Walmart's got a Chromecast-like dongle for its Vudu video service
Walmart looks set to launch a new streaming HDMI dongle resembling Google'sChromecast or Amazon's Fire TV Stick, but possibly lacking some of the features of those devices. Called the Vudu Spark, it leaked from the FCC's website, replete with multi-angle photos and a user manual. The document shows how to set up the Spark with your WiFi network, and that it'll basically do one thing: give you Vudu on your TV. That app is Walmart's answer to Netflix, serving up streaming movies and TV shows on demand.
Energica Eva is a 'naked' electric superbike for the street
If you liked the basic concept behind CRP Racing's Energica electric superbike (now the Energica Ego) but wanted something that was more stripped down, you've just met your dream machine. The company has unveiled the Energica Eva, a "naked" streetfighter counterpart to the Ego. You'll still find a high-powered 136HP motor (good for 149MPH) and a 95-mile battery (with a 3.5-hour full recharge), but much of the design has been pared down and shortened for urban riding. You'll see more of that electric powerplant, while the handlebars, pegs and wheels should be more city-friendly. As for a launch date and price? CRP isn't ready to hand those out yet, but it was previously aiming for a price between $25,000 to $28,000 -- you'll have to really want a fast, environmentally conscious two-wheeler for the Eva to make sense....Read More
Amazon Prime Members’ Newest Benefit Is Free, Unlimited Photo Storage
Amazon Prime members are getting another benefit today, the company announced this morning: free, unlimited photo storage. In a new service called Prime Photos, paying subscribers of Amazon’s membership program will now be about to store photos in their original resolutions to Amazon Cloud Drive from any device, including iOS, Android, and Fire phones and tablets, as well as Mac and… Read More
HP's slim 'Omen' gaming laptop conjures up Voodoo memories
Remember that gaming laptop HP was rumored to be building, the one @evleaks said would rival Alienware's rigs? Well, it's here -- and it's not quite what the retired leaker expected. Instead of a thick, meaty machine to match the Alienware 14 and 17, HP is putting out the Omen, a 15-inch gaming notebook that measures only 0.78-inches at its thickest point. Don't let it's svelte chassis fool you, though, there's more than enough under the Omen's hood to compete in today's laptop market.....Read More
Nest's smart thermostat now shows much more info at a glance
For all of the things Nest's smart thermostat has learned to do, its interface hasn't made a lot of progress; you frequently have to dig to see more than just the basics. You'll have a much easier time of it after today, though. Nest is now rolling out a version 4.3 update that includes Quick View, a reworked interface that gives you more info at a glance. Push in the ring and you can quickly check both the outdoor temperature and humidity before you leave home -- handy if you're unsure about bringing your jacket. Spinning the ring, meanwhile, shows you a summary of everything associated with a given category. You can see the next scheduled temperature change, fan settings and other nice-to-know facts without wading into the menus....... Read More
Fitbit Unveils Fitness 'Superwatch' and Continuous Heart-Rate Tracking Devices
Fitbit unveiled a series of new wristband fitness trackers on Monday, marking its first major launch since the recall of its ill-fated Fitbit Force.
In line with rumors, the company has added three devices to its lineup: the Fitbit Charge (a reboot of the Fitbit Force), the Fitbit Charge HR (which comes with heart-rate monitoring) and the Fitbit Surge, a device specialized for runners (with some smartwatch capabilities). The products and the corresponding apps work with iOS, Android and Windows phones and come in small, large and x-large sizes.
Fitbit — which maintains 69% of wearables marketshare, according to NPD Group — will launch the Fitbit Charge in time for the holiday shopping season, but the Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge won't be available until early next year. It's unclear if the latter two were subject to any delays related to the supply chain or production, but CEO James Park told Mashable he isn't concerned with the timeline.
"Everything might not be ready for the holiday shopping season, but we are focused on delivering the best products and won't ship any before it's ready," Park said.
Fitbit Charge
The Fitbit Charge ($129.95, launching in mid-November) is the replacement to the Fitbit Force that was recalled six months ago after users reported allergic reactions to the wristband. Park said the company "took the Force issue very seriously" and "learned a lot from what happened."
"It"It
While the reboot is strikingly similar in design to the Force, there are some differences: to start, the wristband itself is more texturized, with small ridges that form a subtle pattern. It's also a bit lighter and the clasp has been tweaked too to avoid it from falling off the wrist, another complaint some users have had in the past.
From a tracking standpoint, it still monitors steps taken, calories burned and displays the time, but it also added a feature to track sleeping without needing to put it in sleep mode — it knows when you're sleeping automatically know by keeping tabs on your movement.Other additions include smartwatch-like alerts, such as showing you in real-time who is calling or texting. This will likely come in handy when you don't want to reach from your smartphone and can see the notifications directly on your wrist instead. Although Fitbit said this feature was going to be available as an update to the Fitbit Force, it never launched due to the recall.
It's also possible to call out workouts now and monitor how many calories were burned during a specific period. Software updates to the app include a feature called Challenges, which lets you go head to head with friends throughout the week, weekend or daily to see how you stack up against one another. Considering those who have at least one friend hooked up to an account tend to be 27% more active, it's no surprise Fitbit wants to make the app more engaging so users spend more time with it.
The Fitbit Charge will launch in two colors (black and slate) and will be available in burgundy and blue starting in 2015.
Fitbit Charge HR
IMAGE: FITBIT
The Fitbit Charge HR is nearly the same as standard Fitbit Charge but it comes with one differentiator: a continuous heart rate tracker, which is where the "HR" gets its name. Fitbit is calling its heart-rate tracking technology PulseRate and lets users get a read on their heart rate at all hours of the day, not only during workouts but even when resting or sleeping.
This is definitely an attractive feature — while some fitness trackers monitor heart rate while you're going for a run, it's less common for a device to track it at all times. This creates a huge pool of information that can reveal a lot about your health — sometimes you're resting heart rate is more telling than it during high intensity times.
IMAGE: MASHABLE, LUKE LEONARD
While the Fitbit Charge ($149.95) lasts about seven days on one charge, this version will get you about five. But overall, the $20 added to the price for continuous heart rate monitoring is a good deal for those really looking to monitor their health.
It will come in black and plum when it debuts in 2015, with other colors like blue and tangerine coming later on.
Fitbit Surge
IMAGE: MASHABLE, LUKE LEONARD
The Fitbit Surge, which the company calls a "superwatch," is the closest to a fitness smartwatch that we've seen from Fitbit yet. While it might look like a smartwatch, with its rectangular-shaped OLED display, and act like one too — it lets you see incoming calls and text alerts — it's still a fitness device at the core.
Fitbit's demographic is typically people who want to track steps and calories, but athletes who are training for marathons would likely go for running-centric devices instead like the $130 Garmin vivofit. The Surge, which promises up to 7 days of battery life on a charge, may give runners more of a reason to consider the Fitbit brand for rigorous workouts and includes a sleeker design than other models on the market.
IMAGE: MASHABLE, LUKE LEONARD
Like the Fitbit Charge HR, it comes with continuous heart-rate monitoring, as well as built-in GPS, sleep analysis and activity tracking. Under the hood, there are also eight sensors, a gyroscope, compass, ambient light sensor, GPS and an LCD backlit touch screen display. Users can also change their watch faces (of the display) and control their music via the device.
As for whether or not Fitbit will ever launch a true smartwatch (not focused on fitness) of its own, it seems unlikely for now.
"There will always be an element of fitness to our products; that's what we were founded as a company," the spokesperson said. "We can't say inevitably where things will go and we'll continue to learn about the market and make products relevant, but in the near future, this is the plan."
Firstly is you have no idea about this term. , it is simply related to moving images and videos.There are two ways of scanning an moving image :
1. Interlaced Scan 2. Progressive Scan
The former one is an old technology and it is commonly used in analog televisions CRT 's.
The term Progressive scanning ,the newer technology is a way of displaying , storing or transmitting moving images. The video signals are generated using horizontal lines. In the progressive scan all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence. i.e. The entire single frame image is painted every 1/60th of a second. and it sends twice the data as compared to the interlaced scan.
Progressive scan is used for scanning and storing images-based ( in motion ) material on DVDs.
Image credit (networkwebcams.com)
Nowadays most of the HDTV's used Progressive scanning technology.Progressive scan images results in more sharper and detailed images in the video.For viewing interlaced video on progressive scan devices or Tv sets , deinterlacing is done for it.
Progressive scan video has a refresh rate of 30 Hz while the interlaced has 60 Hz.
When you see video formats described as 480p or 720p the number indicates the horizontal lines and p indicates a Progressive scan format video.
