Новости за 28.07.2017

An Apple TV with 4K and HDR support has been rumored for months, if not years, but it seems like Apple may finally be gearing up to release an updated version of its set-top streaming box. According to a new report from MacRumors, iTunes is beginning to list movies as supporting 4K and HDR in users’ purchase histories, implying that Apple’s digital storefront — and likely, its devices — could be supporting higher-quality videos soon.

For the past few years, the biggest fight in the music industry has been against ad-supported music. Apple attempted to kill Spotify's free tier before it launched Apple Music; the industry has railed against what it perceives as low payments from YouTube for years; and SoundCloud, one of the most popular ad-supported streaming sites in the world, is on the brink of collapse. But the truth is that ad-supported streaming isn't going anywhere. YouTube is too big to fail at this point, and labels... Читать дальше...

In The Emoji Movie, a malfunctioning Meh emoji named Gene (T.J. Miller) escapes from a text app so he can be reprogrammed (and subsequently saved from deletion) by an infamous hacker. He travels though a teenager's smartphone with a washed-up High-Five emoji (James Corden) who hopes the hacker can make him popular again.

Saturn’s moon Titan harbors a key chemical ingredient that may allow organisms to exist on this distant, chilly world. Astronomers have spotted a molecule in Titan’s atmosphere that could be instrumental in the formation of cells, which are a crucial building block of life. That means the molecule — and possibly some form of cellular life — might be located on the moon’s surface as well.

Apple’s latest patent spat with Nokia resulted in a $2 billion up-front payment from the iPhone maker, a colossal sum that seems to indicate Apple was eager to avoid a protracted and ugly dispute that could rival the one it had with Samsung. The amount of the settlement, which was first announced back in May without the disclosure of a financial amount or the new licensing terms, was first spotted in Nokia’s second quarter earnings release by the blog Nokiamob.

Everyone has their preferred approach when it comes to parsing David Lynch’s enigmatic work. The miraculous new 2017 revival of his landmark 1990 TV series Twin Peaks has seen critics studying each hour from every conceivable angle. Plenty of writers take the traditional road and attempt to divine a plot from what can feel like arbitrarily arranged scenes. Others prefer a formal, more academic analysis. Some read the show through the context of Lynch’s career. And I’m sure someone, somewhere believes... Читать дальше...

The Vergecast summer 2017 continues! This week, The Verge launched Verge Guidebook, a new guide to show you what to buy, what you shouldn't, and how to use it all. Nilay, Dieter, and Paul start off the show discussing the new review system and how-tos coming to the site.

Luc Besson’s latest science fiction film is an adaptation of the classic French comic book Valérian and Laureline. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets follows the titular Valerian and his partner Laureline as they race to protect an interstellar city known as Alpha, which is home to thousands of aliens from across the galaxy.

Like previous years, the convention center at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 became a hub for cosplayers, with fans from across the world sporting elaborate costumes, celebrating just about every film, TV show, or comic out there. Every Comic-Con, the community seems to champion a specific character, releasing an army of meticulously dressed near-clones across the crowded halls. Last year it was Harley Quinn. This year it was Wonder Woman. The standout costume is often a statement, made en masse, on the state of the comics world. Читать дальше...

Fitbit chief executive officer James Park says that the company’s upcoming smartwatch will have an app platform and an app gallery ready to go when it launches, despite reports (including our own) that Fitbit’s smartwatch woes have extended to its software as well as its hardware production.

Every week, a slew of new music videos hits the web. Watching them at your desk is not time theft because you deserve it; think of it as a nice reward for surviving another work week. But what if you don’t have time to watch every video — maybe you have a deadline, a hungry pet, or other grown-up concerns. In consideration of your schedule, Lizzie and Kaitlyn bring you a series called One Video. Each week we’ll tell you “one video” you need to watch, why, and for how long.

Prince Noctis’ ride is taking on some new terrain. On August 1st, the Regalia — the sleek, luxurious car at the center of Final Fantasy XV — will be available as a downloadable add-on for Forza Horizon 3 on both Xbox One and Windows 10. The car will be available as a free download to players of both games; according to Microsoft, if you’ve played either game you should be getting a message with a redeemable code on the 1st.

In Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale, Netflix’s first foray into interactive programming, the first choice viewers are asked to make is whether the swashbuckling tabby should fight a muscle-bound brute, or take on a tree instead.

Four months into the Nintendo Switch’s lifespan, and we still don’t know what’s up with the system’s “virtual console” retro game store. Nintendo has said that classic games like Dr. Mario and Super Mario Bros. 3 will be part of its upcoming online subscription service, set to launch next year, complete with new online-enabled features. But as for a dedicated shop to buy retro titles — a highlight of Nintendo hardware since the original Wii — there’s been no word. And it’s a shame, because the... Читать дальше...

Porsche is joining Formula E, the all-electric racing series, in 2019. The news was announced early this morning, and it comes just a few days after another major German manufacturer — Mercedes-Benz — said that it will join Formula E in 2019 as well.

Nokia is back in the US, sort of

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AltspaceVR, the virtual reality social network that has hosted everything from stand-up comedy to presidential debate-watching parties, is shutting down next week. The community announced “with heavy hearts” last night that AltspaceVR would be closing August 3rd at 10pm ET, after “unforeseen financial difficulty.”

‘There's enough information missing that people's imaginations are filling in the gaps and making this a magical car’

Here’s a bargain on Amazon that doesn’t require you to be a Prime member or rush to get it: Fiio’s new F5 earphones. Priced at $64.99, these have just arrived on Amazon’s online store (and only there, for now), though I’ve had a test pair for a few weeks already. The F5s won’t topple my sub-$100 favorites, the 1More Triple Drivers, but compared to the so-so competition in their price range, they’re a great choice for more constrained budgets.

There’s a saying in the mushroom-picking community that all mushrooms are edible but some mushrooms are only edible once.

Struggling smart home platform Wink has been acquired by lifestyle and technology company, i.am+, the company owned by musician and hit and miss (but mostly miss) tech entrepreneur will.i.am.

Amazon has revealed a new delivery locker designed for apartment blocks and other housing complexes that may not have mailroom services to securely process packages.

Late Thursday night, Elon Musk tweeted that SpaceX’s next big rocket — the Falcon Heavy — will make its inaugural flight this November. It’s a new launch date for a vehicle that has had many tentative launch dates before, none of which have actually panned out just yet. But perhaps this time, the vehicle may finally fly when Musk says it will.

Back in 2007, Stephen King’s 1980 novella The Mist was adapted as a film starring Thomas Jane and a lot of gigantic spiders, plus all sorts of creepy-crawly giant creatures seizing humans and biting their heads off. Ten years later, The Mist has become a Spike TV series. The adaptation is still about group-think, and it’s still a horror show. But that’s about all that’s remained the same.

Built for — and in — the great outdoors

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