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Walyou

Assassin’s Creed Obstacle Course Planned For Comic Con
Kindle Unlimited, the Netflix of eBooks
How Microsoft’s 18,000 Job Cuts Will Affect You
Prime Instant Video app coming to Android devices everywhere

Assassin’s Creed Obstacle Course Planned For Comic Con

Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:00 AM PDT

Assassins Creed Experience SD Comic Con image

Get your Assassin's Creed-on at this official obstacle course going on at this year’s San Diego Comic Con.

Doing the kind of concrete acrobatics that are performed by the likes of Ezio, Altair, and the rest of the stealthy lot of historical assassins in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series is no walk in the park – literally and metaphorically speaking.

The precision and athletic prowess that is required for parkour, the act of getting from point A to B in the most straightforward, albeit obstacle-laden route as possible, is insanely high. But the proof is in the doing, as the adage goes, and at this year's San Diego Comic Con (July 24-27), Ubisoft will be hosting an official Assassin’s Creed obstacle course where daring visitors can put their own parkour-ing skills to the test.

Don't be too worried if you're not up to the task though, the Assassin's Creed Experience will have professional free runners and stuntmen from Hollywood on hand to show everyone some basic tricks. They'll also help guide you through the French Revolution inspired parkour course, which features a roof-top run, a (fake) cannon-ball gauntlet, and a 25-foot Leap of Faith drop.

You probably won't be eluding Italian sentries like the way Ezio does in Assassin's Creed II by the end of your stay at the Assassin's Creed Experience, but it should be a fun time to be had, if not a heart-racing, sweaty palms inducing one. Visit the Ubisoft page to learn more about the event if you happen to be traveling south for San Diego Comic Con 2014.

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Kindle Unlimited, the Netflix of eBooks

Posted: 21 Jul 2014 06:00 AM PDT

Amazon continues to improve, revamp and fundamentally change the way we consume our entertainment, now with the addition of Kindle Unlimited, their latest program which will turn your Kindle into the eBook version of Netflix.

Whether the world was ready or not, it matters not, and Amazon is already there: the company launched this past Friday their Kindle Unlimited program, which gives users access to over 600,000 titles for $9.99 a month. This is the first time a company gives unlimited access to a selection of eBooks via a subscription service but a direct consequence of other similar services such as Netflix or Hulu when it comes to movies and TV, or PS+ when it comes to video games.

The program allows customers to access both eBooks and Audible audiobooks from a huge selection without any type of restrictions, as long as the user is paying the fee. So far, there are around 2,000 audiobooks and over 600,000 eBooks. These feature some of the most incredibly popular books right now such as Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, while also featuring several niche eBooks of both fiction and non-fiction.

The idea is to enable users to just dive in when it comes to new series or authors without having to commit to a production the reader/listener isn’t sure if they are going to like, while keeping the best part of the Kindle experience: the portability, and accessibility. Amazon has launched a 30-day free trial where users can check out the selection so far, and see what it works like.

Via Wired

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How Microsoft’s 18,000 Job Cuts Will Affect You

Posted: 21 Jul 2014 05:00 AM PDT

Satya Nadella Delivers Opening Keynote At Microsoft Build Conference

To save money following their $7 billion Nokia purchase, Microsoft have announced record breaking job cuts of 18,000 across their business.

As consumers, we recognise one thing – company's are out for money. Sometimes that means we get very good products, other times it means that we get shafted out of good prices and very often it means that the things we want to buy are just out of reach due to impossibly high prices (see: high-end smartphones of today). Ultimately, we have to deal with it because we have no choice but as Microsoft announce record breaking job cuts in order to make money following their expensive (and slightly misinformed purchase) of Nokia's Devices and Services branch and the agreement they made to save $600 million in costs following the deal, plenty of us may have a case for packing up and taking our business elsewhere.

The jobs will mostly take place across Nokia, with employees across both professional and factory level soon to see themselves out of work. Microsoft is doing this as it begins to focus its effort on the 'core' areas of their business, including, as you might have guessed, Windows Phone. Lines such as the Android powered Nokia X budget handsets (that were actually very good given their price) will be consolidated and rolled up into the Lumia brand and they'll be ditching Android (a Windows Phone competitor) too. That's a small thing to concede given that the Nokia X was being pushed in developing countries especially, though better budget handsets by other companies (such as Samsung and Google themselves) are being worked on for these territories, complete with Android which is arguably a superior mobile operating system too. It's where Microsoft plans to trim the fat in other areas that is a major issue.

For one, Microsoft feels that productivity software specifically on PC, is where they can do well. Unfortunately, they fail to realise that PC gamers are a huge part of their core market and PC gaming is also far more lucrative than the console market making it a better business deal to pick up the slack there as gamers have been frustrated at Microsoft for not supporting them (a lack of PC titles and the scrapping of Games for Windows haven't helped either). Meanwhile, Xbox isn't even considered a "core" part of Microsoft’s business by new CEO Satya Nadella which is perhaps what led him to shutter the Xbox Originals project which was set to bring a plethora of brand new and exciting TV shows to the platform. In fact, that several other brilliant Xbox ideas (Family Sharing, digital game reselling and letting Xbox One consoles be dev kits) have been canned too has left a trail of sour and bitter footprints about the place so with all of the changes that Microsoft is making to save money (and save their bacon after the poor acquisition deal) they'll have to be careful that they don't alienate customers altogether.

Source: Microsoft (1), (2)

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Prime Instant Video app coming to Android devices everywhere

Posted: 18 Jul 2014 06:00 AM PDT

Amazon has decided to finally grace the Android platform with their Prime Instant Video app, which could be ready any time from now.

Our colleagues at PC Advisor claim Amazon are currently working on an Android version of their Prime Instant Video app, which debut is “imminent”. The coolest part about it, though, is that it could feature content in 4K resolution.

As of now, only Kindle and Apple users get to access Amazon’s fantastic Prime Instant Video collection from mobile platforms. Yet, if the rumors are true, the other big platform might soon benefit from this app too, as Amazon rushes to compete with Netflix and Hulu Plus. Amazon are expecting to pioneer the area of 4K Ultra HD video, and given how powerful some of the most recent tablets and phones are, it doesn’t look out of the question.

A rumored release date for the app is July 25th, the same day Amazon’s very own Fire Phone gets released.

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