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Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare can’t be shared via SharePlay

Posted: 06 Nov 2014 09:35 AM PST

PS4 Shareplay

The PS4′s SharePlay feature has met another road bump as Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare absolutely does not work with it. Turns out, this isn’t a bug, either.

The latest iteration of the PS4 firmware, codenamed Masamune, promised a world where gamers could share games with their friends without even leaving their homes. Turns out the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is not amongst those.

Sony has had a rocky road so far ever since it updated their multi-million selling PS4 to firmware 2.0, and the introduction of shareplay. Their online service PSN has had quite some downtime and performance has been buggy overall, but now, the release of the latest Call of Duty marks the first game that does not work at all with it.

What SharePlay does is allow users to give up control and let someone else on their friend’s list take a turn from their own PS4 – like couch playing, but over the Internet. In the case of Call of Duty, though, the game marks all footage as censored, and this is exactly what Activision intended. As Sony explained to GameSpot, “Share Play is a system level feature enabled by System Software Update 2.0 making it available for all PS4 titles, however the option is available to developers to disable the feature according to what they feel will best benefit the consumer experience.”

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Twitter: Two More Execs Jump Ship, Is the Company in Turmoil?

Posted: 06 Nov 2014 06:00 AM PST

Twitter's CEO Dick Costolo gestures during a conference at the Cannes Lions

After a recent spate of employee departures, yet more executives have left Twitter citing concerns with the company’s future.

With over 250 million active users, Twitter is an incredibly big deal. Brands are leveraging the micro-blogging service to hawk wares, find friends and help alleviate customer problems, making the service fantastic not just for consumers but for companies too.

The problem with this that Twitter has been struggling to capitalise on its potential for some time. Twitter was floating on a precarious ad-free raft in the middle of an ocean before instating promoted tweets and Twitter trends not too long ago.

But is this enough? For many investors, Twitter’s revenue just isn’t big enough as although the site’s recent Q3 earnings call showcased a $361 million income during the timeframe, slow user growth is holding the site back. That could be why yet more executives have jumped ship, looking for greener pastures.

The latest people to leave Twitter are Jeremy Gordon, the vice president of engineering, and Adam Kinney, a senior manager who led Twitter’s analytics team. Both Gordon and Kinney have tweeted about their departures but as you would expect, it’s niceties all round with both former Twitter employees saying that it’s time to move on to new things.

So what is the real reason for their departure then? Both men were incredibly vital pieces to the Twitter puzzle; Gordon was a big part of the product development side of things and led a team of 400 people, while Kinney was a well-liked and respected director-level engineer. But according to sources, their status within the company couldn’t diminish the fact that they are concerned about the company’s vision and where the site is heading in the future.

A lack of belief in the company that employs you is as good a reason as any to quit but with Twitter having already lost two high profile execs (COO Ali Rowghani and Vice President of Media Chloe Sladden) earlier in the year, they’ll want to turn things around quickly. It’s not yet clear how Twitter will do that or if they have big plans in the pipeline, preparing for announcement, but we’ll keep you posted once we know more.

Source: CNBC

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Rethink Robotics Redefines Human-Robot Collaboration

Posted: 06 Nov 2014 05:30 AM PST

Baxter Industrial Robot

The robotic revolution is not about replacing humans entirely, but about taking human-machine cooperation to a new level. The Robot Positioning System developed by Rethink Robotics equips machines with the adaptability they need to work alongside humans.

Since they lack a mind of their own, most robots can only handle pre-programmed events. Industrial robots are hence mostly seen working on their own, as human coworkers may turn out to be very unpredictable. Rethink’s Robot Positioning System (RPS) brings in the required flexibility so that industrial robots and human workers can team up safely.

Part of the Intera 3.1 Rethink softwre, the RPS makes complicated programming unnecessary. Basically, the Baxter general purpose robot that has been equipped with this software can learn from his human coworkers. At first, his actions need to be guided manually, but after that, it takes control and performs them automatically, at a pace that humans are comfortable with.

“Manufacturing robots have always been caged, not only to protect the workers around them from harm, but also to protect their precisely configured environments from being disrupted by those same workers,” explains Scott Eckert, CEO at Rethink Robotics. “With Baxter, we brought the manufacturing robot out of its cage by making it safe enough to work next to people; and now, we’ve made it safe for the robot to work effectively in real-world conditions as well, by allowing it to adapt to everyday variations that people naturally produce.”

How safe is it to work around Baxter? This inexpensive industrial robot has plenty of sensors and safety systems to make sure that no one gets hurt while working with it. Besides that, the Landmarks code-marked cards give Baxter an idea about where his location should be in reference to his workstation. Considering that the robot can work with up to 20 Landmarks and can be appointed to multiple workstations, the entire concept is very impressive.

Check out the following video to get an idea about how the Baxter industrial robot looks and works in real-life:

Baxter was exhibited at the Pack Expo 2014 trade show in Chicago between November 2-5, and hopefully it will find its way to factories in the not-so-distant future. Its flexibility and capability to adjust to various conditions make it a valuable co-worker, no doubt.

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OnBeep Onyx Is a Wearable Walkie Talkie with a Star Trek Vibe

Posted: 06 Nov 2014 04:30 AM PST

OnBeep Onyx Group Communicator Wearable 2

We’re a long way from getting beamed up by Scotty, but at least group communicator wearables are becoming a thing! OnBeep Onyx is an IRL version of the communicator that James T. Kirk and his crew had attached to their shirts.

Group communication is extremely important not only in organizations, but also among people who are collaborating on a project, without being in the same location. Well aware of that, OnBeep created a group communicator wearable that attaches to clothes and enables people to talk to one another just by pressing one button. People are getting quite liberal these days with the term “wearable,” as there is no continuous interaction between the Onyx and the people wearing it. Still, it’s the function it serves that’s more important, not its classification.

“When people work together, nothing beats actually talking to each other in real-time,” explained Jesse Robbins, the CEO and founder of OnBeep. “Onyx enhances the way people communicate, delivering effortless, group collaboration, using the power of your voice.”

Drawing inspiration from the Star Trek badge communicator, the 60 x 60 x 26mm Onyx is a tad bulkier than the one used by USS Enterprise’s crew. However, it weighs only 46 grams, so you’ll barely be able to feel it until you need it. The downside is that OnBeep’s wearable is not a standalone communicator, as it relies on your smartphone to relay your replies. Nothing more than a miniature hands-free Bluetooth speaker, the Onyx requires a data plan, but other than that, there aren’t many restrictions. People you’re talking to can use any other network and can be in any corner of the world, as long as they have an iOS or Android device and their data connection is functioning.

There are plenty of possible applications for such a device, as event planners, construction workers, and fast and furious drivers could use one of these. There has been no word on the battery life of the Onyx, so I’m not sure it would be suitable for emergency situations. Hospital personnel are better off using other group communication devices that rely on radio, rather than a badge Bluetooth speaker that could die anytime.

The Onyx group communicator wearable is currently available for pre-order on the OnBeep website for $99 a piece or $195 a pair.

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Spotify Rolls Out Subscription Sharing Feature

Posted: 06 Nov 2014 04:00 AM PST

Spotify on iPad

Popular streaming site Spotify has now announced plans for a subscription sharing feature.

The benefits of Spotify for music listeners are far and wide. As someone who pumps a whole bunch of jams into their earholes on the regular, Spotify can help them to bridge the gap between music they already own and music they don’t own or perhaps can’t afford to.

On the free version of Spotify however, you have to give up some much-loved features. For example, you can create your own playlists and play any song on demand but you’ll also be thwarted with unavoidable ads every few songs or so. Hence why Spotify Premium exists so that you can pay for better audio, no ads and the ability to download tracks and listen on the go.

But even Spotify Premium has its downsides. Specifically, if someone (say a family member or friend) is making good use of your $9.99 subscription, you may find your playlists and music recommendations getting all mixed up with theirs. So, Spotitfy’s new subscription sharing feature will allow them to have their own accounts at a cheaper rate, no longer jumbled with yours.

Called Spotify Family, the music streaming company explains that “you can now invite up to four family members and share one billing account whilst keeping your listening history, recommendations and playlists completely separate.” Each and everyone one of you will be privy to ad-free listening only instead of before when you were all sharing one user profile, everybody you invite will have their own.

There is a slight catch though – Spotify Family isn’t free. Rather, the service allows your friends/family/whoever you feel like inviting to get the service at a discounted rate. Instead of the full $9.99, the bill payer will pay an extra $5 for each Spotify Family member who signs up.

It might be a little expensive with all five of you paying out of one billing account but if you have a family with teens and children who want to listen to their own tastes in music then it could be a useful gift. Furthermore, people with friends who can’t afford the full $9.99 Spotify Premium subscription can now take advantage of your having already signed up.

More info at the source link.

Source: Spotify

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