Technology

What's inside Nvidia's Shield gaming handheld?

By now, perhaps you've read our review of the Nvidia Shield, the Android gaming handheld that can also stream games from PC. Perhaps you've even read through our forum post where we tackled your burning questions. We had one query of our own, though: How, exactly, did Nvidia manage to cram the guts of a game controller and a smartphone into a portable console?

Thankfully, teardown and repair site iFixit has the answer: it pulled apart the Nvidia Shield to show you the guts of the handheld. You can see how the cooling system works, pulling air in through the front lip of the device, and using an actual honest-to-goodness fan to exhaust it out the back. iFixit also discovered that quite a bit of room inside the bulky console is devoted to...

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/1/4576202/whats-inside-nvidias-shield-gaming-handheld

Netflix debuts multiple user profiles so your roomate won't screw up your recommendations

Netflix has built one of the world's most powerful recommendation engines. But if you belong to a family sharing a single account — dad loves screwball comedies, mom loves slasher films, little Timmy is an action flick fan, and baby Pete watches mostly cartoons — it can have a hard time pinning down your personal taste. Without good suggestions, users can be left feeling as if Netflix's streaming service, which lacks a lot of big titles and new releases, has little worth watching.

So today the web's top video-rental service launched Netflix Profiles, which enables multiple users of the same account to create their own profile page. The idea is to give the company a better idea of an individual viewer's preferences.

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/1/4563718/embargo-embargo-netflix-says-new-profiles-feature-will-help-improve

German publishers opt in to Google News, despite lobbying for opt-out law

Having originally campaigned for lawmakers to change the way Google includes their content in its News service, German publishers have decided they will continue using it after all. The AP reports that German newspapers Bild, Die Welt, Spiegel Online and Zeit Online have all opted in for Google News aggregation following the introduction of a new copyright law on August 1st. Essentially, major German publishers will continue to push content to Google News, even though they intend to charge Google for the reproduction of their content in the future.

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/1/4577992/google-news-publishers-germany-opt-in

Usain Bolt becomes the world's fastest in-app purchase

Usain Bolt, the world record holder for the 100- and 200-meter sprint, is now available as a limited-time in-app purchase in Temple Run 2 . The sprinter comes with a special "Bolt" ability. Activating the special ability makes Usain invincible, turns on auto-guidance, and also adds a coin magnet. It's pretty bizarre to see such a recognizable figure rendered within a cartoon world, but this is certainly one of the more interesting in-app purchases we've come across. Of course, Bolt's no stranger to lending his visage to companies: he's the star of many commercials, including a long-running campaign for UK broadband company Virgin Media.

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/1/4577964/temple-run-2-usain-bolt-in-app-purchase

Google adds TV shows to UK Play Store ahead of international Chromecast launch

Google has boosted the content available on its UK Play Store with the addition of TV show downloads. Bringing its store closer to feature parity with iTunes, Google now includes popular shows like Doctor Who, Homeland, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead in its listings, pricing episodes at £1.89 for standard downloads and £2.49 for high-definition shows. While full season pricing fluctuates between titles, Google matches Apple on many single episodes.

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/1/4577950/google-play-tv-shows-nexus-7-chromecast

RSSurrection: The Old Reader to rise again with dedicated development team

If you've been lamenting the closure of RSS reading app The Old Reader, its founders have some surprising news for you. After cutting new user registrations and announcing it would cease development of the web app just three days ago, The Old Reader team updated users with news that they have "received a number of proposals" to resurrect the service, later adding they were confident that it would reopen, but with "a proper team running it."

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/1/4577884/the-old-reader-rss-app-will-live-on

Google extends Windows Phone calendar and contacts syncing until December 31st

Google has granted new Windows Phone users another extension to access its Sync service until December 31st. The company had originally planned to drop support for the Exchange ActiveSync protocol on January 30th, but it extended the cut off date until July 31st to allow Microsoft to build CardDAV and CalDAV support into Windows Phone 8. “We’ve reached an agreement with Google to extend support for new Windows Phone connections to the Google Sync service through December 31, 2013," says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to The Verge.

Microsoft has enabled CalDAV and CardDAV support in its latest Windows Phone 8 update that started rolling out to devices recently, but not all handsets have the update yet. Another five months of...

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/1/4577814/google-windows-phone-exchange-activesync-extension-december

Thursday, August 1, 2013