Motorola’s Buzzwords

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

Seems like their caps lock key works.

New York Times Goes Deeper on Chinese Apple Factory Working Conditions

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

Charles Duhigg and David Barboza, reporting for the New York Times:

“Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost,” said Li Mingqi, who until April worked in management at Foxconn Technology, one of Apple’s most important manufacturing partners. Mr. Li, who is suing Foxconn over his dismissal, helped manage the Chengdu factory where the explosion occurred.

“Workers’ welfare has nothing to do with their interests,” he said.

Tim Cook responded in a company-wide email.

APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (iPad / Android)

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

Be Ron Manager
<img class="" src="http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/DVNP/aotd-the-master-tactician-review-0.jpg?20120127-165252" alt="APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android). Apps, ipad apps, Football, The Master Tactician, App of the day 0″ />

It’s another FA Cup weekend and, as such, another excuse to take a closer look at one of the multifarious football apps that sit in the App Store. But today’s App of The Day isn’t a game based on flicking goals, or managing a team of virtual players to hollow glory. It’s the real deal….

The Master Tactician

Platform

ipad / Android

Price

?2.49

Where

iTunes / Android Market

Developed by Education in Sport in partnership with Aldershot manager, and former Premier League striker, Dean Holdsworth, The Master Tactician is also an app used by West Ham boss Sam Allardyce.

In short, it’s a football strategy app that puts a modern spin on the magnetic tactics board that you’ll find in most top-level dressing rooms. But there’s a lot more to the app than simply laying out formations.

The app provides a virtual representation of a football pitch, or a training pitch, where you can see the area as a whole or focus on key areas. You can then drag players into positions (assigning names and numbers if you wish to do so) to explain tactics, formations and set-pieces.

You can save your favourite set-ups to refer back to later should they prove successful. We imagine Big Sam has the “kick it up to Carlton as quickly as possible” loaded at all times and just points at it repeatedly before kick-off.

As well as players, you can also drag grids, cones, mannequins, poles, hurdles, balls and ladders onto the app’s pitch screen view in order to set up training ground exercises (or hilarious pranks). There’s a notepad that you can use to assign drills and set-ups with added notes and it’s easy to email, print or share your set-ups too.

“We’ve developed the Master Tactician app to offer managers and coaches an effective tool to control game strategy, manage training sessions and plan and practice formations that work,” said Holdsworth. “The feedback from my colleagues in the sport so far has been really positive.

“I have used Master Tactician throughout this season and the coaches at Aldershot also use it; in fact we’ve done so well in the season so far it’s actually been our secret weapon”

Sure, it all looks a bit Premier Manager 95 on the Amiga, but in it’s simplicity hides its usefulness. Managers and coaches aren’t going to need over elaborate animations or detailed graphics board. Just a simple to use app which is easy to understand and, no doubt, some colourful language.

It’s out now and the prices have all just been reduced so there has never better time to download it.

Tags:
Apps <a href="http://www.pocket-lint.com/ipad+apps” title=”ipad apps”>ipad apps Football The Master Tactician App of the day

<img class="" src="http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/DVNG/aotd-the-master-tactician-review-1.jpg?20120127-165252" alt="APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android). Apps, ipad apps, Football, The Master Tactician, App of the day 1″ /> 
<img class="" src="http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/DVNG/aotd-the-master-tactician-review-2.jpg?20120127-165252" alt="APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android). Apps, ipad apps, Football, The Master Tactician, App of the day 2″ /> 
<img class="" src="http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/DVNG/aotd-the-master-tactician-review-3.jpg?20120127-165253" alt="APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android). Apps, ipad apps, Football, The Master Tactician, App of the day 3″ /> 
<img class="" src="http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/DVNG/aotd-the-master-tactician-review-4.jpg?20120127-165253" alt="APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android). Apps, ipad apps, Football, The Master Tactician, App of the day 4″ /> 
<img class="" src="http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/DVNG/aotd-the-master-tactician-review-5.jpg?20120127-165253" alt="APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android). Apps, ipad apps, Football, The Master Tactician, App of the day 5″ /> 
<img class="" src="http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/DVNG/aotd-the-master-tactician-review-6.jpg?20120127-165253" alt="APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android). Apps, ipad apps, Football, The Master Tactician, App of the day 6″ /> 
<img class="" src="http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/DVNG/aotd-the-master-tactician-review-7.jpg?20120127-165253" alt="APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android). Apps, ipad apps, Football, The Master Tactician, App of the day 7″ /> 
<img class="" src="http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/DVNG/aotd-the-master-tactician-review-8.jpg?20120127-165253" alt="APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android). Apps, ipad apps, Football, The Master Tactician, App of the day 8″ /> 
<img class="" src="http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/DVNG/aotd-the-master-tactician-review-9.jpg?20120127-165253" alt="APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android). Apps, ipad apps, Football, The Master Tactician, App of the day 9″ /> 

APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (ipad / Android) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Epson Moverio BT-100 video glasses pictures and hands-on

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

Google on goggles

We all like the idea of seeing a massive TV image while we stare up at the celing, or at a boring old wall. Well, the good news is that Epson wants to help your dream become a reality, with its Moverio BT-100. In simple terms, a pair of goggles that allow you to watch video, while still being able to see where you’re going.

In more complicated terms, this offers an image the size of a 320-inch screen projected 20 meters away. It’s powered by a little box of tricks that runs Android 2.2. You can watch MPEG4 and H.264 video and there’s even the option to display videos in 3D, should the desire take you.

The device can accept video in a variety of formats, but the good news is that MPEG4 and H.264 are included. There are also apps and a web browser too, and to make those things useful, the device has Wi-Fi too. There’s 4GB of microSD based storage included, but you can add more yourself if you want to carry lots of video around.

As with other such TV glasses, the image appears to float in front of you. They can provide a 3D image too, if given a side-by-side 3D encoded file. You can’t attach other devices, sadly, but there is a headphone output, should you want to avoid the included earbuds. We can see this being useful if you want to use noise-cancelling headphones.

There’s an app store too, although from our brief hands-on it isn’t clear if it’s the full Google service, or a bespoke one. However, with the glasses running Android 2.2, there’s a chance that a lot of apps won’t work on the older Android OS. But even so, we like the idea of an open platform for devices like this, it gives a lot of potential.

The Moverio glasses are expected to cost about ?520 when they go on sale.

Tags:
Home Cinema Epson 3D glasses Epsom Moverio BT-100 Android

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Epson Moverio BT-100 video glasses pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:44:00 +0000

Bossa Nova Mechatars pictures and hands-on

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

TOY FAIR 2012: Robot wars

We’ve already come across Bossa Nova Robotics’ remote controlled Mechatars before, at last year’s Toy Fair in fact, but now they’re ready for public consumption and Pocket-lint got the chance to see the online role playing game aspect of the new USB connected toys.

Demonstrated to us at Toy Fair 2012 in London, Mechatars is a range of interactive battling robots that, when coupled to a PC, can be used within the Mechaverse, an online, in-browser fighting game that rewards power-ups, extra purchases and continued play.

Each Mechatar – there will be three main ones on launch – can learn new skills and abilities as a child plays with them more, either in the real world through a supplied remote control, or via their online virtual counterparts. They can also be enhanced with the use of add-on weaponry, called Power Packs, which connect to each Mechatar using mini USB and will therefore appear in your online inventory when hooked up.

These are massively helpful in the Mechaverse, as the point of the in-browser game is to battle against other Mechatars in order to earn experience and level up. It’s essentially a cross between Street Fighter II and the battle sequences in the Final Fantasy games, as fights are turn based like the latter, but with beat-em-up style health bars at the top. Naturally, the winner gets more of the spoils.

Cleverly, Bossa Nova is allowing anybody to sign up and play in the Mechverse without the need to buy any of the toys. However, there will be only so far that you can get without any power ups or increasingly more beefy ‘bots. The real-world Mechatars can also gain plenty of experience in offline mode too, so while you might have a superb and unbeaten online character for a while, you’ll soon come up short when you meet a rival who’s been training one of the purchasable robots.

Another incentive to buy the Mechatar toy packs is that two real world robots can actually talk to each other wirelessly, and can therefore be battled against each other through their intuitive remotes. It’s a feature that will reward those who have friends who buy into the same franchise.

The last add-ons for the initial batch of Bossa Nova toys come in the form of Exomorphs, two (for the time being) robot scorpions that can be used like supercharged Hexbugs, but can also follow vocal commands to attack, barked from a kid’s Mechatar. Again, these appear in the online world too and can present some powerful attacking options.

There’s certainly plenty of play to be had with the Mechatars, and the Mechaverse is a neat idea. It’s already been running in the US for while, but will hit the UK from summer time.

To find out more, visit ILoveRobots.com.

Tags:
ToyFair2012 Toys Dad Bossa Nova Mechatars Bossa Nova Mechatars

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Bossa Nova Mechatars pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:48:58 +0000

Snake ‘97 pictures, video and hands-on

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

Retro time

Remember back to your first phone, the Nokia that you no doubt owned, and the game that you used to play over and over again? Yep that’s right, for Windows Phone 7 users Nokia snake from 1997 is back.

Simply called Snake ‘97 the 79p app in the Windows Phone Marketplace will let you relive some nostalgia of those helicon days when mobile phones were just that.

“By carefully analyzing the classic gameplay, timing and controls, this Snake ‘97 remake is one of the most accurate available,” says Willem Middelkoop, the developer.

The beauty here is that instead of trying to jazz the game up for the new century, Middelkoop, has kept it simple and pure, instead boosting the charm value with the controls.

You see the game’s interface is that of an old Nokia handset from 1997 with you having to press the number pad buttons to control the snake on the screen rather than something that looks like the Windows Phone 7 interface.

Pressing those buttons gives you haptic feedback, while the games sound effects have been lifted from an old handset to.

We have to say it is probably the closest thing you’ll experience to the real deal on an old handset.

For those looking for a bit more, there are 11 difficult settings including the nine original ones and two extra difficulty levels ?added.

Read

Tags:
Apps Windows Phone 7 Windows Phone 7 apps Nokia Gaming

 
 
 
 

Snake ‘97 pictures, video and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:57:00 +0000

Kinect powererd Windows 8 laptops gesturing your way

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

Asus prototypes being tested

How would you like to get your hands on (or rather keep them off) a laptop sporting a built-in Kinect sensor? It’s more than just a hollow dream – Kinect packing laptops made by Asus, and Microsoft backed, are already in existence.

The Daily has seen a pair of the hybrid devices and has received word from Microsoft that they are indeed official prototypes of laptops featuring a Kinect sensor. Built by Asus, the laptops are running Windows 8 and feature a number of sensors above the screen and some LED lights below it.

Earlier this month Microsoft confirmed that it would release the Kinect for Windows SDK to developers on 1 February, meaning Kinect drivers and APIs will be available to the general public as well as developers.

Microsoft is said to be working with more than 200 different companies to build applications for Windows that use Kinect and it looks as if this doesn’t just mean with an additional Kinect sensor. The Kinect’s sensor tech, it seems, can be incorporated directly into a device.

We love the idea of a Windows 8 machine running with motion gesture controls. If not just for that fact that it will keep our laptop’s display smudge free.

Tags:
Gaming Laptops Asus Microsoft Windows 8 Microsoft Kinect Kinect

Kinect powererd Windows 8 laptops gesturing your way originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:36:00 +0000

Twitter country censorship tweets up a fuss

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

Not a happy Twitterverse

Twitter’s wings have received a bit of a clipping with the first signs of mass regional censorship being hinted at by the micro-blogging platform.

In a blog post entitled “Tweets still must flow” the company has announced that it now has the ability to remove tweets on a country by country basis; rather than a blanket removal as was in place before.

“As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression,” it stated. “Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there. Others are similar but, for historical or cultural reasons, restrict certain types of content, such as France or Germany, which ban pro-Nazi content.

“Starting today, we give ourselves the ability to reactively withhold content from users in a specific country — while keeping it available in the rest of the world.

“We haven’t yet used this ability, but if and when we are required to withhold a Tweet in a specific country, we will attempt to let the user know, and we will clearly mark when the content has been withheld.”

The move has, understandably, caused quite a fuss online. Despite it being an obvious tool for Twitter to stick to national laws (as it has struggled in the past to do so – take the super-injunction issues in the UK for example) some users are seeing it as a removal of free speech.

Many of the anti-government tweets during the Arab Spring may have been deemed illegal for example and there is concern that online-led protest will be hindered in the future. However, Twitter has always had the power to remove tweets universally, so there’s no reason to assume it is going to start agenda-setting now.

Time will tell just how the changes pan-out but we don’t think it’s time to panic just yet.

To learn more and to keep track of removed tweets check out chillingeffects.org/twitter.

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Tags:
Online Twitter Censorship

Twitter country censorship tweets up a fuss originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:43:40 +0000

WowWee reinvents a classic with Monster Marbles

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

TOY FAIR 2012: Collectable fun

Okay, so there’s no gadget-based wizardry involved and the closest they get to consumer electronics is that they share a name with a giant in the world of cables, but WowWee’s Monster Marbles invoke the kind of reminiscence you don’t get from a Nespresso coffee maker, even if it does come in beige…

Monster Marbles offer essentially the same gameplay and fun as the glass orbs we all remember from our childhoods – except you can’t play Kerplunk with them. The marble part, you see, is housed within a collectable plastic fiend and the games you play are very similar to the old classics.

The Monster Marbles sets come with a piece of chalk and instructions, which help you set up one of four different games. Monster Bash is the most akin to games from the days of yore; you draw a circle with the chalk and have to shoot marbles out of the ring with your shooter Monster. Everything you shoot out, you keep.

Well, at least that’s the way it used to be played. At ?1.99 for each of the Monster Marbles, you won’t want your child to come home without their beloved toys.

WowWee is also going to release packs of Monster Marbles at different price points. A Monster Marbles Carrying Case with two marbles will cost ?9.99, one marble with the chalk will be the aforementioned ?1.99, two will cost ?2.99, and a three pack (plus chalk) weighs in at ?4.99.

Packs contain random characters and there are also very rare golden Monster Marbles hidden away amongst them. And, if successful, WowWee plans future series to expand the collection.

Series 1 of the rolling horrors will be released in the UK in the summer.

Tags:
ToyFair2012 WowWee WowWee Monster Marbles Toys Dad

 
 
 
 
 
 

WowWee reinvents a classic with Monster Marbles originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:32:29 +0000

Samsung Galaxy S III receives official recognition

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

Delay on the cards though?

The rumour-mill is awash with Samsung Galaxy S III murmurs, following a couple of reports suggesting that the future flagship smartphone from the Korean company was facing a delay.

The Galaxy S III grapevine seemed to suggest that the next big Sammy Android instalment would be getting a February unveiling at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Not so, says The Verge though who cite our old pals “people familiar with the matter” as saying that Samsung had originally planned to announce the handset at MWC but has now decided to delay the news.

It will still be out “before summer” say its sources and the delay could be down to the long wait that the Galaxy S II endured after it was announced at MWC 2011 – it didn’t hit the US until September.

The trouble is, all these reports have overshadowed the fact that, as it stands, the Samsung Galaxy S III doesn’t actually exist. At least not officially. All we’ve got is some heated rumour mongering and a quote from J.K. Shin, president of Samsung’s mobile communications division, from last May in which he hinted a third-gen Galaxy S would arrive.

But Younghee Lee, Samsung’s head of global marketing has given the murmurings some added weight, with an official indication that the phone is coming, even if she didn’t say when. When asked to comment on the delay reports following the company’s latest earnings call she said:

“We are still reviewing several options when to launch, so we’ll let you know when it’s decided.”

It looks as if the rumours have basically forced an acknowledgement then. Lee could have said Samsung hasn’t announced such a phone, or that it doesn’t comment on speculation – instead she put more meat on the bones of a juicy rumour.

A UK Samsung source recently told Pocket-lint that plans for MWC are “being finalised at the minute”. Definitely a case of watch this space then….

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Tags:
Phones Samsung Samsung Galaxy S III

Samsung Galaxy S III receives official recognition originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:53:00 +0000

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Recent Posts

• Motorola’s Buzzwords
• New York Times Goes Deeper on Chinese Apple Factory Working Conditions
• APP OF THE DAY: The Master Tactician review (iPad / Android)
• Epson Moverio BT-100 video glasses pictures and hands-on
• Bossa Nova Mechatars pictures and hands-on

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