The Pros And Cons Of Your Android Gaming Options - Game Informer

Amid the constant debates on mobile gaming takeover come a new wave of options for those looking to take their casual game pursuits further. After Nvidia?s announcement of the price drop of the Shield, we?ve decided to offer a roundup of the top Android based handhelds coming your way this summer and beyond.

The real challenge for any of these systems is whether or not they will be worth purchasing when all of the games can be played on phones and tablets already. But those looking for other options to play their Android favorites are in the right place.

GamePop
Price: Free through this month with a $6.99 subscription per month for one year. To be priced at $129 later after initial offer has passed.
Release Date: Anticipated Winter 2013

Pros:
-Offers not only Android support, but also iOS games.
-More than 500 games are included free with the monthly subscription. The games are accessed through streaming rather than through purchase and download.

Cons:
-The hardware specifics have not been released yet, making it harder to convince prospective owners to preorder with no real information on what the GamePop is capable of.
-Sure, the GamePop itself looks pretty sleek, but what?s the controller like? No information has been given on it yet, but the trailer reveals you can use your Android phone or iPhone as a controller as well.

GameStick
Price: $79.99
Release Date: July 9, 2013

Pros:
-1 GB DDR3 RAM, 8 GB Flash memory (expandable up to 32 GB)
-Android Jelly Bean 4.2-Connect easily through a wireless dock, meaning no struggling with hard-to-reach TV HDMI ports.
-Offers the ability to stream Netflix through your television. (Then again, what doesn?t?)

Cons:
-According to Ben Reeves, in his hands-on experience with the GameStick, the controller is boxy and uncomfortable to use for long periods of time. Which defeats the purpose of playing mobile games on your TV.
-You will have to re-purchase any previously purchased games specifically for the GameStick, as it does not use the Google Play store. Whether or not the low entry price point of the GameStick makes up for that is up for debate.

MOJO by Mad Catz
Price: Not yet announced
Release Date: Anticipated Winter 2013

Pros:
-Details are scarce on the MOJO, but the mini console itself is portable and the controller is virtually an Xbox 360 copy from the looks of it.
-MOJO will have full Google Play store and Amazon Appstore support, meaning you won't have to re-purchase any games.?

Nvidia Shield
Price: $299
Release Date: June 27, 2013

Pros:
-2 GB RAM, 16 GB Flash memory
-Super powerful Tegra 4 processor.
-Take the TV out of the equation. The Nvidia Shield includes a 5-inch, 720p screen mounted to the controller.
-Offers the ability to play PC games by accessing your compatible gaming computer when both it and the Shield are on WiFi.
-Android games are available through Google Play and Nvidia Tegrazone.?
-Initial impressions have been positive.?

Cons:
-$299. Really? Still too expensive for most, even after the aforementioned price drop. And that?s $299 on top of the cost of whatever price a compatible gaming PC would be to access that feature.

Ouya?
Price: $99.99
Release Date: June 25, 2013

Pros:
-1 GB RAM, 8 GB of Flash memory
-Ouya offers app support in addition to new games created by developers of all sizes. This means the Ouya will have more purpose than just another way to play Android titles.
-Every title is free to demo before purchase.
-The developer kit is available to every customer, meaning emulators and other innovations are a high possibility.
-Controller design looks practical and comfortable.?

Cons:
-Tegra 3 is a little weak in comparison to Nvidia Shield.
-The growth of the Ouya may be weak when it comes to larger publishers due to the open nature of the hardware.?

Wikipad 7
Price: $249
Release Date: Available now.

Pros:
-1 GB RAM, 16 GB memory (expandable up to 32 GB)
-Offers more value because it still functions as a tablet in addition to a gaming device.
-Loaded up with Android Jelly Bean 4.1 right out of the box.
-Quad core CPU for high-speed needs.?

Cons:?
-The price point is on the high end at $249. For $50 more, the Nvidia Shield offers a stronger processor and the ability to play PC titles. While it's not a bad price point for a tablet, there are plenty of other options when it comes to gaming on the go.

?

Will you be swayed to purchase any of these devices? Or will you be sticking with your phones and consoles? Speak your mind in the comments below.

Source: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/06/20/the-pros-and-cons-of-your-android-gaming-options.aspx

hoya casa de mi padre corned beef and cabbage diners drive ins and dives jeff who lives at home 49ers news saint louis university

Attack of the Clones

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom announced a new video function for the app on Thursday.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

I?ve sat through three big, super-secret, well-orchestrated Facebook press events in the last year. Or at least I think there were just three; they all kind of blend together, and there might have been one or two I didn?t attend due to previously scheduled dental work. But of the ones I remember, there was the time Facebook unveiled a new search engine. Another time, it redesigned the news feed. Oh, and then this one time, like two months ago, it launched a home screen app for Android phones. That event was in a big new auditorium at Facebook?s headquarters. I remember the housemade sushi being particularly delicious that day.

So they had another one of these things today. Small auditorium, couches, fancy coffee, ambient music?real intimate-like. (These guys are professionals.) As some had speculated, the event marked the launch of a new feature on Instagram, which Facebook purchased last year. The new feature is video. It?s neat: Now you can record video on Instagram. I wish I could say more, but that?s kind of it. When you update the app on your phone, you?ll find a Record button. To do video, hold that button down. You can capture multiple clips, but the total length of your video is capped at 15 seconds long. Why 15 seconds? Because Vine, the near-identical video app that Twitter launched in January, lets you record 6 seconds total, and Facebook wanted to do something 150 percent better.*

That?s a joke, but I worry it?s one Facebook takes seriously. In the past, I?ve praised Facebook?s talent for quickly, deftly stealing other people?s good ideas. It copied subscriptions from Twitter, automatic groups from Google Plus, check-ins from Foursquare, and created versions of Snapchat and (before purchasing it) Instagram. Nobody should be surprised that Facebook has now cloned Vine, too.

And there?s nothing wrong with this. I?ve always believed that in tech, ideas matter less than execution. Apple didn?t invent the tablet, Google didn?t invent the search engine, and Facebook didn?t invent the social network. They all just did those things better than others. And if Instagram can do short, viral videos better than Vine?because it has a bigger audience already, or because it offer slight improvements like effects filters and image stabilization?then being second shouldn?t stop it.

On the other hand: Jesus, was this a sad day for Silicon Valley. Kevin Systrom, Instagram?s co-founder, is one of the smartest tech product guys in the business. I don?t doubt he?s proud of the fine work his team has done adding video to Instagram. But the bombastic naivet? with which he and Mark Zuckerberg announced an obvious, already-invented feature upgrade this morning brought me close to weeping for the state of innovation in today?s tech industry. ?We?re just getting started,? Zuckerberg declared at kick-off, as if adding a Record button to a popular video app was the first step in creating a working cold fusion reactor. ?This changes everything!? Systrom said after showing off the image stabilizer. His delivery was so stilted there were moments when I wondered if he believed anything he was saying. Systrom?s mouth was approximating Steve Jobsian reality-distortion poetry, but his eyes, I swear, were blinking out a hostage?s coded plea: ?Get me out of here. Please.?

When Zuckerberg bought Instagram, he famously promised to let Systrom keep control of the popular app. By all accounts he?s kept his promise?the Instagram team stands apart at Facebook, aside from infinite server resources and lavish, big-company perks. Systrom?s loyalty to his team is great for Instagram?s users. But I wonder if it?s a good thing for Facebook, for innovation in the Valley, and for Systrom himself. Instagram is a rapidly growing community, but it is also a dead end for innovation. Its entire premise is to make an easy process?snapping and sharing images?even easier to do. That?s a fine goal, but at some point it will have refined that process to its essence. The fact that Instagram?s huge new feature is something that someone else has already done well suggests we?ve already reached Instagram?s cul-de-sac. Contra Zuckerberg, Instagram isn?t just getting started. Its work here is done. Now it needs to be passed off to a caretaker, not an inventor.

And Systrom ought to turn his mind to something else. No, I don?t know what. It would be nice if, rather than just come up with new interfaces to solve small, well-worn problems, more folks in the tech industry were thinking about bigger issues?ways to conserve energy, to make us healthier, to improve our political systems. I?m not trying to be a downer or calling for Systrom to do something he doesn?t want to do. But can he at least do something no one has done before?

It?s not just Systrom, and it?s not just Facebook. Instead of invention, many in tech have fallen into the comfortable groove of reinvention. At its developer conference, one of Apple?s big announcements was a music-streaming service meant to catch up with Google, whose music streaming service?announced at its developer conference?was pretty much like Pandora or Rdio or Rhapsody. Last year Apple?s big thing was a mapping app, which?at best?will one day be as good as Google?s map app. Google recently announced a version of Evernote; meanwhile, at least a half dozen startups are looking to create RSS readers. And soon, I promise you, Yahoo will hold a big event to tell us how it?s completely, thoroughly reinvented email.

Yes, some people are doing big new things. Google Glass is a novel, risky innovation. Google Fiber, too. And Elon Musk?who runs Tesla when he?s not running SpaceX?can?t help but think big. But more often, the actually new stuff feels like the exception rather than the norm. These days, the sad status quo means slapping a new icon on a mobile app and proclaiming it to be the second coming.

Correction, June 20, 2013: This article originally misstated?in a joking reference?how much better than Vine that Facebook aimed to make Instagram. By increasing video length from 6 seconds to 15 seconds, Facebook makes Instagram 150 percent better, not 250 percent better. (Return to the corrected sentence.)

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/06/video_on_instagram_facebook_event_is_a_sad_day_for_silicon_valley.html

cape breton bowling green marysville tornados dr. seuss the temptations rush limbaugh sandra fluke

Are Jessica Alba?s Trendy Diapers Really the Poop?

Safe or unsafe diaper?

Photo by iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Super-absorbent diapers are a fantastic invention, saving parents hours upon hours of time, laundry loads, and stinky clean-ups. (Just ask your grandparents.) But they?re also the source of much controversy and angst. Baby Dry or Cruisers? Eco-friendly or regular? Pull-ups or unassembled? To make matters more complicated, now there?s Honest, a diaper and baby product company founded by actress Jessica Alba in 2012, which claims that it makes ?safer? diapers. Cue immediate feelings of parental paranoia: Wait, safer diapers? Are other diapers dangerous? To help you answer those questions, the Honest website devotes a page to describing just how scary traditional diapers really are, with questions about diaper companies like, ?What are they trying to hide?? (Answer: ?From what we gleaned, a lot.?)

Honest diapers carry a hefty price tag?a bundle of 276 of their size 1 diapers and 280 wipes costs $79.95, but $66.98 will buy you the same number of Huggies size 1 diapers, along with 448 Huggies wipes, on Diapers.com. And tests conducted by BabyGearLab, a pediatrician-run baby gear review and comparison site, suggest that Honest diapers don?t work nearly as well as other diapers do. Yet progressive parents everywhere are going gaga over Honest. Are regular old diapers really that risky?and Honest ones so much less so?to warrant shelling out the extra cash for a leaky product?

Probably not. Research suggests that diapers, regardless of brand, are very safe. Yes, some children will be allergic to certain diaper components, which I?ll get into below, and for them, brands like Honest and Seventh Generation could be preferable. And yes, companies don?t always openly disclose ingredients on diaper boxes. But industry scientists describe many diaper ingredients (and diaper safety testing protocols) in the scientific literature. And many vocal parents and media outlets have misconstrued the small body of research on diaper ingredients to make diapers seem far more dangerous than they probably are. There?s no question that Honest diapers, as well as those made by Seventh Generation, Earth?s Best and several other ?green? companies, are better for the environment than traditional diapers because their cores aren?t bleached with chlorine (a process that pollutes and requires a lot of energy) and because they use some plant-based materials in place of petroleum-based chemicals. But if you?re buying Honest because you think those other diapers will sicken your child, you?re probably being duped. (I reached out to the Honest company several times to get their take on the matter, but despite the promise of an interview, they would not arrange one in time for my deadline, which is kind of funny given that one of the company?s eight core principles is to provide ?incredible service.?)

One of the common claims about traditional diapers is that the chlorine they use leaves traces of byproducts called dioxins behind on the diaper, which could increase your child?s risk of cancer. It?s true that dioxins are carcinogens, and it?s also true that dioxins can be found on diapers. But to put things in perspective, a 2002 study that analyzed dioxin levels in four types of diapers didn?t find the most potent known dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) in any of the diapers tested. The researchers did, however, find other dioxins in both the cloth and the disposable diapers, at similar levels?yet overall, the levels were 30,000 to 2.2 million times lower than the amounts infants and toddlers get from food or breast milk. (The study found dioxins in tampons, too, at higher levels than in diapers, but still at far lower levels than what we get from food.) So your baby might be exposed to dioxins from diapers, but he?ll get them from cloth diapers too?and overall, they contribute only a minuscule amount to our total daily exposure.

Another diaper concern has been over the beads of super-absorbent material that have been used in diapers since the 1980s to make them wonderfully pee-absorbent. This polymer, sodium polyacrylate, absorbs 300 times its weight in tap water via osmosis?quite a marvel of modern chemistry. Some websites claim that sodium polyacrylate can cause skin irritation, but according to the chemical?s material safety data sheet, that?s only if you?re exposed to the dust of the chemical during the manufacturing process, and the irritation is a direct result of the chemical?s drying power. Some of the fear of sodium polyacrylate arose because it was removed from tampons in the 1980s after links to toxic shock syndrome, but most experts believe that it wasn?t the chemical that was the problem?it was the fact that women were wearing tampons for days at a time, creating a moist, warm breeding ground for bacteria (eww). Note that Honest diapers contain this polymer, too.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/the_kids/2013/06/honest_diapers_are_all_the_rage_these_days_but_are_they_really_any_better.html

al sharpton actuary elon musk fox mole manson bubba watson recent earthquakes

Protesters in Lebanon clash with police

BEIRUT (AP) ? Lebanese demonstrators have clashed with police in downtown Beirut during a protest against the extension of parliament's term earlier this month.

Last month, the 128-member parliament extended its term by a year and a half, skipping scheduled elections because of deteriorating security conditions in the country related to the war in Syria.

The demonstrators say the extension was unconstitutional and are calling for the government to hold parliamentary elections originally scheduled for June.

Police used riot batons to beat back protesters who were throwing bottles and trying to break through their lines to reach the parliament building Thursday. A small group of protesters later set up tents near parliament for an open-ended sit-in.

Sectarian clashes tied to Syria's war have broken out with increasing regularity in Lebanon.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/protesters-lebanon-clash-police-195153827.html

new england patriots Zayn Malik miss america 2013 Oscar Nominations social security social security paulina gretzky

'World War Z': The Reviews Are In!

Critics are divided on troubled Brad Pitt zombie flick.
By Todd Gilchrist

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709360/world-war-z-movie-reviews.jhtml

Hurricane Sandy Nyc Saanvi Venna vikings Colin Powell noaa Jessica Ridgeway ipad mini

Judge: NY pair in X-ray plot should stay jailed

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) ? A federal magistrate has ruled that two New York men accused of trying to build a portable X-ray weapon to sicken Muslims and enemies of Israel are a threat and should remain jailed.

U.S. Magistrate Christian Hummel on Thursday afternoon ordered 49-year-old Glendon Scott Crawford and 54-year-old Eric J. Feight held without bail until a preliminary hearing in July.

Lawyers for the men had argued they didn't pose a threat to the community, had no criminal history and should be allowed to return to their jobs. Neither man spoke at the short hearing in federal court in Albany.

The men were charged this week with conspiracy to support terrorism. Police say they wanted to build a remote-controlled machine that could secretly bombard people with enough radiation to eventually kill them.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Radiation scientists say the portable X-ray weapon two upstate New York men are accused of trying to build to secretly sicken Muslims and enemies of Israel isn't feasible.

An indictment unsealed this week charges 49-year-old Glendon Scott Crawford and 54-year-old Eric J. Feight with conspiracy to support terrorism. Authorities allege they built a remote-control switch they planned to attach to a truck-mounted, industrial X-ray machine to secretly radiate people who would get sick or die days later.

However, radiation safety experts at the University of Rochester and University of New Mexico said victims would have to face prolonged exposure from radiation at close range.

"There is no instant death ray. ... It's not feasible. It's the stuff of comic books," said Dr. Frederic Mis, radiation safety officer at the University of Rochester Medical Center, after reading the criminal complaint describing their alleged plan. "That's going to be the interesting thing for the court to face because their designs would not have worked."

Mis said prolonged X-ray exposure does kill tissue, with skin ulcerations appearing from a week to months later. "What we worry about in radiology primarily is skin damage," he said.

For safety, they advise staff to limit entering or performing diagnostics in an X-ray area, Mis said. There are accounts of Russians fatally injecting or feeding radiation to victims, and even planting it in a chair a victim repeatedly sat in, he said, noting the possibility the designers here could have hurt themselves or accidentally someone else.

"What if they find someone sleeping on a park bench? What if they backed up the van, opened the door, and turned the device on for eight hours?" Mis said. "Even these guys might stumble upon somebody and hurt somebody."

Dr. Fred Mettler, former chairman of the Department of Radiology at the University of New Mexico, was unfamiliar with the specifics of Crawford's plans but said it's unlikely such a device could work. Radiation can be narrowly beamed, as it is in some cancer treatments, but the accelerators require huge amounts of electricity, are not easily portable and any target would have to remain still for a long time, he said.

"I don't know of any of these that you can use like a gun to aim at someone on the street," said Mettler, also U.S. representative on the United Nations' Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation,

Crawford and Feight face detention hearings Thursday. Prosecutors want them held until trial, saying they might flee and still pose a danger to the community. Court-appointed defense attorneys have declined to comment.

The investigation by the FBI in Albany and police agencies began in April 2012 after authorities received information that Crawford had approached local Jewish organizations to help fund a weapon to use against enemies of Israel, authorities said.

Crawford, an industrial mechanic for General Electric in Schenectady, knew Feight, an outside GE contractor with mechanical and engineering skills, through work, they said. Feight designed, built and tested the remote control, which they planned to use to operate an industrial X-ray system mounted on a truck.

Undercover investigators gave Feight $1,000 to build the control device and showed the men pictures of industrial X-ray machines they said they could obtain. They planned to provide access to an actual X-ray system to assembly with the remote control Tuesday, the day they were arrested.

____

Associated Press writer Rik Stevens in Albany contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-ny-pair-x-ray-plot-stay-jailed-190943013.html

apple earnings report john l smith apple earnings the glass castle jennifer hudson trial north korea threat brandon jacobs

Fishermen complain police rained on their parade

Fisherman are frustrated that they were denied access to Mala Wharf on Saturday morning while the Na Kamehameha Commemorative Pa'u Parade proceeded down nearby Front Street in Lahaina.

Longtime fisherman Wilson Keahi said that he and others were stopped by police from getting to the wharf - even though there was no parade or traffic on the street in front of them.

"They just won't let anyone to go in to go fishing. This is not right," Keahi said Tuesday.

He added that the officers manning the traffic posts "were very rude," and that fishermen from as far away as Haiku had to turn around and go home because all access areas to Mala Wharf were closed off for several hours.

Parade and event coordinator Daryl Fujiwara said Tuesday that he hadn't heard about the complaints until The Maui News contacted him.

He said that the road closure, which is not new to the parade, does extend further than the parade route. The parade Saturday stretched from Kenui to Shaw streets. He estimated that the road closure lasted from about 8:45 to about 11:45 a.m. or noon.

Even though the parade began at Kenui Street on the northern end of Front Street and proceeded south, horse units and others staged along Ala Moana Street next to the wharf, Fujiwara said. He added that the road was closed to ensure the safety of everyone in the area and that the closures extended farther than the parade route and the staging area so that vehicles could be safely turned away.

Off-duty police officers man the posts and have discretion on monitoring traffic in the area, Fujiwara said.

Asked if there could be any changes made so that fisherman could access the wharf during next year's parade, Fujiwara said: "Honestly, I can't say that."

Roadways around the area need to be closed for safety reasons, he said. He suggested that fishermen head down to the wharf before or after the parade time. Once people are in the wharf area, they are not chased out.

"It's just that small window we need for safety," Fujiwara said.

A reason for the fishermen's complaints could have been that the parade lasted longer than usual, Fujiwara said. But he could not explain why the parade lasted longer. There were the usual number of entries of vehicles, floats and marching groups - 54 - and spectators were around 5,000, about the same as last year, he said.

Harry Reardon, owner of Harry's Boat Yard in the Mala Wharf area, said that he was already down at the wharf when access to the area was shut off. He said he received numerous calls from boat owners, who have boats in his boatyard, saying they couldn't get down to Mala Wharf.

This was the first time boaters didn't have access during the parade, Reardon said.

Fishermen said they were told the closure would last three hours. Some said that, if they waited, it would have been too late to launch their boats.

Keahi said there were boaters from Wailuku, Haiku and even one fisherman from Oahu who wanted access to Mala Wharf. Many of the boaters had to throw away their supplies, such as ice, he said.

Keahi, an Oahu fisherman, wanted to catch nabeta (a deep water parrotfish) for his father and father-in-law for Father's Day on Sunday, Keahi said.

He added that a boy he was to take fishing was very disappointed.

"He cried all day. He couldn't go fishing. That was sad," he said.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

Source: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/573735.html

illinois primary results acapulco mexico hines ward robert deniro mexico news the talented mr ripley weather new orleans