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A new Samba de Amigo game is coming to Apple Arcade this month
Samba de Amigo is coming to Apple Arcade. Sega’s classic maraca-shaking rhythm franchise is seeing a renaissance this year as the new installment arrives on Apple platforms and Nintendo Switch on the same day. A VR port for Meta Quest, announced in early June, is also scheduled to launch sometime this fall.
VW’s e-BULLI concept shows how your classic van can become an EV
Recently, we've seen Volkswagen experiment with combining its old-school aesthetic and modern tech. Last summer, it showed off its Type 20 electric concept -- a 1962 Microbus crammed with tech and an electric motor instead of an engine. Thanks to a partnership with VW and eClassics, it might soon be easier to get your hands on your own vintage Volkswagen-turned EV. This week, VW unveiled its e-BULLI concept and announced that eClassics will convert T1 vehicles, like the classic VW camper vans, into e-BULLI-style EVs.
Samba's free mobile data network shuts down as ads fail to cover costs
If 500MB of free browsing a month in exchange for watching a few ads seemed too good to be true, it was -- Samba, the free, data-only MVNO is no more. According to the company's blog, it came down to the increasing price of wholesale data, which made the ad model unsustainable. Fortunately, if you bought a SIM card recently or paid for a data top-up (another option if you didn't want ads), you'll get a refund. There'll be no credit for time spent watching ads, though -- but it's a pretty good bet you were doing something else at the time anyway.
Remnant Knights closing on January 31
'Tis the season for MMO closures, apparently. Following on the heels of ArchLord is this announcement about Remnant Knights. The title will close its doors on January 31, 2014. GameSamba will be providing cash shop compensation for "all Sambas spent in-game from November 1, 2013 until the closing date." Click the links below to read full details on claiming your Samba compensation. [Thanks MMOSerbia!]
Samba launches ad-supported mobile data in the UK, makes you dance for your internet
Want mobile data, but without the pesky monetary cost? Samba, a new virtual network in the UK offers just that, in a model similar to the Blyk virtual operator before it. You'll need to stump up for a SIM (£2.99,) and an optional dongle, then sit back and soak up a few adverts to earn some internet "credit." The MVNO uses Three's network, but keeps a record of your browsing as part of the deal (which, claims the BBC, you can prevent from being used for marketing purposes). To get online you'll need to install a browser plug-in, or iPad app which will send you off to the commercials before sending you on your digital way. While technically free, it'll cost you about two-and-a-half minutes of your time a day to get about 517 megabytes of data in a month. Additional credit can be earned through partner deals, or straight up cash if you just want to get on sans adverts. The "free"-dom doesn't extend to what you can browse though, with some sites (those deemed offensive, or in breach of copyright) being off-limits. Still, if this sounds like a decent trade-off, or a good backup plan, head down to the source after these messages...
How-To: Set up a home file server using FreeNAS
Ask Engadget: What's the best budget NAS? Kingston Wi-Drive for iOS hits stores today, lets you create your own portable music server for $130 Tilera sees sense in the server wars, puts just 36 cores in its newest processorIn today's digital world we've all got data, and lots of it. Our libraries are also growing rapidly: where you used to get by setting aside a few bookshelves for your books, CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes, we now require untold server space to preserve our beloved media in digitized form. We also want our data to be itinerant, or at least seem that way. That is, if you want to take a book or disc to another room of your abode, you pull it from the bookshelf and take it with you. Similarly, if you're working on a document upstairs on your desktop and you want to move to the den with your laptop, you'll need the proper infrastructure working in the background to enable that kind of wizardry. So, how can we create this "digital bookshelf?" Can you go out and buy it now? Can you build it in your garage? As it turns out, the answer is "yes" on all counts. You could go out and buy a Drobo device but in this case, we're going to assemble our own. And we're going to do that with the help of an open source storage platform called FreeNAS. So how involved a process is that? Meet us after the break to find out.
Apple to drop Samba networking tools from Lion
Changes to its licensing may lead Samba, an open source suite of tools for networking with Windows systems, to be chopped from Mac OS X Lion, according to a report from AppleInsider. Instead, Apple will develop its own solutions for interacting with neighboring Windows systems over a network. Samba's primary goal is to improve interoperability between PCs with Microsoft Windows and computers running other operating systems. Notably, the software enables UNIX-based systems like Mac OS X to speak the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol that Windows uses for file sharing and network directory services. Apple began integrating Samba into its operating systems in 2002 with the release of Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar." With Samba, Mac OS X's ability to interact with Windows has grown over the last several years, evolving from everyday file sharing between co-workers into Mac servers capable of hosting account profiles and entire home directories for Windows users to access from their networked PCs. As Mac OS X adopted more of Samba's tools, the team behind Samba gradually transformed the open source licensing for its software. The latest version of Samba is offered only with General Public License Version 3 (GPLv3) licensing, which includes restrictions that essentially prevent Apple from incorporating it into commercially packaged software like Mac OS X. Although Samba has been voted off Lion island, it's unlikely Apple will entirely drop support for Windows networking technologies. Apple is reportedly hard at work building a new suite of built-in tools that will allow Mac OS X Lion to continue dancing with Windows networks. Unlike Samba, however, Lion's networking tools will likely end support for NT domains, networking technology introduced by Microsoft in the late 1990s. Although some networks still rely on NT Domain Controller configurations, even Microsoft ended support for the aging technology with Windows 7. On the bright side, Apple will no longer by trapped by the limitations of Samba. For example, the version of Samba currently bundled with Mac OS X can run into issues with PCs running Windows 7 that are set to Microsoft's most secure options for file sharing. Apple now has the opportunity to address this shortcoming and perhaps introduce its own innovative improvements to networking between future versions of Mac OS X and Windows. For now, it's possible (and likely) the first version of Apple's tools for integrating with Windows networking technologies will face a few initial setbacks and limitations. In this event, Samba can potentially still be added to Mac OS X Lion by tech-savvy Mac users who can survive without a simple installer, graphical user interface and tight integration with the rest of Apple's software. Or Mac users who need Samba's toolset can hope an enterprising developer builds a compelling, easy-to-use Samba package before Mac OS X Lion ships this summer. [via CNET] Updated to note that Mac OS X can work with Win 7 sharing if security options are changed.
Sarotech's WizPlat boxes 4TB NAS with BitTorrent client, biscuits
Let's be honest: the standout feature of the WizPlat NAS-20 is its boxed-lunch design. Otherwise, it's a pretty standard network attached storage device offering Gigabit ethernet, up to 4TB (2TB per 3.5-inch bay) in RAID 0/1 or JBOD configs, 2x USB for more storage, FTP, SAMBA, iTunes, and printer servers, and integrated BitTorrent client for 24/7 PC-less downloads. Unfortunately the design, while portable, pretty much eliminates any hope of constructing a stacked monument to copyright infringement. [Via Akihabara News]
Mvix Ultio "It Plays All" HD media streamer debuts in the U.S. July 6 for $179
We'd heard rumors Mvix USA would be rolling out an upgraded 1080p capable media box to rival the earlier MvixPVR and here it is. Dubbed the Ultio, it has a list of supported codecs and containers that rivals the new Popcorn Hour C-200 in its thoroughness -- DivX® (3/4/5/6), Xvid, AVC-HD, MPEG 1/2/4, WMV-9, ASF(WMV9), MKV, DVD(IFO, VOB), ISO, MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, FLAC, AC3 -- it's all here, with a slightly awkward Swiss Army knife-themed tagline to boot. The $169 price tag is sans-3.5-inch SATA HDD, though you can add one for $79 (500GB) $90 (1TB) or $139 (1.5TB). Of course network streaming is a part of the package, with Mvix's usual suite of Samba / UPnP / BitTorrent (mentioning compatibility with PlayOn and Tversity specifically to get all your Netflix, YouTube and other streaming sources to TV) via Ethernet or optional Wireless-N dongle. It's up for pre-orders now, take a close look at the specs and pics then get in line before they start shipping July 6.
Joystiq hands-on: Samba de Amigo (Wii)
Samba de Amigo without maracas is like seeing an old friend you've missed for years; it's still the same person, but the subtle changes add up. The Wii's Fall, 2008 version of Samba De Amigo follows the idea of the first, with gamers shaking two controllers -- any two, as long as one is a Remote -- in time with music and on-screen commands. The game reads the angle of the controller, which generally simulates the low, medium, and high positions.But the Remote and Nunchuk just don't feel the same as the original maracas. Sega representatives mentioned that the company is still considering input device add-ons and alternatives; the game might even ship with a new maraca controller. (I wouldn't bet on it, but apparently, it's still a possibility.) Short of that, it might include some sort of rattling add-on, like the Wii Wheel of rhythm games.I flailed and shook to a few Samba tracks from the game's more-than-40 options. Sega is including many from the Japan-only Samba 2K release as well as classics and new tunes. Mentioned music and musicians include "La Bamba," "Take On Me," "Santana," and "The Gypsy Kings." While any music game plays better with your favorite songs, Samba has been less about the tracks and more about the maracas. I was entertained, but I missed that rattle.%Gallery-20558%
Factory-fresh ASUS Eee PC vulnerable to hackers
Everybody's ritual when they get a new computer is different: some people start installing their favorite programs, some people set their desktop picture to Pushing Daisies (not us, other people... who aren't us), and others check for vulnerable processes that might allow hackers to gain root access. RISE Security falls into that latter category, and spotted a vulnerable version of Samba on a virgin Xandros Eee PC. They ran a pre-built exploit they had for just an occasion, and found that they can indeed root the system through ill-gotten means. No word if there's an update available to patch this hole, but in the interim keep an eye out for scruffy-looking men wearing skull and crossbone paraphernalia snooping around your network. [Thanks, Eliot]
Samba de Amigo coming to Wii? [update 1]
There's a genius in the higher management of Sega who recently came to a revelation. "My God," he said, "we can make a crapload of money by bringing back popular franchises that find suitable uses for the Wiimote." And lo, his word became gospel, and now there's a tasty rumor on the horizon that his teachings are spreading far and wide: the classic arcade rhythm title Samba de Amigo may be coming to the Wii by year's end.We don't need to tell you, of course, that the Wii was originally designed for the express purpose of shaking maracas. It's brilliant. If you're wondering how this title can compare to more traditional rhythm-based games, here are some wonderful YouTube clips for your enjoyment. Here's to you, Sega executive guy.Update: Sorry, pesky little typos broke out of their cage.
