Daily Roundup: LG G4 review, Nintendo makes money again and more!
In today's Daily Roundup you'll find our review of the new LG G4, read all about how Nintendo is making money again and get a sneak peek at the new controller for Guitar Hero Live. Get the details on these stories and more past the break.
LG G4 review: refined, but not game-changing
When LG cooked up last year's G3, we (and many of our contemporaries) fell in love with it. At last, a well-designed phone with a killer Quad HD screen and a custom interface that didn't make us want to wrap a USB cord around our necks! Building a beloved smartphone is no small feat, but it's still not as hard as crafting a sequel that will be just as well-received. When it came time for LG to design the new G4, the company latched onto a handful of areas it thought people really cared about. It rebuilt its 16-megapixel camera from the ground up.
Nintendo is finally making money again
Nintendo recorded its first annual profit since 2011 today. Its final results for 2014 (technically April 1st 2014 to March 31st 2015) reveal a $207 million operating profit on $4.6 billion in revenue. That's nothing to write home about, and way lower than initially expected, but still represents a dramatic improvement from previous years' consecutive losses. The past three months have actually seen a pretty heavy negative swing for Nintendo, with the international launch of new-and-improved 3DS models failing to make much of an impact, and the Wii U continuing to languish in 3rd place behind the PS4 and the Xbox One.
A close look at the new, yet familiar guitar in 'Guitar Hero Live'
Tim Dunn and Nate Coppard are on a mission to rewire your brain. They're respectively the senior producer and senior designer behind Guitar Hero Live's new six-button guitar, and while neurological change is not their direct goal, it's a side effect they seem to relish. The new guitar has two rows of three buttons each, stacked on top of each other at the end of the neck - this not only adds an extra button to the series, but it allows for fresh challenges. "It's not something people will be familiar with," Dunn says, glancing down at the Guitar Hero Live guitar in his hands.
'Guild Wars 2' cheater faces public humiliation before ban
Most cheaters in online role-playing games face an ignominious end. The developers ban them, and that's all she wrote. Not one particularly egregious Guild Wars 2 offender, however. When game developer ArenaNet finally took action against a hacker who had been terrorizing player-versus-player battles for weeks, the security team decided that some public humiliation was in order. It stripped one of the player's characters naked, jumped this persona off a ledge, and proceeded to delete every character linked to the account - all recorded for posterity on video, as you can see below.
Xbox One rumor claims DVR is coming to replace Media Center
Even as Microsoft buries Windows Media Center, there's a rumor that it actually does have a plan for a replacement. According to Paul Thurrott's sources, the Xbox One will gain the ability to record live TV "probably this year." That's the kind of feature Microsoft originally envisioned for its all-in-on game console, but so far does not offer. The live TV tuner that's available in Europe and coming to North America offers some trick play pause/rewind support, but full DVR functionality would be a big shift.
This speaker lights on fire (and it's supposed to)
Your Sonos setup is pretty handy, what with its wireless audio and all that, but you know what it's missing? A mothereffin' open flame that bounces along to your music's beat, that's what. Because seriously, a jammin' stereo is basically useless if it doesn't run the risk of burning down the your house. And before you ask, no The Sound Torch wasn't concocted by The Talking Heads' David Byrne. However! Its Danish designers say that it's perfect for either your next DJ set or family picnic. For the latter you could probably even skip using one of those grody public grills with these feats of pyrotechnics.
Tesla's first acquisition is a Michigan auto parts maker
Tesla's just made its first acquisition: a tool and die shop based in Grand Rapids, Michigan (roughy 150 miles west of Detroit) that makes automotive stamping parts. As The Detroit Free Press reports, the current Riviera Tool will eventually become Tesla Tool and Die and will retain its current employees, possibly hiring more in the future.
