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OtterBox made a 'bacteria-killing' screen protector for your phone
Face it, your phone screen is filthy. Think about all those times you texted from the toilet or scrolled through Instagram while riding the subway: Those streaks on your screen are not only schmutz but also breeding grounds for bacteria. That's where OtterBox's Amplify Glass Anti-Microbial comes in.
Altice's smart speaker uses Alexa to control your TV set-top box
You probably don't associate cable giant Altice USA with the cutting edge of smart home technology, but it's determined to change your mind. The company has unveiled a smart speaker, the Amplify, that can serve as a complement to your existing cable service. The Alexa-based device looks like a typical smart Sonos One-style speaker, but it promises better-than-usual quality thanks to two long-stroke woofers from Devialet (known for its speakers for TV giants), a 19v, 7.5A peak amp and a design meant to cancel vibrations while pumping out serious bass. It also touts party tricks like auto volume adjustment and room-filling spatialization.
Twitter's making it easy for content creators to show you ads
Twitter's finally giving creators a good reason to upload videos to its platform rather than YouTube by allowing individuals to monetize content.
Facebook and Twitter try to attract YouTube stars with ad money
Ask a YouTube star why they don't share videos directly to Facebook or Twitter and they'll probably tell you that there's no money in it -- they make far more from YouTube ads and sponsored clips. The social networks are doing something about that, though. Bloomberg understands that both Facebook and Twitter are working on ad models that would give internet celebrities an incentive to post directly to their services.
Get ready for more videos (and ads) in your Twitter timeline
Along with becoming more user friendly, Twitter's next big change is focusing on videos and ads. Now, instead of being limited to the mobile app, users can upload video from their desktop computers straight to the website. In turn, Twitter is cranking up its advertising initiative 'Amplify' for more YouTube-like pre-roll ads on premium videos from partners like the ones shown above. At a conference held in New York today, Twitter also announced that it will add a GIF generator and allow Periscope to play within the timeline. So if you're wondering why you're seeing a whole lot of moving content in your feed, it's because publishers are now able to easily monetize their work.
Surgeon Simulator dev expands curriculum in Twelve a Dozen
Would you trust Bossa Studios, developers of the questionably-medically-accurate Surgeon Simulator, to teach basic math skills? Educational organization Amplify did, and the result of their collaboration is Twelve a Dozen, a puzzle-focused platformer that subtly teaches simple calculations and the order of operations. In Twelve A Dozen, players guide Twelve and her companion Dot in an effort to save Twelve's family as a disaster descends upon Dozenopolis. Twelve's lesson plan spans 30 levels' worth of puzzles, with more coming in an eventual update. The App Store description notes that Twelve A Dozen is meant to support the curriculum of those aged 10 - 14, but all iPad users can brush up on the basics for $4.99 (£2.99). Just ... don't go thinking you're a few hours away from practicing heart surgery once you can do algebra in your sleep. [Image: Bossa Studios]
Explaining Versatility
As we've said here plenty of times, it's not real until it goes live, and that goes for the new stats being designed for Warlords of Draenor. Last year we discussed Amplify, Multistrike and Readiness - since then things have changed. As always keeping in mind that this is still subject to change right up until the point of release, we now have an entirely new stat, and both Amplify and Readiness are no longer stats. Instead, Versatility. What is Versatility and how will it work? Versatility is pretty simple: 1% Versatility grants a 1% increase to your damage, healing, and absorbs, and reduces the damage you take by 0.5%. It's a straightforward, obvious upgrade to your primary role's performance, but also gives significant boosts to secondary role performance and survivability. The healing increase it provides does work on self-heals, such as Recuperate, for example. We won't be tuning it to be anyone's highest throughput secondary stat, but it'll be close, and it'll give you a nice boost to how versatile your character is in the process. It'll be especially attractive to hybrids who want to feel more "hybridy." I reproduced the explanation from the Dev Watercooler because I wanted to highlight how this works, and more important, how it is still a stat which can be tuned. On the face of it, 1% Versatility is incredibly simple - just as 1% Critical Strike Chance increases your chance to critically hit by 1%, 1% Versatility increases your damage, healing and damage absorption by 1%, which also reducing your damage taken by .5%. How does this differ from the proposed effect of Amplify? Why, in other words, is Versatility a worthwhile trade for the previously proposed stat?
Twitter now shows you video previews inside its mobile apps
Checking out a linked video from within Twitter's official mobile apps is frequently a clumsy process, but it's about to get a lot smoother. The social network has started rolling out simple in-line video previews on both its Android and iOS apps. If you've received the upgrade, you'll see thumbnails of clips in your timeline; all you have to do is tap them to watch the footage from within the Twitter app. The move is no doubt meant to drive up views of promoted videos, but we won't mind if it helps us catch up on cat videos during our daily commutes.
Scattered Shots: Mining Celestalon's tweets for hunter information
Every Thursday, WoW Insider brings you Scattered Shots for beast mastery, marksmanship and survival hunters. This week, your host Adam Koebel, aka Bendak will be discussing new stats and the potential for hunter spec differentiation. We're still patiently waiting for the Warlords of Draenor beta to get some more concrete information on hunters, but in the meantime we've had Celestalon to poke and prod on Twitter. Celestalon is a Technical Game Designer on WoW and has been very forthcoming with technical information regarding classes and the new gearing system in Warlords. We've learned a few new bits of information such as how new secondary stats will work and some vague plans for their intentions with the hunter class. If you missed the BlizzCon hunter recap post, be sure to check it out before we dive into the newer stuff. The replacements for hit and expertise You may have heard how hit and expertise are being removed from the game in Warlords of Draenor. I was very happy when I heard about this, but at the same time wondered if gear was going to get too simple since they're also removing reforging, and having less gems and enchants on gear. The good news is, those two wholly uninteresting stats are being replaced by 3 new ones, and if you've been raiding Siege of Orgrimmar their functionality may already be familiar to you.
Lichborne: Warlords of Draenor Q&A for death knights
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done. Last week, we covered the basic class changes of Warlords of Draenor. This week, we're taking a few common questions about those changes and combining them with new information. We'll be discussing the new secondary stats and how they affect tanks, examine the possible return of dual wield tanking, and consider death knight lore in the new expansion. Without further ado, let's get started. Q: Could dual wield tanking come back with Warlords of Draenor? After all, your weapons hit more now that hit and expertise are gone. No. Ghostcrawler clarified recently that the miss chance for dual wield weapons isn't going away. You will still miss with "white" hits, it's just that your special hits will never miss (at least, not because of your gear). This will be exacerbated by the fact that blood death knight special attacks will not hit with the off-hand. The reason dual wielding works for frost is that Threat of Thassarian exists. It does not exist for blood death knights, therefore blood death knight dual wielding is still inferior and likely will stay inferior in Warlords of Draenor. The only real advantage dual wield tanking has is that you might get more Bloodworms, but that is not enough to offset the losses.
BBC and Twitter join forces to embed original videos in promoted tweets (video)
The BBC and Twitter deepened their alliance today with the announcement of #BBCTrending, a new initiative to promote original video content through the Twitter Amplify program. A series of short videos produced by BBC Global News and hosted by Anne-Marie Tomchak is set to debut on the social network this fall, providing analysis of trending topics in the form of video clips embedded in promoted tweets. In Tomchak's words, the endeavor aims "to decipher why and how trends are happening on social media around the world." Over the past few months, Twitter has inked a number of deals with broadcasters like ESPN and A&E to promote their videos in tweets, though the BBC partnership is the first time original content has been made specifically with Amplify in mind. To get a glimpse of what #BBCTrending has in store, check out the video after the break.
Sky to tweet near real-time video highlights from soccer matches
Seeing a soccer game unfold in bursts of 140 characters or less is better than nothing when out of TV range, but a new deal between Twitter and Sky means you won't have to wait to gawp at goals. Starting with the three matches being played today, Sky will begin embedding highlight clips from UEFA Champions League games, such as goals and interviews, in tweets from some of the broadcaster's accounts. Mimicking similar sports-focused arrangements Twitter has in the US, the Sky deal will allow fans and non-fans alike (through Promoted Tweets) to keep up with every bicycle kick and penalty in almost real-time. There's a catch, though: every clip includes an advert for Sky's Now TV sport and movie streaming service, so footie fans best prepare to have that brand baked into your brain 'til you wake up one morning with a Now TV box and no recollection of buying it.
Twitter scores NFL deal to showcase Sunday's finest instant replay material
Following a similar deal in May with the NBA, Twitter's Amplify program has landed an envy-inducing arrangement with the National Football League. As part of the new advertising partnership, the NFL will leverage Twitter to "package in-game highlights and other video content" inside sponsored tweets, which can be distributed via a marketer during games. Both Twitter and the NFL will take a slice of the profits, though neither side is talking specific terms. As of now, it sounds as if Verizon will be the "premiere sponsor," which grants it "exclusive sponsorship rights for Amplify ads during the Super Bowl next February." The upside? Easily tweetable instant replays. The downside? It might make you a shill. Them's the breaks!
TV on Twitter gets a boost: CBS offers in-tweet highlight videos, Netflix keeps spoilers out
TV-loving Twitter users just got two big upgrades to their experience. To start, CBS has reached a deal with Twitter to offer ad-supported, in-tweet highlight videos through the Amplify program. The partnership will include content from 42 shows spread across 20 of CBS' web and TV brands. Meanwhile, Netflix has launched a new Spoiler Foiler website that prevents Twitter friends in other regions from ruining Breaking Bad. Sign in, and the page will automatically censor tweets with likely spoiler material; you can click the blacked-out text to see what you're missing. While it's not clear when CBS' highlight videos will be available, Spoiler Foiler is available today.
Viacom lands deal to show TV highlights on Twitter starting August 25th
While Viacom hasn't always understood how this whole internet video thing works, it's showing some tech savviness today with confirmation of rumors that it's joining Twitter's Amplify program. Beginning with the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25th, Viacom will deliver ad-backed video highlights on Twitter for shows and events across its channel range, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. In theory, the agreement is a win for everyone: Viacom and Twitter get more revenue, while we get a legal way to revisit those inevitable celebrity slip-ups. The two sides haven't said how long their partnership will last, although we wouldn't be surprised if results from the VMA broadcast help shape the deal's future.
Amplify Tablet is an Android machine custom-built for education
News Corp rebranded its educational unit as Amplify in July. Since then the Joel Klein-headed company has been working with AT&T to develop a tablet expressly designed for the K-12 educational market. After months of testing the Amplify Tablet, an unspecified 10-inch Android slate loaded with custom software, is ready for its official debut. Lots of things have changed since we first caught a glimpse of the project many months ago. For one, the UI has been completely redesigned to be clean, modern and simple. The new look is much more inline with Google's Holo, with extensive use of action overflow buttons, the sharing menu and solid blocks of color-coded material. The default home page offers a grid of app icons, but it also displays student information and lists "notebooks" on the right hands side. Those notebooks deliver quick access to different subjects for students, but they also give teachers direct links to materials for their classes, categorized not just by subject, but also by period. Klein and company don't stop at simple organizational tools and reference materials, however. %Gallery-180689%
News Corp launches Amplify educational unit, with help from AT&T (video)
In light of recent scandals, it's hard not to see this as a bit of image rehabilitation, but we'll do our best to take it at face value. News Corp is bringing its 18-month-old educational division to the fore by rebranding it Amplify and teaming up with AT&T to put tablets in the hands of students. The unit will focus on developing products and services tailored for classrooms, ranging from kindergarten through high school. And, at the center of that ecosystem, will be the Amplify Tablet (which, judging from the video below, appears to be a modified Galaxy Tab). Videos, encyclopedia entries, books and even remote tutoring apps will all be just a tap away. The tablets will get their first trial run in the US during the 2012-2013 school year. With the phone hacking scandal behind him, former New York City school chancellor Joel Klein (who headed up News Corp's internal investigation), is free to focus on getting Amplify rolling and into classrooms across the nation. Before you head off, make sure to watch the clip from AT&T after the break.
Ancient acoustic engineers used stucco, drugs, and architecture to rock and confuse audiences
It's always fun when scientists discover new stuff about really old cultures, especially when it has to do with getting weird and rocking out. Recent research suggests temples built around 600 A.D. in Palenque, Mexico were designed with projection rooms that shot the sound of voices and instruments 300 feet away with the help of stucco-coated surfaces. 1600 years before that, in the Peruvian Andes, a pre-Incan society in Chavín was constructing a nightmarish Gallery of Labyrinths to play "strange acoustic tricks" during cult initiations: animal-like roars from horns, disorienting echoes, and maybe even choirs designed to produce otherworldly effects. And all of this while the poor inductees were being fed psychedelic San Pedro cacti. Yikes! To a certain extent this is all speculation, but we can tell you that if we were ancient priests with this kind of gear at our disposal we'd be using it for mind-controlling purposes too. Just because! [Photo adapted from Jenny Pansing's flickr]
