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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.
Handbrake's video conversion app update was 13 years in the making
In the fast-moving world of modern app development, users can often wait days or a small number of weeks for an update. However, if you're the team behind Handbrake -- one of the world's most popular video conversion apps -- years can pass before you're ready to show off what you've been working on. Well, 13 years to be exact. After more than a decade in development and available as a beta release, the Handbrake team has released version 1.0.0 of its transcoding software, which delivers a much-needed set of new features.
Travelex's Supercard eliminates bank charges when spending abroad
Sure, it's easy to use your bank cards when buying things abroad, but it's not pleasant to come home to all the additional fees and charges bolted on by your bank. One solution is to take cash, which carries its own risks, or sign up to a third-party issuer that tries to limit the damage to your account. Travelex, however, is aiming to cut those UK charges completely with the launch of its new "Supercard." While it's basically a pre-paid Visa debit card, it comes with one distinct advantage: you don't have to top it up. You can connect up to five of your own accounts, travel to a far-away destination and it'll automatically deduct your purchases using Visa's own exchange rate.
Converter app makes measurement swaps a snap
Perhaps one of the staples of most forms of math and science is learning how to convert units of measurement from one form to another: cups to ounces, inches to yards, and of course mastering the nightmarish differences between US and metric measurements. Besides being one of the few things you learn in math that you actually will use with you beyond the classroom (please tell your teachers!), the idea of value conversion affects very practical facets of life, especially in finances and the culinary arts. And so, it would be natural for the iPhone to have an app for that too, and Converter - Universal Conversions is probably the only one you'll need. Requiring iOS 7.0 or later, the free app is available for iPad and iPhone, but is standardized for iPhone 5. The app's developers have had the good sense to jump on the iOS 7 bandwagon, with their graphics specifically streamlined and optimized for that software update. And the screen is a visual feast -- clean and modern while still being functional. It is neither aesthetic for aesthetic's sake, nor is it boring and unilaterally functional. I say that because I was simply not expecting an app dealing with one of my least-favorite subjects could be so attractive! Users have numerous options from which to choose. There are thirty-two different categories of dimensions, ranging from the standards of area, density and distance to clothing sizes, time zones, and even a calculator. Picking a particular category takes the user to a new screen where the conversions are side-by-side and all that must be done is typing in a numerical value and scrolling through the two lists until one finds the desired units. The in-app keyboard has a button to easily reverse the units, along with a shortcut to the calculator. Separate search fields are available if users wish to search by unit in each list. There is even a history option, organized within each category, to show which conversions have been made for that day. There is also the option to bookmark a particular unit or even an entire dimension. Currencies are kept up-to-the-minute current via a special update key on the in-app keyboard. It would appear this app's designers thought of everything. The shoe size feature is divvied up by stage of life and gender, and users can see what a man's US size 6 shoe is in the UK, Europe, and several other units (and swap between them). With the percentage function, users can find any percentage of a particular numerical value (e.g., 85 of 1000 is 8.5%), or, with the swipe of a finger, move to a screen where they can determine the value of a given percentage (e.g., 49% of 67 is 32.83). With the timezone function, one can display multiple time zones at once and even use a slider to find times at any time of day or night, not just the current time. (I especially appreciated this function, as it is extremely useful to have any possible time at one's fingertips instead of having to work backwards or forwards mentally from the current timezone.) The app also has a function that can determine the hardness of various metals. This was really the only portion of the app that had absolutely no relevance for me, since I have no reason to test the hardness of, say, cartridge brass, and have no idea how to understand the various unit options within any of the categories. But this will certainly prove useful and just as thoroughly outfitted for iPhone users who must employ such measurements in their employment and other endeavors. The presence of such a function did not in any way detract from my overall enjoyment of the app and my positive opinion of it; indeed, I was actually pleased at how extremely thoroughly the app was prepared for virtually every possible measurement need. I wonder if this is the only kind of conversion app even the most casual iPhone user could ever want. The proliferation of iPhone apps for virtually every conceivable interest and need never ceases to fascinate me. Discovering an app that will instantly tell me how many square inches there are in an acre, what time it will be in Denver when I am fast asleep at 3 am EST, or the size shoe I'll need if I ever stumble across a sale in Paris was no different. While some people might think this kind of an app is silly or even frivolous, the Converter app only confirmed to me the inherent genius which is the iPhone. It has potential for creating a more creative, practical, and delightfully aesthetic world.
Google now tells you how much your Bitcoin is worth
Let's assume that you've just spent more than $200,000 on some of Russ Ulbricht's Bitcoin fortune -- but what do you do with it now? If it were us, we'd sit on our couch, constantly referencing Coindesk to find out how much our stash had gained (or lost) across the day. If, however, you'd prefer to source your information via search engine, then Google's now offering live currency conversions for the cryptocurrency. Like the states and nations that took their time to take a stance on Bitcoin, Google's taken its time to add the feature, which has been available on Bing for the better part of five months. Or, if the idea of sitting at home watching your cash doesn't feel like fun, you could always sponsor an NCAA game.
Free camera app turns extra 4K pixels into pristine HD video
The incoming Panasonic GH4 has broken new ground with 4K, high-bit-rate video for a mere $1,700, but if you want more than 8-bits? It's doable, but only if you also budget for a pricey external recorder. Fortunately, hacker Thomas Worth has just released a simple Mac command-line program that'll let you do a neat trick with GH4 files: convert the 4K, 16-million color video to 10-bit HD with a billion hues. It works using pixel summing, in which the extra 4K pixels are used to fill in missing color information, resulting in true, 10-bit DPX files in HD. As shown after the break, the result is a sharper image, smoother color gradients, easier grading and less loss in detail during image processing. The only downside is much larger 17.7MB images, but the last time we checked, hard drives are pretty cheap. [Image credit: Nick Driftwood]
Daily iPhone App: Vert, the beautiful conversion utility
There's no shortage of unit conversion apps on the iPhone. Matter of fact, a unit conversion app was the first app I ever downloaded -- and that app has remained on my iPhone since. That is, until I found Vert. Vert is the most beautifully designed unit conversion app I've ever found. I'll let the screenshots speak for themselves, but as you can see, a lot of care went into the design. Best of all, its flat looks make it a perfect fit for the new iOS 7. But design is one thing. What people want from a unit conversion app is a wide array of categories. Vert has 30 categories with over 700 different units. Not only do you have your normal weight, length, speed, time and volume units, you also get some units I've never seen before in a conversion app including Hats & Caps, Radioactivity, Shirt & Blouses, Shoes, Suits & Dresses, Typography and Viscosity. What is great about each category is you can favorite whatever ones you want so you can quickly just view a list of your most frequently converted items. Moreover, inside each category, you can favorite your most-converted units of measurements. For example, if you only use the Teaspoon US and Ounce UK units, you can favorite them so you don't need to scroll through the entire list of units each time. Other nice features include letting you view your conversion history, support for automatic currency updates for 164 currencies from 249 countries and regions, unit conversion precision up to seven decimals, multiple color themes and sets of unusual units, such as Kardashian, donkeypower, manpower, shot glass, fully loaded 747, Manhattan city block and more. Additionally, Vert will soon be updated with new features, such as the ability to combine units like foot + inch, mile + foot, hour + minutes and pound + ounce; icon view for categories; a new category just for rock climbers; and an organized list of categories (Units of Measurement, Clothing and Other). Vert is the best unit conversion app I've ever used and is available from the App Store for US$0.99.
World of Tanks opens up European beta for Xbox 360 edition
Fans of tank-based combat who live in Europe have some good news today. World of Tanks has opened its beta servers for European players to test out the Xbox 360 version of the game, thus allowing another continent's worth of players access to all of the console-based tank mayhem. Eager participants in both North America and Europe are encouraged to sign up for the beta on the official site. This particular update doesn't just allow more people into the beta; it also adds new tanks to the game. United States and German tanks of tiers VII and VIII have been added to the game, increasing the firepower on all sides of the playerbase. No word yet on an official release, but the easiest way to speed it along is by logging in and testing to provide plenty of data on the console version's performance. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
Zune Marketplace closing with Microsoft Points conversion
The Zune Marketplace will close its virtual doors whenever Microsoft decides to flip the switch and convert from MS Points to local currency, which could be as soon as Thursday, August 22 according to the Zune Marketplace FAQ. The Zune Marketplace's movie and television rental/purchasing functionalities will be taken over by the Xbox Video platform, whereas its musical feature set will become the domain of Xbox Music, provided you've got a subscription to the service that allows streaming to an Xbox 360. Microsoft recommends that you "spend your points balance prior to this change," but last we heard MS Points will be converted into an amount of local currency of equal or greater value.
Banked Microsoft Points will convert to local currency at 'equal or greater' value
The Xbox ecosystem's conversion to local currency will be "equal or greater" than the existing Microsoft Point value currently banked on accounts. "When the transition takes place, the balance of Microsoft Points in an account will be retired and the customer will be given an amount in local currency that is equal or greater in Marketplace value," a Microsoft spokesperson informed Joystiq. "That value will be stored in your account and can be used similar to Microsoft Points to make purchases in the Xbox Live Marketplace." What that means in North America is that it will be 80 points (or less) to the dollar when the point exchange occurs. There is currently no official date for the conversion. [Thanks, Martin]
Lichborne: Reviewing death knight talents for patch 5.4
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. Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street has indicated that Blizzard is pretty happy with the new Mists of Pandaria talent design, and I have to agree with him. While it does suck to wait 15 levels between new talent choices while leveling a new alt, otherwise the new talent system allows real flexibility and interesting, meaningful choices, arguably more than we had under the 51 or 31 point talent systems, where almost every tier had a clear best choice for whatever role you were playing. That said, there's always room for improvement, and the devs have mentioned they plan to use patch 5.4 as another opportunity to go over talent trees and bolster talents that see less use or otherwise feel underpowered. With that in mind, this week we'll look at the death knight tree and pick out some candidates for a patch 5.4 redesign.
Lichborne: Survivability for the DPS death knight
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. Death knights have long been notorious for their insane survivability since they were first introduced. Over the years, a lot of it has been nerfed, but a lot remains. While blood knight survivability feels somewhat obvious, it's a little harder to see what unholy and frost death knights have going for them. Today, we're going to examine how DPS death knights can use their skills to stay alive when the heat is on. Anti-Magic Shell Anti-Magic Shell remains one of the most versatile and underrated tools in our arsenal. By absorbing most of the magical damage from a massive magical attack, it allows us to stay in position longer than other classes, and save ourselves from own mistakes in some cases.
Lichborne: Why patch 5.2 is a great time to be a death knight
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. With patch 5.2 in full swing, we've had time to take stock of the changes, not just in terms of new content, but in terms of the buffs and nerfs our classes received. I'm just going to come out and say it. As a class, death knights feel about the best they've been since the Wrath era. There's a lot of great stuff to be excited about, so let's go down the list. Unholy is fun again Unholy has, as a spec, been sort of on the outside since Cataclysm. Blizzard's revamp, which put unholy on a different rune spending scheme from the other specs and pulled it even further away from weapon damage and toward special ability damage, created a unique melee spec, but the complications and weaknesses that came with that spec were a bit much for many people, and with frost generally beating it in both DPS and simplicity, the spec gained a reputation for being played only by the most hard headed diehards. Patch 5.2 came along and bought with it a much needed unholy revamp. The addition of Frost Fever to Plague Strike alone has helped make unholy's rotation smoother and more intuitive, as well as made target switching feel at least a little less punishing. AoE is still a little more awkward, but with Icy Touch on Reaping, you can at least get through that first setup and get to the main AoE rotation a lot more smoothly.
Lichborne: Tier 15 set bonuses and other death knight changes for patch 5.2
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. In the weeks since the patch 5.2 PTR has been up, death knight changes have held pretty steady. The announced unholy changes have stayed in place, and so far seem to be working out much as expected, making the spec a little easier to handle and overall promising to put unholy in a better place once patch 5.2 comes out. That said, there have been a few other tweaks added, as well as the revealing of the tier 15 raid gear set bonuses. Today, we'll dig into these changes and see how they're stacking up. Tier 15 death knight DPS bonuses Death Knight T15 DPS 2P Bonus Your attacks have a chance to raise the spirit of a fallen Zandalari as your Death Knight minion for 15 sec. Death Knight T15 DPS 4P Bonus Your Soul Reaper ability now deals additional Shadow Damage to targets below 45% instead of below 35%. Additionally, Killing Machine now also increases the critical strike chance of Soul Reaper. I'm going to be honest, I'm a little bit in love with the current 2 piece DPS bonus, if only for the flavor. A few columns back, I mentioned that one of my wildest dream updates for death knights would be a Wild Imps style ghoul summoning, and the 2 piece tier 15 bonus is sort of probably the closest we'll come to that. We'll need more solid parses to see if stacks up damage bonus wise, but in flavor, I'm pretty excited for it. The biggest issue here may be if the summoned pets end up dying prematurely to mobs before they can do their damage.
Jurassic Park 3D Blu-ray comes home April 23rd after its one-week theatrical return
We've known since last year that Jurassic Park would make its return to theaters in 3D this April, but now Universal has also dropped the details about its Blu-ray 3D release, as well as the 2D release of all the flicks individually in March. Just to fill in the timeline: first Jurassic Park 1, 2 and 3 will hit Blu-ray/DVD individually (following the triple pack that shipped in 2011) on March 26th, then Jurassic Park in 3D arrives April 5th in regular and IMAX theaters (no, the now-dated CGI has not been redone, you can get a peek in the trailer embedded after the break) followed finally by the Blu-ray 3D April 26th. While news that the flick is back on the big screen is exciting, we can't help but think there's a few missed opportunities here like the previously mentioned CGI, and lack of any extras detailing the conversion process on the disc. Still, some had complaints about the picture quality of the previous release and it's possible that remastering done in the name of 3D could see a better version this time around for all viewers. Either way, after Titanic, I, Robot and even Top Gun seeing 3D re-release it appears this is definitely a trend. The individual movies are priced at $24.49 on Amazon, and the 3D combo pack is $34.99.
Rough hack converts an Optimus G to a Nexus 4, minus the constant sellouts
It's almost a truism to say that the Nexus 4 is near impossible to buy, at least for those who don't want to pay a carrier premium. G33k3r, Rohan32 and others at XDA-Developers may just save us from camping at the Google Play storefront through a new software hack. Their work converts an LG Optimus G's firmware to that of an 8GB Nexus 4 by swapping every LG-customized software element with a Nexus 4 parallel. The nearly identical hardware makes for a very close rendition, at least if you discount the unavoidable design differences. If anything, the work is almost too faithful: the current hack turns off LTE, caps the internal storage at 8GB and even requires using Nexus 4 firmware for future upgrades. It's possible to revert to LG's code if there's jitters, but it goes without saying that the overall procedure carries more than the usual share of risk when even familiar ROM flashers are warned to be careful. Anyone who throws caution (and the price of an Optimus G) to the wind can find their stock Android experience at the source. [Thanks, Greg]
Top Gun Blu-ray 3D details revealed, comes home February 19th after IMAX 3D run
After being delayed, Top Gun 3D will be released by Paramount in 2013. Prior to his passing late last year, director Tony Scott personally oversaw the remastering and conversion of the 80's classic performed by Legend3D. According to the press release, the process of remapping and adjusting the depth of elements in the movie brings additional clarity to its aerial dogfights in both the long shots and cockpit closeups. This comes after the 3D rerelease of Titanic last year, and ahead of the theatrical return of a converted version of Jurassic Park this summer. Before the Blu-ray 3D version hits stores February 19th it's due for a six day IMAX run, although if you're only into it for the 2D (and Tom Cruise, of course) a remastered version is included as well. Check after the break for a trailer and the press release with all of the specs, it's currently available for pre-order from Amazon for $19.96.
Ion reveals digital conversion turntables for iOS, PC and Mac, we go hands-on (update: video)
Vinyl may be the format of choice for discerning audio connoisseurs, but those harboring love for both digital and analog options may have their interest piqued by Ion's latest lineup of turntables. The iLP Lightning takes a traditional turntable, replete with RCA outputs, and adds a 30-pin dock connector that's compatible with Cupertino's Lightning to 30-pin adapter. Leveraging a free app, the table converts a record's audio to MP3 files, separates it into tracks and saves it to docked iOS devices. If you'd rather not have songs sent to your iDevice of choice, the rig also includes a USB cable for routing tunes to a Mac or PC with a gratis desktop app. Ion is also serving up the Pure LP, which removes the 30-pin dock from the equation. As for availability, the iOS-compatible tables are expected this summer for $99.99 in white, red, blue, black and a woodgrain finish. Analog diehards can have some fun too with the Live LP table, which packs stereo speakers, standard RCA outputs, a natural wood finish and nothing in the way of digital conversion. Click on to the break for photos and the full press release. Update: We've just given Ion's record player a test drive, and we've posted the footage after the break. Initially, we had some concern about how anything larger than an iPad Mini might dock to the hardware, but it handled one of Apple's miniature tablets well enough. Audio quality from the turntable -- at least from what this editor could hear over the din of other journalists -- passed the ear test. Though we weren't able to try out the desktop experience for converting audio from vinyl records to MP3 files, the conversion experience on the iPad itself was a breeze. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
Olympus execs: E-5 sequel due in 2013, mates Micro Four Thirds with Four Thirds
Photographers invested in the Four Thirds system haven't had many options lately, most of all if they prefer Olympus camera bodies -- the E-5 arrived in 2010, and hasn't really had company since. Olympus imaging president Haruo Ogawa and the company's Spanish lead, Miquel Angel Garcia (seen above), are both promising interviewers an E-5 sequel by the end of 2013, but it may not be what some expect. Both executives say the camera will support Micro Four Thirds lenses, yet take full advantage of the Four Thirds system. Based on earlier remarks and patents, DSLR Magazine speculates that it's a Micro Four Thirds camera that can mount the larger glass through a converter. Garcia may have hinted as much by telling Quesabesde that the mystery shooter ends a "transition period" that began in 2009: when nearly all of the company's interchangeable lens-based lineup has shifted to Micro Four Thirds over that time, there's only so much room left for interpretation. There's months to wait before we know precisely what's underway, but the clues suggest Olympus may bid farewell to the traditional DSLR within a year's time. [Image credit: Quesabesde]
Makers of PaintCode open CodeAutomat service, for turning SVGs into code
I'm currently working on developing an iOS app in conjunction with a graphic designer, and because my design skills are pretty terrible, we set out to look for a solution to turn the scalable vector graphics (SVGs) he's designed into Objective-C code snippets I can insert directly in the app. There are a few different ways to do this, but it turns out that PaintCode (which Erica wrote about earlier this year) is the solution we're going with -- it's an app that will fairly easily convert scalable vector graphics into Objective-C code, which iOS can then use to draw out a user interface for a touch-based app. And it just so happens that just as I found their app, the folks behind PaintCode have released a brand new product. CodeAutomat is a new service, from the same developers, that's designed to make SVG-to-code conversion as easy as possible. All you need to do is upload your SVG file on the site (you can even drag and drop it in), and then for a small charge (starting at US$4.99), the browser-based app will turn your graphic into code, using PaintCode's formula. Now, PaintCode's price is $99.99 (on the Mac App Store now), so if you're converting a lot of graphics, you might want to splurge for the whole app. But the service is super easy to use, and works with any SVG file -- just plug it in and play. For those who need a few conversions but don't want to buy a whole app, CodeAutomat could be very helpful indeed.
