Hush
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Research tool can save phone battery by intelligently killing apps
Even if you're a task-killing ninja, there are still plenty of apps that somehow bite into your battery life. And that problem can be even worse when your phone is asleep, when you can't even tell which apps are being battery hogs. A new tool called Hush, which was developed by Purdue researchers, aims to solve that dilemma for Android phones by intelligently stopping apps that run in the background while your phone is asleep. It prioritizes the apps you use a lot and stops apps that you rarely use from gumming up the works. Researchers say it can save around 16 percent of battery life -- that's not huge, but it could be very useful if a similar tool were embedded with phones. You can test out Hush for yourself via its Github page, but it'll likely be a while before it's available in a more polished form.
Hush fights fear with puppets, inspired by American McGee's Alice
Childhood fears might seem silly now that we're all grown up, but it's amazing how strongly we could convince ourselves of basement monsters and lurking ghosts when we were alone in our darkened houses. Taking those fears on isn't always easy for a kid, but Ashlyn seems ready to bash her way through them all using toys and puppets in Hush, Game Studio 78's episodic action adventure game set in an abandoned orphanage. Each of Hush's episodes will consist of three chapters built around specific fears. The first episode's "Fear of Thunder" chapter, for instance, will contain monsters that paralyze Ashlyn with loud noises, comparable to how claps of thunder leave some children immobile from fear. Fear of darkness, spiders and clowns are also among Hush's subject matter, just in case you've forgotten why you can't sleep. Game Studio 78 cites Alice: Madness Returns as an inspiration for Hush's surreal environment and twisted enemies, while also drawing comparisons to The Legend of Zelda series in reference to its puzzles. Since Ashlyn is facing fears, players will need to keep her braveness gauge filled as they explore - failing to do so means having to flee from battles, unless Ashlyn outright faints. Hush is currently on Indiegogo and is planned to reach PC and Mac first, with Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U versions following. Android and iOS mobile ports will follow if their €100,000 stretch goal is met, but €50,000 is needed for development of the first three episodes on home platforms. [Image: Game Studio 78]
Hush Technologies' HS1 Home Server now available
Don't get down on yourself if you can't remember the last time you saw anything interesting from Hush Technologies -- we had to scour the archives ourselves -- but the German firm is storming back with a stylish home server dubbed the HS1. The Windows Home Server-powered device features a sexy aluminum chassis (available in three colors), a fanless design, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an Ethernet jack, HDD kit for a pair of 3.5-inch drives and a 90-watt power supply. Interested consumers can customize the unit with up to 2TB of storage space and a gigabit Ethernet upgrade, but considering that the base configuration will run you €923.53 ($1,362), maxing this bad boy out won't come cheap.[Via WeGotServed]
