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Twitter Spaces may soon offer voice manipulation effects
Twitter is apparently developing a voice manipulator for its Spaces audio chat feature.
Apple Watch will put a Walkie Talkie on your wrist
The latest Apple Watch version includes an optional LTE connection. That lets you make or receive phone calls, use Messages and other network-enabled features when not in WiFi range. Now Apple will let you connect with your friends in yet another way. The company just announced a new app for watchOS 5 called Walkie Talkie. You can now talk Watch to Watch over cellular or WiFi to your buddies.
Facebook reportedly has a teen-friendly chat app in the works
As Snapchat continues to rule among the teen set, Facebook continues to take a more active role in encouraging younger folks to use its own communication apps. According to a report at The Information, code inside the main Facebook app points to a new, unreleased app called Talk. The code alludes to parent-centric features for filtering who teens can talk to, saying "Talk is a messaging app where you fully control the contacts." Another line in the code states that children will talk to parents in Messenger. Another line from the code appears to reference additional features that might actually appeal to teens. One comment in the code says, "Kids love using the creative tools in "Talk" to play games and share fun masks with family and friends," according to The Information.
Google Hangouts outage brings chatting to a halt (update: service restored)
If you've been having trouble with Google Hangouts today, you're not alone. The chat service has been experiencing issues, and the folks in Mountain View have confirmed the "service disruption." According to the Apps Status Dashboard, Google Talk and Sheets (spreadsheets) are having down time of their own, but there's no confirmation on the latter two applications. We're keeping an eye on things, and we'll be sure to update when more details become available.
Google Hangouts bug sends messages to the wrong people (update: fixed)
We're hearing from tipsters and a number of other sources, including Google's own Product Forums, that a bug is causing some Google Hangouts and Google Talk messages to be sent to the wrong recipients. A few awkward situations have already ensued, according to TechCrunch, such as internal company communications being sent to ex-employees. The privacy bug seems to crop up when users of the old Google Talk platform try to connect with those who have migrated to the newer Hangouts service, so it sounds like it could be a transitional thing -- it's also reminiscent of a similar bug that hit Skype last year. Meanwhile, some of us here at Engadget are currently experiencing the more fundamental (though thankfully less embarrassing) problem of not being able to log onto Hangouts in the first place. Update: Google' status page reports that the issue has been resolved and that services are "gradually returning to normal." It says it will update users again when the full service is restored. [Thanks, Boris]
GDC Online 2012: Paul Barnett reimagines Ultima with a chicken and a spoon
Paul Barnett is a great storyteller with a passion for games. Anyone who followed Warhammer Online early on can't forget the engaging speeches and videos Barnett made through beta and launch. But it's no longer 2007, and he's long since moved on from Warhammer. Instead, he's been working on Ultima Forever, a browser-based, online rendition of Ultima IV. This week at GDC Online, he told the story of how the game came to be. He was given a chicken and a spoon and told to go away and try to make something. The only boundaries was that he couldn't have any other stuff, the game had to be good, and he had to do it quick and without help. Did Barnett succeed with his chicken and spoon? Read on for Barnett's tale of Ultima Forever as well as a look at the lessons he learned along the way.
360iDev: The case for 'fair pricing' on iOS apps
A few developers have talked before about the App Store's "race to the bottom" problem, and Joe Cieplinski has clearly been doing some thinking about the issue as well. In his talk at 360iDev this week, Cieplinski (a former English teacher and Apple Store employee who now works as a designer for Bombing Brain Interactive, makers of an app called Teleprompt+ for iPad) pointed out that back in the early days of the App Store, some developers decided to try and price their apps at Apple's lowest option of 99 cents ("I didn't get an email," he joked, "Were you guys consulted?"). A few of those 99 cent apps made millions of dollars, and Cieplinski says that other iOS developers wrongly decided that "99 cents must be the reason" for that success. As a result, 99 cents has become the standard for most App Store apps, with many other apps moving even lower down to free. At this rate, Cieplinski joked again, developers will soon be paying people to install their apps, and indeed, he said, that's already happening. So how can we fix this? Cieplinski says that most of the apps being sold for just 99 cents on the App Store are worth more than that, but "customers have been conditioned to think this is what your app is worth," and many developers are worried that if they move up to a higher price point, their users will revolt completely. But Cieplinski is also convinced that what's commonly called a "premium price" should instead be called a "fair price." Developers shouldn't be ashamed to charge customers what their apps (assuming the quality is high) are worth. Apple set this tone when the iPad arrived, said Cieplinski. When the iWork apps first appeared, they were priced at $9.99 each, and not only have those sold like gangbusters for Apple, but the pricing on those apps is meant to serve as a message to developers from Cupertino: "You can charge more than 99 cents," Cieplinski said. "Start doing it." He should know, too -- Teleprompt+ was released at a price of $9.99, and while Cieplinski calls early sales "modest," he said they actually increased over time. Most freemium and 99 cent apps see a large sales spike at release and then fall off precipitously, but Teleprompt+ saw a different curve, one that rose slowly but surely as time went on. So much so, in fact, that when Bombing Brain updated the app to version 2.0 with a significant redesign and new features, they raised the price to $14.99. And the real kicker: They saw sales increase. Now, this likely won't work for all developers -- Cieplinski points out that if you're going to charge more for an app, it better be a really great app, and you better have the resources (or at least be willing to put in the work) to do things like market your app to the right audience, provide flawless and responsive tech support, and update your app "early and often," making sure that it provides a lot of value to its users. But if developers are able to do this, they can not only charge a premium price, but they can demand a premium customer. Customers that buy apps at higher prices, said Cieplinski, are big seekers of value, and are willing to really use and become dedicated to the apps they invest in. If someone spends $9.99 on an app, they're more likely to use it again and again, and eventually love it so much so that they recommend it to everyone they know. Cieplinski's points are intriguing. It's hard to see the 99 cent price disappear from the store entirely -- there are definitely developers out there (and apps) that are meant to be more impulse purchases and relatively throwaway thrills. And there will always be developers ready to undercut their colleagues, in order to simply grab the largest audience possible. But Cieplinski did his best to prove that there is a market for "fair priced" apps on the App Store, and that developers willing to charge more for apps that are worth it will be able to reap higher rewards as well.
Apple delivers Black Hat talk to mediocre reception
CNET's posted a strange writeup for Apple's first talk at the Black Hat security conference, and though the piece is short on details, the theme is clear: There wasn't a lot of groundbreaking news shown off to attendees. Manager of Platform Security Dallas De Atley basically gave a quick rundown of the security measures built in to the architecture of iOS, and didn't give much more. Any hackers looking for Apple to speak in person about vulnerabilities or work being done for the future of the Mac or iOS platforms were apparently turned away disappointed. But I would argue that Apple just showing up at the Black Hat conference is the beginning of a good public dialogue with the company on security. Apple has been quiet to say the least in the past, preferring instead to just close its doors and windows where security is concerned, and release hotfixes and updates on its own schedule. Just an appearance at the Black Hat conference, then, is a gesture by Apple that it recognizes the values of hackers and their culture. As CNET's writer says, maybe next year Apple will have a more satisfying presentation.
ITU wants to bring smartphone makers to peace talks, hash out patent wars
The United Nations defines the stereotype of a peace broker, so it's not that far-fetched to hear that its International Telecommunication Union (ITU) wing is hoping to step in and cool down the rapidly escalating patent world war. The organization plans to convene a Patent Roundtable on October 10th -- in neutral Geneva, Switzerland, of course -- to have smartphone makers, governments and standards groups try and resolve some of their differences. Those mostly concerned about Apple's actions won't be happy with the focus of the sit-down, however. Most of the attention will surround allegations that companies are abusing standards-based patents, which will put the heat largely on a Google-owned Motorola as well as Samsung. Still, there's hope when the ITU's Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré talks of desiring a "balancing act" between what patent holders want and what customers need. Our real hope is that we don't have to hear talk of customs delays and product bans for a long while afterwards. [Image credit: Patrick Gruban, Flickr]
James Silva ready to make a third Dishwasher game for Microsoft
The Dishwasher creator and Ska Studios head James Silva spoke at GDC last week, and concluded his talk with the slide seen above. Fans want a third Dishwasher game, Microsoft wouldn't mind publishing one, and he wants to do one, said Silva, so why shouldn't there be a trilogy of Dishwasher titles out there? Don't look at us, bud -- you're the game designer. Silva is, of course, currently working on the side-scrolling, punk-flavored beat-em-up Charlie Murder for Xbox Live Indie Games Arcade. After that adventure is all wrapped up, it may be time to wash those dishes yet again.
TED expands its reach with streaming talks on Netflix
You can already watch TED talks on any number of devices via the web or the various apps available, but the oft-debated conference / organization has now added another fairly big feather to its cap: it's streaming on Netflix. That includes around 200 talks to start with, which have been grouped into 14 different "shows" with titles like Space Trek, Cyber Awe, Building Wonder and Video & Photo Mojo. Those are naturally all available in HD, and they can be seen in Canada, Latin America, the UK and Ireland in addition to the US.
Google's mysterious 'Solve for X' launching today? (video)
Google's X Lab is the search giant's top-secret facility even its own employees didn't know about. It's believed to be working on driverless cars, internet connected appliances and Majel: a Star Trek-inspired rebuttal to Siri. It's also apparently behind the Solve for X website, which hints at a TED-style public-presentation site featuring the great and the good talking about "redefining problems into challenges." The video (embedded below) and the site's background seem to agree, given one of the big box-outs reads "What is a Solve for X talk." Richard DeVaul (a member of the "[X] Rapid Evaluation team") mentioned on his Google+ page that the videos would be launching at some point today. Presumably we can expect to see innovative new solutions on dealing with Climate Change, new Cancer Treatments and awkward silence if anyone mentions a Canadian super-soldier program.
MacTech 2011: What keeps Aaron Hillegass up at night
Big Nerd Ranch founder Aaron Hillegass took the stage at this week's MacTech Conference 2011, and his talk was labeled, simply, "Going Mobile." That's a big topic, so after going through a few reasons why business and individuals might be for and against making mobile apps (all pretty standard discussion in the industry around the App Store), he discussed his concerns about the mobile industry; the things that "keep me up late at night." What followed were a few questions (mostly unanswered) that Hillegass has been thinking about, relevant to IT professionals, developers and really anyone who's used Apple's mobile products. Hillegass' talk was surprisingly honest -- he tackled quite a few issues during the short speech, some of which will likely take a long while for everyone to figure out. He started by asking how developers can benefit from the "power struggles in the industry." So far, Hillegass said, Apple, Google and others have benefited from app developers. Apple has sold a staggering number of iPhones, thanks in part to the hard work of app developers. Of course, Apple has compensated those developers, some very well. But Hillegass wonders if the relationship could go the other way. Instead of making developers work for Apple and then even harder to make their apps compatible on Android and other platforms, is there a way to make that competition between the platform companies work for developers? Hillegass didn't have an answer just yet. He also talked about the death of privacy, pointing out that Apple, developers, and humanity in general are collecting mountains of data all the time. What we all us it for? He suggested first that maybe we just didn't need it -- maybe creating too much data, just like creating trash in real life, would adversely affect our environment in ways we didn't suspect. Hillegass then flipped the other way, and suggested that maybe just agreeing amongst ourselves that privacy was finally dead and actually using that data to make the world a better place would be more helpful than hurtful after all. The relatively tame example he gave was about movie theater previews and how, because they were usually targeted at the audience in the theater, are often more interesting than TV commercials. But Hillegass hinted at bigger things -- he seemed to suggest that letting go of privacy might open up a lot more doors, even if he himself didn't know yet what those were. The talk got deeper from there. Hillegass wondered if instead of dealing with reality directly, our work with Apple's devices and computers in general was putting us in touch with a sort of "simulacrum" of reality. Instead of meeting with friends and family, we were communicating via Facebook profiles and social networking services. Hillegass wondered if the small rewards of games prevented us from really committing to achieving something great. He shared a story about reading Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of NIMH to his son, and realizing that while he loved the book as a kid, his attention span had shrunk since then -- even he wasn't able to sit through long passages of description without a lot of action. "My attention span is shrinking," said Hillegrass. "I think that's a problem." And with almost a tone of fear and anxiety, Hillegass wondered how humanity will keep its capacity for empathy when, thanks to our vast networks of communication, we can often be surrounded by people who are exactly like us. He pointed out that most of the people in the room here at MacTech looked and acted very much the same, and said that because of the Internet, people could find communities of like-minded individuals more quickly and easily than ever. Is that a good thing necessarily? He didn't know. Finally, Hillegass pointed out that because of how quickly mobile applications and technology are changing and improving, users and developers are involved in what's basically an evolving relationship. He told the story of the cheetah and the gazelle, and why evolution has made both animals faster over the years -- gazelles who aren't fast enough will get eaten by the faster cheetahs, and cheetahs who don't run won't get food they need. In fact, things have moved so far, said Hillegass, that cheetahs can't even eat too much once they do catch a gazelle, because it will slow them down in the future. Users, too, are getting more and more demanding of mobile apps, just as developers are getting better and better tools to make them. When the App Store first started, fart apps were "good enough" to make money, but the bar has risen higher and higher over the years. For all of his questions, Hillegass did end on a positive note -- he told the story of Beethoven the composer, who made some of the greatest musical pieces for piano ever written, and Broadwood, an inventor who improved the piano, expanding its versatility and range even as Beethoven pushed him to do more with his genius. Developers in the room, said Hillegass, were the Broadwoods of the world. And he and they were both working on apps that would then be used by Beethovens to make something really incredible. Apps and the app market are such a growing entity at this point in time that it's hard to see just where they'll end up, even a few years in the future. But for all of his questions, Hillegass was convinced that the progress was worth it. "We are trying to create the piano for the next Beethoven," he said as he finished his talk.
Google expands Voice Actions across Europe, with multi-language support (video)
Android users across Europe are waking up to some bonnes nouvelles this morning, because Google has now expanded its Voice Actions service to France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Beginning today, loquacious smartphone and tablet users will be able to place calls, send texts and conduct Google searches by speaking into their devices. All you have to do is press the microphone button on your home screen's Google search field and open the Voice Search app, or simply press the physical search button on your handset to bring up the "Speak Now" field. From there, you can begin chattering away in French, German, Italian, Spanish and real British English. Interested parties running Android 2.2 or above can get started by downloading the Voice Search app from the source link below, or by checking out Google's demo video, after the break.
Samsung, NTT DoCoMo to develop smartphone chips in proposed joint venture
Qualcomm may be facing some new competition in the mobile chip space, now that NTT DoCoMo and three other Japanese firms are looking to join forces with Samsung. According to Japan's Nikkei business daily, the quartet of firms (which includes Fujitsu, NEC and Panasonic's mobile unit) is currently finalizing negotiations with Samsung over a proposed joint venture that would design, develop and market smartphone chips. The partners are reportedly planning to incorporate the new chips into their own devices, while selling them to other handset manufacturers, as well. DoCoMo would hold a majority stake in the ¥30 billion (about $390 million) partnership, which could help lower procurement costs, while reducing the partners' dependency upon industry-leading Qualcomm. A DoCoMo spokesman acknowledged that the provider is exploring a variety of collaborations, but was quick to point out that nothing's been finalized. Samsung and Fujitsu, meanwhile, have yet to comment.
NTT DoCoMo exhibits on-the-fly speech translation, lets both parties just talk (video)
The race to smash linguistic barriers with simultaneous speech-to-speech translation is still wide open, and Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo has just joined Google Translate and DARPA on the track. Whereas Google Translate's Conversation Mode was a turn-based affair when it was demoed back in January, requiring each party to pause awkwardly between exchanges, NTT DoCoMo's approach seems a lot more natural. It isn't based on new technology as such, but brings together a range of existing cloud-based services that recognize your words, translate them and then synthesize new speech in the other language -- hopefully all before your cross-cultural buddy gets bored and hangs up. As you'll see in the video after the break, this speed comes with the sacrifice of accuracy and it will need a lot of work after it's trialled later in the year. But hey, combine NTT DoCoMo's system with a Telenoid robot or kiss transmission device and you can always underline your meaning physically.
Confirmed: T-Mobile blocking GTalk video chat over 3G on Nexus S
Many Nexus S owners received a rude surprise when attempting to initiate an Android 2.3.4 video chat on T-Mobile's 3G network. Rather than being greeted by a smiling friend on the screen, a terse message explained "You must be connected to a WiFi network to start a video chat." Ouch. Doing the responsible thing, we tested the issue and were able to confirm that T-Mo is blocking this headline feature -- which worked just dandily over Sprint's 3G network on the Nexus S 4G. While the latest Gingerbread update includes built-in support for 3G video chat, Google has left the decision to mobile carriers whether to implement the functionality. We know choice is great, but when it ultimately hinders consumers, we'd really prefer an iron-fisted display of strength from Mountain View.
Android 2.3.4 heading to Nexus S over the air, bringing video and voice chat to Gtalk
For an update with such a modest name, this is actually quite a major step forward. Google's about to start delivering Android 2.3.4 to Nexus S devices out in the wild, and in among all the bug fixes and optimizations, users will find the addition of video and voice chat to Google Talk. You'll be able to do it anywhere you can get a web connection going, whether by virtue of WiFi, 3G, 4G, or the force, and other Gingerbread handsets are expected to get the same improvements in time. For now, however, Google's own-branded device is the only one enjoying the very freshest Gingerbread around.
Meizu M8 ceases production amid pressure from Apple and intellectual property office
Well, can't say we didn't see this coming; we're just surprised that it's taken this long for Meizu to take a hit over its notorious handset. In case you have no idea what we're talking about, earlier this month said Chinese company's been in heated talks with Apple due to the M8 smartphone bearing an "appearance roughly similar" to the iPhone. Seriously, that's the only reason Apple provided for the accusation, if CEO Jack Wong is to be trusted (and hey, he did kinda ask for it). Anyhow, the latest development is that Meizu's bowing to pressure from both the provincial intellectual property office and Cupertino, and announced that it's shutting down production lines for its flagship M8 this month. This is no doubt a big blow to the company, but it might get even nastier -- here's what Jack said in one of his many frustrated forum postings: Apple requested that we cease manufacturing the M8 this month, we agreed but then [Apple] came back and asked for a sales ban instead. I can cope with a production freeze, but not with having our shops closed and thus not being able to use up our inventory. If Apple and the provincial IPO take another insatiable step, I can only go head to head against them. So, it looks like the M8's all set for an early retirement, either way -- it doesn't look like Apple's going to let this one go easily, and Jack's also expressed concern over the fact that the IPO has the power to shut his factory down without going to court. That said, things are still looking positive for the elusive M9 -- from the sounds of it, Meizu's upcoming Android phone isn't affected by this takedown (yet); but the question is whether Jack and co. can keep the shops running until a December launch for their next flagship device. Oh well, hang in there, Meizu!
GDC 2010: How to develop an app with EA Mobile
For the first panel of day two here at the 2010 Game Developers Conference's iPhone gaming track, Oliver Miao of Centerscore Studios took the stage to talk about working on Surviving High School for the iPhone as a part of Electronic Arts' Mobile division. As Miao made clear early on, he's an "insider outsider" at EA: his company was started with a few friends, purchased by Vivendi in 2006, created a hit mobile game called Surviving High School in 2007, and was bought by EA in 2008. Last year, they were commissioned to recreate their game for the iPhone. In one of the most interesting iPhone panels at the conference yet, he talked about the ins and outs of working with EA on an iPhone title, and explained both, what it was like to work with the company, and his own philosophies on game design, especially concerning in-app purchases and microtransactions. Most users seem to believe that microtransactions and episodic content are, at the very least, a pain to deal with (and are, at worst, a scam), but Miao is convinced that they're actually necessary to having a successful game -- he said that every developer, going forward, "will need to have them." Read on to find out why.
