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Holocaust Museum would like for 'Pokémon Go' trainers to back off
The world is rife with new trainers scouring the globe for Pokémon, unable to pry themselves away from their smartphones for even a moment lest they miss out on catching 'em all in Pokémon Go. They're invading everywhere, from churches to police stations to graveyards, but there's one place that would like to see the craze come to an end, as far as it's concerned: the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.
ICYMI: Space foam party and mind reading for horses
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A new rover concept from Harvard's SSR Lab shows a rover extruding a fast-drying foam over rocks to keep vehicles from getting stuck on other planets. University of Nottingham researchers are building an algorithm to read the moods and behavior of horses, rather than having behaviorists analyze videos on their own. You should also see this video of hardware playing a very iconic song, at least check out the hysteria around Pokemon Go, and what's going on with Mars. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
'Pokémon Go' on iOS is digging deep into linked Google accounts (updated)
If you spent your weekend wandering around capturing cartoon monsters on your phone, you're likely one of millions addicted to Pokémon Go, the latest mobile game sensation. But if you played the game on an iPhone and signed in with your Google account, you also just handed the keys to your entire Google account to Niantic, the developer behind the game. As pointed out by Adam Reeve, a principal architect at Red Owl analytics, nothing in the sign up process indicates that you're giving the app full access to your account.
'Pokémon Go' adds billions to Nintendo's market value
Pokémon Go is the latest hotness in mobile gaming and Nintendo is basking in its glow -- to the tune of $7.5 billion in additional market value. Nintendo stock closed up 25 percent on Monday, and by the end of last week, when Pokémon Go hit mobile devices across the US, Australia and New Zealand, the company's stock was already up 9 percent. Nintendo added $7.5 billion to its market value on Friday and Monday alone, Reuters reports.
Robbers used 'Pokémon Go' to lure their victims
Pokémon Go is introducing many people to location-based gaming... and unfortunately, that includes the potential pitfalls as well. Police in O'Fallon, Missouri report that robbers used the mobile augmented reality title to reel in victims. Based on the description, it's most likely that the crooks placed a lure at a Pokéstop (a location where you collect items) and waited for players to show up, becoming unwitting targets in the process. While the police caught the robbers, their advice holds true -- be careful before you give strangers a clue as to where you're going.
ICYMI: Pedestrian tracking bot and earthquake simulation
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Stanford engineers are using a robot to understand the way humans move through a crowded space. University of California, San Diego researchers are using the world's largest outdoor shake table to simulate earthquakes and fire to a six story building. If you can get into topics unrelated to Dallas and police shootings this weekend, German churches are using wifi to try to lure new attendees. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
'Pokémon Go' global rollout pauses to fix server problems
If you haven't seen anyone wandering around late at night and waggling their smartphone to catch digital animals, just wait: Your friends will probably drag you into the wildly popular Pokémon Go soon. Or perhaps you don't live in America or the antipodes and are eagerly awaiting its international rollout? Sorry to break it to you trainers, but the global expansion of the Pokémon mobile game has been delayed until its servers recover from player overload.
Australian police urge 'Pokémon Go' players to pay more attention
Zealous new Pokémon Go trainers around the world are out catching 'em all, but a police station in Australia is warning against actually walking into the station just to nab the items that could be lurking there.
'Pokémon Go' rolls out on Android and iOS (update)
With all the news surrounding Pokémon Go's beta test and wearable, you'd be forgiven for thinking the full game was already out. Until recently, it wasn't, but that's changing if you live in the United States and have an Android device, as spotted by 9to5 Google. Rocking a handset designed in Cupertino? Well, only iPhone owners in Australia have access at the moment so a measure of patience is in order.
A one-button wearable defeats the purpose of Pokémon Go
Whenever you ask Pokémon players what they enjoy about playing the games, they usually mention the actual Pokémon in some way. Some enjoy training up their creatures to assemble the ultimate battle team; others really get into the breeding aspects of the game. In some titles you can even enter your Pokémon in beauty pageants, in which you dress them in gaudy accessories. And, of course, there's the thrill of finding as many species as possible in order to achieve the ultimate goal: a complete Pokédex containing every single known Pokémon. These characters lie at the heart of most of Pokémon gameplay.
The 'Pokémon Go' wearable costs $35
Next month, Nintendo is going to fulfill the childhood dreams of thousands of people who grew up in the 1990s: it's releasing Pokémon Go, an app that lets you catch pocket monsters in the real world using your smartphone. That alone is pretty exciting for fans, but if you've been following the game you also know that the app is getting a companion wearable that lets you play it without looking at your phone. Today at E3, Nintendo gave us a price for the wearable: $34.99.
Living the trainer life with 'Pokémon Go'
Niantic senior product manager Tatsuo Nomura and I are walking directly across the street from San Francisco's Embarcadero waterfront. It's a beautiful day for a stroll. His phone vibrates as we amble under the Bay Bridge and we stop. It turns out this "landmark" doubles as a PokéStop in the upcoming Pokémon Go mobile game. We pause, and he collects an egg that will eventually hatch into a pocket monster ready for battle.
'Pokémon Go' beta arrives on mobile devices
Pokémon Go, the real-world equivalent to kicking off your own journey to becoming a Pokémon master, is finally available for beta testers in the US as of today.
'Pokémon Go' field test signups are now live
Pokémon Go, the mobile app that allows users to travel the globe on their own Pokémon journey, is finally open for registration for United States users. Niantic Labs' field test is available to sign up for right now, with users being chosen to try out the upcoming game later on.
How 'Pokémon Go' will work on your smartphone
At last, Niantic and The Pokémon Company are ready to talk about Pokémon Go. Until now we've seen and heard relatively little about the game, save for what was shown in its reveal trailer last September. But following a leaked video from SXSW, the pair have finally divulged how the app actually works. As you walk around with your smartphone, it'll occasionally vibrate to indicate that a Pokémon is nearby. Tapping the screen will throw a Poké Ball, which can be obtained along with other items at a "PokéStop." These stores will be based at "interesting places" including museums and monuments, encouraging exploration.
Here's your first (unofficial) look at 'Pokémon' on smartphones
You no longer have to guess what Pokémon Go will look like when it finally reaches smartphones. An attendee at a SXSW panel led by Niantic Labs CEO John Hanke recorded footage of the mobile game in action, and it's definitely not just a 3DS game writ large. You'll see Pokémon on a map of your surroundings; tap them and you'll zoom into an augmented reality view that plunks the critter into the real world. The clip doesn't show fighting, alas, but it does show staples like different capture balls (up to the surefire Master Ball) and a mysterious Crystals button that might refer to an in-game currency. As for a release date, prices and other details? Those will have to wait, unfortunately, but at least you have a sense of what you're in for.
ICYMI: Homo sapien ancestor, AR Pokémon game and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-690648{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-690648, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-690648{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-690648").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: We are pumped about the discovery of a previously unknown homo sapien ancestor who looked ape-like but still cared enough to bury its dead. Color blind people who have long struggled with watching TV will have the option of buying a device that has a chipset designed to boost colors for their needs. And Pokémon is rolling out an augmented reality game that combines a bluetooth ball with GPS in your phone to hunt the little rascals down in virtual real life.
'Pokémon Go' uses your phone for real-life Mewtwo hunting
We've seen Pokémon in VR before, but how about getting them about and playing with them in the real world? That's what Pokémon Go wants to achieve. It's a collaboration between Niantic Labs (the folks behind the GPS-based Ingress) and The Pokémon Company. From what we can tell, it's going to use Niantic's location-based backend to have you catching, fighting and trading the pocket monsters in the streets around you. Of course, there's a wearable involved dubbed the Pokémon Go Plus too. It's a Bluetooth device from Nintendo that's shaped like one of the series' Pokéballs (capture-gizmos that store monsters after defeating them) that pairs with both Android and iOS to flash and vibrate, giving you alerts when something is happening in the game in your vicinity. It goes a bit further than that though, and you can even use the Go Plus to capture a monster with it.
