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Box announces new features: improved search, file editing and a more social UI (video)
Skydrive, iCloud and Amazon Cloud Drive users have all been treated to upgrades recently, and now Box has announced a bunch of improvements are coming to its cloud platform for businesses. The portal header has been redesigned with a focus on searching and navigating quickly, and you can find other users at your company that bit easier, too. Additionally, Box Edit is ready to drop its beta suffix and, as long as you've got the relevant program installed, you can create files, edit them and save right back to the cloud from within the system. And, if you didn't think the whole experience was social enough, an added 'like' feature for files will help you keep up with the latest trending process docs. The updates are due to roll out "over the coming weeks," but until then, why not let an extremely sincere Box rep walk you through them in the video below.
eBay unveils redesign, deals site and launches same-day delivery
After eBay finally straightened out its logo and became ebay (it'll always be camel-cased in our hearts) it seemed only logical that the site itself would get a long overdue facelift too. At a press event today in NYC the tenacious dot-com holdover unveiled the most dramatic redesign of its long and storied existence. The look has been compared, repeatedly in the media, to Pinterest with its endless, uneven grid of product boxes and curated feed of auctions. The design is cleaner, with less text and better suited to scale for mobile and the upcoming onslaught of touchscreens. You can also like auctions on Facebook, which it hopes will drive more traffic to the site. The company quietly launched eBay Lifestyle Deals as well, a local coupon service in the vein of Groupon and Google Offers. Right now the deals are only available in a few major cities, including Washington DC, San Francisco and LA. SF is also the beneficiary of eBay Now, the same-day delivery service that entered beta testing in early August. There isn't an immediate expansion to accompany the end of the trial, but more cities should be added soon. If you're not seeing the new design yet, look for the "Feeds" option on the home page to switch over now.
New PS3 model torn apart, internals exposed
The probing, ever-busy fingers of iFixit have done it again, this time disassembling the freshly redesigned PS3. Apart from a sticker, a security screw and a tricky power supply, the site dubs the super slim PS3 fairly easy to take apart (and potentially repair). Head over to iFixit for the full teardown. Just be warned that it might not be safe for work; this PS3 gets awfully exposed.
Hulu Plus overhauled on PSN, now with colorful pictures
The Hulu Plus app on PS3 is redesigned to include "larger, more vivid artwork" that is easier to navigate than the previous layout, principal software development lead Daniel Bear writes on the PlayStation Blog.The new design has movies and TV shows in a "tray-style" format with programs recommended based on individual viewing history, popular shows, top 100 clips and trailers, similar to the Netflix layout. It also includes a "Shows You Watch" option for quick access to the latest episodes of regularly viewed content. Search results now appear directly below the search and the playback interface has been overhauled.Check out the details on PSN or on the blog post.
SpyParty redesign: The new art of espionage
Last year, animator John Cimino turned down a cushy position at Zynga, pre-IPO, to work out of Chris Hecker's garage redesigning Hecker's ambitious, notorious indie game SpyParty. Cimino worked in secret since September 2011 to transform the primary colors and block-based skeletons of SpyParty's characters into the artistic, realistic designs revealed today.Hecker calls the new style "illustrative," and he's extremely pleased with it."We spent a ton of time trying to figure out the best possible art style for the game," Hecker tells Joystiq. "We really wanted the art style to reflect the same level of subtlety that the gameplay has. I didn't want it to be too realistic or too exaggerated, and I think we hit it on this really nice, call it naturalistic or illustrative – they look like illustrations. I'm super excited."%Gallery-163415%
Pandora Android app update: new UI, song history and song lyrics for impromptu cubicle concerts
If Pandora for Android is your go-to service for music streaming while you're out and about, you're in for a bit of a treat. The internet radio outfit has updated it's app for the Google OS with a number of enhancements that should make spinning those Music Genome Project selections even more satisfying. First, a redesigned UI and navigation takes some cues from the Android design standards in order to liven up the aesthetics. A retooled song history allows users to review, rate and bookmark their previously played tracks for future reference. When a particular artist is playing, album art can now be minimized to reveal bio information, song lyrics and Pandora's regular similar artist / track recommendations. If you're jonesin' to grab the new look for yourself, hit the source link below to update.
Hulu launches redesigned site with bigger artwork, 'tray-style format' of suggested shows
Hulu has been pushing tweaks to its UI on mobile devices and the web for several months, and now it's unleashed a complete redesign of its website. Designed with a focus on making it easier to find preferred content, it features bigger artwork that highlights new programming and a "tray-style" UI that lets you flip through queues of similar content curated by its team of editors. Navigation has been tweaked with a browse function to jump from category to category including what's popular, what's new, or any other filter and an upgraded search bar that lets you immediately play matching content. Finally, the show pages themselves have been refreshed, making it easier to jump directly into the most recently watched episode of a series. There's a few screen grabs of the new experience in the gallery below, plus a video preview embedded after the break, but it's probably easiest to hit the source link and check out the new site for yourself.
Redesigned Digg iOS app downloads stories before you leave the house
Launching alongside the monochrome hues of Digg's site redesign, its iOS app has been given a similarly-colored treatment. The update is available to download now and adds several mobile-centric features, including offline reading. Under new ownership, Digg's renovated app plays nice with both Facebook and Twitter, while a new 'Paperboy' feature will detect when you're at home (once calibrated) and help ensure you never leave the front door with old news. However, you'll have to be willing to hook up your Facebook account to bookmark and share between your phone and the standalone homepage. There's also no sign of a corresponding Android version just yet, but you can take the iOS app (and the refreshed site) for a spin at the sources below.
Digg to get a complete redesign, relaunch in August
Well, that was fast. Not two weeks after Digg was bought out by Betaworks (parent company to Bit.ly, among other startups), we're learning the crowd-sourced news aggregator is poised to relaunch as soon as August 1. In a blog post, the 10-person engineering team promises an overhaul of the site, once a litmus test for what was popular on the internet. Most interesting, perhaps, is the revelation that while Digg will not be a rebadged version of News.me, the aggregation app already owned by Betaworks, the two services will eventually be folded into one product. And while the team isn't revealing how, exactly, the new Digg will differ from the old, they did promise it would eventually receive personalization features similar to what News.me already offers. Other than that, Betaworks didn't share any specifics, but luckily, you'll only have to wait two weeks to find out what's in store.
Rdio Android app updated with playlist and search improvements, puts new releases in grid view
Much like its desktop counterpart, Rdio's Android app is constantly being tweaked -- adjusting its style, adding features and generally doing the whole mobile update dance. Among a slew of standard bug fixes, the streaming music service's latest app update promises playlist editing improvements, including the ability to jump directly from a song in a playlist to its parent album, clickable activity stream URLs and more complete search results. The update boasts some user interface improvements as well, placing new releases in a grid view. Ready to upgrade? Hit up the Google Play at the source link below.
Twitter's anatomy of a mobile redesign
A couple of months ago, Twitter did a big overhaul of its mobile site. When your service reaches such massive levels of popularity, there's a lot a to take into account with even the most minor of redesigns. Over on its official blog, Twitter offers up a fascinating bit of insight into what goes into such a reconfiguration -- oh, and if you've ever wondered what Twitter looks like on a Samsung Corby, this is the post for you. Check it out in the source link below.
New PlayStation 3 model may be in the works, FCC filing suggests
A new filing on the FCC database shows what appears to be a new model of PlayStation 3. Most of the information is confidential by request, but a diagram showing the location of the FCC ID (above) suggests a hardware configuration that is shaped differently from the existing PS3 Slim – in fact, it's closer in shape to the original PS3.From the diagram alone, it's impossible to tell how this potential model differs in size. Perhaps it's tiny like a PSOne. Or perhaps it's just a slight cosmetic modification that will result in a functionally identical system. Develop reported rumors that this new model will be officially revealed at Gamescom; we're checking in with Sony, but it's likely we won't hear anything official until the convention.
Rdio goes minimalist, tries another redesign on for size
Finally get settled into the last Rdio redesign from just a few months ago? Well, we're afraid you've got a bit more adjusting to do. The streaming music service has now rolled out another sweeping visual overhaul of its website and desktop apps -- one that ditches the former iTunes-like appearance for a far more minimalist look, although all of the key elements remain in the same places as before. Naturally, that brings with it yet another software update for the desktop apps, although there's no word on any changes for its mobile apps just yet.
Google+ adds profile updates, learns from the competition
Your Google+ profile has just been given some convenient upgrades, in a bid to make it a little friendlier to anyone used to another social network. You're now able to post to your feed directly from your profile page, which now packs the same share box as the Google+ hub. You'll also be able to refresh the look of your profile with some new stock cover photos and galleries, while any new photos added will be automatically resized and (vertically) adjustable in their new home. Any new cover photos will also be stored in their own gallery at full size. The updates, a result of feedback from its users, have now rolled out across the whole network. Presumably, automated facial tagging is still on Google's shopping list.
Redesigned YouTube rolling out to some users, reflects the influence of Google+
From the looks of this screenshot posted by one of our readers, it appears YouTube is testing a new homepage styled more like the look that recently rolled out on Google+. The current default look rolled out last winter with more focus on channels and social integration, while this new facade features more white space and list of channels and friends to the side. We asked YouTube about the new look and a spokesperson issued a boilerplate statement about experimenting with ways to help users find the videos that are important to them. The statement in full is after the break, however the key part is that they're listening to user feedback so take a close look at this pic and the rest at the source link below then let us (and Google) know what you think. [Thanks, M.B. Goro]
Metro-style Hotmail turns up in leaked screenshots
It certainly wouldn't come as much of a surprise that Microsoft would finally bring Hotmail into the Metro fold, but until now we haven't had much evidence that such a change was actually in the works. If a set of leaked screenshots obtained by WinFuture are any indication, however, it looks like the nearly sixteen-year-old email service could soon be getting one of its biggest redesigns to date. As you'd expect, it all looks very Metro, but also very unfinished, with a number of features reportedly still missing or not working properly. Of course, there's no indication when or if it'll actually roll out to the millions of Hotmail users (though the Windows 8 launch would provide a convenient fit), but there's plenty more screenshots where this one came from at the source link below.
DmC's Dante isn't gay, he's just the victim of sensationalist demon news
When the news anchor in this Devil May Cry trailer called Dante a "sexual deviant," the connotations of such a phrase harkened back to eras of gross intolerance of homosexuality in the 70s and 80s, and led us and others on Twitter to question if this new Dante might, himself, be gay."No, he's not gay," Ninja Theory chief designer Tameem Antoniades told us at E3, while Capcom's Motohide Eshiro laughed in the background. His translator said it wasn't the first time they'd been asked. "But I kind of wish he was now," Antoniades said.The news anchor, it turns out, is a demon, and his radical, extremist views on human morality mean he will say anything to villainize Dante in Limbo City, even reverting to out-dated, irreverent labels such as "terrorist" and "sexual deviant" in loud, alarmist segments. Thankfully we don't have anything like that in reality.Dante's redesign stems from Capcom Japan giving Ninja Theory complete creative control over the new title. Capcom wants to connect with the western market in a bold and distinctive way and, to Ninja Theory, that means Dante's new appearance, portraying him with short brown hair, a lean body and sleeping naked, apparently.Dante is a rebel in every sense of the word: His sword is named Rebellion, he's part angel and demon rolled into a fleshy human body, and he's out to destroy Lilith, the demon in control of Limbo City. Anything else you may hear about his character may just be over-hyped lies disguised as truth -- or news.
Facebook brings bigger images and text to its news feed, because size does matter
Not long after hooking up its mobile site and apps with a minor facelift, Facebook's reportedly planning to bring a similar redesign to its full-sized website. According to our friends over at TechCrunch, the changes will be nearly identical to those we saw on the mobile front, meaning you'll be able see bigger photos (up to twice as large) and text pop up on your cherished news feed. The light, but plentiful revamp is expected to hit users over the next few days, so don't feel like the odd one out if you've yet to spot any tweaks. Now, if only you had that SimCity Social to help pass the time while you patiently wait...
Alternative Wii U controller design makes brief appearance on Twitter, goes into hiding
Excited for Nintendo's new tablet-esque controller? So are the kids in TT Games' QA department. An over-excited tester tweeted out an image of a slightly different Wii U slab than the one we laid hands on at E3 2011, teasing "look we what we have at work!" Answering the call does indeed reveal something worth looking at -- a somewhat wider looking Wii U slate featuring two full-sized analog sticks (as opposed to 3DS-like circle pads), a pair of unmarked button-like squares, and a new starboard home for the controller's plus and minus buttons. The tweet was summarily pulled, of course, but not before our friends at Joystiq nabbed a screenshot. Naturally, the rumor mill started right up, churning out speculation of developer specific slabs, early prototypes and late redesigns. The truth? We'll probably need to wait until E3 to find out, but we reached out to Nintendo for a comment all the same. We'll let you know if we hear anything more than the usual "Nintendo doesn't comment on rumors and speculation" line.
Redesigned Wii U tablet shown off by TT Games QA guy [update]
A QA tester at TT Games (Lego Harry Potter, Lego Star Wars, et al.) has tweeted an image of a Wii U tablet that appears to have undergone a redesign since we saw one out in the wild during last year's E3.Most importantly, the concave 3DS-esque circle pads have been replaced with Wii-style analog sticks. The Wii U logo has been moved to the bottom left-hand side of the unit, while the plus and minus buttons have been moved to the right. Two mysterious button-ish indentations exist below the d-pad and between the power button and battery life indicator; their function, if any, remains unclear. Click here for an omega hyper resolution version.Update: Well that didn't take long! The tweet in question has been removed, but a screenshot of said tweet has been safely ensconced after the break.Additionally, eagle-eyed commenter Anthony noticed a couple more disparities between this unit and those seen at E3, namely that the Home button appears to be surrounded by an Xbox 360-style ring light, and that the tablet's edges look more dramatically beveled than previously seen. We've also noticed that the gates surrounding the analog sticks are circular, rather than octagonal, as seen on the Wii Nunchuk and Classic Controller.
