Month: December 2016

Antiquity

The peoples of Classic Maya civilization were obsessed with sharks. Images of shark-like monsters appear in Maya cities throughout the regions known today as Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala—even deep in the continent's interior, where people never saw the ocean. Now one archaeologist has suggested these mythic symbols may have been based on real experiences Mayans had with sharks, as well as a brisk trade in shark jaws and giant shark tooth fossils.

Shark teeth have been found in some of the earliest Maya sites in the interior, going back to 100 CE. Some are perforated, as if they were worn as jewelry. Others seem to have been attached to weapons or used in bloodletting rituals. Sea monsters with shark-like features appear on pottery and the walls of ceremonial buildings. An ancient Maya creation story features the Maize God defeating a shark in battle and sometimes being born from the creature's toothy jaws.

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Nintendo's Super Mario Run, the first official Mario game to arrive on smartphones, requires an Internet connection to play. That means no playing it on the Tube, on planes, or anywhere else where you might not have a phone signal or solid Wi-Fi access.

The company's gaming chief Shigeru Miyamoto, in an interview with Mashable, explained the online-only requirement was intended to combat piracy.

For us, we view our software as being a very important asset for us. And also for consumers who are purchasing the game, we want to make sure that we're able to offer it to them in a way that the software is secure, and that they're able to play it in a stable environment.

We wanted to be able to leverage that network connection with all three of the [Super Mario Run] modes to keep all of the modes functioning together and offering the game in a way that keeps the software secure. This is something that we want to continue to work on as we continue to develop the game.

But actually, the security element is one of the reasons that we decided to go with iPhone and iOS first. So this is just—based on the current development environment—a requirement that's been built into the game to support security and the fact that the three different modes are connecting to the network and interacting with one another.

Miyamoto also noted that while Nintendo did consider splitting out the game's main single-player mode from the asymmetric multiplayer Toad Rally mode, it changed its mind for technical reasons.

Video shot/edited by Jennifer Hahn. (video link)

Lenovo made a unique device with the new Yoga Book. I like to describe it as a device the size of a netbook with the design of a convertible and the attitude of a stylus-equipped tablet. Starting at $499, the Yoga Book comes in Android and Windows versions, allowing you to choose your experience with it. However, no matter which operating system you choose, the design remains the most appealing thing about the device. While the display-bearing tablet slab is familiar, the connected keyboard with no keys is unique. The Yoga Book also comes with Lenovo's Real Pen and a magnetic pad of paper, allowing you to draw both on the keyboard itself and on paper to digitize notes and artwork. But like so many convertibles, the Yoga Book tries so hard to be all things to all people that it doesn't truly excel in any one area.

Look and feel

The Yoga Book is the most tablet-like two-in-one I've ever held. Its 10.1-inch size, 1.5-pound weight, and 9.6mm thickness when closed makes it an incredibly light and portable device. Adding to that svelte profile is the matte magnesium alloy shell and Lenovo-signature watchband hinge. It is a convertible, however when I first unboxed the Yoga Book, its appearance struck me so much that it was hard to place it in the convertible category in my head. It's more like a tablet that, instead of having a detachable keyboard or a folio case, has a slim slab attached to it.

Enlarge (credit: Peter Bright)

I didn't really know what to make of the Surface Studio when Microsoft first announced it.

Before its New York event, we expected the company to announce an all-in-one. Rumors pointed toward something modular or upgradable. We thought Microsoft would attempt to turn the all-in-one concept on its head in much the same way that the Surface Pro subverted the norms of tablet computing to (after a couple of iterations) carve out a well-defined productivity tablet niche or that the Surface Book pushed the state-of-the-art of hybrid laptop/tablets.

Those products are both more or less mainstream, and both serve a significant role in stimulating Microsoft's all-important OEM partners into producing better, cleverer, more versatile systems. We've seen a number of high-quality Surface Pro competitors, and I'd hope that in time we'll see the same for Surface Book.