Disney Infinity and the problem with Apple TV’s gaming ambitions

Five months in, signs point to an anemic start for Apple’s living room gaming push.

Back in September, Eddy Cue introduced Disney Infinity for Apple TV live on stage. Now, the game isn't even supported on the hardware anymore.

Just a few months ago, the unveiling of a new Apple TV box seemed to finally address those seemingly perpetual rumors (and analyst desires) for Apple to make a serious, iOS-style play to shake up the home game console market. Today, the Apple TV's chances of having a serious impact on the market for TV-based games seems remote at best.

The strongest sign yet of Apple TV's gaming struggles comes from Disney Interactive, which revealed in a forum post earlier this month that it was dropping support for the Apple TV version of Disney Infinity 3.0 (which launched alongside Apple TV in November). That means that any new Disney Infinity figures released from here on out simply won't work with the Apple TV version of the game.

"The team is currently focusing on the traditional gaming platforms," a moderator wrote. "We are always evaluating and making changes, but there are currently no plans for further updates to the Apple TV version of the game."

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D3700, D3600, P3520 und DCP3320: Intels erste SSDs mit 3D-Flash sind da

Speicherschichten für Server: Intel hat neue Enterprise-SSDs vorgestellt, die 3D-Flash-Speicher statt planaren NAND verwenden. Vorerst werden die Modelle aber nur mit 2-Bits- statt 3-Bits-Zellen ausgeliefert. (Solid State Drive, Intel)

Speicherschichten für Server: Intel hat neue Enterprise-SSDs vorgestellt, die 3D-Flash-Speicher statt planaren NAND verwenden. Vorerst werden die Modelle aber nur mit 2-Bits- statt 3-Bits-Zellen ausgeliefert. (Solid State Drive, Intel)

Xeon E5-2600 v4 alias Broadwell-EP: Intels Server-CPUs nutzen 22 Kerne und Turbo-Tricks

Neue Xeon-Prozessoren für Server: Intels Broadwell-EP werden im neuen 14FF-Verfahren produziert, integrieren bis zu 22 Kerne und können bei AVX-Code ihren Boost-Modus cleverer nutzen. (Xeon, Prozessor)

Neue Xeon-Prozessoren für Server: Intels Broadwell-EP werden im neuen 14FF-Verfahren produziert, integrieren bis zu 22 Kerne und können bei AVX-Code ihren Boost-Modus cleverer nutzen. (Xeon, Prozessor)

Xeon E5/E7 v4: Moore’s Law lebt – bei entsprechender Auslegung

Intels Broadwell-EP/EX-Chips zeigen eindrucksvoll: Moore’s Law ist noch nicht am Ende, zumindest im Server-Segment bei reinen CPUs ohne Grafikeinheit. Der neue 24-Kern-Prozessor mit über 7 Milliarden Transistoren misst geradezu lächerliche 456 mm². (Xeon, Prozessor)

Intels Broadwell-EP/EX-Chips zeigen eindrucksvoll: Moore's Law ist noch nicht am Ende, zumindest im Server-Segment bei reinen CPUs ohne Grafikeinheit. Der neue 24-Kern-Prozessor mit über 7 Milliarden Transistoren misst geradezu lächerliche 456 mm². (Xeon, Prozessor)

Microsoft: Xamarin wird kostenlose Ergänzung für Visual Studio

Erst vor zehn Tagen hat Microsoft die Übernahme von Xamarin abgeschlossen – auf der Build kündigt das Unternehmen nun Änderungen für die Werkzeuge an: Die Integration in Visual Studio, eine Community Edition für Macs und die Veröffentlichung von Quellcode. (Xamarin, Microsoft)

Erst vor zehn Tagen hat Microsoft die Übernahme von Xamarin abgeschlossen - auf der Build kündigt das Unternehmen nun Änderungen für die Werkzeuge an: Die Integration in Visual Studio, eine Community Edition für Macs und die Veröffentlichung von Quellcode. (Xamarin, Microsoft)

MJ Technology’s Ubuntu tablet hits Indiegogo for $230 and up

MJ Technology’s Ubuntu tablet hits Indiegogo for $230 and up

Canonical and BQ may have partnered to create the first Ubuntu tablet to ship with support for both mobile and desktop user interfaces. But if you’re looking for something a bit more powerful than the BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition tablet which recently went up for pre-order, a startup called MJ Technology thinks it has […]

MJ Technology’s Ubuntu tablet hits Indiegogo for $230 and up is a post from: Liliputing

MJ Technology’s Ubuntu tablet hits Indiegogo for $230 and up

Canonical and BQ may have partnered to create the first Ubuntu tablet to ship with support for both mobile and desktop user interfaces. But if you’re looking for something a bit more powerful than the BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition tablet which recently went up for pre-order, a startup called MJ Technology thinks it has […]

MJ Technology’s Ubuntu tablet hits Indiegogo for $230 and up is a post from: Liliputing

1996: General Electric hätte Apple kaufen können

Ein General-Electric-Manager erinnert sich, dass der damalige Apple-Chef das Unternehmen im Jahr 1996 für nur 2 Milliarden US-Dollar verkaufen wollte. Morgen wird der Konzern 40 Jahre alt und ist über 600 Milliarden US-Dollar wert. (Apple, iPhone)

Ein General-Electric-Manager erinnert sich, dass der damalige Apple-Chef das Unternehmen im Jahr 1996 für nur 2 Milliarden US-Dollar verkaufen wollte. Morgen wird der Konzern 40 Jahre alt und ist über 600 Milliarden US-Dollar wert. (Apple, iPhone)

Xamarin now free in Visual Studio

The Xamarin SDK is also being open sourced.

(credit: Nic Wise)

SAN FRANCISCO—Microsoft bought Xamarin, the popular C#-and-.NET-on-iOS-and-Android, last month. At its Build developer conference today, the company announced the first big step for its new acquisition: Xamarin is now included in every Visual Studio version.

This announcement means that every Visual Studio, from the free Community edition right up to the Enterprise edition, now has access to the Xamarin tooling so that developers can build applications for Android and iOS (though iOS development continues to need access to an OS X machine) using the .NET and C# tools they love.

There are no restrictions to this inclusion, either. As an independent company, Xamarin did have a free version to give developers a taste of what it offered, but the product was historically restricted to only support small executables, with anything larger requiring a paid license. That's not the case today; even Visual Studio 2015 Community has no size or other restrictions. Some enterprise-oriented Xamarin features are still restricted, and developers will need a Visual Studio Enterprise subscription to use these.

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Shadows over Innistrad: Madness, werewolves, and gothic horror descend upon Magic

Cards that transform, flavoursome new mechanics, and a maddeningly mysterious story.

Magic: The Gathering kicks off 2016 with Shadows over Innistrad (SOI), another return trip to a much-loved world from Magic’s history. Moving on from the overt giant-tentacled-monster theme of Zendikar, SOI instead embraces gothic horror, emphasising a sense of mystery and creeping dread. (But don't worry, there are still some rather powerful werewolves.)

Although the expansion isn't released until April 8, Ars has managed to get its hands on some packs—and we’re already excited to get hold of more at the Shadows over Innistrad prerelease events, starting this weekend (April 2 and 3). Read on for our review of the set and how SOI will play out in both Limited and Constructed formats.

What's new in Shadows over Innistrad?

The original Innistrad set is often hailed as the turning point for modern Magic, with praise aimed at its flavour, its varied draft format, and its depth for deckbuilders. SOI has a lot to live up to, and also has a challenge in design space—when you’ve already made a bunch of vampires and werewolves in the first set, what does the second set change to keep things fresh?

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Amazon expands Dash with Red Bull, Trojan, Starbucks, and more

Get condoms, energy drinks, and granola bars with the touch of a button.

Source: YouTube, Amazon

A year after Amazon announced Dash, the small buttons intended to make reordering household supplies almost too easy, the company is expanding the program. Amazon announced a slew of new Dash Buttons today, adding brands such as Clorox, Doritos, Red Bull, Slim Jim, and Trojan to the list and tripling its offering of Dash Buttons to more than 100.

When Dash Buttons first came out (around April Fool's Day 2015, leading many to think the idea was a joke), the first ones let customers order mostly household supplies and some food items from brands including Cottonelle, Gillette, Hefty, Kraft, and Maxwell House. According to a statement from Amazon, customers have been asking for more. "We heard loud and clear from customers that they wanted more brands, more categories, and more products in the program," Daniel Rausch, director of Amazon Dash, wrote in the statement.

It seems those customers got their wish—now you can order condoms, chips, coffee, feminine napkins, skincare products, and much more with the additional Dash Buttons. In the past three months alone, Amazon's Dash Button sales have gone up 75 percent according to the retailer; there's no doubt that Amazon is hoping to see those sales spike even higher with these new options.

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