NVIDIA Shield Gaming Console Gets Official At $349

NVIDIA has finally taken the wraps off their new Android gaming console know as Project SHIELD. The gaming device was revealed at CES and took many by surprise, but today NVIDIA’s released all the details you've been waiting for.

Before today all we knew about Project SHIELD was that it was coming soon, and it would rock a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor. But the full array of details weren’t yet know until earlier today.

For $349 here’s what you’ll get:

• Tegra 4 – The world’s fastest mobile processor delivers rich graphics and unbeatable performance thanks to 72 GPU cores, four CPU cores and 2GB of RAM
• Console-grade controller – Precise control thanks to dual analog joysticks, a full-sized D-Pad, left and right analog triggers, full-sized bumpers and A/B/X/Y buttons
• Multi-touch display – 5-inch, 720p retinal multi-touch display for high-fidelity visuals
• Integrated speakers – Custom, bass reflex, tuned port audio system – we think this is SHIELD’s sleeper feature
• Wi-Fi – 802.11n 2X2 MIMO game-speed Wi-Fi for game streaming
• Pure Android – Latest Android Jelly Bean operating system from Google, for access to Android games and apps
• There’s more – We put into SHIELD everything we would want in a premium mobile gaming device: 16 GB memory, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, a mini-HDMI output, micro-USB 2.0, a microSD storage slot, a 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack. See the full spec sheet, here.

SHIELD runs on a completely stock from Google, version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and will come out of the box pre-loaded with NVIDIA’s TegraZone for a suite of Tegra-optimized games that will make the experience top notch. As well as two free games for those who pre-order. You’ll get Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode II, and Expendable: Rearmed absolutely free. This means you can connect to your Google Play account to enjoy your favorite games as well as movies, music and apps. NVIDIA plans to add NVIDIA GRID and Geforce streaming support, which will give SHIELD the power to access your NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPU-powered computer and boost the consoles gaming power through the use of grid computing. There are also plans to add streaming of your favorite PC games to SHIELD, including great titles from Steam.

NVIDIA also has a few accessories they’ll also be offering. A dedicated hard carrying case will be available for $39.99 that will offer charging while in the case via micro-USB, then they’ll have some lid covers. The aluminum silver trim when the device is closed (as pictured below) will be customizable with a gloss black, and carbon fiber lid options starting at $19.99. We can expect some custom engraved gaming versions and more coming soon too.

Project SHIELD will begin shipping in June for $349 and will be available at NVIDIA’s online store, Newegg, Gamestop and Microcenter. Pre-orders will go live on May 20^th from the partners listed above, and on shield.nvidia.com.

Source: NVIDIA

YouTube Launches Paid Channels With More Than 50 Pilot Partners

YouTube on Thursday announced plans to let content creators earn revenue for their offerings buy selling paid subscriptions to their videos, creating a prominent new marketplace for programming on the Internet. The new pilot program is launching with a small group of partners that will offer paid channels on YouTube with subscription fees starting at $0.99 per month. Every channel has a 14-day free trial, and many offer discounted yearly rates.

For now the program only features about 50 of partners, with other video makers reportedly coming on board soon. Some of the current partners include UFC Select, SmartTV.com, PGA Golf Academy and PhotoGuide+. Missing from the list however, were the biggest names in media, like the Walt Disney Company and Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal. Instead there were a lot of start-ups and indie style channels.

There has been no official word from YouTube as to whether or not we can expect big media channels to climb aboard or any further details about the revenue process and what the split with content creators might be. Currently YouTube keeps 45 percent of the revenue from the ads it sells and gives producers the rest. 

If you’re a YouTube creator and are interested in more details on building your own paid channel, let YouTube know here.

Adobe's New Subscription Only Service Explained

Today, Adobe kicked off their MAX conference with a big keynote address, at which the company announced the newest version of what will be a re-branding of their popular Creative Suite software. The new versions will be branded as Creative Cloud and will only be available on a subscription basis. That means, if you want the newest versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver or InDesign you're going to need to subscribe.

What exactly is Adobe Creative Cloud?

Creative Cloud is the new mash-up of all the Adobe professional creative desktop applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, and more — plus new features and upgrades. Instead of a one time installation from your typical install media Creative Cloud offer users a subscription service that is renewed monthly. Your basic software files will be installed locally however the software will work with Adobe's online services to act as a storage and file repository giving you syncing capabilities to have access to your files wherever you are, even on your mobile device. Cloud-based services let you build and publish websites, mobile apps, iPad publications, and content for any medium or device.

Your Creative Cloud desktop applications (such as Photoshop and Illustrator) are installed directly on your computer, so you won't need an ongoing Internet connection to use them on a daily basis. You will however, need to be online when you install and license your software. If you have an annual membership, you'll be asked to connect to the web to validate your software licenses every 30 days. However, you'll be able to use products for 180 days even if you're offline.

What are the Adobe Creative Cloud pricing plans?

Right now Adobe offers two different levels one being a full suite and the other being an app by app plan. For new Creative Cloud members it will be $49.99 and $19.99 per month.

• The single app full version of one desktop application $19.99/mo will offer 20GBs of cloud storage for file sharing and collaboration and limited access to services
• The full suite version will the entire application catalog is $49.99/mo and offers full versions of all of Adobe's most popular desktop applications — Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, and more plus full access to services to help create mobile-ready content and apps. You also get 20GB of cloud storage for file sharing and collaboration

There are also plans for teams and businesses which will offer more applications and storage or for students and teachers discounted pricing. Click here for more details on pricing.

What's New in the Adobe Creative Cloud Applications?
Photoshop. Like other members of the suite, have been updated to take advantage of the syncing mentioned above, with the ability to migrate presets and settings. It also lets users share to Behance, a creative pro social network, and save to the Adobe Creative Cloud. The CC version also adds a smart sharpen tool, the ability to use Camera Raw settings as filters, intelligent upsampling, multiple shape and path selection, and more 3D features formerly only included in the Extended edition. There is also a new feature called Camera Shake Reduction, the tool analyzes your photograph for camera motion, comes up with a path representing the shake motion, and aligns the photo pixels to remove the blur.

Illustrator, InDesign and Muse ad new fonts and new Kuler iPhone app that lets you snap a photo and tap at objects' colors to create a color swatch that can be synced to Illustrator for use as a color theme in your design project. Also in Illustrator is the new Touch Type tool, which lets you customize individual font characters by scaling and rotating them. To continue the syncing theme, Adobe Typekit fonts can now be synced.

Dreamweaver gets a new CSS visual editing tool, a new redesigned interface, JQuery UI widget support, and build support for PhoneGap, which lets you create iOS and Android apps. Edge Animate now includes motion paths, custom templates, support for an Akamai CDN, and support for swipe interfaces. Edge Reflow, which lets your site respond to different screen sizes, now has an Assets panel and Adobe Typekit integration for a huge font choice. Flash Professional CC has been rebuilt in 64-bit architecture, a new code editor, and enhanced HTML5 support.

For video geeks both Premiere Pro and After Effects feature updates. Premiere Pro updates include a simplified, redesigned timeline, a clip locator, the Adobe Anywhere collaboration server, integration of the Lumetri Deep Color engine, better closed captioning support, and precise audio control.

After Effects now benefits from the Live 3D Pipeline between After Effects CC and CINEMA 4D, an enhanced 3D Camera Tracker, and layer and mask snapping. The very cool Refine Edge tool takes a huge amount of tedium out of rotoscoping. For more detail on new stuff in the other video-related apps, including SpeedGrade, Audition, Encore, Media Encoder, Story Plus, and Prelude, read Adobe Reveals New Features in CS6 Video Apps.

For more information be sure to checkout the Creative Cloud FAQs.

Solar Plane Takes 18 Hrs To Complete First Leg Of "Across America" Mission

Adventurer Bertrand Piccard piloted his solar-powered airplane called Solar Impulse from San Francisco to Phoenix on Saturday, marking the first leg of his "Across America" fuel-free flight. The flight, which would have taken less than 2/3 the time in a car, started out from Moffett Field in the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday and ended when a landing at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport at 12:30 a.m. MST.

Solar Impulse is being piloted by Andre Borschberg, Solar Impulse's co-founder and CEO, and Swiss psychiatrist and adventure balloonist Bertrand Piccard who is mote noted for his record-setting, round-the-world balloon trips.

The solar only plane draw its power from its 12,000 photovoltaic cells, which soak up sunlight and store the electrical energy in batteries for use when the sun isn't shining. The plane generates as much power as a motor scooter for its four 10-horsepower motors.

Over the next couple of months, Solar Impulse is due to fly from Phoenix to Dallas-Fort Worth, then to St. Louis, then Washington, then New York. As ambitious as this odyssey is, it's just a warm-up for the venture's ultimate goal: circumnavigating the world with solar power in 2015.

Skype Shows Off Browser Plug-In For Outlook.com Calling

Microsoft is showing off a preview version of a new browser based Skype plugin for Outlook.com which allows users to make calls and send instant messages directly from the Outlook.com webmail. The Skype for Outlook.com preview will initially roll out in the United Kingdom and will be made available in the United States and Germany in the coming weeks. In the coming months, audio and video calling powered by Skype will be available in every Outlook.com inbox.

Skype for Outlook.com requires a one-time download of a plugin for your browser (available for the most recent versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox). After you download the plugin, simply connect Skype to Outlook.com using your Microsoft account.

Customers with an existing Skype account will be asked to link Skype and Outlook.com in a few simple steps. Just merge your Microsoft and Skype accounts and you’re off and running. This will also allow you to add all of your Skype contacts to Outlook.com contacts.

For more details on the new service checkout the Skype Blog.

Google Street View Adds Hungary and Lesotho Marking Its 50th Countries

Google Street View is celebrating a milestone of sorts, reaching the 50 country mark with the launch of Street View in Hungary and Lesotho. The company says this most recent update is also the largest single update of Street View imagery ever pushed, including new and updated imagery for nearly 350,000 miles of roads across 14 countries.

Google originally launched Street View in 2007 in five U.S. cities as a new Google Maps feature that showed users a 360-degree view from the streets of select cities. Today the service features thousands of cities and villages worldwide, from Antarctica to Australia, from South Korea to South Africa, from the snow-capped peaks of Everest to the Great Barrier Reef. Street View has even been updated to allow users to view things like their favorite ski slopes as well as outdoor attractions like theme parkshttp://www.geek-news.net/2012/05/using-street-view-to-preview-your.html. You can even navigate indoors with businesses sharing photos of certain locations.

In all more than 5 million miles of the world can be previewed with the newest update to Street View.

Adobe Lightroom 5 Public Beta Now Available

For the serious camera buffs out there Adobe's Lightroom is likely one of the many must have tools in your toolkit. However for the average geek or the beginning photographer you may not yet be familiar with the software. Today that can all change, and even better, for free!


Adobe has announced that it will be making the Lightroom 5 Beta now available as a free download at labs.adobe.com. All you need to do is have or create a free Adobe account. Simply supply a bit of personal information and a valid email, and you are in! The new release doesn't add a ton of head-turning changes like its predecessor, but it does offer a would be users some serious tools that are definitely worthy of the download time. Users will find useful tools like a more capable healing brush, new perspective corrections, Smart Previews for more efficient editing, and video slideshow creation.

You can install it on a PC running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8, or on a Mac with OS X 10.7 Lion and later. The company is encouraging beta testers to leave comments at http://feedback.photoshop.com after downloading the free Lightroom 5 Beta from labs.adobe.com. The beta expires on June 30, 2013, which makes me suspect that we'll see the full released version around that time, if not before. Adobe has yet to release any pricing details on the new release, for now that doesn't really matter though since the beta is free.

Microsoft Teams With Lionsgate For The Hunger Games Explorer Web Experience, Internet Explorer Not Needed

The much anticipated second film in the blockbuster The Hunger Games franchise, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, is set for release November 22, Microsoft and the Internet Explorer team has teamed up with Lionsgate to bring fans a new highly interactive web experience dubbed The Hunger Games Explorer.

The first trailer for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” has been added to YouTube after premiering during last night’s telecast of the MTV Movie Awards. Following that launch Lionsgate debuted the new new site which features a customizable fan experience allowing visitors to tailor and filter content which includes fan blogs and tweets along side official content straight from Lionsgate, including trailers, exclusive videos, photos of the cast and more.

“We have the best fans in the world, and starting tonight they have a home on the web where they can be a part of The Hunger Games experience and contribute to the excitement for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” said Danielle De Palma, senior vice president digital marketing, Lionsgate. “The Hunger Games Explorer is not only a place for fans to spark the conversation around Catching Fire, it is also a destination for us to continue to provide fans with new content, experiences and unprecedented behind the scenes access.”

The  Hunger Games Explorer site showcases a responsive web design, multi-touch and HTML5, meant to promote Windows 8 with IE10, as well as other modern platforms across the web. However Internet Explorer is not needed to explore the site. It runs perfectly flawlessly with both Firefox and Google Chrome web browsers.