firehose

The biggest surprise at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show is about to go on sale. The Nvidia Shield, a five-inch portable Android game console that can also stream PC games from a nearby gaming computer, will cost $349 at Newegg, GameStop, Micro Center, Canada Computers and Nvidia.com when pre-orders begin May 20th. Technically, you can actually pre-order one today if you sign up on Nvidia's "notify me" webpage — and there's nothing to keep you from doing that right now. Before you plunk down money on the latest gadget, though, why not read what the fuss is all about?

Simply put, the Shield is Nvidia's attempt to build a premiere Android gaming experience like nothing we've seen before. Where most Android devices rely on a touchscreen and maybe an accelerometer and gyroscope for controls, the Shield also has a full console-like gamepad with two analog sticks. Where most are large, wide, flat slabs, the Shield is a clamshell whose five-inch screen lifts up out of the comfortable grips of that large, hefty gamepad. And where many Android devices cut corners on components and install bloated software loads, the Shield runs stock Android 4.2.1 on a brand-new Tegra 4 processor with 2GB of RAM, an incredibly sharp 720p display, tuned bass reflex drivers for audio, a GPS chip, and a mini-HDMI output that outputs 4K video.

We took a trip to Nvidia's headquarters in Santa Clara, California to get a peek at a near-final production prototype of the Shield this week, and it's come incredibly far in just a few months. What once looked like an Xbox 360 controller mated to an incredibly sharp LCD screen now feels even more like one, with freshly tuned triggers, more space between the analog sticks, more room near them for thumbs, and a raised directional pad that feels far friendlier to the touch.

The grips are coated with soft-touch rubber now, and there's a LED under the Nvidia logo button that shines emerald in the dark, not to mention a new charging indicator that glows amber when charging and green when it's ready to unplug. The interchangeable magnetic faceplate on top of the device satisfyingly snaps into place whenever it gets even close to its proper home. The screen's hinge still doesn't feel perfect, a little flimsier when closing and stiffer opening than we'd like, but the screen stays put — and even opens to 180 degrees if that's the angle you want. Nvidia will offer additional faceplates for $20 each, and a nice hard-shell case for the Shield for $40 with a flap that pops open for charging.

We played bits and pieces of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II and Expendable: Rearmed on the Shield — full Android games that will come bundled with every device — as well as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Max Payne, and finally some Borderlands 2 and Batman: Arkham City streaming from a beefy gaming PC on the same Wi-Fi network. Across the spectrum of current Android and former console titles, the Shield performed quite well. Though there was a little noticeable stutter in Sonic, the other mobile games were butter-smooth on the Tegra 4 processor and extremely crisp on the 5-inch 720p screen. Audio was also impressive: though we could definitely hear distortion in some extremely bass-heavy songs, the Shield's speakers sounded better than many a laptop we've used.

If you're dreaming of all the PC games you'll be playing on the Shield, though, you might be disappointed to hear that there are still some kinks to be worked out, and Nvidia will be labeling the feature "beta" to manage expectations for at least a couple of months. Borderlands 2 in particular worked great in our brief test, but neither game's animations felt quite as fluid as on PC, and several times Nvidia had difficulty getting the Shield and PC to stay connected. The setup also requires an approved simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi router to function well, and doesn't yet work with all games: only a limited selection of Steam Big Picture mode and GeForce Experience titles are good to go as of today, though engineers told us that the buttons and sticks should theoretically just work with any PC game that supports an Xbox controller.

Features fallen by the wayside

PC streaming isn't the only feature that's in question, just so you know. Between CES and today, the Shield's on-board storage shrunk from 32GB to 16GB, and the 33 watt-hour battery made way for a slightly smaller 28.8Wh unit, even though the Shield still feels rather hefty for its size at over 1.2 pounds. (Nvidia's still promising four to five hours of Tegra 4 gaming even in a worst-case scenario with the screen brightness turned all the way up, as well as 10 to 12 hours of PC streaming and 20-plus hours of video playback, but we'll want to test those for ourselves.) There's no camera, not even a front-facing one for video chats ("It fell off the list for the first design," says Nvidia) and the touchscreen's position, behind the controller grips, can make it hard to use. Though 4K video is a feature, there's no simple source of 4K video content right now, and the Shield doesn't actually play games at 4K resolution. There's also no cellular modem as of yet.

And then there's the slight worry that not all Android apps will work properly on the Shield, since it presently only displays Android in landscape mode. Surprisingly, Nvidia tells us it's specifically working on that very issue with developers, including Netflix, whose Android app currently only lets you sign into an account in portrait mode. Landscape orientation onlyThe company actually showed us a new build of Netflix specifically designed for the Shield, and pointed out that Hulu Plus and Twitch.tv will come with every handheld. "Google wants to help us as well," Nvidia VP of Marketing Ujesi Desai told The Verge. Though the Nexus 7 tablet also didn't fully support landscape mode at launch, Desai said that Google has reconsidered. "I think that was an acute learning for them and they realize it," he said, "In the conversations we've had with them, I think they understand the importance; that portrait and landscape should both be treated as first-class citizens." Android games do support and often even default to landscape orientation — and if they support Android's game controller standard, the Shield should natively work — but for non-gaming apps Google's clout might be important.

While it's clear that a lot of thought and some quality components have gone into the Shield, it's too early for us to say whether it's worth your $349. That's a chunk of money for a handheld gaming machine, perhaps even as much as it'll cost you to buy a new gaming console this holiday. Still, there's no other device quite like it on the market, and today's tablet and smartphone competition can cost a bundle of money as well.

It could signal the beginning of a real Android gaming ecosystem... or not. Either way, we can't wait to find out what the Shield is capable of.

Former Google CEO and current chairman Eric Schmidt is known for both a sense of broad techno-utopianism and a willingness to speak out on privacy hot-button issues. While he's spoken about things like the need for an internet "delete button" or laws to regulate drone surveillance, he also helps lead a company that has access to vast amounts of personal data, something that often doesn't sit well with Google users. In a casual, often jokey interview with NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, Schmidt stated once and for all that he could read all our email — but he'd never do it. "I would lose my job, be fired, and be sued to death," he told host Peter Sagal. Whether or not he tried to hide the snooping, "Someone would find out, trust me."

Amidst anecdotes about trapping rogue boa constrictors or the perks of working in Google's offices, Schmidt talked about the company's culture, including the famous "Don't Be Evil" slogan instituted by co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. "The idea was that we don't quite know what evil is, but if we have a rule that says don't be evil, then employees can say, I think that's evil," Schmidt said. "Now, when I showed up, I thought this was the stupidest rule ever, because there's no book about evil except maybe, you know, the Bible or something." In the end, though, he believes it has worked, by giving employees a way to point out things they find unethical.

"There's no book about evil except maybe, you know, the Bible or something."

Schmidt also half-jokingly confirmed what some of us already suspected about Glass: that nobody has a clear idea of how to use it. What would Glass be used for? "Well, we don't quite know yet. We have maybe 2,000 of these. We've shipped them out to developers, and we're seeing what they develop ... So kind of watch and see what people do with it and then decide what to do." It's a strategy Google has tried before — unfortunately, one of the results was Google Wave.

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By Samit Sarkar on May 14, 2013 at 10:00a

Cartoon Network and D3Publisher are teaming up for multiplatform titles this fall based on three of the television channel's top animated shows, Adventure Time, Regular Show and Ben 10: Omniverse, the publisher announced today.

The companies announced last month that they were producing a Regular Show game, the first video game based on the surreal series. Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby In 8-Bit Land, which is in development at WayForward Technologies and is set for release on Nintendo 3DS this fall, transports the titular groundskeepers into old-school video games that they have to make their way through. According to a press release from D3Publisher, WayForward is working "in close collaboration" with J.G. Quintel, the series' creator.

D3Publisher is teaming up with WayForward again for their second Adventure Time video game, Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know!. The companies released Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! on 3DS last November, and the follow-up is coming this fall to 3DS, as well as Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC and Wii U.

Explore the Dungeon players can choose to step into the roles of characters such as Finn, Jake, Marceline and Cinnamon Bun — the game will support four-player co-op — as they attempt to save the Candy Kingdom by exploring the Secret Royal Dungeon underneath the Land of Ooo.

Ben 10: Omniverse, the kid-oriented sci-fi series that premiered on Cartoon Network last September, will get its second game this fall. Ben 10 Omniverse 2 is set for release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii and 3DS. The handheld version is being developed by 1st Playable Productions, the studio behind the 3DS and Nintendo DS versions of last November's Ben 10: Omniverse; the console version is being made by The Conduit developer High Voltage Software. In this year's adventure, Ben will take on new enemies, the Incurseans, in action sequences like chases and escapes as he makes his way into the Incursean warship.

"Having the creative talents of these widely popular animated shows working directly with very proven development teams, it has given us the recipe to create the very best and most authentic video game experiences that will please fans of all ages," said Peter Andrew, vice president of product development at D3Publisher, in the press release.

• Source
• D3Publisher on Business Wire

A reboot of astrophysicist Carl Sagan’s groundbreaking documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Journey hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson is finally on its way to television. On Monday, Fox made an official announcement during its advertising upfront presentation at New York’s Beacon Theatre, reports The Los Angeles Times. The series has been in the works for years, and will be making its long-awaited premiere sometime in 2014.

It's hard to imagine who could be a better fit than Tyson

The 13-episode series is being produced, surprisingly, by Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame. As far as the hosting gig goes, it’s hard to imagine who could be a better fit than Tyson, who first met Sagan as a 17-year-old applicant to Cornell University, having been personally invited by the famous scientist to "come check out the lab."

It will be interesting to see what the team has planned for the new show. The Sagan original became the most successful US public TV series of all time relying primarily on the astrophysicist’s elegant expositions of the universe, while today’s science programming takes largely takes its cues from sci-fi, revolving around flashy computer animation and dramatic visual effects. At the same time, Fox might not seem like the most obvious home for a high-minded astrophysics series, although the network believes that even without a huge financial return, the series "could have a cultural impact."