Tech Times

DirectX 11.2 said to be a Windows 8.1 / Xbox One exclusive

Malayil 0 DirectX, Microsoft, Release, Windows, Windows 8, Xbox 23:35

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img height="334" src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-07-05-image-3.jpg" width="640" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Microsoft’s upcoming DirectX 11.2 update, first shown off at the company’s Build conference last month, promises to deliver a host of new features and performance improvements in games and apps. But according to <a href="http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/160076-directx-11-2-will-be-a-windows-8-1-and-xbox-one-exclusive-microsoft-dangles-the-upgrade-carrot" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">reports</a>, the update is reportedly being limited to Windows 8.1 and next generation consoles like the Xbox One.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">This exclusivity isn’t something new, however, as Microsoft pulled a similar move when transitioning to DirectX 11.1 as that update requires the use of Windows 8. Before that, DirectX 10 was a Windows Vista exclusive which left Windows XP users high and dry.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Perhaps this is one of Microsoft’s ways to help nudge Windows XP, Vista and 7 users toward upgrading to Redmond’s latest but whether or not it’ll work remains to be seen. Such requirements really did little to lead to the commercial success of Vista or Windows 8 but this time around, the timing is a bit different. Xbox One is just around the corner and if a number of games use it, perhaps it could take root better.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">DirectX 11.2 brings with it a new key feature known as Direct3D tiled resources. Microsoft’s Antoine Leblond demonstrated the feature during Build which essentially lets developers easily use GPU and system RAM to store textures. This can be used to pull high resolution assets into a scene without overburdening the graphics card. For consumers, it could ultimately lead to an unprecedented amount of detail that won’t appear fuzzy or blurred when viewed close up.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/53144-directx-112-said-to-be-a-windows-81-xbox-one-exclusive.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

DirectX 11.2 said to be a Windows 8.1 / Xbox One exclusive

Microsoft’s upcoming DirectX 11.2 update, first shown off at the company’s Build conference last month, promises to deliver a host of new fe...

Microsoft Research's actuated 3D display lets you touch virtual objects

Malayil 0 3D, Microsoft, Research 23:33

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">There’s always something interesting cooking at Microsoft Research -- even if the technology doesn’t end up in commercial products. The latest involves a rather conventional LCD panel, but combined with force sensors and a robotic arm that moves it back and forwards, it can simulate the shape and weight of objects on screen.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">The technology was demonstrated in public for the first time during TechFest 2013. One of the demos consisted of three virtual 3D boxes, each with different weights and friction forces corresponding to their material: stone, wood, and sponge. Through the use of sensors this setup can simulate the appropriate resistance there is to a user's fingertip. If pressed against, the robotic arm pulls the screen back in a matching smooth movement, and if the user starts to retract it moves the screen back forward, all while graphics adjust to create the 3D effect.</div><div class="video-container" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: none; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 401.625px; position: relative;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5oDvHahiYuI?rel=0" style="height: 401.625px; left: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: none; position: absolute; text-align: justify; top: 0px; width: 714px;" type="text/html" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">“Your finger is always aware of motion,” Michel Pahud, an engineer at the Natural Interaction Research group at Microsoft Research Redmond explains. “As your finger pushes on the touchscreen and the senses merge with stereo vision, if we do the convergence correctly and update the visuals constantly so that they correspond to your finger’s depth perception, this is enough for your brain to accept the virtual world as real.”</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Taking the experiment a step further, some of the participants where asked to identify objects by touch while blindfolded. Surprisingly, many people got the shapes right. The user only touches one point at a time, yet with sufficient haptic feedback as the finger moves, there is enough information to identify shapes.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Haptics are already common in devices such as smartphones, but Microsoft is bringing it to virtual reality. Among the possible applications researchers envision are gaming, 3D modeling, medical and educational.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/53143-microsoft-researchs-actuated-3d-display-lets-you-touch-virtual-objects.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Microsoft Research's actuated 3D display lets you touch virtual objects

There’s always something interesting cooking at Microsoft Research -- even if the technology doesn’t end up in commercial products. The late...

Samsung to shutter Boxee Cloud DVR on July 10th

Malayil 0 Release, Samsung, trends 23:31

Samsung to shutter Boxee Cloud DVR on July 10th

The fallout from Samsung’s acquisition of Boxee has already begun as the company plans to shut down Boxee’s Cloud DVR service. The closure...

Weekend Open Forum: Summer blockbusters that'll get you to the theater

Malayil 0 Blockbuster, Hollywood, Movies 23:30

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">With dozens of bombastic hundred-million-dollar productions rattling theater walls, summer always brings some of the year's hottest blockbusters -- a fresh comic book adaptation surely among them -- and things are no different in 2013 as millions pay to see Man of Steel, The Lone Ranger, World War Z, Monsters University, White House Down and plenty of other titles on the big screen.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><img src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-07-05-image-6.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">For this week's WOF, we want to hear about your summer 2013 movie experiences and plans -- assuming you've been recently or intend to see something soon. If you don't plan to hit the theaters over the coming months, what's stopping you from going? I haven't been to a theater in a few years but I'm thinking about trying to catch World War Z at some point shortly after I finish the book.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/53146-weekend-open-forum-summer-blockbusters-thatll-get-you-to-the-theater.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Weekend Open Forum: Summer blockbusters that'll get you to the theater

With dozens of bombastic hundred-million-dollar productions rattling theater walls, summer always brings some of the year's hottest bloc...

Google Street View heads to the Aloha State

Malayil 0 Development, Google, Street View 06:22

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Google Street View is morphing into a bit of a social butterfly as of late with notable visits to some of the world’s most <a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/53009-google-sends-street-view-team-to-map-the-worlds-tallest-building.html" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">breathtaking places</a>. The company can soon check another destination off the bucket list as Google’s Street View equipment will be hitting a number of hiking trails in the <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2013/06/apply-now-to-be-next-google-maps-trekker.html" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Aloha State</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Through a partnership with the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB), Google will loan their Street View Trekker equipment to local tour guides to help map the landscape. Google said the partnership is perfect to introduce their Trekker loan pilot program.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><img src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-06-28-image-2.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">The first phase of the program is scheduled to kick off this month and will see Google loan equipment to tourism company Hawaii Forest and Trail (HFT). This company was chosen based on their impeccable reputation, decades of experience in the tourism business and their capable staff according to Jay Talwar, HVCB’s chief marketing officer.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Tour guides will initially help find appropriate trails and provide the manpower necessary to carry the 40-pound Trekker camera pack in order to capture imagery. A team from Google Street View has been on location for the past week to help introduce the Trekker hardware to the HFT staff.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">The hiking team is expected to start collecting usable images next month and wrap things up sometime during the fall. We are told that the first set of images should be hitting Google Maps later this year although an exact date wasn’t given.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/53069-google-street-view-heads-to-the-aloha-state.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Google Street View heads to the Aloha State

Google Street View is morphing into a bit of a social butterfly as of late with notable visits to some of the world’s most breathtaking pla...

Researchers see through walls with Wi-Fi

Malayil 0 Development, Wi-Fi 06:20

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">MIT researchers have <a href="http://people.csail.mit.edu/fadel/wivi/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">demonstrated</a> the application of using Wi-Fi signals to track the movements, locations and number of people inside buildings. Dubbed Wi-Vi, the inexpensive and portable "through-the-wall" radar system could have practical applications in law enforcement, search and rescue operations and home security, even if it does present some potential privacy concerns.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">While listening in on radio signals transmitted by standard Wi-Fi routers and access points, a Wi-Vi transceiver<a class="vglnk" href="http://www.bizrate.com/blankets/index__af_assettype_id--4__af_creative_id--3__af_id--[AFF-ID]__af_placement_id--[AFF-PLACEMENT-ID].html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink">blankets</a> the area with its own low-power, directional, wireless transmissions. As objects move within the target area, signals are absorbed and reflected differently. The device monitors these slight changes, giving Wi-Vi operators the ability to determine the movements, locations, speeds and the number of moving objects (e.g. people) behind walls.</div><div class="video-container" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: none; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 401.625px; position: relative;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uJkQzLjYBFI" style="height: 401.625px; left: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: none; position: absolute; text-align: justify; top: 0px; width: 714px;" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Since Wi-Vi relies on physical radio waves instead of higher network layers, operators do not need access to a Wi-Fi network (i.e. no password is needed) in order to make use of signals emanating from a nearby Wi-Fi router or AP.</div><blockquote style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 10px 20px; outline: none; padding: 15px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Wi-Vi can detect objects and humans moving behind opaque structural obstructions. This applies to 8" concrete walls, 6" hollow walls, and 1.75" solid wooden doors. A Wi-Vi device pointed at a closed room with 6" hollow walls supported by steel frames can distinguish between 0, 1, 2, and 3 moving humans in the room. Computed over 80 trials with 8 human subjects, Wi-Vi achieves an accuracy of 100%, 100%, 85%, and 90% respectively in each of these cases.</div><div style="outline: none; text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://people.csail.mit.edu/fadel/papers/wivi-paper.pdf" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">people.csail.mit.edu</a> (pdf), <em style="outline: none;">See Through Walls with Wi-Fi!</em></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">While Wi-Vi doesn't provide anything that resembles an actual <em style="outline: none;">photograph </em>of what's behind a wall, the results are detailed enough to be used for detecting body gestures (e.g. hand waves) with a remarkable amount of accuracy.</div><blockquote style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 10px 20px; outline: none; padding: 15px;"><div style="outline: none; text-align: justify;">In the same room, and given a single person sending gesture based messages, Wi-Vi correctly decodes all messages performed at distances equal to or smaller than 5 meters. The decoding accuracy decreases to 75% at distances of 8 meters, and the device stops detecting gestures beyond 9 meters. For 8 volunteers who participated in the experiment, on average, it took a person 8.8 seconds to send a message of 4 gestures.</div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Unfortunately for potential voyeurs (and fortunately for privacy advocates), it remains a far cry from detailed airport scanners, X-ray vision or even Batman's implausible <a href="http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/nailbiter111/news/?a=77546" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">cell phone "sonar"</a> network, but it could prove to be an inexpensive way to gain life-saving insight for rescue operations and police busts. As with many technologies though, it's not difficult to imagine Wi-Vi being subverted by tech-savvy criminals, like burglars or kidnappers, to get the drop on unsuspecting victims.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/53073-researchers-see-through-walls-with-wi-fi.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Researchers see through walls with Wi-Fi

MIT researchers have demonstrated the application of using Wi-Fi signals to track the movements, locations and number of people inside bui...

Weekend Open Forum: Chime in on Windows 8.1 Preview

Malayil 0 Microsoft, Review, trends, Windows, Windows 8 06:18

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img height="300" src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-06-28-image-13.jpg" width="640" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Microsoft’s overhaul of <a class="vglnk" href="http://www.bizrate.com/windows-8/index__af_assettype_id--4__af_creative_id--3__af_id--[AFF-ID]__af_placement_id--[AFF-PLACEMENT-ID].html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink"><span style="outline: none;">Windows </span><span style="outline: none;">8</span></a> is now live as Windows 8.1 Preview and can be <a href="http://www.techspot.com/downloads/6059-microsoft-windows-81.html" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">downloaded</a> as an ISO file. The software update delivers a number of worthwhile changes like the ability to boot to desktop and better search following months of criticism from users around the globe.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">I haven’t tried it yet myself as I’m still primarily working with Windows 7 but at least a couple of my fellow TechSpot staffers are either already running the update or plan to do so in the near future.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Granted this is just a beta and there are risks to be aware of, we still must ask – have you installed Windows 8.1 Preview yet or do you plan to? If so, what are your thoughts? Chime in below!</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/53081-weekend-open-forum-chime-in-on-windows-81-preview.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Weekend Open Forum: Chime in on Windows 8.1 Preview

Microsoft’s overhaul of Windows 8 is now live as Windows 8.1 Preview and can be downloaded as an ISO file. The software update delivers...

Toshiba to launch line of 4K TVs in August, pricing starts at $4,999

Malayil 0 Television, Toshiba 06:16

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img height="408" src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-06-28-image-7.jpg" width="640" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Toshiba’s upcoming line of Ultra HD 4K resolution televisions were on display at CES earlier this year with the promise that we would see them become available this summer. That time has arrived and right on cue, the Japanese multinational conglomerate <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130627006380/en/Toshiba-Announces-Availability-4K-Ultra-HD-TV" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">sends word</a> of a solid launch date and pricing on three upcoming models.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">For starters, the company’s 58-inch set will retail for $4,999 while the larger 65-inch unit will set buyers back $6,999. If you’re planning to go all out, an <a class="vglnk" href="http://www.bizrate.com/84-inch/index__af_assettype_id--4__af_creative_id--3__af_id--[AFF-ID]__af_placement_id--[AFF-PLACEMENT-ID].html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink"><span style="outline: none;">84</span><span style="outline: none;">-</span><span style="outline: none;">inch</span></a> model can be yours for a cool $16,999. All sets include Toshiba’s Resolution Restoration technology which essentially upscales the quality of non-4K programming so it looks better on the high resolution display.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">The company’s 4K line is powered by CEVO 4K Quad+Dual Core Processors with Surface Brilliance Enhancement and Color Gamut Enhancement. Refresh rates come in at 240Hz using ClearScan and we’re told the sets utilize Color and Depth Adaptive Resolution+ to boost resolution and colors for overall better image quality.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">As evident by the price, 4K technology is still relatively new. Toshiba’s digital products division VP of product marketing and development, Scott Ramirez, pointed out that content creators are still working to create more 4K content and perhaps more importantly, they still need to figure out how to distribute it.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Truth be told, we’re probably still at least a few years away from 4K being a viable option that fits into the budget of most individuals. Of course, if you’ve got the coin to spare and want to see what the future of television will be like, Toshiba will have you covered starting in August.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/53075-toshiba-to-launch-line-of-4k-tvs-in-august-pricing-starts-at-4999.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Toshiba to launch line of 4K TVs in August, pricing starts at $4,999

Toshiba’s upcoming line of Ultra HD 4K resolution televisions were on display at CES earlier this year with the promise that we would see th...

PC Games That Weren't Cancelled, But Should Have Been

Malayil 0 Gaming, Updates 06:14

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img alt="PC Games That Weren't Cancelled, But Should Have Been" height="341" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/pc-gaming-hall-of-shame.jpg" width="640" /><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Although some decent games do poorly for no good reason, many titles are so headscratchingly bad that you have to wonder why the developer even bothered.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">In the group of terribly bad games, there are the truly bad ones and then there are the big flops: those that have built an irredeemable amount of hype. Without further ado, here's our PC gaming hall of shame: games that weren't cancelled but should have been...</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Outpost (1994)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">We're digging way back into PC gaming history with this one, all the way back to the days of DOS and Windows 3.1. Developed and published by Sierra On-Line, Outpost was highly anticipated by science fiction fans and was noteworthy for having a former NASA scientist among its main designers. But while gamers were ecstatic about the possibilities the space-based gameplay claimed to offer, the game just didn't live up to expectations.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><center style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/outpost.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></center><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Reviewers at the time were given access to an early beta with plenty of missing features, but scores were pretty generous nonetheless based on the promise that they'd be added by launch. They weren't. In fact, many of the features described in the game's own documentation and reviews did not exist in the game at all, and the ones that were patched in later were merely cosmetic and didn't affect gameplay. All that on top of the game's general bugginess and perceived mediocre gameplay earn this title a spot on our list.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Streets of SimCity (1997)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">The strategy gurus at Maxis actually released a PC game called Streets of SimCity back in 1997 that had players driving around and blasting foes. The one novel aspect of the game is that it allowed players to race in actual cities created in SimCity 2000, but that's where the positives ended.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><center style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/streets.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></center><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">While it might have appealed to hardcore SimCity fans, the game had really bad controls and was poorly optimized and full of bugs (ran sluggishly on fast hardware of its time). It was evident Maxis tried to ride on the popularity of the franchise and compete with a stellar vehicle combat game like Interstate 76 or the popular Carmageddon.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Extreme Paintbrawl (1998)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">On one hand, I want to give the developers of this game a pass since they threw the game together in two weeks. However, that was the developer's choice, and with that in mind, they should have never released this game for public consumption. Far too many gamers gave this title a shot out of morbid curiosity, and as you might expect, they were disappointed. Many fundamental features were missing -- not least of which was a functional AI -- it used an outdated graphics engine and the 'perfect' aim was not truly a feature, it broke the entire gameplay.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><center style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/extreme.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></center><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Daikatana (2000)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">This first person shooter got off to a rocky start when an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Daikatana_ad_-_John_Romero_is_about_to_make_you_his_bitch_-_Suck_it_down.jpg" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ad for the game</a> rubbed many gamers the wrong way. Then it missed its release date (John Romero first intended to get the 24-level game done in 7 months -- first big mistake), and between its conception in 1997 and its release in 2000, the game's release date kept being moved, causing a great deal of annoyance for players looking to get their hands on it.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><center style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/daikatana.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></center><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Daikatana stained the legacy of John Romero, co-founder of id Software and designer of gems like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake. By the time Daikatana was released it was heavily criticized for its dated graphical engine, terrible save game mechanic, dull enemies (enemy AI was almost non-existent), and overall for being simply boring to play. Although Daikatana is not the worst game ever made by a long shot, it'd have been better left out of the history books.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (2003)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Widely regarded as one of the worst video games ever made, the object of Big Rigs -- as explained on its packaging -- is to drive a big truck across the country carrying some illegal cargo with police in pursuit. Unfortunately, the game doesn't actually have any cargo or police, while other cars lacked AI and the game wasn't even smart enough to tell if you were crossing the finish line or starting the race.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><center style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/bigrigs.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></center><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Everything that could be wrong with a game was wrong with this one. Out of five courses you could pick, only four were playable while the fifth would simply crash the game. Even the most basic driving mechanics were off as you could throttle indefinitely in reverse and come to a full stop by simply releasing the reverse key.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">American McGee’s Bad Day LA (2006)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Intended as a political satire, this third-person action title actually had an interesting premise featuring a Hollywood agent turned homeless man after a series of natural and manmade disasters. Unfortunately, Bad Day LA failed to impress critics, receiving unanimously bad reviews upon release and being included on plenty of "worst game" lists since.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><center style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/american.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></center><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">While the art style looked interesting, in-game visuals were poorly executed from a technical standpoint. The game's attempt at humor also fell flat -- unless witless and childish potty jokes are your thing -- and the actual gameplay mechanics left much to be desired.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">"Halo 2 for Windows Vista" (2007)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Halo 2 on the PC wasn't really a bad game -- some might even consider it great -- but the fact that it was released almost three years after it debuted on the Xbox was an insult to any serious PC gamer. Worse still, Microsoft called it "Halo 2 for Windows Vista" as it was intentionally released to push sales of Vista (it only ran on Windows XP with a hack) and to promote the company's Game For Windows Live platform. The thing was, anyone who loved Halo would have already played it on the Xbox and by the time Halo 2 arrived on PC, plenty of other more sophisticated shooters had been released. Shame on you Microsoft.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/halo2.jpg" style="max-width: 98%; outline: none;" /></div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust (2009)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Leisure Suit Larry was never a particularly great video game franchise, but it wasn't terrible either. A lot of the attention it received and possibly deserved was because it pushed the envelope in a certain direction. Leisure Suit Larry titles were mostly basic adventure games with some very adult themes.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/leisure.jpg" style="max-width: 98%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">The older games had been pretty decent, but 2009's release "Box Office Bust" was simply atrocious. It received universally bad reviews, and with good reason. The gameplay was repetitive and the game wasn't even remotely funny -- one of the redeeming qualities of the previous entries. It seemed like the creators were attempting to cash in on what little legacy the franchise had, but all they did was tarnish it, perhaps beyond repair.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Call of Juarez: The Cartel (2011)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">There are some really good games in the Call of Juarez series, but The Cartel isn't one of them. Although it fares better than most -- if not all -- other titles on this list from a gameplay perspective, the title was riddled with bugs and glitches. The change of setting from the frachise's traditional Wild West to modern times wasn't all that well received either. In fact, many accused The Cartel of being racist and insensitive towards real world issues, inaccurately addressing issues such as human trafficking and the drug wars in Mexico.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/call.jpg" style="max-width: 98%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Graphics are subpar, characters are unlikeable and underdeveloped, the dialogue and voice acting are bad, and the campaign feels unpolished and repetitive. Its co-op mode would have been a rare bright spot if it weren't for the scant online community. To top it all off, Ubisoft required an Internet connection to start the game.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Postal 3 (2011)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">The first and second Postal games were received with mixed reactions, not so much due to their gameplay but because of the over-the-top violence that characterized the franchise. However, the third and last game in the series really messed things up. Original developer Running with Scissors outsourced development of <a href="http://www.techspot.com/products/pc-games/postal-3.82837/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Postal 3</a> to Russian game company Akella. Upon release, the reception was pretty negative as the game was marred with bugs and graphical glitches. The open-ended world that gamers expected after Postal 2 was no longer there and fans of the series also protested the game's poor attempt at being offensive (again, like its predecessors). As a last resort, Running with Scissors tried to <a href="http://runningwithscissors.com/main/index.php?topic=625.0" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">distance themselves</a> from the title, pulling it from their online store.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/postal3.jpg" style="max-width: 98%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">As if the Postal franchise didn't have a bad enough track record (depending on who you ask, of course), it has been made into a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486640/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">terrible movie</a> by director Uwe Boll.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Duke Nukem Forever (2011)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">When it comes to epic PC gaming fails, <a href="http://www.techspot.com/products/pc-games/duke-nukem-forever.86943/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Duke Nukem Forever</a> is unmistakably the first title that comes to mind. After a widely successful ride during the mid to late 90's, Duke's last episode has unfortunately become one of the biggest jokes in the video game community. The game was in development for what felt like a lifetime (15 years to be exact), only to be released with some renewed momentum and end up as an utter disaster.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/duke.jpg" style="max-width: 98%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Duke Nukem Forever's aiming and shooting mechanics were poor, game progress was tedious, level design confusing, the quintessential Duke one-liners weren't funny, and its graphics looked as if they came from a lousy console port. The development of Duke Forever spanned multiple PC and console hardware generations. After a few years of things not working out, 3D Realms should have realized that something was wrong and given up.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">The War Z (2012)</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Not to be confused by DayZ, a pretty awesome mod for tactical shooter Arma 2 (and upcoming standalone title with the same name), "<a href="http://www.techspot.com/products/pc-games/the-war-z.89099/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">The War Z</a>" tried to ride the aforementioned mod's popularity by using a similar name but eventually changed it to "Infestation: Survivor Stories" to avoid confusion. Originally released in December 2012 on Steam, the title was deemed broken and incomplete, promoting several key features on its promo page that<a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/51163-steam-suspends-the-war-z-sales-due-to-gamer-outcry.html" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">weren't actually implemented</a>. In spite of the fact The War Z was not free-to-play it tried to leverage microtransactions for purchasing items and respawning quicker after death.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/683/images/thewarz.jpg" style="max-width: 98%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rigs:_Over_the_Road_Racing" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>, Sergey Titov is the executive producer of this game, who was also listed as a producer and developer for Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (see the 2003 title above). That's not to say he's to blame for all of The War Z's controversy, but it's a big coincidence that he's been involved in two of what are considered some of the most atrocious game launches in PC history... draconian DRM titles aside, of course.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><center style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; outline: none;">***</center><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;">Gamers are a tough but forgiving crowd. A good game riddled with bugs can overcome a poor initial impression, especially when developers correct their mistakes publicly and promptly. But that's not the recurring theme here. Seriously, if you haven't played any of these games, consider yourself lucky.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/article/683-pc-gaming-hall-of-shame/" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

PC Games That Weren't Cancelled, But Should Have Been

Although some decent games do poorly for no good reason, many titles are so headscratchingly bad that you have to wonder why the developer e...

Gas leak at Intel manufacturing plant sends a dozen to the hospital

Malayil 0 Intel 06:13

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img height="380" src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-06-30-image-4.jpg" width="640" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">A <a href="http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/chandler/fd-multiple-people-being-treated-after-chemical-leak-at-chandler-intel-campus" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">gas leak</a> at Intel’s Chandler, Arizona, manufacturing plant sent a dozen people to the hospital over the weekend. At least 43 people became ill when a gas identified as nitrogen triflouride leaked from a single manufacturing tool in the company’s silicon wafer fabrication facility according to an Intel spokesperson.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Some 75 firefighters were called to the scene early Saturday after one worker complained of difficulty breathing. It was around this time that others began experiencing symptoms as well. 12 individuals were taken to local area hospitals to be treated for conditions including difficulty breathing, nausea, eye and skin irritation, said fire department spokesperson Tom Dwiggins.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">The company’s second biggest manufacturing plant, home to around 11,000 employees, was promptly evacuated, the fire department spokesperson said. The leak occurred in a utility space that managed gasses and exhaust systems, we’re told. The tool responsible for the leak has since been taken out of commission and operations at the plant are back to normal.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">As such, there’s no longer any outgoing danger nor was there ever any threat to nearby neighborhoods. The air inside and outside the structure was monitored and in all cases, the results came back clean.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">The plant is home to two high-volume semiconductor manufacturing facilities. Intel is currently in the process of building a third facility on the campus which is scheduled to open later this year.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">The cause of the leak is still under investigation as of writing.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/53085-gas-leak-at-intel-manufacturing-plant-sends-a-dozen-to-the-hospital.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Gas leak at Intel manufacturing plant sends a dozen to the hospital

A gas leak at Intel’s Chandler, Arizona, manufacturing plant sent a dozen people to the hospital over the weekend. At least 43 people beca...

Last Call: Google Reader Dies Monday, Here Are The Best Alternatives

Malayil 0 Google, Release, trends 06:11

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="Last Call: Google Reader Dies Monday, Here Are The Best Alternatives" height="324" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/688/images/rescuing-rss-google-alternatives.jpg" width="640" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">With Google Reader nearing its imminent death, a race to build the perfect alternative for the service's refugees has been taking shape over the last few weeks. Even though there are <a href="http://www.techspot.com/downloads/rss-xml-utilities/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">dozens of alternatives</a> already out there, if you care about cross-platform compatibility and synchronization across different devices for things like read and favorited items, then your options are a little more limited than you'd imagine.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: justify;">Local Sync Versus Server-based RSS</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">If you access your news feed from a single device, then in theory any standalone app capable of fetching RSS should suffice. However, this scenario poses some limitations even if you don't need to sync devices.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Due to the way most RSS feeds work, only the last few articles will be downloaded, rather than every new story since you last checked. That means the only way to make sure you are not missing out on anything is to have the app running in the background at all times, which is hardly an ideal scenario.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">On the other hand, server-based RSS services like <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Google Reader</a> frequently poll feeds for new articles, downloading everything that's available and keeping it in their local database. That way whenever you access the service, from your browser or any mobile or desktop app that connects to it, you will be able to catch up on all new articles from all your subscriptions regardless of the last time of synchronization.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none;"><img alt="Does RSS Matter?" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/688/images/rss-melt-2.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 15px 0px 15px 15px; max-width: 100%; outline: none; text-align: justify;" /></div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: justify;">Does RSS Even Matter Anymore?</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Google feels RSS is no longer as important as it used to considering how the average internet user receives his fix of interesting links and news via social networks -- most of the time not through <em style="outline: none;">their</em> social network, though.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">But for millions of professionals that need that constant stream of information, from manually selected sources rather than algorithms or shared links, RSS is a big deal. Journalists, bloggers, programmers, researchers, students, tech savvy people, among others, fall into this group. It's a niche product, but still a big niche.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: justify;">What Should I Do?</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">First things first: if you are a Google Reader user and want to keep all your data intact, you'll need to export everything before July 1 (that means we are mere hours away). Head over to <a href="https://www.google.com/takeout/%E2%80%8E" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Google Takeout's Reader page</a> and click on “Create Archive” -- it might take a couple of minutes. Once it's done save the resulting zip file.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Now, on to the alternatives. Here are a handful of services we're keeping our eye on:</div><h2 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Top free(mium) contenders</h2><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: justify;">Feedly</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://feedly.com/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Feedly</a> is probably the most popular and well rounded Google Reader alternative out there, due in part because it's been developed for years and didn't just sprung up after the Google Reader announcement. That said, since news of the closure got out they've been working on new features like crazy and preparing for the influx of incoming users. Among other things, they launched their own sync server, a one-click migration tool, made UI tweaks, added a ton of hardware to their backend, and designed an open API for third party apps to tap into.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><img alt="Feedly Cloud Reader" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/688/images/feedly-ts.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">If you prefer a 'native' experience, Feedly also has its own iOS and Android apps in addition to the web client. All in all, they've moved at an impressive pace which is a testament to their ability to iterate and scale.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><strong style="outline: none;">Still missing:</strong> search functionality.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><strong style="outline: none;">Available on:</strong> Web, official iOS and Android apps, IFTTT, Sprout Social, Nextgen Reader, gNewsReader for<a class="vglnk" href="http://viglink.pgpartner.com/rd.php?r=402&m=1135622184&q=n&rdgt=1372598963&it=1372771763&et=1373203763&priceret=63.38&pg=~~3&k=c001073eee80f37c21ab09840d16b1f3&source=feed&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eamazon%2Ecom%2Fdp%2FB005LC7RT4%2Fref%3Dasc%5Fdf%5FB005LC7RT42576064%3Fsmid%3DATVPDKIKX0DER%26tag%3Dpg%2D385%2D01%2D20%26linkCode%3Dasn%26creative%3D395097%26creativeASIN%3DB005LC7RT4&st=feed&mt=~~~~~~~~n~~~" rel="nofollow" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink"><span style="outline: none;">BlackBerry </span><span style="outline: none;">10</span></a> and for Symbian/MeeGo, Press, gReader, Newsify, Pure News Widget, Meneré, and Reeder foriPhone -- Mac and iPad Reeder clients will be added later.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: justify;">Digg Reader</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://reader.digg.com/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Digg Reader</a> is still very much in development but the team behind it has been racing to have the core RSS reading functionality ready in time for Google Reader's shutdown. At time of writing only users who applied for the beta have been given access but invites are rolling out quickly for those just signing up.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><img alt="Digg Reader" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/688/images/digg-ts.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">It features a clean and familiar interface with support for the same Google Reader keyboard shortcuts, as well as options to save stories to 'read later' services or share them on social networks. There's also a popular filter that shows you which articles in your feeds are trending and a laundry list of promised upcoming features.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><strong style="outline: none;">Still missing:</strong> search functionality, API for third-party app support (they are working on it), unread-only view.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><strong style="outline: none;">Available on:</strong> Web, official iOS app (<a class="vglnk" href="http://www.bizrate.com/iphone/index__af_assettype_id--4__af_creative_id--3__af_id--[AFF-ID]__af_placement_id--[AFF-PLACEMENT-ID].html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink">iPhone</a> and iPad), official Android app coming "in a few weeks".</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: justify;">Honorable Mentions</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://reader.aol.com/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">AOL</a> is developing yet another Reader alternative and the initial impression is that it's stripped down, simple, and fast. They are also promising an open API for developers to build their own apps around it... pity it's just hard to like AOL. For a web-only, no-frills RSS reader <a href="https://newsvi.be/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">newsvibe</a> might be worth a look.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Solid Paid Alternatives</h2><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Some people argue that paid is better than free for services you rely upon day in and day out because you know developers are being taken care off, and they won't just shut down on you one random day -- much like the free Google Reader, although a lack of funds is certainly not to blame here. On the other hand, free alternatives didn't take long to crop up, so it wasn't exactly the end of the world. A minor inconvenience at most.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: justify;">Feedbin</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://feedbin.me/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Feedbin</a> is another new entrant featuring a clean interface and most of the basic controls of Google Reader. You can bundle feed sources into groups with 'tag drawers', it has a couple of view options, has built in sharing functionality, and let's you use keyboard shortcuts to move between posts, star items, mark them as read or unread, and more. The web interface is pretty straightforward and although there are no mobile apps, there are several third-party app powered by its API to keep everything synchronized. The service costs $2 per month.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><img alt="Feedbin" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/688/images/feedbin.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><strong style="outline: none;">Still missing:</strong> search functionality, few layout options -- though there's not much wrong with the default view.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><strong style="outline: none;">Available on:</strong> Web, Reeder for <a class="vglnk" href="http://www.bizrate.com/iphone/index__af_assettype_id--4__af_creative_id--3__af_id--[AFF-ID]__af_placement_id--[AFF-PLACEMENT-ID].html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink">iPhone</a>, Mr. Reader for iPad, ReadKit, Press, Slow Feeds, Favs, Tafiti, Readlines for Feedbin, Bulletin for Feedbin, Feedbin Reader beta, and Deer Reader.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: justify;">Newsblur</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.newsblur.com/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Newsblur</a> has been around for a while but, like others on this round up, it has received several updates and a huge influx of new users over the past two months. Even though it was recently redesigned it doesn't look as pretty as its competitors. In fact, the user interface looks a little busy, but that's because it has a hefty feature set which some may consider a fair tradeoff.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><img alt="Newsblur" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/688/images/newsblur-ts.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">Among it's unique features is a discovery algorithm that users can train to surface stories they like and bury those that they find less interesting. There's also a sharing feature called Blurblogs that let's you subscribe to other's feeds much like Google Reader's sharing functionality.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">NewsBlur costs $24 a year and has apps for <a class="vglnk" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/Consumer-Electronics-/293/i.html?_nkw=the+ipad" rel="nofollow" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink"><span style="outline: none;">the </span><span style="outline: none;">iPad</span></a>, iPhone, and Android. Like with the web client, beautiful design is not a strong point here and though there is an API open to developers, third-party app support is very limited. There's a free option that limits you to 64 feeds, which would be enough for plenty of people, but it also limits the way stories are fetched so it's likely you'll miss some updates.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><strong style="outline: none;">Still missing:</strong> no search, cluttered UI, fetch limitation on free tier can be a deal breaker.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><strong style="outline: none;">Available on:</strong> Web, official iOS app (iPhone and iPad), Android, ReadKit.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: justify;">Honorable Mentions</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://feedwrangler.net/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FeedWrangler</a> is another worthy RSS reading and sync service that costs $19 a year and includes all the features you'd expect, but for now it's limited to OS X, iOS and Android. Another Mac-centric alternative is<a href="http://netnewswireapp.com/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">NetNewsWire</a>, which has been out for ages but just recently received a much needed refresh. It'll cost you a one-time payment of $20 (though it's currently 50% off) but for now sync isn't ready yet.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Other less analogous alternatives</h2><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; text-align: justify;">The above services step in more or less as direct replacements or alternatives to Google Reader, each offering a few differentiating traits without drifting apart too far from its formula. If you are willing to take the opportunity to try something different here are some services you might want to consider.</div><ul style="background-color: white; outline: none;"><li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><strong style="outline: none;">Self-hosted RSS:</strong> If you'll grow anxious about another free service shutting its doors but don't want a subscription-based alternative, consider something like <a href="http://tt-rss.org/redmine/projects/tt-rss/wiki" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tiny Tiny RSS</a> or <a href="http://www.feedafever.com/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Fever</a>. Both are full-fledged RSS readers and aggregators that you run from your own server and support mobile apps. The former is a free, open-source project while Fever is $30, but it has some clever ways of grouping and surfacing the most interesting content. You'll just have to deal with the extra work of setting things up.</li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; outline: none; text-align: justify;"><strong style="outline: none;">Magazine-style feeds:</strong> For a more visual, image-driven feed with a focus on content discovery (surfacing trending content from websites and social networks) try <a href="http://flipboard.com/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Flipboard</a>, <a href="https://www.pulse.me/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Pulse</a> or <a href="http://www.zite.com/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Zite</a>. All of them offer a mix of content from RSS feeds and social networks you connect to them for a more personalized experience.</li></ul><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/guides/688-best-google-reader-alternatives/" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></span></div>

Last Call: Google Reader Dies Monday, Here Are The Best Alternatives

With Google Reader nearing its imminent death, a race to build the perfect alternative for the service's refugees has been taking shape ...