Category: Entertainment

PC Version of Batman: Arkham Knight Recalled After Negative Reviews

If you’re one of the people who were waiting to play “Batman: Arkham Knight” on a Windows PC, you will have to wait a little bit more. Warner Bros. Games, the publisher of “Arkham Knight” has recalled the PC version of the game from retail outlets after gamers complained about various performance issues with the game.

Our team has posted an update for our PC players over at the official Arkham forums. http://t.co/a6EFqhSD3n

— Batman Arkham (@BatmanArkham) June 24, 2015

Here is the statement given by Warner Bros. Games on a forum post:

Dear Batman: Arkham Knight PC owners,

We want to apologize to those of you who are experiencing performance issues with Batman: Arkham Knight on PC. We take these issues very seriously and have therefore decided to suspend future game sales of the PC version while we work to address these issues to satisfy our quality standards. We greatly value our customers and know that while there are a significant amount of players who are enjoying the game on PC, we want to do whatever we can to make the experience better for PC players overall.

We’re working to deliver an updated version of Batman: Arkham Knight on PC so you can all enjoy the final chapter of the Batman: Arkham series as it was meant to be played.

The game, developed by Rocksteady Studios has received negative reviews on Steam, while the XBox and PlayStation versions have received praise. A few days ago, Warner Bros. Games made some suggestions to improve the user experience for PC version.

Note: At the time of publishing, the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight is still available on Amazon India while Flipkart is displaying a message addressing its unavailability.

Here’s the link (though we wouldn’t recommend you to pick it up.)

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June 25, 2015
Netflix to Enter India Soon; Here are Some of the Challenges it Will Face

A report suggests that Netflix, the US streaming giant, will enter India by 2016. This is great news for us film and TV buffs across India; we have been practically raised on a steady diet of films and TV shows. We recreate the famous train scene from DDLJ at railway stations to Dubsmash-ing the famous “Kitne Aadmi The?“. Even our politicians get filmy sometimes. No one loves films like Indians do.

Netflix has produced shows like House of Cards

Netflix will not be the first company to provide a streaming service in India. In 2015, rival TV Networks STAR and Zee launched Hotstar and Ditto TV respectively. Before that, Sony LIV was launched. Earlier this month, Hooq was launched as a joint venture between Sony, Warner Bros. and SingTel. Then there is Ogle, backed by media-person Pritish Nandy and Spuul. Still, Netflix’ s arrival is interesting because it has been established worldwide and is known for producing popular TV shows such as House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, which have a cult following in India.

However exciting Netflix’s arrival may seem, the company still faces some hurdles, the major ones being Internet speed, pricing, censorship and piracy. In terms of connectivity, Netflix demands at least 1.5 MBps Internet speed to watch the content. Most high speed Internet plans in India have a data usage limit and thus restrict the very nature of binge-watching, which has helped Netflix grow over the years.

“Sorry, Netflix is not available in your country yet.”

Even if Netflix survives despite slow Internet connections, there will still be some doubts over its commercial viability. In India, the streaming services can be categorized into two parts – free and premium service. Almost every service provides some sort of free service, because it guarantees audience. This goes against the business model of Netflix, which provides a trial period but ultimately charges. While Ditto charges Rs. 49 for a nine day pack, Spuul charges Rs. 150 per month for the Premium catalog. Hooq which has recently entered India, will charge Rs. 199 for unlimited access to Hollywood and Indian content. Combine that with the appropriate Internet package needed for streaming, the total bill for entertainment costs more than a High-Definition cable/DTH connection. Thus, Netflix has to decide a price which can suit the pocket.

Then, there is the issue of censorship. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is responsible for regulation of TV shows and films. CBFC’s power can be estimated by the fact that movies which stream on YouTube carry a CBFC certificate. So, for those who hope to see the uncensored version of Orange Is The New Black may be left disappointed. Even HBO has to censor Game of Thrones, even when it airs exclusively on the paid service.

Last but not the least, Netflix’s biggest worry is piracy. In April, Netflix’s show, Marvel’s Daredevil was downloaded at least 150,000 times in India alone within its first week of premiere. There are mainly two reasons people pirate a popular movie or TV show: they either cannot pay for the service or they want the uncensored version. As a result, Netflix has to carefully consider what it offers in terms of content and pricing.

Still, Netflix’s decision to enter India is a wonderful thing, since it will guarantee quality programming. Moreover, if Netflix decides to produce local content, it will enhance Indian entertainment. As our government puts it, good days have come.

June 25, 2015
We Now Have a New Spider Man

Actor Tom Holland has a great responsibility. Today, Marvel announced that Holland will play the next “Spider Man” in Marvel Cinematic Universe. The 19 year old Brit is the third actor to portray the web-slinging superhero, after Tobey Maguire (2002-2007) and Andrew Garfield (2012-2014).

Holland was chosen after a rigorous audition process and was on the shortlist for a long time. According to reports, he was chosen among 1,500 boys from all around the world.

Holland will portray the superhero in Captain America : Civil War next year before starring in the new Spider Man movie in 2017. The new movie will be directed by Jon Watts. Tom Holland was previously seen in the Oscar-nominated film The Impossible.

If Marvel’s decision doesn’t convince you, maybe you should check out these Instagram videos:

https://instagram.com/p/4Md9H0Mdp0/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=video

https://instagram.com/p/4MeUrXMdqo/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=video

June 24, 2015
Ahead of Movie Release, Mark Wahlberg Reveals How Entourage Became Entourage

If you’ve been following the rich and fabulous life of Vincent Chase and his crew since the beginning, we know what you’re going to be doing on 3rd June. One of the most anticipated movies of the year, Entourage, releases next week, and creator Mark Wahlberg is doing everything he can to make sure we stay excited.

He reveals how closely the show resembles his life and tells us about the people behind the characters of Johnny, E and our personal favourite, Turtle.

Watch him talk about the upcoming movie here:

If you didn’t know already, Entourage is based on a HBO Comedy TV series. The show/movie trails the life of movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his boys, “E” (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), Drama (Kevin Dillon) and agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven). The boys live the life, in Los Angeles, trying to make their way into Hollywood.

While the movie releases on 3rd June, in the US, Book My Show states that we Indians might have to wait till the 19th of June to watch it in theatres. Get ready, the boys are back.

May 29, 2015
The New ‘Steve Jobs’ Movie Teaser is Out! Watch it Here

After director Joshua Stern received lukewarm reviews for ‘Jobs’ in 2013, Hollywood is set to release another and rather promising docu-drama of the late Steve Jobs, this autumn.

The movie titled, ‘Steve Jobs’, is directed by academy award winner Danny Boyle and stars Michael Fassbender as the late Apple CEO. The film boasts of an impressive supporting cast with academy award winner Kate Winslet and comedian Seth Rogen. The movie is set for release in October and will definitely be watched by avid admirers, all over the world.

Catch the first look of ‘Steve Jobs’ here:

May 18, 2015
John Oliver Makes it Easy to Understand the Problems With Government Surveillance

Wikileaks, Julian Assange, NSA, Edward Snowden, all of these names have become buzzwords for the technology community. Security analysts and experts have constantly criticised the massive collection of data by the US government. Activists world over have been trying to help people understand the threats posed by mass scale surveillance of the general public in the name of anti-terrorism initiatives.

John Oliver, known for his quirky humour and giving a new life to objective reporting, has now taken up the cause. He went to Russia for an interview Edward Snowden, the man who showed us how the National Security Agency (NSA) of America and GCHQ from the UK were snooping on all internet communication. This was called as a massive breach of the privacy of world citizens, but the common public didn’t really appeared concerned with the significance of these revelations.

So John gave a simple analogy for everyone to understand; “the government is stealing your dick-pics”. With the help of the technical expertise of Edward Snowden, John shows how the government can snoop in and steal private data (including intimate pictures and videos) of the general public. This revelation will come as a shock to many viewers but it will allow them to have a more informed discussion on topic of government surveillance.

Check out how John Oliver manages to convey complicated technological information in terms that will get everybody to stand up and take notice.

April 7, 2015
Jay Z Ropes in the Biggest Music Stars For His New Music Streaming Service, Tidal

Jay Z is one of the royalties of the music industry. He has had a long and eventful career, and his wife Beyonce enjoys a similar status in the music industry. Jay Z is also a successful entrepreneur with a personal net worth of $560 Million with investments in several brands. Now he is using his status in the industry to offer a new music streaming service called Tidal and for this he has invited the who’s who of the music industry.

Tidal is a subscription-based music streaming service that has been in operation since October 2014. The music service combines lossless audio and high definition music videos which are curated by the editors. The most attractive bit about this service is its ownership. The musicians will have the stake in this streaming service, thereby guaranteeing them a return on their creation. This means that the musicians will have direct control over their product on Tidal.

For the announcement of his involvement, Jay Z invited the most notable faces of the music industry. The list includes Madonna, Kanye West, Nicky Minaj, Coldplay lead singer, Chris Martin, Alicia Keys and the eccentric Daft Punk. These celebrities began promoting the service under the hashtag #TIDALforALL on Twitter.

The game changes now. LIVE on http://t.co/EjEyEz1Ety #TIDALforALL pic.twitter.com/8r7cXeLt0r

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) March 30, 2015

Access to content on Tidal will be available in two subscription plans, $10 a month for a compressed format (the standard on most digital outlets) and $20 for CD-quality streams. Tidal’s parent company had reported last autumn that the service has about 512,000 paying users. That number will significantly rise, thanks to Jay Z’s involvement.

But Tidal has a long climb ahead in the streaming service business which is currently ruled by the likes of Spotify and Pandora. Also, while the artists may be on board, but the distribution rights of the songs are still held by the studios who produce them, so that bit needs to be ironed out. The biggest challenge for the service, of course, is to find consumers who are ready to pay for the music instead of going for the plethora of avenues on the Internet to get music for free. Jay Z may have had 99 Problems, and now this will be a major one.

The concept of Tidal sounds interesting as it would let users listen to the high-quality audio while the revenues generated will directly reach the artists. But the service should also be equally kind to budding musicians who face tremendous pressures to get their art recognized and eventually get paid for it.

Here is the video of all your favourite music superstar coming together for Tidal:

March 31, 2015
Second Entourage Trailer is Out! The Boys Are Back In Business

Entourage fans have waited a long while for the movie based on the series to play in a theatre near their house. That wait will come to an end real soon. The movie, like the show is produced by Mark Wahlberg, who also plays himself in the movie. The cinematic version of Entourage stars many recognizable faces from Hollywood.

Ari Gold, the legendary talent agent, is now the head of a studio and invests $100 Million in Vince’s directorial debut. But all seems to be in chaos as usual. The boys; E, Turtle and Drama will also engage in shenanigans that will get them stuck in weird places. Watch the new trailer and get ready for the chaotic adventures of Vincent Chase and his Entourage.

March 25, 2015
Agent Ethan Hunt is Back! Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation Trailer Released

Tom Cruise is known for his awesome action-filled cinematic adventures. He has done some phenomenal movies like Top Gun, Minority Report, Knight and Day and Edge of tomorrow. But his magnum opus, his most prominent franchise is of course the Mission Impossible series where he plays the indomitable spy, Agent Ethan Hunt.

While the last movie in the franchise was known as Ghost Protocol, where Ethan’s entire team is disavowed by the government and they had work on their own to stop a nuclear attack on San Francisco. Upon release, MI4 – Ghost Protocol became the becoming the highest grossing Mission: Impossible film and the highest-grossing film starring Tom Cruise.

In this fifth instalment of the series, Ethan’s team is now ready for their new mission. This time around they are taking on the The Syndicate, a highly trained organization of rogue assassins that kill on order. Accompanying Tom Cruise in this movie will be the funny Simon Pegg reprising his role as tech specialist Benji Dunn. Jeremy Renner who is known for playing Hawkeye in the Avengers series will play William Brandt, a role introduced in the last movie. The trailer is full of high adrenaline action and intense spy shenanigans. We will surely be waiting for this one.

March 23, 2015
Revamped Apple TV To Get An App Store And Siri

Apple is bringing back its focus on Apple TV which has been awaiting an update for a while. Apple is expected to introduce new revamped Apple TV at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). It will have an App Store and a will provide a Software Development Kit (SDK) to help developers populate it.

The reports are still speculatory and Apple hasn’t given any official confirmation yet but several experts are confident of the development. The device is expected to be powered by an A8 SoC along with enhanced storage facilities.

The updated Apple TV will feature SIRI and an App Store.

To make it easier to operate the new Apple TV comes with Siri’s voice assistance. Competing systems like Amazon Fire TV already introduced voice assistance on their devices, so it was about time Apple caught on.

Apple has already said that the Apple TV plays a major role in its HomeKit ecosystem. HomeKit is a framework in iOS 8 for communicating with and controlling connected accessories in a user’s home. It gives users the ability to control their garage doors, light bulb adapters, door locks, and other house hold items. Users would require Siri enabled Apple TV to control these devices. So you can expect Apple to bring more proactive upgrades for the Apple TV from now on considering how crucial it is for its future home automation business.

March 21, 2015
Marvel Saves The Best For Last, New Avengers Trailer Tops The Rest

Marvel had revealed its last theatrical trailer for the second Avengers movie just a few days back. Everyone thought that those were the last footages from the movie that we’ll get to see before the pre-destined blockbuster comes to a theater near us. But Marvel knows how to keep its fans excited for their expertly crafted comical extravaganzas.

The new trailer for Avenger: Age of Ultron is released as a TV spot. This trailer reveals the premise of the movie. Tony Stark has created a new security institution after the demise of SHIELD in Captain America: Winter Soldier. Captain Steve Rogers is the head of operations while Tony’s job is to create innovations that assist the legendary team to take on their enemies. One such baby of Tony Stark is Ultron, who was designed to be a peacekeeping artificial intelligence. But Ultron goes rogue and unleashes mayhem on the humans. It’s up to the Avengers again to take on the superhuman task.

This trailer is also exciting because of the extended action sequences from the movie. While the last trailer focused on the fun elements, this trailer is all about our badass heroes kicking butt. Avengers 2 will release in India on the 24th of April, about a week before the United States. So tell your friends in America that they may have access to sweet devices before we do, but what we get is early access to the greatest action adventure flick of the year before they do.

March 20, 2015
New Age of Ultron Trailer Shows Avengers Doing What They Do Best

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the most anticipated cinematic adventure of 2015. The movie will get together all the big boys and the badass lady of the Marvel Cinematic Universe(MCU) for the second time. The wait will come to an end on May 1 when the film finally comes to the big screen, but Marvel is leaving no stone unturned to keep the hype going. The Hollywood mega brand has brought out the third trailer for the new movie, and it has everything that will get you excited to pre-book the tickets for the first day of release.

The Avengers are facing their most formidable enemy yet, and they seem overpowered by Tony Stark’s own creation, the Ultron. We get to know more about the epic villain who is voiced by James Spader. The surprise element of the trailer, of course, is the first look of the Vision, who’ll be played by Paul Bettany, who till now was the voice of Jarvis in the MCU movies. In the movie, Vision will be created by Tony Stark to take on Ultron, so that will be a battle worth watching.

The trailer also packs in some hilarious moments that we have come to anticipate from Marvel’s awesome projects, both on the big screen and television. With director Joss Whedon at the helms, you can be sure that your inner nine-year-old will be unleashed for a couple of weeks after watching this movie. Time to set up the reminder to book the tickets for the first show.

March 5, 2015
8 Tech Advancements in Cricket That Made Life Easier For the Umpires

Over the years, Cricket has evolved a lot. The game is over 200 years old and it has changed drastically over the following years. For most of the game’s duration, the decisions were made entirely by the human umpires who stood on the ground with the players. Later with the advent of technology, cameras and mikes were involved to give improved decision making abilities to the referees of the games. But now, there is plenty of technological support that an umpire can refer to before shooting out a decision.

Let’s take a look at the gadgets adopted by the game of cricket to make the game fairer and more transparent for both sides:

1. Snickometer

Snickometer or Snicko is a device that taps on the gaps that were earlier missed. It’s a small microphone that is placed near the stumps to detect if the ball touched the edge of the bat. Through the Snicko, the umpires, as well as the audience can make out the difference in sound frequencies of the ball hitting the ground or it hitting the player’s bat.

2. Hawk Eye

Hawk Eye came into existence few years back, and it is a very efficient mechanism to judge the LBW (Leg Before Wicket) appeals. The gadget can broadcast the trajectory of the ball using surrounding cameras on the ground.

3. Hot Spot

Hot Spot is another useful measure to detect review faint edges and LBW appeals. The technology works on infrared cameras that detect the heat signature of the hit. When a ball touches the bat, the heat signature of that spot flickers, creating a Hot Spot. Thus, it gives the accurate information about the strike.

4. Slow Motion Cameras

Action replays are essential technology for any fast paced sport. The cameras record live match and can be called for reproducing a particular shot. With the use of high-speed cameras, viewers and commentators can see the shot in super slow motion, giving frame by frame view of the scene. It come really handy while judging the spilt second difference between the players arrival in his crease and the wicket keeper blowing the bails off the stumps.

5. Speed Gun

Another significant gadget that has found a spot on the cricket ground is speed gun. It detects the speed of the bowler, giving an idea what can be the pace of the resultant shot. It acts as a premium medium to keep a record of the bowling speed of different bowlers. It is this gadgetry that made us respect Sachin Tendulkar more for taking on Shoaib Akhtar’s 150-plus Km/h deliveries and sending them flying off the boundary rope.

6. Helmet Camera

It is the recent adoption by the cricket board. The batsmen and the wicket-keeper wear a helmet camera on their heads giving a close-up shot of the live match. It also makes for some epic first person POV videos of some of the epic moments within the game like a massive sixer or a batsman’s dive to reach the crease before the keeper has his moment of jubilation.

7. Glowing Stumps

Until now, camera and stumps were solely responsible for declaring that the ball has strike the stumps or not. The measure was not entirely reliable as camera couldn’t catch the details sometimes. New glow stumps have made the work easier, and it shoots a siren (glows) as soon as the ball hits the stump.

8. Stump Camera

These cameras are in use for quite a while. Small cameras are fitted within the stumps at both ends giving a unique to angle of the match. This angle is especially fun to watch when the stumps are bowled off and uprooted by some amazing bowling.

If you could add a technology to the game of Cricket, what would it be? Write your technology suggestions to make cricket better or more fun in the comment section below.

February 20, 2015
Apple Might Step in the VR Headset Space With an iPhone Centric Device

Virtual reality is the newest trend in the market that every firm wants to foster. Samsung and Facebook are already making headlines with their offerings in virtual reality space. Now, Apple is attempting to jump into the battleground to make a space way for itself in this budding market.

Today, the Cupertino based tech giant has been granted a patent titled ‘Head-Mounted Display Apparatus for Retaining a Portable Electronic Device with Display.’ The patent describes a Samsung’s Gear VR-like portable electronic device, which will be powered by the high definition screen of the iPhones. The patent was first filed back in September 2008 and the company is now awarded the same after five years.

According to images registered with the patents, the iPhone will be placed within the headset frame, and its screen will act as the primary display for viewing the virtual reality content. The pictures also depict a remote that could be used to control the content on screen.

Electronic headset concept is not new as Samsung and Google have gone far ahead in VR headset game. Samsung Gear VR is a commendable product which is compatible with Galaxy Note 4 and the new Galaxy A7 for now. The company is also exploring the virtual reality space with Project Beyond, which is a 360-degree camera for recording VR content.

Meanwhile, besides a VR headset, the patents speak of one more feature called picture-in-picture (PIP). This tool will aid users in keeping an eye on the real world when the headset is on. A total of 41 patents have been granted to Apple on Tuesday, which came to light today. These patents are related to optics, design and accessories. So, users can expect a pinch of new innovation with Apple’s VR headset.

February 18, 2015
German Company Lets You Print A 3D Replica of Yourself

The selfie culture refuses die down. It is the ultimate expression medium for the inner narcissist. Smartphone makers are also hard at work to give the best front camera capabilities to their handsets. Now a German company is taking things a step ahead. Why should you be only contended with digital images of yourselves when you can create a real life 3D printed replica.

Meet DOOB 3D created by a Dusseldorf-based company. To scan a person DOOB 3D system requires a room size scanning booth. The system incorporates 54 DSLRs, 54 lenses, an extensive 3D modeling pipeline. The final replica or the DOOB is printed out of full-colour 3D printer worth USD 80,000.

You can get DOOBed on your special occasions.

DOOB 3D can also print multiple people at one. A person just steps in the booth, and the cameras are all fired at once to capture the moment from all angles. All the images are transferred to a propriety software that creates the 3D model which is ready to be brought into the real world through the 3D printer.

You can also DOOB your furry friends.

The printer prints out the replica at a leisurely pace of 1.1 inches in an hour. The DOOBs are as tall as four to fourteen inches. It might take a few hours to half a day to print out a complete DOOB.

The 3D Printing revolution has begun and has unlimited possibilities. DOOB is utilizing the technology well, and the massive system could be shrunk down so that it can be introduced everywhere. Maybe the next step of this technology would be to create 3D self-replicas with moving parts. It might also let people print themselves as various different characters such as superheroes so imagine your shelf full of Marvel character action figures with your face on them. May however you look at it, DOOBs are cool.

To know more about the prospects of 3D printing in just two quick minutes, watch our new show, Tech in Two:

February 18, 2015