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Play Station 4’s ‘Share Play’ Could Open Up New Era of Gaming

Sony could be on the brink of introducing us to a new era of gaming where people no longer have to own a copy of the game in order to join their friends in the digital fun.

In a matter of days, an update will be available for Play Station 4 that will enable a feature called Share Play.

Share Play will, somehow, allow users to play games with their friends regardless of whether the other players have their own copy of the game.

Sony hasn’t released any specifics about how the technology will work, but it has finally announced a release date for the new update.

The update will be available on Oct. 28 and will come with a variety of new features in addition to Share Play.

According to a recent tweet from the Play Station account, the update will also come with a USB music player.

Tech Crunch revealed that the USB player will be able to play MP3, MP4, M4a and 3GP while users are playing video games.

It will essentially give gamers the ability to create their own gaming soundtrack as they make their way through their favorite games.

There are some downsides to the new Share Play feature, however.

Sony recently confirmed that Share Play will come with certain limitations and guidelines.

The feature seems to serve promotional purposes as gaming will be limited to 60-minute sessions through Share Play.

In other words, the Share Play will be more of a tease for the friend who doesn’t have a hard copy of the game.

The good news is that the limitations on Share Play won’t be applied differently based on titles as some gamers expected.

This means friends can have 60-minute gaming expeditions with even the newest Play Station 4 games.

For now, Sony hasn’t released many other details, but the concept of allowing friends to join in on gaming sessions without owning a copy is something to get excited about – even if there is a timer on how long that experience may last.

 

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Aisha Tyler Talks Dirty to the President, Explains Why She’s Always Drinking

Aisha Tyler Washington Post interview

Archer star Aisha Tyler made some interesting confessions during an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday – admitting that she’s been talking dirty to President Barack Obama and doing a lot more drinking than usual.

The 6-foot comedian certainly has an interesting life, but her latest exploits may be some of the most intriguing ones yet.

During her interview with The Washington Post, she opened up about the first time she made President Barack Obama laugh.

“I did tell President Obama a joke the first time I met him when we kicked off the second surrogate program and, um, I actually can’t repeat it,” she said, hinting that the joke was a dirty one.

When the interviewer asked Tyler if she indeed told the president a dirty joke, she jokingly explained that it wasn’t too dirty for the president’s ears.

“It wasn’t really dirty,” she exclaimed. “It was just kind of inside baseball, a little bit, about television.”

Regardless of how dirty the joke was, it was enough to earn some presidential laughter.

“And I made him laugh, and I have a photo,” she continued. “I put it up on my Facebook for a while. I was very pleased with myself.”

Now that she has gotten comedic praise from the current leader of the nation, Tyler is ready to take on the type of high pressure situation that left comedy veteran Kevin Hart feeling quite intimidated – the White House Correspondent’s dinner.

“Kevin Hart told me at the White House Correspondent’s dinner this year that the whole thing seemed super intense,” The Washington Post’s Helena Andrews told Tyler. “Would you be up for that challenge?”

“Oh my God, in a heartbeat,” Tyler said. “It’s obviously a lot of pressure. But I think figuring out the math, like the right comedic algorithm for that night, would be a really fun problem to unlock.”

She admitted that many comedy stars haven’t been able to figure that algorithm out, but she’s totally up for the challenge.

It’s no surprise that Tyler is so eager to take on the challenge either.

Earlier in the interview, she explained that her greatest fear is to wake up one day without feeling challenged.

“I think two things scare me: not being challenged terrifies me more than being challenged,” Tyler said. “And trying to do everything as exceptionally as I can. I don’t believe in lay-ups. I always want to try and push myself to over deliver.”

For now, Tyler has delivered on the promise to challenge herself.

She’s currently juggling three TV shows – The Talk, Archer and BoJack Horseman.

In addition to dominating the comedy space on TV, she’s also still managing standup gigs, gamer conferences and other high-profile appearances like the upcoming USO gala on Friday.

Tyler will be hosting the gala, which is dedicated to honoring, celebrating and thanking the men and women in uniform who have dedicated their lives to protecting the freedoms of Americans.

For some fans, however, Tyler’s social media has them wondering if the star is battling with alcohol problems.

As it turns out, however, Tyler hasn’t been drinking for fun – she’s drinking for work.

“I’m actually starting a spirits company next summer, so now whenever I have a cocktail it’s research,” she said.

Tyler went on to say friends and fans have commented on all the pictures of her drinking and asked if she’s OK.

“Just know, like I order a drink, and I drink like this much of it [she indicates a thimble], and then I stop,” she told The Washington Post. “There’s nothing cute about a sloppy drunk.”

 

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Net Neutrality Advocates Fight to Save Minority Voices Online, Take Aim at NAACP

Minorities push for net neutrality

There are many reasons why Internet companies and tech startups are pushing for tighter regulations on Internet service providers (ISPs), but for minorities in the U.S., the fight for net neutrality digs deep into the roots of the great technology divide.

Progressive groups have been prominent figures in the fight for net neutrality – the principle that ISPs should treat all content online equally without giving any favor to particular websites or advertisers.

The reason these groups have been up in arms over the lack of net neutrality protections is because without net neutrality, the barriers to entry for minority groups and startup companies become nearly impossible to scale.

Higher speeds will be granted to advertisers and websites who are able to pay more to ensure faster speeds for their content.

Meanwhile, other content online could be delivered at painfully slow speeds.

Now, advocates for net neutrality are taking aim at organizations like the NAACP and the National Urban League for their lack of support for net neutrality protections.

According to a 2009 study commissioned by Free Press and the Harmony Institute, a key factor in winning the fight for net neutrality protections is to “win over and mobilize liberal middle-class African-Americans and women,” Watchdog.org reports.

Now that the discussion has garnered much more attention over the past few years, people of color are coming together to demand stronger net neutrality protections in order to protect the presence of minority voices online.

“In recent years, support among people of color for strong net neutrality protections has continue to grow as the issue receives more attention and people realize what’s at stake,” said Rashad Robinson, executive director of ColorOfChange.org, during an interview with Watchdog.org.

The problem, Robinson pointed out, is that major groups like the NAACP have received major funding from telecom companies and that financial backing may be enough to stifle their voices when it comes to the net neutrality debate.

“Some civil rights organizations, which receive massive funding from telecom companies, used to openly advocate against net neutrality protections,” he said. “Now, they say they support net neutrality while doing everything they can to undermine it by attacking Title II reclassification, which courts have told the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is the only way for it to protect net neutrality.”

Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 would require the FCC to classify ISPs as common carriers, which would prohibit them from giving paid prioritization to certain content.

“Meanwhile, the civil rights organizations attacking Title II do not engage their constituents on this issue, preferring to make their case in beltway publications and filing to the FCC,” Robinson added.

Some tech entrepreneurs believe this is yet another case of major decisions being made in the technology space without considering the African-American community and other minorities.

The African-American community is currently severely underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers, which means there are not enough minorities in the tech space to help continue the push for net neutrality.

Without a commitment from major civil rights groups, it’s possible that minority voices will be muffled during discussions of net neutrality, which could eventually lead to those same voices fading away in the digital space.

In other words, despite the fact that recent studies revealed that African-Americans are some of the most prominent users of technology, they could continue to have the least amount of say in what happens with the future of the Internet.

 

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The New Era of Education Entrepreneurs Take to New Orleans to Grow Businesses

4.0 Schools takes on new class

We have entered the new era of educational entrepreneurship, and a group of the latest emerging entrepreneurs focused on education has taken to New Orleans to further develop, grow and expand this businesses.

The teams behind nine new education-focused businesses came together for a unique accelerator program that is aimed at taking their companies to the next level.

The program is called 4.0 Schools, and it has the ability to help these teams develop educational solutions that could truly revolutionize the world.

For one month, 4.0 Schools will guide the nine teams through their accelerator program. Further guidance and assistance will be provided remotely after the teams return to the cities they are based out of.

The nonprofit education innovation lab is based in New Orleans with another location based in New York City.

Based on the companies’ record, the emerging entrepreneurs are certainly in good hands.

In less than five years, 4.0 Schools has helped more than 40 companies and business ventures reach the next level.

The key for the program is to not just focus on the typical entrepreneurial lessons that pertain to a broad number of businesses.

The program takes a special focus on trends in the educational sphere and preps the teams to be efficient in those areas.

With that being said, it’s no surprise that there was a great focus on the skills needed for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.

Now, more than ever, it is essential for leaders in education to have a thorough knowledge of STEM and to be able to share that knowledge with students, partners, clients and others who hope to become entrepreneurs in the realm of education.

“We see trends shifting because we are seeing a new generation of parents that are very talented and well-credentialed,” Tony Zanders, head of communications and outreach at 4.0 Schools in New Orleans, told Forbes.

Zanders went on to say that the program seeks to make parents more aware and proactive about their children’s education.

The program also boasts a great deal of diversity in the teams.

The latest class at the program has six teams that are founded by entrepreneurs of color and seven of the teams are founded by women.

“We continue to be surprised by the places groundbreaking ideas for the future of schools can come from,” Matt Candler, founder and CEO of 4.0 Schools, told Forbes. “In this cohort alone, there’s a rocket scientist, an electrical engineer, a stay-at-home mom, a lawyer, a teacher and even students themselves.”

By the end of the extensive program, 4.0 Schools officials hope all the teams will have the tool and resources they need to return to their own communities and make a major impact in the future of education.

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Firefox Gears Up to Take on Skype With New Browser-Based Video Chat

Firefox Hello web chat

Mozilla’s Firefox is gearing up to give services like Skype and Viber some new competition by launching a new browser-based video chat called Firefox Hello.

The new chat service will be available for testing inside the latest Firefox beta release and will be released to the general public in a matter of weeks.

Mozilla shared a blog post about the new service explaining that it aims to open up more possibilities with video chat services.

“Firefox Hello provides more value to Firefox users by making it easier to communicate with your friends and family who might not have the same video chat service, software or hardware as you,” Mozilla’s post explained.

The big advantage with Firefox Hello is that it will allow users to connect with others regardless of their Internet setups.

The chat service won’t require users to download any new software or additional plugins that could possibly slow their computers.

The blog boasts that users won’t even be required to set up a profile or account. All they will need to do is use Firefox to initiate the call.

In order to try Hello Firefox, users need to download the latest Firefox beta and click on the chat bubble icon.

According to Technobuffalo.com, users will then be able to “share a ‘callback link’ with the person you’d like to communicate with, and all they have to do is click the URL to initiate the call.”

Mozilla will also be making use of user’s Google address books.

Instead of being forced to create new contacts one-by-one, users will be able to import their entire Google address book to their Firefox Hello contacts list.

Users interested in trying out the beta version can follow the corresponding links provided by the Mozilla blog.

 

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Artist Turns to Video Games as the Canvas for His Sci-Fi Universe Creations

Scifi Illustrations by Pascal Blanche

Pascal Blanche, the senior art director at Ubisoft Montreal, is using the unlimited possibilities of video games to create sci-fi universes that bring his wildest imaginations to life.

Blanche is certainly aware of just how far video games have allowed artists to push their imaginations and expand beyond the limits that exist for artwork on paper or through other mediums.

Ubisoft Montreal is the game studio behind some of today’s more popular video game titles like Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs.

Spending so much time working with the gaming powerhouse has only further fueled his passion to create his own worlds inside that limitless digital space.

He explained that his inspiration came from a blockbuster that fueled many sci-fi lovers’ dreams – Star Wars.

The now-iconic science fiction film sparked Blanche’s fascination with space and science, he told The Verge.

He was also largely inspired by the works of sci-fi illustrator Chris Foss, who is best known for his black-and-white illustrations for the original editions of The Joy of Sex, and illustrator Ralph McQuarrie, the designer behind the original Battlestar Galactica TV series and the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Just one look at Blanche’s portfolio makes it obvious just how much he has picked up from the two sci-fi illustrating greats.

While the works do share much resemblance to the works of Blanche’s role models, they also introduce spectators to a new galactic universe that has been coming to fruition in Blanche’s mind for years.

Originally, Blanche planned to bring that universe to life through animation but discovered that the world of video games was where he truly belonged.

He told The Verge that after he discovered computers the decision was simple.

According to Blanche, video games gave him the ability to “create more living worlds.”

Today, Blanche is continuing to build on his passion of creating sci-fi universes through his project Stardust.

There aren’t many details about the project just yet, but Blanche told The Verge that the idea for the project has been in the back of his mind for ages.

For now, the project just exists as a digital portfolio of stunning galactic landscapes.

All the pieces, linked through the design aesthetics and the futuristic machines making their way through the dark void of space, are clearly different pieces of the same universe.

According to Blanche, the goal was also to just have the ability to create new worlds. The title of being an artist just came along as an additional perk.

“I never really wanted to be an artist,” he told The Verge. “I just wanted to create worlds of my own.”

 

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Designer Aims to Boost Children’s Confidence with Superhero 3D Printed Prosthetics Hand

One designer and animator is making the most of the latest 3D-printing technology in order to create fun, functional alternatives for young amputees.

Pat Starace, who is both an animator and a mechanical designer, is in the process of creating a line of prosthetics that would make children feel like their favorite Avengers.

The first, and perhaps the most fitting, was an Iron Man-inspired prosthetic hand.

For Starace, it wasn’t enough to just have a product that looked like Iron Man’s arm, but he also wanted it to have some sort of functional cyborg-like abilities for its young wearers.

The arm comes complete with an LED light that resembles Iron Man’s thrusters and fun voice control abilities.

The arm also comes with Bluetooth connectivity, a battery, a USB charger and computing technology that senses the physical world around it.

Starace told Mashable that the entire goal of the prosthetics is to help boost the self-esteem of young amputees to “superhero levels.”

In the future, Starace hopes to add even more interesting technology to the prosthetic.

He believes the arm could be paired with wireless devices, smartwatches, sensors NFC technology and much more.

He also explained to Mashable that while the current model could be placed on a child’s arm today, it doesn’t boast any real-world application just yet.

Thanks to the quickly developing technology behind 3D printing, however, it won’t be long before it is easier to mass produce prosthetic limbs and at a fraction of the cost.

That’s where the proposed superhero prosthetics would really save the day.

Prosthetic limbs are incredibly expensive, but 3D-printing technology could create prosthetics that are much more affordable and easy to make.

This isn’t the first prosthetic to be created on a 3D printer either.

For years now, tech experts have been able to create 3D-printed prosthetics, but they have not been able to create cheaper versions that mirror the quality and comfort of traditional prosthetics.

For now, however, Starace’s Iron Man-inspired prosthetic hand has the potential to come extremely close to giving parents a less expensive 3D-printed option that would also make their child feel more confident.

 

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Childish Gambino Teams Up with Ubisoft for ‘Far Cry 4’ Trailer – Video

Childish Gambino Far Cry 4

Childish Gambino, better known by some as actor Donald Glover, recently teamed up with Ubisoft for a rather unexpected project.

While it may not be the first place you would expect to hear the hip-hop star’s music, the trailer for the action-adventure first-person shooter Far Cry 4 uses one of Childish Gambino’s 2013 hits to add some energy and a bit of comedy to the game’s trailer.

It isn’t clear if a hip-hop soundtrack will be used to set the tone in the actual game, but it certainly made a surprisingly pleasant match in the game’s trailer.

Scenes of intense, rated-M gore, extreme violence and hand-to-hand combat are accompanied by Crawl playing in the background.

While some fans may be surprised to hear the song paired with the video game teaser, the hip-hop star himself says Crawl is the perfect match.

The 31-year-old actor and rapper recalled the day he was in the studio making the song and that’s where the connection with the game comes in, he said during a short appearance on the trailer.

He said he remembered someone telling him, “You should go hard on this.”

To that statement he simply replied, “You know what, you’re right.”

He went on to say that the song’s twisted political nature is a perfect fit for the game’s action-packed trailer.

“Where we were, kind of thing, bet you crawl, all alone,” Canadian pop star Kai sings on the song’s chorus.

In the midst of shots of a player gunning down a helicopter and stabbing enemies, a hint of comedy is still introduced into the trailer.

Right when Childish Gambino raps “looking at her booty” the game’s trailer focuses on the giant rear end of an elephant before quickly returning to the action-filled clips.

Far Cry 4 is scheduled to be released in the U.S. on Nov. 18.

The full trailer for the video game can be seen below. Warning: Content rated M for Mature.

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Embracing Your ‘Inner Geek’ Could Change the World

When people discuss how to make science interesting and exciting, the conversation usually gravitates around children and younger audiences.

Esteemed astrophysicist and Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson, on the other hand, wants to shift the conversation toward adults.

According to Tyson, it’s just as important for adults to embrace their “inner geek” and become fired up about science as it is for children to feel the same way.

For each person, that “inner geek” is going to be something different, but Tyson explained that the important thing is just making sure you remain curious and nurture your thirst for knowledge.

“Your inner geek is simply what empowers your curiosity about the natural world,” he told National Geographic. “When you see a problem, you ask, ‘I wonder how we can solve it?’ rather than, ‘I wonder how fast we can run away from it?’”

Tyson believes that many adults just need a small spark to ignite their inner geek while others may need a little more coaxing to really get interested in the scientific mysteries that surround us every day.

“In most adults I’ve met, there is some ember within that carries their soul of curiosity,” he added. “For some it is almost extinguished and needs to be fanned. For others it’s like a pilot light. You just have to put some extra fuel there, and it ignites.”

A huge part of adding fuel to the fire is by simply acknowledging how vital science really is.

Without a thorough understanding of the world around us, our quality of life may not improve and innovation may come to a screeching halt.

“I don’t know if science can save us,” Tyson told National Geographic. “What I do know is that the absence of science will kill us. If you look at the improvement in quality of life around the world, it is entirely brought about by advances in science and technology.”

He went on to explain that those years of innovation and improving the quality of everyday life are exactly why we aren’t worried about the same things that civilizations from hundreds of years ago were worried about.

“If you polled people in 1900 and asked them what they feared most for civilization, they’d say they worry about hunger and overpopulation,” he said before explaining that there were not efficient farming methods at the time.

Fast forward years later and people have figured out how to farm in an efficient manner – in a manner that makes starvation less of a worry than it was in the past.

“Starvation was a big issue because they knew what the production levels of farms were and saw the rate of population growth,” Tyson continued. “What they didn’t know was that we’d figure out how to farm better. They were not considering innovation.”

 

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Charge Up in 2 Minutes: New Ultra-Fast Battery Could Finally Get Us Away from the Wall

We’ve all seen it before. We’ve all been there ourselves.

You walk into a public setting like a library, a coffee shop, an airport or even McDonald’s and see people scurrying to find the closest outlet – not for their laptops but for their cellphones.

Some give up perfectly good seats to sit on the floor next to the device while others stand by their slowly charging phones as if their device was just admitted to the hospital in critical condition.

Well, new technology developed at Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) could finally get us off the wall and away from the outlets.

Scientists have developed a battery that charges up to 70 percent in a mere two minutes.

So while you still may find yourself looking for an outlet every now and then, you’ll only have to baby-sit your beloved cellphone for two minutes before you’re ready to return to your plans for the day.

In addition to being able to charge incredibly fast, the new battery is expected to have a lifespan far more impressive than the average battery that’s out right now.

According to Science Daily, this battery has the potential to be recharged and reused for up to 20 years – but who really keeps a phone for 20 years these days anyway?

What that longer lifespan will have a major impact on, however, will be electric cars.

That’s right. In addition to putting a halt to our desperate search for outlets, the battery could also drastically reduce our carbon footprint.

Science Daily reports that electric cars typically take about four hours to charge.

Scientists predict that the new battery means cars could charge 20 times faster than possible with the current technology on the market.

If the battery is successfully used in electric cars, people could be charging up their vehicles in only 15 minutes.

The sad news here is that the electric car industry seems much more interested in the battery than the mobile device industry – meaning it could still be quite some time before this technology is even utilized in cellphones and tablets.

Associate professor Chen Xiodong, the man responsible for the nanostructure that allows for ultra-fast charging, remains optimistic about when the battery will hit the market.

Chen believes the battery will at least make its way into electric cars in only two years.

There still may be one catch, however.

Despite a detailed press release about the battery’s functions and specifics, there was no mention of how long the battery will hold that two-minute charge.

In other words, it’s possible that the 70 percent charge could offer much less time between recharging and drivers may be forced to make more frequent stops to charge their electric vehicles.

If that’s the case, the great outlet race may not actually be coming to an end any time soon and our carbon footprint may not be on the brink of getting cut down to a more reasonable size.