Microsoft is reportedly buying 'Minecraft' developer Mojang for $2 billion

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/09/microsoft-buying-mojang-minecraft/

Well, this is rather surprising: Microsoft is in talks to buy Minecraft's developer, Mojang, according to a few different sources. The Wall Street Journal says that the ever loose-lipped "person familiar with the matter" has noted the deal is valued at over $2 billion, while reps for both Redmond and the Swedish developer remain mum on the subject. We've reached out to Microsoft and, as expected, were told by a company spokesperson that the outfit doesn't comment on rumors or speculation, as well. If true, this doesn't come too far after outspoken Minecraft mastermind Markus "Notch" Persson recently changing his stance on the Facebook/Oculus VR purchase. Maybe he's come around to the idea of no-longer being one of the world's largest indie developers? Hopefully we'll know rather soon. Until then, you'll find us playing with Steve on Xbox One.

Update: A few new developments have surfaced, including details on the deal and when it should be completed. The New York Times reports that Microsoft approached Mojang as early as three months ago and the purchase should be finished by the end of this month. Perhaps most interesting though is that should the deal go through, Notch might not stay past six months after the ink has dried. Why? He likely wants to make sure his employees are being well taken care of. According to Bloomberg's sources, Notch (not Microsoft) actually made the approach to Redmond given the positive experience Mojang had bringing Minecraft to the Xbox One. Bloomberg also reports that Notch will help with the transition into ownership, but doesn't plan on staying long beyond that -- this isn't Microsoft forcing him out, it could be him looking to try his hand at something else.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft

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Source: Wall Street Journal, CNBC, New York Times, Recode, Bloomberg

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Visa's Token Service generates fake CC numbers to keep your real ones safe

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/10/visa-token-service/

If you haven't heard yet, Cupertino just launched a digital wallet called Apple Pay that randomizes your credit cards' numbers. The one responsible for generating those fake numbers for Visa cards in particular, is Visa itself, through its new Token service, which the world's largest credit and debit card company has announced right after Apple's big reveal. These "tokens" are random numbers not associated with your name or real card numbers. You can use them to purchase anything online or by using mobile to pay via contactless payment systems in brick-and-mortar stores. Visa's system can even generate different tokens for each merchant, device or type of purchase, if you want to be even more secure.

The great thing about using tokens is that you won't have to scramble to cancel and replace your card with a new one in case a retailer or a website suffers a security breach, because they never had your real CC details in the first place. As you've probably guessed, Apple Pay users will get the first crack at using Visa's Token Service, starting in October for folks in the US and in 2015 for the rest of the world. The technology was designed to work with all major platforms, though, so it'll eventually be available to its other customers (read: those using other devices through other digital wallets) in the future.

[Image credit: Alamy]

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Via: Reuters

Source: Visa (1), (2)

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An analog timepiece beats in the heart of this awkward smartwatch

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/09/an-analog-timepiece-beats-in-the-heart-of-this-awkward-smartwatc/

Think you know what to expect in the emerging category of wrist-worn computing? Think again -- the thick, heavy device pictured above is the Halo: a smartwatch that almost has more in common with a traditional timepiece than it does with a smartphone. Lonshine technologies bills the Halo as "the world's first smart analogue watch," meaning that it still relies on the ticking of mechanical quartz movement to keep time. This is a smartwatch that has a real watch face and real hands nestled underneath a transparent touchscreen.

If you're wondering "why" (so were we), the answer is simple: battery life. The Moto 360 may be an attractive, functional wearable, but when its battery runs down it loses the ability to tell time. The Halo doesn't -- its mechanical movement runs on a standard watch battery, and lasts up to three years. Its higher functions are completely separate, almost an afterthought to the device's primary function as a timepiece. Unfortunately, that disharmony shows.

The Halo is a heavy, thick watch that comes in two variants -- an extra thick model (the Halo-2) that features extra batteries in the wrist-band and room for a sim-card as well as a slightly slimmer (but still notably large) Bluetooth model. Both watches run a heavily stripped down version of Android and can be used to make and accept calls and text messages (as as Google Hangouts) and display weather data. The experience is responsive, and overlays the traditional watch nicely, but it's extremely limited. This is a last generation smartwatch embedded within last century's timepiece.

For its faults, the Halo is actually a very novel idea -- by retaining classic watch mechanics, it ensures the wearer will always have at least basic functionality from the wearable, giving it a form of battery life that no other smart wearable on the market can manage. Lonshine technologies says it's looking for partners in the US to help market and distribute the watch, but couldn't say when it will launch. When it does arrive, however, it should be somewhere in the $300 price range.

Filed under: Wearables, Wireless

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A jet fit for a (Sacramento) King: Nike's sports plane of the future

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/09/nike-teague-concept-athlete-plane/

If you haven't heard of Teague, it's the Seattle-based firm that designed this year's e-bike of the future, the Pringles can and the original Xbox. The company also has a sideline aircraft cabins, and it was here that it learned of a peculiar problem facing professional sports teams. According to a 2008 study, baseball players that cross three time zones to play a game would have a 60 percent chance of losing, thanks to the lack of comfort afforded by air travel. That's why the company paired up with Nike to design an aircraft interior designed to expressly carry a basketball team from coast-to-coast without compromising their performances. That's why it comes with lie-flat beds that are tall enough for a 7-foot player, smart bathroom facilities that analyze hydration statistics and a separate chill-out zone for pre-and-post-game relaxation. Curious for a little tour of these state-of-the-art facilities? Head on down and check out the gallery.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: Wired

Source: Teague

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Hands-on with the Dell Venue 8 7000 tablet and Intel RealSense

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/09/dell-venue-8-7k-hands-on/

If you've been on vacation even once in the last four years, you've seen it: tourists whipping out awkward tablets with sub-par cameras to capture what can only be the worst photographs. Tablets aren't known for their stellar imaging capabilities, but Dell and Intel's next joint effort may change that, at least to some degree. During this morning's Intel Developer Forum keynote, Michael Dell and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich will preview a new tablet: the Dell Venue 8 7000 series. At 6mm thick new slate is purported to be the world's thinnest tablet. It's also the first device to feature Intel RealSense - a photo technology that creates a depth map within every image it takes. Krzanich gave me a quick preview of the device before today's keynote.

True to Dell's word, the new Venue 8 7000 is very thin. It's svelte profile leaves it feeling very light in the hand, though Krzanich was unable to tell me its exact weight. The CEO says he's been testing the tablet out for a few months now, and he's become quite fond of it. It's not hard to see why -- it's a light, comfortable device to use ...though Intel's RealSense camera module does leave it looking a little unbalanced. The bevy of camera sensors takes up residence on the device's left side, embedded in a large speaker bar that gracing the tablet's same end. It gives the device an obvious place to grip without covering the screen, but lacks the symmetry of dual-speaker devices like the HTC One or NVIDIA Shield.

Still, it's easy to excuse the visual imbalance for the sake of the RealSense camera's capabilities. Krzanich fired up his tablet's camera app to show off the camera's depth mapping capabilities, beckoning me to touch the screen and drag between two points. This caused the app to draw a line under my finger, actively measuring the distance between the points. Krzanich says the camera can map a depth of several meters, and anything within that range can be accurately measured by the Venue 8 7000's onboard software. The app will also have refocus and filtering technology, and Intel hopes that it will spark new ideas in the minds of developers.

Details on the Dell Venue 8 7000 (and the long-term implications of RealSense) are still scarce, but in the few minutes I spent with the tablet impressed.

Filed under: Tablets

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