Humble Bundle for PC and Android reaches 11th run

Some might be tired of hearing it, but there's another Humble Bundle campaign going on. This time it's another cross-platform bunch, covering both PC, via Steam, and Android devices. All DRM-free, pay what you want games, including the newly released Anomaly Defenders and the horrifyingly hilarious Surgeon Simulator.

Unlike previous Humble Bundles, there are actually three tiers to this package. At the lowest level, when you pay for the minimum, you get four games. Thomas Was Alone is a highly acclaimed indie puzzle platformer that uses different basic shapes to drive the game mechanics of this story-driven game. Bridge Constructor Playground is a physics-based game that fulfills your dreams of being an engineer, or just simply fills your time watching trucks fall to their doom. Cubemen and Cubemen 2 is mix between Tower Defense and Real Time Strategy that can be played both single player and multi-player. And yes, your units are indeed men made out of cubes.

If you pay more than the average, you, of course, get to unlock a few more titles. Small Worlds 2 is based on a hit board game of the same name and puts you in a conquest to help your chosen fantasy race conquer a world that it just too small to accommodate all races. This Humble Bundle version comes with the Royal Bonus DLC that was previously only available to Kickstarter backers. Blackwell, which spans 3 episodes in this bundle, is an adventure game that revolves around the story of reluctant medium Rosa and her cynical ghost guide Joey Mallone.

The third tier can be unlocked if you cough up $11 or more. This tier so far includes only 2 games. Anomaly Defenders is the latest and last sequel to the popular "reverse tower defense" game from 11 bit studios, but this time with an unexpected twist. Those who have bought Surgeon Simulator when it launched on Android just last month might be a bit miffed to see the game now available in a bundle. For those who haven't read our coverage of its launch, the games puts you in the shoes, or in this case hands, of a hopefully well meaning but absolutely bonkers and graceless surgeon who attempts to perform what is supposed to be life-saving procedures in ways and places you probably shouldn't even think of.

The Humble Bundle for PC and Android 11 just launched, so there is a good 2 weeks to go before it's over. That said, the average to beat, which currently stands at $5.84, rises ever so slowly. Of course, if you aim for the highest tier, you naturally unlock that too, which means that you will get access to more games that will get added to the bundle next week.

SOURCE: Humble Bundle

Story Timeline

• Humble Bundle hits two birds with one stone with six games for PC and Android


• Humble Bundle PC and Android 8 boosts its roster with 3 more games


• Humble Bundle PC and Android 9 brings cross-platform fun


• Humble Bundle PC and Android 9 throws in 3 more titles

Galaxy Note 3 pitted against iPhone 6 Plus in #bendgate test

Now that the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and iOS 8 are in the hands of users, the real-world testing begins. And so do the complaints. Most glaring among those seems to be what the Interwebs is dubbing as #bendgate or #bentgate to describe the admittedly horrifying phenomenon of the iPhone 6 Plus ungracefully bowing down to the forces of physics.

Long story short, the iPhone 6 Plus is reported to bend and remain bent with varying levels of pressure applied, from the power of your buttocks when the phone is placed in the back pocket, to less forceful slight of hand in the somewhat cringe-worthy test below. That the iPhone 6 Plus bends is, to some extent, not exactly surprising, considering its aluminum build, its super thin profile, and its bigger surface area. But for those who believe that only rather violent and extremely forceful physics can make the smartphone yield, the video below demonstrates how even bare hands can cause mayhem and sadness for the iPhone 6 Plus and its owners

The bending is noted to happen right below the volume buttons, likely the weakest point in the whole aluminum body due to the holes that give way to the buttons. And for those who would claim that it would happen to any smartphone, the same test was applied to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Not exactly the latest, but larger than the iPhone 6 Plus. While Samsung's phablet did bend while force was being applied, and was noted to even make creaking noises, it kept true to its form save for some almost unnoticeable warping.

On further analysis, the results aren't exactly surprising if you consider the materials used, malleable aluminum versus plastic. This makes it seem that Samsung's choice of plastic isn't so bad after all. Perhaps brave souls should also test other smartphones that do have aluminum bodies, like the Galaxy Note 4 and its metal edges or the HTC One M8 and its similar unibody design. For now, however, this is one more thing, in addition to screen size, that Samsung users will most likely hold over their iPhone rivals.

SOURCE: Unbox Therapy

VIA: SlashGear, Android and Me

Google Now adds card to track lowest flight fares

You’ve been wanting to go to London for some time now, but just checking plane fares is a daunting and scary task. But you keep googling different airlines just to see if there will be any sudden lowering of fares to the other side of the pond. Google Now is making it easier for you by tracking the lowest rates, and giving you a card alert in the digital assistant when a lower cost flight becomes available.

If you keep on trolling Google Flights, Google Now will realise that you are trying to seriously go to wherever you are searching or your most recent destinations (if you’re a frequent traveler). If you’re also googling for vacation spots in Paris or Singapore, then it will also assume that you’ll be looking for flights to the places you’re looking at. Not only will it give you a card when there are low rates, it will actually tell you the price change history, to show that it is indeed lower (or higher) than when you last checked it.

However, it seems to be working only when you search through Google Flights and not by using other travel booking sites like Travelocity or Kayak. There are other apps and sites who do this tracking flight activity function of course, but there’s something about the convenience of getting a card on Google Now that makes this new feature very useful.

Don’t forget to answer yes when the question “Continue receiving the Flight price monitor card?” appears on your Google Now page to be able to enjoy this feature. Google has been ensuring to help you with end-to-end info for your travels, from giving you the best route to avoid traffic and get to the airport on time, to info when your flight has been delayed, to recommending the best places to go to when you’re in a certain city or country.

VIA: Engadget

Story Timeline

• Google Now airport cards offering a "leave home by" time


• Google Now incident reports tell you which roads to avoid


• Google Now offers flight alternatives, bakes in Field Trip

Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter casts media to larger screens

While watching videos and viewing pictures on your smartphone or tablet are more than okay when you’re on your own, it becomes a little more awkward or inconvenient when you want to show it to a group. That’s why streaming devices have been slowly growing in popularity, with Chromecast being the most well-known one. Microsoft has now released the Wireless Display Adapter that has the capability of streaming your content onto bigger screens, as long as your device is Miracast-enabled.

Miracast is the streaming protocol that people were expecting to rival Google’s Chromecast if ever they released a dongle for it. And indeed, Microsoft has now released the Wireless Display Adapter which will of course, wirelessly connect your smartphone or tablet to an HDTV, computer monitor or projector so you could show the slideshow of your latest vacation or do your presentation to your client from your mobile device.

How you do it is simple. Just plug both the USB end and HDMI end onto your bigger screen of choice. Then just select the appropriate input from the screen and then pair your smartphone or tablet, and even your laptop. You have the option to either mirror or extend your screen, depending on the capability of your device. It can share both audio and video so no need for extra speakers or audio wires.

The Miracast technology lets you stream anything from your device as it doesn’t limit it only to certain apps. So it’s not just Netflix or Amazon Prime videos that you can stream onto the screen, but even apps like Flipboard, ebook readers and even Microsoft Office documents can also be shown or projected. So no need to lug around a projector or even look for fitted adapters for your device. Now let’s see if this will indeed challenge Chromecast’s dominance over streaming devices for now.

SOURCE: Microsoft

Story Timeline

• Firefox OS dongle may just be Mozilla's Chromecast-killer


• Google offers more services as Chromecast turns 1 year old


• Microsoft to out Miracast dongle as Chromecast competition


• Dell Cast turns Dell Android tablets into desktop computers

Verizon DROID Turbo details get leaked, Moto S cover appears

The new Moto X may have just gone live, but Verizon subscribers might soon have a few more options to choose from, or to confuse them a wee bit. Leaked photos and specs hint at the coming of another DROID for Verizon, dubbed the DROID Turbo, with a curious mix of specs. Plus another part of the Moto S leaks out, this time the back cover instead of the front.

Verizon has enjoyed a special relationship with Motorola, having a whole line exclusive to it. This year won't be any different, with this DROID Turbo, model number XT1254, rumored to be coming soon. This smartphone is interestingly quite similar to the second generation Moto X, except for two or three details. The leaks point to a 5.2-inch Full HD display and a 13 megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash, just like the flagship, albeit with a slightly different positioning for the LED flash.

Where it diverges starts with the processor, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 instead of an 801. Curiously, the blurry shot of what looks like the front panel of the device suggests that there will be capacitive hardware buttons rather than the Google-preferred on-screen software ones. The absence of any speaker grill on the back cover, which, by the way, sports that same ribbed design as other DROIDs, hints that there will be front-facing speakers. The front panel photo, however, might suggest otherwise.

In this round of Motorola leaks, we once again get a glimpse of the Verizon Moto S, or at least part of its shell again. Previously, we saw the screen protector for the device that hinted at front-facing speakers too. This time we're being treated to the smartphone's alleged back cover, vis-a-vis with the 2nd gen Moto X and Moto G. While it doesn't give us much to work with, it does show the larger size of the Moto S, seemingly confirming its close to 6-inch body that would match speculations about a Motorola "Shamu", a.k.a. the next Nexus smartphone.

VIA: +hellomotoHK (1), (2), SlashGear

Story Timeline

• Motorola Shamu benchmarks hint at a drool-worthy Nexus 6


• Verizon Moto S display protector leaked


• Motorola's Droid Razr M rebranded as Luge for Verizon


• Motorola "Shamu" spotted once more in Zauba import data


• Possible new Motorola DROID seen in FCC, Verizon-bound

You can have your pie app and eat it too with Pie Control

App launchers are extremely important, particularly when you have a gazillion apps in your smartphone or tablet. But there are also a gazillion (okay, maybe not that many) app launchers out there, so how do you choose which one best suits your needs? Pie Control is not just an app launcher per se, but it also gives you easy access to the most important things you need in your device. Oh, and it is shaped like a pie (or at least half of it), if you didn’t get it from the name itself.

It’s not something new actually, if you’ve had custom Android ROM Paranoid Android on your rooted phone for some time. But now, with this version, any phone or tablet running on Android will be able to use Pie Control. The gesture-activated control center will give you access to the settings, favourite apps, app drawer, menu buttons and other important features.

You can customize which ones you want to see on your pie, your phone options, and which apps you want to immediately see. To activate Pie Control, you can choose to swipe left, right or bottom, whichever feels more natural for you. And even if you’re playing a game or using an app, you can still activate the app and then switch to another app or go to the settings quickly.

Pie Control has a free version, which has most of the features you need, including a notepad, an app drawer widget, a WiFi toggle and others. But if you want to be able to add more shortcuts, show recent apps and show a battery bar, among other things, then you need to pay $1.99 for the Pro version. You can download the free app from the Google Play Store.

VIA: Life Hacker

Notion home intelligence system makes home alarms smarter

Home alarm systems have been around for a very long time. They are typically able to alert owners and law enforcement officers when something is going wrong in the home such as glass breakage or door opening. Notion is a new home intelligence system that makes home alarms much smarter.

With Notion sensors installed in the home, homeowners would be able to do all sorts of things like tell how full a propane tank is, if a safe has been opened, or if there is a water leak. The sensors can also alert homeowners when children return home from school.

Notion is on Kickstarter now trying to raise the money to move from concept to reality. The system includes a hub and a sensor. The hub would be the point of connection between the sensor and WiFi signals to the internet. The sensors itself are all the same and are customizable to recognize eight actions using an accelerometer, piezoelectric transducer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, temperature sensor, and water leak probes.

A mobile app to monitor the sensors is available for Android and iOS. The sensor would be able to tell you multiple things about your home simply by attaching it to the front door. You could learn if the door is opened or closed, if someone knocks, the temperature of the room, if a light in the room is on, and if the smoke alarm goes off. The project was seeking $50,000 and has raised over $140,000 at the time of writing. A starter kit with a hub and a sensor will costs $99 with delivery in July 2015.

SOURCE: KickStarter