Catch the Live Stream of Microsoft’s 2013 Press Conference from GameSpot. We will hopefully see a a better picture of what Microsoft is doing with the Xbox One.
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Apple To Live Stream WWDC Keynote
Apple will offering a live stream of the WWDC 2013 keynote today on the Apple website. You can also watch the live stream on the newly added “Apple Events” channel on Apple TV.
Live Streaming video requires Safari 4 or later on Mac OS X v10.6 or later; Safari on iOS 4.2 or later. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or later. If you’re looking for older videos from Apple’s past events you can find them archived here.
Video: D11 Interview of Tim Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg of AllThingsD yesterday and you can now watch the entire interview here on the embedded video below.
Tim Cook discussed quite a few topics during the interview but a few stand out from the rest. One of the more notable moments in the interview was when Tim Cook mentioned that there’s a possibility that iOS could offer a richer API toolset for developers. Apple has received a lot of criticism of being too locked down and developers have long wanted to get deeper access to iOS, which soon could be a reality. Cook did mention that although 3rd parties may gain more access into iOS, they would not do it in such a way that compromises the customer experience.
Of course no major announcements were made, not that we we’re expecting any, but Cook did seem to hint at a few things to come. One of those things is Apple TV, not the little content streaming box but an actual Apple Television. Cook mentioned that it’s an area that needed to be brought up-to-the-times as television hasn’t changed much over the years. Perhaps, Apple could do with TV what it did for the smart phone industry. Here is a quote from Tim Cook on the question about an Apple TV.
I don’t want to go into detail, but it continues to be an area of great interest for us. The product and relationships we’ve built provide a lot more knowledge than we would have otherwise. And popularity has been larger than we thought, and we aren’t marketing it.” – Apple CEO Tim Cook
During the interview they touched on other subjects like wearable tech, Android, and they even went into taxes, which Apple has recently been under the microscope for, mainly in how it manages it’s finances over seas and how that tax money makes it back, or doesn’t, to the US. Cook does mention that it’s not a situation unique to Apple and it is an area that needs reform.
Thanks to MacRumors for the video link.
Microsoft Heating up the War on Apple
It’s quite obvious that the iPad is successful but what about the competition? What about the ASUS Vivo Tab RT? We see it but why should we buy it over an iPad? There hasn’t been a lot of companies, including Microsoft, that have been willing to make direct comparisons to the iPad, we don’t see a lot of the “I’m better than you and here’s why” type of advertising. So, you can imagine that it would be kind of refreshing to see an ad like this pop up on TV every now and then, and that’s exactly what’s happening.
Full disclosure, I own an iPad and love it, but I know, and I’m sure all of you know, that’s it’s far from perfect and it often seems like the competition just completely avoids talking about the iPad and it’s limitations.
You may be thinking, why do we care and as an iPad user why do I care? Well, the simple answer is that we will all benefit from intense competition. The more back and fourth there is the better the products get, it creates an environment that’s favorable for innovation and creativity. Remember the Space Race? Sometimes we even see price drops because of aggressive advertising.
This latest commercial is bold, to the point, and makes a direct comparison the iPad. Will it work? Who knows? but it definitely makes things interesting and can cause these companies to re-think things and possibly add new features just to try to silence the competition. You can see the commercial below.
Featured App: Treasure Defense
Looking for something different and challenging to play? Treasure Defense may be just the game to help fix your boredom.
The objective in Treasure Defense is actually quite simple, defend your magic crystals!
You start each round with a set of magic crystals that you must defend from intruders who wish to steal them all. You task is to build up defenses using towers that shoot arrows, shurikens, and lightning. You must employ a strategy when building towers to ensure that you get everyone who tries to sneak in. You have an opportunity to rid of intruders both when they are heading towards your crystals and while they are trying to run away with them.
Your towers can be upgraded as you continue to play and gather resources like gold and magic. You also get a few power ups throughout the game to help get you out of tough situations but you must use them wisely as they have cool downs and require magic to use. Power ups include meteors, lightning, ice, an axe to make room for more towers and more. In some levels there are also special locations that you can place your towers that will make them even stronger.
This game is just plain fun and it offers up good challenges along with upgrades and an unique power ups to keep things fresh as you advance through the game.
Treasure defense is created by Vitamin Games and is free on the Mac App Store, 99¢ on the iPhone and iPad for the standard version and $1.99 for the HD version