IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 6/16/2015

Uber is massively successful in China, with 1 million rides per day
It looks like Uber is very successful in China right now, with the ride sharing giant saying it is logging over 1 million daily rides in China. Keep in mind, that's more than the company was logging in every single market it is in across the world, as of December 2014.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has said that the company wants to raise $1 billion in orders to boost its dominance in China, with the company claiming that trip volume is climbing in Chinese cities faster than it is in New York City. But by how much? Well, Chengdu is logging 479 times the trips that NYC was logging at the 9-month mark, with Hangzhou logging 422 times as many trips. You'd think that these cities had more people living in them when compared to NYC, but that's not the case - Chengdu is home to 4.3 million, while Hangzhou is home to 2.5 million.

The growth that Uber is experiencing in China seems unstoppable at this point in time, with the company creating 100,000 "new full time equivalent jobs per month" according to Kalanick. With Uber only operating in 11 cities across China, most of this growth can be attributed to the heavily promoted service 'The People's Uber', which sees Uber not taking commission from completed rides.


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Fallout goes mobile with Fallout Shelter for iOS
E3 2015 - Bethesda had the crowd wrapped around its little finger today at E3 2015 when they announced Fallout 4, but the big surprise was Fallout Shelter, an iOS-based game that will be out in just a few hours.

Fallout Shelter lets you build, manage, expand and care for your very own Vault and its inhabitants. The game is completely, 100% free, and doesn't require an Internet connection, or feature any annoying cooldown timers. Fallout fans are really going to dig Fallout Shelter, it's just a shame its exclusive to iOS, hopefully for now.


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Fallout 4 starts before the nuclear bombs dropped
E3 2015 - Bethesda showed off Doom 4 and Dishonored 2 during E3, but it was Fallout 4 that had the crowd going nuts. The studio has been working on Fallout 4 since 2009, right after Fallout 3 was released.

You can play as both a male and female character in Fallout 4, another large change from the previous titles in the franchise. Fallout 4 starts before the nuclear bombs dropped and caused the world to go into turmoil, another large change for the franchise. Character creation is done before the bombs drop, where you can completely modify the look of your character and all of his or her facial features and hair.

You survive the nuclear attack, but emerge from Vault 111 some 200 years after the attack. Your city has been demolished, but it's an "enormous, dynamic world" where you can "create any character you want, go wherever you want, and do whatever you want", according to Bethesda.

Fallout 4 will be released on November 10 for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.


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Dishonored 2 officially announced at E3 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC
E3 2015 - Arkane Studios took to the Bethesda conference at E3 to officially announce Dishonored 2. The studio teased a trailer that wasn't in-game, but it looked impressive, and most of all, fun.

Dishonored 2 will be hitting the Xbox One, PS4 and PC sometime in 2016. Arkane Studios also announced Dishonored: Definitive Edition, a remastered version of the first game that will be released on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. The Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game will receive a graphically-enhanced version of the game, when compared against their previous generation counterparts.

Dishonored: Definitive Edition will include all of the DLC that was released for Dishonored, and will be made available in the fall.


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Bethesda officially unveils Doom 4 at E3 2015
E3 2015 - Bethesda was the first to start up E3 2015, and for their first unveiling we have Doom 4. Yes, Doom 4! The next-gen first-person shooter was shown off in all of its gory detail, but does it live up to the hype?

Doom 4 is powered by id Software's id Tech 6 engine, where you play a marine based on a USAC facility on Mars, where you have to kill pretty much every single demon you can. From the gameplay video, there was a ton of gibs, with lots of violence to be had. There are a bunch of weapons to use, including the Super Shotgun, a fan favorite from the original Doom games.

But I did notice a considerable chunk of motion blur, and a very console-like experience. The field of view seemed like it was at 60, and most likely played on the Xbox One. The blood count was high in the first few minutes of the video, but then I noticed that the violence started to be toned down, with less and less blood being spilled from killed demons. I don't know if this was a resource-related issue that Bethesda didn't talk about, but I hope that it's not something that happens in the final game.

There is also a map editor included with Doom 4, where even novice users can edit and make maps easily. Bethesda calls this Doom Snapmap, something that should surely be a huge boon for Doom 4 fans. On the multiplayer side of things, Doom 4 will include many different maps, where you can either be based on Mars, or even the depths of hell itself. There are many different modes to enjoy, including: domination, freeze tag, clan arena, and more.

The team is aiming at 1080p 60FPS on both consoles, which from the footage I don't think they're anywhere near that just yet. It would explain the disappearing blood and gore, that's for sure.

Bethesda teased a spring 2016 release for Doom 4 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.


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Killzone developer hires Witcher 3 veterans for its new game 'Horizon'
Guerrilla Games has been working on an open world RPG for the PlayStation 4 for a while now, with the only thing we know about it, is that it's called 'Horizon'.

The studio has hired CD Projekt Red's Lead Cinematic Artist, Pawel Swierczynski and Quest Designer Dennis Zoetebier, just a few months ago. But news has broken that Guerrilla Games has also scooped away another staff member from The Witcher 3 developer, with Senior Technical Designer Shadi Dadenji, this month. Dadenji worked closely on many of the systems within The Witcher 3, including:

• Designed and implemented various gameplay systems
• Supported quest and open-world designers with scripts and tools
• Took ownership of certain editor features and enhanced their usability
• Provided debugging support for a wide range of AI and UI issues
• Liaised between engineers and designers to ensure optimal communication

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SAPPHIRE teases Radeon R9 Fury X card, and its Radeon 300 series
It's now the week of the launch of AMD's new video cards, with the rebranded Radeon R9 390X now being teased from SAPPHIRE in the form of the SAPPHIRE Radeon R9 390X Tri-X OC.

SAPPHIRE's Radeon R9 390X Tri-X OC will rock the Grenada XT (Hawaii XT) GPU, which will include 2816 stream processors, 176 TMUs, and 64 ROPS. We should see 8GB of GDDR5 clocked at 6100MHz on its 512-bit memory bus, while the Core is clocked at 1055MHz. SAPPHIRE has rated the Radeon R9 390X Tri-X OC with a 375W TDP, consuming its power through two 8-pin PCIe power connectors. Where this card is different to other cards, is its Tri-X cooler which sports triple fans and a huge aluminum heat sink array with 10mm copper heat pipes.

But it's the news of the Radeon R9 Fury X that has me excited, based on the Fiji XT core and running that sure-to-be delicious High Bandwidth Memory. We should also expect the Fury, another HBM-powered card that will sport the Fiji Pro GPU. Both of these new cards are expected to be unveiled at the PC Gamer Show hosted by AMD on June 16 during E3 this week.


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Starbreeze Studios' new VR headset features crazy 5120x1440 resolution
Starbreeze Studios, the developer behind the Payday series of games, has just surprised the world by unveiling their own VR headset, known as Project StarVR.

The new VR headset will be shown off at E3 this week, alongside Overkill Software's upcoming shooter based on The Walking Dead. Starbreeze has acquired French VR hardware developer InfinitEye, with InfinitEye turning into Starbreeze Paris. Moving onto StarVR itself, which is sporting a huge 210-degree horizontal field of view, with a resolution of 5120x1440, courtesy of its dual 5.5-inch panels.

StarVR is really upping the ante on VR headsets, offering gamers immersive orientation and positional tracking as it features a plethora of gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, and an optical tracking system. The developer teased a shotgun prop that was tracked positionally, so just imagine that in The Walking Dead game for a minute.

Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson Klint said: "The landscape of entertainment is rapidly transforming. Experiences are moving from linear to user-determined, pushing storytelling to responsive and inclusive formats. The virtual reality setting allows us to completely immerse our players in our games. Starbreeze is on the frontier of VR development and we see it as a new platform ready for AAA experiences in games such as Overkill's The Walking Dead".

He added: "Virtual Reality is here to stay and will skyrocket the world of entertainment to a completely new level. At Starbreeze, we are set to be one of the frontrunners of this ground breaking development, bringing the next generation entertainment experiences to reality".


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North Korea threatens to 'wage a cyber war' against United States
The North Korean regime didn't like news that the United States tried to launch a Stuxnet-like cyberattack against the country, and threatened it could "wage a cyber war against the US to hasten its ruin."

A report in a North Korean newspaper also said the country "can react to any forms of wars, operations and battles sought by the US imperialists," and added "the US is greatly mistaken if it thinks the DPRK will just overlook with folded arms the provocations in the cyber space."

North Korea has threatened a cyber-based apocalypse against the US in the past - and was reportedly behind the attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment.

North Korea is said to have evolving cybercriminal capabilities, with attention focused on the United States, South Korean infrastructure, and other select targets. Even though there are countries with more developed programs, the cybersecurity capabilities of the US government have been compromised in the past.


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Square Enix will debut gameplay of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided at E3
Square Enix will be hosting its first press conference in two years at E3 2015 this week, where they will be showing off some of their hottest upcoming games, as well as Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu reached out to Square Enix, with a representative saying: "At this year's E3, we'll have our own conference for the first time after two years, where we'll deliver to everyone the rich line-up of the Square Enix Group. What we're going to show off at E3 is unprecedented in the history of Square Enix, with a strong line-up in which each can be considered a centerpiece. Since we plan to stream the conference live, it'll be at night [in Japan], but please watch it!"

Not only should we expect to see Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, but we should get a glimpse at the Unreal Engine 4-powered Kingdom Hearts 3, as well as Just Cause 3.


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Connected Cars: The technology is here, so let's enjoy it

Internet for Your Car

To put it simply, a connected car is any vehicle that has a wireless LAN or Internet access, connecting your smartphone or other devices to a rolling hotspot. Even if some drivers aren't motivated to purchase a vehicle based on connected features, expect plenty of options available the next time you look for a new car.

"The near term is all about partnerships and numbers," said Eddie Hold, VP of Connected Intelligence at The NPD Group, in a statement to TweakTown. "The carriers are focused on getting as many deals with auto manufacturers as they can in order to 'own' portions of the market... i.e., if you buy an Audi, it comes with AT&T service. This then drives the second part, the numbers; the carriers can all start talking about how many connections they have from the car market."

For consumers and interested auto buyers, the next year will be very telling in regards to the overall benefits of the connected car. Integrated apps will launch, yielding a more realistic usefulness, such as "something that only really results from an integration with the car, rather than just a smartphone sitting in the car."

As for whether or not current drivers are embracing connected car features is relatively unclear. It's just something that we can come to expect, and might as well enjoy now that it's here.

The Next Platform War Could be in Your Car

The Internet of Things (IoT) will allow for connectivity everywhere you go, but look no further than your car. Both Google Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are being supported in a larger number of vehicles, offering integration between a device and your vehicle's dashboard. Simply plug your smartphone into the vehicle's USB port, and receive immediate support for maps, navigation, phone functionality, music, and other car-centric apps.

CarPlay and Android Auto already support voice controls, steering wheel controls, and using a smartphone's touchscreen - and these intuitive features will roll over to third-party apps, such as Spotify and iHeartRadio. This trend started for Apple when it introduced iOS in the car, an in-car platform that has evolved into modern day CarPlay, which was introduced in 2013. Meanwhile, the wide availability of Android smartphones meant it was only a matter of time before Google offered a legitimate service for millions of users.

It's not going to just be Apple and Google getting involved, with automakers interested in supporting any features they feel drivers will need. This will become even more prevalent for mobile apps focused on entertainment, navigation, and emergency services.

"The connection numbers that are published are for the cars that are connected, and this does not necessarily equate to the driver connecting. What I mean by this is: every Audi A3 that drives off the forecourt is a connection, it's live and working. But it may only be connected for the telematics component back to Audi. Or, there may be a free trial of the service (similar to Satellite Radio). No one is publishing numbers on the types of connection yet."

While I agree with Mr. Hold regarding the discrepancy between how many users are actually connecting in their vehicles, automakers are keen to make sure they are prepared. Not surprisingly, connected car vehicle prices are still out of reach for most active auto buyers, but prices should drop over the next couple of years, as connected functionality is no longer seen as something for only luxury cars.

How to connect those devices could be difficult, but wireless carriers are stepping up with their own services. AT&T recently announced it will offer connected car users the chance to access videos, games, and audio, promising it would be no different than accessing a public Wi-Fi hotspot. The No. 2 wireless carrier has signed business partnerships with General Motors, Ford, Audi, and several other automakers - and that functionality is right around the corner.

Up to three out of every four new vehicles shipped globally by 2020 will have built-in hardware so drivers and passengers can connect to the Internet, according to a recent Business Insider Intelligence report. Connected cars over the next five years will grow at an annual growth rate estimated to reach 45 percent, a whopping 10 times faster than the regular car market. Whether your connection functionality is supported by a rolling Wi-Fi hotspot or your phone's data plan, embedded connections are on the rise.

Connected Vehicle Security

Even though there have been no reported cybersecurity-related incidents blamed on connected vehicles, lawmakers and security experts have expressed concern. Recently, ten members from the House of Energy and Commerce Committee sent an open letter to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration, along with 17 different auto makers.

"There is always going to be a concern with security and hacking. In an era when hackers claim they can take control of an airplane by hacking the Wi-Fi, the car seems like a logical area of concern," Hold said. "But at the same time, while most people talk of concern, the reality is that they don't really do anything to stop it and the concern is very much theoretical."

Even so, there haven't been any executable vulnerabilities in the wild, but cybersecurity experts don't want automakers to get lackadaisical or lose focus.

The Future is Here

Connected cars are here, and it's time for auto buyers to take full advantage of the technological advantage we can exploit. Expect increased functionality to drive interest by automakers looking to sync your smartphone and other electronics - and with added Wi-Fi connectivity, there is huge potential here.
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