A beta version of Godus, an upcoming game for the Mac and PC by accomplished video game designer Peter Molyneux, is set to be released September 13th through Steam Early Access. The game, which is similar to Molyneux's early titles like Populous and Black and White, previously raised over £526,563 as a Kickstarter project late last year, well over its intended goal of £450,000.
GODUS empowers you in the role of a god, allowing you to sculpt every inch of a beautiful world that you look down upon, on which a population of followers settle and multiply. As you mould every aspect of your unique utopia, a civilization will blossom across your land and offer you their belief. The more followers that believe in you, the more powerful you will become.
The game also intertwines with Peter Molyneux's popular iOS title Curiosity, a social experiment that asked players to chip away at a giant cube to reveal the secret hidden inside. The person who removed the final cube won a "life changing" prize, which ended up being a grant of special powers within Godus for one year upon its release. Bryan Henderson of Edinburgh, who won, will be the game's sole digital god, earning a portion of all the game's incoming revenue.
22Cans is also planning to release an iOS version of Godus following its Mac and PC release.
Following the launches of O2, Vodafone, and EE's 4G LTE networks in the UK, mobile service provider Three has announced that it is launching its 4G network within the region by December. Existing customers on Three's network will get 4G service at no extra charge upon launch, with plans for new customers being priced competitively against other carriers.
Three's LTE service is notable for being compatible with the iPhone 5's network bands, and will also allow consumers to select devices that are compatible with the new service. The company also announced earlier this week that it would abolish roaming charges for service in seven countries.
I'm really pleased to announce, that in December, London, Birmingham and Manchester will see the start of our 4G roll out. That’s not a bad early Christmas present is it? Even better than that, we'll be busy rolling out in a further 50 cities by the end of 2014. And by the end of 2015? Well we aim to have covered a massive 98% of the population by then.
The carrier also plans to include its "All You Can Eat" data plans in its new 4G service at no extra cost. Three's service in the UK was originally launched in 2003, and had a total of 8.8 million subscribers as of 2012.
A revised construction plan for Apple's flagship retail store in Brisbane, Australia has surfaced nearly two years after the store was originally announced to be built, reports ifoAppleStore (via AppleInsider). Plans for the Australian store were thought to have been abandoned after a bankruptcy filing from a major contractor in 2012 as well as reported problems with the modification of the historic building which the store is to be built in.
The store will be located in the MacArthur Chambers building, a 10-story high-rise that was originally constructed in 1934. Apple plans to make few structural changes to the interior, with the plans showing minor changes to a mezzanine wall, some windows, and a stairway.
According to the revised landscape plan, Apple is planning to remove a number of structures on the sidewalk in front of the store, like a large pedestrian bench, as well as relocate a tree to create symmetry with the store's front entrance.
The updated filing for the store did not indicate a timeframe for when it would open; however rumors suggest that the location could open in October of this year at the earliest.
EA today announced that Plants vs. Zombies 2, the sequel to its popular lane defense game Plants vs. Zombies, has been downloaded nearly 25 million times since being released on August 15.
To accompany the announcement, EA has released a new infographic that shares some fun information about the game, including the fact that Plants vs. Zombies 2 downloads have already exceeded the total lifetime downloads for Plants vs. Zombies.
While the first expansion for the Plants vs. Zombies 2, "Far Future," has already been announced, our sister site TouchArcade has a new video that hints at another upcoming update involving aliens.
PopCap blasted us a mysterious pseudo-trailer for what we’re thinking might be the first clue for the next Plants vs. Zombies 2 update. It’s little more than a zombie standing in a field, the camera pans out… And it’s a huge crop circle corn maze sort of thing.
Last fall, we launched a series of roundups to help visitors more easily stay on top of the latest rumors for several of Apple's product lines, condensing months' worth of news and rumors into a single frequently-updated page for each product. For various reasons, those roundups fell out of date.
After taking some time to completely rework both the look and functionality, we are relaunching our Roundups feature today with coverage of the iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, and iWatch. More roundups are coming soon to expand our coverage of Apple's products as the company heads into to a busy season of iPhone, iPad, Mac, and software updates.
The goal of each roundup is to simply answer the question of "What are you expecting" for any given product. That opinion is certain to change over time as new rumors are revealed, and the roundups will be updated regularly to reflect that.
Our roundup index page includes a full list of our available roundups ordered by most recently updated. Roundups are also accessible directly through the "Roundups" tab in the navigation bar on all MacRumors pages.
Apple appears to be cutting down on available vacation time for its AppleCare employees between September 15 and 28, a two week period encompassing the prospective September 20 release date for the iPhone 5S and 5C that was first leaked earlier this month. iOS 7 is also expected to be released that week.
An internal document shared by AppleInsider reportedly shows the amount of time off available for AppleCare employees during the month of September, which appears to drop beginning on September 15.
An internal company document shared with AppleInsider purportedly shows time off available for AppleCare employees for the latter half of September. As can be seen in the calendar, available time off drops off significantly starting Sunday, Sept. 15, and continues through Saturday, Sept. 28.
The image provided shows the calendar being accessed via virtual private network from an internal Apple employee domain. Potentially identifying portions of the picture have been cropped out.
Multiple carriers have also initiated similar vacation blackout dates on some of the same days, with T-Mobile employees reporting a September 20 to 22 blackout and Verizon employees reporting September 18 to September 22 blackout dates.
Apple likely has a longer blackout period for its AppleCare employees in order to offer extended support to both iOS 7 users and new iPhone owners. AppleCare employees began training on support issues related to iOS 7 yesterday and that training is likely to continue up until the OS is distributed to the public.
Time Surfer, an endless running game that debuted in January of this year, is available for free for the first time since it launched.
In Time Surfer, players take control of a surfer who races across the galaxy to escape from a destructive force, dodging spikes, pits, and other obstacles along the way. The game offers a number of costumes and power ups, along with pixel art and chiptunes.
In addition to going free, the game has also received a significant content update, adding new black hole-filled gaming mode called “The Kepler Run” and passive costume perks that provide character enhancements.
Warning - intergalactic update incoming!!!
- Say hello to… "The Kepler Run", a brand new mode! It’s a surreal flight through a galaxy swamped with black holes: it’s a taller zone and the ground slowly disappears over the course of your flight. Use those black holes to slingshot yourself but don’t get caught in the middle of them!
- Costumes now have passive "perks". Every costume has a different effect, like improvements to speed, magnet or time bonuses, improved base speed, faster curve diving or constant time regeneration!
- Some pets and costumes can be combo’d for super ultimate power! Example: Bean + Axolotl = Ultra Speed Boost!
- New costumes! Meet Neon Surfer, Pirate Surfer and the formidable "Snailien".
- A new summary screen keeps you on up to date with your high score progress and rewards you with bonus cakes for collecting time gems. Delicious.
Our sister site TouchArcade reviewed the game when it was released, calling it "a glorious mess of bright colors, pixel art, and the most upbeat of chiptunes."
Take the calm simplicity of Tiny Wings, crank up the speed, stick it in space and add a dozen good ways to die.
Time Surfer is a universal app that can be downloaded from the App Store for free for a limited time. [Direct Link]
Apple has updated its iTunes Festival London 2013 app for iOS, adding video streaming. The update comes as Apple prepares to launch the Festival event, which begins on Sunday, September 1 with a performance from Lady Gaga.
The annual iTunes Festival features 30 nights of concerts at The Roundhouse in London. Performers like Justin Timberlake, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and Jack Johnson are among the headliners, with more than 60 acts total performing at the venue.
Concerts will be broadcast via the iTunes Festival London 2013 app and will also be available on a dedicated iTunes Festival Apple TV channel. Apple is also expected to release a series of live EPs from the show as it has done in past years, and six free songs were distributed yesterday through the company's Apple Store app.
Maryland State Police have announced that they seized hundreds of counterfeit Apple products from two stores at Arundel Mills Mall, a popular shopping center in the area, reports WBAL-TV 11. Specifically, the counterfeit items were worth over $89,000 and included multi-color counterfeit iPhones and iPads, iPad replacement screens made of faulty material, various accessories for products, as well as packaging materials and equipment used to design and print fake packaging for the fraudulent items being sold.
The items recovered included iPhones and the colored fronts and backings that go with them, cellphone conversion kits, iPhone and iPad covers, Apple product ID stickers, iPad replacement screens and various internal iPhone parts. Detectives also found packaging materials, equipment used to design and print those materials and computer equipment believed to be used to clone phones.
The investigation of the merchants selling the items began seven months ago after authorities were contacted about the potential counterfeit products. The officials also contacted Apple experts on the matter after buying products from both locations. No arrests have yet been made in the case.
While Apple has been found guilty of conspiring to fix e-book prices as it sought to launch its iBookstore alongside the iPad in early 2010, five publishers involved in the case have already agreed to settle the cases brought against them by state attorneys general and other class-action plaintiffs.
Among the publishers, Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster had previously received court approval for their settlement agreements, and Macmillan and Penguin settlements are now proceeding through the approval phase. Customers who purchased Macmillan or Penguin e-books are now receiving emails informing them about the proposed settlement and their rights and responsibilities with respect to the agreement.
Under the proposal, the Macmillan and Penguin settlement funds would be combined with previous amounts committed by the other publishers, yielding a total fund of $162.25 million to be paid out to consumers who purchased e-books between the iBookstore's April 1, 2010 launch and May 21, 2012.
While the exact amount of reimbursement customers will receive depends on how many end up being included in the program, current estimates suggest that customers could be reimbursed $3.06 for each purchase of an e-book that appeared on the New York Times bestseller list at any point, and $0.73 per non-bestseller book.
The amount of your credit or check will be affected by how many qualifying E-books you purchased. There will be two levels of payments, based on categories of E-books. While the exact amount to be paid per E-book in each category is not yet finalized, the best estimates of payments for each E-book you purchased, based on the Plaintiffs proposed plan for a combined fund, are as follows:
- New York Times bestsellers: $3.06 per E-book. These include titles that were New York Times bestsellers at any time, irrespective of when you purchased the E-book.
- Non-New York Times bestsellers: $.73 per E-book. These E-books include any titles that were not New York Times bestsellers.
Residents of Minnesota will receive a different, higher amount per book because they were not included in the first round of settlements.
Reimbursement methods will also vary based on where e-books were purchased, with Amazon customers receiving automatic account credit while Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo users will have to activate their account credits, or they may request reimbursement by check. Consumers have until October 21 to object to or exclude themselves from the proposed settlement, and a hearing will be held on December 6 to consider approval.
While penalties in the case against Apple have yet to be assessed and Apple has vowed to appeal the verdict, estimates have suggested that Apple could owe as much as $500 million for its role in pushing book publishers to move to an agency model that resulted in higher prices for consumers.
German cloud storage service Doctape has launched Doctape Viewer for iOS devices, with support for over 80 file types including common files such as Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word DOC files, as well as Adobe Photoshop PSD files and various audio and video codecs. However, while the free version of the app allows for two conversions a day for the numerous file types, a $0.99 In-App Purchase is required for unlimited conversions and full text search.
With doctape Viewer you have access to all your documents & media files on the go. Never worry about all those different filetypes again. doctape Viewer does all the heavy lifting of converting every file for streamlined mobile access.
The app also accepts file imports from a variety of other apps and services, including Dropbox and Google Drive.
Apple has officially confirmed that it is launching its iPhone trade-in program today at its U.S. retail stores, according to a Tweet from CNBC's Jon Fortt. While a number of details on the program have leaked over the past few months, today's statement is the first public confirmation by Apple that the program exists.
Under the program, users can receive a gift card in exchange for their older devices, although the gift card must immediately be used toward the purchase of a new iPhone. Trade-in values are based on a number of criteria, including model and capacity and physical condition.
The trade-in program launches less than two weeks before Apple is expected to introduce its next-generation iPhones at a media event on September 10. Rumors and speculation indicate that the new iPhones could be available in the U.S. and other first-wave markets beginning on Friday, September 20.
Update: More details are coming out about the trade-in program. Apple is calling it a "reuse and recycling" program and trade-ins for working iPhone 4 and 4S devices ranging from $120 to $250, according to TechCrunch. Customers must use the money to purchase a new on-contract phone.
Apple provided this statement to TechCrunch regarding the new program:
iPhones hold great value. So, Apple Retail Stores are launching a new program to assist customers who wish to bring in their previous-generation iPhone for reuse or recycling. In addition to helping support the environment, customers will be able to receive a credit for their returned phone that they can use toward the purchase of a new iPhone.
Mophie yesterday announced the launch of its Juice Pack Helium Spectrum Collection, bringing a host of new color choices including purple, blue, pink, green and red to its line of popular iPhone 5 battery cases. The new colors contain the same 1500mAh battery found in the original silver and black configurations of the case, which gives the iPhone 5 80% more battery life with full protection on both sides for the device.
Ultra-thin, 1500mAh protective battery case made for iPhone 5. Feel the difference in the palm of your hand; 13% thinner than any of our previous iPhone juice packs. It's so thin, you won't believe there's a battery inside.
The Mophie Juice Pack Helium Spectrum Collection is currently shipping and can be bought through Mophie’s online store. Select colors are also available through Apple's online store.
Despite being delayed by six months in order to ensure "a great experience for players", it seems that the Mac version of SimCity is still experiencing a number of serious issues which prevent users from playing the game. Frustrated gamers have taken to EA's official forums and our own discussion thread to vent their annoyances, which range from installation issues to the game only running in windowed mode on certain Macs. While SimCity is running with no problems for some users, it certainly appears that a significant fraction of users are having issues with the game.
The issues range from problems starting the software to lagging on even the most high-end Macs. Some users have also discovered after purchasing that SimCity for Mac will not run on machines with OS X 10.7.4 or earlier, despite a still-available FAQ entry stating that users running a minimum of Snow Leopard would be able to play the game.
Users are also finding that the game does not support the higher resolution on the 27-inch iMac or MacBook Pro, with some users forced to run the game in 1440 x 900 resolution rather than the full 2560 x 1440 that the large iMac supports. TUAW also reported that one user had to reinstall Origin three times in order to just download the game, let alone install it.
A Maxis spokesperson has commented on the issues since the game's launch:
There are a small number of players who have encountered issues with SimCity for Mac. Our live team is working individually with our players to resolve their issues and get them into the game as quickly as possible.
Any SimCity gamers who are experiencing trouble can turn to the official FAQ page on EA's forums, which lists a few possible remedies. It is also worth noting that the game is covered by Origin's "Great Game Guarantee", which was launched a couple of weeks ago and allows players to return games free of charge within 24 hours of purchasing.
Update: A Maxis spokesperson issued MacRumors this statement:
We are pleased to advise that the installation-related issues some players experienced with SimCity on Mac have been resolved.
AT&T has announced that its prepaid cellular service Aio Wireless will begin offering service nationwide starting in mid-September, with service plans running between $40 and $70 per month and including unlimited talk, text, and data with 4G LTE.
Customers who sign up for service in an Aio Wireless retail store or on the brand’s website by September 29 will also receive an additional month of service at no additional cost. The service will offer a catalog of mobile phones and tablets from makers including Apple’s iPhone, and will allow customers to bring in devices to activate on the network.
Aio makes wireless easy with a friendly in-store and online experience and three simple plans to choose from. All three plans include unlimited talk, text, and data—with a pre-established amount of high-speed access, including 4G LTE. Plans range from $40 to $70 per month, with taxes and fees included.
Aio Wireless originally launched operations in Houston, Orlando and Tampa this past May, and expanded to several other cities in the following months. The launch of the service has been one of a number of changes made by AT&T in the past few months, including the rollout of a new smartphone upgrade program.
Two new videos published today give a detailed look at the casings of the "champagne" colored iPhone 5S and the "graphite" 5S, which first showed up in photos earlier this week.
While there has been a non-stop stream of images and videos depicting the gold iPhone 5S, a video from TLD offers a good overview of both the casing and the structural differences between the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5.
As has been previously noted, the iPhone 5S features repositioned logic board screws and a larger flash cutout to accommodate a dual-LED flash. Placing the iPhone 5’s battery into the iPhone 5S casing, TLD notes that the amount of space available for the logic board has been decreased to increase the available battery space.
A second video from BestTechInfo offers a view of the purported black and "graphite" version of the iPhone 5S compared to the existing black and slate iPhone 5.
When side-by-side, the graphite iPhone 5S is noticeably lighter in color than the existing black and slate iPhone 5, but as 9to5Mac points out, initial versions of the slate iPhone 5 were lighter in color as well. This suggests that the graphite iPhone 5S color variation may just be an early prototype rather than a new color that Apple plans to introduce.
The iPhone 5S will retain the same form factor as the iPhone 5, but it will include a number of upgrades including the aforementioned dual-LED flash, an improved processor, and a fingerprint sensor. It is also rumored to offer a better camera and new picture taking modes.
Apple is expected to debut the iPhone 5S and the low-cost iPhone 5C at an iPhone event that will take place on September 10, with the phones shipping on September 20.
Hawaiian Airlines is planning to augment its in-flight Entertainment systems with 1,500 iPad minis. Beginning in September, the airline will supply passengers with Apple’s tablets on all of its Boeing 767–300 aircraft that fly 14 routes between Hawaii, the U.S. Mainland, Asia, and South Pacific.
The iPad minis, supplied by Bluebox Avionics, will come equipped with 100 hours of movies and TV shows, along with various iPad games. While the iPad minis are complimentary in Business Class, they can also be rented by economy passengers for $15 ahead of flights (or $17 in-flight).
"Hawaiian Airlines' signature on-board hospitality is already very popular with travelers, but we wanted to go even further to ensure our customers’ travel experience is more enjoyable," said Blaine Miyasato, Hawaiian Airlines vice president of product development.
Hawaiian Airlines plans to begin offering the iPad minis beginning on September 1, and is the first airline to offer iPad minis as in-flight entertainment. Australian airline Qantas began offering its passengers access to iPads earlier this year.
Apple has again remotely blocked some versions of Oracle's Java browser plugin because of vulnerabilities according to 9to5Mac.
The blockage, which was announced internally to AppleCare and Apple Retail employees, is because of an "unspecified vulnerability" and Apple has blocked Java 6 versions below update 51, and Java 7 versions below update 25.
At the beginning of this year, Apple blocked Java plug-ins in Safari severaltimes because of unfixed vulnerabilities. Oracle has typically updated Java fairly quickly to remedy the vulnerabilities.
Users are strongly advised to ensure they have the latest versions of Java.
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