Tenology updates

                      Tech Updates
                                       By. FIRAS CHOHAN

Google adds new local multiplayer features for Android games



While local multiplayer sessions are possible, Android multiplayer gaming is for the most part turn-based or done via remote play. Google is looking to change that with some new functionality being added to the Play GamesAndroid gaming framework.

It is essentially a series of APIs and other tools that allows creators to implement a number of services into their games including time-based player events/quests, leaderboards, achievements and other features. And now Google Play Games is getting an update to its multiplayer capabilities with a new new kind of local support.

Similar to what Nintendo DS gamers are used to with StreetPass, Android users will be able to challenge others in real-time, local matches, providing those games are built on Play Games. The company said in a Google+ post recently that players will be able to “invite others nearby into the same game when starting a multiplayer session,” which it hopes will create more local competitive and cooperative experiences. StreetPass allows DS players that come within range of each other to connect and exchange game data, among other things.

While it remains to be seen whether or not the development community will fully embrace the new services, it seems to be the type of technology that is suited for the popular mobile gaming platform



Apple unveils the 5K Retina iMac with "the world's highest resolution display"

Following the announcement of the iPad Air 2, iOS 8.1 and OS X Yosemite, Apple unveiled the new 27-inch iMac with Retina display. Described as the next step in Retina technology, it boasts what the company calls a Retina 5K display with a massive 5120 x 2880 resolution or 14.7 million pixels. According to Apple, that’s 7 times more pixels than your typical 1080p HDTV and 67% more pixels than 4K, making it “the world’s highest resolution display.”

Apple said it had to create a number of new technologies to drive the display including a custom made timing controller and specifically engineered oxide-based TFT. The company is also implementing some tech from its Retina iPad lineup like organic passivation to accommodate such a massive number of pixels. Apple’s new screen tech can power 4 times more pixels while using 30% less energy than previous models by way of high efficiency LEDs. Even with all of the new upgrades it is still 5mm at the thinnest edge, the same as the previous generation models.

The base model 5K Retina iMac will come with a quad-core Intel Core i5 clocked at 3.5GHz (up to 4GHz Core i7), AMD Radeon R9 M290X graphics, 8GB RAM, and 1TB of Fusion Drive storage. It has 2 Thunderbolt ports and has 45% faster graphics than previous models.

The new high res iMac will only ship in a 27-inch model with Apple continuing to offer previous-gen models. The new Retina all-in-one starts at $2499 and is available to order starting today.



The Cornerplay: Apple's iPad strategy is to kill small tablets


 PC company had flat sales, you might think its CEO would go "phew, not bad when the overall market is declining." Not really though: Lenovo, HP, Dell, Acer and Asus all increased sales this past quarter even though the overall market declined. Apple, too. It's not clear which PC company is suffering, but the strong are getting stronger while the weak arenow exiting.

So flat iPad sales -- in spite of what Tim Cook may say -- is alarming to Apple and Apple watchers. Moreover, now that Apple is selling larger phones, people are realizing that you don't need a big phone and a small tablet. The bigger iPad will need to grow a lot faster for the overall business to grow.

Editor’s Note:
Jeffrey Yuwono is CEO and co-founder of Feecha, a hyperlocal news app for neighbourhoods. A Stanford MBA and Duke undergrad, Jeff writes insightful observations about technology once a day on his blog The Cornerplay and now on this weekly column on TechSpot.

The iPad may not be one of the weak, but it is not one of the strong either. What should Apple do? The company has two options: 1) make the iPad more appealing to a new market segment, and/or 2) deliver the same proposition to the existing market segment better.

That new segment is business. We dedicated a previous column to this topic, but here's the recap: Apple has a ~13-inch iPad Pro in development with split-screen functionality that will make the iPad a stronger suit for business users. The company is also rumored to have a revamped, 12-inch MacBook Air -- in other words, that the portrayed iPad Pro might have a larger display than the company's most popular laptop says volumes.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple delayed the iPad Pro to early 2015 because of supply issues and so didn't announce it in yesterday's keynote.

Instead, Apple chose to focus on the second strategy: doing the same thing better. The iPad 2, 3 and 4 basically had the same body, so pundits were somewhat surprised to see a noticeably streamlined iPad body for the second year in a row. Perhaps that speaks to the urgency driving Apple with its iPad line.

Apple's strategy with the iPad Air is clear with the sequel -- they want to improve the Air enough to make the iPad mini obsolete (and potentially other competing small tablets in the process). The key to doing that is reducing the iPad Air's weight. A larger tablet does everything better than a mini tablet except portability, and specifically, being able to hold the device in one hand while you read. Large tablets were too heavy for that purpose.

That may change with the iPad Air 2, which is 18% thinner and 7% lighter than its predecessor.

I considered purchasing the first iPad Air when it launched and while at the store I tested for "one hand holdability while lying down in bed" (don't ask how). It was just a shade too heavy. That will be the test I give the iPad Air 2 again. If it passes, the iPad mini is truly dead and buried.

The iPad mini 3 is getting squeezed from both sides: the iPhone 6 Plus from the bottom and the iPad Air 2 from the top. There is less and less need for this device to exist; mini tablets, like I long predicted, will eventually become a niche device.

It's no accident Apple spent considerable time talking about the iPad Air 2, and then simply glossed over the largely unchanged iPad mini 3.