Lenovo’s Star Wars Jedi Challenges kit might be a cheaper AR headset than some of its rivals, but it’s still an expensive way to play a few Star Wars games …
Rian Johnson, writer and director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, has revealed the steps he took to guard against the risk of the screenplay being leaked online.
To protect against hackers, Johnson said that he wrote the screenplay on a dedicated, air-gapped MacBook Air …
Hex has today announced a brand new lineup of official Star Wars cases for the iPhone X and 8/8 Plus and 7/7 Plus. The cases are all made from genuine leather and offered in the company’s “Snap” form factor as well as its folio wallet and zipper case styles.
Earlier this summer Apple updated its Playgrounds iPad app with the ability to control drones and robots through coding courses that help users learn Apple’s Swift software development language. Today two new accessories have been added as Swift coding courses: Sphero Template and R2-D2 by Sphero.
If you’ve ever wanted to meet Star Wars characters, a Disney promo with Apple and other retail stores will offer the chance to do the next best thing.
The promo, for The Last Jedi, will let you use your iPhone to see AR versions of characters like Rey and Chewbacca in Apple Stores, and even have your photo taken with them …
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This week, we have a special guest Greg Barbosa joining Zac to discuss our expectations for 2016 in the Apple world. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next year. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/239715249″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]
Released today, fans of JJ Abram’s interpretation of Star Wars can now buy the full soundtrack album for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie ($11.99) or stream it with Apple Music. There are a total of 23 tracks with a total runtime around 70 minutes. The album starts with the iconic opening credits soundtrack and ends with an track 8 minute entitled ‘The Jedi Steps and Finale’. The long-awaited seventh instalment in the film series is expected to break box office records, after strong first showings around the world.
Apple is also running a special Star Wars Apple Music Radio station, as we reported earlier in the week, in coordination with various other promotions of Star Wars content across the iTunes Store. You can download all six previous films as a digital movie collection for $90 (Amazon is selling the same collection also for $90, so iTunes is competitively priced).
Take a break from all the Christmas music and check out another new featured station from Apple Music’s Radio section today: Star Wars.
The stellar movie-themed station features tracks picked from the soundtrack of each film in the collection (even the prequels) so you can get hyped for The Force Awakens opening this week.
Earlier this year a rumor began floating around that claimed Apple had acquired Faceshift, the company behind the motion capture technology used in Star Wars. Now, TechCrunch reports that the acquisition has become official and Apple has acquired the Zurich-based Faceshift startup.
Apple has not directly confirmed the acquisition, but issued its standard statement regarding its purchasing of smaller companies. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” the company said.
This isn’t the first motion capture startup Apple has acquired. Over recent years, the company has acquired PrimeSense, Metaio, and Polar Rose, all European-based motion capture, facial recognition, and virtual reality companies of some sort.
It’s still unclear at this point as to how Apple plans to use the talent and technology it has required in the virtual reality field. Early indications were that Apple was planning to implement some of the technology into the Apple TV, but none of that has yet to come to fruition, despite the newest generation model being released earlier this month.
Faceshift’s technology is used in the most recent Star Wars film to make non-human characters have features, characteristics, and expressions more similar to real humans.
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Seagate Expansion 5TB USB 3.0 Desktop Hard Drive: $110 shipped (Reg. $130), more http://t.co/MX0Sx068Qb pic.twitter.com/iI1LeOQUPW
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WD Elements 2TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive: $70 shipped (Reg. $100), more http://t.co/MX0Sx068Qb pic.twitter.com/XppZTF5hGu
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From 9to5Toys.com:
As we ramp up for Star Wars: The Force Awakens to hit theaters in December, we are getting Storm Trooper Bluetooth speakers, a new mobile RPG and a SW themed playset for the upcoming Disney 3.0. But it looks like it won’t stop there as Disney has just launched an official new mobile app. Simply named “Star Wars”, this is not a game, but rather a new hub app for “breaking news, rich media, social updates, special events, interactive features” and more:
On top of a basic newsfeed that draws content from all the official Star Wars channels and some typical countdown timers to big releases, there are also some interactive elements to the app as well. There are soundboard and GIF features that provide official clips from the films that users can share on message apps and even a SW themed weather function that compares current temperatures with well-known locations from the Star Wars mythos.
You’ll also find Augmented Reality experiences, a lightsaber trainer that makes use of your device’s motion sensor, and the ability to take as many Star Wars selfies as your heart desires. Much like the Show Your Disney Side app, you can choose from a number of popular costumes from the films, settings and the ability to drop other characters in the background.
The new Star Wars app is available to download for free starting right now on iOS. Head over to our daily game/app roundups for all the best discounts and freebies across every platform.
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Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Professional Headphones $99 shipped (Reg. $169)
Griffin 30% off sitewide: Survivor Slim Case for iPad Air 2 $56 (Reg. $80), more
Last year iOS 8 brought with it support for custom third-party keyboards. Some of these are designed to help you type faster, but some just make it easier to inject GIFs and other media into your chats. This week the cutest keyboard landed on iOS courtesy of who else, but Disney.
Just as its name suggests, the Disney Gif app puts hundreds of GIFs right inside your iOS keyboard. Choose characters and scenes from films including Star Wars, Lion King, Aladdin, Toy Story and Frozen. Disney also included support for Inside Out, which is a no-brainer decision since its main characters — each representing a feeling — work perfectly as GIFs.
Disney Gif uses the copy and paste of iOS so it’ll work system-wide wherever that functionality is supported. It shouldn’t be too tough sifting through the bunches of GIFs because Disney has organized them by emotion and story. The main Disney Gif app is available as a free download, but there are a couple in-app purchases including Frozen Emoji.
Visually express yourself in a whole new way with Disney Gif! Whether you’re feeling happy, sassy, villainous or magical, there’s no better way to show how you feel than with your favorite characters and moments. Whatever your emotion or reaction, we have a Disney, Pixar, or Star Wars gif for that!
Check back often for new content!
Explore and share gifs from some of the most loved stories, including:
Inside Out
Frozen
Star Wars
The Lion King
Tangled
Aladdin
Beauty and the Beast
Finding Nemo
Toy Story
Up
ABC Shows…and so many more! Happy gif-ing!
Features:
– Browse through hundreds of gifs categorized by emotion or story
– New and trending content added frequently
– Chat gifs to your friends and family straight from your Disney Gif keyboard via text, email, or any app that supports the copy and paste of imagesLEGAL DISCLAIMER:
Before you download this experience, please consider that this app contains social media links to connect with others, in-app purchases that cost real money, push notifications to let you know when we have exciting updates like new content, as well as advertising for The Walt Disney Family of Companies and some third parties.NOTE: Disney Gif requests full access so we can access the internet and you can send cool gifs. We don’t save your key strokes or compromise your privacy.
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Amazon Gold Box: T-fal 12-Piece Hard Anodized Nonstick Cookware Set $80 shipped (Orig. $200) http://t.co/5QG5sje1kc pic.twitter.com/BbVWesHquI
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nexpaq’s iPhone 6 case enables killer features to be added and removed on-the-fly
Best known for its app-controlled robotic toys, iOS developer Sphero was responsible for creating the real version of the ball-shaped droid BB-8 featured in Disney’s upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, according to Time. Having released the original iOS-controlled Sphero and much-improved Sphero 2.0 balls in 2012 and 2013, the company was accepted into a Disney accelerator program in 2014, receiving personal mentoring from Disney CEO Bob Iger — a close friend of late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. “When the tech-savvy CEO saw Sphero’s technology in action,” Time reports, “he realized the potential application for BB-8 and connected the startup with the masterminds of the Star Wars characters.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu6x9sJCGfo?rel=0&showinfo=0&w=704&h=396]
Along with the disclosure of Sphero’s involvement in the robot’s creation, Time noted that an BB-8 toy was planned for release. Although Gizmodo suggested that an official BB-8 toy by Sphero had appeared on retailer Fat Brain Toys’ site, the image has since been pulled, and Sphero subsequently said that it is not a “legitimate” image. Separately, designer Christian Poulsen has demonstrated how to make a homemade BB-8 droid by cutting open a Sphero ball, inserting a neodymium magnet inside, and placing another magnet inside a handmade foam head, painting the head and ball to match BB-8. Poulsen described making the toy as a quick one-day project, and has a collection of videos showing the modified Sphero moving around much as BB-8 does in the upcoming movie. Sphero 2.0 currently sells for $130. The official Sphero-designed toy will likely be released closer to the film, which is due out on December 18, 2015.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_K10fX9DSY]
Updated April 22, 2015: In addition to noting that the BB-8 image run by Fat Brain Toys is not its actual product, Sphero has confirmed its involvement in BB-8, providing clarification and an official link to follow progress on the toy.
As announced, Disney has today released all six Star Wars movies as digital downloads on iTunes. The collection is priced at $89 as a bundle. Each movie can be downloaded separately for $20 a piece.
As part of the promotion, Apple has also launched a special collection featuring films, apps, TV shows, music and books from the franchise. Although iTunes is obviously a convenient option for users in the Apple ecosystem, it is not the cheapest way to buy the series. Other vendors, like Google Play, are offering much heavier discounts, so shop around for better deals.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxUr8Z4iDpk]
Disney announced today that the entire Star Wars saga will finally be available for digital HD download later this week, marking the first time ever that the films have been offered in this format.
As confirmed in the TV spot above and the iTunes tweet below, the entire collection will be available to purchase from the iTunes Store this Friday. Pre-orders are already up and running, with each movie coming in at $19.99 for both SD and HD versions.
Today Disney Parks released a free iOS app called Show Your Disney Side, which transforms you into a 3D moving Disney character. Your Disney Side is the part of you that laughs a little bit louder, believes in magic, and never backs down from a pirate fight (even against Captain Hook!). This app was created to help you channel your inner Disney Side even when you’re nowhere near a Disney Park.
Turn yourself into a princess from Frozen, a X-Wing Pilot from Star Wars, Jafar from Aladdin, and several other Disney characters. You can even unlock new Haunted Mansion characters by visiting a Disney Park or sharing your Disney Side pics on social media.
The idea is pretty simple. Choose the character you’d like to become, snap a quick selfie, make a couple quick photo adjustments and you’re all set. The app will create a 3D moving image of yourself as the Disney character you picked. There’s also a share button so you can send your favorite shots to friends and family.
Here’s a couple of tips from the Disney Parks Blog to help your transformation:
Promo video and full App Store description follows:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiJ7Va-Ase8?rel=0&w=853&h=480]
We all have a Disney Side—the side of us that comes out to play the moment we step through the gates at Disney Parks. The new Show Your Disney Side app will help bring YOURS to life! Transform into a Jedi, a pirate, or other Disney Parks characters wherever you are!
CREATE – Choose a Disney Parks character, take a selfie and transform into your Disney Side.
PLAY – Try different costumes, add a frame, then tap and swipe to watch your Disney Side come to life with special effects
SHARE – Whether you’re at a Disney Park or at home, you can share your Disney Side with your family and friends right from the app
EXPLORE – Select different characters from favorite Disney Parks attractions and experiences like Frozen, Star Tours®, Pirates of the Caribbean®, Villains of Disney Parks, and Haunted Mansion®
Visit the Disneyland® Resort and Walt Disney World® Resort where your Disney Side can be unleashed to the fullest!
DisneySideApp.com
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Lucasfim is such a tease. After initially saying that the trailer for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens would be shown only in 30 movie theatres, the Disney-owned studio has now tweeted that it will also be shown on the iTunes trailers site tomorrow.
You’ll get your chance to see how the stars of the original 1977 film are holding up when they are reunited in the latest in the film series.
Update: Here’s the link, and it’s now on YouTube too:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOVFvcNfvE]
A new Star Wars game from the now Disney-owned LucasArts is landing on iPhones and iPads, and it’s a free-to-play combat strategy game (which won’t be free for too long if you don’t have the patience to wait real time for your structures to be built). The game is called Star Wars: Commander, and while it’s only today reaching the US, it has been available in at least one other country for a little while and has received some great reviews.
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Today’s can’t miss deals:
Apps/Games:
Seagate Backup Plus 5TB Desktop External USB 3.0 Hard Drive $168 shipped (Reg. $220)
Samsung 51″ Plasma $400 new/$330 refurb (Reg. $500), Sharp 32″LED w/ $100 Dell GC $250 ($410 value)
Other new deals:
More deals still alive:
Apple deals:
Smart home deals:
New products/ongoing promotions: