Electricpig.co.uk - tech news fast! |
- Sky 3D fills London sky with ‘planets’, Electricpig goes behind the scenes.
- Sky Anytime+ launching next week
- Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare DLC preview: Multiplayer mode hands on!
- HTC Locations now with added TomTom
- HTC HD7 makes our Best HTC phone Top 5!
- FaceTime for Mac: iTunes security flaw flagged!
- BBC One HD kicks off on 3 November
- Best Windows Phone 7 apps
- Call of Duty: Black Ops stolen and YouTubed
- SlingPlayer shows off Windows Phone 7 app
| Sky 3D fills London sky with ‘planets’, Electricpig goes behind the scenes. Posted: 21 Oct 2010 11:29 PM PDT 
How do you promote 3D TV? Sport? Not everyone's into that. Films? Pick the wrong one and you'll switch most people off. It's a tricky task, but Sky might've cracked it with its eye-popping new advert, filmed above London in the dead of night earlier this week. It's recreated the solar system in 3D using gigantic floating planet balloons! We headed to London's Royal Greenwich Observatory to see Sky's spectacle up close, and arrived to see nine giant helium balloons, designed to depict the different planets of the solar system, rising into the night sky.
The Sky team, made up of 17 staff working for more than 100 hours in total, then filmed the 'planets' as they drifted across the capital's skyline. It's a beautiful, thought-provoking sight, and one of our favourite tech promotional stunts to date. Sky 3D review: read our verdict now! The ad will air, in 3D naturally, on the Sky 3D channel (217, Sky customers) at 9pm this Sunday. Assuming you've got a 3D telly, and one of Mr Murdoch's magical set-top boxes, make sure you tune in. In the meantime, get prepped for another Sky launch: a full on-demand TV service in the shape of Sky Anytime+, launching next week. Related posts:
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| Sky Anytime+ launching next week Posted: 21 Oct 2010 09:11 AM PDT  Sky Anytime+, the upgraded video on demand service for Sky satellite subscribers, is set to begin rolling out at the end of the month. Huzzah! Any Sky+HD customers who also have Sky broadband (Sky Unlimited and Sky Everyday Lite packages only at first ) will be able to watch programs when they like for free – from channels they’re already coughing up for, natch. The twist is, you can watch while you download, and once a show has finished being sucked down, it’ll stay on your Sky+HD box, no 28 days limits or such nonsense. Look out for it soon, and in the meantime click the image above to peruse our gallery and see what Sky Anytime+ will look like. Related posts:
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| Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare DLC preview: Multiplayer mode hands on! Posted: 21 Oct 2010 09:00 AM PDT 
Last week we paid Rockstar a visit to get hands-on with the Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare incoming downloadable content pack. Undead Nightmare will be releases on 26th October for Xbox 360 and PS3, costing 800 Microsoft Points and £7.99 respectively. Undead Nightmare packs in a single player campaign featuring a variety of zombie-related missions and tasks, some of which Rockstar is still keeping secret. Want to learn more about the single player Undead Nightmare campaign? Then hit up our Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare single player DLC preview. But now, it’s time to talk Undead Nightmare’s zombie-laden multiplayer mode. The Undead Nightmare multiplayer mode is a new 2-4 player co-operative offering called Undead Overrun. The deal is that as survivors, you must work together to mow down waves of undead amidst several graveyard settings. Think dilapidated, deserted cemeteries with rusty gates, unkept, tangled shrubbery and mossy stones - the sort that silly teenagers think chillaxing in in horror movies is a good idea. The aim is to survive in them for as many continuous zombie waves as possible.
Before dipping into each game players select their weapon loadout from four preset categories in the player lobby: Ravager, LongShot, Overkill and Mauler according to their favoured playing style. Each pack their own shotgun (sawed-off, double-barrelled, pump-action and semi-automatic), a pistol and/or rifle. Those plumping for Ravager and Overkill will find helpful stick or two of dynamite in place of a third firearm. An explosive helping hand comes in more than handy during later waves. Diving into the action, as each wave is cleared you’ll find the waves becoming increasingly harder to diminish as the zombie count increases in number, and difficulty. During initial waves you’ll find most zombies go down after a couple of bullets, if you hadn’t already got them in the head. Dead Eye comes especially handy here, slowing down the action to adjust your aim and fire is a real lifesaver when things get frantic, particularly when attempting to save your fellow zombie-hating teammates. Check out our Best Xbox games Top 5 now Luckily you can revive your teammates and vice versa by pressing the action button. But you’ll only have about less than a minute to do so, so be quick. Players can also kill each other, but thankfully we didn’t experience such oafish clumsiness when saddling up with the Rockstar team. To further extend your chances, coffins can be opened granting new weapons and ammo to the entire team. You’ll see these on the map indicated by yellow and green flashes. You’ll need them. The new weapons, such as the Book Bait are particularly useful in a zombie infestation. Chucking it into a horde of zombies lures them to wherever it lands, before exploding to send zombies sky high. The new Blunderbuss weapon we mentioned in our single player Undead Nightmare preview is just as handy in close quarter situations. Just one lethal shot from it, made from a cocktail of zombie body parts is enough to puree zombies. It’s a constant challenge to stay alive, even when paired with three other players as the zombies seem to multiply and gain an almost unexpected turn of pace by the time you reach wave 10. You’ll also find yourself having to contend with different classes of zombie as you progress: slow zombies, fast zombies, strong zombies, zombies that spit acidic puke at you. Throw ‘em all together and it’s one heck of a zombie-fest. The game ends when all players have died (how else?), or the time limit to destroy them has expired. We’re not sure how many waves there actually are. Whatever the limit is, not even the Rockstar folks we played with have reached it, nor did they tell us if there is one. But take it it from us, not many will get there. But as with Horde mode in Gears of War 2, and Halo’s Firefight, simply surviving is the goal. Undead Overrun is hardly the most original premise for a multiplayer mode but that doesn’t mean it’s not highly enjoyable. It is. It works because it just does. Its zombies, c’,mon.
However it’s not all about the Undead Overrun zombie slaying mode. Another mode, which Rockstar kept under wraps until just now is Land Grab. Despite not being zombie-themed, Land Grab is another new mode within multiplayer Free Roam. Players fight over a patch of land in one of seven different towns: Armadillo, Blackwater, Chuparosa, Escalera, Las Hermanas, Mac Farlane’s Ranch and Thieves Landing. To start a game find a post that says Land Grab, activate it and you’ll be given control of a radius of territory. If another player scampers into said territory and activate the post, they’ll lay claim to it. Naturally you must defend it with your life. Leave and you’ll surrender it. Of course while commanding a territory you’ll get awarded points, kill a member of the land owners posse and you’ll get even more bonus XP. Once the game ends the points pot is divided between each player, with the largest bounty going to players that held the land for the longest. All players can participate, but only those with the undead Nightmare pack can initiate matches. Check out our Best PS3 games Top 5 now With Undead Overrun, Land Grab and the Undead Nightmare single player campaign, Rockstar looks like keeping to it’s word that the latest and last Red Dead Redemption DLC is more than a tacked on zombie add-on. Rockstar clearly doesn’t need to make any excuses as to why it went with zombies, because everybody clearly loves a bit of undead action. And as we’ve already mentioned in the Undead Nightmare single player preview, Rockstar has given its fans what they wanted anyway. So who’s complaining? Not us. Paired with the Undead Nightmare single player mode it looks like Rockstar has delivered a package to die for. Out October 26th | £7.99 (PS3) or 800 Microsoft Points (Xbox 360) | Rockstar Related posts:
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| HTC Locations now with added TomTom Posted: 21 Oct 2010 08:30 AM PDT 
TomTom and HTC have announced that the two companies are collaborating on HTC Locations, with TomTom providing its well-regarded map data. Unlike (e.g.) Google Maps, HTC Locations will come with the TomTom data pre-loaded so there should be no waiting for a connection to the internet before you can see where you are.  TomTom is best known for standalone SatNav devices, of course – a sector that has had a bit of a bruising time since smartphones started to acquire their own navigation features. HTC Locations will be rolled out with the new Desire HD and Desire Z handsets and will initially only cover Europe and parts of Asia. HTC plans to let other handsets run the app soon – with more map data for other parts of the world – but it is not clear if this means only new phones or if existing Android handsets will be able to get it as a download. Available soon | £free | HTC Related posts:
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| HTC HD7 makes our Best HTC phone Top 5! Posted: 21 Oct 2010 08:26 AM PDT 
 We’ve placed the HTC HD7 at number four in our Best HTC phone Top 5. It’s kicked the HTC HD2 out, but we’ve kept the HTC Hero in, as it’s still the company’s best budget Android phone option. The HD2 however has no place now that Microsoft has sensibly killed off Windows Mobile. We can’t honestly say that we prefer the HTC HD7 to the company’s incredible top of the line Android offerings, but it’s big, beautiful and easy to use nonetheless, and well worth a look, especially if you already know that Google’s OS isn’t for you. Speaking of which, you can do just that here with our HTC HD7 review! Like the look of the HTC HD7? Check out the best HTC HD7 deals on contract here! Related posts:
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| FaceTime for Mac: iTunes security flaw flagged! Posted: 21 Oct 2010 08:05 AM PDT 
Patrick Wood notices that once a Mac is set up with FaceTime for Mac, the iTunes password associated with it can be changed without reentering the current password. That means someone passing by could easily switch your password and take over your iTunes account along with the ability to splurge on the best iPhone apps, music, TV and films. The FaceTime for Mac app includes a setting in the View Account menu and simply enter a new password. It has to match the rules for iTunes passwords but you can enter it without the knowledge of the account owner if you can get at their computer. You can sign out of your iTunes account in FaceTime for Mac but the beta automatically saves your password. Click sign in and you can still alter the password. We're sure this is a temporary issue that Apple will solve imminently but it does seem sloppy. In the meantime, keep an eye on your computer and make sure no one else gets their hands on it to mess with your iTunes password. And let us know: are you surprised that Apple has failed to avoid this fairly obvious security flaw in FaceTime for Mac? We certainly don’t want people changing our iTunes password when we invite them over to look at our new Macbook Air. Out now | £free | Apple (via MacWorld Germany) Related posts:
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| BBC One HD kicks off on 3 November Posted: 21 Oct 2010 08:00 AM PDT 
(Via Gone Digital) Related posts:
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2010 07:39 AM PDT 
Look over to the right and you’ll see our Best Windows Phone 7 apps Top 5 list, complete with the five apps you absolutely have to check out right now. They’re all available from the Windows Marketplace on your Windows Phone 7 handset now, and can be pinned straight to your live tile homescreen. The games are Try before you Buy too, so you can always check out a demo before stumping up any cash. Of course, Microsoft’s new mobile OS is only in its infancy, and we expect plenty more new apps to come. We’ll constantly be checking them out, so whenever a good’un comes along, we’ll be sure to stick it in our Best Windows Phone 7 apps shortlist and let you know. Disagree with what you see? Is there another program that deserves a place in our Best Windows Phone 7 apps Top 5? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Related posts:
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| Call of Duty: Black Ops stolen and YouTubed Posted: 21 Oct 2010 07:30 AM PDT 
Its not the sort of clandestine activity you would normally associate with Black Ops, but we assume there was at least some level of stealth involved. A printing press in Alabama was producing packaging for Call of Duty: Black Ops last week when a thief swiped several copies of the game. To add insult to injury, some footage of the stolen packaging and game disks was then posted to YouTube, along with a few snippets of in-game footage. Having not seen the footage we can’t comment on the gameplay but we imagine it including some Ops. Probably Black ones. Activision lawyers reacted swiftly and YouTube has removed the footage. No word on where those discs have gone, though. Due November | from £34.99 | Call of Duty: Black Ops (via BGR) Related posts:
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| SlingPlayer shows off Windows Phone 7 app Posted: 21 Oct 2010 07:00 AM PDT 
SlingPlayer acts as a viewer for TV and other video sent over the internet from your home media set-up using a SlingBox – Sling Media’s video streaming gadget. You can plug the SlingBox into a PC, DVD, Blu-ray or other video device and watch stuff on your phone by sending it over the net like your own personal TV channel. With SlingPlayer being available on Android, iOS and even some BlackBerry devices, a Windows Phone 7 port was only a matter of time. Still, it is a nice surprise this early in the platform’s life. As well as the usual SlingPlay features, Sling Media reckons this version will run with four times the resolution of other mobile clients. Out soon | £TBC | Sling Media (via Engadget) Related posts:
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Measuring up to 20 feet across, and illuminated against London's evening cityscape, they were released in the correct order, even despite biting cold.
As we said earlier today, the 
Whip out your remote – 
Wondering what the best Windows Phone 7 apps are now that you’ve seen our reviews, popped down to the shops and got yourself a new Microsoft mobile? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve got the very best picks from the Marketplace, and you can see them here to the right of the full post.
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