Google may return to China with Android app shop

Google-backed Android powers the majority of the smartphones in the world and is available free for device makers in China and elsewhere. Photo: AFP

San Francisco: Google is talking with Chinese authorities and smartphone makers about opening an online shop in China stocked with applications for Android-powered mobile devices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The move would mark a return for the US Internet firm, which moved its online search service from Mainland China to Hong Kong in 2010 after a cyberattack targeting Gmail users and a clash over censorship.

Many Google services, such as its free Gmail email, are blocked in China.

Google-backed Android powers the majority of the smartphones in the world and is available free for device makers in China and elsewhere.

Manufacturers such as Xiaomi customize their own version of Android, while Baidu and other Internet players in China run app stores that don’t share revenue with Google, according to the Journal.

Opening a Google Play online shop for digital content approved by the Chinese government and pre-installed on smartphones powered by a licensed version of Android would be a remedy for that situation.

Google has been working on the project for more than a year and hoped to have the China app shop on new smartphones by the end of this year, according to a source cited by the Journal.

Google did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Metal Gear Solid V servers still struggling after game’s launch

War has changed a lot for history’s greatest soldier. These days, it often requires a strong Internet connection.

Since launching on consoles and PC earlier this week, Metal Gear Solid V’s servers have had a hard time remaining online due to heavy demand on all platforms. These outages and intermittent connection issues have made it “difficult to connect to online features,” according to publisher Konami’s service-status website.

Currently, Konami’s site says that its servers are “operating normally” on all systems except for the PlayStation 4. The servers for the stealth-action game on Sony’s console are experiencing errors and other connection problems. But publisher Konami claims it isn’t just hiding in a cardboard box hoping this problem will go away — instead, the company spent the morning hours today performing emergency maintenance.

“The emergency maintenance we have been conducting is now complete. We apologize once again for the inconvenience, and thank you very much for your patience,” reads the Konami status site. But the publisher goes on to warn that this might not have fixed everything. “There may still be some issues when attempting to connect to online features, so we will continue to provide up-to-date notifications on server operating status. The latest status updates will be released via Official Twitter account (uk).”

Konami also suggests resetting Metal Gear Solid V if it isn’t working but the servers are listed as “operating normally” for your platform.

Thirty cadets injured in bloody pillow fight at prestigious West Point military academy

Thirty cadets at the prestigious US Military Academy in New York state have been left injured after a traditional pillow fight turned bloody.

The brawl left 24 young cadets with concussions, the West Point academy told the New York Times, after reports that some stuffed their pillows with hard objects.

A total of 30 cadets were injured, and students reported that the list of wounds included one broken leg as well as dislocated shoulders.

The yearly right of passage at the academy is meant to foster class spirit and celebrate the first-year "plebe" class's completion of its rigorous summer training.

However, the August 20 pillow fight took a turn for the worse when some cadets reportedly stuffed the helmets they were encouraged to wear during the fracas inside their pillow cases.

"Mitigating measures" had been put in place by the upperclassmen who oversaw the event, such as requiring cadets to wear helmets, academy spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Kasker told the Times.

Video posted on YouTube showed several hundred students vigorously socking each other with pillows during the free-for-all in a courtyard.

Pictures of bloodied cadets were also posted on Twitter.

"West Point applauds the cadets' desire to build esprit and regrets the injuries to our cadets," Lieutenant-Colonel Kasker said.

"We are conducting appropriate investigations into the causes of the injuries."

No disciplinary measures have been taken against the cadets and there were no plans to end the yearly brawl, the Times said.

Some cadets told the paper that one student who was knocked unconscious had not yet returned to class, however Lieutenant-Colonel Kasker insisted all cadets were back on duty.

West Point has a long history of pillow fights, dating back to at least 1897, the Times added.

The military academy's 2013 fight was cancelled after a cadet put a lockbox in a pillow case the previous year, it said.

Apple Inc’s iPhone 6S may come with advanced version of Force Touch screen technology

Apple’s next iPhone, which we’re expecting to see for the first time next week, will reportedly come with the company’s pressure-sensitive Force Touch technology embedded in its screen.

Over the past several weeks, reports from industry watchers and analysts have suggested that this will be the same technology we’ve seen in the Apple Watch and Apple’s new MacBooks.

Now, however, a new report from 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman suggests that the technology going into the iPhone 6S is going to be significantly different.

It may be so different, in fact, that Apple may not even call it Force Touch.

Sources say that Force Touch on the iPhone is only akin to the MacBook and Apple Watch in name, as the functionality is much more advanced. With that in mind, sources say Apple will likely call the Force Touch technology on the new iPhones by another name … According to sources, the new phones will be able to determine the difference between a tap, a standard press, and a deep press, adding a third level of sensitivity over the Apple Watch screen and MacBook trackpad.

It’s not too surprising to hear that Apple may be changing how Force Touch works for its new iPhone. On the Apple Watch, Force Touch is essentially used as an extra button in some circumstances, since its screen is so small.

On the iPhone 6S, however, it’s expected to be used more as a means of executing shortcuts across iOS. Since they’re likely going to be used for different purposes, it seems plausible that the technology would need to work differently.

Although Force Touch for the iPhone hasn’t been announced yet, some app makers are already thinking about how they could improve their apps to take advantage of the new feature. Sketching and photography apps such as Astropad and Litely are bound to incorporate Force Touch into their apps, since the pressure sensitivity could be ideal for editing images.

“We really want to take advantage of the variations in pressure,” Matt Ronge, creator of the app Astropad, previously told Business Insider when asked about Force Touch on the iPhone.

We’re expecting to learn about Apple’s next iPhone at its event on September 9.

Ahead of new Nexus phones, the current Nexus 6 is now $349

Looks like it's time to move remaining inventory of the Nexus 6: Google discounts the phone by $150 while Amazon has an even better deal. Should you take advantage of it?

With a pair of new Nexus phones expected to debut later this month, prices on the current model have dropped: Google sells the 32 GB Nexus 6 for $499.99 -- a $150 discount -- whileAmazon is listing it for $349.99.

That's a compelling price for what you get: A generous 6-inch display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, still speedy Snapdragon 805 processor, 3 GB of memory and a 13 megapixel camera with optical image stabilization. And the reduced price is more in line with what the Nexus 4 and 5 handsets cost.

Even better for road warriors is that the Nexus 6 is currently the only phone that works on the tri-band Google Project Fi network.

With Fi, you only pay for amount of data you actually use and calls seamlessly roam between Wi-Fi, T-Mobile and Sprint as needed. I do expect, however, that the new 2015 Nexus phones -- from LG and Huawei -- will also have Project Fi support.

Our review of the Nexus 6 garnered an 8.5 out of 10 for the device because it has few major flaws.

You get a stock Android experience, fast updates, a solid camera and fast charging capabilities. Indeed, when using a Nexus 6 to test Project Fi, I enjoyed using the phone. The only time I didn't like it was when I wasn't using it: There's no denying that for some, the Nexus 6 is cumbersome to carry around.

Is the Nexus 6 at $349 too good a deal to pass up?

If there weren't newer Nexus models about to drop and the $399 Moto X Pure Editionweren't currently available to order, I'd say yes for Android users.

Even so, it's a reasonable deal for those not interested in waiting for the new Nexus -- and are concerned about the prices of them -- or don't want a Moto X.

GTA 5 Is Offering Huge Discounts And Bonuses For Labor Day

Rockstar Games is offering a bevy of discounts on a variety of vehicles in their GTA Online game for the Labor Day weekend. The deals mellow out at 25% off discounts on everything from boats and military gear to planes and sports cars. 

The weekend sales was announced over on the official Rockstar Games websitewhere they detailed what sort of bonuses would be handed out for the gamers partaking in the GTA Online activities. 

On September 4th Rockstar Games offers a 25% off discount on jets and aircraft inGTA Online, along with double the amount of RP being handed out when gamers partake in air races and parachuting jobs. Gamers with a penchant for aerial activities will be keen to get in on the deal as soon as humanly possible. 

On September 5th, this Saturday, there will be a 25% discount on sports cars and high performance race machines. There will also be a double RP bonus for those taking part in land races. If you're fast behind the pedal and furious behind the wheel, you'll want to jump on this deal once it becomes available in GTA Online. 

On September 6th there will be a 25% discount on all speedboats and other water-based machinery. You'll be able to purchase a motorized lake vehicle for cheaper than the regular prices and also benefit from a double RP payout for all sea races. 

But it doesn't end there. Rockstar also has an extra day of discounts that carries over into early next week. On Monday, September 7th, all urban warfare vehicles will be discounted by 25% off the normal price and there will be double the amount of RP for player who take part in deathmatches. 

Ultimately, if you want to buy something and race it, this weekend is a good as time as any to do so in GTA Online. 

The online mode hasn't always been well received by everyone due to the complaints centered around the payouts and the low amount of money from the jobs, but with the heists being added to the game the game definitely managed to win back over a lot of gamers. 

GTA Online has mostly been coasting on what's been made available following the Ill-Gotten Gains DLC pack, which introduced some new swag for gamers to acquire. If you enjoy the grind of MMO games but wanted something that involved stealing cars and killing people with reckless indiscretion then GTA Online gets the job done. 

The Labor Day weekend sale is currently taking place right now and the details on the deal are also made available over on the game's official website. If you're interested in the sort of vehicles and activities that will be discounted and offering extra bonuses, you can check them out over on the official Rockstar Games website.

GTA Online is available right now for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and even on PC. Of course, for PC gamers if there's a vehicle you want you can always just mod it into the game. 

iPhone 6s won't be getting rid of the 16GB base model

With Apple's annual iPhone special event just around the corner, it appears that Apple won't be addressing one of the chief complaints iPhone users have been voicing for years now.

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Late last week, an image purporting to show iPhone 6s packaging was leaked via Twitter and suggests that Apple's entry-level iPhone will still feature a paltry 16GB of storage.

This news is especially disappointing because many users have felt, for years on end now, that 16GB of storage simply isn't enough in today's age of heavyweight applications and HD video. Indeed, with rumors that Apple's next-gen iPhone will support 4K video recording, one has to imagine that 16GB of storage can be used up in no time at all.

The resulting nuisance is that the 16GB entry-level model effectively forces many users to shell out an extra $100 to upgrade to the mid-level 64GB model. While this is clearly a smart move from Apple in a business sense, it's certainly frustrating from the vantage point of a consumer. All the more so because the price differential between 16GB and 64GB of storage is decidedly much less than $100. But then again, there's a reason why Apple has over $200 billion in cash in the bank.

On the plus side, Apple last year did increase the mid-level storage option from 32GB to 64GB, so it's not as if Apple is totally fleecing consumers here.

On a related note, Apple executive Phil Schiller was asked point blank about Apple's storage options during an interview with Daring Fireball's John Gruber at this year's WWDC event.

Defending Apple's 16GB iPhone model, Schiller quipped: "The belief is more and more as we use iCloud services for documents and our photos and videos and music that perhaps the most price-conscious customers are able to live in an environment where they don’t need gobs of local storage because these services are lightening the load.”

It's not a totally outlandish point, but the fact remains that many users with 16GB models often have problems even upgrading to the most recent version of iOS. iOS 8 was particularly nightmarish as the update, for some users, required upwards of 5.8GB of free space.

Raising another point, Schiller added that the money Apple saves on 16GB models allows them to purchase more quality components like advanced camera modules.