Microsoft to Purchase Minecraft Creator Mojang for $2.5 Billion

According to the reports, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), developers of Xbox video-game console are now ready to acquire the software company, Mojang AB. This company is behind the most popular game Minecraft and now will be acquired for $2.5 billion. This was carried out in a bid with the aim to boost their Xbox and mobile business.

According to Microsoft, even though Stockholm-based Mojang will be officially joining the game-studio division of the world’s largest software developers, the company’s founder is expected to carry on with their other projects of the company.

As per the statement given by Microsoft on September 16th, this purchase is expected to be closed late this year and will be launched on 2015. This deal is being considered as the biggest deal since the change of CEO at Microsoft. This game will give Nadella, CEO, with a game which is popular and all platforms and devices made by the company itself as well as rivals like Apple etc.

This acquisition has come at the right time wherein the company is looking for investment in their Xbox strategy and trying to venture into highly competitive mobile-phone arena. Microsoft is looking forward to make Minecraft be available on all software platforms which includes personal computer, Apple iOS, Google Inc Android and Sony Corporation play station console.

Overseas Revenue: 

According to Peter Wootton, company spokesman, Redmond which is the Microsoft’s Washington based office, is planning to pay for this deal through their cash which is held overseas. This means company will have favorable tax results. According to the CEO, they don’t consider Mindcraft just as a great gaming franchise, but it is an open platform around the world and is pushed forward through a very vibrant community of people, which the company cherishes. This platform will offer vast opportunity for Microsoft as well as the community. As per the reports till June, 54 million copies of this Mojang game has been sold in all different forms.

Approach of Markus Persson

This deal was reached due to the conversation between the Majong’s founder and Microsoft regarding their experience with Minecraft on Xbox. This deal was advised by JPMorgan Chase & Co and based on this Majong agreed for the deal with Microsoft and been working on framework and pricing. According to Mojang’s co-founder Markus Persson, he is just a basic computer programmer not an entrepreneur. He stated that he doesn’t understand the concept and how it works and doesn’t want anything to come back to him.

Risks to Microsoft

Microsoft is taking a huge risk purchasing Minecraft, which is currently at the apex of popularity and Mojang without their founders may not be able to grow at a fast pace and develop sequel. Minecraft was available earlier this month on all new generation of consoles, PlayStation 4, etc.

My Passport Wireless

Western Digital (WD)Company, a world leader in connected storage solutions, unveiled a new product called My Passport Wireless on September 3rd of this month. It is a drive that can serve as an all-in-one device performing multiple functions, which normally requires separate devices to work. It is an easy to use Wi-Fi enabled storage drive that enable users to save, access and transfer stored content wirelessly through any smartphone, tablet, computer or other devices.

This portable drive expands its usefulness through a wide range of customers from a frequent business traveller to a family on a trip or a creative professional working in his/her field, serving as a back-up for important documents, etc. and helps you free up the memory space of your mobile or tablets of limited memory capacity.

Product Features:

• Get more attached without attachments: It is free of wires and the internet, yet having the ability to connect with up to 8 devices at the same time.
• Built-in SD card slot: It can instantly transfer photos and videos from your SD card and provides a back-up for the same as well.
• Rechargeable Battery: The long lasting, Built-in, rechargeable battery gives that extra mobility to the product that will keep you going for longer duration. It can get up to 6 hours of continuous streaming of video and about 20 hours of stand-by time.
• Wireless connection with your devices: It is able to interact with your media files through your tablets and smartphones with WD’s My CloudTM mobile app. It can store and access files securely from anywhere on any iOS or Android devices.
• Stream media to connect devices: It can stream up to 4HD videos at once to multiple devices and also has the ability to stream your media to connected TVs, media players, gaming consoles and other DLNA/UpnP devices.
• Sharing internet network: My Wireless Passport device can be used as a Wi-Fi hub to share internet connection with multiple devices.
• Privacy: It keeps you secure from unauthorised access with Wi-Fi password protection for each and every saved files. In addition, it can protect your drive from USB access using Drive Lock provided in the device dashboard.
• Control: You can feel yourself in control of the device by using the intuitive Dashboard that will help you configure, manage and diagnose your drive.
• High speed USB connection: The drive provides you with an Ultra-fast USB 3.0 port that will enable you to transfer large amounts of data to the drive in a matter of seconds.

Price and Availability 

This latest product of WD is currently available for advance order online at the wdstore.com and will be available at selected US retailers later this September. MSRP is $129.99 USD for 500GB, $179.00 USD for 1TB and $219.99 USD for 2TB. The WD My Cloud app is available online for free in the App Store and Google Play.

Explore the New Features on Twitter Helping You to Initiate a New Episode

Twitter appears as one of the popular social sites that connect the world enabling you to communicate with the persons at any part of the world.

Recently, Twitter announced the change in fonts and the color options that you can explore while using the social site. The users can ascertain multiple color options in their profile which you need to implement properly creating a suitable page.

Moreover, the altered font improves the overall speed along with the enhanced readability features. Alongside, you can find the new buttons that include the suitable opportunities carrying out the profile activities efficiently without any interruption.

Get Familiar With the Changes

Installing the app, you can even use Twitter on Android and other smart devices that allows you to get access to the essential information through the particular social site.

Furthermore, you can comprehend the feasible fonts that reveal the opportunity of the specific options. Therefore, you can gain the popularity on Twitter that conveys your identity online. Therefore, to experience the real time changes you need to log in to your Twitter profile where you can discover the new features related to fonts and colors.

You can pick up a new color for your profile that would enhance the popularity and you can start receiving better responses on Twitter. However, you need to pay attention while creating a new identity ensuring that you choose the right options.

Utilize the new fonts and wrote something new for your profile that would grab the attention of the other users.

Go Through the Online Articles

The new users who are planning to create a Twitter profile can go through the information displayed online knowing the entire process and other useful details. Hence, you can eliminate the doubts knowing the feasible ways through which you need to proceed.

After you acknowledge the important data regarding the features, you create your own profile recognizing the practical benefits on Twitter. Also, you can ascertain the other effective outputs that represent the real usability of the site.

Make sure that you comprehend the complete system and carry out the procedure efficiently recognizing the recent updated features. However, while reading the articles and the comments you can discover both positive and negative feedbacks that may be confusing. So, you need to practically experience the features understanding the outputs that you receive in the recent times.

Know the Functionality of the Buttons

Finally, after you create the profile you should know the accurate functionalities of the particular buttons that you need to use to accomplish the bustles.

Therefore, it is important to evaluate the entire system along with the performance of the buttons that helps you to accomplish the activities at your ease. Get a real time view of the new profile that accumulates the suitable colors and fonts according to your needs.

Ensure that you implement the attributes in the proper way that suits your entire profile. Finally, you are able to connect to the entire world using Twitter as the suitable social platform.

Android Apps Like Vine, Evernote, and Others Arrive on Chrombooks, Google Says

Google has announced the arrival of handful Android apps on Chrombooks and Chrome OS based desktops. These android apps include Vine, Sight Words, Evernote and Duolingo. This is just a start or try by Google and will bring more apps in the future; as it is working with a group of Android developers to bring-in more apps. This move by Google is not only to bring the Android and Chrombooks together, but the aim is to allow the users to operate their Chrombook using their Android device (handset).

Vine: 

Vine is basically a video sharing service founded by Rus Yusupov, Colin Kroll and Dom Hofmann in June 2012. Twitter in October 2012 acquired this company for $30 million. Vine app was officially announced as a free app on 24th January, 2013 for iOS devices and its Android version was released on 2nd June, 2013.

The users can record video clips of 6 seconds long using the in-app camera and share it after editing it on the fly or by creating stop motion effects, if required. The video is recorded only when the screen is being touched by the user. Later in July 2013 the developers added few more features in this app which include ghost and grid image tools for the camera, revine, protected posts and curated channels. Further, the app came up with a new update which shows the number of times that the vine was viewed. This update was named ‘loop count’.

Evernote: 

Evernote is a collection of services and software which is designed for archiving and note taking. Stepan Pachikov founded it and its services were made available on June 24, 2008. A ‘note’ can be a web page, a piece of formatted text, a voice memo, a photograph, or ‘ink’ (handwritten) note. These notes can have files attached to it and can be saved in folders, then edited, annotated, tagged, exported and searched as a part of the notebook.

Image capture and voice recording notes are also supported by Evernote. The user can recognize the text written on the captured images using OCR and annotated. Tablet and touch screens with handwriting recognition is also supported by Evernote. Skitch—which allows users to share the image online after adding text and shapes to an image, was acquired on August 18, 2011 by Evernote. This app is made available on Windows 8, iOS, Android and OS X devices for free by Evernote.

Duolingo: 

Duolingo is a free text translation and language learning platform. French, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Dutch, Italian, Danish, Irish and American English courses are offered this app. This app is available on iOS, Web and Android platforms with the above mentioned and other combinations of languages. Its private beta was launched on 30th November 2011 and was made available to public on 19th June 2012 after having more than 300,000 users as waiting list. Duolingo was selected as the iPhone app of the year by Apple in 2013 and also at the 2014 Crunchies it won the Best Educational Startup.

Nikon’s New DSLR D750 Camera

Nikon has unveiled its new 24.3 megapixel full-frame digital SLR camera.

Nikon’s D750 is a new one in the line of lightweight, compact and slim Nikon FX-format body which offers the full-scale specifications required for high quality image.

Nikon’s D750 offers almost all the features that a low and high Nokia DSLRs generally provide. The camera contains the newly advanced 24.3 megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor which is powered by an EXPEED 4 image processor; as in D4S and D810—high range products of Nikon. ISO (controls the sensitivity of light, of a particular camera or film) ranges from 100 – 12,800 which is expandable up to 50 – 51,200.

Main Specifications: 

• Shutter speed range of 30-1/4000s.
• Continuous shooting speed of 6.5 shots/second.
• 51-point autofocus system.
• Advanced Scene Recognition System.
• A variety of movies-recording functions.
• Highlight-weighted metering.
• An optical viewfinder with approximately 100% frame coverage.
• High level of dust and water resistance.
• Built-in Wi-Fi.

Nikon’s D750 is the first DSLR by Nikon which has the ability to lock the subjects as small as–3 EV illumination, which allows to autofocus accurately and quickly in dark surroundings.

The camera is provided with high density 51-point AF (Auto Focus) system which enhances the performance of focus detection even at really low light situations. For fast phase detection there are 15 cross type sensors arranged both horizontally and vertically. The combination of AF capacity in low light and high ISO performance has enhanced the freedom of shooting. Nokia has provided the same new group-area AF mode as in D810 and D4S in addition to dynamic-area AF, single-point AF,
auto-area AF modes and 3D tracking.

The photographers can quickly adjust how pictures are captured and exposed using the couple of features provided. The Highlight Weighted Metering feature helps the users to take quality pictures in bright lights (such as public events and stage performances).

Coming to the video recording functions of the camera—it offers the same quality and functions as that of professional D810. Full HD 1920 x 1080 video can be recorded at 60p, 30p, and 24p. All manual controls including shutter speed/ISO adjustments and aperture adjustments are also available. A tilting LCD screen is provided on the backside of the camera.

This is for the first time that the Nikon FX camera has included WI-Fi as one the features. User can connect their Digital SLR to their tablet or phone through which they can control their camera or manage the photos.

In addition to these features the camera includes a pop-up flash, dual SD memory card slots, a shutter lifetime of 150,000 shots, 100% viewfinder coverage, headphone/microphone jacks, simultaneous HDMI output, built-in intervalometer, and Zebra stripes for spotting the overexposed surface.

This interesting and amazing camera will be made available in the month of September 2014 with a market price of $2300. Nikkor 24-120 mm f/4 VR lens will also be made additionally available in the Nikon’s D750 kit by the starting of mid October.