Thurrott Daily: Out of Africa
- Paul Thurrott
- Jan 31, 2017
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41
And … we are not going to Africa
As you may have heard, Brad and I were scheduled to fly to Nairobi, Kenya starting tonight. Unfortunately, Brad has suddenly become ill and needed to go to the doctor today. I will let him communicate the issue, but it’s possible it’s a side-effect of the yellow fever vaccine we needed for this trip. In any event, we should be able to make a future event, and possibly even in Africa, later this year. Obviously, the big concern here is that Brad is OK. —Paul
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Anyway, on to…
Tech tidbits from around the web.
1/31/2017 3:15:39 PM
Microsoft releases two more custom Xbox Wireless Controllers
Another week, another set of new custom Xbox Wireless Controllers from Microsoft.
Team Xbox knows choice is important, and we’re excited to announce two new Xbox One controller designs coming to retailers worldwide February 7. Both the Xbox Wireless Controller – Ocean Shadow Special Edition and Xbox Wireless Controller – Winter Forces Special Edition will pair seamlessly with any Xbox One.
The Xbox Wireless Controller – Ocean Shadow Special Edition is the next evolution of the Shadow controller series we introduced last year. This controller features a sleek, matte black top case and sides that fade to a light blue metallic finish. The buttons, triggers and D-pad have a glossy black finish with light blue highlights on the ABXY and menu buttons. The controller will be available for $69.99 USD at select retailers worldwide starting February 7.
The Xbox Wireless Controller – Winter Forces Special Edition is the newest of our Forces series controllers and is inspired by the popularity of our previous Armed Forces, Covert Forces, and Midnight Forces controllers. It has a modern, arctic camo pattern with light and dark grey accents, giving it a striking look alongside your Xbox One S console. This new controller will also be available for $69.99 USD at select retailers worldwide starting February 7.
The future of iOS is 64-bit only
Macworld reports that Apple is taking iOS to 64-bit only in the near future.
Apple has updated the pop-up warning in the iOS 10.3 beta to say that the 32-bit app you’re running “will not work with future versions of iOS.” The warning goes on to say that the “developer of this app needs to update it to improve its compatibility.”
In October 2014, Apple announced to developers that all new apps created after February 1, 2015 must have 64-bit support. Shortly after, Apple announced that all updates to apps must also be 64-bit compatible. Any 32-bit apps submitted to Apple after June 2015 are rejected. Last September, Apple announced that it was going to remove any apps from the App Store that did not “function as intended, don’t follow current review guidelines, or are outdated.” Presumably, this would include apps that did not meet the 64-bit requirement.
Apple does not state which version of iOS will be 64-bit only, but since this is a major development, you can probably assume that this will happen in iOS 11. An announcement will likely be made during Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference this summer.
“Don’t judge Apple purely on iPhone sales”
Yeah, the iPhone is only 70 percent of Apple’s revenues.
Yes, Super Mario Run is a smash hit … But Nintendo wanted more
I’ve been kind of surprised by all the negative reports about Super Mario Run, given its high quality. But it turns out the naysayers are wrong: This game is a smash hit. The WSJ reports:
Nintendo said its smartphone game “Super Mario Run” has brought in more than $50 million since going on sale in December, a performance analysts said was better than expected, although Nintendo’s chief executive wasn’t satisfied.
Initial results released Tuesday show the Mario game has been far more successful than the typical smartphone game but still may not bring in enough revenue by itself to significantly boost Nintendo’s bottom line.
“Super Mario Run” for Apple iOS devices has generated more than 78 million downloads globally, Nintendo said. More than 5% of those have paid the $10 charge required to unlock the game’s full content, bringing in more than $53 million in revenue so far, it said.
“For a game that charges this much, the performance is pretty amazing,” said Serkan Toto, a Tokyo-based mobile game consultant.