Fully Charged: Monster says Apple’s a bully, and Kerbal Space Program launching on PS4
The latest tech news kept short and sweet for your morning perusal
Apple revokes Monster’s MFi license
One-time partners Beats and Monster had a falling out a few years back, and Monster filed a lawsuit just earlier this year – but that move might have proven short-sighted. See, now that Apple owns Beats, the company has decided to revoke Monster’s ability to sell Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod-branded accessories.
The agreement was terminated last month after Apple’s chief litigation counsel Noreen Krall reportedly told Monster it was no longer "mutually beneficial." Monster responded by sharing its story with the Wall Street Journal, with general counsel David Tognotti saying, "It shows a side of Apple that consumers don’t see very often. Apple can be a bully."
Monster says it’s made about 900 products through the MFi program. The company can sell its remaining stock through September, but then it will have to pull any lingering product off shelves. Monster might think Apple’s behavior is untoward, but we don’t know: it sounds a bit like they walked right into this predicament.
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
Kerbal coming to PS4
We love – love – Kerbal Space Program on PC, which recently hit version 1.0 after years in Early Access. But now it’s coming to PlayStation 4, as the developers revealed on Twitter early this morning as the E3 gaming convention raged in Los Angeles. No word yet on when exactly to expect the release, but this space simulation is known for gripping fans with its obsession-worthy tinkering. If you’ve got a gaming backlog, we recommend starting to clear it now.
[Source: Twitter via Engadget]
Read More › Kerbal Space Program review
Killer Instinct, Gears of War to PC
The inaugural PC Gaming Show took place overnight in Los Angeles during E3, and amidst the many, many games shown were some big announcements from Microsoft about Xbox games making their way over to Windows 10 computers.
Free-to-play fighter Killer Instinct is coming over from Xbox One and features cross-platform multiplayer, while the newly announced Gears of War: Ultimate Edition for Xbox One will also hit Windows 10 with 4K support. Gears of War hit PC way back when, but wasn’t praised for being the best port around.
Also, No Man’s Sky will apparently hit PC at the same time as PlayStation 4. No date has been revealed yet, but it’s believed to be later this year. We already thought it was confirmed for PC, but hey, now we totally know for sure. Wonderful news, that.
[Source: Xbox Wire]
Read More › E3 2015: liveblog
Mass facial scanning at Download
Here’s some potentially unsettling news about police overreach as technology advances. Leicestershire Police apparently used this past weekend’s Download music festival as an opportunity to perform facial scans of the 90,000-or-so attendees and test out its system.
Police say it was to identify potential mobile phone thieves amidst the large group, but that explanation isn’t likely to make anyone fearful of a "big brother" surveillance state feel any more comfortable about it. Attendees also had fewer items on them to steal, thanks to a cashless wristband system implemented for the first time.