Behind the Scenes Preview for CBS's New Sherlock Holmes Series: Elementary

CBS released a 3-minute behind the scenes preview from the upcoming series: Elementary. Starring Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson, the show is a contemporary take on Sherlock Holmes stories. Unlike the hit BBC series “Sherlock” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, this one apparently will not be based on original stories by Conan Doyle.

Watch the video below, does it live to your expectations?

official Synopsis:

ELEMENTARY stars Jonny Lee Miller as detective Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson in a modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD’s most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare – a sober companion, Dr. Watson. A successful surgeon until she lost a patient and her license three years ago, Watson views her current job as another opportunity to help people, as well as paying a penance. However, the restless Sherlock is nothing like her previous clients. He informs her that none of her expertise as an addiction specialist applies to him and he’s devised his own post-rehab regimen – resuming his work as a police consultant in New York City. Watson has no choice but to accompany her irascible new charge on his jobs. But Sherlock finds her medical background helpful, and Watson realizes she has a knack for playing investigator. Sherlock’s police contact, Capt. Tobias “Toby” Gregson (Aidan Quinn), knows from previous experience working with Scotland Yard that Sherlock is brilliant at closing cases, and welcomes him as part of the team. With the mischievous Sherlock Holmes now running free in New York solving crimes, it’s simple deduction that he’s going to need someone to keep him grounded, and it’s elementary that it’s a job for Watson. Rob Doherty, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Michael Cuesta, who directed the pilot, are executive producers for CBS Television Studios.

Elementary airs on CBS this fall Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT

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4. First Teaser Trailer for CW’s New Superhero Series: Arrow
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First Teaser Trailer for CW's New Superhero Series: Arrow

CW has unleashed the first teaser trailer for their new superhero series: Arrow. Starring Stephen Arnell as the Green Arrow. The new series looking decent and might get the chance to fill the gap left by Smallville.

Watch the teaser below and tell us what do you think?

Official Synopsis:

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he’s become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory. By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be – flanked by his devoted chauffeur/bodyguard, John Diggle – while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under cover of darkness. However, Laurel’s father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante operating in his city. Meanwhile, Oliver’s own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on – and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine.

Stephen Arnell, Green Arrow

Arrow hits the CW network this fall every Wednesday 8-9 PM.

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Ultra-thin15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display and USB 3

Apple is currently prepping to unveil a new 15-inch MacBook Pro. The new MacBook Pro is said to have an ultra-thin design, a Retina Display (probably 2880 X 1800), and USB 3 (~ 10 times USB 2). Bloomberg reports that Apple will announce the new MacBook Pro at this year’s WWDC, which is set to begin June 11th.

This year WWDC would be super hit as Apple will announce the release date for Mountain Lion, which brings many features from iOS, like a Notification Center, iCloud integration, Messages.

Mountain Lion

Along side the new MacBook and Mountain Lion, Apple is expected to unveil iOS 6 with a new and revamped proprietary maps app featuring 3D technology which could be the tentpole of this year keynote.

According to a report from WSJ, Apple is expected to unveil an upgraded iCloud service at WWDC with new photo-sharing capabilities for sharing and commenting on sets of photos:

The new features, expected to be announced at Apple’s world-wide developer conference beginning June 11, will allow iCloud users to share sets of photos with other iCloud users and to comment on them, these people said… Apple is trying to better compete in the red-hot market for photo sharing, dominated by fast-growing online services such as Facebook Inc. and mobile apps like Instagram—which Facebook has agreed to acquire for $1 billion.

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Teen Wolf Season 2 Promo Poster

MTV has released the official trailer for Teen Wolf season 2! The TV show stars Tyler Posey (Scott McCall), Crystal Reed (Allison Argent), Tyler Hoechlin (Derek Hale), Dylan O’Brien (Stiles), Holland Roden (Lydia Martin) and others.

MTV has promised to release the first 10 minutes of the premiere if the trailer can get to 5 million views over the next week!

The Official Teen Wolf Facebook posted:

Here’s a peek at the official Season 2 trailer we’re releasing tomorrow! If we can get it to 5 million views, we’ll give you the first TEN MINUTES of the season!! Like this if you’re ready!

Watch it right below:

Teen Wolf’s second season will premiere on MTV in two-parts, beginning with Part 1 on Sunday, June 3 at 11 p.m. ET, and Part 2 on Monday, June 4 at 10 p.m. ET. The series will start to air regularly thereafter on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET.

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Apple's iOS 5.1.1 update

Apple just released iOS 5.1.1 for iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone. The update weighs only 54.4 MB which addresses issues with HDR, AirPlay video playback, the ability to switch between 2G and 3G networks and other bug fixes:

• Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut.
• Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks.
• Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances.
• Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List.
• Fixes an issue where ‘Unable to purchase’ alert could be displayed after successful purchase.

iOS 5.1.1 iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV Direct Download Links Repository

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Samsung Galaxy S III Officially Announced

Samsung has finally announced the new Galaxy S III at the Unpacked event today in London. This galaxy line is Apple’s biggest competitor in the smartphone industry.

The device sports a 4.8-inch 720P Super AMOLED HD display, 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor, 8-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM, 4G LTE technology, face recognition photo app that enables you to send pictures to your friends appearing in your pictures, as well as  lots of Apple-like features:

• S-Voice which is obviously (Apple’s Siri)
• Scan and Match for Music (Apple’s iTunes Match)
• AllShare Cast (Airplay) for streaming your content to your HDTV through the AllShare Cast Dongle (AppleTV).
• Music player accessory/companion product (iPod nano) called ‘S-Pebble’ as opposed to iOS kickstater watch by the same name.

Not to mention, Flipboard for Android is making its way into Samsung Galaxy S III for the first time on the platform.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Premiere Trailer Released

Activision has released the first reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 which you can watch it below.

The sequel is being developed by Treyarch and is set in the future, 2025, but you’ll occasionally be getting back to the land of Predator, Commando, and A-Ha in the mid-80s like Afghanistan.

One interesting point is that unlike previous titles which featured a linear storytelling, the new game will introduce the element of choice that will determine the fate of you or the others around you. Zombies are back and bigger than ever too.

The game hits store shelves on November 13, 2012.

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God of War: Ascension First Epic Gameplay Video

Following to God of War: Ascension multiplayer details that were released this afternoon. The guys at GameRadar have managed to get first God of War: Ascension gameplay footage, showing off the game’s multiplayer mode. Watch the footage below:

God of War: Ascension has online and offline multiplayer battles for up to eight players. There are a variety of multiplayer modes, customisable avatar warriors, armour and weapon types to unlock.

Multiplayer “combines the brutal gameplay and large-scale battles that God of War is known for to create a competitive experience like never before”, Sony said. According to game director Todd Pappy it’s a “fresh twist” on competitive gaming.

But the game has single-player, too, this time with a “revamped” combat and weapon system, “promptless” mini-games and new puzzles. Sony mentioned “fluid, life-like characters, dynamic lighting effects, and world-changing scenarios”.

Ascension’s campaign is “just a little bit shorter” than in previous God of War games. “We’ve mapped out everything and given time estimates. It’ll be pretty damn close.”

And lead combat designer Jason McDonald insisted that single-player has not suffered as a result of the addition of multiplayer. “We didn’t want to sacrifice single-player for multiplayer, neither did we want to tack [the latter] on,” he said. “We’re definitely going full force with both.”

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God of War: Ascension First Details Revealed

As promised Sony has released the first God of War: Ascension details. The game expands the experience into multiplayer gaming for the first time in the series.

The game is said to offer “epic cinematic storytelling, visceral battles, and blockbuster moments,” as well as a revamped combat system and all-new multiplayer mode combining the series’ “brutal gameplay” and “large scale battles.”

Playable by up to eight players, the game’s multiplayer mode has two teams competing against each other, each team will have the ability to create their own players with the flavor of four gods; Zeus, Poseidon, Hades or Aries. Each god grants specific special abilities, weapons and armour. there will be no playable female characters, no local split-screen support so online play was the team precedence.

The story follows Kratos, six months after being tricked into killing his wife and daughter, as he finds a way to break free from the blood oath that has tied him to the god Ares. Senteced to life in a titan-sized prison, Kratos will fight insanity and gain clarity in his struggle for revenge against Ares. He will face Greek mythology’s “darkest creatures” and solve “intricate puzzles” in his quest for redemption.

The game will also juggle single-player mode that will tackle Kratos’ storied past as a prequel to the previous games, here is what director Todd Papy had to say about the game and watch his interview with IGN below:

That’s right: multiplayer is making its way to God of War, but it won’t outright replace God of War’s famous single-player campaigns. As such, Director, Todd Papy told his audience that Ascension is the “most ambitious” entry into the series yet, one that will strive to maintain the “industry-defining” franchise’s “ground-breaking gameplay.” Of course, it also represents a gigantic risk. He acknowledged that “single player is our bread and butter; there’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. It’s what we’re known for, but we wanted to try something different.”

God of War: Ascension First Details Revealed

This isn't Kratos... someone else

God of War: Ascension First Details Revealed

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Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit

Warner Bros. screened 10 minutes footage of Peter Jackson‘s upcoming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at CinemaCon, and it was screened in 48 Frames Per Second. The issue is that a lot of people seemed to be disappointed with the new projected standard. Many said that the footage was terrible and non-cinematic.

After such complaints Director Peter Jackson recently talked to Entertainment Weekly about these concerns, and he hopes critics would change their minds after seeing the movie as a whole:

At first it’s unusual because you’ve never seen a movie like this before. It’s literally a new experience, but you know, that doesn’t last the entire experience of the film–not by any stretch, [just] 10 minutes or so. That’s a different experience than if you see a fast-cutting montage at a technical presentation.

I can’t say anything. Just like I can’t say anything to someone who doesn’t like fish. You can’t explain why fish tastes great and why they should enjoy it.

There can only ever be a real reaction, a truthful reaction, when people actually have a chance to see a complete narrative on a particular film.

However the movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will be showed with 6 different formats; 3D, 2D, IMAX 3D, each in 48fps and ordinary 24fps.

Watch the trailer released earlier below:

official Synopsis:

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths ofguile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

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Samsung Hires Flashmob to ‘WAKE UP’ Apple Users

It wasn’t enough for Samsung when they started their anti-iPhone and “get samsunged” campaign months ago, today Samsung sent a paid flashmob to Apple’s retail store in Sydney, Australia to try to “Wake Up” iPhone users.

Its Samsung’s most ridiculous move yet, they sent hordes of chanters people dressed in black to protest outside of an Apple retail store. with a clear message written: Wake Up!

It’s believed that this is Samsung’s Galaxy S III marketing, which was put together by Australian creative agency Tongue.

The ‘Wake up.’ campaign has also seen the words written on the bottom of Bondi Ice Bergs pool, as well as on a series of billboards placed around town. There was also a website at wake-up-australia.com.au that allegedly counts down to the May 3 launch for the Galaxy S III which is Apple’s iPhone primary rival.

[via mactrast]

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Apple Q2 2012 Results: $39.2 Billion Revenue, 35.1 Million iPhones, 11.8 Million iPads Sold

Apple posted their Q2 2012 financial results for the Q1 calender year, Q2 fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2012. Revenue of $39.2 billion, with 11.8 million iPads, 35.1 million iPhones and 4 million Macs sold.

We’re thrilled with sales of over 35 million iPhones and almost 12 million iPads in the March quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you’re going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver.”

“Our record March quarter results drove $14 billion in cash flow from operations,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $8.68.

Here are some points of interest during the financial call:

• Quarterly net profit of $11.6 billion
• iPhone units sold: 35.1 million
• Macs: 4 million
• iPads: 11.8 million
• iPods: 7.7 million
• Total revenues: $39.2 billion
• iPhone 4S available in 100 countries on 230 carriers.
• The iOS ecosystem continues to expand.
• Over 600,000 apps are now available on the App Store.
• 200,000 apps specifically made for iPad.
• iTunes now has over 28 million songs.
• Cumulatively, iOS devices have sold over 365 million units to date.
• iCloud now has 125 million customers since its launch in October.
• Average 18,000 visitors per store per week.

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Google Announces Google Drive; 5GB of Free Storage

Google has finally unveiled its long-rumored Google Drive. As speculated featuring 5GB. Alongside this Google would increase Gmail’s free storage up to 10GB

Today, we’re introducing Google Drive—a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff. Whether you’re working with a friend on a joint research project, planning a wedding with your fiancé or tracking a budget with roommates, you can do it in Drive. You can upload and access all of your files, including videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs and beyond.

With Google Drive, you can:

• Create and collaborate. Google Docs is built right into Google Drive, so you can work with others in real time on documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Once you choose to share content with others, you can add and reply to comments on anything (PDF, image, video file, etc.) and receive notifications when other people comment on shared items.
• Store everything safely and access it anywhere (especially while on the go). All your stuff is just… there. You can access your stuff from anywhere—on the web, in your home, at the office, while running errands and from all of your devices. You can install Drive on your Mac or PC and can download the Drive app to your Android phone or tablet.
• Search everything. Search by keyword and filter by file type, owner and more. Drive can even recognize text in scanned documents using (OCR) technology.

You can get started with 5GB of storage for free. You can choose to upgrade to 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month or even 1TB for $49.99/month. When you upgrade to a paid account, your Gmail account storage will also expand to 25GB.

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God of War 4: Ascension box art leaked

God of War 4 has been announced by Sony exclusively for the Playstation 3. The PS3 exclusive will take place before the events of the first God of War.

Titled God of War: Ascension, the game’s box art that was leaked showing Kratos struggling to break free from chains. Watch the tease trailer below:

God of War: Ascension will be coming exclusively to PlayStation 3. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to check out what the team at Sony Santa Monica Studios has been working on

Evidence of an imminent God of War 4 reveal has been piling up for some time now until the final announcement today.

Update #1:

The official PlayStation product page for God of War: Ascension now uses the tagline “Before he was a God, he was a man” and sets a Spring 2013 release date.

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Windows RT for tablets

Microsoft revealed its full suite of editions that will be available for “Windows 8” when it is released to market, that includes Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, and Windows 8 Enterprise. and Windows RT that will run on ARM-based machines, primarily aimed at tablets. According to the verge:

Windows RT will not be sold separately, but only available pre-installed on new machines with ARM processors. That’s a major change in the way Microsoft has traditionally sold Windows, and it underscores a more integrated approach to ARM-powered devices like tablets. Windows RT will also include the Office suite, but no other desktop apps can be installed on ARM machines. Windows RT will also lack the traditional Windows Media Player and most of the enterprise features found in Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise.

Yet to see if Microsoft’s plan is to build Windows RT into something that’s more closely like Windows 8 or something else entirely.

Below chart breaks down key features by each edition:

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Resident Evil 6 title

After the leaked second trailer from Capcom’s Captivate event yesterday, new details emerged on Resident Evil 6. The game will be split into three distinct campaigns that can be played in any order. Leon’s story takes place in the US, Chris’ in China and new man Jake’s in Idonia.

Jake Mueller in Resident Evil 6

Jake Mueller: son of Albert Wesker and a new character joining the gang, starts off in the fictional Eastern European nation where he was born. Mueller’s blood holds the cure for Resident Evil 6′s new C-Virus and can also make short work of the T, G, or t+G virus too, which makes him a very important figure in the game.

Sherry Birkin in Resident Evil 6

Sherry Birkin: an all grown up, who makes the jump from Resident Evil 2 loaded with her own share of immunities. Sherry has not only managed to avoid being captured by the US government but she’s also managed to keep the G-Virus in check too.

Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 6

Chris Redfield: his campaign is closer to Resident Evil 5′s all-action shootouts, except this time he’s swapping the streets of Africa for the fictional city of Lanshiang, which has suffered the full force of a C-Virus attack and now houses a population of mutated civilians. Chris is buddied up with Piers Nivens, who fans of the Resident Evil manga might know as “Beards Nevence”.

C- Virus: The new C strain mixes the worst of the T-Virus, G-Virus, and Las Plagas to create a whole new breed of horrible monsters. The infected enter a Chrysalid state and then emerge in unpredictable new forms. Some are the good old shambling zombies of old while others are a little smarter and can use melee weapons.

The worst of the bunch are transformed into J’Avos and are soldier-like in their behaviour, can repair limbs their damaged limbs much like Resident Evil 4′s Plagas Regenerators, and – terrifyingly – can even use firearms and other complex weapons.

Leon Kennedy and agent Helena Harper in Resident Evil 6

Leon Kennedy: his campaign sounds most promising taking place at the Tall Oaks university campus where a bio-terror attack has mutated the student population and zombified the President of the United States, which leaves floppy-haired Leon with no choice but to put a bullet between the Commander in Chief’s eyes.

This part of the game introduces a more dynamic camera to the series which is said to seamlessly blend gameplay into scripted events.

“We’re really trying to recreate the horrific atmosphere fans remember from the first Resident Evils and going for more gothic horror feel for Leon’s part of the story,” says Sasaki. “But usually we left every big story moment to the big cut-scenes. This time we wanted to bring that home to the player and make that more immediate. We tried to add those elements to the game itself and bring the player closer to those dramatic elements.”

Speaking to NowGamer Eiichiro explained that the complete Resident Evil 6 experience will eat up around 30 hours, making it Capcom’s longest survival horror title to date.

“The three characters each have their own story and you can choose whichever one you want and play that story, experience that character’s story,” he said.

The producer indicated there’s likely to be some shared content within these campaigns by alluding to the fact that each one three stories eventually overlap, with the three main characters eventually all meeting up in China.
[via CVG]

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Resident Evil 6 Leaked Captivate Trailer

We just learned that the release date for the highly anticipated Resident Evil 6 has been moved backward by over 2 months. Originally scheduled for release November 20, 2012 on Xbox 360 and PS3 (later on PC), RE6 is set to be released on October 2 nearly two months ahead of the previous date.

In a leak from Capcom’s Captivate event, a new Resident Evil 6 trailer confirms the new October 2 release date and spoils some new tidbits. Watch the trailer below:

The trailer provides some new details on the Javo, the main villain in the game. Sherry Birkin will also make her return in Resident Evil 6, and is joined by Albert Weskers’ son (Wesker Junior). Are you exciting for the game? share your thoughts in the comments

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Facebook Acquires Instagram for $1 Billion

Mark Zuckerberg has just announced that the giant social network, Facebook, has acquired the popular photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion. Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom has also confirmed the deal. The 13 full-time employees who will each receive part of a $100 million will move to the social network as a result. Not to mention Instagram has 30 million active users and recently debuted a hot new Android app.

Facebook’s official press release is here:

I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.

This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.

We’re looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we’re going to be able to build together.

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Halo

Bungie, the original developer behind Halo franchise, has now completed the game transition to 343 Industries. As of today, Bungie no longer hosts Halo stats and user contents. With the helm goes to 343, Bungie added a huge infographic on their website showing some impressive stats over the game history

Check it out below and get the full size image here

Halo Mulitplayer Stats Infographic

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Adobe Photoshop CS6 Public Beta Available for Download

Adobe was wrapping up Photoshop CS6 development and a public beta was expected any time soon. Now the embargo has lifted and the beta is out.

Download Links:

• Download Photoshop CS6 beta for Mac (DMG, 984 MB)
• Download Photoshop CS6 beta for Windows (ZIP, 1.7 GB)

Photoshop CS6 Highlights

Press release and features:

Photoshop CS6 Beta Now Available on Adobe Labs
First Major Release Since April 2010 Packed with New Features and Huge Performance Enhancements
SAN JOSE, Calif., – March 22, 2012 – Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Photoshop® CS6 beta, a preview of what’s to come in the next release of the industry standard in digital imaging, is available as a free download from Adobe Labs. Customers can download the beta, try out the experience and provide feedback to the product team. Packed with groundbreaking new innovations, features and incredible performance enhancements, Photoshop CS6 beta is available for the Mac OS and Microsoft® Windows® platforms. The final release is expected in the first half of 2012.

“Photoshop CS6 will be a milestone release that pushes the boundaries of imaging innovation with incredible speed and performance,” said Winston Hendrickson, vice president products, Creative Media Solutions, Adobe. “We couldn’t wait to share this beta of Photoshop CS6 with our customers and are looking forward to hearing from them and seeing the ways they are incorporating the beta into their daily creative workflows.”

New Features in Photoshop CS6 Beta
Photoshop CS6 beta demonstrates Adobe’s focus on huge performance enhancements, imaging magic and creativity tools that offer customers a new experience in digital imaging. Key features include new additions to the Content-Aware tools: Content-Aware Patch allows greater control by letting users select and duplicate an area of an image to fill in or “patch” another. Content-Aware Move lets users select and magically move an object to a new place in the image.

Customers will experience incredible performance, powered by the new Adobe Mercury Graphics Engine*, enabling near-instant results from popular editing tools including Liquify, Puppet Warp, Transform and Lighting Effects; and a refined, modern interface featuring dark UI options to make images pop. New and re-engineered design tools make creating designs faster and more efficient. Vector layers allow users to apply dashed lines and gradient strokes, searchable layers help quickly zero in on any layer you need, and new type styles let designers quickly apply type treatments to their designs.

In addition, the Photoshop CS6 beta offers all the features of Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended, such as new 3D editing features and quantitative imaging analysis capabilities. These features will be included in the shipping version of Photoshop CS6 Extended when it becomes available.

Pricing and Availability
The Photoshop CS6 beta is available immediately as a free download in English and Japanese. At installation, users will be required to provide an Adobe ID to complete a one-time login and online product activation. For information on how to install Photoshop CS6 beta visit . Customers can submit feedback via the Photoshop CS6 beta forum: http://www.adobe.com/go/pscs6_forum. Users can also connect with the Photoshop team via the community-powered site: http://feedback.photoshop.com; on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Photoshop; YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/photoshop; Photoshop.com blog: http://blogs.adobe.com/photoshopdotcom/; or via Twitter: http://twitter.com/photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop Family
Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Extended are at the heart of the Photoshop family, joined by solutions for users at every level who want to bring out the best in their digital images either at home, in the office or on the go. Coupled with Adobe Photoshop, the recently released Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 addresses the workflow needs of amateur and professional photographers, helping them create, manage and showcase images in impactful ways. Adobe Photoshop Elements provides consumers with powerful yet easy-to-use tools that organize, edit, create and share photos memories. For mobile devices, the Adobe Photoshop Touch app transforms images with core Photoshop features custom-built for tablets; and Photoshop Express is a free app for simple photo fixes and enhancements, and sharing to social networks.

New Features

Brushes
- HUD brush resize and hardness can now change opacity
- Increase brush size to 5000px
- Change color dynamics to per stroke instead of per tip (user option for old behavior)
- Brightness/contrast slider for textures when painting
- Brush projection for static tips
- Brush cursor reflects brush dynamics for round and captured tips

Eyedropper
- Show the sample size popup for the various eyedropper tools (black point, white point,
etc.)
- Add ignore adjustment layers options bar item for the eyedropper
- New mode for eyedropper to select layers current and below

File formats
- Read common stereo image pair formats (JPS, PNS) Allow for more bit depths in TIFF files
- Read BIGTIFF format
- Give the user choices regarding how they want transparency treated in OpenEXR on file open

Grammar
- Policed throughout app
- Use consistent grammar style in the title of dialog windows (no commands such as “Choose a color:”)

Layers
- Add a contextual menu item that deletes a layer effect not just disables it
- Add dither options to Layer Styles for Gradient Overlay and Gradient Stroke
- Allow 00 or Shift 00 to work when setting layer/fill opacity (previously no way to get 0%)
- Add bicubic sharper & bicubic smoother options when free transforming layers
- Allow changing of blend modes for multiple layers at once
- Allow locking of multiple layers
- CMD+J to duplicate layers and layer group
- Allow changing color labels to multiple layers at once
- Layer tooltips to include layer name (if defined)
- Opt+click on toggle arrows (groups and effects) in layer panel should close all targets
- Show blend if/Blending Effects badge on layer
- Show correct opacity and blend mode values for hidden layers
- Tab goes to next layer on inline layer rename, SHIFT + TAB goes to previous
- New command to raster layer effect into layer, merging the selected layers into themselves
- Reorder effects in the layers palette to match the Z-­­order style/blend mode (bottom most effects in termsof blending order, drop shadow is below the other effects

Liquify
- Resize Liquify brush with shortcuts
- Increase maximum Liquify brush size Add option to load last mesh

Presets
- Add new document presets for common devices (e.g. iPhone, iPad, etc.)
- Add new Gradient Map presets for toning and split-­­toning
- Sticky reorganization of tool presets (changes persist after re-launch) Add Contact Sheet II as an Automation option

SDK
- Add the ability to return an array of guides in a document from the scripting SDK
- Add ability to access tool name associated with the tool preset name via scripting
Selections
- Make the marquee, lasso, and mask panel feather values support decimal places like the feather dialog
- Remember feather radius when showing dialog for selection from a path

Transform
- Improve dragging of vector curves
- Don’t hide smart object icon when transforming a layer
- Rotate 90 with even x odd pixel dimension to be smooth (bjango.com)
- Undo or disable auto -­­rotate on open

UI
- Remove the app bar and reduce the drag/app bar over 30%
- [Windows] New/open document to context click on a document tab (has always been on Mac, now Windows too)
- Add “Don’t show again” checkbox to Purge warnings

Miscellaneous
- Enable Split Channels for documents with layers
- Select Hex field by default and allow clipboard pastes with # in contents (i.e. #fffffff)
- Increased GPU stability by prequalifying GPUs on the fly before use
- Auto-­­select the best resample method based on the type of resize
- Enable Invert and Threshold adjustments for masks in 32 -­­bit
- Hold SHIFT during startup to disable 3rd party plugins
- Add warning message that 16 -­­bit images cannot display their file size in the Save as JPEG dialog
- Add command to insert “lorem ipsum” for typeRelated articles

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Uncharted 4 Teaser Site?

A mysterious teaser site pointing to a March 22 reveal has popped up with a style very similar to Naughty Dog‘s Uncharted series franchise. PlayStation Norway has posted a picture of Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen along that site.

Fridtjof Nansen

The image was published on Facebook, Nansen’s face is obscured by the word ‘uutforsket‘, which translates to ‘unexplored‘, or uncharted ??. Traveler Nansen is known for crossing Greenland and also reaching a record northern latitude of 8614′ during his North Pole expedition.

Another tidbits surrounding the teaser site, the font used in writing the date is the same stencil type used in all Uncharted games, the .no Norway domain used for the page and the map used which is a pre-1914 map of Christiania, Former name of Oslo, are obviously in some way the reveal tied to Norway in particular.

Sony Denmark launched in the past a similar teaser campaign led up to Uncharted 3, the teasing site Uutforsket.dk which looked almost identical to the current campaign, but with a map of Copenhagen in the background However the guys at Naughty Dog are currently split into two teams, one still working on The Last of Us and the other is probably working on the next Uncharted game.

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The new iPad

Apple has recently held a conference call discussing Apple’s plans for its $100 billion cash balance, they are initiating a dividend and share repurchase program later this year, during that Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company saw “record” sales for the new iPad in its opening weekend. Now Apple elaborated on that by issuing an official press release showing how many new iPads were sold in the three days following the product’s launch last Friday; three million new iPads sold in just three days:

The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday.

These are some interesting tidbits showing iPad and iPhone sales over time.

• Apple sold 1 million iPads in 28 days after the device went on sale in April 2010;
• 2 million iPads were sold in less than 60 days;
• 3 million first-gen iPads were sold in 80 days;
• 3 million new iPads sold in three days.
• 4 million iPhone 4S sold in 3 days.

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The new Office 15 is being designed for the Desktop, and isn’t a Metro app. But a first look at it reveals that it’s getting a Metro-like makeover, according to Paul Thurrott from Supersite for Windows. That might not be good news for Office users.

Microsoft Office 15 Gets Metro-like Makeover

Office 15 is now only available as a Technical Preview to a select group of beta testers, but Thurrot got his hands on it, and gives it a brief review. He installed it on a tablet running the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. He ran into some trouble upgrading from the existing Office 2010 Professional.

Office 15 clearly is being designed with tablets in mind, the ribbon is present but minimized by default, helping create that clean, Metro-style minimalist look. There is a new tab and the whole experience has got a Metro-style minimalist look.

Check out some screenshots below:

Microsoft Office 15 Gets Metro-like Makeover

Microsoft Office 15 Gets Metro-like Makeover

Microsoft Office 15 Gets Metro-like Makeover

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Mozilla has released Firefox 11 with a plenty of new features.

Firefox 11 Now Available for Download

Firefox now includes new developer tools, Page Inspector 3D View. Nicknamed Tilt, a tool that highlights the structure of a page better than a flat view, so anyone can immediately understand the relationship of the code to the page output.

While developer tools like “view source” have always been useful to learn about how to develop a page, the 3D View more clearly illustrates how the parts of a website are structured. After selecting “3D” View in Page Inspector, just hover your mouse over the elements to get more information about each piece you select.

Another feature is the new Style Editor tool, which allows developers to edit CSS stylesheets like a text editor and see changes instantly. Firefox also introduces Add-on Sync. to let users sync add-ons between computers.

• Download Firefox 11 for Windows
• Download Firefox 11 for Mac
• Download Firefox 11 for Linux

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iOS 5.1 iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV Direct Download Links Repository

iOS 5.1 is out for download now, it brings many features such as Siri in Japanese, nice camera app enhancements and other things. You can update directly over-the-air using your iDevice or you can have the full install files below:

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

• Japanese language support for Siri (availability may be limited during initial rollout)
• Photos can now be deleted from Photo Stream
• Camera shortcut now always visible on Lock Screen for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation)
• Camera face detection now highlights all detected faces
• Redesigned Camera app for iPad
• Genius Mixes and Genius playlists for iTunes Match subscribers
• Audio for TV shows and movies on iPad optimized to sound louder and clearer
• Podcast controls for playback speed and a 30 second rewind for iPad
• Updated AT&T network indicator
• Addresses bugs affecting battery life
• Fixes an issue that occasionally caused audio to drop for outgoing calls

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Watch Apple "new iPad” Event Video Stream

Apple has posted a video for its new iPad event that took place in San Francisco today. The new iPad has been announced by Apple! As rumored, many of specs were expected, check them below:

The new iPad Features & Specs:

• Retina display, with a resolution of 2048×1536, 3.1 million pixels at 264ppi
• A5X Processor, quad-core graphics
• 5 megapixel iSight camera
• 1080p video recording
• Voice dictation, similar to Siri without the questions
• 3G & 4G LTE connectivity
• 10 hour battery life, 9 hour battery on 4G
• 9.4mm thick, weighs 1.4lbs
• Pre-orders start TODAY, available on March 16
• iOS 5.1

The video can be streamed here: Apple Events

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iPad 3 to Feature Senseg’s E-Sense Touch Technology?

When we first get the next-gen iPad (iPad 3 or iPad HD) event invitation, every body’s attention went to “We have something you really have to see.” which was translated instantly as the company might have attached a Retina Display to their new iPad which is a big possibility. But the invitation text goes with another words that – “And touch.”? Which in turn could be a reference to a new technology adopted by Apple.

According to reports by The Guardian, unlike Apple’s existing iPad display, next-gen iPad screen may be textured and actually you may feel rough, smooth, curved, flat, sticky, and slippery sensations by just touching the screen surface.

“Apple never uses words in its invitations without them meaning something,” said Carolina Milanesi, smartphones and tablets analyst for the research company Gartner. As she pointed out, the invitation for Apple’s previous event in October had a picture of some app icons, a “1″ against the iPhone, and the phrase “Let’s talk iPhone” – in retrospect, a pun on the planned introduction of the single iPhone 4S, with the Siri voice-driven “assistant” software.

Milanesi thinks similar analysis will pay dividends: “Saying you have to ‘see’ it obviously refers to the retina display. As for ‘touch’, my first thought was that they have done something to the back of the iPad.”

But the Guardian believes that the “touch” refers to a technology from Senseg, a Finnish startup which has developed a system called E-Sense which appears to give texture to a touchscreen.

The technology comes from a Finnish company called Senseg and it uses things called “tixels,” generated by electric fields from elements embedded around the screen, to provide a texture on the display that can change just like its pixels.

[via cultofmac]

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Assassin's Creed 3 Debut Trailer

Ubisoft has released the first trailer for Assassin’s Creed 3. The game is said to be the largest project in the company’s history. It has been in the works for over three years with twice the production capacity of any previous title from Ubisoft Montreal and other six studios. Watch the trailer below:

The game is hitting Xbox 360, PS3 on October 31, 2012. More detail regarding the new game can be read here

Here is the official notes from the publisher:

Assassin’s Creed III is powered by Ubisoft-AnvilNext, a revolutionary new game engine that delivers breakthroughs in visual quality, character models and artificial intelligence. Assassin’s Creed III will feature a ground-breaking level of stunning graphics that bring Colonial America to life.

Set against the backdrop of the American Revolution in the late 18th century, Assassin’s Creed III introduces a new hero, Ratohnaké:ton, of Native American and English heritage. Adopting the name Connor, he becomes the new voice for justice in the ancient war between the Assassins and Templars.

Players become an Assassin in the war for liberty against ruthless tyranny in the most stylized and fluid combat experiences in the franchise to date. Assassin’s Creed III spans the Revolutionary War, taking gamers from the vibrant, untamed frontier to bustling colonial towns and the intense, chaotic battlefields where George Washington’s Continental Army clashed with the imposing British Army.

“Assassin’s Creed III features the franchise’s most expansive setting so far, along with an exciting new hero and exponentially more gameplay,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “Whether you’re a longtime fan of Assassin’s Creed or if you’re new to the franchise, you’re going to be blown away by the scale and marvel of Assassin’s Creed III.”

Additional Assassin’s Creed III details can be found in exclusive cover features in the next issues of Official Xbox Magazine (20th March), Official Playstation Magazine (20th March) and Nintendo Gamer (23rd March).

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Assassin's Creed 3 officially Announced

Ubisoft has officially announced Assassin’s Creed 3, promising more details on the sequel next Monday, March 5. The game set during the American Revolution in New York and Boston cities between 1753 and 1783.

“We confirm that Ubisoft will announce all the details of Assassin’s Creed III on Monday March 5th at 5pm.”

Assassin's Creed 3 Setting During the American Revolution

Game Informer magazine cover image showing Assassin’s Creed 3 new hero wielding an axe and pistol. The new hero is called Connor and has an English father and Native American mother. During AC 3′s opening players will experience Conner’s childhood on the American frontier as he’s raised by the Mowhawk.

“Ever since the conclusion of Assassin’s Creed II, a senior team of Ubisoft developers has been secretly toiling away on what comes next. That team aimed high, with plans to examine and rethink every element of the franchise from the ground up, build something new, and take a full three year development cycle to do it.

Assassin's Creed 3 Setting During the American Revolution

Assassin’s Creed 3 using an updated game engine capable of putting thousand-man battles on screen powers Assassin’s Creed 3, and a brand new animation system (with nothing carried over from previous games) and impressive facial animations are promised.

Assassin's Creed 3 PS3 Cover

Here’s the full breakdown of the game details:

• New hero called Connor/Ratohnhake:ton (pronounced Ra-doon-ha-gay-doo). He has an English father and Native American mother.
• More details about the protagonist/scenarios: You will experience Conner’s childhood on the American frontier as he is raised by the Mohawk. The Mohawk eventually clash with white colonists who burn their village down, causing Connor to dedicate his life to confront tyranny and injustice.
• A new traversal approach that has players leaping and climbing trees and mountain cliffs.
• Uses a new version of the Anvil engine that can “depict thousands of troops engaged in bloody battle” along with highly detailed face close
• ups. They later imply that if they used version numbers, they would be like going from Anvil 1.0 -> Anvil 2.0 or something of that nature.
• Judging by the images, the faces really are quite good.
• Combat is focused on putting you on the offensive and based on speed/momentum.
• The main character has thousands of new and unique animations (no carry over from other titles) to support the new combat system.
• Character details:
• George Washington: Interacting with Washington is one of the core relationships of the game.
• Benjamin Franklin: He’s not a convenient inventor a la Da Vinci.
• Charles Lee: His role is a mystery.
• The game is set between the years 1753 – 1783 and is centered around the cities of Boston and New York.
• “It’s not just going to a historical building now; it’s going to a historical event.”
• Event examples: “You will see the great fire of New York. You will visit Valley Forge as a location that is currently occupied by Washington’s forces. You will visit these places in the moment that they were important, and hopefully, experience the reason why we know where they are today. That’s the goal.”
• Connor is in the heart of major battles, and they can now have a couple thousand guys on screen, whereas before it was capped at about 100.
• The overall story is still centered around the Assassins versus the Templars and Connor’s journey.
• Not all the Colonists will be cast as good people, and not all the British will be cast as evil oppressors. They’re trying to focus on how both the Assassins and Templars viewpoints exist in a gray morality as the Templars really believe they’re saving the world.
• The French and Native Americans will also feature in the game, as was probably really obvious.
• The modern day stuff relates to that location in New York at the end of Revelations.
• There will be all sorts of wilderness in the game referred to as the Frontier.
• The map of the Frontier is 1.5 times bigger than the entire map of Brotherhood.
• The Frontier is not empty like in Assassin’s Creed 1, but features a third of the game’s missions and gameplay content.
• You can hunt animals for resources, and how you kill them effects your reward. A one hit kill on a bear gets you a much more valuable pelt than stabbing it eight times.
• The wilderness traversal plays a big part in the gameplay in the Frontier, allowing you to use trees, cliffs, ledges, and more to set up kills and combat.
• Connor does have a hidden blade.
• The world changes as time passes, so a field where a battle happened in one year may just be a series of empty encampments a few months later.
• The entire world will change with seasons, so the cities and the wilderness will all exist in both Summer and Winter settings.
• In the winter, soldiers will move slowly and stumble about in the snow, and lakes and rivers will freeze over allowing you new terrain to work with. This gives Connor an extra advantage since he can still use the trees and wilderness pretty effectively during this time of year.
• There are all sorts of clubs and groups who want you to join and give you quests. These are separate from the mission system. These clubs will contact you based on what you do in the game. For example, hunting a lot will get you an invitation to the hunting society.
• There will be a goods based economy, a new property system, and more Desmond stuff.
• There’s going to be some new puzzle thing like the first person Tetris.
• There’s a new Animus database known as Animus 3.0.
• They’re not unveiling anything about the multiplayer yet.
• There will be more platforming levels.
• Full synchronization returns, but with major tweaks. Missions have checkpoints, You also get significant rewards for doing these tasks instead of a 100%. “Imagine a leveling system in an RPG, except there’s a finite amount of XP to find. The more in-sync you get, the more you fill your sync bar. Within each mission, each activity you complete has a value”. You can replay everything to increase your score.
• They imply there is something resembling the Brotherhood system of picking up fellow assassins.
• Aligned groups are gone, but something new is replacing them in regards to factions. They don’t say what.
• There’s a new notoriety system that is more hidden and doesn’t penalize you for exploring risky areas.
• The game has fast travel because the game has more traveling.
• Don’t expect more tower defense.
• You can upgrade Connor’s gear and costume as the game goes on in an attempt to make it feel more authentic.
• The cities have a lot more subtle detail now in terms of ambient things that happen.
• You can now leap over wagons or slide under obstacles, including navigating over and around moving objects. The free running stuff also has you jumping through windows to trees and then on top of church roofs. Basically, expect the free running stuff, but more fluid and presumably generally closer to the ground.
• Connor enters battle with two weapons. The game uses the same controls in and out of battle.
• The tomahawk and knife are a “constant presence” in battle. They also let you do double counters and multiple takedowns, and you can chain kills.
• There’s no more target locking, it just automatically detects your target. Counter/defense are the same button to prevent turtling.
• You can use human shields and other context sensitive moves.
• They want you to constantly move in battle.
• There are lots of secondary attacks like the one shot pistol on the Y button.
• There’s a new dynamic camera to track the action and make it look as cinematic as possible.
• There is a new sprinting system also, so you can hold the button to instantly turn around and start fleeing from combat. They also let you kill people while still moving so you can keep chasing a target. They kind of imply you can even leap off of them after you kill them, though I’m not sure if that makes you faster or just doesn’t impede your movement.
• They really, really, really want you to constantly move. I mean like they say this every four sentences. Not just in battle, but in every section of the game.
• They also try to keep you more in control of the combat than ever before.
• Game Informer really loves their animation system.
• There are around 2.5 hours of character scenes in the game that are fully acted and recorded. They mean this in Naughty Dog style where they have the actors being mocaped while performing on a set that resembles the scene in the game.
• They’re aiming for accuracy by having historical dialog consultants and actual Native American actors.
• This game has the longest development cycle since AC1, and has twice the production capacity (in terms of work hours) and budget of Revelations.
• They want the game to feel like AC3.5, and the game will have its first version complete in just a few more weeks, at which point they’re going to spend the rest of their time refining it.

[ via NeoGAF ]

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5. The Last of Us First In-game Screenshots Revealed

ss

Apple on Friday began preparing San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts with a colorful signage featuring the company’s logo ahead of next week’s media event.

[Image credit macrumors forums]

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