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Why Microsoft dumped the Xbox One’s Kinect requirement, in the company’s own words

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Sony is still winning the PlayStation 4 vs Xbox One sales battle according to market research firm NPD Group, which says that the PS4 has outsold Microsoft’s new console in April for the fourth month in a row. Microsoft sold 110,000 Xbox One units and 76,000 Xbox 360 units last month, a performance that wasn’t strong enough to beat PS4 sales.

Read more here: Boy Genius Report

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Google+, a.k.a. the Clippy of social networks, looks like it’s on its way out

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It might be time to start playing a mournful bugle melody for Google+. Google’s social network, which for a while became the Clippy of social networks because of its annoying efforts to insert itself into every other Google service, will not be featured at any panels at Google’s I/O developers conference next month, Droid Life notices. In contrast, Google held several panels on Google+ at its 2012 and 2013 I/O conferences, which really does make it seem as though Google is starting to ease off promoting its polarizing social network.

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Incredible Word Lens app now free following Google acquisition

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We first covered Word Lens here on BGR all the way back in 2010, and the app is no less incredible today than it was nearly four years ago. The app allows users to view a sign or other printed text through the camera on their iPhone, Android phone or Google Glass, and Word Lens will replace the text with a translated version in fonts and colors that match the original. In other words, Word Lens truly augments reality in a fantastically useful way.

Quest Visual, the company behind Word Lens, announced on its website that it has been acquired by Google.

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Facebook wants your friends to force you to reveal more details about yourself

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In its non-stop quest for personal data, Facebook is rolling out a rather ingenious feature that could help it gather even more info about you. In addition to constantly harassing users to fill in personal data on their profile pages, Facebook will now offer an “ask” button that will appear on a user’s page in the top left About box, for those cases where personal details aren’t filled in. The new button will give people’s Facebook friends a chance to actually ask them for more details.

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You won’t be able to stop reading this Twitter account that sends out random bits of overheard conversations in NYC

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Ever wanted to spend a day as a fly on the wall in a public place and just listen in to what people are talking about as they passed you by? Well now you have a Twitter account you can follow that’s doing it for you. @Conversnitch is an account that has been set up to listen in on and then tweet out bits of conversations of people who are walking through a particular area in New York City. The Guardian informs us that the account has been set up by two artists who used “only a credit card-sized Raspberry Pi computer, a microphone and a Wi-Fi card hacked into a lightbulb fitting, and a piece of open source software hosted at Github” to create a snooping device that is virtually undetectable.

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2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost

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Earlier this week, Ford invited us to Charlotte, NC, to ride in an all-new 2015 Mustang fitted with its turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder. It’s the first forced-induction, four-cylinder ponycar for the Blue Oval since the sun set on the 1996 Mustang SVO. We jumped at the opportunity, as only a handful of people have ever been in the passenger seat of this new car, and most automotive media won’t get as close as we did until this fall.

As we revealed in our Deep Dive, Ford will slot this new turbocharged four as premium powerplant between its naturally aspirated 3.7-liter V6 and the naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8. At last mention, the automaker said the direct-injected, all-aluminum engine will develop 305 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque, returning the best fuel economy of the three powerplants in the process. History buffs will note that those figures are appreciably stouter than the 200 horses and 240 lb-ft that the ’86 SVO realized out of the same displacement, and the latter’s figures were hugely impressive at the time. On paper, the new EcoBoost four looks to be a good fit for most owners who want to balance performance with efficiency – we were eager to see how it felt from the passenger seat.

Riding Notes

  • Ford is continuously polishing its final product. The Mustang we rode in was a prototype, still in need of some final tweaks. Its interior was mostly complete, but many of the surfaces were lacking texture or constructed with the incorrect material – standard prototype fare.
  • A manual and a traditional automatic transmission will be offered at launch, with both containing six gears. While the standard trans is a carryover, the automatic has been upgraded with paddle shifters and is driver configurable with four different electronic modes (Normal, Sport, Track and Snow/Wet) that alter shift points, traction control and throttle response. Our test car was equipped with the automatic.
  • The steering effort may also be adjusted between three different settings (Comfort, Normal and Sport), thanks to its new electronically assisted rack.
  • Our car was optioned with a Performance Package that will be a must-have for enthusiasts. It includes firmer dampers and higher-rate springs (take a closer look and note that the 2015 model already rides a bit lower, with tighter wheel well gaps), chassis bracing, upgraded front bushings and stiffer sway bars (by about five percent). More capable four-piston brake calipers are fitted to the front axle over 13.8-inch ventilated rotors, while the rear brakes retain a single-piston sliding caliper over 13.0-inch ventilated discs. The package does nothing for the engine, but a new 3:55 rear axle ratio (replacing a 3:31) will make it feel a bit quicker. Lastly, a set of 19-inch alloys wrapped in performance-oriented Pirelli PZero rubber (255/40R19 at all four corners) improves grip.
  • Off-the-line acceleration wasn’t tire-chirpingly quick, even in the sportiest setting, but once the engine was under full boost – we noted a bit more than 15 psi on the analog dial between the center HVAC vents – it started to pull strongly, wanting to stretch its legs. (Ambient temperatures were in the mid-90s, with equally high humidity, both of which work against a turbocharged powerplant.) The short autocross course limited the driver to just second gear, with the shift from first to second arriving smoothly. Our pilot demonstrated shifting in both automatic and manual modes, which features nifty rev-matching throttle-blips, and it never felt sharp, harsh or tiringly aggressive.
  • As is nearly always the case with a four-cylinder engine, the new 2.3-liter lacks the ultimate smoothness of a six or eight. At this stage of tune, however, it’s no better or worse than the racket emanating from BMW‘s new four. There was a notable intake and exhaust note, both pleasantly tuned, but we couldn’t catch any turbo whine in our short jaunt (Ford didn’t allow us to pry open the hood and view the intake design). This Mustang’s siblings will each have much better lungs, while the four will require some acclimating.
  • One big advantage a four-cylinder holds over a six- or eight-cylinder is reduced mass. During the parking lot autocross, the new Mustang felt impressively agile and light. There was very little body roll, even during extreme maneuvering (the car in this picture is cornering aggressively). Under heaving braking, the new chassis and sporty underpinnings – independent rear suspension and all – seemed to successfully resist the urge to dive or become unsettled. There was a bit of front-end push in the tightest sections, but applying the throttle quickly moved the weight rearward, extinguishing the understeer (the front of the coupe felt lighter than the rear, which would indicate good balance). We’d be willing to bet that the four will be the most nimble in the family.
  • It’s likely that Ford sees even more potential in the idea of an EcoBoost Mustang – new spy shots and video revealed earlier today suggests that the company may be working on a model with even higher performance, though its cylinder count remains unclear.

In a nutshell, we climbed out of the passenger seat in Charlotte impressed. Three quick laps observed from the passenger side are no substitute for a thorough test drive, but we’ve sat right seat in hundreds of vehicles, with the majority of those being far less competent. Climbing behind the wheel of the 2015 Ford Mustang for ourselves can’t come soon enough.

2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 May 2014 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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