Xamarin apps are built with standard, native user interface controls. Apps not only look the way the end user expects, they behave that way too. Xamarin apps have access to the full spectrum of functionality exposed by the underlying platform and device, including platform-specific capabilities like iBeacons and Android Fragments. Xamarin apps leverage platform-specific hardware acceleration, and are compiled for native performance. This can’t be achieved with solutions that interpret code at runtime. MarketWatch is one of the most visited financial news sites in the world. The MarketWatch team was able to reuse their C# skills to deliver a fast, beautiful iOS app. Kimberly-Clark transformed their field sales process with a Xamarin app that reduced product proposal time from 40 hours to 2 hours. Bastion is an award-winning console game that was brought to the iPad using Xamarin. Wired Magazine said it “might be the best console-to-tablet port yet.” Xamarin apps use native UIs on every platform to enable the best possible experiences. Simplify mobile app design with our Android and iOS designers, and build your own app today. Learn more about Xamarin Designers for Visual Studio and Xamarin Studio. Discover a new way to learn iOS, Mac and Android development as well as a fast way to explore new APIs and iterate on features without having to first build and run a project. Sketches display code executing in real-time right from your IDE, and are ideal for experimenting with new language features, exploring APIs, developing algorithms and more.

The mean streets of Ventura Bay are alive with the sounds of revving engines and police sirens. Need for Speed is back in the best way possible by sticking to what it does well. Racing game fans have been spoiled with all ready amazing looking games like Forza Horizon and Driveclub . Some skeptics voiced concerns about how the Need for Speed E3 trailer couldn’t have possibly been in-game. I’m happy to report that the E3 demo was no joke. The transitions from FMV video to actual gameplay was entirely seamless on the PS4. What was even more impressive was the weather and lighting effects, assuming you were driving slow enough to even notice. Fans of Need for Speed Underground will love the level of customization options. Ghost Games worked closely with popular car blog Speedhunters to choose the cars and aftermarket parts that would best fit in EA’s new racer. There seems to a big push for authenticity when it came to finding cars that illegal street racers would actually be caught driving. After customizing my Porsche with a lovely blue matte finish I decided to throw on some real obnoxious race decals to really immerse myself into the underground street culture. They also streamlined the car tuning aspect in NFS with just a few simple sliders to whether you want to your whip to focus more on grip or drift driving. The mode I got to checkout was 8 player Rep Attack. 8 racers are dropped into a section of the open world where each had around 9 minutes to amass as much rep as possible. You can gain rep by simply messing around in the open world. I was happy to hear that Autolog will be returning to Need for Speed where you can compete against your friend top scores and times. There are a couple of event icons throughout the map. Racers can just meet up that the event marker and just compete or they can drive freely around to gather rep on there by either driving really fast or just driving like a madman. I did notice that my gameplay demo had less spastic camera angles than the trailer and thank the good lord for that. It seemed like that odd zoom-in effect every time you drifted seemed like it would given me motion sickness. Thankfully what you saw in the trailer was mostly for more cinematic effect and not in the build I was playing.

"Excitement for the God of War franchise is at an all-time high and we're thrilled to continue that momentum with God of War: Ghost of Sparta, " said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA. "This new adventure will showcase Kratos on PSP like never before in an experience that fans and newcomers can enjoy on the go, anytime, anywhere." Set in the realm of Greek mythology, God of War: Ghost of Sparta is a single-player game that has players once more taking on the role of Spartan warrior Kratos. This new adventure picks up after the original God of War concludes, telling the story of Kratos' ascension to power as the God of War. In his quest to rid himself of the nightmares that haunt him, Kratos must embark on a journey that will reveal the origins of lost worlds, and finally answer long-awaited questions about his tattoo, scar and family. Armed with the deadly chained Blades of Chaos, he will have to overcome armies of mythological monsters, legions of undead soldiers, and amazingly dangerous and brutal landscapes throughout his merciless quest. The developers say they have "made significant strides to give players a realistic feel that has never been seen before on PSP or any other portable platform." The game showcases higher quality environments and characters, giving an unmistakable realism to Kratos' newest quest, they say. The game will have more than 25 percent more gameplay than God of War: Chains of Olympus, according to the release. The game will also have a new weapon system, new magical powers, weapons and navigational abilities, many more enemies on screen, and a greater number of boss encounters, truly bringing the experience to life, all while on the go.

It's such a pain jumping on the bandwagon of a brand-new video game console. It's not that it's not fun — playing next-generation games with superior quality is awesome. It's that doggone price. When new video game consoles first hit the market, they're always in the multiple hundreds of dollars. Granted, that's considerably less than it costs to buy a new computer – or heck, even a new smartphone that's just hit the market – but it's no small amount of pocket change. It's made all the more frustrating by knowing that a year or two down the road, that price will drop by a hundred dollars or more. If you're a frugal shopper who's dying to get in on next-generation gaming, this is your lucky day. An online retailer called CowBoom is selling refurbished Xbox One consoles today only (March 30, 2015) at almost half the retail price of $500. Yes, we used the R-word (refurbished), but don't let that scare you. Refurb products are, on the whole, practically as good, quality-wise, as brand-new products. (Photo : Microsoft) CowBoom's "Deal of the Day" includes: • Xbox One console w/ 500GB hard drive • 2nd-generation Kinect sensor • 1 Xbox One wireless controller Considering all you're getting in the box, $260 is an incredible deal. And it's certainly far less than you'd pay for an Xbox One off the shelf, for at least another two or three years. We have no information on how limited CowBoom's inventory may be — so if this deal interests you, don't hesitate.

Video editing is an essential part of the video making process. It’s editing that makes it possible to set the mood, pace and atmosphere of your video shoot. It also enables you to add titles and effects, shorten or lengthen sequences, and much more. For a long time, video editing was a somewhat laborious process, not least because video footage had to be edited sequentially. This meant that if you wanted to go from a scene that was five minutes into your recording to another, at say, the 17-minute point, you had to spool through metres of the tape to get to the right spot. Even when using sophisticated video editing decks that could assemble a series of edit points throughout a tape, it was still a long-winded process. Now, thanks to desktop video editing, this has changed. That isn’t to say that the video editing process has become less challenging, but simply that editing tools have become faster, easier, more flexible and more versatile thanks to desktop video editing technology. In a desktop video editing system, a computer and editing software are the main tools used in a video project. The first task is to transfer the video from the camcorder to the computer. With analogue video, this meant installing a video capture card in the PC so that the video could be digitised. But as HDV is a digital format, this process can be avoided. Instead, the video can be transferred directly from camcorder to computer using an IEEE 1394 terminal (also known by a variety of names including, Firewire). Most video equipment supports the IEEE 1394a standard, which offers a top data speed of 400 Mbit/sec, although a more recent standard - IEEE 1394b - offers almost twice the maximum data rate. All HDV camcorders have an IEEE 1394 terminal and many PCs now include the connection as standard. To connect camcorder to computer, you use an IEEE 1394 cable (these come in four- and six-pin configurations). This enables the raw video footage to be transferred to the computer. The IEEE 1394 connection can transfer audio, video and time code data, and its fast, sustained data transfer rate makes it ideal for transferring video footage.

Major Nelson showing off the Xbox One box contents. Microsoft Microsoft will be bundling a headset in the Xbox One box after all, Xbox Community Manager Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has confirmed. Last month, Microsoft made waves when it said that the Xbox One would not come with a headset and that customers would need to . In that Major Nelson posted Thursday, however, he confirmed that the limited edition "Day One" version, as well as the standard version of the console, will come with a headset. The Xbox headset is a key component in the gaming experience for those who play titles online through Xbox Live. That the company would force customers to pay $25 just to get their hands on the headset was not viewed warmly by gamers. Aside from the headset, Microsoft showed off in its unboxing video the new console and the updated Kinect. Major Nelson also spent considerable time discussing the HDMI cable that comes bundled with the console and supports 4K resolution.

A GameStop trade-in promotion can save you money on an Xbox One. Sarah Tew/CNET Xbox One buyers can shave some money off the price of the console if they qualify for a new trade-in deal. Available through GameStop, the new promotion promises $125 in store credit toward the purchase of a new Xbox One. To qualify, you need to trade in your existing Xbox 360 (250GB or greater) or your Sony PlayStation 3 (120GB or greater). That means you can get the $349 Xbox One console (the version without the Kinect sensor) for as little as $225. But the offer is also good for the $499 Xbox One version with the Kinect. For most of last year, Microsoft's Xbox One trailed in sales behind Sony's PlayStation 4. Microsoft tried several strategies to cook up sales, including offering free games. But Xbox One sales got a hefty boost last November after Microsoft chopped the price by $50. The $50 price cut was supposed to be temporary but has since become permanent. In March, Microsoft announced that Xbox One unit sales had shot up 84 percent from February, according to blog site IGN. So any drop in the price of the console is clearly a motivating factor for buyers. To take advantage of GameStop's trade in, your Xbox 360 or PS3 must be in full working condition and include all the necessary components. Defective items may be eligible but at a lower value. The promotion is slated to end April 25.

Description f5 transcription saves valuable time while transcribing your audio/video files manually. f5 transcription saves valuable time while transcribing your audio/video files manually. Just press the F5 key (or FN+F5) to start or pause the audio/video file and type what you hear. To be clear: This is no voice recognition software because this can not help you transcribing natural speech, dialects or group interviews. So you type by yourself while listening to your audio or video file. f5 speeds up that process and is really easy to use. The free version will play the first 10 minutes of every file. With the full version (available at the appstore) you can order the full version without anyrestrictions. Features: Variable playback speed - without pitch changing Automatic rewind - re-hear what you just heard Automatic speaker tokens - and f5 does the typing for you Customizable text blocks - helps with commonly used phrases Time stamp - click on the text = listen to the audio/video Automatic backups - so nothing gets lost Find and replace - anonymize data in seconds Foot pedal support - makes your job even faster Save your transcripts as doc/rtf-Documents Opens all audio- and videofiles you can open with Quicktime See how it works: Variable playback speed - without pitch changing Almost nobody can type as fast as people speak – so simply slow down the replay speed of your recording, without changing voice pitch. And when you proof-read your transcript, you can increase the replay speed. This makes an easy-going job out of transcription. Automatic rewind - re-hear what you just heard Every time you pause the recording, it automatically rewinds for a few seconds. This way, you’ll always hear the last two or three words, and you can keep your work flow going. Customizable text blocks - helps with commonly used phrases Save the most important phrases, speaker names/aliases, and transcription symbols as text blocks. F5 also comes with some pre-made text blocks for common transcription conventions. Automatic speaker tokens - and f5 does the typing for you Don’t spend time on typing speaker names or aliases yourself – f5 can do this automatically. In one-on-one conversations, each paragraphs automatically starts with the name of the person speaking. If you have more than two speakers, you can use customizable text blocks. Time stamp - click on the text = listen to the audio/video Clicking on a time stamp automatically replays the respective part of your audio or video data. Time stamps are automatically inserted while you transcribe. This helps when transcribing with f4/f5, and when analyzing in MAXQDA, Atlas.TI or f4analyse. Automatic backups - so nothing gets lost Mistakes happen to everyone. But f5 regularly backs up your transcript, so you don’t lose your valuable work. Many audio/videofiles F5 can play all audio/video files that quicktime can play on your system. To increase the supported filetypes just install some of the cost-free tools available e.g. Perian.

Microsoft's Xbox One has continued to grow as a platform, delivering it's multimedia all-in-one promise, as well as giving gamers plenty of reasons spend countless hours vegging out on the sofa, including that excellent-looking Elite controller. The next year will be no different, and there's a lot of major releases and promising titles on the horizon to look forward to. Here's our top 25. 25. Assassin's Creed Syndicate We're putting Assassin's Creed: Syndicate here as it's a title we're very much looking forward to, but it's also one we're keeping a little more guarded about on behalf of gamers out there. We may not have had the same amount of problems with Unity as many of you, but Ubisoft's credibility has dropped some over the last few months, so we're going to wait and see if bridges can be unburned. Still, even though we're prepared for bugs and some possible let downs, there's no denying Syndicate is one of the most intriguing Assassin's Creed releases of recent years. With the goal of modernising the franchise, the time period is one of the most interesting yet, set in 1868 Victorian London, and it'll feature two protagonists, each of whom has a different approach to combat and stealth. New gadgets such as the grappling hook will make scaling the verticality of London a breeze, and we'll also be able to raise hell by driving horses and carriages through the murky streets in various chases and fights. It's a promising game, and as long as Ubisoft can nail down the quality control this time, Assassin's Creed will be back on form. 24. Unravel It's certainly not going to be a title for everyone, being a classic style platformer at heart, but Unravel, coming from EA, is a very interesting little platformer that stars a simple, but very cute hero. Channelling Sackboy, Unravel stars Yarnie, a woollen hero who starts each level attached to the starting point. As he wanders deeper into the level, he unravels, and becomes thinner and thinner. He can find yarn balls spread around, which he can wind into himself, thus extending the distance he can travel. This yarn mechanic continues to Yarnie's powers, and he can use his yarn to attach onto hooks and other objects to traverse and manipulate the environment. All of this is covered with gorgeous visuals. Unravel is an odd title to come from EA, a company that usually focuses on sports and shooters, but it's no less welcome, and we look forward to seeing more of Yarnie in the coming months. 23. Mass Effect Andromeda We know very little about it at the moment, hence its lower spot on the list, but if there's one title to get us excited, it's Mass Effect. We know that the new game will be a totally new story, set after the events of the Shepard trilogy, and that it'll take place in the galaxy of Andromeda, our closest galactic neighbour. There's a new Mako, the return of the N7 commando forces, and the teaser shows what looked to be a very frontier-style aesthetic, hinting that mankind, and possibly the rest of the familiar Mass Effect races, are only just stepping foot into new territory. We'll no doubt find out a lot more as the months tick over, but the game is still some way off, so we'll have to wait a lot longer yet.

One of the things I’ve noticed budding Android developers struggle most with is how to properly integrate content being pulled form web services into their Android apps. Many of them have been focusing exclusively on figuring out layouts and other user interface related issues and haven’t yet developed an understanding of the underlying threading model in Android, and the fact that you don’t want to do network IO (or anything that takes time for that matter!) on the “main” thread. Some of them have already discovered ASyncTask, but find the documentation a bit difficult to digest or simply lack a nice clean comprehensive working app that demonstrates the concepts. I recently posted a screencast on YouTube (embedded below) that is actually a recording of a portion of a lecture I give in my mobile app develop course here at GVSU. The video seems to be getting a fair amount of views on YouTube for the short time its been available and I’m also getting a number of requests for the source code. In this video I walk through the implementation of a fictitious app I implemented called TopTracks. The app uses publicly available web services on the Last.FM music social network to display the current most popular music tracks among Last.FM users in various metro areas across the United States. In the course of the code walkthrough we cover how to actually issue the HTTP requests, how to parse the JSON result strings we receive in response, and how to properly code this up in an ASyncTask in a way that moves the time consuming network fetch into a background thread, but still giving us the opportunity to update the view hierarchy with the main thread once the fetch completes. We also take a look at a custom ListView Adapter to demonstrate a typical user interface for displaying an array of data fetched from a network service. The source code covered in the screencast is available here. If you are in the process of learning to develop for the Android platform, you might be interested in a series of Android screencast tutorials I’ve given in my lectures and made available on YouTube. I’ve embedded the playlist below.