Dark Souls 3 beta files released a bit too early for PS Plus users yesterday

Dark Souls 3 beta files released a bit too early for PS Plus users yesterday 

Saturday, 10 October 2015 14:14 GMT By Stephany Nunneley 
Late yesterday, the technical beta for Dark Souls 3 was made available for North American PlayStation Plus members to download. Hopefully, you grabbed it, because it’s been pulled. 


dark_souls_3_e3_trailer_sceen_7 
Apparently, the files needed for access to the upcoming network test were made available too soon. 

Those that lucked out and downloaded it before hand should pretty much be good to go come October 16 when the beta goes live. 

If you signed up for the beta, and weren’t one of the lucky PS Plus members to have nabbed the files, you will know if you have been chosen to participate come October 13. If chosen at random, you will be sent a key and can download the files needed. 

From Software is using the test to evaluate balance, the multiplayer portion and server load. 

Planned test sessions start on October 16 and will end on October 18 at 11.00pm CEST. You an look over the entire schedule through the official website. 

Dark Souls 3 will be released in April 2016. 

Thanks, Destructoid.

Star Ocean 2 coming to PlayStation 4 and PS Vita this month… in Japan

Following through on the plans it announced at Tokyo Game Show 2015, Square Enix has announced that it will be bringing an enhanced port of Star Ocean: Second Evolution to the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita this month… in Japan. 

The added features to this new version will include a brand new theme song sung by Rina Eri, trophy support, boosted visuals and musical quality, and DLC support. I have no idea how Square Enix plans to jam DLC into this beloved classic, so I am waiting to be impressed. Just as long as nothing is withheld, I’ll be fine with it simply existing. 

Of course, we need to wait for that all important English localization announcement before that even matters in the first place. Star Ocean: Second Evolution is the PSP port of the PSOne classic, Star Ocean: The Second Story. I am well versed in the original version, but I have never had the chance to play the PSP one. Square Enix has never made it made available digitally through PSN, and I’m not going to buy a UMD for my battery-fried PSP in 2015. 

Just not going to happen. 

Let’s all hope for the best. It’s a wonderful game that deserves a new and wider audience. The PlayStation 4 and PS Vita would make the perfect launch pad to do that with. And the more people who love it, the number of people who will become interested in Star Ocean: Integrity an Faithlessness should climb as well. 

Win win for everyone involved, right Square Enix? Save us the suspense, please and just tell us “yes” or “no.”

Vivitek Qumi Q5 LED Pocket Projector Audio / Video Review

This miniature pico DLP projector comes home for game night. 


Pico projectors are generally made for the office, that’s just the reality of a front projection DLP that’s meant to be carried in a laptop bag. Vivitek remains committed with the Qumi Q5 LED Pocket Projector which is one of their smallest entries in the lineup, while trying to add some entertainment value to sweeten the deal. 

Make no mistake, this is a 1.1lb miniature workplace projector that’s given a makeover for multimedia enjoyment — as if it’s trying to hide its true self with a brightly colored shell (available in red, yellow, blue, black, and white) made of slick glossy plastic. The overall styling is vibrant and relatively stylish with only a button sensor control panel for a clean appearance. It’s so low-profile that there’s actually more stuff going in the rear where all the connections are, with mobile from Roku-friendly HDMI/MHL, USB, 3.5mm audio out for headphones and speakers, A/V out (they include a RCA composite dongle for analog), and finally a universal I/O port for computer things. All of this comes in neatly measured in 1.3 x 6.3 x 4 inches (HWD) and can fit in a open palm. 

The Q5 also gets a credit card remote that’s more novelty than useful, a power adapter that’s ironically almost as big as the projector itself, and a cool little carrying pouch too. The only evidence of its past PowerPoint life; a single VGA to Universal I/O cable. 

All of this is fine and even the native WXGA (1280 x 800) and 720p HD resolutions work in agreeable tandem with the advertised 500 lumen count, but I probably don’t have to tell you that this won’t be your main entertainment machine. Fortunately the pop-up screen size is pretty reasonable at a minimum 30-inch and upwards to 90-inches, not only that but the Q5 is also compliant in PC modes with a maximum of 1600 x 1200 (UXGA) at 60Hz. 

The setup couldn’t be any easier which is good, even better is the fact that there’s no lamp so boot and shut down times are miraculously quick at 3 seconds. You certainly don’t have to wait for the picture as HDMI is instantly recognized and looks great for a minuscule pico DLP, and should be more than enough for a small room. The image as a whole is decent with expected shortcomings in grayscale and middling black levels, it clearly isn’t about definitive reference quality but the color range is exuberantly vivid as a modest consolation. To compliment the video, Vivitek did throw in a single 2W mono speaker for sound, although we could live without it as the output is flat and distorted even at lower volumes. 

Extras such as 3D-readiness (HDMI 1.4) are appreciated but viewers will have to endure mild crosstalk, this was present during the Blu-ray of Mad Max: Fury Road where multiple images were constantly distracting compared to traditional projectors. The Qumi Q5 can also do media integration and can read USB drives and many file types for images (JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF), audio (MP3, WAV), videos (MPEG-4, H.264, WMV, Divx), and of course documents for office applications (Doc, XLS, PPT, PDF, txt) – there’s even 4GB of embedded storage for added convenience though we doubt anybody would bother with it, but it is there if you happen to need it. 

For anybody buying the Qumi Q5projector they’re probably not going to use this as a home entertainment replacement, but rather a good little projector that’s lightweight and basic. It’ll work in the conference room, classroom, bedroom, or anywhere else that a spontaneous viewing get-together may happen — I think the price might be a bit high for its size but you’ll have the potential to be a game night hero.

Sources: Wheeler attracting establishment support

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Some Portland establishment names are starting to show up as contributors to State Treasurer Ted Wheeler’s run against Mayor Charlie Hales.

They include Northwest Natural President Gregg Kantor ($1,000), Norrris, Beggs & Simpson board chair J. Clayton Hering ($250), Langley Investment CEO Scott Langley ($1,000), philanthropist Philip Bogue ($1,000), investor William Swindells ($1,000), and Calbag Metals President Warren Rosenfeld ($1,000).

Wheeler, who announced on Sept. 9, still lags behind Hales in total fundraising, however. Wheeler has raised only around $60,000 so far this year compared to more than $109,000 for Hales.

Hales hasn’t reported any new contributions since Sept. 21, but is required to list them only every 30 days under the current state campaign disclosure schedule.

Hales and Hillary,

Novick and Bernie

Hales and Commissioner Steve Novick agree on most things, but they’ve split over the 2016 presidential election. Both support Democrats, of course, but Hales has contributed $1,000 to Hillary Clinton’s campaign and Novick endorsed Bernie Sanders in a recent post on the BlueOregon blog.

“Why isn’t virtually everyone I know publicly for Bernie?” Novick asked, praising the Vermont U.S. senator for his stands against income inequality, war in the Middle East, the Patriot Act and the Defense of Marriage Act.

Novick is doing more than blogging in his spare time, however. After a slow start, he’s raised over $88,000 this year for his reelection campaign. Major contributors include developer Richard Michaelson ($1,000), Gallatin Public Affairs lobbyist Greg Peden ($500), businessman Roy Jay ($500), and Inspiration Softwar President Donald Helfgott ($1,000).

In the meantime, Novick’s only announced opponent, real estate broker Fred Stewart, reports raising only $850 so far.

Judging Cylvia’s email

Former Washington County Circuit Court Judge Gayle Nachtigal is now reviewing thousands of former Oregon first lady Cylvia Hayes’ emails from a private account.

Her job is to determine whether any involve public business and should be released in response to The Oregonian’s public records request.

According to the Capital Insider, if Nachtigal determines some of the emails are public records, they could be released to The Oregonian on a rolling basis. Prior to any release, however, Nachtigal will send any disclosable emails to lawyers for Hayes and The Oregonian, and Hayes will have an opportunity to object and request a hearing on the decision. If Hayes does not object, The Oregonian’s lawyer can release the emails to his client.

The Capital Insider is a subscription newsletter published by the Pamplin Media Group and the EO (East Oregonian) Media Group.

To Catch More Design Ideas, Siemens PLM Software Crafts a Tool Anyone Can Use

To Catch More Design Ideas, Siemens PLM Software Crafts a Tool Anyone Can Use 

In the early stages of the design process, when forms are just starting to take shape and various concepts are jostling for attention, many people reach for whatever’s at hand — an art program, PowerPoint, even the proverbial napkin — to sketch out their ideas. At this stage, a full-on 3D CAD package may be too much tool for the job, slowing down rapid-fire brainstorms and excluding team members who lack CAD expertise. 

The non-CAD alternatives, however, pose their own problems, and no one likes wasting time on effort duplication. “You don’t want to create a drawing, then have to recreate it in CAD,” noted Paul Brown, senior marketing director at Siemens PLM Software. “You want to get people’s ideas and then be able to do things with them.” 

In recent years, an increasing number of software tools have been developed to improve on these options. They’re typically simpler than standard CAD solutions, but better equipped for design tasks than office productivity software — or napkins. (For more information, see “Cadalyst Labs Report: Conceptual Design Software Tools.”) 

This fall, Siemens PLM Software will add to those growing ranks with Catchbook, a 2D sketching app for Windows-, Android-, and iOS-based smartphones and tablets. Users can create and annotate drawings; import and trace over photographs; and share their work with collaborators. 

Catchbook, unlike art-focused sketching apps, also supports accurate dimensions that are preserved when the data is moved into a CAD program. “The key thing that we bring to everything is that underneath [the surface of Catchbook] are engines that drive proper geometry and relationships,” Brown explained. “That was the gap that we saw, that’s the missing link: size and scale.” 


When geometry is edited, Catchbook updates dimensions automatically in real time. Image courtesy of Siemens PLM Software. 


Pages, Lines, and Threads 

In Catchbook, all the drawings and photographs for a project are stored as a series of “pages” within a “binder.” There’s no limit on the number of pages that can be organized into a binder, or on the number of binders a user can have. To control which parts of a project are shared with others, users can opt to make a PDF of the entire binder or just selected pages. In addition to PDF, data can be exported to standard formats including JPEG, PNG, SVG, and DXF, so users can move their work into Solid Edge, NX, or other CAD solutions when it comes time for detailed design. 

To start a drawing, users can sketch freehand or trace over an imported photo; the software then converts those scribbles into linework that can be manipulated and annotated as desired. When the user draws an off-kilter circle or wobbly line — easy to do when you’re working with a stylus or fingertip — Catchbook can automatically straighten everything up. 


Catchbook’s Drawing Recognition functionality converts freehand sketches into precise curves and geometry. Image courtesy of Siemens PLM Software.

8 Zip Lite is today's AdDuplex HERO App

8 Zip Lite is today's AdDuplex HERO App 

It seems as though you can never have enough storage space on your Windows Phone or Windows 10 computer. One solution to help free up space on your drives is to archive old files. 8 Zip Lite is a free, utility app available in both the Windows Phone and Windows 10 Stores designed to do just that. 8 Zip Lite also comes in today as our AdDuplex HERO App. 

The HERO Apps program is a promotional campaign for Windows Phone and Windows developers on the AdDuplex network and partners AdDuplex with myAppFree, AppDeals, PluralSight and Windows Central to deliver a host of benefits to the top apps and games each month. Our role in the HERO App campaign is to offer a little exposure to these titles by sharing them with you, our readers. 

Closing out the month, we turn our focus on 8 Zip Lite from Finebits. 

8 Zip Lite is basic file archiver that allows you to create and view ZIP archives. You have the ability to extract ZIP files, add and delete from the ZIP archive and create ZIP archives. You can also open and view archive files in RAR, ZIP, 7z, ZipX, ISO, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ARJ and CAB format. Rounding out the core features of 8 Zip Lite is a built-in viewer and media player that supports JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, mp3, wma, wav and other media formats. 

8 Zip Lite for Windows Phone 

The layout of the Windows Phone app is simple with your recent archives listed on the main page of the app and a series of control buttons lining the bottom of the screen. These control buttons will allow you to create a new archive, open an existing archive, access the app's settings and view the About screen. 

The Windows 10 layout isn't much different but utilizes the hamburger menu to deliver your command options that the control buttons of the Windows Phone app offer. 

8 Zip Lite for Windows 10 

Settings are minimal seeing that the Lite version only creates ZIP archives. The options that are present cover personalization options such as turning on/off the transparent Live Tile, choosing the language support and picking a color theme. Language support covers twenty-three languages that include English, Arabic, Hindi, French, Greek, Persian and more. 

Once you open an archived file, you will have the options to add files, add folders as well as extracting all files. Other features of 8 Zip Lite includes Drop Box support and OneDrive support. It will also tap into files stored on your microSD expansion card. 

In exploring 8 Zip Lite, it comes across as a very basic file archive utility. I can see it being appealing to those, like myself, who deal with archived files infrequently and never stray from the ZIP format. 8 Zip Lite is a free, ad-supported version, but if you deal with archived files on a regular basis, you may want to upgrade to the full version of 8 Zip ($7.99). The full version opens up a few more features and supports additional file formats for compression. 

If you give 8 Zip Lite a try, let us know what you think of the utility in the comments below. Also, do not forget to rate 8 Zip Lite in either of the Stores to offer a little feedback to the developer. 

Download 8 Zip Lite from the Windows 10 Store 

Download 8 Zip Lite from the Windows Phone Store 

QR: 8 Zip Lite 

AdDuplex HERO Promotion 

AdDuplex is a fantastic resource for the cross-promotion of Windows Phone and Windows apps. AdDuplex has launched a new program designed to help developers promote their apps even further with free access to various tools and resources from AdDuplex. 

The HERO Apps promotion partners AdDuplex with Windows Central, myAppFree, AppDeals and PluralSight to provide additional benefits to the top apps every month that include: 

Vouchers to advertise on AdDuplex 
One month subscription to Pluralsight Plus 
A featured campaign with myAppFree 
A featured campaign with AppDeals 
A review here on Windows Central 
If you are a Windows or Windows Phone developer, you can sign up for the HERO Apps program here at AdDuplex's website. To participate in the program, you will need to apply within thirty days after your app or game has launched on the AdDuplex network. 

Windows Central is already partnered with the myAppFree campaign and is proud to be partnering up with AdDuplex with the HERO Apps program. It is another excellent opportunity to help promote both the Windows Phone and Windows platform