Google buys a satellite company and we round up the latest from this week’s 2014 E3 conference.
Then we cover Comcast’s plans to turn your wifi on for the public, the first Google watch is near and more!
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Headlines
Google Pays $500M for Satellite Maker Skybox, for Photos and Eventually Internet
Google said on Tuesday it had bought Skybox Imaging, a company that provides high-resolution photos using satellites, for $500 million in cash.
Google explained the deal as such: \”Their satellites will help keep our maps accurate with up-to-date imagery. Over time, we also hope that Skybox\’s team and technology will be able to help improve Internet access and disaster relief — areas Google has long been interested in.\”
Sonic the Hedgehog speeding onto movie screens
The film, produced in collaboration between Sony, 22 Jump Street Producer Neal Moritz, and Japanese company Marza Animation Planet, will combine live action and computer animation to tell Sonic\’s story.
— Games —
The new Doom from id Software and Bethesda Softworks is coming to QuakeCon 2014, but here\’s the first teaser trailer.
During our hands-on time with the title, we played with a friend in a level set among the clouds. These two Yoshis had to find ways to climb blocks, bridge gaps between floating platforms and take out angry Piranha Plants together. Towards the beginning of the level, we encountered a Paratroopa that we had to knock out of the sky with one of many baby chick-creatures in order to steal its shell.
During its E3 presentation Nintendo just announced one of the most compelling reasons yet to pick up a Wii U. Mario Maker is essentially a Mario Bros. game construction set for the Wii U, letting users build their own levels — either in the classic Super Mario Bros. style, or using the visual elements from New Super Mario Bros. U — and then play them.
Comcast is turning your Xfinity router into a public Wi-Fi hotspot
Some time on Tuesday afternoon, about 50,000 Comcast Internet customers in Houston will become part of a massive public Wi-Fi hotspot network, a number that will swell to 150,000 by the end of June.
Exclusive: LG G Watch will be given away at Google I/O 2014
Although we don’t have all the details, sources directly familiar with the situation tell us that the Moto 360 will be shown off at the event. As for the LG G Watch? As expected, the device is essentially a reference device for Android Wear and will not only be shown off at Google I/O, it will be given away to all those that attend Google I/O 2014 this year!
Reportedly there will also be also be at least one other manufacturer that will
VLC Adding Chromecast Support to Android, iOS and Desktop Apps
Expedia Starts Accepting Bitcoin for Hotel Bookings
Expedia EXPE +0.49%, the big online travel site, announced on Wednesday it will begin accepting bitcoin for hotel bookings through its website, becoming the first major travel-agency to take the digital currency. If the reception is good, the company said it expects to bring bitcoin to its other service lines as well.