Fully Charged: PlayStation 4 gets more powerful, and Product(Red) leather case for iPhone 6s

PS4 gets more power

Unlike a gaming PC, you can’t upgrade a gaming console to eke out more processing power. But console makers can change how the system functions to let developers get a bit more juice for their games. That’s what Sony has apparently done, opening up the seventh processor core (of eight total) for game makers.

This comes according to an update to the audio tool FMOD, which notes that the "newly unlocked 7th core" is available to PlayStation 4 developers. Microsoft did much the same earlier this year for Xbox One developers, trimming the amount of processing power needed for crucial system functions so developers could make their games sharper, smoother, or potentially both.

Will we see a dramatic difference in upcoming PS4 games beyond the usual gradual graphical enhancement seen in a console’s lifespan? Dramatic, no: but that extra power means we may see games run at higher resolutions, or drop fewer frames for steadier-looking sessions. In any case, it only sounds like good news for developers and surely players alike.

[Source: GameSpot]

Product (Red) leather case for iPhone 6s

Apple’s own iPhone cases tend to be a bit pricey, but at least you can feel good about the extra expense when buying the (Product)Red case, as proceeds go towards fighting AIDS.

If you’ve been holding out for Apple’s (Product)Red leather case for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, now’s the time: it’s available from the Apple Store for £35/US$45 for the 6s version and £39/US$49 for the larger 6s Plus version.

[Source: Apple via 9to5Mac]

AT&T raising unlimited rates

For our U.S. readers: if you’re holding on tight to an unlimited data plan with carrier AT&T, which it phased out for new customers years back, you’ll have to pay a little more. The company has confirmed that it will raise the monthly fee for those grandfathered plans from US$30 to US$35.

It’s not a huge increase, obviously, but it’s the first in seven years. AT&T has tried to bump users off those long-held unlimited plans – most of them surely held by early iPhone owners – for years by withholding discounted phone upgrades, and this is just the latest maneuver. Will it make you jump ship?

[Source: CNET]

Peter Jackson directing Doctor Who?

Play

Will Peter Jackson – he of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film fame – direct an episode of Doctor Who? That’s the apparent takeaway from this strange short he posted, in which he polishes his Academy Awards, trolls J.R.R. Tolkien fans, and has a couple unexpected guests drop by. It’s worth a view if only for the sheer oddity of it all.

[Source: YouTube]