Our weekly roundup of the top news stories in the world of tech for the week beginning April 18th, 2016.
Geek Squad can now fix Apple’s cracks
If you’ve ever stopped into a Carphone Warehouse for a bit of friendly mobile advice, you probably spoke with a member of the store’s Geek Squad – a distant cousin of Apple’s own Genius staff members, these knowledgeable folk can handle all manner of mobile oddity, and now they have another string to add to their bows.
If you’re prone to giving your iPhone a concrete kiss then you’ll likely be familiar with the cost of getting your screen repaired and if you go directly to Apple, like most things, it isn’t cheap, especially if you’re without AppleCare+.
Going elsewhere has the benefit of saving you money, but in the majority of cases, you’re voiding your warranty by letting some third-party carry out the refit. Luckily CPW’s Geek Squad are now Apple accredited, meaning they can swap out a smashed screen for a shiny new one and keep your warranty intact too. Best of all, even if you aren’t on team AppleCare+, it’s cheaper to go to these guys than Apple, meaning you can have your cake and eat it too, or rather, have your phone and not have to worry about slicing up your fingers on cracked glass. Happy days.
Filofax has gone tablet case crazy
In light of the new iPad Pro 9.7, Filofax, of all brands, has taken point as the de facto case brand for tablets. How, you might ask? By pushing out the largest collection of cases ever.
The company now offers a staggering 600+ cases, created by combining various different forms based on your personal preference (zip, wrap, strap or elastic), with all manner of colours and combinations to speak of. Depending on the case you also have swivel components for enjoying media and pockets for business cards, smartphones, and even styluses. Find out more here.
The Jungle Book (2016) in RealD 3D: Reviewed
Modern cinema has made me wary of terms like ‘live-action’ and ‘CGI’, especially when it concerns such a principle part of my childhood; but Disney’s reboot of the 1967 classic, although wildly different, doesn’t disappoint.
The 2016 adaptation sees famed actor/director Jon Favreau at the helm, backed up by an all-star cast (including Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray to name but three), with the exception of unknown, Neel Sethi – the only actor who actually appears on-screen as the man-cub, Mowgli.
Leave your preconceptions about CGI mixed with live action at the door; the beauty of this film was only made better by these technologies. I had the pleasure of attending a preview screening of the movie in RealD 3D and whilst I typically shy away from the 3D, Favreau’s decision to capture the entire film in 3D natively dictated the way in which the film was shot, ultimately creating a better overall experience than you’d expect from films which make the jump to 3D after the fact.
Beyond the visual effects work, the tonality of the movie was distinctly different to that of the 1967 animated version. Some of the classic songs were still in there, but they felt a tad jarring against the more sombre, intense tone that this movie adopts. That said, the characterisation of principle roles like Bagheera and Baloo (played by Sir Ben Kingsley and Bill Murray respectively) was executed with aplomb and left enough room for comic relief between the punctuated instances of action and intensity.
The Jungle Book hit cinemas on April 15th and if you’re at all curious, I’d suggest you go see it as I did – in 3D.
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