Yahoo Messenger gets a redesign, now integrates with Flickr, Tumblr, and Xobni
Yahoo Messenger has been completely redesigned. It not only looks different, but adds tons of new improvements such as Flickr, Tumblr, and Xobni integration.
What is cool about integrating other services into their messaging app is you can do things like send hundreds of Flickr photos at a time. If sent in a group chat, these photos will appear in everyones conversation right away. You can even download the photo in its full resolution.
Another cool feature is unsending messages. Once you click “unsend”, the message will disappear from not only yours, but other peoples chats too. However, if you are happy with what you wrote, others can “like” your comment, photo, or GIF image.
Speaking of GIFs, rather than sending an emoji, why not send a GIF? In Yahoo Messenger you can search for the perfect GIF to send right inside the app. The images are pulled from Tumblr, so there will be no shortage of content.
Everyone has heard of a contact list, but have you heard of Smart Contacts? Smart Contacts not only knows the names of people, but also their relationship to you and others on your list. This is great for adding people to group chats as it will already know who might need to be added. Also, anyone in a group can add another participant, change the name of the group, or even change the group photo.
All of this sounds like a lot going on, but do not worry, Yahoo Messenger is fast! Doing things like syncing conversations between Yahoo Messenger on the Web, in Yahoo Mail and your smartphone happens almost in real-time.
Finally, you can even use the app when you are offline. Write whatever you want, or send any picture you would like, and your messages will be sent the second you connect back to the internet.
The new Yahoo Messenger is available globally today on iOS, Android, on the Web and in Yahoo Mail on the desktop.
Source: Yahoo
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Watch ‘Super Mario Bros’ as an 8-player, 360-degree game
When researchers from ETH Zurich and Disney get together, they tend to conjure up fascinating creations, such as Beachbot — a turtle-shaped robot that draws in the sand. This time, they’ve turned Super Mario Bros. into a huge eight-player game for a one-night event at a Swiss night club that happened to have a 360-degree projection system. According to Ars Technica, the team used an Arduino-based multiplexer in order to connect eight controllers to an unsullied Nintendo Entertainment System. Since they wanted a supersized retro gaming experience, they fed the video output to an upscaler, and then to a computer with custom software that can stitch frames into panoramas.
Via: Atmel, Ars Technica
Source: ETH Zurich
Verizon managed to make a fully functional smartphone in Minecraft
There’s no shortage of insane creations in Minecraft, but it looks like Verizon might have just made the most insane thing I’ve ever seen in the block building game. Verizon’s engineers managed to build an actual, working smartphone in the game, complete with a web browser and the ability to make video calls to people in the real world. That’s significantly cooler than the wooden huts I usually build in Minecraft.
The creation uses a ton of back-end stuff to actually make things work, so this obviously isn’t something you’d be able to do in a completely unmodified version of the game. But either way, the execution is amazing and Verizon has been kind enough to upload instructions and the entire project is available on github if you want to try it out for yourself. Otherwise, you can see everything in action in the video below.
source: Verizoncraft
Click here to view the embedded video.
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Google introduces Trial Run Ads that allow users to test out an app without installing it
Google has introduced a new way for users to test out apps that pop up in search results without actually having to take the time to install and run the application. Roughly 25% of app installations never actually get touched (I’m guilty of that myself) so Google is looking into new ways to try and get users engaged with the application before it ever hits their phone.
The new ads are currently in a trial and are only available for games, but they allow a user to test out an app for up to 60 seconds before being prompted to actually install the game. This way, if they enjoy the game they’ll be more likely to play it after it has been downloaded, but they won’t be bothered to waste space on a game that they won’t engage with after that point. It’s a win-win for developers and users.
Google is also offering a beta for Interactive Interstitial ads that let developers use HTML5 for mobile advertisements, instead of standard templates. These ads are infinitely more flexible and show allow developers to get a little more creative with how information and data is presented to viewers, and that doesn’t even touch on the optimization side of things.
These new advertising experiments redesign the experience for mobile users, instead of trying to force desktop ad experiences to work on a smartphone or tablet. It’s a smart move on Google’s part and should hopefully create a more pleasant experience for anyone that frequently browses websites on a mobile device.
source: Google AdWords
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‘Rock Band VR’ is coming from Oculus and Harmonix in 2016
Oculus VR’s Palmer Luckey was going to be at The Game Awards but we didn’t know why. It turns out that he was going to appear onstage and debut Rock Band VR. All we know for now is that it’s coming next year and that, well, you’ll play a version of Rock Band in virtual reality, and that Dragon Force’s epic speedmetal track “Through the Fire and Flames” is going to be featured. So there’s that. Are you ready to play virtual instruments in virtual reality?
Scientists built a spacecraft that converts junk to fuel
It turns out that the sky is full of space debris, which poses a threat to craft and satellites orbiting Earth. A team of scientists at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China have come up with a way to remedy this. They’ve developed a spacecraft that collects the debris in a wide-cast net and uses it as fuel to propel itself forward. This technically means it could keep cleaning forever, unless an unforeseen event brings its efforts to an untimely end. Lasers have been developed for eliminating larger pieces of space junk, however aren’t designed for smaller bits that are harder to locate and track. That’s where Lei Lan and her team come into the picture.
Source: Cornell University
Gameloft’s Sniper Fury goes live in the Play Store
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Back in October Gameloft teased out an a new first person shooter entitled Sniper Fury. They followed up the tease in November announcing the launch date. Well, today is that day and they followed through with the launch on queue.
The new first person shooter places you squarely behind the scope of a sniper riffle in over 130 missions. You will take on ground soldiers, armored vehicles, air units and a variety of other enemy classes. Your amazing shots will be slowed down and showcased in bullet time effects to show your those critical kill shots across sandstorms, blizzards, rainstorms and other environmental effects. While you will have access to the traditional sniper rifles, and a slew of upgrades, you will also use assault rifles, railguns and the usual amount of top-secret weapons.
There is a main story line to follow, but you can also take on rival snipers and steal their resources in PVP modes. You will want to build up a strong squad to keep your own loot safe against other players attempts at the steal.
Sniper Fury is a free title, but you can expect to find the usual amount of pay-to-play options that find their way into most new titles. The initial download comes in at 31MBs, but you will be prompted for a 300+MB download upon first run. Be prepared for a Wi-Fi connection or to burn through some data. Feel free to pick it up via the link below and let us know what you think of it.
http://playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js
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Google lists out the ‘Best of 2015’ US edition apps, games and entertainment; Proves we all have issues
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It is hard to believe that 2015 is just a few short weeks from coming to a close. It was full of ups, downs and a few sideways maneuvers. Hopefully every single one of our readers can look back through the year and pluck out some amazing moments, achievements and a few ah-ha learning moments. In typical year-end fashion, the worlds biggest publications will start to dropping their various versions of the Year in Review. Be it the best movies, best tv series, best PC game or best dressed. Whatever you are into, you will find a recap of the year somewhere, by somebody. Google follows suit in this yearly tradition by crunching the numbers from users on Google Play and pieces together the best of everything. Whether or not you end up agreeing with the masses is a completely different topic.
So what made the best of the best in 2015? Well, according to the Google Play data crunch team, a whole heck of a lot of things. They break down each list into various categories The entertainment side of hings covers Best Movies, TV Shows of the Year, Albums of the Year and Books of the year. Check it out:
Movies of the Year: 1. Interstellar 2. Lucy 3. American Sniper 4. The Interview 5. Kingsman: The Secret Service 6. Big Hero 6 7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 8. Get Hard 9. Avengers: Age of Ultron 10. Jurassic World
TV Shows of the Year: 1. Game of Thrones 2. The Walking Dead 3. Downton Abbey 4. Fear the Walking Dead 5. Vikings 6. Better Call Saul 7. The Big Bang Theory 8. Rick and Morty 9. Archer 10. American Horror Story
Albums of the Year: 1. 25 from Adele 2. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late from Drake 3. To Pimp A Butterfly from Kendrick Lamar 4. Fifty Shades Of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) from Various Artists 5. Beauty Behind The Madness from The Weeknd 6. Dark Sky Paradise (Deluxe) from Big Sean 7. American Beauty/American Psycho from Fall Out Boy 8. Dreams Worth More Than Money from Meek Mill 9. Compton from Dr. Dre 10. DS2 (Deluxe) from Future
Books of the Year: 1. Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James 2. Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian by E L James 3. Fifty Shades Darker: Book Two of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James 4. Fifty Shades Freed: Book Three of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James 5. American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice 6. The Girl on the Train: A Novel by Paula Hawkins 7. Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn 8. The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir 9. Fifty Shades Trilogy Bundle: Fifty Shades of Grey; Fifty Shades Darker; Fifty Shades Freed by E L James 10. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Any surprises in there? I know a few of he movies and TV shows that I enjoy occasionally made the lists. As for tunes, I don’t listen to much that didn’t originate prior to the mid 90’s. I will certainly be checking out some of the things I am not familiar with to see how they fair to me. The list above isn’t all the details that exist though. There is a complete page dedicated to the best of 2015 for apps and games as well.
The games front shows what many of you might suspect. Titles like Crossy Roads, Fallout Shelter, Clash of Clans and Mortal Combat X are obvious choices. Dude Perfect 2, Doodle Jump, Alpha Bear and Prune might not have been on your radar though.
App brought in titles like YouTube Kids, HBO Now, Showtime, Skype, Twitter, Twitch, YouTube Gaming and Nova Launcher. Some lesser known apps like Wishbone, Doodle: Schedule Maker, Cleo for Messenger and Memrise Learn Languages Free might be worth checking out.
You can browse the entire 2015 collection of entertainment, apps and games on the dedicated Google Play Store Best of 2015 page at your leisure.
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Twitch broadcasts come to NVIDIA’s 4K Shield Android TV
NVIDIA’s 4K-capable Shield Android TV is getting a new application that’s sure to be a pleasant surprise for anyone that’s passionate about video games. The gaming set-top box is now capable of viewing and broadcasting to Twitch, marking the only Android TV box that’s capable of streaming gameplay to the service.
The inclusion of Twitch makes NVIDIA’s offering one of the best on the market, as the system already offers tons of other video streaming services like HBO, Showtime, and FX, plus anything else that’s offered on Android TV already. And now that the Shield Android TV comes with a free remote, that makes an extremely compelling option for anyone that needs a powerful video streaming box that can also hold its own when it comes to video games.
source: NVIDIA
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Watch The Game Awards with us tonight
The Game Awards kick off at 9PM ET (6PM PT) and we’re hosting the entire show live on Twitch, complete with ridiculous commentary from your trusted Playdate team, Timothy Seppala, Sean Buckley and myself, Jessica Conditt. This is The Game Awards’ second year running and it’s poised to be a big, fancy affair filled with new trailers, game announcements, famous guests (including Kiefer Sutherland and Shaq) and musical interludes. And, of course, awards.
There are 22 categories, but titles up for “Game of the Year” are Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid V, Super Mario Maker and The Witcher 3. Watch along with us in this post, on Twitch.tv/Joystiq or on the Engadget Gaming homepage.
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