Survive underground in Capy’s ‘Below’ this summer

After almost three years we finally have a better idea when developer Capybara Games’ Below will finally release: this summer. Other details on the procedurally generated, subterranean survival game are still scarce, but hey, there’s an ominous new trailer and screenshots just, ahem, below.

The late Satoru Iwata honored by Game Developers Choice Awards

The video game industry lost one of its most passionate members last year when Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata passed away. He’s been honored before, but there really isn’t such a thing as paying tribute to him too many times. During tonight’s Game Developer’s Choice Awards the governing body debuted a heartfelt animated video touching on various aspects of the legendary game developer’s life including the conception of the Nintendo DS, the Wii Remote and Nunchuck and much more. Iwata may be gone, but his legacy will live on for a very, very long time.

Via: GDC (Twitter)

Source: GDC (YouTube)

Complete guide to using your Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge – CNET

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Samsung’s newest members of its flagship Galaxy phone family are now on sale. The S7 and S7 Edge aren’t gigantic leaps over the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but they pack enough features to make them worthy of the name. You’ll find a better camera and a massively bigger battery and such non-iPhone features as expandable storage (it’s back!) and wireless charging. And the S7 Edge, of course, has that lovely wraparound display.

Read the CNET reviews

• Galaxy S7: This is the phone to beat
• Galaxy S7 Edge: The ultimate splurge

We’ve spent the last week getting to know our phones better. Here’s what you need to know to get the most out of your devices.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is the phone gamers have been waiting for: Samsung’s Galaxy S7 packs amazing gaming tools; here’s how to use them.

Make icons shape up with this new setting on the Galaxy S7, S7 Edge: A new setting provides a unified look for all app icons.

How to move apps to the microSD card on your Galaxy S7, S7 Edge: It’s a quick and easy way to free up storage on your phone.

Make sure you check this new setting on the Galaxy S7, S7 Edge: The free app makes it almost too easy to ensure you don’t lose anything when switching to the new Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge.

Get to know the Galaxy S7’s always-on display: A feature we’re sure to see more of this year is a display that never truly powers off. Let’s take a closer look at Samsung’s version.

Use Samsung’s Smart Switch to quickly set up your Galaxy S7: The free app makes it almost too easy to ensure you don’t lose anything when switching to the new Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge.

Getting started with Windows 10’s Messaging app – CNET

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

Microsoft wants you to use Skype Messaging — simply titled “Messaging” in Windows 10 — as your main over-the-top messaging app. (Over-the-top messaging is a data-based alternative to texting — think Whatsapp, Line, and iOS’s iMessage.)

With the new Messaging app, you can “text” anyone from your Windows 10 device, providing they also have Skype installed. Because Microsoft really wants you to see the Messaging app as a texting alternative — not just an extension of Skype video chat — a separate app from Skype video and Phone. If you’re chatting with someone on Skype video and you want to send them a text-based message, the new Messaging app will open in a separate window, instead of as a sidebar to the video chat.

Sending a message

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

You can only send messages to Skype contacts. To add someone to your contact list, open the Messaging app and click the … button and choose Add friends on Skype. This will open the Skype video app, which will show you suggested friends (based on your People contact list) and allow you to search for Skype contacts via full name, Skype name or email address.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

To send a message to an existing contact, open the Messaging app and click New message and type in the name of the person you want to send the message to. To send a group message, add multiple contacts to the To line. Type your message and hit the send button, which looks like the top-down view of a paper airplane.

Deleting messages

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

To delete an entire conversation thread, open the Messaging app and click Select. Select the conversation(s) you want to delete and click Delete.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

You can also right-click the thread and choose Delete or Mute.

If you just want to delete specific messages within a conversation thread, but you don’t want to delete the entire thread, open the Messaging app and click the conversation to open it.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

Click the … button in the lower right corner and choose Select messages.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

Select the messages you want to delete and click Delete. If you would instead like to forward a specific message to someone, click the + button (Forward) and type in the name of the person you want to forward the message to.

Getting started with Windows 10’s Skype video app – CNET

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

Microsoft has broken Skype up into three different apps in Windows 10: Skype video, Messaging, and Phone (Skype video is the only app that bears the Skype name). Skype video is, as you’ve probably figured out, for video-chatting with your Skype contacts.

The Skype video interface is extremely simple — much simpler than Skype’s traditional desktop program, which combines all of Skype’s features, along with myriad settings and tweaks, in one window. While Skype’s traditional desktop program can get a little overwhelming, the new Skype video app might be too minimalistic, though the simplicity does allow you to really focus on video-chatting.

Adding contacts

When you sign into Skype on Windows 10, your Skype contacts will be ported over. The app will also ask you if you’d like it to search through your phonebook and add friends to your contact list. If you choose to postpone this step, you can always find it again by opening the Skype video app and clicking the … button and then clicking Setup.

The Skype video app features four menu buttons in the upper left corner of the window: Suggested contacts, Add contacts, Phonebook, and the … button, which is where you’ll find Settings and About.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

Suggested contacts is where you will find Skype contacts who are in your address book but not on your Skype contacts list. Your address book, in this case, is Windows 10’s People app — a “master” contact list that can draw from your Microsoft account, Google account, and iCloud account.

Add contacts lets you search for a Skype user by full name, Skype username or email address (but not by phone number).

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

Phonebook displays a searchable list of your Skype contacts in a separate window; like the Windows 10 Start menu, you can access a jump list of all the letters and numbers by clicking any of the letters or numbers that separate contacts.

Clicking on a contact’s name opens up an ultra-simple profile (no Skype mood messages here) that displays the different ways you can contact them (phone call or video call). Clicking on a contact method immediately launches that type of call. There’s no back button from the profile screen; if you want to find another contact, you’ll need to exit out of the contacts window and open it up again from the Skype video app.

Skype Settings

There are only a few settings you can change from within the Skype video app, and these settings apply to all of the Skype apps (including Messaging and Phone). To access Skype’s settings, open the Skype video app, click … and click Settings.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

In the Settings menu, you can set how Skype adds friends to your contact list — the default setting is for Skype to automatically add any contact from your address book (People app), but you can switch this off so that Skype does not automatically add contacts from your address book. You’ll still see people in the Suggested contacts tab, but you will need to add them manually if you want to contact them via Skype.

You can also turn Skype’s notifications on and off (instant messages and incoming calls), and set your Skype default. Setting this app as your Skype default will only show you notifications from Windows 10’s integrated Skype app, so you won’t end up with multiple notifications if you also happen to have the desktop program installed.

You can’t update your profile information or manage the phone numbers associated with your Skype account from this settings menu, but the menu does provide links to the Skype website where you can manage your account online.

Making a video call

Skype video may be lacking some features — such as the ability to manually change your online status — but at least making a video call is very easy.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

To make a video call, simply open up the app and click Phonebook, find the person you want to call, click their name, and click Video call.

If the person you want to call is in your video call history, just click their name in the list to initiate a call.

5 fun games you can play with the Amazon Echo – CNET

The Amazon Echo is an amazing addition to any smart home. It not only makes controlling your other smart devices fun to show off, it makes it controlling them easier. Alexa’s handy abilities even reach outside your home, helping locate where you parked, telling you how much gas is in your car’s tank and letting your order pizza.

With the help of some of Alexa’s third-party skills, the Echo can also become the life of your dinner party. It’s full of parlor tricks, easter eggs and corny jokes.

What you may not have known, however, is that you can play games with the Amazon Echo. It can be challenging and surprisingly fun.

Here are some of the best games you can play on your Amazon Echo.

Bingo

Bingo is a timeless classic. To play it on your Echo, open the Amazon Alexa app on your smartphone or go to echo.amazon.com from a computer and open the Skills menu. Search for Bingo and click Enable.

To start a game, say “Alexa, open Bingo.” Each number called by the Echo will be repeated and viewable from within the Alexa app. To advance to the next number, say “Next” or “Call the next number.”

When someone wins, say “Bingo!” and the game will end.

Of course, to play Bingo, you will need number cards, which you can download for free from lovemyecho.com.

Tic Tac Toe

If a standard game of Tic Tac Toe against a computer is too easy for you, try playing a round with Alexa. If you don’t draw the board yourself, you have to imagine the game in your head.

To start a game, say “Alexa, ask Tic Tac Toe for a game” or “Alexa, ask Tic Tac Toe to start a new game by taking the center.”

The Echo will then speak Alexa’s move, and you will have to speak your next move. For example, say, “top left” or “bottom.”

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

Out of the box, you can challenge Alexa to a round of Rock Paper Scissors. You can even play the more advanced version, Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock. But the built-in functionality is a bit sterile, and it doesn’t give you any information, like who won the round.

If you enable the Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock skill, Alexa will explain how you won or lost, keep track of your wins and tell you who racked up the most wins over several rounds.

To open the skill, say, “Alexa, open lizard Spock” and follow the prompts.

Abra

Try to stump Alexa with Abra. It’s essentially a form of 21 questions, where you select a character and answer a series of yes-no questions and Alexa tries to guess who you’re thinking of.

To start a game, say, “Alexa, open Akinator.” The game will immediately start, and you will need to answer the questions. Don’t be surprised when you can’t stump the Echo.

Blackjack (Beat The Dealer)

You can also play Blackjack with the Amazon Echo. First, enable the skill titled Beat The Dealer. Once enabled, say, “Alexa, ask the dealer to play Blackjack.”

The virtual dealer will deal you a hand and Alexa will speak your cards and one of the dealer’s cards. It will then ask you if you want to hit or stand. Decide what you want to do and speak your answer. If you don’t bust and eventually choose to stand, Alexa will tell you what the dealer chose to do and whether they busted or you won.

It will then ask you if you want to play again.

Bonus: Dice

Additionally, if you lost the dice from a board game, you can ask Alexa to roll two virtual dice for you. Say “Alexa, roll two dice.” The Echo will then tell you what it rolled.

You can get a bit more specific with it, as well. Say, “Alexa, roll 15 10-sided dice.” The Echo will list the results for each die.

Razer Core Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Sean Hollister/CNET

On-the-go gamers waiting for details on how they can use the upcoming Razer Core system to add desktop-level graphics to a non-gaming laptop now have two important questions answered. The Core box is shipping in April, and it will cost $499 in the US, with $100 off if purchased along with a Razer Blade Stealth laptop. Of course, you also have to factor in the cost of a standalone desktop graphics card, which can run $500 or more.

When PC and peripherals maker Razer showed off that Razer Blade Stealth laptop at CES 2016, it easily became the most talked-about portable PC of the show. That’s not because the Stealth was a sharply designed slim laptop with plenty of power and a throbbing multicolor keyboard (although the Stealth by itself is certainly an excellent laptop). It was because the Stealth was shown off paired with an external box called the Razer Core.

This box, best described as a Thunderbolt 3 external graphics enclosure, fills a major gap in computers — it gives a slim, portable laptop a chance to play PC games at the same level as a powerful gaming desktop. That’s because the Core is essentially a powered enclosure for a single desktop-level graphics card (which you have to provide). Slide the Core box open (it has a tool-free design), insert a compatible full-size graphics card –both Nvidia and AMD cards will work — into the PCI-Express x16 slot, and connect the entire thing to a compatible laptop, and the PC can access the power of the GPU for gaming or video editing.

Sean Hollister/CNET

The Core is designed specifically for Razer laptops, including the Stealth and the new 14-inch Razer Blade, but the implementation is open enough to work on other laptops. That list may be small, however, as the connection is via Thunderbolt 3, using a USB-C connection, which rules out many current laptops. If used with a Razer Blade Stealth laptop, the Core also supplies power to the computer, which is important, as the USB-C connection is also how the Stealth connects to its power supply.

One of the big reasons one might want to add desktop graphics to a laptop is for virtual reality. Both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets will only work with desktop graphics cards, not the mobile chips found in gaming laptops. We won’t know for sure how well VR headsets will work with the Razer Core, as they still require a desktop CPU as well. But, there’s at least a chance some VR apps will work fine with the combination of a desktop graphics and laptop processors.

The video cards supported include most recent Nvidia and AMD cards. AMD versions will offer better plug-and-play capabilities, at least initially, which means you’re more likely to be able to connect and disconnect the Core without needing to reboot the system or restart programs. The Core has a 375-watt power supply, which should be more than enough for any single graphics card.

Sean Hollister/CNET

The Razer Core is available to preorder now, and units start shipping in April. The Core costs $499 on its own, or $399 with the purchase of a Razer laptop, including the new Razer Blade Stealth, which starts at $999 (previous Stealth purchasers are also eligible for the discounted price). Razer sells products internationally, including in the UK and Australia, but neither the Stealth nor Core are available in those markets yet.

The supported graphics cards for the Razer Core include:

• AMD Radeon R9 Fury
• AMD Radeon R9 Nano
• AMD Radeon R9 300 Series
• AMD Radeon R9 290X
• AMD Radeon R9 290
• AMD Radeon R9 280
• Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan X
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 980
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 970
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 960
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 950
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 750

LG’s upcoming developer conference will focus on module creation for the G5

LG has announced that it will host a developer conference that will educate developers on how to create expansion modules for the LG G5. Back at Mobile World Congress, LG stated that it will work with developers in creating an open ecosystem around the modules so that anyone interested in building an expansion module for the phone can do so, with the manufacturer providing the technical know-how and additional support.

With the G5 being the first modular phone from LG, the addressable market for the expansion modules is very limited, but it is possible the manufacturer will carry the modular design forward into 2016, ensuring compatibility with future LG phones. What’s unknown at this stage is the price point of the modules, with LG’s official CAM Plus and Hi-Fi Plus modules set to be “reasonably” priced.

We should get more details at the conference, which will be held in San Francisco next month. The manufacturer has also mentioned that it will release the “LG Friends” software development kit and hardware development kit next month, which will give developers all the resources required to get started with module creation for the G5.

Source: LG

Even researchers agree that slow internet can stress you out

You’re not the only one who gets frustrated when videos buffer too much and too often. Ericsson found that the stress caused by trying to load videos on a slow mobile connection is comparable to the stress you feel while watching a horror movie. The Swedish company discovered that when it conducted an experiment called “The Stress of Streaming Delays.” Sure, Ericsson did it to show brands how slow internet affects them, and it’s true it only had 30 subjects. But we don’t think anyone would disagree that having to endure several seconds to minutes of buffering is frustrating.

Ericsson’s researchers, who measured the subjects’ brain, pulse and heart activities while they were performing tasks on a phone, found that video streaming delays increase heart rate by 38 percent. They also found that a two-second buffering period can double stress levels. When the researchers observed the subjects who were subjected to longer delays (around six seconds), though, they saw their stress levels rise, then fall. The participants showed signs of resignation, including eye movements that indicated distraction — they were already giving up.

We’ll bet that’s a feeling you only know too well. It’s like where you’re pumped to watch the next episode of a series on Netflix/Hulu/YouTube, and it buffers so much, you end up losing interest. The company published its results, which you can view as a PDF right here. It’s a pretty short read for a study if you want to know more about its methodologies… or if you need something to do while the movie you’re watching is buffering.

Via: New York Mag

Source: Ericsson (1), (2)

Computers can tell when you’ve been drunk tweeting

In case the rambling string of misspelled words and incoherent thoughts weren’t dead giveaways, scientists have developed a method of machine learning to sniff out drunk tweets. Researchers from the University of Rochester collected 11,000 geotagged tweets over a year from two areas: New York and Monroe County, filtering the 140-character notes containing “drunk,” “beer,” “party” and other libation-related words. From there the school employed Amazon Mechanical Turks to decide whether the person sending the tweets was simply talking about booze or were actually drinking it while tweeting.

What’s more, the team was able to develop a method for ascertaining if someone was drinking at home or from another location, with 80 percent accuracy. By matching alcohol-sales locations with the geotagged tweets the researchers discovered via algorithm that while more people in New York tweet about booze than in Monroe County, a higher number of residents of the former are drinking within 100 meters of their homes, if not in their homes outright. What’s more, Monroe County residents drink more around a kilometer-plus distance from where they rest their heads.

MIT Technology Review notes that this methodology isn’t a perfect predictor whatsoever, especially since Twitter skews younger and that “certain minorities” are overrepresented. But it is a whole lot less costly and faster than other research methods.The ultimate goal? Studying the ways that drinking changes based on age, sex and ethnicity in addition to hopefully heading off the tragic number of alcohol-related deaths.

Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: Arxiv