‘Furi’ unleashes its unique brand of chaos this July
The Game Bakers’ Furi is a neon-soaked fever dream in which you go tackle boss after boss after boss in the vein of Shadow of the Colossus. It was certainly a standout during E3 2016, and it’s streaking forward to PlayStation 4 and PC this July 5 for $24.99.
Featuring character design from Afro Samurai creator Takashi Okazaki and an aesthetic that’d challenge even the zaniest parts of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, Furi isn’t The Game Bakers’ first rodeo when it comes to indie gaming. But it certainly could be one of its best. With a combination of synthwave and electronica punctuating its soundtrack and explosive fights that’ll challenge your reflexes, Furi is definitely one to watch.
Check out the announcement trailer below and brush up on the basics of CQC if you want to make any progress in this frenetic action game.
Source: The Game Bakers
6 tips to improve battery life on the Nexus 5X
How do I improve battery life in the Nexus 5X?
While the 2,700mAh battery in LG’s Nexus 5X can get you through the day on a single charge, depending on usage, we think you can probably get a little bit more out of it by making a few simple changes.
1. Turn off Ambient Display
Ambient Display is a feature that sends notifications to your screen when it’s locked. It’s useful to see what’s going without having to unlock your phone’s screen, but it does consume battery power.
To turn this feature off, follow these steps:
Launch Settings from your Home screen, the app drawer, or the Notification Shade.
Tap Display.
Toggle the Ambient Display switch to off.
2. Mind your Bluetooth
Smartwatches are great and we love them, but you should be aware that they consume more battery than Ambient Display does. If you know that you need extra power, leave your smartwatch at home that day.
The same goes for fitness trackers, speakers, car audio systems, and just about anything else with a Bluetooth connection. When in doubt, disable Bluetooth!.
Launch Settings from your Home screen, the app drawer, or the Notification Shade
Tap Bluetooth
Toggle the Bluetooth switch to off.
3. Lower your screen’s brightness setting
The Nexus 5X has a beautiful 5.2-inch inch full HD LCD display that hits that sweet spot for size but is one of the most battery-intensive features of the phone.
Dial down how much battery your Nexus 5X’s screen draws by decreasing the brightness level a few notches:
Launch Settings from your Home screen, the app drawer, or the Notification Shade.
Tap Display.
Tap on Brightness level.
Tap and drag the brightness bar to your desired level.
Alternatively, you can let Adaptive brightness manage the brightness level of your screen based on the amount of ambient light available:
Launch Settings from your Home screen, the app drawer, or the Notification Shade.
Tap Display.
Toggle the Adaptive brightness switch to on.
4. Limit or turn off Location Services
Google’s Location Services is useful for helping you get around town and some apps, such as Foursquare and Twitter, use it to determine your location as well. However helpful Location Services is, it can take a huge chunk out of your battery, especially when using GPS.
Location Services has three modes: High accuracy, Battery saving, and Device only. High accuracy uses GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile network information to find your position, Power saving uses just Wi-Fi and mobile network information, while Device only uses only GPS. Of the three, the most power hungry modes are High accuracy and Device only.
If you need some form of location services on, choose Battery saving — it won’t be as accurate, but it will save on battery. For the most power savings, turn off Location Services altogether. If you choose to turn off Location Services, some apps that rely on it may not function properly — just something to be aware of.
You can find all of these settings under Location in your Nexus 5X’s Settings menu:
Tap Location.
Tap Mode to pull up the Location mode screen. From there tap the option of your choice:
- High accuracy
- Battery saving
- Device only
To turn Location Services off, simply toggle the switch to off at the top of the screen.
5. Check apps’ battery usage
Android keeps tabs on how much battery every app on your phone consumes and it’s simple to check:
Launch Settings from your Home screen, the app drawer, or the Notification Shade.
Tap Battery.
Here you’ll see a breakdown by app of how much battery they consume as a percentage of total battery use.
Video streaming services and games naturally will use more battery than others, but if something else is hogging the battery when it shouldn’t be, you’ll see it here.
6. Avoid streaming video
The Nexus 5X loses power more quickly when streaming video. If you can, download any video content you plan to watch to your device and watch it locally.
Here’s how you can download content for offline viewing in Google Play.
Launch the Google Play Movies and TV app from your Home screen or the app drawer.
Tap the Menu button. It looks like this ☰.
Tap My library.
Tap the Download button next to the content you’d like to watch offline.
That’s it. Now the content will download to your device and be available to watch any time you’d like, no internet connection necessary.
How about you?
We’ve given you some tips on how you can eek out a few more hours of life from your Nexus 5X’s battery, but what about you? What do you do to make your battery last longer? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Want more information on the LG Nexus 5X? Have a peek at our review.
Nexus 5X
- Nexus 5X review
- 5 things to know about the Nexus 5X
- Read the latest Nexus 5X news
- Learn about Nexus Protect insurance
- Learn about Project Fi
- Join the Nexus 5X forums
- Nexus 5X specs
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‘Hotline Miami 2’ is ready for your user-built sequels
The flashy, lo-res violence of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number just got a new lease on life. The long-awaited level editor companion just dropped its beta status and is ready to go live. Since the second installment was “the brutal conclusion” to the series, a boatload of user-made, downloadable content is likely the closest thing fans will get to an HM3. And that’s essentially what users will find now that the game has landed on Steam Workshop.
If you haven’t yet jumped into Hotline’s world, now would be an excellent time to do that. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is currently on sale for a dirt-cheap $3.74 or $4.99 bundled with the original. For the true aficionado, the full 49-track original soundtrack is also available for a $14.99 download.
Facebook brings VR Reactions to 360-degree videos
In between shooting up enemy spaceships in Eve:Gunjack and watching your favorite shows in virtual reality, you can also use your Gear VR to browse 360 Videos on Facebook. Now, in addition to viewing them, you can also show what you think about them. Oculus has just made it possible to see and leave reactions — you know, those Like-alternatives that Facebook released earlier this year — right within the smartphone VR viewer. Just look at the Like button long enough, and you’ll trigger a circle of possible Reactions to choose from. And if you’re dying to give a “Wow” emoji to a friend’s 360-degree panorama instead, don’t worry — support for 360 Photos should arrive in the coming weeks.
Source: Facebook
Nest will begin curating its Works With Nest products online
Home automation producer Nest wants to make things easier for you when it comes to building your connected home. That’s why it will soon curate select items that work with your Nest products so you can buy them directly from its online storefront.
Works with Nest products run the gamut from LIFX WiFi smart bulbs that offer enhanced lighting that works in a complementary way with your Nest Cam or Nest Protect, with options you can alter on your own. You might also opt to add a SkyBell HD WiFi Video Doorbell to your setup, which allows you to stream live video of your front door and record it if Nest Cam happens to sense motion outside your door when you’re out.
Over 100 Works with Nest products are out in the wild, though Nest won’t be adding them all at the onset of its Works with Nest store. They’ll be sprinkled into the mix soon, with additional items releasing online and likely into your home in the future.
Source: Nest
Electric race car sets an acceleration world record
Electric cars are quick off the mark as a matter of course, since they’re both very efficient with energy and always operate at peak torque. You probably haven’t seen a road-going machine this fast, though. Swiss students have shattered the world record for EV acceleration with an experimental race car, Grimsel, that reached 62MPH in 1.513 seconds — over two tenths of a second sooner than the previous best. For context, the 1,480HP Bugatti Chiron hits that speed somewhere under 2.5 seconds.
Like any good performance car, Grimsel achieved the feat through a combination of the right engine technology and light weight. While its four wheel hub motors produce just 200HP, they also produce a whopping 1,254 foot-pounds of torque… and when the car’s carbon fiber body weighs just 370 pounds, it’s extremely easy to move. Per-wheel traction control helps translate that power effectively, too.
It’s doubtful that you’ll see this exact car in full-fledged competition. All the same, it bodes well for the future of electric motorsport. As quick as the cars in Formula E might be, Grimsel shows that there’s still room for improvement.
Source: ETH Zurich
Misfit Ray review – CNET
The Good Slim design, water-resistant, long battery life thanks to replaceable batteries. Tracks activity automatically. Vibration alerts.
The Bad Uncomfortable fit won’t feel great on all wrists. Minimal look means no buttons or display, except for one glowing light. Misfit app not as good as competing fitness apps.
The Bottom Line Misfit’s tube-shaped Ray fitness tracker looks stylish and gets the job done, but it does too little for what it costs.
It looks like a bracelet, or some space-age tube. But the Misfit Ray’s a fitness tracker. One of a vast number of track-your-steps, pair-with-an-app gadgets that keep popping up. Fitness trackers — the standalone ones that aren’t smartwatches — have started shrinking down to aspire to be jewelry, sort of. That’s been Misfit’s formula for years. But now, that formula feels a little commonplace.
The original Shine, a metal disc that automatically tracks steps and sleep and has good battery life, was innocuous. But also, easily lost. It could pop into accessories and be worn lots of places. I liked the Shine a lot when it first debuted in 2013, because it was unique and small. But there are more fitness trackers now, and most of them are unnecessary. The Shine 2 only made a few advances over the Shine. Its main appeal — being simple and automatic — has been adopted by many other competitors, including the king of the hill, Fitbit.
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Misfit Ray in two colors, with Misfit Shine 2 in the middle. Same functions, different design.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Now the Ray is the same idea as the Shine 2, but in a tube. Like those earlier Misfit products, the Ray tracks steps, sleep and short activity sessions. It can be worn as a bracelet (it comes with a band), or turned into a necklace pendant. But it’s not really attractive enough that you’d wear it if you weren’t “using” it.
LG LTNC11121V review – CNET
The Good LG’s smallest full-size refrigerator looks more expensive than it really is, and it holds accurate temperatures in the body of the fridge. It also holds more groceries than we expected it would.
The Bad Some parts of the interior feel a bit flimsy. Also, the door shelves and the crisper bin ran warm in all of our tests.
The Bottom Line The compact-sized LTNC11121V is worth considering if you’re looking for a second fridge, or if you’re tight on space.
Visit manufacturer site for details.
We’ve tested a lot of refrigerators over the past few years at CNET Appliances, and fridge for fridge, the brand that’s impressed us the most is LG. The Korean brand’s refrigerators have consistently outperformed the competition in our cooling tests, and many of the higher-end models offer the kinds of designs and features that make upgrading exciting.
The LG LTNC11121V is not one of those higher-end models. In fact, at $700, it’s the least expensive fridge that LG sells, and the smallest, too: just 24 inches wide, with a total capacity of just 11.1 cubic feet. It’s about as compact as refrigerators come without venturing into mini-fridge territory, but with good performance and a decent design for the price, it might be good fit for a back room or a tight kitchen.
Here’s a teeny-tiny top freezer fridge from…
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With the exception of those two 12-packs, I was able to squeeze all of our test groceries into the fridge.
Chris Monroe/CNET
Design and features
The LTNC11121V almost looks more like a locker than a refrigerator. At 24 inches wide, it’s as skinny as full-size fridges come, so if you’re trying to fill a tight space in your kitchen, there’s a good chance it’s up to the task.
Looks-wise, it’s a good design for the price, with a stainless-steel finish and recessed handles. It doesn’t scream luxury, but then again, neither do most other compact-sized refrigerators.
With 11.1 cubic feet of total storage space inside, 8.5 of which are allocated to the fridge, you’ve got less than half the space for fresh groceries than you’ll get with LG’s largest top freezer model (which, incidentally, happens to be our top top-freezer pick). That’s not a lot of room to work with, so if you’re thinking of using this thing to keep a family fed, think again.
Then again, the LTNC11121V did better than I expected it would when I started stuffing groceries into it. The door shelves were big enough to accommodate a pair of two-liters along with a few other large beverages, and the shelves were deep enough to hold two 1-gallon jugs of milk — though not deep enough to fit either of the 12-packs of soda from our standardized load of test groceries. They were the only two things I couldn’t fit inside.
As for features, you don’t get much — just the one crisper bin, along with a “Pull-Out Tray” that sits a few inches below the top shelf and slides out for easy access. Up in the freezer, you’ll find a manual ice maker with a pair of smallish ice cube trays that you can twist to dump the cubes into a bin. It’s an interesting approach, though it feels a bit flimsy. Also, you can’t take those trays out to fill them at the sink. Instead, you have to bring the water to the freezer, and I had a hard time pouring it in without spilling.
Twitter Engage app: What is it, how does it work, and who can use it?
Kim Kardashian West has access to a new app that makes Twitter much easier for her to understand and use.
The app is called Twitter Engage. Although it’s not limited to famous people, it’s obvious that the app is meant to help popular or verified users on Twitter highlight the most important interactions they’ve had and view detailed analytics and performance numbers for their posts. But like we said, anyone can use it, so if you’re at all interested in it, we’ve detailed everything you need to know.
What is Twitter Engage?
Twitter Engage is all about analytics.
However, Twitter has described Engage as a new companion app for Twitter. It’s available now and basically provides you with real-time data and insights about your tweets and followers. It’s clear that Engage is targeting famous people, including celebrities, influences, and public figures. I’s designed to help them better interact with their audience and build an even bigger following.
With Twitter Engage, you can see how your posts perform. So, if you’re a rich person posting a sponsored tweet that tries to hawk a juice cleanse, you can see how well your followers responded to it by viewing total impressions and interactions with that post. You can also sift through the noise and find mentions and interactions with your verified and top followers.
The idea is you’ll be able to better engage with Twitter (no pun intended), and you’ll be able to better understand engagement activity on your posts. It’s also about making it easier for you to connect with fans. It gives you all the info you need in one, organised place.
How does Twitter Engage work?
Start by downloading Twitter Engage. It’s free but only available for iOS in the US. From there, open the app and give it permission to connect to your Twitter account. You should see a Get Started button at the bottom and might have to log into Twitter. Once all that is done, the app will load its main interface. You’ll see a menu bar along the bottom with three main tabs: Engage, Understand, and Posts.
Engage
Engage displays your most important interactions on Twitter. You’ll see a section where you view the most recent “top” people who have followed you (in other words: verified people), and you’ll see another section that aggregates all your interactions with verified people (such as mentions, replies, likes, etc). You’ll even see another screen that specifically highlights all your mentions from people whom you interact with you a lot.
Understand
Understand displays high-level analytics for your posts in real-time, such as how many impressions you’ve been getting over time. You’ll also see your recent likes, mentions, retweets, impressions, and followers, along with data about your audience, including their demographics.
Posts
Posts displays detailed performance numbers for individual posts. You will see three different sections that’ll let you see stats for your videos, photos and gifs, and other tweets. Each post will show impressions, engagements, likes, retweets, replies, etc.
Who can use Twitter Engage?
Twitter Engage reminds us of Facebook Mentions – a two-year-old app that also helps celebrities discover posts about them and relevant to them. That said, Mentions requires a verified Facebook account to use, while Twitter Engage is available to all iOS Twitter users in the US.
Want to know more?
Check out Twitter’s blog post for more details.
Reddit users helped bust a national park graffiti artist
Graffiti artist Casey Nocket is learning first-hand about the consequences of sharing illegal acts online. She’s facing a US-wide national park ban and 200 hours of community service after Modern Hiker and Reddit users identified her as the vandal who painted faces in six parks, including Colorado National Monument and Death Valley. A Reddit hiker drew the earliest known attention to the vandalism, but things really snowballed when MH’s Casey Schreiner posted a story detailing Nocket’s identity and social networking accounts. That led to a further Reddit discussion, which caught the eye of a National Parks Service investigator… you can guess what happened next.
The internet’s contribution wasn’t uniformly positive. Would-be vigilantes tried to post Nocket’s home address (aka a classic doxxing attempt) on both Modern Hiker and Reddit, and the general rage toward Nocket sparked fears for her safety. While other users helped report these incidents, they show that there’s a fine line between online justice and online abuse.
Via: The Guardian
Source: Reddit (1), (2), Modern Hiker
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