Thumper review: Get lost in the rhythm!
It’s all about the music.
Music and rhythm games have always been a popular genre to play on console. Thumper brings you the best of rhythm based games in a new format that works beautifully in VR. You’ll ride down a track frantically hitting buttons to keep from dashing against a wall during a sharp turn, or from pummeling into a wall that appears on the track in front of you. This is a fantastically fun game that will have you asking for one more level long before you manage to put the game down and return to the real world.
Read more at VR Heads!
Ace the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam with this certification prep course, now just $49.99
Whether you are looking to start a new career or just advance the one you are in currently, you’ll need some certifications under your belt to make you stand out above the others. Unfortunately, getting certifications can be a time consuming and expensive process. You need time to study, money to pay for the courses, and then you just have to hope that you can keep up with that and your regular job. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way.
How does lifetime access to more than 76 courses that contain just shy of 40 hours of training sound? Well, with this awesome certification training package you can work towards becoming certified in one of the industry’s most respected certification organizations. You’ll be able to access the material 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can do things on your schedule, and this will also help you meet that 35 contact-hour requirement fo rthe exam and certification.
For just $50 you’ll have access to:
- Get lifetime access to 76+ courses & 35+ hours of training
- Become certified by one of the industry’s most respected & in-demand certification organizations
- Take lessons from a company that’s approved by Project Management Institute® to meet the strict educational criteria necessary to earn the PMP® & CAPM®certifications
- Access the material 24/7 so you can learn when you have time
- Meet the 35 contact-hour requirement for the PMP® exam & certification
- Maintain your certification by meeting the required Professional Development Units
Normally, this certification training would set you back nearly $1,500, but if you act quick you can pay just a small fraction of that. What better way to work towards you new goal than on your own schedule, right?
Don’t miss out on this huge 96% savings because this deal won’t last forever. Make the purchase now, and thank yourself later.
See at Android Central Offers
Best Modular Phone
A modular phone lets you connect accessories to add new features make it even better. Here are the best choices right now.
Best Overall
Moto Z / Moto Z Force
See at Verizon (Moto Z)
See at Verizon (Z Force)
See at Amazon
Motorola’s latest flagship phones come with a standard load out of high-end specs — a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, a pretty decent (though not trailblazing) 13-megapixel camera and an attractive, super-thin metal design. But what makes these phones special are the mods — modular attachments which snap to the back of the phone thanks to the magic of magnetism. There are mods for increasing your battery capacity, adding a high-quality speaker, turning your phone into a mini projector, or adding an optically-zooming camera. And any mods you buy now will also work with next year’s Moto phones.
You also benefit from Moto’s lightweight Android UI, which (aside from the expected Verizon bloatware apps) doesn’t bog you down with unnecessary features or an obnoxious third-party software skin. The Verizon-exclusive Moto Z Force gives you a shatterproof display and a bigger battery, as well as all the benefits of the regular Moto Z, in a slightly thicker chassis.
Bottom line: Moto does modular support right, with some really interesting and useful mods, and an easy mechanism for swapping them in and out.
One more thing: There’s no headphone jack, so you’ll need to use a USB-C dongle to connect most headphones to the Moto Z. #donglelife
Why the Moto Z + Z Force are the best
Modularity done right.
Without the mods, the Moto Z might have been yet another decent high-end smartphone. But the mods change all that, allowing Moto to build out meaningful functionality in a series of surprisingly great accessories. If you just want to add some visual flair to the phone, Moto’s Style Shells are for you. There are a couple of great battery mods available, including wireless charging options. Even the seemingly ludicrous pico projector mod could be useful for road warriors.
Who says smartphones are becoming boring?
Best mid-range
Moto Z Play
See at Verizon
See at Amazon
The Moto Z Play is what you get if you take the central idea of the Moto Z and re-engineer it as a really solid mid-range Android phone. It uses Qualcomm’s super-efficient Snapdragon 625 chip, paired with 3GB of RAM and a hefty 3,600mAh battery, delivering outstanding longevity. The 5.5-inch display gets bumped down to 1080p, but still looks great. And there’s a glass back now, as opposed to the Moto Z’s metal unibody.
Fortunately, the Z Play uses the same ecosystem of mods as the regular Moto Z, so you can expand its functionality just as much as other phones in the series.
Bottom line: Forget last year’s disappointing Moto X Play. The Moto Z Play is legit — a great mid-range smartphone even without the mods.
One More thing: With its gigantic battery and power-sipping CPU, the Moto Z Play is among the best Android phones out there for battery life.
Best non-Moto
LG G5
See at Verizon
See at AT&T
See at T-Mobile
See at Sprint
See at Amazon (Unlocked)
LG’s first shot at a modular smartphone is a decent all-rounder, although the Korean firm’s ecosystem of modular “Friends” isn’t as robust as what we’ve seen for the Moto Z. You’re basically looking at a camera grip, which doubles as an extra battery, a hi-fi audio module, and… that’s basically it. (Unless you count the bundled bottom segment, which does nothing in particular.)
At least you get cutting-edge specs: A Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, and an excellent 16-megapixel rear camera, backed up by a wide-angle 8-megapixel shooter. The G5 is stronger as an all-round smartphone than it is as a showcase for modularity, but it’s still a decent buy — particularly with recent price cuts.
Bottom-line: The G5’s modular setup isn’t as polished as Moto’s, but it does boast a battery camera and a more hand-friendly form factor.
One more thing: The G5 also comes with the benefit of a fully removable battery, something of a rarity in smartphones these days.
Conclusion
Motorola has taken modular smartphones beyond a mere concept, and shown how you can build out modularity in a way that’s easy to use, and adds value. The Moto Z and Moto Z Force will both give you the best modular experience available, thanks to snap-on accessories that are simple to attach, and do a bunch of cool stuff. Beyond that, they’re just good, enjoyable phones to use in their own right.
Best Overall
Moto Z / Moto Z Force
See at Verizon (Moto Z)
See at Verizon (Z Force)
See at Amazon
Motorola’s latest flagship phones come with a standard load out of high-end specs — a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, a pretty decent (though not trailblazing) 13-megapixel camera and an attractive, super-thin metal design. But what makes these phones special are the mods — modular attachments which snap to the back of the phone thanks to the magic of magnetism. There are mods for increasing your battery capacity, adding a high-quality speaker, turning your phone into a mini projector, or adding an optically-zooming camera. And any mods you buy now will also work with next year’s Moto phones.
You also benefit from Moto’s lightweight Android UI, which (aside from the expected Verizon bloatware apps) doesn’t bog you down with unnecessary features or an obnoxious third-party software skin. The Verizon-exclusive Moto Z Force gives you a shatterproof display and a bigger battery, as well as all the benefits of the regular Moto Z, in a slightly thicker chassis.
Bottom line: Moto does modular support right, with some really interesting and useful mods, and an easy mechanism for swapping them in and out.
One more thing: There’s no headphone jack, so you’ll need to use a USB-C dongle to connect most headphones to the Moto Z. #donglelife
A Galaxy S7 exploded in Canada, but let’s not freak out
A Galaxy S7 has reportedly exploded. Let’s talk about it.
It’s a sobering thought: you’re driving down the street and you feel your pocket start to get hot. You instinctively pad it down, realize it’s your phone and take it out. The phone then starts smoking, bursting into flames as you hold it. You try to safely get to the side of the road while still holding this flaming piece of metal and glass. It burns you as you do this, so you open the window and throw the phone outside, as flames consume it from within. Later, after being bandaged and treated for second-degree burns, you retrieve the piece of wreckage and begin to make sense of the madness.
No, this isn’t a story of the now-cancelled Galaxy Note 7. This is something that happened earlier this week to a man, Amarjit Mann, in Winnipeg, Canada. The phone? A Galaxy S7. We’ve reached out to Samsung for some clarification, and have yet to hear back, but let’s not jump to conclusions about this obviously-terrible incident.
Clearly, this exacerbates the existing image problem for Samsung.
Samsung is still investigating the cause of the Note 7 fires. Clearly the first round of recalls and subsequent reissuing of devices with batteries from a different provider didn’t solve the problem. It’s increasingly looking like the issue was not with batteries themselves, but either the hardware controller keeping them from taking on too much current, or the software managing the battery components, giving them too much charge.
Over the months, we’ve heard about sporadic cases of other Samsung phones lighting on fire — one of the first reported cases of a Note 7 explosion was in fact a Galaxy Core Prime — that were never linked to the Note 7 debacle. Like all phones, from Samsung or otherwise, anything with a lithium-ion battery has the potential to combust when exposed to certain extreme conditions — heat, spark, high voltage — but that doesn’t indicate an endemic issue.
Image credit: CTV News
So let’s go back to this Galaxy S7. Clearly, this is an image problem for Samsung, since the GS7 has so far been spared from the Note 7’s battery issues. While we’ve heard of a few cases of Galaxy S7s overheating since being released in March, the number of affected units appears to be in the same range as any other smartphone — we’ve heard of iPhones randomly going off, too. The problem is that the industry is now far more attuned to the safety of Samsung’s phones, and its damaged brand, as a result of the Note 7, so it’s hard to see this latest incident, awful as it is, as an isolated incident. But until we start hearing about multiple cases of GS7 conflagration, that’s exactly how we have to approach it, and trust that Samsung is going to do the right thing and investigate the core issue.
As we found in our survey, most long-time Galaxy users have remained loyal to Samsung since the Note 7 recalls and subsequent cancellation, and plan to buy the Note 8 when it is released. Obviously, Samsung still has a lot of work to do, and incidents like this continue to chip away at its pockmarked reputation, but let’s not jump to conclusions about a phone that has, for months now, stood out as being one of the best and most reliable on the market.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge
- Galaxy S7 review
- Galaxy S7 edge review
- U.S. unlocked Galaxy S7
- Should you upgrade to the Galaxy S7?
- Best SD cards for Galaxy S7
- Join our Galaxy S7 forums
Unlocked
AT&T
Sprint
T-Mobile
Verizon
Fitbit steps in the real world can step up your performance in NBA 2K17
Fitbit and 2K Games have announced a collaboration that will provide in-game rewards in NBA 2K17 for a healthy lifestyle when wearing a Fitbit fitness tracker.
- Which Fitbit is right for me?
Gamers who manage to walk 10,000 steps a day will be rewarded with temporary +5 attribute points for their MyPLAYER, which can be spent on agility, dunks, layups and more. The attribute boosts will only last for the next 5 games played that day.
2K is the latest brand to be part of the Works with Fitbit program, but this is the first instance of a game being integrated with a fitness tracker.
The integration between Fitbit and NBA 2K17 will begin on 25 November on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game. Users will then need to connect their Fitbit tracker to their console in order to receive the in-game rewards.
Tim Rosa, SVP of Global Marketing at Fitbit said: “As a former video game industry executive, I’m excited to help shape the first-of-its-kind integration between a wearable and a console video game, motivating gamers of all ages to be more active throughout the day by giving them in-game rewards for their real-world fitness activity”.
- Best Black Friday UK fitness tracker deals: Garmin, Fitbit, Polar and more
“We think it’s just the beginning of what’s possible as we create new ways to keep our community engaged and motivated to be healthier and more fit”.
Google AI experiments help you appreciate neural networks
Sure, you may know that neural networks are spicing up your photos and translating languages, but what if you want a better appreciation of how they function? Google can help. It just launched an AI Experiments site that puts machine learning to work in a direct (and often entertaining) way. The highlight by far is Giorgio Cam — put an object in front of your phone or PC camera and the AI will rattle off a quick rhyme based on what it thinks it’s seeing. It’s surprisingly accurate, fast and occasionally chuckle-worthy.
Other experiments are worth checking out, although you may need to compile the code or watch to get a feel for them. Quick, Draw! is effectively AI Pictionary; Infinite Drum Machine gathers sounds by similarity, and lets you sequence them into simple tracks; Bird Sounds uses neural networking to arrange and visualize calls based on their qualities (say, shrill versus melodic). Sadly, one of the most promising, Thing Translator, isn’t usable unless you download the source code and build it yourself.
Thankfully, the list is likely to get larger. Google is taking submissions, and it’s fairly open-minded as to how contributors design their projects. If enough people step up to the plate, AI Experiments could be the go-to place for anyone wanting a primer on what machine learning can do.
Source: AI Experiments
‘White’ Twitter bots can help curb racism
Twitter is trying to curb the virulent racism on its platform by banning bigots and expanding reporting features, but it’s like whack-a-mole — two pop up for every one banned. However, a new research paper shows that calling out users who post racist and sexist slurs can heavily curb trolling. There’s a catch, however: it’s much more effective if the “white knight” is, well, white
NYU student Kevin Munger started his social experiment by seeking out 231 Twitter users who frequently used the term “n****r” in a targeted manner with the “@” symbol. He chose accounts that were at least six months old with white male users, describing them as “the largest and most politically salient demographic engaging in racist online harassment of blacks.”
Munger created fake Twitter bot accounts using names typically associated with both white and black males, and added racially corresponding cartoon avatars. He then purchased fake followers for some of the accounts, leaving others with a sparse count. When his algorithms detected posts containing the n-word with the right criteria (targeted with “@” replies, high offensiveness score, adult and white male), the bots replied, saying “@[subject] Hey man, just remember that there are real people who are hurt when you harass them with that kind of language.”
The bots showed that rebukes from apparent white male Twitter users with high follower counts caused posts containing n-word slurs to drop around 27 percent. Furthermore, the practice worked even after several weeks, albeit with reduced effectiveness. “The 50 subjects in the most effective treatment condition tweeted the word ‘nigger’ an estimated 186 fewer times in the month after treatment,” the paper notes.
However, white users with low follower counts and apparent black males had little impact on harassment. And many users, even those not anonymous, actually posted further negative replies to the bots in those cases. “This finding concords with my hypothesis that the largest treatment effect would be that of receiving a message from a high-status white man,” Munger writes.
The experiment was limited to white and black male Twitter users to ensure that “the in-groups of interest (gender and race) don’t vary among the subjects, and thus that the treatments are the same,” Munger says. However, he adds that “an important extension to the study would be a manipulation to reduce misogynist online harassment, which continues to be a large problem for women on social media.”
By updating [community members’] beliefs about the norms of online behavior, the [bot] treatment caused a significant reduction in the use of racist slurs.
The usual way of fighting racism on social media (by banning users) can backfire, Munger says, “and cause people to confuse the use of racist or misogynist slurs with defense of free speech.” As evidence of that, he cites the GamerGate movement’s siren call (“ethics in journalism”) and folks attracted to Trump’s “ethnocentric” presidential campaign.
Researchers have long thought that contact between different groups can reduce prejudice, but as Munger notes, that has been difficult to prove experimentally. His paper, he concludes, shows that by “updating [community members’] beliefs about the norms of online behavior, the [bot] treatment caused a significant reduction in the use of racist slurs.” The next step is to test whether this actually changes underlying attitudes toward racism in the real world.
Via: Ars Technica
Source: Kevin Munger
Japanese AI abandons its Tokyo University dreams
A team of scientists from the National Institute of Informatics in Japan have given up on making their AI smart enough to get into the University of Tokyo. The Todai Project — Tokyo University’s local nickname is “Todai” — began in 2011, so we’re sure at least some of them were disappointed by the decision. But, hey, this means robots aren’t as smart as humans yet, and we don’t have to fear an uprising in the near future. The researchers were hoping that the AI would score much higher than the 511 out of 950 it got last year when it took a standardized entrance exam in the country. Unfortunately, its overall results were pretty much the same for 2016.
The University of Tokyo, considered one of the best educational institutions in Japan, requires results much higher than what the AI got. Todai Robot’s creators have concluded that since they failed to meet their goal this year, the AI can’t become smart enough to get into Tokyo U by their March 2022 target date. What exactly held it back? Team member Noriko Arai said AIs just aren’t “good at answering a type of question that requires the ability to grasp meaning in a broad spectrum.” They still don’t have the critical thinking and problem solving skills that we do, so they won’t be taking over all our jobs anytime soon.
Source: Japan Times
Pinterest highlights curated content with new Explore tool
After an update last week attempted to keep us all organized, Pinterest has now given its users a new way to get inspired. Following the current trend of apps pushing curated content, Pinterest has jumped on the bandwagon with its new Explore section.
A lot of the features in Explore already existed on Pinterest; today’s update is all about putting them in one place. Upon clicking Explore, you’ll be greeted by a new series of personal recommendations every day. These featured picks are either based on your Pinterest browsing history to date, or if you fancy a change, these can be swapped with different topics.
Rather than just showing you the small scope of topics you’re interested in, Explore gives you a glimpse into what’s currently trending across Pinterest. If you’re after tips on a more specific subject, selecting a topic will instantly show you its trending boards too.
Explore won’t just be showing you algorithmically sourced content from other Pinterest users. This new section will also compile featured picks from a mixture of brands, influencers and Pinterest employees. Yet that’s not the only major change brought by this update, as Pinterest now supports native, auto-playing videos into the platform. Among these videos are of course the inevitable ads, with companies like American Express and Sony Pictures already utilizing the platform.
Source: Pinterest
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