Unicode planning to make emoji more gender inclusive with next release

Why it matters to you

Those who don’t strictly identify as male or female will have some representation in the next emoji release.

There are 1,851 emojis in the latest Unicode release, according to Emojipedia. Many of them depict men and women, while some have remained genderless yellow smilies. For a long time, male and female emojis were restricted to specific professions or activities. For example, with the release of the first iPhone, Apple used a woman for the haircut emoji and a man for the construction worker.

Emojis are more inclusive today than ever before, now presenting men and women in all occupations, but there is still work to be done. Of those nearly 2,000 emojis, not one displays a human character that doesn’t ascribe to the binary. With the release of Emoji 5.0 planned for later in 2017, the Unicode Consortium Emoji Subcommittee is hoping to change that.

More: Unicode is taking the redhead emoji problem very seriously

Emojipedia

Paul Hunt, a typeface designer at Adobe and a member of the subcommittee, took to the Emojipedia blog on Monday to lay out a possible solution. The subcommittee is planning the addition of three gender-inclusive emojis — a child, an adult, and an older person — to fill the gap, at least partially. Hunt says the three emojis are only the first step and the goal is to expand representation to every man/woman pair.

“My wish is that adding more gender options in emoji will help us all to celebrate our unity and our diversity,” Hunt said. “I advocate for everyone to feel comfortable using emoji men when we feel masculine, emoji women to express our feminine aspects, and gender inclusive emoji whenever we feel like celebrating our humanity regardless of gender.”

Hunt notes that the gendering of emojis began in earnest with the advent of smartphones. The original set didn’t display fine detail, like masculine and feminine characteristics, because displays on mobile phones were too low-resolution at the time. Once that changed, developers seized the opportunity to flesh out what used to be pixelated, rudimentary symbols. The result was a much more specific and visually interesting set of emoji that came at the cost of inclusiveness.

The original set of emoji designed by NTT Docomo’s Shigetaka Kurita in 1999.

Emojipedia

“Whether it was intentional or not, users saw an all-too-familiar pattern: emoji persons in active or working roles were depicted as men, and those in passive or frivolous roles were depicted as women,” Hunt said.

Since then, Unicode and the Emoji Subcommittee have been trying to catch up, responding to users’ requests for more representation, while also trying to release updates in a timely, steady manner. While it’s impossible to design an emoji for every possible appearance, the group’s commitment to inclusion continues to make emoji a better universal language for all people, regardless of race or gender identity.

Lexus’ Sports Yacht may be just a concept or it could be a market test

Why it matters to you

If you’re keeping track of luxury carmakers dipping their toes into yachting waters, add Lexus to the list.

What is it with big-name carmakers and luxury sports yachts? Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, and Bugatti have all launched or shown concepts of yachts that are slick, fast, and expensive. Now we can add Lexus to the gang with the Lexus Sports Yacht, which was recently introduced at the Miami International Boat Show.

Toyota Motor Corporation has built sport utility yachts under the greater corporate wing since 1997, but the brand is Ponam, not Toyota, and it is sold only in Japan. Toyota president Akio Toyoda, described as a “master driver” in a corporate release, is responsible for the nautical Lexus. Toyoda was inspired when testing a Ponam model that it was time to design a premium performance yacht under the Lexus brand to represent the Lexus lifestyle internationally.

More: Want a Bugatti Chiron supercar? Dream bigger and get the matching yacht

The 42-foot Lexus Sports Yacht is constructed of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CRFP), a material used in race cars and supercars. The stepped hull design that reduces drag and improves handling weighs 2,200 pounds less than a conventional hull made from fiberglass reinforced plastic on similar-sized yachts. Like the Ponam yachts, which use Toyota engines, the Sports Yacht uses homegrown power plants. In this case, the power comes from two Lexus V8 race car engines that produce a combined 885 horsepower. Top speed for the Sports Yacht is 43 knots or 49 miles per hour, according to CNN Money.

The yacht is designed for recreational touring with up to eight passengers. It has no staterooms or other sleeping quarters, but it does have a small galley and a shower.

There are no current plans to take the Lexus Sports Yacht beyond the concept stage at this time, according to the corporate statement. It could be Lexus wants to test the market for a luxury performance yacht in the U.S. It also serves as a message that Lexus can make impressive performance craft for the water. If Toyota decides not to go forward in the international yacht market, taking the concept out for a day could be a fun perk for high-performing executives.

Dell outfits its XPS 13 2-in-1 with enterprise-grade hardware, security

Why it matters to you

Businesses that were interested in Dell’s new XPS 13 2-in-1 now have a good reason to make the investment.

At the request of its customers in the business sector, Dell is now offering new configurations of its XPS 13 2-in-1 device that pack security and manageability features specific to that market. These features include the option of using vPro-enabled processors, access to Dell ProSupport Plus, Dell-enhanced security, and more. The Dell XPS 13 made its first appearance during CES 2017 in January.

Dell currently provides two configurations based on Intel’s Core i5-7Y54 processor that doesn’t support vPro, and two configurations based on Intel’s new Core i7-7Y75 chip that does support vPro. Thus, customers wanting vPro support will see a starting price of $1,350 whereas the Intel Core i5 configuration has a starting price of $1,000. Unfortunately, customization appears to be extremely limited across all four configurations.

Here is the semi-locked list of hardware for the $1,450 configuration:

Screen size:
13.3 inches
Resolution:
1,920 x 1,080 with Touch
Processor:
Intel Core i7-7Y75
Graphics:
Intel HD Graphics 615
System memory:
16GB LPDDR3 @ 1,866MHz (optional 32GB)
Storage:
256GB PCI Express SSD (optional 512GB)
Connectivity:
Wireless AC (2×2)
Bluetooth 4.2
Camera:
Widescreen 720p
Ports:
1x Thunderbolt 3
1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C
1x Micro SD card reader
1x Headphone jack
Security:
Fingerprint reader
Noble Security Lock Slot
Battery:
46 Watt hour
Dimensions:
0.32-0.54 (H) x 11.98 x 7.81 (D) inches
Weight:
Starting at 2.7 pounds
Color options:
Silver
Operating system:
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

The XPS 13 2-in-1 device sports an edge-to-edge display complemented by a steel 360-degree hinge capable of four flexible positions: tablet, tent, laptop, and stand mode. Along with touch capabilities, this flexible form factor makes presentations and collaborations extremely easy in an office environment. The screen is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4 and is enclosed in a chassis based on machined aluminum and carbon fiber.

“We don’t want the XPS 13 2-in-1 to be the rogue device in the company, but rather an integral part of an organization’s IT portfolio,” said Raza Haider at Dell. “That means IT departments can effortlessly integrate XPS for the first time, with one of our most exciting designs, the same way they do with other Dell commercial products.”

More: Dell Inspiron 15-inch 2-in-1 laptop now on sale for only $399 (20 percent off)

The security features supported by the XPS 13 include the Dell Client Command Suite, which is a set of free automation tools for monitoring, deploying, and updating devices. There’s also Protected Workplace multi-key encryption to protect data down to the end-user level, and Dell’s Endpoint Security Suite Enterprise service for preventing threats and blocking malware. Thus, Dell calls the XPS 13 “the world’s most manageable laptop” for the enterprise sector.

As a refresher, here are the hardware specs of the two featured Intel processors:

Core i5-7Y54
Core i7-7Y75
Cores:
2
2
Threads:
4
4
Base speed:
1.20GHz
1.30GHz
Max speed:
3.20GHz
3.60GHz
Max power draw:
4.5 watts
4.5 watts
Cache:
4MB
4MB
Integrated graphics:
Intel HD Graphics 615
Intel HD Graphics 615
Graphics base speed:
300MHz
300MHz
Graphics max speed:
950MHz
1.05GHz
vPro support:
No
Yes
Intel Virtualization Tech:
Yes
Yes

Dell outfits its XPS 13 2-in-1 with enterprise-grade hardware, security

Why it matters to you

Businesses that were interested in Dell’s new XPS 13 2-in-1 now have a good reason to make the investment.

At the request of its customers in the business sector, Dell is now offering new configurations of its XPS 13 2-in-1 device that pack security and manageability features specific to that market. These features include the option of using vPro-enabled processors, access to Dell ProSupport Plus, Dell-enhanced security, and more. The Dell XPS 13 made its first appearance during CES 2017 in January.

Dell currently provides two configurations based on Intel’s Core i5-7Y54 processor that doesn’t support vPro, and two configurations based on Intel’s new Core i7-7Y75 chip that does support vPro. Thus, customers wanting vPro support will see a starting price of $1,350 whereas the Intel Core i5 configuration has a starting price of $1,000. Unfortunately, customization appears to be extremely limited across all four configurations.

Here is the semi-locked list of hardware for the $1,450 configuration:

Screen size:
13.3 inches
Resolution:
1,920 x 1,080 with Touch
Processor:
Intel Core i7-7Y75
Graphics:
Intel HD Graphics 615
System memory:
16GB LPDDR3 @ 1,866MHz (optional 32GB)
Storage:
256GB PCI Express SSD (optional 512GB)
Connectivity:
Wireless AC (2×2)
Bluetooth 4.2
Camera:
Widescreen 720p
Ports:
1x Thunderbolt 3
1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C
1x Micro SD card reader
1x Headphone jack
Security:
Fingerprint reader
Noble Security Lock Slot
Battery:
46 Watt hour
Dimensions:
0.32-0.54 (H) x 11.98 x 7.81 (D) inches
Weight:
Starting at 2.7 pounds
Color options:
Silver
Operating system:
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

The XPS 13 2-in-1 device sports an edge-to-edge display complemented by a steel 360-degree hinge capable of four flexible positions: tablet, tent, laptop, and stand mode. Along with touch capabilities, this flexible form factor makes presentations and collaborations extremely easy in an office environment. The screen is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4 and is enclosed in a chassis based on machined aluminum and carbon fiber.

“We don’t want the XPS 13 2-in-1 to be the rogue device in the company, but rather an integral part of an organization’s IT portfolio,” said Raza Haider at Dell. “That means IT departments can effortlessly integrate XPS for the first time, with one of our most exciting designs, the same way they do with other Dell commercial products.”

More: Dell Inspiron 15-inch 2-in-1 laptop now on sale for only $399 (20 percent off)

The security features supported by the XPS 13 include the Dell Client Command Suite, which is a set of free automation tools for monitoring, deploying, and updating devices. There’s also Protected Workplace multi-key encryption to protect data down to the end-user level, and Dell’s Endpoint Security Suite Enterprise service for preventing threats and blocking malware. Thus, Dell calls the XPS 13 “the world’s most manageable laptop” for the enterprise sector.

As a refresher, here are the hardware specs of the two featured Intel processors:

Core i5-7Y54
Core i7-7Y75
Cores:
2
2
Threads:
4
4
Base speed:
1.20GHz
1.30GHz
Max speed:
3.20GHz
3.60GHz
Max power draw:
4.5 watts
4.5 watts
Cache:
4MB
4MB
Integrated graphics:
Intel HD Graphics 615
Intel HD Graphics 615
Graphics base speed:
300MHz
300MHz
Graphics max speed:
950MHz
1.05GHz
vPro support:
No
Yes
Intel Virtualization Tech:
Yes
Yes

How to enjoy March Madness live in VR

Watch the brackets fill out as though you were really there.

The NCAA March Madness Live VR app for your Gear VR is now offering courtside seats to six of the NCAA games happening from now until the Championship Game, making it possible for you to sit down and enjoy the game live. As long as you have your Samsung phone and a Gear VR, you’re able to jump in and enjoy!

Here’s everything you need to know in order to be fully prepared for each of these amazing games.

Read more at VR Heads!

OnePlus arrives in Denmark via exclusive partnership with 3

Get your OnePlus 3T from 3!

Calling all Danes! The OnePlus 3T is now available in your country, exclusively available through 3. Both the 64GB and 128 GB models are available in Gunmetal. You can buy in-store or online with pricing starting at 99 kr./month for 30 months when you sign up for one of three service plans, or can be bought outright for as low as 4270 kr.

In its advertising, 3 is calling the OnePlus 3T “probably the best smartphone in the world right now”, which isn’t too far off from our thoughts — the OnePlus 3T is the best Android phone you can get if you’re on a budget.

Including Denmark, this means OnePlus 3T is now officially offered in over 31 countries around the world.

OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3

• OnePlus 3T review: Rekindling a love story
• OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
• OnePlus 3T specs
• Latest OnePlus 3 news
• Discuss OnePlus 3T and 3 in the forums

OnePlus
Amazon

Mass Effect: Andromeda Tips and Tricks

It’s so easy to wind up dead in this game…

Mass Effect: Andromeda can be downright brutal sometimes. Everything on these planets are trying to kill you! Most of the enemies hit just as hard as you do, and that doesn’t really get better as you gain more armor and better weapons. The terrain is rough, and sometimes your squad AI can be kind of… bad.

If you’re having trouble making all of the planets viable while trying to balance ridiculous Milky Way politics and figuring out what the Remnant have done, this guide should help!

See at Amazon

Go looking for subquests

This one should be obvious, especially if you’ve played the other Mass Effect games, but don’t try to burn through the main story. Everything will be so much easier if you frontload your game with sidequests, so you’re at least a level or two ahead of the average player when you step into the next puzzle.

Always stop and check for sidequests, from the moment you first dock with the Nexus. There are several available well before you reach ESO, and the experience from those side jobs are way more than you get for completing the initial tutorial. It’s a nice edge to have when going down into the first Vault, and you can keep that lead as you travel from planer to planet.

Use your Nomad driving modes

As soon as you touch down on a planet you’re in a sandbox, and these mostly open worlds are best traveled inside your six-wheeled space car that totally isn’t a less awesome Mako. The Nomad can cross dangerous areas quickly, which is a big deal as you try to make planets viable throughout the game, and the key to really enjoying this experience is remembering to constantly switch between drive modes.

Your Nomad has a fast driving mode and an all-terrain mode, and you can quickly switch between them with a tap on L1. This ends up being really important, because the all-terrain mode can climb up almost anything that isn’t perfectly vertical and the speed mode will get you through an area twice as fast as long as it’s mostly flat. Switching between these modes at speed makes it much easier to climb around areas instead of taking the long way around with the roads you see in the game.

Switch Profiles as often as possible

You may have been too busy trying to not get shot to notice, but Alec Ryder actually gives you a pretty good demonstration of the best way to use Profiles in the fight for Habitat 7. As simple as it may seem to pick a Profile that best suits your play style and level it up until it’s the most awesome thing ever, things get a lot easier for you later in the game if you’re regularly switching between Profiles based on your immediate needs.

Make sure you’re jumping between Profiles on a regular basis. If you’re out in the open and being ambushed by Kett, the Infiltrator profile will keep you from being pinned down and overwhelmed. If you’re staring down a massive Fiend with nowhere to run, the Siphoning Strike in the Vanguard Profile will keep its attacks from destroying you in one hit. Even if you aren’t loading up on weapon proficiency in your skill tree, the Soldier Profile keeps your aim steady when you need it most.

The most important thing is to practice switching quickly, so you’re able to jump in and out of tough situations with ease later on.

Go to hazardous areas first

The open world aspect to Mass Effect: Andromeda is curbed by making some areas more hazardous when you approach them. In the Habitat 7 mission, for example, lightning strikes got worse when you drifted “off mission” in places. Sometimes it’s a biohazard warning, sometimes it’s a big hovering troop carrier, but the end result is the same for most people. You turn and run, not looking back until you’ve earned some Viability points to make the area less terrible.

Instead of avoiding those areas, grab your Nomad and barrel in quickly. Do a quick pass, and look for things to mine. These areas frequently offer the harder to get minerals, which makes the better weapons and armor easier to get much earlier in the game. You have to be very careful not to get yourself stranded or killed in the process, but it’s so very worth it when you find those materials you’ve been hunting for.

Don’t bother balancing your team

When you level up, your team members gain some experience points to spend as well. Team skill trees aren’t nearly as complex as your own, which means you can choose between balancing your team members so they’re all around more effective or focusing on one specific ability and jacking it all the way up as early as possible. I recommend that second one, especially early on in the game.

Your AI-based squad mates are blunt instruments, use them as such. If you’re planning to let them run out and attack without a lot of instruction from you, focus on doing the most damage with their special abilities. If you plan offer a guiding hand to your team, or you plan to have them always by your side to keep you alive, don’t bother spending points on special abilities initially. As you play the game it will you’ll have enough skill points to focus on that kind of thing, but initially it’s far more worth it to specialize and let each team member be very good at one thing.

How are you surviving?

Have you found that “one weird trick” for dealing the most damage or making the best decisions in Mass Effect: Andromeda? Share them with us in the comments, and we’ll add the best ones to this guide!

PlayStation 4

• PS4 vs. PS4 Slim vs. PS4 Pro: Which should you buy?
• PlayStation VR Review
• Playing PS4 games through your phone is awesome

See on Amazon

Google News & Weather now gives you way more headlines, because content

The app’s new motto is “just keep scrolling.”

If you’re already Googling your news every morning, maybe it’s time to consider downloading Google’s News & Weather app instead. The app received a feature bump from its maker. You can now peruse through 200 news stories at a time with More Headlines by simply scrolling on and on.

The More Headlines section loads as you scroll, offering a seemingly endless stream of articles. The News & Weather app will prioritize displaying AMP articles since more websites have adopted the format. Google also mentioned that the displayed content in the app will “stay algorithmic,” meaning that everything from which articles are shown to the sources chosen will depend on an algorithm churning in the background. The more you use it, the better it gets at finding you news.

The Google News & Weather app is available for both Android and iOS. Quickly, now — this may be your only chance to get an iPhone-loving friend on the Google bandwagon.

The app update will roll out over the next few days.

Play as a ladybug or a traffic cone in ‘Everything’

Think of anything that exists. For example, a bear, an atom, a galaxy, a three-leaf clover, and so on. That’s what you can control in the game Everything, which was just released for the Playstation 4 today.

The game has goals and tasks for the player to complete like any other, but the main appeal is in its sandbox elements. Simply put, Everything gives you total control over every possible element. As creator and developer David OReilly wrote in a blog post, “You can change every single object in the universe to horses.” Generally speaking, you have control over any object that you can see in the game.

Instead of creating animations for every conceivable thing, objects move by rolling, sliding, or floating around. Cutting those corners can be forgiven, considering this $15 game was made by a three-person team. That can also be chalked up as a stylistic choice, and besides, that’s not the point of the game. Everything is about being. The parameters of existence can be altered at will, but like the real world, life will happen regardless of the player’s input. Every object has its own AI, and OReilly said that “Everything can play itself automatically for weeks at a time.”

It makes sense that a game as existential as this was inspired heavily by philosopher Alan Watts. The game is even narrated by recordings of the late British speaker. As artfully demonstrated in a 10-minute gameplay trailer, these voiceovers help put the game’s scale in perspective. They’re effective because, as OReilly wrote, Watts “had an extraordinary talent for describing the indescribable.”

No Man’s Sky showed that super ambitious games with lofty goals can fall short of expectations. That said, the idea of Everything is too intriguing to ignore. Everything is currently only available on PS4, but Mac and PC users will be able to download it on Steam beginning April 21st. The game is bizarre and fascinating, and we hope delivers on its big promises.

Source: PlayStation Blog

Baseball fans rejoice: MLB Network is on PlayStation Vue

Baseball fans have more reason to pick up a PlayStation Vue membership now as Sony’s subscription service has just added the MLB Network to its roster. The addition comes right in time for the April 2 start of the Major League Baseball season along with exclusive coverage of the World Baseball Classic semifinal and championship games tonight and tomorrow.

Sony launched its Vue internet-based live television service that rolled out across the US last March. You can watch it on any PlayStation console as well as set top boxes and media sticks from Roku, Amazon, Google and Apple. You can also watch anything from the service on Android and iOS mobile devices, via Google’s Chromecast and on PC and Mac with a web browser.

If you’re a baseball fan and want a live-TV service, Vue might be the one for you — neither Sling nor DirecTV’s service has the MLB Network right now, though you can use the standalone service on computers and mobile devices. MLB Network is included with PlayStation Vue’s basic service tier, which starts at $34.99 ($44.99 in larger markets like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and four others) and already includes several sports channels from Fox and ESPN.

This isn’t the first sports-centric update to the service, either, with the company recently adding picture-in-picture mode for March Madness. Sony also plans to add real-time sports scores and a way to turn off spoiler alerts for certain games in the future.