‘Overwatch’s’ new hero is a badass robot centaur

Blizzard has unveiled the 24th addition to its popular online shooter Overwatch, and no it’s not Doomfist (Sorry, Terry Crews!). Overwatch’s new hero is Orisa, a four-legged robot built by an 11-year-old engineering prodigy to protect the people of Numbani, and she looks pretty badass.

Orisa is the sixth tank in Overwatch’s lineup. Her kit includes a rapid-fire Fusion Driver — a gun that sacrifices movement speed for good range and accuracy; a graviton charge that slows and attracts nearby enemies; a Fortify ability that reduces damage and makes her unstoppable for a short time; and a stationary Protective Barrier that shields allies. Plus, she has an ultimate ability, Supercharger, that increases the damage dealt by her entire team.

In a developer update, game director Jeff Kaplan says the team wanted to create a character similar to the hammer-and shield-wielding Reinhardt. “Because he doesn’t have a lot of mobility abilities, and because he has that protective barrier in front of him, you sort of know where to position yourself, and when the team is gonna engage or disengage based upon what Reinhardt is doing,” he says. “So, we like this idea of what we kept calling an ‘anchor tank’ and we felt like players needed more options in that sort of anchor tank role.”

Orisa is available on Overwatch’s test server. There’s no word yet on when she’ll go live in the game.

Source: Blizzard

Google is making Allo chats a lot more animated

If you’ve been sad at how Allo manages your GIFs and emojis, a new upgrade for the mobile-only chat app is here on Android. Today’s update brings an easier way to access GIFs, 10 new animated emoji and a shortcut to Google Assistant.

GIFs have been a part of Allo since the start (as well as in Gboard, Google’s smart keyboard), but the new changes make it easier to find the perfect moving image to express yourself. Simply tap on the smiley icon in your chat bar, then swipe left to see all the available GIFs for your chat. In our testing, it seems that this swipe to search feature is already available on iOS, but strangely enough, it’s not on the Android device we tested yet.

Google has also added “Lucky,” which sends a random GIF off to your friends. You will see a Lucky icon in some Smart Replies, or you can just type “@lucky” before a chat phrase to get one. Google says “lmao,” “wow” and “I love you” are the most common phrases used with Lucky so far. The “@lucky” feature already seems to work on both iOS and Android, but we have yet to see it in Smart Replies.

Emojis also get an upgrade with 10 new animated emoticons available. All you need to do is tap and hold on the send button and drag it up to make an emoji move. Google calls out these five as able to animate:

If you’ve been having trouble finding Google Assistant in your chats, there’s a new shortcut to activate it right in the chat itself. Tap on the Assistant’s icon in the compose box and you can send movie showtimes, YouTube videos or anything else you can search for (cat photos, anyone?) to your chat buddies.

The update should roll out to Android users today, with a similar iOS update “coming soon.” Though, as you can see, a couple of these features already exist on both platforms.

Source: Google

What to expect from the Nintendo Switch’s day-one update

The Nintendo Switch can’t do much out of the box. It can play game cards (the system’s tiny cartridges), but that’s pretty much it. If you’re getting a Switch tomorrow, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got internet access to snag its day-one update, which adds support for the eShop, friends list and social network posting. They’re all things we couldn’t use while reviewing the Switch, so I spent a bit of time with the new features today to see how they actually work.

The update process is surprisingly fast

It only took a few minutes for the Switch to download and install the update. So while it’s annoying you have to do it at all, at least you won’t have to wait to download a multi-gigabyte file. (That’s more than I can say for many big releases on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.) There’s a good chance Nintendo is simply granting access to features that are merely hidden in the Switch’s stock software, rather than adding tons of significant new code.

The eShop is pretty familiar

It’s a Nintendo online store — come on. As we saw in the preview video yesterday, it’s a fairly basic storefront at this point. Along with a search option, there are sections for recent releases, titles coming soon and entering prepaid codes. There aren’t any surprises on the individual game pages either, though I found it helpful that Nintendo has developers make it clear which Switch modes their titles work with, as well as how many players are supported.

The purchasing process is similar to the Wii U and 3DS — so, kinda clunky. I was surprised the eShop also doesn’t store credit card information. You’ll have to plug in all of your details anytime you want to fill up your wallet. That makes it annoying if you prefer to add the exact amount you need for specific purchases, and it encourages you to add more money than you need for future purchases.

The eShop also only has nine titles available in the US so far:

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Super Bomberman R
• 1-2 Switch
• Shovel Knight: Specter if Torment
• Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
• Just Dance 2017
• Fast RMX
• Snipperclips
• I Am Setsuna

Social media posting is a cinch

The day-one update lets you link your Facebook and Twitter accounts to your Switch and quickly post screenshots from the system’s gallery. Getting images online is a much faster process than it was on the Wii U (which involved logging onto a webpage) and the Switch also adds default hashtags for specific games. This is one feature I see myself using a lot for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, because almost every frame of that game feels like a work of art.

Switch Twitter posting is a go #BreathoftheWild #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/6BWNNUpdEt

— Devindra Hardawar (@Devindra) March 2, 2017

The friend list is back

Yes, the dreaded friend code is making a return. But you can also add new friends by searching for local users, as well as people you’ve recently played with. I’m still hoping Nintendo eventually moves away from the whole friend code concept, especially since t’s offering a much more robust online network for the Switch. We still don’t know how much Nintendo is going to charge for online play (we’re hearing between $20 and $30 annually in Japan), but Switch owners will be able to use the network for free until the fall.

An army drone flew 600 miles astray then crashed into a tree

A routine Military drone test quickly turned into something more bizarre, after the missing aircraft mysteriously turned up ten days later over 600 miles away. Testing the RQ-7 “Shadow” drone in Fort Huachuca in New Mexico, the military lost control of the device soon after launch. After it failed to return to base, the Army presumed that it had quickly been destroyed until a hiker found it crashed into a tree in Evergreen, Colorado.

While the story doesn’t sound that odd on the surface, the $1.5 million unmanned drone’s range is meant to be limited to within 77 miles of its C-band line-of-sight data link. With the rogue RQ-7 traveling over 8 times that distance, investigators are still struggling to explain its incredible journey. Data recovered from the free-spirited drone showed it reached an altitude of 12,000 feet, enabling it to soar over the Rocky Mountains.

Like most drones, the military’s are equipped with a failsafe, meaning that in the case of an error they fly back to their operators. Yet, for whatever reason, this little RQ-7 didn’t.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Linux Skype goes from alpha to beta and gets new features

Since its debut on Linux last July, Skype’s engineering team has been hard at work, fleshing out the open platform’s features and making it more user-friendly. The team announced on Thursday that it has made enough progress in recent months to warrant moving the program out of alpha build and into beta version 5.0.

Amid the various bug fixes and stabilizations, Skype for Linux is adding a bunch of features to make it more useful for everyday communication. For example, it can now make calls to both land and mobile lines using Skype Credits as well as make one-on-one video calls to other Skype platforms and share their desktops with them. Additionally, the UI will now display additional details like the number of unread conversations and whether people in your contacts have their Away and Do Not Disturb flags raised. You can download the new beta version from the Skype website.

Source: Skype Blog

The Wirecutter’s best deals: Save $30 on a Google Home smart speaker bundle

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, they may earn affiliate commissions that support their work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here.

You may have already seen Engadget posting reviews from our friends at The Wirecutter. Now, from time to time, we’ll also be publishing their recommended deals on some of their top picks. Read on, and strike while the iron is hot — some of these sales could expire mighty soon.

Garmin DriveSmart 50LMT

Street price: $200; MSRP: $230; Deal price: $138

This is a tremendous deal on our runner-up pick for car GPS. We normally see this GPS near it’s $200 street price with very few sales, so this $60 drop in price is fantastic. Most sales on this GPS navigation system are brief, so don’t expect this sale to last too long.

The Garmin DriveSmart 50 LMT is our runner-up pick in our guide to the best car GPS. Eric Adams wrote, “Our top pick gives you everything you need for easy navigation for under $200. But if you don’t mind spending more, you can get what we’ve found to be some handy extras with the Garmin DriveSmart 50LMT. It offers all the functionality of the Drive 50LMT, along with a nicer display, voice-activated navigation, and the ability to connect with your smartphone via Bluetooth, so you can do hands-free calling and scan text messages and calendar events while you drive. (Thus, the “Smart” designation.) We road-tested the DriveSmart 50LMT as much as the Drive 50LMT and found its extra features worth the extra money, if your budget allows. So, if you appreciate a little nudge in capability, skip straight to this guy.”

Big Agnes Blacktail 3

Street price: $280; MSRP: $280; Deal price: $200

Another great discount on this great 3-person tent from Big Agnes. This deal beats our previous low for this versatile tent. Shipping is free from Backcountry.

The Big Agnes Blacktail 3 is the top pick in our guide on the tents we like for camping. Tim Neville writes, “The Blacktail 3 is a three-season, three-person tent, which means it can comfortably accommodate up to three people in the spring, summer, and fall, but could falter in severe winter weather. Although other tents performed better in specific areas of our tests, they couldn’t match the Blacktail 3’s consistently high marks in every category. Its rainfly offers 18 square feet of external covered storage spread between both sides, and it can fit packs and boots for a trio of people. Thoughtfully placed internal storage takes electronics into consideration, too. The tent’s 44 inches of headroom is enough for my 6-foot-7-inch frame to sit in comfortably, and it has the second-highest livable-space-to-weight ratio in our test group (bested only by an ultralight backpacking tent).”

Google Home

Street price: $160; MSRP: $160; Deal price: $130

This is a decent little offer from the Google Store on the Google Home, a voice controlled speaker that functions similarly to the Amazon Echo. While the speaker itself isn’t cheaper than usual, it does come with a free Chromecast, and 6-months of Google Play Music for free. Additionally, Google Play Music comes with YouTube Red, so you’ll be able to enjoy ad-free YouTube, as well as access to their YouTube Red originals. You’ll need to add the Chromecast to the cart yourself in order to get it for free, but you’ll see the discount in the cart.

The Google Home is a voice-controlled speaker from our guide on the Google Home. Brent Butterworth and Grant Clauser wrote, “Google’s wireless speaker, digital assistant, and smart-home controller looks better than its biggest competition, reliably responds to most voice queries, offers solid multi-room audio, and sounds pretty good.”

Coway Airmega 300 Air Purifier

Street price: $550; MSRP: $650; Deal price: $470

This is a great drop in price on the Airmega 300, nearly matching the low price we saw during Black Friday sales last year. While the Airmega has dropped down $550 within the past year, this deal drops it more than $80 from its street price.

The Coway Airmega 300 is our extreme upgrade pick for the best air purifier. John Holecek wrote, “If you have severe allergies or other serious health issues related to airborne particles, or if you need to purify the air in a seriously large space, we have a new step-up pick: the Airmega 300. This is a large but attractive machine; it’s HEPA-rated and rated to clear spaces of about 500 square feet at five complete air-changes per hour (about 1.5 times the coverage of the Coway and Winix), or 1,250 square feet at two complete air-changes. Its unique twin filters permit very high airflow, allowing it to run on lower settings when the air is relatively clean (quieter, less energy) or to rapidly filter very large volumes of air on the highest setting, as you might when allergens or pollution are elevated. In our test, it gave the overall second-best air-purification performance—more a function of its higher airflow and dual filters than inherently superior filtration.”

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursdays, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to The Wirecutter.com.

Spotify hurtles past 50 million paid subscribers

Last we heard, Spotify had some 40 million subscribers. That was so 2016. Now the music streaming service has announced it’s pushed past 50 million paying subscribers. Feel like helping the company celebrate? Well, you could start by listening to a certain song by Kool & The Gang. Soon enough, you could even stream it at a higher audio fidelity, too. Compared against Apple Music’s reported (by CNBC) 20 million users, it shows just how far Apple has to go before taking on the current leader in the space.

Thank you to our 50 million subscribers. #Spotify50 pic.twitter.com/eXkOV71bwu

— Spotify (@Spotify) March 2, 2017

Source: Spotify (Twitter)

With Apple Music at 20M Users, Spotify Hits 50M Paying Subscriber Milestone

Spotify this afternoon announced that it has hit a new milestone, reaching a total of 50 million paying subscribers. That’s up from 40 million in September, suggesting Spotify is growing at a rapid pace despite the surging popularity of Apple Music.

As of December, Apple Music had over 20 million paying subscribers, and if the service has been growing at its typical pace, that number could now be somewhere around 22 million. Apple Music had 15 million subscribers in June of 2016 and 17 million subscribers in September of 2016.

Thank you to our 50 million subscribers. #Spotify50 pic.twitter.com/eXkOV71bwu

— Spotify (@Spotify) March 2, 2017

Spotify is Apple Music’s staunchest rival and over the course of the last year, the two music services have clashed several times due to Apple Music’s tactic using exclusives to lure new customers. Spotify in August made headlines when it allegedly started punishing artists who agreed to Apple Music exclusives, displaying their content less prominently and offering fewer promotional opportunities.

Spotify denied the claims, but the relationship between the two has grown increasingly heated as Apple Music’s popularity grows. Both services are now testing new features and subscription models to attract new users.

Going forward, Apple plans to use original television programming to entice subscribers, debuting shows like Carpool Karaoke on Apple Music. Spotify, meanwhile, has recently started testing a lossless version of its streaming service to attract audiophiles.

Tags: Spotify, Apple Music
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Fitbot, the fitness personal assistant (Review)

Overview:

Fitbot is a fitness assistant and guided workout app designed to help you get a routine and get in shape without the need for a personal trainer or gym.

Developer: RoboBot Studio

Cost: Free (with ads and microtransactions)

Impressions:

Fitbot is an app with a fitness focus and an interesting concept. It advertises guided workouts, rep counting and more all using fully voiced guides from a sort of “workout personal assistant.” IT certainly has a lot going for it in the guided workouts, the app features a good amount of workouts which describe the actions you’ll need to take as well as exactly what you may need to complete it properly, like dumbells or mats and chairs.

The guides are rather sparse on strong detail, however, simply describing the basics in a concise manner and offering no corrections in case you do it wrong. Also, the categories are centralized on specific body areas, but you can’t sort the workouts any other way so finding a specific one takes some time if you don’t know where it’s located.

I’m an exercise newbie so many of the workouts featured were foreign to me and I had some trouble figuring out if I was doing them correctly, but the app did feature some handy if crudely animated tutorials that sort of helped show me what to do.

1 of 5

I must say, the “workout virtual assistant” leaves a lot to be desired, as it is not much more than text-to-speech and offers no real interaction or voice-activated features. The app simply reads out the description of the workout and counts reps and keeps time. The voice is also the standard Google Assistant voice which gets rather grating after hearing it for long periods just counting at you.

Fitbot also has some neat health-tracking features such as water intake counter, a progress graphing system that charts your workouts over time as you complete them, and other handy tracking features for showing your progress. I do wish it integrated into Google Fit or other exercise apps or smart devices like my Moto 360 for step counting, but it’s limited only to the FItbot app.

The app features an XP system and microtransactions to get more XP, but I’m not entirely sure what the XP is used for or why it’s necessary. You gain XP from completing workouts and challenges pertaining to workouts, but there isn’t a clear progression system or reward besides more XP. It’s not clearly defined and needs some work for sure.

The app’s interface is also a mess, with poorly formatted text and odd color choices making it difficult to read and find out what you are supposed to do. The main screen is an odd button I think turns on the voice assistant but I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. The workout screens are not the clearest but they are not exactly exciting either.

Conclusion:

Fitbot offers at least some handy features in regards to helping you learn new workouts you can try at home to stay in shape, and providing at least a basic framework for getting it right so you don’t hurt yourself. The app would also benefit from integration with external devices like FitBits or smart watches and also some third-party apps to give you a complete picture of your workout. That being said, Fitbot isn’t all bad and the workout guides and rep counting features are functional enough that you could legitimately use this as a tool to help you if you desired.

Download Fitbot from the Google Play Store

6 pro tips to taking amazing portrait photos with the Huawei P10

The Huawei P10 has a dual-lens Leica camera on the back, just like the P9 and the Mate 9, but it also has several cool new software features — including a Portrait photo mode — and it has already impressed us with its ability. What’s more, the front camera has been given the Leica treatment, with a bokeh mode for some amazing selfies. However, a good camera is only part of the equation when it comes to taking great pictures. Your own ability, and a basic knowledge of how the camera app itself works, is just as important.

To prove it, and to show just what the P10 can do in the hands of a professional photographer, Huawei ran a “Photo Masterclass” at Mobile World Congress. Hosted by Manfred Baumann, known for his striking celebrity portrait photos and use of monochrome, he helped us put the P10 through its paces, while sharing some valuable tips on composition and editing. We concentrated on taking pictures of people, using the new Portrait mode on the P10.

More: Our first take review of the Huawei P10

While we used Huawei’s new phone, the tips we’re going to share with you equally apply to the P9 and the Mate 9, along with most other dual-lens cameras with a manual mode. Don’t worry if manual mode seems complicated, we actually used auto for all the images shared here, and some post-production editing.

Get closer

Don’t be afraid of putting your camera in the subject’s face. Baumann would get in really close, almost filled the frame on several occasions, which worked very well shooting monochrome against a stark, featureless background. To take one particular portrait, he stood on a chair, about two feet in front of the subject. He experimented with different angles and stances, too.

Inezdelprado Photography

If your camera has a bokeh mode, like the P10, it will blur out background detail. We took some spectacular photos in front of a window overlooking Barcelona, but it doesn’t over-power or detract from the person’s face in the picture. However, also try framing your subject against a featureless background — an alternative way of making them the focal point of the picture.

Ignore the camera

Yes it sounds like a cliché, but it really works. Baumann explained he shot a lot of celebrity pictures, but many are not models and wouldn’t automatically start posing for the camera. He’d have to choose his moments carefully, after getting the person to relax and act naturally. We were taking pictures of each other in a fun environment, and laughing about it produced fun, lively, and happy pictures. Standing back and just observing what’s going on around you, especially if people aren’t that comfortable around the camera, may end up giving the best results.

Monochrome

This is best experienced with the Huawei P10, the Mate 9, or the P9, due to its dedicated monochrome Leica camera lens. It produces amazingly detailed black and white pictures. However, pictures taken with other cameras will have filters that provide a similar effect. We were in a bright, airy room with a high ceiling, large windows, and neutral coloured walls. The afternoon light created shadows which could be used creatively when shooting with it behind the subject. We tried leaving parts of the face covered in shadow, for example.

With the light in front of the subject, another option for classy pictures is to choose a dark or shaded background. The light ensures this comes out almost black, but the subject remains lit. The bokeh mode obscures any detail, pushing the subject to the forefront of the picture. We had particular success using this method, and took pictures in settings we’d never have considered before.

Highlights and shadows

Don’t get fixated on taking the best photo possible the first time. Take several, and then edit them. Most camera apps have extensive editing features that can change the end result after the picture has been taken. If you’ve been taking portrait or bokeh pictures on the P10, even the focal point can be altered. We came away with a really excellent tip, which transformed the way our monochrome images looked. Instead of changing the brightness and contrast settings, plays around with the highlights and the shadows. These settings exposed more detail, or made already moody shots even more effective.

Crop the picture in creative ways

Inezdelprado Photography

It turned out we’ve been cropping our selfies and pictures of other people all wrong. Rather than centralising our subject, try cropping faces right down, and setting them at the side of a photo. Don’t always stick to a basic aspect ratio either, play around with the sizes. Baumann sliced the very top of our heads off, which surprisingly ended up looking superb. He’d also cut off backs of heads, shoulders, and minimize background detail. Yet all the time, he was bringing the subject of the photo into better view. It’s a simple, yet incredibly effective trick to learn, which can transform a mundane selfie into one worthy of a professional.

More: GoPro’s Quik editing app is now standard on the Huawei P10

Don’t be shy

Perhaps the biggest tip we can share comes from our own experiences taking photos. Many of us (me included) probably don’t consider ourselves photogenic. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t be photographed well. Through our experience with Baumann, we saw it’s not always about the subject; it’s about taking the right picture in the right way, in the right environment, then using the tools available to creatively compose an attractive final image. Like us, you may end up being genuinely surprised and very pleased with the final result.

We had a great afternoon learning about getting the most from the P10’s Leica camera, and hope these suggestions will help you get the most from it too. The great thing is, because dual-lens camera phones made for producing bokeh-effect pictures are plentiful today — from the iPhone 7 Plus and the Honor 6X, to the ZTE Blade V8 Pro and Xiaomi Redmi Pro — so you can apply them to taking portrait photos with many phones.