Star Trek: Bridge Crew – How to run the whole bridge on your own

These AI are here to help run your Bridge. Let them.

You may not always have three friends around to play Bridge Crew, and sometimes the online matchmaking puts you with people who are just plain not fun to play with. If you need your fix, but would prefer to play by yourself, solo gameplay is an option. You just need to know how to run a bridge by yourself and actually have fun in the process. Here are some tips!

Read More at VR Heads

Show your Pride with our rainbow theme pack

How do I theme my phone for Pride?

It honors the Stonewall Riots from 1969. There are memorials and ceremonies nationwide to honor those in the LGBTQIA community who have been lost throughout the year. There are parades and parties throughout month to celebrate the progress that has been made and to savor the freedom to live as we wish, in the sun as once we could only in the shadows of secrecy. But this year Pride Month has a bit more meaning. June 12th now marks the worst mass shooting in American history, and it was a direct attack on the LGBTQIA community.

To honor them, and the entire community, here are our favorite wallpapers, icon packs, widgets and more customizations to celebrate Pride Month!

• Wallpapers
• Icons
• Widgets
• My story

Wallpapers

Red is the color of life, and while La Muerte may seem an exotic choice, who better respects life and its passions than the Lady of Death herself. La Muerte’s story to the kids in the Book of Life is an epic parable with many, many lessons, but the one that resonates even beyond honesty, loyalty, and love is life. “Anyone can die. These kids will have the courage to live.” Living can be a struggle, but there is no doubt that it is worth living and that it does, indeed, get better. La Muerte’s fiery red is the color of blood, of passion, of life itself, and that red beckons us to live on and thrive.

La Muerte by MooreD3

Healing is a constant battle through our lives. We struggle to heal physical wounds and overcome ailments, but the healing we most often neglect and horribly fail at is healing our spirits and hearts. We can guard our hearts ferociously, but no matter how diamond-hard our armor is, someone will inevitably slip past the defenses and hurt us. Whether our hearts are shattered into a million pieces or cracked and chipped, healing these wounds takes a lot of time, a lot of patience, and a lot of love from our family, our friends, and from ourselves. This piece speaks to how important that healing can be, even when it drives us to tears, and if you’ve got a moment, its author shares a beautiful story on piece’s page.

Heal Your Heart by iLiekSkittlez

The yellow of the pride flag is the for the sun, for the warm light that shines over us all and gives our little blue ball the energy required for life to flourish. The warmth of walking in the sunshine feels like the universe giving us a hug each time we step out into its warm embrace. To live and love freely under that sun is a gift that not all lovers on our planet can savor (yet), but we all crave our golden moments under those golden rays: the simple warmth of a hug from our lover and the warm embrace of the universe.

Sunlight and Energy – Pride Month by SimplySuburban

Green is the color of nature, of life. We live on a little green-blue ball in this vast universe, and we are all a part of its natural beauty. To accept yourself, to accept those around you, is to embrace the diverse nature of the world we live in. To accept the life you want to lead, to accept the lives that others lead, is to help our living community and planet thrive. Some try to decry who we are and who we love as unnatural, but they are wrong. We are natural, we are alive, and we are loved just as all life deserves to be.

Nature by MoishPain

Here Comes a Thought is a provoking piece, reminding us to be mindful not only of what our actions and feeling have on others when we spew them onto others, but the impact on everyone when we bottle them up inside. It’s important to ‘take a moment and find yourself’, to recognize where you are mentally and find a way back to a peaceful harmony. Steven Universe is also important in how it tackles gender roles and norms and relationships of every stripe. Stevonnie is a fusion with a non-binary gender. Garnet’s almost perpetual fusion is the product of the intense love between Ruby and Sapphire, two female-gendered gems. Steven Universe also tackles relationships that aren’t perfect with the unrequited romance between Rose and Pearl as well as the unhealthy, possessive and abusive relationship between Lapis Lazuli and Jasper.

Here comes a thought by AgentWhiteHawk

Purple on the pride flag symbolizes Spirit, and this purple piece by M-SweetCandy speaks to me on multiple levels. A single girl dances amid the backdrop of the city, lost in ecstasy, her spirit free and thriving in the music and the atmosphere of security and serenity. Single, but not alone. As an asexual, I find myself singing and even dancing among the crowd when I go out, single but not alone. I can feel that I belong, even if I don’t go home with anyone. My spirit can soar and shine among a crowd, even no matter your affiliation, your spirit can shine.

Freedom by M-SweetCandy

How to apply your wallpaper

Note: These instructions were written for an Android phone using Nova Launcher, but setting a wallpaper on most devices follows much of the same process.

Long-press an open space on your home screen.
Tap Wallpapers.

Tap Pick image.

Select your downloaded wallpaper.
Make sure your image is centered on the screen to your liking, and zoom in if desired.

Tap Set wallpaper.

Pride Icons

The icons on our home screen are a rainbow of colors naturally, but if we want those icons to turn into a small pride flag across our dock, we’ll turn to custom icon packs. Glim is an icon pack with a wonderfully Material pack with both a free and paid version, and it’s a pack with a rainbow of colored variants for most popular apps, from system apps and Google apps to third-party apps like Facebook and Netflix. It also has hundreds upon hundreds of alternate icons.

I’ve employed Glim’s color-variant icons for holiday themes, an adorable BB-8 theme, and several others over the years. This pack is one I can always depend on if I need a pop of color, and once you’ve downloaded it, you’ll also need a home screen launcher that supports individual custom icons, such as our favorite theming launchers. The following instructions were made for a phone using Nova Launcher.

How to apply icons

Long-press an icon you wish to change.
Tap Edit.

Tap the icon window to change the icon.

Select Glim.
Tap the open app icon in the top right corner of the screen to enter Glim’s icon picker.

Search for the app icon you wish to use using the search bar at the top of the screen.

Tap your desired color icon.
Hit Done.

Repeat Steps 1-8 with each of your dock icons.

If you want a rainbow app drawer icon, there are a few icons throughout Glim I’d recommend:

• Light Flow (rainbow fan)
• Lovoo (rainbow heart)
• Music Maker Jam (rainbow sound waves)
• Photodirector Cyberlink (rainbow camera lens)
• Sony Sketch (Rainbow Prism)

If you don’t have an app drawer icon, good for you, you get to skip this step! I’ve never quite be able to shake having one myself, but you do you. You can also extend your rainbow app theming to your app drawer, depending on how much time and patience you have.

Widgets

If you just want icons and a wallpaper on your home screen, that’s awesome! You’re already done! If, however, you’d like to get a little information on your screen without covering up the beauty, may I suggest a tastefully placed weather widget from 1Weather? 1Weather is a beautiful, Material, modern weather app with a wonderful layout and the best damn weather widgets in Android. They scale beautifully across a variety of home screens, they can blend in or stand out with practiced ease, and they come in half a dozen formats for your weather-aware priorities.

I’ll leave the size and placement of your widget up to you, and most launchers will handle widgets well. These instructions were drafted for a phone using Nova Launcher, but widgets should be easy to find on your own phone.

How to add a 1Weather widget to your home screen

Long-press an open space on your home screen.
Tap Widgets.

Press and drag the 1Weather Compact Widget or 1Weather Tabbed Widget to the desired location on your home screen.

In the widget settings window that appears, tap Background.
Tap Dark. For the Compact widget, this will set your widget’s icons and text to white.

Tap Background Opacity.

Drag it to 0% and tap OK.
(Tabbed Only) Tap Icon Set.

(Tabbed Only) Tap White.

Tap Accent.
Tap the color that best matches with your wallpaper’s color.

Tap Done.

My story

On June 12, 2016, a horrible, horrible person walked into a nightclub, one of the places that the community could come to dance and sing and bare their hearts and souls and to belong, and they took 49 loving souls from this world.

I only called Orlando home for 8 months in 2010 and another 3 months in 2011. I never went to Pulse, or any of the bars in Orlando outside one tavern I visited with my Disney coworkers after long shifts for bar food and blowing steam. I’ve only visited bars for about a year now, and I don’t go for the liquor; I go so I can sing and bare my soul and belong, just for a little while, in a small bar in a small town. That someone can walk into a bar and steal that safety from those most in need of it infuriates me, but I can’t let it terrify me.

I can’t stop people from hating those that are different from them. I can’t stop people from buying guns or selling them to people who have no business owning a gun. I can’t even stop my own state from quite literally pissing millions of dollars away trying to legislate their fear and mistrust of the transgendered members of our community. But I can keep smiling. I can keep advocating love and acceptance.

And I can theme a phone with pride. So that’s what I’m gonna do.

Show us your pride

There are a million ways to show your pride and a million ways to customize your home screen! Do you cover your home screen with rainbow icons and fantastic wallpapers? Do you deck your desktop with color-matched widgets for weather, music and whatever else your heart desires? Do you tweak the colors of your folders, app drawers, indicators and everything else to match your wallpaper? Show us how you show your pride in the comments below.

Moto E4 and E4 Plus specs: Not quite a G thing

What magic do the Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus have inside? Here’s what you need to know.

Bringing the success of the Moto G line down to more affordable price points, the Moto E4 and E4 Plus are tactical moves intended to fill out gaps in Motorola’s market coverage. Both phones maintain similar looks to the earlier Moto G line, and to all of Motorola’s current-generation phones in general, but pare back much of the spec sheet to keep the price as low as possible.

Here’s what we’re looking at with the Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus.

Operating System	Android 7.1 Nougat	Android 7.1 Nougat
Display	5-inch LCD 1280×720 (294 ppi)	5.5-inch LCD 1280×720 (267 ppi)
Processor	Snapdragon 425 1.4GHz quad-core, Adreno 308 GPU (Verizon, MetroPCS) Snapdragon 427 1.4GHz quad-core, Adreno 308 GPU (Sprint) MediaTek MT6737 1.3GHz quad-core, Mali T720 MP1 GPU (ROW)	Snapdragon 427 1.4GHz quad-core, Adreno 308 GPU (North America) MediaTek MT6737 1.3GHz quad-core, Mali T720 MP1 GPU (ROW)
Storage	16GB	16/32GB
Expandable	microSD card up to 128GB	microSD card up to 128GB
RAM	2GB (NA)	2GB or 3GB (ROW)
Rear Camera	8MP autofocus, LED flash 4-piece lens	13MP autofocus 5-piece lens
Video capture	1080p @ 30fps (NA) 720p @ 30fps (ROW)	1080p @ 30fps (NA) 720p @ 30fps (ROW)
Front Camera	5MP selfie flash	5MP selfie flash
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11n (all regions)Bluetooth 4.1 (NA) Bluetooth 4.2 (ROW)	Wi-Fi 802.11n (all regions)Bluetooth 4.1 (NA) Bluetooth 4.2 (ROW)
Battery	2800mAhRemovable	5000mAhNon-removable
Charging	Micro-USB5W or 10W rapid charger 10W only at Verizon in the U.S.	Micro-USB10W rapid charger
Water resistance	Water-repellant nano-coating	Water-repellant nano-coating
Security	Fingerprint sensor	Fingerprint sensor
Dimensions	144.5 x 72 x 9.3 mm (NA) 144.7 x 72.3 x 8.99-9.3 mm (ROW) Thickness based on NFC	155 x 77.5 x 9.55 mm (NA + ROW)
Weight	150 g (NA) 151 g (ROW)	181 g (NA) 198 g (ROW)
Colors	Licorice Black, Fine Gold (NA) Iron Gray, Blush Gold, Full Blush Gold, Oxford Blue (ROW)	Iron Gray, Fine Gold, Oxford Blue (ROW)

Workout in style with these Jaybird headphones on sale for $100

Our friends at Thrifter are back with a pair of great deals on Jaybird Bluetooth headphones.

Update: We first shared this deal on May 8 and it expired shortly after. It’s back now from both Amazon and Best Buy!

The Jaybird X3 and Jaybird Freedom F5 wireless headphones are both on sale for the same $100 price right now. That price matches the lowest drop for both headphones. It’s the first time since December the Freedom F5 have seen a price drop and only the third time in the X3’s history that it has dropped at all. Both deals are great and it really comes down to what you need out of your headphones.

The Freedom F5 headphones distinguish themselves from the X3 with a battery clip that adds extra charging time. The clip is detachable if you don’t need it for a quick run, but it’s a way to add a few extra hours of charge time if you’re going to be out for a while.

The X3 is the follow-up to the highly praised Jaybird X2 and has earned a few great reviews itself, like 4 stars from CNET. Both the X3 and the Freedom F5 have access to the MySound app, which lets you customize the sound from each device.

You can also find this same deal price for the X3 and Freedom F5 at Best Buy.

For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Is the Galaxy S7 edge still an essential buy in the Galaxy S8 era?

The Galaxy S7 edge may be getting up there in age but it’s still a great phone.

Now that the Galaxy S8 and S8+ have been around for a few months, we’ve been exposed to the best and worst traits of the company’s new phones. Along with that big, beautiful Infinity Display and slightly more power from the Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895 comes a host of compromises, from a higher base cost to a fingerprint sensor that may be more trouble than it’s worth.

One forum member poses a question that’s worth thinking about these days: with the Galaxy S7 edge on the same software track (for now), and available for much less money, is it worth considering buying over the Galaxy S8 given that it’s still a powerful, well-made product?

hidinho97
06-10-2017 09:23 AM

“

So im from england where the s8 is about £750 and s7 edge is around £570. I want to know if payin almost £200 more for the s8 is worth it rather than buying the s7 edge.

Reply

In markets like the UK where phones are typically purchased outright, the price difference between the Galaxy S8 and the S7 edge is substantial. One member follows up with his thoughts on why the S8 is a better buy, raising a good point about the fewer accidental touches on the curved display.

TylerLV76
06-10-2017 09:38 AM

“

The curved edges on the S8 are substantially better and far fewer accidental touches. The battery life on the S8 is on par with the S7 Edge but the S8 runs smoother and cooler. Cameras are basically the same. S8 uses facial recognition and iris scanning for security but the FPS is still in a weird place for my tastes. Aspect ratio is a personal preference. Some like the new ratio, some dont.
…

Reply

Another member brings up the fact that if camera performance is a top priority, the S7 edge offers practically the same experience. But casual users of both phones may not notice the difference between the S8 and the S7 edge, so it really comes down to whether you need that bigger, taller screen and slightly faster performance.

Matty
06-12-2017 01:27 AM

“

A lot comes down to personal preference. If you like big curves, then the Galaxy S7 Edge is for you. Otherwise, the more tame curves on the S8 is the one to get. 😃

Is the S8 worth £200 more? I would say no (for the average user) It’s definitely an improvement in the screen and processing departments but if you just a casual user then it won’t make that much of a difference. The cameras are…

Reply

What do you think? Would you purchase a Galaxy S7 edge today, or jump straight to the Galaxy S8 or S8+?

Join the conversation in the forums!

How to turn off screen overlay on Samsung Galaxy S8

It’s an odd warning message, but it’s fixable.

There’s an interesting issue that crops up now and then on Samsung Galaxy phones pertaining to “screen overlay” settings preventing you from using some apps. It’s an issue most people aren’t used to seeing all that often, and to be fair the settings for screen overlay are deep and not explained very well.

The issue has been mitigated some in the last year, it seems, but the settings remain in the Galaxy S8 in case you’re running into issues running some apps and seeing this screen overlay error message. Here’s how you can fix it.

To provide a bit of background, “screen overlay” is the system by which an app can overlay elements on top of other apps. The most popular example would be Facebook Messenger’s “Chat Heads” feature that lets little bubbles persist as you change apps, but other apps can use the feature in many ways. These apps need your permission to run screen overlays for security reasons — for example, an unwanted app could put a button on top of another button, unbeknownst to you, getting you to select something you didn’t mean to.

You may run into situations in which you’ll have to head into your settings to enable screen overlay so an app like Facebook Messenger can provide a feature, but more likely to happen seemingly randomly is the requirement to disable screen overlay so the foreground app can work properly. In either case, here’s how you can manage screen overlay on an app-by-app basis so everything works.

How to turn on or off screen overlay

Launch Settings from your home screen.
Scroll down and tap on Apps.
Tap the overflow menu button in the top-right corner and tap Special access.
Tap on Apps that can appear on top.

• See how this is confusing? “Screen overlay” wording isn’t used consistently.

Find the app you expect to be causing issues, and tap the toggle to turn it off.

• Or, to keep screen overlay enabled, tap the toggle to turn it back on again.

Now in the case of needing to enable screen overlay for an app, you’ll have a good idea of which app to toggle on. But in the case of needing to disable screen overlay to use a different app, you may have to play the guessing game a bit. Toggle off apps one by one as you go back to the primary app you’re trying to use, and you’ll eventually find the culprit.

Unfortunately due to the security concerns highlighted above, there’s no full-on “fix” for the issue of screen overlays blocking the use of other apps. If the app you’re using doesn’t permit the use of screen overlay while running, you’ll just have to use these toggles more frequently.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments below if you continue to have these problems on your own Galaxy S8.

Google flexes machine learning muscles with new features for Gboard

Gboard update includes new enhancements to make typing and searching easier.

Google has added some fun and helpful new features to Gboard, which highlight its latest machine learning capabilities. In a blog post, Google showed off a new doodle-search function for emojis, predictive phrase suggestions for texting, and enhanced results for searches made from within the keyboard.

Look for the enhanced feature to pop up in the latest update for Gboard in the Google Play Store.

The feature you’re likely to use most often is the new predictive phrase feature, which is integrated into the same space as word predictions. It is currently exclusive to the English keyboard and offers up logical phrase suggestions to help complete your current sentence. For instance, if you type “looking forward” Google will suggest “to seeing” or “to it” as popular options to complete or build on the thought, and saving you the time of having to type it all out yourself.

Search integration has also been improved and will now display multiple search results making it easier to use the Gboard to find and share information on the fly while in any other app. Since it’s built into the keyboard, you have access to smarter search results from Google, including better integration with Google Maps and YouTube where applicable. The intention here is to make it easier to pull up information from Google without having to back out of the app you’re currently using.

Last but certainly not least is the new drawing function for searching for emojis. When you tap to search for emojis with the latest Gboard, you’ll find a drawing pad underneath the search bar that allows you to quickly sketch out an emoji. While it’s clearly the most fun feature added here and might feel a bit gimmicky to some, it’s also one of the clearest examples of how Google has been using its A.I. Experiments projects to develop smart new tools for users. In this instance, the fun little drawing game Quick, Draw! has transformed into a fun way to save time searching for the perfect emoji.

It’s cool to see how Google can package an interactive machine learning experiment into a fun, viral game and then turn around and use all that data to create an intuitive new feature that’s both fun and useful. Google announced that Gboard now supports over 200 languages and is bringing features like suggestions and gesture typing to more and more languages, including Azerbaijani (Iran), Dhivehi, French (Belgium), Hawaiian, Maori, and Samoan.

See at Google Play Store

Uber’s second-in-command leaves the company

Uber is rumored to be looking at a shakeup of its executive team as part of its attempt at reforming its broken corporate culture, and you might have just seen the first signs of that shakeup today. The ridesharing company has confirmed that senior business VP Emil Michael, second only to Travis Kalanick in terms of power, has left the company. It’s not clear whether he was fired or resigned (Uber will only say that he’s no longer employed). However, Wall Street Journal had understood that he was planning to quit in direct response to former US Attorney General Eric Holder’s recently completed review of Uber’s workplace climate.

David Richter, Uber’s strategic initiatives VP, will fill Michael’s shoes. Michael’s email doesn’t provide any insights as to why he’s leaving, but he says he was “committed” to creating an inclusive business division from day one.

Of course, the reality isn’t quite so squeaky clean. Michael has been accused of participating in and trying to conceal a controversial executive visit to an “escort-karaoke bar” in 2014, and supposedly talked about hiring investigators to dig up dirt. If the allegations are accurate, he was complicit in the sexism and overall shady behavior that prompted Holder’s probe in the first place — how do you trust that Uber will deal with improprieties when one of Kalanick’s closest lieutenants is sweeping them under the rug? Michael’s departure won’t necessarily solve systemic issues overnight, but it could signal that Uber is serious about mending its ways.

Source: New York Times

First Alleged iPhone 8 Part Leaks Surface

Our first glimpse at components that could be destined for the much-rumored 5.8-inch “iPhone 8” and its 4.7 and 5.5-inch companion devices surfaced this morning in a post on reddit. The images are said to be sourced from a case manufacturer who received them from a glass supplier in China.

The first photo depicts what is said to be the front and back panel of the iPhone 8, with the front panel featuring a super thin bezel around all sides along with a top bar that could perhaps house a front-facing camera, microphone, and speaker. There’s been some question on how Apple will handle the front-facing camera and mockup devices and renderings haven’t offered a clear picture.

Some design renderings have shown a section at the top of the device similar to the front panel in this image, while others seem to feature a bar that extends fully across the top of the device.

The rear panel features a vertical dual-lens camera and a separate protruding lens component, with no rear Touch ID in sight, in line with rumors suggesting Apple has indeed figured out how to build Touch ID into the display of the device.

A second photo depicts the two alleged iPhone 8 components next to alleged components for the 4.7-inch iPhone 7s and the 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus, two devices that are rumored to be launching alongside the OLED iPhone 8. All three rear shells are said to be made from glass in order to support wireless charging, and that all three devices will get wireless charging is a rumor we’ve heard before from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

While these images are in line with many rumors that we’re heard about Apple’s upcoming devices, there’s no way to verify their authenticity. They could very well be from a clone device or a dummy device created based on the iPhone 8 design leaks and rumors that have circulated, and there are some red flags suggesting that might be the case.

Design wise, the regulatory information etched into the rear shell of the iPhone 8 is rather prominent and is not in line with the design of the regulatory information on past iPhones, which casts some suspicion on the panels.

Even if fake, these panels are based on supply chain information and rumors and do perhaps provide an idea of what actual iPhone 8 components might look like. Still, it’s best to view these leaks with some skepticism until we begin to see more part leaks to corroborate the design.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8
Discuss this article in our forums

Honor 9 arrives in China with dual rear camera, all-metal body and Kirin 960 chipset

Honor, the more budget subsidiary of Huawei, has officially announced the Honor 9 in China. But even though it’s from the budget brand, it doesn’t scrimp on specs.

• Honor 8 review: A different take on the premium mid-range market
• Honor 8 Pro review: Flagship that’s no money pit

The Honor 9 has a 5.15-inch full HD display with 2.5D glass which slightly curves off at the edges and the same Kirin 960 chipset that features in the Huawei P10. There are two different versions of the Honor 9 available, one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, or 6GB of RAM – more than the Huawei P10 – with either 64GB or 128GB of storage.If you need any more space for storing media content and apps, then you can expand it by up to 256GB with a microSD card.Around the back of the phone Honor has fitted a dual camera, one lens has a 20-megapixel monochrome while the other is a 12-megapixel RGB sensor. The rear-camera feature 2x optical zoom, portrait and bokeh shooting modes. On the front is an 8-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture. Other features of the Honor 9 include a 3,200mAh battery, 3.5mm headphone jack and Android 7.0 Nougat with Huawei’s EMUI 5.1 skin over the top. The phone itself has an all-metal body and will be available in grey, blue and gold colour finishes. It will be available to buy in China from Friday 16 June for CNY 2,300 ($340/£270), for the 4GB/64GB model, CNY 2,700 ($400/£315) for the 6GB/64GB model or CNY 3,000 ($440/350) for the 6GB/128GB model.

There’s currently no word on a European release, but given other Honor phones are available already, we’d expect it show up at some point.