With Facebook Local, you’ll never have that fear of missing out

App Attack is a weekly series where we search the App Store and Google Play Store for the best apps of the week. Check out App Attack every Sunday for the latest.

Facebook’s hype has died down throughout the years, but it still keeps users coming back for more when it comes to staying connected with one another. But even though the social media platform has been around for over a decade, there are still new features rolling out and layouts undergoing redesign. This week, we tried out Facebook’s newly revamped stand-alone app Local.

Facebook Local may look familiar to you if you’ve ever used Facebook’s Events app. The company took that already existing app, completely updated it with new features, and Local was born. It’s also already available for download on both Android and iOS.

We live in a world where everything can be made digital, including our invitations for the latest events. Having a birthday party? Make a Facebook event. Playing a show with your band? Make a Facebook event. For those with packed schedules, Facebook will even remind you of the event on the day of. Gone are the days of private and hand-written RSVPs, as now all you need to do is click a button and the entire group will know who’s attending and who’s skipping out.

With Facebook Local, you can discover public events without having to wait for the invite to be sent to you. The best part is, they’re all around wherever you’re currently located. The app also connects to your Facebook account, so you can easily see your notifications when it comes to the more private events you’ve been invited to.

The interface is simple to use, with sections for restaurants, cafes, drinks, attractions, and more. You can also check out specific events your Facebook friends are planning on attending, or ones nearby. At the top is a search bar, if you’d like to type in a specific place and location.

Similar to Instagram, Facebook Local looks aesthetically pleasing. Using the photos associated with the event page, you’re able to scroll through and get a more visual idea of the event aside from the information written out.

My favorite part of the app is that there are also ratings for all the locations listed, in addition to photos and a brief summary of the reviews. Rather than having to read through different reviews, Facebook Local quickly gives you all of the information you need at first glance. You can also “like” a particular place you’ve been to by tapping on the thumbs-up icon in the right-hand corner.

If you’re unsure of what you’d like to do, you can view a map version of where you are. You can choose filters to rule out certain events, or go through all of the different options going on that day or night. Each event is pinned according to its location and when you tap on it, a window pops up with all the details. Tapping on the event itself will bring you to the Facebook event page without actually leaving the app.

To keep track of all the places you commit to, there’s a tab dedicated to your calendar. When you confirm that you’re going via the invite, it’ll automatically show up in your calendar within the app. You can search for all the events you have coming up based on day or month, and you can also see events you’ve gone to in the past.

While using Facebook Local, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Snapchat’s latest Context Cards feature, which essentially provides you with the same information. But with Snapchat, I always feel like I have to do the work with its discover tool, which is why I don’t use it very often.

On the other hand, with Facebook Local, all the information is already provided as soon as you open the app. Simply scroll through the homepage and you’ll find tons of information available to you. Besides seeing events your friends are going to, you can also use the Guides section, which lays out local places to explore based on interests. Whether it’s food, games, or health and fitness, there’s a category to fit everyone’s needs.

Being in a place like New York City, it can feel a bit overwhelming with so much do to. At times, it’s tough to distinguish where to even start. But this app eases the anxiety by seamlessly mapping out all of your plans for you. Not only does it give you ideas on what you can possibly do, but it connects you with what others around you are doing.

I can also imagine it to be especially useful for when you’re visiting another town. It takes out the guess-work by providing you with enough information to actually feel like you’re a local. More importantly, it will definitely take away that feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) regardless of you are.

Ohio State University fans troll Apple over its infamous autocorrect glitch

Apple’s latest mobile operating system launched in September, but it included a few annoying hiccups and glitches. One of the most noticeable was in the autocorrect feature, where some users who typed in the letter “i” found it automatically replaced with “A [?]” instead. Apple initially suggested a workaround using the Text Replacement feature, but the bug has now been corrected with the release of version 11.1.1 for iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

That didn’t stop the fans at Ohio State University from poking a little fun at the tech giant, however. Between plays during the recent game pitting the Buckeyes against the Michigan State Spartans, the crowd at the Horseshoe began their familiar “O-H-I-O” chant. The student section in the end zone was ready, holding up cards that spelled out “A [?]” instead.

Ohio State trolling Apple ????

(@darrenrovell, @BleacherReport) pic.twitter.com/u7A563gi1i

— Brian Havrilla (@brianhavrilla) November 11, 2017

The college football pranks at Apple’s expense didn’t stop with Ohio State. This sign was featured during ESPN’s popular GameDay show in Miami, where students often show up with all manner of signs hoping to be featured on the lengthy pre-game broadcast.

Happens to the best of us

A post shared by College GameDay (@collegegameday) on Nov 11, 2017 at 7:02am PST

Ohio State University actually has somewhat of a history with Apple, as well as an ongoing future. The school’s iconic marching band was featured in a 2014 commercial for the iPad Air. The band is known for elaboratel halftime shows featuring a wide range of pop culture. Previous halftime performances have featured tributes to Star Wars, James Bond, and The Beatles.

Beginning in 2013, the band began using iPads to choreograph the intricate designs of their marching band routines. Rather than spending $24,000 per year on paper, the band got a grant to supply all band members with the devices.

The OSU-Apple partnership has expanded to include the academic curriculum as well since 2013. Beginning in Fall of 2018, every freshman admitted to the university will be issued a free 10.5-inch, 256GB iPad Pro. The campus will also feature an iOS laboratory where students can learn Apple-specific coding known as “Swift.”

“I see a lot of potential [in the Apple partnership],” assistant professor Theodore Chao told The Lantern. “Swift is so intuitive — a platform that children can use to code, but also doctoral students and adults can use to build out apps.”

We found a rugged phone cheap enough to batter like you’re supposed to

Smartphones are a crucial tool in everyday life, but more often than not, they tend to be fragile. That’s fine if your phone spends most of its time in your pocket or your hands on the ride to work, but if it spends any time in the great outdoors, you may be (rightly) worried about dropping your phone into a crevasse or a stretch of wet sand. An adventurous lifestyle calls for a phone that can take a beating; luckily, there’s an entire class of rugged smartphones out there. Sadly, most smartphones that are built to withstand the elements also cost a lot of money, and if you’ve already invested in camping gear, you might not want to shell out $800 or so for a new phone.

If you’re willing to look outside of the usual brands, however, there are cheaper options, such as the Doogee S60. If you haven’t heard of Doogee before, you’re not alone. Originally a Spanish company, Doogee relocated to China after changing ownership. Although Doogee is not a household name — at least not currently — the company produces high-quality smartphones with powerful specs.

The aforementioned Doogee S60, for instance, contains a Mediatek Helio P25 processor and an Octa-core CPU that packs a mighty punch. It even packs a welcome 6GB of RAM.

Other features include a 21-megapixel camera, a fingerprint scanner, an SOS button, and a 5,580mAh battery that supports both quick and wireless charging. The 5.2-inch screen has a pixel density of 424 pixels per inch, and the speakers can project loudly (for a smartphone).

All these premium components are worthless if the phone shatters when dropped, though, which is why Doogee built the S60 like an impregnable fortress. The smartphone’s casing is made out of aluminum and high-density polycarbonate, and the screen is Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The phone achieves an IP68 rating, too, meaning it can withstand dust and immersion for up to 30 minutes in up to 1.5 meters of water.

The S60 runs Android, and if the phone has a weakness, it’s the strange bloatware that comes pre-installed on the device, which can at least be turned off.

The S60 is a great phone, one that can be had for relatively cheap — in some places, you might find it as low as $280. If you spend a lot of time adventuring, it’s certainly a good investment.

David Cogen — a regular contributor here at Digital Trends — runs TheUnlockr, a popular tech blog that focuses on tech news, tips and tricks, and the latest tech. You can also find him on Twitter discussing the latest tech trends.

Bitcoin Cash surpassed Ethereum as world’s second most popular cryptocurrency

In the world of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is king, followed by Ethereum and other such digital assets. However, last night we saw Bitcoin’s splinter currency, Bitcoin Cash, briefly overtake Ethereum to become the world’s second most valuable cryptocurrency.

Early Sunday morning, Bitcoin Cash skyrocketed in value to $2,500 a coin surpassing Ethereum in terms of market capitalization.

Bitcoin Cash, which broke away from the more popular Bitcoin earlier this year, was rising in price until about 2:00 a.m. ET. After that point, its value fell by about $1,000. By about 11:35 a.m, the coin had increased in value to $1,525 a share, but had still fallen below Ethereum’s market capitalization. It should be noted that Bitcoin Cash is still more expensive than Ethereum in terms of individual coins, with the former costing $1,449, compared to the latter’s $311.

Regardless, it was still an impressive rally for a coin that normally goes for about $300-500. Ethereum’s founder Vitalik Buterin took to Twitter to congratulate Bitcoin Cash on the recent surge.

Congrats on this. Seriously. @rogerkver @JihanWu @deadalnix pic.twitter.com/UXYdEcRn4y

— Vitalik Buterin (@VitalikButerin) November 12, 2017

Bitcoin Cash’s surge appears to have cost a slight downturn in the value of its sibling cryptocurrency. On Wednesday, Bitcoin was valued at a high of $7,128, but on Sunday, it fell to $5,512. As of the time of this reporting, Bitcoin is valued at $5,987.

Bitcoin Cash broke away from Bitcoin in August of this year as a means of making cryptocurrencies more accessible to the average consumer. Since then, Bitcoin has continued to lead the way in terms of price and market capitalization, but some experts believe Bitcoin Cash’s rise will continue.

“There were lots of Bitcoin Cash whales who were in early on Bitcoin who were waiting to see what would happen with 2x,” Kyle Samani, of MultiCoin Capital told Forbes. “… They’re dumping BTC for BCH … I know many Bitcoin OGs who have dumped $10m+ of BTC for BCH … Turns out there were a lot more BCH ideologues than we all thought.”

Despite their increased popularity  in society, cryptocurrencies are still a bit of a mystery to many people. If you’re interested in learning more about Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in general, we can help you out.

Upgrade your TV’s built-in speakers with this $80 AmazonBasics sound bar

A perfectly viable upgrade for your TV’s speakers.

This AmazonBasics sound bar with a built-in subwoofer is down to $79.99. This is the lowest price ever compared to a regular street price around $95. It has never even dropped below $95 before.

Sound bars are a great way to step up the audio of any monitor that uses built-in speakers. Obviously, this isn’t going to be the same as a huge home audio system like Sonos, but if you’re trying to watch a movie with tiny speakers and no boom, you’re selling yourself short. Upgrade with a sound bar like this at the very least.

Features include:

• 31.5-inch sound bar with built-in subwoofer enhances home-audio systems (not compatible with universal or TV remotes)
• Bluetooth technology v2.1 + EDR with A2DP & AVRCP for seamless streaming from various devices
• Full-range stereo speakers; up to 92 dB (2.1 channels)
• 4-piece 2-inch round frame; mid- to high-range drivers; 4-by-2.7-inch sub-range driver; 2-piece passive radiator
• 3 sound modes: Standard, News, and Movie; remote control and wall-mount hardware included; measures 31.5 by 3.2 by 3.5 inches (W x H x D)

If you’re a cord-cutter, you can really give your TV an upgrade with this OTA antenna, too. It has a 35-mile range for just $20, and paired with this sound bar maybe you’ll actually start using your TV for more than just a living room decoration piece.

See at Amazon

Samsung’s Black Friday deals include $100 off Chromebooks and more

Samsung’s Black Friday deals may have you making a few purchases!

There’s really no better time than right now to start preparing for Black Friday. Nearly all of the big ads that we’ve been anticipating have hit already, and now we are continuing to see smaller ones hit.

• Samsung 2017 Black Friday Ad Scan

Prices that are shown in the ad will take effect on November 19, so be sure to check the ad out now so you can be prepared for when the discounts kick off.

Samsung will be offering a bunch of deals on its hardware from mobile phones to Chromebooks, TVs and more. Some of best deals include $70 off the Gear S3 Frontier, $100 off the Samsung Chromebook Pro, and $50 off the Gear IconX (2018). There are some other deals you may be interested in as well, so be sure to check out the whole ad above.

Check out the Thrifter Black Friday Hub

Russian Twitter accounts tried to influence the UK’s EU departure

Russia’s attempt to influence Western politics through Twitter certainly wasn’t limited to the 2016 American elections. Wired and New Knowledge have combed through the Russia-linked accounts provided to US politicians, and it identified at least 29 bogus users that backed the UK’s European Union exit (aka Brexit). The accounts used Brexit-related hashtags, stirred Islamophobic sentiment and used racist anti-refugee language. These accounts weren’t ignored, either. Combined, they had 268,643 followers and got some posts shared hundreds of times.

The tweets directly tied to Brexit were posted just after the vote in June 2016, but they’re characterized as a “snapshot” that doesn’t necessarily reflect the entire situation. Some of the ostensibly American accounts were unusually obsessed with Europe beforehand, however, and frequently posted similar anti-immigration and anti-Islam messages in response to terrorist attacks. A previous BuzzFeed study had identified 13,000 Twitter bots that supported leaving the EU, but it’s not clear how many of those were tied to Russia.

The discovery isn’t entirely shocking: if Russia was using Twitter bots to skew American sentiment, it wouldn’t take much effort to do the same for Britons. Still, findings like this could be crucial to an official investigation into Russia’s influence over Brexit. They also underscore how easy it can be to mount a modern propaganda campaign — you can target audiences around the world with minimal effort.

Source: Wired

Sierra Nevada spacecraft completes first test flight in 4 years

If Sierra Nevada is going to fulfill supply missions for the International Space Station and the UN, it’ll have to prove that its Dream Chaser spacecraft is ready to fly… and it just took a big step in that direction. The company has revealed that Dream Chaser completed a glide test flight on November 11th, launching from a helicopter and landing at California’s Edwards Air Force Base. Notably, it’s this vehicle’s first flight in 4 years, and its first successful landing demonstration — when this ship last flew in 2013, stuck landing gear forced a rough touchdown.

Dream Chaser was carrying the same space-grade avionics that it’ll use for ISS missions, Sierra Nevada said. More information about the flight should follow on November 13th.

The successful flight isn’t as dramatic as a full-fledged mission launching atop a rocket (those aren’t expected to start until 2019), but it’s a crucial milestone all the same. It proves that, on a basic level, Dream Chaser can live up to its role as a reusable cargo ship. And while it won’t be the only vehicle that can return safely to Earth, it’ll be particularly important for science. Unlike a capsule that might land in a remote area, Dream Chaser can quickly return experiments to waiting researchers.

SNC is proud to announce the Dream Chaser® spacecraft had a successful free-flight test today @EdwardsAFB, with support of @NASAArmstrong. The Dream Chaser had a beautiful flight and landing! pic.twitter.com/lAn0n7FPsg

— Sierra Nevada Corp (@SierraNevCorp) November 12, 2017

Via: Spaceflight Now

Source: Sierra Nevada (Twitter)