Plex DVR can now automatically remove commercials

Plex, the service that collects media and streaming channels into one application, has been fine-tuning its offerings with new features that have recently improved viewing quality. But its next addition came with little fanfare: Enabling its DVR, which it launched back in June, to automatically remove commercials.

Plex quietly added the feature to its DVR service this weekend, which requires a Plex Pass subscription, in an update with several bug fixes. You’ll have to manually enable the commercial-snipping in the DVR settings, but thereafter it will cut the ads out permanently, deleting them from the file itself. Better hope that it correctly flags material or the setting will cut out parts of your show. Also, be aware that “this process may take a long time and cause high CPU usage,” according to the feature’s description.

Via: Digital Trends

Source: Cord Cutters News

‘Pokémon Go’ legendary Ho-Oh is catchable for limited time

After amassing 500 million Pokémon in less than 48 hours, Pokémon Go players seemed primed to smash the Global Catch Challenge to nab 3 billion pocket monsters. Sure enough, they did, and (as promised) Niantic made region-locked Pokémon Farfetch’d available globally for two days. As it turns out, that wasn’t the only reward the developer was planning. It’s now making Ho-Oh, one of the Johto region’s two legendary Pokémon, up for grabs in Raid Battles worldwide until December 12th.

Thanks to all your hard work last week, Ho-Oh will appear in Raid Battles until 12/12! #PokemonGOtravel #GlobalCatchChallenge https://t.co/YfyBGwfTux pic.twitter.com/mdGoFByyQl

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) November 27, 2017

As usual, you’ll need a full squad of 20 trainers to stand a decent chance of catching the super-strong pocket monster. Niantic’s fresh changes to Raid battles, and with them the introduction of better prizes, should come in handy too.

Source: Pokémon Go

What’s on TV: ‘Vikings,’ ‘Easy,’ ‘Dark’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’

This week Netflix brings season two of its romance-focused anthology series Easy, as well as a new supernatural series, Dark, that’s set in Germany during the 1980s. There’s a new season of Vikings debuting on History, while the various college football conferences roll through their championship games and Curb Your Enthusiasm wraps up its season on HBO. Resident Evil: Revelations 1 & 2 are arriving for Switch, and there’s a collector’s edition Misery Blu-ray for movie buffs. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

Blu-ray & Games & Streaming

• People You May Know (VOD)
• Misery
• Logan Lucky (4K)
• Get Out (Steelbook)
• The Woman in Red
• Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
• Rememory
• Doc Hollywood
• The Defiant Ones
• Black Mirror (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
• SOMA (Xbox One, PS4)
• Resident Evil: Revelation (Switch)
• Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (Switch)
• Sky Force Reloaded (PS4, PC, Xbox One)
• Skyforge (Xbox One)
• Star Ocean: The Last Hop (4K & Full HD Remaster) (PS4, PC)
• Star Ghost (Switch)
• Syberia II (Switch)
• Serial Cleaner (Switch)
• Blue Angels Aerobatic Flight Simulator (Xbox One)
• ACA NeoGeo World Heroes (Switch)

Monday

• Texans/Ravens, ESPN, 8:15 PM
• Kevin Can Wait, CBS, 8 PM
• The Voice, NBC, 8 PM
• CMA Country Christmas, ABC, 8 PM
• WWE Raw, USA, 8 PM
• Supergirl, CW, 8 PM
• Man with a Plan, CBS, 8:30 PM
• Angry Angel, Freeform, 9 PM
• Arrow, CW, 9 PM
• 9jkl, CBS, 9 PM
• Ride with Norman Reedus, AMC, 9 PM
• Woman on Fire, Starz, 9 PM
• Robert Kirkman’s Secret History of Comics, AMC, 10 PM
• Scorpion, CBS, 10 PM
• Meth Storm, HBO, 10 PM
• A Very Pentatonix Christmas Special, NBC, 10 PM
• The Good Doctor, ABC, 10 PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11 PM

Tuesday

• Marvel’s Runaways, Hulu, 3 AM
• Glitch (S2), Netflix, 3 AM
• Good Morning Call (S2), Netflix, 3 AM
• Lethal Weapon, Fox, 8 PM
• The Flash, CW, 8 PM
• The 80s (My Music), PBS, 8 PM
• The Voice, NBC, 8 PM
• WWE Smackdown, USA, 8 PM
• Major Crimes, TNT, 9 PM
• The Mick, Fox, 9 PM
• DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, CW, 9 PM
• This is Us (fall finale), NBC, 9 PM
• Inside the NFL, Showtime, 9 PM
• Fantomworks, Velocity, 9 PM
• Brooklyn Nine-nine, Fox, 9:30 PM
• Drunk History: Christmas Special, Comedy Central, 10 PM
• Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, CBS, 10 PM
• The Mane Event, BET, 10 PM
• Who Killed Tupac?, A&E, 10 PM
• Chicago Med, NBC, 10 PM
• Hunt for the Zodiac Killer, History, 10 PM
• The Challenge, MTV, 10 PM
• Drop the Mic, TBS, 10:30 PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11 PM

Wednesday

• Chance, Hulu, 3 AM
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (S1), Amazon Prime, 3 AM
• Survivor, CBS, 8 PM
• Christmas in Rockefeller Center, NBC, 8 PM
• Riverdale, CW, 8 PM
• Vikings: Recap Special, History, 8 PM
• Speechless, ABC, 8:30 PM
• Dynasty, CW, 9 PM
• Law & Order: SVU, NBC, 9 PM
• Modern Family, ABC, 9 PM
• Star, Fox, 9 PM
• Vikings (season premiere), History, 9 PM
• American Housewife, ABC, 9:30 PM
• Mr. Robot, USA, 10 PM
• 24K Magic Live at the Apollo, CBS, 10 PM
• South Park, Comedy Central, 10 PM
• Chicago PD, NBC, 10 PM
• The Ultimate Fighter, Fox Sports 1, 10 PM
• The A-Word, Sundance, 10 PM
• Broad City, Comedy Central, 10:30 PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11 PM

Thursday

• Washington/Cowboys, NBC, 8:25 PM
• Supernatural, CW, 8 PM
• The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 8 PM
• Gotham, Fox, 8 PM
• Supernatural, CW, 8 PM
• Young Sheldon, CBS, 8:30 PM
• Penn & Tell: Fool US, CW, 9 PM
• The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 9 PM
• Van Helsing, Syfy, 9 PM
• Mom, CBS, 9 PM
• The Orville, Fox, 9 PM
• Life in Pieces, CBS, 9:30 PM
• The President Show, Comedy Central, 10 PM
• Ghost Wars, Syfy, 10 PM
• The Menendez Murders (series premiere), A&E, 10 PM
• SWAT, CBS, 10 PM
• The Cromaries, USA, 10:30 PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11 PM
• The Rundown with Robin Thede, BET, 11 PM

Friday

• Dark (S1), Netflix, 3 AM
• Easy (S2), Netflix, 3 AM
• Voyeur, Netflix, 3 AM
• East Los High (series finale), Hulu, 3 AM
• Blindspot, NBC, 8 PM
• Macgyver, CBS, 8 PM
• Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (season premiere), ABC, 8 PM
• A Football Life: Jerry Jones, NFL Network, 9 PM
• Masters of Illusion, CW, 9 PM
• The Ultimate Fighter (season finale), FS1, 9 PM
• Z Nation, Syfy, 9 PM
• Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 9 PM
• The Exorcist, Fox, 9 PM
• All Def Comedy (series premiere), HBO, 10 PM
• Superstition, Syfy, 10 PM
• Kevin Hart Presents, Comedy Central, 11 PM

Saturday

• Big Ten college football championship: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, Fox, 8 PM
• ACC college football championship: Clemson vs. Miami, ABC, 8 PM
• Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, BBC America, 9 PM
• Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady, HBO, 9 PM
• Saturday Night Live: Saoirse Ronan / U2, NBC, 11:30 PM

Sunday

• No Activity, CBS AA, 3 AM
• Eagles/Seahawks, NBC, 8:20 PM
• Outlander, Starz, 8 PM
• The Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special, CBS, 8 PM
• The Simpsons, Fox, 8 PM
• Ghosted (fall finale), Fox, 8:30 PM
• Wisdom of the Crowd, CBS, 8:30 PM
• Outlander, Starz, 8 PM
• Shameless, Showtime, 9 PM
• The Walking Dead, AMC, 9 PM
• The Girlfriend Experience, Starz, 9 PM
• Family Guy, Fox, 9 PM
• Berlin station, Epix, 9 PM
• Shark Tank, ABC, 9 PM
• The Last Man on Earth, Fox, 9:30 PM
• Graves, Epix, 10 PM
• Smilf, Showtime, 10 PM
• Nude, Starz, 10 PM
• Talking Dead, AMC, 10 PM
• Good Behavior, TNT, 10 PM
• Madam Secretary, CBS, 10 PM
• Search Party, TBS, 10 PM
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (season finale), HBO, 10 PM
• White Famous, Showtime, 10:30 PM

[All times listed are in ET]

Google offers real-time search data for news, images and video

Finding out what people are searching for in real time is a trivial matter these days, thanks to Google Trends. Online since 2015, the service is useful for discovering what the world is paying attention to, like why Donald Trump was elected last November or which Halloween costume will be the most played out. Heck, Mac users can even get a screensaver to visualize searches as they happen. Now Google is exposing even more of its real-time data to include news, images, video and even shopping results in your topical search area.

The example Google gives is a search for Taylor Swift. When you type that search term in, you’ll want to pay attention to the subheadings in the search results that drop down; “American singer-songwriter” is what you’re looking for. When you click on that search, you’ll get a page that shows the search interest on that term in the US for the past week. If you want to dig past web-only search interest, click on the button at the top right (which defaults to Web Search) and choose Image Search, News Search, Google Shopping or YouTube Search. In addition to finding out the search spikes around specific events and videos, for example, you can also see where search interest is strongest for your chosen topic and platform.

Source: Google

‘Are you OK?’ Facebook enlists A.I. to spot suicidal users and find help

Artificial intelligence can pick up on patterns — including patterned behavior that could indicate when someone is considering suicide. On Monday, November 27, Facebook shared additional measures that the platform is now integrating to help users that may be expressing thoughts of suicide. The update includes A.I. to detect posts with potential suicidal behavior as well as dedicating more human review staff to the task.

Over the last month, Facebook’s updated algorithms have sparked more than 100 calls to first responders to conduct wellness checks and those numbers don’t include posts that were flagged by users. Facebook is now beginning to roll out the A.I. suicide detection system to additional countries outside the U.S. The social media platform says the program will eventually be worldwide, with the exception of the European Union because of privacy laws.

The new algorithms use pattern recognition to flag posts that could be expressing thoughts of suicide, Facebook says. Along with flagging written posts, the tech works to look for signals inside live video and pre-recorded video as well. The program uses data inside the post itself as well as the comments. Facebook says that comments like “are you OK?” or “can I help?” are often strong indicators.

Facebook said it will be continuing to develop the algorithm to avoid false positives before the post is seen by the human review team. At the same time, artificial intelligence is also being used to prioritize which posts are seen by human reviewers first, which Facebook says is improving their ability to alert first responders quickly.

Updates also help the review staff quickly assess the post, Facebook says, including tools that help reviewers see which portion of a video got the most reactions. Automation also helps the team quickly access information to contact the appropriate first responders.

The update continues to expand the measures Facebook already had in place, including tools for friends to report a post or reach out to the user, worldwide teams working on those reports and tools developed in collaboration with organizations focussed on mental health. Facebook added a number of different suicide prevention tools over the years, including an update earlier in 2017 that brought live chat with groups like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Flushable toilet for cats and small dogs spares you from litter box duty

Some gadgets are iconic embodiments of their time. They often fill a need we never knew existed, then quickly become items we can’t live without. Others are smart toilets for felines. Guess which category Catolet falls into.

Newly launched on Kickstarter, Catolet is an automatic smart litter box for cats and small dogs that doesn’t require any filler. Instead, it acts (a bit) like a human lavatory by connecting to the water supply and sewage system for flushable waste disposal. (The Catolet must be hooked up to your plumbing to work, although most people should be able to do it themselves, courtesy of the kit that ships with the device.)

Rather than asking Fluffy or Fido to sit on a toilet seat, the Catolet is based around a smart porous conveyor belt system. Urine passes through the belt, while solid waste products are conveyed into the main basin after built-in motion sensors have determined that your four-legged friend has concluded its business. They’re then run through a shredder, and dispatched into the sewer. Finally, the belt is cleaned and returned to its starting position. There’s even a mobile app that lets you customize the experience for your pet and will message you in the event of a “sudden situation,” whatever that may be.

“There are many automatic trays on the market, but they have a number of problems: some of them require a filler, they are large in size, and usually of high cost,” Tatyana Bayramova, creator of the Catolet, told Digital Trends. “Together with cat breeders, we decided to create a tray without those pitfalls. Our target market are cats and small dogs owners who like technology devices and gadgets. We want to offer them a modern device that will help them in their pet caring routine.”

As much as we’re tickled by the idea of a smart cat toilet, this could turn out to be a great product if you’re the kind of person who totally can’t stand having to deal with a litter box. (Although explaining the miniature toilet next to your regular one could be all kinds of awkward!)

You can currently pre-order one on Kickstarter, where prices start at $159. Shipping is set to take place in April 2018. Cat or small dog not included.

13 white elephant gift ideas that are guaranteed to spice up your holiday party

Most people treat White Elephant gift exchanges as an excuse to regift unopened presents and offload unwanted junk, but they’re a lot more fun if you put in the extra effort to cause trouble. Trust us — Digital Trends’ HR department actually forced us to discontinue our annual white elephant exchange because it got too wild a few years ago. So, to help you make a splash at your holiday party this year, we’ve put together this quick list of the best White Elephant gift ideas the world has ever seen. Enjoy!

Sugar-free Haribo Gummy Bears

If you haven’t already read the Amazon reviews for these gummy bears, drop what you’re doing and go check them out immediately. Did you do it? Well if not, here’s the synopsis: These bears are made with a type of artificial sugar that’s been known to give certain people explosive diarrhea. We’re not saying it’s guaranteed to make your co-workers crap their pants at the party, but there’s a chance it’ll happen. Also, don’t forget to wear brown pants to the party, just in case you get stuck with your own gift.

Buy them now from:

Amazon

Nicolas Cage Pillowcase

“The best characters are the ones that somehow manage to be both attractive and repulsive at the same time. If you do that, you’re at the center of the universe — if you can find characters who are more ambiguous and can raise more questions than answers.” – Nicolas Cage.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Big Mouth Billy Bass

This one is a slow burn. At first people will laugh and get all nostalgic about the singing bass that captured America’s heart in the winter of ’99. Then, whoever ends up with the bass will excitedly press the button, cycle through Billy’s songs a couple times, and then inevitably place him on his/her desk. Then, for the next few weeks, everyone in the office will have to hear “Take Me To The River” and “Dont Worry Be Happy” at least 12 times per day — which will most likely cause somebody to snap and go full-on “Office Space printer scene” on Billy, thereby prompting a hilarious conflict resolution meeting with HR.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Freak Masks

These things are brilliant. They’re customizable masks made from an elastic fabric and designed to slip over your head. You can put anybody’s face on them, and then wear that face over your own face. It’s freakishly hilarious, and guaranteed to make all your co-workers pee their pants in laughter — especially if you can manage to make one of your boss’s face.

Buy one now from:

Firebox

Live animals

The funny thing about giving a live animal is that you’re basically gifting the unwanted burden of having to care for a pet. Don’t punk out and get a hamster or a goldfish, either — that’s too easy. If you want to make this memorable, we suggest giving something along the lines of a free-range chicken, a parrot that squawks profanities, or a wild Atlantic salmon (in a tank, of course).

Questionably legal fireworks

The great thing about living in America is that everything is for sale all the time — including fireworks. Even if your state’s laws prohibit online ordering and out-of-state imports, you can usually get your hands on some Roman candles over state lines — and with the right amount of rum-spiked eggnog, your giftee will hopefully start to think it’s a good idea to light a few of them off in the parking lot.

The Holiday Fun Pack

Ingredients: One 40-ounce bottle of Olde English, one pack of Marlboro cigarettes, some Magnum condoms, a fistful of bottle rockets, one pack of powdered donuts, a miniature American flag, and a roll of duct tape.

Instructions: Duct tape all ingredients together as haphazardly as you possibly can, and wrap it in a wet paper sack. Despite the crappy presentation, this gift is always a crowd-pleaser. People will fight over it, and it’ll help you identify the fun people in your office.

Shake Weight

Despite the fact that it’s a few years old, the Shake Weight is still one of the best gag gifts money can buy. Why? Because this ridiculous “exercise device” makes anybody using it look like they’re training for the 2018 Handjob Olympics. You’ll want to have your phone ready to record the “test run” that will inevitably take place after Doug from Accounting has too much peppermint schnapps.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

VistaPrint selfie calendar

You know VistaPrint? The company that sells cheap, customizable business cards? As it turns out, they also sell super cheap, totally customizable calendars as well. That means you can make one with nothing but all those drunk selfies you took with your cat last weekend, and then force somebody to keep it on their desk for a year.

Buy one now from:

VistaPrint

Shock Potato

Shock Potato is basically a modern reimagining of the classic children’s game Hot Potato. The only difference is that, instead of using an overheated root vegetable, you toss a small plastic ball that will randomly deliver a powerful electric shock to one unlucky person. Just be sure that good ol’ Pacemaker Jim doesn’t join the fun. That could end badly.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Cards Against Humanity

I can pretty much guarantee that nothing will spice up your stuffy holiday party quite like hearing your boss utter the phrase “testicular torsion,” then ask the HR manager what it means. Nothing brings people together like a card game that encourages filthy and offensive humor.

Buy them now from:

Amazon

T-shirt with your face on it

Thanks to miracles of modern technology, you can have your big ugly mug screen-printed onto a T-shirt and delivered to your door in less than a week. The poor SOB who gets stuck with it will either wear it like a champ, or give it to the nearest thrift store — after which it will probably be purchased by a hipster and worn ironically for years to come.

Never-ending birthday card

It doesn’t matter that it’s not somebody’s birthday — this card is a sure-fire way to start a scene at your holiday party. Once opened, the card will play an annoying “Happy Birthday” song at top volume until you either destroy the speaker or the battery runs out — whichever comes first. It’ll run for about three hours before the battery dies, and it’s designed to withstand water damage, so your giftee will have no choice but to smash it or light it on fire.

Buy one now from:

Firebox

Grab the Amazon Echo Dot and a TP-Link Smart Plug for only $35

Wise up and buy an Amazon Echo bundle.

Is this deal for me?

Amazon is offering the TP-Link Smart Plug for only $5 when you purchase an Echo device alongside it. With how much the Echo devices are currently discounted thanks to Cyber Monday and Black Friday, this makes for an awesome deal. For just $34.99, you could pick up the Echo Dot and a TP-Link smart plug. The Echo Dot itself sells for $46 on average, so getting the smart plug included at $11 less than that price is pretty fantastic.

If that deal isn’t quite good enough for you, there’s an even better bundle which Amazon is offering when you buy the Echo Plus in silver or black. Not only will you get the device for $124.99 (at a $25 discount off the regular price), but you’ll also receive a TP-Link Smart Plug and a Philips Hue light bulb. These two extra items add a value of around $45 that you’re getting at just a $5 increase over the current pricing of Amazon’s Echo devices.

TP-Link’s smart plug allows you to control your appliances from anywhere in the world. You can even voice control your appliances with it by pairing it to your Echo device. The Philips Hue light bulb also allows you to gain fuller control over your home: automate your lights, turn them on via app, and more.

The rest of Amazon’s slate of Echo devices (except the Echo Look) are also included in this promotion, however this deal is only available during Cyber Monday.

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – This deal adds up to $30 worth of value for just an extra $5! If you’ve been wanting to purchase an Echo device (or a $30 TP-Link smart plug), you should definitely go this route instead.
• Things to know before you buy! – Amazon will include both a smart plug and a Philips Hue bulb for $5 if you buy the Echo Plus! This deal takes into effect Amazon’s current sale pricing on the Echo devices for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

See at Amazon

Everything you can do with the PlayStation Aim controller

A full controller pretending to be a move controller.

The PlayStation Aim controller was built to bring a new layer of immersion to PlayStation VR games where you’re shooting anything that moves, but it’s good for much more than feeling like a gun when you can’t see the real world. It’s got the functionality of a DualShock controller in an entirely new format, and we have the details on everything it can do here.

Read more at VRHeads.com

Ubisoft’s next indie game ‘Ode’ is out in the UK

A couple years ago, Ubisoft started an incubator at its Reflections Studio to make indie games — the first of which, the delightful Grow Home, came out in early 2015. Now the same team has released a new title, the relaxing platformer ‘experience’ Ode.

Similar to the previous titles that came out of Reflections’ incubator, Ode is simple. There’s no HUD, hints, instructions or threats — just exploration within its exploratory synaesthesia. In summary, it’s a “musical exploration where you gradually bring a world to life through music and light,” the game’s producer Anne Langouriuex said in Ubisoft’s blog post announcing Ode. In it, you play the star Joy who rolls around in a ball gathering glowing celestial fragments, which trail behind the character for use in puzzles — think Yoshi’s Story mechanics mixed with the emotional world of Pixar’s Inside Out.

Ode is available now on Ubisoft’s UK store for £4.50 and US store for $5.

Via: Rock Paper Shotgun

Source: Ubisoft, Ode