‘Overwatch’s’ Winter Wonderland event returns on December 12th

Overwatch’s “Winter Wonderland” is on the way and it’s bringing with it some familiar gameplay as well as a new arcade mode. Last year’s Mei’s Snowball Offensive will be returning and of course there will be a selection of new skins — Blizzard’s Jeff Kaplan teased a lot of legendary skins but only confirmed Hanzo, Junkrat and Roadhog skins.

The main attraction of this year’s holiday event is a mode called Mei’s Yeti Hunt wherein five Meis have to battle one yeti, aka Winston. At first, the person playing as the yeti has to try to collect enough powerups to trigger its Primal Rage mode while the five Meis try to bring him down. However, once Primal Rage mode is achieved, the yeti then goes after the Meis who have to avoid being killed. The Meis win if they can kill Winston, but Winston wins if he can take down enough of the Meis.

“I know a lot of you are thinking that this sounds kinda silly and kinda ridiculous,” Kaplan said in a video about the event, which you can watch below. “Well, I’m here to tell you it absolutely is. But the point of some of these seasonal brawls is just to be fun and light and refreshing for a short period of time.”

“Winter Wonderland” arrives on PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One on December 12th.

Source: Blizzard

Essential Phone sends 360-degree live video to Facebook and YouTube

Essential has been racing to improve the (frankly lackluster) camera software on its phone ever since launch, and now those upgrades are showering affection on the handset’s signature 360 Camera attachment. Andy Rubin’s outfit is delivering an update that adds streaming live 360-degree video to both Facebook Live and YouTube Live. In other words, that add-on just became much more useful — you can broadcast your adventures in a VR-friendly format just by clipping a camera to your phone.

The addition could make this one of the better bargains for 360-degree livestreaming, at least if you’re looking for a higher-end phone. Now that the price of the Essential Phone itself has dropped to $499, you’re looking at less than $700 for a complete streaming setup. Is there a huge audience for this? Probably not, but it helps the phone stand out in a field where having an all-screen design is no longer a novelty.

Source: Essential (Twitter)

Kaspersky Lab is closing its Washington, DC office

Kaspersky Lab Inc. has had a rough time with the US government this year and now Bloomberg reports that the company will be closing its Washington, DC office. However, while its government business seems to be dead in the water, Kaspersky still plans to sell to non-federal US customers and will be opening offices in Chicago and Los Angeles next year.

In July, the Trump administration removed Kaspersky from its list of approved IT vendors and in August reports surfaced that the FBI was trying to convince companies to ditch Kaspersky’s products. These moves were a result of US government suspicions that Kaspersky funnels information from its customers to the Russian government. Best Buy pulled Kaspersky products from its shelves shortly thereafter and the US government ultimately banned federal agencies from using the company’s security software in September.

While the UK’s cybersecurity authority, the National Cyber Security Centre, also advised government agencies against using Kaspersky software, the company’s vice president, Anton Shingarev said in a recent interview, “We are in talks with NCSC and are trying to figure out what’s needed to deserve an opposite recommendation. In general, they support the idea of opening the source code of our software for independent audit.” He also said that Europe’s regulators are “fact-driven” while the US ban was based on “emotions” and “speculations.” Kaspersky has repeatedly maintained that it does not share its information with the Russian government.

To quell concerns about the company, Kaspersky announced in October that it would open up its source code to third-party review. That’s set to begin early next year.

Via: Bloomberg

Uber will soon have to compete with China’s Didi Chuxing in Mexico

China’s major ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing is expanding its services to Mexico, Reuters reports. This will be Didi’s first international expansion and sources told Reuters that the company is planning to launch in Mexico during the first quarter of 2018, though exactly where in the country wasn’t made clear.

This move means Didi will be encroaching on some of Uber’s territory — Uber already has seven million users throughout 45 cities in Mexico — but this isn’t the first time Didi and Uber have battled it out. Uber tried to gain a foothold in China and lost around $2 billion doing so. But last year it gave up that fight and sold its Uber China arm to Didi. In another challenge to Uber, Didi has invested in its rivals around the world including Southeast Asia’s Grab, Brazil’s 99, India’s Ola, Estonia’s Taxify, the Middle East’s Careem and Lyft.

Along with Uber, Didi will be competing with Cabify — another ride-hailing company currently used in seven Mexican cities. And this could be just the first global move on Didi’s part. It raised around $5.5 billion from investors back in April, part of which was to spur its international expansions.

Via: Reuters

What is an RSS feed and how can I use it?

With so much new content on the web being added daily, it can be tough to keep up with what’s happening online. There’s a number of different ways people try — visiting specific websites every day, doing Google searches, or relying on social media to keep up with what’s going on in the world. One solution that sometimes gets overlooked is an RSS feed.

You’ve probably heard of it before — that’s because it’s a technology that has influenced many modern internet tools you’re probably familiar with.

Check out our guide below to what RSS is and how you can use it in your daily life on the internet.

What is RSS?

RSS stands for “really simple syndication,” or, depending on who you ask, “rich site summary.” At their heart they are just simple text files with basic updated information — news pieces, articles, that sort of thing. This stripped-down content is usually plugged into what is called a “feed reader” or an interface that quickly converts the RSS text files into a stream of the latest updates from around the web.

As internet content became more complex, so did RSS files, which quickly adopted images, video, and more, but still in a stripped down format for easier loading and compatibility across all feed readers. Readers usually automatically update, so that it delivers the newest content right to your device. Basically, this approach allows internet users to create their own online e-zine filled with custom updates from the sites that they like to visit regularly.

I thought RSS was kind of old. Is it still used online?

Yes and no. RSS feeds are certainly still present (more on this later), but you have noticed that they resemble a more modern form of content sharing: Social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other sites have become the go-to option for following sites, watching feeds, and learning about the latest content. Other online options (such as Google News) simply aggregate full links to the latest stories, with algorithms to pick out stories you may like.

The result has been less interest in RSS feeds in the past several years. Online brands already have to post to social media for their marketing goals, and they may not want to take the extra time to convert content into a bunch of RSS files too. This is why a new blog or website may only offer “subscription” content by following them on social media, but no RSS feed. Google doesn’t even like to support RSS feeds anymore, and Google Reader is a long-dead endeavor. However, RSS feeds still have their place!

Okay. So what can I do with RSS that makes life easier?

RSS feeds remain great for an in-depth look at a site’s new content—not just the stuff that gets pushed up on social media. If you are truly devoted to a site and want to see everything it has to offer, then an RSS feed is still the best way to make sure you don’t miss anything. Obviously this doesn’t work as well with all sites, especially very large sites that push up a lot of daily content you don’t want, but it’s still a good solution for traditional, magazine-model sites. It’s a good alternative to social media if you just want the news and articles without all the baggage that comes with having a Twitter or Facebook account.

Additionally, these RSS feeds are often very easy to read at your leisure, and will update even if you are not online, so they are particularly useful for catching up on the news during your downtime. This has grown into a solid benefit with the emergence of well-crafted mobile apps that act as feed readers.

Really? What kind of apps?

Many different kinds! However, some of the most popular include:

Feedly: Feedly can be used for both entertainment and professional purposes (following competitors, keeping up on industry news, etc.). It has a simple interface with basic categories to collect individual RSS feeds, as well as a home page filled with the latest news from everywhere. This is currently one of the most popular feed readers online, although sometimes subject to attack.

Flipboard: Flipboard has won admiration for its beautiful design that looks particularly good on mobile devices. It’s a good choice if you want a more organic, ezine-like way to peruse the latest news from your favorite sources.

Digg Reader: Digg Reader is a traditionally popular feed reader that many people still like to use. One of its best recent updates was a Chrome extension that allows you to instantly add a new RSS feed if you are browsing and come across a site you really like.

What’s the future of RSS?

The future of RSS appears to lie in very specific solutions for certain services. We are currently seeing RSS solutions (and in some cases, solutions that just look like RSS) for things like YouTube channels, weather updates, podcasts, Reddit tags, and even Craigslist.

For example, it can even help you stay on top of something you are buying. Let’s say you are looking for a fridge, a welding job, or a three-bedroom apartment on Craigslist. Just type in your search terms and scroll to the bottom of the page.

In the bottom-right corner, there should be a button that allows you to subscribe to that list of classified ads, allowing you to set up notifications designed to alert you when any new posts are published within a specific category.

This is just one of the many different uses for RSS.

Updated on December 7, 2017 by Tyler Lacoma. Revised page to discuss modern uses of the RSS model.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Flipboard rolls out new features to help boost visibility for publishers
• What is Reddit? A guide to the front page of the internet
• Blizzard teases ‘World of Warcraft’ expansion news coming at Blizzcon 2017
• How to use the brand-new Samsung Bixby voice assistant, and everything it can do
• The 20 best news apps that are fast and fluid on your iPhone or Android

Your home will love this $140 Philips Hue 4-bulb Color Starter Kit

Smart lights are the best lights!

If you would have told me a few years ago that I would have lights all over my new house that I can control with my voice, I would have told you that you were crazy and walked away. Now, that’s the life I live, and I kinda love it.

Amazon is making that life possible for you too by offering the Philips Hue 4-bulb Starter Kit for $139.99, a savings of $60 from its regular price. This is also $20 lower than our previous mention.

• Automate your lighting experience with Philips Hue and control your lights from home or away. Create light schedules from the Philips Hue App and never come home to a dark house.
• Connect to the Hue Bridge, and add up to 50 lights. Expand your system with up to 12 Hue accessories (sold separately), such as a Hue Dimmer Switch, Hue Tap, or Hue Motion Sensor.
• Install the LED lights as you would install ordinary bulbs and pair them with the Hue Bridge, which allows you to control smart-bulb-equipped lamps and overhead lights via the Philips Hue App.
• Control your lights with your voice using Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or Google Assistant. Pair it for home automation with your existing Nest or Samsung SmartThings system.

This kit comes with a Hue Bridge, power adapter, ethernet cable, and four White and Color Ambiance lights. Philips offers a two-year warranty. You’ll probably also want to grab a couple extra bulbs to use around the house.

See at Amazon

Do you carry one or two phones?

Our forum users talk about whether or not they own two (or more) phones.

In 2017 alone, we’ve seen devices like the Galaxy S8, LG V30, Essential Phone, Google Pixel 2, Huawei Mate 10 Pro, Note 8, and a lot of other really incredible phones. Having so many options to choose from is truly something, but for some folks that can’t decide between just one, they choose to carry two daily drivers.

Owning two (or more) phones is an awesome way to test out more of what the market has to offer, but it can also be rather costly.

Here’s what some of our forum users had to say about the two-phone life.

amyf27
12-07-2017 12:56 PM

“

Currently I only have one phone, the Note 8. I did try out an iPhone 7 plus briefly before I got my note as a backup phone and did not care for it. Slightly interested in the lgv30 as a second device but I love this darn note

Reply

mysamsungs7e
12-07-2017 01:17 PM

“

I have the Note 8 and iPhone X both amazing.

Reply

jamezr
12-07-2017 09:44 PM

“

Right now I have he Note 8 and Pixel 2 XL on the Android side and iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X on the IOS side if the fence.

Reply

rsgoldens
12-07-2017 08:32 PM

“

I have a Note 8, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8+

I have a problem, what can I say…

Reply

What about you – Do you carry one or two phones?

Join the conversation in the forums!

An easy fix for Google Pixel 2 fingerprint scanner issues

When a convenience turns into a concern, we get mad.

The Google Pixel 2’s fingerprint sensor is in a perfect place to effortlessly use. But what happens when you put your finger there and it just … doesn’t work? After a few attempts of the sensor not recognizing your fingerprint, the software actually fails out and requires you to enter your passcode to get past the lock screen or password to enter a secure app. That’s not fun — particularly when it happens regularly.

It’s easy to think that the fingerprint sensor itself just isn’t good or there’s a problem with the software. It’s actually likely something much simpler: the sensor is just dirty.

I was having a seriously frustrating time using my Pixel 2 XL. Unlike my smaller Pixel 2, the fingerprint sensor just stopped working regularly. I was consistently tripping the “too many attempts” counter trying to get the fingerprint sensor to work, and even removing and re-adding my fingerprints wasn’t fixing it. I thought the sensor was failing … until I looked closely at it and saw just how much grime had built up on the sensor over the weeks I’ve had it. Ew. But this is totally normal — we wash our hands often because they get dirty, but how often are we washing our phones?

With just a few swipes of a damp cloth, you’ll see the film of grime start to disappear.

If you’re facing the same issue, it’s time to clean up your fingerprint sensor. But first, you might as well start fresh in the software as well by removing your previously learned fingerprints. Go into Settings, Security & location and Pixel Imprint and then confirm your screen lock. Tap the little trash can icon next to all enrolled fingerprints to delete them — now it’s time to clean the sensor.

Cleaning your fingerprint sensor is simple. You don’t need a fancy cloth or special cleaning solutions. For most situations of regular “yeah you get some stuff stuck on there” you can just use a damp non-abrasive cloth or even a paper towel. Remove your case, if you have one, and get the towel damp (not dripping wet). Give the sensor a good little scrub — there’s a good chance you’ll start to see the film of grime come off right away. Without placing much pressure on it, continue to rub in a circular motion for about 15 seconds to make sure it’s all cleaned up.

Set the phone aside and let the sensor dry out. Provided you didn’t soak your cloth to start, it shouldn’t take long. Once it’s dry, open up those Security & location settings again and enroll your fingerprints. It’s very likely that this simple process of cleaning the sensor has just fixed your recognition woes. It completely alleviated my fingerprint sensor problems, and I think it will for you too.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

• Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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Google reported to launch its third music streaming service in 2018

In March 2018, Google might launch its third attempt at a music streaming service with YouTube Remix.

Music streaming services have become a dime a dozen, and because of this, it can be hard to successfully break into the market when the likes of Spotify, Pandora, and even Apple Music are dominating the industry. Google’s already made a couple attempts with its own music streaming solutions, but according to a report from Bloomberg, we’ll see the company’s third one launch next March.

The new streaming service is currently dubbed as “Remix”, and Google has reportedly already made deals with Warner Music Group and is currently in talks with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Merlin to flesh out the service as much as possible.

Third time’s the charm?

Remix is expected to offer on-demand listening for whatever songs you’d like, as well as an integration of related video clips – not surprising considering that Remix will be launching as a YouTube-branded service.

Google first dipped its toes in the music streaming market back in 2011 with the release of Google Play Music, and in 2014 followed this up with YouTube Music Key. Music Key transitioned into YouTube Red a couple years later in 2016, and it includes premium YouTube content in addition to Google Play Music All Access. Because of this, it’ll be interesting to see if YouTube Remix replaces Google Play Music or if Google will try to have both coexist next to each other.

YouTube is said to have been trying to make a deal with Sony and Universal for over a year at this point for Remix, so whether or not we actually get a launch in March remains to be seen.

Google Play Music and YouTube Red are the best deal in streaming right now

Microsoft’s SwiftKey keyboard for Android isn’t what it used to be

SwiftKey on Android is not a good Android keyboard. In fact, it might be the worst one out there.

I was a Windows phone user for years before I finally made the switch to an Android smartphone. I had used everything from the HTC 7 Mozart all the way up to the HP Elite x3 as my daily driver. Back in 2010, when I made the switch from my iPhone 3GS to my HTC 7 Mozart, the keyboard was an obvious standout feature. It was so good.

Windows Phone 8.1 only improved the keyboard with the introduction of shape writing and better autocorrect, and although the Windows 10 Mobile keyboard was a little sub-par when it first launched, it didn’t take long for that old behavior to return, maintaining Windows Phone’s number one spot for best mobile OS keyboard.

But in 2017, that doesn’t matter. But Microsoft made great keyboards, so I would at least expect it to have nailed the fundamentals on Android. It already has a great app launcher, superb Edge browser, Cortana, Outlook, and many more fantastic Android apps to help tie over any Windows phone converts. SwiftKey? Not so much …

The SwiftKey experience

Look at how bad SwiftKey is at showing key popups when typing at a relatively fast speed on Android compared to the Google keyboard. pic.twitter.com/iwAEYNyWMx

— Zac Bowden (@zacbowden) 5 December 2017

SwiftKey is Microsoft’s official Android keyboard. There are just so many things I don’t like about SwiftKey on Android, including its slow, laggy performance that often drops below 30 frames per second (FPS) when scrolling through the keyboards settings. Keep in mind, all my experiences I write about here are on a OnePlus 5T and Samsung Galaxy S8, two of the most powerful Android flagships from 2017. Of course, my issues and opinions on this keyboard may differ from yours. These are my personal experiences.

Let’s start with the typing experience, which sucks. Using the shape-writing function feels slow; the shape writing line animation is often laggy, and the keyboard is terrible at keeping up pace with key-popups. Key-popups are another thing that is disabled by default. Every other keyboard I’ve tried on Android can display key-popups at pace, no matter how fast I type. I find key-popups to be an integral part of all virtual keyboards, as it gives you visual feedback that you’ve hit the button you were aiming for. If the popups aren’t able to keep up, it throws me off my typing pattern, and makes for a terrible user experience.

The actual appearance of the SwiftKey keyboard looks like something out of 2008. Sure, SwiftKey supports themes, and “some” of the themes available look OK. But the default themes are anything but. A lot of them look dated, from back when it was trendy for Android keyboard to look like crap. The keyboard supports custom themes, but I wouldn’t call that anything special considering the “custom” element is just changing the keyboard’s background. There’s no color configuration options, just the background. Other keyboards have way better custom theming support.

There are much better Android keyboards available

I’ve also noticed that the “stats” feature in the SwiftKey app never works. No matter what device I try it on. This is apparent on stable and beta releases of SwiftKey.

I’ve tried plenty of Android keyboards since I made the switch from Windows Phone, looking for one that can at least pretend to compete with the mighty Windows Phone keyboard. I’ve tried everything from Google’s keyboard to Flesky, and I finally found my Windows Phone keyboard replacement. I present to you … the BlackBerry keyboard.

This isn’t a keyboard you’re supposed to be able to install on non-BlackBerry devices, but you can bypass that block if you want to with an app called BlackBerry Manager. The BlackBerry keyboard is hands-down, the best virtual keyboard I’ve ever used on any platform. It’s simple, fast, with great auto-correct and shape writing, and it even has CTRL shortcuts for copy and paste.

The BlackBerry keyboard gets the fundamentals right, and that’s incredibly important. I never tap into a text field and have to wait for half a second for the keyboard to pop up as I did with SwiftKey. I’m able to use keyboard shortcuts I’m familiar with on my PC on my phone thanks to the addition of CRTL shortcut support on the BlackBerry keyboard. How is this not a part of Microsoft’s keyboard offering on Android? And I realize the prediction engine between these keyboards is similar, it’s not prediction I have an issue with. It’s everything else about SwiftKey that I dislike.

Microsoft, it’s time to turn SwiftKey into a flagship keyboard experience on Android. You have the resources to make a keyboard better than BlackBerry’s. Take the excellent Windows Phone keyboard experience, add things such as CTRL shortcut support, more configurable options, merge it with SwiftKey, give SwiftKey a new, modern look, and maybe even give SwiftKey a rebrand. It’s time to start taking your Android keyboard seriously because right now it’s a joke.

I’m not bashing SwiftKey for the hell of it. I’m a huge fan of Microsoft’s current Android efforts, and I really want the Microsoft Android experience to be good. I want SwiftKey to be good. In fact, I want SwiftKey to be the best keyboard on Android, it just needs work before it can attain that status. And sure, maybe SwiftKey is good enough for you, and if so then that’s great, but there definitely are better keyboards on Android, and there shouldn’t be. SwiftKey should be the best keyboard out there.

Now don’t get me wrong, SwiftKey was once the best you could find on Android, but it isn’t anymore. I agree, it was once ahead of its time, but so many other keyboards have surpassed it in quality and performance since then. SwiftKey is falling behind, and Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do because of it. Those who use SwiftKey and claim it to be the best on Android likely haven’t tried the Google or BlackBerry keyboards. They are really, very good. SwiftKey could learn a thing or two from them.

See at Google Play Store