How to find an online match fast in ‘Dragon Ball FighterZ’

Dragon Ball FighterZ is now available, and it’s a stylish and action-packed fighting game that is packed with ridiculous attention to detail. Unfortunately, developer Arc System Works might have taken this authenticity a little bit too far, as you often have to wait an eternity before squaring off against other players online. Even though high server loads, poor connections, and matchmaking issues can impede your ability to play, there are a few different tricks you can use to make the wait bearable. We have some tips on how to find online matches quickly in Dragon Ball FighterZ.

Pick the right lobby

When you first start up Dragon Ball FighterZ, the game will attempt to put you in an “auto-join” lobby with 63 other players. Chances are if you get hung up on the “connect to lobby” for more than a few seconds, you will eventually receive a connection failure notification, and will be forced to find a lobby manually.

When this occurs, pick the region closest to where you live, and choose from the numerous lobbies available. Many will already be at full capacity, but if you see one with between 55 and 60 players, this is usually a good option. More players mean more matches, after all.

If you are interested in joining a particular type of online match, you can also choose a lobby specifically for  “ring matches” or “arena matches.” At the very least, this will ensure you can find players trying to engage in the same match type.

Lastly, if you pick a lobby and it doesn’t work or disconnects you after a few minutes, just move on to the next one. If you select it again, you will likely get the same result.

Open your search parameters

Dragon Ball FighterZ gives you a few different search parameters when you’re queuing up for a multiplayer match. Once the servers stabilize and Arc System Works manages to iron out the issues, these will be useful for finding good match-ups, but at the moment, they are limiting who you can fight against.

When you’re choosing a ranked, casual, or ring match, make sure “connection quality” is set to “anything goes,” as well as “match completion rate.” Multiplayer matches typically only last a few minutes, and we haven’t encountered too many players who are willing to quit. There is also an option in your settings to automatically join any connected multiplayer match, which makes sure you aren’t disconnected by an impatient player.

Struggling to find a ranked multiplayer match? Try searching for a casual match, instead. Occasionally, these will be more popular, or vice-versa, though casual matches won’t earn you “BP” points with each fight.

Search around the lobby

Instead of exclusively playing in ranked or casual matches, consider fighting against players in your current lobby. There are two different options for doing this online: Ring matches and arena matches.

Ring matches are customized fights between players in a lobby that can be set up nearly anywhere — just press RT on Xbox One or R2 on PlayStation 4 to place a ring down. You’ll often find other players place rings down, as well, and the total number of current players in their ring will be listed above their head. If it’s not full, you will likely be able to connect and fight them immediately, but they will often be far above your skill level.

Your other option for quickly finding a match is to check out the arena located in the middle of the lobby. Here, you can queue up to fight in an arena match or watch others duke it out. It takes a bit longer than a standard casual or ranked match, but should you not have any luck with those options, you will usually still be able to fight someone in the arena.

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Sony LF-S50G smart speaker review: A solid Google Home alternative

The options for Alexa- and Google Assistant–powered speakers have exploded, as evidenced by companies adding voice control to any and every device at the last two CESes. As is typically the case when pretty much everyone hops on a bandwagon, there’s some good and a lot of bad. The concept of voice control is still new to a lot of people, so when they do splurge for that first device, it had better work right. Sony’s LF-S50G harnesses the smarts of Google Assistant to do just that, but it’s far from perfect.

Sony isn’t known for clever product names, opting instead for a seemingly arbitrary mix of letters and numbers most of the time. That’s obviously the case here with the LF-S50G. Announced back at IFA, the company’s first smart speaker is comparable in size to the original Google Home but noticeably smaller than the Sonos One (and Play:1). It’s short and compact, taking up a minimal amount of space on your countertop, desk or nightstand. Like much of its competition, the LF-S50G is a 360-degree speaker that blasts sound in every direction.

Most of the outside is a cloth-mesh speaker cover, save for the polished-chrome base. Sony realizes that you’re likely to keep the LF-S50G in the kitchen, so that cover can be removed for cleaning, in case you splash tomato sauce on it while cooking. The speaker itself also has an IPX3 splash-proof rating, so you don’t have to worry about the occasional water spray or spill — just don’t submerge it and you should be fine. One design element that’s kind of unique to the LF-S50G is a clock on the front. The stacked numerals may not be your first preference for a timepiece, but at least you don’t have to ask out loud for the time. It’s not a necessity, but it’s a nice touch, and for me it meant having the option of using the speaker as a true alarm clock.

The initial setup itself is a breeze, thanks to the Google Home app. I had everything up and running in about five minutes. In terms of onboard controls, primary adjustments on the LF-S50G are done with touch-free gestures on the top panel. You hold your hand over the top and, following specific movements, you can adjust the volume, play/pause, skip songs or summon Google Assistant. It sounds good on paper, but these gesture controls were a source of constant frustration. First, it can be difficult to get them to work on the first attempt. I often found myself doing the same movement three or four times (in some cases, more than that) before the speaker got the hint.

More often than not, I just used my voice and had Google Assistant make the adjustments for me. After a few days, though, I did find that actually placing a finger on the top of the LF-S50G before starting the circular motion that’s used to control volume helped. Basically, if you treat the top like a touch ring or dial, Sony’s speaker does a better job of picking up on what you’re trying to do. When it works, it’s great. But the company is advertising “touch-free gestures,” and, for me, they just weren’t reliable.

The only physical buttons on the LF-S50G are around back. There you’ll find options for Bluetooth and turning off the microphone on either side of the power jack, on that shiny silver base. It’s nice that Bluetooth is there, but I only ever used it to make sure it works. Since Google Assistant needs a WiFi connection to work, I mostly employed the LF-S50G to control external Chromecast-enabled devices like… well, a Chromecast and other connected speakers. Of course, you can link your music service account as well, so you really don’t need to beam audio from a phone or computer except in a handful of cases.

Since voice control is what makes the LF-S50G more than just another connected speaker from Sony, that key selling point has to work well. I’m happy to report it does. After spending a few weeks with the device, my gripes with the voice feature entirely have to do with the limitations of Google Assistant. It can’t tell me what channel the Hornets game was on, for example, but it can give me a full list of the day’s games. That’s a question Assistant can’t answer, but Siri can. However, Sony’s smart speaker always accepted my commands, even when it was playing music or there was other noise in the room — I didn’t have to repeat myself to get the point across. Even if I didn’t always get the answer I wanted.

The likes of Amazon Echo and Google Home have visual indicators to let you know the virtual assistant is listening or responding to your query. Sony’s LF-S50G does as well. Four white dots, located just above the clock on the front, light up when you’re speaking a command. And when Google Assistant is responding, all four are lit up together. I’d say 80 percent of the time I wasn’t looking at the speaker when asking it for help, which is kind of the whole point anyway. There’s also a ring of white light around the top that illuminates when you use the gesture controls and the clock numerals switch to volume level when you’re turning that imaginary knob.

Sony beats the Echo in terms of sound quality, as well as the original Google Home. The company has a long history in audio gear, so it’s no surprise its first smart speaker sounds pretty good. Let me be clear: Good doesn’t mean great. This speaker sounds best at medium volume, where it has a good amount of bass and the highs are kept in check. Dial it up to louder levels and the treble starts to take over. There’s no distortion, but the audio isn’t nearly as balanced. Some genres sound better than others — mostly due to the lack of low-end tone. That issue isn’t unique to this device, though. A lot of these compact smart speakers can’t muster enough bass, and as a result, sound quality struggles.

Sony’s LF-S50G alongside the Sonos Play:1

Billy Steele/Engadget

Even though the tone range may not be the best, the LF-S50G makes up for it with clarity. Again, that’s best showcased at medium volume. When I cranked up my go-to playlist for testing audio quality (a mix of metal, rock, bluegrass, electronic, hip-hop and more), some of the detail was missing if the music was loud. As far as I’m concerned, these two audio grumbles aren’t deal breakers. Let’s face it: You’re probably not going to use one of these to power a house party. Google Assistant is the main attraction, but it doesn’t hurt that the speaker also has decent audio — even with its caveats.

While Sony’s smart speaker does sound better than some other Alexa and Google Assistant devices, Sonos is still tops in terms of audio quality. Sure, the Sonos One works only with Alexa right now, but when the speaker debuted, the company promised that support for Google Assistant was on the way. What’s more, the LF-S50G costs the same as the Sonos One ($199), so if you can hold off, you won’t have to pay extra for better sound quality. There’s still no arrival date for Assistant on Sonos One; the company says it won’t get more specific than “in 2018.” It is coming, though, and when it does, Sonos will have one of the best-sounding Google Assistant speakers available — perhaps outperformed only by the $400 Google Home Max. However, the likes of B&O and Klipsch have announced plans to include Google Assistant on future devices, so it’s in Sonos’ best interest to support a second virtual assistant as soon as possible to cater to the Google faithful.

If audio quality isn’t your primary concern, the second-gen Echo and regular Google Home are both cheaper than the LF-S50G, at $100 and $129, respectively. The Echo Plus is also cheaper than Sony’s smart speaker, at $150, but as my colleague Devindra Hardawar noted in his review, improved sound quality and a smart home hub doesn’t make it that much better than the original Echo. As I mentioned before, Sony does a respectable job here with audio, and is noticeably better than the base-model Echo and Google Home. If you’re after something that sounds better, you’ll be glad you spent the extra money on an LF-S50G or Sonos One.

Aside from the somewhat unreliable gesture controls, I have no major gripes with Sony’s smart speaker. Sure, there were some minor frustrations, but some of those issues are Google Assistant–related (like the channel question) and some are just the shortcomings of virtual assistants in general. They’re helpful, but they can’t answer every question you throw at them… yet. The LF-S50G is compact and has an unassuming but attractive design, so it should blend in well on a shelf or sitting on your kitchen counter. For $70 more than Google Home, Sony does offer better audio, a premium I’m happy to pay for. Sure, the Sonos One will offer better sound quality for the same price when the company adds Google Assistant. Right now, though, we don’t know when that will be. That being said, if you’re ready to commit now, Sony’s smart speaker is a worthy alternative to Google’s gear, even with its shortcomings.

NASA will stream Wednesday’s rare blue moon lunar eclipse

On Wednesday, parts of the US will get to view a very special lunar eclipse. While typical lunar eclipses aren’t terribly rare — the next full one viewable from North America will occur in January 2019 — this one combines a total eclipse with a supermoon and a blue moon, making it a sort of moon event triple threat. While not all of the US will get to see the entire eclipse, NASA will be televising it online and giving views from California and Arizona.

A supermoon occurs when the moon reaches the part of its orbit that comes closest to Earth, making it appear around 14 percent brighter, while a blue moon is the second full moon of the month. These three events lining up at the same time makes this lunar eclipse particularly notable.

Hawaii, Alaska and the West Coast will get to see the eclipse in full. But those in Mountain, Central and Eastern time will only get to view the beginning of the eclipse since the moon will begin dipping below the horizon before it’s fully completed. The full event will take over four hours and the moon will be fully eclipsed by Earth’s shadow for around an hour and 16 minutes. NASA will show views from its Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and the Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter Observatory at the University of Arizona. Coverage will begin at 5:30AM Eastern time and you can check it out here.

Image: NASA

Source: NASA

BMW’s new lease lets you drive for ridesharing services

It’s not always obvious, but many car leases don’t allow you to drive with ridesharing services or rent your car to others. And it’s no surprise as to why — the high mileage and varying driving habits aren’t going to help the car’s condition when the lease is over. BMW, however, is sticking its neck out. It’s trotting out a Car & Ride Sharing Lease for BMW- and Mini-branded cars that, as the name suggests, permits either driving for a service like Uber or renting your car to others. If the payments on your 3 Series are a little too difficult to bear, you can make some money on the side.

The service is available in California, Oregon and Washington state right now. The initial selection isn’t surprising. BMW is already familiar with car sharing in Oregon and Washington thanks to its ReachNow service, while California is a hotbed for new transportation services.

BMW pitches this both as an acknowledgment of changing times and a part of its ongoing push into mobility services — it took full ownership of DriveNow the same day as the lease announcement. It knows that leasing is likely to decline as ridesharing and self-driving cars take hold, and wants to make a lease more attractive to those people who do want their own car. And it’s reasonable to presume that this could help BMW in the near term by convincing some people to lease cars they otherwise couldn’t afford.

Via: Roadshow

Source: BMW

Facebook will prioritize local stories in your News Feed

You may start seeing more posts from local publishers popping up in your News Feed. Facebook announced today that it will begin prioritizing local news, bumping it up higher in your feed if you follow a local publisher’s Page or if a friend shares a locally-published story. “We are prioritizing local news as a part of our emphasis on high-quality news, and with today’s update, stories from local news publishers may appear higher in News Feed for followers in publishers’ geographic areas,” Facebook said in the announcement.

This isn’t Facebook’s only shift towards local news. It’s also testing a section called “Today In” that brings together local news stories, emergency updates and local events. And the company also isn’t the only one interested in boosting local news. Google is working on an app called Bulletin that would let local journalists or anyone else write up a story and publish it to the web instantly.

Facebook, which recently announced it would be shifting its News Feed focus away from news and more towards friends’ posts, says the local news prioritization will kick off in the US, but it plans to expand it to other countries this year. “These efforts to prioritize quality news in News Feed, including this local initiative, are a direct result of the ongoing collaboration with partners,” said Facebook. “Our goal is to show more news that connects people to their local communities, and we look forward to improving and expanding these efforts this year.”

Source: Facebook

Soderbergh’s iPhone-shot thriller ‘Unsane’ looks appropriately lo-fi

Director Steven Soderbergh has been pushing the limits of filmmaking in different ways lately. Be it independently releasing his last feature, working with HBO on its interactive Mosaic series, or, now, shooting a suspense movie entirely on an iPhone. How’s Unsane look? Judging by the trailer below, it’s promising. You won’t mistake it for something shot on a RED camera anytime soon, and everything has a bit of a compressed aesthetic, but it works for the story of unraveling sanity and cyberstalking at hand.

Of course, this isn’t the first time a filmmaker shot entirely on iPhone, but Soderbergh is probably one of the most high-profile to do so. You’ll be able to see how iPhone footage looks stretched across your multiplex’s silver screens March 23rd.

Via: Slashfilm

Source: YouTube

Microsoft’s Slack rival helps you find and use apps

Microsoft is determined to make Teams a strong alternative to collaborative chat apps like Slack, and it’s now targeting one of Slack’s strong points: apps. The company is rolling out a major update whose centerpiece is a new app store that lets you find the tools you need, whether it’s a productivity booster like Adobe Creative Cloud or a chat bot. Accordingly, you can bring content from apps directly into a conversation, such as a relevant news story or the weather, and check out what’s happening across your apps in a dedicated space.

The Redmond-based crew has launched a new app of its own, Who, that helps you search for coworkers both by their name or their topic. You shouldn’t have trouble tracking down a graphic designer or engineer when you need them to finish a key project.

Microsoft is also courting power users with the update. You can now control apps straight from the command box, such as searching for a photo. Slash commands (like “/away”) are here as well, so you don’t have to give up all the habits you learned from your IRC days.

The Teams update is, in a sense, an admission that Teams’ original Office-centric focus only took it so far. Many companies see Office as just one part of their tool kit — the upgrade gives those audiences a reason to give Teams a look instead of making a beeline for the alternatives.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Office Blogs

Starbucks App for iOS Updated With New Stores and Ordering Layout, Face ID Support

The Starbucks app for iOS devices was today updated to version 4.5, introducing a refined user interface for locating nearby stores and placing orders.

Finding a Starbucks store that’s close by is easier following the 4.5 update, with an improved map that makes it easier to see which stores are closest to you.

One-tap filters that are better organized offer a faster way to find a suitable location, and when you tap on a store from the available store list, you’re now presented with a map and directions to it.

Ordering has also been improved, with a main menu that offers images of each available product and a more intuitive, easy-to-use layout for drilling down into each food and drink section.

👀🗺☕️

Starbucks for iOS and Android v4.5 is rolling out, with a brand new Stores experience, much-improved browsing in Order, Touch/Face ID working with Passcode Lock, and tons of bug fixes. Let us know what you think! pic.twitter.com/VvXk6oJz0u

— Jason Stoff ☕️ (@jstoff) January 29, 2018

While the iOS App Store update info focuses only on the new store location features, a product designer at Starbucks says the update also includes Touch ID and Face ID support for locking the Starbucks app and a long list of bug fixes.

The Starbucks app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Starbucks
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Apple Maps Transit Directions Now Available in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Omaha, Nebraska

Apple recently updated its Maps app to add transit directions and data for Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Omaha, Nebraska, two places where transit information was not previously available outside of Amtrak routes.

Apple Maps users in Milwaukee and Omaha can now select public transportation routes when getting directions between two locations, with bus lines available in both areas.

Apple has not yet added Milwaukee or Omaha to the website where it lists areas transit directions are available, but it’s likely these two locations will be listed soon.

Transit directions were first added to Apple Maps in 2015 with the launch of iOS 9. Maps initially only offered transit information in a handful of cities, but over the course of the last three years, Apple has worked to expand the feature to additional areas.

Transit information is now live in dozens of cities and countries around the world, with a full list available on Apple’s iOS 11 Feature Availability website.

(Thanks, Geoffrey!)

Tags: Apple Maps, transit
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