Your ISP can peep on your browsing, so Cloudflare is pulling down the shade

Cloudflare has introduced a new service called 1.1.1.1 that claims to be a faster, safer way to use the internet. In a week of headlines that include finding out nearly every Facebook account has been scraped without consent, the announcement felt timely. The internet grows more and more hostile with every new scandal and hack.

We had a conversation with the co-founder and COO at Cloudflare, Michelle Zatlyn, about why 1.1.1.1 was created, and why a safer internet is needed now more than ever.

In what ways are users currently unprotected on the internet?

Michelle Zatlyn: DNS is this underlying protocol that makes the internet work. It’s how consumers get online, but it isn’t inherently a protocol that had privacy baked-in from the beginning. When we created the internet forty years ago, it just wasn’t baked-in.

What that means is that if you’re buying internet access from most internet service providers — there are some exceptions such as Monkey Brains — but if you’re buying from Time Warner or Comcast or AT&T that have large market share across the United States, they can see what sites you’re going to. Even if you’re going over to a site over HTTPS, which is an encrypted site and a huge trend going on right now, they can see that they’re going to Cloudflare.com or YouTube or Facebook or any other site that people visit every day or every week. Your internet service provider can see the domain. They can’t see what you’re doing on it, but they can see where you’re going.

There was a law that got passed recently by the US Senate, that now internet service providers are allowed to sell that data. The assumption, or the hypothesis, is that internet service providers can now sell that data as another source for ad targeting. That’s what’s happening today. DNS is not secure. When you kind of think of that for a second, you say to yourself, “Do I really want Comcast, in my case, to know every site that I’m going to online?”

What is Cloudflare’s DNS service doing to prevent this from happening?

1.1.1.1 is a DNS resolver. So, if you’re a consumer, you can sign up for this. What Cloudflare is saying is that we will get all the IP logs within 24 hours. And, we’re holding ourselves accountable. We have now a third party — in this case we’re using KPMG, a very large, reputable auditing firm — who are going to come in and audit to make sure we are doing what we say we are doing.

No one else is doing that. No other DNS provider is committed to doing anything. It’s none of our business what you’re doing online. We do not make any money from selling data. We’re not in that business at all, so we’re fine getting rid of logs after 24 hours and we’re going to have a third party come in and audit, to make sure that the public knows we’re doing what we’re saying we’re going to do.

Again, DNS was never built with privacy in mind first. There’s this whole group called the Internet Engineering Task Force — smart technologists all around the world trying to solve this problem. The result is some new protocols that have been developed, such as DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS, and they help make DNS more secure. 1.1.1.1 also supports these new protocols so that as a consumer, you are getting the latest and most secure DNS available without having to do anything. Cloudflare has adopted the technology, and we’re basically making it simple to distribute around the world to help push these protocols that we really believe in forward.

In your announcement, you mentioned working with browser companies. In what ways did you work with them on this project?

There are several browser companies, and in this case we’ve worked with Mozilla, which really has done a lot of terrific work for giving privacy to consumers. Mozilla is an organization that has really pushed to give consumers the option of being privacy-first. Because they are a privacy-centric browser, we’re excited to be working with them to build 1.1.1.1 right into their browser because they love the DNS over HTTPS protocol.

Michelle Zatlyn

You can imagine it’s hard to get all our parents to adopt these technologies, even though they’re better. Mozilla said, “We want to help distribute this to all of our consumers that are using Mozilla.” They’ve been a terrific partner. They’ve been a huge reason why encryption has grown online through their “Let’s Encrypt” initiative — and now this. They loved the idea that we had a DNS resolver that was privacy-first, and so we worked together to bring that to all Mozilla users. It’s not live yet, but we’re working on it.

Are you hopeful about the future of a more encrypted internet? What does that future look like?

Sometimes I’m amazed at how well the internet works. The founders of the internet did an amazing job and they sometimes don’t get enough credit. It’s almost 40 years old. Having said that, the next generation of technology is saying, “How can we improve these things? If we could redo it, how would we do it?”

It’s none of our business what you’re doing online.

People have been working on these new initiatives — and it’s really these protocols like DNS over TLS or DNS over HTTPS. It’s just making DNS more secure inherently because it just wasn’t created this way. We are very optimistic about these new technologies; to see companies like us who are excited to distribute it to our folks who sign up for 1.1.1.1 — and to see Mozilla leaning in and saying, “We’re big supporters of this.”

The adoption isn’t going to happen overnight, but you’re going to see slow and steady adoption of these technologies. We’re optimistic for the future. These are good standards, and that’s going to help the next wave of internet innovation better.

Editors’ Recommendations

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• FCC interactive map shows broadband coverage down to your local neighborhood
• Cryptojacking turns your PC into a Bitcoin mine, but you won’t see a cent

What was your first Android phone?

We’ve come a long way.

Over the past couple weeks, we’ve seen Samsung – one of the world’s biggest smartphone brands – updating a lot of its hardware to Android 8.0 Oreo. Oreo is one of my favorite versions of the OS to-date, as it offers the best user experience ever found on Android, and it’s great that more people than ever are finally getting the chance to experience it.

It’s certainly exciting to look forward and imagine what new goodies and features Android P will bring to the table later this year, but it can be just as fun to look back and see where all of this started.

One of our forum members recently asked the community what their first Android phone/version was, and these are just a few of the responses.

Tsepz_GP
04-02-2018 05:19 AM

“

Mine was Android 1.6 Donut on the then beautiful and powerful Sony Ericsson Xperia X10i.

That phone got 2 major updates; it jumped to 2.1 Eclair and then it skipped 2.2 FroYo and went straight to 2.3.3 Gingerbread.

I to am now on a Galaxy Note8, and cannot believe how far this OS has come. I remember updating my Galaxy S2 to the much hyped Android Ice Cream Sandwich, that was a major…

Reply

mwake4goten
04-02-2018 06:54 AM

“

2.3.4 Gingerbread. Sony Xperia Pro. I feel there hasn’t been much massive advancements since lollipop though. I’m still on 6.0 it’s good enough for me.

Reply

Morty2264
04-02-2018 11:24 AM

“

My first ever Android OS was Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich); on my Nexus 5. But it got updated to Marshmallow (6.0). I loved that phone!

Reply

tgp
04-02-2018 07:52 AM

“

My first Android was an LG Optimus V with Froyo. That phone is a legend! Last I checked (maybe a few months ago), devs are still working on it.

Reply

As for me, my first experience with Android was with 2.1 Eclair on the Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate on Verizon. The phone carried me through 2.2 Froyo and 2.3 Gingerbread, and I’ve still got it in a drawer to this very day.

What about you? What was your first Android phone?

Join the conversation in the forums!

TERA for PlayStation 4: 15 tips, tricks, and other things you should know

Start your journey through Arborea off right with these helpful tips.

TERA — short for The Exiled Realm of Arborea — can be a tough game to jump into. It’s an expansive MMO, so it has a high number of deep gameplay systems to wrap your head around.

The game is now available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for the first time after delighting PC players for years. Whether you’re a veteran returning for action on consoles or a newbie looking to take your first step into the world of Arborea, here are some tips, tricks, and changes you should know.

PS4 vs. PC additions

As we mentioned, TERA has been available on PC since 2011. Those who played the PC version and are returning for the console launch will want to brush up on a few things that’ll be different.

Don’t worry, there’s aim assist

TERA has an action-based combat system, as opposed to the turn-based or tab-targeting systems found in many other MMOs. This means all combat is real-time, and you’ll need to aim and land skill shots, dodge incoming attacks, and more.

All of this can be less frustrating to manage with a mouse and keyboard, but that functionality isn’t currently available for the PS4 version. Don’t worry, though: Bluehole has done a great job adapting these controls for console, including a simple targeting system and aim assist to ensure you aren’t missing your targets too wildly.

You can completely remap your controls for each character you play

It can be a bit daunting to wrap your head around TERA’s controls. There are tons of skills, abilities, and items you can use at any given time. While it won’t completely alleviate the stress of knowing it all, TERA on PS4 lets you completely remap all your skills, abilities, and consumable items to whichever buttons you want.

A solid foundation to begin with is to put all your damaging abilities on the DualShock 4’s right-side buttons, while your utility abilities, consumables, and more can go on the left. Feel free to experiment with this to find your perfect setup.

Premium rewards are character-bound

Folks who buy the founder’s pack or get limited rewards via some other means may be sad to hear this one: they’re all character-bound. What this means is that you can only use those items with one character.

This is in contrast to the industry norm of these items being account-bound, which means that while you can’t sell or trade the items to other players, you can at least use them for all your characters. It’s important you know this before jumping in, as you’ll want to make sure you are perfectly happy with your character before you start redeeming your favorite mounts and pets on them.

The console UI is completely revamped

As you may expect from a PC-to-console port, the UI has to be tweaked a little. With TERA, it was tweaked a lot. The map is different. Your health bar is at the bottom of the screen. You have multiple ability bars accessible with your button of choice. You manage your inventory in a start menu instead of in a virtual bag on your screen. All of it is par for the course for a console MMO, so if you’re migrating from PC then you’ll need to get reacquainted.

Tips and Tricks

Those completely new to TERA will have a lot more to come to grips with, but don’t let that deter you from enjoying all that Arborea has to offer. These helpful tips will make your experience less frustrating and more fun.

Choose your class carefully

It’s worth stressing before anything else: do extensive research on the class you want to play before going all-in on your first character. While you can change your character’s race, looks, and other traits using voucher services, you won’t be able to change their class.

In that same vein, it’s worth mentioning that the weapon system in TERA is not flexible. The type of weapon you can use is determined by your class. Archers can’t use lances, and warriors can’t use bows. Figure out which weapon you want to use, and that’s the class you’re going to have to play.

Take your quests in bulk

You’ll want to pick up all the quests you can at the same time upon visiting each new area. You’ll also want to complete those quests and receive the rewards for doing them in the same grouped fashion. While it can be tough to juggle the humble, yet charming story TERA has this way, you’ll thank yourself for the hours you save not having to trot back and forth to help out the inhabitants of Arborea.

Gear will make or break you

TERA’s leveling system is as standard as they come — you kill things and help people for experience points toward your level — but your natural progression is automatic, meaning you don’t have to make hard decisions about attributes and skill points. The way you get better in this game is to find better gear, find gems to put into that gear, and use enchantments and consumables to give your character temporary boosts.

And please, for your own good, do not buy your gear with gold. You’ll be getting plenty of it from quest rewards and as drops from enemies in the world, and you’ll be plenty strong enough to take on your foes.

Save all the gold you can

Speaking of gold, try to save as much of it as you can, especially in the early going. You’ll need to spend gold to buy new skills upon leveling up, and in the late game, you’ll want to have a nice stash for leveling trades such as crafting, buying materials, and more.

Use chained skills to unleash the full might of your character

Don’t panic when you take a look at your skill tree for the first time and see the overwhelming number of abilities that will come your way over the course of the game. You can use all of them individually if you’re crazy enough, but those not looking for a hardcore experience will find comfort in the chained skills mechanic.

Chained skills are preset combos that your character can easily perform to string all your different attacks together. It begins with you initiating combat with a starter skill, with further prompts after that appearing on screen to allow you to easily queue up other attacks. It’ll help you get the most out of your character without you having to memorize several DualShocks’ worths of button combinations.

Save your strongbox keys

You may come across what is known as a strongbox in your journey, openable only with a strongbox key. As exciting as it can be to open a locked box to see what awaits you inside, you should think about holding off.

Strongboxes contain loot that scales to your level, but the loot isn’t always great. Instead, try saving them for specific strongbox events where these boxes are souped up with guaranteed items with heightened usefulness and rarity. If you can’t help but crack it open before then, though, at least wait until you’re at max level.

You have a one-way ticket to the closest town

Stuck somewhere and can’t figure out how to leave? Need to visit the merchant and you’re too lazy to make the trek back to town? Hit the options menu and use the Unstuck feature. It’s only available every 30 minutes so be sure you’ve done everything you need to before going back.

Gather everything you can

Gathering is a common necessity for crafters in most MMOs, but in TERA it’s worth picking this stuff up every chance you get. Whether it’s ore, plants, essence dust or whatever other collectible materials you find in the world, take them.

Some of them have medicinal and augmentative properties even before you combine them into more potent recipes, and should you take on the crafter’s life later on you’ll be glad to have a deep bag of materials to get started with.

Find friends to play with using guilds

The daily grind can be hard. It can also be boring. Friends help nullify both those pain points. If you don’t have any of your regular friends to play with, try joining a guild. Look for guilds that have similar interests as you, such as one focused on PVP, or one focused on trading. Guilds are also really useful for storing and sharing items.

Tanks and healers get into group content faster

If you’re looking to get into PVE, you should know that there’s a role-based queue, which means the matchmaking algorithm will try to match you up with groups that need a specific skillset.

Damage-dealing characters (otherwise known as DPS characters) are the most common, so you’ll have a longer wait to get into a group for a dungeon. On the flipside, healers and tanks are usually at a premium, so consider playing these classes if you don’t like waiting.

The game doesn’t truly begin until level 65

As with most MMOs, the grind from level 1 to the level cap — 65 in TERA, currently — is more like an elongated tutorial. The game doesn’t really begin until you hit the level cap, with new gear, rewards, dungeons, raids, and more becoming available. It’s at this point where it becomes less of a level grind and more of an item grind. Not interested in that? Well, make a new character and experience the journey all over again!

Are you playing Tera?

TERA is out now for those who purchased Founder status on PS4 and Xbox One. Let us know if you’ll be jumping into the world of Arborea with us!

See at PlayStation

Honor View 10 vs. OnePlus 5T camera comparison: Budget flagship battle

Which phone makes better use of its dual cameras?

There are two phones that come to mind when shopping with a $500 budget: the Honor View 10 and the OnePlus 5T. Both phones boast impressive build quality with powerful specs inside, offer great features like face unlock, and ship with Android 8 Oreo. They also both benefit from dual camera arrays that help them take some pretty impressive photos.

The biggest difference is in how each phone utilizes a dual camera system. Both are a bit unconventional; you won’t find a telephoto or wide angle lens on either phone. Instead, the View 10 features a 16MP primary sensor with a 20MP monochrome secondary sensor that helps pull in more detail and reduce noise. The OnePlus 5T has the same 16MP and 20MP combo, but its secondary lens is tuned for low light photography.

We’ve taken some photos with both the Honor View 10 and the OnePlus 5T to see how the cameras compare.

Outdoors

Honor View 10 (left) / OnePlus 5T (right) — click to view larger.

The OnePlus 5T takes brighter and warmer photos, but the View 10 pulls in noticeably more detail.

I tend to think outdoor photos look best on a slightly overcast day, but the last two weeks in Indiana has consisted of snow, rain, and gray in April, so I’ve had no luck getting any pretty photos of scenic blue skies or budding flowers. Still, the photos I’ve been able to capture show some differences in the ways the View 10 and OnePlus 5T process images.

The 5T consistently shoots brighter and warmer than the View 10. Too often, I find the View 10 underexposes a bit more than I’d like, and I tend to prefer the warmer look from OnePlus. On the other hand, photos from the View 10 generally looks significantly sharper than shots taken with the OnePlus 5T, and text is far more readable — that could be the work of the View 10’s secondary lens pulling in more fine details.

The View 10’s main advantage is the inclusion of Huawei’s Neural Processing Unit built into the Kirin 970 chipset. While neither phone features OIS, the NPU in the View 10 uses AI to help reduce motion blur in photos by predicting when you’ll take a photo and compensating for hand shakiness.

Indoors

Inside, with more artificial lighting, the tables turn a bit. The OnePlus 5T still errs on the warm side and the View 10 remains more cool-toned, but I actually start to appreciate Honor’s higher levels of saturation, particularly with dark subjects like a chalkboard. In the above samples, the chalkboard looks washed out in the OnePlus shot, whereas the chalkboard in the View 10’s image is punchy — maybe a bit too punchy, but it looks better to my eyes. Once again, the text is significantly sharper and more legible in the View 10’s photo, as well.

The View 10 also has a nice trick up its sleeve with its wide aperture mode. If you’ve ever used a DSLR or other professional camera, you’re probably familiar with how aperture works; essentially, the wider your aperture, the blurrier the background behind your subject will be. This is a great way to bring focus to the main object in the shot, and the difference is noticeable in my latte photos. With wide aperture mode enabled, the plants behind my mug are significantly smoother in the View 10’s shot than the OnePlus 5T’s.

Portrait mode

Wide aperture photography is also what the ever-popular portrait mode is based on, and while both the 5T and View 10 offer a portrait mode for taking artsy photos of your friends, they go about it in different ways. I’ll immediately say that I prefer the results from the OnePlus 5T overall, but it’s not a sweeping win.

The 5T is pleasingly natural-looking, with surprisingly good separation around the subject. It does a great job around hair, which is usually a challenge with artificial bokeh effects, though the stitching isn’t perfect — in my samples, the handbag behind my friend is a bit more in focus than it should be, given the different focal plane.

On the other hand, the View 10 produces a much sharper portrait photo, with far smoother background blur and better object separation. Interestingly, portrait mode seems to cancel out the View 10’s cool-toned nature, with roughly the same warmth as the sample photo from the OnePlus 5T. However, there’s significantly more smoothening on my friend’s face, even with the lowest configurable beauty setting.

Low light

In low light, the OnePlus 5T’s secondary camera really shines. It’s designed to automatically engage in low light situations — typically below 10 lux — and more often than not, the 5T manages to pull in more light than the View 10 in the dark. Take the photos of the Emerson Shoppes sign, for instance. The image shot with the OnePlus 5T is dramatically brighter than the one from the View 10, though details like the texture in the bricks are a bit softer on the 5T.

The 5T pulls in more light in the shot of my car, as well — the photo taken on the View 10 is dark enough that my car starts to blend into the street. The View 10 doesn’t have a specialized lens for low light like the OnePlus 5T, so to compensate the camera app asks you to hold your phone steady when shooting at night. Assuming a steady hand, this results in less noise and sharper detail on stationary subjects, but it also means that moving objects will be blurrier than on the point-and-shoot OnePlus 5T.

Bottom line

It’s pretty clear that both phones offer very capable photography experiences, but which works best for you will depend on a couple of factors. If you prefer warmer tones and a more natural portrait mode, the OnePlus 5T may be the better option for you. If you have an eye for sharper details and punchier colors, the View 10 could be your best bet.

Given the choice, which phone would you buy? And what are your camera priorities? Let us know in the comments below!

OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5

• OnePlus 5T review: Come for the value, not the excitement
• OnePlus 5T specs
• Should you upgrade from the OnePlus 3T?
• OnePlus 5T vs. Galaxy S8: Beast mode
• All of the latest OnePlus 5T news
• Join the discussion in the forums

OnePlus
Amazon

Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream vs. Oculus Go: Which should you buy?

Google and Oculus are competing like never before.

As cool as it is to be able to put your phone in a simple headset and be transported to another world, sometimes you need your phone to be a phone. It’s inconvenient to get to the end of the day and be unable to enjoy VR because your phone is nearly dead, or to have to take the protective case off of your phone every time you want to enjoy VR.

The solution, according to Google and Oculus, is to make headsets which have the hardware baked in. Google’s platform, called Daydream Standalone, allows multiple manufacturers to build headsets free from using your phone as a brain. Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream is a prime example. The same can be said of the upcoming Oculus Go, which was announced late last year during the Oculus Connect conference. With both of these headsets expected to land this year: The Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream on May 11th, and the Oculus Go later this year. So, now is the best time to see exactly how they compare side-by-side before considering a purchase. Here’s what you need to know!

Hardware compared

At first glance, Oculus Go is immediately recognizable as an Oculus product. The straps designed to hold the computer-y bits to your face are distinctly Oculus, and that’s a good thing because we already know they work well. The back straps are designed to hug the back of your head from multiple angles, while the front sides of the straps sit on rails that make sliding the headset on and off your face nice and easy. Unlike the Oculus Rift headset, which has separate headphones you pull down over your ears, Go has a pair of small spatial audio speakers on these rails designed to give you sound wherever you are. You can still use headphones if you choose, but this other option is always there.

Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream more closely resembles its Windows Mixed Reality headset than it does either of the original Google-made Daydream headsets. There’s no fabric anywhere — using plastic instead — and the single halo-style strap for the headset is designed to be tightened onto your head with the adjustment wheel in the back of the headset. The advantage of this design is a better distribution of weight and less pressure directly on your face, which is nice when you want to use the headset for a long time. Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream includes a pair of cameras on the front of the headset for Google’s WorldSense features, which allow you to move around in a room instead of the typical seated VR experiences expected from phone-based VR experiences.

Here’s a quick look at how the specs break down:

While it’s clear we don’t currently have all of the Oculus Go details, in a lot of important areas the Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream is a more capable headset (at least on paper). In particular, the limitation to Three Degrees of Freedom (3DoF) on the Oculus Go means you’re not going to be walking around with the headset on. In fact, with no camera on the front like you get with the Samsung Gear VR you’re likely to only want to use this headset while seated.

Software compared

While it’s true both of these headsets are going to offer some of the first phone-free, truly wireless VR setups, the software is going to be very different. Not just because Oculus and Google maintain their own digital stores, but because the approach to how both of these headsets will function is going to be very different.

Oculus Go is being built to be its own platform with its own games, but Oculus is also making it possible for developers who wrote Samsung Gear VR apps to port those apps to this new headset. Since Oculus Go is Android-based, it’s expected that this process will be very easy. That means you can expect many Gear VR apps to eventually make their way to Oculus Go, but there will also be lots of new apps made specifically for Oculus Go. When you go to actually play these games, it will become quickly clear there is very little difference between the Gear VR experience and the Oculus Go experience. In effect, Oculus is making a Gear VR that can be used anywhere without your phone.

Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream is functionally more capable than the standard Daydream experience. The addition of Google’s WorldSense capabilities means there will be games that directly encourage you to jump around and duck like you would a PC-based VR system. Google also plans to make all 250+ of the current Daydream apps and games available on the Mirage Solo at launch, but the long-term plan allows developers to build apps and games with physical space in mind. Eventually, it’s likely there will be more Daydream Standalone apps than standard Daydream apps, and while these experiences won’t be visually superior to your average Daydream experience they will allow for a lot more interactivity.

It’ll be a while before anyone is able to say which headset is going to offer the best games, but it’s clear the plan for Daydream Standalone is considerably more advanced. That having been said, Oculus has a long history of scoring amazing games as exclusives for its platforms.

Which is best?

If you’re looking to spend money on a phone-free VR headset this year, both the Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream and Oculus Go are going to offer some great experiences for two very different kinds of users.

Oculus Go is clearly focused on delivering the existing Gear VR experience without needing a Samsung phone, and Oculus folks have said repeatedly this headset was priced to make it easy for anyone to jump in and enjoy VR. There’s no doubt this is going to be the best standalone VR headset you can get for $199 this year.

What Google is offering with Daydream Standalone through the Lenovo Mirage Solo is something more than what you can already get with a Daydream headset and your phone. WorldSense is all about being able to walk around in your VR world and move as though you are a part of it. You can’t do that with a Daydream headset right now, and you won’t be able to do it with an Oculus Go, either. That tech comes at a price, which is why the Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream is going to be priced “under $400” when it is available later this year.

Choosing which headset is for you really depends on the kind of experiences you want. If all you want is a way to watch VR video and play simple games from your chair, Oculus Go is going to be great. There’s a good chance I won’t ever get on an airplane again without one of these headsets. If you’re looking for something a little more interactive, and you don’t have the space or the cash for a full PC or PS4 VR system, you’re going to want to take a closer look at the Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream.

Update April, 2018: We’ve updated this article with information on release dates as well as the new name for the Google Standalone

Blast away futuristic cybercriminals as the JYDGE! [Game of the Week]

Update April 6, 2018: Check out JYDGE, the best game released for Android this week. Then, celebrate The Masters’ tournament with ShotOnline Golf!

JYDGE

In a futuristic world where violent cyberpunk gangs are a real problem (and the letter “U” has inexplicably been replaced with “Y”) only the JYDGE can save the world from chaos.

JYDGE is a top-down twin-stick shooter that is an absolute blast to play. You are the JYDGE, a cybernetic enforcement officer who uses his Gavel (see: big freaking gun) to dole out justice.

Each level features different challenges you’ll need to complete to progress through the game. In that way, this game has a bit of a rogue-like element to it where you may keep replaying levels with different upgrade combinations until you complete all the medals.

With a game that has you replay levels over and over again, it’s imperative that the game be fun to play with a great soundtrack that isn’t super repetitive and JYDGE absolutely delivers. Check out my full review if you need more convincing.

Download: JYDGE ($5.99)

ShotOnline Golf: World Championship

With the Masters Tournament currently underway at Augusta National Golf Club it seemed only fitting to include a newer golfing game on this week’s recommendation.

ShotOnline is an interesting title in that the actual parts where you’re playing golf are fantastic — the graphics are beautiful, the controls are easy to use, and the game has good potential for fun. The only thing that holds it back, in my mind, is the lengthy tutorial section that just seems to go on and on.

Fortunately, if you’re planning to bunker down and watch golf on TV all afternoon, you can passively play this game at the same time. The key feature in this game seems to be the Betting Challenge which lets you challenge online opponents to 1-vs-1 challenges in real-time. Use your winnings to upgrade your equipment and attire to improve your stats.

If you’re a fan of golf games and have the patience to outlast the tutorial section, you should have some fun with this game!

Download: ShotOnline Golf World Championship (Free w/IAPs)

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Grab an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet and Echo Dot for just $150 together

Get a nice tablet and a free Echo Dot basically.

Buy Amazon’s Fire HD 10-inch 1080p 32GB tablet for $149.99 and get a second-generation Echo Dot for free. The tablet costs $150 on its own. The bundle discounted to $150 just means you’re getting the Echo Dot for free, which is usually worth around $50.

The tablet has a 10.1-inch display with 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, a 1.8 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, and up to 10 hours of battery life. It has stereo speakers, Wi-Fi, and Alexa built right in. It will integrate instantly with the Echo Dot it comes with. You can add up to 256GB storage with the micro SD card slot.

See on Amazon

Google Chrome now makes it dead simple to add emojis in Chrome OS

The shortcut’s also available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

If you own a Chromebook, chances are you’ve been infuriated at one point or another when trying to add an emoji to Twitter, Hangouts, an email, etc. You can technically do so by opening up the on-screen keyboard, but the process is cumbersome and not a great solution by any stretch of the imagination.

However, in the latest version of Chrome Canary, you’ll find a new shortcut that allows you to add emojis to your conversations with just a couple clicks.

Spotted by 9to5Google, this new feature is referred to as the Emoji Context Menu and is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux in addition to Chrome OS.

Assuming you’ve already got Chrome Canary, you’ll need to turn on the feature by going to chrome://flags, search for “emoji”, and then enable chrome://flags/#enable-emoji-context-menu.

Once this is done, you can add emojis by right-clicking inside a text-entry field and selecting the new “Emojis” option.

It’ll probably be a few weeks before this feature makes its way to the stable version of Chrome, but even so, it’s plenty exciting to know that something like this is in the works.

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Best free apps for Google Daydream

It’s time to take phone based VR experiences to the next level with Google Daydream.

Google Daydream is now in its second iteration and it has brought a huge catalog of VR games to the mainstream. A lot of the free content can be bad, some can be awful but there are quite a few gems if you know where to look. The place to look is just below this sentence.

LEGO Brickheadz Builder VR

LEGO has made it’s arrival in VR in this simple, but fun game. You’ll be able to unlock new LEGOs by completing formulas in the big golden book, watch as your Brickheadz interact with each other, and even customize the way they look and act. Of course, you also have access to building items with LEGOs from within the app. You can free-build, or use patterns in order to create specific items for your Brickheadz to interact with.

LEGO Brickheadz brings the simple magic of building your imagination to VR. While it’s a simple game, it’s great for any age and can bring back the magic of LEGOs, no matter how old you may be.

Download LEGO Brickheadz Builder VR (free)

PolyRunner VR

If you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced game on this list, then you’re in luck. PolyRunner VR is a space runner game that quickly becomes addictive as you fly through a variety of environments. The graphics are sweet and simple, allowing you to enjoy the experience without getting lost in the landscape as you go. The terrain changes as you go, and you’ll be able to pick up power-ups and boosts to help you along the way.

This is an easy game to pick up, but a difficult one to master. PolyRunner will have you hooked on flying before you even know it, especially in first-person mode.

Download PolyRunner VR (free)

Within

One of the easiest ways to experience new things in VR is with 360-degree videos, and that is exactly what Within delivers. You can watch great content from outlets like NBC, Vice Media, and The New York Times, as well as great music experiences from the likes of U2 and Muse. There’s a ton of content for you to enjoy and explore – plenty of which will introduce you to new and fantastic experiences.

If you enjoy using VR to experience new things, then Within has a great catalog for you to peruse and explore with hours of excitement waiting.

Download Within (free)

Fulldive VR

While there are plenty of different apps that will deliver you great 360 degree videos, however very few have as large of a library as Fulldive VR. There are dozens of videos, in multiple categories, making it easy to find the type of content that you are looking for. There is also a way to see what videos your friends have been watching, and even upload your own videos to watch from within Fulldive VR.

Whether you want something popular, funny, scary, or even sexy, there is a video here for you. With tons to explore, Fulldive VR has a video for everyone.

Download Fulldive VR (free)

Wonderglade

Wonderglade gets amazing reviews on the Google Play Store, and they’re completely justified. The game transports you to a brightly colored, adorable carnival, where you can play zany mini-games. This a great game to show off the various capabilities of the Daydream headset and controller, as it uses a lot of different functions from both devices.

Particularly popular are the mini-putt game, and the basketball game “Hamster Hoops.” Overall, the game is extremely polished for a free offering and easily rivals a lot of the paid Daydream games. Beyond that, it’s simply fun to play.

Download Wonderglade (free)

The Turning Forest

Don’t let The Turning Forest’s fairytale theme convince you that this game is for children; it’s a truly enjoyable experience for all ages. With bright colors and a deliberately simplistic style, the game is beautiful to look at. Where it really shines, though, is spatial audio. Break out a good pair of headphones and enjoy both the soundtrack as well as the music you’ll make with your Daydream controller. Then hand it over to the nearest child and watch their sense of wonder.

Download The Turning Forest (free)

Google Arts and Culture VR

We could easily devote an entire article to all the great Google apps for Daydream VR, but one of their less famous apps is actually one of their most interesting offerings. Arts and Culture VR allows you to explore artwork from around the world. In addition to being able to zoom in, and look from different angles, you get access to audio guides from museum curators.

This app is the perfect option for people who love art but hate crowds or leaving their house.

Download Google Arts and Culture VR (free)

Horizons

Horizons is another interactive auditory experience for Daydream that will make you want to grab your good headphones. Use your Daydream controller to control a flock of birds in order to navigate the world around you. As you manipulate them, the music and visuals will change in real-time, giving you full control over the environment. In addition to flying over mountain ranges, you can dive under the water for a slower experience. Horizons is great mindless entertainment to unwind after a tough day.

Download Horizons (free)

Altspace VR

Tired of interacting in the real world? Give Altspace VR a try! Choose an avatar for yourself and interact with other people from around the world. Attend various in world events like comedy shows, DJ performances, and more. You can also play one of it’s over 30 in-game activities with your newfound VR friends. The app also works in non-VR mode, so you can keep in touch even when you’re not near your headset.

Download Altspace VR (free)

Twilight Pioneers

Twilight Pioneers is an Eastern-style fantasy ARPG where the main character must use swords and spells to save the day. You are tasked with stopping a Dark Lord, who travels throughout time collecting the worst evils. When the magical being Longxia is imprisoned, it’s up to you to travel through time, collect Dragon Souls, save Longxia, and stop the Dark Lord.

Download Twilight Pioneers (free)

What are your favorite free Daydream games?

Do you think there is a fantastic free app for Google Daydream that we missed here? Drop us a line in the comments.

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Flamingo, one of the best Twitter clients on Android, is dead

Twitter’s obnoxious token system strikes again.

As many improvements as the official Twitter app has seen over the years, it’s still far from perfect. The user experience can easily be hampered by unrelenting ads and an algorithm that can be absolutely maddening at times, and as such, many users like myself have found solace in third-party clients.

Some of the big names for these apps include Talon, Falcon Pro, and Fenix. Flamingo used to be among the ranks as one of the best Twitter clients around, but that’s no longer the case as it’s been removed from the Google Play Store.

Flamingo’s developer Sam Ruston broke the news on Twitter when answering a user’s question as to why the app wasn’t showing up in the Play Store, saying –

Very close to the token limit so it has been unpublished. You can still download it if you have purchased it previously by looking in the My Apps section of Google Play

— Sam Ruston (@Sam_Ruston) April 4, 2018

That “token limit” that Ruston mentions has been the bane of existence for a number of Twitter clients over the years. Twitter essentially creates x amount of tokens for third-party developers, with each new download of the app resulting in one token. Once a certain limit is reached, the app won’t work for new users. It’s a terrible system, and it’s now caused one of the most customizable and polished clients to be put to rest.

People that have already purchased Flamingo can still download and use it by going to your “My Apps” page in Google Play, and Ruston’s noted that “there are no immediate plans for a sequel.”

RIP, Flamingo 💔

Best Twitter Apps for Android