Probiotics for the brain? Study could pave the way for anti-stress injections

There’s a layer of living creatures covering each of our bodies, inside and out, from the tips of our fingers to the linings of our intestines. These microbes — many of them good, some of them bad, most of them benign — help us digest food, fend of disease, and contribute to our unique stench when we sweat.

Some promising studies have shown that certain microbes in the gut can have an effect on mental health, making people more or less anxious. So what if scientists could design an injection packed with beneficial microbes aimed at treating mental health disorders?

That’s the question that came to mind for Matt Frank, a psychology and neuroscience researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder, after he and his colleagues injected rodents with probiotics in a recent study. In a paper published this week in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, Frank and his team show that a particular bacterium can encourage a rodent’s brain into a state that resists inflammation, potentially paving the way for probiotic immunizations to treat stress-related mental disorders like PSTD and anxiety. More immediately, it might help treat inflammation-induced memory loss as a result of brain trauma.

“We have demonstrated for the first time that probiotic treatment induces an anti-inflammatory environment in the brain,” Frank told Digital Trends. “This effect of probiotic treatment was robust and long-lasting suggesting that this strain…of probiotic holds great promise to quell the neuro-inflammation associated with a number of disease conditions and disorders.”

The strain used by Frank and his team was Mycobacterium vaccae, an immune-improving microbe, which they injected into male rats. Rats that were injected on three occasions over the course of three weeks showed significantly higher levels of an anti-inflammatory protein in the area of the brain that moderates anxiety and fear.

“These findings suggest that some probiotics are capable of dampening inflammation in the brain,” Frank said. “Inflammation in the brain has profound negative effects on learning and memory as well as mood, thus some probiotics hold the promise of restoring immune balance in the brain and treating brain disorders involving inflammation.”

Frank noted that it’s not yet clear whether the benefits associated with Mycobacterium vaccae also exist for other probiotics, but said researchers are on the case. Frank and his team are now investigating how probiotic immunization encourages this anti-inflammatory brain environment in the hope of unlocking the secrets of how the immune system and brain communicate.

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5.9 million payment cards exposed in massive data breach at mobile retailer

Prominent U.K. mobile technology retailer Dixons Carphone has been the victim of a massive data hack, in which payment details stored by 5.9 million customers were accessed illegally. The payment data was stored in the processing system of Currys PC World and Dixons Travel stores, the latter of which operates in airports.

Dixons Carphone said 5.8 million cards accessed were protected by chip-and-PIN payment protection, and the important card verification value number (CVV) printed on the back of payment cards was not stored, leaving the majority of customers free from immediate worry. However, the remaining 105,000 cards accessed in the hack were cards not issued in Europe and did not have chip-and-PIN protection. These cards were likely used at Dixons Travel stores by airport visitors, but Dixons Carphone says it hasn’t found evidence of fraud in these either.

Steps to avoid any payment fraud have already been taken by the group, and relevant card companies have been informed of the breach, helping to minimize the chances of further problems. In addition to the payment details, the names, addresses, and email addresses of 1.2 million people in the firm’s database had been accessed. The company says this information has not been used fraudulently, but is contacting affected customers nonetheless.

The company has been investigating the breach since July 2017, according to the BBC, indicating a considerable gap between discovering the security problem and the subsequent public announcement. The hack was discovered during a review of its systems and data, according to the firm’s statement on the matter, and it reassures customers the security holes have been closed and there has been no evidence of further snooping.

It’s not the first time the group has had security problems. In 2015 an attack on Carphone Warehouse left the details of 2.4 million customers exposed, along with the payment data of 90,000 people. It was subsequently fined 400,000 British pounds/$533,000 by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) in 2018 — one of the largest fines it has issued. Retailer Dixons merged with Carphone Warehouse in 2014.

At the time, ICO commissioner Elizabeth Denham said: “A company as large, well-resourced, and established as Carphone Warehouse, should have been actively assessing its data security systems, and ensuring systems were robust and not vulnerable to such attacks.” We’d expect it to pay considerable attention to this second, more serious breakdown in security at the company.

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New Steam chat system adds group chats, video, and GIF support

The latest beta release of Steam has a brand-new chat system in place and it modernizes the communication side of Steam as never before. Clearly inspired by some of its contemporaries in the gaming messenger space, the new Steam chat system adds group chats, overhauls friends lists, adds support for videos and GIFs, as well as encrypting its new and improved voice chat system.

Although Steam has had text and voice chat functions for years, as other services have grown and evolved, its feature set, look, and feel have begun to feel quite antiquated. That’s all set to change with the “all-new Steam Chat,” which is not only prettier to look at, but more intuitive to use, and comes with a host of competitive features.

Describing its new chat experience as far “richer,” Valve has introduced new support for pictures, videos, GIFs, tweets, and more within its text chat windows. Users can build up group chats (for gaming or trading) and invite people to them with a quick link. That group can then be saved for later, so every time you login you can connect with whichever friends of yours are online at the time.

When you want to take things further, you can open up the new voice chat system. It’s been rebuilt to be secure and private, with a WebRTC-based backend and encryption, with all voice traffic going through Steam servers, so everyone’s IP address is hidden from one another. Valve also promises much crisper and cleaner audio than before and the ability to quickly launch voice chats from within its new chat groups.

If you’d like to get in touch with friends the slightly more old-fashioned way, you can always tap on them in your friends list. That too has been overhauled though, adding drag-and-drop functionality for easy organizing, a new favorites bar to keep your best pals close at hand, and new information about each player. They’re now automatically grouped by the games they’re playing, and also give you an insight into where in the game they are; No longer do you need to wonder whether your friends are engrossed in single player action, or waiting for you to join them in the next multiplayer match.

If much of this seems familiar, it’s because other chat services like Discord have offered similar features for a while. With this big overhaul though, Steam does at least bring itself some parity with the competition and make its own communication tools a viable option for its millions of gamers. Just in time for the upcoming Summer Sale, too.

If you want to try out the new chat functions yourself, sign up to the Steam beta by going into your account and clicking “Settings,” followed by “Accounts” and then choosing to opt-in to the beta.

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A cure for phone fatigue? Apple’s Screen Time vs. Google’s Digital Wellbeing

As a part of its initiative to help reduce the amount of time we spend on our phones, Apple is introducing a new feature called Screen Time in iOS 12. A month earlier, Google announced a similar feature called Digital Wellbeing that will be baked into its next version of the Android P operating system.

How do the two compare? We break down the features, differences, and benefits of Apple’s Screen Time and Google’s Digital Wellbeing.

Apple’s Screen Time

Your digital report card

To access Screen Time on iOS 12, you’ll have to go to your Settings and then tap on Screen Time. At the top, there’s a brief summary of how much time you have spent using your phone for the day. Below that number are the apps you’re spending the most time on, and for how long.

If you tap on your name at the top, it’ll bring you to a more detailed report. This is where you can see a full graph of your phone usage depending on the time, the amount of time your longest session was, and your screen time during Downtime (which we’ll get to later). You’ll also see a complete list of all the apps you’ve been using and for how long. You can also take a look at your usage for the last seven days as well.

For those who tend to check their phone often, Screen Time has a section dedicated to letting you know how many times you’ve picked up your phone. You can see the total number of pickups and the average amount of times you pick up your phone per hour. It’ll also tell you between what times you picked up your phone the most. For example, our most pickups at one point was 33 times between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Another insight Apple gives you is how many notifications you receive per hour. In the left-hand corner, you’ll see the total number and, on the opposite side, you’re provided with the amount per hour. There’s also a graph that displays the times you receive the least and most amount of alerts. For more detailed information, you can also see how many notifications you’ve received from specific apps.

Setting App Limits

To help decrease the amount of time spent on specific apps, the App Limits feature allows people to set daily time limits. Go to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits and tap Add Limit. There’s a list of different categories, such as Social Networking, Games, Entertainment, and more. Check off a preferred category or two, and then you can set a limit for a period of time.

When you near the limit for an app, you’ll see a banner notification stating that time is almost up. Once the limit hits the end, you’ll be locked out of the app and a page will appear saying you’ve reached the limit. At the bottom, there will be an option to ignore the limit, which then offers two choices: “Remind Me in 15 Minutes,” which grants a bit more time in the app, and “Ignore Limit For Today.”

When a limit is up, there will be an hourglass icon next to the app on the home screen and the tile will also be darkened. That way, it’s easy to identify which app limits have run out. Tap on each one and the same notification saying you’ve reached your limit will pop up.

Downtime and Always Allowed

With Downtime, it’s easy to set a schedule for time away from the screen. To enable it, go to Settings > Screen Time > Downtime and toggle it on. There’s also the ability to set the exact hours for Downtime, which will be applied to all devices signed into iCloud. During Downtime, the only notifications that pop up will be ones you choose under “Always Allowed.” The only app that can’t be turned off is the ability to receive incoming phone calls and make outgoing ones.

When Downtime starts, there will be a notification on your lock screen that states it is in effect. Log into your device and you’ll see the same hourglass icon and notification as you do with App Limits, next to all the apps that weren’t added to your Always Allowed list.

Android P’s Digital Wellbeing

Since Android P is still in beta until later this summer, Digital Wellbeing isn’t completely available for use, but we can still take a look at what it will offer. There are four main components: Do Not Disturb, App Timer, Dashboard, and Wind Down. Here’s what we know about each of the different tools so far.

Do Not Disturb

With Do Not Disturb (which is the only feature currently available), you can block out all alerts. Under the Do Not Disturb settings, you can alter the feature a bit more. This includes muting sound and vibrations, how long you want the feature to be turned on for, exceptions to which notifications you can receive, and more. Do Not Disturb is already available in Android, but the latest version makes it super simple to activate, and it blocks almost everything as soon as it’s turned on.

Dashboard

The Dashboard will most likely be available within the device’s Settings app. Whether you’re sending emails or watching Netflix, your Dashboard will allow you to pinpoint exactly where time is being spent. It can also show how many notifications you received, and how many times you unlocked your phone.

App Timer

App Timer will allow you to set a time limit for how long you want to spend in each app. For example, if you want to use Gmail for about two hours, you can set the limit through this feature. The Gmail icon will becom grayscale, indicating that your time in the app for the day is up. To reverse the limit, you’ll have to go back into your Dashboard and manually remove it yourself.

As of right now, there’s a similar feature available in YouTube while watching videos, which is also present on iOS. If you tap on your account icon and then go to Settings > General > Remind me to take a break, you’ll then be able to select your reminder frequency. When the reminder shows up, you can either dismiss it and resume watching or turn the reminder off via your Settings.

Wind Down

This feature works in tandem with Google Assistant. When you let your Assistant know you’re ready to “wind down,” your phone screen will go grayscale and Do Not Disturb will turn on. Google said this will help curb your desire to tap on icons and use your phone when it’s the end of the day and you’re about to go to sleep. It will return to normal depending on a time you set.

How do the two compare?

Since Google’s Digital Wellbeing isn’t entirely available to test, we could see some more customization options and features once the final version is out. For now, it’s very similar to Apple’s Screen Time. Both provide you with the ability to check on how much time you’re spending on your device, set app limits, and also allow you to set boundaries of the notifications you want depending on the hour.

They also provide visuals for users to see — with graphs that show you the exact times you’re on a specific app. For even more insight, both Google and Apple show the number of times you unlock your device as well. Regardless of which OS you use, you’re given a detailed report of your usage that allows you to evaluate how much time you spend on your phone on a daily basis.

But Apple’s Screen Time (for now) provides a bit more customization. In Apple’s Downtime, for example, you’re able to choose exactly which apps are still allowed to send you notifications and which you can still access. Google’s Wind Down feature relies more on removing color to keep you from wanting to constantly be on your phone, as well as turning a blanket Do Not Disturb on.

At the moment, Digital Wellbeing doesn’t mention any specific features for parents.

One differentiating factor between the two are parental controls. At the moment, Digital Wellbeing doesn’t mention any specific features for parents. With Apple’s Screen Time, parents are able to set up “Screen Time for Family” and can use Family Sharing to get weekly reports as well as set limits on children’s devices remotely. There’s also a Content & Privacy Restrictions section that allows parents to block inappropriate content.

Google does have Family Link, which is a separate app designed for parents to approve and block apps their kids attempt to download from the Google Play Store, see how much time their kids are spending on apps, and give them the ability to lock devices remotely. It’s unclear if this app will be baked into the OS, but until then you’ll need to nab it from the Play Store.

Google’s Digital Wellbeing could have more options when it rolls out, but from what we’ve seen, it seems a tad bare. There’s not much leeway to alter the experience or quickly bypass set limits, which may be the point. Perhaps, Google is keeping it more restrictive to be more effective.

You don’t need to use either of these two services as they are completely optional. We’ll update this story when we get our hands on Digital Wellbeing in Android P.

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BlackBerry KEY2 vs. BlackBerry KEYone: Should you upgrade?

The price you pay for loving KEY.

The BlackBerry KEY2 didn’t have to overdeliver — it just had to deliver. Instead, BlackBerry Mobile listened to the complaints leveled against the first-generation KEYone and managed to address nearly every one of them. There’s something to be said about that.

The KEY2’s improvements are subtle but significant, and are uniformly applied — there isn’t a single area of the phone that hasn’t been affected in some way. At the same time, it’s very much the physical and spiritual successor to the KEYone, and will likely attract a similarly-sized audience; when BlackBerry Mobile says it intends to grow the keyboard phone market with the KEY2, it’s through evolution, not revolution.

KEY2 vs. KEYone What’s the same?

The KEY2 maintains the original’s 4.5-inch 1620×1080 pixel IPS display — and I’m not talking the same specs, I’m talking about the same exact display — which limits the phone to letterboxing while watching wide-angle content in landscape.

But that’s part of the value proposition of a phone like this: it does things differently. BlackBerry Mobile says that no one, including its most hardcore fan base, complained about the screen, and lengthening it to 16:9, or trying to reduce bezel size, would have been problematic for both aesthetics and usability.

Some of the things that stayed the same were good. The capacitive buttons weren’t.

What also hasn’t changed over last year is the implementation of capacitive buttons. Again, BlackBerry doubled down on a set of conventions and stuck to them, saying that virtual keys would have forced them to rethink the display or chassis size, and it wanted the phone to be evenly weighted.

The use of capacitive keys isn’t fundamentally problematic since Google isn’t going to enforce a navigation change to gestures when upgrading to Android P, but it does somewhat limit the KEY2’s upgradeability.

Both the KEYone and KEY2 share a textured back, making the phone easy to grip, and both sport headphone jacks, single downward-facing speakers, and USB-C fast charging.

Both phones have roughly the same sized battery, too — 3,500mAh on the KEY2 and 3,505mAh on the KEYone — which should translate into more than a full day on both phones. We’ve already recounted the epic longevity of the original KEYone, with its battery-sipping Snapdragon 625 platform, and there’s no doubt the sequel will pull in similar, if not better, results.

BlackBerry KEY2 specs

KEY2 vs. KEYone What’s different?

Despite sharing much of the same core design, the BlackBerry KEY2 changes up a significant amount, both internally and externally, from the size of the keys on the eponymous keyboard to the heftier components that adorn the specifications sheet.

For starters, the Snapdragon 660 that powers the phone is more than double the speed, both in single- and multi-core tests, of the KEYone’s Snapdragon 625. That phone was notorious for unwelcome slowdowns and stutters, and despite a fairly good reputation with other phones, the Snapdragon 625 is aging itself out these days.

The processor in the KEY2 is more than twice as fast as the KEYone, and it’s going to be a big deal for performance.

Conversely, the S660 is newer, faster, and better-equipped to handle the considerable multitasking allotment that KEY2 owners are likely to ask of the phone, and though we haven’t used it extensively, will be far less prone to inconsistent performance.

Add to that the 6GB of RAM that comes standard in the KEY2 — double that of most KEYone models — and the newer phone has the potential to rival many flagships for overall peppiness. (It also does somewhat justify the $100 price bump over the original, but we’ll get to that.)

The faster processor and RAM also support the new camera system, and here’s where I’m a bit skeptical (though I’ll defer judgment until I get a review unit in the labs). To accommodate a second camera — a 12MP sensor with an ƒ2.6 lens at twice the focal length of the main one — BlackBerry Mobile had to change out the primary sensor for a smaller one than was in the KEYone.

That particular camera, though not best-in-class by any means, boasted the same module as the first Google Pixel, which had the best camera of 2016. That sensor, an IMX368, boasts 1.55-micron pixels, which affords better low-light photography, has been replaced by one of identical resolution and unknown provenance, with smaller 1.28-micron pixels. It’s not a huge difference, but I’ll be scrutinizing the KEY2’s photography, especially in challenging lighting conditions, to assess any regression.

Of course, having a second sensor means the KEY2 can perform tricks the KEYone couldn’t dream of, like portrait mode and, more useful, telephotography. The rear camera also boasts the ability to capture 1080p video footage at 60fps, an ability earned by the more powerful Snapdragon 660 processor.

There’s something to be said for subtle improvements, like the size of the keyboard buttons.

The KEY2’s design is considerably more modern-looking than the KEYone’s, with angular brushed aluminum sides, a front boasting more integrated sensors, and less frustrating button placement, with the power button now located on the phone’s right side nestled between the volume rocker and Convenience Key.

Looking at the two side-by-side reveals a number of small tweaks, too: the phone is ever-so-slightly taller and narrower, making it easier to paw one-handed, and it’s around 8% lighter, too.

The keyboard keys, now matte instead of glossy, are 20% taller than those in last year’s phone. The keys’ size, and improved clickiness, are among the most important upgrades to the KEY2, and I can’t wait to begin using them. The newer phone also sports a Speed Key, which operates as a de facto shortcut key to anything the phone can do. It’s located where the right-side Shift button is on the KEYone, and I can’t say I’m going to miss the old design much.

KEY2 vs. KEYone Should you upgrade?

The KEY2 will cost $649 USD when it’s released in late June, which is $100 more than the KEYone demanded when it went on sale in mid-2017. Given the slow creep of phone costs in general, some price bump was expected, but $100 seems pretty sizeable. At the same time, the internal specs align much more with flagships we’re seeing from Samsung, Huawei, LG, and others, and BlackBerry Mobile understands its demographic well enough to know that those willing to spend $550 on a KEYone will easily spend $650 on its successor.

Whether that successor is worth upgrading to, though, is not my decision to make. While we won’t know for a while yet whether the KEY2 will be sold directly at U.S. carriers, we do know that there will be a version that supports both AT&T and T-Mobile; it doesn’t seem like BlackBerry will be releasing a CDMA-compatible model at the moment. (There is a Verizon/Sprint-compatible KEYone, if you’re interested in picking one up at a discount.)

If you love BlackBerry phones and were holding off buying a KEYone, the KEY2 will sate your hunger for a keyboard phone running Android. If you have a KEYone, you should probably wait until the company rolls out Android Oreo before deciding whether the KEY2 is a worthy upgrade, since there will be some inevitable software improvements coming to the older model. If you’re in the larger camp that’s loudly scoffed at BlackBerry’s return — are you hate-reading this? — the KEY2 may not convince you to change your mind, but picking one up will offer a much better first impression either way.

See at BlackBerry Mobile

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Are you excited for a manual dark mode in the Pixel Launcher?

Android will soon get a dark mode — if you have a Pixel phone, that is.

Users have long been nagging at Google to add a system-wide dark mode to Android. It’s still unclear if/when that’ll happen, but at least for owners of the Pixel phones, Google will soon add an option for manually turning on the dark theme for the Pixel Launcher that’s currently featured when using certain wallpapers.

As you might expect, this confirmation from Google resulted in something of a mixed bag.

While it’s great that Google’s giving Pixel users more control over how the UI looks, the fact that this is being limited to the Pixel Launcher (which is exclusive to Google Pixel phones) has left some folks a bit disgruntled.

There’s a lot of back and forth going on in the AC forums over this right now, and this is what the conversation looks like so far.

TraderGary
06-12-2018 05:27 PM

“

And it saves on battery life as there isn’t a need to light up all those white pixels anymore!

Reply

Nauga
06-12-2018 06:30 PM

“

If this dark theme weren’t restricted to the Pixel launcher, I’d be all for it. When Google comes up with a dark theme that I can apply to Settings pages and to Android System & the System UI in order to get black notifications, then I’ll get excited.

My guess on an ETA for that excitement: the 12th of Never.

Reply

cbreze
06-12-2018 06:52 PM

“

Bring it on, more choices are always a good thing

Reply

Billy Bob Jimmy Joe
06-13-2018 04:15 AM

“

Systemwide dark theme or bust!

Reply

What do you think? Are you excited for the Pixel Launcher’s manual dark mode?

Join the conversation in the forums!

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Days Gone for PlayStation 4: Everything you need to know

Zombies, biker gangs, and environmental warfare.

Back in 2016, Sony’s E3 press conference ended with a teaser for what we now know is Days Gone. It’s a post-apocalyptic survival game that features zombie-like hordes known as Freakers. They’re massive in numbers and they’re especially menacing in the cold.

But what happened? Why did they turn? What does the future hold for civilization? Those are questions we’ll get answers to in due time, but for now, let’s focus on everything we know about Days Gone.

What is Days Gone?

You’re in for a third-person action survival horror game, something the industry has been quite fond of lately. It’s easy to draw comparisons to State of Decay 2 and Dying Light when talking about Days Gone, but Sony Bend’s take on the genre should offer enough unique elements and fun gameplay to make it worth the stress these kinds of games can induce.

For starters, the game is open world, and while that in itself isn’t exclusive to Days Gone, it’s still rare to see open-world zombie games done right. There’s also this unique blend between hell-on-earth post-apocalyptic mayhem and the chill feeling of playing as a badass biker who still has a reputation to uphold in a world surprisingly controlled by other biker gangs. It’s not Sons of Anarchy: The Game, mind you, but it makes for an intriguing main character and some fresh gameplay ideas.

Your time in the Pacific Northwest is spent as Deacon St. John, a biker turned mercenary who is seemingly only in it for himself at first, but we later learn his drive is fueled by a vengeful quest to make someone accountable for his significant other’s death. Named Phoebe, it’s implied she fell victim to a Freaker attack. These Freakers have been running around for two years at this point, and there doesn’t seem to be any major quarantine.

St. John’s quest isn’t sanctioned by the gang he runs with and they aren’t aware of his plans, so he appears to be all alone in his endeavors. In the trailer, St. John does mention that brotherhood used to mean something in this world, a hint that he may suspect one of his own biker bros was responsible for what happened to Phoebe.

There’s no telling whether St. John has any allies left and whether he’ll ever find any. He’ll at least have his bike, however, which we know will have a bit of significance as far as gameplay is concerned.

Aren’t Freakers just zombies?

That’s what we’re thinking. Freakers are described as humans turned by some sort of plague or contagion which makes them bloodthirsty and rabid. They move fast, and they move in packs. Zombies, on the other hand, tend to move slowly and don’t have much coordination at all.

Mostly, though, Sony Bend is probably just hoping to make their own take on zombies sound unique. For all intents and purposes, these are undead creatures who no longer have any hope for normalcy.

It’s not just humans, either. The wildlife has been infected, too, and they are even faster and more vicious than the humanoids. There will be bears, wolves, cougars, and even ravens looking to bite a piece of your flesh and convert you to a life of mindlessness.

Other enemies

Aside from slaying zombies, it appears St. John will come across other survival groups. Some are definitely hostile, and others may be nice, and you may have several options in any given scenario for dealing with them.

In one of the trailers, it’s shown that you can choose to bypass a sure fight by instead setting up a diversion consisting of a bear trap. St. John throws a rock at the trap, and one of the enemies moves toward it to check it out. After he stumbles into his demise and lets out a big scream, his comrades rush over to help and St. John skates by undetected.

This element of tactical strategy will likely be pushed heavily onto the player as a stealthy approach is typically the safer, less resource-intensive way to go.

Classic zombie survival gameplay

More often than not, these types of games are just as much about managing scarce resources as it is running from or killing hordes of zombies. Expect Days Gone to follow that path.

St. John is a crafty individual in this game. He takes scraps of materials and stuffs them into his bag in order to craft various items and weapons he needs. There’ll be first aid kits and gun repair kits and maybe even bats with nails sticking out of them. We don’t know the full extent of the crafting system or whether Days Gone will keep it reeled in when it comes to the sort of silly weapons you can make, but it’s clear that’ll be a big focus.

St John will face foes under a number of different circumstances. Freakers roam by day or by night, the latter time slot likely having some sort of extra dangerous twist to it. They are also stronger in certain weather conditions, such as snow. And they absolutely can run at him in overwhelming numbers. We’re not talking about dozens at a time. We’re talking hundreds.

As for transportation, St. John will get around on his trusty bike in most cases. This bike isn’t just for show or to make him look good in front of all the zombie ladies. It’s a character all on its own, complete with its own upgradeable skills, traits, and items.

We know you’ll at least be able to manage an extended inventory using the bike, and one of the upgrade paths will likely be to increase its storage capacity. We’re also hearing some sort of Twisted Metal-like upgrades could be coming along for the ride, including wheel spikes, mounted machine guns, or bulletproof tires, though this is all just heresy for now.

The world is your weapon

Thankfully for you, however, the world is expansive in more ways than one. Days Gone is being designed to allow the player to handle Freakers in a number of creative ways. When the crowds get really big, you can lead them into traps within the world, such as a bundle of limber that can be released to crush a big horde, a sawmill, or even a broken bridge.

In that respect, Days Gone is doing some pretty different things. Large-scale zombie killing is usually carried out by miniguns, grenades, or your melee weapon of choice and an infinite pool of stamina, and while those options look like they’ll be well-represented here, these environmental set pieces are definitely set to steal the show.

When can you play it?

Days Gone has officially been given a February 22nd, 2019 release date. It’ll be available exclusively for the PlayStation 4 family, with the Pro model offering enhanced visuals with support for 4K and HDR.

You can pre-order Days Gone right now if you want to ensure you’ll have a copy once that glorious day arrives. It’ll run you $59.99, and there are no known pre-order bonuses or alternate editions available just yet. We’re sure to learn more at E3 2018, so stay tuned!

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• Playing PS4 games through your phone is awesome

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Gaming Mode on the OnePlus 6 explained: Lower latency, longer battery life

Gaming Mode is designed to maximize the gaming experience on the OnePlus 6.

Gaming Mode is an evolution of Gaming DND — which OnePlus rolled out last year — and it offers a more comprehensive list of features aimed at maximizing your gaming experience on the OnePlus 6.

The feature automatically blocks incoming notifications, and you get options to lock the screen brightness to a particular level, limit other apps from using network resources, and much more. Here’s how you can get started with Gaming Mode on the OnePlus 6.

How to enable Gaming Mode on the OnePlus 6

Open Settings from the app drawer or home screen.
Scroll up to the System subsection.

Tap Advanced.

Select Gaming Mode.
Choose apps that automatically engage Gaming Mode by hitting the + button at the bottom.

Select the games for which you want to enable Gaming Mode.

How Gaming Mode works on the OnePlus 6

Gaming Mode eliminates distractions when you’re in the middle of a game, so there is an option to block all incoming notifications. Calls and alarms are exempt from this rule, but you’ll be able to route calls to the phone’s speaker automatically.

A newer addition is the ability to lock screen brightness when Gaming Mode is enabled, which prevents the auto-brightness feature from kicking in during a gaming session. Another feature that makes a lot of difference is Network boost, which prioritizes game traffic to ensure a lag-free experience in FPS titles like PUBG.

Gaming Mode also offers a battery saver option that prolongs battery life by lowering the resolution of a game, and in the High setting, even the FPS. The feature isn’t necessarily meant to be used with fast-paced titles like PUBG, but it comes in handy if you’re playing a puzzle game and are looking to maximize the battery life of the phone.

I didn’t notice a perceptible difference in battery drain with battery saver enabled in intensive titles, but the overall experience was worse, particularly with the High setting enabled. So you’re better off using the mode for games like Two Dots and not visually demanding games.

The OnePlus 6 is one of the fastest phones you can buy today, and Gaming Mode builds on that platform by offering features to cut out distractions and create a lag-free gaming experience.

OnePlus 6

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• The OnePlus 6 doesn’t work on Verizon or Sprint
• Join the discussion in the forums

Ring’s $199 Alarm system is now up for pre-order, ships July 4

Take control of your home security.

Ring has announced that its long-awaited Ring Alarm security system is now available for pre-order with a price of $199. The company first announced the product back at CES, and the kit was expected to begin shipping in the spring. The bundle will include a base station, keypad, a contact sensor for door or window, motion detector, and a range extender. You’ll be able to buy additional sensors to add, and a smoke detector from First Alert will integrate into the system for an additional $30.

The Ring Alarm will integrate seamlessly with your other Ring devices, including the Doorbells, Floodlight Cam, and Spotlight Cams. For $10 a month you get professional monitoring, unlimited video storage for as many Ring devices as you have, and more. There’s no long-term contract and installing the Ring Alarm takes only a few minutes.

In addition to what’s available right now, Ring will also be launching a smoke and CO listener, which is a sensor that connects to the system and will send an alert to your phone whenever it detects smoke or carbon monoxide at your home. There will also be a flood and freeze sensor, and a dome siren which can sound any time a security event occurs. Each of these will retail for $30, though Ring does not specify when they will be available.

You can pre-order a Ring Alarm from Amazon, Ring.com, Best Buy, and Home Depot today, and shipments will begin in early July.

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Save up to 30% on select Gatorade drinks, protein bars, energy chews and more

Recover faster with these.

As part of its Gold Box deals of the day, Amazon has a variety of Gatorade products on sale with prices starting at just $9.49. When you think of Gatorade, you may only think of the sports drink, but the company has a bunch of other great products that help fuel you up for big events, and then recover after it.

These Prime Fuel Bars are down to $9.49 for 12 of them. They are loaded with carbs and a little protein, making them great to have before your next big race. The whey protein bars have 20G of protein in them and are down to $15.95 for 18 bars. For during your race or event, you’ll want some Prime energy chews to keep you going, and right now a 16-pack is $12.78.

The organic sports drink drops to $11.30 for 12 bottles, and to aid in the recovery process, you’ll want this 12-pack of whey protein recovery bars for $11.87. All of these items come in a variety of flavors, though not all of them are on sale today. If you’re training for a big race, or just like to have this stuff around, you’ll want to check out these prices before they disappear.

Not sure if you’re ready to dive into a full box of these products? Give this sample box a try for $7 and get a $7 credit towards a future order.

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