Itching for a new PlayStation VR game? Here are October’s new releases!

Here are the unreleased VR games that we can’t wait to hit the market this year.

PlayStation VR is becoming a much larger VR platform, and with that comes a lot more games. With PlayStation unleashing new games almost every month, it’s hard not to be excited by seeing what has already been released. Here are some of the unreleased VR games that we’re most excited about that are releasing in October of 2018!

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission

Coming October 2

Astro Bot isn’t going too far out of the way to feel like a VR game, but it does give an interesting perspective. With this title, it feels like a platformer that you’ll get a 360-degree view of, but you still play the game with your regular DualShock controller. Don’t let the lack of VR qualities lose you, though. This game still looks like a whole lot of fun, just look at the trailer!

You can pre-order this title on Amazon for $40.

See on Amazon

Gungrave VR

Coming November 20, 2018

Gungrave VR is, as you guessed it, a VR shooter game. Here you’ll take on the identity of a local hero who is trying to save the world from SEED Infectees ( a hellish drug). This is a VR sequel of the original game that released in 2002 from developers over at Red Entertainment.

You can pre-order this title on Amazon for $40.

See on Amazon

Which VR game are you looking forward to?

Is there a VR game on this list that really caught your eye? Let us know down in the comments or shoot me a Tweet @OriginalSluggo!

Updated October 2018: We’ve updated this article with brand new games we’re excited to see in October 2018!

PlayStation 4

• PS4 vs. PS4 Slim vs. PS4 Pro: Which should you buy?
• PlayStation VR Review
• Playing PS4 games through your phone is awesome

Amazon

Does the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ support I2C?

Best answer: Yes. The Raspberry Pi supports the I2C interface through its GPIO header. It’s disabled by default so you’ll need to enable the hardware and install some utilities before you can use it.

Amazon: Raspberry Pi 3 B+ ($40)

What’s an I2C interface?

The I2C interface (it’s actually I²C or I-squared-c but nobody wants to type that, hence the nickname) is the end point of an inter-integrated circuit serial bus that doesn’t need high-speed communication. The transmission is synchronous and packet-switched and can host multiple masters and multiple slave devices on the same bus. You’ll find it used anywhere. Simplicity is more important than speed and it’s commonly used for attaching sensors or monitoring equipment.

For hobby applications, the I2C bus is commonly used to attach a PC board to an LCD. An I2C backpack board can trim the number of connections needed from 16 down to two, and with I/O pins always in short supply, that makes the I2C bus very valuable for many projects. To learn more about the I2C bus and Serial communications in general, Sparkfun has a great primer to get you started.

Using the I2C interface on the Raspberry Pi

By default, your Raspberry Pi has the I2C interface disabled. Don’t worry, it’s easy to enable it.

You’ll use the same configuration tool you saw when you first turned on your Raspberry Pi. To bring it back, type sudo raspi-config from the command line. You’ll find the option to enable the I2C option under Interfacing Options.

After a reboot, you can then install any utilities and debugging tools such as i2c-tools or the python-smbus libraries through the standard package manager using the apt-get command. Your project and the coding language you’re using will determine exactly what extras you’ll need to communicate over the I2C bus using the standard GPIO pins on your Raspberry Pi 3 B+.

Our pick

Raspberry Pi 3 B+

$40 at Amazon

Includes legacy bus communications

The Raspberry Pi 3 B+ supports many different types of serial communication through its GPIO pins, including the I2C interface. This is one of the reasons we love this little single board computer!.

Friday the 13th is free with PlayStation Plus now!

These are the free games you can get right now with your PlayStation Plus membership.

One of the biggest perks of having a PlayStation Plus membership is the free games you get every month. I’ve got a list of the games PlayStation is offering this month, and it includes some popular AAA titles. Start downloading these games, and enjoy your free games for the month of September!

PlayStation 4 free games this month

• Friday the 13th
• Laser League

PlayStation 3 free games this month

• Master Reboot
• The Bridge

PlayStation Vita free games this month

• Rocketbirds 2: Evolution
• 2064 Read Only Memories

PlayStation VR free games this month

• Here They Lie

Full game line-up

Read on below to see some quick previews of the games you get for free this month!

Friday the 13th

Get into the Halloween spirit by turning up your inner spooky. Then take it out on your friends in this thrilling multiplayer game for the PlayStation 4. Take out all your frustrations of the workday with a machete, what could possibly go wrong?

If you’re not a PlayStation Plus member you can find this title on Amazon for $25.

See at Amazon.

Laser League

Collect your power-ups and take out your enemies, but watch out for those harmful beams of enemy lights. With 6 classes to choose from and 12 different maps, the possibilities of fun are seemingly endless. Bring your friends, this is a multiplayer adventure!

If you’re not a PlayStation Plus member you can find this title on the PlayStation Store for $15.

See on PlayStation Store.

Master Reboot

This title is set in a dystopian future where the memories of the living are uploaded to a cloud memory to be downloaded at any point. This makes the idea of immortality very real as the people’s souls can be downloaded to a being in order to continue living on.

If you’re not a PlayStation Plus member you can find this title on the PlayStation Store for $15.

See on PlayStation Store.

The Bridge

Find everlasting confusion with this title. The Bridge is a puzzle game of the mind, testing what you think is reality and daring you to step out of the bounds of normal thinking to progress to the next level.

If you’re not a PlayStation Plus member you can find this title on the PlayStation Store for $10.

See on PlayStation Store.

Rocketbirds 2: Evolution

In this side-scroller, you play the role of a chicken who’s here to rescue fellow chickens from becoming dinner. This hilarious title is just as entertaining in the silly puns as it is with their combat system. Collect your upgrades and get to killing!

If you’re not a PlayStation Plus member you can find this title on the PlayStation Store for $10.

See on PlayStation Store.

2064 Read-Only Memories

The year is 2064 and you’re a struggling journalist with a trusty robot sidekick. Go through the everyday life of a collapsing humanity to learn where technology is taking them in their future, as well as discovering the citie’s deepest secrets.

If you’re not a PlayStation Plus member you can find this title on the PlayStation Store for $20.

See on PlayStation Store.

Which is your favorite game you’ve gotten for free with PlayStation Plus?

Let us know which game you’ve loved and which one you’re excited about this month! Drop a comment below or shoot me a Tweet and tell me all about it!

Updated October 2018: We’ve added the free games for this month!

PlayStation 4

• PS4 vs. PS4 Slim vs. PS4 Pro: Which should you buy?
• PlayStation VR Review
• Playing PS4 games through your phone is awesome

Amazon

Google finally gets it right with Wear OS 2.0

It’s not perfect yet, but it’s looking like Google finally got their UI right for wearables.

AC
Score
4.5

Wear OS, Google’s smartwatch platform has not had an easy life. It’s been blasted and bemoaned for a clunky UI, and its watches — powered by long-outdated chipsets — have fallen further and further and further behind the Apple Watch, in performance, in style, and most starkly in fitness and health. WearOS got a name change last year, but what it needed was an overhaul of how it actually worked.

In August, Google announced that overhaul was indeed coming to most current Wear OS watches, and last week, it began to trickle out in a slow public release. This new UI promised a simpler, streamlined experience: the recently redesigned Google Fit would be a single swipe away, as would a quicker, better Google Assistant.

Well, Google has delivered on its promise, and the future for Android wearables is looking brighter than ever.

About this review

I have tested and tinkered with the new Wear OS 2.0 update for about 36 hours after receiving it Monday morning on my TicWatch Pro, which I have been wearing for over three months. I have been a consistent Wear OS user since the original Moto 360, using an original Huawei Watch, LG Watch Style, TicWatch E, and TicWatch Pro over the last 4 years, using it primarily for notifications, quick replies, media controls, Google Keep grocery lists, and TicHealth’s hourly reminders to take a break and some steps.

Swipe for sanity

Wear OS 2.0’s condensed UI brings efficiency and simplicity

Wear OS’s previous incarnations were a bit of a hot mess. If you swiped left or right on the watch face, you’d swap to another watch face. Each notification was its own card and its own slide on a Rolodex of a feed. The app drawer was a dense carousel, and Google Assistant could only be summoned by pressing and holding the power button. Now, the main Wear OS UI has been simplified into a cross of sorts:

• Center: watch face — To swap or customize the watch face, long-press the face.
• Top: Quick Settings — Toggles: Airplane mode, Battery saver, Theater mode, Do Not Disturb, Play/Pause music. Shortcuts: Settings menu, Google Pay tap-and-pay, Music controls
• Right: Fitness app — For most watches, this will be the redesigned Google Fit, showing your progress on Move Minutes and Heart Points and a shortcut for starting a new Workout.
• Bottom: Condensed notification feed — No more wasted space! Tap a notification to expand them in-line and reveal any actions and quick reply suggestions.
• Left: Google Assistant — Voice prompt icon at the top of a Google Now-like feed, showing search and command suggestions based on location, weather, time, and upcoming trips or deliveries.

It’s hard for me to say which one of these improvements is the most useful, because they’re all much better than they were — well, except for TicHealth’s paltry replacement of Google Fit, but that’s an anomaly most users won’t have to deal with. It’s also one I hope Mobvoi changes quickly. The condensed notification feed is much easier to sift through, and the new Assistant feed makes it much quicker to initiate searches or check on upcoming items like flights and reservations.

Everything is quicker to get to and easier to use.

Quick Settings has more than doubled in usefulness, and the addition of Google Pay and music is especially gratifying. Now, playback controls won’t get buried under a mountain of new messages — or accidentally cleared away with them — and tap-and-pay can be easily summoned without leaving your current app or activity. The sound toggle is a welcome addition, as well, sitting somewhere between Do Not Disturb and Theater mode on the scale of interruption control.

This update also fixed several recent bugs that had been creeping into Wear OS, such as music not appearing in the Now Playing complications on watch faces. Overall, responsiveness and speed seem to have picked up a little, too, even if the biggest benefits of Wear OS 2.0 are going to be reaped by upcoming watches with the new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip.

Usability, at last

Still shaking off the shackles of Wear OS’s sluggish past

While the main UI has seen a definite upgrade here, it doesn’t reach to every corner of the system yet. Most apps seem to load a tiny bit faster, but the Google Play Store, in particular, is still a hot mess: slow to load, slow to download apps and updates, and a complete pain to try and look for apps or watch faces on. Google Keep and Nest have been quicker to load, and even data-intensive RadarScope has been zippier when switching radar sites and adjusting the positioning, but Google Play is clunky and just as hard to navigate as ever.

Another area that has seen little improvement on current devices — but should see a boon on new models — is voice prompts. There has been a small bump in the speed of voice recognition, but Wear OS is still slow to start listening, missing the first half-sentence of spoken replies on my TicWatch when trying to reply to Hangouts and Slack messages. The Wear 3100 has specific hardware improvements that Wear OS will be able to easily capitalize on, but for those of us who already have a smartwatch, things are at least a tiny bit better. Thank Google for small mercies, I suppose.

It’s still way better than actually trying to type on a smartwatch.

Assistant ascending: Google’s AI is finally usable on your wrist

Google Assistant in the previous incarnations of Wear OS was entirely reliant on voice, and even worse, reliant on a long-press reaction to summon up the voice prompt screen. The Google Assistant feed might not be something you use all the time, but being able to swipe over and tap that microphone icon in half a second is worlds better than pressing a hardware button for two seconds and waiting another 2-5 seconds for Assistant to load and start listening.

With the feed and its suggestions, as well as the slightly speedier voice prompts, Google Assistant is finally, feasibly functional on your wrist.

Software’s fixed, time for hardware

A new day for Wear OS watches, old and especially new

Wear OS 2.0 might still have some small, slight imperfections to work out, but by and large, this is the Wear OS that we’ve been waiting years for. No more swiping through card after card of individual notifications, no more accidentally switching watch faces, no more waiting eons for Google Assistant. This update will breathe new life into almost all of the Wear OS watches on the market today.

4.5
out of 5

For those who have long-since given up hope on the platform, they might actually change their tune once we see how a Wear OS watch performs with this snappier new UI and Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip sipping battery and sliding through a busy week on a single charge.

Google Wear OS

• The best Wear OS smartwatches
• Discuss Android Wear in the forums!

Navigate and control your phone with Voice Access

Welcome to truly hands-free smartphone control.

Using your phone hands-free is a luxury to most of us. We cheer when Google Assistant can start a timer while we’re washing sticky dough or slimy meat juices off our hands, or helps us make a call without taking our eyes off the road, or rewinds the music while we’re jamming out in the shower. For millions with dexterity, motor, and mobility impairments, hands-free is the only way they can interact with a smartphone or computer, and the Google Accessibility team has worked with these users to develop Voice Access, an accessibility service that can allow users to navigate their phones and complete more tasks morre quickly with voice controls.

Voice Access ties into Google Assistant, allowing users to navigate through apps and menus, compose and edit messages and text documents, and complete more tasks than ever before thanks to a new level of granular control. Voice Access lets you translate voice commands into button presses, page scrolls, and precise item selection.

Look at the home screen screenshot with Voice Access turned on. Every app, every touch shortcut in a widget, everything on the screen is given a numeric assignment, allowing you not just to say “Open Maps”, but to say “Click 8” to open the weather shortcut in the At a Glance widget, or “What is 12” to figure out what that option is. It’s not perfect in every app yet — and it didn’t work at all in some games I tried to navigate with it — but it’s a great start and I’m sure more improvements are coming.

The best part of Voice Access might be that it’s insanely easy to start and stop once you’ve installed it and given it Accessibility permissions. The voice access numbers that appear on every target disappear the second you touch the screen, but they return when you say “OK Google” or tap Voice Access’s “Touch to start” persistent notification.

Because Voice Access integrates with Google Assistant and is easy to turn on and off, this app is handy not just for people with mobility issues, but for everyone who uses Android. Voice Access is a 10 MB app that everyone should download and play with at least once, because — heaven forbid — if you break your hands in a car crash or a workplace accident, Voice Access might become the most important app on your phone.

Voice Access at Google Play

Binge-watch anywhere with the $250 ViewSonic M1 Portable Projector

At less than two pounds, this lightweight projector is a perfect option for your travels.

The ViewSonic M1 Portable Projector is available at Amazon for $249.99 when you enter promo code 50OFFM1 during checkout. That’ll save you $50 off its regular price which has never seen a direct discount before.

ViewSonic’s M1 projector was designed to be taken on-the-go and moved from room-to-room easily. It’s capable of projecting a screen up to 100 inches tall with its short throw lens and features built-in dual Harman Kardon speakers and internal storage of 16GB, along with an integrated battery which can last for up to six hours on a single charge.

The projector can even act as a portable charger itself to power up mobile devices via its USB-C port. It weighs less than two pounds and includes HDMI and USB-A ports, along with a micro SD card slot to offer even more playback options. Having a device like the Amazon Fire TV stick plugged in would be a smart idea so you can access streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu.

A limited three-year parts and labor warranty is included with this purchase, as well as one year of light source coverage. A few months ago, this projector earned the WC Choice award and a rating of four out of five stars in its review over at Windows Central.

See at Amazon

Where can I find a Jaybird X4 replacement charger?

Best answer: If you need a replacement charger for the Jaybird X4, you can buy one directly from Jaybird for just $5.

Jaybird: X4 Charge Clip ($5)

Buy the charging clip direct from Jaybird

It’s quite possible that, as a Jaybird X4 earbud owner, you’re going to need a replacement charger. The earbuds use a proprietary charging clip that snaps onto the bottom of the in-line controls. It gets the job done, but it’s another cable to keep track of. It’s also small, so the chances you’ll lose the charger are high.

If you find yourself needing to buy a replacement charger, do yourself a favor and just buy it directly from Jaybird. There are quite a few sellers on Amazon offering it as well, but the high markups you’ll find are ridiculous (even with Prime shipping).

Jaybird directly sells replacement charging clips for $5, and at that price, you really can’t complain much at all.

Be mindful of the shipping fee

While that low price is great, you’ll pay a bit more if that’s all you’re ordering.

Jaybird charges for shipping on any orders less than $30, and if you get standard shipping (4-7 business days), you’re looking at another $6.15 charge.

The total is still cheaper than anything you’ll find on Amazon, but don’t be surprised to see that you’re not paying a flat $5.

You won’t have to use it that often

If you’ve spent any amount of time using the Jaybird X4, you’ll know that you really don’t have to mess with the charging clip that much.

Jaybird rates the X4 for eight hours of playback on a single charge, and in our testing, we saw between 8-10 hours of use! That single charge is going to give you one hour of use after 10 minutes, so you’ll be able to get up and go quickly.

Get back to your tunes!

The charger on the X4 is mighty easy to lose, so whether you need a new one ASAP or just want a spare in case something goes wrong, we recommend buying a replacement right from Jaybird.

Our pick

Jaybird X4 Charge Clip

$5 at Jaybird

The official replacement charger for your X4.

If you lose your X4 charger or just want another one for backup, the replacement charge clip that Jaybird sells directly is the way to go. It costs just $5 and you can rest easy knowing it’ll get the job done.

NBA League Pass is now available on YouTube TV

The add-on channel costs $40 a month, or you can get the full 2018-19 season for $249.

Way back when, YouTube TV teased that NBA League Pass was coming to the streaming service. Today, it is a reality.

You can get all out of market games — without commercials — for $40 a month. Or for $249 you’ll get the entire 2018-19 season.

NBA League Pass is just one of a number of add-on channels available with YouTube TV. Here’s the full list:

• NBA League Pass: $40 a month or $249 for the 2018-19 season
• Showtime: $11 a month
• Start: $9 a month
• Curiosity: $3 a month
• Fox Soccer Plus: $15 a month
• AMC Premiere: $5 a month
• Shudder: $5 a month
• Sundance Now: $7 a month

Full YouTube TV plans and pricing

Car phone mounts, Philips Hue bulbs, and more are discounted today

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on iOttie’s Easy One Touch 3 mount, the Amazon Echo Dot, Bose’s Soundwear wireless speaker, and more!

View the rest of the deals

If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

Microsoft Launcher 5.0 for Android brings new Feed UI and Timeline support

A new update for Microsoft Launcher is rolling out in beta today that brings with it lots of new changes. Let’s take a look.

Microsoft has today announced its next big update to its Microsoft Launcher for Android, bringing with it a brand new Your Feed page, and support for Windows Timeline. I’ve been playing with it over the weekend, and so far it’s looking pretty good. The new update introduces an updated Your Feed page that is now split into three tabs; Glance, News, and Timeline.

Microsoft has been promising Timeline support in the Microsoft Launcher since earlier this year, and it’s now available for beta testing. When signed into the same Microsoft Account on your PC and phone, your Timeline activity will sync across devices, just as it does across PCs. If you browse with Edge on PC, all that activity will show up in your phones Timeline, and vice-versa. This even works with documents too; if you have the Office apps on your phone, you can jump directly into whatever documents you were working on with a single tap on your phone.

The News tab is essentially just the old news widget but extended out into its own area. You can customize it with your favorite topics too, meaning you can filter out any news items you don’t really care about, such as politics, or technology, or lifestyle. This does mean the news widget that used to sit alongside your other widgets in the feed is no longer present, but I much prefer having News in its own tab anyway.

The new Glance tab is essentially the old Feed page, but with a much cleaner UI. You can still add custom widgets to it, and reorganise what shows up where. The top of the Feed page has also been refined, featuring a cleaner interface that makes good use of space, while still showing all the relevant information, including Microsoft Rewards point, weather, and calendar events.

Microsoft Launcher 5.0 is rolling out today for beta users, and will likely roll out to the public in the coming weeks. iPhone users can expect to see Timeline support show up within the Microsoft Edge app as beta in the next month or so. What are your thoughts on the latest Microsoft Launcher for Android? Let us know in the comments.

Download Microsoft Launcher at Google Play