Who’s Down for a new app from Google?
Google continues to garner impressive press coverage for moon shot type projects like their Project Loon or self-driving cars or even their recent forays into artificial intelligence. Their latest app to hit the Play Store may not quite live up to that hype, but Google hopes they are continuing efforts to help people solve problems. The problem in this case seems to be finding someone to hangout with and the Who’s Down app hopes to help with that.
According to Google’s description, Who’s Down will help you “always know who is free to hand out, so you never miss out on the fun.” The app lets you hit a slider button to set your status to being “down” to hangout for whatever or you can pose a request for a specific activity. Ostensibly using location services, the app will show you friends nearby who may be ready to hangout. Of course, the app includes a chat function so all the details can be worked out once the participating parties are identified.
For now, Google is limiting use of Who’s Down to an invite-only system accessed through the app. It is not clear how one gets selected once you submit a request for an invite.
If you want to check out Who’s Down and maybe get in on the action as an early adopter, hit the Play Store link below to grab it.
Come comment on this article: Who’s Down for a new app from Google?
Who’s Down for a new app from Google?
Google continues to garner impressive press coverage for moon shot type projects like their Project Loon or self-driving cars or even their recent forays into artificial intelligence. Their latest app to hit the Play Store may not quite live up to that hype, but Google hopes they are continuing efforts to help people solve problems. The problem in this case seems to be finding someone to hangout with and the Who’s Down app hopes to help with that.
According to Google’s description, Who’s Down will help you “always know who is free to hand out, so you never miss out on the fun.” The app lets you hit a slider button to set your status to being “down” to hangout for whatever or you can pose a request for a specific activity. Ostensibly using location services, the app will show you friends nearby who may be ready to hangout. Of course, the app includes a chat function so all the details can be worked out once the participating parties are identified.
For now, Google is limiting use of Who’s Down to an invite-only system accessed through the app. It is not clear how one gets selected once you submit a request for an invite.
If you want to check out Who’s Down and maybe get in on the action as an early adopter, hit the Play Store link below to grab it.
Come comment on this article: Who’s Down for a new app from Google?
[App Review] ‘A Chair in a Room’ is the scariest game I’ve ever played
Halloween is here, making this the perfect time to review possibly the scariest game ever. It is a virtual reality game designed for Google Cardboard. As you can imagine, it’s 10x scarier than it would be if it was a ‘flat’ game.
Normally, I am not the type of person to get scared. I don’t really watch scary movies as I don’t find them super scary and they usually just try to gross you out rather than actually create fear. However, A Chair in a Room takes things to the next level. A game like this is the reason why I think virtual reality is going to be huge. You truly feel fear when you play it in a way that only virtual reality can bring. To try to explain the type of fear you get while playing, it’s more like actually going to a real haunted house where people pop out all around you. Everything is just amplified because it’s happening all around and is real, or in this case ‘real’.
Story
The backstory is about a missing girl. You find out about her by all the newspaper clippings on the walls. Stories about her body being found, how her death was just a hoax, and the verdict that her dad was found not guilty in any crimes. She is still presumed missing at this time. At the start it also says this is Chapter 1 and I would assume Chapter 2 will be coming out soon to continue the story.
A Chair in a Room is literally what the title says. There is a chair in a room and that’s basically it. You could possibly say this is more of a demo rather than a game since you can’t do much, but that adds to the fear. There is no run away button, you are forced to accept whatever happens next.
I don’t want to spoil anything for you, so I won’t give exact details of what will happen. However, the idea is you are in a room and it tells you to look around to see where certain objects are. Suddenly, the lights go out and all you can see is total darkness. Due to the Cardboard viewer being literally up to your eyes, it doesn’t matter how bright it is outside. It will feel like you are actually in a dark room. The only thing you can do is look around and use a flashlight. Of course, the flashlight they give you has faulty batteries that always run out and you are forced to turn it off to charge it. Every time you turn it off you are back to complete darkness. This becomes very scary, very quickly as you can hear things happening all around you, but can’t see them. The longer you play the creepier it gets. It doesn’t help that stranger and scarier things happen along the way.
Here is the story from the developers:
A bare bulb casts a dim light around you, its flickering efforts providing the only sound in the stark room. Your seat cracks and creaks under your weight as you perch uncomfortably in its worn recess. The light from the bulb flickers again, casting you into darkness longer this time, before coming back to life…for now.
You look around the room to discover a barren state of occupation; the only sign of life is a cigarette that burns, seemingly forgotten, in an ashtray on the desk. Across the room, through the heavy mix of smoke and dust, a cone of light shows the way to the room’s only door, which sits slightly ajar.
The light flickers and struggles again, before giving out with a final snap and plunging you into darkness.
The light from the door is broken as a shadow passes. SLAM.
Now the door is shut. You can sense breathing, too close. You switch on your torch, to find only emptiness and silence. Your battery can only illuminate the scene for so long before you’ll be forced to face the dark again…
Graphics
The graphics are pretty good. As I mentioned in my last virtual reality game review, it’s more to do with how your phone’s display looks rather than the game itself. I’m using the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, which has a great display, so everything looks pretty good. Nothing is overly real and you can clearly tell it’s a game, but like all virtual reality content, it’s the experience that it makes you believe is happening that counts. Out of all the virtual reality games and demos so far, this one really made me feel like it was actually happening. The depth that virtual reality brings, and the fact that it’s 360 degrees, makes it truly scary.
I wouldn’t normally talk about this, but the sound is the real star of this game. A Chair in a Room has some of the scariest sounds you could imagine. It’s pitch black and all you hear is weird noises and sound effects that are so dramatic it instantly puts you on edge. Near the end, it’s all black and suddenly a girl starts to cry. You have no idea why a girl is crying, but you do know, it’s not gonna be good. The sounds amplify the creepy level a lot.
Controls
As I mentioned, there really isn’t much to do. You can physically look around by moving your head to see things and use the button on the side of the Google Cardboard to turn on the flashlight, but that’s it. However, it’s not about what you can control, it’s about what you can’t, that’s what makes it scary.
Although you can just put your phone into a Google Cardboard and start playing, I suggest you have two extra items ready. One is a good set of headphones and the other is a chair that can spin, like a computer chair. The headphones are the real key here because they add that surround sound effect. They will take things up to another level and make you believe you are actually in a dark room. They let you hear noises from all around and will cause you to physically look around, wondering what made the noise. The spinning chair is just so you can sit and spin around to look all around the room. You could also stand if you would like, but be careful you don’t fall over. Especially when you get scared, you don’t want to step back and trip and fall. Always be aware of your surroundings when playing any virtual reality game.
Fun Level
I can absolutely promise you will get scared. The first 5 seconds of the game is scary since you know scary things will happen. Once the lights go out, you can feel your adrenaline spike. All your senses are heightened as you find yourself struggling to see what’s in the darkness. The flashlight is your only friend which can illuminate the room, but also your biggest enemy as it reveals what is lurking right in front of you. Sometimes you will wish you left the lights out.
I was terrified by the end of the game, but thankful it was over. I don’t know if I could of handled even crazier things happening if the game continued. Still, I can’t wait for Chapter 2 to come out. I have heard the Oculus will receive the full game sometime in 2016 and the Android version will be broken into smaller chapters and released later in 2016.
Here is a picture from Chapter 2, I have no idea what will happen, but I know it will be scary.
Conclusion
If you like horror movies, you will love A Chair in a Room. Like many current virtual reality games/demos, it’s short and creates an experience rather than linear start to finish gameplay. It’s so much fun to experience with friends and family and laugh at them when they get scared too.
However, the biggest level of fear will be reached the first time you play it alone. If you truly want to be scared, play it late at night when no one else is around with headphones on. The fear level increases exponentially. You can’t hear or see the outside world anymore and are locked into the virtual reality world.
Like I said at the start, I don’t really scare easily. When playing the game at first, it’s freaky, but not super scary. However, every minute that passes it gets spookier and spookier. By the end I literally jumped back and pulled my Cardboard viewer off of my face because it got so intense. A Chair in a Room delivered, it was true fear. I definitely recommend trying this game around Halloween, but it’s scary for all other times too.
Come comment on this article: [App Review] ‘A Chair in a Room’ is the scariest game I’ve ever played
Foursquare tips are being tested to work with Google Now
Google Now is starting to give Foursquare place recommendations whether you have the Foursquare app installed or not. Foursquare cards will now show you tips about restaurants, public parks, coffee shops, and more.
Currently, Foursquare isn’t listed as a supported Google Now integrations card, but is, somehow, still working. Foursquare has not commented, but it’s looking like they will be working with Google in the future.
With the Foursquare cards you can do things like walk past a park and a Foursquare card will pop up suggesting things like “have a picnic”. At this time, not everyone will be able to see Foursquare cards, but we would imagine they will be rolling out to everyone shortly.
Source: VentureBeat
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Google Play Games can now record your screen in 720p or 480p
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One of the holy grails for avid mobile gamers is being able to record your screen – there have always been ways to do this, most involving root, but there hasn’t really been a way for every Tom, Dick and Harry to do so, until now. Google announced earlier this week that Google Play Games can now record your screen in 720p and 480p resolution – all you need to do is start the game from within the Play Games app, and you’ll be able to choose to whether you want to also include footage from your front facing camera and audio for commentary.
It doesn’t appear like there are any restrictions on what games you’ll be able to play, but we’ll find out more when the app actually rolls out. Google says that the updated Play Games app will be rolling out in the US and UK first “over the coming days” and a global rollout will follow soon after. Make sure to keep an eye out for the update:
http://playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js
This update is a lot like the Game Recorder+ that Samsung released earlier this year, except that this will be available to all Android devices, which is pretty much the best thing ever. What do you think about recording games with Google Play Games? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Android Official Blog
The post Google Play Games can now record your screen in 720p or 480p appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google’s ‘Who’s Down’ app is here because no one replies to your texts
Never let it be said that Google doesn’t like throw weird ideas at the wall and see what sticks. Take the quietly-released “Who’s Down” Android app that just hit the Google Play store, for example. It’s an invite-only app that simply shows you whether you’re “down” to hang out — presumably, once you have confirmed that you are indeed “down,” your friends nearby will see that status and include you in whatever wonderful activities they have planned.
Via: 9to5Google
Source: Google Play Store
Google’s Lockheimer says commitment still there for Chrome OS
Yesterday news broke indicating Google is planning to merge the Chrome OS operating system that powers Chromebooks and Chromebox devices into the Android operating system that is used on mobile devices. The move makes a lot of sense as a step to unify the operating systems and make it easier to deploy apps and features across a broader array of devices in a single step. However, for a lot of Chrome OS users, especially those in education where it has proven to be extremely popular, there is some angst that the best features of Chrome OS will be lost in the change to a single operating system. Google senior vice president Hiroshi Lockheimer has since taken to his Twitter account to let followers know the company is “very committed to Chrome OS.”
In his tweet, Lockheimer notes that Google’s Chromebook devices have a lot of momentum behind them now and he even notes that he recently purchase two for his kids to use for their schoolwork. Of course, being committed to Chrome OS does not really change the possibility of it being merged with Android or that the commitment is not somehow going to be limited by time, say until 2017 when the new unified operating system is projected to be available. Hopefully Lockheimer’s statement does mean Google will continue development of the operating system, making refinements and adding features, in parallel with development of a new, single operating system for all devices.
What are your thoughts about a merged Chrome OS and Android operating system?
There’s a ton of momentum for Chromebooks and we are very committed to Chrome OS. I just bought two for my kids for schoolwork!
— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) October 30, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
source: Hiroshi Lockheimer (Twitter)
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Foursquare cards are popping up in Google Now, even without the app
Google Now has been serving up cards with info from your apps for a while. According to a report in VentureBeat, you might start seeing cards from apps you don’t have installed — starting with Foursquare. Cards with tips from the app were spotted alongside Google’s own regular location-based recommendations. Foursquare still isn’t listed on Google’s partner page, so likely these cards are part of a limited trial, and the search giant isn’t confirming anything when asked.
Source: VentureBeat
Alphabet divisions are free to return to China, implies Brin
Google has not had the best relationship with China, having argued over censorship and been on the receiving end of hacking cases. As a result, the company has been absent from China since 2010. However, restructuring under the new Alphabet umbrella could mean that divisions are free to return to the country, should they choose to do so.
Speaking on Wednesday, Google co-founder Sergey Brin stated that each Alphabet business is free to make its own decisions about which countries they operate in, which opens the door to divisions going back to work in China or any other region of their choice. Countries, timings or divisions were not specifically mentioned, but the statement came at an event for Google’s Project Loon balloon-based internet service.
“Each Alphabet business can make its own decisions on which countries to operate in,” – Google co-founder Sergey Brin
Brin mentioned that China is one of the countries that is interested in expanding its internet coverage by using Loon technology, which could bring web access to the country’s large rural population. Last month, sources also suggested that Google may be looking at coming back to the Chinese mobile market with a specific Chinese version of the Google Play Store, which may comply with some of the country’s stricter rules on censorship.
See also: Google reportedly plans to re-enter mainland China through the Google Play Store
Google has been more open about its interests in China since appointing Sundar Pichai as CEO. The reorganization under Alphabet also means that separate projects from advertising, Search, YouTube, and upcoming ideas from Nest of the X Lab now have more autonomy over how they conduct their operations.
Given the fast growth in Chinese smartphone and consumer electronics industries, and many more consumers coming online, Google has good reasons to get back into China.
Google Nexus 6P’s display will be tough to replace
Google’s new big phone, the Nexus 6P, has no separate display assembly: that’s what iFixit has discovered when it tore its first Huawei-made device down. Upon pulling the phone apart, almost all its internal components besides the NFC antenna came right off in one piece. The team was able to separate the parts from each other (and some were pretty easy to pry off), but that means anyone repairing a damaged display will have to dig through the whole phone. Troublesome, since display issues are one of the most common problems. iFixit also notes that it’s “very difficult” not to injure the camera cover when opening the device, and it will be hard putting in replacement components in general due to the 6P’s unibody design. Nevertheless, the team says the phone feels durable, has a humongous battery and has all the other components Google says it does — you just have to be careful not to break it.
Source: iFixit
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