Wouldn’t it be nice to have a solar panel that’s only there when the sun shines on it? That’s the idea behind this research project, which uses shape-shifting materials to make a solar panel grow from a compressed state to an expanded one with nothing more than a change in temperature.
The flower-like prototype device is made of what’s called a “shape-memory polymer,” a material that can be shaped when cool to one form, then when heated will attempt to return to its original, natural configuration. In this case the cool form is a compressed disc, and the warm one is a much wider one.
The transition (demonstrated here in warm water for simplicity) takes less than a minute. It’s guided by a network of hinged joints, the structure of which was inspired by the children’s toy known as a Hoberman sphere, which changes from a small, spiky ball to a larger spherical one when thrown.
The cooled-down material would stay rigid during, say, deployment on a satellite. Then when the satellite enters the sun, the mechanism would bloom into the full-sized array, no power necessary. That would potentially save space on a satellite that can’t quite fit a battery or spare solar array to kick-start a larger one.
For now the transformation is one-way; the larger disc must be manually folded back into the smaller configuration — but one can imagine how once powered up, a separate mechanism could accomplish that, stowing itself away until the next chance to absorb some sunlight appears.
Don’t expect to see this on any spacecraft next year, but it’s definitely a cool (and warm) idea that could prove more than a little useful for small satellites and the like in the future. And who knows? Maybe you’ll have a garden of these little blooming arrays on your roof before that.
HQ Trivia is struggling after a mutiny failed to oust its CEO. Downloads per month are down 92% versus last June according to Sensor Tower. And now four sources confirm that HQ laid off staff members this week. One said about 20% of staff was let go, and another said six to seven employees were departing. That aligns with Digiday reporter Kerry Flynn’s tweet that 7 employees were let go bringing HQ to under 30 (shrinking from 35 to 28 staffers would be a 20% drop).
That will leave the company short-handed as it attempts to diversify revenue with the upcoming launch of monthly subscriptions. “HQ Words Everyday. Coming next month . . . Bigger prizes . . . More ways to win. $9.99/mo. subscription” the company tweeted from the account for its second game, the Wheel Of Fortune-style HQ Words. The company has been trying to regain momentum with new hosts since the departure of Quiz Daddy aka Scott Rogowsky, HQ Trivia’s original host.
The cuts hit HQ’s HR, marketing, and product engineering teams, according to LinkedIn profiles of employees let go. The cuts could further hamper morale at the startup following a tough first half of the year. HQ Trivia and co-founder Rus Yusupov did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
HQ Trivia employees petitioned to remove co-founder Rus Yusupov from the CEO position
Following the tragic death of co-founder and CEO Colin Kroll, Yusupov retook control. But staff found him difficult to work with as he’d allowed the product to stagnate and popularity to decline. Yusupov was slow to make changes to the app, and “no one wanted to work under Rus” a source told me.
That led 20 of 35 staffers to sign a letter to HQ Trivia’s board asking them to remove Yusupov, though it was never formally sent. Yusupov caught wind of the plot and fired two of the leaders of the petition. That further sunk morale, leading to the exit of HQ Trivia’s SVP of brand partnerships and its marketing manager. The board began a search for a new CEO, though it’s unclear how that’s panned out.
Since then, new games HQ teased in April haven’t materialized as its download rate continued to suffer. It’s dropped to the #731 US game on iOS according to AppAnnie. HQ Trivia saw just 827,000 downloads from January through June 2019, down 92% from the 10.2 million it saw in the same time frame in 2018 according to Sensor Tower. That’s the same percentage drop in downloads from June 2019 versus June 2018, indicating Rogowsky’s replacements that started in April couldn’t turn things around.
Interest in the live game show format seems to be waning as a whole. HQ Trivia fan site HQTrivia.fan shut down this week fearing the end was near for the official game, and the (Business) INSIDER-run clone of the game on Facebook Watch called Confetti stopped airing at the end of June.
HQ Words Everyday. Coming next month.
Play HQ Words every day. Bigger prizes. More ways to win. $9.99/mo. subscription.
RT and reply with your username for a chance to win a free year. #wordseveryday
Rather than solely monetizing a waning audience via in-app purchases and sponsorships, HQ Words announced it would debut a $9.99 monthly subscription sometime this month that would grant access to winning “bigger prizes”. This could be a smart way to squeeze more dollars out of a smaller but more diehard audience.
While HQ Trivia was an inspiring approach to mobile gaming, its twice-daily games didn’t fit the always-on nature of mobile. It’s failed build a proper onboarding experience that gives users a taste of it games right away rather than forcing them to wait for the next scheduled match as we suggested over a year ago. Gamers are fickle, craving instant gratification, and HQ hasn’t tried to meet them in middle.
Perhaps there’s a future for HQ on cable television, or as a small but steady business on mobile catering to loyalists. But all the unfortunate events and mismanagement may make it difficult to exceed the $100 million valuation it raised money at during its peak.
HQ Trivia is struggling after a mutiny failed to oust its CEO. Downloads per month are down 92% versus last June according to Sensor Tower. And now four sources confirm that HQ laid off staff members this week. One said about 20% of staff was let go, and another said six to seven employees were departing. That aligns with Digiday reporter Kerry Flynn’s tweet that 7 employees were let go bringing HQ to under 30 (shrinking from 35 to 28 staffers would be a 20% drop).
That will leave the company short-handed as it attempts to diversify revenue with the upcoming launch of monthly subscriptions. “HQ Words Everyday. Coming next month . . . Bigger prizes . . . More ways to win. $9.99/mo. subscription” the company tweeted from the account for its second game, the Wheel Of Fortune-style HQ Words. The company has been trying to regain momentum with new hosts since the departure of Quiz Daddy aka Scott Rogowsky, HQ Trivia’s original host.
The cuts hit HQ’s HR, marketing, and product engineering teams, according to LinkedIn profiles of employees let go. The cuts could further hamper morale at the startup following a tough first half of the year. HQ Trivia and co-founder Rus Yusupov did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
HQ Trivia employees petitioned to remove co-founder Rus Yusupov from the CEO position
Following the tragic death of co-founder and CEO Colin Kroll, Yusupov retook control. But staff found him difficult to work with as he’d allowed the product to stagnate and popularity to decline. Yusupov was slow to make changes to the app, and “no one wanted to work under Rus” a source told me.
That led 20 of 35 staffers to sign a letter to HQ Trivia’s board asking them to remove Yusupov, though it was never formally sent. Yusupov caught wind of the plot and fired two of the leaders of the petition. That further sunk morale, leading to the exit of HQ Trivia’s SVP of brand partnerships and its marketing manager. The board began a search for a new CEO, though it’s unclear how that’s panned out.
Since then, new games HQ teased in April haven’t materialized as its download rate continued to suffer. It’s dropped to the #731 US game on iOS according to AppAnnie. HQ Trivia saw just 827,000 downloads from January through June 2019, down 92% from the 10.2 million it saw in the same time frame in 2018 according to Sensor Tower. That’s the same percentage drop in downloads from June 2019 versus June 2018, indicating Rogowsky’s replacements that started in April couldn’t turn things around.
Interest in the live game show format seems to be waning as a whole. HQ Trivia fan site HQTrivia.fan shut down this week fearing the end was near for the official game, and the (Business) INSIDER-run clone of the game on Facebook Watch called Confetti stopped airing at the end of June.
HQ Words Everyday. Coming next month.
Play HQ Words every day. Bigger prizes. More ways to win. $9.99/mo. subscription.
RT and reply with your username for a chance to win a free year. #wordseveryday
Rather than solely monetizing a waning audience via in-app purchases and sponsorships, HQ Words announced it would debut a $9.99 monthly subscription sometime this month that would grant access to winning “bigger prizes”. This could be a smart way to squeeze more dollars out of a smaller but more diehard audience.
While HQ Trivia was an inspiring approach to mobile gaming, its twice-daily games didn’t fit the always-on nature of mobile. It’s failed build a proper onboarding experience that gives users a taste of it games right away rather than forcing them to wait for the next scheduled match as we suggested over a year ago. Gamers are fickle, craving instant gratification, and HQ hasn’t tried to meet them in middle.
Perhaps there’s a future for HQ on cable television, or as a small but steady business on mobile catering to loyalists. But all the unfortunate events and mismanagement may make it difficult to exceed the $100 million valuation it raised money at during its peak.
It’s no secret that America thrives on tech-savvy immigrants who put down permanent roots: Three in five of the country’s biggest tech companies — Apple, Facebook, and Google among them — were founded by first- or second-generation immigrants.
Those giants combined boast a market cap of over $4 trillion and employ nearly two million workers. Considering such clear economic benefits, you’d expect an efficient, straightforward process for turning America’s tech-savviest new arrivals into U.S. citizens.
But that’s not the case. Naturalizing has only gotten harder and more expensive in recent years. And because of those barriers, even immigrants who manage to secure U.S. permanent residence often stop short of officially becoming U.S. citizens. In fact, a third of citizenship-eligible green card holders, or around 9.3 million people, have yet to apply.
If you’re among that group, don’t wait to take the final step of your immigration journey. After all, U.S. citizenship brings a host of tangible and intangible perks.
Taking the oath of citizenship, for one, is a profound experience and an affirmation that you’ve finally been welcomed into the American family. From the moment you naturalize, you become an equal stakeholder in our national project — as much an American as anyone born in this nation.
Of course, naturalization offers practical benefits, too. So take some time this Fourth of July to consider all the reasons why you should set your sights on citizenship now, not later:
It won’t get easier
Image via Getty Images / Vaselena
The single best reason to file a citizenship application is to make sure you don’t miss the boat. The Trump administration is prone to overhauling immigration rules on short notice — so if you’re eligible today, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be tomorrow.
Applying sooner will make the process quicker and cheaper, too. Already, the government plans to further complicate naturalization steps, at an estimated cost to applicants of nearly $205 million a year.
The bottom line: Getting citizenship will only get harder in the months and years ahead — applying for citizenship under the current rules will protect you from the future whims of America’s leaders. File your papers today, and save yourself headaches or heartbreak down the line.
Have your say
For many new citizens, this is the big one: As an American, you’ll be eligible to vote in all federal, state, and local elections and have your say in who gets to steer the country you’ve chosen to call home. Still, if you’re hoping to pull the lever for your preferred candidate in the 2020 presidential election, you’ll need to get a move on — there’s now a 10-month average wait just to get your application approved. Add all the other steps, and you could be looking at a total wait time of up to 1.6 years, and the line is only growing longer.
Also worth bearing in mind: Citizenship is a requirement for federal office and most state and local political positions. As a naturalized citizen, you’ll be able to run for office yourself.
And while immigrants can’t become president, plenty of naturalized Americans already represent their communities in Congress. Get your paperwork squared away if you want to be next.
Plan for the future
Whether you’re starting a business, building your career, or buying a home, it helps to have the security that citizenship affords. Naturalizing also makes it far easier to bring relatives — even your parents and adult children — to America on green cards of their own. Spouses and immediate relatives of U.S. citizens get preferential treatment when it comes to green card applications, which means much shorter waits compared to the spouses and relatives of green cardholders.
Pro tip: If you’re a permanent resident and have a pending marriage green card application for your spouse, naturalizing upgrades you to the fast-track process for spouses of U.S. citizens.
Of course, naturalization is also a fantastic gift for your future offspring who are born abroad — they’re automatically citizens if you’re American at the moment of their birth. As a citizen, you’ll be able to register your children as U.S. citizens simply by reporting their birth to the nearest U.S. consulate or embassy.
Access public benefits
Image via Getty Images / PeterSnow
As an immigrant, you’re likely already paying taxes that fund public programs such as Social Security and Medicaid — but in many cases, you can’t actually benefit from those programs. In fact, you’ve probably been justly wary of using any government assistance whatsoever, for fear of being labeled a “public charge” and jeopardizing your immigration status.
As a citizen, all that changes: You’ll have as much right as anyone else to public benefits, and you won’t have to fret about being penalized for seeking help. You might never need public support beyond Social Security and Medicare — studies show that naturalized citizens use most benefits at much lower rates than the native-born — but it’s good to know there’s a safety net waiting to catch you if you fall.
Protect yourself
In theory, green cards offer permanent residence, but it’s still possible to lose your immigration status if you spend significant time outside the United States, if you have legal problems, or if the rules change. Citizens receive far greater protections and can’t be deported even if they run afoul of the law. You’ll also have an incontrovertible right to work in America and to win federal jobs and contracts that are off-limits to non-citizens.
One caveat: It’s been reported that the U.S. government is planning to “denaturalize” some citizens. This applies mostly to cases where applicants committed identity fraud or were subject to deportation orders that they did not disclose to immigration officers during the application process. That shouldn’t affect the vast majority of naturalized citizens, though, and in virtually any legal tangle you’ll be better off as a U.S. citizen.
Get a passport, and see the world
In these turbulent times, a U.S. passport is worth its weight in gold. You’ll be able to apply for the coveted navy-blue travel document immediately after receiving your Certificate of Naturalization and can look forward to visa-free travel to more than 180 countries. You’ll also be able to call on local U.S. embassies for assistance if you run into trouble while traveling.
As a citizen, you won’t have to worry about losing your status, regardless of how long you’re away from the United States. And remember: The United States allows dual citizenship, so depending on your nation of origin, you might not have to give up your existing passport — let alone your original nationality — in order to become an American.
Give back by getting ahead
Image via Getty Images / katflare
Getting citizenship is a smart financial decision. Citizens fare better economically than non-citizen immigrants, perhaps because they’re better placed to put down roots and invest in their future.
Research shows that naturalized immigrants earn an average of $3,200 more each year than eligible non-citizens and also increase their homeownership rate by 6.3 percent. In fact, it’s estimated that if just half of eligible immigrants went ahead and gained citizenship, it would boost America’s GDP by up to $52 billion a year.
All those extra earnings translate into billions of dollars in extra local, state, and federal tax revenues, too. That makes naturalization a great way not just to make more money, but also to support your new community and make America a stronger and more prosperous place for yourself and your loved ones.
You’ve earned it, so go get it
Gaining citizenship is more than just a patriotic gesture; it’s a practical step toward building a secure future in America and seizing all the opportunities this country has to offer. As any immigrant knows, the pursuit of happiness is an American ideal — but it’s one that’s a whole lot easier to achieve if you have citizenship.
If you’re eligible to become a U.S. citizen, then you’ve already earned your place in this country by investing years of your life here, working hard, and playing by the rules. Applying for citizenship is a way to seal the deal, both by underscoring your commitment to the American project and receiving a definitive assurance that you’re welcome and wanted in the Land of the Free.
So this Fourth of July, if you’re chasing your own little piece of the American dream, bear in mind that there are real and concrete benefits to naturalization. After all, the smoke and noise from the fireworks will eventually fade away — but your American citizenship will last forever.
Wireless charging has been a wonderful addition to mainstream flagship smartphones including the iPhone, Samsung’s Galaxy lineup and Google’s Pixel phones. But there hasn’t been a really great option for bringing the benefits of wireless charging with you on the road, while keeping your desktop setup tidy until now, with TwelveSouth’s recently released HiRise Wireless.
The HiRise Wireless builds on the good reputation of the existing HiRise line from TwelveSouth, which includes the Duet, a great combo charger for both iPhone and Apple Watch. The Wireless version, as implied by the name, includes wireless charging of up to 10W, which means you get the fastest cable-free charging rate available for devices that support Qi charging, including the iPhone X, XR and XS, as well as the Pixel 3 and Samsung Galaxy S10.
The HiRise is unique in that it provides a charging puck that can both mount in the frame (which has a nice weighted base to stay rock solid on your desk) and pop out to either provide a lie-flat wireless charger (which will work with the new wireless AirPods charging case, for instance) or pack away in a bag.
The upright angle the wireless charger provides when mounted in the frame is perfect for registering Face ID unlocks when used with an iPhone X or later, and positioned on your desk. That’s a great way to give yourself access to phone notifications without distracting too much from your desktop work. And the puck itself is a lot smaller than most wireless chargers, which isn’t idea for typical at-home charging, but which is terrific for stowing it in a gadget pouch.
The puck also has a rubberized ring bordering the charging pad to prevent your device from slipping around, and it works with a detachable USB-C to USB-A cable that comes in the box which adds to the portability, and means you can easily use it with whatever USB-C charging cables you already have on-hand for your Mac or other devices.
If you’re in the market for a wireless charger and travel a decent amount, it’s hard to beat the value of the HiRise Wireless. It’s $79.99, which is more than you’ll pay for a lot of quality wireless chargers, but Twelve South’s unique design is worth the premium in this case for people looking for its unique flexibility.
Apple is set to replace the technology underlying the keyboards found in its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro computers, according to a new report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac). Kuo is frequently accurate in his predictions, which are sourced from within Apple’s supply chain and tend to provide an early indication of forthcoming hardware changes.
In his latest report, Kuo says that the new keyboard designs coming in brand new MacBook Air models set to come out later this year, and new MacBook Pro models which he says won’t be available until 2020, will drop the so-called ‘butterfly’ mechanism design that is used in current-generation versions of both MacBooks. Instead, the new versions will employ ‘scissor switch’-based keyboards, which is what Apple used prior to introducing the ‘butterfly’ mechanism in 2015. Apple’s current standalone Magic Keyboard also still uses scissor switches.
The butterfly switch-based keyboards Apple has used in recent MacBooks have received consistent criticism from users, who report dropped keystrokes and repeated keystrokes, among other issues (I’ve experienced this myself personally on multiple MacBook Pro models since 2015). These can often be resolved using compressed air to blow away any debris under the keyboard, but sometime they require an actual replacement keyboard component from Apple itself.
Apple’s most recent MacBook Pro, introduced earlier this year, features a redesigned butterfly keyboard that employs “new materials” to help mitigate these issues, and it also recently introduced a free keyboard replacement program for MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro which extends to all MacBook models with butterfly-based keyboards. Still, if this report proves accurate, it looks like the company is implementing a more permanent hardware fix that would obviate the need for these other measures entirely.
As always, take any rumors about unreleased products from a third-party with a hefty dose of skepticism, but Kuo’s accuracy and the well-documented issues with this keyboard design do lend credence to this specific report.
A Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) rescue disc is a custom Windows recovery environment packed with tools you can use to fix your computer. Think data backup and recovery tools, password utilities, malware removal and protection, and much more.
There are several excellent Windows PE-based rescue discs. But you don’t have to rely on the work of others. You can create your own Windows PE rescue disc, picking and choosing the recovery tools you want.
What Is Windows PE?
Windows PE is a lightweight version of Windows 10. You can use Windows PE to install, test, and repair a full installation of Windows 10. The base Windows PE version supports all Windows applications, drivers, networking tools, disk partitioning and management, and much more.
A Windows PE-based recovery disc extends this functionality, adding free and open source tools you can use to recover, restore, and analyze your ailing Windows 10 installation.
I’m going to show you the easiest method for creating a Windows PE recovery disc. It uses a pre-defined set of tools that you can sift through and select what you want. But you can also add a custom folder of your own programs, too.
How to Create Your Own Windows PE Recovery Disc Using Win10XPE
Win10XPE is a complete custom Windows PE environment developed by renowned customizer, ChrisR. It features a wide range of core Windows features, plus you can add a huge range of custom apps.
1. Tools You Need to Create the Windows PE Recovery Disc
The Win10XPE project files are courtesy of Kyhi, a Windows PE-based recovery disc developer. Kyhi stopped releasing recovery discs but created a system where users can create their own. Download the Win10XPE project file archive, then extract the folder. You will come back to this in a moment.
Next, use the second link to download a Windows 10 ISO. You can use the dropdown boxes to select the version, edition, and architecture. I am using Windows 10 1903 Final for this tutorial. Once the ISO downloads, extract the contents to a folder, then continue.
2. Run WinBuilder Win10XPE
Head back to the Win10XPE folder, then run Win10XPE.exe. The WinBuilder customization environment will open.
The first things to do is Select the Windows 10 Source Folder. Browse to the location of the Windows 10 ISO created in the previous section. Select the folder and let WinBuilder update its source file data.
Now, choose the image you want to base your Windows PE recovery disc on. I suggest using Windows 10 Pro as this is the complete version of the operating system, rather than the restrictive Windows 10 Home.
3. Select the Recovery Tools for Your Windows 10 PE Rescue Disc
Now you can head to the rescue tool options in the left panel. Scroll down and check the options you want to include in your Windows 10 PE rescue disc.
You have options ranging from Accessibility, Components, Network, Office, Security, and more. The options are all apps that Kyhi includes in the custom Windows PE rescue disc. But you can pick and choose which options you want to add to yours.
There is no right or wrong way to choose the apps you want on your disc. If you click on an application, WinBuilder gives you a description of what it does. It also gives you several application-specific options, as well as whether you want shortcuts or otherwise.
4. Set the Build Core Options
At the top of the applications list is the Build Core option. The Build Core options let you set options relating to the operating system, such as the keyboard language and format, whether to use Explorer or WinXShell (a lightweight open source alternative), the desktop background (if you want to “brand” your rescue disc), as well as network, power, and build options.
One option worth changing is the WinPE Cache Size. Increasing the WinPE Cache Size can make your Windows PE recovery disc experience faster. However, if you expect to use your recovery disc on a range of systems, keeping it at 1GB is the best option.
Another important option is switching on Microsoft .NET Framework 4, then Network Additions. This way, your Windows PE-based rescue disc will have Wi-Fi access.
5. Add Custom Files to Your Windows PE Recovery Disc
You can add a custom folder to your Windows PE rescue disc, too. On the Build Core options page is the option to Add Your Custom Folder. Check the box, hit the Open Custom Folder button, then open Program Files.
You can copy any portable apps you want to add to your recovery disc into this folder. You must choose portable apps. Otherwise, they will not run straight from the disc when you attempt to fix a computer. Unsure about portable apps? Check out the MakeUseOf guide to the best portable apps. It covers a huge range of apps, crossing almost every category you can think of.
If you don’t find what you’re looking for, check out Portable Apps.
I always take the time to add some extra security apps, because you never know when a family member will need you to rescue an infected system.
6. Download Your Windows PE Recovery Disc
Once you add the custom portable apps to your Windows PE recovery disc, it is time to download and try it out.
Press the blue Play button in the top right of WinBuilder. Your Windows PE recovery disc might need to download some files during the ISO creation process. Accept these files and continue. If your antivirus or antimalware suite causes a fuss, create an exception for WinBuilder.
Keep Multiple Copies of Your Windows PE Recovery Disc
Another handy tip is to keep multiple copies of your Windows recover disc handy. You never know when you will need one, or worse, lose one without realizing!
While video game glitches that break the game are annoying, less harmful glitches often serve as a source of amusement. A game acting up can spawn plenty of laughter, and some titles have even built entire features around glitches.
In this article we list some of the most famous video game glitches of all time. We’ll look at what made each one notable, and how it’s possible to experience them today.
1. Minus World (Super Mario Bros.)
We begin with perhaps one of the most well-known video game glitches in history. The Minus World is a glitched level in the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES. It’s not difficult to reach if you know what to do, but once in, you’re stuck there for good.
To reach the Minus World, you have to perform a specific maneuver at the end of World 1-2 (shown in the video above). Doing so leads you into a world labeled World -1, hence the name Minus World. It’s identical to the actual World 7-2, but you can’t complete it because the pipe at the end takes you back to the start of the level.
Interestingly, in the game’s code, this world is actually World 36-1. But because it displays a blank character for the number 36, you see -1 at the top.
You can catch the MISSINGNO, but even encountering it will cause weird graphical changes in your game. It’s most famously linked with an item duplication glitch that increases the sixth item in your inventory by 128. Because of this, it was covered in strategy guides and made well-known even before the internet was popular.
Not all glitches spawn from programming errors. Players of GoldenEye 007 on the N64 discovered that if you slightly pulled up on the game cartridge while playing (known as cartridge tilting), the character models would start spinning around wildly.
While this is amusing to watch on its own, the internet wasn’t done. By combining the spinning characters with the J-pop song Promise by Kohmi Hirose, the proper Get Down (also known as Geddan) meme was born.
You can argue that it’s not really a true glitch, since many N64 games act up if you tilt the cartridge. But it’s still fun to watch all these years later.
4. Swingset Glitch (Grand Theft Auto IV)
Open-world games often hold more glitches than linear titles due to their sandbox nature. One of the funniest glitches in Grand Theft Auto IV lets you shoot cars a huge distance using just a swingset. This is pretty stupid, yet still hilarious.
To activate it, you simply have to drive a vehicle next to certain swing sets (the ones in the Firefly Projects Park are the best-known). After some time, the swing will suddenly force your car away with a ton of force. With the right vehicle, you’ll travel an absurdly long distance.
It’s a great way to have a late-night laugh with friends, especially if you thought you had seen everything this game has to offer.
5. Tiger Woods Walking on Water (Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08)
In this rare case, a developer’s response to a glitch was perhaps more notable than the glitch itself. A player of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 noticed a weird glitch where the in-game Tiger Woods walked on water to hit a ball that had fallen into a water hazard. He uploaded a clip of this to YouTube.
A year later, to promote the release of the new Tiger Woods 09 game, publisher EA Sports released an ad. It showed the real Tiger Woods “walking on water” to hit a ball from a lily pad, ending with the tagline “It’s not a glitch. He’s just that good.” It was a clever way to promote a new game—can you believe EA did something this cool?
6. Black Hole Glitch (Super Smash Bros. Melee)
Super Smash Bros. Melee is home to many fun little glitches, like being able to play as Master Hand. But one of the coolest glitches in the game has to be the Black Hole due to its sheer power.
The setup and execution for this glitch is fairly involved, but the end result is something every Smash fan should experience once.
You’ll need four players: two as Fox or Falco, one as Peach, and anyone as the fourth character (Ness is the usual pick). Make sure the fourth character is on a team with one Fox or Falco, with friendly fire turned off. Temple is the best stage to perform this glitch on.
To start, the fourth player performs the Infinite Super Scope glitch to give the weapon infinite ammo. They then fire into the two Fox/Falco characters, who both use their reflectors to to create a long stream of shots.
During this, Peach jumps into the shots to create “bubbles”. She concludes by throwing vegetables into the mix. Finally, the fourth player jumps into the stream and leaves only a deadly mass of vegetables. If anyone jumps into this, they will almost immediately take 999% damage.
This glitch happens because the vegetables go into an infinite loop of hitting every other vegetable. If you like, you can add additional elements to make it even more deadly.
7. Swordless Link (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is home to many well-known glitches, with several of them contributing to speedruns. Perhaps one of the most infamous is the Swordless Link glitch. The method to access it depends on the version of the game you have.
It’s easiest to access (even by mistake) in v1.0. In the final battle with Ganon, once he knocks the Master Sword out of your hand, simply save the game and quit. In later versions, you must perform a glitch that allows you to play items as an ocarina, then play a few songs to remove the sword and warp away.
After reloading, Link will have no sword equipped. While this sounds pointless, it actually enables you to perform many other glitches. These include allowing Link to float through the air and adding purple mist to Lon Lon Ranch. It’s quite strange.
Assassin’s Creed Unity had a rough start when it released in 2014. While the game received praise for many elements, its technical performance detracted heavily from the overall experience. The most infamous issue with the game was its glitchy character models.
People’s faces would disappear in mid-conversation, leading to horrifying images of floating eyeballs and teeth speaking to you. It was also common for players to fall through the ground, which was obviously a huge pain.
These issues were such a big problem that Ubisoft stopped selling the season pass and gave away a free game to everyone who had already bought it. It affected the series’ development going forward, as Ubisoft dialed back the constant stream of games.
Because the game received many patches to fix these problems, you can only relive these glitches today through videos.
Funny Video Game Glitches Never Get Old
We’ve taken a look at a few of the most famous video game glitches throughout history. There are certainly many more, but these ones confused, amused, and provided hours of entertainment for players. You can still experience most of them today if you want to get more from these titles.
When the day is warm and the night is filled with fireworks, it can only mean one thing: we have reached the Fourth of July. Many sales go on at this time of year, but some are more worthy of your attention than others. Here are five deals you really don’t want to miss — now with an extra 15% with code FIREWORK15 at MakeUseOf Deals.
The Complete Blockchain Professional Course
Blockchain is the technology behind cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. It also has many other uses, from smart contracts to verifying medications. Through 66 video tutorials, this course helps you understand the technology and build your own ecosystem. The videos break down complex ideas into simple steps, and you explore the potential use-cases for Blockchain.
The course is usually $200, but you can get it now for just $9.99.
The Award-Winning Luminar 3 Software Bundle
Luminar 3 is a powerful photo editor that uses AI to help you make smarter adjustments. The app also has unique features, such as sky and foliage enhancers. You can apply beautiful presets with a click, or go fully manual.
In this bundle, the app (Mac and Windows) comes with an introductory course from experienced instructor, Richard Harrington.
Order now for $49 to get the app and course, saving 47% on the total value.
The Complete Master Photoshop & Adobe CC Bundle
If you want to take your creative skills to the next level, this bundle can help. Through seven courses and 75 hours of expert instruction, you learn all there is to know about Photoshop and Adobe XD.
The training covers web design, image editing and related marketing skills, with lessons starting from scratch. You also discover advanced techniques, and how to build a freelance business.
For anyone who wants to design apps for a living, this bundle offers 14 hours of essential training. The courses cover both the technical side of interface design, and the experience side — from competitor research to user testing.
Along the way, you learn how to work with Adobe XD, Illustrator and Dreamweaver, along with JavaScript.
Order now for just $24 to grab the training, worth $800.
Build Your Own GPS Tracking System With Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi is a great educational tool, but it can be difficult knowing where to start. This course helps you learn your microcomputer, with two hours of tutorials working on a fun GPS tracking project.
The videos show you how to install Raspbian OS without a monitor, write Linux commands, test your GPS trackers, and run advanced analyses. You even pick up some useful Python programming skills.
Like this deal? Check out Vault — you’ll get four premium tools, including NordVPN and Dashlane, to supercharge your online security. Try it free for 14 days now!
Instagram has launched a new Stories sticker, and this one lets you invite people directly to a group chat. Why you would want to add complete strangers to DM you eludes us, but then we’re not Instagram influencers who’ll do anything to gain new followers.
The new Chat sticker does exactly what you would expect it to do. Which is invite people to chat with you on Instagram. The new sticker appears in the menu as “Chat” but displays in Stories as “Join Chat”. Like all stickers, it can be plastered anywhere on a Story.
Anyone who sees the Chat sticker can click on it. If you do, you’ll request to join a private group chat with the Instagrammer who posted it. They will then have the option to accept the request/requests, inviting everyone accepted into a group chat.
Introducing the new chat sticker in Stories. Now, there's an easy way to start conversations with a group of friends right from your story. pic.twitter.com/A1An7d9TjJ
The group chat takes place in the Direct Messages inbox. The Instagram who posted the Chat sticker in their Story can end the chat at anytime. Essentially, the Instagrammer remains in charge at all times, hopefully preventing the chat from getting out of hand.
We guess influencers could use the Chat sticker to invite followers to DM them, but the numbers would make managing such a group chat challenging. Therefore, this seems more likely to be used by people who still use Instagram to share content with real friends.
Facebook Is Forcing Instagram to Evolve
Given the size and scale of Instagram, this isn’t exactly a game-changing feature. However, it underlines Facebook’s desire to evolve Instagram into more than just the app people use to show off. It will be interesting to see how many people actually use the Chat sticker.
The $10 million entry fee to join the Facebook-developed cryptocurrency’s Libra Association is merely a minimum. Members who’ll verify transactions can opt to invest more in exchange for more Libra Investment Tokens that will earn them dividends from the interest earned by the Libra Reserve after it pays for infrastructure and operations costs. If regulators allow it to launch after today requesting a halt of development, and the cryptocurrency grows popular with tons of people cashing in local currencies for Libra, the Reserve that holds those assets could grow huge and generate meaningful returns via interest — especially for members willing to sink a ton of money in early.
But therein lies potential disalignment of incentives.
If you’re confused, read our guide to everything about Libra
Each Libra Association member only gets one vote on the council, including Facebook. But if Facebook puts in $500 million and another member like eBay antes just the $10 million minimum, Facebook has a much bigger incentive to get people cashing into Libra and holding onto the cryptocurrency so the Reserve earns interest on those dollars or other fiat, rather than just getting people to transact with it regardless of whether they hold on to Libra permanently. That could lead Facebook (and its Calibra subsidiary representing it) to push governance decisions that would disproportionately benefit it.
Ahead of the Libra announcement two weeks ago, Facebook’s head of blockchain and now Calibra David Marcus told me “The reserve earns interest on some of those treasuries. It’s a small amount and it’s variable but if the reserve becomes big it could become a substantial way to fund the association but also return capital to investors.”
Yet Facebook, for all its talk about transparency with Libra, refused to tell me how much it’s invested into the Libra project as a whole or the Libra Investment Token. That should be a core question raised by congress when Marcus testifies before the Senate Banking Chair on July 16th and the House Financial Services Committee on July 17th. Facebook did not respond to requests for comment on this article. Congress should also be sure to ask how Libra will avoid a Cambridge Analytica-style crypto disaster given that apps built on the Libra developer platform aren’t subject to review.
The proportion of the total Libra Investment Tokens that Facebook owns in part determines how decentralized Libra really is. If Facebook owns the lion’s share or a majority, that could give it too much financial impetus to bend the rules in its favor even if it only has one vote on the council.
Here’s how. Facebook has led development of Libra to date. In fact, the Libra Association has yet to draw up and ratify a charter or formally admit members. Technically it’s just Facebook’s project right now. “So far we’ve been funding it all” Marcus told The Information’s Alex Heath. It’s also been coding it all, organizing it all, and communicating it all.
As such, for now the project can’t survive without Facebook, and may not be able to for quite a while. That means if that if at any time Facebook disagrees so strongly with the Libra Association that it threatens to pull out, it jeopardizes the investment of all the other members. That could coerce them to vote in support of its governance policy suggestions. Facebook thereby wouldn’t need more than one vote to have a much larger influence on the direction of the project.
Today in a Facebook Note (…not a Libra.org blog post), Marcus wrote “The levels of investments of each of the partners will most likely be public as well when that’s actually live.” But that’s far from a guarantee, and could come too late for regulators to intercede or other members to truly understand the assymetry.
Meanwhile, Marcus also said that “We’ve been basically lending money to the association that will be at some point repaid back.” That raises another question of how much Facebook has already sunk into the Libra project, how much it expects to be repaid, on what schedule. Members might be more skittish to join if they learn much of their $10 million investment might just go to paying Facebook back.
That’s not to mention the other ways Facebook will earn money from Libra. Marcus wrote today that “If Libra is successful, Facebook will first benefit from it by enabling more commerce across its family of apps. More commerce means ads will be more effective, and advertisers will buy more of them to grow their businesses. Additionally, if we earn people’s trust with the Calibra wallet over time, we will also be in a position to start offering more financial services, and generate other revenue streams for the company.”
The fact that Facebook oversees development and has a massive head start on building its wallet that will be baked into its billion-plus user Messenger and WhatsApp products sure doesn’t hurt its prospects for offering other financial services. It will be first to market, instantly at scale, with an insider’s role in defining the rule book.
I’m not discounting the potential Libra has to aid the unbanked who can’t pay fees for having too little money in their accounts, or make commerce cheaper for small businesses. But if Facebook stands to earn outsized returns directly and indirectly from Libra, while expecting other members to foot its R&D bill, and these numbers aren’t made public soon, it’s reasonable to question how decentralized and altruistic this project really is.
If you’re driving your car from Portland to Merced, you probably rely on GPS to see where you are. But what if you’re driving your Moon rover from Oceanus Procellarum to the Sea of Tranquility? Actually, GPS should be fine — if this NASA research pans out.
Knowing exactly where you are in space, relative to other bodies anyway, is definitely a non-trivial problem. Fortunately the stars are fixed and by triangulating with them and other known landmarks, a spacecraft can figure out its location quite precisely.
But that’s so much work! Here on Earth we gave that up years ago, and now rely (perhaps too much) on GPS to tell us where we are to within a few meters.
By creating our own fixed stars — satellites in geosynchronous orbits — constantly emitting known signals, we made it possible for our devices to quickly sample those signals and immediately locate themselves.
That sure would be handy on the Moon, but a quarter of a million miles makes a lot of difference to a system that relies on ultra-precise timing and signal measurement. Yet there’s nothing theoretically barring GPS signals from being measured out there — and in fact, NASA has already done it at nearly half that distance with the MMS mission a few years ago.
“NASA has been pushing high-altitude GPS technology for years,” said MMS system architect Luke Winternitz in a NASA news release. “GPS around the Moon is the next frontier.”
Astronauts can’t just take their phones up there, of course. Our devices are calibrated for catching and calculating signals from satellites known to be in orbit above us and within a certain range of distances. The time for the signal to reach us from orbit is a fraction of a second, while on or near the Moon it would take perhaps a full second and a half. That may not sound like much, but it fundamentally affects how the receiving and processing systems have to be built.
That’s precisely what the team at NASA Goddard has been working on addressing with a new navigation computer that uses a special high-gain antenna, a super-precise clock, and other improvements over the earlier NavCube space GPS system and, of course, the terrestrial ones we all have in our phones.
The idea is to use GPS instead of relying on NASA’s network of ground and satellite measurement systems, which must exchange data to the spacecraft and eat up valuable bandwidth and power. Freeing up those systems could empower them to work on other missions and let more of the GPS-capable satellite’s communications be dedicated to science and other high-priority transmissions.
The team hopes to complete the lunar NavCube hardware by the end of the year and then find a flight to the Moon on which to test it as soon as possible. Fortunately, with Artemis gaining traction, it looks as if there will be no shortage of those.
The concept of a Google Doodle — the little widget that sometimes replaces the Google logo on the company’s main search page — has gotten a lot more complex over the years. The first one (from 1998!) was just a simple static image of the Google logo with a Burning Man logo behind it, meant to indicate that everyone behind the scenes was off in the desert. Nowadays the doodles can be richly animated interactive experiences built by an entire team of engineers, animators, and UX designers.
Take today’s July 4th-themed doodle, for example. Though it’ll probably only live on Google’s homepage for a day or two, it’s a full-fledged (and, well, pretty addictive) baseball game, complete with sound, cutesie animated characters, and more. Nearly a dozen people worked on it!
Want to give it a spin? You should be able to find it on Google’s homepage — though, as far as I can tell, it’ll only appear there for US visitors. If you’re outside of the US (or if you’re reading this after July 4th), you should be able to find it in Google’s Doodle archive here. Just tap the play button on the doodle to get started.
The idea is simple: wait for the pitch, time your swing, get points as your ketchups and burgers and whatnot (all the characters are July 4th BBQ staples) round the bases. Rinse and repeat until you’ve struck out three times.
While it starts out pretty easy, things get tough quickly as the pitcher changes up their strategy. At first, throws will come straight at you; within a few tosses, though, they’ll be curving, spinning wildly, and disappearing mid-flight.
Is it earth shattering? Nah. But for anyone who has already mentally checked out knowing that tomorrow is a US federal holiday, it’s a fun way to burn some time — especially given that Facebook, Instagram, and a bunch of the other time-suck sites are all kinds of broken right now.
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That’s precisely what the team at NASA Goddard has been working on addressing with a new navigation computer that uses a special high-gain antenna, a super-precise clock, and other improvements over the earlier