Tip Trick Here: 06/11/20

11 June 2020

Snap lets you play as your Bitmoji in third-party games

Snap is announcing at its Snap Partner Summit that the first games that will take advantage of Bitmoji will roll out soon. The feature has already been announced last year, and it looks like developers can finally take advantage of that SDK. You’ll be able to play a game with you as the hero — or at least the Bitmoji representation of you.

While this feature is reminiscent of Xbox Avatars or Nintendo’s Mii on the Wii, 3DS and Wii U, Bitmoji for Games is a cross-platform solution, from mobile games to console games and PC games. The issue with console-specific avatars are that you can’t support Xbox Avatars on PlayStation consoles for instance — that could be the reason why console manufacturers have been slowly phasing out those avatars. Bitmoji for Games could potentially solve that issue.

Having said that, the initial list of partners only includes mobile games on iOS and Android. Games include Super Brawl Universe from Nickelodeon and Playsoft, Uno from Mattel, Scrabble GO from Scopely and a soon-to-be-announced game from French startup Voodoo.

Let’s hope that Snap will be able to expand its list of partners beyond board games and casual mobile games. For instance, I would totally see Bitmoji for Games in Just Dance.

Here’s a concept video presenting the feature. As you can see, you just have to connect with your Snapchat account to import your Bitmoji to third-party games:

In other news, Snap is adding more games to Snapchat. There are already more than a dozen games that you can play with your friends when you’re chatting with them. Some of them are built in-house while others are developed by third-party game makers.

According to the company, 100 million Snapchat users have played a game since the feature launched last year. On average, users who choose to play Bitmoji Party, a Mario Party-inspired game that lets you compete with your friends in mini-games, spend 20 minutes in the game in a given day.

There’s a direct correlation between engagement and monetization as Snap doesn’t rely on micro-transactions and in-app purchases with Snap Games. The company monetizes this feature with video ads.

“We took a look at the state of mobile gaming a few years back and observed that so many successful games on mobile didn’t have your friends that deeply integrated into the experience,” Director of Product Will Wu told TechCrunch. “There’s a lot of games you just play solo on the bus or on the airplane or something like that. For us, we were really looking to recreate that experience that we may have had growing up, sitting side by side with our friends playing a game on a couch together. You’re actually looking at the same screen.”

The most interesting new game that the company will release in the coming months is Bitmoji Paint. This game is a sort of casual Minecraft-inspired creativity game. Users play together on the same planet and can paint tiles on the ground. It lets you create pixel art and look at other creations.

Other new games include Bumped Out (Zynga), Friend Quizzes (Game Closure), Ready Set Golf! (PikPok) and Sling Racers (Madbox). They will be released over the coming months.

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Snapchat redesigns its app with new action bar

Snap is unveiling some important changes for Snapchat at its Snap Partner Summit. The navigation has been rethought with a new action bar at the bottom that lets you access Snap Map and Snap Originals in just a tap.

Snap Map is also getting some brand new features to compete head-to-head with Google Maps. A new banner called ‘Happening Now’ is also being rolled out to all users in the U.S. with a curated selection of stories at the top of the Discover tab.

Snap has been testing the new design for a while and it is now official. While Snapchat has always been a bit obscure to figure out for newcomers, navigation has been greatly simplified with the redesign.

For instance, Snapchat now has a good old navigation bar with five tabs at the bottom. The company calls it the action bar as it’s supposed to change contextually based on what you’re doing. But at heart, it’s simply a way to access some of Snap’s most popular products in just a tap.

Old school users will still feel at home with your conversations on the left of the camera and stories on the right of the camera. But there are now two additional tabs.

All the way at the bottom left, Snap Map now has its own button — you no longer have to pull down from the camera screen to access the map.

At the bottom right, you’ll find two buttons that replace the previous Discover button. The old Discover tab is now called Stories. It features stories from friends, subscriptions and story recommendations.

If you swipe right one more time, you’ll find a new tab called Discover. It replaces the previously hidden tab called Shows. It features Snap Originals, the company’s original video content, stories that are currently trending on the platform and a new ‘Happening Now’ section (more on that below).

Many apps copied Snapchat’s design over the years. Swiping your screen left and right to switch from one tab to another is a fluid and seamless experience. Square’s Cash App is a great example of how it feels like.

But it creates some issues around discoverability. Many users probably didn’t know they could access Snap Map by swiping down on the screen for instance.

Tapping on buttons feels like clicking on links on a website. It’s less elegant but it’s efficient as you can see the buttons right here on the screen. Snapchat already switched to a hybrid model with buttons to access your conversations and the Discover tab for those who don’t know they can swipe left and right. With the new buttons, it should be even easier to figure out what you can do in the app.

Find local businesses in Snap Map

Snap Map is the company’s take on a mapping product. It lets you view the location of your friends in real time — or at least those who have chosen to share their location with you. It also lets you tap on popular places to see what’s happening right now based on Our Story (public stories).

There are now 200 million people using Snap Map every month. And the company is about to overhaul it with a lot more information. The company is in the process of adding millions of listings for businesses around the world.

Starting today, you can tap on your favorite places and view some information, such as the address, hours of operation and reviews from TripAdvisor and Foursquare. In the U.S., users can also tap on a button to order food using Postmates, DoorDash and Uber Eats.

This represents a new revenue opportunity for Snap as well. Local businesses will be able to buy ads on Snap Map to highlight their bar, restaurant and business.

A new ‘Happening Now’ banner based on a curation of news stories

Snap is launching a news aggregator of some sort in the Discover tab. At the top of the screen, there’s a new Happening Now section.

Happening Now is based on updates across stories covering politics, entertainment, sports and more. Many news organizations already have their own stories in the Discover tab. With Happening Now, Snap compiles content from partners, such as The Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, NBC News, ESPN, NowThis, E! News and BuzzFeed News.

When you tap on the banner, you can see news content from various sources organized by categories — local, world, sports, politics, etc. The company is rolling out this feature to all users based in the U.S. starting today. It’ll be rolled out to other countries in the next year.

Finally, you can share public stories based on topics. When you share a story, you can choose to share it publicly by tapping on Our Story. It is matched with a location or an event.

Starting today, you can also match it with a topic using topic stickers, such as ‘Life Hacks’ or ‘Oddly Satisfying’. Users can browse stories based on topics, creating a laid-back experience based on your interests.

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Snap announces new slate of Snap Originals

Snap is going full speed ahead with its original content strategy. The company announced that it has expanded previous partnerships with ESPN, NBCUniversal, ViacomCBS, the NBA and the NFL for new Shows and Snap Originals.

The new slate of Snap Originals include unscripted series, docuseries as well as scripted dramas and comedies. Here are some of the highlights:

Coach Kev, an unscripted show about Kevin Hart giving you advice, inspiration and more.
Fake Up, a show with optical illusion make-up artists transforming their own faces.
Move It, an immersive dance show featuring some of the biggest dance influencers.

When it comes to docuseries, here’s an early look at what’s coming up:

There are also three scripted series coming up:

Frogtown, a series directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Thirteen) about an all-girl skating crew.
Action Royale, a show about an underground esports gambling ring.
Total Badass Wrestling, a story of mentorship between a young wrestler and a well-known wrester looking for his second act.

A few existing Snap Originals are also being renewed for another season, such as Dead of Night, Face Forward, Nikita Unfiltered and Vs The World.

Some of those shows have been quite popular, with Dead of Night attracting 15 million viewers, Nikita Unfiltered attracting 22 million viewers and Will From Home (featuring Will Smith) attracting 35 million viewers.

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Snapchat redesigns its app with new action bar

Old school users will still feel at home with your conversations on the left of the camera and stories on the right of the camera. But there are now two additional tabs.

All the way at the bottom left, Snap Map now has its own button — you no longer have to pull down from the camera screen to access the map.

But it creates some issues around discoverability. Many users probably didn’t know they could access Snap Map by swiping down on the screen for instance.

Find local businesses in Snap Map

This represents a new revenue opportunity for Snap as well. Local businesses will be able to buy ads on Snap Map to highlight their bar, restaurant and business.

A new ‘Happening Now’ banner based on a curation of news stories

Snap is launching a news aggregator of some sort in the Discover tab. At the top of the screen, there’s a new Happening Now section.

Finally, you can share public stories based on topics. When you share a story, you can choose to share it publicly by tapping on Our Story. It is matched with a location or an event.

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Snap announces new slate of Snap Originals

The new slate of Snap Originals include unscripted series, docuseries as well as scripted dramas and comedies. Here are some of the highlights:

Coach Kev, an unscripted show about Kevin Hart giving you advice, inspiration and more.
Fake Up, a show with optical illusion make-up artists transforming their own faces.
Move It, an immersive dance show featuring some of the biggest dance influencers.

When it comes to docuseries, here’s an early look at what’s coming up:

There are also three scripted series coming up:

Frogtown, a series directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Thirteen) about an all-girl skating crew.
Action Royale, a show about an underground esports gambling ring.
Total Badass Wrestling, a story of mentorship between a young wrestler and a well-known wrester looking for his second act.

A few existing Snap Originals are also being renewed for another season, such as Dead of Night, Face Forward, Nikita Unfiltered and Vs The World.

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Unlocking the "Chemome" with DNA-Encoded Chemistry and Machine Learning

Posted by Patrick Riley, Principal Engineer, Accelerated Science Team, Google Research

Much of the development of therapeutics for human disease is built around understanding and modulating the function of proteins, which are the main workhorses of many biological activities. Small molecule drugs such as ibuprofen often work by inhibiting or promoting the function of proteins or their interactions with other biomolecules. Developing useful “virtual screening” methods where potential small molecules can be evaluated computationally rather than in a lab, has long been an area of research. However, the persistent challenge is to build a method that works well enough across a wide range of chemical space to be useful for finding small molecules with physically verified useful interaction with a protein of interest, i.e., “hits”.

In “Machine learning on DNA-encoded libraries: A new paradigm for hit-finding”, recently published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, we worked in collaboration with X-Chem Pharmaceuticals to demonstrate an effective new method for finding biologically active molecules using a combination of physical screening with DNA-encoded small molecule libraries and virtual screening using a graph convolutional neural network (GCNN). This research has led to the creation of the Chemome initiative, a cooperative project between our Accelerated Science team and ZebiAI that will enable the discovery of many more small molecule chemical probes for biological research.

Background on Chemical Probes
Making sense of the biological networks that support life and produce disease is an immensely complex task. One approach to study these processes is using chemical probes, small molecules that aren’t necessarily useful as drugs, but that selectively inhibit or promote the function of specific proteins. When you have a biological system to study (such as cancer cells growing in a dish), you can add the chemical probe at a specific time and observe how the biological system responds differently when the targeted protein has increased or decreased activity. But, despite how useful chemical probes are for this kind of basic biomedical research, only 4% of human proteins have a known chemical probe available.

The process of finding chemical probes begins similarly to the earliest stages of small molecule drug discovery. Given a protein target of interest, the space of small molecules is scanned to find “hit” molecules that can be further tested. Robotic assisted high throughput screening where up to hundred of thousands or millions of molecules are physically tested is a cornerstone of modern drug research. However, the number of small molecules you can easily purchase (1.2x10⁹) is much larger than that, which in turn is much smaller than the number of small drug like molecules (estimates from 10²⁰ to 10⁶⁰). “Virtual screening” could possibly quickly and efficiently search this vast space of potentially synthesizable molecules and greatly speed up the discovery of therapeutic compounds.

DNA-Encoded Small Molecule Library Screening
The physical part of the screening process uses DNA-encoded small molecule libraries (DELs), which contain many distinct small molecules in one pool, each of which is attached to a fragment of DNA serving as a unique barcode for that molecule. While this basic technique has been around for several decades, the quality of the library and screening process is key to producing meaningful results.

DELs are a very clever idea to solve a biochemical challenge, which is how to collect small molecules into one place with an easy way to identify each. The key is to use DNA as a barcode to identify each molecule, similar to Nobel Prize winning phage display technology. First, one generates many chemical fragments, each with a unique DNA barcode attached, along with a common chemical handle (the NH₂ in this case). The results are then pooled and split into separate reactions where a set of distinct chemical fragments with another common chemical handle (e.g., OH) are added. The chemical fragments from the two steps react and fuse together at the common chemical handles. The DNA fragments are also connected to build one continuous barcode for each molecule. The net result is that by performing 2N operations, one gets N² unique molecules, each of which is identified by its own unique DNA barcode. By using more fragments or more cycles, it’s relatively easy to make libraries with millions or even billions of distinct molecules.

An overview of the process of creating a DNA encoded small molecule library. First, DNA “barcodes” (represented here with numbered helices) are attached to small chemical fragments (the blue shapes) which expose a common chemical “handle” (e.g. the NH₂ shown here). When mixed with other chemical fragments (the orange shapes) each of which has another exposed chemical “handle” (the OH) with attached DNA fragments, reactions merge the sets of chemical and DNA fragments, resulting in a voluminous library of small molecules of interest, each with a unique DNA “barcode”.

Once the library has been generated, it can be used to find the small molecules that bind to the protein of interest by mixing the DEL together with the protein and washing away the small molecules that do not attach. Sequencing the remaining DNA barcodes produces millions of individual reads of DNA fragments, which can then be carefully processed to estimate which of the billions of molecules in the original DEL interact with the protein.

Machine Learning on DEL Data
Given the physical screening data returned for a particular protein, we build an ML model to predict whether an arbitrarily chosen small molecule will bind to that protein. The physical screening with the DEL provides positive and negative examples for an ML classifier. To simplify slightly, the small molecules that remain at the end of the screening process are positive examples and everything else are negative examples. We use a graph convolutional neural network, which is a type of neural network specially designed for small graph-like inputs, such as the small molecules in which we are interested.

Results
We physically screened three diverse proteins using DEL libraries: sEH (a hydrolase), ERα (a nuclear receptor), and c-KIT (a kinase). Using the DEL-trained models, we virtually screened large make-on-demand libraries from Mcule and an internal molecule library at X-Chem to identify a diverse set of molecules predicted to show affinity with each target. We compared the results of the GCNN models to a random forest (RF) model, a common method for virtual screening that uses standard chemical fingerprints, which we use as baseline. We find that the GCNN model significantly outperforms the RF model in discovering more potent candidates.

Fraction of molecules (“hit rates”) from those tested showing various levels of activity, comparing predictions from two different machine learned models (a GCNN and random forests, RF) on three distinct protein targets. The color scale on the right uses a common metric IC50 for representing the potency of a molecule. nM means “nanomolar” and µM means “micromolar”. Smaller values / darker colors are generally better molecules. Note that typical virtual screening approaches not built with DEL data normally only reach a few percent on this scale.

Importantly, unlike many other uses of virtual screening, the process to select the molecules to test was automated or easily automatable given the results of the model, and we did not rely on review and selection of the most promising molecules by a trained chemist. In addition, we tested almost 2000 molecules across the three targets, the largest published prospective study of virtual screening of which we are aware. While providing high confidence on the hit rates above, this also allows one to carefully examine the diversity of hits and the usefulness of the model for molecules near and far from the training set.

The Chemome Initiative
ZebiAI Therapeutics was founded based on the results of this research and has partnered with our team and X-Chem Pharmaceuticals to apply these techniques to efficiently deliver new chemical probes to the research community for human proteins of interest, an effort called the Chemome Initiative.

As part of the Chemome Initiative, ZebiAI will work with researchers to identify proteins of interest and source screening data, which our team will use to build machine learning models and make predictions on commercially available libraries of small molecules. ZebiAI will provide the predicted molecules to researchers for activity testing and will collaborate with researchers to advance some programs through discovery. Participation in the program requires that the validated hits be published within a reasonable time frame so that the whole community can benefit. While more validation must be done to make the hit molecules useful as chemical probes, especially for specifically targeting the protein of interest and the ability to function correctly in common assays, having potent hits is a big step forward in the process.

We’re excited to be a part of the Chemome Initiative enabled by the effective ML techniques described here and look forward to its discovery of many new chemical probes. We expect the Chemome will spur significant new biological discoveries and ultimately accelerate new therapeutic discovery for the world.

Acknowledgements
This work represents a multi-year effort between the Accelerated Science Team and X-Chem Pharmaceuticals with many people involved. This project would not have worked without the combined diverse skills of biologists, chemists, and ML researchers. We should especially acknowledge Eric Sigel (of X-Chem, now at ZebiAI) and Kevin McCloskey (of Google), the first authors on the paper and Steve Kearnes (of Google) for core modelling ideas and technical work.

What tech companies know about your kids | Veronica Barassi

What tech companies know about your kids | Veronica Barassi

The digital platforms you and your family use every day -- from online games to education apps and medical portals -- may be collecting and selling your children's data, says anthropologist Veronica Barassi. Sharing her eye-opening research, Barassi urges parents to look twice at digital terms and conditions instead of blindly accepting them -- and to demand protections that ensure their kids' data doesn't skew their future.

Click the above link to download the TED talk.

Twitter appears to be testing a wider range of reactions to Tweets

When it comes to Twitter tweaks, the focus in the last several months seems to have been more on working on ways to make its platform less prone to being abused by people who use it to spread false and misleading information and harassment, and generally weaponise it for aims that are ultimately harmful. But a recent test points to how the company is also working on other ways of improving interactions and engagement.

Twitter appears to be currently testing reactions in Tweets, which would expand the hearts you already have on there to a range of other options. In the test, first uncovered by social app sleuth Jane Wong, Twitter is testing letting users respond with an emoji of their choice (similar to the pop-up it has for emojis when you compose a Tweet today); or a few pre-selected ones, including “100” (for agreement), a red circle with a line through it (for disagreement), a heart, a crying with laughter emoji, a shocked face, and a pair of pressed palms (for please, yes, let it be so, etc.).

In the test, Twitter also includes Fleets as a reaction in addition to these instant responses, alongside existing Retweets and Retweets with comment. (Fleets are Twitter’s version of Stories and so far are only live in Brazil, Italy and most recently, India.)

We reached out to Twitter for comment on this hours ago. We will update when and if they respond.

Reactions in Tweets should not come as too much of a surprise. In January, Twitter started to lay the groundwork by adding in reactions to Direct Messages. Based on the reactions you typically see in Apple’s iMessages, however, they’re different from the reactions appearing in this latest test. (They include thumbs up and down, a flame, a heart, and laughing/crying/shocked faces.)

On top of that, Twitter itself has been testing the waters for multiple-emoji reactions for no less than five years already — which, even for a company that perhaps hasn’t been quick enough to respond to requests for changes, is a long time in tech. Maybe there’s still hope for that edit button, after all.

Offering a choice of quick-response reactions for users would (finally) bring Twitter in line with other social media platforms, specifically Facebook but also others like LinkedIn, with the expanded range of reactions giving users a way of responding quickly but with a little more nuance thrown in. Engagement is king these days, so something that can bring out more clicks but not at the expense of festering more abuse seems like a positive.

Twitter’s had kind of a problematic history with its reactions. (I mean, it has a problematic history full stop, but let’s put that to one side for now…)

Some superfans never really forgave Twitter for dropping “stars” in favour of “hearts”. One big complaint: it co-opted quick acknowledgement and effectively turned it into heart-felt endorsement.

I always thought that replacing a star with a heart was Twitter’s attempt to put more positivity into the platform. Yes, there are people who argue that hearts are equally used for acknowledgement as for actual positive responses, but that sort of ham-fisted response probably sums up exactly why Twitter’s hammer of attention precisely falls the wrong way so often.

We’ll update this post as we learn more. :-)

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The Best Fire TV Stick Gaming Controllers

While the Amazon Fire TV Stick lacks the power of a gaming-optimized streaming device like the Nvidia Shield, it still has plenty of fun titles that you can spend a few hours enjoying.

Your TV remote or phone isn’t going to suffice. So, to maximize the experience, you’ll need a Fire TV Stick game controller.

Keep reading to learn about the best Fire TV game controllers that are compatible with your device.

Best Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
Xbox One Wireless Controller

Xbox One Wireless Controller Xbox One Wireless Controller Buy Now On Amazon $64.99

Microsoft’s standard Xbox One Wireless Controller works perfectly with the Fire TV Stick thanks to its Bluetooth wireless connection. This means you can also use the controller with Windows 10 and Android tablets. The controller has textured grips, a 40-foot Bluetooth range, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. If you buy the Play and Charge kit (sold separately), you can also charge the device via USB.

Remember, a Fire TV Stick has only a single micro-USB port, and it’s used for the power supply. That means wired versions of the Xbox controller (or wired variants of any other controller) will not work. The situation is not the same on a Fire TV Cube; the Cube does have USB ports that you can use to connect a wired model.

Alternative Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
DualShock 4 Wireless Controller

Similarly, Sony’s DualShock 4 Wireless Controller for the PlayStation 4 makes for a great Fire TV Stick game controller. The DualShock 4 has a built-in speaker, a stereo headset jack, USB recharging, and a clickable touchpad in the center of the device. Like the Xbox One controller, it will also work with Windows and Android.

In terms of usability, there is little between Sony’s offering and the Microsoft product. Each person has their own preference between the two, but if you already own either a PlayStation or Xbox, the difference is not sufficient to warrant going out and buying a new controller. Just pair the controller you already have with your Fire TV Stick.

Best Retro Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
8Bitdo SN30 Pro

8Bitdo SN30 Pro 8Bitdo SN30 Pro Buy Now On Amazon $48.99

For something a bit more retro-looking, check out the 8Bitdo SN30 Pro. Styled to resemble an original SNES controller, the device thankfully packs in considerably more features than the old Nintendo model. Those features include clickable joysticks, rumble vibration, motion controls, and USB charging.

Of course, Bluetooth is supported, but the controller has wired connectivity for when the hardware allows. The 8Bitdo SN30 Pro is also a good choice if you’re the type of gamer who likes to take screenshots of your progress share with friends as it has a dedicated Screenshot button that sits alongside the home button.

Best Mini Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
PL-608 Mini

PL-608 Mini PL-608 Mini Buy Now On Amazon $12.49

Amazon Fire TV Sticks are often the streaming device of choice for secondary TVs in people’s homes. Their low cost makes them ideal for areas like kitchens and kids’ bedrooms which are often tight on space. If you want a discrete and lightweight Fire TV Stick gaming controller, consider buying the PL-608 Mini.

It only measures 3 x 1.4 x 0.7 inches. Space on the controller is at a premium, so you’ll have to make some compromises. The PL-608 Mini has a joystick but no D-pad, and there is no equivalent of the R1/R2 and L1/L2 buttons on the top of the device. The controller has a wireless range of 10 meters.

Best Budget Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
Matricom G-Pad

Matricom G-Pad Matricom G-Pad Buy Now On Amazon $69.99

Fire TV Sticks are not designed to be the main gaming console in a house; hardcore gamers will look to more powerful hardware for their regular fix. As such, you probably don’t need to spend a fortune on your Amazon Fire TV Stick controller. The quality of games available on the platform doesn’t really justify it.

The Matricom G-Pad is a cheap-yet-reliable Fire TV Stick game controller. It has a rechargeable battery, 16 buttons, two joysticks, and the possibility to flip between controller mode and mouse mode using a simple button combo. It even works with Samsung Gear VR hardware.

Best Fire TV Stick Game Controller for Battery Life:
Bigaint Pro

Bigaint Pro Bigaint Pro Buy Now On Amazon $19.99

Occasional and casual gamers will want their Fire TV game controller to be ready to use whenever needed—you don’t want to worry about recharging it all the time. For a low-price Amazon controller with solid rechargeable battery life, have a look at the Bigaint Pro.

The controller is notably cheaper than PS4 and Xbox controllers, yet it will last for more than five hours off a single charge. It has dual rumble vibration, a screen capture button, and support for gyro axis functionality. If you want to play on a PC or Fire TV Cube, you can use a USB cable to make the connection. For Fire TV Sticks, use the Bluetooth.

Best Premium Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
SteelSeries Stratus XL

SteelSeries Stratus XL SteelSeries Stratus XL Buy Now On Amazon $36.48

If you want a Fire TV Stick gaming controller that’ll make your friends jealous, it might be time to pick up a SteelSeries Stratus XL. It’s one of the best gaming controllers outside of the in-house products from Microsoft and Sony. The controller has pressure-sensitive buttons, and clickable joysticks.

There’s also left and right analog triggers, four LEDs that can be used to denote a gamer’s current status, and even a battery-saving mode so you can squeeze out a final few gaming sessions before you need to plug it in and recharge. The two AA batteries will last for around 40 hours and the controller weighs 10.2 ounces.

Which Fire TV Stick Game Controller Should You Buy?

Much depends on how much you plan to game on your device. Broadly speaking, the less you play, the less money you should spend. Also, have a think about the ergonomics of the design. Some designs might suit your hands better than others.

If you opt for one of these chargers, you may also be interested in how to connect a gaming controller to an iPad or iPhone.

Read the full article: The Best Fire TV Stick Gaming Controllers

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Get 10 Award-Winning Mac Apps and Parallels Desktop for $60 With This Limited Edition Bundle

Finding the right app for any given task can completely transform your working day. Instead of wasting time and getting stressed, you are able to focus on productivity. The Limited Edition Mac Bundle Ft. Parallels Desktop brings together eight apps that provide this kind of relief. Every single app has earned accolades, and the collection covers everything from mind mapping to landscape photography. You can get the full lineup now for just $59.99 at MakeUseOf Deals.

The Perfect Workflow

Whether you’re working from home or trying to upload movies to your iPad, this bundle has you covered.

Parallels Desktop 15 allows users to seamlessly run Windows programs on their Mac machines. Used by over 7 million users, Parallels makes it easy to use and keep performance.

The second headliner name on the roster is iMazing, which received a 4.5-star rating from MacWorld. This app lets you sync your iOS devices without using iTunes. It can handle all kinds of media, including music, messages, and even voicemails.

Winner of Digital Photo Editors’ Choice Award, Aurora HDR helps you blend together multiple images to rescue bright highlights and dark shadows. The app offers professional results with one click, and you have a range of styles to choose from.

You can also recover data with Disk Drill Pro, protect your online privacy with Windscribe VPN, create mind maps with Xmind 8, and build websites with RapidWeaver. Deltawalker pro helps you manage thousands of files, and TextExpander is the ultimate time saver.

Order Now for $59.99

These apps are worth over $1,000 in total, but you can grab the bundle now for just $59.99.

Read the full article: Get 10 Award-Winning Mac Apps and Parallels Desktop for $60 With This Limited Edition Bundle

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Netflix Wants You to Understand Why Black Lives Matter

Netflix has launched a collection of films, TV shows, and documentaries which it hopes will help people understand the Black Lives Matter movement. The collection includes dozens of titles dealing with “racial injustice and the Black experience in America”.

What Is the Black Lives Matter Movement?

Black Lives Matter is a human rights movement which originated in the US in 2013. It has since grown into an international movement campaigning against police brutality, racial profiling, racial inequality, and systemic racism in the US and beyond.

The recent protests against George Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department have brought these issues back to the fore. Making this the perfect time to learn about the issues involved and the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole.

Learn About the Black Experience on Netflix

To help everyone do that, Netflix has launched a Black Lives Matter collection of films, TV shows, and documentaries. These address the issues being raised around right now, and many were made by black filmmakers and storytellers.

When you log onto Netflix today, you will see a carefully curated list of titles that only begin to tell the complex and layered stories about racial injustice and Blackness in America. https://t.co/dN6XQmsrGK pic.twitter.com/3CIrrno6mw

— Netflix (@netflix) June 10, 2020

The content in the collection includes Orange Is the New Black, 13th, When They See Us, Becoming, Dear White People, Seven Seconds, All Day and a Night, Mudbound, and See You Yesterday. The contents of the collection may differ based on your location.

The easiest way to find Netflix’ Black Lives Matter collection is to click here. However, it should also be available as its own genre in the dropdown menu, will appear if you search “Black Lives Matter,” and may even be promoted via a popup when you sign in.

It’s There for the People Who Want to Learn

Netflix isn’t forcing anyone to watch these films, TV shows, and documentaries. However, by curating the collection, the streaming service is making it much easier for people who want to do so learn about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Netflix has plenty of other content worth watching. So much, in fact, that we were able to put together an A-Z of TV shows to binge-watch. They cover the full gamut of genres, including intriguing dramas, funny comedies, and mysterious horrors.

Read the full article: Netflix Wants You to Understand Why Black Lives Matter

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The 8 Best Free Stock Trading Apps for Android and iPhone

Investing in the stock market is a big part of the financial planning puzzle for almost everyone. It’s a great way to prepare for retirement or even just make some additional income. And technology has made it much easier for anyone to get started investing online.

While taking a dive into the market might seem like a big step, especially for beginner investors, technology has made keeping up with specific stocks and the market in general much easier. Along with a number of financial sites, you can easily track the market on your smartphone or tablet with the right apps.

Here are some great apps that can help you track the ups and downs of the market.

1. Investing.com

The mobile app of the popular site Investing.com is a perfect way to track stocks worldwide. This app offers live quotes and charts for more than 100,000 different stocks on more than 70 different global exchanges. You can also view information about bonds, commodities, foreign exchanges, interest rates, futures, options, and more.

One of the best features of the app is its comprehensive economic calendar that provides an update on global economic events. You can then see how those will impact the markets and specific stocks.

You can also create and customize a specific portfolio to keep watch of stocks and much more, such as bonds.

For each of the different stocks trackable through the app, market watchers can receive customizable alerts for a specific price, percentage changes, or volume. You can also set up alerts for an economic event or a news analysis article.

Download: Investing.com for iOS | Android (Free, subscription available)

2. Yahoo Finance

One of the most well-known spots on the internet for financial information, the Yahoo Finance app is also a great market resource. Along with real-time stock information, the app can track your personal portfolios.

To track specific stocks, just add them to a watch list to receive quotes and personalized news about the companies. Turn your smartphone into landscape mode to view full-screen charts. These provide more information about stocks and even allow you to compare different options.

Past tracking the market, the app can even provide information on currencies, bonds, commodities, equities, and world markets. It also lets you follow more than 100 different cryptocurrencies, including the most well-known: Bitcoin. Our sister site Blocks Decoded has a guide to Bitcoin if you’re not familiar.

As a nice touch, all your personal stock information can sync between multiple devices.

Download: Yahoo Finance for iOS | Android (Free, subscription available)

3. StockTwits

An interesting social app, StockTwits allows you to chat with other investors and traders to help better gauge the market and see where your stocks are going. Along with a general market chat, there’s an investor chat on each specific stock page. A special trending list shows market watchers specific stocks that are in the news, making moves up or down, or popular with top investors and traders.

To help watchers explore the market, you’ll also find automatic and hand-curated stock lists and news highlights to help you possibly discover a new investment idea.

Along with a comprehensive cryptocurrency section, the app provides an up-to-date earnings calendar so you can view stocks with upcoming earnings reports. StockTwits can also connect with brokerage accounts from big names like Robinhood, E-Trade, and Fidelity to trade directly from the app.

Download: StockTwits for iOS | Android (Free, subscription available)

4. Real-Time Stocks Tracker

As you could probably guess by the name, Real-Time Stocks Tracker does a great job providing live streaming stock information. Along with the ability to create and track multiple watch lists and stock portfolios, the app supports all major brokers in the United States for trading. So while tracking stocks, you can simply swipe on the name to buy or sell the selection.

On the page for each stock, the app offers a nice amount of information, including technical indicators and comments.

Another great feature is the stock scanner. You can input a number of customizable variables including price, market cap, EPS, and many others to find the exact stock that piques your interest.

The app supports a number of customizable alerts as well. Users can even set the price of a specific stock to appear as the app’s badge.

If you’d like to learn how to become a better investor, there’s a dedicated section for paper trading. That will allow you to play the market without risking a dime.

Download: Real-Time Stocks Tracker for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases available)

5. My Stocks Portfolio & Widget

A great all-around choice to follow stocks and your portfolio is My Stock Portfolio & Widget. You can view real-time stock information for the United States and even some international markets.

After entering your stock portfolio, you can monitor small changes or even view annualized gains. You can also view news for each stock in a portfolio. To help better manage all of your holdings, there is no limit on the number of portfolios you can create in the app.

Instead of opening the app to view stock info, a widget will show information from watch lists and current holdings. You can set a password to protect all the stock information. The app allows you to back up and restore data with a CSV file.

Download: My Stocks Portfolio & Widget for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases available)

6. Bloomberg

Bloomberg is an iconic name in the financial world. And its namesake app is a perfect way to track your stocks and keep up-to-date on everything business. You can create a portfolio with stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, currencies, and more. The app will then provide alerts on your positions and other financial and economic news.

A widget shows featured articles, market data, and a watchlist summary of your holdings. To get a better handle of what’s happening in the world, the app features news from the markets and other industries.

You also listen to Bloomberg Radio for free. A subscription gives access to the Bloomberg TV channel.

Download: Bloomberg for iOS | Android (Free, subscription available)

7. JStock

Worldwide investors will want to take a look at JStock. The app can track stocks in 28 different countries, including the United States. When looking at foreign stocks, the app will display local currency in blue based on the most recent exchange rate.

With the app, you can easily manage both unlimited portfolios and stock dividends to see exactly where you stand financially. Charts provide a closer look at both portfolio and dividend returns.

There are also widgets to view stocks on a watch list, how markets around the world are performing, and a buy portfolio.

Download: JStock for Android (Free, in-app purchases available)

8. Ticker Stock Portfolio Manager

A comprehensive way to keep track of the market, Ticker Stock Portfolio offers a number of great features. Anyone with multiple portfolios can view their overall positions and profit/loss information at a glance. Just enter the trades, dividends, and splits. The app will then take care of all the other calculations. You’ll also be able to view the full portfolio metrics for the last three years.

With push notifications, the app will provide an alert for a number of different customizable triggers including price, volume, percent changes, rise or fall, and others. Users can also create multiple watch lists with different stocks. With push notifications, the app will provide an alert for a number of different customizable triggers including price, volume, percent changes, rise or fall, and others. You can also create multiple watch lists with different stocks.

Apple Watch users can also take advantage of the app on their wearable device. On the Watch, you can quickly access information about markets, watch lists, portfolios, and even specific stocks.

Download: Ticker Stock Portfolio Manager for iOS (Free, subscription available)

Track Stocks on Your Mobile Device With Ease

Whether you’re a stock expert or just learning the ropes, these apps should definitely help keep you informed on what’s happening with the market on a daily basis.

If you’re interested in learning more about how the market works without risking any hard-earned cash, definitely take a look at virtual games that help you better learn how to invest. And be sure to bookmark one or more of these sites that help you stay on top of the financial market.

Read the full article: The 8 Best Free Stock Trading Apps for Android and iPhone

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Want to Work Remotely? Tips on How to Convince Your Boss

For many people, working from home was a dream. Imagine waving goodbye to a grueling commute and office politics. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, even if you know that working from home is the best option, convincing your boss to let you make the switch is not easy.

In the current era with an ongoing pandemic, however, working from home might also become a necessity. So, here are some helpful tips and easy exercises to prepare you to sway your boss.

Can I Work From Home?

Work From Home Jobs Use a Laptop

According to a study by Global Workplace Analytics, over 56 percent of employees in the US “have a job where at least some of what they do could be done remotely.” Just over 40 percent of the current workforce also “work remotely with some frequency.”

With the state of employment in 2020, that number is set to rise.

To emphasize just how much things have shifted: Twitter recently announced that employees could work from home indefinitely, as reported by Forbes and other outlets. Other companies are also starting to realize that working from home can be a boon for employers if they’re looking to cut back on rental office space.

Additionally, since the early 2000s, the number of teleworkers in the US has skyrocketed. The internet has revitalized legitimate work from home jobs. And a Microsoft white paper cited by Forbes also shows why the idea of remote work is so appealing.

The top five benefits of working from home, as cited, are:

A healthier work/life balance. (60%)
Less money spent on gas. (55%)
Less time spent sitting in traffic. (47%)
The ability to be more productive when working from home. (45%)
Less distractions. (44%)

Faced with these kinds of benefits, working from home seems like an obvious choice.

That said, you also need to see this from your boss’s perspective. If they aren’t used to the concept of non-traditional workspaces, they probably harbor doubts about your potential transition.

This is why you need to be armed with the relevant tools, information, and strategy to put them at ease.

Does Work From Home Reduce Productivity?

How to Work From Home Effectively

When it comes to learning how to work from home effectively, not only are you asking your boss to trust you to focus, you’re also asking to work with much less guidance than you had before.

While some folks are naturally skilled at independent work, from your boss’ perspective there is still cause for concern. This worry boils down to the fact that they have no pre-existing knowledge of how you’ll work in a different environment.

Will your current productivity levels keep up?

Fortunately, plenty of studies have shown that these worries are vastly misplaced. If you’ve casually mentioned working from home to your boss, it might be worthwhile to send them links to relevant studies, especially if they’re anxious about the aforementioned productivity.

Let’s run through those stats now.

Here Are the Numbers

One Stanford study showed that working from home increases individual productivity by 13 percent. Of that number, “9% was from working more minutes per shift (fewer breaks and sick days), and 4% from more calls per minute (attributed to a quieter and more convenient working environment).”
A 2015 survey by CoSo Cloud also found that 52 percent of workers were “less likely to take time off when working remotely—even when sick… Overall, 44% have a more positive attitude, and 53% report reduced stress. 51% spend more time with their significant others, adding to greater job satisfaction.”
Also, a 2014 State of Telecommuting PGi report found that 82 percent of telecommuters experienced less stress, 80 percent experienced improved morale, 70 percent saw an increase in productivity, and 69 percent saw an improvement in absenteeism.

Basically, the numbers are on your side when it comes to productivity in work from home environments. This doesn’t even begin to touch on the potential employer savings in overhead costs (such as office supplies and snacks), environmental benefits, and reduced employee turnover.

When Should You Ask to Work From Home?

How to Work From Home Effectively Use Asana

The timing of when you should ask your boss is important. The question should be posed when your employer is in a confident state of mind about your work. It should also be done in a way that makes it clear that your boss will be getting more benefits by letting you work out of the office.

As Ramit Sethi points out in his best-selling book I Will Teach You To Be Rich, this conversation would ideally happen soon after you’ve received a positive performance review.

To keep track of when you need to ask your boss, we also recommend a project management tool like Asana. To learn more about this app, read our beginner’s guide to using Asana for any project.

How to Prepare Your Work From Home Proposal

Work From Home Proposal

Now that you’ve found the perfect time to propose this work from home solution, you need to prepare your proposal. After all, even with the numbers on your side, there are other practical issues that might get in the way of receiving a thumbs up.

Before you ask, you need to prepare a plan to show how you’ll adapt to this new working environment. Basically, the aim is to walk into that meeting knowing that you have every angle covered, and to cause as little inconvenience as possible.

When mapping out your proposal, it’s best to turn it into a concise document that you can leave with your employer, if they request it. Remember, the trick is to be thorough, but short. No one likes reading rambling, page-long essays.

When crafting this document, any word processing program should do. For this article, I’m using Google Docs as an example.

You can also use this list of checkpoints below as a guide for what should be covered in the document itself.

Working From Home Will Make Improvements to the Workday

First, explain current frustrations and bottlenecks to your workflow within the office. Perhaps too many distractions interfere with your ability to complete your task.

Point out how these issues have the potential to affect the productivity of all workers in the office, not just yourself. Explain that some of these issues would be resolved if you and the others could at least partially work from home.

Working From Home Will Not Cause Connection Issues

Your boss might be worried that you don’t have a reliable or fast enough internet connection. To allay this fear, you can run an internet speed test using a site like SpeedTest or Fast.com. If your personal connection is too slow, you can take steps to improve it.

If your wi-fi goes down for any reason:

Be sure to have a backup solution to deal with this loss.
Reassure your boss that if there are any serious issues that occur, you can still make it to the office same-day as needed.

Please Note: If a long commute was the main reason you wanted to work from home, your argument that you can make it to the office will appear flimsy.

Access to Software and Company Data

You might require access to certain software applications. Make sure that you can access all these applications on your own, too.

If you have a company laptop, this should be easy enough.
Also, if you need to access company data on a company server, you might already have access to a VPN connection. If not, your IT department might be able to help you out.
If you’re planning to use a personal computer, however, you’ll have to figure out a way to access this software and data securely.
You’ll need to learn about how VPN tunneling protects privacy, too.

Working From Home Will Still Allow for Constant Communication

Another worry for most employers is that you may not be as open to communication as you were in the office.

Ease this worry by explaining that you will be available to talk, just as you were on-site, via phone, email, Skype, Google Hangouts, Slack, or your company’s specific communication tool.

If needed, you could also suggest one of these collaboration tools for remote workers, too.

Performance Reviews Still Apply

To help your boss keep an eye on the work that you’re actually completing at home, suggest a regular performance review of your weekly goals.

This simple step could be something like sending a regular email to keep your boss up to date on your progress. You can discuss what you’ve done, any problems you may be having, or any breakthroughs that you’ve made.

How to Ask to Work From Home

Ask to Work From Home

To quote Ramit Sethi’s book, after a positive performance review, you could say something to your boss like:

“I’d love to provide even more value to the company in the future. But lately, I’ve been getting burnt out from the commute. It would make a world of difference if I could work from home a day or two each week.”

After explaining why you think working from home would solve this issue, Sethi advises people to keep quiet and wait for a reply.

At MakeUseOf, we also recommend that you make it clear during your proposal that you’ve already checked out your own plan to see if it’s achievable. You can also offer to send over a short document explaining this plan, at your boss’ behest.

Working From Home Is Achievable

With all these steps in play, hopefully your boss will agree to let you do a trial run. If that trial goes well, you’ll be in a great position to request to work from home more regularly.

Now, it’s up to you. Here’s how to tell if you have the self-discipline to work remotely. Additionally, if your boss absolutely refuses to let you work from home, and you absolutely need to, then you can also check out our list of the best companies that offer remote working jobs.

Read the full article: Want to Work Remotely? Tips on How to Convince Your Boss

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11 June 2020

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It’s There for the People Who Want to Learn

1. Investing.com

2. Yahoo Finance

3. StockTwits

4. Real-Time Stocks Tracker

5. My Stocks Portfolio & Widget

6. Bloomberg

7. JStock

8. Ticker Stock Portfolio Manager

Track Stocks on Your Mobile Device With Ease

Can I Work From Home?

Does Work From Home Reduce Productivity?

Here Are the Numbers

When Should You Ask to Work From Home?

How to Prepare Your Work From Home Proposal

Working From Home Will Make Improvements to the Workday

Working From Home Will Not Cause Connection Issues

Access to Software and Company Data

Working From Home Will Still Allow for Constant Communication

Performance Reviews Still Apply

How to Ask to Work From Home

Working From Home Is Achievable

Best Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
Xbox One Wireless Controller

Alternative Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
DualShock 4 Wireless Controller

Best Retro Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
8Bitdo SN30 Pro

Best Mini Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
PL-608 Mini

Best Budget Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
Matricom G-Pad

Best Fire TV Stick Game Controller for Battery Life:
Bigaint Pro

Best Premium Fire TV Stick Game Controller:
SteelSeries Stratus XL