Facebook Portal adds games and web browser amidst mediocre Amazon reviews

After receiving a flogging from privacy critics, Facebook is scrambling to make its smart display video chat screen Portal more attractive to buyers. Today Facebook is announcing the addition a of a web browser, plus some of Messenger’s Instant Games like Battleship, Draw Something, Sudoku, and Words With Friends. ABC News and CNN are adding content to Portal, which now also has a manual zoom mode for its auto-zooming smart camera so you can zero in on a particular thing in view. Facebook has also added new augmented reality Story Time tales, seasonal AR masks, in-call music sharing through iHeartRadio beyond Spotify and Pandora that already offer it, and nickname calling so you can say “Hey Portal, call Mom.”

But the question remains who’s buying? Facebook is already discounting the 10-inch screen Portal and 15-inch Portal+. Formerly $100 off if you buy two, Facebook is still offering $50 off just one until Christmas Eve as part of a suspiciously long Black Friday Sale. That doesn’t signal this thing is flying off the shelves. We don’t have sales figures, but Portal has a 3.4 rating on Amazon while Portal+ has a 3.6 — both trailing the 4.2 rating of Amazon’s own Echo Shows 2. Users are griping about the lack of Amazon Video support for Ring doorbells, not receiving calls, and of course the privacy implications.

Personally, I’ve found Portal+ to be competent in the five weeks since launch. The big screen is great as a smart photo frame and video calls look great. But Alexa and Facebook’s own voice assistant have a tough time dividing up functionality, and sometimes I can’t get either to play a specific song on Spotify, pause or change volume, or other activities my Google Home has no trouble with. Facebook said it was hoping to add Google Assistant to Portal but there’s no progress on that front yet.

The browser will be a welcome addition, and allow Facebook to sidestep some of the issues around its thin app platform. While it recently added a Smart TV version of YouTube, now users can access lots of services without those developers having to commit to building something for Portal given its uncertain future.

The hope seems to be that mainstream users who aren’t glued to the tech press where Facebook is constantly skewered might be drawn in by these device’s flashy screens and the admittedly impressive auto-zooming camera. But to overcome the brand tax levied by all of Facebook’s privacy scandals, Portal must be near perfect. Without the native apps for popular video providers like Netflix and Hulu, consistent voice recognition, and more unique features missing from competing smart displays, the fear of Facebook’s surveillance may be outweighing people’s love for shiny new gadgets.

 

Facebook launches Portal auto-zooming video chat screens for $199/$349

So I sent my mom that newfangled Facebook Portal

Read Full Article

Facebook Portal adds games and web browser amidst mediocre Amazon reviews

After receiving a flogging from privacy critics, Facebook is scrambling to make its smart display video chat screen Portal more attractive to buyers. Today Facebook is announcing the addition a of a web browser, plus some of Messenger’s Instant Games like Battleship, Draw Something, Sudoku, and Words With Friends. ABC News and CNN are adding content to Portal, which now also has a manual zoom mode for its auto-zooming smart camera so you can zero in on a particular thing in view. Facebook has also added new augmented reality Story Time tales, seasonal AR masks, in-call music sharing through iHeartRadio beyond Spotify and Pandora that already offer it, and nickname calling so you can say “Hey Portal, call Mom.”

But the question remains who’s buying? Facebook is already discounting the 10-inch screen Portal and 15-inch Portal+. Formerly $100 off if you buy two, Facebook is still offering $50 off just one until Christmas Eve as part of a suspiciously long Black Friday Sale. That doesn’t signal this thing is flying off the shelves. We don’t have sales figures, but Portal has a 3.4 rating on Amazon while Portal+ has a 3.6 — both trailing the 4.2 rating of Amazon’s own Echo Shows 2. Users are griping about the lack of Amazon Video support for Ring doorbells, not receiving calls, and of course the privacy implications.

Personally, I’ve found Portal+ to be competent in the five weeks since launch. The big screen is great as a smart photo frame and video calls look great. But Alexa and Facebook’s own voice assistant have a tough time dividing up functionality, and sometimes I can’t get either to play a specific song on Spotify, pause or change volume, or other activities my Google Home has no trouble with. Facebook said it was hoping to add Google Assistant to Portal but there’s no progress on that front yet.

The browser will be a welcome addition, and allow Facebook to sidestep some of the issues around its thin app platform. While it recently added a Smart TV version of YouTube, now users can access lots of services without those developers having to commit to building something for Portal given its uncertain future.

The hope seems to be that mainstream users who aren’t glued to the tech press where Facebook is constantly skewered might be drawn in by these device’s flashy screens and the admittedly impressive auto-zooming camera. But to overcome the brand tax levied by all of Facebook’s privacy scandals, Portal must be near perfect. Without the native apps for popular video providers like Netflix and Hulu, consistent voice recognition, and more unique features missing from competing smart displays, the fear of Facebook’s surveillance may be outweighing people’s love for shiny new gadgets.

 

Facebook launches Portal auto-zooming video chat screens for $199/$349

So I sent my mom that newfangled Facebook Portal

Read Full Article

Jack Dorsey and Twitter ignored opportunity to meet with civic group on Myanmar issues

Responding to criticism from his recent trip to Myanmar, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said he’s keen to learn about the country’s racial tension and human rights atrocities, but it has emerged that both he and Twitter’s public policy team ignored an opportunity to connect with a key civic group in the country.

A loose group of six companies in Myanmar has engaged with Facebook in a bid to help improve the situation around usage of its services in the country — often with frustrating results — and key members of that alliance, including Omidyar-backed accelerator firm Phandeeyar, contacted Dorsey via Twitter DM and emailed the company’s public policy contacts when they learned that the CEO was visiting Myanmar.

The plan was to arrange a forum to discuss the social media concerns in Myanmar to help Dorsey gain an understanding of life on the ground in one of the world’s fastest-growing internet markets.

“The Myanmar tech community was all excited, and wondering where he was going,” Jes Kaliebe Petersen, the Phandeeyar CEO, told TechCrunch in an interview. “We wondered: ‘Can we get him in a room, maybe at a public event, and talk about technology in Myanmar or social media, whatever he is happy with?'”

The DMs went unread. In a response to the email, a Twitter staff member told the group that Dorsey was visiting the country strictly on personal time with no plans for business. The Myanmar-based group responded with an offer to set up a remote, phone-based briefing for Twitter’s public policy team with the ultimate goal of getting information to Dorsey and key executives, but that email went unanswered.

When we contacted Twitter, a spokesperson initially pointed us to a tweet from Dorsey in which he said: “I had no conversations with the government or NGOs during my trip.”

We know we can’t do this alone, and continue to welcome conversation with and help from civil society and NGOs within the region. I had no conversations with the government or NGOs during my trip. We’re always open to feedback on how to best improve.

— jack (@jack) December 11, 2018

However, within two hours of our inquiry, a member of Twitter’s team responded to the group’s email in an effort to restart the conversation and set up a phone meeting in January.

“We’ve been in discussions with the group prior to your outreach,” a Twitter spokesperson told TechCrunch in a subsequent email exchange.

That statement is incorrect.

Still, on the bright side, it appears that the group may get an opportunity to brief Twitter on its concerns on social media usage in the country after all.

The micro-blogging service isn’t as well-used in Myanmar as Facebook, which has some 20 million monthly users and is practically the de facto internet, but there have been concerns in Myanmar. For one thing, there was been the development of a somewhat sinister bot army in Myanmar and other parts of Southeast Asia, while it remains a key platform for influencers and thought-leaders.

“[Dorsey is] the head of a social media company and, given the massive issues here in Myanmar, I think it’s irresponsible of him to not address that,” Petersen told TechCrunch.

“Twitter isn’t as widely used as Facebook but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have concerns happening with it,” he added. “As we’d tell Facebook or any large tech company with a prominent presence in Myanmar, it’s important to spend time on the ground like they’d do in any other market where they have a substantial presence.”

The UN has concluded that Facebook plays a “determining” role in accelerating ethnic violence in Myanmar. While Facebook has tried to address the issues, it hasn’t committed to opening an office in the country and it released a key report on the situation on the eve of the U.S. mid-term elections, a strategy that appeared designed to deflect attention from the findings. All of which suggests that it isn’t really serious about Myanmar.

Read Full Article

This $11 Course Helps You Master Microsoft Excel

From engineering to finance, there are countless jobs that involve working with spreadsheets, formulae and charts. Yet how many of us have really mastered these number-crunching skills? Microsoft Excel from Beginner to Advanced is a four-part course that brings you up to speed. Through 15 hours of tutorials, you learn the software inside out and earn certification. You can get the course now for $10.99 via MakeUseOf Deals.

In-Depth Training

For most people, Microsoft Excel is the spreadsheet software. It’s an app you open when you need to check the company rota or add up a few bills. But Excel is capable of so much more.

This training helps you unlock the full power of Excel and gain useful professional skills. The videos start from scratch, so you don’t need any previous experience — but you will find yourself making quick progress.

Along the way, you discover how to analyze large data sets and create effective visualizations. The training also shows you how to create and format spreadsheets, build dynamic reports using PivotTables, and automate daily tasks using macros and VBA.

These skills are vital if you plan to work in finance, sales, marketing, or science — although they will make any résumé stand out. To prove your knowledge, you can claim a certificate of completion at the end of this course.

15 Hours for $10.99

It’s worth $149.99, but you can grab this Excel training now for just $10.99 — and you can use code MERRY15 for an extra 15% off.

Read the full article: This $11 Course Helps You Master Microsoft Excel

Read Full Article

You Can Now Donate to Charity Through Google Play

Android users can now donate to a charitable organization using Google Play. This is the first time Google has offered users the chance to donate to charity through Google Play, and it has partnered with 10 worthy causes to kick things off.

Many of us donate to charity all year round, but the holidays give everyone an excuse to try a little harder. Google has stepped up to the plate by offering its platform as a way for generous donors to do their bit. And it makes the process easier than ever.

Google Play Is Feeling Charitable

In a blog post on The Keyword, Google says this is “in celebration of the holiday giving season”. It continues, “Making a donation on Google Play is quick, easy and 100% of your contributions go directly to the nonprofits you choose.”

The participating charities are the American Red Cross, charity: water, Doctors Without Borders USA, Girls Who Code, The International Rescue Committee, Room to Read, Save the Children, UNICEF, the World Food Program USA, and the World Wildlife Fund US.

Thanks to a new update from the @Google Play store, #TeamAndroid users can easily donate to their favorite charities, including World Food Program USA. #TechForGood #GiveBack https://t.co/izFz08MIum

— World Food Program USA (@WFPUSA) December 13, 2018

Donating is simple. On your Android device either go to play.google.com/donate or open the Play Store app and scroll down until you see the option to donate to the charity of your choice. You can donate using the funding method you have on file.

The option to donate money to charity through Google Play is available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Taiwan, and Indonesia. The feature should show up on the Google Play app over the next few days.

Other Ways to Give Money to Charity

This is a good effort from Google, as it should encourage people who don’t normally give to charity to donate what they can. However, we hope this feature remains part of Google Play beyond the holidays, and that more nonprofits are invited to take part.

Thankfully there are plenty of other ways to donate to charity. We have previously written about online Christmas charities to donate to, apps and websites that can help you donate to charity, and some unusual ways to donate to charitable organizations.

Read the full article: You Can Now Donate to Charity Through Google Play

Read Full Article

Amazon Starts Selling the Google Chromecast Again

You can now buy a Google Chromecast from Amazon again. And while this may not seem very newsworthy, it’s the first sign of a thawing in the frosty relationship between Google and Amazon. Which could lead to better days for us poor consumers.

The Amazon and Google Tit-For-Tat

Amazon and Google haven’t been on each other’s Christmas card lists for years now. It all started in 2015 when Amazon pulled the Chromecast from its website. The reason being the Google Chromecast didn’t (and still doesn’t) support Amazon Prime Video.

In retaliation, Google blocked YouTube from working on Amazon’s Echo Show and Fire TV devices. And so two great tech companies have essentially been involved in a childish tit-for-tat. And the losers on both sides are, as usual, the consumers.

Amazon Tries to Win Google Over

Now, however, there’s the first sign that the two companies are willing to put their differences aside. Because Amazon is now selling the 3rd-generation Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra once more. Hell, they’re even available for Prime shipping.

The catch is that Amazon Prime Video still isn’t available on the Chromecast. However, with Amazon having made the first move, perhaps an official app won’t be far behind. In the meantime there are a couple of ways to watch Prime Video using a Chromecast.

Consumers Should Be All That Matter

This is a positive move on Amazon’s part. However, it means very little unless Google reciprocates. Especially as the Chromecast is readily available from a number of other retailers, both online and offline. Including the Google Store.

What both companies need to realize is that the happiness of consumers should be all that matters. Which means selling the Chromecast on Amazon, having Prime Video working on the Chromecast, and having YouTube working on the Echo Show and Fire TV.

Read the full article: Amazon Starts Selling the Google Chromecast Again

Read Full Article

Google Maps now shows nearby Lime bikes and scooters in 13 cities

Google has partnered with Lime to show nearby bikes and scooters in 13 cities worldwide. If there’s a Lime vehicle available nearby, Google Maps will show you how long it will take to get to the vehicle, the estimated price of the ride and total journey time.

Similar to the Uber integration in Google Maps, tapping on Lime will open the Lime app. If you don’t have it installed, you’ll be directed to the Apple App or Google Play store.

This is now live in Auckland, New Zealand, Austin, Texas, Baltimore, Md., Brisbane, Australia, Dallas, Texas, Indianapolis, Ind., Los Angeles, Calif., San Diego, Calif., Oakland, Calif., San Jose, Calif., San Antonio, Texas, Scottsdale, Ariz. and Seattle, Wash. Google says additional cities are in the works.

In September, Lime hit 11.5 million bike and scooter rides after just 14 months in operation. Lime has raised $467 million in funding to date, with its most recent round coming in at $335 million. The round, led by GV, included participation from Uber.

Read Full Article

10 Great Gifts for Photographers You Can Give This Year

The Full Snapchat Filters List and the Best Ones to Use

10 Great Gifts for Gamers You Can Give This Year

What Can You Buy With an Apple or iTunes Gift Card?

Snagged an Apple Store, iTunes, or Apple Music gift card? You might wonder exactly what you can buy with it.

It all depends on which gift card you’ve received. The good news is that Apple credit is often versatile and thus you can use it for all sorts of purchases, from apps and music to subscriptions and accessories.

Here’s a guide to what you can spend each gift card on. We also have a few recommendations for items you might want to pick up.

Which Apple Gift Card Do You Have?

There are three types of gift cards sold by Apple: iTunes, Apple Music, and Apple Store. These cards are only valid for redemption in the same country they were purchased in. So a US gift card will only work on the US iTunes Store, in a US retail location, or an online outlet.

You can use an iTunes gift card only for buying software, music, and other similar downloadable products. Think of it as credit for virtual products. iTunes gift cards credit the iTunes account associated with your Apple ID, and can be used for in-app purchases.

Apple Music gift cards are only valid to redeem an Apple Music subscription. These cards come in three and 12-month flavors. When the gift card runs out, your account will be charged as normal unless you turn off auto-renewal in your Apple Music settings.

An Apple Store gift card is only good on Apple’s website, over the phone, or in a physical retail location. You can redeem one for any purchase in-store, whether it’s Apple hardware, a third-party accessory, or boxed software. You can use it online or over the phone via the code on the back.

What Can You Buy With Apple Store Gift Cards?

You don’t need to “redeem” an Apple Store gift card—just spend it at a store like cash. Unless specified, there’s no expiry date on an Apple Store gift card.

Here are a few ideas for spending your store credit.

A New iPhone, iPad, or Mac

Even if your gift card doesn’t cover the cost of a new Apple gadget, you can use the balance towards any purchase. That means a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or other pricey Apple product will be cheaper if you use your Apple Store credit.

The iPhone XS and XS Max offer a performance leap over last year’s model. A new MacBook Pro is expensive, but a gift card can help make the price less eye-watering. You can also pick up the AirPods and Beats X wireless headphones at your local Apple Store.

If you’ve been considering a big purchase for a while, an Apple Store gift card might be the perfect excuse to go ahead with it.

Get an Apple Watch

The latest Apple watch is available in Wi-Fi and cellular versions, depending on your budget. Having Siri on your wrist is super-useful, and built-in GPS lets you track physical activity and workouts. Despite this, many are unsure when to pull the trigger and buy one.

Starting at $399, the Apple Watch Series 4 isn’t cheap. But it might not seem so expensive if you’ve got a nice discount courtesy of an Apple Store gift card. Maybe you’ve already got an Apple Watch, and want to buy a new band to replace your old one? You can use your gift card for that too.

If you’re on the fence, check out our Apple Watch Series 4 review.

Consider an Apple TV 4K

Looking for a media streamer, set-top box, or way to watch content from your iOS or macOS devices on your TV? Maybe you want to use AirPlay to send music to your digital receiver?

The latest Apple TV unit is 4K-ready, and so are many of your existing iTunes purchases. If you have a 4K TV, why not accessorize?

Starting at $179 for the 32GB model (which is plenty for most users), a new Apple TV is a great addition to your living room.

Or Buy Accessories

Apple stocks its stores not only with iPhones and Macs, but many first and third-party accessories too. This includes audio accessories like the Beats Studio3 wireless headphones and Bose SoundLink Micro speaker. You’ll also find also useful Mac accessories like the Magic TrackPad 2 and fancy MacBook stands.

Also for sale are game controllers like the SteelSeries Nimbus and PXN Speedy, which work with iOS, macOS, and tvOS (Apple TV) devices.

Other cheaper purchases include a huge selection of iPhone cases, rugged charger cables, flash drives designed specifically for iOS devices, USB battery chargers, and more.

Also Consider: AppleCare

If you recently received a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or similarly valuable piece of hardware, you can visit an Apple Store or go online and enroll in AppleCare. Best of all, you can use your gift card towards the purchase.

While the exact policy and price differ depending on the device you buy it for, it’s a pretty worthwhile investment—particularly for iPhone owners.

What Can You Buy With iTunes Gift Cards?

To use an iTunes Gift card, you’ll first need to redeem it. Once you’ve redeemed the credit, it’s added to your iTunes account and can’t be transferred.

Any purchases you make will subtract from that balance. You can redeem iTunes credit using an iOS device, or via iTunes on a Mac or PC.

Redeem on an iPhone or iPad:

1. Launch the App Store.
2. Tap on your user icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Tap Redeem Gift Card or Code to redeem by scanning the barcode or entering your code manually.

Redeem via iTunes for Mac or Windows:

1. Launch iTunes and choose Music, Apps, or Films from the dropdown in the top-left.
2. Click on the Store tab and scroll to the bottom of the page.
3. Under the Manage heading, click Redeem.

Buy iOS or tvOS Apps and Games

Perhaps the most common use for iTunes credit these days is to buy mobile apps and games. Considering the relatively low cost of items on the App Store, your credit will likely last you a while. As previously mentioned, you can make in-app purchases using iTunes credit too.

Looking for some fun games to buy?

• Hitman Sniper ($1) provides one of the best sniping experiences on iOS, complete with 150 missions to tackle.
• 2017’s Monument Valley 2 ($5) is still worth playing for its soothing illusionary puzzles.
• Million Onion Hotel ($4) is a frantic spin on the whack-a-mole theme, and it’s absolutely worth your time.

You may also want to use your credit to grab some genuinely useful apps.

• CARROT Weather ($5) is a hyper-local weather forecast bot that’s built on Easter eggs and snark.
• Tweetbot 5 ($5) is the best Twitter app you can buy.
• The original Facetune ($4) is an awesome app to tweak your selfies.

Buy Mac Apps and Games

iTunes credit also works on the Mac App Store. The apps you’ll find there are quite a bit more expensive than their mobile counterparts. But as they are more powerful, you can get real work done.

You might be able to get a nice discount on Apple’s pro-level video editor Final Cut Pro ($300) to bring it within your price range. If you’re looking for a good image editor but don’t fancy Adobe’s subscription model, Affinity Photo ($50) is modestly priced and sufficiently powerful.

We usually recommend you avoid buying games from the Mac App Store, but the selection has certainly grown over the last year or two.

Apple’s Mac game of the year is a moving puzzler with an excellent score called The Gardens Between ($15). Also worth your time is Mini Metro ($10), a fun strategy puzzler about managing public transportation infrastructure. The legendary Civilization VI ($60) is a good pick for strategy fans.

Music, Movies, and TV

You can also buy media on iTunes, which is all the service sold when it was established. It’s easy to buy albums from your favorite artists, or even use your iTunes credit towards an Apple Music subscription (just be aware of the automatic payments when the credit expires).

If you prefer, you can also buy or rent movies and TV programs; the latter is much cheaper. Once you’ve redeemed an iTunes gift card, you can also use it to buy content via your Apple TV.

Don’t Forget Books

If you use your iPhone or iPad as an e-reader, you can also use iTunes credit in the Apple Books store on either a mobile device or Mac computer. That includes graphic novels, nonfiction, and interactive books, but not necessarily audiobooks. (You can find those in the regular iTunes store, alongside music and TV.)

Spend Your Apple Credit Wisely

iTunes credit is one of the many ways to give the gift of entertainment, while an Apple Store gift card can bring an expensive new gadget within reach of your budget. The best aspect of Apple’s credit is that it’s so versatile. If you want to buy a few iPhone apps, rent a movie, and start an Apple Music subscription, go for it.

Read the full article: What Can You Buy With an Apple or iTunes Gift Card?

Read Full Article

The Most Downvoted Reddit Comments of All Time

If you follow the right subs, Reddit can be a wonderful place to hang out. Occasionally, however, a comment comes along that really irks the community.

A gamers’ rebellion, divisive political views, and internal subreddit dramas… Welcome to the most downvoted Reddit comments of all time.

15. /r/IAmA Employee Drama: -4,927 Points

In 2015, Reddit fired its internal Ask Me Anything (AmA) coordinator, Victoria Taylor. Taylor was widely credited with keeping the AmA format alive. Her controversial dismissal raised serious questions about Reddit’s relationship with its mods.

Dozens of high-profile subreddits, including /r/IAmA, /r/AskReddit, /r/gaming, /r/movies, /r/music, /r/videos, and /r/funny, “went private” in protest.

Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian (u/kn0thing), was downvoted nearly 5,000 times for his flippant response to the crisis.

14. Valve CEO in Paid Mod Storm: -5,157 Points

Valve added paid mods to its Steam Workshop in 2015. The idea was to reward mod creators for their work, but players were aghast that one of the fundamental pillars of PC gaming was suddenly behind a paywall.

The company’s CEO, Gabe Newell, did little to diffuse the situation when he appeared to suggest modders had always been driven by money.

Not long after the Reddit incident, Steam reversed its decision.

13. Copyrighting Reaction Videos: -5,891 Points

The Fine brothers run the Fine Bros Entertainment (FBE) YouTube channel. The channel’s most popular content is its award-winning REACT series.

In 2016, the brothers tried to license and trademark the REACT series. The community wasn’t impressed.

Benny and Rafi took to Reddit in an attempt to quell the anger. It didn’t go well, especially after it emerged they had filed a trademark for the word “React.”

12. A Mod Trolls /r/MildyInfuriating: – 6,058 Points

There’s not much backstory to this one. A mod on /r/MildlyInfuriating bizarrely trolled an unrelated post about YouTube deleting a user’s playlist without warning.

In our opinion, it’s a low effort trolling attempt. Nonetheless, it still racked up 6,076 downvotes.

11. Cat Brigading: -6,162 Points

“Brigading” refers to a Reddit phenomenon whereby users flood a post with upvotes or downvotes in order to skew a subreddit’s metrics. Typically, the voters are not part of the community in which the brigading takes place.

This is the first example of brigading on our list. The word “Cat” was downvoted 6,162 times. To rub salt into the wound, identical responses below picked up hundreds of upvotes.

10. /r/IAmA Employee Drama, Round Two: -7,264 Points

It’s a testament to the size of the Victoria Taylor sacking scandal that it provides the backdrop for another of the top 15 most downvoted Reddit comments ever.

This time it’s a post from Ellen Pao (u/ekjp) that falls under the spotlight. The divisive Pao had been CEO of Reddit for eight months at the time of the incident. Many believed her to be responsible for forcing Taylor out.

On 6th July 2015, she issued a half-baked apology on /r/sysadmin. A petition for her removal as CEO reached 200,000 signatures. Four days later, she was out of a job.

9. Permitting /r/The_Donald: -7,119 Points

Anyone who uses Reddit will be familiar with /r/The_Donald. The subreddit, which claims to be a forum for Trump supporters, allegedly promotes racism, hate speech, and other undesirable topics.

Many people have called for the subreddit to be shut down and banned, just like subs which have promoted similar content in the past.

However, Reddit’s management team has refused to budge. When Steve Huffman (u/spez) claimed that The_Donald’s declining engagement was more powerful than an outright ban, users castigated him.

8. “F***ing F****t”: -7,534 Points

This one’s not very pleasant, so we won’t dwell on it. Suffice to say that one /r/Atheist user wasn’t too impressed with a Christian pupil trying to get his teacher fired.

On a more interesting note, this is the oldest post on the list. It was made nine years ago.

7. A Mod Kills the Bad Luck Brian AMA: -8,905 Points

Bad Luck Brian—real name Kyle Craven—is an internet celebrity famous for his goofy yearbook photo.

You all know the photo:

The photo was posted on Reddit for the first time in 2012. Later that same year, Craven appeared on /r/IAmA to do a Q&A session about his new-found stardom.

One mod took exception and banned the post, blaming vague subreddit rules. People weren’t happy.

6. /r/IAmA Employee Drama, Round Three: – 10,526 Points

You thought you’d heard the last of the Victoria Taylor drama, didn’t you?

Alexis Ohanian makes a second entry on the list with the first comment to earn a five-digit number of downvotes.

In the midst of the growing crisis, one user asked the co-founder how he’d expected subreddits to react to the news of the Taylor sacking. It wasn’t an unreasonable question.

Ohanian’s response? “Popcorn tastes good.” Not a smart move, especially considering it was in exactly the same thread as his previous submission.

5. CEO Steve Huffman Edits Users’ Comments: -11,531 Points

Another Reddit CEO, another headline-generating controversy.

In 2016, Huffman admitted to editing Reddit users’ comments on /r/The_Donald. After a slew of negative and personally insulting messages on the controversial subreddit, Huffman replaced references to his username with references to the subreddit’s mod team.

His apology post on /r/announcements explained his reasoning, but his confession on /r/The_Donald was not well received.

4. Jill Stein vs. Nuclear Energy: -11,989 Points

Jill Stein is a qualified physician, but is more widely known as the face of the Green Party in the U.S. She ran for president in both 2012 and 2016.

In the build-up to the 2016 vote, she hosted an AMA event in a bid to connect with more voters.

One user asked about her on-the-record opposition to nuclear power. Stein argued it was dirty, dangerous, and obsolete.

A few experts quickly jumped on her claims, deconstructing them in a brutally analytical way.

3. League of Legends Death Wish: -18,910 Points

With two million subscribers, the League of Legends subreddit is an active place.

The community’s biggest controversy began on the League of Legends Discord server in October 2017. A staff member lashed out at a pro gamer, saying “Honestly… It’s fine, he [tyler1] will die from a coke overdose or testicular cancer from all the steroids… then we’ll be Gucci”.

Unsurprisingly, the community wasn’t impressed, and the staff member made matters worse with his initial response to the growing furor. The downvotes subsequently flowed.

2. Ask, and You Shall Receive: -23,395 Points

The League of Legends incident never held the number one spot; less than a month previously, this comment on /r/me_irl took the title.

Sadly, the backstory isn’t great for such a high-profile post—u/96Phoenix simply asked for downvotes. Some people enjoy that kind of thing.

1. EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II Backlash: -667,820 Points

No, that’s not a typo. The number one post has more than five times as many downvotes as other 14 entrants combined.

The reason? Disgust at EA’s decision to lock Luke and Vader behind 40 hours of game time in Star Wars: Battlefront II. If you wanted to unlock them sooner, you had to get your wallet out—despite the Deluxe version of the game costing $80.

EA argued the move was designed to provide “a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.” Users were quick to disagree, insisting the entire debacle was driven by greed.

The news made headlines around the world; EA’s stock value dropped by $3 billion. And everybody hated EA for Star Wars: Battlefront II.

The company had no choice but to relent. It dropped the price of Vader and Luke by 75 percent. In March 2018, all heroes were made available to all users.

More Top Lists to Enjoy

So, there you have it, folks—a sorry tale of corporate greed, incapable CEOs, community in-fighting, and plain old stupidity.

For more cool countdowns, check out our list of the most popular artists on Spotify and the most-watched videos on YouTube.

Read the full article: The Most Downvoted Reddit Comments of All Time

Read Full Article

The Nuraphone: Gimmick or Gamechanger? (Review and Giveaway!)

6 Effortless Windows 10 Tweaks That’ll Make Your PC Feel Like Home

Sick of the default customization options for Windows 10? Want to make it look amazing? Just need some simple tweaks to enhance productivity?

By using built-in functions and third-party tools, you can make Windows 10 look truly unique, while taking nothing away from your productivity.

1. Tweak the Windows 10 Start Menu

As the most important element of the Windows desktop, the Start menu is your gateway to the Windows experience. Restored in Windows 10 following a brief exit in Windows 8, the Start menu gives you access to Cortana and has a built-in search tool.

While the Start menu is perfectly functional as it is, and can be rearranged and re-ordered, this level of customization might not be enough for you.

This is where third party tweaks come into play. So, what’s on offer?

• StartIsBack++: restores the look of the Windows 7 Start menu, arguably the most popular version of Windows to date.
• Start10: produced by Stardock, who know a thing or two about tweaking desktops, Start10 also restores the Windows 7 feel to the Windows 10 Start menu.
• Start Menu Reviver: takes things in the other direction with an overhauled look for the Windows 10 Start menu

These are just a few of the tweaks that are available for the Windows 10 Start menu. Check our guide to the Windows 10 Start menu tweaks to find out what else is on offer.

2. Don’t Be Bogged Down by Windows 10 Notifications

Windows 10 notifications tell you what’s going on. Everything from social networks and emails to cloud accounts and media players can send alerts to your desktop.

It’s like having mobile style notifications on a standard computer.

But if you wanted to configure the notifications—for instance, to disable them— you wouldn’t view the notifications themselves. Instead, you’ll need to dip a bit further into the Settings screen.

Here, you’ll find options to configure how notifications appear in Windows 10. Some of these are more suited to touchscreen devices (hybrids and tablets), but they all determine how notifications will appear in Windows 10. This is ideal if you don’t like notifications or find them irritating.

Follow these instructions to adjust and disable Windows 10 notifications from particularly annoying or irrelevant apps.

3. Tweak the Windows 10 Taskbar

The Windows 10 desktop is full of useful, hidden menus, such as the Power User menu (found by right-clicking Start) or the jump lists, found by hovering the mouse pointer over an open app’s taskbar icon.

As part of the Windows 10 desktop, the taskbar is an important tool for managing your open apps. It even features the option to pin shortcuts, enabling you to use it as a sort of macOS-style Dock.

The best way to tweak the Windows 10 taskbar is with an app called 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, available for Windows 7 and later.

With this installed, you can adjust how open apps behave on your Windows taskbar. Tweaks include grouping open items, changing right-click context menu options, and generally tidying up the taskbar.

Once you’ve installed the app, see our guide for details on how to use 7+ Taskbar Tweaker.

4. Animated Windows 10 Desktop Backgrounds

It isn’t just the functional side of Windows 10’s desktop environment you can tweak. The background can also be customized, with live wallpapers and animated backgrounds.

Three key apps are available to help you with this:

1. Wallpaper Engine
2. Stardock DeskScapes
3. PUSH Video Wallpaper

These handle everything from playing videos as part of your desktop background to live wallpapers that are largely static with some subtle motion.

While this sort of Windows 10 tweak isn’t for everyone, if it is something you’ve been looking for then these tools are ideal. Look at our guide to animated Windows 10 desktop backgrounds to learn more.

5. Make Windows 10 Colorful With These Tweaks

Finding Windows 10 a bit bland?

When choosing a desktop background, the entire environment changes to stay color coordinated. But what if this isn’t what you want?

To start off, this option can be easily disabled via Settings > Personalization, where you should clear the Automatically pick an accent color from my background checkbox.

After that, a bunch of options are available. You can select from any accent color, although beyond the Windows desktop, this only impacts Universal apps.

Third-party tools can also be used, such as:

1. Classic Color Panel.
2. Accent Color Synchronizer

Find out more in our guide to tweaking color in Windows 10.

6. Productivity-Boosting Gadgets in Windows 10

Windows 7 (and the earlier Windows Vista) had support for desktop gadgets, which could be used to check the weather, quickly read RSS feeds, get system information, and more.

While these gadgets have been discontinued by Microsoft in Windows 10, they can be manually reinstated thanks to some third-party tools:

1. Windows Desktop Gadgets
2. 8GadgetPack
3. Widgets HD

With these tools, the vulnerabilities that caused Microsoft to abandon desktop gadgets have been dealt with. You get the chance to quickly spot the time, view your calendar, or take quick notes, simply by switching to your desktop.

There’s no need to search the web for the time in your Hong Kong office or waste time launching a new note-taking app.

Everything you need is available in your desktop gadgets. Our guide to adding desktop gadgets to Windows 10 explains more.

Make Windows 10 Your Own With These Tweaks

By now you should have a good idea of what tweaks are possible with Windows 10. It’s possible to reconfigure the Start menu, adjust notifications, and even tweak the taskbar.

Animated desktop backgrounds are also possible, and if you want, you can even make the desktop more colorful. And then there’s the general boosts you can make to productivity!

Looking for more customization options? Our look at the best ways to tweak Windows 10 is a good place to start.

Read the full article: 6 Effortless Windows 10 Tweaks That’ll Make Your PC Feel Like Home

Read Full Article

3 Amazing iPhone XS Camera Features You Should Know About

How to Move Beyond Online Reviews and Shop Smarter

OffGridBox raises $1.6M to charge and hydrate rural Africa with its all-in-one installations

The simplest needs are often the most vital: power and clean water will get you a long way. But in rural areas of developing countries they can both be hard to come by. OffGridBox is attempting to provide both, sustainably and profitably, while meeting humanitarian and ecological goals at the same time. The company just raised $1.6 million to pursue its lofty agenda.

The idea is fairly simple, though naturally rather difficult to engineer: Use solar power to provide both electricity (in the form of charged batteries) and potable water to a small community. It’s not easy, and it’s not autonomous — but that’s by design.

I met two of the OffGridBox crew, founder and CEO Emiliano Cecchini and U.S. director Troy Billett, much earlier this year at CES in Las Vegas, where they were being honored by Not Impossible, alongside the brilliant BecDot braille learning toy. The team had a lot of irons in the fire, but now are ready to announce their seed round and progress in deploying what could be a life-saving innovation.

They’ve installed 38 boxes so far, some at their own expense and others with the help of backers. Each is about the size of a small shed — a section of a shipping container, with a scaffold on top to attach the solar cells. Inside are the necessary components for storing electricity and distributing it to dozens of rechargeable batteries and lights at a time, plus a water reservoir and purifier.

Water from a nearby unsafe natural (or municipal, really) source is trucked or piped in and replenishes the reservoir. The solar cells run the purifier, providing clean water for cheap — around a third of what a family would normally pay, by the team’s estimate — and potentially with a much shorter trek. Simultaneously, charged batteries and lights are rented out at similarly low rates to people otherwise without electricity. Each box can generate as much as 12 kWh per day, which is split between the two tasks.

The alternatives for these communities would generally be small dedicated solar installations, the upfront cost of which can be unrealistic for them. The average household spend for electricity, Billett told me, is around 43 cents per day; OffGridBox will be offering it for less than half that, about 18 cents.

It doesn’t run itself: The box is administrated by a local merchant, who handles payments and communication with OffGridBox itself. Young women are targeted for this role, as there they are more likely to be long-term residents of the area and members of the community. The box acts as a small business for them, essentially drawing money out of the air.

OffGridBox works with local nonprofits to find likely candidates; the women pictured above were recommended by Women for Women. They in turn will support others who, for example, deliver or resell the water or run side businesses that rely on the electricity provided. There’s even an associated local bottled water brand now — “Amaziyateke,” named after a big leaf that collects rainwater, but in Rwanda is also slang for a beautiful woman.

Some boxes are being set up to offer Wi-Fi as well via a cellular or satellite connection, which has its own obvious benefits. And recently people have been asking for the ability to play music at home, so the company started including portable speakers. This was unexpected but an easy demand to meet, said Billett — “It is critical to listen!”

The company does do some work to keep the tech running efficiently and safely, remotely monitoring for problems and scheduling maintenance calls. So these things aren’t just set down and forgotten. That said, they can and have run for hundreds of thousands of hours — years — without major work being done.

Each box costs about $15K to build, plus roughly another $10K to deliver and install. The business model has an investor or investors cover this initial cost, then receive a share of the revenue for the life of the box. At capacity usage this might take around two years, after which the revenue split shifts (from 80/20 favoring investors to 50/50) and it’s a small, safe source of income for years to come. At around $10K of revenue per year per box with full utilization, the IRR is estimated at 15 percent.

What OffGridBox believes is that this model is better than any other for quick deployment of these boxes. Grants are an option, of course, and they can also be brought in for disaster relief purposes. Originally the idea was to sell these to rich folks who wanted to live off the grid or have a more self-sufficient mountain cabin, but this is definitely better — for a lot of reasons. (You could probably still get one for yourself if you really wanted.)

OffGridBox has been through the Techstars accelerator as part of a 2017 group, and worked through 2018, as I mentioned earlier, to secure funding from a variety of sources. This seed round totaling $1.6M was led by the Doen and Good Energies Foundations; the Banque Populaire du Rwanda is also a partner.

Along with a series A planned for 2019, this money will support the deployment of a total of 42 box installations in Rwandan communities.

“This will help us become a major player in the energy and water markets in Rwanda while empowering women entrepreneurs, fighting biocontamination for improved health, and introducing lighting in rural homes,” said Ceccini in the press release announcing the funding.

Alternative or complementary sources of power, such as wind, are being looked into, and desalination of water (as opposed to just sterilization) is being actively researched. This would increase the range and reliability of the boxes, naturally, and make island communities much more realistic.

Those 42 boxes are just the beginning: the company hopes to deploy as many as a thousand throughout Rwanda, and even then that would only reach a fifth of the country’s off-grid market. By partnering with local energy concerns and banks, OffGridBox hopes to deploy as many as a hundred boxes a year, potentially bringing water and power to as many as a hundred thousand more people.

Read Full Article

YouTube Music turns its Top Charts into playlists

Earlier this year, Apple Music launched some of its top charts as playlist series. Today, YouTube is doing something similar. The company announced it’s making its YouTube Charts available as playlists in YouTube Music to users across the 29 markets where the music service is live. Each market will receive five of these “charts playlists” – three specific to their country, and two global lists, the company says.

The Top 100 Songs and the Top 100 Music Videos will be offered both as local and global playlists, while the Top 20 Trending Songs will be offered as a local playlist.

This latter playlist is updated several times per day in order to offer a real-time view into current music trends in a specific country. It’s also the first “dedicated external signal of the country’s most-viewed new music on the YouTube platform,” Google explained in a blog post this afternoon.

The other Top 100 Songs and Music Video charts are calculated differently and updated less often. The Top Songs is based on the overall performance of a song on YouTube by view count, which includes counting all the official versions of a song – meaning, the official music video, the user generated content that uses the official song, and lyric videos.

The Top Songs chart is updated weekly, according to YouTube’s documentation on how the charts are calculated.

The Top 100 Music Videos ranks the official music videos by view count in the previous week. It’s also updated weekly.

By comparison, YouTube Music’s Top Songs and Music Videos charts seem to have the potential to be staler than those on rival services. For example, when Apple announced its Top 100 Songs chart would be available both as global and local playlists, it said it would update them daily at 12 AM PT based on Apple Music streams. Spotify’s top charts are also available both as daily and weekly charts.

“The charts, currently topped globally by Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next,” are the most accurate reflection of what’s happening in music culture and based purely on the number of views from more than 1 billion global music fans on YouTube each month,” noted the post, which does speak to YouTube Music’s strength.

Apple Music and Spotify are both fighting to break into the triple-digit millions in terms of paying customers, while Spotify is nearing 200 million total actives. But YouTube has a billion-plus users to generate its data from. That’s not insignificant.

The new charts-turned-playlists are now available in the YouTube Music app. The playlists will appear on users’ home screens and be surfaced through search, says YouTube.

Read Full Article