OnePlus 5 and 5T may not be the hottest topics these days considering the latest information we got about the company's upcoming OnePlus 6 flagship. Still, the only phones that are currently getting updates from OnePlus are the 5 and 5T, so if you own either of the two devices, here is what you get in the latest update.It's important to note that this is an open beta update, which is only available to those who enrolled in the beta program. If you've previously installed an OxygenOS open beta build, you'll be getting the new update OTA (over the air) in the next couple of days.The most important improvement is the network boost in Gaming mode, which is supposed to give network priority to the gaming App in the background. Also, the Weather widget received some enhancements as well, such as improved accuracy of the current location, as well as new icons and updated UI.Finally, the Launcher on the OnePlus 5 and 5T got a recent search tag in the search app section of the app drawer. … [Read more...] about OnePlus 5 and 5T beta update adds Gaming mode and Launcher enhancements
Games
The 10 Mac games you need to play from March 2018
Spring is emerging again, but if you’re not yet keen on exploring the outdoors in your spare time, then you might be in need of more indoor indulgences. How about a new Mac game? March brought us a nice number of compelling releases, and we’ve highlighted 10 of the most enticing debuts in the slides ahead. Civilization VI’s new Rise and Fall expansion might be just the strategic obsession some players need for the foreseeable future, but if you’re not into Civ, then maybe Chuchel, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, or Out of the Park Baseball 19 will satisfy your demands. That’s just a taste of what you’ll find within, so keep reading for more on March’s biggest Mac debuts, and be sure to revisit February’s list if you’re seeking further options. … [Read more...] about The 10 Mac games you need to play from March 2018
How Google’s AR Maps API can change the face of more than just AR gaming
At the 2018 Games Developer Conference, Google spoke about ARCore and its newly announced Google Maps API for game developers. What started with examples of how games could be played in the real world, unveiled a deeper level of possibility that I'm excited to see in the future. When you think about a Google Maps API, I'm sure you're thinking, "Pokémon GO." That's what I first thought. But that only scratches the surface of what this new developer cool can do. It's more than just a way to map an environment and plant augmented reality characters into it. It has the ability to literally change the environment around us ... in real time ... with relative real-world changes. Google will provide game developers with four key features for their games. First, access to Google's massive Maps data (which is updated approximately 25 million times per day), access to Unity's physics engine so they can create unique graphics with the data they have from Maps, information about real-world … [Read more...] about How Google’s AR Maps API can change the face of more than just AR gaming
How the ‘Deus Vult’ gaming meme turned far-right
Deus Vult, or ‘God wills it’, arose as the rallying cry of soldiers of the First Crusade. Back in 1095, Pope Urban II requested help for the Eastern Orthodox Church to defend himself from the Seljuk invasion of Anatolia. As such, Deus Vult grew into a historical catchphrase intended to align people into recapturing the Holy Land. Roughly a millennium later, Deus Vult is simultaneously adopted by gamers, 4chan-shitposters, Trump supporters, and protesting Islamophobes. How can one trace these uses of the meme? This article will contextualize these various spheres, and with it, show howDeus Vult ‘mutated’ from a relatively harmless gaming-meme to an arguably more problematic catchphrase and symbol for the far right – both online and offline. Probable origins: The 4chan meme-machine As a true cultural meme,Deus Vult has survived extinction for almost a millennium, as it is still found on online forums. Like many Internet memes, the online … [Read more...] about How the ‘Deus Vult’ gaming meme turned far-right
An Alternate Reality Game That Takes Freshman Orientation to a New Level
A group of teenagers has been interrogating me for almost an hour. “Can you prove you are who you say you are?” one of them asks. “Show us the tear stains on your diploma to prove you actually went to U Chicago,” another says. I don’t have the tear stains. But I do have a Twitter account with my name on it, and enough memory of my time at college to offer convincing details that I actually attended the University of Chicago as an undergraduate. Eventually the group provisionally agrees that I am real. They have good reason to be suspicious: This team of about 40 incoming freshmen, who call themselves the Secret Squids, have spent more than a month investigating something called PS, a secret society that has existed at the University of Chicago for more than a century. Led by the Reticulites, 11 masked monks clad in red robes, the purpose of PS is to track the Parasite, a mysterious force that appears on campus once every 11 years in the form of a … [Read more...] about An Alternate Reality Game That Takes Freshman Orientation to a New Level