Discord is Going to Bring the Games to You

August 15, 2018GamingDiscordJenThorpe

Discord announced some updates that are currently being rolled out in beta. A curated group of games will be aded to Discord Nitro. Discord will also be launching a curated game store.

Today, we’re slowly rolling out a beta test to about 50,000 of our Canadian players and will be expanding to more over time. These players will see an upgraded version of Discord Nitro that has access to a curated selection of games along with the current subscription perks. They’ll also see a new Discord Store tab in the home screen with individual games for purchase.

Discord has created a curated list of games and will be adding them to Discord Nitro. If you are in the beta, and you subscribe to Nitro, you’ll get access to all Nitro games (which is a different selection of games than what’s available in the Store). Discord Nitro is “kinda like a Netflix for games.”

Nitro will keep all its current features, including an animated avatar, ability to choose your tag (the #0000 next to your username), higher quality screen share, custom emoji anywhere, animated emoji, larger file upload limit (50mb from 8mb) and a badge to show how long you’ve been supporting Discord.

Along with the upgraded Nitro, Discord will be launching a curated game store with recommendations about the hottest and newest games. Discord will be showcasing a variety of titles that they think you will like. As the store grows, Discord will rely on their community and their team to make the store feel super personal.

The store will be supporting “First on Discord”, indie games that they’ve helped bring to life. First on Discord games are temporarily exclusive. They’re literally first on Discord – usually 90 days – and then the developers can sell anywhere they want. The beta will not have any First on Discord titles.

If you want to, you can have Discord scan your computer for games. Then, you’ll be able to launch any of your games through Discord, even if they require another launcher.

Lumen Hit Their Indiegogo Funding Goal

August 14, 2018healthLumenJenThorpe

Lumen, a digital health and wellness company reinventing weight management and performance optimization through science and technology, quickly hit their $50,000 funding goal on Indidgogo in just three hours.

Lumen, the pocket-sized device that hacks metabolism in real-time, has helped beta users lose an average of 6.8 pounds in 30 days, and has quickly gained popularity amongst consumers since the July 17, 2018, campaign launch.

Simply by taking a single breath, Lumen’s powerful AI engine analyzes metabolism to determine whether users are burning carbs or fat for energy and provides immediate nutritional guidance and real-time insights based on that physiological data. Lumen then creates a daily personalized nutrition plan to help users lose weight, optimize workouts, and reach their health and fitness goals.

Lumen is available for pre-order at the “Early-Bird” pledge level price of $199. That’s 33% off of the retail price of $299. The Indiegogo campaign will run through August 25, 2018.

Google Tracks your Location Always #1305

August 14, 2018PodcastKirk

Some very concerning information about Google location tracking has come out by the AP. You need to pay attention to this information if you are concerned about your location privacy. I also provide some links to how you can root out all the information that they have stored on you to get it cleaned up. Yes, they are tracking you with Location data turned off. Also, the GoDaddy Promo Codes are changing on September 1st. So if you want to take advantage of the deal now is the time.

GeekNews.Chat (Mastodon)
My New Personal YouTube Channel
Geek News Central Facebook Page.
Download the Audio Show File

Support my Show Sponsor:
30% off on New GoDaddy Orders cjcgnc30
$.99 for a New or Transferred .com cjcgnc99 @ GoDaddy.com
$1.00 / mo Economy Hosting with a free domain. Promo Code: cjcgnc1hs
$1.00 / mo Managed WordPress Hosting with free Domain. Promo Code: cjcgncwp1

Continue reading Google Tracks your Location Always #1305 →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Podcast (video): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Facebook has New Requirements for Page Managers

August 12, 2018FacebookFacebookJenThorpe

Facebook announced that they have introduced Page publishing authorization starting with people who manage a Page with a large audience in the United States. In addition, Facebook is also adding primary country location and Page merge details to the Page Info tab (that was introduced in June of 2018).

Why is Facebook doing this? The answer to that question is at the end of their blog post. “Our goal is to prevent organizations and individuals from creating accounts that mislead people about who they are and what they’re doing.”

Now, people who manage these pages will be asked to complete an authorization process in order to continue to post, making it harder for people to administer a Page using a fake or compromised account.

Authorization asks people who manage these Pages to secure their account with two-factor authentication and confirm their primary country location.

Facebook says that if a Page manager requires authorization, they’ll receive a notice at the top of their News Feed to begin the process. People won’t be able to post on their Page if they don’t complete the process. Facebook says: “Enforcement will follow shortly this month.”

In addition, Facebook is adding more Page Info that will show when a Page has merged with another Page. This information will be found under Page History. Facebook is also adding a section called People Who Manage This Page. It will show the primary country locations Pages are managed from. This will initially appear on Pages with a large US audience.

Facebook points out that Instagram will introduce similar features in the coming weeks, which will allow people to see more information about accounts with large audiences.

Blizzard Added a Third BlizzCon Ticket Sale

August 10, 2018GamingBlizzard Entertainment, BlizzConJenThorpe

Blizzard Entertainment held two ticket sales for BlizzCon 2018, on different dates, earlier this year. As always, those tickets sold out incredibly quickly. If you missed out on the first two ticket sales, there’s a chance you will have better luck with a newly added third ticket sale.

Hoping to attend BlizzCon in person this year, but didn’t manage to snag a ticket during the first two sales? You’re in luck – we’re thrilled to announce a third ticket sale, scheduled for Saturday, August 18 at 10 a.m. PDT.

The third ticket sale will be hosted by Universe.com. Tickets are priced at $199 each (plus applicable taxes and fees.) This third ticket sale will work just like the previous two. Blizzard recommends that you check out the BlizzCon Ticket Page and a Badge Information page for more details.

BlizzCon 2018 will take November 2 and 3 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

If this third round of tickets sell out before you were able to buy one, there is another option. There is a BlizzCon Virtual Ticket that will provide live streaming coverage to viewers around the world. Blizzard has not yet released specific details about what, exactly, will be streamed.

Senator Cries Wolf #1304

August 10, 2018PodcastKirk

Your support of my shows sponsor is critical to the success of the show. Your sharing of my codes with your friends, family and co-workers keep the ball moving here. Linking to my sponsor page via your social media accounts also helps a considerable amount. This is our sponsor in a sense. Help me in promoting GoDaddy as the longest continuous running sponsor of this show and the longest sponsored podcast in the universe.

GeekNews.Chat (Mastodon)
My New Personal YouTube Channel
Geek News Central Facebook Page.
Download the Audio Show File

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Podcast (video): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Pokémon GO August Community Day Focuses on Eevee

August 9, 2018GamingPokémon GOJenThorpe

Pokémon GO is having a unique back-to-back Community Day in August focusing on Eevee. The information about this event is scattered across the Pokémon GO website, twitter, and emailed newsletters.

The Eevee Community Day will take place for two days in a row. A recently sent Pokémon GO email had some information about what this event will be like.

Trainers, get ready for a unique back-to-back Community Day in August, featuring the Normal-type Pokémon Eevee! Because Eevee can evolve into many different Pokémon, this extended Community adventure will give you the opportunity to explore the wonders of Evolution. On both Saturday, August 11, and Sunday, August 12, the Evolution Pokémon will appear in the wild more frequently for three hours each day.

The email went on to say that all Eevee caught during those three-hour windows will know the Normal-type attack called Last Resort. In addition, players will earn 3x Stardust when catching all Pokémon, and Lure Modules will remain active for three hours during the event each day.

The Pokémon GO event website says that Fast TMs and Charged TMs will not grant exclusive moves during Community Day. To learn the exclusive move, you must catch or evolve the featured Pokémon during Community Day hours.

The Pokémon GO verified Twitter account tweeted on August 8, 2018, “Our special Community Day weekend has one more surprise for you! You can evolve your Eevee until 1 P.M. PDT on Monday, August 13, and its Evolution will know the exclusive move Last Resort!”

The World Ends With You: Final Remix Release Date Revealed

August 8, 2018GamingNintendo, Nintendo Switch, The World Ends With You: Final RemixJenThorpe

Nintendo revealed that The World Ends with You: Final Remix is coming to Nintendo Switch on October 12, 2018. The game was developed by Square Enix and is is a role-playing game. The number of players has not yet been determined.

Complete the mission…or face erasure.

That’s all Neku knows after regaining consciousness in the middle of a busy intersection without his memories. Now he and his partner must fight to survive a life-or-death game in this twisted tale with more turns than the urban labyrinth of Tokyo they’re trapped in. This definitive version of Square Enix’s RPG classic brings the dark story to life on the Nintendo Switch system along with a new scenario and some killer, new remixed music.

The Nintendo America website says that Neku needs to learn how to work together with a partner to complete the Reapers’ Game. They only have seven days to do it. Right now, it’s unclear if The World Ends with You: Final Remix is going to be a one-player game (where Neku pairs with an non-player character) or if the game will be two-player. The Nintendo website also says: “Take control of real-time, action-fueled RPG battles using touch controls or Joy-Con controllers.”

Other details include:

Fight to survive the week-long “Reaper’s Game” playing out on the twisted streets of Shibuya, Tokyo
Delve into Square Enix’s remastered RPG classic
The Nintendo Switch exclusive new scenario makes this the definitive experience
Collect an array of mysterious, stylish pins with powerful psychic abilities, then point the way to victory in real-time, action-fueled RPG battles
New remixed music tracks, new enemies, and hours of additional content – all exclusive to The World Ends With You: Final Remix
Distinctive modern art from a team of artists led by producer Tetsuya Nomura, best known for his work on the Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy game series.
The expansive soundtrack boasts a wide array of genres, including everything from rock to hip-hop to electronica

The World Ends with You: Final Remix is coming to #NintendoSwitch on 10/12! This definitive version of a modern RPG classic will bring a new scenario and some killer, new remixed music. #TWEWY pic.twitter.com/gHAieLk2my

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 7, 2018

Instapaper Relaunched Instapaper Premium

August 7, 2018Useful sitesInstapaperJenThorpe

Instapaper announced that they are relaunching Instapaper Premium. They also are bringing Instapaper to European Union users.

In July of 2018, Instapaper announced that they had gone independent after entering into an agreement to transfer ownership of Instapaper to Instant Paper, Inc.

InstaPaper Premium is a subscription for $2.99/month or $29.99/year that offers the following features:

Full-text search for all articles in your account
Unlimited Notes
Text-to-Speech playlists on mobile
Speed reading to get through all of your articles up to 3x faster
An ad-free Instapaper website
“Send to Kindle” using a bookmarklet on Instapaper’s mobile apps

If you decide not to subscribe to Instapaper Premium, you will continue with a standard free account without access to Premium features.

In the blog post, Instapaper also announced that they are making Instapaper accessible to EU users.

Additionally, today we are bringing back Instapaper to European Union users. Over the past two months we have taken a number of actions to address the General Data Protection Regulation, and we are happy to announce our return to the European Union.

Instapaper updated their privacy policy to include rights afforded to EU users under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Censorship’s Slippery Slope #1303

August 7, 2018PodcastKirk

Over the past week, censorship has raised its head again and while I will not debate the decisions the companies made. I think it is a good time to re-enforce that freedom of speech in America is still protected. While I may hate what you say, and speak out about it. I also respect that you have the right to say it and understand that words have consequences. Companies have to protect their brands which is their right, the only thing we can ask of these companies is to apply banning and censorship equally across their platforms.

GeekNews.Chat (Mastodon)
My New Personal YouTube Channel
Geek News Central Facebook Page.
Download the Audio Show File

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Podcast (video): Play in new window | Download | Embed