Google has released a new Android app that can help you monitor and control the amount of data you use. Datally shows your real-time data usage for each application inside a bubble icon and gives you an easy way to block it from using more in the mea…
A walking stick is something that we all might need to grapple with as we get older, for one simple reason: our balance and gait aren’t what they used to be, so it is useful to have a “third leg” to get up and around while minimizing the chances of falling down. So far, the basic premise is pretty much the same, although in the past there has been technologically-infused ideas of a walking stick such as the Tactile Wand Electronic Walking Stick. Being close to a decade old, how about getting something more updated and useful such as the iStand Walking Cane that will arrive in three flavors?
WhatBox, Inc. claims that this will be the last walking cane that you will ever need to buy, where regardless of the model that you purchase, it will be fashion forward. Of course, there is the staple version which will not carry any kind of technology at all, but we are more interested in the other two models that will sport integrated technology. For instance, there is the iStand with FindMyCane, being a trackable cane that has been infused with GPS technology so that it is a whole lot easier to find out where the cane was last left behind.
The other would be a smart cane with fall detection and Alzheimer’sAlerts capability, also know as iStand Cane with SmartWalk technology. It targets those who might simply wander around and are in need of memory care. Regardless of which model that is picked up, all of them features a flexible shaft for joint comfort, and a no-trip base that stands alone. All of iStand’s smart safety products will not have any burdensome subscription so that seniors and their families will be able to enjoy safety and comfort without having to break the bank.
Press Release
[ iStand Walking Cane arrives in three flavors copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Are loot boxes in video games considered gambling? That seems to be the debate going on right now, with some claiming that because you don’t know what you’re getting when you pay for it, essentially you’re taking a gamble on the contents of the loot box, while others don’t seem to feel the same way.
You might have heard that over in Belgium, the local authorities have come to the conclusion that loot boxes are a form of online gambling and want it banned across Europe, but over in Denmark, the country’s gambling authority has found that Star Wars: Battlefront 2’s loot boxes not to be gambling.
According to the country’s gaming act, to be considered gambling, it needs to meet a few criterias. One of which is that there must be a deposit, there must be an element of coincidence, and there must be a win. They also compare some examples of what could be considered gambling, like where gamers can win skins for items that can be resold, which if you might recall was a bit of a controversy surrounding Counter-Strike: Global Offensive last year.
However despite it not being considered gambling, the authorities do express some concern about it all the same. “However, I would like to emphasize the importance of parents taking an interest in the games their children play and to talk about responsible gaming behaviour. Then we may hopefully avoid unfortunate situations where minors spend money they should not have used.”
Danish Authorities Claim That Loot Boxes Aren’t Gambling , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Even before the Apple Watch was officially announced, the rumors surrounding the device have suggested that Apple was planning on positioning it as a health device. While it did launch with several health features, it looks like the Apple Watch is getting a boost in the health department, thanks to the FDA clearing AliveCor’s “Kardia Band”.
For those learning about this for the first time, the Kardia Band is an EKG analyzer designed for the Apple Watch. It’s not exactly new as over in Europe, it has already been available for a while. However it was not available in the US as it was pending the FDA’s approval, which it has since gotten, which means that it can now be sold in the US.
The Kardia Band is sort of like an improvement over the company’s KardiaMobile device. The former is a strap worn around the wrist and can detect abnormal heart rhythm and atrial fibrillation, while the latter is a device attached to the back of your phone that you have to hold with both hands for 30 seconds, which is clearly not as convenient.
It is no secret that the Apple Watch is proving to be a more useful health tracking device than what Apple had led us to believe at the start. There have been multiple instances in which users have noticed heart problems before they happened, thanks to the built-in heart rate sensor, so much so that Apple is investigating to what extent the Apple Watch can detect abnormal heart rhythms.
FDA Clears Medical Grade EKG Analyzer For The Apple Watch , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Earlier this year in January, HTC took the wraps off a mid-range handset in the form of the HTC U Play. It wasn’t much to look at, but it seemed more than capable of getting the job done. Now if you’re looking for a mid-ranger with somewhat decent specs, it seems that the HTC U Play 2 could be in the works, thanks to a recent sighting on Geekbench.
The handset listed on Geekbench doesn’t specifically mention the HTC U Play 2, but its specs do seem like it could make a good candidate. Assuming that what we’re seeing is accurate, the phone in question appears to be packing a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset along with 4GB of RAM, both of which are slight improvements over the HTC U Play.
It also appears that the phone will come with Android 8.0 Oreo preinstalled, which is good news since it means that users won’t have to wait for the update. Other than that, the listing does not mention anything about its camera or design or display size, but given that the previous U Play had a 5.2-inch Full HD screen, we doubt that HTC will deviate too far from that.
No word on when the phone will launch, but given that the original U Play was announced earlier this year in January, it is possible its successor could also be announced in January 2018, which is also when CES 2018 will be taking place.
Possible HTC U Play 2 Specs Spotted On Geekbench , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
At the rate that gamers play games, it isn’t surprising that more often than not, you find gamers who have no problems completing entire games within a day or two. This is where replayability comes into focus, and also where developers need to keep up with gamers by constantly releasing new content.
The good news for gamers who play Overwatch is that in case everything the game has to offer now isn’t enough, come 2018 you can expect a lot more. This is according to Overwatch’s director Jeff Kaplan who responded to questions from gamers on the Overwatch forums, and where he promised that new content would be arriving next year.
According to Kaplan, “We have a ton of new content coming. Not only are there some really awesome items coming for upcoming events, early next year we’ll be adding *a lot* of new items to the base loot box. You don’t have long to wait!” He doesn’t dive into any specifics, but given what we’ve seen so far, presumably he is talking about new maps, new heroes, and new game modes.
Given Blizzard’s penchant for celebrating various holidays in their games, we are also expecting that there will be new limited time events, and so on. This is rather encouraging news, especially considering that a couple of months ago, Kaplan lamented how Blizzard spending time and resources to combat toxic behavior was slowing down updates to the game.
Overwatch Director Promises ‘A Ton Of New Content’ For 2018 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
According to Take-Two’s President, loot boxes in video games aren’t considered gambling, although there are some who beg to differ. However in a post on Reddit a user by the name of Kensgold is a 19-year old who claims to have spent over $13,000 on microtransactions to date, and is urging companies like EA to reconsider their approach to microtransactions in games.
Kensgold claims that in order to support his gambling habit, he had to take on two jobs and nearly dropped out of high school as a result. He also shared the receipts and bank statements of his microtransactions with Kotaku as proof, where he spent over $13,000 on games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Smite, and The Hobbit: Kindoms of Middle-earth.
While he does not appear to blame any company for his addiction or his choices, his open letter is a plea to developers to consider the effect that microtransactions have on people such as him who might be especially susceptible. “My problem stems from a deeper issue, my addiction to gambling. This addiction is a personal failing of mine and the reason I can’t in good conscience buy games that offer an loot crate, at all.”
He also specifically mentions EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront 2, where he notes that because of how beloved the Star Wars universe is, kids will be playing it, and from there they could learn to love the rush of getting good items from loot boxes, which in turn could turn it into a habit. “So please again take a moment to reflect. There are no laws in place to protect the youth of our nation and others like it. I was one of the many who was hurt because of that. Help me prevent it from happening to the next generation, give them the chance I never had.”
Kensgold’s post is pretty much in line with what Democrat representative Chris Lee of Hawaii said last week, where he stressed that there needed to be some kind of measures in place to protect those who are underage from such situations. Whether or not EA will take this to heart remains to be seen, but for now the publisher has temporarily disabled the feature.
Teen Reportedly Spent Over $13,000 On Microtransactions, Asks EA To Reconsider , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
“Do you like pineapple lumps?”
Fifty Shades of Democratic Socialism?
He apologized while also characterizing some of the allegations leveled against him as “untrue or mischaracterized.”
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