The Public Access Weekly: What's this?
Y'all. This week was SXSWand GDC and we are tired. So let's dive right on in so I can go back to trying to take a nap on my keyboard.
Last week, I gave a shout out to the three Public Access authors who have had their stories republished on the Engadget home page -- which is something we started doing recently both because we want to highlight particularly engaging articles from Public Access and because we want people to know about Public Access itself.
However, given some of the comments on those stories, it would seem that many readers are unfamiliar with our Public Access page so consider this your introduction:
Hi.
This is our Public Access community page. You may have noticed it in our top navigation bar, or in the drop down Sections menu.
So.. what actually IS this?
Public Access is a page for articles written by Engadget readers, users and commenters. Anyone can sign up to become a contributor, and Public Access contributors can write stories on any number of technology or computer-related topics including gaming, entertainment, streaming, apps, fitness devices, PC building and maintenance and more. Public Access is for you to share your thoughts, opinions, experiences, advice and feelings on technology: How it affects your day-to-day life, how it helps you accomplish things (or drives you crazy), or what you're most excited about.
How is this different than the Engadget home page?
Well, for starters, contributors to Public Access are not professional journalists or writers (for the most part); they are not Engadget employees and are not paid for their articles. They're just enthusiasts, like you, who wanted to share their thoughts and stories. You can tell when you're reading a Public Access story because every Public Access article will have a header that looks like this:
Hm. Okay. What if I want to sign up?
That'd be swell! You can register for an account here, but please fill out the entire form correctly (and sincerely) lest you be accidentally marked as a spambot.
Still have questions, comments, or concerns about what Public Access is or does or who it's for or how to use it? You can leave your thoughts in the comments here, email us or reach out to us on Twitter (it helps if you include the #PublicAccess hashtag).
Looking for something to read? Check out:
Anonymous declared total war on Donald Trump, we declared it a story, and you declared it a serious topic of conversation -- With over 400 comments (and counting), this story is provoking quite the debate.
Smartphones have been boring lately, but since tech seems to exist on a 10-15 year cycle of major shifts we should be due for something truly exciting soon, right? Right? This story tackles the tech developments that may push the next innovative development in smartphones.
We did a story on the amount of CGI used in Deadpool, and the general consensus is: Don't care. Still rad. Would watch again.
You mean they didn't actually flip this car?! We are shocked. Shocked, I tell you!
Looking for something to write about? Mull over:
Monday is Apple's next big announcement event, and folks in the comments here are discussing the possibilities: What is going to be announced? Are our predications are correct, or way, way off? What do you think Apple will announce on Monday? What do you hope they don't announce? Look into your crystal ball and predict what they're going to reveal next week.
All I can think about right now is sleep, and how little I got of it last night. These Philips Hue bulbs are supposed to mimic natural light to help you get a good nights rest. Have you ever used a tech device designed to help you sleep, such as smart lights or an alarm that wakes you at the optimal moment? How well do they work? Asking for a friend who hates getting up in the morning. Not me. (Okay, yeah, it's me).
Microsoft announced it would be opening up its network gaming capabilities so devs with Xbox One and Windows 10 games can play online with other platforms (both console and PC). Getting to a true place of crossover gaming however requires the developers to participate as well, with Rocket League being the first to take advantage. So... how soon will it be before all gaming embraces the idea of cross over play? Will we ever be truly platform agnostic? And what kind of crossover game play (or game) do you want to see most and why?
