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Todoist's new Boards feature is a better-looking Trello
Todoist adds a card-based Boards feature to its project management app.
Microsoft's classic Solitaire game is 30 today
Microsoft’s Solitaire, which taught the world to use a mouse and waste unprecedented amounts of time, is turning 30 today.
Sony's CFexpress cards will bring blistering speeds to cameras
Cameras are getting so fast now that it's hard for regular SD storage cards, even fancy UHS II models, to keep up. Sony has just announced that it's developing new cards using the all-new CFexpress tech that are up to the challenge. They can read and write data at speeds of 1,700 and 1,480 MB/s, respectively, blowing past every current type of camera storage. Several new cameras on the market, including Nikon's Z6/Z7 and the Panasonic S1/S1R, will support the cards.
YouTube will remove all pop-up annotations on January 15th
Back in March 2017, YouTube announced that it would be retiring annotations, those boxes that pop up during a video with links and additional information. It discontinued the annotations editor in May of last year and soon all existing annotations will be going away as well. The company added an update to the help page announcing the end of its annotations editor, saying, "We will stop showing existing annotations to viewers starting January 15, 2019. All existing annotations will be removed."
YouTube kills annotations to make way for mobile-friendly features
If you've ever had a grey box pop-up in the middle of a YouTube video to correct spelling, add in some extra information or link you out to another video, you've encountered a YouTube annotation. The feature let creators add content to their video after it had already gone live, but it had its drawbacks -- annotation boxes weren't dynamic, and the only worked on the desktop version of the site. Soon, they won't work at all. Today, YouTube announce that the feature is being retired. Instead, it encourages creators to use its Cards and End Screens features, which work equally well on desktop and mobile devices.
Sony's Project Field brings card games to life
From Skylanders to Amiibo, "Toys to life" have been a pretty lucrative way for video game companies to make money. Sony has been more-or-less absent from the field, but today it's announcing something not too dissimilar: Project Field.
'Hearthstone' update brings drastic changes to the card game
Hearthstone is undergoing some changes in the interest of keeping the digital-trading-card game fresh. But in introducing the "Whispers of the Old Gods" -- expansion out on the 26th -- developer Blizzard is tweaking a bunch of cards and, based on the 5,000-plus comment Reddit thread, this isn't exactly for the better. Fan favorite cards like Molten Giant have gotten a casting cost increase up to 25 from 20, while the Knife Juggler card has had its attack decreased by a point.
Foursquare cards are popping up in Google Now, even without the app
Google Now has been serving up cards with info from your apps for a while. According to a report in VentureBeat, you might start seeing cards from apps you don't have installed -- starting with Foursquare. Cards with tips from the app were spotted alongside Google's own regular location-based recommendations. Foursquare still isn't listed on Google's partner page, so likely these cards are part of a limited trial, and the search giant isn't confirming anything when asked.
Microsoft marks 25 years of Solitaire with a tournament
Microsoft Solitaire, aka Windows' biggest productivity killer, is turning 25 this year -- and the team in Redmond is going to mark the occasion in style. The company is starting with an internal tournament this month that will determine who rules the roost within its own ranks. You'll get to participate in June, when the company releases the tournament's challenges to the public through its Solitaire Collection. If you've spent years mastering the art of ordering cards, your finely-honed (if not exactly practical) skills are about to pay off.
Blizzard's 'Hearthstone' card game lands on your smartphone
There goes your hope of staying productive at work. Blizzard has updated Hearthstone for Android and iOS to support smartphones, so you can indulge in its Warcraft-themed free-to-play card gaming while you're stuck in your cubicle. You shouldn't lose any content in the translation, but there's an "all-new" interface designed for smaller screens. Just be sure to exercise some restraint -- it could be tempting to squeeze in one more round before that big meeting.
YouTube cards might finally get you to click video links
Lots of YouTube videos carry annotations with links to related clips or other websites, but how many of them do you actually visit? Probably few of them, if any. However, YouTube may have a way to pique your interest. It's rolling out cards that both look much nicer -- compared to text boxes, anyway -- and are available at any time, not just at specific moments. They'll work on mobile, too, so you won't miss important contextual info just because you're on your phone. YouTube isn't ditching old-school annotations yet (it wants to fill out the cards' feature set first), but it's clear that their days are numbered.
'Cards Against Humanity' brings the raunch to the web in unofficial app (update)
Cards Against Humanity is already the naughtiest, nastiest, most hilarious card game for terrible people in physical reality, and now all of that fun is alive in the digital world with Cards Against Originality. It's a free, unofficial web app for phones, tablets and desktops designed by Dawson Whitfield, and it contains every Cards Against Humanity card, including all five expansions. Cards Against Originality is meant to fill in for actual cards if you forget to bring your big, black box to a party -- you still have to be near your friends in the real world to play. Simply start a new game, share the link and get rolling. Plus, it's all completely cool under the original game's Creative Commons license, according to Cards Against Humanity creator Max Temkin.
Scrolls shuffles out of beta, cuts price to $5
Minecraft developer Mojang launched its latest game, Scrolls, in full today. Scrolls is now available on PC, Mac and Android tablets, with an iPad version expected to arrive "some time in the new year." The card hoarding game pits players against one another on a hexagonal battlefield, earning gold and acquiring spells, enchantments and other strategy-boosting goodies. Scrolls entered open beta in June 2013 for $20, though the developer officially dropped the price of the full game to $5. It announced plans to shift the game's price in September, affirming that those who already bought the game will receive the $20 shard package, giving those players the ability to purchase decks, avatars and new scrolls without any additional cost. Mojang also began offering a free trial version of Scrolls today on all three platforms, for those interested in checking the strategy game out firsthand. [Image: Mojang]
Hearthstone expansion now live
Blizzard's first Hearthstone expansion is now live. Goblins vs. Gnomes boasts 120 new cards and "throws a big wrench into the way Hearthstone works," according to CEO Mike Morhaime. Logging into the game between now and December 19th will net you three free expansion card packs. You can obtain additional packs for either 100 in-game gold or real money. [Source: Blizzard press release]
Wildcard aims to replace your phone's web browser with mobile cards
The web was built for desktops -- not your phone. And while we've made great strides in adopting mobile-friendly sites over the past few years, they typically offer a clunkier experience than native apps. Wildcard hopes to offer the best of both worlds for mobile. Launching today, it's an app that deconstructs mobile sites into "cards" that are easy to digest on your phone. For news sites, Wildcard feels like a fancy RSS reader. But it can also break down mobile storefronts into cards, allowing you to browse and make purchases from within the app.
Facebook's Say Thanks lets you send video cards to your friends
Facebook already lets you post on someone's timeline or send a message to show your gratitude, but that won't always be... you know, heartfelt enough. What if you want to go the extra mile? That's where the social network's new Say Thanks feature might come in handy. Think of it as Google+ Stories for "thank you" cards. All you do is choose the photos and posts that best represent your time together, and wrap them in a theme; after that, Facebook will automatically generate a video (with a personalized message) that you can share. If you've been meaning to tell a long-term pal just how much you care, you can try Say Thanks today on either the desktop or one of Facebook's mobile apps.
Nintendo discusses cheaper Amiibo figures, trading cards
Future iterations of Nintendo's Amiibo figure line will include cards, the company revealed during last week's investor Q&A. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata and longtime designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto discussed the company's near-field communications initiatives, Miyamoto stressing that Amiibo "can take forms other than figures." Miyamoto offered Amiibo-style cards as an example, hypothesizing a game that would require players to pass "several cards over the NFC reader/writer" in the Wii U Game Pad. "I cannot discuss any of the details today, but Amiibo has the potential to propose new ways to play card games," Miyamoto said. The designer also brought up Animal Crossing as an example of a brand that could receive Amiibo compatibility in the future. Miyamoto noted that Nintendo plans on launching "smaller and even more affordable Amiibo figures in the future." The first set of Amiibo figures, available for pre-order now, will launch on November 21 alongside Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. All of the initial Amiibo figures will be compatible with Hyrule Warriors, and Nintendo just confirmed that Amiibo support will arrive in Mario Kart 8 soon. [Image: Nintendo]
Google Now wants to help protect your eyes from eclipses
Google Now has just added more cards to its ever-increasing arsenal, and this time, they'll help you prepare for eclipses and possibly dangerous situations. The new eclipse card lists almost everything you need to know about the phenomenon, including what it is, how to make a pinhole projector to view it and how to photograph it safely. If you can see the card right now, then you're most likely somewhere in North America, and the partial solar eclipse tomorrow will be visible where you live, weather permitting. The second card, on the other hand, shows you any police activity happening in your area and nearby places, though an Android Police commenter suggests the card isn't exactly new, just rare. Sure, getting one of these cards might be a bit stressful, since nobody wants to hear that there are bad guys prowling around their neighborhood. But at least it can let you know when to be extra careful or to avoid places where there's trouble. [Image credit: Zhan Tian/Getty]
Hearthstone due out on smartphones early next year
The one thing that Hearthstone currently lacks in comparison to traditional card games is the simple portability of a deck of cards, but that deficiency will soon be rectified. A new update on the official site shares an infographic with players and talks turkey on the upcoming clients for iPhones and Android phones. The client for Android tablets is nearly finished and should be ready before the end of the year; the iPad version softlaunched last spring. But the iPhone client is taking just a little longer to polish up. As a result, the clients for these devices will not be ready until early next year. So you won't be able to bring the game with you on your phone to winter holiday gatherings in 2014, but before long, you'll be carrying an entire deck of cards in a device that is smaller than an actual deck of cards. We've included the game's playerbase infographic below.
Hearthstone set for an expansion with over 100 new cards
Hearthstone's little trip to Naxxramas went pretty well, but the game is headed for something bigger. An expansion has been confirmed to be in the works for the game, as we first reported during PAX Prime this year. Production Director Jason Chayes has now revealed that the expansion will add over 100 new cards with a central theme tying all of the additions together, far more than the 30-odd cards added to the game during the Curse of Naxxramas adventure series. Chayes told Polygon that one of the big concerns for the team is making sure that the pace of new content for the game neither bores veteran players nor overwhelms new arrivals, making an expansion something of a challenging prospect. If the expansion goes well, the plan will be to mix up full expansions and single-player challenges over the course of a year, giving players more things to look forward to. No hard and fast details have been announced yet, but expected them in the near future.
