multitask
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LG's 49-inch, ultrawide monitor is a multitasker's dream
That rollable OLED TV from LG may have stolen the show at CES 2019, but the company's got a slew of other interesting products up its sleeve. The LG 49WL95C is a 49-inch, ultrawide monitor (32:9 aspect ratio) with a Dual QHD display (5,120 x 1,440 resolution) and two built-in 10W stereo speakers with "Rich Bass." The super wide and high-res screen also features support for HDR 10, USB Type-C and an adjustable stand that lets you swivel it, tilt it and tweak its height.
Google announces new YouTube for iOS with multitasking
Google has just made it easier to never stop watching videos on your iOS device. Today the company launched the latest update of the iOS version of YouTube, bringing with it the ability to multitask within the app. Bow down, you gods of self control. The multitasking feature allows users to minimize their current video to a small box on the bottom-right of the screen, bringing up a search function where you can find new videos. We can now search for cat videos while we watch cat videos. When you find what you're looking for, the minimized window can be quickly closed or brought back to full screen by swiping your finger right or left, respectively. Increased search functionality has also been added so users can search for playlists and tap the "play all" button for a seemingly endless wave of video content. You can find YouTube Version 2.0 in the App Store right now.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Learning to multitask in League of Legends
Multitasking is a skill that is fairly useful in any competitive game. Even if there's not a huge need for external situational awareness, the ability to multitask lets you do things while paying attention to other elements of a PvP match such as in-game resources, the timer (if present), and the actions of enemy players. If you can't multitask, you are stuck focusing mostly on what you're doing and can't adequately counter what the enemy is doing. League of Legends requires a lot of multitasking. While it's not a true real-time strategy game, LoL still requires players to be aware of the minimap, the current state of minions at their location, and the potential positions of enemy players who are not visible on the minimap. Couple this with the "normal" flow of a PvP game where a player must juggle her positioning with that of her opponent, and you have a game that is very taxing on a person's mental resources. While multitasking is a hard skill to develop, learning it is intensely satisfying when knowledge about the "big picture" leads to a decisive, game-winning play. This week in The Summoner's Guidebook, we'll look at how you can improve this critical skill. Even if you don't play League of Legends, it might be worth it to follow along. While many examples I'll be discussing will be LoL-specific, the broader concepts we'll cover after the jump can be applied to many different games, whether competitive or not.
Windows Phone 7.5 Mango review
Microsoft installs 'biggest Windows Phone ever' in NYC's Herald Square (video) Mango bumps NoDo, rolls the update train to Dell's Venue Pro Mango rollout going smoothly, now available to half of all Windows PhonesLet's face it: Windows Phone, as we know it, has an enormous amount of potential, but it's a first-generation operating system. For the first eleven months of its existence, it's lacked many of the common features we've come to enjoy (and take for granted) on Android and iOS, but then again, even those platforms have taken their turn getting the major wrinkles ironed out. So it comes as no surprise that Microsoft's mobile darling -- the innovative rebirth of a weak and faltering Windows Mobile platform that was quickly falling into obscurity -- would need to go through a similar process.It's finally time for Steve Ballmer & Co. to unleash its major annual update (not counting NoDo here), codenamed Mango, to a litany of devices both old and new. Also known as Windows Phone 7.5, the latest build delivers an onslaught of features -- no less than 500, according to Microsoft -- many of them we've been missing dearly. Three months ago we were given the opportunity to preview the new revamp and ogle over its smattering of new capabilities (see the full list of features here), and it's only proper for us to offer a follow-up with the update's final build. So how does the completely polished version hold up against the mobile juggernauts, not to mention its own first-gen offering? Follow us below to get the full scoop.
This is your brain. This is your brain on video games
Sure, you've probably seen countless scientific studies involving video games -- but have you have you ever wondered what your brain actually looked like while your playing video games? Well, feast your eyes on the image above. That's an MRI scan of New York Times writer Matt Richtel's brain that was captured while he played a simple driving game -- all in the name of science (and journalism), of course. As Richtel notes, however, that's just one example of the ways researchers are using such technology to "map the ethereal concept of attention," and scientists have turned up some other interesting findings as of late. Researchers at the University of Utah, for instance, have found that people's ability to juggle two tasks begins to drop off in their 30s and then sharply drops in their 40s, which contradicts earlier suspicions that people's ability to multitask only began to degrade when they're much older. Some other researchers are still suspicious of those findings, however, and Dr. Gazzaley of the University of California at San Diego is quick to point out that all of this research is still in the earliest stages -- he's expecting some more detailed findings next year when his team expands their tests and begin to incorporate EEG monitoring as well.
The Daily Grind: Do you multitask in MMOs?
One of the defining maxims of my life is "Two birds with one stone." No, I'm not an avian serial killer (well, not yet...), but I do like to combine activities as much as possible, particularly when one is boring or repetitive. While MMOs definitely have exciting parts, it's hard to deny that there's a good chunk of time where one enters the Grind Zone of repetitive tasks. Because of this, I am a proponent of multitasking while playing MMOs. I usually listen to a podcast, set up a movie on a portable DVD player next to the monitor, or even let my character auto-attack a bit while I do a bit of correspondence. I am always paying attention to the chat box scroll -- and the laughable debates that folks have in world-wide channels -- and I've been known to bounce a baby or two on my lap while downing a boss. Are you like me? Do you multitask while playing MMOs? If so, spill the beans -- what else do you do while you play? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Multitasking on your iPad: a quick guide
iOS 4.2 finally introduced multitasking to the iPad, boosting its usefulness significantly. Here's a brief overview of how it works and what you can expect from this exciting new feature. The Multitask Bar The iOS keeps a running tally of recently-used apps for you and displays them in the Multitask Bar. To bring it up, just double-tap the iPad's home button as you do on the iPhone. The main screen slides out of the way to reveal the list. There are two main differences between the Multitask Bar on the iPad and the iPhone. First, the iPad lists the six most recently-used apps while in portrait orientation and seven while in landscape. The iPhone always lists four, regardless of orientation. Also, swipe all the way to the right on the iPhone to bring up the orientation lock button, iPod controls (back, play/pause and skip) plus the iPod app icon. The iPad displays those, too, as well as a brightness slider and a volume slider. New transition This is minor but still fun. The animation that the iPad uses when fast-switching between apps is slightly different than what the iPhone uses. %Gallery-108229%
Entelligence: Mobile multitasking is mostly a myth
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide. The idea of multitasking on mobile devices has been a hot topic for years. It's been debated since the early days of smartphones, when devices such as the Treo based on Palm OS could not handle more than one task at a time, while handsets based on the Windows Mobile platform had the capability. The issue reached a crescendo with the release of the iPhone (and more recently with the iPad) and lack of multitasking capability for third party apps. This week it's come up once again, with news from MIX10 that Microsoft would not support multitasking for third party apps on Windows Phone 7 Series, at least initially.
Palm Pre Plus shows off multitasking upgrade with 50 simultaneous apps (video)
Yea, you read that right -- fifty apps loaded side by side by freaking side on the Pre Plus, and the thing just kept on ticking. The chaps over at Pre Central decided to test out specifically how much of an improvement the doubling of RAM and storage in the new handset delivered, and they were not disappointed. Opening up the same apps on both phones, they found the original Sprint Pre (sporting a mere 256MB of RAM) ran out of puff at the 13 app mark, whereas the Pre Plus soldiered on until a nice round fifty was reached. Go past the break to see the video evidence for yourself -- long live multitasking!
Tame cube concept dishes out your availability status
Granted, it's becoming increasingly simple to just Twitter your day away with the smorgasbord of connectivity options out there today, but if you're just too productive to bother with that, the Tame concept is likely to become your next best friend. The cube shown above can be equipped with customized statuses that will inform anyone trying to contact you (via Facebook, text, cellphone, IM, fax, telegraph, can-and-string, etc.) exactly why you aren't responding. For convenience, each panel is assigned a color depending on the severity of your away-ness (i.e. red for "I'm on a 14-hour flight to Fiji with no BlackBerry service."), which can easily be glanced by the owner if dashing off in a hurry. Of course, this thing would be entirely more appealing if it included a robotic secretary that actually screened your calls and passed along those that were important, but hey, you've got to start somewhere.
Axxen kicks out trio of portable HDD enclosure / card reader hybrids
It's just impossible not to love a little consolidation done right, and Axxen's trio of new devices aims to give you a good reason to ditch that easy-to-misplace flash card reader and pick up an external HDD enclosure while you're at it. The A-3500, A-2500, and A-1800 all sport a sleek, black casing, and can handle your choice of 3.5-, 2.5-, or 1.5-inch hard drive, respectively. Aside from functioning as your run-of-the-mill external HDD, the drives also serve as a memory card reader for CF, SM, xD, MS, MSPro, MSDuo, SD, miniSD, MMC, and MD cards, and it interfaces with your computer via USB 2.0. Notably, each unit also boasts a "one-touch" backup function to keep your files sufficiently duplicated, and while we're not sure how much Axxen plans on charging for these nifty multitaskers, they should be hitting South Korea real soon.[Via MobileWhack]
