reactions
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Twitter tests emoji reactions for the times a heart won't do
Still bummed that tapping a heart is the only way to show your appreciation, sadness or any other reaction for a tweet? Well, that may change. Twitter user @_Ninji stumbled across emoji reactions in a jailbroken version of the social media app. Despite being included in the developer build, the feature still needs a lot of work, but it does allow users to employ the frown, party noisemaker and 100 emjois (just to name a few) to get their point across. The discovery comes right on the heels of Twitter swapping stars out for hearts when a tweet is favorited, much to the chagrin of most of the internet. Facebook recently added animated options for more appropriate reactions than a simple Like as well. Since the Twitter emojis appear to be a long way from finished, we'd surmise we'll hear more about the tiny pictures in tweets soon enough. Here's to hoping the taco and poop emoji make the cut. We've reached out to Twitter for more information, and we were sent the monkey with its hands over its mouth emoji.
Instead of dislike, Facebook is testing 'Reactions' animated emoji
Last night Engadget brought you a sneak peek at Facebook's new "Reactions" feature, and today the social network confirmed it's now in testing. Instead of the often-requested "dislike" to counter the existing Like button, founder Mark Zuckerberg explains (in a video embedded after the break) that this idea is just about giving more options to express yourself. Whether or not the feelings of love, sadness and empathy are what you're trying to project, the test is currently limited to users in Ireland and Spain. If you are there (or use a browser proxy service like Hola to fake it) you'll see something like the picture above, after long pressing the Like button on the website or mobile apps. Depending on how things go, this could roll out to the rest of the billion or so Facebook users soon, but it looks like any official support for dislike is never going to be in the plans.
Facebook tests 'Reactions,' a Like button with more emotions
How you "like" things on Facebook is about to change. Engadget has learned that the site is about to launch a "Reactions" feature that expresses multiple emotions, instead of the long-serving, lonely "like" (and long rumoured "dislike"). Our sources advise that Facebook will start testing the feature on users in Ireland and Spain as soon as tomorrow (Friday). Update: Our sources were right, check out the official news on Facebook Reactions.
Hulu's GIF library offers visuals for your reaction tweets
Websites like Giphy and others are useful for supplying a GIF to get your point across. Hulu is looking to help too, so long as your thoughts/feelings/hot takes can be summed up with an image from one of the TV shows streamed there. The company launched it's own repository, which is appropriately housed on Tumblr, allowing you to search for specific shows, actions and reactions to find the perfect moving picture for your needs. Heck, there are even gems like this one from Star Trek: The Original Series.
"Apple is looking old and stale"
In my post-Apple-WWDC-keynote haze, I did what I usually do after a big Apple event: I read anything and everything I could regarding the event. Analysis, rundowns, roundups, and galleries are all fair game, and to my surprise the general consensus -- even from the notoriously pessimistic Wall Street crowd -- was extremely positive. This was surprising to me not because I think the announcements were disappointing, but simply because without a handful of new physical products to show off, Apple's events are usually met with plenty of ignorant eye-rolling. I went from glowing analysis to glowing analysis thinking somehow things had changed... and then I stumbled upon this piece by Computerworld's Preston Gralla, and I knew everything was once again in balance. The following are quotes from Gralla's "WWDC shows it's Microsoft, not Apple, who's got the mojo": And [sic] has been usual in recent years, Apple's announcements were not particularly ground-breaking. It's just one more example of why Microsoft -- yes Microsoft -- has got the mojo these days, and Apple is looking old and stale. There's certainly nothing earth-shattering. Without Steve Jobs, Apple is turning into just another technology company. If you want to look for startling moves these days, you have to look to Microsoft. Well, beyond today's garden-variety announcements, it's buying Beats Music for $3 billion. Analysts are mixed whether the move is a good one, but that's almost beside the point. It should have owned streaming music, and not be playing catch-up. Instead, it's spending $3 billion to buy its way in. Will the trend of a resurgent Microsoft and a static Apple continue? There's no way to know. But right now, Microsoft's got the mojo, and Apple doesn't.
The Art of Wushu: The limits of human reaction time
We're finally back on track with the kung-fu lessons, and today we're going to talk about something very important: how being human limits what you can do in an Age of Wushu duel. Like a lot of skills relating to dueling and strategy, this is a fairly broad skill that can be applied to a lot of games. Reaction speed is one of the most difficult things to train in Age of Wushu, especially for old-timers like me. Reacting to things in a timely matter is a massive advantage; it lets you punish feints, interrupt sluggish normal attacks, and stun people out of dance-like moves. The trouble is, we're human, and humans are slow. This time, we're going to look at exactly what that means in hard technical terms.
The Game Archaeologist: Reactions to a free Vanguard
Vanguard's just had its biggest month since its troubled release in 2007, I wager. Its turn to free-to-play makes it the second-to-last SOE title to make the jump, and it's getting a "do-over" of sorts. Personally, I'm glad to see it happen. Without going into depth on Vanguard's past problems, I'll say that this was a highly hyped game that fell about as hard as any MMO could without being outright canceled. For years, it has been subsiding on a meager population and extremely rare updates (I recall a tiny bug update for Vanguard being laughably big news last summer). Now? Now it's received a new lease on life and attention from players and the media. If you've been following the news, you'll know that Vanguard soft launched a week early, talked with Massively about the conversion, officially launched thereafter, and is now part of the PSS.1 deal. But the most important word is that of the player on the street, the ground-pounders in Telon who are checking out F2P (and perhaps the game) for the first time. I've gathered several of these perspectives together for your amusement and edification.
Partygoers ponder the highs and lows of Microsoft's press briefing
Last night, at a media event for Xbox Canada, we took a few minutes to grab reactions from community sites about Microsoft's Pre-E3 press briefing. Unsurprisingly, many of the responses we received when we asked enthusiast blogs about the announcements the topic eventually led to Project Natal. Sure, the tech looks impressive but will it deliver ... but the major question? Why couldn't we sneak a peak at the upcoming sequels to Assassin's Creed and BioShock? Now it's your turn, what were your high and low points to Microsoft's opening press briefing?
Dealing with temporary changes in-game
Larisa's got a good rant about something I've considered before in a slightly different context: players aren't very good at anticipating how temporary game changes will work out. We, as a group (not individually necessarily), are quite quick to judgment when we see changes to the game, and the word Larisa uses is "conservatism" -- she notes the examples of the reaction to the zombie outbreak and the Children's Week batleground issues, and says that players "tossed the gift away, like spoiled kids." We (again, in general, not you specifically) have a very short view of how temporary changes will affect the game, lambast Blizzard for changing what didn't need to be changed, and very often, when the dust settles and the zombies are gone or the event is over, we realize that it wasn't so bad after all.She's not talking about class changes here -- those are more permanent changes that affect the basic rules of the game. But specifically with temporary events (I'd even throw the Brewfest controversies, and the Headless Horseman complaints in the mix), players sometimes have reactions that are way out of proportion to the events themselves. These holidays and world events are temporary: shouldn't we just enjoy them while we can?It's definitely a valid point, and something to remember for the next time a temporary event throws off your usual routine in-game. The fact is that we players are spoiled -- Blizzard generally does a great job keeping this game fun, and so when even a little issue sneaks into the game during a temporary event. But Larisa promises that next time she gets shaken up by a temporary change, she'll give it another chance. Sounds like a great idea to me.
iLounge interviews, um, everyone about new iPods
Ok, maybe not 'everyone,' but they certainly made the rounds to a healthy portion of companies who have just about anything to do with the iPod. iLounge asked for general reactions of the new products from the likes of Griffin, Altec Lansing, Pacific Rim, Targus, TechRestore and even the Chief iPodification Officer of iPopMyPhoto and iPopMyBaby.com. Plenty of other companies sounded off with reactions, and (of course) just about everyone got a word in on the status of their products, whether they'll work with the new iPods (save for the shuffle, many products should be fine) and what they have coming down the pipeline. While some of the reactions may be packed with more marketing than genuine answers, it's still a good overall 'state of the iPod universe' article, providing a nice communication channel between the accessory manufacturers and their adoring fans. I haven't seen a post like this before from iLounge, but I hope they keep 'em coming.[Update: Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge let us know in the comments that they actually have been doing these types of posts for a while, and they even have an archive. Thanks Jeremy!]
