ReactJS: Start building powerful user interfaces for just $33

ReactJS Programming BootcampReactJS is one of the cornerstones of modern web development. Today’s deal is the perfect chance for you to master it in your spare time, and you don’t even need to leave the house. 

ReactJS is a JavaScript library used to build large applications. Facebook and Instagram are the pioneers of this innovative bit of tech, which is used to perform huge tasks with relatively little code. Paul Hudson, the author of the eBook Hacking With React, refers to it as the gold standard of modern code.

Given that it’s used by leading websites such as Netflix, Imgur, Airbnb, and many more, you can see why he might have a point. 

If you’re interested in learning this cutting-edge coding, you’ll be pleased to hear that the ReactJS Programming Bootcamp is on sale now for only $39. In fact, in the run-up to Christmas, Android Authority readers can enroll for just $33.15.

ReactJS Programming Bootcamp

The 44 hours of training cover everything from large-scale web development to building apps for iOS and Android. As well as React, you’ll learn about other tools such as Flux, which is an architecture used internally by Facebook.

Another example is ExpressJS, which allows developers to easily organize their code, add more functionality, and configure servers. This is just skimming the surface of this package.

The ReactJS Programming Bootcamp in full:

So that’s  $450 worth of training for just $39. If you use the coupon code MERRY15 at the checkout, you’ll only have to pay $33.15.

By the way, you get lifetime access too, so don’t worry if the festive schedule is packed. You could always take advantage of the deal now and dive in when you’re ready.

Almost 1,000 people have already enrolled, and this is your chance to join them. The deal ends soon, so hit the button below if you want to learn more.

The AAPicks team writes about things we think you’ll like, and we may see a share of revenue from any purchases made through affiliate links. To see all our hottest deals, head over to the AAPICKS HUB.


Looking for a new phone or plan? Start here with the Android Authority Plan Tool:

This smart tool lets you filter plans by phone, price, data tiers, and regional availability. Stop overpaying for cell service you hate and a phone that you’re tired of. Use our Compare Phones & Plans tool to fully customize your mobile experience and painlessly transition from one carrier to another!

Source: Android Zone

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We wish this was the real OnePlus 6T chin, not an altered one for an ad

One of the shining features of the OnePlus 6T is its display, with a tiny waterdrop notch, slim bezels, and unobtrusive chin. When you hold the 6T in your hand after buying it, it really does feel like there’s nothing but screen.

Editor’s Pick

However, if you watch a recent Instagram advertisement from OnePlus promoting the 6T, you might come home disappointed after purchase. That’s because the OnePlus 6T in the ad has much smaller bezels and a nearly non-existent chin.

The ad’s deception was spotted by Twitter user @pedropeguerojr (via Android Police). Check out Pedro’s tweet below which not-so-subtly calls OnePlus out for this graphical trickery:

Check out a closeup of the image below:

I don’t know about you, but that phone looks awesome. I wish my OnePlus 6T looked like that.

Unfortunately, my OnePlus 6T looks like the real OnePlus 6T, which is this:

Yeah, those bezels and that chin are a lot bigger than in the advertisement.

It’s not uncommon for ads to feature digitally altered displays, but this is too much. OnePlus is trying to sell us on a phone with an edge-to-edge screen when that just isn’t the case. Bad form, OnePlus.

NEXT: OnePlus 6T update tracker

Source: Android Zone

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Android phones power this glitter-bomb (Update: Parts were staged)

YouTube

Update, December 21, 2018 (03:15 PM ET): Although the video of an Android-powered glitter/fart bomb described below was absolutely hilarious, apparently, it wasn’t all genuine.

The video’s creator, Mark Rober, took to Twitter to admit the unfortunate deception. Apparently, the development of the bomb and its effects are all genuine, as are the first criminal depicted picking up (and setting off) the bomb. However, the montage of other “criminals” who took the package from a porch are not genuine, in that some of them are just friends of the next door neighbor Rober gives the bomb to in the video.

The reason someone would give a live glitter/fart bomb to a friend with the intention of it blowing up in their face is due to the financial compensation Rober offered this friend for every “criminal” they successfully bombed. Apparently, two out of the five “criminals” in the video were just friends of this friend, and thus not genuine. Rober has removed those people from the video.

Rober admits this slight deception is his fault. “I should have done more. Full stop,” he said. “That is totally on me and I will take all necessary steps to make sure it won’t happen again.”

Check out the full statement in the tweet below:


Original Article, December 18, 2018 (03:51 PM ET): Ex-NASA engineer and YouTuber Mark Rober has a common problem: thieves are stealing his Amazon packages right from his front porch. He has a Nest security cam that records the thievery, but the local police claim it’s simply not worth the effort to catch the culprits.

Well, porch thieves messed with the wrong guy, because Rober ends up working for months developing what he refers to as his “Magnum Opus“: a decoy Amazon delivery package that is actually a glitter bomb which sprays farts and records both audio and video during the whole explosion.

Editor’s Pick

The glitter bomb (or fart bomb, depending on which aspect of the bomb makes you happiest) is powered by four Android phones, connected together with a custom-made circuit board. Rober explains exactly how everything works in the YouTube video below, but basically, when an unsuspecting thief opens up the package, glitter shoots out everywhere, fart smells fill up their location — and four Android smartphones record everything and upload the footage to the cloud.

The video below starts with Rober detailing the problem of Amazon box thievery, then walks the viewer through how he created his glitter bomb. The last few minutes are filled with the results: actual thieves opening the box to discover its horrifying contents:

What do you think? Do you have a problem with thieves stealing packages? Would you use one of these glitter bombs on them? Is this the funniest thing you’ve seen all year? Let us know in the comments.

Also, in case you’re wondering where you can buy this “Fart Spray,” we got you covered:

Source: Android Zone

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Mobile Royale will let you create your own fantasy city in 2019

IGG, the game developer behind such popular titles like Lords Mobile and Castle Clash, is getting ready to launch its first new game in three years. It’s called Mobile Royale, and it will allow players to build and rule over their own fantasy kingdom, and both trade and compete with other players who have their own lands in this world.

Mobile Royale will let you build and evolve your kingdom in the fantasy world of Vollandia. You can build structures and place them wherever you want on your map, and you can see how your land evolves from the Stone Age to this fantasy world’s version of modern times. You can choose from six unique cultures to customize the look of your world’s buildings.

Of course, your kingdom has to have people to live in it, and Mobile Royale has several different races in its land, including humans, elves, dwarves, goblins, beastkin, and specters. You can customize the look of your heroes as well, and when you go into battle, each hero character will possess their own unique attacks and abilities.

Mobile Royale is designed to be a game where you can connect with other players and friends. You can join a guild and trade with other members via Trader Airships. Of course, this game is not all about peaceful co-existence. You must also plan your military strategy as you engage in one of this world’s Clan Wars. Each Clan has their own lore, backstory, and campaign.

As part of a Clan, players can team up with others online to hunt down monsters and discover ancient Clan Runes so they can gain extra abilities and resources that will help them in battles. Because Mobile Royale runs on just one server, players will be able to face down against others all over the world, and the game will even include real-time translations to make interacting with others even better. There are also special units called War Airships, that will transport your soldiers across the land to battle others.

Yes, there are even dragons in Mobile Royale. Even better, you can raise a dragon of your own in the game that will not only help you in battle but even boost the development of your kingdom. Players will have to occupy Clan Forts in the land of Vollandia to become even more powerful, but just one player in the game will be named as the Holy Ruler, with mastery over the entire land.

Mobile Royale combines city building with strategy in an ever-evolving online landscape, and the game contains highly detailed 3D graphics and beautiful music. It is live in a limited number of areas, including Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Canada, Australia, Norway, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Russia, India, and the Philippines. Launching globally in 2019, you can pre-register for the game now for Android in the Google Play Store.

You can also learn more about Mobile Royale by visiting its official website.

Source: Android Zone

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Google+ APIs will have a gradual expiration starting January 28, 2019

Google+ icon

In a recently-published blog post, Google announced that it will shut down all Google+ APIs on March 7, 2019. This will be a gradual shutdown that will lead to intermittent failures starting January 28, 2019.

Google said that developers should have received an email that lists recently-used Google+ API methods in their projects. Google also noted the following APIs as the most commonly-used:

  • Google+ REST
  • Google+ Web
  • Google+ Android SDK
  • Google+ Domains
  • Google+ Pages

As part of the shutdown, Google+ sign-ins have been deprecated. Google encouraged developers to switch to the Google Sign-in system as an alternative. OTA installs were also deprecated and were shut down.

Lastly, Google+ integrations for web or mobile apps will also shut down. This could impact website layouts or functionality, so website owners should take notice and make some changes on their end.

Editor’s Pick

Google’s decision to shut down Google+ APIs stems from the two Google+ data breaches. Announced in October, the first data breach exposed private information of hundreds of thousands of users to developers. Following the breach, Google announced it would shut down Google+ for consumers in August 2019.

The second data breach impacted approximately 52.5 million users. The breach potentially exposed their public and private information to developers. Google expedited its Google+ shutdown to April 2019 following the breach.

Unfortunately for Google, parent company Alphabet potentially faces a shareholder class action lawsuit from Rhode Island. The motion is still pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California as of this writing.

NEXT: Here lies Google+: Why it never scored (a lasting audience)

Source: Android Zone

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First-time million-dollar apps on Play Store half that of Apple App Store — again

this is the featured image for the best android apps list

A frequently-cited statistic is that the Apple App Store makes twice as much money as the Google Play Store, even though the Play Store is far larger and caters to far more customers.

It appears that dichotomy extends beyond just basic sales and into first-time successes as well. According to app intelligence firm Sensor Tower (via TechCrunch), the number of app publishers that had their first million-dollar success in 2018 is also halved on the Play Store as compared to the App store.

Editor’s Pick

According to Sensor Tower, there were 88 publishers this year that made their first $1 million on the Google Play Store, while there were 164 such developers on the Apple App Store in the same time period.

These new numbers line up very nicely with last year’s numbers as well. Check out the chart below:

TechCrunch

Although it appears that Apple will always have the lead when it comes to money earned from its app store, it should be noted that Google is making faster gains. The Apple App Store had 143 million-dollar developers last year, a number which grew by 15 percent this year. Meanwhile, the Google Play Store grew by 24 percent this year from its 71 million-dollar publishers in 2017. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s there, nonetheless.

Most of the publishers earning their first million this year created games, naturally. However, games are not dominating the list as much in 2018 as in 2017, as apps in the Lifestyle and Health categories made some big gains.

Regardless of these numbers, both app stores are doing better than ever.  The two stores hit 113 billion combined downloads this year, with $76 billion in spending — and the year isn’t even fully done yet.

NEXT: Give back with charitable donations on the Google Play Store

Source: Android Zone

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Bendy and the Ink Machine getting full Android port on Dec. 21 (Update: Now available!)

Update, December 21, 2018 (12:10PM): You can now download Bendy and the Ink Machine from the Play Store. The game costs $6.99 and does not feature in-app purchases.

Some players have complained of dropped frames during gameplay. Some players also complained of the ink color being purple instead of black. These aren’t significant issues, but keep those in mind before you plunk down the cash.


Original article, December 17, 2018 (4:40PM EST): If you’re a fan of playing Bendy and the Ink Machine on your PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, etc., you’re going to have another way to play the popular game soon: on your Android device!

Bendy and the Ink Machine makes its way to the Google Play Store on December 21, 2018. Pricing isn’t yet known.



Bendy and the Ink Machine is a first-person survival horror game set in a defunct animation studio. As protagonist Henry Stein, you need to navigate through the animated world you have become trapped in, while simultaneously figuring out what exactly happened in the studio to create all these bizarre events.

Editor’s Pick

The titular character Bendy appeared in a mobile-only spin-off game called Bendy in Nightmare Run, but this new Android game seems to be a faithful port of the main game in the franchise.

Bendy and the Ink Machine doesn’t have a listing on the Google Play Store yet, so you’ll have to set a reminder for yourself to check on it on December 21. Maybe you should check out our list of reminder apps below?

NEXT: 10 best reminder apps for Android

Source: Android Zone

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PUBG Mobile’s Vikendi winter map is coming this month (Update: Available today!)

Update, December 21, 2018 (11:54AM EST): PUBG Mobile’s Vikendi winter map is available today as part of the game’s 0.10.0 update.

Vikendi is a 6km x 6km snow map that features heavy snow and a snowmobile as the exclusive weather and vehicle, respectively. Based on the trailer above, it looks like other vehicles feature Christmas-themed paint jobs. Even the supply drop plane and the supply drop itself are Christmas-themed.

Along with Vikendi, version 0.10.0 also includes the following:

  • Cross-serving matchmaking: Players can now match with other players of the same rank across other servers for balanced gameplay.
  • Anti-cheating measures: Improved recognition for cheating with new report options for spectating players and additional penalties for quitting matches.
  • Firearm Upgrade System: New materials at the Lab are available for players to upgrade certain weapon finishes to unlock exclusive kill effects, broadcasts, and death crate appearances.
  • Layout improvements: Players’ best results in the Crew Challenge will now be displayed and players can now collect all daily missions all at once.

Patch notes have not yet been published at the time of this writing. That said, you can read the original article below to read supposedly leaked patch notes for version 0.10.0.


Original article, December 17, 2018 (12:43PM EST): PUBG Mobile will receive its fourth map very soon in the form of Vikendi. The game teased the new winter map on its Twitter page and in the YouTube video above.

There’s not much to glean from the teaser trailer apart from the possible inclusion of snowmobiles. Given that Vikendi is a winter map, you can also expect snow as a new weather condition.

Lastly, the title of the YouTube video tells us that Vikendi will be available in version 0.10.0 of PUBG Mobile.

Editor’s Pick

Interestingly, XDA Developers reportedly acquired the patch notes for 0.10.0 from a “reliable source” almost two weeks ago. According to the purported patch notes, Vikendi also features Night Mode, the G36C assault rifle, and a slower blue zone.

Elsewhere, version 0.10.0 reportedly includes a snow theme for the main menu, snowball fights in Vikendi’s Spawn Island, and a new layout for players with larger hands.

You can read the rest of the leaked patch notes down below. If the patch notes are accurate, Vikendi will be available later this week.

New Map and In-Game Changes

  • Vikendi, a 6km x 6km snow map
  • Will be available for download at 0:00 UTC on 20 DEC 2018, and available for matchmaking 24 hours later
  • New weather mode added: Snow
  • Vikendi-exclusive vehicle: Snowmobile
  • Snowball Fight added to Vikendi’s Spawn Island
  • Added layout for players with large hands
  • Added a display for Crew Challenge winners on Erangel’s Spawn Island. Season 1’s winning teams will appear on the Spawn Island of their respective server and modes (Season 2 registration starts at 0:00 UTC on 18 DEC 2018)
  • Players’ best results in Crew Challenge will now be shown on their Crew pages and can be shared with other players

Thematic Changes

  • Added a Snow theme to the main menu. Collect bells from all Classic mode matches and exchange them for rewards at the event center
  • Shop’s front page has been tuned to emphasize themes of each major update

Matchmaking Changes

  • Added cross-server matchmaking. After enabling, players have a chance to be matched to players of the same tier on other servers
  • Players that repeatedly exit matches right after starting will now be banned from finding matches for a period of time

Security Improvements

  • Players may now report suspicious behavior while spectating after dying.

Reward Improvements

  • Players now can collect all daily mission awards at once.
  • Added Firearms Finish Upgrade System, where players can use materials at the Lab to upgrade certain weapon finishes to get additional kill effects, unique kill broadcasts, and death crate appearances.
  • Added Lucky Treasure, a feature that gives players a chance to get upgradeable weapon finish Glacier — M416 when they finish daily missions.
  • Added Season spending rewards. Spend different amounts to get excellent rewards and steep discounts on firearm finishes

Other Improvements

  • Added Arabic support
  • Players now do not need to select a second language for matchmaking and chat
  • Chat system now takes up less memory and stores more messages
  • New commander added to Quick Chat

Source: Android Zone

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‘Kill your foster parents’ — Alexa’s chatbot ambitions are getting creepy

  • Amazon uses third-party chatbots to test the development of Alexa’s natural speaking skills.
  • However, these Amazon Alexa chatbots can wreak havoc, saying incredibly inappropriate things.
  • Amazon stands by the chatbots as a way to advance Alexa.

In 2016, Amazon launched the Alexa Prize, which encourages computer science students around the world to help develop ways to make Alexa’s conversation skills more advanced and natural. The grand prize for this initiative is a cool $500,000.

Amazon uses its enormous base of Alexa users as guinea pigs for these experiments. Users can say, “Alexa, let’s chat,” and test out a random chatbot developed by these engineering students. The data gained during these low-key conversations with a robot are used to make Alexa better.

Editor’s Pick

However, Amazon has been holding back some of the problems its faced with these chatbots, which have recently been uncovered by Reuters. During one of these chatbot conversations, Alexa told the user to “kill your foster parents.”

The user in question wrote a harsh review of their experience, calling the experience “a whole new level of creepy.”

Other examples of Alexa “going rogue” involve discussions of things like explicit sex acts and dog defecation. To make matters worse, one of the chatbots was infiltrated by Chinese hackers who stole the data from the conversation itself.

Although the chatbots can veer off into offensive territory, Amazon stands by the tests.

These problems are anomalies amongst millions of “normal” conversations with users and Amazon Alexa, and the company still stands by the chatbot experiments.

“These instances are quite rare especially given the fact that millions of customers have interacted with the socialbots,” Amazon said.

Despite these disturbing anomalies, Amazon claims Alexa is getting better and better at having conversations. The chatbots use data harvested from movies, newspapers, Wikipedia, and the internet at large to “learn” how to respond to conversational statements.

Editor’s Pick

This data harvesting is where things go awry. In the “kill your foster parents” example, that statement was pulled from a Reddit comment. Teaching Alexa to ignore things like this and instead take things from Reddit that are more appropriate is where the problem lies.

Another example of this is one chatbot which described sexual intercourse using words such as “deeper.” The word “deeper” is not offensive, but in this context is certainly pushing the boundaries of good taste.

“I don’t know how you can catch that through machine learning models. That’s almost impossible,” said a person familiar with the incident.

What do you think? Have you ever had a chatbot conversation with Alexa? Have you experienced anything like this? Let us know about it in the comments.

NEXT: Google Home best by far, but HomePod is making progress

Source: Android Zone

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Ziistle is a more convenient wireless charger — save 30% today

Afternoon, deal fans. We hope by now that you’ve Christmas shopping is out of the way, and you can go back to fully focussing on you. If so, Ziistle is a Kickstarter success which might just make your life that little bit easier.

Flat wireless chargers don’t make sense. The whole idea is that you have to place your phone on something, so you might as well have it at a convenient angle. That way you can easily send messages, take a video call, or watch cat videos on YouTube.

Ultra thin, minimalist design, and portable.

The Ziistle foldable wireless charger offers that solution, and in an ingeniously simple way. The world’s smallest charging module is housed in a foldable holder as thin as a smartphone, offering a super portable charger and stand in one.

Ziistle quickly folds to offer three different angles. As well as flat, you can have your phone propped at 15 degrees for comfortable reading and message writing. There’s also a 60-degree angle for using your phone while working, or watching a movie in landscape mode.

Ziistle wireless charger

The 10W charge tops up your device quickly, and you won’t have to interrupt it while using the phone. The QI-standard ensures safety and durability.

If you’re thinking of improving your wireless charging experience, your timing couldn’t be better. Ziistle is $45 on its Kickstarter page, but right now it’s only $34.99 at Tech Deals. Even better, if you use the promo code MERRY15 at the checkout you can save a few more bucks. The price you’ll pay is just $31.25.

Hit the button below to find the deal, and don’t forget to apply the promo code. The offer expires on Friday.

The AAPicks team writes about things we think you’ll like, and we may see a share of revenue from any purchases made through affiliate links. To see all our hottest deals, head over to the AAPICKS HUB.


Looking for a new phone or plan? Start here with the Android Authority Plan Tool:

This smart tool lets you filter plans by phone, price, data tiers, and regional availability. Stop overpaying for cell service you hate and a phone that you’re tired of. Use our Compare Phones & Plans tool to fully customize your mobile experience and painlessly transition from one carrier to another!

Source: Android Zone

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7 Ways to Spread the Holiday Spirits with Your WordPress Site

Are you looking for ways to promote the true spirit of holidays on your WordPress website? It is the best time to share the joys of the season with your users while promoting your business. Since many of our readers asked for recommendations on the top WordPress holiday plugins and themes, we have highlighted the best ways to spread the holiday spirits with your WordPress site.

Spread the holiday spirit with your WordPress site

How to Spread the Holiday Spirits with WordPress?

The best way to celebrate the holiday season is to include your users into your happiness. You can offer them discounts on your products and services. You can also add holiday decorations like snowfall effects, Christmas bells, lights, and more on your WordPress website.

There are many third-party WordPress plugins and themes for holiday season. You can use them on your website to make it look more festive.

Another way to spread the holiday spirits is by sending gifts to your users through a lucky draw. You should check out our guide on amazing holiday gift ideas and share the happiness with your customers.

That being said, let’s take a look at the best ways to spread the holiday spirits with your WordPress site.

1. OptinMonster

OptinMonster

OptinMonster is the best lead generation and optin form plugin for WordPress sites. It has a powerful exit-intent ® technology that helps in converting your abandoning visitors into subscribers and customers.

OptinMonster comes with a holiday campaign theme that you can use with their lightbox popup, sidebar, floating bar, fullscreen optin, and other campaign types. You can also create a countdown popup to boost your holiday sales.

Optin holiday template

The countdown timer creates a sense of urgency that helps you get more sales during the holiday season.

You can use OptinMonster to also show a seasonal greeting and any other promotion that you may want.

2. Snow Storm

Snow Storm

Snow Storm is a popular WordPress plugin for holiday celebrations. It allows you to show falling snowflakes on your website. The plugin allows you to change the color of the snow, manage the amount of snow, animation interval, melt effects, and more. The plugin will add a beautiful snowy effect to your WordPress site.

3. Christmas Ball on Branch

Christmas ball on branch

Christmas Ball on Branch is a simple and free plugin that lets you add a Christmas ball on a branch to your site. There are no settings for the plugin. You can simply install and activate it. It’ll display the branch and the ball on the top right corner of your site. It’s particularly useful if you don’t want your on-site holiday decorations to take over the content.

4. Christmas Countdown Widget

Christmas countdown widget

Christmas Countdown Widget is a free WordPress plugin that adds a countdown timer to your sidebar and other widget-ready areas. It comes with a stunning Santa Claus that shows countdown timer until Christmas. On the day of Christmas, Santa will greet your users with “Merry Christmas”.

It has a transparent background which means you can use it on any WordPress themes. You can also use the shortcode to display Santa Claus with countdown timer on your posts and pages.

5. Xmas Lights

Xmas Lights

Xmas Lights is another free WordPress plugin for holidays. It displays Christmas lights on the top of your homepage. You can install the plugin and it will automatically show the christmas lights on your WordPress site without any configuration.

6. Christmas Music

Christmas music

Christmas Music is a WordPress plugin for holiday music. You can use this plugin to add Christmas music (Jingle Bells) on your entire website or specific posts and pages. It shows a play/pause button on the bottom right corner for users to enable or disable the music.

7. WordPress Themes for Holidays

We don’t usually recommend our users to change their WordPress theme for a specific event or holiday season. However, if you have a personal website and really want to change your theme to a holiday theme, then you should check out our handpicked list of the best WordPress themes for holidays.

Christmas Bell

Christmas bell

Christmas Bell is a free and multipurpose WordPress theme. It can be used to add the looks and feels of a festival, holiday, or specifically Christmas decorations on your website. It features a custom logo, featured content slider, header media options, and more. The theme beautifully adds a festive feel to your WordPress website.

Snowflakes

Snowflakes

Snowflakes is a free WordPress holidays theme with photos. It comes with bright colors and a cheerful festive look. Snowflakes has multiple color options, navigation menus, image galleries, and more. You can use this theme to transform your site for the holidays.

We hope this article helped you find the best ways to spread the holiday spirits with your WordPress site. You may also want to see our expert tips on growing your business online on a small budget.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 7 Ways to Spread the Holiday Spirits with Your WordPress Site appeared first on WPBeginner.

Source: Wordpres

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Samsung could bring Google Assistant to TVs, lowering wall around Bixby

A new report from Variety suggests some interesting news: Samsung could bring Google Assistant to its 2019 televisions. This would be the first time Samsung has allowed a virtual assistant on its TV products that isn’t its own Bixby.

Although information is scarce at the moment, Variety suggests the two virtual assistants will live next to each other in harmony, similar to how Google Assistant and Alexa are both made available on LG televisions. If this is the case, customers could then choose whether to use Bixby or Google Assistant for all or some of the necessary tasks.

Editor’s Pick

Samsung’s flagship smartphones — such as the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 — come with Bixby heavily integrated, including a physical Bixby button. Users can install Google Assistant on these phones, but Samsung makes it very clear that it wants you to use Bixby instead.

If Samsung does allow Google Assistant onto its 2019 televisions, it will represent a sizable shift in its attitude towards Bixby, which as of now has been pretty much “all or nothing.” The company has already committed to putting Bixby on literally every product it makes by 2020, but if it also brings Assistant to its TVs, that means it could integrate Assistant into other products as well.

Although there are advantages to using Bixby over Google Assistant — such as better command functionality when asking your smartphone to perform a task — in almost all cases Google Assistant is superior. Assistant’s superiority is especially clear when you discuss smart home integration, considering there still is no Bixby-powered smart speaker available and no third-party integration available yet.

What do you think? Are you going to be more apt to buy a Samsung TV if it has Google Assistant? Let us know in the comments.

NEXT: If your phone has an OLED display, Samsung likely made its screen

Source: Android Zone

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15 best Android games released in 2018!

Here we go, folks. Mobile gaming always seems to take great strides year after year. Last year, we saw a huge push in niche genres like text games and indie puzzle games. This year, we saw a bunch of excellent games in the shooter, tower defense, rhythm, indie puzzle, and simulation genres. In fact, this might be the best year of mobile gaming that we’ve ever seen. There was just a bunch of new content from PUBG to Fortnite, Kingdom Rush Vengeance to Bloons TD 6, and even some excellent new RPGs. This is a long list, so let’s get right down to it. Here are the best Android games of 2018! We don’t have them ranked in any specific fashion. However, the last game on the list is our choice for the very best of the year.


Alto’s Odyssey

Price: Freemium
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
Alto’s Odyssey is a 2D, side-scrolling infinite runner and Noodlecake Studios’ biggest launch of 2018. The game features gorgeous, simple graphics, easy mechanics, and smooth game play. Players ski down hills and make massive jumps for points. They also collect coins for unlockable content in the game’s shop. You also get a Photo Mode because the visuals in this game make for perfect wallpapers as well as a zen mode where you just play to relax. It’s certainly not treading any new ground. However, it’s as solid of an infinite runner as you’ll find these days and it’s also kid friendly. Everybody wins!
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Asphalt 9: Legends

Price: Freemium
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
Asphalt 9: Legends is arguably the most popular new racing game in 2018. It features above average visuals, solid racing mechanics, and a metric ton of events, missions, and challenges to complete. The game also includes an online multiplayer mode, online social elements like clubs, a campaign mode, and over 50 unlockable cars. This is a game you can play for a very long time before you get everything. It’s a freemium game and you deal with that a lot. However, Gameloft’s long-running racing series is popular for a reason. Those who are more into hardcore racing sims may need something a little extra, but this is great for casual racing game fans.
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Bloons TD 6 and Kingdom Rush Vengeance

Price: $4.99 with in-app purchases (each)
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Tower defense is alive an well on mobile with the releases of both Bloons TD 6 and Kingdom Rush Vengeance. Both games are continuations of the popular franchises and both bring new features, new game elements, and fresh ideas to the table. Bloons TD 6 is a slightly deeper game with 19 towers and a bunch of upgrades. Kingdom Rush Vengeance is the slightly more casual friendly game but it still gets pretty difficult. Both games support offline gaming and have optional in-app purchases for power-ups. We couldn’t choose between the two because they are both excellent tower defense games. Maybe you’ll have better luck. We have Bloons TD 6 linked at the download button above.
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Cytus II

Price: $1.99 / Up to $9.99
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Cytus II is the latest rhythm game from Rayark International, Rayark makes exceptional mobile rhythm games and this one is no exception. The game uses tap, swipe, and tap-and-hold mechanics and players use the entire screen with this game. It’s colorful, intense, and surprisingly smooth for how many on-screen elements there are. Players get a story mode with 30 songs in the $1.99 base game with more songs available as in-app purchases. There are over 300 total step charts between the songs and the various difficulties. We also recommend the first game in the series if you need something a little easier to start with.
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Friday the 13th

Price: Free / Up to $9.99
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You don’t see a lot of horror games on best of the year lists, but Blue Wizard Digital found a way with Friday the 13th. The game features both horror and puzzle elements, decent mobile controls, and tons of optional gore and violence. You get over 100 levels, a PG mode in case blood makes you squeamish, and plenty of unlockable customizations for the venerable Jason Voorhees. The game also comes with offline gaming support. It might only be truly fun during the Halloween season, but the mechanics are just that good in general. The somewhat retro style graphics also helps take a bit of the edge off of all of the gore.
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HQ Trivia

Price: Free
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HQ Trivia has the distinction of being the first Android game launched in 2018. We know that because it ran its very first live game seconds after midnight on New Years Eve. HQ Trivia is one of the most unique quiz games on mobile. It features live quizzes conducted like an actual game show. That includes a real, actual host. Games run every day at 9PM EST with additional games on week days at 3PM EST. Players even win actual money if they last long enough. The game is occasionally laggy, but shoving a few hundred thousand people into a single game show can do that. Those wanting something a little more typical can also try Trivia Crack 2, another new quiz game in 2018.
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Monster Hunter Stories

Price: Free / $19.99
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Monster Hunter Stories is an excellent new RPG. It has the same core experience of every Monster Hunter game. Players travel the world, collect monsters, train them, and fight with them. You get action, adventure, and RPG elements. It uses a turn-by-turn battle structure and you also get colorful graphics. Perhaps our favorite part is the demo version of the game. The demo version is actually its own self-contained game that acts as a prologue for the actual game. We think that is a genius idea. The demo version’s data ports to the main game upon purchase. It’s really expensive at $19.99 so we don’t blame you if you want to skip this one.
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Part Time UFO

Price: $3.99
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Part Time UFO is a puzzle game by HAL Industries, developers of the first Super Smash Bros and most of the Kirby series. The developer’s first mobile game is a rousing success. It features boss fights, puzzles, and a fun little adventure with plenty for players to do. The puzzles are delightful, if somewhat easy and the story is charming and inoffensive. You also get a fun soundtrack, some social sharing features, and more. The game rocks a 4.9 rating on Google Play. It may not be the most popular game ever, but virtually nobody who plays it dislikes it. That’s a rarity for mobile gaming.
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Pocket City

Price: Free / $3.99
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Pocket CIty is a city building simulator much like SimCity. You start with a plot of land. Players then build a functioning city. You must achieve balance between business and residence, expand in a smart way, and deal with things like natural disasters. Players unlock more buildings and land as they progress and they must manage things like population happiness and traffic. The game also comes with support for portrait and landscape modes as well as offline support. The free version contains ads. For $3.99, you get no ads and more features. It might be the best non-freemium city building sim on Google Play right now.
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Reigns: Game of Thrones

Price: $3.99
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Reigns: Game of Thrones is an interesting card game. Players get cards with various scenarios on them. You choose one of two options by swiping the card left or right. Some choices are simple like selling wood and others involve more serious matters. The result is your continued reign or ultimate downfall. This version of the game also includes Game of Thrones characters, story elements, and themes. It’s not a deep game with a deep story and that may disappoint some Game of Thrones fans. It is one of the better time killer games on mobile, though, and it goes for a single $3.99 purchase with no freemium elements. We appreciate that.
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Returner 77

Price: $4.99
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Returner 77 is an indie puzzle game with a sci-fi story line. The story involves an alien invasion with humanity on the brink of extinction. You work your way through an alien ship while solving puzzles and making progress. The game features beautiful graphics, enjoyable puzzles, and an interesting story. It’s one of the few indie puzzle games over the last few years with a narrative that drives the game forward. It rounds out the experience with live action video clips, voice overs, and a reasonable price tag. It’s easily one of the more under-rated games on 2018.
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The Room: Old Sins

Price: $4.99
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The Room: Old Sins is the latest game in one of mobile gaming’s most critically acclaimed puzzle franchises. This is an easy choice for best mobile games of 2018. It comes with outstanding graphics, a narrative to follow, and simple mechanics. Players make their way through a dollhouse full of puzzles to solve. The game also supports cloud saving and Google Play Games achievements. It maintains a lot of the elements of previous games, so many people already know what they’re in for with this one. Is it the best of the year? No, but it’s definitely up there and that’s why it’s here.
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Shadowgun Legends

Price: Freemium
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Shadowgun Legends is one of the top three shooters from 2018 without question. It’s a fairly standard mobile shooter. Players get a campaign to play through with sci-fi and action elements along with online PvP, an RPG-style progression system, and tons of loot to collect. Of course, you get good graphics and as good of a game play experience as a shooter can be on mobile. By and large, there isn’t much in this game that isn’t a positive experience, although we would appreciate some tweaking of the inventory space. We’re quite happy to see a new Shadowgun game and Madfinger Games delivered. This is a great shooter.
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Square Enix (Life is Strange, Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition)

Price: Free / Varies
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Square Enix always has a host of mobile game releases every year and many of them are candidates for this list. This year was no exception. Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition, Life is Strange, and the Valkyrie Profile Lenneth port are all outstanding new games for 2018. Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition avoided the port label by being designed from the ground up for a mobile experience. Life is Strange is one of Square Enix’s more thought provoking point-and-click adventure games in recent memory, and Valkyrie Profile Lennth is a decent RPG for fans of old PlayStation games. The games vary in price, but they are all quite excellent. Well done, Square Enix.
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Game(s) of the year: PUBG Mobile and Fortnite

Price: Freemium (each)
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PUBG Mobile and Fortnite orbited around the mobile gaming scene for pretty much all of 2018. Both games brought the battle royale shooter to the forefront in a way that no other game ever has on mobile. PUBG Mobile represents a more serious feel while Fortnite gives players a more animated experience. Both games have solid mechanics, but both still need some work. PUBG Mobile is easier to obtain in the Play Store with a Lite version for lower end devcies. Epic Games launched Fortnite on its own website instead of Google Play. However, Fortnite has account linking between it and the console and PC version. Both games have pros and cons, but you didn’t see anyone talk about a mobile game more than these two in 2018. Thankfully, they are both excellent games. If we had to choose one, though, it would be Fortnite. The account linking is such a cool feature.
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Honorable mentions

The list for 2018 was so huge that we wanted to list a few honorable mentions so we didn’t leave any of the great games out. We did narrow down this list from a master list of over 120 games. Here are our honorable mentions for 2018:


15 best offline Android games that require no WiFi!

10 best gacha games and mobile RPGs for Android!

If we missed any great Android games from 2018, tell us about them in the comments! You can also click here to check out our latest Android app and game lists!

Source: Android Zone

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