Bored with chess?? Facebook Messenger allows you to play Basketbal- here is how to

Hope all of you have enjoyed the Game of Chess in the Facebook Messenger.

But if you're quite bored playing Chess or not really good at the game, then you probably felt a bit excited about Facebook's recent inclusion of a little Basketball mini-game into Messenger.

Now you can play Basketball through Facebook Messenger, just by typing in the Basketball emoji and sending to one of your friends. This would enable a secret Basketball mini-game between you and your friend.

Here's How to Play Basketball:

Just locate the basketball emoji from your emoji list, send to one of your friends and click it to start the game.

Once sent, you would be taken to the Basketball court in a pure white background, where there is no sidebars of any friend suggestions or any promotional ads; only appears a basketball and a hoop, nothing else!

All you have to do:

Just Swipe up and Toss the basketball into the hoop.

A single swipe on your phone in the direction of the hoop to bask in the ball. Facebook also encourages your gameplay with various emojis after each basket.

On successful basket, Game appreciates your gameplay by displaying various emojis like Thumbs Up, Hands Up, Claps and Smiles. On a miss, Game warns you by showing emojis like "Surprised", "Feared," and similar.

Messenger will also display your scores in between, based on your successful baskets. Your goal is to challenge your friend to see who can get the most consecutive baskets.

Video Demonstration

You can watch the Video Demonstration of Facebook Hidden Basketball game below:

To play this game, the Facebook users should have the latest version of Messenger installed on their mobile phone.

The addition of such mini-games into Facebook's messaging platform would be a loneliness breaker.

As this game had been unveiled after a couple of weeks of Chess, let's hope Facebook would integrate more games like caroms or snooker in its upcoming rollouts.

Microsoft Brings in Cross-Platform Multiplayer Gaming for PC, PS4 and Xbox Users

The console wars might comprise of never ending battles between Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but Microsoft’s recent announcement has made things interesting again. Xbox Live, Microsoft’s Xbox-only online multiplayer and matchmaking service, is now open to all other platforms. The Redmond-based company  just made sure that gamers on all platforms, including PC and consoles such as Xbox One and PS4, will come one step closer to being united with one another, as far as online play is concerned.

Microsoft Announces cross-network play between Xbox One and PS4; competitive gaming sessions to be expected in the future

According to Microsoft’s announcement, Xbox and PC game developers will have the ability to integrate cross-network play in their games based on Xbox Live service. That means Xbox One, PS4 and PC players can clash with Nintendo players in the multiplayer games built to support it. This is definitely the biggest announcement of 2016 for the gaming community as it was being contemplated for a very long period as to when will gamers be able to unite, or draw skirmishes between one another. Apart from a few exceptions, competitive play has never been possible between PC and console players or Xbox and PlayStation players for that matter.

Rocket League is one of the first games to support cross-platform play

According to Xbox Wire, the primary subject being talked about is cross-network play, and Chris Charla, Director of ID@Xbox had this to say:

“First, in addition to natively supporting cross-platform play between Xbox One and Windows 10 games that use Xbox Live, we’re enabling developers to support cross-network play as well. This means players on Xbox One and Windows 10 using Xbox Live will be able to play with players on different online multiplayer networks – including other console and PC networks.

Of course, it’s up to game developers to support this feature, and Xbox Live players will always have the option of choosing to play only with other Xbox Live players. We’re thrilled to confirm that Psyonix’s Rocket League will be one of the first games to take advantage of this new capability by enabling cross-network play between Xbox One and PC players, with an open invitation for other networks to participate as well.”

The message that Charla is evidently trying to give away here is that door is wide open for developers to support such a feature. Rocket League, the popular car soccer game from Psyonix has already been confirmed for cross-network play between Xbox One and PC players and it is expected that PS4 console gamers will join the loop soon enough.

Before you get excited, you have to be reminded that the decision to support cross-network play all comes down to the developer. Platform exclusive gaming titles are extremely common, primarily due to the agreements signed by the developing companies and publishers, but this time, developers will have complete autonomy on either linking the chain that brings gamers together, or breaking it. Developers can push out a title update in the days ahead for their existing games that can take advantage of cross-platform play.

Google Android N Preview - with some cool features

Android N Developer Preview, an early beta of Google’s new mobile operating system that was expected to launch on Google I/O in mid-May, is unexpectedly launching right now.

Android N Developer Preview for the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Pixel C Nexus 9, the Nexus Player and the General Mobile 4G, an Android One device has been made available as an over-the-air update by Google on Wednesday.

So, you can test out Android N Developer Preview on your smartphone and tablet right now from developer.android.com/preview.

The good news is that the Google Android team has brought meaningful features to your smartphone and tablet in just five months.

"As we look to the next release of Android, N, you’ll notice a few big changes aimed at you as developers: it’s earlier than ever, it’s easier to try and we’re expanding the ways for you to give us feedback," Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google's SVP for Android writes. "We hope these changes will ensure that you are heard and reflected – that’s what makes Android stronger."

Here's what I like about the new Android Developer Preview so far.

1. Multi-Window API

Multi-window support is the feature users have long asked for – especially on tablets. The feature allows users to perform multiple tasks simultaneously.

So now you can type out a message while viewing a map, check the weather while watching videos, and so on. The screen can be split horizontally or vertically as you prefer.

2. Reply to Messages Directly Without Leaving an App

Among the new changes in Android N are improved notifications. Notifications support "direct reply" feature for app developers who can now allow their users to reply to incoming notifications of WhatsApp, Twitter or SMS messages straight from the notification panel without having to launch the app in question.

Developers can also choose to bundle notification alerts from the same app together, enabling users to see them as a bundle and expand individually if necessary.

3. Better Battery Life

This is the biggest relief for all Android users. With Android Marshmallow, Google introduced a new battery-saving feature called Doze that places an Android device into a deep power-savings mode when it is stationary for a while.

In Android N, Google is taking this feature a step further by allowing Doze to work whenever the screen is OFF, not just when the device is stationary. So your smartphone's battery will now last even longer when it's in standby mode.

4. Data Saver

Moreover, Google continues to work on making its Android OS less memory-hungry and making apps running in the background work more efficiently.

When turned ON, the Data Saver feature restricts the apps from using data connection as well as prevent pulling in embedded videos and images on web pages. You can also pick selected apps that may be allowed to use the data connection even when the feature is ON.

However, the Data Saver feature in Android N will be particularly helpful for those who are on prepaid or pay-on-the-go connections for data.

5. Picture-in-Picture Mode

Now you can view a YouTube video while reading through a report in Word on your Android device, thanks to Picture-in-picture feature in Android N.

"Picture-in-picture (PIP) mode lets apps run a video activity in the pinned window while another activity continues in the background. The PIP window lets users multitask while using your app, which helps users be more productive." Google describes.

The feature will be more useful for those with tablets or larger phones.

6. No Need to Flash Your Device (Direct Boot)

Yes, the most brilliant part is that you do not need to flash or tether your device to a PC in order to download and install the new Android N Developer Preview, as it can be downloaded straight to your device.

These are the things that are now known to us about the all new Android N Developer Preview, but one thing we definitely don’t know yet that what the ‘N’ will stand for. For me it’s Nutella.

What do you think the "N" will stand for? Hit the comments below and let us know.

Microsoft Quietly Stops Accepting Bitcoins in Windows store

Microsoft reckoned Bitcoin was the future of payment system and added it as a payment option for Windows store at the end of 2014, but the company has silently pulled support for Bitcoin in the Windows 10 Store.

In November 2014, Microsoft struck a deal with third-party bitcoin payment processor 'Bitpay' that allowed people to use Bitcoin to purchase Microsoft’s products and services from Windows Stores.

However, Microsoft quietly updated the Windows Store FAQ that popped up "Microsoft Store doesn't accept Bitcoin."

The end of support for Bitcoin payments only applies to Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile stores. 

"Microsoft Store doesn't accept Bitcoin. You can no longer redeem Bitcoin into your Microsoft account," the update reads. "Existing balances in your account will still be available for purchases from Microsoft Store, but can't be refunded."

In short, you can make use of an existing balance in your account to buy your choice of apps from Windows store, but you can not add more Bitcoins or get a refund of your remaining balance.

So, you like it or not, from now on, you will have to use conventional money when buying apps or products from Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile stores.

Microsoft has not explained the sudden change in its policy. Bitpay is still operating, which indicates that there is no sour relationship between the company and Bitpay.

Microsoft's change of mind could be due to less number of people buying with virtual cash that gave the company no reason to continue keeping Bitcoin as a supported digital currency.

An official statement from Microsoft is not yet available, so let us wait what the company says about this sudden change.

Microsoft is Bringing SQL Server to Linux

SQL Server, Microsoft’s flagship relational database product, is now available on Linux in the form of an early private preview, with a full launch planned for mid-2017.

Until now, SQL Server was strictly a Windows product, but as Scott Guthrie, Microsoft’s executive vice president of its cloud and enterprise group, writes today, the company has decided that it’s time to bring it to Linux as well.

“SQL Server on Linux will provide customers with even more flexibility in their data solution,” Guthrie writes. “One with mission-critical performance, industry-leading TCO, best-in-class security, and hybrid cloud innovations — like Stretch Database which lets customers access their data on-premises and in the cloud whenever they want at low cost — all built in.”

Microsoft says it plans to open up access to SQL Server on Linux as it gets closer to general availability.

Today’s announcement comes three days ahead of Microsoft’s planned SQL Server 2016 event in New York. Guthrie says Microsoft plans to announce a number of new features around SQL Server 2016, including better in-memory database, R, and data warehousing support, as well as new mobile apps for business intelligence.

Microsoft says it currently uses the SQL Server 2016 codebase to power more than 1.4 million SQL databases in its Azure cloud. SQL Server 2016, which is currently available as a public preview, will become generally available later this year.

Not too long ago, today’s announcement would have been unthinkable. Over the last few years, though, and especially under its new CEO Satya Nadella, the company has started to open up more of its services and put a stronger emphasis on open source.

Today’s announcement also fits into Microsoft’s overall emphasis on hybrid deployments. Microsoft already runs Linux in its cloud and recently announced a major partnership with Red Hat, for example. If it wants SQL Server to remain relevant, it needs to bring it to more platforms — including those that it previously regarded as competitors. On Linux, after all, products like MySQL, MariaDB and PostgreSQL are also vying for a very similar slice of the market.