Claire Tech Talks: The Magic Number

It’s geeky-gadget-girl time again, and this month you’re in for a right treat. Because the world’s been just that nerdy throughout February, I’ve got not one, not two, but three techy tales for you lot. I know, right? How excited are you right now?

Reality Check

We all know how fun video game arcades are. So imagine this – a virtual reality arcade. Now, what would you do if I told you there’s one in York? Honestly, I’m not pulling your leg – on Saturday February 9th, Play It VR opened in Acomb. It’s a futuristic arcade full of virtual reality kits that gives you the opportunity to get wired up and transformed into another world.

Gamers will love to dabble in everything from puzzle games such as Awaken to strategy in Skyworld. But even if you’re not a gamer, you might just enjoy this impressive, futuristic experience. You can travel the world in Google Earth VR or try your hand at being a chef in The Cooking Game.

Krystal and I were lucky enough to check Play It VR out before their big launch, and needless to say we had an absolute hoot. My favourite part, personally, was watching Krystal try and serve a burnt pancake with an egg (still in its shell I may add) to the poor punters within Job Simulator.

Anyway, I’d strongly recommend you try it out. Buying your own virtual reality kit for home is BEYOND expensive, but you can play 30 minutes’ worth of a whole bunch of games at Play It VR for just £14.

Click here to visit their website and find out more.

I Second That Emoji

We all love a cheeky emoji. See, there’s something about emojis that puts them under the same bracket as a cheeky Nando’s. We just feel that bit more edgy when we add a crying-with-laughter face at the end of a text, just to make a point to the recipient that what we’ve said is bloody hysterical. Or putting a monkey covering its mouth because we know how damn cheeky we’ve been.

So yes – we all love a cheeky emoji. But even emojis have to make sure they’re gender neutral and diverse. The 2019 emoji list has been approved by the Unicode Consortium (they’re basically like, the Supreme Court of emojis) – and there are a whopping 230 new emojis for you to pepper your messages with.

Not only will you now have the pleasure of sending flamingos to your friends, or adding a sloth to your status, but the amount of people represented by these tiny images has expanded, too. The new emojis also include people with various disabilities, a gender-inclusive couple, and skin tone combinations for people holding hands.

This is fantastic. There are even guide and service dogs.

And, because all text messages seem to be about food these days, you can now send emojis of oysters, falafels, and a beverage box. That’s a carton of orange juice to you and me.

Click here to find read the full article.

Hold the Fort

If you haven’t heard of Fortnite, then genuinely, where have you been? It’s the free-to-play battle royale game (a combination of survival, exploration and scavenging) that’s taken over the world. It even took over the World Cup, with our very own Dele Alli performing the ‘Ride the Pony’ Fortnite dance (yeah there are dances – ever heard of the floss?) during the England v Sweden match.

Anyway. Fortnite has been such a success that it’s changed gaming. It’s revolutionised the way we play online. What used to be the top dogs, such as Call of Duty and Halo, have been pushed aside for this new, free game.

And Fortnite isn’t just changing gaming. It’s generally game changing.

For example, on February 2nd, electronic music artist, Marshmello, hosted a live virtual concert to over 10 million players. Ten. Million. Players. Within Fortnite. That’s right, over 10 million Fortnite players (did I mention there were over 10 million?) gathered round the virtual stage and did virtual dances.

And forget the Olympics or Wimbledon – the big championship that everyone wants to watch is the Fortnite World Cup. Anyone can take part and show their skills, and anyone can win. But get this – the prize money is ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS. I’m done.

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