News

More diverse emoji coming soon in hopes of reducing gender inequality

Published

July 17, 2016

Chay Lazaro

Google’s proposal to add a new set of emoji that highlights various career opportunities available to women has been approved by the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee. A total of 11 new emoji, representing “a wider range of professions for women (as well as men)” in different skin and hair colors, will be available in future versions of Android and other platforms.

Although Unicode argues that it does not normally specify the gender of the current emoji (i.e. the police officer is not a policeman), vendors usually have to choose the appearance of only one particular gender to display to get a greater sense of realism, resulting in limited choices for users. With this update, however, more characters can now be either male or female.

Unicode will also be adding male and female versions to 33 existing emoji. The sassy girl emoji will soon have its male counterpart, and the running man emoji will also have a female counterpart, among others.

While using emoji to communicate may seem like something only teeny boppers and millennials do, a study conducted by Emogi shows the use of emoji knows no age – with frequent users above 60 percent for all ages surveyed. According to the report, 90 percent of the online population use emoji to help them communicate accurately what they think.

While 78 percent of women use emoji, Google feels the current crop of emoji does not empower young girls, nor does it reflect the pivotal roles women play in the world today.

The rollout date of the new emoji has yet to be announced, but they may take some time to show up.

Oh, and Happy Emoji Day, everyone!

[irp posts=”11115″ name=”Love means more than just a like, even on Facebook”]

Apps

Twitter is working on a way to hide the blue checkmark

May or may not launch

Published

March 25, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

A year ago, Twitter’s blue checkmark was a coveted piece of online identity making. Now, the once-prestigious marker has grown into somewhat of a meme. The blue checkmark doesn’t mean the same as it did a year ago. Now, Twitter is reportedly developing a way to hide the checkmark from your profile.

Last year, Twitter announced a much easier way to get a blue checkmark for themselves. Soon after Elon Musk purchased the platform, Twitter Blue offered the badge with the monthly subscription price. Users who earned the old checkmark without paying for the subscription had their badges converted into yellow legacy checkmarks.

With the change, the value of a blue checkmark changed drastically. It become associated with a joke mocking users who paid for Twitter, an otherwise free-to-use platform.

#Twitter keeps working on the ability to control everything related to account verification and identity by adding the option to show or hide your blue checkmark on your profile 👀 pic.twitter.com/6uTjBON21N

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 21, 2023

Now, as spotted by notable app engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, Twitter is developing a way to hide the blue checkmark altogether. Currently, the development is still just a leak. It remains possible that the app will not launch the feature after all.

That said, after several months reinventing verification, the platform is still struggling for the perfect way to blend the old with the new. Right around the same time the leak popped up, they also officially announced that it will retire legacy checkmarks starting April 1.

Apps

PayPal slowly rolls out passkey support for Android

Coming to the app soon

Published

March 25, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

Big Tech has been pushing for an end to the password. However, the password-less future is taking a while to get off the ground. Only a few platforms can support passkeys. A big name is lending its hand to the technology, though. PayPal has announced that it is working on implementing passkeys for Android users.

Starting today, the digital payment platform is slowly rolling out support for the new security measure. With a passkey, users will no longer need a password or two-factor authentication. Instead, PayPal will install a passkey onto your device. That passkey will be exclusive to your devices. If PayPal recognizes the device you’re trying to log in from, then the platform will allow you in.

It’s not a grand rollout yet, though. PayPal will introduce the feature for mobile browsers first, rather than the app outright. Android users will need Chrome to access the feature. App integration will come in the future. In the meantime, Android users will start getting the feature from now throughout the year.

Passkeys are moving slowly across the tech space. Some time ago, Apple, Google, and Microsoft mutually pledged to help usher in the future of passkeys as a more secure alternative to passwords. Today, only a few platforms can support the technology. In a time when cybersecurity is quickly becoming a priority for everyone, the arrival of passkeys can’t come sooner.

Gaming

LEGO 2K Drive to arrive on May 19

Build, explore, race

Published

March 24, 2023

GadgetMatch

2K and the LEGO Group has announced May 19 as the official worldwide release date of LEGO 2K Drive for multiple consoles.

The driving adventure game is developed by Visual Concept. It is the first title to be released as part of a multi-title partnership between 2K and the LEGO Group. They seek to evolve the LEGO experience in exciting new ways.

The game will feature a combination of open-world driving and competitive racing. Players can explore the vast world of Bricklandia, build any vehicle LEGO-style, drive anywhere, and become a racing legend.

The Sky Cup Trophy is the game’s coveted prize. Players will have to compete against a series of rivals across a broad range of tracks while taking advantage of unique power-ups that can guide them throughout a race.

LEGO 2K Drive also offers unique customization, with over 1,000 LEGO pieces available when building a vehicle. Color designs, stickers, flairs, and more are likewise customizable.

Players may also collaborate with others in a two-person split-screen mode or multiplayer mode.

There will be three editions for the upcoming game:

Standard Edition – US$ 59.99 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch; US$ 69.99 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S (both physical and digital)

Awesome Edition – US$ 99.99; includes new vehicle, flair, in-game LEGO minifigure, Year 1 Drive Pass (covers four individual post-launch seasons of Drive pass content)