GOG Connect strips the DRM out of Steam games, Google puts websites to the test, brand new emoji are on their way, Apple fixes the iPad Pro, and Surgeon Simulator puts Trump under the knife.
Get DRM-Free Games With GOG Connect
Steam is a fantastic platform for gamers, offering a huge catalog of games for PC, Mac, and Linux. Its only real downside is the DRM (Digital Rights Management) built into the platform. This means you're rather limited in what you can do with each game you buy. However, GOG (formerly Good Old Games) is trying to solve this problem with GOG Connect.
GOG Connect lets you download DRM-free versions of games you previously bought on Steam. And all you have to do is download GOG Connect, connect your Steam account, and add eligible Steam games to your GOG library. It really is as simple as that.
Unfortunately, GOG Connect currently only supports a handful of titles, including FTL: Faster Than Light, The Witness, Trine Enchanted Edition, Saints Row 2, and The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. However, GOG will be adding more titles in the future. GOG will also be removing some, as the option to nab DRM-free copies are a "limited-time offers made possible by participating developers and publishers".
Regardless of these caveats (and reports that GOG Connect isn't yet working correctly), this is still a great opportunity to start building a DRM-free library of your favorite games for free. With GOG obviously hoping you'll start buying more titles from its library in the future.
Put Your Website to the Test
Google has released a new tool designed to help developers improve their websites. But even if you don't own your own chunk of the Internet, you can use the tool to see how your favorite website stacks up against the competition.
The Think With Google tool rates websites on three different metrics: Mobile Friendliness, Mobile Speed, and Desktop Speed. Websites are scored out of 100 in each category, and owners are advised on how they can improve those scores.
MakeUseOf currently scores 95/100 for Mobile Friendliness, 60/100 for Mobile Speed, and 79/100 for Desktop Speed. Which means there is significant room for improvement. Luckily, I just write and edit for the site, with James Bruce in charge of the back-end stuff.
What's interesting is how much onus Google puts on the mobile experience, with the desktop experience something of an afterthought. But then more of us than ever are consuming content on our mobiles, and most of us use Android smartphones. Hence Google's obsession.
77 New Emoji Are Incoming
The Unicode Consortium, the governing body which decides the fate of all emojis everywhere, has announced 77 new emojis we'll all be using (and likely sick of) in the future. 72 of them will be added to Unicode 9.0, due to be released on June 21, with another five added to Unicode 10.0, due to be released in June 2017.
The new emojis include one depicting ROFL (Rolling on Floor Laughing), a clown face, a Pinocchio-inspired lying face, a shrug, a face palm, a selfie, a black heart, pancakes, and… bacon. If none of these take your fancy you can submit your own proposals using the guidelines featured here.
Apple Updates Its iPad Pro Update
Apple has finally fixed the iPad Pro, releasing a new version of iOS 9.3.2 just for its high-end tablet. The original iOS 9.3.2 update, which was released on May 16, had the unfortunate habit of bricking some iPad Pro devices, with users hit by an Error 56 message.
To be fair to Apple, the company pulled the original update the same week it dropped, and offered support for anyone adversely affected by its mistake. According to MacRumors, some iPad Pro owners even had their devices replaced free of charge.
The new iOS 9.3.2, build 13F72, is available as an over-the-air update on any iPad Pro that wasn't exposed to the previous version. Anyone experiencing difficulties should follow the advice outlined in this Apple Support document.
Error 56 is not to be confused with Error 53, which saw Apple responsible for bricking iPhones.
You Can Now Operate on Donald Trump
And finally, there's new DLC (Downloadable Content) available for Surgeon Simulator, and it lets you operate on a virtual Donald Trump. Unfortunately, you can't give him a brain transplant, removing his malfunctioning mind and replacing it with another, better one. But that's about all you can't do, to be honest.
Surgeon Simulator is a bonkers game which has you operating on people without the proper training, and Inside Donald Trump adds a celebrity politician into the mix. You can see the resulting mayhem in the video above. And if you want to try it yourself, it's free to Surgeon Simulator: Anniversary Edition owners on Steam, and available to everyone else at a discount.
Your Views on Today’s Tech News
Would you prefer all games to be free of DRM? How does Google rate your, or your favorite, website? What's your favorite emoji right now? Did Error 56 affect your iPad Pro? What famous politician would you like to operate on?
Let us know your thoughts on the Tech News of the day by posting to the comments section below. Because a healthy discussion is always welcome.
Tech News Digest is a daily column paring the technology news of the day down into bite-sized chunks that are easy to read and perfect for sharing.
Image Credit: Actualitte via Flickr