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If theres one thing the internet is full of, its information. (You thought I was going to say something else, didnt you?) Some would argue that it has presented information overload, and users are forced to be their own judge and jury on the validity of the available information. However, one site has pioneered the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica, and although the accuracy record of the online source has sometimes been in question in its early days, it has become the go-to site to find quick information on everything from weather balloons to wine barrels. Since Wikipedia launched its smartphone app way back in 2012, it has been largely ignored in favor of the web version. However, the app is grossly underrated, as its features are useful and practical.

While the features of the mobile Wikipedia app are virtually the same as those offered in the web version, the designers have adapted the functionality to the smartphone landscape. One notable feature is its ability to customize your Explore feed, so you see more of what you are interested in. The Featured article allows users to see daily featured articles, current news, picture of the day, On This Day, and more. Like every other app and business, the Wikipedia app gathers information from the other social media apps you use to suggest related content to your browsing history. And while many of us dont care for this intrusive behavior, its a fact of online life and one we must endure and embrace in equal doses, so we might as well make the best of it.

Several other intuitive attributes of the app make it superior to the online version. One handy feature is the voice-search component. Voice commands can be very helpful when you dont have the ability (or are just too lazy) to type, and recognizes almost every language. It has an easily accessed search history, saving you time when you've forgotten to bookmark previous searches. Another handy feature is the ability to open several tabs simultaneously, allowing you to easily return to the original article.

Much like the website version, the Wikipedia app lets users edit any portion of the article. While this has sometimes been the source of skepticism of accuracy in the past, Wikipedia stands by its self-policing policies and continues to rely on a community of volunteer editors to improve its accuracy. It stands by its wisdom of crowds philosophy. Writers are encouraged to back up factual statements with verifiable references and sources whenever possible. So, if youre an information geek, or if you just happen to know something about a subject close to home or close to your heart, you can edit articles too. The app even gives you suggestions on how to keep things concise, facilitating you to edit articles and make them more useful to readers.

Without a doubt, Wikipedia stands as the most-viewed source for information on the internet, and the well-thought interface and features offered by the app present a more efficient version that is better suited for smartphone users who want to look smart on the go. Think of all the information we literally have at our fingertips these days all without lugging around 32 volumes of encyclopedias. The absolute best thing about the Wikipedia app? Its free to download and free to use, further supporting the core beliefs of Wikipedia, which is that information should always be free and at everyones disposal.

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Practical Apps: Wikipedia Looking Smart To Go | Spotlight ... - highcountryshopper.com

9:58am, 13 April 2023

By Rugby Onslaught

The entire rugby community has lost its mind today after the President of the United States Joe Biden recently mixed up the All Blacks with the Black and Tans- a paramilitary force recruited to assist the Royal Irish Constabulary in the early 20th century.

Whilst thinking he was complimenting his cousin, former Ireland fullback Rob Kearney, for beating "the hell out of" the All Blacks, the President made the unfortunate faux pas during a visit of Ireland this week.

Since then, the Internet has done its thing, editing the Black and Tans' Wikipedia page to include the exploits of the 95-cap Ireland international. The page has since been re-edited, but not before screenshots were taken and shared on social media.

The page was altered to say: "The Black and Tans (Irish: Dchrnaigh) were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920 and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflict. The Black and Tans were defeated by Rob Kearney at Soldier Field in Chicago, ending their reign of terror. Rob's skill under the high ball is commonly cited as a factor in their loss. The vast majority were unemployed former British soldiers from Britain who had fought in the First World War. Some sources count a small number of Irishmen as Black and Tans."

Take a look at the video:

Ireland recorded their first ever victory over the All Blacks on American soil in 2016, defeating the then world champions 40-29 in Chicago's Soldier Field, with Kearney starting at fullback on that occasion. Since that victory, Ireland have won four of their last seven matches against New Zealand, having waited 111 years and 28 matches for a victory prior to that. Kearney also started in Ireland's victory over the All Blacks in 2018 at the Aviva Stadium.

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Rob Kearney receives Wikipedia edit after Joe Biden's All Blacks blunder - Rugby OnSlaught

Traffic whining, part 607.

After more than three decades of driving around this place, Ive discoveredyoucan psychoanalyze someone by the way they drive while youre driving.

All you have to do if you make it home from your latest trip through the ninth circle of traffic hades is go to Wikipedia and find a page which lists the 14 types of personality disorders with Miltons brief description of each.

Naturally I dont know who Milton is and Im not going to bother to find out. But thanks to Wikipedia, Im an expert on everything just like everybody else with a keyboard.

Anyway. Heres a short look at some of the most common traffic lunatics and whats gone wrong with their personalities.

Up first, youve got the crazy lane-switching maniacs who run 90-100-200 mph on I-95 scaring everybody else and occasionally causing flaming horrible pileups that kill people they dont even know.

These motorists are clearly antisocial. Thats described on Wikipedia as folks who are impulsive, irresponsible, deviant, unruly. Act without due consideration. Meet social obligations only when self-serving. Disrespect societal customs, rules, and standards. See themselves as free and independent. People with antisocial personality disorder depict a long pattern of disregard for other peoples rights. They often cross the line and violate these rights.

Then youve got the self-centered me-firsters who sit at 60 mph in the passing lane on a four-lane highway (i.e., two lanes in each direction, like Highway 17) and wont get over for folks behind them, which just jacks up traffic for miles and makes everybody in two counties want to start playing bumper cars.

Ive long thought these drivers are the same sort of people who speed through subdivisions, tailgate, cheat on their taxes and think their candidate really won because, well, theres no way someone they voted for could lose because they wouldnt vote for a loser.

This category of motorist includes those who get in the middle lane on I-95 and stay, poking along backing up semi trucks for 20 miles, and those pompous louts who speed around you on Fords avenue only to cut in front of you so they can get to Kroger or the I-95 on-ramp at Highway 144 a few seconds faster.

Theyre narcissistic, i.e., egotistical, arrogant, grandiose, insouciant. Preoccupied with fantasies of success, beauty, or achievement. See themselves as admirable and superior, and therefore entitled to special treatment. Is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that theyre superior to others and have little regard for other peoples feelings.

Youve probably also noticed your garden variety weirdo drivers who wander around at 40-50 mph on two-lane roads like Highway 204 and back traffic up a couple miles until they get to the passing lane. Then, instead of getting out of the way, they floor it so that nobody can get around them unless that somebody goes 80 mph. In short, nobodys getting anywhere until they do, and theyre in no hurry until they are. As best I can tell those motorists have a borderline personality type, which is described as: Unpredictable, egocentric, emotionally unstable. Frantically fears abandonment and isolation. Experience rapidly fluctuating moods. Shift rapidly between loving and hating. See themselves and others alternatively as all-good and all-bad. Unstable and frequently changing moods. People with borderline personality disorder have a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships.

And they cant drive, either.

Drivers who dont use blinkers are often passive-aggressive, which Milton says means theyre apathetic, indifferent, remote, solitary, distant, humorless, contempt, odd fantasies. Neither desire nor need human attachments. Withdrawn from relationships and prefer to be alone. Little interest in others, often seen as a loner. Minimal awareness of the feelings of themselves or others. Few drives or ambitions, if any. Is an uncommon condition in which people avoid social activities and consistently shy away from interaction with others. To others, they may appear somewhat dull or humorless. Because they dont tend to show emotion, or use blinkers, they may appear as though they dont care about whats going on around them.

Whilst I think my driving can best be described as usually in someones way, I tend to think Im schizotypal, which is described on Wikipedia in part as eccentric, self-estranged, bizarre, absent. Exhibit peculiar mannerisms and behaviors. Think they can read thoughts of others. Preoccupied with odd daydreams and beliefs. Blur line between reality and fantasy. Magical thinking and strange beliefs.

I know what youre thinking.

See the article here:
Editor's notes: Nut drivers - Bryan County News

How did Kart games become the it "thing" of the 90's?

The short answer is It had some help from some great racing games that paved the way from the 80's.

Racing games improved on so many levels throughout the 80's in comparison to what was available before that decade. The graphics were much improved, the sound effects really began to sound like an engine revving, and the gameplay was fun yet challenging. The best racing games of the 80s were technical and there was no room for error when navigating hair-pin turns at over 200 MPH. You just couldnt afford to make a mistake in games like Pole Position or Outrun because each poorly navigated turn would cost you another quarter at the arcade. One could argue that racing games began an evolution sometime around 1988, with the arcade release of Power Drift. Sega managed to bring many non-racing game enthusiasts into a new "hybrid" type of racing game genre. It had a different vibe than Segas other titles like Outrun.

Power Drift (1988)[Image Source Wikipedia]

Look no further than Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to understand how profitable Kart games can be. It sold 52 million copies as of December 2022 and is currently the best-selling Nintendo Switch game of all time. In addition to the classic GP circuits, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features a nice assortment of Battle-Modes and incredibly addicting online play with a community that battles it out on tracks like Mario Kart Stadium and Sweet Sweet Canyon at all hours of the day, every day of the week.Kart games are more successful than anyone in the Power Drift development team could ever have dreamed of and it has come a long way since. The Mario Kart franchise has currently cemented itself as the face or poster of the sub-genre.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Cover Art[Image Source Wikipedia]

What about those Kart Games of the 90s?

By the end of the 90s, the Kart game sub-genre was heavily over-saturated with many titles, most of which were not memorable at all. I mean, when was the last time you played Pac-Man World Rally or Smurf Racers?

Who Didn't Have a Kart Game?[Image Source YouTube]

Mario Kart (1992) Cover Art[Image Source Wikipedia]

Can you believe Super Mario Kart actually started as a prototype for what the development team dubbed a multiplayer F-Zero?Building upon the Mode 7 graphics used in F-Zero, Super Mario Kart used the same visual technique to create a 3D driving circuit, but in a Mario world environment for the very first time.The only issue was that the introduction of a multiplayer mode pushed the 16-Bit SNES to its hardware limitations, and as a result, game speed was affected. The developers also shrunk the length of the tracks in comparison to F-Zero. This is why they opted to make the vehicles into Karts. That should justify the slower speed and shorter tracks right?!?Long story short, the Kart gamble was a huge success. The birth of drifting AKA Power Sliding and the introduction of items used as power-ups during the race would now be a mainstay in Kart games going forward.Super Mario Kart went on to sell 8.76 million copies worldwide.

Crash Team Racing Cover Art[Image Source Wikipedia]

By 1999, it felt like every animated character and their uncle was now being considered for a Kart game and Crash Bandicoot finally got its own introduction to the fiesta.Crash Team Racing didn't "re-invent the wheel" when it came to gameplay, but it did have a great boost mechanic, and a nice adventure mode similar to that of Diddy Kong Racing. Each new Kart game was taking inspiration from its predessors.But in the end, I think the soundtrack probably held this title back, or maybe it was just me? I need some good tunes when Im Kart Racing.CTR went on to sell nearly 2 million copies which was very impressive considering it was Crashs first Kart game.

Diddy Kong Racing Cover Art[Image Source Wikipedia]

I remember playing Diddy Kong racing for the first time and it truly was a whole new type of beast. It took the Kart game concept, added airplanes and hoverboats into the mix, and featured an open-world concept where you could explore new areas that featured boss battles. Whoa.However, looking at this with 2023 prescription glasses, I dont think the game aged as well as some of the others from the 90s. The game's framerate speed is just not as slick when played today. No big deal, but it's hard not to notice it after playing Mario Kart 64.On a funny side note, the game featured a character named Conker the Squirrel. You might be thinking that name sounds familiar. Perhaps you recall a game titled Conkers Bad Fur Day?

Conker's Bad Fur Day Cover Art[Image Souce Wikipedia]

Which begs the question, how did Conker go from Diddy Kong Racing, to Conker's Bad Fur Day? That would be like a side character in the Super Mario universe such as Warioluigi getting placed in his own Grand Theft Auto game. I always found that hilariously fascinating.

Diddy Kong racing sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide and even received a world record for the fastest-selling game at that time.

In Europe, it was known as Speed Freaks[Image Source Wikipedia]

What the heck is Speed Punks? Possibly the most underrated and least known Kart game ever. This one totally slipped under the radar which is such a shame. Unfortunately, Speed Punks just happened to be released around the same time as Crash Team Racing which really deflated its marketing ambition and prevented it from reaching its full potential given that CTR got all the hype.Speed Punks plays more like a traditional Kart game and has a well-designed power drift mechanic that allows the player to build up their Speed Boost meter as long as they drift, without interruption to that drift. The stages are really well designed, the graphics are vibrant, and it had a near perfect balance between skill and fun-game play that should suit any type of player.Yes it has the expected rubber-banding when it comes to item pickups, but it compensates for the skilled-players by allowing the player to use different techniques such as accelerator mashing or well-timed turns in order to avoid weapons being fired at them.Best of all, there are three unlockable characters and 12 unlockable bonus tracks which adds lots of replay value to the game.Speed Punks sold about 200,000 copies worldwide which might be why it just never gets the love it deserves.

In a League of it's Own - Mario Kart 64[Image Source Wikipedia]

No Shocker here. No seriously, what Kart game was better in the 90's?This game exceeded pretty much everyone's expectations in the 90's. How much do people love this game? Take a look at the speedrun community for this title and they collectively nearly maximized the lap times on every track in this game.The graphics were awesome. The levels and characters were instantly recognizable since we all played a Nintendo game at some point in our lives, even the music and sound effects were easy to listen to.

The replay value for Mario Kart 64 was second to none, with the usualset of challenging GP circuits 50-150cc, and an amazing multiplayer mode experience. Dont forget, multiplayer in the 90's was hit or miss on any gaming title no matter how good the solo player was. Mainly because the hardware was so limited. Four player Speed Punks for example just didnt play the same as the one player mode and it was noticeable. Mario Kart 64 on the other hand, was pretty smooth with 4-player action and the new concept of multiplayer battle mode was incredibly genius. Best of all, a skilled player could avoid weapons (but not all of them) with the right techniques which helped deflate the rubber banding effect.Mario Kart 64 was the viral sensation that the Kart game genre needed and it went on to sell 12 million units worldwide.

A great Kart game is one that has a nice balance of technical skill and casual type gameplay. Some that has the likes of "Power Drifting" and gives the player the ability to evade weapons with just the right amount of "rubber banding".A fun Kart game has some unlockable content and an excellent multiplayer mode that doesnt look and feel different than the one player mode. Lastly, a memorable Kart game is one that has some great tunes and eye-catching level designs.

Follow this link:
Top 5 Kart Games of the 90's - Twin Galaxies

Ramadan festivities continue across the UAE this week.

From lavish iftars and suhoor tents to family-friendly events, The National rounds up seven things to do from April 10 to 16.

Tashas Cafe

Tashas Cafe in Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi, has been turned into a majlis by luxury fashion brand Fendi with a Ramadan menu.

Dishes include spinach and feta hummus, sumac and pomegranate salad and Levant chicken. Fendi-branded desserts, such as sticky toffee date cake; and rose and pistachio Eton mess, are also on the menu. Mango, vanilla and date smoothies and apricot nectar, all served with Fendi-branded ice, are available.

Traditional Arabic music will play in the background.

Until April 23; 9am-1am; prices vary; Marsa Al Bateen Marina, Abu Dhabi; 02 445 0890

Experts and locals are sharing stories about Al Ain's history, social practices and people at Al Jahili Fort on Tuesday.

This particular session, which will be conducted in Arabic, will focus on the UAE's second-tallest mountain Jebel Hafeet and its surroundings.

Tuesday; 10pm-midnight; free; Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan St, Al Jahili, Al Ain; 03 711 8311

The plaza terrace of Jumeirah Emirates Towers has been transformed into a traditional Arabian village, displaying artworks from Emirati and other Arab artists.

The market-style Ramadan District also has several food counters serving bite-size dishes, retail shops, live entertainment and a dedicated zone for children. With a view of the Museum of the Future, the location of the pop-up is one of the most Instagram-worthy Ramadan events in the city.

Until April 20; 4pm-2am; free; plaza terrace Jumeirah Emirates Towers; 050 971 6258

The second Ramadan "editathon" by the Emirates Literature Foundation and Wikimedians of the UAE User Group is taking place on Thursday at Mist DXB in Business Bay.

The event is a group-editing workshop that aims to enrich Wikipedia with Arabic and English articles highlighting important aspects of Ramadan in the Arab world. Participants can learn about the platform's best practices, as well as work with experts to become Wikipedia contributors and editors.

Refreshments will be provided, followed by a suhoor in the evening. Registration is required.

Thursday; 9.30am-11.30pm; free; Business Bay; event.elfdubai.org

Visit the Expo Centre Sharjah for the 40th annual Ramadan Nights.

The festival packs in entertainment programmes and cultural activities, alongside a shopping experience with more than 10,000 products from 500 brands, including homeware, toys and clothes.

Visitors can expect up to 75 per cent discounts and other deals on-site.

Until April 21; 5pm-1am; Dh5 adults, free for children under 12; Sharjah Expo Centre; ramadan-nights.com

Al Naeem Mall in Ras Al Khaimah is hosting a Ramadan night market.

The family affair offers harbour views, entertainment, retail and dining experiences. Several activities for children are also lined up, including meet-and-greets with mascots, storytelling sessions, balloon bending and a PlayStation area. Little ones can also join workshops, such as cupcake decorating and slime making.

Until May 1; 4pm-midnight; free entry; Al Naeem Mall; 07 2275000

It's game on at Manarat Al Saadiyat's Ramadan Arcade. Photo: Manarat Al Saadiyat

For a contemporary way of celebrating Ramadan, head to Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi for the last day of its Ramadan Arcade.

As the name suggests, the event features several arcades and activities for visitors, from traditional tabletop games to virtual reality. The newly opened Pixoul Gaming has teamed up with the venue to bring the event to life.

There are three installations by local artists, as well as several pop-ups such as photo booths and artist studios. There are also food stalls located at the Garden and the Plaza.

Until April 16; 9pm-2am; Dh50 for a day pass; Saadiyat Island

Updated: April 10, 2023, 4:01 AM

Read more here:
Things to do in the UAE this week: Ramadan shopping festival ... - The National