Author: Francis E. Hagopian

I'm Francis E. Hagopian, and I'm the voice and vision behind Billionaire365.com. For the last 15 years, I've lived and breathed Silicon Valley culture, arming myself with insights and know-how that I can't wait to share with you. Think of me as your personal guide in the intricate maze of technology. I specialize in translating the complex into the understandable, so you can turn knowledge into power. This isn't just about staying in the loop; it's about giving you the tools you need to excel in a digital age. When you're looking for reliable tech insights, know that I've got your back.

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Games News

Google Pixel Phones will Feature the new Android 9 Pie

Just now, Google announced that its latest version of Android will arrive on its Pixel phones. Even the name isn’t bad at all, Android 9 Pie. What are its characteristics and what do we expect are fair questions. Follow up below.

What are its features?

As it was revealed earlier this year, in May, 9 Pie will come with a ‘Digital Wellbeing’ dashboard along with a series of improvements to the UI which are enhanced by AI, including a navigation system based on gestures. That’s not all, of course. This latest release from Google includes many more subtle improvements concerning the software design, from which the new status bar stands out as it is made to go hand in hand with the notch design.

What’s missing?

These new additions are great and all but they could have been more of them. However, there are some which will come later, according to Google. Although they were initially announced at Google I/O, features affecting the Digital Wellbeing will be missing. We are talking about the ‘wind down’ setting which was planned to be used while you sleep or when you wouldn’t use your phone for hours. Besides this one, we won’t come across app times or the usage dashboard either.

Although we won’t see them featured with Android 9 Pie, Pixel users will have the opportunity of trying them out as a beta version. The official release will happen this fall and along with it we expect to see Android One and ‘other devices’ which we feel will be the Pixel 3 phones.

We are not done with what we WON’T have on 9 Pie. ‘Slices’ were supposed to allow apps to showcase their functionality into search. This would have translated into using an app by just typing its name into the search bar, for example, typing Lyft in the main search bar will allow you to call a car without actually accessing the app. Fall is also the destination point of this feature.

Who should expect it first?

It’s only natural that Google should take care of their own first, right? That’s why Google Pixel users will receive the update first, followed by the rest of us. Google might force other manufacturers to rush with their Android updates, like Sony, OnePlus, Nokia or Xiaomi.

Concretely, Android 9 Pie will come with a better battery management system powered by AI. The app actions feature will make common app actions to be accessed by using buttons in the main Android launcher. For the Pixel users out there, expect it soon.

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Games News

Steam Flash Sales are Back – Popular 80% Discounts

According to some of the available reports found online, the steam flash sales are brought back to life. Apparently, that’s because the game buyers favor this kind of sales since they can get their desired games at better rates. This is good for the sellers too, of course. When there are many people that look to buy your game, even if you place 50% discounts you will make profit.

Flash Sales history

Flash sales became immensely popular in a quick time. Just think about it, being able to buy your highly desired game with a 50% discount or better yet, being able to obtain an 80% discount as long as you purchase it until midnight. That’s how flash sales took over the minds of Steam users.

Back in 2016 Valve put a stop to this system. It took two years for the idea to reintroduce itself in the mind of game sellers. We are not just saying that because we received confirmation via the Steam Translation Server team, although there are still people down at Valve that don’t completely support this idea.

Apparently, the reason why these sales were killed off was due to the fact that nobody went for the daily sale option. Instead, the majority of buyers waited for the flash sale to come up and buy a game at a much lower price. That’s when some companies reported losses that they didn’t predict.

Some might say that the buyers were the only ones that took something from this deal and as much as we root for the little guy, the game’s developers have to get paid as well.

In case the idea will get implemented again some certain measures are to be taken. Flash sales won’t occur as often as they did; instead, the sellers will have a say about how long a flash sale should take place. In the end, the introduction of flash sales will for sure bring on new buyers.

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Games News

Half-Life 3 Finally Happened, Thanks to Indie Developers

Marc Laidlaw was a former writer that worked on the first and second game in the Half-Life franchise. On the 25th of August, 2017 he released a letter called Epistle 3 through which he shared his perspective and feelings on how Half-Life 3 should look like from his perspective.

What was the story?

Well, to be fair there isn’t a clear statement that he wrote specifically about Half-Life 3, maybe because of some legal liabilities. However, it doesn’t take much to overlook the gender-swapping of characters or other disguised details and realize that the letter is an interpretation on the 3rd version of Half-Life (call it as you like, Half-Life 3 or Half-Life 2: Episode 3).

It represents the final chapter in the story of Gertie Fremont (or Gordon Freeman, if you’d like), as she calls herself in that letter. Officially, the story still hasn’t concluded and this letter was finally something to let us know how it could’ve been.

What happened after that?

Laura Michet, a writer herself, read this letter and decided to not leave it at that. In the evening that she stumbled upon the letter, she was with friends. They proceeded to read it and it had an impact on them, is that they grew up with the games and the never-ending expectations of seeing Half-Life 3 happen.

Then, inspired by the letter she opened her computer and started working on the game jam. They are similar to the open mics of stand-up. Here every veteran can try to dig into their own creative pools and see what comes out at the other end. Not just Laura but many other independent developers had a go and form this, emerged quite a few interpretations of Half-Life 3.

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Games

All Eyes on Goku as More and More People Play Dragon Ball Super Gods

Dragon Ball is a huge franchise, now more than ever. The Super Gods release is a huge hit among many Dragon Ball fans. There are plenty who play it because they love certain characters but apparently there are plenty who like to dress up as them too.

Goku the heartthrob

Goku is the central piece in Dragon Ball, regardless whom you ask. More than that, Goku is what keeps such a fanatic audience on the lookout for everything in the franchise. The creators decided to profit a bit thanks to the huge fan reserve that is completely enamored with the Dragon Ball characters.

You can now find websites specialized in merchandising Dragon Ball-related stuff. When you go on the official site to download the series you will find certain links that carry you to sites where you can buy accessories and clothing articles which will make you look like your favorite character.

The first things that came on sell are the Time ring worn by Goku and the Potara earring. These two pieces of merch are available for ordering and the shipping will start sometime in October. Seemingly, the fans are extremely anxious over this marketing decision and they can’t wait to get their hands on some Dragon Ball-related articles.

What are the costs?

Everybody is curious about how much they will have to spend to get their hands on the Potara earnings or on the Time Ring. Well, the earring is expected to cost about $140, while the ring will have a price tag of $106. The Dragon Ball Super series has 52 episodes on air. The English dub version is available on Adult Swim or other similar channels. Be sure to stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled for further news.

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News Tech

Google Pixel 3 Release Date Announced on October 4th

We just found out that Google’s Pixel 3 smartphone will be announced on 4th of October, which is not surprising, since earlier Pixel phones were released on the same date. Back in 2016, Pixel and Pixel XL were also launched on 4th of October, and the same happened the following year, in 2017, when Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were released on the same day.

Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will be announced on 4th of October

The news about the release date comes from the ‘This Is Tech Today’ channel, which revealed that both Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will be officially announced on October 4th. The announcement was revealed by Famebit in a job listing. Famebit was acquired by Google in 2016 and is based in Canada. Starting with 2016, the company is grouped under the YouTube division. Famebit gives YouTubers the opportunity to get some extra money through the promotion of various products and services to their audience.

What is mentioned in the listing

The job listing seems to be searching for “Canadian creators ONLY” and in particular a Creator who is not at the moment a Google Pixel user but would like to switch to Pixel 3. Google wants the creator to share a video with their experience of switching from another device to the Pixel 3 smartphone, once they switched over their contacts, apps and other necessary data. The promotional video needs to have details about why the user decided to switch and how the process was like.

More details about the upcoming smartphones

Both smartphones will run Android Pie, with Pixel 3 expected to have a 5.3-inch display with no screen cut out, and Pixel 3 XL featuring a 6.2-inch display.

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