Ubisoft gamifies your stress management with O.zen

We live in a stressful age. Some of these might be self-induced but they’re there nonetheless. Hoping to help curb some of your stress is this new connected program from Ubisoft (yes, that Ubisoft). Called O.zen, the app, with an accompanying fingertip sensor, gamifies a way for you to manage your stress better through breathing exercises. Developed in collaboration with Dr. Frédéric Kochman, child psychiatrist and heart coherence specialist, O.zen doesn’t just offer breathing games and exercises. It hopes to promote a healthier lifestyle overall.

Users of the iOS-based app are advised by personal coach, Coach K. You’ll be asked to fill out a range of topic-specific tests to help you develop better habits. There are over 600 self-reflection questions for both physical and psychological state to help create your personalized profile, complete with your own avatar. The breathing games have over 80 levels and 14 different programs for long-term use. Each session can be used daily in 3- to 8-minute sessions. The sensor it comes will records your heartbeat and helps with the exercises you’ll do. O.zen app, which is compatible with iPad and iPhone (but more optimized for the iPad), retails for $149.99.

Google Chrome gets rid of annoying page jumps in new update

If you’ve found yourself scrolling through a website and have it jump right back to the top once a slow loading element loads, then we have to say you’re not alone. Google is fixing an annoying effect that happens when you’re reading in Chrome.  Called scroll anchoring, this new feature helps avoid those incidents from happening, especially when browsing on a phone. The update will lock the content you’re currently looking at on screen and will no longer jump when elements on the page load. This means it’ll keep you in the same spot so you can continue reading. One other issue this addresses is you won’t suddenly be clicking on links you haven’t intended to when the page jumped. You can see how it works in the clip above.

Source: BGR

Study shows music streaming services are shortening musical intros

Music streaming services aren’t just disrupting traditional record labels. It seems they’re changing the way songs are made, too. A new study from Hubert Léveillé Gauvin, a doctoral student in music theory at The Ohio State University, finds that songs are getting shorter instrumental introductions to try and accommodate the shortening attention span of listeners. And it seems the streaming services—such as Spotify and Pandora—are to blame.

Gauvin listened to and analyzed songs that made it into the top 10 from 1986 to 2015 and found “a dramatic shift away from long intros” and “a marked increase in tempo.” Songs back in the mid-80s had intros averaging over 20 seconds, now they’re down to five seconds on average so they immediately get to the lyrics. Tempo has also increased by around eight percent.

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Microsoft previews Outlook for Mac with Google Calendar and Contacts

Microsoft is bringing to more users the ability to use Google Calendar and Contacts on Outlook for Mac 2016. Initially launched to Office Insider Fast community, the features are now available for anyone to download so they get more feedback about the new additions. This will then allow Outlook for Mac users to add, edit, and delete events from Google Calendar through the Apple app. Gmail users will also get Focused Inbox feature in Outlook as well as package delivery tracking and travel booking. If you’re a regular Office 365 user, though, you’ll have to wait until later in the year to try this out.

Source: The Verge