A phoney word in a game of Scrabble is basically a non-valid word, either played or considered being played. Why? To fool the other player and go from losing to winning. It's perfectly acceptable in Scrabble play, but only if you don't get caught. If the other player challenges your play, then you'll be forced to remove it and your turn will be skipped. That right there—not fun.
Bluffing is one of the key components of poker. You may have a horrible hand, but if you can play it cool and raise the bet, you might just be able to convince your opponents otherwise and induce a few folds. But if you can't handle a little subterfuge, then you shouldn't be playing the game. Even the slightest tell could give you away. You have to maintain a poker face, no matter what.
Being able to spell a seven-letter word on the board is one of the most enjoyable things about playing Scrabble. It's even better when those seven letters are all from your rack, giving you a bingo—those 50 bonus points in addition to your regular score.
The concept of Scrabble and Words with Friends is the same—play words, score points, win. But the games require different strategy in terms of letter placement, premium squares, tile point values and word choices. Here's the main differences between the two games.
You looked on as a 1,169-pound pumpkin flattened a Pontiac sedan, now watch a 1,500-pound box of cell phones smash a Chevy Camaro! Jalopnik reports, "A cell phone recycler took its YouTube promo campaign to a new level by dropping 1,500 lbs. of junked cellphones on a parked 4th-generation Camaro. The resulting mess answers a question only a Mustang fan would ever ask. The filmmakers later clarified that the Camaro wasn't in running condition ... and was bought by a member of the crew as a par...
In this video, we learn how to use QuickBooks assistance. The assistance gives you answers to problems that you may be having with their software. This is a great way to learn the basics, like individual tasks that are on the home page. The coach was made for someone who is brand new to QuickBooks, so the information may be introductory instead of advanced. You can also go to a QuickBooks user chatroom where you can get information from other users. You can also look the information up on the...
What's your training about? Would any of it matter if your life depended upon it? If not, what is your training providing you with?
Martha Stewart answers questions about serving tropical fruit. Allow mangos to ripen; when it's ready it will give slightly when pressed. As with any other fruit, make sure to smell it first, good ones will have a fragrant aroma. Choose kiwis that are large and plump and give slightly to gentle pressure. Passion fruit is ripe when it has a wrinkled, dimpled purple skin. Peel and slice mango, kiwi and passion fruits.
Last week's challenge brought up a good question (thanks Lisa) regarding the functionality of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th Edition, both online and in print form. The word TACTICAL was the answer to the first puzzle in that challenge, but when you search for the word directly in the print version, it can't be found. Likewise, when you search the online dictionary on Hasbro's site, you won't find it either. Go ahead, try it. You won't find it looking for TACTICAL specifically.
In this article, I'll show you how to prank your friends on April Fool's Day with the very popular Google Voice, a computer to land/mobile calling feature. Basically, Google allows you to play whatever you like through the microphone port on your computer, and play it right through to your victim's phone. Whether it's Rick Astley ("Never Gonna Give You Up") or a text-to-speech application, general hilarity always follows.
We've all heard of the power that red wine holds. It can help lower risks of heart disease, boost your brain power, and can even recharge your car battery. But last year, a group of Japanese physicists made headlines when they announced that they could induce superconductivity by soaking metals in red wine. But why red wine?
Hello, fellow Null Byters. Today, with mixed feelings, I want to let you know that this is my last official post as the admin of Null Byte. I've come to the decision that I need to spend more time focusing on my studies. Over the past 5 months, I have enjoyed building this community and teaching people unorthodox methods of doing things, creating things, and hacking them. But I'm also excited to be delving deeper into the studies that brought me here in the first place.
Self portraits are a wonderful way to give viewers a sense of a photographer's taste and personality. And contrary to popular belief, they do not have to be as cliché as using the reflection of your bathroom mirror. There are plenty of different creative approaches one can take.
Get ready to rack your brains, because it's time for another Scrabble Challenge! I may have gone a little overboard on last week's challenge (there was over 25 anagrams to solve), so I'm slimming things down this week. This time, there's only one puzzle.
For those who need security on their Android devices, the standard swipe lock screen just isn't enough, so it's necessary to install applications like GOTO and WidgetLocker to enable either pattern, password or PIN protection. This protection is great overall, but when you're frequently using your smartphone, having to keep unlocking the lock screen becomes quite an annoyance. You could be in a heated text conversation, following directions on a map or compulsively checking the news feed on F...
Fed up with the standard Android home screen, but don't want to root your smartphone? Then a launcher app is what you're looking for. It's nothing new, with past home screen launcher apps like LauncherPro, HelixLauncher and any from ADW Things, which transform your home screen into a customizable experience. But one thing missing from these Android home screen replacements is 3D, something the new SPB Shell 3D app nearly masters.
Holy… Lord, help us all—this isn't CG, it's for real. Meet Geminoid DK, the latest spawn from Osaka University Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro's legion of ultra-realistic Androids.
Say hello to "Meet Eater," the world's most social garden. Seriously — say hello! Its life may depend on it:
It's one of the most popular queries on the web, meaning the wet electronic disaster is likely a common mishap. There are many answers out there, but if you're lucky enough to have never googled it, pay attention now. You never know when you may drop your cell phone or iPod in the sink...
Funny video, sort of like the Jay Leno street questions segment. IGN asks regular people in San Francisco what they think a game is about based on the box art. They showed people different games and they gave really frank answers.
Andrew Odewahn of O'Reilly Answers posts a HowTo on creating 3D(ish) images through simple processing. Odewahn employs the practice of stereoscopy (a technique for creating the illusion of depth in a 2D image):
What else is there to say about Search & Destroy other than it is the greatest punk fanzine to have ever lived?
Somewhere in a back-end update, Google snuck a Google Maps Trivia game into its mobile Maps apps. The game is accessible through the Google Maps side-navigation menu on Android and iOS (hidden right at the bottom, of course), and it's ready to play right now. It's a rather fun game, too. SmartyPins, as it's called, asks you a series of geography-based trivia questions, where the penalty for wrong answers is deducted in miles. A correct answer within a set amount of time nets you bonus points,...
Earlier in the week, Obama’s attorney general stated something that is quite alarming. “In this hour of danger, we simply cannot afford to wait until deadly plans are carried out, and we will not,” Eric Holder said during a speech at Northwestern University’s law school in Chicago. It's a very ambiguous statement. Why do people talk like this? Why can't they just talk straight to the point? Well, most of the time it's to hide something. Take a look at this video: What do you think of that! Th...
Since our Canon 5D World is just starting out, there's not a lot of activity in the forum. If you have a question about your 5D or 5D Mark II, then ask away. But there are other communities on the Web that already have great information from its members. Hopefully, the Canon 5D World forum will be just as helpful to everyone, but for now, here are some of the best forums on the Internet that can help you with Canon's EOS 5D and 5D Mark II cameras.
Have you ever gone on a long internet binge, researching and surfing mindless things, and thought to yourself: I wish I could make some money surfing the internet and sharing the (sometimes useless) information I had just acquired? Well, now you can!
Lost the product key for your game? If you have to reinstall the game and don't have that key anymore, you're out of luck, especially if you didn't "buy" the game. But never be in fear of losing product keys again with today's Null Byte, where we'll be practicing a little bit of mind-kung fu.
Google+ is taking over more and more of Google's core properties. This week, we've seen several announcements from Google blogs about new products, new features, new looks, new integrations. If you're like me, you actually want to know where to go for all the latest information on Google products.
As touched upon in the past, knowing all of the possible words you can play is key to being a better Scrabble player. If you don't have the vocabulary, then you can't compete against the best of the best, and you'll never even get the chance to spar against professionals such as Nigel Richards, Joe Edley, Andrew Fisher, and Wayne Kelly.
Halloween is just a few days away, and since I've been churning out the creepy Bingo of the Days for everyone the past few weeks, it seems fitting to do a puzzle based on them.
Apple's "Let's talk iPhone" event has just ended, and the information isn't anything that wasn't already anticipated. Much to everyone's hopes, the iPhone 5 was not the headliner of the event. Instead, Apple's new CEO Tim Cook unveiled the iPhone 4S to the 250-seat audience, a speedier version of the iPhone 4. Here's the details.
The end game is a very important aspect of playing Scrabble. If you have just a few letters left on your rack and there are none left in the draw bag, but you're currently losing the game, you still might have a chance to win if you play your cards (er… tiles) right. No matter if you're playing a casual game at home with a friend or competing against diehards in club or tournament games, the scoring process at the end provides the same results.
Last week, we discussed whether Google should require you to use your real name for Google+ profiles. Google is working on eliminating fake profiles, and in the process, they've booted some real people, including actor +William Shatner. If you find out that your Google+ account has been suspended, you can appeal the suspension and get your profile reinstated.
Speech recognition software made it easy to search Google on your smartphone, and Google Goggles made it easy to find answers from camera snapshots on your device. But now Google's bringing similar technology straight to your desktop, and with faster results—faster than Google Instant.
Good Question. Belly Dance is an American term that encompasses MANY different styles of Middle Eastern, Eastern European, and North African dances both traditional and modern, and also Fusion styles that have pieces that resemble these dances form the "old country" but are distinctly American. Also, Belly Dance is somewhat of a misnomer since the dance has much more to do with the hips than the belly. There are also many different terms for the different Belly Dance styles depending on the r...
Beauty and The Beast
A look at Aquaria Last week I made a post about the Humble Indie Bundle (http://www.wolfire.com/humble). It's a small online charaty drive where you could buy five indie games for any price you wanted.
Ever wanted to display text in Minecraft? It's actually not overly difficult. In this tutorial, I will endeavor to guide you through the process between storing and displaying text from memory. To do this, we will examine two different methods of displaying and storing text in memory.
WonderHowTo is made up niche communities called Worlds. If you've yet to join one (or create your own), get a taste below of what's going on in the community. Check in every Wednesday for a roundup of new activities and projects.
This Null Byte is the first part in a mini-series on the art of Social Engineering. I will be teaching you how to effectively defend yourself against it.
