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Google has banned crypto mining apps from the Play Store. (Source: Google)

Google puts the kibosh on cryptocurrency apps in Play Store

Google has axed all cryptocurrency mining apps from the Google Play Store. Its updated developer policies have also banned that facilitate the sale of weapons and apps that appeal to children, but contain adult content.

Sanjiv Sathiah, 28 Jul 2018 13:18

Facebook Watch Party for Groups (Source: Facebook Newsroom)

Facebook Watch Party for Groups now available worldwide

The Watch Party feature for Facebook Groups has been tested over the last few months, and now it is finally available for all users of the notorious social network. Thanks to it, people within a group can watch a video together — ...

Codrut Nistor, 26 Jul 2018 17:15

Mixed Reality Flashlight will enable interaction with the outside world without taking out the headset. (Source: Microsoft)

Microsoft opens the Skip Ahead ring for Windows 10 19H1 update with focus on Windows Mixed Reality

Microsoft has re-opened the Skip Ahead ring for Windows Insiders with a new build from the 19H1 branch alongside a new Redstone 5 build for Fast Ring Insiders. These builds come with a new Mixed Reality Flashlight feature that all...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 26 Jul 2018 16:41

Huawei users can no longer download VLC from the Play Store. (Source: Google Play)

Huawei phones can no longer download VLC from the Google Play Store

The VideoLAN team has blocked Google Play Store access for the widely popular VLC app for newer Huawei phones alleging poor background task management. The aggressive power management in EMUI seems to abruptly stop background play...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 26 Jul 2018 10:50

Android Oreo robot, Android Oreo now at 12 percent of the market, late July 2018

Android Oreo hits 12 percent of the market, Nougat begins to drop

After more than a month without making the Android distribution numbers public, Google reveals that Oreo is finally above the 10 percent barrier — at 12.1 percent, to be accurate — while Nougat has begun to descend, dropping by ju...

Codrut Nistor, 25 Jul 2018 20:25

Steam gets an all-new chat system for both the Steam Client and web browsers

The new stable Steam Client for Windows, Linux, and Mac brings an all-new chat feature that is also available for web browsers, GPU acceleration in web views by default, support for the PlayStation 3 controller, 15 Xbox controller...

Codrut Nistor, 25 Jul 2018 17:25

A supplemental update to address throttling issues is now available. (Source: Apple)

Apple issues software fix to address thermal throttling in new MacBook Pro

Apple has issued a supplemental update to macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 that addresses the throttling issues exhibited by the 2018 MacBook Pro. Those who have installed the update report that they are seeing improved performance in th...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 25 Jul 2018 11:05

Cloud revenue was attributed as playing a key role in Microsoft's strong fourth quarter results. (Source: Microsoft)

Microsoft passes US$100 billion yearly revenue and posts impressive fourth quarter results on strong cloud performance

Microsoft has released a strong set of financial results for the fourth quarter of the 2017/2018 financial year and equally impressive results for the full fiscal 2017/2018 year. Growth was strongest in cloud services (matching th...

Craig Ward, 24 Jul 2018 10:56

Snapcash being used for a different purpose than intended, shutting down August 30, 2018

Snapchat will shut down its peer-to-peer payment service Snapcash on August 30

Introduced back in November 2014 as the result of Snapchat's collaboration with Square, Snapcash ended up as a payment service mainly used for trading adult-oriented content online, far from the initial goal of allowing friends an...

Codrut Nistor, 23 Jul 2018 13:10

Ubuntu 17.10 has reached its End of Life on July 19, 2018

Ubuntu 17.10 is no longer supported

Those who are still using Ubuntu 17.10 "Artful Aardvark" should now update to the version 18.04 (nicknamed "Bionic Beaver") of this popular Linux distribution. Ubuntu 17.10 arrived on October 19, 2017, and it only received 9 month...

Codrut Nistor, 23 Jul 2018 10:35

The Huawei P20 Pro's AI will decide the winner of the 'Spark A Renaissance' contest.

Huawei's 'Spark A Renaissance' photography competition has an AI judge

Huawei has launched a photography contest that uses an AI judge and a Leica pro photographer to decide the winner. Photographers need to submit their photos to the 'Spark A Renaissance' competition based on 5 different themes and ...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 22 Jul 2018 17:02

Total War: Rome II - Rise of the Republic up for pre-order (Source: Steam)

Total War: Rome II - Rise of the Republic now up for pre-order

The upcoming expansion for Creative Assembly's Total War: Rome II is called "Rise of the Republic" and will launch in early August as a full prequel campaign for the game. This US$16.99 pack comes with a full map of Italy — includ...

Codrut Nistor, 20 Jul 2018 23:59

Microsoft adds Gaming and Modern Life to its core digital solutions. (Source: ZDNet / Microsoft)

Microsoft looks to win back consumers with its vision for 'Modern Life Services'

At the Inspire partner show this week, Microsoft executives talked about plans to bring back consumers into their fold with the inclusion of Gaming and Modern Life under the Modern Life Services umbrella in Microsoft's core digita...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 19 Jul 2018 23:55

Siri co-founder Tom Gruber bids adieu to Apple. (Source: Tom Gruber.org)

Tom Gruber, the last of the Siri co-founders, leaves Apple

The last of Siri's co-founders, Tom Gruber, has announced his retirement from Apple. Siri was acquired by Apple in 2010 but two of its founders left in the succeeding years. The news comes in the wake of Apple recently appointing ...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 19 Jul 2018 16:31

Apex Launcher 4.0 update negative feedback (Source: Google Play)

Apex Launcher 4.0 is a complete mess

Once a very popular Android launcher, Apex Launch has just become an example of how not to do things for the developers of such apps. The latest update reduced the number of settings available, and some of those that have not been...

Codrut Nistor, 19 Jul 2018 15:40

Sea of Thieves Cursed Sails free update coming July 31

Sea of Thieves will get skeleton ships at the end of the month

The upcoming free campaign and content update for Sea of Thieves is called "Cursed Sails" and will go live on July 31. The three-week campaign will bring skeleton ships to challenge players on the seas and bring terror to outposts...

Codrut Nistor, 19 Jul 2018 12:35

World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth pre-patch now available (Source: Blizzard Entertainment)

World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth pre-patch now rolling out

Although the new story content will be playable starting on July 25 and the Battle of Azeroth update is set to arrive on August 14, the pre-patch can be downloaded already. World of Warcraft 8.0.1 comes with multiple changes, incl...

Codrut Nistor, 18 Jul 2018 19:55

Eat Electric Death! Tempest 4000 arcade shooter now available (Source: ATARI)

Tempest 4000 brings old-school arcade fun to Windows PCs and consoles

ATARI's classic arcade game Tempest that was released in October 1981 is making a return as Eat Electric Death! Tempest 4000 with new features and 4K graphics. This title is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC...

Codrut Nistor, 18 Jul 2018 14:20

Android 8.1 Oreo finally available for the Xiaomi Mi A1 in Europe

Although the Android 8.1 Oreo update for the Xiaomi Mi A1 started to roll out last month, it was quickly stopped after the discovery of an SMS bug. Back then, most markets did not even receive it, so now it is the first time for m...

Codrut Nistor, 18 Jul 2018 11:05

PixelPlayer can recognize pixels making specific soundwaves. (Source: MIT CSAIL)

MIT's new AI system can tune individual musical instruments straight out of a concert video

A new deep learning AI algorithm developed by MIT CSAIL called PixelPlayer can isolate soundwaves of individual instruments in a video by recognizing the pixels from where the sound is coming thus enabling tuning of individual fre...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 17 Jul 2018 22:21

Windows Timeline support can now be enabled for Chrome and Firefox. (Source: Dominic Maas on GitHub)

Developer brings Windows Timeline support to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox

Dominic Maas has developed an extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox that enables users of these browsers to sync their activity across devices via Windows Timeline. Among browsers, Microsoft Edge is the only one with Tim...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 17 Jul 2018 15:31

The Huawei P20 Pro will among the first to receive the GPU Turbo update.

GPU Turbo update to grace a slew of Huawei and Honor phones this year

Huawei will be rolling out its GPU Turbo software update to select devices starting this August. GPU Turbo aims to improve graphics processing by 60% and reduce power consumption by 30% but Huawei is yet to prove its claims in the...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 17 Jul 2018 14:09

Battlefield V Open Beta starts in early September

Battlefield V Open Beta coming in September

The Battlefield V Closed Alpha stage has just reached its final day and now this title is ready for the next step. According to DICE, the Open Beta for Battlefield V will go live in the first part of September. The full game is sc...

Codrut Nistor, 16 Jul 2018 23:20

Remnant: From the Ashes coming in 2019 (Source: Perfect World Entertainment)

The first Remnant: From the Ashes trailer goes online, but the launch is expected for 2019

The Darksiders 3 studio, namely Gunfire Games, is now working on a brand-new title, the third-person survival-action shooter Remnant: From the Ashes. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic future and involves interdimensional figh...

Codrut Nistor, 13 Jul 2018 18:05

The Mi A2 will be a rebranded Mi 6X. (Source: MIUI)

Android One Mi A2 and A2 Lite listed online ahead of touted July 24 launch

Xiaomi's upcoming Android One Mi A2 was listed on a Polish retail website yesterday alongside a smaller Lite variant. The listings give us a better idea of what to expect from the devices, with the A2 Lite looking to be a rebrande...

Ricci Rox, 13 Jul 2018 15:23

PUBG Mobile 0.7.0 beta is (almost) available mid-July 2018

PUBG Mobile 0.7.0 available for download, still in Beta stage

Earlier today, PUBG Mobile 0.7.0 beta was still receiving new players. Sadly, at the time of publishing this piece, all available spots have been taken already. The good part is that new players will be accepted later, so this ear...

Codrut Nistor, 11 Jul 2018 16:25

Fortnite is ready for Season 5, starts on July 12 for gamers on Windows, consoles, and macOS

Fortnite Season 5 starting on July 12

After the changes brought by the post-meteor strike Season 4, Season 5 of Fortnite is now on its way and will kick off on July 12 at 4 AM EDT (08:00 GMT). The strange rift events that have started to appear after the recent in-gam...

Codrut Nistor, 09 Jul 2018 23:55

Apparently, 'google' is not the same as 'Google' if you want to claim unlimited storage on Google Photos. (Source: XDA Developers)

Typo in custom ROM code breaks unlimited photo backups on the Google Pixels

A typo in the build script of AOSP-based custom ROMs for the Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones is reportedly causing the photo uploads from Google Camera to count against the Google Photos storage limit. The bug, however, is f...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 09 Jul 2018 14:29

List of devices to receive MIUI 10 surfaces

A post of Xiaomi’s MIUI forums has revealed what devices will receive the MIUI 10 update. Of course, only a select few of those devices will receive a MIUI 10 based on Android Oreo.

Ricci Rox, 05 Jul 2018 15:33

The LG G6 finally receives Android Oreo

The LG G6 is currently receiving its Oreo update. This is an update to Android 8.0 and, considering how long it’s taken to be sent out, will likely be the only major update the last-gen flagship receives.

Ricci Rox, 05 Jul 2018 15:31

Moto Z Play Android smartphone gets Oreo update on Verizon Wireless early July 2018

The Moto Z Play gets Android Oreo on Verizon Wireless

The mid-range version of the Moto Z flagship, Lenovo's Moto Z Play has been unveiled back in August 2016 with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow onboard. Now, the Verizon Wireless variant of this Qualcomm Snapdragon 625-powered smartphone ...

Codrut Nistor, 04 Jul 2018 17:40

The Xbox One X will support certain HDMI 2.1 features without requiring re-certification. (Source: Xbox Enthusiast)

The Xbox One X is the first device to support HDMI 2.1

At Computex 2018, HDMI showed off some new features of the HDMI 2.1 specification on the Xbox One X. The Xbox One X will be the first device to support HDMI 2.1 features such as Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mod...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 04 Jul 2018 09:20

The Blackberry KEYone's Oreo update is finally around the corner

The Blackberry KEYone received a maintenance update prepping it for Android Oreo a few weeks ago, and now a document has been revealed that shows the device penned down to start receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo update on June 28.

Ricci Rox, 26 Jun 2018 16:23

Microsoft seems determined to lead the console gaming space. (Source: Critical Hit)

State of Decay 2's Designer Director feels Microsoft is not fooling around in the console gaming space

Designer Director of Undead Labs (recently acquired by Microsoft), makers of the hit game State of Decay 2, Richard Foge, feels that Microsoft is not fooling around when it comes to providing first rate gaming experiences to its c...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 26 Jun 2018 15:06

First public beta of iOS 12 released

Apple just released the first public Beta of iOS 12. Committed Apple users can download the Beta for free from Apple's site, but be warned - as beta software, there are quite a few bugs still being worked out. Still, this is the o...

Sam Medley, 26 Jun 2018 04:18

New update affects the OnePlus 6's battery performance, and not in a good way

The OxygenOS 5.1.6 and 5.1.8 updates to the OnePlus 6 has caused a number of users to experience weird battery behaviors, with some claiming their devices now offer half the regular screen-on time.

Ricci Rox, 25 Jun 2018 11:54

Huawei P20 handsets get stock Android thanks to OpenKirin

OpenKirin brings stock Android to Huawei and Honor devices that are stuck with EMUI otherwise

Those who love certain Huawei and Honor devices but cannot stand the company's custom interface, EMUI, can run stock Android thanks to a new project called OpenKirin. The list of supported devices currently includes no less than 1...

Codrut Nistor, 24 Jun 2018 23:06

Google Android Oreo statue at Googleplex, Android apps feature DRM as of late June 2018 (Source: Louis Gray)

Google adding DRM to all Android apps

Earlier this week, Google silently introduced a feature that is supposed to increase the security of the Android platform by adding a string of metadata to all APK files. As long as Google does not go DRM-crazy the same way Electr...

Codrut Nistor, 24 Jun 2018 18:56

600 MHz slot-mounted Intel Pentium III processor (Source: eBay)

Microsoft drops Windows 7 support for Pentium III processors

As incredible as it may seem, Windows 7 still offered support for pre-2000 processors until recently, when Microsoft confirmed that machines without SSE2 support must be upgraded to continue receiving updates for the operating sys...

Codrut Nistor, 24 Jun 2018 13:10

The Huawei P9. (Source: Trusted Reviews)

The Huawei P9, P9 Plus, and Honor 8 may not get the Oreo update after all

Huawei's customer support has announced that the Huawei P9 will not get the update to Android Oreo. This comes after the company sent out beta updates to users of the devices in China last month.

Ricci Rox, 23 Jun 2018 10:45

New update brings EIS to the Honor 10 and Honor V10

The Honor 10 and Honor View 10 are great camera devices by their own rights but didn't come with any form of image stabilization out of the box. Both devices are currently receiving a security update that brings that feature, howe...

Ricci Rox, 22 Jun 2018 09:06

Microsoft News app for Android, iOS, Windows 10, and the Web now available June 2018 (Source: Google Play)

MSN News becomes Microsoft News, mobile app now available for iOS and Android

Five years after the latest redesign and relaunch, the MSN News service gets a new design and a new name: Microsoft News. Microsoft News now features a dark theme, an impressive collection of curated news, as well as quick and acc...

Codrut Nistor, 21 Jun 2018 17:00

Bonsai team to join Microsoft (Source: The Official Microsoft Blog)

Microsoft acquires AI firm Bonsai

The Californian AI firm Bonsai achieved a few major breakthroughs in the field of industrial machine learning over the last years and will be joining Microsoft to help the latter in building better autonomous systems. As it usuall...

Codrut Nistor, 21 Jun 2018 12:15

IGTV enables users to take vertical, full screen videos. (Source: Instagram)

IGTV is Instagram's take on social video

Facebook-owned Instagram has launched IGTV — a new app for sharing and viewing videos on the platform. IGTV enables users to take vertical full screen videos that can last up to an hour with each creator being the channel. Users c...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 21 Jun 2018 08:30

MIUI 10 was launched last month. (Source: XDA-Developers)

Xiaomi OS update roadmap revealed - Redmi Note 4 to remain on Nougat

Xiaomi launched the new iteration of its skin, MIUI 10, a short while ago. While most devices will receive the skin update, it doesn't guarantee an OS update to Oreo.

Ricci Rox, 21 Jun 2018 08:27

This device is likely based on the LG Q7. (Source: LG)

LG Android One device in the works, could be exclusive to T-Mobile

The LG Stylo 4's kernel source code has revealed the existence of an Android One device made by the company. This will be the first of its kind from LG, and could very well be a T-Mobile exclusive.

Ricci Rox, 21 Jun 2018 08:18

Google Podcasts app hits Google Play (Source: The Keyword)

The Google Podcasts app for Android now available globally

Although Google Play Music began offering podcasts a few years ago, the internet search giant did not offer a standalone podcast player until now. Google Podcasts is a free Android app that integrates with Google Assistant across ...

Codrut Nistor, 20 Jun 2018 15:25

AMD 'Raven Ridge' Ryzen 5 2400G APU. (Source: AMD)

AMD 'Raven Ridge' APU drivers to be updated as quaterly releases only

AMD will be providing Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition driver updates for its 'Raven Ridge' APUs in a quarterly cadence as opposed to more frequent updates for its Radeon GPUs. This was clarified by an AMD rep to a user's query o...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 20 Jun 2018 10:00

Adobe Project Rush enables cross-platform video editing and sharing. (Source: Adobe)

Adobe's Project Rush helps novices create professional videos on the go

Adobe announced a new cross-platform video editing app codenamed Project Rush. Project Rush brings the best features of industry leading software such as Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition along with access to Adobe Stock i...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 20 Jun 2018 08:34

Google Maps without and with Uber integration back in January 2017, feature removed in June 2018

Google suddenly removes Uber integration from Maps

Back in January 2017, Google decided to integrate Uber into the popular Maps service. Now, this feature has been silently removed without any prior warning. There is no official reason for this move yet, but it is very likely that...

Codrut Nistor, 19 Jun 2018 23:29