Software

Launching for users in North America only for now, the Eurocom service promises to update your laptop software, BIOS, anti-virus, operating system, and more for a small fee. A "deep cleaning" of the fans, hinges, and motherboard is also an option even for difficult-to-service laptops.

It seems HMD has an internal Android Pie beta for the Nokia 8, presumably in the process of working on a stable version for the 2017 flagship. However, this build is now out there for the public to download, thanks to an XDA leaker. It can be tested via this website's forum for the phone.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 636-powered Nokia 7.1 has been around for only a few weeks, but it arrived with Android Oreo onboard. Now, this Android One device is already receiving the Android Pie treatment as promised, and the units located in all regions of the world should get the new software in a few days.

Nubia has released the second generation of its Red Magic gaming phone, the 'Mars'. The device is as expected based on several leaks and rumors: it is powered by the Snapdragon 845 chipset, runs Android Pie and has a 10GB RAM variant. The Red Magic Mars also follows the RGB trend.

Among the Windows 10 October update's many bugs, Apple's iCloud stopped working and could not be installed on the build. Microsoft and Apple had announced that they would collaborate to resolve this bug. With iCloud's newest update, it appears that this has been achieved.

Just in time for their winter break, students can enjoy YouTube Music and YouTube Premium at affordable prices. The special plans come for US$4.99 a month for YouTube Music Premium and US$6.99 for YouTube Premium, but those who sign up by the end of January 2019 can get YouTube Premium for the special rate of US$5.99.

Engaging in conversations over media such as SMS with corporations is an increasingly popular and effective method of driving brand engagement and sales in the US. This behavior increased by over 400% in some instances on 2018's Black Friday compared to this time last year. It is thought to have a generally positive effect on consumer spending.

Antlion Audio claims that its ModMic Wireless attachment adds mic capabilities to any kind of headphone. It has the aptX low-energy Bluetooth codec, 16-bit 48khz audio and a USB type A receiver. The ModMic Wireless also has a patented clasp to stay attached to its headphone cup.

Huawei's Honor 8X mid-range phone is currently receiving the Android Pie-based EMUI 9 beta update in China. The Honor 8X has been confirmed for a US launch, and we expect a late December event.

In a blog post released earlier today, Sony revealed that it would be using the PAL version of nine titles on the PlayStation Classic. The PAL versions will be included in the North American PlayStation Classic as well. Considering that North America televisions operate on the NTSC standard, the format difference could cause these games playing at different speeds or glitch out, rendering them unplayable.

A group known for Nintendo Switch piracy has obtained and distributed a full file dump of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, set to release in two weeks on December 7th. While early game leaks are not uncommon, a leak this far in advance is quite unusual, especially a leak of a game as hotly anticipated as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

The upcoming refresh — which will bring Microsoft's Android launcher to version 5.1 — already looks impressive. The Beta build shows To-Do integration, Sticky Notes, as well as a set of features that are Microsoft's answer to Google's Digital Wellbeing. This update should arrive in a few days.

Apple will appear before the U.S. Supreme Court today to argue that a lawsuit brought against it is invalid. Apple claims that the lawsuit, which alleges that the iOS App Store creates a monopoly for the company, could only be brought by app developers, not the end users. If Apple is successful, then the case will be dismissed. Otherwise, Apple could be taken to court for potentially monopolistic practices.

This franchise that has been around since 2011 — when the first Kingdom Rush title was introduced as a free flash browser game — is back to Android and iOS as Kingdom Rush Vengeance. This new fantasy tower defense title involves fights against trolls, orcs, wizards, in various environments such as forests, wastelands, and mountains.

Google's newly launched Pixel 3 phones are mostly incremental upgrades over their predecessors. Google could very well make a comeback with some exciting devices next year, as word of two more devices surface in the wild.

Some innovative gamers have gotten Pokémon: Let's Go to boot and run on the Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu. Despite the game only being a week old, it is somewhat playable, although there are numerous glitches and oddities. The framerate is highly inconsistent and the audio is a mess, but the fact that a week old game is playable via emulation is impressive.

AMD posted a response to a common complaint from Ryzen-based laptop users on Reddit earlier this week, stating that the company would better support graphics drivers for Ryzen laptops starting in 2019. However, AMD plans to work with laptop OEMs and depend on them to release device-specific graphics drivers twice a year. The response garnered further criticisms of what many see as a lazy blame-shifting solution.

Kodi 18 has been in development for two years, and the first release candidate (RC 1) is finally available. Although it is still technically a beta version, RC 1 will be reflective of the final release. There are several new features, including better Android TV support, a 64-bit version for Windows, and a new gaming section with support for emulators.

The latest issue in the growing string of problems with the Windows 10 1809 update affects devices using certain versions of Intel's display drivers. The Windows 10 October update breaks audio playback through monitors or TVs connected via versions 24.20.100.6344 and 24.20.100.6345 of Intel's display driver.

A commit posted to Fuchsia's source code management hub last night showed that a Huawei engineer was able to boot the Fuchsia kernel (Zircon) on the Honor Play. This commit hints at many things, mainly that Fuchsia development is continuing strong and Google has partnered with Huawei to continue work on Fuchsia, perhaps to bring the OS to consumer smartphones.

Microsoft has announced that only Secure Hash Algorithm 2 (SHA-2) code-signing will be used to update legacy versions of Windows (namely Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows 7 SP1). Machines that only support SHA-1 will be considered too vulnerable, and will be prevented from updating by next April.

Microsoft has acknowledged that there is a known issue with its latest Windows 10 update. Some users have reported that the seek bar in Media Player has become inoperable after downloading the new patches. The issue corresponds to KB4467708 (OS Build 17763.134) that applies to the now somewhat notorious Windows 10, version 1809 (October 2018 Update).

The LG G7 ThinQ is still currently on Android Oreo, with no upgrade in sight. However, reports of a new Pie-based beta available to users in South Korea may give new hope to owners worldwide of a stable version of this OS soon.

Remember Duplex, the software that could make appointments by itself at Google I/O 2018? Well, it is to be seen in the wild soon on Pixel phones. The AI-powered feature will initially only be functional in some US cities; however, it may become more widespread in the future.

The latest Command Center software by Alienware finally brings CPU, GPU, and memory overclocking capabilities to the "current-gen platforms with compatible components," so those using older Alienware hardware might not be able to fully enjoy these benefits. However, even XPS users can install this piece of code and use some of its features.

Open Beta 7, the latest in a series of in-testing stock ROMs available to owners of the OnePlus 6 to test out, contains an interesting new feature. It is OnePlus Roaming, a SIM-independent form of access to the internet that can be purchased directly on the 6 - and only the 6 for now.

A Korean IT news outlet claims that Samsung is developing three-dimensional time-of-flight (3D TOF) modules for next year's phones. 3D TOF is linked to improved depth-sensing and AR capabilities. The Galaxy S10 line may be in line for these next-gen sensors.

A key Samsung executive has just confirmed that the upcoming Galaxy F foldable handset will ship with Bixby 2.0's successor. However, he also added that the company has not decided yet if the next-gen virtual assistant will be branded as Bixby 3.0, so in the end we might get Bixby F or something completely different.

Tumblr's disappearance from Apple's App Store finally has an official reason: what was first simply described as "an issue" was, in fact, child pornography that slipped through the filters — enough of it to make the app vanish. This is not the first time Tumblr has run into pornography-related problems — most likely not the last time, either.

Since Apple Maps often gives the same directions to pedestrians and drivers, the company's pedestrian recon teams are now back on the streets of the United States. The individuals who are part of these teams are wearing backpacks apparently filled with the same cameras and sensors as those found on Apple Maps vehicles.

FSLogix is a next-gen app-provisioning platform that optimizes the ingredients — hardware resources, time, and human resources — needed to offer virtualization support when deploying and scaling Windows and Office on Azure. As usual, the financial details have been left out of the spotlight.

Another industry may soon be replaced by robots - IBM's Watson AI scripted a 60-second commercial for luxury car brand Lexus. Watson was fed 15 years worth of award-winning commercials and was able to outline and script the basis of the commercial. After a bit of editing by IBM researchers, Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald shot the commercial after being convinced by the "melodrama of the story."

Many Microsoft users will soon be able to make Skype calls over their Alexa-powered smart speakers. This feature is only available in select countries, however. Those living in them may be able to find the new function in the speakers' Settings menu.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) has just become the first Galaxy J series handset to receive two major upgrades for the operating system. In some markets, this handset has received Android 8.1 Oreo, but it is not clear yet if the Galaxy J5 (2016) will get the same treatment or not. The new firmware comes with Samsung Experience 9.5 on top.

Finally launched in the United States earlier this month, the Motorola One is already receiving Android 9.0 Pie. In addition to the Motorola One, Android Pie is now reaching the Motorola One Power as well. Both these two handsets are also expected to get the Android 10 Q update once it comes out.

The Red Magic may represent a novel alternative in a gaming-phone space dominated by a small number of brands. This phone, marketed by the ZTE sub-brand Nubia, is reportedly getting a second generation. A new leak shows a Geekbench score for the phone, and suggests some other new details about the device.

Users have reportedly discovered that iCloud stops working on laptops updated to the latest version of Windows (1809). This prevents syncing or uploading to the service. New installs of iCloud may also fail due to a lack of compatibility. Microsoft has announced a collaboration with Apple to fix the problem.

In a rather awkward effort aimed at reducing the production costs by a very small amount, Samsung is now using the front-facing camera to take selfies and adjust the screen brightness based on them instead of including an ambient light sensor. In some markets, Galaxy J8 owners are already receiving this feature via a software update.

While we're usually vocal about Samsung's unimpressive update roadmaps, we're also impressed by the company's treatment of the Galaxy S6, a device launched close to four years ago, and still receiving security updates.

So far, only a few OEMs like OnePlus, HMD Global, and Sony have sent out the stable Pie update. Thankfully, the Android One program exists to combat that, and it's been rather effective so far, with a number of Android One phones receiving the update to Android Pie last week.

Although Nekki's Shadow Fight has a history that started back in 2011, Shadow Fight 3 is only one year old. This action-RPG fighting game is available for iOS and Android devices, supports 11 languages, and works great on mid-range hardware while providing a realistic visual experience at the same time.

Yu Chendong, the consumer business division CEO at Huawei, has said that his company is aiming to take the smartphone-OEM crown from Samsung in under 2 years. It has already overtaken Apple as the #2 manufacturer in the world; now the CEO believes that they will be at least level with the Korean giant in 2019.

Wear OS is getting a new update. Known as "H", it adds a new battery-saving mode to Android-powered watches. The new update also overhauls how a watch reboots or shuts down, as well as how it resumes apps and handles the switch to sleep mode.

PlayStation 4 players who have been waiting for Warhammer: Vermintide 2 to hit their consoles since early March can now take this title for a spin, although this console version is still in a Beta phase. Its release date has been set for December 18 — more than five months after the arrival of the Xbox One version.

Although Microsoft Translator supports over 60 languages and 12 speech languages, the next-gen Neural Machine Translation improvements are only available for Chinese and German from/to English translations for now. More languages will be supported by the new system — which brings an 11 percent in overall quality — starting in early 2019.

In a paper presented at a biometric securities conference, a research team from NYU showed off a new algorithm for cracking fingerprint readers. The system, named "DeepMasterPrints," operates in similar fashion to a dictionary attack for passwords. DeepMasterPrints uses a library of fingerprint images and permutes them until it finds a match.

Google Pixel users — and the lucky ones who are using other handsets — on Android Pie can finally enjoy the Digital Wellbeing app, which has just rolled out of Beta. As more handsets get updated to Android Pie, the list of Digital Wellbeing-supported devices should also receive new entries.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have been reported not to be in line for official upgrades to Pie until January. In the meantime, some users do have access to a version of the OS, in exchange for some beta-testing. In Korea, the latest of these betas replaces Samsung Experience with One UI.

After this year's earlier AI-related acquisitions that involved Semantic Machines (May), Bonsai (July), and Lobe (September), Microsoft is up for another round. Its latest purchase is XOXCO, a software product design and development studio that has been developing conversational AI and bots so far.

The award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4 are back with Fallout 76, an online prequel to the epic series of post-apocalyptic RPGs that was introduced by Interplay Entertainment back in 1997. Fallout 76 is now available via the Microsoft Store as an Xbox One X Enhanced title and also comes as a Tricentennial Edition with various in-game bonuses.