January, 2013 - Softonic English

Mobile app of the week: Super Monsters Ate My Condo

Every week there are many mobile games releases. My backlog of games to review increases exponentially and playing through the ones that look like they have the most potential is time consuming. Occasionally I get lucky and find a game that is addictive and doesn’t force microtransations into the first five minutes of the tutorial.

Super Monsters Ate My Condo! isn’t a brand new puzzle game for iOS and Android, but it is probably one of the only games that I continue to play. A pseudo-sequel to Monsters Ate My Condo, Super Monsters Ate My Condo! adds a two-minute time limit with the same color matching gameplay.

The different colored monsters eat condo floors that are the same color. Feeding the monsters allows you to make color combinations of condo floors that create bonuses and multipliers. These upgraded power-ups can be fed to monsters for bigger bonuses. The game sounds basic and it is. Where Super Monsters Ate My Condo! is great is in the insanity of the graphics and style of the game. Animations of the monsters alone make the game worth trying.

It’s also free to download. Check out Super Monsters Ate My Condo! on iOS and Android. Also experience the original game Monsters Ate My Condo (iOS/Android)

Microsoft to discontinue Messenger on March 15th, forcing users to use Skype instead

We already knew that Microsoft had plans to discontinue Windows Live Messenger but today we have a solid deadline. On March 15th, 2013 Windows Live Messenger will be discontinued, forcing all current users (except for those in mainland China) to use Skype instead. This is an aggressive move from Microsoft, a company that’s known for supporting legacy products.

Not to worry though, Skype is a solid instant messaging program. While Skype is more known for it’s excellent video chat features, Skype and Windows Live Messenger users can chat with one another in the latest versions of Skype. Skype users can integrate their Microsoft IDs into the program to import all of their contacts from the service. This integration has been implemented for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.

When March 15th rolls around, Windows Live Messenger users will be greeted with a banner notification alerting them to install Skype. Clicking on the banner will also uninstall Messenger, making the transition as simple as possible.

iTunes turns 12 today

Today we’re celebrating the 12th birthday of an application that changed how we consume media. When it first debuted in 2001, no one would know how big of an impact iTunes would have on the music and TV industry.

Apple didn’t create the first version iTunes as it purchased the software when it was named SoundJam MP in 1999. Now every iOS user relies on iTunes to manage their devices, although iCloud is slowly weaning iOS users away from being tethered to iTunes.

What started as a simple media manager for Apple’s iPod turned into a full fledged media manager for music, television shows, movies, and apps. iTunes helped move the music industry forward by selling songs as singles instead of forcing people to buy entire albums. Initially, music purchased through iTunes included anti-piracy software called FairPlay, which was a form of digital rights management (DRM). Steve Jobs wrote a public letter in 2007 about how DRM didn’t work and hurt the consumer. From henceforth, DRM for music was dead. Unfortunately, DRM still exists for TV shows and movies purchased through iTunes.

Apple completely redesigned iTunes 11 to be faster and easier to use. Still, iTunes is beginning to look a bit dated as competitors, like Spotify and Rdio, offer affordable music subscriptions that work across platforms. It seems that the software that began the digital music revolution has fallen behind.

Firefox 18 available to download

It seems like just yesterday that Mozilla released Firefox 17 into the wild. Today, Firefox users can get their hands on the latest stable release, Firefox 18. This isn’t a major release but there are a bunch of minor improvements a tweaks that claim to make Firefox run faster. Specifically, there is a new JavaScript compiler called IonMonkey, which Mozilla claims will improve web apps and games to run 25% quicker.

Additionally, Mac users can look forward to Retina Display support for 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pro models. Android users can look forward to Google Now integration, meaning links and search results will open up in Firefox instead of Chrome, if you’ve set Firefox to be your default browser. Firefox also claims to be the first to integrate Safe Browsing by default in their Android browser. This means phishing attacks and malware will be stopped before it reaches your phone. Users will get a warning if something phishy is happening.

You can download Firefox for Windows, Mac, and Android today.

Angry Birds turns three, adds 30 new levels

Rovio is celebrating the third birthday of Angry Birds by adding 30 new free levels to the popular bird throwing game. Amongst other birthday treats are a “birdday cake” and the “bubbliest bird ever” – Pink Bird.

15 of the new levels are “Birdday Party” levels and the other 15 are Bad Piggie themed. And the cake has an explosive surprise inside.

Continue reading “Angry Birds turns three, adds 30 new levels”

Adobe Creative Suite 2 is now free

[UPDATE: 08/01/13] Adobe has officially stated that it is not giving CS2 away free after all. The apparent offer, made on Adobe’s website, occurred due to a technical error. Adobe is deactivating its product activation servers for the CS2 suite and for that reason is making downloads and valid serial numbers available to clients who have already purchased a CS2 product. Apologies for the confusion.

Photoshop and many other Adobe applications are prohibitively expensive, but Adobe is giving away Creative Suite 2 (CS2) away for free. Adobe originally released CS2 back in 2005, almost 8 years ago. While the applications are old, they still work on modern operating systems including Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP. Windows users may need to run the installer in “Compatibility Mode” to get it to work, although it worked immediately for me in Windows 8. Mac users will have to install Rosetta or have a PowerPC processor to run Creative Suite 2.

It’s a bit strange that Adobe chose to release such an old suite of applications for free. Dreamweaver will be hopelessly outdated and will only allow you to edit basic HTML. Users looking to simply view PDFs will be better off downloading the free Acrobat XI application. Be sure to check out our review of the most up to date Adobe suite, CS6. Continue reading “Adobe Creative Suite 2 is now free”

Facebook Messenger for Android and iOS updates with voice messaging

Facebook introduced a new voice messaging feature today for its Facebook Messenger apps on Android and iOS, giving the mobile carriers something else to worry about. While apps like HeyTell have had this functionality for a while, they never really took off as a major way of communicating. With Facebook’s huge user base, voice messaging could potentially take off, giving cell phone users less of a reason to pay for pricey voice plans.

Facebook Messenger’s voice messaging system will work by using your data connection, whether Wi-Fi or mobile data. If you have a limited number of minutes, this could potentially help you from going over your allotted minutes. Those with bad voice coverage will no doubt find this feature useful as well. Continue reading “Facebook Messenger for Android and iOS updates with voice messaging”

Canonical announces Ubuntu for phones

Today Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu operating system has announced its mobile operating system. Simply called Ubuntu for phones, the mobile OS is the final step in creating a cohesive ecosystem for Ubuntu users. Ubuntu users will now be greeted with the same minimalist and intuitive experience on their phones.

While the new operating system looks promising, it is up against stiff competition with iOS and Android dominating mobile. Mozilla also has yet to release their Firefox OS for mobile devices. While both Ubuntu and Firefox OS support HTML5 based apps, only Ubuntu will support natively coded applications for their operating system. Ubuntu for phones also touts its ability to be secure enough for enterprise and easy to use enough for consumers.

Here are some of the best features of Ubuntu for phones. Continue reading “Canonical announces Ubuntu for phones”