Call of Duty: Ghosts is rumored to have a new game engine, and could be announced on May 1st. Since Call of Duty Modern Warfare in 2007, the series has used a modified version of the same engine, which left it open to criticism in the face of the better looking Battlefield 3.
The box art for the game was accidentally published by UK retailer Tesco last week, alongside some marketing text that explained how the game would be powered by ‘a next generation Call of Duty Engine’. It also revealed learned that there will be a new story to Ghosts, so it may not be part of the Modern Warfare world. An image promotional material published by IGN suggests the game is going to be revealed on May 1.
Recently, Google has been under fire for creating a more restrictive operating system than its open source roots would have you believe. Last month Google quietly removed all ad-blocking apps from its Play store, stating that ad-blockers interfered with the functionality of other apps. Developer Adblock Plus had to resort to distributing their app directly from their website.
Under the “Dangerous Products” section of the Developer Program Policies, there’s a line that reads:
“An app downloaded from Google Play may not modify, replace or update its own APK binary code using any method other than Google Play’s update mechanism.”
In contrast to the section cited as the reason for removing ad-blockers, this section is direct and goes as far as calling Facebook’s approach “dangerous.” Facebook will have to remove direct over-the-air updates of its Android app if it wishes to stay in Google’s Play store.
For developers, this is a stark reminder that they’re playing in Google’s sandbox.
<!–
By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and C
found at https://accounts.brightcove.com/en/terms-and-conditions/.
–>
<!–
This script tag will cause the Brightcove Players defined above it to be created as soon
as the line is read by the browser. If you wish to have the player instantiated only after
the rest of the HTML is processed and the page load is complete, remove the line.
–>
brightcove.createExperiences();
Hacking the Appstore. It’s been revealed that a website in China is offering free downloads of pay-for iOS apps. You can’t access the website from outside the country, but some entrepreneurial types have been using proxies to get around this little problem.
Will Google Glass offer games. This week we heard some really interesting rumors about Google Glass. Among them are the possibility that we’ll be able to play games with the devices. Also mentioned was the possibility of spatial gestures to do things like zoom and take pictures. It”s all total speculation though, so we’ll just need to wait and see.
BitTorrent Sync has arrived. The file syncing app was launched this week and is shaping up to be an incredibly powerful tool for sharing. Generate a code called a secret, share it with a friend, and you’ll be able to sync as many folders as you want between you and another person or device.
Beware of Facebook scams. Everyone knows that there are almost as many scams on Facebook as there are gullible users. French blog BitDefender has listed the top 10, so if you want to make sure you don’t fall for them, check them out. No prizes for guessing that “Who visited my profile?” is first, but some of the other ones surprised us.
Streamed music for iOS 7. Apple are going to tell us all about iOS 7 at the World Wide Developer’s Conference, which will be held this Summer in San Francisco. Those in the know say there are lots of cool things to look forward to, including a streamed music service and mobile payments system. We bet Spotify is quaking in its boots!
With Chrome Office Viewer you can open Office documents in Google Chrome Beta. It’s currently available for use with Chrome Beta as a 25mb extension – almost as big as the Chrome installer!
Once installed, you can drag any Office file into Chrome and it will open quickly, then you’ll be able to view it without formatting problems or changes. This is only a viewer, though. To edit your files, you need Microsoft Office, or can upload and convert them to Google Drive(which really doesn’t work well for Excel files).
Cry of Fear is a free horror game, and it’s available to download from Steam. It was originally a mod for Half Life 2, but has now been released as a stand alone game you can download free.
A survival horror game, you play Simon, a character scarred by being alone most of his life, who wakes up after a car crash. Soon you discover something is not quite right any more, and a darkness is spreading, filled with horrific monsters.
Unlike last year’s free horror hit Slender: The Eight Pages, Cry of Fear has a fleshed out story, as you discover more about Simon and the horror that surrounds him. The Half Life 2 engine might be aging, but this is a surprisingly good looking game, and it’s certainly scary. Play this one with the lights off.
Cry of Fear is Windows only, and runs on XP, Vista, and Windows 7 or 8.
Facebook is one of the largest social networks in the world. It consumes the attention of over a billion users across the web and for many, it has become a necessity. The company even created its own Android launcher. It would be disastrous to have your Facebook account hacked; in affect, your online identity would be hijacked. Thankfully, there are ways to protect your account from would-be hackers.
Google, Dropbox, and Apple have already implemented Two-Step Verification to protect their users. Facebook has followed suit with their own version of Two-Step Verification, which they have dubbed “Login Approvals.” Login Approvals work on both the Facebook website and on mobile devices.
The process of setting up Login Approvals is very straightforward as Facebook provides clear instructions. You will need an actual cellphone number to use Login Approvals, as Facebook cannot send confirmation texts to landlines or Google Voice. Facebook also recommends upgrading to the latest version of your app to guarantee a flawless setup.
Find out how to secure your Facebook account with Login Approvals with this guide.
Amazon updated its Kindle app for Android today. The interface has changed substantially with a new library view as well as carousel navigation. The app looks and feels more like the interface from Amazon Kindle Fire devices, which isn’t a bad thing. Users can now scroll through books with the carousel navigation. This new navigation method works great for browsing popular titles in the app.
The library has also been completely redesigned with a new side navigation panel that opens to the left. Tapping on the menu button at the top left accesses this panel, which gives you option to view your books, documents, and newsstand content. As with the previous app, there’s the option to display books/magazines/newspapers stored in Amazon’s cloud or only ones that have been downloaded on the device.
Open Google Play to update if you have the app installed or you can download it here on Softonic.
Microsoft discontinued Windows Live Messenger on April 8th, 2013, frustrating many loyal users. The company offered little solace for users, transitioning them to the Skype app, which is completely different from Live Messenger. Just look at the comments on our blog to read the backlash.
But there’s good news; you can bring Messenger back from the dead with Messenger Reviver 2. The app supports Windows Live Messenger 2012, 2011, and 2009 and can modify installations to continue working. If you’ve already upgraded to Skype, this app will help you install either Messenger 2012 or 2009 without the need to download the apps themselves.
To use the app, simply download it, unzip the files, and run it. There will be a simple dialog box with a “Start” button. If you have Messenger installed, the process is completely automated and will patch the installation. If you don’t have Messenger or Windows Essentials 2012 installed, you have the option to install either Windows Live Messenger 2009 or 2012 in the language of your choice.
There are advanced settings that allow users to do a new install of Messenger or to repair an existing installation.
System requirements for Messenger Reviver 2 are as follows:
Operating systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
.NET Framework 2.0 or higher (version 3.5 or 4.0 is recommended)
While it’s nice that Messenger fans can continue using this product, be aware that Microsoft will no longer support the app so it’s only a matter of time until Messenger becomes incompatible with newer versions of Windows.
Distributing malicious links using social networks is nothing new but they’re still very effective. One of the most popular scams is to get users to click on a link to see who has viewed your profile when in reality, it’s impossible to tell. Still thousands of users fall prey to these types of scams.
The security company, Bitdefender, complied a list of the top 10 most successful Facebook scams in hopes of educating users. These different “hooks” to get users to click on links use things like celebrity sex tapes or profile customization tools to lure Facebook users into clicking a malicious link. These links have the ability to steal users information or execute in installation of malicious software on a users’ computer.
Twitter has issued a minor update for its Mac application today. The most notable part of this update is the Retina Display support. Now MacBook Pros with Retina Displays can enjoy a high-resolution Twitter experience.
In addition to Retina Display support, the update brings easier photo sharing. There is a camera icon in the lower left corner of the Tweet compose box that lets users choose a photo. The application still has drag-and-drop support for photos.
Twitter has also included 14 new languages including Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, and Turkish.
To get the update, open up the Mac App Store to check for updates or download it right here on Softonic.
is rumored to have a new game engine, and could be announced on May 1st. Since Call of Duty Modern Warfare in 2007, the series has used a modified version of the same engine, which left it open to criticism in the face of the better looking Battlefield 3.
Google updated its 
With 
Facebook
Amazon updated its 
