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Apple introduced Family Sharing for iOS, which allows users to share their entire media library and more. Reminders, calendars, and tasks will also be synced between members of a family.
Apple also took the time to tackle the problem of unauthorized in-app purchases by children. Parents will now get a notification asking for permission to purchase something inside an app. Family sharing requires the entire family to use the same credit card.
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Apple updated its iMessages app for iOS 8 to include voice and video messaging. The move is undoubtedly due to the popularity of messaging apps like Snapchat.
Voice and videos shows up in your chats, and you can even listen to messages from the lock screen. This makes the experience seamless, like answering a phone call.
Messages was also updated to deal with annoying group messages that keep buzzing your phone. You can set up “Do Not Distrub” for individual members of a chat instead of for your entire device. You can also leave a chat whenever you want.
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Search is getting much more useful on iOS 8. Apple is integrating its new Spotlight search that it just debuted on OS X Yosemite into iOS as well.
The feature pulls information from around the web like Wikipedia, offering up a quick overview of what you’re searching for. Spotlight also has the ability to find nearby restaurants, movie times, and will suggest websites it thinks are relevant to you.
The feature is similar to Google Now and Bing search but Spotlight also searches your device.
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With over 40,000,000 installs, OS X Mavericks has the fastest operating system adoption rate ever. The next version will be called OS X Yosemite. It’s got a new, refined design, that brings it closer to what we saw with iOS 7.
The OS X Yosemite windows have translucency, so they fit with whatever your background is. There are all new icons for the doc, all with a neat, flat and modern look. There’s also a new ‘Dark Mode‘, with a dark look, which is still translucent. The new app designs maximize window space for content, by doing away with borders.
The Notification Center is interactive, and allows you to add and edit widgets, so you can customize it to your needs.
Spotlight, the OS X search tool, is all new, with a big search bar that appears in the middle of the screen, and a fast preview of search results that appears as you type. When you search for an app, as well as that app you’ll also see your recent documents, and be able to jump right into them, instead of opening an app and then opening a document. Searching for other things will bring up maps, Wikipedia entries and more. It’s similar to what Windows 8 did with Bing search, but with Apple’s typically slick design.
iCloud Drive now automatically syncs all your documents on OS X, iOS and even Windows, so you have your documents everywhere.
Even Mail gets an update, which includes a new service called ‘MailDrive‘, which allows you to send attachments to anyone up to 5GB in size. If the recipient can’t receive attachments that large, they will get a link to directly download the attachment instead.
Safari does away with showing your favorites, instead integrating them into the search bar, which also works just like Spotlight. Apple also claims that Safari’s optimization gives you much longer battery life – up to two hours more for playing video, for example. There’s also a new tab view, and you can also mail content from the web to your contacts in a single click.
With OS X Yosemite, you’ll be able to work between your Mac and iOS devices seamlessly, with Continuity. Your devices will be aware they are near other devices, and can work together. You can pick up work from your mac on an iPad immediately, with a little icon that appears on the device.
OS X can now open a hotspot on your phone, with no setup, and receive text messages from non-iOS devices too. Most surprisingly, OS X is now able to take and receive calls – as we were shown on stage with a phone call to Dr Dre.
OS X Yosemite will be released for free in fall this year, and there will be a public beta over the summer. It’s available for developers from today.
Apple CEO Tim Cook skewered Android for its operating system fragmentation at Apple’s WWDC developer conference in San Francisco.
Cook showed how iOS 7 has an 87% adoption rate, while Android KitKat, the latest version of Android, only has 9% adoption.
“Running an older version of the operating system means customers don’t get the latest features.” says Cook. “It also means users aren’t getting the latest security updates to keep them safe.”
Google is tackling its fragmentation problem by updating its own apps using an app that runs in the background called Google Play Services. Still, a majority of users are still using outdated versions of Android.
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Homefront, the 2011 first person shooter set in a USA being occupied by Korean forces, is getting a sequel, in the form of Homefront: The Revolution. Watch the trailer below.
Its being developed by Crytek and Deep Silver, after previous publisher THQ was closed. Homefront: The Revolution is set four years into the Korean occupation, in an open world Philadelphia where you play as a civilian member of the resistance. It’s promising to be very different to the linear single player campaign of the first game, with a free-roaming feel more reminiscent of Far Cry 3 than Call of Duty. It will also be playable in a four-player co-op mode.
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Homefront: The Revolution will be released on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 2015. Not much else has been revealed about the game so far, but Crytek is definitely trying to make a more dynamic game than the first. Homefront had a great premise and an excellent opening sequence, but what followed was pretty dull. This sequel is looking promising so far.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter @jonathanriggall
Have you ever wondered how your friends add smileys, icons and other emojis on Instagram and other social networks? Today we’ll show you how to do it. It’s easy!
Unlike Whatsapp, LINE and other messaging apps, Instagram and Twitter don’t have icons and symbols built-in. However, there IS a quick way to include these icons in your texts and messages on these social networks. You just need an app that’s very easy to install and then simply follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Download Cool Symbols Emoji Emoticon from Google Play, one of the best apps to add emojis to your text. After accepting the usual permissions, install it on your Android phone or tablet.
Open the app, skip the explanatory pages and tap on the Start! button.
Next you’ll see the app’s settings screen. The changes you can make don’t really affect the use of the app, just the way the app looks. So if you don’t really care, leave the options as they are and close the app.
Now you should be able to see a heart on your top notifications bar. This means that Cool Symbols Emoji Emoticon is now ready for you to use.
Go to Instagram and update your profile or comment on one of your friend’s photos, just like you always do. Although we will be referring to Instagram throughout this article, this really applies to any app where you write comments and texts (Facebook, Twitter, SMS…).
Drag the notification bar downwards to display the Cool Symbols Emoji Emoticon bar. Tap on Character Symbols.
Browse through the different menus. On each one of them you’ll see several types of emoji and symbols: faces, characters, objects, animals. When you’ve decided what you want to insert, tap on it.
The app will tell you if it has been correctly copied, as it will display an icon of a hand making the victory sign.
The icon has been copied to the clipboard. Tap on the text you’re typing and use the Paste option.
If you want to add more icons to your text, repeat steps 4 and 5 as many times as you want.
Cool Symbols Emoji Emoticon helps you with this, as all the icons you’ve used before are stored in the same section. This makes it much easier to access the icons you use the most.
If you don’t think you’re going to use the app in the near future but you don’t want to delete it, you can disable it. To do this, access the app normally from the apps menu of your phone or tablet.
Disable the two options you’ll see on the top of the app . Cool Symbols Emoji Emoticon will no longer be displayed in the notification bar. Just do the opposite whenever you want to turn it on again. Easy!
Apps make it easy to add more personality to your chats, posts and comments. Unfortunately, smileys such as “:-)” or “:-P” just don’t cut it any more, so download Cool Symbols Emoji Emoticon and get in on the action. What are you waiting for!?
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As we reported recently, Microsoft is preparing a new version of its desktop OS, Windows 8.1 with Bing. It is being tested by Microsoft’s hardware partners, and perhaps inevitably it has now been leaked online.
Windows 8.1 with Bing is not intended for download – it’s a cheap or possibly free version of Windows that Microsoft will offer preloaded on some devices. It’s designed to make Windows 8 devices cheaper, and encourage consumer take-up of the new operating system.
Aside from having Bing as its default search engine, not much is known about Windows 8.1 with Bing. It will have to allow other search engine choices to comply with competition regulations. The final version may include Office or a subscription to Office 365.
It now seems unlikely that Microsoft will follow Apple’s lead with OS X, in offering future versions of Windows free for existing users.
Downloading an unofficial release of Windows isn’t legal, safe or advisable, and you won’t be able to get support from Microsoft if there are problems. Also bear in mind that things like future updates will probably be impossible.
Sources: Softpedia, CentrumWindows.pl
Follow Jonathan on Twitter @jonathanriggall
Apple’s WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) keynote speech is only hours away, but we already have some pretty good ideas about what’s going to be announced.
iOS 8
The biggest software development is likely to be iOS 8, the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system, although this year, we’re expecting tweaks and polishing rather than the radical changes that iOS 7 introduced. There won’t be another style revolution, but there will be a few cosmetic changes and there may even be split screen multitasking for iPads.
In terms of apps, iOS 8 should bring us a few new additions. There’s likely to be a ‘Healthbook’ app, which will see Apple tap into the growing interest in fitness apps and ‘the quantified self’. iTunes Radio might get a standalone app, and we could see iOS versions of OS X basic apps Preview and TextEdit.
Music recognition service Shazam may also be integrated into iOS, perhaps as part of Siri.
OS X 10.10
There aren’t likely to be many surprises in the next version of OS X, but we do expect more feature overlap with iOS 8. This isn’t going to be OS X starting to work like iOS, but it will get a design overhaul that makes them look more similar.
Smart Home, iWatch, Apple TV, Macbook Air…
Apple rarely leaves a keynote speech without some surprises. We could see hardware related to Healthbook, like a smart watch, and there are rumors of a set of apps and services for a ‘smart home’. Automating your home though Apple products could be just around the corner.
We’ll be following the event live from 10am PDT, June 2nd 2014.
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iOS 8 image source: The Verge
As E3 2014 is drawing near, we’ve asked our game experts to tell us which games they can’t wait to see.
E3, the world’s largest video game expo, will take place in June, and we’re bound to see brand new games, along with new installments of great sagas that we already know and love.
We asked our experts which games are likely be unveiled at E3 and which ones will steal the show.
Resident Evil 7, Fallout 4, Dishonored 2, Mass Effect 4 and Grand Theft Auto 5 for PC: discover why we’re so excited about seeing them at E3 2014.
I must be one of the few gamers in the universe who liked Resident Evil 6. It was entertaining, fun, long, and had lots of extra modes. That’s why I really want to see Resident Evil 7 (multiplatform, please, I don’t have a PS4 or Xbox One). I hope it’s not a ‘back to the origins’ game as has been rumored for months. Fingers crossed!
I want to see heroes breaking huge boulders with their fists and villain Albert Wesker reborn from the ashes – even though they threw him into a pit of lava. I want to play unexpected stealth sequences or discover that a mysterious character is actually the clone of the protagonist’s twin brother. In short, I want Resident Evil 7 to have a sense of humor!
Who will make a comeback in Resident Evil 7?
For me, Fallout 4 is THE GAME for E3. It’s been on the cards for years (even before we saw Skyrim for the first time!), and it seems like Bethesda will finally unveil it at this E3.
If I can make a few guesses, I think we can expect a new game for new consoles and powerful PCs that will use a new version of the Skyrim or Rage engine, both very good for large settings. And while we’re on the topic, rumors also suggest that Fallout 4 will be set in Boston, although this hasn’t been confirmed.
What we do know for sure is that after the brilliant Fallout: New Vegas by Obsidian Entertainment, we have high expectations. This could be a problem, seeing as how Fallout 4 is developed by Bethesda (who also did Fallout 3). This company has lots of experience in offering huge open worlds, but it seems incapable of crafting mature stories like the ones in the Fallout saga.
Will we go to Boston after New Vegas?
Ever since I saw the first images from Dishonored, I knew I would fall in love with this game. The atmosphere in Dunwall with its permanent fog, steampunk flair and retro-futuristic technology are an example of how games can create new, totally captivating fantasy worlds.
Although I’m not really into sequels, I think that if they are made with passion, they can become great works of art, as good as the original games. That’s what I expect from Arcane Studios, who I hope will put together a Dishonored sequel set in a new world. I’ll be looking for a vibrant story and improved graphics, and if they succeed, they’ll be one of the E3 sensations, without a doubt!
What’s beyond Dunwall?
I sometimes think I’m the only person in the world who liked the ending of the Mass Effect trilogy. Yes, I admit that Mass Effect 3 had some flaws. The reaper attacks, for example, gave the game a speed that didn’t really match what you had to do, which was to take your time exploring and improving your skills. And I won’t even mention the multiplayer options. Despite all this, however, Mass Effect is still my sci-fi and RPG favorite, thanks to great characters and a universe that’s big enough to tell other stories.
I don’t really like fantasy, so I’ve always stayed away from RPGs with dwarves and elves. That’s why I think the game works best when it doesn’t make use of the reapers’ apocalyptic plot, especially in the second game. I hope Mass Effect 4 doesn’t portray another threat to the human race, as we’ve seen enough of them. But, even if it does, I still can’t wait to see it!
How will Mass Effect 4 relate to the rest of the series?
After that long-forgotten 2011 trailer, and many rumors that turned out to be true, GTA 5 arrived on our consoles in September 2013. It was incredibly successful, and it absolutely deserved the praise. Rockstar did it again and managed to leave us open-mouthed with a story that was as good as any HBO series, characters that could have been conceived by Scorsese, and fun and complex gameplay, the GTA trademark, often copied and seldom equaled.
If I enjoyed (and still do, thanks to the online version) GTA 5 on the console, why would I want to do play again on PC? Because I’m sure that in this new version, Rockstar will offer much more, from a significant graphic upgrade, to a more optimized online game through mods. Yes, I admit it. Installing mods for my favorite games, especially ones that are just plain crazy, is one of my greatest guilty pleasures.
Will GTA 5 for PC be a more complete version of the game?
Well, these our the Softonic writers’ favorites. But if your favorite isn’t among them, don’t worry. We’ll get to see many other games at E3 2014, from new releases of acclaimed franchises such as FIFA or PES, to new games like The Sims 4, Call of Duty and many more.
Two of our game experts will be at E3 2014 in LA to catch up on all the news and get their hands on some of the most anticipated games of next season, so make sure to keep an eye on Softonic.
