February, 2016 - Softonic English

WhatsApp threatens troublesome users with permanent ban

WhatsApp may suspend the accounts of users who have been blocked on the app by their numerous users. This basically means that if a particular user gets blocked several times by multiple people, their account may be temporarily suspended.

Using this method, the Facebook-owned company is able to discover the troublesome users and punish them in a way that stops them bothering other users.

This process will not be automatic, and the user in question will receive notice prior to their suspension to warn them of their misconduct.

If users are being blocked by several other users, they will receive this warning:

It is not currently know how many warnings the user has to receive in order to be permanently blocked from using the service, however this is sure to be a strong incentive for users not to abuse the messenger service.

Instagram: Now you can manage various accounts at the same time

It’s finally official! Instagram users are now able to manage multiple accounts without having to log out each time!

Until now, this feature was only available to some priviliged users (mainly celebrities and high-profile people), but now the company has confirmed that it will be available for everbody with the next update. You can read more about the initial speculation here.

To use the function, you must first download Instagram’s 7.15 version (available on both iOS and Android) which will be available very soon. Once the update is installed, you will be able to manage up to five different accounts directly from your homepage.

Looking to gain more Instagram followers? Be sure to take a look at our collection of apps for getting followers on Instagram on Softonic Solutions.

Goodbye Windows? Why Windows 10 may be the last operating system we see from Microsoft

It’s ever so possible that Windows 10 will be the final installment of the Microsfot operating system “series”. What we’re about to tell you is just a summary of an investigation that was recently addressed in a very interesting article by PC World.

Although Windows 10 has been applauded by both critics and users, Microsoft has realized that the operating system market is in the decline.
Last year for example, Microsoft made $23.8 billion in profit, 5% less than its previous year. And yet, even after these announcements, the company’s shares were up 5%.

This is because Microsoft’s business in “the Cloud” is up 5%. The cloud-based subscription version of Office 365 for example, had over 20.6 million subscribers in the first quarter – an impressive 100% increase since the same quarter the previous year.

“The enterprise cloud opportunity is massive. It’s larger than any market we’ve ever participated in” says Satya Nadella, CEO.

With all this rush, analysts have already started to speculate. Daniel Ives of FBR Capital Markets made a prediction: “We believe Microsoft is seeing a generally healthy demand on cloud and core enterprise build-outs and is slowly moving away from the PC environment, which clearly has massive headwinds.”
So could this really indicate the eventual disappearance of a Windows operating system? Better make the most of it while you still can!

Source: PC World

Why has Facebook depressed so many people with its latest surprise?

It’s fair to say that Facebook’s new video surprise that celebrates friendship, has not been bringing users the fondest of memories. As you know, Facebook decided to celebrate its 12^th birthday with a personalized, 58-second video for each user, which consisted of a photo slideshow of their families and friends. Sounds lovely doesn’t it?

The only problem was that the photos chosen (clearly automatically selected), were not necessarily the ideal choice, as the video below will demonstrates:

Can’t view the video? Click here.

Here are just some of the comments users made on Twitter, which also prove that the video wasn’t exactly sentimental.

“Thanks for the sentiment Facebook but friends day doesn’t really work when I’m not friends with ANY OF THE PEOPLE IN THE PHOTOS ANYMORE!!!!”

“My Facebook friends day video is just sad due to my lack of Facebook interactions. And also just my lack of Friends.”

“Thanks Facebook: the first picture you show me from that Friends Day video is of my dead dog.”

“That friends day video on fb would be cute if my ex weren’t in it multiple times.”

“Just did that ‘happy friends day’ thing on Facebook. It managed to get 3 of my ex’s in the space of about 10 photos. I love you too Facebook.”

“Watched my Facebook Friends Day video! It was mostly people I don’t know in real life and then my friend who died.”

Source: Huffington Post

Apple’s boss takes the worst possible photo on iPhone: this is how the internet reacted

If there’s anything I’ve learned over the years, it’s that the internet is worse than the school playground. During the climax of the Super Bowl celebrations on Sunday, Apple boss Tim Cook decided to capture the electric atmosphere by taking a photo and sharing it on his Twitter.

Here’s the photo:

Yeah, it looks pretty awful doesn’t it? But, it looks awful because it was taken on the spur of the moment, therefore Cook didn’t have time to prepare it properly and keep his hand steady.

That didn’t stop the internet from having a bit of fun as the Apple boss’s expense. As well as filling Twitter up with funny comments such as “Photo taken with iPhone 7“, pictures such as the ones below started emerging:

We can imagine that conversation was a bit awkward on Monday morning at Apple HQ.

Facebook proves we’re a lot more connected than we think

The “six degrees of separation” is the theory that everyone on the planet is no more than six people away from introduction. This means that at the very least, you know somebody, who knows somebody, who knows somebody, who knows somebody, who knows somebody, who knows Mark Zuckerberg. Pretty cool, huh?

On February 4th, Facebook turned 12 years old. To mark the occasion, the social media giant decided to experiment to see if the theory was in fact true. The results were quite surprising.

There are currently 1.59 billion Facebook users, and the research carried out by the company in fact indicates that the six-degree figure is actually too high a number. As you can see from the results below, the average number of people between any other person on Facebook is around 3.57.

This basically means that theoretically, a friend of your friend is actually friend with one of Beyonce’s friends. If that’s the case, there’s only one thing to do – pick your favorite famous person and tell everyone you’re connected through friends.

If worse comes to worst and no one believes you, you can always resort to the data. No one can argue with data.

Source: BBC

Does your iPhone run out of battery fast? You could save 15% just by uninstalling Facebook

It’s official: By uninstalling the official Facebook app for iOS and opting to use the social network website on Safari in its place, you can save up to 15% battery power every day. We already knew that the app was affecting the Android’s battery life as discussed here, but now we can confirm the problem also exists on iPhone.

This discovery is not an assumption, but a test that was made by an editor from The Guardian newspaper. The journalist noticed that after uninstalling the Facebook app, his battery lasted 15% longer than when the app was installed. Instead of using the app to browse Facebook, he accessed the website through the device browser.

In order to prove his point, the editor was not alone during this experiment – he also invited numerous people to do the same. The results were clear.

This tests proved that Facebook not only affected the battery life of the device, but also the memory space as the Facebook app consumes 500MB, combining the 111MB of the app itself and its cache on the mobile.

So if you want to save 15% more battery, and free up some memory space, you know what to do.

Source: The Guardian

How much do Apple, Microsoft, Google or Amazon make every second?

Just as you read that headline, Apple made $3,000. No, I didn’t just invent that figure, it’s actually from a site that shows the profits and revenues (every second) of the largest technology companies in the world. Apple is the highest earner, followed by Microsoft and Google.

“Battle of the Internet Giants”, as the website is called, consists of a real-time infographic that shows the net earnings of the biggest names in the sector. As you will see, Apple makes an impressive 50% of the total earnings on the page. (Click on the image to view the actual graphic)

But not everything is as it seems. In the internet world, there are companies that lose money every second. In the case of Twitter for example, which despite being a social network with millions of users, it does not actually have a lucrative business model.

GoPro: stepping too close to the edge?

Could this mean goodbye to GoPro? According to sources, the well-known camera brand is currently in its darkest hour.

The company is reported to not only have experienced huge losses in the last quarter, but to have also fired the Chief Financial Officer, as well as discontinuing all but three of its current camera models. Last month, it was revealed that the company’s sales over the Christmas period had come in well-below expected, falling short of around $34 million. The company’s shares have also taken an extreme hit with an 89% decline since their all-time high back in 2014.

GoPro CEO, Nicholas Woodman commented: “We recognize the need to develop software solutions that make it easier for our customers to offload, access and edit their GoPro content.” Does this basically mean that his strategy is to just hold on to their existing customers and never make them leave?

Could the invention of the selife-stick be to blame for the vast decline? Either way, the future’s not looking too bright for the company.

Source: Financial Times

5 apps to get the most out of Chromecast

Google’s Chromecast can make any TV a Smart TV. By just plugging a dongle into your screen’s HDMI port, you can start enjoying apps and streamed content in moments.

There are loads of fantastic apps for this service. Some of these – like YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix – you undoubtedly already know, but there are plenty of other must have apps. Here are five of our favorites.

AllCast (iOS|Android)

One of Chromecast’s best features is its ability to mirror your phone’s screen on your TV. This is where AllCast comes in. This app lets you send pictures, videos, music, and everything else you can see on your device, to the big screen. Now no one can escape your collection of cat photos!

Big Web Quiz (iOS|Android)

The next app is our favorite on the list, Big Web Quiz. This pub quiz style game allows six people to play. After everyone connects with their phone, a range of general knowledge questions are presented on your TV. The goal is simply then to answer faster than your friends. Great, competitive fun.

CastPad (Android)

While it’s a fairly simple app, CastPad has a range of uses. By turning your phone or tablet into a sketchpad, you are then able to draw whatever you want on your TV screen. Great for impromptu games of Pictionary or explaining to your friends why the Panthers offensive line struggled against the Brocos’ defense.

Driver Speedboat Paradise (iOS|Android)

There are loads of games that you can send from your phone to your TV, but few look as good as Driver Speedboat Paradise. This makes it perfect for playing on the big screen, because you get to enjoy its visuals in all their glory – without having your thumbs covering the action.

FitFlap Motion (iOS|Android)

Many people use Chromecast to send YouTube exercise videos to their TV so they can more easily follow the instructions. But a more entertaining and interactive way to stay in shape is FitFlap Motion. Using your phone’s camera, this game has you avoid obstacles by controlling the up and down the movement of your flying pig by flapping – lots of flapping.

That’s if for another 5 apps. Next week we will be back with 5 Valentine’s Day survival apps – see you then!

Month: February 2016