October, 2022 - Softonic English

Microsoft releases the Windows 11 Moment 1 update

We’ve just seen a potential mockup for Windows 12, but Windows 11 is far from finished. To be fair, it’ll be years before we see a working beta of the next Windows operating system, but for the moment, at least we’re getting closer to a more functional and fully-fledged Windows 11.

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The latest update to the new OS is called the Moment 1 update, and it basically encompasses all of the quality-of-life changes that Microsoft has been teasing, testing, and promising over the last few months. You can see all of the changes to the fledgeling OS in Microsoft’s dedicated video, but we’ll take you through the most important parts below.

First off, we have the brand-new tabbed file explorer feature that we’ve seen in dev builds. The purpose of this new file explorer configuration is to minimize the number of windows you have floating around your desktop. Now, you can access all of your files in the same way that you access webpages in your favorite browser – tabs.

Another new feature is that items that don’t fit on your taskbar will now be accessible from a new overflow menu. This is similar to the one you see in the notifications interface, and it’ll be just as useful.

You can also now right-click to launch the task manager utility. This was confirmed in one of the more recent dev builds. However, the feature seems to be missing in the current update. This is likely a bug, and we should expect it to be rectified post haste.

Microsoft releases the Windows 11 Moment 1 update

Numerous other updates and quality-of-life changes have been made to the young new OS, but it isn’t the only one to get an update. Windows 10, as old as it is, has also received an update – possibly one of the last to mean anything. The OS is going to be phased out in favor of Windows 11 in the near future, as Windows 7 was in favor of Windows 10. This is the best time to switch to the new OS if you have not already.

Patches and updates aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be. In fact, the recent October 11 patch for Windows 11 seems to have created a few significant network issues.

New features for WhatsApp on iOS

Whatsapp for iOS is about to get a little more interesting and feature-packed than it already is. The latest update for this OS-specific version of WhatsApp is bringing calling links, productivity features for WhatsApp groups, and brand-new reaction features into the WhatsApp ecosystem.

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First off, we’ve got the calling links. Essentially, these will be links that you’ll be able to circulate to your contacts so that they can join your group call sessions. Meta revealed the feature earlier this month, and it’s good to see it finally making its way into the app.

Next, WhatsApp will also now have new options for group admins. Previously, the telecommunication giant released a feature whereby group participants could leave groups silently without informing the rest of the group. WhatsApp’s latest update keeps this possible; however, the group admins will be notified if someone leaves. Another group-specific feature is that group admins will now be able to delete anyone’s messages.

This won’t just delete the message on their side of the screen, but rather for everyone. Furthermore, if you post something that an admin deletes, you will be able to see who deleted your message. This is a bit of a double-edged sword. Another feature within the message deletion realm is that subsequent to this update, you’ll be able to undo ‘delete for me’ if you wish to do so. You’ll only be able to do this for a few seconds, though.

The last feature of the latest WhatsApp update is the brand-new Status Reactions interface. Essentially, you’ll now be able to react to users’ status updates directly. Previously, you could only reply to a status which would be sent to the status’ source as a message.

WhatsApp is one of the most widely-used and popular messaging platforms in the industry. As such, there are many threat actors looking into ways to use WhatsApp to steal information and private content from its users. One such piece of malware is a fake version of WhatsApp that will steal your account details. Protect yourself, and only download apps from websites that are verified safe.

Minecraft Live 2022 – Everything you need to know

As many of you will know, Mojang held their Minecraft Live 2022 live stream this weekend. I was glued to my screen, and since then, I have been doing more Minecraft research and immersing myself in the game than ever before. The live stream was absolutely incredible and packed with information, and we’re going to break everything down for you below.

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Before we start, we have to be conscious of the fact that Minecraft is far more than just the mainstream sandbox experience. The live stream also covered Mojang’s dungeon crawler, Minecraft Dungeons, as well as a new game called Minecraft Legends. We’ll break the article up into the three games and all the info that we have for each after the event.

Minecraft 1.20

Minecraft 1.20 is the highly anticipated next main-line update to the sandbox game. Essentially, this update formed the largest portion of the live stream and Mojang dropped a lot of information about the features that 1.20 will contain. We’ll cover most of the content here, but some bits and pieces will be in the FAQ section under the article.

Camels

Camels are a brand new mob being added to the game in update 1.20. The Camel will be the only mob in the game that can transport two players at once. In the live stream, we actually even saw that the person on the back of the camel should be able to shoot at other mobs. Another cool aspect of camels is that it doesn’t seem like husks or other villager-sized mobs will be able to hurt you on camelback. You’ll be able to breed camels with cacti.

Bamboo wood

Bamboo is nothing new to Minecraft. We already farm it and use it for breeding pandas. However, within the next few days, we’ll be able to play with a new wood type when the 1.20 snapshots drop. From what we can tell, though, we’re getting an entire set of new wood blocks to play with made out of bamboo.

This will include bamboo planks, stairs, slabs, doors, trap doors, and even a new wood block called chiseled bamboo. We hope that the chiseled wood block will make it to the other types of wood, too, because it looks amazing and has plenty of uses in the building.

Bamboo raft

This is basically a brand-new type of boat. Bamboo rafts are flat and don’t have the side, front, and back bits that traditional boats have, and they’ll be able to transport chests. We fully expect the raft to remain exclusive to bamboo wood, though.

Functional bookshelves in Minecraft

We haven’t got a ton of information about these yet, but we know that they’ll look better than standard bookshelves. These will also have Redstone capabilities and will likely make it into many Redstone farms, and efficiency builds. From what we can tell, you’ll be able to see what books are in this bookshelf, and actually use this bookshelf to store books.

You’ll be able to store both standard books and books of enchanting, meaning you won’t have to store them in your chests, ender chests, barrels, or shulker boxes as of update 1.20.

Hanging signs

Agnes, one of the main members of the Mojang team, stated that this is the item she is most excited about. Hanging signs are like normal signs, except you’ll be able to hang them from different blocks. Each block that you hang a sign from will change the configuration of the chains from which the sign is hung, creating even more possibilities for really creative builds and uses.

These will come in all the shades of wood we have in the game, including the recently added mangrove wood and the soon-to-be-added bamboo.

2022 Minecraft mob vote winner

The mob vote was particularly exciting. The world that the Mojang team created was incredibly beautiful and featured tons of signs giving you information about the mobs you could vote for. I voted for the Tuff Golem because I thought the idea of having a mob that turns into a statue and carries blocks around would be an interesting addition. In the end, the Sniffer won the mob vote. The Sniffer is a brand-new mob that loves seeds.

According to the in-game information from the mob vote world, the Sniffer will be able to find seeds for the player. There were hints that these seeds would be new seeds from the canonical history of the Minecraft overworld, but we haven’t got any indication as to what these are yet.

New skins

In an effort to make new players feel right at home in the game, Minecraft is introducing a host of new skins. These skins were created to try and spread diversity. Up til now, the only canon skins we’ve had are Steve and Alex. However, it’s important to remember that Minecraft has never been secretive about the fact that Alex and Steve aren’t entities themselves – merely placeholders.

These two individuals are nothing but skins for the Minecraft player. You can create your own skins in-game to represent yourself, and ultimately, the only skin that matters is the one you choose to create. Alex and Steve are not characters, they have no backstories, and the same will be the case for the new skins that Minecraft is adding.

Minecraft Dungeons

Another exciting part of Minecraft Live 2022 was the reveal of Minecraft Dungeons Season 3. This is basically a Minecraft-themed dungeon crawler that feels authentic to both the Minecraft ecosystem and the dungeon crawler genre. We also saw a new game mode of sorts for the dungeon crawler, the Minecraft Dungeons Tower Multiplayer demo. This is basically all the mayhem you’ve come to expect from Dungeons but enjoyed with a friend.

Minecraft Legends

This is the newest Minecraft-themed game and possibly one of the most exciting parts of the 2022 Minecraft Live show. First off, we saw the cinematic trailer reveal for the new game, which looks absolutely incredible. The game seems to have a similar animation style to Minecraft Dungeons. That is to say, it’s blocky enough to tell that it belongs in the Minecraft universe, but still unique enough to be its own game.

According to Agnes, Minecraft Legends won’t necessarily fit into the canon of the main game, and instead exists as a series of legends that the villagers have passed down through the generations. This is Minecraft’s history but basically told through the ages by villagers. There’s no telling how much they will have embellished or forgotten as the ages rolled by.

The next chapter of Minecraft

Minecraft is one of the few games that doesn’t seem to age. I say this because it’s one of the very few games that was created in a completely different time that hasn’t had to get the sequel treatment. Every update delivered to the game has added so much more variation and so many more possibilities.

Whether you’re a builder, Redstone boffin, or PvP master, Mojang keeps on giving us more features than Notch likely anticipated when he first created Cave Game. The best thing about Minecraft’s updates is that they don’t just introduce new content, they build off of previous game mechanics and updates to truly bring the entire overworld, nether, and end together in absolute harmony. We’re super excited to see what Minecraft has in store for the future.

FAQs

What happened to Archaeology?

Basically, Mojang has said that the archaeology feature that was teased is not in a state to be released. The feature isn’t dead, it’s merely back on the ideas pile at Mojang HQ.

What’s the name of the new update?

For the moment, Mojang has elected not to give update 1.20 a name. This is because Mojang hopes to develop the update fully along with the community and the studio doesn’t know exactly what form that’s going to take yet.

Why does update 1.20 feel so small?

Minecraft update 1.20 is not complete yet. Mojang has laid the groundwork with the new features that we covered in this article, but the update is not yet finished. As the studio releases snapshots, I assume that the community will be given a chance to make suggestions and comments as they have been able to do through all the betas. This will give Mojang a better idea of what the community of players wants Minecraft’s future to look like which will likely shape the game.

Is this going to be the Wild update that we never received?

I understand the criticism of the Wild update. Mojang has said that they didn’t anticipate how much work the Deep Dark biome and the Warden would take, and so some features of the Wild update were placed on the back burner. The theme of 1.20 will become clearer as time goes by, but this will likely not be the Wild part 2 update that players have theorized it is.

New Disney Dreamlight Valley update features 100 bug fixes

Disney Dreamlight Valley has been quite a success since its launch. However, this does not mean that the game has been without fault. In fact, it’s riddled with bugs and issues that impact playability. Luckily, the new Disney Dreamlight Valley update is bringing 100 bug fixes and performance and gameplay improvements to the open-world life simulation game.

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We won’t rattle off the entire laundry list of bug fixes; with 100 items we’d then have to address and explain, that would simply take too long and be as uninteresting as an article could be. Instead, we’ll give you an overview of the biggest fixes coming to the game and how they’ll improve your Disney Dreamlight Valley experience.

Before we get into the laundry list, though, the new update does introduce some new elements into the game. We’ll see Scar added as a villager in the update, in addition to a new Star Path. This is essentially how far new content goes in terms of this update. The rest of the laundry list is purely to do with bug fixes.

The most notable of these is an improvement to how the game works on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. Disney has also improved upon the cloud-based save system to eliminate the issue where files conflict with one another when saved from different devices. Another improvement comes in the form of a more functional furniture edit mode when using a controller.

New Disney Dreamlight Valley update features 100 bug fixes

If you’ve been really frustrated by Donald Duck’s continuous temper tantrums, you’ll be happy to know that after the update, this will happen far less frequently. If you’ve been stuck on particular quests for a short while and are unable to progress, a new bug fix will let you get further in the game.

Lastly, if you’ve noticed that memory pieces and objects are spawning in places from which they cannot be retrieved, you’ll be overjoyed to know that this, too, will be a relic of the past after the update.

Did you miss the Disney Dreamlight Valley release? Are you interested in getting better acquainted with the mechanics and features? Whether you’re an existing player or new to the game, our article announcing the release of Disney Dreamlight Valley should be of some assistance to you.

Netflix will start monetizing account sharing globally in 2023

At the beginning of this year, Netflix announced its plans to start charging users for sharing accounts. This new type of subscription model was also rolled out in Latin America for testing. It seems that Netflix will be releasing this feature globally in 2023.

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This new feature will require users to set a primary residence when creating an account. People who then watch Netflix from another address for more than two weeks will be charged an account-sharing fee of $2.99/month.

In the pilot program, the $2.99/month covered any two other users outside of the primary residence. For any users who decide that they want to stop sharing their accounts with users outside of their homes, there is a new Netflix profile transfer feature that will make it easier to transfer your profile to a new account.

Another point to note is that this account-sharing charge only seems applicable to those streaming Netflix on television. Viewers who stream Netflix from their smartphone, tablet, or laptop will not be charged extra. This means if you travel frequently, you can still enjoy your Netflix on the go without incurring additional account-sharing charges.

This announcement came shortly after the streaming giant shared its latest quarterly earnings. The company’s earnings have recovered and are looking much better after the subscriber slump reflected in the previous quarter.

Netflix will start monetizing account sharing globally in 2023

During the same announcement, Netflix also stated that they are looking at expanding their services even more by launching their own cloud gaming service. In November, they will also launch a new ad-supported tier in selected countries that include Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the UK, the US, and Spain.

The possibility of charging users for sharing their accounts has been received with mixed feelings. However, in order for the service to continue providing quality content, they need to ensure all users are contributing, and at $2.99/month, it’s not that bad.

WoW Dragonflight pre-expansion details to be aware of

Azeroth’s citizens and World of Warcraft fans are starting to say goodbye to Shadowlands as the Dragonflight release date looms closer. The pre-expansion patches for Dragonflight will be released in two stages. Blizzard has just revealed when these releases will occur and the content contained in each patch. Let’s take a look at what that means for World of Warcraft players.

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The first phase of Dragonflight’s pre-expansion will be released after server maintenance on October 25th. The second phase will be released on November 15th, followed by the full release date on November 28th. The first set of raids is also scheduled to take place on December 13th.

Blizzard has also outlined what content players can expect to see with each pre-expansion launch. After the first update, players will get to see and experience the updated talent system and an improved user interface, among other features. With the new talent system, players will start seeing talent trees being reintroduced as part of the new talent system.

Other features being introduced during the first phase include accessibility features like press and hold spell casting and more, rated solo-shuffle, and new class and race combinations.

WoW Dragonflight pre-expansion details to be aware of

The phase two content is what everyone’s most excited about as it releases the new Dracthyr Evoker class/race combo. Alongside this release will also be a new dungeon, starting zone, and Primal Storms event. During this event, players will have to ward off attacks from the Primalists with a bunch of new quests and other world events. This event sets the stage for the official Dragonflight launch.

As we’re counting the days to finally start experiencing the new expansion, many players are diving into the WoW classic universe before the launch. But long play queues in World of Warcraft might be a problem. Luckily there are some ways to overcome this and get yourself ready for the release of WoW Dragonflight.

How to get the most out of the Imo app for Android

Imo is a free communication application that enables users to communicate with each other in different ways. With Imo, you won’t be charged for your communications; you’ll only need an internet connection. When it comes to these types of communication apps, there are basic features such as making voice or video calls, but how can you get the most out of using Imo?

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We’ll show you step-by-step how to get the most out of the Imo app for Android so that you can customize and maximize your experience using the application.

What is the difference between Imo and Imo Lite?

When searching the app store, you might come across two versions of Imo. Imo Lite was just released recently as a lightweight version of the full-features Imo. Imo Lite has a much smaller file size than the original and, when installed on your Android device, only takes up 20MB of storage. This is less than one-fifth of the full version, making it a good option for users with little storage space.

Users are still able to send messages, make voice and video calls and even upload to their Imo stories using the lightweight version; however, some of the customization features are limited to save on space and resources. One of the standout features of Imo Lite is that it performs well on slow or unstable network connections, including 2G. This makes it a useful communication app in remote areas where the internet isn’t reliable.

Imo Lite is currently only available on Android devices. It isn’t natively available on PC, but if you want to try using it on your computer, you can do so with an Android emulator. Although, it’s worth mentioning that You can still connect with the same contacts regardless if you use Imo or Imo Lite. So just because you installed Imo Lite on your mobile device doesn’t mean you also have to install the lightweight version on your PC. It will still work even if you have lite on one device and the full version on another.

How to use Imo to the fullest

Imo is more than just a basic messaging and calling app. There are so many other features that you can use as well, from customizing your home screen, ringtone, and more to creating chat rooms and even sending secret messages.

Send instant messages
Sending messages on the Imo app is easy. All you need to do is tap on the contact you wish to connect with. This will open your chat window. Now you simply start typing your message and press the send arrow when you’re done.
Voice or video call contacts
With Imo, you’re able to make both voice and video calls as long as you have an internet connection. To make a call, tap on the contact to open the chat window. At the top of the screen, next to the contact’s name, will be a blue telephone and video camera button. Tap on the telephone button to make a voice call and the video camera to make a video call.
Send files
To send files to a single contact or a group, tap on that contact or group to go to the chat window. At the bottom of the screen where you would normally type your message, tap on the three vertical dots to see more features. A window will open, showing you what else you can send. From here, you can choose to send a file, contact or share a moment.
Create a chatroom
On the main screen swipe to the right to be taken to the Live Stories section. Here you’ll be able to see all the live stories of users on Imo – whether they’re contacts or not. This is a great way to connect with new people or join chat rooms that share similar interests. To create your own chat room, tap on the ‘Create Room’ button at the top of the screen. Now you’ll be taken to a window where you need to add the details of your room, such as the name, topics and more.
Customize your profile
On your home screen, swipe left to be taken to your account details. Tap on your profile icon to make changes to your profile. You’ll be taken to a page where you can customize various features on the app. You can change your profile picture, add a motto, add a music widget or change your background.

Get communicating with this interesting app

Imo is a fun app to use when communicating with friends and family. It includes all the necessary features, such as messaging, audio, and video calling. It also has a few fun ways to customize the app and share your personality. Use our instructions above to quickly learn how to get the most out of Imo on Android.

EA is ditching online support for numerous games

Every so often, Electronic Arts elects to shut down online servers for games as it makes way for new titles to replace them, such as Mirror’s Edge. That time has come again, and below, we have a list of games that will be affected by the EA server closures this time.

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We start with everyone’s favorite major life simulation game, The Sims 4. As you well know, the Sims 4 base game is officially free-to-play. However, another change taking effect today is that The Sims 4 Deluxe Edition is being removed from EA Play members’ Play Lists, in favor of The Sims 4 EA Play Edition. Also leaving the Play List is The Sims 4 Bundle, which is going to be replaced by The Sims 4 EA Play Pro Edition. What a mouthful.

Two games losing their online services entirely on October 20th are Army of Two: The 4th Day, and The Devil’s Cartel. Dragon Age Origins will also lose its multiplayer screenshot server on the same day.

Next, November 30th will see the closure of Command & Conquer Red Alert 3’s network services on Xbox 360 and PS3. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars will suffer the same losses at this time. This will include Kane’s Wrath expansion to the game. Also losing its online servers for Xbox 360 and PS3 on November 30th is Mercenaries 2.

The next shutdown happens on January 19th in the new year, and this will affect Mirrors Edge (the original version), Shank 2, Gatling Gears, and NBA Jam On Fire Edition.

EA is ditching online support for numerous games

EA has commented on the shutdown, saying that it’s ‘never easy’ to shut down features of a game but that it often becomes necessary when newer games are released. ‘The development teams and operational staff pour their hearts into our games, their features, and modes almost as much as the players, and it is hard to see one retired.’

Make no mistake, EA is launching numerous new games very soon. In fact, We’re expecting Need for Speed Unbound to hit digital shelves in December, and the highly anticipated Dead Space remake is slated for release in January 2023.

In other EA news, the company has elected to replace its Origin utility with the new EA app.

Google updates Gmail iOS settings interface

Google’s Gmail settings interface is nothing short of a frustrating list of options. While there are headings and some semblance of organization, it’s still a wildly ineffective setup. Thankfully, Google has updated the Gmail settings interface. Unfortunately, the update currently only supports iOS and iPadOS devices.

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This doesn’t make much sense as Google quite literally owns the Android operating system. However, the updated settings/preferences interface is very much within the iOS style. This feature was deliberately created to be an iOS exclusive. In the future, we hope to see a similar change in the way Gmail’s settings look on Android devices, but it will likely be a little different to what the updated iOS interface looks like.

Let’s talk about the redesign because it’s absolutely brilliant. Basically, the redesign means that Gmail looks more integrated into the iOS ecosystem. To this end, Google has eliminated the distinction between general and account settings. Instead, you now have app-specific distinctions like settings for Chat and Meet appearing under the new Apps in Gmail header.

Google updates Gmail iOS settings interface

Settings pertaining to your inbox, notifications, new email compositions and replies, and general settings now all have their own sections within the preferences interface. Google has also eliminated the impression of an endless list with new boxes with which each section is displayed. This breaks up the preferences interface into more defined sections that suit the iOS ecosystem perfectly.

Those of us who use iOS are incredibly excited by this new redesign. The rest of us are hopeful that Google will give Android users a similar treatment. We’ve seen some significant interface updates to the general Android ecosystem in newer versions of the OS. It would be great to see Google’s apps follow a similar trend and become a little more integrated into the Android OS.

While Google has yet to give Android users a more modern settings interface, the company has rolled out a brand-new, more integrated view to the Gmail utility itself.

Discord launches a bunch of exciting new features

Discord users are on cloud nine this morning as the popular communication platform has launched a bunch of exciting new features. Whether you’ve wanted a slightly more affordable variant of Nitro, more app integration, or easier ways to hang out online with friends, Discord’s update has you covered.

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First off, you read that right. Discord has indeed introduced a more affordable variant of its premium subscription tier, Nitro. You can pick up a brand-new Nitro Basic subscription for $2,99 monthly, a significant reduction compared to Discord Nitro which costs $9,99 per month. This new lite subscription tier will still give you access to custom emojis, but you won’t have the animated avatars, server boost discounts, or 60 FPS 1080p screen sharing that you get with Nitro Classic. However, you’ll be able to upload files still, as long as they’re below 50MB in size.

Discord has also launched better app integration, specifically with YouTube. This means that you and your bros, chums, and friends can now watch videos on YouTube together while you’re on the same call. You can even now play games together like chess or poker.

Discord launches a bunch of exciting new features

Included in this move toward integration are a series of other activities to participate in with your friends. You’ll now be able to play a few party games directly in Discord while on a call, such as a game based on mini-golf. If you want to play chess or poker specifically, though, either you or someone else on the call will need a Discord Nitro subscription.

We’re happy to see that Discord is making changes that positively impact users’ experience of the platform. Discord has been working on other such updates for a while, though. In August, we reported on the Discord Android app getting reworked from the ground up so that it is no longer the ugly step-sister of the Discord ecosystem.