Category: News

Rumor: Next Call of Duty to be called ‘Blacksmith’ (updated)

Update: We now know this rumor is not true, as is sometimes the case with rumors. We try to only publish the most credible rumors, but sometimes false ones will get through. We never ever publish rumors as fact, and will always try to confirm or debunk any we cover on Softonic. The original story is below.

Around a year ago, we head the first rumors about Call of Duty: Ghosts, and now we hear that 2014’s CoD might be called ‘Blacksmith‘. The next Call of Duty is being developed by Sledgehammer Games, and we expect more announcements about it in May, as we approach the E3 games conference.

In recent years, Activision has begun to officially tease Call of Duty games in May. Last year there was an interactive mosaic website that revealed the Ghosts skull logo, so we expect to see something similar in the next few days. The first image from the game was published last week, a close up of a character model, that revealed the impressive detail of the graphics in the next CoD, but little else.

A previous rumor suggested the next Call of Duty might be ‘Modern Warfare 4.’

‘Blacksmith’ could be a codename for the next Call of Duty, or it might be the final title. Either way, more important for the series is whether this Call of Duty can catch up DICE’s Battlefield in terms of graphics. Call of Duty’s game engine is old, and shows its age when compared to Battlefield 4. Had that game not had such a disastrous online launch, Call of Duty might not be the top dog in the FPS (first person shooter) world any more. EA will not make the same mistakes with any Battlefield game this year, so Call of Duty needs to impress in 2014.

This year’s Call of Duty will be released on PC and consoles in Fall 2014.

Source: MP1ST

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Facebook F8 event: the rumors

Today Mark Zuckerberg will give the keynote speech at the Facebook F8 event. It’s mainly for developers and businesses that want to work with Facebook, but what is announced will affect you on Facebook.

The biggest rumor about F8 is the launch of an e-commerce platform, perhaps like Paypal, or more likely as a partnership with a company like Paypal. The product could be an auto-fill feature for anyone logged into Facebook. So, if you are logged in, and making purchases on another website, you could click a ‘check out with Facebook’ button, which would give the site your payment details. This obviously means you’d have to give Facebook your payment details.

Another announcement could be about Facebook’s ad network. With recent developments like the ‘traveling to’ status updates, Facebook could offer partners (and users) better targeted ads, based on your personal data, like location. So, you could start seeing ads in Facebook about places you are going to visit. TechCrunch says the new ad network could be called ‘Facebook Audience Network.’

Another rumor is that there could be more standalone apps announced. Facebook Messenger has been successful. and Paper was very well received, even if it’s still a US only app. There might be apps for Events and Groups next, according to TechCrunch.

Lastly, a rumor seen on Secret suggested that Facebook might try to win more user trust, by blocking third party app access to your Facebook friends’ data. This would be popular with privacy advocates, but less so with developers who use Facebook data to power their services.

Stay tuned for coverage of Facebook F8.

Sources: TechCrunch, ReadWrite

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Yahoo! Mail for iOS adds news, weather, and more

A major update to Yahoo! Mail for iOS brings mail, news, and much more together in one app. The update includes new sections tabs called News and Today. Now you can catch up with the news without leaving the Yahoo! Mail app.

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The Today tab is Yahoo!’s attempt at emulating features found in Google Now. Yahoo! says you’ll find “the information you care about most every day” for things like weather, sports scores, and stock prices.

It’s unclear whether Yahoo! is using the same email scanning technology that Google uses for Google Now. By scanning emails, Yahoo! Mail could offer up personalized information in the Today tab without users asking for it.

Yahoo! Mail offers relevant information in the Today tab by pulling information from other Yahoo! sites. For example, if you favorite a sports team on Yahoo! Sports, that team’s scores will show up. The same applies to stocks you favorite in Yahoo! Finance. The News section works similarly by offering stories based on your digest preferences.

Yahoo Mail Today tab

The updated Yahoo! Mail app will begin rolling out over the next couple of weeks to iPhone and iPod touch users.

Update: The story has been updated to reflect how Yahoo! Mail personalizes information in the News and Today sections.

Looking for Yahoo! Mail on other platforms?

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Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare PC release date revealed

EA has announced that Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare will be released on PC June 24th, via Origin. It’s a multiplayer third person shooter, and it’s pretty good.

Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare came out earlier this year on Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It has matches of up to 24 players, fighting as Plants or Zombie characters from the original game, with crazy weapons. There are four game modes: two 12 versus 12 modes, Gardens & Graveyards and Team Vanquish, as well as the 8 versus 8 player Gnome Bomb and a cooperative co-op four-player mode called Garden Ops.

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EA also recently announced the introduction of in-game purchases to Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare. You will be able to buy packs of coins, to spend on upgrades. This means, if you want, you can speed up your progress by paying for upgrades, instead of earning them in game.

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New mobile only email launched by My.com

My.com has launched an new mobile only email service that uses the @my.com domain name. You can download the myMail app and sign up for a free email account. It is only accessible through mobile apps, and uses codes sent via SMS when you need to sign in, instead of passwords.

A myMail account gives you 150GB of free storage, and can be accessed using the myMail app, which was launched in November 2013, for Android and iOS. You can also use this app to sync with your current email accounts.

The unusual thing about @my.com email is that you don’t need a password. Mail.Ru CEO Dmitry Grishin said he wanted to look at email with a fresh perspective, and one of their conclusions was ‘no passwords.’

As almost 50% of email is now checked from a mobile device, myMail decided that it could be tied to your device like WhatsApp. When you sign up for an @my.com account, you supply your phone number. You then get a code to sign into your app, and any subsequent time you want to sign in, you will be sent another code.

My.com says this is more secure than a traditional password, and will keep you safe from phishing and hacking scams. All email traffic going through myMail is also encrypted.

While myMail takes a different approach to security, it’s worth remembering that as with all free services, there is a hidden cost, and that is how the company uses your data.

You can sign up for a myMail app through the Android and iOS apps.

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See the very first image from 2014’s Call of Duty

This year’s Call of Duty game is being developed by Sledgehammer Games, which previously co-developed the huge Modern Warfare 3 with Infinity Ward. The very first image of their game has been published by IGN, showing a character model from the game.

The image was first shown as part of a presentation by the Sledgehammer at GDC 2014, and reveals very little about the next Call of Duty, as ‘soldiers are in it’ is not much of a surprise. What the image does show is the impressive level of detail we’ll see in this year’s game, the first to be genuinely ‘next-gen’.

Since Modern Warfare 3, the Call of Duty franchise has been struggling to stay innovative and interesting, and its game engine is looking increasingly creaky, although it continues to be massively popular with gamers. As EA’s Battlefield series is rumored to be moving to an annual release schedule, Activision will want to ensure the next Call of Duty really impresses.

Source: IGN

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Apple releases iOS 7.1.1 update

Apple has released the iOS 7.1.1 update. It’s a relatively minor update, but recommended for all compatible devices.

The update improves Touch ID on iPhone 5S, fixes a keyboard bug and another with Bluetooth keyboards and VoiceOver. It’s available for iPhone 4 or later, iPad 2 or later, iPad Mini or later and 5th generation iPod touch.

This update also adds a warning note to apps in the app store. Now, if a free app offers in-app purchases you will see this before you download. This is great news especially for parents, as it will give them more information about apps their children might want to use or play.

The update can be applied ‘over the air’, or via iTunes. To do it over the air on your iOS device, open Settings, then General, and Software Update. Make sure you are connected to WiFi.

This could be the last update to iOS 7, as the World Wide Developer Conference in June is likely to see the announcement of iOS 8.

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Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft released for iPad

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is now available worldwide for iPad, following its soft-launch at the start of April in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It’s free to download and play, and there are optional premium features.

Hearthstone takes characters and lore from World of Warcraft, and turns it into a card battling game like Magic: The Gathering. The difference with Blizzard’s game is its accessibility. Anyone can get into Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and it’s just as addictive as casual games like Candy Crush Saga and so on. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a simple game, though, as once you’ve learned the ropes it can get pretty complicated, but Blizzard have got the learning curve just about right.

A multiplayer battle game, Blizzard has also announced a forthcoming single player campaign. The first part will be free, and the following four will be premium, with cards you win there being instantly usable in the full game too. There is still no exact date for the single player ‘Curse of Naxxramas‘ campaign.

Download Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft for iPad, PC and Mac.

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5 news apps making headlines

Last week, our editors told us about their favorite apps to get the news, and I realized something: we’re pretty boring. Most of us stick to traditional news readers like Feedly, or apps for specific news outlets, like the BBC. They’re great apps, but there wasn’t much variety in our list. News aggregators are always popular, but I wanted to dig a bit deeper to see what other kinds of apps are out there to help you find, collect, or read the news. Here, I’ll take you through 5 of the coolest news apps I came across.

Newsbeat

I chose Newsbeat as App of the Week a few weeks ago, and for good reason. Not just your regular news aggregator, Newsbeat turns your curated news into news radio. Choose from a list of publications, sections, and topics to get curated news, streamed in succession to provide a podcast-like news experience.

Newsbeat App

The publications it covers are comprehensive but not exhaustive, although I expect the database will keep growing as the user base expands. A computerized voice reads the news, but it sounds human enough to make the experience pleasant (although a lack of intonation makes some of the news stories sound a bit strange). Regardless, Newsbeat is a great app if you’d prefer to listen to rather than read your news.

Peekster

Peekster combines the tradition of the classic newspaper with the capabilities of the modern smartphone. Say you’re on the subway, completely engrossed in an article from a newspaper left on the seat beside you. You have to get off at the next stop, but don’t have time to finish the article, and don’t want to bring the newspaper with you. What can you do? Open Peekster, scan the headline with your smartphone, and wait for the magic to happen.

Peekster – Your Best friend while reading printed media from Peekster on Vimeo.

After scanning the headline, Peekster goes through a digital database of articles from the same publication, finding the online version of the article so that you can save it and read it later, or share with your friends via social media. The concept is really cool, but you can run into a few issues if the headline has been changed for online publication. With only a handful of compatible UK newspapers currently available, it’ll still be some time before it’s database is big enough to be flawless, but it’s hoping to expand to US publications soon.

Taptu

Taptu may feel a bit like a regular news aggregator, letting you add your favorite sources for news, but it’s standout feature is its integration with news from Facebook and Twitter. A lot of people now get their news exclusively (or at least predominantly) from social media, and Taptu integrates this source, letting you sign into the social networks to get news posted by friends or tweeted by followers.

Taptu App

You can even interact with them by commenting, liking, and retweeting stories via the app, creating your own categories and subsequent news streams based on your tastes.

Alien Blue (iOS) & reddit is fun (Android)

If you’re Reddit obsessed, you probably already know that there’s no native Reddit client for iOS or Android. Luckily, there are some third-party alternatives that work pretty well. Alien Blue for iOS is one of them; it’s basic, like the webpage, but it’s easy to scroll through, perfect for headline junkies who are looking for the most popular content on the web.

Alien Blue and reddit is funLeft: Alien Blue, right: reddit is fun

A save for later function and categories for Subreddits make Alien Blue one of the most complete Reddit clients available. Reddit is fun is a similar app for Android, with most of the same features, ease of usability, and a similar interface.

Softonic app

Yes, it may be shameless self-promotion, but there’s actually not much out there in terms of news apps that are specifically tailored to improving the way you use your device. The Softonic mobile app integrates with the operating system you’re using the app with to give you news, articles, and reviews related to your OS.

Softonic Tutorials

If you’re interested in the latest news about  your iPhone, for example, the app detects your operating system, showing you news about iOS and iOS apps, tutorials and tips on how to use them, and giving you reviews of apps, letting you download them directly in the app through the App store. If you want to optimize the way you use your smartphone and get a better idea of the software and apps that are available, the Softonic mobile app is the best way to do it.

Reading the news doesn’t always have to be a tedious or time-consuming process. With these apps, you can get news tailored to your specific tastes, delivered exactly how you want it.

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Latest OS X 10.9.3 build released to developers

The latest beta build of Apple’s OS X 10.9.3 has been released to developers, version 13D43. It’s a minor update with no major changes to the last build, and the release notes ask developers to focus on Graphics Drivers, Audio, Mail, Safari and iTunes Contacts and Calendar synchronization.

To test the developer build you need to be part of Apple’s Mac Developer Program, but most people are advised to wait for the official finished release.

The most important change in 10.9.3 for users is probably the iTunes contacts synchronization change. When OS X Mavericks was released, it introduced contacts and calendars between Macs and iOS devices via iCloud. However, users were upset that local synchronization was no longer possible.

Some people were concerned about being forced to upload all their contact information to the cloud for privacy and security reasons. OS X 10.9.3 will come with iTunes 11.1.6, which will rectify that, reintroducing local contacts and calendar sync.

The next OS X will also include ‘pixel-doubling scaling’, which could signify ‘Retina video output’ for Retina display Macbooks, so they can connect to ‘Retina’ resolution monitors.

Source: Apple Insider

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