News - Softonic English

Good news! Your favorite web browser just got faster

Google is currently working on a compression algorithm for Chrome, in order to make your browsing experience even quicker!

This recent update has the ability to make web pages smaller by reducing the size of HTML, CSS and JavaScript code, which in effect, saves on loading time and data usage by up to 25%.

The name of the update is Brotli, and is sure to make surfing the web a faster and more enjoyable experience for Chrome users around the world! Stay tuned for the update!

Source: Business Insider

The new Zelda trailer is awesome. It’s a shame Nintendo will probably take it down any minute

It’s quite surprising that Nintendo hasn’t had this game taken down yet, however, the creator of the unofficial The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 2D has launched a new trailer. Yes, the remake is great, awesome, etc, but I can’t help but feel Nintendo will take it down very soon.

Can’t see the video? Click here.

A fan back in the day launched a version of Super Mario 64, and Nintendo took it down. Another fan tried to make another Ocarina 2D, and Nintendo took it down.

On this occasion, I really hope I’m proved wrong.

Spike Chunsoft pulls the trigger on a Steam release of Danganronpa

The visual novel adventure game Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc was a surprise hit when it was released in the West on PS Vita two years ago. Now it is to find an even broader audience, as Spike Chunsoft announce that it is to bring the game to PC this February.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc’s Steam page reveals that the game – along with its bizarre cast of characters – is to come to Windows machines next month, but gives no firm date.

In similarly mysterious fashion, the page offers no price and does not yet let you pre-purchase the product. It does, however, reveal that early purchasers are to receive Despair in Stereo – the game’s 16-track OST – as a bonus.

It is worth noting that, with the story already conveniently broken up into chapters, it would be easy to split Danganronpa up into a season of releases – a tactic that has worked well for similar, narrative heavy games.

There is no mention as to whether the PC port is to have upresed visuals, but the page does reveal Steam Achievements and Cloud Saves, along with plans for Trading Cards.

While the game’s first release in Europe and America was on Vita, it hit Japan back in 2010 on PSP and, later that year, iOS. Spike Chunsoft have still not offered an iPhone or iPad release in Western territories – though perhaps that is a possibility if this Windows release is successful.

For more about Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc’s story and gameplay check out our preview.

The only game that can face up to Pokemon Go is coming soon

Everything seems to point to Pokemon Go being the next great Nintendo game title that nothing can challenge, right? That’s not quite true. On Friday the 6th of November 2015, North America witnessed the launch by Nintendo of the first game of a franchise that has sold over 2 billion dollars’ worth of games, toys, and much more.

This series is called Yo-kai Watch. The aim is to capture ghostly creatures. Does this mission sound familiar? The franchise by Level-5 has been a huge hit in Japan; there’s anime, films, dances, and toys that sell out in moments.

(You can’t watch the video? Click here to enjoy it from Youtube)

So you get the idea, the two first Yo-Kai Watch games have sold a combined 8 million copies. A video games analyst called Sartori Bernbeck believes that the saga can generate hundreds of millions of dollars in the United States alone. Imagine what will happen when it gets to Europe in 2016!

(You can’t watch the video? Click here to enjoy it from Youtube)

Until now, whenever Nintendo has had problems, it was the Pokemon franchise that has got it out of trouble. Will this be its successor?

Source: Wall Street Journal

Windows 10 will launch their first big update in November: Threshold 2

Microsoft will launch Windows 10’s first big update at the start of November. The Windows 10 Fall Update has been codenamed Threshold 2, and is expected to be released on the first week of November. It will include many of the improvements that we’ve seen in the Windows Insider program builds.

The update will also include improvements or features that were supposed to be included at launch of Windows 10, but were delayed for various reasons.

Windows 10 Fall Update will be the default version once it’s released. Any Windows 10 device bought after November will have this version and the previous versions will disappear forever.

The update will arrive both as a digital Service Pack, and in a CD format, like in old times. How do you get this update onto your machine? Nothing. The update will be downloaded automatically.

What else will be in the update? Cortana will have better local integration (you will, for example, be able to ask Cortana to book you a taxi). Skype will also be better integrated, the Edge web browser will be optimized, etc… Expect only tiny refinements, not something revolutionary – for now.

Microsoft’s new Windows 10 hardware for 2016, and more news

In this week’s news sundae we have a healthy dollop of Microsoft hardware news, with a sprinkling of Windows 10 information, and to top it off a Facebook shaped cherry.

Starting with the cherry (because we always do), Facebook has just started previewing its new Like button. Offering a choice of six one-click responses to posts, users in Ireland and Spain can start trying them today.

Next up comes Microsoft’s Windows 10 update topping. The latest update – version 10565 – is currently available for Windows Insiders and includes Edge browser and Skype messaging updates. (Source: WinBeta)

Finally, we get into the delicious Microsoft-hardware flavored ice-cream, as we bring you news from the Redmond Company’s New York device presentation where they bought the latest news about Xbox One, Holo-Lens, Microsoft Band, Surface, and Lumia. (Source: Windows)

Right at the bottom of this weeks delicious news there was even some chocolate-fudge sauce to enjoy, with Microsoft revealing its first ever laptop computer, the Surface Book. The specs are incredible, and it looks set to go head-to-head with Apple’s most powerful portable machines without sacrificing on battery life.

That’s our sundae glass scraped clean, we will be back on Thursday with more tasty videos. I’ll see you then.

WhatsApp prepares to fight, Android vulnerabilities, Facebook profile update, and more news

On the Softonic Roundup this week we look at the brewing battle between WhatsApp and mobile carriers, see the latest Android variability, peak at the Windows 10 update leak, prepare ourselves for Facebook profiles, and get excited for Minecraft: Story Mode.

Kicking it off, Android phones are in danger from Stagefright 2.0, a vulnerability that exploits metadata tags on MP3 and MP4 files. Impacting 95% of phones, manufacturers are already looking at fixes to this issue. Until then be careful with those multimedia downloads. (Source: Zimperium)

Facebook’s next update is coming, and it will include the option to set animated GIFs as your profile image. This, and numerous other profile updates, are being enjoyed now by iPhone Facebook app users in the UK and California – hopefully it will go on general release soon. (Sources: FB.com, Softonic)

Microsoft have an event on October 6, which we will check in on next week. Until then, we will have to make do with a leak of the next build of Windows 10 and the new features it will bring. (Source: Windows Central)

Minecraft: Story Mode’s trailer hit last week. Coming from Telltale Games, Minecraft Story Mode will borrow heavily from the studio’s previous narrative focused titles – like The Walking Dead – to add moral choices to Minecraft experience. No more killing villagers for fun then. (Source: Telltale Games)

Finally, WhatsApp have sent a few sentences for translation. It seems harmless enough until you see one of the sentences, “Your mobile operator does not support calls through WhatsApp. Try changing mobile operator or connect to Wi-Fi”. (Source: Aggiornamenti Lumia)

I will be back on Monday with more news, until then comment, share, subscribe, like, or even dislike, this video to let us know what you thought.

Twitter polls, YouTube paid subscriptions, Facebook connects refugee camps, and other news

On the Softonic Roundup this week – Twitter tests polling, YouTube starts charging, Facebook continues connecting people, and more.

Last week a new poll feature started popping up on Twitter for its employees and verified accounts. A poll can run for 24 hours and allows users to pick between two responses, after which the results are tallied. (Source: Mashable)

Murmurs suggest that YouTube may soon be introducing a new paid service that will remove ads and provide a subscription to YouTube Music Key. Rumors speculate that the price of a subscription will be $10 a month which, if true, could make it huge competitor for Spotify and Apple Music. (Source: re/code)

We also touch on Samsung’s latest trip into virtual reality, the Samsung Gear VR. This just got a release date and price – November and $99 respectively. While that does sound like a bargain, keep in mind you’ll need a 2015 Samsung phone to attach to the peripheral. (Source: TechCrunch)

Next, Instagram now has 400 million users. Impressive in itself, but even more so given that this number comes just nine months after it hit 300 million. The company specifically highlights Brazil, Japan, and Indonesia for the huge jump. (Source: TechCrunch)

We wish Google a happy 17 birthday for the 28th of September, and marvel at their retro Doodle to celebrate the event. (Source: Google Doodles)

And finally, we look at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to bring internet to Syrian refugee camps. The internet is no longer a luxury and – by bringing it to the camps – the hope is that it will reconnect loved ones and help people create better support networks. (Source: CNet)

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Apple, Nintendo, and Google news

In Softonic’s tech roundup this week we anticipate Google’s event on September 29th, fill you in on Apple news, and more.

Next Tuesday – that’s September 29th – Google has announced it will be holding an event. This is expected to include details about the new Nexus phones and Chromecast. More on that in the video. (Source: The Verge)

Next up is Apple which released iOS 9 for all iPhone and iPad users. Its stuffed with new features, including a new smarter Siri. It hasn’t all been good for Apple users though, the AppStore has seen its first instance of malware – although some impacted apps have already released clean updates. (Sources: Reuters, WeChat)

For gamers we talk about the appointment of Tatsumi Kimishima as the president of Nintendo, take a quick look at Pokémon GO, and remind you FIFA 16 is out later this week.

Adblock, Apple, and EA news

This week on the Softonic Roundup we checkout what’s going on between YouTube and Adblock, get excited about Apple’s announcements, and ponder why EA is taking games off the App Store.

Ad-blockers were in the news quite a lot last week. We start looking at recent clashes between the Chrome YouTube App and AdBlock Pro (Source: Neowin), but then have a closer look at a recent report regarding the impact of ad-blockers on websites. (Sources: BuzzFeed, Ad Age, and PageFair)

Obviously, last week’s Apple Keynote is also a focus of this week’s Roundup. Information on the WatchOS2, iPad Pro, and the new iPhone 6S (and iPhone 6S Plus) all got us excited. That said it was the new Apple TV announcement that got our minds racing, pondering how the tech company intends to change how we behave in our living room. (Source: Apple)

Finally, game news from EA. The gaming giant has removed a number of its games from the App Store (including Flight Control, Real Racing, and Dead Space). There is still no words as to why, but we are guessing it is will be due to either compatibility issues with iOS 9 or a move to re-release them in a free to play format as they did with Peggle. (Source: Touch Arcade)

That’s it for this week. Subscribe, like, share, and check back in the week for more Softonic videos.

Category: News

Good news! Your favorite web browser just got faster

The new Zelda trailer is awesome. It’s a shame Nintendo will probably take it down any minute

Spike Chunsoft pulls the trigger on a Steam release of Danganronpa

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