Category: News

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Expansion cinematic trailer released

Blizzard has confirmed Reaper of Souls will be the first expansion for Diablo III at Gamescom 2013. Watch the cinematic video trailer below.

Reaper of Souls will have a new campaign, where you will be up against the Angel of Death Malthael. It will feature a new setting, Westmarch, a medieval Gothic fallen city. The expansion also increases the level cap to 70 – meaning your character will be able to get new skills and runes.

The end game has been completely rethought too. ‘End game‘ is when you have completed all of the campaign quests and challenges, but continue playing. Reaper of Souls promises to give players greater challenges once the main game is over.

The other major feature of Reaper of Souls is the new character class The Crusader. Carrying a shield and flail, this class is a mid-range melee fighter, which will give players yet more playing style choice.

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Diablo III is currently available on PC, and is coming to consoles soon.

Chrome 29 out now, brings reset button and improved omnibox suggestions

Chrome 29 was just released and it brings a handy “reset” button as well as improved omnibox suggestions. For those who have gone a little overboard with installing extensions and modifying Chrome, there’s now an option to reset Chrome back to factory settings. Don’t worry about the button wiping out everything, though. You’ll still have your book marks, themes, and apps intact after the factory reset.

chrome reset

Additionally, Google has improved Chrome’s omnibox recommendations by analyzing the frequency of website visits to provide “more timely and contextually relevant suggestions. Mac users will finally be getting rich notifications that Windows users have been enjoying already.

Chrome for Android is also getting a minor update for increased performance and WebRTC support. WebRTC will allow users to have video conversations directly within the browser without the need to install a plugin. The update will be rolling out to Android devices soon.

Download: Chrome for Windows, Mac, and Android

Source: Google Chrome Blog

Plants vs. Zombies 2 out tomorrow on iOS

The wait is almost over. PopCap initially announced that Plants vs. Zombies 2 would be coming out in July but the company later delayed the game “to make sure [it] lives up to fans’ expectations.” There wasn’t a solid release date after the delay but now there’s info that points to tomorrow’s release of Plants vs. Zombies 2 for iOS.

Apple’s App Store Facebook page put up a teaser image today of an animated zombie hand reaching out of the ground. The caption reads “It’s about time. Guess what game is coming tomorrow?”

pvz2 teaser

The original Plants vs. Zombies debuted in 2009, making it a long four years leading up to its sequel. It’s not just a nip-and-tuck update to the game either; PopCap has made a controversial move to make the game free-to-play. While a free game sounds great, there will inevitably be in-app purchases that can drive the game far beyond its usual sub-$5 price.

Source: App Store (Facebook)

Windows 8.1 launch date confirmed for October 17th

Yesterday we reported on a rumor that Windows 8.1 would not be rolling out until October and now we have confirmed date date. Microsoft released a blog post detailing that Windows 8.1 would be arriving on October 17th in the US via the Windows Store for existing Windows 8 users.

Microsoft notes that the roll out will begin on October 18th at 12:00AM in New Zealand, though it doesn’t mention the release window for any other part of the world. Retail partners and PC manufacturers will also be loading their machines with the latest Windows operating system from the 18th onward so you’ll get the latest operating system if you buy a new computer.

For more Windows 8.1 coverage, check out our hands-on preview for what you can expect from the update.

Source: Microsoft

MEGA to launch secure email in 2014

MEGA, the cloud storage service set up by Kim Dotcom after Megaupload was closed, is developing a secure email service. Last week, Lavabit, the secure email service used by whilstle-blower Edward Snowden was shut by its owner.

MEGA is designed to be a secure cloud storage service – only its users know what they are storing, as the encryption keys needed to access data are not kept by the company. According to MEGA’s chief executive, it is working on a secure email service that combines enough encryption to stop programs like PRISM, while still being simple enough for the average user.

Kim Dotcom announced his intentions on Twitter last week, saying ‘#Mega’s open encrypted email service outside of #NSA reach will change the way people use email forever. You’ll see. Coming 2014.’ We’ll have to wait and see how solid MEGA’s secure email is. There is no such thing as unbreakable encryption, but it is possible to stop all but the most dedicated attempts.

In the wake of Lavabit’s closure, another service, Silent Mail, closed, claiming that ‘the writing is on the wall for secure email.’ According to that company, ‘There are far too many leaks of information and meta-data intrinsically in the email protocols themselves. Email as we know it with SMTP, POP3, and IMAP cannot be secure.’

MEGA obviously believes it can overcome these problems.

Read more about improving your internet security.

[Source: Twitter, ZDNet]

Facebook is testing trending topics for the News Feed

Following the introduction of hashtags, embedded posts and a short video service for Instagram, Facebook is testing yet another Twitter-like feature this week. The social network is experimenting with a Trending Topics banner in the news feed, which will show you what topics are currently popular on Facebook, among your friends and others.

On Monday, Facebook detailed how it was working hard to make the News Feed more relevant for users. Older posts that are still relevant now stay visible for longer, for example, thanks to Facebook’s algorithms. Trending Topics is being tested first on the mobile version with a small number of US users – when you click on a topic, you’ll see what your friends are saying about it, and then what other users are saying, outside your friends.

AllThingsD managed to see the Trending Topics banner in action, which you can see below. You can see how Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO), Shark Week and baseball’s Alex Rodriguez are all popular this week in the US on Facebook. This is an attempt to increase activity and time on Facebook, by taking advantage of the fact that many people now use Facebook to discuss political points and protests, as well as celebrities and products.

Download Facebook for iOS, Android, or visit the site.

[Source: AllThingsD]

Apple launches iOS 7 Beta 5

Following last week’s beta 4, Apple has released iOS 7 beta 5 today. Intended for developers, it’s a free update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

iOS Beta 5 is available on devices that already have previous betas installed and is an over-the-air update. It includes a number of graphical improvements, with more color in the interface, especially in Settings.

Turning off your iDevice now has a new look.

The call interface is bigger, and the buttons are now circled.

Some icons have changed, including Twitter’s.

iOS 7 is developing very quickly, and you can be sure there will be plenty of other changes and tweeks to the upcoming operating system before its public release in the Fall.

Check out our features on Apple’s operating system – Everything you need to know about iOS 7, and iOS 7 vs. Android 4.2.2.

Facebook updates News Feed to resurface old, but relevant stories

Facebook announced a change in its ranking algorithm for its News Feed that should resurface relevant stories that users may not have seen. One of the problems with the News Feed is that content gets pushed down as more and more updates are posted. A post may still be getting a lot of interaction from users but other users won’t get to see it since it’s buried under new updates.

With the changed algorithm, Facebook’s algorithm is looking at which posts are popular and will resurface them from time to time. The company provided early data from tests of the updated News Feed and cites a 5% to  8% increase in likes, comments, and shares.

This news is great for companies and users with Facebook Pages to promote their work. Facebook hopes to push older content up the News Feed to create an organic way of bringing back popular content.

To find out more about the algorithm change for News Feed, check out the source link below.

Source: Facebook

Don Bradman Cricket 14 announced, release later this year

Big Ant Studios have announced its game Don Bradman Cricket 14 will be released later this year. Cricket games on PC have been thin on the ground since Codemasters’ Brian Lara and EA’s Cricket series were retired back in 2007. The only well known game that’s still around is International Cricket Captain, which is a management-only game.

Don Bradman is possibly the best batsman of all time, and Australian studio Big Ant Studios says it has been working for four years to make this the best game possible. It claims it will be ‘far superior to any cricket game in the market.’ However, that’s a pretty low bar to set, as there is almost no competition at the moment!

Here’s the full list of features in Don Bradman Cricket 14:

  • Career Mode, allowing you to take control of an aspiring young cricketer and take him through the ranks to International glory.
  • Unique Batting and Bowling Controls, giving full 360 Shot control and Line and Length delivery without pitch markers.
  • A fully featured fielding system that allows you to run down the ball and slide to prevent a Four, catch a high ball on the boundary rope, or knock down the stumps to take a vital run out. You are always involved in the play at every stage of the game!
  • Ball Physics giving realistic Edges, bat pad catches and movement off the pitch.
  • A complete player physics system with individual attributes including weight and height – imagine running in a 2 meter bowler to delivery that perfect bouncer!
  • Appeal and Electronic Review system allowing for the first time challenges of the umpires decision.
  • Practice Nets, Hone your skills to perfection before taking to the field.
  • Dynamic time of day, Weather System and Pitch Degradation that are based on real world data with effects occurring in real-time throughout a days’ play.
  • The Cricket Academy, allowing for unparalleled customization of your Cricket experience, creating Teams, players, Tours, Competitions, Match Types and even Umpires.
  • More than 4000 Community created Players and teams ready to download and use in game.
  • An online Save system that lets you continue your match whenever you want with online opponents.

Are you excited about a new cricket game for PCs?

Read more about the best cricket games for PC here.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 and Anti-Virus 2014 released

Kaspersky has released Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 and Anti-Virus 2014, which have been made available first on their Indian store.

Both Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 and Anti-Virus 2014 use the security firm’s own Zeta Shield antivirus technology, which it claims is more effective at stopping targeted attacks on your PC. Kaspersky has also improved its Automatic Exploit Prevention, that checks programs for strange behavior associated with exploits while keeping a close eye on programs that are often exploited like Java.

Another new feature of Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 and Anti-Virus 2014 is the Trusted Applications Mode. This is a dynamic whitelist of apps that Kaspersky deems safe, and in Trusted Applications mode you will only be able to use these programs, in theory guaranteeing that you are safe.

Soon we will publish our comparison of this year’s security software, but for now you can still see which anti-virus suite was best last year.

[Source: Kaspersky]