Category: News

Official Facebook desktop app released

Facebook has launched a beta version of Facebook Messenger for Windows which allows you to chat with your contacts from your desktop. At the moment, it is only available to a small number of selected beta testers.

Facebook Messenger for Windows not only lets you communicate with your Facebook contacts but also gives you access to your news feed and message notifications giving you access to all the essential tools of Facebook.

The interface of Facebook Messenger for Windows is very clear and divided into two separate windows. One is dedicated to contacts and feeds like the right column of Facebook and the other opens chats. Any notifications appear as pop-ups on your desktop.

Note that although this is the first official Facebook desktop app, there are already several programs that allow you to chat with Facebook contacts including Digsby Trillian Astra, Nimbuzz and Skype.

Download Facebook Messenger for Windows

XBMC 11 beta released

It’s been a long time in coming but the beta version of XBMC 11 has now been released. Version 11 “Eden” adds lots of new features and improvements to the open source home theater software for both Mac and Windows.

The most notable changes are Addon Rollbacks and vast improvements to the default skin Confluence.

There are also significant speed increases thanks to what’s known as “Dirty-region rendering”, a new JPEG decoder, a simpler, better library, additional protocol handling, better networking support, better handling of unencrypted BluRay content and structures, adjustable display refresh rates in OSX (to match the already available feature in Windows and Linux), AirPlay support, an upgraded weather service, and much more.

You can find details of all the new additions and changes to XBMC in the changelog.

Although not finished yet, there are also important changes in progress to XBMC Live to make it more like a full “*Buntu” version of XBMC with major changes to the boot and install process.

Firefox 9 final beta released

Mozilla has released the final version of Firefox 9 beta meaning it won’t be long before it is confirmed as the next stable version of Firefox.

The latest update features improvements to Javascript that Mozilla claims boosts performance by over 30 percent. Mozilla has also tweaked Javascript with something called Type Inference for faster loading times. The other improvement is greater theme integration and swipe navigation for Mac OS X users.

Mozilla’s frequent update policy still isn’t popular with users – especially because they don’t seem to deliver major improvements and break add-ons. Let’s hope when the final version of Firefox 9 is confirmed, the transition will be smoother and the improvements more noticeable.

You can download Firefox 9 beta final for Windows and Mac or just wait for it to update automatically.

GTA 3 released for iOS and Android devices

Grand Theft Auto 3 has been released today for mobile devices, promising  iOS and Android users all the fun, action-packed gameplay of the controversial original game. Its release is designed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original launch.

As you can see from the trailer, GTA 3 for mobile is a very faithful conversion of the original for the small screen. You play as Claude, a career criminal who must work his way up the crime ladder of Liberty City in order to get revenge on his ex-girlfriend who betrayed him during a heist.

Full of great 3D graphics,  fast cars, fun storylines, and brazen violence, Grand Theft Auto 3 is well worth the five bucks it costs from the app store. Find out more by reading our review of GTA 3 for iOS and Android.

BBC iPlayer iPhone app released

The BBC have finally released an official BBC iPlayer app for iPhone. Although iPhones are already able to access the iPlayer via a web browser, this is the first official app which gives iPhone users a similar experience to that found on iPads. The new app also supports streaming iPlayer video content over 3G networks to your iPhone.

The new app includes additional improvements such as more free content and AirPlay for both subscribers and non subscribers. Note that the new app also works with  iPod Touch and the AirPlay feature that allows you to stream content to your TV requires iOS 5.

Google Currents launches for iPhone and Android

Right on the heels of Flipboard’s release on iPhone, Google has launched its own social reading app called Currents.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LOcUkm8m9w[/youtube]

Released for iPhone and Android smartphones, Google Currents aggregates content from online feeds and individual sources like blogs and compiles it in an easy to read magazine format. You can browse stories, and when you find one you like, importing it is a one touch snap. Once imported, you can come back to the article later, even if you happen to be offline.

You can read content with Google Currents in either landscape or portrait views, and the app scales to the size of your mobile device in impressive fashion. The service also syncs across multiple devices so you can take your content virtually anywhere you happen to go.

While Google Currents requires some initial customization to set up the publications you want to subscribe to, the eventual benefits of being able to take your content with you on the go will likely outweigh the minor inconvenience of set-up.

Microsoft releases My Xbox LIVE for iOS

For Xbox LIVE players, communicating outside the service is usually achieved via email.

Now Microsoft has released My Xbox LIVE, allowing subscribers to perform most of the same functions on their consoles and web browsers on their iOS devices.

My Xbox LIVE gives players the options of viewing their friends and comparing games. The app also includes the ability to edit player profiles and avatars and send messages to LIVE friends.

While the app is simple, it covers most of the major uses for subscribers right now.

Read our review for My Xbox LIVE.

Infinity Blade II released for iOS

Chair Entertainment’s sequel to Infinity Blade released today on iOS. Compatible for iOS 3.2 and the iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4S, 3rd and 4th generation iPods, and both generations of iPad, the game was also optimized for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

The original Infinity Blade showed off the abilities of Apple hardware with Epic Games’ Unreal 3 Engine, and the sequel improves on every aspect.

Read our review of Infinity Blade II.

Firefox 9 beta released

Firefox 9 has officially gone from Alpha (Aurora) to Beta now that Firefox 8 final has been released. Mozilla continues to follow the same strategy as Google does with Chrome, creating different development channels to release early versions of their browser as soon as they’re available and keep the final one updated as often as possible.

There are several improvement in Firefox 9, although a few of them will only really benefit Mac users. For instance, there’s improved theme integration for OS X Lion and Mozilla have finally added two finger swipe navigation for Lion.

There’s also added support for querying Do Not Track status via JavaScript and improved general JavaScript performance courtesy of adding Type Inference. There have been several other minor tweaks too including improved standards support for HTML5, MathML, and CSS and overall stability has been improved.

The interface is pretty much the same as Firefox 8, with a minimalist toolbar and there’s still no way of removing elements that you may not want such as Java and .Net Framework. The major downside for most users however is that some plug-ins or add-ons won’t work with Firefox 9 yet – so if you have a lot installed, prepare to be disappointed.

Firefox 9 Beta has some useful enhancements for fans of the browser, especially those on Mac.

Anno 2070 demo released

Long running city-building strategy series Anno has made a big leap for its next release. Previous games were set between the 15th and 18th centuries, but Anno 2070, as the title suggests, plants the game firmly in the future, to tell a cautionary tale about global warming.

The hefty 1GB demo, released this weekend, lets you play two missions from the main campaign. It will probably please fans of the game, because while the setting is new, the controls and mechanisms will be familiar. I don’t think Anno 2070 does a good job of introducing itself to newcomers, since it can be a bit confusing at first. However, the improved graphics, alongside some online capabilities make it an interesting prospect.

Are you an Anno fan? Pleased about the futuristic setting, or did you enjoy the historical nature of the previous games?

Anno 2070 is released on November 17, and you can download the demo here right now.