Software & Apps News - Page 11

The latest and most important Software & Apps news - Page 11.

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Meta is planning to kill Instagram and Messenger cross-app chatting

Jak Connor | Dec 7, 2023 2:18 AM CST

In 2020, Meta, which at the time was called Facebook, announced it was going to merge direct-messaging between Instagram and Messenger, in a bid to unify the instant messaging experience. Now, three years later, the company is moving to disconnect it.

Meta is planning to kill Instagram and Messenger cross-app chatting

The severing of chatting across Instagram and Messenger comes from a new support page update that states cross-app chatting between the two aforementioned apps will no longer be available as of "mid-December 2023".

The support page details what the end of support (EOS) means for users that were taking advantage of the feature; users won't be able to start new conversations or calls with Facebook accounts from Instagram, existing chats will become read-only, Facebook accounts won't be able to view your Activity Status or "seen" in messages, and any existing chats with Facebook accounts will move to your inbox on Facebook or Messenger.

Continue reading: Meta is planning to kill Instagram and Messenger cross-app chatting (full post)

Microsoft announces its killing support for the most popular Operating System

Jak Connor | Dec 7, 2023 12:03 AM CST

Microsoft has taken to its website to announce that Windows 10 has reached its end of support (EOS) phase, meaning Microsoft will sever support with the operating system.

Microsoft announces its killing support for the most popular Operating System

It was only early last month that data from StatCounter revealed that Windows users are currently migrating to Windows 11 from Windows 10, with earlier operating systems such as Windows 7 and Windows 8 taking up a small percentage of total Windows users. Notably, Windows 10 remains the dominant Operating System with a massive 71.64% market share. More interestingly, Windows 10 market share hasn't changed for the past year, as figures from September 2023 are identical to September 2022.

Microsoft announcing its ending support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, is clearly a move to get users off of old operating systems onto new versions, and with this recent announcement, the move is likely going to work as users will want to be running the latest security updates. Microsoft writes, "Ensure that your organization isn't left running unsupported software that is no longer receiving security updates. Organizations running legacy software are vulnerable to significant security risk and potential compliance violations."

Continue reading: Microsoft announces its killing support for the most popular Operating System (full post)

Twitch begins to fall with the livestreaming platform shutting down in South Korea

Jak Connor | Dec 6, 2023 1:46 AM CST

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has announced that Twitch will be shutting down its Korean division over unsustainable operating costs.

Twitch begins to fall with the livestreaming platform shutting down in South Korea

The CEO of the world's largest livestreaming company took to a blog post to publish an update on Twitch in Korea, where he explained that the cost for Twitch to operate in Korea is "prohibitively expensive", and despite efforts to reduce operating costs, the company has made little headway on reaching its goal. Clancy gave examples, such as trialing peer-to-peer streaming and restricting video quality to 720p, as attempts at reducing operational costs, and while they did reduce running costs, it simply wasn't enough.

"Twitch has been operating in Korea at a significant loss, and unfortunately there is no pathway forward for our business to run more sustainably in that country," writes Clancy.

Continue reading: Twitch begins to fall with the livestreaming platform shutting down in South Korea (full post)

Windows 12 is apparently launching in June 2024 alongside a wave of new AI PCs

Kosta Andreadis | Dec 4, 2023 12:31 AM CST

Taiwan publication The Commercial Times reports that Microsoft's Windows 12 will launch in June 2024, and the operating system will feature several AI technologies. With that, Microsoft's next Windows will launch alongside a wave of new AI PCs from companies like Acer, MSI, GIGABYTE, and Quanta.

Windows 12 is apparently launching in June 2024 alongside a wave of new AI PCs

According to the report, 2024 is shaping up to be "the first year of AI PCs," with dedicated hardware built for generative AI. This means Microsoft is positioning Windows 12 as the first version of the operating system built for the age of AI - so it will be interesting to see what it brings to the table compared to Windows 11.

The publication doesn't say where it got the June 2024 launch info for Windows 11. However, the article does feature quotes from Acer CEO Jason Chen and Quanta's Barry Lam from the recent Taiwan Medical Technology Exhibition.

Continue reading: Windows 12 is apparently launching in June 2024 alongside a wave of new AI PCs (full post)

Meta announces its stopped five political influence campaign from China

Jak Connor | Nov 30, 2023 11:05 PM CST

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has announced it removed nearly 5,000 fake accounts that were attempting to influence US politics, and these accounts can be linked back to China.

Meta announces its stopped five political influence campaign from China

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram announced that it deleted 4,800 fake accounts that it says were part of a China-based influence campaign whose goal was to post polarizing content ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Meta writes that the influence operation was one of two campaigns detected by Meta during the third quarter of 2023 and that these accounts actively posted in English about US politics and US-China relations, criticizing both sides of the US political spectrum.

Meta explained that these accounts used what appears to be "copy-pasted partisan content from people on X" and that these accounts acquired their information from both liberal and conservative sources. Additionally, these accounts mixed in resharing into their posts by resharing genuine content from politicians and news outlets.

Continue reading: Meta announces its stopped five political influence campaign from China (full post)

Discord opens up a Shop for users who want to decorate and animate their Avatars and Profiles

Kosta Andreadis | Nov 30, 2023 7:31 PM CST

Discord is one of the most popular voice, video, and text communication platforms today, especially among gamers. Thanks to the new Discord Store, the latest feature to arrive is all about customizing your profile and avatar/icon. Available through the desktop client and the web app, users can now make their profile more unique and animated with Avatar Decorations and Profile Effects.

Discord opens up a Shop for users who want to decorate and animate their Avatars and Profiles

Discord is popular with PC and console gamers, so one way to describe the addition is to say it's like a cosmetic microtransaction storefront for your profile. Granted, this is not inherently bad as most features on Discord are free to use - and there's a definite market for sprucing up your Discord Avatar with festive lights in time for the holiday season.

And for those who currently shell out for the premium Discord Nitro service, there's special member pricing and an exclusive set of cosmetic items "only available for Nitro members to use with an active membership."

Continue reading: Discord opens up a Shop for users who want to decorate and animate their Avatars and Profiles (full post)

Xbox app on PC now has a Compact Mode for gaming handhelds like the ROG Ally

Kosta Andreadis | Nov 29, 2023 7:58 PM CST

Microsoft has rolled out the November Update for the Xbox app on Windows PCs, and it's a big one for fans of portable PC gaming devices like the ROG Ally from ASUS, Legion GO from Lenovo, or any of the various Windows-based handhelds from AYANEO. Although Valve's Steam Deck isn't a Windows device, the rise in popularity of these sorts of devices has led to the new Compact mode for the Xbox app.

Xbox app on PC now has a Compact Mode for gaming handhelds like the ROG Ally

As the naming suggests, it offers a more intuitive interface and streamlined version of the UI optimized for handhelds - with the side bar collapsing into icons to provide more space for browsing through your library and all of the latest PC Game Pass additions.

Accessing the new mode is simple: select your profile and then toggle between 'Compact Mode' on and off. As part of the update, Microsoft is partnering with companies like ASUS to ensure that Compact mode is enabled by default when firing up the Xbox app on PC gaming handhelds running Windows.

Continue reading: Xbox app on PC now has a Compact Mode for gaming handhelds like the ROG Ally (full post)

Microsoft Paint is now an AI image generator thanks to the new Cocreator feature and DALL-E

Kosta Andreadis | Nov 29, 2023 7:31 PM CST

Microsoft Paint is a simple graphics editor that has been a part of Windows for decades, launching with the first version of the Operating System back in 1985. Released as a direct competitor to Apple's MacPaint for the Macintosh, the simple lo-fi MS Paint is a Microsoft Windows staple and, over the years, hasn't changed much, retaining its status as a simple-to-use and basic graphics editor.

Microsoft Paint is now an AI image generator thanks to the new Cocreator feature and DALL-E

It's no Photoshop, but fast forward to 2023, and Microsoft Paint is starting to make headlines thanks to new AI-powered features. In September, we reported on the app getting a one-click background removal function that was surprisingly powerful. And now, thanks to AI, Microsoft Paint can generate images using OpenAI's DALL-E via the app's latest addition - Paint Cocreator.

Available now for Windows Insiders, it might just be the easiest-to-use AI image generation tool on the market, thanks to Paint's simple and clean interface.

Continue reading: Microsoft Paint is now an AI image generator thanks to the new Cocreator feature and DALL-E (full post)

The Apple Card experiment might be over with Goldman Sachs reportedly ditched by Apple

Oliver Haslam | Nov 29, 2023 12:15 PM CST

The Apple Card has been around for a few years at this point having launched in 2019, but it might not be around all that much longer. That's after a Wall Street Journal report claimed that the partnership between Apple and Goldman Sachs that makes the Apple Card possible is on the verge of being killed off.

The Apple Card experiment might be over with Goldman Sachs reportedly ditched by Apple

The Apple Card is a Goldman Sachs-backed credit card that is entirely managed via the Wallet app on an iPhone and offers various cashback deals that are surprisingly competitive. But the card is only available in the United States four years after its 2019 debut, with little sign that it is going to expand beyond the country's borders. Now, the Wall Street Journal, says that Apple is pulling the plug on its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, with the deal possibly exited within the next 12 to 15 months. The exit would reportedly cover the entire consumer partnership, including the credit card itself.

However, it isn't clear what that would actually mean for customers of the Apple Card. Would they continue to be able to use their card with Apple picking up a new backer, or would their cards be converted to a standard Goldman Sachs credit card, and its management be moved away from the Wallet app entirely? That isn't yet known, but it seems that the decision to end the agreement is mutual.

Continue reading: The Apple Card experiment might be over with Goldman Sachs reportedly ditched by Apple (full post)

These are the podcasts Apple says most people are listening to

Oliver Haslam | Nov 28, 2023 1:17 PM CST

When Apple released the iPod all those years ago it probably didn't know that music might not be the biggest thing to come out of it. Podcasts were born, and now they're big business and listened to by millions of people around the globe. There are tons of ways to listen to podcasts now, including Apple's own Podcasts app. And now the data collected by Apple Podcasts has been used to show us the most popular podcasts of the year.

These are the podcasts Apple says most people are listening to

Apple shared details of the most popular shows in a press release that was broken down into a few different categories. In terms of the most popular show, that honor fell to Crime Junkie while The Daily and Dateline NBC made up the top three podcasts.

For fans of finding new podcasts, the next category will be most interesting - top new shows. At the top of that list was Scamanda, while The Retrievals and The Deck Investigations rounded out the top three most popular new shows according to Apple Podcasts.

Continue reading: These are the podcasts Apple says most people are listening to (full post)