Software & Apps News - Page 82

After what feels like forever, multi-account support will arrive to Instagram in an update this week. After some people received the feature recently, the rest of the world gets to join in very soon.

Instagram will make its server-side changes that will find their way into v7.15 of Instagram or higher, but with the Play Store version of Instagram already at v7.16, it can be confusing. This means that multi-account support isn't hitting everyone just yet, but it will be enabled very soon.

In order to get multiple accounts working within Instagram, you'll need to tap your username at the top of your profile, which will then let you change accounts. Your profile picture will be used throughout the app, which will let you keep tabs on which account you're signed into at that moment.

If you've been using 1Password on Android, you might have noticed an update arrived that delivers some rather large changes to the password manager.

1Password now sports a Material Design makeover, which makes the password manager look awesome in all areas, and provides more room within the UI. Not only that, but we have new toolbars all over the place, and a floating button that provides an easy way to add new URL-password combinations.

But, for those that own smartphones with fingerprint sensors like the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, you can use your fingerprint scanner to quickly unlock 1Password. All you need to do is launch the app and scan your finger, which will bypass the required master password. 1Password v6 also includes the beta of 1Password for Teams, which is a grat feature if you share log-ins with family or co-workers, so you can have a single account for all of your password-saving needs.

Last month it was reported uninstalling the Facebook app on Android dramatically improved performance; other reports have surfaced indicating 20% of battery life can be saved in doing so. The Guardian, curious to see the impact on iPhones, set to work with its iPhone 6S Plus and found battery life was impacted by 15%, even across multiple phones. As well, about 500MB of space was saved between the size of the app and its cache.

Between these benefits and the option to use the well-designed Facebook mobile website (which can be linked to via your home screen), you can see there are few reasons to keep the Facebook app on your phone, and many great reasons not to.

Facebook has been alerted to the performance issues; a spokesperson says the matter is being investigated.

After blocking auto-play flash ads back in September and "social engineering attacks" in November, Chrome will now throw up a full page warning (pictured below) when you arrive at a page with deceptive download links and ads (like those that tell you to 'click this link' to clean your viruses). Well, sometimes, maybe: the new feature of sorts will be likely be rolled out gradually.

The warning represents an expansion of Google's Safe Browsing, which warned you about malware and such.

It must be noted deceptive ads like this can be difficult for webmasters to control, as they are often generated by random ad servers. If nothing else, this could well discourage ad providers from creating these type of ads in the first place. With Chrome's massive browser share, it's not hard to believe.

Now available in over 60 countries, offering ridesharing, food delivery and working on driverless transportation, there is no denying that Uber is a force to be reckoned with, showing extremely successful performance in its short history.

Sometimes when a business expands they start releasing weird promotional videos and blog posts, with a new promotion seeing Uber likened to the invention of the bit and also to atoms. Attached to a new logo, this Uber promotion discusses current services and the advancement of driverless technology, explaining this company as some form of futuristic technology service.

Uber explains that to them the Atom is represented by "growing cities," then hinting that they are the pioneers of bringing atoms and bits together. Reading this explanation might make it sound like satire, but it's not. Read the full blog and watch the video here

Audio streaming service Deezer will come pre-loaded on Huawei's Honor smartphones in Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North Africa, Russia and South East Asia starting today.

Deezer boasts 40 million songs as well as 40,000 podcasts and audiobooks, and includes features like personal mixes. The company also hosts great live sessions like this one.

If you haven't been keeping up, Huawei recently became the #1 smartphone provider in China and #2 provider in Europe. Speculation says they're poised to overtake Samsung before long; the Deezer deal should only help that aim.

Samsung brought adblocking to mobile browser this week which promptly caught the ire of Google. Now pulled from the Play Store, the Adblock Fast app -- which used Samsung's custom API -- exceeded 50,000 downloads and appeared in the top charts in its short lifespan.

Fast was developed by Rocketship Apps; one of its staff members Brian Kennish posted this e-mail from Google which was sent to them after the app was pulled without warning:

Hi Developers at Rocketship Apps,

Opera 35 for desktops and laptops is out, and with it comes a couple new juicy features as well as some small but appreciable tweaks.

First, the now standard tab muting feature has been added. This is very handy for when a tab plays sounds unexpectedly, or when you want to silence a tab to listen to something else or just to have quiet. Simply click the volume icon and the sound is immediately off.

Next is the overhauled download manager. The new interface looks very slick with functionality to match. The categories menu on the left will prove very useful for when you've been downloading a lot on a given day or if you're the lazy type and don't clear your download history much or at all. Additionally, there's now a warning in place when exiting the browser while downloading something.

AMD recently launched a new open-source initiative called GPUOpen, a new philosophy backed by optimized software that's specifically designed to let developers harness more graphical power regardless of platform--PC or console. Team Red will discuss GPUOpen at GDC 2016 in March, and open up about the new project and how it'll shake up the world of gaming.

GPUOpen is essentially AMD's answer to NVIDIA's GameWorks, and will give devs more power over GPU integration and provide them with a wealth of tools, effects, SDKs, and a huge collaborative network of open-source software and connections with other developers. AMD also wants to use GPUOpen to remove the hardware limitation disparity between PC and consoles by giving "open and unrestricted access" to graphics hardware.

"GPUOpen is a new philosophy spearheaded by AMD that aims to bridge the gap between console and PC game development by allowing optimal access to the GPU for developers," reads a statement provided by AMD. "GPUOpen is a portal to effects, SDKs, libraries and tools that provides various levels of GPU access and functionalities for real-time graphics and content creation. GPUOpen marks the beginning of a new era where developers are able to achieve their artistic and technical vision via open and unrestricted access to the GPU."

MD has just rolled its new Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.1.1 drivers, bringing performance optimizations and long-overdue CrossFire support to a number of games.

The new Crimson drivers add CrossFire profiles for Fallout 4 and Rise of the Tomb Raider, allowing both games to leverage the power of multi-AMD video cards. Just four days ago AMD promised hotfix optimizations for Rise of the Tomb Raider, and it's great to see they've delivered.

Gamers instantly noticed the absence of CrossFire support in both games upon release, especially Crystal Dynamic's performance-demanding Rise of the Tomb Raider. Based on our Rise of the Tomb Raider PC analysis, AMD cards pushed their own muscle against NVIDIA's GPUs, despite the fact the game's engine was built with Team Green hardware.