Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » juin 12, 2015

BetaNews.Com (20 non lus)

Facebook factors in article view times to personalize news feeds

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 11:47pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Facebook today announced that it is making another change to the way it determines which stories are displayed in News Feeds. As well as factoring in how many people have liked or commented on a story, the social network will now also take into account how long people spend reading individual articles.

But it's not quite as simple as saying that stories people spend a while looking at are the most popular. Some lengthy visits are the fault of slow connections, for example. Equally, it is not safe to assume that only heavily liked and commented articles are the most read -- there are some stories that do not lend themselves to liking and commenting. Today's change aims to strike a balance between different weightings.

Facebook now keeps a check of how long users spend looking at individual articles compared to how long they spend on others. Despite the change, the site says that Pages are unlikely to see a significant change in distribution. The aim is simply to 'surface' more content that people are interested in reading.

In a blog post, Facebook engineers Ansha Yu and Sami Tas say:

Recently, as part of our ongoing effort to improve News Feed, we asked people to rate their experience and tell us how we can improve the content they see when they check Facebook.

From this research, we learned that in many cases, just because someone didn’t like, comment or share a story in their News Feed doesn’t mean it wasn’t meaningful to them. There are times when, for example, people want to see information about a serious current event, but don’t necessarily want to like or comment on it. Based on this finding, we are updating News Feed’s ranking to factor in a new signal—how much time you spend viewing a story in your News Feed.

You may not see changes to your news feed immediately -- it's rolling out over the next few weeks.

Photo credit: Gil C / Shutterstock
Google announces YouTube Gaming -- puts Amazon's Twitch in crosshairs

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 10:35pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

Playing video games is a very fun hobby. Hell, for some people, playing them is a job; yes, professional competitive gaming is a real thing. You know what else is cool? Watching other people play. While it was an absurd notion years ago, nowadays, people enjoy being spectators to another person's gameplay. I watch Pewdiepie, like, every day.

The most famous platform for streaming gameplay is Twitch, which is why Amazon bought the service for a ton of cheddar. Not to be outdone, however, Google today announces its own streaming service for gamers -- the unimaginatively named YouTube Gaming. While I do not expect a mass exodus from Twitch, Amazon's service will certainly lose some of its luster as a result. Interestingly, it will be run by former pro-gamer, Ryan Wyatt -- aka Fwiz -- most widely known as the former love interest of Justine Ezarik -- aka iJustine.

"On YouTube, gaming has spawned entirely new genres of videos, from let’s plays, walkthroughs, and speedruns to cooking and music videos. Now, it's our turn to return the favor with something built just for gamers. This summer, we'll launch YouTube Gaming, a brand new app and website to keep you connected to the games, players, and culture that matter to you, with videos, live streams, and the biggest community of gamers on the web -- all in one place", says Alan Joyce, Product Manager, Google.

Joyce further says, "live streams bring the gaming community closer together, so we’ve put them front-and-center on the YouTube Gaming homepage. And in the coming weeks, we’ll launch an improved live experience that makes it simpler to broadcast your gameplay to YouTube. On top of existing features like high frame rate streaming at 60fps, DVR, and automatically converting your stream into a YouTube video, we're redesigning our system so that you no longer need to schedule a live event ahead of time. We're also creating single link you can share for all your streams".

Google is saying all the right things; gamers should be excited to use this platform . It will feature both a dedicated web portal -- found here -- as well as an Android app. It is not clear if there are any plans to bring it to iOS. It will be interesting to see how Twitch loyalists react.

Will you take advantage of this new platform this summer? Tell me in the comments.

We’re connecting you to the games, community and culture that matter to you – by gamers, for gamers.

— YouTube Gaming (@YouTubeGaming) June 12, 2015

Photo Credit: file404/Shutterstock
Uber puts passengers at risk with a flawed driver-approval process

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 8:58pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Uber, the San Francisco-based private taxi firm, is putting its passengers in grave danger. The company uses a computerized driver sign-up system that can be easily fooled into authorizing drives with fake insurance papers. The transport network exploded onto the scene a few years ago, and a whistleblower claims that it is all too easy to cheat the system making it possible for virtually anyone to sign up to be an Uber driver.

The vulnerability was found to have been exploited in London where there are around 15,000 Uber drivers in operation. The scam has been demonstrated by The Guardian who worked with a whistleblower to fraudulently sign up as a driver. It was achieved using fabricated insurance papers from a made up company with a fake letterhead.

Uber recently cut its fares in a bid to attract more customers, and this was a bill that drivers had to shoulder. It is claimed that in order to save money, some drivers are failing to pay for insurance and use false papers to gain Uber authorization. Working in conjunction with The Guardian, the whistleblower uploaded a fake insurance policy from a non-existent insurance company. Despite the lack of genuine paperwork, he was approved to pick up paying customers.

The driver claims he actually had genuine insurance in place, but uploaded the fake documents to illustrate a point to the wider public. He has since been removed from Uber's books and reported to the police. Uber responded by saying that the illegitimate driver approval was "a unique situation triggered by a deliberate attempt to try and cheat the system" and said that it would implement a limit on which insurers it would allow drivers to use in an attempt to prevent the same thing from happening again.

A spokesperson put the fake document approval down to human error:

We are going through our processes and evaluating them to make sure something like this can’t happen again. It was checked. It was a case of human error. The team involved has been spoken to to ensure our high level of practice has been maintained at all times.

The company stressed that if an accident occurred involving an Uber car driven by someone without the necessary insurance, the incident would still be covered by its separate corporate insurance policy.
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10130 now available to download on the Slow ring

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 8:21pm CEST par Wayne Williams
Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10130 to the Fast ring two weeks ago, but it came with a couple of major bugs that meant it wasn’t suitable for all. Last week Microsoft pushed out ISOs of the build, for people who were having trouble updating to the new version through Windows Update, but it still wasn’t deemed stable enough for Slow ring Insiders.

Well, the good news is if you’re on the Slow ring you can finally update Windows 10 to Build 10130, as Microsoft is pushing the update out to everyone now. And your patience is rewarded with news that the update comes with some useful fixes.

You can read about the features and improvements in the original Build 10130 here.

Microsoft reports the following fixes that will be immediately available to Slow ring updaters:
- KB3070365: Fixed an issue where if you click on the icons on the Taskbar (Start, Cortana, Network, Battery, and Action Center) in this build, the expected fly-out might not open.
- KB3069069: Fixed the issue where after upgrading to this build audio playback is lost in some hardware configurations.
  - Note: Some sound cards may fail to operate in multichannel mode. The workaround to the problem is to set the default audio format to stereo.
- KB3070677: Fixed an issue where if you’re running the 'Core' edition of the Windows 10 Insider Preview and Windows Update might not detect new builds available.
- KB3070982: This dynamic update prevents an issue that can result in the loss of audio when the upgrade is completed in some hardware configurations.
Some of the fixes will be applied as Dynamic Updates during installation, others will come once everything is set up. If you're on the Fast ring and already have Build 10130 installed, you should already have the latest updates. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.

See Also: How to customize Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10130

Surface 3 users will still need to avoid this build as there’s a problem that stops it installing.

Finally, if you find the build doesn’t update properly on your PC, you can also upgrade directly using the ISO files.
Norton Security 2016 beta is faster, Windows 10-ready

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 7:06pm CEST par Mike Williams

Symantec has announced public betas for Norton Security 2016 and Norton Security with Backup 2016.

This isn’t a major update, as the company admits, saying: "None of the changes we’ve made will be directly visible to you". There are just a few under-the-hood changes to improve performance, while the package is now fully Windows 10-ready.

If you want to test the releases anyway, we’d recommend uninstalling any existing Norton packages first (even a stand-alone copy of Identity Safe didn’t work properly after we installed the beta).

You’ll also need to register before the beta can be downloaded. This includes providing a working email address where you’ll receive your product key.

The signup process gets you a 14-day license which can be extended once more, for another 14 days, if required.

Beta downloads of Norton Security and Norton Security with Backup are available now.
2015 is the year of 'merger mania'

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 5:55pm CEST par Charlie Mayes
I was recently reading in Forbes Magazine that the U.S. has had the best first quarter for mergers since 2000 with $414.7 billion (£267 billion), and it was the best first quarter ever for Asian (non-Japan) M&A with $199.7 billion (£128 billion).

In fact, the first quarter of 2015 will go down as the richest first quarter for mergers and acquisitions since Q1 2007. According to data from Thomson Reuters there has already been more than $843 billion (£543 billion) in global M&A activity this year. That’s 23.3 percent higher than the $694 billion (£447 billion) of M&A activity in the first quarter of last year, and nearly 72 percent higher than Q1 2013.

All the pundits are suggesting that there are some unavoidable pressures that will prompt further consolidation as companies have to buy or be bought to achieve growth in a low interest rate climate. Here in the UK we’re already seeing this with BT’s £12.5 billion takeover of the British mobile player EE. This has started a game of chess in the telecoms sector which has rivals scrambling to play their next move.

On the face of it this all sounds like good news, especially as it’s hard to escape the feeling that 2014 was the year of the deals that never were, with lots of promise but less action. So while the telecoms, media, technology and healthcare sectors are dealmakers’ favorites, M&A activity is anticipated to spread to other sectors in 2015 that have, until now, had a lackluster pace of deals.

One huge driver of M&A this year is expected to be the slump in commodity prices, and with mining and natural resources companies accounting for 20 percent of all London-listed companies, a wave of merger mania is set to hit the city.

In the last month oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has agreed a £47 billion takeover of gas group BG in one of the biggest deals seen in the oil and gas sector in the last 20 years. It will create a company worth more than £200 billion. In this case, the rationale for the deal appears to relate to gaining access to BG Group’s oil and gas reserves rather than any internal or market efficiencies that can be gained. If commodity prices stay low this year, we may be seeing more of this, creating a different approach to any merger.

But whilst M&A activity has had its largest first quarter since 2000, the actual number of global deals was down slightly year-over-year, from 9,402 to 8,926. This continues the trend from 2014 when global deal value increased at a much higher rate than deal volume, largely caused by a large number of mega-deals.

I believe this is also down to the fact that a lot of acquirers have learned the lessons of the past and are being more selective with their targets, paying more attention to finding the right strategic fit. So, while the deal volume has not increased as anticipated, they are willing to pay a premium for targets that meet their selection criteria and growth plans. Companies are getting more cautious on the quality of deals.

In fact, right now I would say that quality trumps quantity as investors get more critical and request more robust growth strategies and better returns.

Even as we move into a more positive economic climate the mantra is that acquisitions must be made to work. This means adopting the right approach from the start and managing a properly structured process through to the realization of the envisaged benefits. This is true even in the case of Shell’s acquisition of BG Group where, despite the simplicity of the deal rationale, there are two huge business operations to merge and undoubted improvements in organizational efficiency and effectiveness to be found.

One of the problems for most M&As is that beyond the headline announcement of the deal, many simply fail to deliver the business value anticipated. It’s a sobering fact that M&As are actually more likely to destroy shareholder value than create it. According to some reports, between 50 and 70 percent of M&As either fail outright or fall short of their desired goals.

One of the most common causes of failure is that the acquiring organization simply doesn’t manage the end to end M&A process effectively. While the overall strategy and up front due-diligence may be very solid, it’s the execution that goes off the rails. Nowhere is this experienced more acutely than in the business and IT integration aspects of a merger which ultimately determines the degree to which any M&A transaction will succeed.

In many sectors a large percentage of all merger synergies are dependent directly upon IT and in some, particularly financial services, it is the IT integration process that effectively drives the merger timetable. It’s therefore concerning to learn that there is a long list of merged organizations who’ve struggled and in some cased failed to integrate their IT infrastructure effectively, resulting in a significant impact on the merger economics.

Why is this? Well, IT programs on this scale are complex and involve big money. It’s also questionable whether many organizations actually have the necessary skills and experience in-house to plan and manage such challenging tasks. Although there is limited data available on the financial results of M&A driven major systems programs, anecdotal evidence suggests that many suffer substantial overruns, do not deliver the desired outcomes, and are effectively written off.

Unfortunately, in many cases, the hard graft of making a merger work usually only starts once the ink is dry on the deal. At this point the organization belatedly realizes the extent to which it needs to unify the business, its culture and processes. This often includes merging supporting systems such as back office systems and billing systems, and then consolidating IT platforms.

Whilst I am pleased that more due diligence appears to be taking place to identify the right target at the outset, this is only one part of the success of an M&A and executive management must start planning the integration activities before the deal is completed to understand where the risks to successful realization of value lie. In my experience, integrating the IT systems and business processes of two merged companies is no different to any other business change program.

Success factors include:
- Meticulous planning -- identifying the risks upfront.
- Managing the program in a structured way.
- Knowing what the business objectives are and understanding the vision.
- Defining the benefits and goals for the business and then focusing on their realization.
- Ensuring stakeholders are closely managed and communications are regular, relevant and clear.
Irrespective of the reasons for the undertaking it, there really is no shortcut to making M&A integration work. It requires pace and clarity in the planning and then execution of your plans, effective due diligence, a viable integration plan, and then having the program management capability on board to deliver it.

With merger mania on the agenda for 2015 those organizations that can successfully incorporate these principles into their merger methodology will be the ones that position themselves most effectively to take advantage of the deals to be had.

Charlie Mayes is managing director of DAV Management.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo Credit: bleakstar/Shutterstock
Acronis True Image 2016 beta adds mobile backup, Try&Decide is back

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 4:13pm CEST par Mike Williams

Acronis has unveiled the first public beta of Acronis True Image 2016 for Windows XP+ and Mac.

The headline addition this time is continuous mobile cloud backup for up to 10 iOS or Android devices.

These -- and backups for up to 3 other computers -- can all be managed and monitored from a new web-based Family Dashboard.

If you’re a long-term Acronis user who couldn’t understand why "Try&Decide" (a handy feature where you can install new software or open suspect files in a temporary workspace) was stripped out last time, then good news -- it’s coming back in the 2016 release.

There are also interface tweaks to improve usability, you can now change the interface language from the Help page, and the program is "fully optimized for Windows 10".

If you’re thinking of trying out the program, beware -- it has plenty of problems at the moment. The official "Known Limitations" list includes items like "the EFI system is occasionally not bootable after recovery from Acronis Cloud Storage", "EFI needs to be repaired after a full system disk restore" and "new backup creation is not supported" (in the web dashboard). Don’t install it anywhere important, and don’t use the package as your main backup tool (yet).

If you’re happy to try out the program and give feedback, there are a few rewards available: the top 10 beta testers get a free license for the finished product, while the top 3 also get a $100 Amazon gift card.

Acronis True Image 2016 beta for Windows XP+ and Mac is available now.
Amazon building huge solar farm to power Web Services

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 4:08pm CEST par Barclay Ballard

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is about to become a lot more environmentally friendly after announcing the construction of an 80 megawatt solar farm.

The green proposal will generate 170,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of solar power each year, the equivalent of approximately 15,000 US homes.

The solar farm, which will become the biggest in the state of Virginia, will primarily be used to power Amazon’s datacentres as part of the company’s commitment to use 100 percent renewable energy for its global AWS infrastructure. Currently, Amazon Web Services counts 25 percent of its energy use as renewable, with the aim of raising this figure to 40 percent by the end of 2016.

Vice president of infrastructure at AWS Jerry Hunter believes that the solar farm, due to open in October 2016, will also prove beneficial to the state of Virginia as a whole.

"We continue to make significant progress towards our long-term commitment to power the global AWS infrastructure with 100 percent renewable energy", he said. "Amazon Solar Farm US East -- the second PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) that will serve both existing and planned AWS datacenters in the central and eastern US -- has the added benefit of working to increase the availability of renewable energy in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

The renewable project will be jointly developed with Community Energy, an energy company that has developed solar farms across the US. It is not clear how much Amazon will be contributing to the project, nor how much energy will be made available to other organizations in Virginia.

Amazon is hardly the first technology giant to implement a greener approach to datacentre management. Apple and Facebook both have environmentally friendly projects in place, while Google is rumored to be working on using tidal power to run its servers.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Image Credit: Vaclav Volrab/Shutterstock
Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 comfortably beats Apple's iPad Air 2 in speed tests

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 2:38pm CEST par Wayne Williams
UK consumer watchdog Which? tested a range of popular tablets and discovered that when it comes to speed, there’s only one champion, and that’s Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3.

It turns out it wasn’t only Microsoft’s slate that bested Apple’s tablets in the speed stakes. The iPad mini 3, which sells for £319 in the UK, was beaten by the Tesco Hudl 2 which costs just £99.

Which tested the tablets using the Geekbench software, and Microsoft Surface Pro 3 managed the highest score of 5,069, comfortably beating the Apple iPad Air 2 on 4,046 and the Google Nexus 9 on 3,537. Don’t bother getting your calculators out, that means the Surface Pro 3 is 20 percent faster than the iPad Air 2.

"Our tablet speed test is a great indication of how fast tablets can run when downloading apps or using multiple functions at once," said Which? editor Richard Headland.

"Nowadays we expect everything in a swipe or a click of the button, so understanding how quickly a tablet is able to process information is important to buyers".

The scores for the ten tested tablets are as follows:
1. Microsoft Surface Pro 3 128GB i5: 5069
2. Apple iPad Air 2: 4046
3. Google Nexus 9: 3537
4. Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 2014: 3060
5. Apple iPad Air 32GB wi-fi: 2687
6. Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1: 2650
7. Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5: 2594
8. Asus MEMO Pad 7 ME572C: 2351
9. Tesco Hudl 2: 2084
10. Apple iPad mini 3: 1790
Naturally there will be some (or maybe a lot) of disagreement when it comes to these findings, so sound off in the comments below.

Photo Credit: Sashkin/Shutterstock
Chrome for Mac now more resource efficient, lighter on battery consumption

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 2:35pm CEST par Manish Singh

It’s no secret that Chrome for Mac hogs more resources than Safari. The browser by Google has been receiving heat from experts and users alike for shortening their laptop's battery life by 2-3 hours. The good news is that the company finally seems committed to resolving these glitches.

Earlier this month the Mountain View-based giant took its first major step at bringing improvements to its browser when it announced that Chrome will begin to automatically pause flash content on web-pages if a user hasn’t looked at it in a while. The company is now sharing other efforts it is making to improve Chrome.

Peter Kasting, a Chrome developer notes on a Google+ post that the company has been working to make the browser more battery efficient on OS X. In the post, Kasting reveals the changes his team has recently pushed to reduce resource usage and improve the battery life.

For instance, Chrome will no longer assign a high priority to background tabs (the ones you haven’t looked at in a while). "Renderers for background tabs get a lower priority, reducing idle wakeups on various perf test, in some cases by significant amounts (e.g. 50 percent on one test)", he notes.

Among other improvements, Kasting says the team has managed to reduce the CPU usage by toning down the frequency at which Chrome pings the processor. "On a Google search results page, using Safari's user agent to get the same content that Safari would, Chrome incurs ~390 wakes over 30s and 0.3 percent CPU usage vs. Safari’s 120 wakes over 30s and 0.1 percent CPU usage. Now: 66 percent reduction in both timer firings and CPU use. Chrome is now incurring ~120 wakes over 30s and 0.1 percent CPU use, on par with Safari". The improvements are visible while visiting other websites as well, he notes.

The Chrome team at Google has been hard at work these past few months. The company recently did an AMA on Reddit in which it revealed that it was working to make the Android client of its browser more battery efficient. While the AMA was largely centered around developments made to Chrome for Android, a Google representative told me at the time that the company was working on reducing memory usage in the desktop client as well.

Photo credit: Shmizla / Shutterstock
Take full control of your file system with NTFS Permissions Tools

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 2:28pm CEST par Mike Williams

NTFS permissions are a great way to control exactly what users can access on your system, at least in theory. So it’s a shame that their standard Windows interface is so complex and tedious, yet still doesn’t give you access to all the features you might need,

NTFS Permissions Tools is a free portable utility which makes it easier to perform some common security tasks, and adds a few expert-level bonus features as well.

The program is a tiny download, barely 650KB. This unzips to reveal both 32 and 64-bit versions, and on launch displays a basic list of folders and a small toolbar.

At its simplest, you might browse to a single folder or file, then click a button to allow or deny access, set the object to read only or change its owner. Choose exactly what you’d like this setting to affect – your chosen folder, its subfolders, their file -- then click OK and the change is made immediately.

Even better, you’re able to select multiple files or folders and change the permissions for all of them in a single operation.

You may not have to manually set up permissions each time, either. The program allows you to copy them from one object, and paste them to others.

You get very fine control over what a user can do. We’re not just talking about a general "Write" permission here; you’re able to individually set the rights to Create files/ write data, Create folders/ append data, Write attributes and Write extended attributes.

An option to "replace all child objects permissions with inheritable permissions from this object" might help restore your file system to working order, and there are some handy features for experts (create null/ empty DACL, import/ export security descriptors).

NTFS Permissions Tools isn’t for security beginners, and misusing it could cause you major problems. But if you already understand the basics then it’s a great time-saver, especially when you need to change or restore a lot of permissions in a single session.
Best Windows apps this week

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 1:59pm CEST par Martin Brinkmann
One-hundred and thirty-three in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows in the past seven days.

The Windows 10 release is less than two months away, at least for home PCs and tablets. If you are running Windows 7 or 8.1, you may be interested in reserving the upgrade for your system, or removing the notification if you don't plan to upgrade.

This week saw the release of several quality apps. Yidio for instance lets you search more than a dozen different streaming services for movies and TV shows.

As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email instead.
Discounts This Week
The following applications and games are discounted by at least 50 percent this week.
- Cold Alley, an air combat game for $3.49
- Crimsonland, a great arena shooter for $3.99
- Machinarium, an award-winning adventure game for $1.49
- Frederic - Evil Strikes Back, a music game for $0.99
- Bridge Constructor, a construction game for $0.99
- Files&Folders Pro, a file manager for $3.99
Best app of the week

Yidio

The application has been designed for the needs of Internet users who use services to stream TV shows and movies to their devices.

Use it to search for content across more than a dozen different services including Netflix, Hulu Plus, ABC, Fox, Crackle, YouTube and Syfy.

Simply type the name of a movie or show, or an actor's name, to find matching contents.

The application displays search results, then detailed results of individual titles or shows you select, including a season and episodes list.

A click on an episode shows information about it and the services that you can use to watch it at that point in time.

Please note that geo-restrictions may apply. The service seems to work best if you are in the US.

Other apps

Bomb Chain

Bomb Chain is an addictive puzzle game in which you try to clear levels by creating bomb chain reactions.

All you need to do is click on one of the elements on the screen, arrows or gummy bears for instance, to clear the level.

A click on an arrow for instance shoots a single bullet in the direction the arrow is facing in while gummy bears shoot bullets in all four directions.

Later levels introduce new game elements such as coconuts which stop bullets dead in track or cakes which explode in the surrounding area.

Wish -- Shopping Made Fun

Wish -- Shopping Made Fun brings the popular shopping service to Windows.

The app displays discounted items based on interests that you select when you create the account.

For instance, you may select sneakers and get mostly sneaker related deals presented to you when the app starts.

While you do get mostly sneakers on start, other deals may be presented to you as well based on your gender and age, and select deals the service believes could be of interest to you.

Make it Rain: The Love of Money

The game belongs to the so-called idle/clicking game niche. You try to earn as much money as possible by swiping money from an endless stack beginning with $1 for each swipe.

The money you earn can be invested in upgrades that help you directly or indirectly. Directly by increasing the money per swipe, indirectly by adding money to your account passively.

There is not much to the game other than that but since the genre is highly popular right now, it deserves to be listed here.

The Incredible Baron

Your main task in the game is to attack and destroy the enemy base and prevent the enemy from doing the same to yours.

You generate gold and other resources automatically while you are playing and use them to spawn units in your own base.

These approach and attack automatically so that you are left with making the right selections during combat missions.

The game features more than 40 different unit types that you need to discover, each with unique abilities.

You may customize your army using unlocked creatures and may gain bonuses from the tech tree.

Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game ($1.99,free trial available)

This is a beautifully designed running-game in which you control a little dinosaur fleeing from larger predators.

The game features levels and an endless mode. The main difference between both modes is that levels are not randomly created while you play and that they have a fixed end point.

Controls work with keyboard and touch input. If you use the keyboard, tap the arrow keys to jump and go down

The game introduces all of the mechanics in the first levels of the story mode.

Soundcloud Shadow

This is a SoundCloud client for Windows. Use it to find music of interest to play it directly in the client.

You may favorite music for fast access and cache it as well to access it without Internet connection.

The client works well but lacks features such as playlists or groups to sort interesting tracks into. There is also no option to access your search history which would be useful.

SokoBomber ($1.49, free trial available)

SokoBomber is a unique mix of the classic games Bomberman and Sokoban.

Your main task in each level is to get the diamond placed in it, and to do so, you need to move bombs around that are placed in the level to destroy walls that block access to the diamond.

This sounds simple but is quite challenging as you need to move bombs on fields with burning torches to get them to explode.
Apple Music should fear Spotify, not the other way around

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 1:52pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Apple’s recently announced streaming music service is being viewed by many as a potential Spotify killer. Spotify might have more than 20 million paying subscribers and over 75 million active users, but Apple is a force that cannot be ignored, and being late to the party means nothing.

So should Spotify be concerned about the forthcoming battle with Apple? Unquestionably. Although, if new research is to be believed, it’s Apple that should be worrying the most.

Chegg, the online education resource for high school and college students, recently conducted a survey to get student views on streaming music services, and learned that the likes of Spotify and Pandora can rest easy (for now at least).

Millennials and students are the key audience Apple needs to win over and that won’t be easy. According to Chegg’s research, 42 percent of students currently use Spotify most frequently out of all of the streaming services, with Pandora coming in a close second at 38 percent. 43 percent of students say if they were only allowed to use one paid music streaming service -- including Apple Music -- they would choose Spotify.

In fact, only 9 percent of students said they’d be willing to subscribe to Apple’s paid streaming music service, although 38 percent were prepared to keep an open mind and try it. Based on what they know, 8 percent said they would be likely to switch to Apple Music, while 52 percent said definitely not.

16 percent said they thought Apple Music seemed cool, but Spotify got a 70 percent rating.

What would it take to make them consider switching? Over 50 percent of students said that Apple Music would need to offer a lower price, a larger library, or the ability to download songs.

Photo Credit: CREATISTA/Shutterstock
New marketing tool allows email to be personalized right up to it being opened

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 1:08pm CEST par Ian Barker

Most marketers are focused on providing a personalized experience for the customer. However, many still rely on email communication. Whilst this is still an effective delivery method there’s an inevitable time lag in the message arriving by which time it could be out of date.

That delay may be a thing of the past as eCommerce specialist Reflektion is launching Right Time Messaging. This has the ability to hyper personalize emails to individual recipients right up to the moment the message is opened.

Reflektion's 1 to 1 search and product merchandising products have already enabled retailers and brands to convert large numbers of website visitors into customers. The Right Time Messaging solution is focused on reactivating customers by injecting real-time, 1 to 1 content into triggered and promotional emails, selecting the most relevant products and promotions for each individual.

"Email can be the most powerful and efficient reactivation tool for marketers. But the batch and blast technique still in use is often not effective with today’s digital consumer," says Sean Moran, CEO of Reflektion. "With the ability to deliver relevant products and promotional messages to individuals based on their shopping behavior up to the time they open the email, marketers can breathe new life into their brand’s email strategy by dramatically improving results".

It can offer products targeted to each individual recipient's preferences. Reflektion clients generate emails that feature a direct link to products, which cuts the number of clicks needed to get to the sales page across all devices and reduces shopper frustration and abandonment.

More information on Right Time Messaging is available on the Reflektion website.

Photo credit: Pavel Ignatov/ Shutterstock
Microsoft rolling out software update to end random reboots on Lumia Windows Phones

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 12:58pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

If you have experienced random reboots with your Lumia Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone, you should know that Microsoft is now rolling out a software update specifically to fix this annoying problem.

The software update, so far, seems to target only Lumia 730, Lumia 830, Lumia 930 and Lumia 1520 smartphones. Even though Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2 has long been available, the software update for the aforementioned handsets does not include the latest official version of the tiled smartphone operating system.

Microsoft has acknowledged the problem and revealed the existence of the software update in a dedicated Stop my phone from restarting guide on the How-to section of the Windows Phone site.

"We identified a problem in some versions of Windows Phone 8.1 that could cause a phone to restart periodically. We've already made a fix that has resolved this problem for the majority of Windows Phones", says Microsoft.

But there seem to be Windows Phones which are not connected to the Internet, which complicates things. Luckily, Microsoft has come up with an alternative solution for this group of affected users.

You can read the official guide on fixing the random reboots issue by hitting the link in the third paragraph, but here is the gist of it. You have to install the Stop Restart App on your Windows Phone 8.1 (while connected to Wi-Fi) device to see if your smartphone is affected.

If the app says your Windows Phone 8.1 device is affected, you have to connect it via USB to an Internet-connected PC, run the Microsoft Fix it Solution -- Stop Phone Restart tool and allow it to apply the patch. That is basically it.

The software update will bump the version of Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 that is installed on your device, and likely the firmware revision too.
Google helps you find the best Android phone

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 12:35pm CEST par Mark Wilson

While choosing which iPhone to buy is a fairly simple decision -- there just aren't many options to choose from -- it's a very different matter for Android fans. The wealth of hardware manufacturers producing an endless stream of handsets means that a trip to the phone store, physical or online, can be overwhelming.

Today Google launches a new tool that can be used to home in on the perfect Android handset for you. Answer a few simple questions about the types of thing you need from a phone, and the wide selection of devices will be whittled down to those that are just right for you.

The Which Phone tool asks you to indicate what you will use your handset for, from taking photos and listening to music, to helping with a fitness regime and watching movies. You need to specify at least three requirements, and in most cases you're given the opportunity to go into more detail. If you indicate that you're going to be using your phone to take photos, is that just selfies, or do you need something more advanced?

If you're in the US, you can choose which carrier you'd like to go with, but the phone finder can be used by people anywhere in the world just by indicating that the carrier is not important. You'll then be presented with a list of handsets that match your requirements, complete with a summary of the key specs. The list can be filtered by screen size, carrier, and price range, and you can click through to buy online -- or you can just arm yourself with the information you need to track down the best deal in a local store.

Check it out and see what recommendations Google has for you.
Five free desktop comic viewers

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 12:29pm CEST par Mike Williams

Digital comics often arrive in comic book archive files, with extensions like cbz, cbr, cbt, cb7 or cba. These aren’t commonly used outside the comic world and it may not be immediately obvious how to view them. Fortunately, it’s quite easy, and you might be able to do it right away. These are just regular archives and something like 7-Zip can extract their contents just like anything else (right-click > 7-Zip > Extract…). Every page will be saved as a separate image. If that doesn’t work, rename the file to have its standard archive extension -- cbz > zip, cbr > rar, cbt > tar, cb7 > 7z, cba > ace -- and try again.

Another option is to convert the comic into something that’s more commonly supported. CBR and CBZ to PDF is a simple free example which does exactly what its name suggests, TEBookConverter takes the idea further with a host of extra eBook formats. Of course if you’re a real comic fan then it’s far better to install a suitable viewer, and there are plenty of capable free options available.

Sumatra PDF

Okay, it’s not a dedicated comic reader, and its file format support isn’t great (CBZ, CBR, PDF, ePub, Mobi, XPS, DjVU, CHM), but there’s still plenty to like about Sumatra PDF.

It’s open source. No adware here, unlike some of the competition.

It’s compact and has a portable version. You can read on the nearest convenient system, wherever you are.

Sumatra PDF is also fast, and easy to use. Yet there are still plenty of viewing and browsing options -- zoom, rotate, book mode, full screen -- all presented in a straightforward tabbed interface. If you’d like to view CBRs or CBZs occasionally then it’s not a bad choice.

Icecream Ebook Reader

Icecream’s offering is also for the occasional comic reader, only supporting CBR, CBZ and a scattering of eBook formats, but it’s a straightforward package.

The program doesn’t just open files, it also adds them to a library. Here you can view all your comics, highlight some as favorites, see what you’ve been reading recently or double-click something to carry on where you left off.

The viewer has a major omission (no "rotate" tool), but the basics work well enough: single/ double-page/ full screen reading, zoom, first/ previous/ next/ last page navigation, there’s even a "Panic" button to minimize the program instantly. (Which might be handy if you really should be doing something else.)

There’s nothing surprising about any of this, but if you just need an easy-to-use application for occasional viewing then Icecream Ebook Reader will do the job.

Comic Seer

Comic Seer is a cross-platform comic reader available for Windows desktop, Linux and as a Windows app.

A comfortable viewer provides some handy zoom options (fit height/ width/ all/ full-screen viewing, a 4x zoom slider, a magnifier), rotate buttons, single or double-page display, and a Browse mode which also displays clickable thumbnails of each page.

If you like to multi-task then Comic Seer can open several comics at the same time, displaying each one in its own tab. These comics are by default saved and reloaded between sessions, but even if you explicitly close a particular file, Comic Seer will remember and restore your last-read page when it’s next opened.

There’s also a bookmark system, integrated comic metadata (ComicInfo XML and ComicRack formats are supported) and library support to help you manage large collections.

Comic Seer is mostly well designed, too – beginners won’t be intimidated, but there’s plenty for more experienced readers to explore.

CDisplayEx

Beware. CDisplayEx is a great comic viewer, but the setup program will by default equip your PC with unwanted extras. But don’t let this put you off: just pay attention, choose the "Custom installation" option, clear checkboxes as necessary and you can avoid any problems.

It’s worth the effort, too. There’s good file format support (CBR, CBZ, CBT, CB7, all the equivalent archives, PDFs and regular image files), and a powerful viewer which is packed with features yet also easy to use.

There are plenty of ways to do just about anything. So you might browse through pages by pressing Left/ Right, PgUp/ PgDn, clicking buttons on the toolbar, using a slider, double-clicking page thumbnails, going straight to a bookmark, or having pages displayed automatically in a slideshow.

If you don’t have time to read a file in one sitting, that’s no problem. A "Resume Last File" opens it where you left off last time. There’s a File > Resume Recent list if you’re switching between several comics, or you can use Bookmarks to save a favorite page for easy access later.

There’s no real library management here -- just a thumbnail handler to display comic thumbnails in Explorer -- but as a viewer CDisplayEx is hard to beat.

ComicRack

Do all the other comic viewers leave you needing more? Then take a look at ComicRack.

The program opens the regular CBR, CBZ, CBT and CB7s, all the matching archives, DJVU and PDF files. The tabbed interface means you can open several at once.

The viewer isn’t quite as straightforward as CDisplayEx, at least initially. But it does have a lot more options, and the ultra-configurable interface can be freely tweaked to suit your needs.

You get all kinds of management tools, from an integrated Explorer window to a full-strength library/ database with a host of ways to organize and locate your comics.

Extras include a batch conversion module which effortlessly outperforms many specialist tools (you can even set custom brightness/ contrast/ saturation and sharpness tweaks to apply to every page).

All this can be overwhelming, but if you need a comic manager, as well as a viewer, ComicRack is the most powerful program around.
Netflix increases subscription cost in UK

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 12:02pm CEST par David Curry

Video streaming service Netflix has announced another price increase to its monthly subscription, now costing £7.49 per month to watch House of Cards, Better Call Saul and other favorites in the UK.

The price increase is the second in the company’s history. It bumped the price up from the original £5.99 to £6.99 two years ago, following an expansion in Netflix Originals.

Netflix owners already subscribed will not receive the price increase until June 2016.

The UK is one of Netflix’s top priorities when it comes to content, given its large user-base. Second to the US, Netflix has been acquiring a whole host of local TV licenses and movie rights, alongside launching its original series in the region.

In the UK, Netflix competes against Amazon Instant Prime and Now TV, the two other major streaming services. Instant Video hasn’t been getting much attention, but Now TV’s Game of Thrones on-demand content has brought in a few million subscribers.

Netflix has plans to introduce a global version of its current platform in the next few years, if it can acquire global licenses from content creators in the US. This global platform will hopefully slow down the growth in piracy online.

Until that time, Netflix will continue to buy new shows from the BBC, ITV and other copyright holders.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo credit: Sukharevskyy Dmytro (nevodka) / Shutterstock
iOS 9 users will be able to block ads

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 9:18am CEST par David Curry

The next update to Apple’s mobile web browser Safari will include a way to block annoying ads, working similar to AdBlock Plus on desktop browsers.

Under the banner of user experience, Apple promoted the new loading system capable of blocking JavaScript, cookies and even images from displaying. The system came to the desktop version of Safari first. Users will be able to opt-in to this experience on iOS 9.

Even though this is a bummer for content creators, Apple might create a whitelist for users to select trusted websites. It might also offer its own whitelist, compiled of sites without annoying ads that take over the screen or move to another tab.

Those ads are becoming less and less prominent on the web, as integrated video and contextual adverts become more prominent. Some websites are also building mobile apps and exploring new payment methods through an online subscription or Patreon.

Apple does not need adverts on Safari, but it does work with advertisers and developers for banner ads on mobile apps. The Safari ad blocking system indirectly hurts Google though, who still makes most of its revenue through search and AdSense adverts.

AdBlock already takes around 20 to 40 percent of content creators revenue, if they use Google AdSense. For creators that gain a lot of traction on mobile, things could get worse later this year.

Apple threw a lot of punches Google’s way at WWDC, claiming it was wrong to use user’s email addresses and searches for advertising gain. Even though Apple does work with advertisers on mobile app ads, it tends not to bring that up at conferences.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo Credit: Quka/Shutterstock
Twitter to remove 140 character limit -- on direct messages

Publié: juin 12, 2015, 5:23am CEST par Brian Fagioli

Limitation breeds creativity. When a person's proverbial hands are tied, their humanity will always shine through. In other words, the human mind finds a way. Humans are very resourceful; for example, prisoners can make alcohol in a toilet. Yum.

Twitter is another good example of a limitation breeding creativity. You see, the 140 character limitation can make it difficult to communicate, forcing the user to think outside the box. While some people find it to be harmful to the English language -- use of abbreviations and lack of punctuation -- I find it to be healthy exercise for the mind. Today, Twitter announces that it will be removing this limitation -- on direct messages (DMs), that is. Is this change good or bad?

"We’ve done a lot to improve Direct Messages over the past year and have much more exciting work on the horizon. One change coming in July that we want to make you aware of now (and first!) is the removal of the 140 character limit in Direct Messages", says Sachin Agarwal, Product Manager for Direct Messages, Twitter.

Agarwal further explains, "you may be wondering what this means for the public side of Twitter. Nothing! Tweets will continue to be the 140 characters they are today".

Phew. Don't worry fellow Twitter fans, this will only apply to direct messages. This is a welcomed change, as it is silly to limit personal messages between two people. The direct messaging process is an entirely different experience than the act of tweeting.

A DM is meant to be private and may be of a sensitive nature -- 140 characters when confiding in someone, seeking advice or conducting business just is not appropriate. Maybe you see someone being harassed, depressed, or tweeting about a hardship; there should be no limits on the way you reach out behind the scenes.

Are you excited for this change? Tell me in the comments.

Photo Credit: PathDoc/Shutterstock