Year: 2016

Video walkthrough: changes & fixes in macOS Sierra beta 3

Monday, Apple seeded a third developer-only beta of macOS Sierra (build number “16A254g”) to members of the Apple Developer Program, followed by a version suited for public beta testers 24 hours later.

After spending some quality time with Sierra's third beta, our own Andrew O'Hara summed up for you guys all the changes and fixes he's discovered in Sierra's beta 3 in a hands-on video.

How to hide the Favorites and Active Now sections in Facebook Messenger app

I have a big gripe with the Facebook Messenger app ever since Facebook decided to launch a major UI change without letting me know in the change log first. And now, I'm stuck with an annoyance right smack in the middle of my conversation list when I open the app.

Fortunately, there is a way to hide these annoying 'Favorites' and 'Active Now' sections, even if temporarily, and we'll show you how in this tutorial.

The importance of PokéStops in Pokémon GO

Pokémon GO took the mobile device nation by storm. The game has already been downloaded so many times that it's hit the top free app charts on both the iOS and Android platform, and it seems you can't go anywhere anymore without seeing amateur Pokémon trainers wandering about.

In this piece, we'll discuss the importance of PokéStops in the game, and what you can do to utilize them to their fullest potential.

Video walkthrough: Siri + Music changes & other fixes in tvOS 10 beta 3

Earlier this week, Apple seeded a third beta of iOS 10 (build number “14T5296d”) to its developers who are registered with the Apple Developer Program.

Although the software is light on new outward-facing user features, it still contains some noteworthy fixes along with improvements for Siri, 'Made for iOS' game controllers, the Music app and other aspects of the operating system.

We went ahead and asked our video editor Andrew O'Hara to spend some hands-on time with tvOS 10 beta 3 and capture his impressions on video.

Here's what Andrew had to say about beta 3.

Apple’s free app of the week: Super Arc Light

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with the game Super Arc Light.  This means that for the next 7 days you’ll be able to pick up the popular arcade shooter for free on both iPhone and iPad—a solid savings of $2.

For those who haven't played Super Arc Light, it's a minimalistic radial shooter, in which you must defend your base to the death against waves of challenging enemies. The developer describes it as Super Hexagon meets Geometry Wars.

Periscope introduces Replay Highlights, Live Autoplay and Tweet Embeds

Periscope, Twitter's live-broadcasting app, was updated in the App Store with a few new features, among them Replay Highlights, Live Autoplay and Tweet Embeds. Highlights automatically generates a short trailer for every Periscope broadcast of your home feed, making it easier to catch up on broadcasts you missed from the last day.

Periscope is a free download from the App Store.

BBC’s iPlayer Radio hits US App Store as new BBC+ app goes live in UK

The British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) iPlayer Radio mobile app, which used to be limited to customers in the United Kingdom, has expanded stateside today, TechCrunch just announced. Now customers in the United States can download iPlayer Radio from the US App Store and tune in to BBC's high-quality radio stations and content.

Earlier in the week, BBC announced launch of a brand new personalized content portal with a new BBC+ app on the UK App Store.

T-Mobile treats 2016 Summer Olympics attendees to unlimited 4G LTE data and calling

Deutsche Telekom-owned wireless carrier T-Mobile USA today announced that all Simple Choice postpaid customers traveling to Brazil for 2016 Summer Olympics will be treated to unlimited high-speed 4G LTE data within the country during August.

In unleashing Brazil this summer, T-Mobile's CEO John Legere noted that not only will Rio de Janeiro visitors enjoy the Summer Olympics without worrying about roaming charges, but also free calls within Brazil and to U.S. during the month of August.

Facebook Messenger hits a major milestone—one billion monthly users

Facebook yesterday announced that its Messenger service has hit a major milestone: the software is now being used by more than one billion people every month to message their friends and family. Messenger saw a major surge in popularity after it was decoupled from the main Facebook mobile client, and especially since becoming a software platform in its own right with chat bots, apps, money payments, expanded emojis and other features.

Facebook Messenger is a free download from the App Store.