Apps

Skype is shutting down Qik

Microsoft has confirmed that it it will be shutting down Qik, its ephemeral mobile video messaging app which debuted on mobile in October of 2014. Marketed under the Skype brand, the app promised to make video conversations “more spontaneous and fun so you don’t have to wait until your next call to connect with your favorite people.”

Following a few updates, the app has introduced support for the iPhone 6/6s screen sizes and added some new languages and video effects, but not much in way of new features.

tvOS App Store gains ‘Not on This Apple TV’ listing in Purchased section

Apple has quietly issued a backend update to the tvOS App Store, adding a new 'Not on This Apple TV' option to the Purchased section, making it easier to spot apps that users previously purchased on their iPhone and iPad which have since been updated to support the fourth-generation Apple TV.

As mentioned, the new option should appear on users' fourth-generation Apple TV boxes without requiring a software update.

How to identify the biggest space wasters on your Mac with DaisyDisk

You can free up a significant amount of storage space on your Mac if you clean up your Downloads folder on a regular basis, remove your old iPhoto library, erase Safari's browsing data and move both your iTunes library and the Photos library to an external hard drive, among other things.

But what about other files on your computer? With Daisy Disk by Software Ambience, one of Apple's Best of 2015 Mac apps, it's easy to identify the biggest storage hogs on your Mac.

The app makes the mundane takes of cleaning up the Mac's storage easy and fun by giving your a nice visual breakdown on your disk space in the form of an interactive heat map. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to reveal the biggest space wasters with DaisyDisk so you can remove them and free up some additional storage on your Mac.

Rayman Classic, Sunshine and more apps to check out this weekend

We've put together an awesome list of apps and games for you to checkout this weekend, including a new weather app that's beautifully designed and offers some interesting features, and not one but two classic games that have been brought back to life for the mobile era. So without further ado, here are the Apps of the Week.

Liven up your tweets and direct messages on Twitter with animated GIFs

The next time you tweet out an update or message someone on Twitter, try adding a little flair to your tweets or direct messages in the form of animated GIFs.

Earlier in the week, the micro-blogging startup announced it's integrating a dedicated GIF search button in its mobile apps and on twitter.com to help you add that viral kitten GIF to your posts without leaving the compose window.

Twitter's partnered with Giphy and Riffsy to help you find the right GIF animation to express your mood. You can search GIFs by keyword, or browse categories of different reactions like Happy Dance, Mic Drop, YOLO and more.

Facebook rolls out Live Video functionality globally

Facebook is making good on its promise to roll out its Periscope-like Live Video feature to user around the world. As noted by Engadget, the social networking firm has now confirmed it's begun rolling out the feature globally. The company started testing Live Video with a small percentage of U.S. celebrities, verified profiles and other users last December.

Facebook will reportedly allow brands to send ads as messages within Messenger

According to a document Facebook has sent to some of its biggest advertisers, a copy of which was obtained by TechCrunch, the social network may start injecting ads into people's conversations on Messenger in the second quarter of 2016. Specifically, Facebook currently plans to allow businesses to send ads as messages to users who previously interacted with that company using the Messenger service.

The leaked document advises that businesses “get consumers to start message threads with them now so they’ll be able to send them ads when the feature launches,” as per TechCrunch.

Apple names ‘Warhammer 40K: Deathwatch: Tyranid Invasion’ its free App of the Week

Apple on Thursday added "Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch: Tyranid Invasion" to its App of the Week promotion. This means that for the next 7 days, you'll be able to download the popular turn-based strategy game for both iPhone and iPad for free, a solid savings of $2.

Deathwatch: Tyranid Invasion is a popular entry in the Warhammer franchise, hailed for its beautiful graphics and strong gameplay. In it, players must make their way through 40 missions while building up an extensive roster of weapons, gear and band of marine soldiers.

How to enable ‘Show me the best tweets first’ on Twitter

Twitter recently unveiled a new feature that lets you elect to have the service surface new and interesting content at the top of your timeline since your last visit.

Called “Show me the best tweets first,” it's a staggered release so not everyone may have it at the same time although the majority of Twitter's user base should now see this option in their settings.

This post will take you through the steps you need to take in order to enable this feature in Twitter's mobile apps and in the desktop interface, so that you never miss important updates from people you follow.

Skype group video calling starts rolling out with support for up to 25 participants

As promised, Microsoft has begun rolling out free group video calling in Skype's mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, Engadget reported this morning.

According to Microsoft, this feature will allow Skype users to video chat with up to 24 other people at once in crisp 1080p resolution, and each participant can flip between the front and back camera mid-call.

Group video calling in mobile Skype apps is going to be available to users in North America and Western Europe. “We plan to be fully available worldwide in March,” said Skype.

AppSort: quickly sort your Home screen apps based on various criteria

If you've got a lot of apps on your Home screen and hate looking through them all, then check out a new free jailbreak tweak called AppSort, which just hit Cydia, and will let you sort your Home screen app icons with ease.

AppSort is a jailbreak tweak that offers users a quicker way to sort the apps on your Home screen so you don't have to spend any of your time sorting them for yourself. The tweak lets you use Activator to reveal a menu full of options; the options allow you you to choose a criteria for how your apps will be sorted on the Home screen.