Apps

Twitter for iOS and twitter.com to start autoplaying videos today—here’s how to turn it off

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 16, 2015

You could say I'm not a big fan of intrusive autoplay videos in apps, not to mention those pesky autoplay video ads on some websites. With that in mind, I was taken aback when Twitter announced today adding this very feature to its iPhone and iPad application and the web interface.

Now when you stumble upon a tweet with an embedded Vine, animated GIF or a clip in Twitter's native format, it will begin to play back automatically.

It's all part of the grand plan to shove advertising down our throat though Twitter would have us believe it's trying to make our lives easier so we could “keep up with the action without missing a tweet and get a better sense of what’s been shared instantly.”

Because autoplay videos suck your cellular data, this feature is a major concern in this age of non-unlimited plans. True, Twitter promises to opt out of autoplay anyone who's on a high-rate data plan, but I'd rather trust my instincts and revert back to the old-school click-to-play experience.

Thankfully, there's an easy way to do just that.

Skype for Web is now available worldwide with added Chromebook support

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Microsoft-owned Skype has now made its web-based client available regardless of where you live, following its limited rollout last November.

Skype for Web runs in any web browser that supports modern web technologies, including Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Google's Chrome, Apple's Safari and Mozilla's Firefox on Windows and OS X.

Spotify launches fun new feature called Rewind that turns your music back in time

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

If you ever wondered which artists you would be listening to if you were born in another time, now you can thanks to Rewind, a new feature by Spotify that helps you turn your music back in time.

By doing so, Rewind makes it easy and supposedly fun to know what you'd be listening to in another decade, based on what you listen to today and thanks in no small part to Spotify's rich knowledge graph about its user base.

Facebook releases Moments for iPhone, a brand new private photo-sharing app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Billed as a private way to share photos with friends and an easy way to get all the photos of yourself trapped on your friends' phones, Moments for iPhone by Facebook is now available for download in the App Store.

Following a few futile attempts to unseat Snapchat in the ephemeral messaging space, Facebook gave up and went to the drawing board to conceive a different take on private sharing where images won't disappear after being viewed.

Their new iPhone app lets you organize and sync multiple photos in private albums that can be shared directly on Facebook or Instagram, and sent via Messenger. Using facial recognition, Moments groups your photos based on who's in them and when they were taken. Your friends can then contribute to the synced moment with their own photos.

Sproggiwood review: a roguelike of adorable proportions

Lory Gil ∙ June 15, 2015

Some of my most beloved and hated games are rogeulike. I love the adventure of crawling through level after level of dungeons, looting gold and killing baddies. However, I hate permadeath.

Sproggiwood is a roguelike that will make you want to pull your hair out whenever you die, but is too dang cute to get mad at. We've got a game review of Sproggiwood for you today.

A closer look at Apple Watch apps: PCalc, Notes, and Dispatch

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

I’m looking forward to the day when an iteration of the Elder Scrolls will come to iPad. Imagine strolling through Tamriel on your Retina display, engaging in Infinity Blade-style combat with man and beast. It’d be glorious. I’m not sure that day will ever come, but I’m anticipating it just the same. I’ll be happy when the latest version of iPad has the hardware to run such a game, regardless.

Instead of discussing my recently renewed obsession with Skyrim, we’re here to talk about some noteworthy Apple Watch apps that I've come across recently, so let us begin.

Try Harder, Kolekktio, Kite, and more to check out this weekend

Lory Gil ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

It is never too late to start something new. If you've never been a gamer, why not check out a popular game that everyone is talking about on your iPhone? If you've never tried to pick someone up in a bar, try using a social networking app to make it easier.

This weekend, instead of following the same schedule you always do, try something new. We've got a list of apps and games that might inspire you to strike out on a new adventure. Have fun.

Developers hack Apple Watch to run native apps

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Developers Steve Troughton-Smith and Adam Bell, with the help of saurik, have managed to hack watchOS 2 to run fully-native apps. As noted by 9to5Mac, Troughton-Smith posted a video last night showing evidence of the feat.

The big deal here is that even though Apple says that support for native apps is coming in watchOS 2, developers are still going to be limited on what they can do. This hack, however, breaks those limitations, allowing the use of all accessible iOS UI frameworks.

Modern Combat 5 and Spider-Man Unlimited gain ton of new content, customization and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

In addition to teasing Siegefall, its gorgeous-looking online multiplayer strategy game hitting iOS soon, Gameloft has also updated its two popular iPhone and iPad games with tons of new features in latest content updates.

For starters, a whole range of new Spideys are now available in Spider-Man Unlimited for the iPhone and iPad, in addition to official support for 'Made for iPhone' controllers and a bunch of other improvements.

At the same time, the popular first-person shooter Modern Combat 5: Blackout has gained new weapons and customization options, including weapon trinkets, weapon camps and several new killsigns.

Twitter to remove 140 character limit in Direct Messages

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Twitter on Thursday announced that it will be removing the 140-character limit in Direct Messages. Starting in July, DMs will have a new limit of 10,000 characters, bringing it in line with other instant messaging services.

The move makes sense, given that the nature of a DM is typically more private and intimate than that of a Tweet, thus requiring more typing space. Twitter says the character limit for public-facing Tweets will remain at 140.

Action RPG ‘Slayin’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple has just named “Slayin” its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to download the endless action RPG for both iPhone and iPad for free—a respectable savings of a buck.

In Slayin, players are asked to choose from one of six heroes, including a knight and ninja, and use them to slay as many monsters as possible. They'll also be tasked with leveling up and acquiring equipment and spells along the way.

Twitter expands beta testing program to iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Twitter has expanded its beta testing program to iOS, according to TechCrunch. The social network confirmed to the publication that it recently launched a new "Twitter for iOS Experiments Program," which will allow some users to test experimental features ahead of public release.

The new program works very similar to its Android sibling, which launched in 2013. Select users will receive a pop-up notification at the top of their Twitter feed in the iPhone app that asks if they would like to participate in "Experiments" to help test out bug fixes and new features.