Facebook Messenger app launched for Mac and Windows

The Facebook messaging app for Windows and Mac is finally here. You can download it from the Microsoft Store or the Mac App store depending on the system you are using. Just like the app on the smartphone, users can not only chat with their friends via the desktop client but also make video calls and group video calls as well, the app brings with it a dark mode as well. The app has been optimized to take advantage of the big screen on your laptop or desktop. One thing to note is that video calling on the Facebook messenger app is limited to 8 people. Users should also note that you cannot share your screen when chatting using the messaging app on the desktop.

Facebook's official news page reads, “Today we’re launching a Messenger app for macOS and Windows so you can video chat on your computer and stay connected with friends and family all over the world. Now more than ever, people are using technology to stay in touch with the people they care about, even when physically apart. Over the past month, we saw more than a 100% increase in people using their desktop browser for audio and video calling on Messenger. Now with apps for macOS and Windows, the best of Messenger is coming to desktop, including unlimited and free group video calls.”

The COVID 19 outbreak has led to people sitting at home and maintaining a safe physical distance from one another. However, that hasn't stopped people from taking to the internet to video call and spend time with loved ones. If you are looking for creative ways to stay in touch with loved ones, then you can check out our video calling apps here. 

In other Facebook-related news, the Zoom app for iOS was sharing personal data with Facebook. Zoom has removed the code that led to data sharing with Facebook and has issued an apology. You can read more about that here. 

A new update to the Facebook app will show up a new page where you can offer to help with things like getting groceries, arranging transport and volunteering for work for people affected by the coronavirus crisis. You can read more about it here.

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Xiaomi working on a 144MP camera smartphone, likely to be called Mi 10S Pro or Mi CC10 Pro: Report

Xiaomi has a penchant of being the first with new camera hardware. It was among the first to launch a 48MP phone (the Redmi Note 7 Pro) followed by a 64MP smartphones (the Redmi Note 8 Pro) and even a 108MP smartphone (Mi CC9 Pro). Now, a leak claims the Chinese smartphone giant will also be the first to launch a 144MP smartphone.

High-res camera sensors have now been there for a while and if you recall a conversation we had with Qualcomm’s Judd Heape, they are only going to get larger with manufacturers trying to cram as many pixels into it as they can. The 108MP camera is already here in India courtesy the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. Now it’s time for a 144MP camera.

According to a leakster, Xiaomi is working on a 144MP camera smartphone, likely to be named Mi 10S Pro or the Mi CC10 Pro. No other detail about the smartphone or the camera sensor is presently out there.

The megapixel race kicked in once again with the onslaught of 48MP smartphones in 2019. The same year also saw an onslaught of 64MP smartphones and now 2020 gave us a 108MP smartphone. The good thing is, with the rise in pixel count, we are seeing some incremental improvement in imaging. But brands are also relying heavily on the pixel count to sell their products. Not all high-res camera sensor deliver good photos. Some are tuned better and some need further optimisations. Having the sensor alone is not enough.

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Coronavirus effect: The Last of US Part 2 has been delayed indefinitely

One of the most anticipated games of 2020 has been delayed yet again. PlayStation Exclusive, The Last of Us Part 2 has been delayed indefinitely. The game was set to launch on May 29. This isn't the first time the game has been delayed. The original release date of the game was February 21 but the game was delayed to May 29th as the developers wanted to give players a polished experience. This time, however, the game isn't delayed due to technical reasons or because it needs more bug fixing. It is delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The PlayStation official twitter handle has tweeted, “Update: SIE has made the difficult decision to delay the launch of The Last of Us Part II and Marvel's Iron Man VR until further notice. Logistically, the global crisis is preventing us from providing the launch experience our players deserve.” Reading into the second half of the statement we can presume that it will be difficult to get physical copies of the game to customers in certain parts of the world where retail shops and home delivery services are facing issues. India is currently facing a lockdown so if you want a physical copy of a game, it is impossible for you to get it. This leaves digital distribution as the only option and the lack of good internet connectivity in some parts means that players may not be able to download the game digitally as well. Sony wants to give all the players an equal experience of the game and is looking at the best solution for this and it looks like delaying the game is the only option. To put things into perspective, Square Enix has announced that copies of Final Fantasy VII Remake will arrive early in certain parts of the world to meet the demand and combat COVID 19’s disruption of the distribution channels. 

Naughty Dog, the developer behind the Last of Us Part 2 and the successful Uncharted franchise also released a statement. It reads, “As you’ve likely just seen, the release of The Last of Us Part II has been delayed. We’re sure this news is just as disappointing to you as it is to us. We wanted to reach out to all of you in our community to give you a little more information. The good news is, we’re nearly done with the development of The Last of Us Part II. We are in the midst of fixing our final bugs”.

“However, even with us finishing the game, we were faced with the reality that due to logistics beyond our control, we couldn’t launch The Last of Us Part II to our satisfaction. We want to make sure everyone gets to play The Last of Us Part II around the same time, ensuring that we’re doing everything possible to preserve the best experience for everyone. This meant delaying the game until such a time where we can solve these logistic issues.” the statement adds.

“We were bummed about this decision but ultimately understood it’s what’s best and fair to all of our players. We’re hoping that this won’t be a long delay and we’ll update you as soon as we have new information to share. We wish you all, your families, and your friends the best of health. Thank you for being amazing fans and your continued support.” the statement concludes.

Calling the Last of Us Part 2 one of the most anticipated games of the year would be an understatement. Players have been waiting with bated breath to get their hands on the game to find out where Ellie and Joel go next. From the gameplay that has been revealed, it looks like the core mechanics of the game have improved along with better enemy AI and new crafting mechanics. The first game, The Last of Us launched on the PS3 and we also got a remastered version of the game for the PS4. You can read our review of the first game here.  

If you are looking to enjoy a nice horror game, you can check out our review of Resident Evil 3 here. You can also check out the list of games confirmed to release in April here in case you are looking for a new game to invest in.

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Snapdragon 865+ CPU configuration and clock speeds leaked

The Snapdragon 855+ came as a surprise last year. After powering flagships with the regular Snapdragon 855, Qualcomm thought it would be prudent to ship a new SoC with an overclocked GPU aimed specifically at gamers. It doesn’t seem to be a one-off thing now as a Snapdragon 865+ is also reportedly in the works.

According to a tweet by Max Weinbach from XDA Developers, the Snapdragon 865+ will continue with the 1+3+4 CPU arrangement like before. Only this time, the prime core will be clocked as high as 3.1GHz. The mid-cores will apparently be clocked at 2.4GHz and the four efficiency cores will run at 1.8GHz.

When compared to the Snapdragon 865 that powers smartphones like the Realme X50 Pro and the iQOO 3 5G, the clockspeed of the prime core is far higher, promising a boost in CPU performance. The clockspeeds of the rest of the cores remain unchanged according to the report.

Furthermore, we don’t have information about the GPU on the SD865+. Considering what Qualcomm did last year with the SD855+, we do expect some extra GPU chops thrown into the mix.

The Snapdragon 865+ was noticed when the Geekbench scores of the Samsung Galaxy Note20+ leaked out. The listing revealed the Note20+ will have a chipset that’s different from the ones that power the S20 series.

We expect the Snapdragon 865+ to be announced in the second half of this year. The first set of smartphones are expected to launch in July.

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PUBG Mobiles 2gether We Look Back community contest gives players the chance to win 6000 UC

While its second-anniversary celebrations may be coming to a close, PUBG Mobile has got one last event up its sleeve. The developers behind the popular mobile game have just announced a new ‘2gether We Look Back’ community contest that gives selected participants the opportunity to win 6000 UC. The contest will go on till April 16.

In order to participate in the contest, players will have to find the oldest screenshot that they have of the game. They then have to post on their social media account with the hashtag, #2getherwelookback. Players can submit multiple screenshots, but if one of them is selected, then the remaining submissions will be disqualified. It should also be noted that posts on the official PUBG MOBILE platforms or groups will not be considered.

There will be 10 winners, who will be randomly selected at the end of the contest. Each of them will then receive 6000 UC, which can then be used to purchase in-game items. 

PUBG Mobile’s second-anniversary update was made available early last month and added an amusement park in the Erangel map. The park was only accessible in Classic mode and would spawn in one of three locations. It would contain interactive arcade games, as well as rides. The update also included a Colourblind Mode that is aimed at helping those with deuteranopia, protanopia, and tritanopia better see important visual elements like the map.

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Google Duo uses machine learning algorithms to improve call quality

Google Duo has steadily been rising in popularity since its release. And, Google has not stopped updating and improving the app either. The company has been rolling out a steady flow of updates and features over the years. The newest and most interesting feature about the app is how Google uses machine learning algorithms to deal with the loss of packet data. Which is essentially when data is lost as it travels across the length and breadth of the internet. The technology is actually called WaveNetEQ. For example, every time you video call someone, the audio is sometimes garbled and even blanks out in some spots. It works by judging what the lost audio data could have been and replaces it. 

The algorithm already exists in other software but Google’s own algorithm works much better than most and can actually figure out and replicate a larger portion of the missing audio, as claimed by the company. The algorithm has been taught 48 different languages to try and cover the entirety of the globe. Google has also said that about 99 per cent of calls experience some kind of packet loss, with 10 per cent of all calls losing 8 per cent of audio data. 

With this kind of technology in play, it looks like Google wants to help improve the call quality of Duo, specifically in developed countries. The processing of the information is also done on the device used which essentially means that you don't have to worry about privacy as it is protected using Duo’s end-to-end encryption. 

In other Google news, the company is going to shut down its local community app, Neighbourly on May 12. You can read all about it, here. 

 

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Google Doodle on coronavirus wants you to stay home, save lives

Friday’s Google Doodle is all about how you can help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. With an animated illustration, Google is encouraging users to follow the WHO guidelines in preventing COVID-19.

The doodle for the day is an animated series of letters that make up the word Google, as characters, and shows every alphabet engaged in some activity. One is reading a book while another is working out. One is playing the guitar whereas another is catching up with friends over their phones.

Clicking on the doodle takes you to a dedicated hub for Coronavirus tips and instructs to “Stay home. Save lives. As COVID-19 continues to impact communities around the world, help stop the spread by following these steps.”

The steps are —

Stay Home Keep a safe distance Wash hands often Cover your cough Sick? Call the helpline

These steps are also further explained with additions like washing hands regularly for 20 seconds with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub, covering the nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when sneezing or coughing. And the likes of that.

Other than these tips, the destination page from the doodle also shows statistics about the spread of the virus. A map shows the number of COVID-19 cases around the world, the number of recovered patients and the death toll.

The page also explains what the coronavirus really is and how it spreads.

Coronavirus cases touched a million in the world with over 50,000 dead. On a note of positivity though more than 200,000 have recovered from the virus.

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