Author: Anna Galvez

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Tech

Windows 10 October 2018 Update Adoption Is Very Slow

The newest Windows 10 build, more commonly known as the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, is available again for download. And, according to the latest reports released by AdDuplex, its adoption is improving at an extremely slow pace. Indeed, Microsoft is gradually deploying its updates around the world as more bugs are fixed, but also because users are probably more cautious and do not rush to install the new builds.

Windows 10 October 2018 Update Adoption Is Very Slow

The Windows 10 October 2018 Update rolled out initially in early October, but Microsoft removed it a few days later, after encountering a critical bug causing private data loss, as some users reported back then. As some users experience deletion of several files in the Documents library, Microsoft has remover all download links to test patches as part of the Windows Insider program.

The second version of the October 2018 Update update rolled out earlier this month (November), but its market share is not growing as fast as Microsoft wants. According to some reports, only 3% of Windows 10 computers are currently running the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, compared to just 2.3% in October.

Older Windows 10 Versions Are Starting To Lose Ground

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709) is now the third most used version of Microsoft’s operating system, but it is far behind others. The Creators Update (version 1703) only works on 1.5% of computers worldwide.

The adoption of the new version 1809 (Windows 10 October 2018 Update) is expected to boost in the upcoming weeks, as Microsoft will push it to more devices around the world. The slow deployment of this update is occurring because the Redmond-based tech giant is gradually fixing all the reported bugs.

In addition to all that, AdDuplex reports revealed that, among the Surface devices, the most popular model remains the Surface Pro 4 with 25.3% market share, followed by the Surface Pro (2017) with 18.6%. The new Surface Pro 6 adoption is growing rapidly, boasting a 5.2% market share, at the moment.

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Tech

YouTube Stories Is Now Available For More Content Creators

The concept of “stories” initiated by Snapchat and then made famous by Facebook on Instagram and its own social network platform, arrived a year ago to Youtube, but in exclusivity only for some YouTubers. YouTube wanted to avoid the accusations of copyright infringement by Snapchat and initially called the feature “Reels.” Now Google wants to make the bring the YouTube Stories function to a broader public, given the popularity of the format in recent years.

Now, Google allows all the YouTube content creators with more than 10,000 subscribers to post YouTube Stories to help them communicate better with their followers in this way.

YouTube Stories will remain on the content creators’ profile for seven days and would allow the fans to engage in conversations with their favorite YouTubers.

Google Makes YouTube Stories Available For All Content Creators With More Than 10,000 Subscribers

Stories have become an indispensable method of communication in the “teenage” stage of social networks, and their implementation for a more extensive array of YouTube content creators is beneficial for them.

Now, YouTubers with more than 10,000 subscribers can publish YouTube Stories to keep in touch with their followers better and without having to produce and edit a video as they would typically do.

In other news, YouTube, the most popular video streaming platform on the planet, would offer free access to their original productions, including both movies and TV series, via YouTube Originals starting with 2020. However, even though the company announced that it will change the focus of this division of the business and that it will share some of its productions for free, the platform would monetize itself through ads.

In the meantime, YouTube Stories, a concept which is very common and successful on Facebook and Instagram, in particular, is now available for every YouTube with as low as 10,000 subscribers.

Categories
Games News

BioWare General Manager Teased Dragon Age Announcement

In a new post on BioWare’s official blog, the BioWare General Manager Casey Hudson teased a Dragon Age announcement, saying that Dragon Age is a significant franchise for the studio. He also revealed that in the upcoming months we should expect an important statement that would refer to the next title in the franchise.

“If you’ve been following these blogs, or myself and Mark Darrah on Twitter, you know we’re also working on some secret Dragon Age stuff. Dragon Age is an incredibly important franchise in our studio, and we’re excited to continue its legacy. Look for more on this in the coming month, though I won’t tell you where to look,” said Casey Hudson, BioWare General Manager.

While we hope BioWare would announce the next title in the franchise, there is no information to point in that direction. However, the timing of Casey Hudson’s tease on a Dragon Age announcement is excellent, given the fact that The Game Awards is coming on December 6th.

BioWare General Manager Teased Dragon Age Announcement

For some time now, everybody has been aware that a future Dragon Age game is under development at BioWare, but the studio kept the work secret. This year, Casey Hudson came out to say that the next Dragon Age title would be focusing on the storyline and characters but will also follow the EA’s “live” model.

That would mean that the next Dragon Age title would continuously grow thanks to frequent content updates. Besides the teasing Hudson made about Dragon Age, the General Manager also announced that BioWare would also focus on developing more games for the Mass Effect universe.

The last installment in the Dragon Age franchise (and the third one, in general), Dragon Age: Inquisition rolled out in 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but also on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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Tech

Instagram Added “Close Friends” Feature To Permit Users To Share Stories To A More Limited Group

While in June 2017 Instagram tested the new “Favorites” function that allowed users to share more but limited to a smaller group of their followers, now Instagram added “Close Friends” feature which permits people to share stories to a limited group of friends.

Practically, “Favorites” and “Close Friends” are the same thing, as “Close Friends” is, in reality, the final version of the former function which has been under testing since recently. However, “Close Friends” feature in Instagram comes out with several changes in comparison with “Favorites.”

To make use of this new function in Instagram, just open up your Stories camera within the app and take a photo or a video and, as soon as you’re done, you’ll notice a small green circle with a star inside it. When you tap that button, Instagram will redirect you to your list of close friends from where you can add people to your “inner circle.”

Instagram Added “Close Friends” Feature To Permit Users To Share Stories To A More Limited Group Of People

Also, Instagram will suggest you which friends you should add, depending on how many times you were interacting with them, while you can just use the search bar to look for specific friends in your list.

Different from the Finstagram close friends list, your followers cannot request you to add them to your new “Close Friends” list which is mainly designed for you only to permit you to share your Insta Stories to a more limited group of people. You can freely add or remove people from your lists, which is great news, too.

As more and more people move from Facebook to Instagram, every new feature in the Instagram social network is more than welcome by the users. Also, this new “Close Friends” feature helps actual friends keep in touch much closer than ever.

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News Tech

Weibo Wants To Become Global, Following The Example Of TikTok

The Chinese social network Weibo is monitoring foreign markets and plans to launch new products in different languages, says a senior company official, sweeping away any possible reservations about censorship and credibility. The platform, which is the second-largest one in China after WeChat, a social network, messaging, and mobile payment app, aims to attract those Chinese living outside the borders of the country, as Zhang Zhe, Weibo’s Director of Sports Operations, said. Also, Weibo plans to launch targeted products for global markets.

“We want everyone who speaks Chinese to use Weibo,” said Zhang Zhe, during a conference on the sports economy in Dongguan, in southern China.

But Weibo also wants to reach new audiences with niche products in different languages, partly inspired by the overseas success of another Chinese company, TikTok, which is a video sharing platform and social network that’s very popular among youngsters.

TikTok’s creator, Beijing-based Bytedance, announced this week a partnership with the NBA, the Nationa Basketball Association in the US, that will allow it to broadcast content in several countries, including the United States.

Weibo Wants To Become Global, Following The Example Of TikTok

“Weibo is a highly developed product. Not only do we have videos, but also images, graphics, articles and even live feeds. We have everything,” says Zhang.

Zhang Zhe also admitted that it would make “no sense” to engage in competition with social networks and media platforms that are already in a strong position abroad, such as the giants Twitter and Facebook.

“So, if Weibo is exported, we think we can enter the foreign markets with a targeted product, as TikTok has done,” added Zhang Zhe.

Coming from a country where censorship is affecting the Internet, however, Chinese technology companies are not always well-received outside China, where their presence raises questions of national security as it has happened recently in New Zealand which banned the use of Huawei equipment from developing the 5G network across the country.

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