Monday
Apr272020

WhatsApp starts rolling out group video chats supporting eight users

We've already heard rumours that WhatsApp will be doubling the number of people you can video chat with on its service. But now we get confirmation from its parent company, Facebook. The messaging service has started rolling out the feature globally, allowing up to eight people on one call. The one advantage WhatsApp has over its competitors is that it comes with end-to-end encryption. This means "no one else can view or listen to your private conversation, not even WhatsApp," the company said in a blog post

Facebook itself has its new Messenger Rooms platform that will let you host up to 50 people in a call. But that doesn't have end-to-end encryption, so WhatsApp might become a go-to for those who want a more secure way to talk to other people.

Sunday
Apr262020

Spider-Man 3, Doctor Strange 2, Thor 4 get new release dates

Embed from Getty Images 

We already know that the sequel of animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse got a new release date. But it looks like Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures moved around a few more films to give each title more attention and time in the box office. The third Spider-Man film, which will follow Spider-Man: Far from Home, gets moved from July 16, 2021, to November 5, 2021. While Uncharted, which also stars Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, gets the July 16 release date. 

Holland was scheduled to start shooting Uncharted ahead of the new Spider-Man movie, but it got shut down last month because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And it looks like Sony wants to finish shooting Uncharted first after all.

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Sunday
Apr262020

Microsoft Word settles space debate, will flag double spaces as errors

Image courtesy of The Verge

Microsoft has officially sided with those who believe sentences should have one space instead of two. Microsoft Word is being updated to support this change, meaning if you still use double spaces after a period, it will appear as an error, and the recommended change will be a single space. The company started testing this change on the desktop version of the app. And like other Editor suggestions, you have the option to ignore it once, make the change, or turn it off. The change is rolling out to all desktop users of the app soon.

Source: The Verge

Sunday
Apr262020

Microsoft Surface Earbuds are reportedly launching in Europe on May 6

The Microsoft Surface Earbuds was unveiled during the fall Surface event, but its release got pushed back to a vague timeline of spring 2020 in the US. Its launch might come sooner rather than later. WinFuture reports that the earbuds will be available in Europe starting May 6, with a retail price of €199 or around CA$303 (which, if true, puts it roughly in line with the US$250 pricing or around CA$352). Of course, that price may not be the same as the actual Canadian price, but it gives us a ballpark figure. We also don't have word yet when the wireless earbuds will be available here.

The Surface Earbuds brings features like touch controls for Office apps like PowerPoint, live translation support in over 60 languages, and support for significant voice assistants like Google Assistant, Alexa, and Cortana (presumably, Siri, too).

Source: MobileSyrup