Latest news

Snapchat has today announced that its instant messaging app will be receiving new digital candy to decorate your pictures and videos. Unlike the Lenses released two years ago the new World Lenses are not meant for selfies.

World Lenses are used for taking pictures and videos with your main camera and incorporate things like rainbows, cartoonish clouds, or decorated texts. New filters also allow users to plant virtual flowers on the lawn.

Snapchat definitely is on the forefront adding augmented reality to our messaging and the new filters just add on the lead. Others have, however, taken note and especially Facebook is looking to close the gap. In its last F8 conference Facebook unveiled new developer tools that allow similar filters to be used in their Stories application.

Meanwhile, to see what kind of filters the new World Lenses are check the video below.

Disney has released the first official teaser trailer for the next movie in the Star Wars saga. Episode VIII is titled The Last Jedi and will be released for our viewing pleasures in December this year.

The two-minute teaser reveals the balance between soul searching of the Jedi training and pure action of the TIE fighters chasing the Millennium Falcon. Obviously characters such as Rey, Luke Skywalker, Finn, and others – including the crowd favorite BB-8 – from Force Awakens play a big role in December's inevitable blockbuster.

In addition to the gloomy soundtrack and atmosphere, Luke seems to predict a rather grim ending to our beloved Jedis, as does the title frankly. Maybe, just maybe, there's more to it than the demise of Jedis, though.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi premieres on December 15th, 2017.

At least four people were killed and another 15 injured in what has been classified as a terrorist attack last Friday in Stockholm, Sweden. Among the victims in the nation's capital were two Swedes, one Belgian and one Brit, Chris Bevington.

The streaming company Spotify has now come forward and confirmed that the British man killed by the truck attack was their employee. 41-year-old Chris Bevington was the director of global partnerships and business development for Spotify and was based in Stockholm. Bevington had worked for the company for five years and an integral part of their business.

Spotify's founder and CEO Daniel Ek released a statement (below) on the company's Facebook page talking about the loss and how the company is doing everything to aid the mourning family and friends.

The terrorist attack happened on Friday and the Swedish authorities' prime suspect is a 39-year-old from Uzbekistan, Rakhmat Akilov, who fled the scene. Akilov's asylum was rejected last June and was waiting deportation but managed to avoid it by giving a false address.

As part of its new deal with Universal Music Group (UMG), Spotify is allowing artists to limit the availability of new albums on its platform to paying subscribers only for two weeks.

Spotify recently announced that it had reached 50 million paying subscribers, but the music streaming service has yet to report a profit since its 2008 debut. It relies heavily on licensing music from the big players in the industry to keep its lead over rivals like Apple or Tidal.

As part of its renewal negotiations with Universal, Spotify has agreed that Universal artists can choose to limit their new albums releases to paying subscribers only for a two week window.

"We know that not every album by every artist should be released the same way, and we've worked hard with UMG to develop a new, flexible release policy," Spotify Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek said, reports Reuters.

"Universal artists can choose to release new albums on premium only for two weeks, offering subscribers an earlier chance to explore the complete creative work, while the singles are available across Spotify for all our listeners to enjoy."

Western Digital has unveiled its first portable solid-state-drive (SSD) just months after finally releasing its first Desktop / internal SSD.

My Passport SSD comes with either 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of solid state storage, priced at $100, $200 and $400 respectively. It is compatible with USB Type-C and USB Type-A (via adapter) ports, reaching speeds up to 515MB/s.

For the security and privacy conscious, My Password SSD features password protection thanks to 256-bit AES Hardware Encryption with WD Security software. It's also built to be tough, with WD claiming it could survive a fall from up to 6.5 feet (1.98 meters).

See more: Western Digital

via: Engadget

Apple bricked iPhones and iPads that were repaired / serviced by third-party technicians, an Australian regulatory body alleges.

Apple is being sued downunder for allegedly bricking hundreds of iPhones and iPads with software updates. That's the claim being made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in a lawsuit against the Cupertino giant.

Specifically, the regulator claims that Apple bricked hundreds of iPhones and iPads and then refused to fix them. According to the regulator, Apple refused to fix the devices because they had been previously been serviced by non-Apple technicians.

Apple customers who had downloaded software updates during September 2014 and February 2016 were later prompted with a message that the device "could not be restored and has stopped functioning."

Upon reaching out to Apple, customers were told that Apple was not required to provide a remedy.

"Consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law exist independently of any manufacturer's warranty and are not extinguished simply because a consumer has goods repaired by a third party," ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

Microsoft has revealed the final specs of its upcoming Project Scorpio console, promising true 4K gaming at 60 frames per second.

Digital Foundry spent time at Microsoft's Redmond campus and got to see Project Scorpio in action as it stands, along with confirmed final specs. Under the hood, the console contains a CPU with eight custom x86 cores clocked at 2.3GHz, still using AMD's Jaguar architecture, rather than the latest Ryzen CPU architecture.

A custom GPU with 40 customised compute units at 1172MHz will be the real powerhouse of Project Scorpio, enabling native 4K gaming at 60fps. Project Scorpio will also boast 12GB GDDR5, compared to 8GB GDDR5 in the PS4 Pro. 4K UDH Blu-ray is also supported.

Microsoft promised at E3 in 2016 that Project Scorpio will be the most powerful gaming console ever, eclipsing the PS4 Pro and it's own Xbox One S.

There is no design for Scorpio to show off yet or any details on release date or pricing. For more information on Scorpio as it stands, read this article at Eurogamer.

Netflix unveiled its perhaps most awaited feature ever late November last year. Offline viewing was added for mobile devices so you and I could limit the amount of mobile data we use.

Whether it was because of the cost or the sluggishness of mobile data the feature was definitely welcome but one could easily argue that there was a lot of use for the same feature even in PCs. Now it seems that Netflix has agreed and released an update that brings downloading to PCs too.

According to Windows Central, Netflix has released an update that adds the download option to shows and movies right where it is in the mobile app. This only is found on the Windows 10 app, so if you are using the web app or any other desktop enabled app you are likely out of luck.

At this point most of the downloadable content is said to be Netflix Originals but this should change soon as Netflix expands their support and closes more extensive content deals.

As of writing this my Netflix app from the Windows Store is still at v6.18.89 which does not include the offline viewing function, so you might have to wait a while depending on the region, or luck for all we know. You can check the likes of Bojack Horseman to see if you see the little download icon next to every episode.

AfterDawn has operated a news aggregator service called HIGH.FI since 2014. Service has grown steadily, month after month, during these past 3 years and in March, it - once again - made a new record with users clicking on more than 1.6 million headlines through it.

As we gather news from thousands and thousands of news services, the statistics the service generates are sometimes extremely interesting. We thought you might ant to take a look at what people clicked on during March and compiled a top20 list of headlines.

These headlines get read through our website, our Android news app and our Windows Phone app as well as through several 3rd party projects that use our news aggregator API.

Anyway, here are the charts...

Top 20 news during March, 2017

1. Microsoft Edge: Most Hacked Browser At Pwn2Own 2017 (Tom's Hardware)
2. Lucy Lawless almost unrecognisable ahead of mardi gras (Mail Online)
3. Lisa Kudrow Apparently Wasn't 'F**kable' Enough For One 'Friends' Guest Star (Huffington Post)
4. Best smartphones 2017: The best phones available to buy today (Pocket-lint)
5. AMD Ryzen Gaming Performance In-Depth: 16 Games Played at 1080p & 1440p (TechSpot)
6. How to become a super memorizer – and what it does to your brain (The Guardian)
7. Courtney Stodden poses in nude nightie for Instagram (Mail Online)
8. Samsung Internet browser is now listed on Google Play Store, and it supports Nexus phones (PhoneArena)
9. Charlize Theron dazzles in low-cut black at Hong Kong gala (Mail Online)
10. Imogen Thomas flaunts bust in swimsuit on Instagram (Mail Online)
11. Kylie Jenner posts cheeky new belfie on Instagram (Mail Online)
12. 'Magic helicopter' appears to fly without using its rotors (Mail Online)
13. Nokia flagship with Snapdragon 835 lands in June in two sizes, rumor says (GSMArena)
14. Mass Effect Andromeda's animations have already reduced it to a laughing stock (VG247)
15. Davina McCall shows off her bikini body on Instagram (Mail Online)
16. Poll: Is Microsoft invading your privacy with Windows 10? (WinBeta)
17. The Root Trump Tweets on International Women's Day and It Might Be His Worst Tweet Ever | The Muse W (Kotaku)
18. Netflix has figured out how to stream video on bad connections (TechnoBuffalo)
19. Beware of 'time travel' texts from 2003, experts warn (Mail Online)
20. First gay NBA player to come out calls Amar'e Stoudemire a 'braying jackass' (Sporting News)

Get more news from HIGH.FI's website or through our Android app.

Other countries

HIGH.FI also supports several other languages and has big following in several countries. Here are the charts for March in some of ur other countries:

Top 5 news in Sweden in March, 2017

1. Lundaforskare avslöjar: Den stora smällen kan drabba Jorden när som helst (Sydsvenskan)
2. Seger för Djurgården mot HIF – efter Källströms "skänk" (FotbollDirekt)
3. Hennes pojkvän levde dubbelliv – i 16 år (SVT)
4. Trump krävs på svar – kan bli en av de största skandalerna någonsin (Nyheter24)
5. Ica slänger ut Gevalia – för dyrt (Dagens Industri)

Get more news from HIGH.FI's Swedish version or through our Android app.

Top 5 news in Italy in March, 2017

1. Suicida a 16 anni per cyberbullismo, il padre posta la foto dell'agonia (Tiscali)
2. Napoli-Real Madrid, la proposta hot della Saulino ai difensori partenopei (Il Giornale)
3. Le prime pagine della stampa di tutto il mondo mostrano l'orrore di Londra (L'Huffington Post)
4. Malena la Pugliese seduce Rocco Siffredi (o viceversa?) sull'Isola dei Famosi: galeotta fu la crema... (Oggi.it)
5. L'evoluzione degli smartphone: le bizzarre innovazioni di LG (AndroidPIT)

Get more news from HIGH.FI's Italian version or through our Android app.

Top 5 news in Netherlands in March, 2017

1. Uitslag van testdag zes, inclusief bandencompounds (GP Update)
2. Volledige uitslag testdag, inclusief bandencompounds (GP Update)
3. Antivirus: wat is de beste virusscanner? (Computer! Totaal)
4. Volledige uitslag van testdag vier in Barcelona (GP Update)
5. Koeman haalt genadeloos hard uit naar de KNVB (Soccernews.nl)

Get more news from Nieuws2.nl website or through our Android app.

Top 5 news in Denmark in March, 2017

1. Wozniacki-formuen er eksploderet: Nu taler Caroline om det vilde beløb (Ekstra Bladet)
2. Danskere står bag kæmpe musiktjeneste i Afrika (Børsen)
3. Her går nøgen model ned langs stranden - men hvor mange opdager egentlig at hun ikke har tøj på? (M!)
4. Asger Aamund: Derfor sidder Løkke i en ualmindelig grim klemme (Berlingske)
5. Sex-skandale truer Hollywood-stjerne (Ekstra Bladet)

Get more news from Nyheder2.dk website or through our Android app.

Top 5 news in Finland in March, 2017

1. Tästä syystä WhatsApp on ilmainen – Alkaa tehdä nyt rahaa (Puhelinvertailu)
2. Shokkikäänne: Kasmir olikin yksi Axl Smithin uhreista! (Stara)
3. 8 niksiä: Näin teet wifi-verkostasi nopeamman (Digitoday)
4. Vaimo ällistyi, kun poliisi näytti turvakameran kuvan – härski totuus perheen lomamatkan taustalta alkoi paljastua (Ilta-Sanomat)
5. Toimittaja tekeytyi naiseksi ja viestitteli Axl Smithin kanssa – näin Axl käyttäytyi! (Como)

Get more news from HIGH.FI's Finnish version or through our Android app.

Top 5 news in Estonia in March, 2017

1. OTSE | Mehhiko ralli: Ott Tänak tõusis kolmanda päeva alustuseks kohe neljandaks (Õhtuleht)
2. Toyota viskas keset MM-rallit valge rätiku ringi (Postimees)
3. OTSEBLOGI: Kas Tänak püsib Mehhiko rallil täna tehnilistest probleemidest prii? (Delfi)
4. Mart Müürisepp «Verona» sarjamisest: ma tegin selle postituse naljaga! (Postimees)
5. Suri näitleja Lembit Ulfsak (Postimees)

Get more news from HIGH.FI's Estonian version or through our Android app.

Want to get your language supported?

We're always interested to expand our HIGH.FI news aggregator to new language areas. If you're willing to help us to get our service translated and to find news sources for a new language, get in touch!

SpaceX has successfully launched a satellite for SES using a Falcon 9 rocket with a previously landed and refurbished booster.

This is the first time that an orbital class rocket booster has been successfully reflown and marks a milestone for SpaceX in its goal to make rockets fully and rapidly reusable. The rocket booster landed on a drone ship last year as part of a previous mission.

One again, same booster landed again on Thursday on a drone ship, but it is unlikely to be flown again. Instead, Musk indicated at the post-launch presser that the booster may be offered as a gift to the cape.

Here is the full Hosted Webcast of the SES-10 mission:

Apple released a small update for iPhone after a fake ransomware attack was reported by users.

The hoax ransomware appeared to lock the iPhone browser until the user paid to have it unlocked. It accused the victim of illegal activity and demanded £100 in the form of an iTunes gift card, providing a designated mobile phone number to send the gift card code to.

However, the Browser was not locked and just wiping its cache would get rid of the annoyance completely. It was a more or less harmless piece of Javascript, but enough of an annoyance that Apple pushed a small update that would prevent its effects.

Ransomware and malware in general is a growing problem with mobile devices, though Apple's iOS devices tend to be viewed as more secure than their Android counterparts. The worst kind of attacks include encrypting sensitive information and demanding a ransom be paid for it to be decrypted.

Such attacks have not just hit home users, but government agencies, school and corporations too.

Responding to new taxi regulations in the country, Uber is halting its services for Danish customers while it negotiates with the government.

Uber claims that more than 300,000 people use its app in Denmark, and that there are more than 2,000 Uber drivers operating in the country. It will have to suspend its services however, due to the introduction of new regulations for taxis.

"For us to operate in Denmark again the proposed regulations need to change. We will continue to work with the government in the hope that they will update their proposed regulations and enable Danes to enjoy the benefits of modern technologies like Uber," the firm said in a statement.

The new regulations will mean all taxis operating in Denmark must have fare meters in the vehicle, and seat sensors.

Uber has come up against multiple regulatory walls around the world as it expands its service. It is typically opposed by traditional taxi drivers and even its own drivers have won judgements against it on their rights as workers.

Samsung unveiled its DeX Station dock for its new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ handsets allowing you to connect your device to a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Mobile devices have long passed a point where the hardware under the hood is more than capable of driving a desktop PC environment and there have been numerous attempts at bringing seamless solutions to the market. Samsung is in the ring with the Samsung DeX service, which turns a Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+ into a mobile PC.

Using the DeX Station dock, users can connect a 16:9 ratio monitor to their handset via a HDMI cable. A keyboard and mouse can be connected via Bluetooth, RF or USB. Once connected, their mobile phone will switch to Samsung DeX mode, providing an Android-based Desktop interface.

The interface supports the typical keyboard and mouse gestures, such as drag and drop, scrolling and shortcuts, and allows you to efficiently multitask and move applications around in resizeable windows.

Samsung came roaring back in the smartphone market yesterday when it pulled the curtain back on the hotly-anticipated Galaxy S8 handsets.

Having been bruised last year by an unfortunate defect with the Galaxy Note 7 resulting in several fires and a global recall, Samsung needed to hit the right notes with the Galaxy S8. It seems fair to say that the South Korean firm has delivered.

Much of the rumored features of the GS8 and GS8+ models materialized, including a larger curved screen, the lack of a previously ever-present physical Home button and Samsung logo, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and the inclusion of the Bixby virtual assistant. The water-resistant and dust-resistant handsets are more aesthetically pretty than the leaked images suggested though.

Visually dominating each device are the curved Super AMOLED displays - 5.8-inch on GS8 and 6.2-inch on the GS8+ - which are brighter than their predecessors and support displaying high dynamic range (HDR) video. The Quad HD+ resolution (2960x1440) displays stretch the aspect ratio compared to the GS7 handsets and accommodate two apps side-by-side.

Replacing the physical Home button is an on-screen icon, which sits atop a pressure sensor and vibration module for control and feedback. Both GS8 handsets pack a 12Megapixel camera on the back with a f/1.7 aperture, very similar to the GS7 handsets, however the cameras produce better photos by snapping additional frames and using the extra data to improve sharpness and contrast of the resulting image.

Facebook has announced that it will stop supporting the Messenger platform for Windows Phones running WP8.1 or older. As over 75 percent of Windows Phone models are still running WP8.1 or older, rather than the new Windowd 10, this effectively kills the instant messaging app for WP.

Furthermore, the Facebook's flagship application versions still supporting messaging through the app itself (rather than forcing users to use Messenger's own app) will stop working by end of March, 2017. This change includes also all older versions of Android apps. So, if you have postponed updating your Facebook app in order to keep using Messenger through it, you are running out of time now. Facebook made the announcement through its Messenger blog.

The blow to WP platform is hard - and even harder, considering the fact that Microsoft itself dropped Skype's support for WP8.1 earlier this month.

Facebook will send an email to affected users and suggest alternative routes, such as switching to a new phone, updating to Windows 10 (an option which is out of reach for most WP users, due small RAM capacity in most sold devices) or using Messenger through desktop browser.