Facebook rolls out the share button to mobile users

Designed to encourage mobile users to share more types of content with their friends, Facebook is rolling out a new share button for the mobile interface.

Detailed by Techcrunch earlier today, Facebook has launched a share button on the mobile version of the social network and is planning to add sharing capabilities to both the iOS and Android applications at a later date. While the ability to share a particular article, video or picture is commonplace on the Web version of Facebook, mobile users can simply tap on the new share link in order to pass along an interesting piece of content to their friends. When a user brings up the mobile version of the social network, they will notice a new Share button to the right of the Like and Comment buttons. 

Tapping the new share button brings up an interface that allows the user to write a comment that goes along with the shared content. In addition, the user can isolate the post to a specific subset of their friends through groups or post it publicly in order to reach all subscribers.

Once the user is satisfied with the post, they confirm the sharing action by tapping the Share button in the top right corner of the screen. Alternatively, cancelling the post returns the user to the news feed. The new share button is only appearing within the News feed at this point. When visiting a personal page of a friend or a brand, the share button hasn’t been incorporated within the design yet.

The launch of the new sharing feature marks a trend in Facebook’s strategic approach to mobile. While the inclusion of the sharing button isn’t a technical achievement by any means, the priority of improving Facebook’s mobile interface is evident. According to Facebook’s third quarter results, the social network has approximately 600 million active mobile users each month. In addition, about 120 million of those active users check Facebook exclusively through a mobile device. The addition of the share button on the mobile version of the site could result in a spike in the amount of articles, videos and pictures that are shared each day. 

With the addition of the share button for mobile users, this brings Facebook more in line with social network competitor Twitter. On the web version of Twitter, users are encouraged to retweet posts and share them with friends. It will be interesting to see if mobile users on Facebook transition from the Like action to the Share action. Potentially,  it could significantly increase the amount of shared content people find in their News feeds each day and possibly drown out other status updates from friends and family.

However, it could be extremely helpful to brands and advertisers since the share action is more valuable when attempting to spread a particular piece of content. In a related story noted by The Next Web, Facebook is also rolling out a new feed that allows a user to view posts from brands and other pages into a completely separate feed. While posts from those pages will still appear within the News feed, users can visit this page in order to view recent updates only from liked pages.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

‘HUEBRIX’ for iOS and Android game review

The mobile gaming category is currently populated by two types of games, those that are meant to give you a “console quality” feel and others that are designed specifically with the touchscreen and the usage case in mind. While it’s nice to have high quality 3D visuals and extensive character and story driven games, in the end, the second category of games is the one that works the best and is the most popular.

HUEBRIX falls in the latter category. It’s a puzzle solving game for iOS and Android where you have to drag out paths and fill the shapes. Sounds simple, but it’s often the simple things that are the most enjoyable. We decided to find out if it that’s the case with this game.

Title	HUEBRIX
Developer	Yellow Monkey Studios	Noodlecake Studios
Platform	iOS	Android
Content rating	4+	Everyone
Size	20.9MB	17MB
Price	$0.99 (on sale)

Gameplay

In HUEBRIX you have to drag a stack of colored tiles across a grid of squares. The number of tiles in the stack dictate how further you can drag the stack, i.e., you can drag a stack of five tile upon five blocks. Your goal is to drag all the tiles across the entire grid and make sure every block gets covered by the colored tiles with no spare tiles left.

If that sounds complicated to you, watch the video below. I’d suggest not watching it entirely or else you’d spoil the solution for the puzzles for yourself.

You will comes across several other objects within the environment that determine how you spread the squares around. Certain squares are blocked, some can only be accessed by a stack of a particular color, some don’t let you progress beyond that point and some force you to move in one particular direction after you cross them. Some even add or subtract from the number of colored tiles you have. Sometimes, you can also go through one side of the environment and come out from the other.

The basic premise of the game is very simple and you hardly need any instructions to play. The real fun is figuring out how you can fill out the squares using all the colors and this can be ridiculously challenging at times, even on the easier levels. Personally, I’m a fan of games that require you to rack your brain to complete the level instead of just mashing a button relentlessly until everything on the screen stops moving. HUEBRIX offers just the right amount of challenge that, even at its most intense, only makes you push on further instead of giving up. And the solution always seems simple once you find it, making you feel bit stupid for not thinking of it before. And if you’re really stuck, you can use one of the 20 available hints to make your progress a bit easier.

Once you go through the 100-odd levels of the game, you can purchase up to 300 more levels from within the game using in-app purchasing. The levels are separated as packs and are of varying difficulty. The game comes with a starter pack, along with Easy 1, Medium 1 and Medium 2 level packs, and you can purchase, Easy 2, 3, 4, 5, Medium 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Hard 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and Insane 1, 2 and 3 level packs. You can also purchase additional hints and you get a pack of 19 and 99 hints. Each of these packs are sold for $0.99, except for the 99 hints pack which costs $3.99.

This is one area of the game where it differs from some of the previous puzzle games we have seen before on mobile, like Cut the Rope, for example, where new levels are added over time for free. I personally prefer this method, where you pay once and keep getting new levels as they are released for free and let’s face it, who wouldn’t? While what HUEBRIX does is not necessarily bad it does mean you get less bang for your buck. The 100 levels in the game are not much and you can go through them in a single afternoon. After that, spending the cost of an entire game ($0.99 right now) on a pack of 30, 20 or 10 levels (depending upon their difficulty) feels a bit much. While I won’t advise the developer to give away the levels for free, they could at least put in more by default or squeeze in more levels in the packs.

One last aspect of the game is that you can create custom levels using the level editor. You can then share these with people on GameCenter and download levels created by them. This feature is only available on iOS.

Graphics and Sound

HUEBRIX is a basic 2D game but still manages to look stunning thanks to a bright color palette, particularly on high resolution displays. As usual, the game is best enjoyed on a tablet but even on the small display of a smartphone the game is quite enjoyable.

The sound is also quite nice. There is a single tune playing on a loop in the background but it’s soothing and goes well with the theme of the game.

Conclusion

HUEBRIX is a simple yet thoroughly enjoyable puzzle solving game that anyone with a smartphone or a tablet and some spare time on their hands can enjoy. It looks stunning and is filled with clever puzzles. Sure, the in-app purchasing system could be a bit more generous to the players but otherwise the game is perfect for anyone who enjoys solving puzzles.

(The game is on sale right now and selling for $0.99. Final price as of yet is unknown.)

Rating: 4/5
Pros: Simple gameplay, clever puzzles, stunning visuals, ability to create and download custom levels
Cons: Additional levels cost money and offer poor value

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

How Video Podcasting Can Grow Your Business

Blogging is something that just about every business is doing, and it’s a good idea to keep up with your blog. However, you might want to add some other types of content to the mix, as well. A business that does video podcasts can engage with visitors more easily, and it can help to keep peoples’ attention more than most blogs alone can do.

You Have More Outlets

In addition to posting your video podcasts on your site, you have quite a few other outlets where you will be able to post them as well. You will certainly want to set up a page on YouTube for your business, and you can post all of the video podcasts to your page. In addition, consider adding your video podcasts to iTunes as free downloads. Look around the web, and you will start to find other place where you can upload your videos.

Why would you want to add your videos to more outlets? When you have your video in a number of different places, with links back to your site, you will find that it can help to bump your business’s page ranking on the search engines. In addition, you are going to be exposing your company and your brand to people who would not have been able to see your information if the only place you posted was on your own site. It is a great way to get more people to come to your site and to learn more about what you have to offer. Thus, it can be a great way to boost and grow your business.

Are You Ready for Video Podcasting?

Of course, you need to make sure that you are ready to start a video podcast. A poor quality video is not going to endear you to viewers, so make sure that you truly are ready. Here are some tips.

First, make sure that you have the right equipment. You need to have a good camera, a good recording system if the camera’s microphone is low quality, and a way to edit the videos. Fortunately, the cost of equipment is within the range of most budgets today. Second, make sure that you have some type of script to follow, even if you only follow a loose script. This helps to keep you on topic. Third, make sure you do a couple of practice videos to get comfortable on camera.

When you shoot video and use it the right way for your business, it is possible to get more attention and more clients, regardless of the type of business you have.

Author Bio: Helene Lazarenco is a dedicated writer at Kepard.com. She is passionate by Technology, Security software and Blogging. Don’t forget to try out VPN services when need a reliable Free VPN (warning: totally different.)

Tags: Video Podcasting

Source : techtalkafrica[dot]com

Are You Monitoring Your Mac Computer?

Macs are known for being impervious to viruses, unlike their PC counterparts, which are vulnerable to all types of malicious software without the right anti-virus protection. However, this added protection often lulls many Mac users into being complacent when it comes to taking security measures to protect their computer and its contents. Although Apple operating systems are less susceptible to spyware, adware, and other malicious programs, they can be abused by unscrupulous or unrestricted users. You should consider the benefits of remotely monitoring your Mac if you fit into one of the following stereotypes:

The Busy Businessman

As a multitasking businessman it can be easy to forget to power down your Mac before leaving the office. With a remote monitoring service/app you can easily access your Mac from anywhere you can connect to the internet, on any device that can load a conventional web browser – including smartphones and tablets. You can even remotely log out of your user account, view and kill active processes, or shut down the computer altogether. This makes it easy to keep unwanted eyes from prying into your business data. Furthermore, you can remotely view, download, modify, and use files/programs that are stored on your Mac, so you can have the office computer with you wherever you go.

The Protective Parent

Remote monitoring takes your parental control capabilities to the next level. Instead of simply setting up web filters that may or may not block all forbidden content, you can actually view a child’s activity in real-time or review detailed logs of past activity complete with screenshots that you can set to be taken at custom intervals. Using remote monitoring apps/services in combination with parental control filters is the best way to ensure that your children are protected from inappropriate content while browsing the internet. Also, you’ll no longer have to worry about whether your kid has actually been doing their homework or watching YouTube; you can view all of the programs/windows they’ve opened, see how long they were used, and quickly discover any files that were created or modified.

The Demanding Techie

Web designers, software developers, programmers, and other online service providers often own and manage more than one computer and/or operating system. Most techies have a smartphone, netbook, or tablet that they use to compute while on-the-go, but still need to have access to important files, emails, and applications that are stored on their home/office computers. Advanced software tasks can sometimes take hours to complete, and it’s nice to be able to check up on the progress of operations while you’re away from the Mac. In addition, with the ability to remotely use your Mac’s processing capabilities and RAM you can launch and operate resource-intensive programs through the web browser of the device you’re using to connect to the online control interface, essentially giving your mobile device the computing power of your Mac. Remote Mac monitoring should be utilized by any techie that simply can’t afford to be away from their main powerhouse computer for too long.

Author Bio: Toby Keszler is a part-time blogger, mobile tech enthusiast, and currently blogs for SniperSpy MAC Monitoring Software, a cutting-edge app that allows you to easily monitor your Mac computer.

Tags: Computer Monitor, Computer Monitoring, Computer Security, Mac Computers

Source : techtalkafrica[dot]com