APPS Archives - Page 2 of 232

Nintendo, Cygames Partner to Make Mobile Games, Dragalia Lost Coming This Summer

HIGHLIGHTS

Nintendo is buying a 5-percent stake in Cygames
Cygames is best known for Granblue Fantasy
Dragalia Lost is a action role-playing game

Japanese video game maker Nintendo said on Friday it has teamed up with Tokyo-based online games developer Cygames, aiming to step up the mobile gaming business and reduce reliance on volatile console sales.

The Kyoto-based company will buy a 5 percent stake in unlisted Cygames, known for its blockbuster Granblue Fantasy game, for an undisclosed amount.

As part of the tie-up, Nintendo will release a jointly developed action role-playing game called Dragalia Lost for smartphones this summer, Nintendo said.

The game will be launched in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau at first, and later in North America and Europe.

Nintendo entered mobile gaming under partnership with online gaming firm DeNA Co in 2015 as part of an effort to stabilise earnings highly dependent on its volatile games console business.

It has since released several mobile gaming titles including Super Mario Run, using its popular Super Mario Bros characters.

Nintendo said on Thursday it expects operating profit to rise 26.7 percent in the year through March to a nine-year high, as its Switch games console maintains sales momentum in its second year.

The initial success of the hybrid home-portable Switch has boosted Nintendo’s gaming software sales and encouraged more third-party publishers to make games for the console, a cycle which could further push up console sales.

The Kyoto-based company also said it named Managing Executive Officer Shuntaro Furukawa as new president to succeed Tatsumi Kimishima, effective after the general shareholders meeting in June.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

Google Adds New Verification Feature to Prevent Phishing Attacks

HIGHLIGHTS

New feature for Google account users who rely on Chrome
It prevents users from signing in to an account controlled by an attacker
The feature will appear only once per account per device

This week, Google announced a new security feature for Google account users who work on Chromefor browsing the Internet. The new sign-in feature asks users to verify that the account they are using is their own account. The search giant says that this is designed to prevent anyone from quietly signing into a Google account that may be owned by a malicious third party.

The move by Google is essentially meant to secure third-party logins, such as those performed by SAML single sign-on (SSO). From May 7, after signing in on a SAML provider’s website, the users will see a new screen on the Google’s site, to confirm their identity. Google says in a G Suite Updates blog, this screen will provide an additional layer of security and help prevent users from unknowingly signing in to an account created and controlled by an attacker.

Google stated that it will only show the feature once per account per device to minimise disruption for the user. It said, “We’re working on ways to make the feature even more context-aware in the future, meaning your users should see the screen less and less over time.”

For phishing attacks, the new screen will prevent would-be attackers from tricking a user into clicking a link that would sign them into a Google Account that the attacker controls. Google says, “Today, this can be done via SAML single sign-on (SSO), because it doesn’t require a user interaction to complete a sign-in. To protect Chrome users, we’ve added this extra protection.”

Google says that the new security feature is part of its plans to create a consistent identity for users across Google web services such as Gmail and native Chrome browser services such as Chrome Sync. It will make it easier for signed-in G Suite users to take advantage of native Chrome browser features, but with additional protection during authentication.

Notably, you can also disable the new screen. For that, you will have to use the ‘X-GoogApps-AllowedDomains HTTP header’ to identify specific domains whose users can access Google services. Then, the header can be set in Chrome via the ‘AllowedDomainsForApps group policy’.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

Facebook Announces a New Sleep Mode for Messenger Kids App

In an effort to give more control to parents, Facebookhas launched a Sleep Mode in its Messenger Kids that will allow parents to set predetermined “off times” for the app on a child’s device. When the app is in Sleep Mode, kids cannot send or receive messages or video calls, play with the creative camera or receive notifications. If they try to open the app, they’ll see a message telling them that it’s in sleep mode and to come back later.

“Parents told us they would like controls that make the app inaccessible at a certain time, like during dinner, homework time or bedtime. We took this feedback to heart and built a feature that gives that level of control to parents,” Tarunya Govindarajan, Product Manager at Facebook, said in a blog post.

With Sleep Mode, parents can set a designated off time and each day at the designated time, the app will “go to sleep” and not be accessible to kids during those hours. The mode is controlled from the Parent Control centre in the parent’s Facebook account and the “off times” can be changed at any time.

How Messenger Kids’ Sleep Mode works

Go to the Messenger Kids controls in the main Facebook app. Tap on the child’s name, and then on Sleep Mode in the App Controls’ section. Now, set the times you want the app to turn off for your child.

You can set different times for weekdays versus weekends. Once you set the limits, the child will not be able to use the app during those hours. Parents can access all of their controls from the Messenger Kids controls in the main Facebook app.

“In addition to Sleep Mode, parents can add and remove contacts, delete the child’s account, or create a new account right from the control panel,” the post added.

Since its launch in December 2017, Messenger Kids is facing widespread criticism for encouraging children to join social media. Child health experts the world over have written to Facebook to withdraw the app designed specifically for children under the age of 13.

British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in December warned the social media giant to stay away from his children.

“Facebook told me they would come back with ideas to PREVENT underage use of their product, but instead they are actively targeting younger children. Stay away from my kids please Facebook and act responsibly!” Hunt had posted on Twitter.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

Uber Re-Enters Barcelona With Professional Driver Service

Uber is seeking a second chance in Barcelona three years after it was forced to shut down in the face of taxi driver protests – by introducing a fully licenced ride-hailing service that meets local transportation laws.

Its new UberX service will operate with hundreds of professional, licenced drivers in contrast to the UberPopservice it ran until late 2014 using non-professional drivers to pick up and drop off passengers, Uber said on Tuesday.

Uber is looking to make a clean break with business practices that resulted in a litany of regulatory battles, driver and consumer scandals and court cases.

“We made mistakes along the way,” Uber General Manager for Southwest Europe Carles Lloret said in a company blog post.

“We are changing the way we do business, putting integrity at the core of every decision we make and working hard to earn the trust of the cities in which we operate. Barcelona is no exception.”

Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in January he was focused on “responsible growth” as he seeks to put an end to the take-no-prisoners culture he inherited upon joining the pioneer of ride-hailing services last year.

Two years ago, Uber re-introduced UberX using professional drivers in Madrid. In December 2014, a judge had ordered all Uber services to be shut down in Spain’s capital city.

Decrying Uber’s return as unfair competition to their livelihoods, taxi drivers have mounted a series of 24-hour strikes in Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities over the past year.

“We are fully committed to working with the entire sector – including taxis – to improve mobility in Barcelona together,” said Lloret.

San Francisco-based Uber pre-emptively closed its services in Barcelona in December 2014 as local officials geared up to pass legislation against the UberPop service, which city authorities legally barred the following year.

Protests by taxi associations over the past year against Uber have also targeted Madrid-based Cabify, a rival founded in 2012 that operates in Spain, Portugal and Latin America.

Uber operates a range of ride-hailing services in more than 600 cities around the world.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]