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Porting iOS games to Windows 10 is actually pretty easy

2016-02-11T08:51:00.003+05:30

Popular games for iPhone and iPad can be ported to the Windows 10 platform in just five minutes using Microsoft’s own tools.

In a post on his blog (via WMPoweruser) developer David Burela was able to move the popular endless runner game Canabalt using Project Islandwood.

Using the source code posted by the game’s developers on GitHub, Buerla was able to open the files in Windows Visual Studio and build them for fast playback in Windows 10.

Project Islandwood is a bridge tool that allows apps from all manner of platforms for use in Windows 10. The iOS bridge can be downloaded from the Windows 10 website.

Of course consumers will only be able to do this for games and apps where the source code has been made readily available.

However, it just goes to show how easy it could be for developers to convert their own games to Windows 10, if they so desired.

You can check out David Burela’s method in the video below.

Which of the hundreds of thousands of iOS games would you like to see converted for the desktop? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

The Overwatch beta is back with some big new changes

2016-02-11T08:49:00.003+05:30

After a two-month-long hiatus, Blizzard has reintroduced the Overwatch closed beta with all new features and modes.

Overwatch was already a huge hit with PC players before its sudden hiatus, and now the MOBA-inspired shooter is back with a bunch of new additions.

Some of the big new features include two maps, a progression system and a new game mode called Control.

Here’s how Control will work, according to Blizzard:

“On Control maps, two teams fight over a series of objective areas in a best-of-three format. When a team is in control of the round’s objective area, they will make progress toward capturing it, and whichever team gets to 100% first wins the round. Each round (up to 3 total) will feature a new objective area located in a different part of the map.”

The new mode will playable in a separate playlist, supporting both the new maps and progression system in unique ways.

Overwatch’s new progression system will be tied to your entire account, instead of individual characters you level up overtime.

Each new level grants you a loot box, which can contain any of the following objects:

Player Icons – Customize your player profile with an icon reflecting your favorite character, ability, Blizzard game, and more. 
Skins – Dress for success with new looks for all 21 heroes, including rare color variations and legendary skins such as Safari Winston or Punk Tracer. 
Emotes – Taunt your enemies and cheer on your allies with a series of new in-game emotes. 
Sprays – Make your mark on the battlefield with graffiti-like sprays based on heroes, maps, logos, and more (default: T). 
Voice Lines – Chat up your fellow players variety of new voice lines available through the communications wheel (default: C). 
Victory Poses – Strike a pose and tailor how your hero appears in your team’s photo finish. 
Highlight Intros – Add a little flair to your Plays of the Game with special animated introductions for each hero.

If a loot box happens to drop something you already own, it will reward you with Credits. This currency can be used to purchase cosmetic items for your characters, so you never feel shortchanged for samey rewards.

Overwatch is coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC during the first half of 2016.

The Flame and the Flood coming February 24

2016-02-11T08:47:00.003+05:30

It's finally official, The Flame and the Flood will arrive on Xbox One, PC and Mac on February 24.

In development at a brand new studio known as The Molasses Flood, The Flame and the Flood is an intriguing indie game that piqued our interest early last year at an ID@Xbox showcase.

This rogue-lite title sees you play as a young girl and her dog Aesop as you take a downriver journey of survival.

You'll need to forage, craft, outwit predators and brave the rapids. Everything is procedurally generated, so you'll get a unique journey every time.

Thankfully Aesop is there to help you though, as he can sniff out and gather supplies that you'll need to stay warm, fed and alive.

What makes The Flame and the Flood even more interesting though is the development team behind it.

The Molasses Flood, as the team is known, is made up of what they call "AAA refugees". Members hark from places like Irrational, Harmonix and Bungie, having worked on games like BioShock and BioShock Infinite – which is particularly noticeable in the art style used for The Flame in the Flood.

To take a look at what you're getting yourself into, watch the tips trailer below. You never know, it might come it handy.

The Walking Dead: Michonne release date confirmed

2016-02-11T08:46:00.000+05:30

The first episode of Telltale’s Walking Dead Michonne miniseries will be available on February 23, the developer has confirmed.

Telltale’s Michonne miniseries was first announced at San Diego Comic Con in 2014, and now the anticipated comic crossover is almost here.

The first episode, titled In Too Deep, will be available on February 23 for PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. iOS and Android will follow shortly after on February 25.

The first episode will feature protagonist Michonne (voiced by Orange is the New Black’s Samira Wiley) as she finds herself on board a ship called The Companion.

She, along with some friends, are sailing the coast in pursuit of supplies and potential survivors. Judging by the title, that boat won’t be staying afloat for very long.

"When a desperate signal for help draws them to a scene of horrific massacre, Michonne and the crew are lead further to the floating survivors' colony of Monroe, which may just be harboring the person responsible for the carnage," the description reads.

The second episode, Give No Shelter, will be coming in March, followed by the final installment, What We Deserve, in April.

Michonne’s miniseries is aiming to provide some explanation for her character’s absence between issues #126 and #139 of Robert Kirkman’s comic book.

"Over the three episodes of the miniseries, players will discover what took Michonne away from Rick, Ezekiel, and the rest of her trusted group... and what brought her back," Telltale explained.

The Walking Season 2 wrapped up back in 2014, so it’s been awhile since we’ve visited Telltale’s take on the undead universe.

Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/the-walking-dead-michonne-miniseries-release-date-confirmed#yB0JfWXpzPKDoJCZ.99

Apple Music goes live on Sonos, finally

2016-02-11T08:44:00.000+05:30

Despite its hefty roster of music services, Sonos has always been missing Apple Music – until now.

Sonos has just announced support for Apple Music, available across the company’s entire range of speaker systems.

“The feedback from Apple Music members on Sonos during the beta period has been great,” says Apple’s Eddy Cue, the VP of Internet Software and Services.

Cue continues: “Sonos plus Apple Music provides an amazing listening experience at home – and we’re excited to offer it to all Sonos customers starting tomorrow.”

To access the new feature, you just need to select Apple Music in the “Add Music Services” section of your Sonos control app.

Of course, you’ll also need a valid Apple Music membership, and at least one Sonos speaker (obviously).

It’s also worth noting that you can still claim three free months of Apple Music membership if you haven’t already.

“This partnership has been an excellent example of two companies that truly care about music coming together to deliver a great listening experience,” says Sonos CEO John MacFarlane.

He adds: “Working with Apple gives us the opportunity to share Apple Music throughout people’s homes in a way that’s easy, intuitive, and sounds great.”

The Division open beta finally official, coming later this month

2016-02-11T08:41:00.004+05:30

After numerous rumours, The Division open beta is official and it's coming later this month.

Ubisoft just revealed that the open beta for The Division will run from 19-21 February for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Everyone will be able to preload the beta starting on February 16, with Xbox One gamers able to access the beta from February 18 – a day earlier than everyone else.

The open beta will be a chance for everyone to get a taste of the game following the closed beta in January.

"This beta will test the game systems further, and provide player feedback that will benefit the game experience at launch," said Ubisoft in a statement.

The open beta will include everything found in the closed beta, plus an all new story mission for players to explore.

"Everyone who participates in this latest testing phase will receive a special in-game reward which will unlock for players when the full game is released."

The Division is set in New York just weeks after a pandemic hits the city during the Black Friday sales. The city has collapsed into chaos, forcing a sleeper cell known as The Division into operation.

It's up to you to save society, taking the city back from the various factions that are ruling the roost after the collapse of the social system and services that make society what it is.

Useful Tools for Creating Material Design Color Palettes

2016-02-10T15:32:00.003+05:30

1. material palette

In this tool, you start by picking your primary color and accent color. Afterwards, it will show you a live preview of the generated color palette and offer you a variety of ways to download it.

2. Material UI’s Material Design Colors

This is a nifty "cheatsheet" that presents all of the material design colors in one page.

3. Random Material Generator

Do you want to let fate decide what your color palette should be? Use this tool to randomly choose your material design colors.

4. Material Design Palette Generator

If you’re interested in creating a custom, material-design-like color palette, check out this tool. First, you need to specify a color — and it doesn’t have to be one of the official material design colors — using a color picker dialog window similar to the ones you can find in your favorite graphics editor. The Material Design Palette Generator will then generate color swatches based on your chosen color.

5. material mixer

This useful tool shows all material design colors in a conveniently compact grid layout. Click on a primary color and accent color to preview and generate your color palette.

6. Material Colors

This tool displays just the 500 and A200 colors of material design color swatches.

7. MaterialUp’s Material Design Colors

This is another simple tool for visualizing material design colors. It shows the primary colors side-by-side. Clicking on a "color bar" shows all of the color swatches associated with that color.

8. Tint UI’s Material Design

This tool displays just the material design 500 colors.

9. designskilz’s Material Design Colors

This simple tool helps you visualize all the material design color swatches along with their official names (e.g. Pink, Light Blue, etc.).

ADOBE RELEASES UPDATES TO BRIDGE CC

2016-02-10T15:29:00.002+05:30

Here’s a quick look at all that’s new in this update to the app.

AUTOMATED CACHE DELETION

Bridge CC’s central cache is where thumbnails, metadata info and previews live inside of a database. When designers browse or search for files, the centralized access of this database increases their workflow’s efficiency.

In past versions, bigger caches meant more disk space used, but Adobe has improved the app’s purging cache capability. As a result, designers now don’t have to worry about their caches ballooning in size because stale cache items get automatically deleted when the app is idle.

There’s also a new cache compaction option that establishes cache clean-up when designers exit the app, just in case the database size swells to excessive levels.

These two features make the app run smoother and increase the user experience, as both cache and database stay clean over longer periods of time.

ON-DEMAND THUMBNAIL EXTRACTION

Designers browsing through big sets of digital assets sometimes feel bogged down if the app slows down. One thing Adobe’s done differently in this update is improving the manner in which thumbnails, metadata info and previews get generated. As a result, Bridge CC’s responsiveness increases.

The thumbnails, metadata info and previews are extracted on a priority basis just for the on-screen assets, when users pick a folder. Any thumbnails, metadata info and previews for the remaining files will be generated when the app’s idle or on-demand.

Here’s what this means in practical terms for designers: They get to work with bulkier folders without the bother of unresponsive states and hangs. As a result, there will be a completely updated Filter panel available prior to any of the thumbnails being generated.

IMPORT FROM DEVICE OPTION (MAC)

In past versions of Mac operating systems, Bridge CC failed to recognize these devices:

iOS mobile devices
Android mobile devices as well as digital cameras connected in MTP or PTP modes

In version 6.2, an alternative to importing media from said devices is a possibility. Designers can select File > Import From Device to import media from the devices.

This only applies to Macs and starts Apple Image Capture to bring files into Bridge CC from the devices.

ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS

The Autostack Panorama/HDR feature has been reinstated. Adobe’s focus was on Bridge CC’s performance and stability, which means noteworthy updates to the app’s core technical components. This is the first step in what will be the basis of a tech platform that’s going to allow for continuous, future improvements and development of Bridge CC.

Adobe has provided designers with a number of video tutorials and guides for those who want to learn from the company’s experts. Eager designers can find these resource materials right here.

SKETCH 3.5 UNLEASHED

2016-02-10T15:28:00.001+05:30

Sketch aficionados will be excited to learn that there’s an update to their favorite app awaiting them. Today makers of Sketch, Bohemian Coding, announced the availability of Sketch 3.5.

Although the update is a minor release covering bug fixes and GUI enhancements—no enticing new features have been added—it is evidence of the tool’s growing maturity and Bohemian Coding’s commitment to perfecting the existing codebase before introducing new toys.

Most importantly, some of the bugs that leave many professional designers wary of Sketch have been resolved: images won’t be lost in between saving a document and reopening it, and you won’t have to keep deselecting the export size field before its value is applied to the export.

How Sketch (mis)handles typography is a key obstacle for many designers considering trialling the app for professional work, so it’s great to see some improvements on that front, most notably that line height now scales correctly along with text layers, and the list of fonts in a document now includes the fonts on every page.

Further useful additions include: artboard refinements; improved performance and rendering for complex operations; subpixel anti-aliasing deprecation; dragging a shape onto another shape in the layers list now triggers a union operation; and a new shortcut has been added for aligning layers to the pixel edge.

The first update since Sketch deserted the Mac App Store, the update is free, but you will need to transition your license in order to enjoy the new features, and bug-fixes. (To transition your license, you need to download Sketch direct from Bohemian Coding, open it, and then enter the email address associated with your App Store account. Bohemian Coding will then send you your license.) Sketch files aren’t backwards compatible, so if you’re working with others, make sure your whole team upgrades at once.

Top Free Photoshop Watercolor Brushes for Designers

2016-02-10T15:22:00.002+05:30

Wet PS Brushes

This free set of 20 brushes comes with PS clipping masks for each brush. They work just like watercolor designs and can be painted over textures or letters for a blended effect.

38 Hi-Res Watercolor Brushes

Hi-resolution watercolor scans were turned into brushes for this 38-pack brush set. Compatible with all versions of Photoshop, these paint splatters were created to specifically mimic the watercolor painting style.

Watercolor Splatters

If you’re looking for a splattered effect consider this more detailed brush set. It comes with 32 hi-res brushes and three extra photo textures. No credit is required so you can use these brushes on personal or commercial work for free.

Watercolor Basics

Realism is tough to recreate but it’s been done with this incredible watercolor set. These brushes replicate the contours and textures of watercolor lain to paper with very high precision.

Social Media Watercolors

Here’s a rather unique brush set focusing on social media brands. Each icon is designed like a grungy watercolor painting including popular networks like Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter. This is a very cool set for a watercolor-style design with a need for social icons.

Watercolor Textures

These painterly brushes feel much more controlled but still have a natural texture to them. Each brush comes in a high-resolution file size and blends perfectly into the background of any canvas.

Free Watercolor 7-Pack

Anyone in need of watercolor brushes will appreciate this 7-pack of high resolution watercolors. The designer perfectly replicates paint strokes and it feels incredibly natural for paint brushes.

Fine Detail Watercolors

Similar to the last set, this pack has 17 unique hi-res watercolor brushes for commercial or personal use. Again they look very natural and all blend together for the potential to replicate a real watercolor painting digitally.

Dark Watercolors

These brushes have a slightly harder feel and replicate oil paint more so than watercolor. However the pack can be used in a watercolor fashion with breezy elements that fit together like a charm. You’ll find 7 different brushes in this pack each at 2500px size.

WG Watercolor Brushes

The WeGraphics watercolor brush pack includes 20 fabulous high-resolution brushes with the natural elegance of watercolor. Each brush measures about 2000×2000 pixels and can be used for any type of creative project.

Watercolor Shapes

If you’re looking for more shapes and hard edges then check out these watercolor shape brushes. This pack includes 15 unique shapes which again come in very high resolution sizes(2500px wide).

20 Splatter Brushes

Watercolor paint splatters are just as popular and make the perfect companion with a painterly or grungy design. This brush pack includes 20 different styles which can work in photoshop 7-CC. CS6-CC users will actually get ultra-high resolution brushes at 5000px.

Hi-Res Watercolor Textures

Print designers will appreciate this set of 5 watercolor background texture brushes at 300DPI. You can set these for any print project or even downsample for the web. Each watercolor design is completely free to use in personal or commercial projects.

Real Paint Strokes

Paint is known to drip and splatter which makes this brush set extra believable. It comes with 10 different paint strokes duplicating the splatter effect of watercolor paint.

HK Watercolor Brushes

This Hongkiat exclusive offers 15 powerful watercolor brushes for Photoshop. The pack has a variety of brushes from large blotches to tiny dots and everything in-between. This is perhaps the most diverse pack in this list and certainly worthy of attention for that natural watercolor effect.

Bittbox Watercolor Brushes

Bittbox also has their own set of incredible hi-res watercolor brushes for free download. This pack was designed exclusively for Bittbox readers back when Photoshop CS2 was the newest program.

Bittbox Watercolor Brushes Vol2

The folks over at Bittbox decided to release a 2nd watercolor brush set to append onto the first one. Many of the same smears and designs have been recreated or added for extra-large brush effects.

Grungy Brushes

For a dirtier look try out this grungy watercolor brush pack also released by Bittbox. These brushes have less form and follow more of an abstract design with varying levels of opacity and shape.

Bittbox Freebie Pack

Bittbox released another big watercolor brush set for readers as an exclusive pack. Each brush measures 2500×2500 pixels with different styles from blotches to splatters.

qBrushes Watercolors

A brilliant collection of watercolor brushes with just the right amount of density. Change the opacity on your brushes to get a lighter touch, or update the blending mode for more natural effects.

Vector Watercolor Pack

These textured watercolor brushes are perfect for grunge effects on the web or in print design. Splatter effects can be copied with ease and blended into any background.

100 Essential brushes

If you need a huge brush pack then look no further. This 100 brush set has every type of brush design you could possibly imagine.

Simple Watercolor Brushes

This 22 brush pack has dots and spots of watercolor shapes for the everyday designer. Naturally these are completely free to use and work well in any design project.

Shapes & Splatters

Here’s another sample watercolor pack focused more on shapes. You’ll find rounded shapes, elongated shapes, and varying degrees of opacity as well. The pack contains 17 unique brushes and is completely free to download.

Watercolor Reloaded

DeviantArt has incredible resources released for free by talented artists. This is one great example titled the Watercolor Reloaded brush pack. It comes with 83 watercolor brushes that work in any version of Photoshop 7 or higher.

PS Watercolor Brush Pack

This simple 5-pack of watercolor brushes can be perfect for a more childlike project. The tones are simpler and fit more with the theme of children. You can download this pack for free off DeviantArt and use them in any digital design project.

Watercolor Brush Set 1-6

Here’s a neat brush pack that’s actually part of a collection. This is watercolor brush pack 5 with a total series of 1-6 available for download by xedgewolfx.

Amazon Announces 'Lumberyard' Game Engine With Twitch, AWS Integration

2016-02-10T12:20:00.002+05:30

Amazon announced its entry into the video game engine market. The company revealed Lumberyard, its own 3D game engine designed to provide triple-A level development tools, at a much cheaper price point than other game engines. The company said that Lumberyard is completely free to use. There are no subscription fees, you don’t have to pay for a seat license, and Amazon is not asking for a portion of sales in the future. Amazon will make its money when the integrated AWS cloud service features are used.

“Many of the world's most popular games are powered by AWS's technology infrastructure platform," said Mike Frazzini, Vice President of Amazon Games. “When we’ve talked to game developers, they've asked for a game engine with the power and capability of leading commercial engines, but that's significantly less expensive, and deeply integrated with AWS for the back-end and Twitch for the gamer community. We're excited to deliver that for our game developers today with the launch of Amazon Lumberyard and Amazon GameLift."

It may be free, but don’t discount Lumberyard as a serious contender. The graphics engine is based on Crytek’s CryEngine and has all the advanced features you would need to create “near-photorealistic environments and stunning real-time effects.” Lumberyard offers physically based shaders, dynamic global illumination, vegetation tools and a whole slew of other top tier features to help create stunning visuals.

Amazon included all sorts of tools within Lumberyard. For example, Geppetto is Lumberyard’s character tool, which combines “animation, attachments, and physics simulations with blendshape, blendspace, and animation layering,” and Mannequin is Lumberyard’s integrated animation tool, which features “animation sequencing, transitions, ragdoll physics” and other options. GridMate is the integrated networking subsystem, which Amazon said will help build games that have “efficient bandwidth usage and low-latency communications.” Lumberyard also includes a free version forAudiokinetic’s Wwise LTX sound engine and authoring tool.

Amazon has included a drag and drop visual scripting tool with Lumberyard that lets designers with little-to-no engineering experience build games with cloud connected features. Amazon said you can simply drop in features such as “community news feeds, daily gifts, or server-side combat resolution.”

For multiplayer games, Amazon introduced Amazon GameLift. This feature lets developers deploy their game through Amazon Web Services (AWS), and it will constantly monitor server capacity and scale up as needed. You are able to set the maximum number of servers that can be used, but GameLift will dynamically determine how many need to be used at any given time. This allows games to scale as needed. Amazon said the fee for AWS services comes out to $1.50 for every 1,000 daily active users connected.

“Amazon has been a great partner and we are deeply excited about both Amazon Lumberyard and Amazon GameLift,” said Josh Atkins, Vice President of Creative Development, 2K Games. “The integration of a fantastic game engine with amazing cloud services presents a wonderful opportunity for both independent developers and established publishers.”

Amazon’s Lumberyard engine also features direct integration with Twitch.tv. Lumberyard features ChatPlay, which enables Twitch viewers to “directly impact the game they are watching in real-time.” Using the visual scripting tool, developers can create interactive features for Twitch viewers to become more engaged. Amazon said an example would be to create a chat command for viewers that could drop grenades on the broadcaster. Amazon said it would also be possible to allow viewers to control the movement of NPC characters.

Lumberyard features Twitch JoinIn, which allows broadcasters to send invites to viewers to have them join in on the game play. With a single click to a link in the Twitch chat, a fan can be brought directly into the game he or she was watching.

Amazon also noted that Lumberyard allows developers to integrate parts of the engine editor into their games, opening up the possibility for plenty of user-generated content, such as character models, or complete mods.

Amazon released the beta version of Lumberyard today. Check the Lumberyard website to download a copy of the engine, or to learn more about it.

How to Increase Google Maps Navigation Voice Volume Level on Android

2016-02-10T12:18:00.002+05:30

1. Open the Google Maps app, and tap on Menu (three vertical bars shown in the upper left corner)

2. Tap on ‘Setting’ and in the settings menu, tap on ‘Navigation settings’.

3. In the ‘Navigation settings’ menu, tap on ‘Voice level’.

4. The default setting value is ‘Normal’. Select the required voice level – Louder, Normal or Softer – as per your requirement, and then close Google Maps app.

Note that, the differences between the three voice levels are significant. If you want a louder voice, choose the first option ‘Louder’ and then close Google Maps app.

TWRP Custom Recovery Version 3.0.0 Released With New Theme, True Terminal Emulator and More

2016-02-10T12:16:00.002+05:30

TWRP custom recovery is one of the most popular options for flashing custom ROMs and Zip files. It supports a number of Android devices and even lets you backup and restores your complete system. Below are the major changelog and new features of TWRP 3.0.0.

– Completely new theme – Much more modern and much nicer looking
– True Terminal Emulator – Includes arrow keys, tab and tab completion, etc.
– Language translation – It won’t be perfect and especially some languages that require large font files like Chinese & Japanese won’t be availble on most devices. Also some languages may only be partially translated at this time. Feel free to submit more translations to OmniROM’s Gerrit.
– Flashing of sparse images – On select devices you will be able to flash some parts of factory images via the TWRP GUI
– Adopted storage support for select devices – TWRP can now decrypt adopted storage partitions from Marshmallow
– Reworked graphics to bring us more up to date with AOSP – includes support for adf and drm graphics
– SuperSU prompt will no longer display if a Marshmallow ROM is installed
– Update exfat, exfat fuse, dosfstools
– Update AOSP base to 6.0
– And many minor fixes and tweaks

TeamWin has also published a few warnings with this release. As this release brings some significant changes, it is possible that some devices will not boot correctly or have display related issues due to the graphical changes. In such a case, you are recommended to reflash an older build of TWRP or wait for the fix. You can read more about this here.

TWRP custom recovery is fantastic, and if you are still using other custom recoveries, then it is highly recommended that you make the switch now and see what this little beauty can do for you

How to Speed up Touchscreen Gestures on Android Phone Without Root

2016-02-10T12:15:00.002+05:30

1. The Super Touch app is a free download on Play store. Download the app [HERE] and open it. You will be presented with a brief tutorial across a number of different screens.

2. Swipe through the tutorials and on the last screen tap on ‘Experience’ button. On the next screen, tap ‘Advanced’ option (at the bottom) and on the next window tap on ‘General’ option.

3. Now, you need to change the sensitivity of the gesture by adjusting the slider. It is set to 460 by default, but you can alter this by moving the slider. The free version lets you set 1 to 460 only.

4. Once done adjusting the sensitivity, tap ‘Start Smooth Touch’ button and wait for the process to finish [Do not lock your screen when this is running, as it can interfere with what the app is trying to achieve].

5. Once the process has done, tap ‘Start and Share’ option (You do not actually have to share anything).

6. Once done, tap on ‘Start battery saver’ button. It will set it up automatically. Now you are ready to go.

How to Hide WhatsApp Media Folder on Your Android Using ES File Explorer

2016-02-10T12:14:00.000+05:30

1. Download [HERE] and install ES File Explorer from play store.

2. Open ES File Explorer and go to any file or folder (Menu -> Local -> storage) that you want to hide.

3. Long press the folders/file you want hide

4. Now, tap the menu (three dots) and then tap ‘hide’ option.

Android androi

5. To password protect your hide folders and files, go to Menu (3 bars) -> Settings -> Password settings -> Hide list protection. Enter your password to protect your files and folders.

To view the hide files/folders, go to Menu -> Tools -> Hide List. You can restore and open hide folders from hide list.

Google’s rolling out new encryption security measures for Gmail

2016-02-10T11:42:00.006+05:30

In recognition of ‘Safer Internet Day‘ – a note in the calendar none your friends will ever pester you about – Google has announced a couple of new features designed to make your communications more secure.

First up is a new notification that informs you if TLS encryption isn’t supported by the receiver, or if you receive a message from a non-encrypted sender. It’ll be denoted in Gmail on the Web by a pop-up notification and a little open padlock icon as it starts to roll out from this week.

The other little change for Web users is a question mark icon in place of their sender or corporate profile picture if the sender can’t be authenticated.

Ultimately, Google hopes that doing this will cut down on the amount of successful phishing attempts and other fraudulent emails that affect its users.

As it did last year, the company is also rewarding users who skip through its Security Checkup tool 2GB of free storage. You can still get an additional 2GB even if you did it last year, but not if you’re a Google Apps for Work or Education user.

These measures combined are not wholly altruistic – a smaller chance of success for scammers means a smaller target for them to aim at, which should be altogether less rewarding and cost Google less money to fight.

That’s the theory anyway.

Getflix lets you access restricted streaming globally

2016-02-10T11:38:00.000+05:30

Most music and video streaming services use geo-restrictions to limit access to their services, which creates headaches for international users who want to access (and pay) for the likes of Hulu Plus, HBO Go or Netflix.

A solution has been found in Getflix, a smart DNS service that removes the geoblock feature for the US version of Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer and many more streaming media services across the globe.

Usually, these services operate with monthly subscription packages. But Getflix is temporarily offering a lifetime subscription for only $69 – that’s a massive 91 percent saving down from $855. A lifetime subscription means no more monthly subscription fees! Getflix also comes with a VPN service to help protect your online privacy.

Unlock the world of global streaming with this great offer for Getflix, from TNW Deals now with an additional discount!

Google quietly restores Samsung adblocker without explanation

2016-02-10T11:33:00.004+05:30

Just a few days after Samsung announced it was allowing adblocking extensions into its ‘Internet’ browser, Google pulled Adblock Fast. It was one of the first apps to support the new API, but the search giant removed it without explanation.

Now, just a week after the app was pulled from the store, Google has re-instated Adblock Fast without a real explanation following the creator filing an appeal with the Play Store.

Sources told TNW at the time that the company had taken issue with the fact that the adblocking required two apps to function, but many other apps in Google Play operate in a similar fashion.

Adblock Fast is back on the Play Store today and is available for free download again, so if you’re inclined to block ads on your Samsung device you can do it all over again.

Google previously told TNW that “While we don’t comment on specific apps, we can confirm that our policies are designed to provide a great experience for users and developers.”

Sublime Text is being developed again after a year dormant

2016-02-10T11:32:00.002+05:30

Sublime Text is one of the most popular text editors for developers out there, but over the last year concerns mounted that the project was dead as development of the next version stalled completely.

This week, though, the app has come back to life with the release of a new update for Sublime Text 3. The release today brings a number of major bug fixes, introduces a new sublime-syntax and speeds up file loading.

The team has also open sourced many of the core packages of the project for the first time, and incorporates community provided improvements.Sublime Text also has a new team member, Will Bond, who looked after package manager as part of the community.

Sublime Text 3 has been under development since at least early 2013, but went inactive for months on end a number of times over the years — the last beta build was released in March 2015.

Threads on Reddit and Hacker News consistently asked if Sublime was dead, with the team saying in 2014 that, “We are not stopping development of Sublime,” but the team is “effectively a one man band.”

While Sublime was dormant new text editors emerged based on modern Web technology, including GitHub’s open-source Atom editor and the Adobe-created open-source alternative Brackets.

1Password for Android gets Material Design makeover

2016-02-10T11:29:00.003+05:30

1Password has updated its Android app, adding support for fingerprint log-ins and a Material Design makeover.

Other improvements include a consistent floating toolbar that can be accessed from any screen within the app, and a new action button that allows you to add passwords and sites easily. 1Password has also redesigned its categories section and settings icons.

Perhaps the most notable addition is support for fingerprint recognition, that works on the Nexus 5X or 6P if they’re running Android Marshmallow. This allows users to scan their finger instead of entering their master password.

The updated version also includes a trial of 1Password for Teams. It allows users to share passwords with friends, family or colleagues for easy collaboration.

The update is available now on the Play Store and is compatible with all phones running Android 4.1 or newer.

Google introduces flood alerts for users in India

2016-02-10T11:27:00.004+05:30

In the wake of the floods that engulfed the Indian state of Tamil Nadu that killed 500 people and displaced nearly 2 million more towards the end of 2015, Google has announced that it will display flood alerts in its apps and sites for users in the country.

The company says it will use data provided by the Central Water Commission (CWC) to allow users to track floods and check river level information for more than 170 areas observed by the agency across India.

You’ll be able to spot these alerts in search results, Google Now cards, Google Maps and the company’s Public Alerts homepage.

In addition to announcing floods in these apps, Google will also show a map and expected timeline, as well as tips on staying safe. The company has previously issued alerts through its services for cyclones in India, as well as hurricanes in the US in 2014.

Firewatch lets you order prints of photos from your in-game camera

2016-02-10T11:25:00.002+05:30

If you’re excited to try indie development studios Campo Santo and Panic’s gripping mystery game Firewatch, you’ll be happy to learn that there’s a cool easter egg to look forward to in the PC version.

There’s a disposable camera somewhere in the forest that lets you snap photos in the game world. Once you finish the game, you’ll be able to order actual 4×6 prints of your shots to be mailed to you anywhere in the world.

TechnoBuffalo reported that prior to this week’s official launch, a set of prints cost $15. and shipped in two to four weeks. The price may have gone up since, but if you enjoyed the game, this is as cool a memento as you could ever ask for.

Sadly, the feature isn’t yet available for PlayStation 4 as it requires network access and is a bit more complicated to implement for consoles. Panic’s Cabel Sasser told Polygon, “We are actively investigating what it would take to make this happen on the PlayStation 4. Sony wants it and so do we!”

Instagram officially rolls out support for multiple accounts

2016-02-10T11:24:00.002+05:30

After months of testing, Instagram announced today that its latest update finally supports multiple accounts. Now, Instagram power users and brands will be able to link up to five accounts.

Available in Instagram version 7.15 for both iOS and Android, users can link accounts through profile settings. From there, switching accounts is as easy as tapping the username and selecting the new alias. The app also comes with several new visual cues for users so they’ll never be confused as to which account they’re on.

Additionally, the app supports push notifications for all linked accounts, provided that they have them turned on. Users can also log out of select accounts, or log out of all accounts with a single action.

Instagram is a bit late to the multiple account game, but it’s a welcome change for those who use it as a major communication tool to their audiences.

The new features are available today in Instagram’s latest version, so update the app if you haven’t already.

The Pirate Bay now lets you stream movies and TV shows directly in your browser

2016-02-10T11:23:00.001+05:30

The Pirate Bay, one of the largest and best-known torrent trackers in the world, has implemented a new Torrents Time feature that allows users to stream content directly without requiring any other downloads.

While you won’t need a torrent or P2P application, you will need Torrents Time’s desktop download, which only launched last week but has already added this new capability.

Once you’ve added the program, the torrent file will play directly in the browser when you hit the ‘Stream It!’ button.

Right now, the feature’s in beta and as such, it’ll probably be a bit wonky now and again.

You’ll also need to wait a few seconds for there to be enough peers for you to start playing the file, but this isn’t likely to pose much of an issue for popular files with lots of peers.You even get the options for subtitles and sending the output via Chromecast or AirPlay.

Needless to say, an awful lot of the content available is being illegally shared without the copyright holders’ consent, so we couldn’t ever advise actually using the software.

Victories for iOS helps you conquer your to-do list

2016-02-10T11:19:00.005+05:30

It’s almost never easy to check off every item on your to-do list each day, but gamifying it can help, and Victories is a great way to get started.

The free iOS app lets you select and name a pixel art character to represent you and engage in ‘battles’, or tasks. If you complete one, you can swipe right to indicate a win or surrender if you’d rather leave it off your list for the time being. You can also add notes to each item.

As you advance through battles, your character levels up and Victories shows you detailed stats about how it long it takes to finish a task and what percent of battles you win.

The interface doesn’t require you to learn anything new to get started. And since it tracks the amount of time you take on each task, Victories subtly encourages you to get down to work as quickly as possible. I found that to be more useful than in other apps that only let you list to-dos and tackle them on your own time.

Victories isn’t the first gamified to-do manager — there’s also Habitica and Quest. But this app makes it a cinch to enter tasks and check them off in its fuss-free interface, and it’s free.