Apple picker Opera now natively blocks advertising, Instagram wants to connect companies and their customers, Periscope will allow you to save streams, the new Quitter application from Marc Arment has arrived on Mac, which is supposed to increase your productivity, and Google Slides, Tweetbot and Twitter for Mac have received interesting news. But there is much more, so read the 18th Application Week.
News from the world of applications
Opera's built-in ad blocker is now available to everyone (4/5)
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V March Opera introduced its own built-in ad blocker. In addition to the fact that no add-on needs to be installed to use it and therefore uses less of the system, it is also supposed to be more effective than third-party blockers. Users can now find out how true this is Macs and soon iOS the device where the new update is supposed to arrive every day.
Source: The Verge
Instagram follows Messenger, the new Contact button will connect the company with the customer (4/5)
Instagram is not only an increasingly popular social network, but also an increasingly powerful marketing tool. There is no doubt that Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook sees great potential in connecting companies and their customers, and this was already evident during the introduction of the so-called chat bots for Facebook Messenger. But a direct connection between the company and the customer should obviously be the way for Instagram as well, which is shown by the testing of the new Contact button.
Following the example of Facebook, Instagram has already started testing a special form of company pages, so that the user will now see its inclusion in a specific category on the profile of their favorite brand and, last but not least, the Contact button. After clicking on it, you will be able to be navigated to the nearest store of the given company, or to contact the seller by e-mail.
For now, Instagram is only testing the new form of company pages among a small group of users, but it is likely that the function will expand soon. Instagram, which has more than 400 million active users, is an increasingly popular tool for companies. More than 200 advertisers are active on this social network, who will certainly appreciate such news. On the other hand, they will help Facebook to expand its advertising business, which is the primary reason why the company is doing so well. In the last quarter, Facebook increased its revenue by almost 000% and reported a net profit of 52 billion dollars (1,51 billion crowns).
Source: The Verge
via NetFILTER
Periscope is testing the ability to save a stream using a hashtag (5/5)
Although Twitter's Periscope is a perfect tool for broadcasting live video, it suffers greatly from the fact that videos disappear after broadcast either immediately or after 24 hours, depending on the user's choice. But now the service is testing an interesting new feature, thanks to which you will be able to save the video in the application and thus have it archived. To achieve this, just use the hashtag #save when sharing the video.
Working on supporting broadcasts beyond 24h! Starting now, you can use our public beta by using #clay in your title! https://t.co/LsjqsSib7v
— Periscope TV (@periscopetv) 5. May 2016
The feature is currently only in beta and may not work flawlessly. But this is definitely great news and a move to erase one of Facebook's big competitive advantages. On the world's largest social network, all streams are stored on the user's wall for as long as they wish.
Source: The Next Web
via NetFILTER
New applications
Marco Arment has released Quitter for Mac, he wants to increase your productivity
The famous developer Marco Arment, who is behind applications such as Instapaper and Overcast, has released an interesting application for Mac, the goal of which is to suppress as much as possible all the noises that distract users from work. The software is called Quitter and can automatically hide or turn off applications after a time interval that you set. The time after which the application should stop disturbing the user can be set for each item separately.
The first Mac app from Marc Arment's workshop is free to download from the developer's website. In addition to installing his tool, Arment also advises users to turn off distracting apps from keeping them docked for better productivity.
Giphy Keys is the fastest way to embed GIFs
Lately, keyboards have been regularly appearing for iOS that try to attract attention by adding a specific function to the bar above the keyboard. This also applies to the new keyboard from Giphy, which includes a viewer for moving images in GIF format. It can be navigated through categories or search, but there are also smart functions such as sharing GIFs selected according to the weather in the sender's location.
The biggest disadvantages of Giphy Keys are the absence of automatic corrections and the need to copy the image from the browser into the message, not just selecting it.
The Giphy Keys keyboard is available for free in the App Store.
The Moog Model 15 modular synthesizer is on iOS
Moog is probably the most important name in the world of analog synthesizers. Among his most important instruments is the Model 15, a modular synthesizer from 1974. Moog has now decided to offer 150 hand-made replicas of the original version of the Model 15. Those interested will need ten thousand dollars (almost a quarter of a million crowns) to satisfy their analog desires.
However, those who are satisfied with the functionality of the Model 15 and want hardware will need thirty dollars (or euros) and an iOS device with a 64-bit processor (iPhone 5S and later, iPad Air and later, iPod Touch 6th generation and later) . The Moog Model 15 also comes in the form of an iOS application.
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Moog has converted all the oscillators and filters as well as the sequencer arpeggiator into the Model 15 application. Of course, there is also a keyboard and enough cables to create your own patches. The application has 160 built-in.
Model 15 is available in in the App Store for 29,99 euros.
The official app will guide visitors through Prague Spring
The famous international music festival Prague Spring comes with an official app for iOS. The application will provide visitors to the 71st edition of the festival with all the necessary information, the program of events and even the possibility to buy tickets and manage their reservations. All this for free of course.
[appbox app store 1103744538]
Important update
Tweetbot introduces "Topics"
Tweetbot, probably the most popular alternative Twitter client for iOS, came up with a new feature called Topics, which allows you to elegantly connect your tweets related to a certain topic or event. So if you want to describe an event or present a longer message, you will no longer have to "reply" to your previous tweet.
On iOS, Tweetbot now allows you to assign a topic to each tweet. This assigns a specific hashtag to the tweet and sets up a chain so that if you post another tweet with the same topic, the tweets will be linked in the same way that conversations are linked.
Tweetbot syncs your topics via iCloud, so if you start tweeting from one device, you can safely switch to another and spit out your tweetstorm from there. The function has not yet arrived on Mac, but its arrival is expected in the near future.
But themes are not the only innovation that the latest version of Tweetbot has brought. On the iPad, the sidebar with the activity record can be hidden, the support for hardware keyboards has been improved, the ability to use the Firefox browser has been added, and there are also a number of other small changes and improvements.
Adobe Photoshop Mix and Fix, among other things, have learned to work more efficiently with space
Photoshop Mix a Photoshop Fix for iOS are typical examples of Adobe's current strategy of creating simpler, yet capable, niche apps. In Photoshop Fix, the user can remove unwanted objects from his photo and adjust the contrast, color, etc., after which he can create an interesting collage in Photoshop Mix.
Both applications are now becoming more useful for both more demanding users and those with limited resources. Images from Lightroom can now be imported into them in full resolution, and on the other hand, the applications have learned to work more efficiently with space on devices that do not have much of it. Both apps have also added the ability to display tap locations when creating video tutorials and store metadata of all images used in a given project.
The new features of Photoshop Fix include: support for transparency in imported images, automatic focus on the face when using vignettes, display of information such as photo size and resolution, date taken, etc.
New in Photoshop Mix are: more accurate work with masks, images from Adobe Stock are updated to full resolution after licensing in Photoshop CC in Mix, etc.
ProtonMail is expanding its security features
Protonmail belongs to best secured email clients for both Mac and iOS. To access it, two-factor authentication is used, requiring two passwords, one of which cannot be recovered if lost. This possible problem, at least for some users, is solved by the latest version of the application, currently only available in the trial version. This includes the option to use Touch ID to access the mailbox instead of a written password. In combination with it, you can also add the code necessary to unlock the box.
The latest trial version also adds support for attachments sent via iCloud or other third-party services. Anyone can sign up for the developer program, but only after paying $29.
The new Google Slides want to improve the interaction between the presenter and the audience
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Google Slides, an application for creating and presenting presentations, has a new feature in the current version with the short name Q&A (OaO, i.e. questions and answers). If the presenter has it turned on, a web address will be displayed at the top of their presentation where audience members can write their questions. Others can mark them as interesting or uninteresting, and the lecturer will know which ones to focus on as a priority. This can eliminate moments of awkward silence after presentations, often filled with questions that many would rather not hear. Of course, Google mentions rather interesting questions that would otherwise not be asked due to the timidity of the audience member. The length of the question is a maximum of 300 characters and can be asked anonymously or with a name.
In addition, Google Slides presentations on iOS can now take place via Hangouts, and the cursor can be turned into a laser pointer on the web.
Twitter for Mac is catching up with the iOS version with updates, it has learned polls and the so-called Moments
The official application of the popular microblogging network Twitter received a major update on the Mac that finally brings it functionally closer to its mobile sibling. Among the new features coming to the Mac long after they appeared in the iOS version of the app are "Moments", polls and a GIF search engine.
"Moments" is a feature that allows the user to scroll through tweets related to a specific event. These collections of tweets can include links to websites, videos, images, and even GIFs, giving the user an in-depth overview of the event, all nicely in one place. The function has been running on iOS since October.
The polls, which also arrived on phones already in October, were also quite popular with Twitter users, so it's nice that they also arrived on the desktop application. Polls are a simple way for any Twitter user to gain awareness of the opinions and views of their followers with just a few clicks. Each Twitter poll "hangs" for 24 hours, then disappears.
The GIF finder, which has also arrived on Twitter for Mac, is not something that needs a long introduction. In short, it is a handy enhancer, thanks to which you can easily select the animation that best illustrates your message when writing a tweet or a direct message.
Twitter for Mac is available for free from the Mac App Store. You will need at least OS X 10.10 to install it.
Further from the world of applications:
- Twitter does not want to compete with Facebook, its application has left the "Social Networks" section
- Spotify on iOS ditches the hamburger and deploys a traditional navigation bar
- After a year, significant changes await Apple Music: a new look and better functions
- In the Apple Online Store, there is a new special section of products for accessibility
- The App Store and other Apple services have a broken search, Apple is solving the problem
- Apple has announced another corporate collaboration, it will develop applications with SAP
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I would like to ask what app to use as Instagram replacement for iPad?
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