Author: Alvin Wanjala

The current coronavirus pandemic has exposed how misinformation spreads fast on social media platforms. Especially during a time when most contract fact-checkers have downed their tools, leaving most work to AI-powered algorithms – misinformation is booming. Facebook, however, wants to curb misinformation on its private messaging platform, WhatsApp, by placing new limits on how viral messages are forwarded. Previously, WhatsApp limited message forwarding to only five chats at once. The result was “a 25% decrease in message forwards globally at the time.” In addition to these, the company is introducing new limits for viral messages that have been forwarded many…

For some time now, Multichoice has been working on a standalone Dstv Now streaming service that will enable users to stream independently without having a Dstv Satellite TV subscription. The service is currently ready for launch but will be a bit delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the company. Instead, the unbundled Dstv Now will be launched “once the COVID-19 situation has normalized,” said the company to SA’s Mybroadband. “We expect to launch commercially once the operating environment has normalized,” Multichoice said in response to the publication.. Different from how the Dstv Now currently operates, the new product…

Spotify is finally testing a new lyrics UI within the App. For long Spotify has lagged behind on lyrics sync, one of the most crucial features on every music streaming app. The first time we got news on such a feature was in November when the company confirmed it is testing a real-time lyrics sync feature. But now, these tests have further continued but still not yet ready for the general public. Recent reports show that the Lyrics banner is available either on the bottom of the media control buttons when viewing a song art or next to the play/pause…

Google wants to better audio quality on Duo using Machine Learning technology from DeepMind, its neural network technology. Audio jitter is pretty universal, and if you’ve made a call via the internet, you know how it mostly affects calls – sometimes even not being able to decipher anything at all. Because data from a sender has to be broken down into packets, to travel via the internet, these packets must be reassembled so the receiver can get a stream of video or audio. Sometimes packets can be lost, and that’s where packet loss concealment (PLC) comes in – it fills…

Almost a decade since its debut, Facebook Messenger is finally coming on Mac and Windows via a dedicated app. “Today we’re launching a Messenger app for MacOS and Windows so you can video chat on your computer and stay connected with friends and family all over the world,” wrote Facebook in a blog post. The company says Messenger usage has increased by 100% across desktop browsers, majorly using the platforms’ audio and video calling features. Now, the company wants to make it easier for its users to enjoy audio and video calling via a dedicated application. Messenger desktop app will…

A report from the New York Times says that Amazon is now working on its video game as well as a cloud gaming service. For the ecommerce giant, investment in the entertainment industry is not something new – they have their studios, a streaming service, and it also owns Twitch, a video game streaming service. The report notes that the company is taking matters further by “investing hundreds of millions of dollars” to claim the mantle in the video gaming industry as a creator and a distributor. Mike Frazzini, Amazon’s vice president for game services and studios, says the company…

TikTok is having a great time. Business is booming not only on installs but on the revenue as well. A recent report from Sensor Tower said the video-sharing platform hacked nearly 113 million installs in February alone, ranking as the top app of the month globally. Such success is admirable, considering it’s not easy to grow in the current crowded app market, thanks to the relentless proliferation of the internet. Consequently, Google’s video-sharing service, YouTube, is also having something in the works that is aimed to take on TikTok. The report comes from The Information, citing two unnamed sources. The…

After Samsung and Huawei unveiled their flagship devices, OnePlus, a company owned by China’s BBK Electronics has finally revealed a launch date for its 2020 flagship devices. Succeeding last year’s OnePlus 7 series, which came in four variant models, the OnePlus 8 series is launching on April 14 remotely. So far, the company already revealed that their next flagship devices would include a 120Hz fluid display. But in a recent post in the company’s official forums, Pete Lau, OnePlus CEO, provided additional details about their upcoming devices. He revealed that the series will be powered by Qualcomm’s most potent mobile…

Nokia 7.2 is finally being updated to Android 10. HMD Global has kept a reliable launch schedule and has so far, not disappointed. According to the company’s rescheduled update timeline, Nokia 7.2 was in the next batch of devices to receive Android 10. This is one of the company’s 2019 mid-range phones that was released in September 2019. When released, the phone was running Android 9 Pie and was scheduled to get Android 10 at some point. With this latest update, the Nokia 7.2 becomes the eighth Nokia phone to get Android 10. The other devices that have already received…

(Article originally written December 16, 2020) Twitter-owned video streaming service Periscope is finally being discontinued, the platform announced yesterday. The app will shut down officially by March 2021. The platform says the creation of new accounts in-app won’t be possible with the next release. But by March 2021, Periscope will officially wind down and no longer be available in app stores. Periscope web will continue to be available but as a “read-only archive of public broadcasts,” according to support pages. Twitter’s Periscope team attributes the shutdown to declining usage, and the app has been in an unsustainable maintenance-mode state for…