WhatsApp: links for calls arrive! Here’s how the new feature works

Nuove funzioni di WhatsApp

Among the various improvements in the pipeline for WhatsApp in this period, as well as for voice there are also for calls and video calls.

The latest beta of WhatsApp for Android, 2.22.5.4, contains “” under the skin “, that is hidden in the code, an addition that always concerns calls and video calls, although this time not from a visual point of view, but functional The datamining of the beta conducted by WABetainfo has in fact made it possible to discover a function that already exists in the code, even if it is still dormant, and therefore not yet accessible to users: we are talking about the possibility of creating links for calls and video calls.

The screenshot above clearly shows an unprecedented option to invite WhatsApp users to join a call, namely the creation of a link. Nothing revolutionary, but it is still an important addition, since it allows you to invite more people without them being present in your contact list: it will be enough to generate a call link and then share it.

The function can, in some ways, remember the integration with Messenger Rooms through a link, then removed: but if on the Messenger Room anyone can enter a session, even without having a Facebook account, with the new link it will still be necessary to have a WhatsApp account to take part in a call, which will then be protected by end-to-end encryption.

In short, it is a feature that aims to extend and simplify the scenarios of use of calls and video calls beyond today’s borders, but always remaining within a certain perimeter of protection. At the moment, however, we do not know when this feature will be introduced at least in beta, but the works are in progress and seem already well defined: to the eye it shouldn’t take long.

Grand Theft Auto 6: Rockstar confirmed content theft

The source codes and many preview videos of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto game have been stolen. It seems like a play on words or a mocking coincidence but it is reality.
Rockstar Games has confirmed that it has suffered a security breach on the servers on which it stored various content related to the development of the future Grand Theft Auto 6. Information and confidential content have been downloaded and made public on the network, including these images and videos, as well as a part of the source code. In a message published via its official Twitter profile, as expected Rockstar said that it was “footage from an early development version” and was quick to point out that the leak will not affect the development process of GTA. 6. Furthermore, it is added that the game will be released “when it is ready”, which highlights that there is still a long way to go until development is complete. Officially, in fact, Rockstar has not yet disclosed any media or the possible release date of GTA 6. But according to some, the game would be released approximately between 2024 and 2025.

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for more info:

https://www.gabrieleromano.org/pages/articles/gta6-theft-hacker.html

Netflix and subscriptions with advertising: you cannot download content to watch offline

Netflix, as you know, is working to prepare a subscription plan at a reduced price but supported by advertisements. We now learn this subscription plan could be affected by an important limitation: the inability to download content for offline viewing.

Bloomberg divulges the news, having discovered that in the code of the Netflix app for iOS devices there is still, not operational, this restriction intended for plans with advertisements. This alone is not a sufficient element that this is actually the case, but it must nevertheless be considered as an important indication and a probable possibility.

It was the same co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, in the past months that the company is working on the introduction of a more convenient subscription plan aimed at those users who want to face a lower economic outlay and, at the same time, not have no problem putting up with some advertisements. In the current state of things, there is still no precise information on the characteristics of this piano, but the company in the past has provided some general indications, explaining for example that the ads cannot be skipped and that the user will not have the controls available. Netflix also indicated that some content may contain “restricted” statuses in the plan with advertising, which somehow dovetails with Bloomberg’s findings.

Another unknown element is the price of this piano. Currently Netflix offers – we are referring to the US market, also because it is not given whether the plan with advertising will also arrive in Italy and with what timing – a basic subscription at a price of $ 9.99 with 480p streaming and a “Standard” subscription with resolution FullHD at $ 15.49. At $ 19.99 a month there is the Premium plan which includes streaming in 4K HDR. We can choose that for the plan with Netflix advertisements it could at least initially use the cheapest subscription as a starting point and perhaps in the future experiment with other offers.

The company decided to work on an ad-supported subscription plan in response to the decline in subscribers and revenue it experienced in the first half of the year, when for the first time in 10 years it had to acknowledge a decline in number of registered users. However, this strategy also includes the repressive action towards the practice of sharing subscriptions. Netflix says some 222 million “paying households” have their subscription with another 100 million households and in the future it aims to include a more effective monetization mechanism for subscription sharing, with some testing underway in select countries.

Ad-supported subscriptions won’t see the light until early 2023, so in the next few months to learn more detailed information and details as Netflix finalizes its plans.

Metaverse: there is the first student who graduated virtually and is Italian!

In the Metaverse you can also graduate and the first to do so was Edoardo di Pietra, a young student from Colle Val D’Elsa in the province of Siena, who decided to discuss his thesis in front of the University of Turin commission for the Communication, ICT and Media course which included live presence but also in virtual version directly in the Metaverse with an avatar created ad hoc for the occasion.

“When you are the first to do something, you are the precursor of everything that will come after you. So you have responsibilities. In short: you become a standard of the future” these are the words of the young graduate of La Stampa.

You can even graduate in the Metaverse!
In Italy it was the first and it could also be on a global level. A step forward that makes us understand how important universities are also ready for this type of innovation and how, with a minimum commitment, we can keep up with the times and with the technological changes that afflict the world every day.

Edoardo Di Pietro prepared his thesis in one year of work. “As a gamer I had already heard of the Metaverse, also because I was unknowingly in precursor games, such as Minecraft”. Tomorrow will certainly be a revolution in graduation debates “but also for the future – underlines a different distance, with greater presence and greater interactivity to the classic video calls on the platforms used to give lessons during the period of restrictions. due to the Covid pandemic “.

For the 25-year-old Tuscan, “Metaverso is a kind of teleportation”. But there are not only the merits. “The biggest flaw to point out is that we don’t have to detach ourselves too much from reality,” he says. “Beautiful technology, beautiful innovation, but we always live in this world. In science fiction novels and films or in the common imagination, we see the Metaverse as that thing that will make us sit all day in an armchair with a tube attached to the back of the neck, thus feeding us. Here the Metaverse doesn’t even have to touch upon that idea. It must be something more to increase and simplify reality “.

The thesis supervisor will be Professor Michele Cornetto. “The idea was born about a half ago. A first experiment developed on Minecraft for the Christmas party at the end of the year to overcome Covid. Since then I have started thinking of promoting this topic also to students who asked for projects of That of Edoardo goes in the direction: it is a first step to understand what and how many perspectives there will be for this one, he explores the future “.

Internet Explorer is dead after 26 years in business. Microsoft: ‘Will be permanently disabled’

Internet Explorer is dead and represents a past that is not too exciting for Microsoft when it comes to web browsing. From 15 June, therefore, an important step has been added to Microsoft’s strategy to modernize a fundamental aspect of its OSes.

Internet Explorer is dead: Edge is Microsoft’s only browser in the future

Specifically Lyndersay has performed that confirms the web browser, no longer on some versions of Windows, will be “permanently disabled” through an OS update that will come in the future. Below is the comment in full, as reported by BleepingComputer:

“Users will still see the Internet Explorer icon on their devices (for example on the taskbar or Start menu), but clicking to open Internet Explorer will launch Microsoft Edge with the ability to easily access IE mode. Internet Explorer will eventually be completely disabled permanently through a future Windows Update, at which point the Internet Explorer icons on users’ devices will be removed. “

Internet Explorer is dead: Edge is Microsoft’s only browser in the future
During this time, user data (including settings, favorites and passwords) will be transferred to Microsoft Edge. Microsoft will also add a “Reload with IE mode” button to the Edge toolbar to make it easier for users to run sites and services that are not compliant with the new standards. On the other hand, from 2020 those who try to run incompatible websites with Internet Explorer (there are almost 1500 certified incompatible websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Drive) are automatically redirected to Edge.

On June 15, Internet Explorer ended its life cycle within the Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel (SAC). The application was not already available on Windows 11 and the most popular versions of Windows 10, but it was in the SAC channel Windows 10 and still is on Windows 7 ESU, Windows 8.1 and all versions of Windows 10 LTSC, IoT and Server. On these operating systems, even if no longer supported, IE will continue to receive critical security updates until support ends for the version of Windows it runs on.

Universal USB-C charger, the EU directive arrives.

The EU institutions sold have reached an agreement on the directive that will oblige all future smartphones in the EU, including Apple’s iPhone, to be equipped with the universal USB-C port for cable charging. Smartphones, tablets, e-readers, cameras and other electronic devices assigned as an exception to the legislation by the autumn of 2024, while it was envisaged for laptops, it is set at 40 months from adoption. EU lawmakers say this is due to the difficulty of making a standard charger that applies to laptops with different power requirements.

The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament has been working on the legislation for many years, but there have been slowdowns due to a series of objections. The strongest of the complaints came, of course, from Apple, which defended the possibility of using its Lighting connector.

Universal USB-C charger

The aim of the European institutions is, however, to favor a fast charging technology as standardized as possible, which can allow users, separated from the device, to act at the same speed with any charger. In addition, we aim to avoid having a charger in every package of a new device, in order to avoid the multiplication of electronic waste.

The EU estimates that the legislation could save consumers € 250 million per year on “unnecessary battery charger purchases” and cut electronic waste by around 11,000 tonnes per year.

The legislation has yet to be approved by the Parliament and the Council of the EU, although this step is an indicator as a formality. In a press release, the European Parliament clearly stated that the law will be in “by autumn 2024”. By that date, all devices covered by law and sold in the EU to use the USB-C cable charging port.

Apple could get around this by putting in place a wireless charging system for its upcoming iPhones (as well as other devices) marketed in Europe. According to other rumors, however, Cupertino is working on the first iPhones with a USB-C port (Apple already has a catalog of some laptop and tablet devices with this port).

Diablo Immortal will be released on June 2, 2022

There are just a few days left until the official launch of Diablo Immortal, the mobile spin-off of Blizzard Entertainment’s iconic dungeon crawler. The action RPG, also released on PC, offers a brand new setting and a brand new story, as well as six different classes with which to venture into the world of Sanctuary. Ahead of the upcoming global debut, the development team has shared all the details related to the release on iOS, Android and Windows.

“Skarn, Lord of Damnation, has amassed his warmongering forces in anticipation of your imminent arrival at Sanctuary. With an ashen look and horrible frown, the demon lord murmurs … ‘We are waiting for you.'” Thus Diablo Immortal welcomes the wanderers of Sanctuarium, the heroes destined to thwart the nefarious plans of Skarn.

The launch of Diablo Immortal is set for June 2 at 19.00 (Italian time) for iOS and Android. Some players, Blizzard explains, will see the title available in the App Store and Google Play on the morning of June 1 – a discrepancy that “is partly due to how mobile games are released” and which serves “to ensure smooth delivery. complete for the mobile version of Immortal “. To find out when you can download in your region, you can consult the table shared a few hours ago by Blizzard itself.

Also from 2 June it will be possible to access the PC version of Diablo Immortal, available in open beta: it is already possible to pre-load via Battle.net. We remind you that to access Immortal on PC it is necessary to have installed the Battle.net application and to log in with an existing account. On Android and iOS, however, simply download the game from the related digital stores, click on the Install button and let the download complete.

In the post published on the Blizzard Entertainment blog, it is possible to consult a series of FAQs that clarify all the possible doubts related to the launch of the game on mobile and PC.

WhatsApp, the ‘Edit’ option for invitation messages is coming

WhatsApp is working on various features to improve the user experience and get back in parallel with the services of the competition. And, among the improvements in the pipeline, there is one that probably will be very welcome to users: the possibility (finally) to modify messages, perhaps containing errors.

WhatsApp, the ability to edit messages is finally being developed

The news has just been reported by the prolific WABetaInfo, and it should be in the future (we don’t know exactly when) in WhatsApp’s Android, iOS and desktop clients. Font wrote that the development team is “working on a new option that will consent to edit text messages” and that “there probably won’t be a history of changes to check for previous post changes”.

WhatsApp, the ability to edit messages is finally being developed
To date, WhatsApp does not agree to change the messages received in any way. The only weapon available to the user to correct a typo or a spelling mistake is to delete the message (an operation that still keeps a warning on the chat) and rewrite it from scratch. With the change option, the procedure will be much more streamlined and linear, as is already the case with other statutory message services with which the Meta app can compete directly.

WABetaInfo also showed a screenshot of the new modifier key, but did not mention a period within which it will be opportune to see the new feature arrive on the stable versions of the client. Furthermore, WhatsApp has never confirmed the arrival of the option which – although very unlikely – could be eliminated from the company’s plans if the tests do not bring the desired results.

Zuckerberg’s messaging client may add more news in the near future, such as a feature that allows users to “silently” exit groups, with the warning only appearing to group admins. There will also be premium subscription plans for the business version of the application, which will offer the ability to use the same account for up to 10 users.

Mandatory photovoltaic panels, and 100% energy independent houses. The decision for the future of Europe

The European Commission is pushing to decrease the dependence of Member States on fossil fuels, not only for mobility, but also and and for the energy used above all by buildings. The new plan launched, RePowerEU, which also contains interesting news regarding solar energy, goes in this direction.

As stated in the full text published, with the intention of reducing the use of Russian gas, new regulations will come regarding solar panels (photovoltaic and thermal) on the roofs of buildings of all kinds. In detail, the installation of solar energy systems will be mandatory in the following cases:

all new public or commercial buildings, with a usable area of ​​more than 250 m2, by 2026
all existing public or commercial buildings, with a usable area of ​​more than 250 m2, by 2027
all new residential buildings, enters 2029
RePower EU

It is also mentioned the push and the facilitation, for those who live in multi-apartment complexes, towards self-consumption from collective systems.

All these regulations point straight towards the one probably more ambitious, and more difficult to implement, namely that starting from 2030 all new buildings, including residential ones, produce a quantity of energy, to be returned 100% independent. Production, therefore, from solar plants must be on a par with consumption.

Twitter and Elon Musk’s ambitions

Elon Musk has unveiled his ambitious plans for Twitter, all aimed at supporting the goal of raising the company’s subscription revenue to $ 10 billion by 2028, or doubling the $ 5 billion in subscriptions raised by the social network. of microbolgging over the past year.

The information was gleaned from the New York Times which got to see a presentation Musk shared with investors. Among the first actions taken by Musk will be those aimed at triggering a growth in subscribers to Twitter Blue up to 69 million users by 2025, to reach 159 million by 2028. Twitter Blue, we remember, is a subscription plan at a cost of $ 2.99 a month, it offers access to an “unsubscribe” button, allows you to customize the app, read content without advertising and other features not available to non-subscribers.

The new owner of Twitter also expects particularly robust growth in Twitter users overall, which would rise from the current 217 million to 600 million in 2025 and to 931 million in 2028. Musk’s plans would also include another subscription service, called “X” which could garner 9 million subscribers in 2023 and 104 million by 2028.

All of these actions should therefore help push subscription revenue to $ 10 billion by 2028, where Musk’s projected overall revenue could reach $ 26.4 billion. Such as? According to information gathered by the Times, it would be mostly advertising revenue with Musk expecting an advertising revenue of $ 12 billion by 2028.

There would also be the desire to raise up to 1.3 billion dollars by 2028 from unspecified “payment activities”: in this sense, however, it is possible that some kind of synergy with PayPal, of which Musk is one, may be grafted. of the co-founders.

Finally, another revenue stream could be represented by the sale of tweets to third-party companies that analyze data and information to outline market trends and audience preferences. Last year, Twitter raised $ 572 million for data licensing. However, it is not clear how Musk intends to carry out this type of business, which could require a heavy revision of the terms of service.

Finally, there is talk of hiring, with plans to create up to 3600 more jobs. Elon Musk has set himself the goal of having more than 11,000 employees by 2025, which will be fundamental for building new services and user experiences.