Microsoft is announcing the release of the Microsoft Edge Dev Insider channel for Linux. The Microsoft Edge Linux preview build will support Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and OpenSUSE distributions.
The company announced it was bringing Microsoft Edge to Linux in May at Microsoft Build.
With this release, Microsoft is looking at two Linux customer categories. The Linux enthusiasts asking for Microsoft Edge and web developers for test automation.
This is to provide a representative experience for developers who want to build and test their sites and apps on Linux, notes Kyle Pflug, Microsoft Principal Program Manager Lead, Developer Experiences.
We’re particularly excited to offer web developers the same consistent and powerful web platform and developer tools. As on macOS or Windows, so you can build and test in your preferred environment and be confident in the experience your customers will have on other devices.
You can download the Microsoft Edge Linux preview build for your repository from the Microsoft Edge Insider site. Or install it directly from the Microsoft Linux Software Repository.
Watch Microsoft Program Manager, Sean Larkin, talk about the availability of the Microsoft Edge Dev Channel for Linux.
Linux fan? Are you excited about this announcement? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Safaricom PLC today unveiled a new mobile application (app) tailored at customers lifestyle. The new app comes with a new user interface, enhanced security and puts the user in control. It also promises an excellent experience.
Safaricom Head of Digital Products and Services, Fawzia Ali Kimathi, led the virtual launch event. Showcasing new and exciting features of the new mySafaricom app. She noted that this was a journey that began in October 2018 in response to customer feedback about the existing app.
Prior to the official release, about fifty thousand customers have tested the app. It has been in beta testing since February 2020, Fawzia shares.
“We are very excited about this journey. It’s taken us a couple of months to get here. We welcome your feedback, both good and bad. We have adopted the agile methodology … so we will be releasing something fresh and new every two to three weeks”.
Fawzia Ali Kimathi
Speaking on some of the innovations the app brings she shares that customers who prefer to use the voucher card, can scan the 16 digits and it will automatically pick the digits and top up.
The new app will allow customers to choose five services in the favourite icon.
Postpaid customers can now see their usage during the month. They can see their credit limit, balance, make payments and increase or reduce limits.
Prepaid Safaricom customers will be able to see their airtime, data, Bonga and SMS balances. Topping up on any of the services happens right on that page from the new app.
A feature to know your data usage is currently available on the Safaricom mobile web app and will be coming soon to the mobile app.
Epic Games, producers of popular game Fornite, yesterday took on Apple and Google in what might spark an app store revolution.
Something very interesting happened yesterday. News broke out that Apple has removed Fortnite from the iOS App Store. Referencing that the game company had violated its App Store guidelines. It wasn’t long before Google did the same. Since then Epic has filed a lawsuit against Apple. In what it says is to “end Apple’s anti-competitive restrictions on mobile device marketplaces“.
So this is what started it all. Epic Games introduced its own payment system, Epic direct payment, on iOS and Google. Knowing very well that this move will violate both the Goole Play and Apple App store rules. This, however, will offer users a 20% discount on the usual in-app purchases in the Apple and Google Play stores. That is where the store violation comes into play. Apple says they are using their own in-app payment option. Whereas when it comes to Google that isn’t an issue till the app in question is a game.
The game company sort of had it all figured out, knowing Apple and Google will come after them and they were ready for them. That’s because they released a 65-page lawsuit just moments after Apple removed their app from the app store. This, Business Insider says, “Fortnite set an antitrust trap for Apple and Tim Cook walked right into it“.
They also released a video mimicking Apple’s 1984 Macintosh commercial that introduced the Mac PC. Check it out below.
The Epic Games War
Epic Games is staging a fight that is bigger than them and concerns the wider 3rd party developer community in relation to the App Store. Most of these developers have complained to Apple but the giant seems to have its way. In recent times, Microsoft has been unable to bring its xCloud gaming service to Xbox users on iOS becuase of such issues. Epic calls it a monopoly in its lawsuit.
The question is will Epic succeed where others have failed? Will it encounter the same hurdles others faced and decide they have no choice but to play to Apple and Google’s tunes? When Epic wins this will it apply to the wider 3rd party community or will it be a special treatment as Apple notes.
We will find out soon enough i guess. What do you think?
More to come …
Update :
iDevice Care reports that Apple says it will not be making an exception for Epic. In Apple’s remarks, Epic created a problem for itself. Noting this “problem can be easily fixed if they send an update of their app that restores it to comply with the guidelines again.”
Facebook launches video and messaging chat app called Messenger Kids across Africa. The app allows children to connect with their friends and family in a supervised environment.
Parents can monitor and control children’s activities through a dashboard. From the dashboard, parents can monitor recent contacts, chat history and reported and blocked contacts. They can also see a log of sent and received images and videos in chats. As well as enable supervised friending and remote device log out through the dashboard.
The app is suitable for children between the ages of six to twelve years. Messenger Kids app is free and you can be download it from the Apple, Google Play and Amazon app stores.
Facebook shares it worked closely with experts in online safety, child development and media, and consulted with child safety advocates and educators across Africa ahead of the app launch. To ensure the app provides a service that balances parental control with features that help kids learn how to connect responsibly online.
“We know that parents are turning to technology more than ever to help their kids connect with friends and family online“ says Kojo Boakye, Facebook Public Policy Director, Africa. With privacy, security and parental control at the heart of the app, Messenger Kids provides a safe, fun space, controlled by parents to do exactly that, he continues.
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If you are still hooked to your Windows phone and actively using WhatsApp from Facebook, this is for you. You have only a few days to switch devices or find an alternative platform for your conversations. The company is alerting, “WhatsApp will stop working on Windows Phones after January 14 2020”.
In June last year, WhatsApp Inc. sent out an end of support message to Windows phone users. Informing users “Microsoft has ended support for Windows Phone, As a consequence, WhatsApp will stop working on this phone after Dec 31, 2019”. The new alert reads “WhatsApp will stop working on this phone after Jan 14, 2020”.
You’ll no longer be able to use all Windows Phone operating systems after December 31, 2019 the support page reads. This means you will officially no longer be able to use the service on your phone. You might have experienced some features not working properly. This is due to the fact that the company isn’t actively developing for the platform.
Good thing is you can continue using the service on a supported phone as the company advises. The downside however will be that your conversations can’t travel with you cross platform. As they are backed up on different platform accounts.
UPDATE:
It is the 15th of January 2020, the image below is what you’ll see when you open your WhatsApp application.
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WhatsApp is sending out an end of support message to windows phone users. If you haven’t already seen this you should soon if you are using WhatsApp on a Windows mobile device. The company says whatsapp will stop working on Windows Phones. In another detail, the company will be removing its app from the Microsoft store as well.
The message reads “Microsoft has ended support for Windows Phone, As a consequence, WhatsApp will stop working on this phone after Dec 31, 2019.” In February Microsoft announced that from December 10th 2019, Windows 10 mobile users will not recieve new security updates and any kind of device support. Following this most apps have moved users to their web apps, like Instagram and Uber. Others have their apps available in the Microsoft store but not available for mobile download.
WhatsApp says “You’ll no longer be able to use all Windows Phone operating systems after December 31, 2019, and WhatsApp might not be available in the Microsoft Store after July 1, 2019.
It however offers a link to show you how to switch to a supported phone.
As a Windows Phone user, what this means is that some features might stop functioning at any time. You will be unable to create new accounts nor reverify existing accounts says WhatsApp.
Unfortunately WhatsApp doesn’t have an option to transfer your chat history between platforms. I can’t tell if backing it up to an SD card and moving it will do it. If you tried this and it worked kindly share with us.
