Here’s some of what happened in the search engine and social media industries from 28th March to 3rd April 2020.
1. Bing is testing a new logo
Microsoft seems to be working on a new logo for its search engine Bing, part of the larger Fluent Design rebrand within the corporation. This design-inspired programme was introduced initially for Office suite icons in 2018.
The new logo no longer has sharp corners and has some depth to make it look prominent.
[source]2. Free Group Video Calls in the new Messenger Desktop App
Facebook has launched its standalone Messenger app for desktops, available on both Windows and MacOS. Audio/video calling via Messenger through desktop grew 100 percent in the past month, as revealed in the company’s announcement.
Key highlights include group video calls, chat syncing, Dark Mode and GIFs.
[source]3. Google acts against high-risk flaws in Chrome
Google released security patches to quash high-risk vulnerabilities in the Chrome browser. Patches for all the bugs will be rolled out in the coming days. A total of 8 bugs were addressed for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Of these, the most severe flaw enabled arbitrary code execution, as per the Centre for Internet Security (CIS).
[source]4. Spotify now works with Siri on Apple Watch
Apple Watch users can now ask Siri to play their music through Spotify by ending a music request with “on Spotify”. It’s a small update but long overdue. Apple started allowing these third-party music apps to integrate with Siri just last year after the launch of iOS 13 and watchOS6.
[source]5. Instagram might enable adding multiple guests on Live Stream
Instagram may be looking to replicate Zoom. In a recent Q&A via Instagram Stories, the company chief Adam Mosseri noted they are considering adding the capacity to go live with more than one guest on Instagram Live.
Multi-participant streaming could prove a major addition to Instagram, if approved, as it’s an expensive feature in terms of video transfer rates and data load.
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