Video Messaging now part of the Skype App on Windows Phone 8
Skype updated its Windows Phone 8 app today, adding video messaging.
This is another great way to keep in touch. Once you have updated the app, just open a conversation and tap + to create a new video. New to Skype? You can download the latest version of the app from the Windows Phone Store.
There’s more about the new update on the Skype Garage Blog today.
Microsoft PubCenter change requires developers to update their Ad Units.
Microsoft PubCenter has recently introduced targeting changes aimed at improving application/ad relevancy.
If you use PubCenter ads in your Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 apps, make sure to update your Ad Units to reflect the store category of the app that the ad unit is used in.
Three Required Steps:
1. Associate your Mobile ad unit to a specific Application via the pubCenter’s setup tab.
2. Select Category and Subcategory (when available) for each Mobile ad unit. Your selection should match the same categories you’ve selected in Windows Phone Dev Center.
3. Save, and repeat for each Mobile ad unit.
You will need to update all your existing Windows Phone Ad units by September 12st, to continue receiving ads. Ad units not updated by Sep 12, 2013, will stop serving ads.
More details can be found in the blog post in the Advertising Community Blog.
Halo: Spartan Assault in the Store for Windows 8, coming soon to Windows Phone 8
Halo: Spartan Assault is the first touch-optimized game set in the HALO universe. It plays on any Windows 8 system, but really shines on a tablet.
Even though the controls are touch-based and very easy to master, the game feels very dense and immerses the player in the Halo universe.
Set between the events of “Halo 3” and “Halo 4,” “Halo: Spartan Assault” is a new chapter of the award-winning “Halo” universe that explores the first missions of the Spartan Ops program and dives deeper into the backstory of Human-Covenant wars. Play through the eyes of either Commander Sarah Palmer or Spartan Davis stationed aboard the UNSC Infinity as they fight never-before-seen battles against Covenant forces.
Visit the official site for screenshots and gameplay videos.
Download Halo: Spartan Assault from the Windows 8 store. The soundtrack is available from Amazon.
Wemlin now available for Windows Phone 8
If you live in Switzerland and use the public transportation from Zürcher Verkehrsverbund, OSTWIND or LIECHTENSTEINmobil, this app will get you to where you have to go – easy and fast.
It has been developed by the cool crew at Netcetera and can be downloaded from http://www.windowsphone.com/de-ch/store/app/wemlin/5cad8cfa-8b54-4193-8448-b5613c7934f3
My Celtic Cross Tarot for Windows 8 is now available in the Store as a free download.
One of my recent pet projects I have been working on in my spare time (to put the new Surface Pro to good use…) was to create an implementation of the classic “Celtic Cross” Tarot that would guide the user step by step through a reading, even for users that have no previous knowledge of Tarot readings.
The app makes use of the “Sharing Charm” in Windows 8 to allow the user to share the result so it can be kept it for further reference.
I added some visual effects but left out sound so the app wouldn’t seem too much like a game.
It uses the classic Rider-Waite deck and way of interpreting the major Tarot Arcana, including the differentiation between normal and reversed cards.
The app can be downloaded for free here, if you want to give it a try: http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/celtic-cross-tarot/1d584f86-3e18-44e7-bade-179f7b89585f
Begin the reading by asking your question.
See the meaning of each card while you select it from the deck.
After all ten cards has been selected, each card is revealed and its reading is presented.
In the end, the full reading is summarized.
You can share the question and the reading using Windows 8’s share charm.
Mehdoh: New social media cool-kid on the Windows Phone block.
Mehdoh has been released for Windows Phone: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/mehdoh/150f3fc4-dc0d-4299-a8ba-069b70436ad7
and I must say it’s a darn cool social media app that supports multiple Twitter, SoundHound and Instagram accounts.
First impressions: It’s very fast, very flexible, handles notifications and the live tile great, including a do-not-disturb time you can set.
Double tap on the header of one of the pivot-lists to scroll to the top.
Sascha Corti aka. TechPreacher 