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When I play a game via Facebook Gameroom, I get the message “Flash Player will not be supported after December 31st” at the top. Can I play these games in another way? (Martin)
As of December 31, 2020, Adobe and many major browsers will no longer support Adobe Flash Player. This is good because it is an old technology that has many flaws. It also means that some of the current games will die. Flash Player supports many games that you can play online (including many games on Facebook Gameroom). It is up to the developers to take action. They can do this by changing their game’s code so that it will be played by HTML 5, not Flash Player. Developers who refuse to convert their game to HTML 5 will face an unplayable game after December 31st. One of the games that will go away next is the hugely popular Farmville game. It’s also important to note that Facebook Gameroom will close on June 30th. Web games can only be played at facebook.com/instantgames. Also in this case, it’s clearly about games that run on HTML 5. As of January 1, 2021, developers will not be able to launch new web games on Facebook. Players can still play the current games. The developers will have the option to keep Facebook’s web games. Whether you can still play a game online after December 31 is a question that you should ask the game developer.
Can you browse the web on a non-smart TV with Chromecast using Google TV? Is browser type listed here? (Geert)
The new Chromecast comes with a complete operating system (Google TV) that can convert any non-smart TV into a smart TV. Where with the previous Chromecast you had to stream everything from your smartphone to the Chromecast, that is no longer the case here. There is an app store where you can download apps to your Chromecast: YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, etc., and yes, a browser too. In the past, Puffin TV Browser was especially recommended, but recently a monthly subscription was requested for the browser. Not many people want to subscribe to a browser, and the program is quickly losing popularity. Chrome might be the logical choice, but strangely enough, Chrome just can’t be installed on your Google TV, although there are bypass methods. Firefox is also an option, but in this case you will also have to use a turn. To concretely answer your question: No browser included, but browser install shifts anyway. But this is rarely the case in practice, because control often leaves much to be desired. Operating the browser via the remote control is not very convenient. Therefore, it is recommended that you open a specific webpage on your smartphone (or computer or tablet) and then “cast” it to your Chromecast.
Where can you buy and download MP3 files legally these days? (Bart)
A few MP3s are sold to streaming services like Spotify, Tidal, and Google Music. But this does not mean that it is no longer possible. Even though Apple now has Apple Music, you can still buy music from iTunes. On Macs, you can now find iTunes in the Music app, but you can still download iTunes on Windows (via Microsoft Store). Here you can buy single tracks or full albums. The songs are in .m4a format by default, but iTunes comes with built-in capabilities to convert songs to MP3. Another popular method is through Amazon.com. Despite the fact that Amazon pays for the Amazon Music live streaming service, you can still download individual MP3 files or albums on Amazon. If you find it important to support artists as much as possible, Bandcamp is a good alternative. Artists here get more money than iTunes. However, it mainly concerned young artists. In short: there are still many ways to download MP3 files!
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