Technology

Spotify first debuted its accessible automotive music player, Car Thing, to a limited number of Premium users last October and was reported to have amassed a waitlist of more than two million people. Now, the streaming platform has rolled out the device, which is its first piece of hardware, to the public. Car Thing provides a way for users to listen to Spotify on the road without looking down at their phones. Attached to the dashboard and connected to power via a 12 V power adapter, the device connects to phones through Bluetooth and to car stereos with an external cable such as a USB or AUX cord. Listeners can direct the advice with “Hey Spotify” voice commands, followed by their request. Car Thing also has a rotary knob to swipe through song collections and a 4-inch touchscreen. Additio...

When I was a kid, I would look at paperback fantasy novels and dream. I was too young to read these tales of sex and violence, but those hand-painted covers, full of dragons and swords and ancient ruins, held a promise of adventure that captivated me. It’s a feeling I continued to chase when I went on my own fantasy quests in games dating back to the original Legend of Zelda. Few have been able to match my paperback-inspired imagination; they’re often too restrictive or linear to create that sense of freedom I craved. None have gotten as close to that feeling as Elden Ring. The latest release from Bloodborne and Sekiro developer FromSoftware, Elden Ring is, at its most basic, an attempt to merge the studio’s distinctive action-RPG formula with an expansive open world. Think of it like Dark...

General Motors is shutting down its in-car shopping app, Marketplace, which allowed customers to buy coffee, pay for gas, or make restaurant reservations from the infotainment screen of their vehicles. The service will be discontinued March 2022. (The news was first reported by CNBC.) The app, which was first introduced in 2017, was part of GM’s mission to redesign the driving experience to include more smartphone-style features, as well as create new revenue streams through partnerships with third-party companies. When it was announcedhat, GM described Marketplace as “the automotive industry’s first commerce platform for on-demand reservations and purchases of goods and services.” GM said its plans to discontinue Marketplace were the result of Xevo, a connected car software supplier, exit...

Microsoft is bringing Twitch streaming back to the Xbox dashboard today. The Xbox maker first started testing the integration in October, and Twitch will now integrate into the Xbox Guide interface, complete with webcam support. Twitch first appeared integrated into the Xbox One dashboard in 2014, using a Snap interface to let players stream gameplay on Twitch. Twitch streaming will now appear in the Capture and Share tab of the Xbox Guide, and you’ll need to just link your Twitch account to access the streaming features. Headsets and webcams are supported, and you can manage game or mic audio levels, include friend audio from party chat, or manually set the Twitch resolution and bitrate. [embedded content] Twitch has had Xbox streaming support inside its own app for quite some time, but d...

If you’re getting a Steam Deck, or someday plan to, the question of “how many games in my backlog will be compatible?” has probably echoed in your mind. Valve is answering it ahead of the Deck’s February 25th release date with a new Steam feature that makes it easy to see in your library which games will run great — and which might not fare so well. You can check it out by visiting this page and signing in with your Steam credentials. Beyond informing you that a game is merely able to run on the Deck, highlighting individual titles on the page and clicking “Steam Deck Compatibility” will surface more useful details, like whether in-game text is legible on the device’s small screen, and if a game’s default graphics settings will run well. In other words, these “Deck Verified” games are your...

El Salvador‘s proliferation of Bitcoin use has been turning positive results. The country’s Minister of Tourism Minister, Morena Valdez, has revealed that the tourism sector has grown 30 percent — with many of the visitors coming from the United States. “We did a poll to check the activity according to the before and after of Bitcoin. The tourism sector increased in November and December. This increased by more than 30%,” commented Valdez. On average, visitors have also been spending more, as prior to the actual data, it was estimated that profits from tourism would total $800,000 USD from the adoption of BTC, but the Ministry reported figures were closer to $1.4 million USD. In other tech news, Bored Ape owner sues OpenSea for $1 million USD over “stolen” NFT. Read Full Article

The latest beta for iOS 15.4 includes new features designed to prevent Apple’s AirTags from being used to stalk people, 9to5Mac reports. Most notably, there’s a new privacy notice during their setup which warns that using AirTags to track someone without their consent could be a crime, and that law enforcement can request details on an unknown AirTags’ owner. “AirTag is Linked To Your Apple ID,” the notice reads. Apple announced a collection of new safety features for its AirTags earlier this month, after a spate of news reports found they’d been used to track individuals without their consent. At the time, Apple didn’t provide an exact release date for the new safety features, noting only that they’d arrive “later this year.” The privacy notice announced by Apple earlier this month.Image:...

If you’re a Google Workspace user, the classic Hangouts messaging service will start to disappear next month as part of the transition to Google Chat. Google has announced that it’ll make Google Chat its default chat application beginning March 22nd, meaning users will be redirected to Chat when they try to visit Hangouts in Gmail on the web, or try to use the old Hangouts mobile apps. The shift from Google Hangouts to Google Chat is the latest step in Google’s constantly evolving messaging strategy, which generally gets more confusing the more you read about it. This particular migration kicked into gear in June 2020, and focusses on the messaging service integrated with Gmail. Google Chat should not be confused with GChat, the unofficial name for Google Talk, which was officially killed ...

Sony has launched a new Aibo robot dog in limited edition Black Sesame, following its last release in 2017. The latest Aibo robot dog comes in a gray coat with four different eye colors: blue, green, orange, and pink. Not only does its appearance resemble the previous model, but it also features the same functions of facial recognition and everyday interactions through which it can develop its unique personality. What’s more, users can name their robot companion, witness their growth and add new tricks through artificial intelligence-powered by the aibo AI Cloud Plan. They can also stay connected with their robot pet with the “My aibo” app wherever they go. In addition, gadgets — from playtime accessories such as a bone-shaped toy, a dice, and a pink ball to necessities like food and water...

Apple is set to make its first product launch of 2022 soon and its Mac offerings are at the top of the conversation. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple is planning for a “slew of upgrades this year.” Since 2020, the major tech company has been shifting away from Intel’s chips in favor of its own M1 versions. The M1 chips were see in the 2020 MacBook Pro, Mac Mini and MacBook Air. The M1 chips continued into 2021 product offerings in the iMac and later on the M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pros. 2022 will see the company transition to Apple Silicon and put the upgrades into high gears with various new Mac models created based on a new M2 chip, last year’s M1 Pro and M1 Max chips and a super-powered version of the M1 Max. Recent filings point towards a new Mac coming soon, likely as the ...

As reported by Bloomberg, a scary situation played out today at Apple’s flagship Amsterdam store as a man in camouflage gear and a balaclava fired a gun and then held someone hostage there for several hours before being apprehended. The hostage was reportedly an Apple Store customer from somewhere outside the Netherlands. Pictures of the scene showed the hostage seated opposite the suspect, with his hands in cuffs behind his back. There were four other people in the store hiding in a closet, but the suspect apparently did not realize they were there. The store is located in Leidseplein, a busy area in the city center with many people around, some of whom live-streamed footage as the hostage situation continues. Dozens of other people were also inside when the incident began, but they manag...