Category: Technology

Spotify Premium users will get more control in the coming weeks, as the music streaming service will push out an update that will separate the play and shuffle buttons. Currently, the play and shuffle buttons are combined for Spotify Premium and Spotify Free account holders.

While it doesn’t seem like a huge deal, separating the play and shuffle buttons will give users a more streamlined experience. This will apply to users listening to albums or playlists. Although this might not seem like such a big deal, it was for one artist, Adele, who called out Spotify’s shuffle experience for an album release last year. The artist was able to have the service turn shuffle off by default, allowing users to listen to albums as intended. To make things more transparent for users, Spotify will double down on this concept, allowing its paid subscribers to get an improved user interface.

The music streaming service recently announced that it had grown its total subscriber count to 433 million, with 188 million premium subscribers. Despite its dominance, it has regularly brought improvements to its platform. For example, it recently introduced Friends Mix, Blend, Supergrouper, and more. However, while the company has succeeded with its service, it has not done so well regarding hardware, as it recently announced that it would discontinue its Car Thing accessory.

The update will roll out to Android and iOS users in the coming weeks. This will be a global release and should hit all regions. The update is for Premium users, so if you’re on a free Spotify account, you can expect nothing to change. However, if you want to try out Spotify, click the link below. The app can also be found on the App Store for iOS devices. Now, if we could only get Spotify Hi-Fi sometime this year.

Source: Spotify

Twitter is testing a feature that lets you see how many times a user tweets per month. Reverse Engineers spotted this in development about a month ago, but as of this morning, some Twitter users have shared that they have gained access to this feature.

For those of us who already know that we spend way too much time on the app, this feature feels a bit … intimidating. But it could probably be useful as a metric when determining whether to follow someone. If someone tweets thousands of times a month, maybe you don’t want them on your timeline — or if they barely tweet at all, maybe you don’t think it’s worth throwing them a follow.

“This is part of an ongoing experiment in which we want to learn how providing more context about the frequency of an account’s Tweets can help people make more informed decisions about the accounts they choose to engage with,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

Based on past studies, it’s not surprising that the general reaction to this feature among dedicated users is horror at how much we tweet. In 2019, the Pew Research Center found that 10% of Twitter users create 80% of the tweets on the platform. The study also showed that the median user on Twitter only posts twice per month. As of last quarter, Twitter has 237.8 million monetizable daily active users.

So, if you feel personally attacked by Twitter’s “tweets per month” test, you may be entitled to compensation. For legal reasons, that was a joke, although we assume Twitter’s lawyers are a bit preoccupied at the moment.

Update, 8/1/22, 6:55 PM ET with comment from Twitter.

Water block for 92W Intel Arc GPU

Intel ARC with liquid cooling.

Water block for GUNNIR Arc A380, Source: Bykski

Bykski I-GNA380-X GPU BLOCK is a custom water block for GUNNIR Arc A380 Photon OC graphics card, thus far the only desktop Arc model available for sale. At this moment it is unclear if GUNNIR PCB is a full custom design or, what would make more sense at this price point, based on Intel reference layout. Therefore, one cannot be sure if Bykski A380 water block will only ever fit one model.

For now, this full cover block only supports GUNNIR PCB equipped with ACM-G11 GPU and 6GB of GDDR6 memory. This board has one 8-pin power connector which feeds 92W, just slightly more than Intel reference 75W TGP. One thing is sure though, such power requirements usually do not require sophisticated cooling solutions, let alone liquid cooling.

Water block for GUNNIR Arc A380, Source: Bykski

From the looks of it, this water block is single slot, so some A380 users may find this block interesting for smaller and quieter builds. But the last time we checked, there weren’t many users to begin with.

At the time of writing, the official product page did not list any pricing for this water block.

Source: Bykski via @Haze2K1

Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus G

STATE-OF-THE-ART SSD

The new Rocket 4 Plus G is ready for take-off: our state-of-the-art O2 firmware helps launch the fastest storage – on or off the planet – to unprecedented heights. Never let your personal gaming adventure be cut short or hampered by glitchy playback. This is one SSD that can keep up with whatever you throw at it. Endurance is the name of the game and it will never let you down.

The foundation of any operating system is its storage. The DirectStorage API is coming in hot and you need to be prepared to take advantage of it. Microsoft Windows 11 is primed to accelerate your application and game performance to deliver the smoothest user experience imaginable. Fortunately, the Rocket 4 Plus G is prepared to help make this happen.

The downright lethal 7 GB/s+ of bandwidth provided by this drive is enough to contend with any developer’s vision. Enjoy the future of open-world games without stuttering and with instant response. Enjoy high-definition multimedia or make your own, simultaneously and on just one drive. The Rocket 4 Plus G has you covered with up to 4TB of space and limitless potential.

Bring balance to your system. You have a fast CPU, a boundary-defying GPU, and soon swift software to match. Let the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus G be the last piece of the puzzle, the capstone for your build; don’t settle for anything but the best. Enrich your entire PC experience with O₂. Ignite your passion. After all, the next breakthrough is right around the corner.

Pricing:

stray has been out for a couple of weeks now, so there has been plenty of time for mods to pop up.

Players have been making all sorts of stray mods since the game came out. Some we’ve already touched on include turning the cat into CJ and turning the cat into a dog.

Outside of these mods, there are still so many that I think are just fantastic, so I’ve compiled a list of my favorite cat mods for Stray. Please take a look.

Meow mods for Stray

JASON by gibrietas

This mod replaces the cat’s meows with Ethan’s ‘Jason’ lines from Heavy Rain. Pretty self-explanatory and very silly.

Farting Mod by norskpl

This mod replaces the cat’s meows with fart sounds. Once again, incredibly self-explanatory and very, very silly.

Cat accessory mods for Stray

Eyepatch Mod by Sirgalahad172

This mod adds an eyepatch to your cat, making him look like Solid Snake from metal gear solid. If there were a way for Solid Snake to hold this cat, I would be at peace.

Glasses Mod by Sirgalahad172

This mod adds little glasses to your cat, making him look like a big nerd. I’m allowed to say this as I also wear glasses, and they make me look like a nerd.

Cat mods in Stray

Garfield Mod by Chris Rubino

This mod, made by the same creator that made the dog mod, turns the cat into the lasagna-loving beast Garfield. How about those Mondays, huh?

Spyro the Dragon Mod by MrMarco1003

This mod turns the cat into Spyro from the Reignited Trilogy era. As you can see, all the cats become different dragons. One of them is Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon.

Minecraft Pig Mod by RSH Kai Jones

This mod turns the cat into a pig from Minecraft. There is something indescribably evil and hilarious about this mod and this image especially.

An honorable mention would have to be all of the mods people have made of their own cats. There are too many to include, but it’s very wholesome that so many people have wanted to put their cat in the game.

Discord has begun rolling out an overhauled Android app that addresses one of the most consistent complaints with the software. If you follow the company, you’ve probably seen it often announce new features only to note they will launch on iOS and desktop first before arriving on Google’s operating system. We saw that recently with the release of . According to Discord, that’s about to become a thing of the past.

In a published on Monday, the company said it recently rebuilt its Android app using React Native. Discord has employed the framework for iOS development ever since Meta first open sourced React in 2015. Now that both of Discord’s mobile apps are on the same underlying codebase, the company notes Android users can expect feature consistency.

Additionally, the company says Discord users will see a more consistent user experience across platforms. As one example, the Android app will feature a larger default font that is more in line with the iOS version of the software. Discord also anticipates it will release future updates faster.

“As Discord continues to grow across platforms, we want to find ways to support you and your communities as quickly and efficiently as possible, regardless of which device or platform you happen to be using,” the company said. “Utilizing React Native across every mobile platform Discord is on is just one of the tools that helps us support what you do, and we can’t wait to show you how.”

If you already have Discord installed on your Android phone, the company says you can expect the overhauled app to arrive on your device in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, new Android users can download the software from the Google Play Store.

While many modern TVs already have streaming services baked in, you might still need (or want) a dedicated device for accessing the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. The Chromecast with Google TV is a solid option and it’s currently on sale once again. That’s $10 less than it typically costs.

Buy Chromecast with Google TV at Amazon – $40

We gave the device a score of 86 after being impressed with the voice remote. The dongle has Google Assistant support, of course, and along with telling a smart speaker what you want to watch, you can simply bark instructions at the remote. It’s a cinch to navigate the Google TV interface with the remote, which includes dedicated buttons for launching YouTube and Netflix. In addition, the dongle provides access to YouTube TV, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV+ and HBO Max, among many other streaming services. There’s support for 4K HDR content, as well as Dolby Vision and Atmos.

You can also use the device to play games through Google Stadia if you have a . Despite recent rumors to the contrary, Google has said. On top of that, you’ll have the option to effectively use your TV as a smart display when you’re not streaming something. Chromecast with Google TV can show live feeds from some security cameras, display weather forecasts and help you control smart home devices, all with the aid of Google Assistant. The Ambient Mode, meanwhile, can display your Google Photos when you’re not actively watching, playing or listening to anything.

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