Making Spaces

Twitter's Spaces is now available on the web

May 28, 2021 It's May 28, 2021. We'll be taking Monday off for Memorial Day and hope you do, too. Here's a playlist to keep you entertained while you wait for us to come back on Tuesday next week: Spotify | Apple Music     ⏰ Today's Big Stories... in 30 Seconds Today We Watched, Read, and Listened to (so you don't have to): 286 articles, 8 podcasts, 16 press releases, 413 tweets, and 9 YouTube videos 1. Twitter Makes Spaces Available on Desktop and Mobile Browsers Twitter just announced that its relatively new audio-only service, Spaces, will be available to users on the web via browser, instead of just the Twitter app on iOS or Android. Everyone's rushing for that Clubhouse-style market share! 2. Google Adds Ability to Directly Save Photos From Your Gmail Saving photos you get in Gmail is about to get a little eaiser. Google will add a new "Save to Photos" button right in Gmail, skipping the whole "download to my computer, then re-upload to Google Photos" step. Hooray! 3. Microsoft Announces 'Dramatic' Improvements to Shared Outlook Calendars If shared calendars are exciting to you, then these changes might actually be "the biggest change to Outlook for Windows since its initial release in 1997." Still, the company has simply improved the reliability and sync latency of Outlook shared calendars, so take the hyperbole with a grain of salt (or two). 🦑 Go Deeper There are rumors floating around that Valve is planning to make its own handheld gaming gadget, like Nintendo's Switch. Joshua Hawkins takes a skeptical look at the concept based on Vavle's track record with gaming hardware in the past. Hint: They haven't done all that well.     🎱 By the Numbers Explosive growth Data: TechCrunch, New York Times, Mashable, CNBC, Medium Audio-only social media company Clubhouse reported 1,500 users in May 2020, and then, less than a year later, says it has 10,000,000 users. Talk about amazing growth! People sure do like talking (and listening) to other people.     🔥 Today's Hot Deal Looking for a bright, high-resolution projector for your backyard movie nights? This Home Cinema 3200 4K 3LCD Projector with High Dynamic Range from Epson just might fit the bill, and it's $100 off right now, making it $1,399. Don't Miss This Deal 🤓 Nerd Out "Lots of potential here." —Rob LeFebvre, Senior News Editor Recently discovered bacteria on the International Space Station may provide NASA scientists with clues on helping humans survive in space and on other planets. Secret life on a space station sounds like a cool sci-fi book, too! (Share on Twitter) 💎 You Know You Want It  Flying high Image: Sony Sony's as-yet un-priced Airpeak drone has us excited, even if it's not quite ready for retail yet. Announced at this year's CES conference, it's both small and powerful, able to carry one of the company's high-end DSLR cameras. It sounds like a great way to lose your pricey camera, but still. We want one. 🎥 Behind the Scenes What more do they want? Disney Plus just hit 103 million subscribers after hits Wandavision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and still didn't hit analysts predictions for growth. That's the weird logic behind our capitalistic society, but still, that's a lot of subscribers for this new era of television technology, right?     🗞 Extra! Extra! We've got you covered with the best in daily tech news! See the latest on our site or follow us on Google News. Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Have something you'd like us to write about? We're always open for suggestions, too. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Tech Today newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here .   Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. A Dotdash Brand 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10005 2020 Dotdash • All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.   [View in Browser]

Zoom Zoom

Zoom gets Center Stage, iPad Pro's new face-centric tech.

May 27, 2021 It's May 27, 2021. On this day in 1988, Microsoft released two versions of Windows 2.1, one for 286 PCs and one for 386 PCs. That's... a while ago.     ⏰ Today's Big Stories... in 30 Seconds Today We Watched, Read, and Listened to (so you don't have to): 318 articles, 6 podcasts, 12 press releases, 372 tweets, and 6 YouTube videos 1. Zoom Adds Compatibility for iPad Pro's Center Stage Zoom just got the latest iPad Pro's coolest new feature. Center Stage uses AI and computer learning to figure out who is in front of your camera, then keeps those faces in the center of the frame. So go ahead, move around a bit during that Zoom call with your co-workers.  2. Microsoft Reveals New AI Features That Make Coding Easier Speaking of AI, Microsoft has created a new OpenAI project that lets non-coders create complex, useful productivity apps using natural language instead of arcane computer code. If nothing else, it will help those of us not immersed in programming to make stuff for our own use a little more easily. 3. You Can Finally Hide Likes on Instagram and Facebook The likes and hearts on your Facebook and Instagram accounts can be a dual-edged sword. Now you can hide the likes from yourself and others on a per-post basis, letting you determine just how much of your self-worth you want to leave up to others' random whim. 🦑 Go Deeper A new report shows that Gen Z might be the worst at password security, beating out all the other generations in terms of choosing strong passwords and updating them over time. Still, passwords are inherently insecure these days, so it might not totally be their fault. Allison Matyus has the full scoop.      🎱 By the Numbers That's a lot of minutes! Data: Zoom Zoom has absolutely taken over the world in terms of both mindshare and usage. With the 2020 quarters above in mere billions, the jump to trillions of minutes in 2021 is as stunning as it is unsurprising.  🔥 Today's Hot Deal Save $150 right now on this hot curved gaming monitor from Samsung over at Best Buy. Now $599, this G77 Series 27-inch WQHD monitor has HDMI and USB, and looks super cool to boot. Get yours now! Don't Miss This Deal 🤓 Nerd Out "Lots of potential here." —Rob LeFebvre, Senior News Editor After therapy using genes from algae and a special pair of goggles, a man with retinitis pigmentosa (a genetic disorder that can lead to total blindness) can now see better than ever before. That's great news! (Share on Twitter) 💎 You Know You Want It  Sounds pretty good, we hear Image: Sennheiser If you've got a spare $1300 and want what Gizmodo calls the best earbuds they've ever used, then you'll want to pre-order these Sennheiser IE 900 earphones. Seriously, just look at them. Wow.  🎮 Up-Down-A-B-Start Ain't no school like the old school Did you know there's a hall of fame for video games? Well, there is, and Starcraft and Animal Crossing were just inducted into it. Classics of the media, they were also joined by Microsoft Flight Simulator and Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? for this year's roster.     🗞 Extra! Extra! We've got you covered with the best in daily tech news! See the latest on our site or follow us on Google News. Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Have something you'd like us to write about? We're always open for suggestions, too. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Tech Today newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here .   Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. A Dotdash Brand 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10005 2020 Dotdash • All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.   [View in Browser]