Twitter Wants You to Vote

Twitter is now conducting a limited test of upvoting and downvoting features.

July 23, 2021 It's July 23, 2021. It's Friday! You know what that means: a new batch of music to ease you into the weekend. Enjoy. Apple Music | Spotify     ⏰ Today's Big Stories... in 30 Seconds Today We Watched, Read, and Listened to (so you don't have to): 487 articles, 12 podcasts, 14 press releases, 389 tweets, and 20 YouTube videos 1. Twitter Has Begun A Limited Test Of Upvotes and Downvotes Twitter's Support account revealed Twitter is testing a new idea: upvotes and downvotes. According to the announcement, this is being used as a way to better understand what kinds of replies they consider relevant to a conversation. This won't be used in a harmful way at all. Nope. Not a chance. 2. Clubhouse Is Now Available to Everyone Clubhouse is forgoing its invite-only status and allowing anyone to join the app. The audio-only app announced on Wednesday it's now available to everyone, and that it removed the waitlist system that was originally in place to let people in. If you held off on trying out Clubhouse, now's your chance. 3. New Oculus Updates Add Quality of Life Improvements VR developer Oculus began rolling out its v31 update on Wednesday for its Quest and Quest 2 headsets, adding quality-of-life improvements. Among these additions are an easier way to invite people to a game, Send and Read Receipts for the Messenger app, and a new batch of security settings. Nice. 🦑 Go Deeper Your dog doesn't need a wearable, but you probably want them to have one anyway, right? Sascha Brodsky delves into the emerging trend of smart tech for pets that can track their activity, sleep, location, and more.     🎱 By the Numbers Once a day seems like a lot Data: Edison Research Since Clubhouse's invite-only debut, roughly half of its adult users claim to use the app at least once a day. Presumably, they always find someone to either listen or talk to. Now that the app is open to everyone, we expect even a few more people will find themselves smitten with the app. 🔥 Today's Hot Deal This Samsung 870 2.5-inch 1TB SSD is $100 on Amazon right now, down from its typical $135. Need more (and faster) storage? Pick this up asap. Don't Miss This Deal 🤓 Nerd Out "Imagine how quickly they could deliver pizzas." —Bob Schulties, Senior Editor Human piloted drones used to be faster than their autonomous counterparts, but no longer. Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a new algorithm that puts AI drones in the lead for the first time. (Share on Twitter) 💎 You Know You Want It  Now you can hear everything Image: Sony Sony's $1,300 HT-A7000 Dolby Atmos 7.1.2-channel soundbar is on the way to produce surround sound without the need for additional speakers. On top of that, it supports 8K video, 4K video at 120Hz, and has two HDMI 2.1 ports, enabling you to enhance the audio capabilities of multiple devices at once. 🎥 Behind the Scenes Listen and learn Spotify recently set out to understand Millennials' and Gen Z's relationship with music and other digital audio. The result is their Culture Next annual study, which reveals the two groups use audio to relieve stress, learn about other cultures, and more. Give it a read.     🗞 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]