Facebook Goes All in on VR, AR, and MR

At it's annual Facebook Connect event, Facebook revealed a new VR headset and plans for what it's calling the "metaverse."

October 29, 2021 It's October 29, 2021. It's National Hermit Day! We're not saying close yourself off from everyone today, but definitely take some "me time" whenever you need it. Here are some new tunes to help you relax, too. Enjoy. Apple Music | Spotify     ⏰ Today's Big Stories... in 30 Seconds Today We Watched, Read, and Listened to (so you don't have to): 379 articles, 15 podcasts, 21 press releases, 471 tweets, and 11 YouTube videos 1. Facebook Announces New Tech To Build the Metaverse Facebook held its annual Facebook Connect event on Thursday and shared quite a bit about its future with VR, AR, and MR. Reveals included plans for a "metaverse," a new VR headset called Project Cambria, and updates for its Spark AR platform. Oh! And the company's name is "Meta" now. No joke. 2. Apple TV Coming to Comcast's Video Platforms Comcast has announced that it's bringing the Apple TV app to its platforms later this year, including the Xfinity X1 streaming service and Flex set-top box. Apple TV Plus and select third-party apps like Paramount Plus, Showtime, HBO Max, and Hulu will also be supported. Congrats, Comcast customers! 3. Raspberry Pi Releases New Zero 2 W Model Raspberry Pi's Zero 2 W is out today, touting better performance than the original and a $15 price. How much better is it? How does 5x faster sound? Of course, If you want to use it as a PC, you'll need a case, cords, peripherals, and more, but if you're excited for this, you likely already knew that. Have fun! 🦑 Go Deeper Social media and video platforms aren't as safe for kids as they should be, but that could be changing. Sascha Brodsky dives into YouTube's latest efforts to improve videos for children, and how it's leading the charge for such change.     🎱 By the Numbers Way too much spam Data: Facebook With Facebook (now Meta) delving more and more into virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality, we hope it doesn't start slacking on its spam removal efforts. It has removed billions of spam posts over the years, and we'd really hate to see it ruin our inevitable time spent in mixed reality.     🔥 Today's Hot Deal Been holding out for an affordable HD projector? Wait no longer, because VANKYO's Performance V620 1080P projector is $130 off at Walmart right now, dropping to a very tempting $119.99. Good luck passing this up. Don't Miss This Deal 🤓 Nerd Out "Can we finally get space TV?" —Molly McLaughlin, Senior Content Strategist We don't know everything about what's at the center of our galaxy, but for the moment, astronomers at least know there are unusual signals coming from its direction. Do we want to know what they are? Of course we do! (Share on Twitter) 💎 You Know You Want It  4K desktop gaming Image: Philips More accustomed to gaming on a PC monitor than a TV? You're gonna want a good one. The Philips 328E1CA 32" 4K Curved Monitor may do the trick, offering, well, everything its name implies. It also has two HDMI 2 ports, as well as audio out with built-in speakers. What more could you need, really? 🎥 Behind the Scenes Is that safe?! You know Dune, the 2021 movie that just came to HBO Max and theaters? Would you believe its screenplay was written using an old MS-DOS program? It's true, and we both love it and are terrified of how unsecure it must be.     🗞 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]

Galaxy Smartphones Are Getting a Makeover

When One UI 4 comes to Samsung Galaxy phones this year, it'll have a bunch of new features to freshen things up.

October 28, 2021 It's October 28, 2021. On this day in 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was signed into law. It's meant to protect copyrighted content from piracy and other unintended uses, but some people think it does more harm than good.     ⏰ Today's Big Stories... in 30 Seconds Today We Watched, Read, and Listened to (so you don't have to): 349 articles, 11 podcasts, 16 press releases, 327 tweets, and 9 YouTube videos 1. Samsung Galaxy Smartphones to Get Major UI Update Samsung Galaxy smartphones are getting a much needed facelift when One UI 4 arrives later this year. Among new haptic feedback and sound triggers, the update will also add an option to set an AR emoji as your profile photo, and lets you choose whether or not to give location data to apps. Can't wait! 2. Samsung Is Bringing Its One UI 4 to Galaxy Books Not to be left out of the UI-loop, Samsung's One UI 4 is also bound for Galaxy Books (dubbed One UI Book 4). Why? To give Galaxy Book users an interface that feels like their Samsung smartphone. Sure, Windows will still be the OS, but now you don't have to pretend to like how it looks. Win-win, right? 3. Anyone Can Now Share a Link in Their Instagram Story Instagram is finally letting all users share links in their Stories. Previously, you could only do so if your account was verified, or if you had over 10,000 followers. Be warned, though: if you promote misinformation or hate speech, you'll face whatever consequences the platform comes up with. Have fun! 🦑 Go Deeper Mac computers are already great and powerful, but sit down and let Charlie Sorrel tell you all how much better they are with iOS-like shortcuts. Just give them a chance, in spite of the less-than-ideal Shortcuts Mac app.     🎱 By the Numbers Multiple times a day is about... three too many Data: Pew Research Instagram's users are seemingly more dedicated than not, with over 50% of people (based on the above chart) checking the platform at least once a day. We wanna talk to the less frequent users and get their advice, because they're clearly doing something right.     🔥 Today's Hot Deal Sennheiser's MOMENTUM Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones are a massive $150 off on Best Buy right now, making them $249.98. If you're ready to step up your headphone experience, these should already be in your checkout cart. Don't Miss This Deal 🤓 Nerd Out "Even space can't stick to a schedule." —Tim Fisher, General Manager In our ongoing quest to understand our universe, an international team of astronomers have put forth the idea that our galaxy's formation may have been more sporadic than consistent. Is that good or bad for us? (Share on Twitter) 💎 You Know You Want It  This is for kids, right? Hello?! Image: Fisher-Price If you want make your calls less serious, or add some humor to them, Fisher-Price—yes, that one—will soon sell a Chatter Telephone with Bluetooth through Best Buy. It pairs with your phone and lets you take/receive calls with it. You'd definitely spend $60 on this, right? We swear this isn't a joke. 🎮 Up-Down-A-B-Start I am Groot? Square Enix's Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy game is out now and making the rounds, but is it worth the time? IGN seemed to like it, giving it an 8/10, saying it's a mix of "goofy, action-filled adventure" and "genuinely heartfelt story moments." Give their review 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]