Facebook discontinues Live Shopping feature

Facebook is discontinuing its Live Shopping feature soon. This feature allowed shoppers to buy directly from live streams on the social network. Facebook Live Shopping will be completely shut down as of October 1, 2022. From that date, Live Shopping events on the app will go away. Facebook Live will still be around, but you won't be able to create and sell products during the live broadcast. 

According to the company, consumer behaviour is changing, with users focusing on short format videos. That's why it'll buckle down on Instagram Reels, which gets a similar option of tagging products in the video. Similarly, TikTok has abandoned plans to bring its Live Shopping experience to other regions. While it's lucrative in its home market in China, it hasn't been quite as popular when tested in the UK.

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Winamp gets an update after four years

Source: Gizmodo

Winamp—yes, that Winamp—is still around, and it got its first update in four years. It won't mean a dramatic change to the MP3 program, but it brings under-the-hood changes, like migrating to a newer development platform. If you're like me, who grew up on MP3s, this was the software playback of choice at that time. It supported standard formats and had a highly customizable interface. AOL shut it down in 2013, but Radionomy later bought it in 2014. So, if you're looking for an app to play those MP3s you might still have lying around, this is your reminder that Winamp is still alive and freshly updated.

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This WNBA court looks like an Xbox loading screen

Source: Microsoft

When the New York Liberty Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team plays against the Los Angeles Sparks this Tuesday and Wednesday, they will play on a court that looks like an Xbox loading screen. The basketball court is covered in Xbox logos and console-inspired designs. According to Microsoft, it's the league's "first gaming-inspired basketball court." Even the area under the net is made to look like the ventilation holes in the Xbox Series X.

Unsurprisingly, there's a metaverse component to this. The court is recreated in the Dunking Simulator Roblox experience. But, of course, it's a bit more fantastical than how real-life basketball is played.

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'Jetpack Joyride 2' will be an Apple Arcade exclusive

Jetpack Joyride's sequel is coming, and Apple fans will be happy to learn they get exclusive access to the title. The aptly named Jetpack Joyride 2 is essentially a sequel to the original game with gameplay style and graphics quite similar to the original. Jetpack Joyride is an infinite runner where your player flies using a jetpack inside a lab while trying to dodge missiles and other obstacles.

With this new game, you'll "team up with Barry and Betty" to stop the scientists' experiments before it's too late. You can expect high-resolution graphics and new mechanics in this sequel, though. Developer Halfbrick Studios promise there will be "new ways" to play, but it is unclear what that means. Jetpack Joyride 2 was silently released in a few countries last year on Android and iOS, but Halfbrick says that was a "closed phase development," and now it's an Apple Arcade exclusive. It'll launch on August 19.

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