Microsoft launches a 'velocity green' Xbox controller

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft leans into its "green" branding with a new colour for its Xbox Series S/X wireless controller. The new velocity green controller is now available for CAD 74.99. Its entire front is green with black accents seen on the hybrid D-pad and controller buttons. The triggers and bumpers come in black, while the back case is white. 

This controller comes with up to 40 hours of battery life and has textured grips on areas like the triggers and back case. It also has a dedicated Share button to share screenshots or gameplay. And you can use it with PCs and mobile devices. 

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Microsoft Edge tests the option to upscale web videos using AMD, NVIDIA GPUs

Screenshot: Microsoft

While NVIDIA video card owners can already upscale videos in both Chrome and Edge, Microsoft is helping those with an AMD board (or even NVIDIA) to upscale videos and remove artifacts. The company is testing a Video Super Resolution feature for Edge, which requires at least a GeForce RTX 20 series or a Radeon RX5700. This feature can help with improving the quality of an older YouTube video or help with saving bandwidth on capped data plans. 

There are some conditions for this feature to work, though. It's only available for Windows users. If you're using a laptop, it has to be plugged in. And the video you're watching isn't using a digital rights management system like PlayReady or Widevine. At present, you also need to force Edge to use your dedicated GPU (if your laptop has a hybrid graphics setup). Microsoft is working on automatic hybrid video support. Video Super Resolution is currently only available to a handful of Edge Canara users, but it's expected to come to more testers in the "coming weeks." Microsoft also plans to bring this feature to more GPUs, so your hardware might be compatible in the future. It's unclear when this feature will exit testing, but for now, we just know it's on the horizon.

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TikTok Series puts premium content behind a paywall

Image: TikTok

TikTok's Creator Fund isn't the most lucrative source of income on the platform. In fact, creators only make around USD 0.02 and USD 0.04 (approx. CAD 0.028 and CAD 0.055) for every 1,000 views. So, the platform is introducing a new way for creators to earn. TikTok Series allows eligible creators to post Collections of premium content behind a paywall. Collections are typically a group of 80 videos that are around 20 minutes long. You can charge between USD 0.99 to USD 189.99 (~CAD 1.37 to CAD 262).

TikTok told Mashable that for a "limited time" creators will receive 100% of the money after platform and processing fees. Viewers can buy access to the Collections via direct in-video links or through a creator's profile. It's unclear what makes a creator eligible to participate in a Series. But TikTok says its application process for the feature will roll out in the coming months.

Slack has a ChatGPT app, too

Image: Salesforce

Slack is the latest app to integrate ChatGPT into its tech. OpenAI built a ChatGPT app using Slack's development tools. And it's now available in beta. The app can draft messages and summarize conversations and threads. If you have the app installed, you can click on a thread's menu button and select the "summarize thread" or "draft reply" option. The app can then create a summary or response that only you can see. You can then choose to share what's done.

According to Slack, you can use AI to deliver answers and insights on any project or topic chatbot-style. It suggests you can use the feature to look up best practices or research a potential customer. Slack noted that OpenAI won't use the data the ChatGPT app can access to train its language models.

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