Spotify desktop app now lets you start a Chromecast session

The much-requested option to start a Chromecast stream from Spotify's desktop app is now available. It works from both Windows and Mac desktop apps. Previously, you were only able to control Chromecast streams that started from Spotify's Android or iOS apps using Spotify Connect. Now you no longer need this workaround. It's available in the desktop app version 1.1.38. All you need to do is head to the "Devices Available" icon to see available Chromecast devices.

Source: 9to5Google

Oprah's new Apple TV+ series tackles racism, other 'impactful' topics

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Oprah Winfrey's upcoming Apple TV+ show takes her back to her talk show roots and comes at a time when there's a national reckoning about systemic racism in the United States. The Oprah Conversation will debut on the Apple streaming service for free on July 30, and its first episodes will focus on racism in the US. The first episode will have How To Be an Antiracist author Ibram X. Kendi and Winfrey talking to white people about racism. Her goal with the show is to "conversations that unite us—not divide us." 

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BMW to offer fully electric versions of 5 Series, 7 Series, X1

BMW hopes to do its part to reduce its CO2 emissions, and part of that goal is introducing full-electric versions of its mainstream 5 Series, 7 Series, and X1 vehicles. These automobiles will be available with a full-electric, plug-in hybrid, and gas-only (plus diesel in Europe) with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. The automaker said in a press release, "In ten years, the goal is to have a total of more than seven million electrified BMW Group vehicles on the roads—around two-thirds of them with a fully-electric drive train." BMW wants to have 25 electrified models by 2023, with half of these fully electric. By 2021, BMW plans to offer five pure EVs, including the BMW i3, Mini Cooper SE, BMW iX3, MBW iNext and the BMW i4. 

In line with the European Union rules of needing 37.5 percent lower emissions by 2030, BMW said, "The objective is to reduce CO2 emissions from vehicles by 40 percent per kilometre driven." Aside from introducing new fully electric cars, BMW is also planning to work with suppliers based on their carbon footprint, tying executive bonuses to emission reductions, and having plug-in hybrids automatically switch to an all-electric mode in cities.

Source: Engadget

Adobe Photoshop for iPad gets better edge selection with Refine Edge

At the request of its users, Adobe is working to make the iPad version of its Photoshop app a bit more useful. The latest feature it's getting is the Refine Edge Tool, which helps select or crop objects with more complex edges (like curly hair, animal fur, etc.). The company tweaked the interface a bit for the iPad, but it supposedly works similarly to the desktop counterpart.

Aside from getting Refine Edge, Photoshop for iPad now has a two-finger rotation gesture, allowing you to rotate and zoom in on the canvas simultaneously. The rotation can snap at 0, 90, 180, 270 degrees, but it's possible to switch off both snapping and rotation itself in settings.

Source: Engadget