Skype for Desktop lets you blur your background for video calls

If you don’t want your messy bedroom or office to be the focal point of a video call, you might be able to address that soon. Microsoft recently released a new Skype Insider Preview build that will let you blur your background during video calls. This can be enabled during a call in two ways. One is you right click your own video, or you can find it through the new on-hover video settings. Version 8.37.76 is coming to Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Source: MSPoweruser

Motorola Razr might be coming back as an expensive folding smartphone

And by expensive, we mean you might be shelling out US$1,500 for it. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Motorola’s parent company Lenovo is looking to cash in on your nostalgia and might be working on an updated version of the classic Motorola Razr brand. But instead of it being a regular flip phone, it might turn into a foldable phone. Nothing else is known about what the phone could look like, but rumour has it Lenovo is partnering with Verizon in the US and is set for a February launch.

As The Verge points out, there seems to be a resurgence of these old smartphone designs. Kind of like how we keep remaking classic films and TV shows. It might be a good niche product, but we’re not sure if a flagship device is the way to go. Lenovo reportedly plans to make over 200,000 new Razr phones, which is admittedly ambitious for this expensive device. But if people with deep pockets want to indulge in nostalgia for a bit and it turns out to be a cool device, we won’t be surprised if these sell.

Wear OS 2.3 starts rolling out

The newest update for Google’s Wear OS platform is here. And while it’s a full point upgrade, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of major changes to the platform. The Home app gets an update from 2.20 to 2.21, but the update doesn’t bring with it any changes to Google Play Services or security patch updates. So, it looks like this update is more for performance fixes and any bugs that need to be dealt with. To get the latest version, head to Google Play Store on your connected smartphone and download the latest version of the Wear OS app. This should push the update to your smartwatch. Right now, the update seems to have made its way to Montblanc Summit 2, Fossil Sport, and Ticwatch Sport.

Source: Android Authority

Netflix raises plan pricing for 58 million US subscribers

Following its move of raising premium Canadian subscriptions by $3 late last year, Netflix is increasing subscription costs in the US as follows. $10.99 to $12.99 per month for premium plans; basic plans went from $7.99 to $8.99; and the premium 4S plan with ultra-high-definition quality has increased from $13.99 to $15.99.

This comes at a time when Netflix original content doesn't seem to be as compelling and new entrants in the streaming video space, including Disney, DC Comics and Apple are gearing up to launch streaming services featuring original content. Netflix is losing all Disney content, including Marvel Studios, Star Wars, Disney and Pixar shows, that's a huge chunk of popular content and a huge draw for many subscribers who might look elsewhere not that pricing has increased and the range of quality content has perceptively decreased.

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