Entries by Nicole Batac (11825)

Wednesday
Nov022022

Amazon Prime members can access the entire Amazon Music catalogue, but only in shuffle mode

Amazon Prime gets a pretty sweet perk for music lovers. (At least those without a music streaming subscription yet.) The company now gives its Prime members access to its 100 million-plus song catalogue instead of the curated two-million song library before. Of course, there's a condition. You can only play songs in shuffle mode. If you want to select specific albums or tracks, you'll need to get an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription. That tier gives you access to lossless HD music playback, Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio support, and more.

But on top of this, Amazon Prime members are also getting access to many ad-free podcasts, new Amazon Exclusives podcasts, and a refreshed Amazon Music app.

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Tuesday
Nov012022

Snapchat's Director Mode brings familiar, advanced video editing tools

If you use apps like TikTok, BeReal, or Instagram's Reels feature, you'll find the new Snapchat Director Mode familiar. Snap recently rolled out this mode to all iOS users and some Android users. (A full rollout on Android is coming in the next few months.) It adds filming and editing features like a green screen, which lets you record videos with a different background; dual camera, which was only previously available on iOS; quick edit, which lets you trim and splice multiple videos together; and a camera speed feature to speed up and slow down videos.

Director Mode is accessible through an icon on the main camera toolbar. You can use it to share content with your friends, but the new tools come as Snap tries to promote its Spotlight feature. Spotlight is Snapchat's answer to TikTok, which it is heavily promoting for creators to use.

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Tuesday
Nov012022

Don't expect new Mac releases for the remainder of 2022

Apple might be done releasing new Macs this year. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in his weekly newsletter that Apple is done releasing new Macs for the year. So rumoured updates for the MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and Mac Pro are expected in the first quarter of 2023. 

"I'm told that Apple is aiming to introduce the upgraded models—including M2-based versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros—in the first quarter of calendar 2023," Gurman wrote. In Apple's latest earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said its "product lineup is set" ahead of the holidays, suggesting there will no longer be new product launches for the rest of the year.

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Tuesday
Nov012022

Pantone Colors are now behind a paywall when using Adobe products

If you use Pantone colours with your Adobe software, you'll need to pay a monthly fee. Pantone is putting its 15,000 colours behind a paywall starting this month. The only Pantone Color books that remain free to use are Pantone + CMYK Coated, Pantone + CMYK Uncoated, and Pantone + Metallic Coated. Pantone passes the cost to users through the Pantone Connect plug-in for either US$59.99 per year or US$7.99 a month. 

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