Waze gets Cat and Dog themes

Are you a cat or dog person? Waze wants you to choose sides with its new Cat and Dog themes, including two navigation voices that personify these well-loved household pets. According to Waze, "Users who want to hang out with a dog that's feeling upbeat, excited, but with a tendency to get distracted or a cat that's feeling skeptical, irreverent and a little neurotic can now do so by activating this theme!"

You can also change your Waze car icon to either the Meow Mobile or Woof Wagon. And you can share your preference by picking between a Cat or Dog mood. This new theme is available in English, French, and Spanish for a limited time. You can access it here. 

Windows 11 will have Black Screen of Death

Windows 11 will lose the Blue Screen of Death. In its place, Microsoft is going with the Black Screen of Death. As Engadget pointed out, it will be the first significant tweak to the BSOD interface since adding QR codes in 2016. At least, the acronym still stands. It isn't known why the company opted to change it now. But the company might want a fresh new look for the new operating system.

Third-party Apple accessory makers reportedly hit by Apple Watch charging pucks shortage

Another industry reportedly affected by delays caused by the pandemic is Apple's third-party accessory makers. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman writes in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter that smaller accessory makers are supposedly having issues acquiring Apple's proprietary charging pucks that it can use on their accessories. It results in delays of products. It isn't clear what caused the issue, but it won't be surprising if it's due to the supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. Apple's own chargers aren't affected by the problem.

Source: 9to5Mac

TikTok sells its AI tech to other companies

Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

TikTok's parent company ByteDance quietly launched its BytePlus division, which is in charge of selling TikTok's technology, including its recommendation algorithm, computer vision tech, automated translations, real-time effects and more. The division is based in Singapore, but it has a presence in Hong Kong and London. BytePlus is also looking to register trademarks in the US.

Companies like Indonesian online shopping company Chilibeli, American fashion app Goat, and travel site WeGo have bought access to TikTok's tech. It isn't a surprising move as it helps ByteDance compete with the likes of Amazon and Microsoft to offer behind-the-scenes tools to businesses and open a new revenue source for the company.

Source: Engadget