The PlayStation 5 is Sony’s latest gaming console and just like Microsoft’s Xbox Series X / S it’s in high demand and limited supply. If you are looking to buy a PS5, you have a shot at securing the $500 model with a disc drive right now at Target, while supplies last.

After you secure your PS5 (or if already own one), you should consider picking up a few items that will help you get the most out of your next-gen console. One such accessory is an additional DualSense controller in the event one controller’s battery dies and you want to keep playing but prefer not to be tethered by the charging cable.

A one-year subscription to PlayStation Plus is also good to pick up if you have yet to renew your membership or are new to the service….

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PS5 is again in stock at Target
Source: New feed

Steam’s Remote Play Together feature, which lets you stream local multiplayer games with friends over the internet, will no longer require every player to have a Steam account. The new functionality, which is currently in beta, lets Steam users invite a friend to their game with a link, after which they’ll be prompted to install the Steam Link app if they don’t have it already.

There are limits to the new feature. Games will need to already support the Remote Play Together feature for it to work (there are filtering options to find these titles), and only one friend without a Steam account can join a multiplayer session. If you want to add more, they’ll need to have accounts.

To try the feature out, head to your friends list in the…

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Steam’s multiplayer game streaming now works with friends without Steam accounts
Source: New feed

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

India issues tougher rules for tech firms and streaming services like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Netflix over resolving user complaints and more  —  India announced sweeping rules to regulate social media firms, streaming services, and digital news outlets, joining a handful of other nations …

The Indian government has released guidelines for social media intermediaries such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter. Along with that, it also framed rules for over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. This code, officially known as the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, will affect how large tech companies operate in India and their content moderation policies. Here are the most important points from the code: Social media platforms All social media companies will need to appoint a grievance officer. The officer should acknowledge user complaints in three days and resolve them within…

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A handy list of India’s new rules for policing social media and streaming platforms
Source: The Next Web

Eyewear with built-in audio is proliferating, with Bose and Amazon leading the way. So what are the best audio glasses out there? Best audio glasses and sunglasses for 2021 – CNET
Source: CNet

A solid 5G phone that costs less than your dinner — if you can get one fast enough. Motorola One 5G Ace review: A good 0 phone, a fantastic one – CNET
Source: CNet

Infinite-bed 3D printers have long been an object of desire in our community, but it has taken a long time for the promise to catch up with the reality in terms of relatively affordable models that live up to expectations. They’re still a little expensive compared to their fixed-bed cousins though, so if you hanker for a Creality CR30 but only have the cash for an Ender 3, [Michael Sgroi] may have the project for you. He’s created the EnderLoop, a set of parts to perform the conversion from a stock Ender 3 to a fully-functional belt printer.

It takes the Ender 3 gantry and tilts it sideways on a pair of 3D printed supports, and replaces the stock Y azis with a belt on rollers driven by a larger motor through a timing belt drive. He has a variety of suggestions for sourcing a belt, and in his case he’s chosen one from PowerBelt3D. As well as the GitHub repository already linked, it can also be found on Thingiverse.

It’s clear that hacking apart a reliable printer in this way is not for the faint-hearted, and that a cautious hacker might prefer to wait a while for a cheaper off-the-shelf model. But we can see that the reliability of the Ender 3 will mean that its parts are still of decent quality in the new configuration, and that it looks as though the base printer can be reassembled should a belt-based build be a failure. Infinite bed printers will inevitably have a major presence in our community, and it is designs such as this one which will lead the way as they evolve into reliable machines.

Turn An Ender 3 Into A Belt 3D Printer Of Your Very Own
Source: HackADay

Tesla’s Elon Musk and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have been vying for the world’s richest person ranking all year after the former’s wealth soared a staggering US$160 billion in 2020, putting him briefly in the top spot. Musk isn’t alone in seeing a significant increase in wealth during a year of pandemic, recession, and death. Altogether, the world’s billionaires saw their wealth surge over $1.9 trillion in 2020, according to Forbes. Those are astronomical numbers, and it’s hard to get one’s head around them without some context. As anthropologists who study energy and consumer culture, we wanted to examine how all…

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Just how big are Elon Musk and Bill Gates’ carbon footprints? You might be surprised
Source: The Next Web

Zoom plans to roll out support for automatic closed captioning to free accounts this fall as part of its efforts to make the service more accessible, the company has announced. If you’re a free account holder who needs access to the feature before then, Zoom is allowing users to manually request access to the Live Transcription feature via a Google Form linked to in its announcement.

Automatic transcriptions aren’t an entirely new Zoom feature. The service has previously offered AI-powered live transcription for all its paid accounts. Otherwise, meeting hosts have had to manually add their own captions, or use a third-party service. But now the feature will become available to the millions of people that rely on Zoom’s services for…

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Zoom adding automatic closed captioning for all free accounts
Source: New feed

Welcome to SHIFT Basics, a collection of tips, explainers, guides, and advice to keep you up to speed with mobility tech. As the coronavirus pandemic took hold, many of us started working from and spending much more time at home. The situation has made us far more aware of how our neighborhoods are built around driving, working life, and commuting by car. It’s got many of us asking: are our neighborhoods really as good as they can be? Over the past year, cities around the world have experimented with low-traffic neighborhoods, with much success. But a bigger idea is afoot,…

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What you need to know about ’15-minute cities’ — the future of sustainable urban life
Source: The Next Web

This article was originally published by Christopher Carey on Cities Today, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates follow Cities Today on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, or sign up for Cities Today News. Edinburgh City Council has published a ten-year plan aimed at delivering a more integrated and sustainable net-zero transport system. The City Mobility Plan – which is subject to approval at the Transport & Environment Committee on 19 February – will replace Edinburgh’s Local Transport Strategy. It sets out a strategic approach to the sustainable movement of people…

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Edinburgh plans to make its public transit net-zero by 2030 — here’s how
Source: The Next Web

Space enthusiasts, including NASA, see enormous benefit in the shift — a new era of space exploration that will usher in a more capable and efficient space industry. But the changing dynamic also has left NASA with an uncertain role. As private companies erode government’s hold on space travel, NASA looks to open a new frontier
Source: Washington Post Tech

Ford is celebrating 20 years of King Ranch by offering the trim on its popular three-row Explorer SUV for the first time. 2021 Ford Explorer King Ranch brings big-horse energy to the Blue Oval's popular crossover – Roadshow
Source: CNet

The ceramic shield screen on Apple’s new iPhone held up to extreme heights during our drop test, and probably would’ve kept going. iPhone 12 Mini drop test: The screen is tough as nails – CNET
Source: CNet

Is Clubhouse all you hear about recently? The pandemic gave us a new way to communicate, and everybody seems to be crazy into it. To me, Clubhouse feels like LinkedIn mixed with Facebook and Skype without those irritating algorithms. But why did it get so hot so fast? Insider’s Shona Ghosh says “It’s insider-y vibe fuels desperation rather than cool,” and I second it. Its core strength is the need not to miss out on great opportunities. You can chat with great minds on Clubhouse, like a16z partners, or CEO of Figma, or even Elon Musk, and it feels like…

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5 reasons to include Clubhouse in your brand strategy — before the hype dies
Source: The Next Web

The 11-month-old audio social network is compelling. It also has some very grown-up problems. Can Clubhouse Move Fast Without Breaking Things?
Source: NY Times Tech

An idea that seemed like a real plus when streaming was newer has fallen into cliché. Plus + Plus + Plus = Streaming Name Surplus
Source: NY Times Tech

What was I trying to accomplish with my anonymous Tumblr? My Year of Grief and Cancellation
Source: NY Times Tech

Google TV, the search giant’s latest attempt at TV software, will include a new “Basic TV” mode that strips out a TV’s smart features in favor of providing simple access to live TV and HDMI inputs, 9to5Google reports. It’s a potential boon to anyone that ever wanted to dumb-down their smart TV because they prefer an external streamer or because they value privacy.

Google TV debuted on the new Chromecast, where it offered a new interface built on Google’s existing Android TV software, but will soon be offered as built-in software for TCL and Sony’s upcoming TVs.

According to 9to5Google, you can select the “Basic TV” mode at setup. Doing so strips out the operating system’s apps, content recommendations, and Google Assistant support. It’s…

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Google TV will include a new ‘Basic’ mode to make your smart TV, dumb
Source: New feed

Roughly 400 light years from Earth, a young star named TOI 451 travels within a river of stars. An international team of astronomers has now found three previously unknown exoplanets orbiting that star. The Pisces-Eridanus stream of stars was only recently discovered — at the end of 2018 — despite stretching across one-third of the sky. Stars within this stream average only around 3% of the age of our own solar system. “This system checks a lot of boxes for astronomers. It’s only 120 million years old and just 400 light-years away, allowing detailed observations of this young planetary system. And…

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Or just read more coverage about: NASA

NASA’s TESS found 3 exoplanets orbiting a young sun-like star
Source: The Next Web

No Bridgerton, but white-faced saki monkeys really enjoy watching wriggling worms. Netflix for monkeys? Scientists stream on-demand video of worms and art to primates – CNET
Source: CNet

We’ve known for a while that you can buy interface boards to turn old laptop screens into standalone monitors, but complete sets with 4K panels and control boards are also now becoming widely available on sites like eBay and AliExpress, and prices are dropping. These sets are also available with low-profile connectors like micro HDMI and USB-C, which allow for some very compact builds.

[Matt] from [DIY Perks] used one of these sets to build a slimline USB-C monitor with a brass enclosure. Video after the break. The enclosure consists of brass sheets and U-channel pieces soldered and screwed together. There is quite a bit of residue and discoloration after soldering, but this was removed with a bit of sanding and polishing. A pair of adjustable legs were added to allow it to stand on its own, and an additional chamber on the back holds the control board, an old smartphone battery, and a battery protection circuit. [Matt] also added a pair of removable speakers, which are sealed speaker units covered in brass mesh and plate.

We’ve covered several DIY monitor builds over the years, and they are perfect as an additional monitor for a laptop, or for pairing with the Raspberry Pi 400 with its integrated keyboard. We really [Matt]’s builds, which include a smartphone-based 4K projector, and a very effective cooling system for an expensive DSLR camera.

DIY USB-C Touch Monitor Is All Polished Brass
Source: HackADay

The companies aim to drive change in the utility and energy sector. Microsoft, Accenture tag team to reduce the UK’s carbon footprint
Source: ZDNet Microsoft

Coco Feng / South China Morning Post:

Beijing joins Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE to explore cross-border payments for digital currencies, like the digital yuan  —  The People’s Bank of China is joining the Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge, a project exploring cross-border payments using distributed ledgers …

A new update to popular podcast player Overcast includes a major overhaul of its Apple Watch app. The Apple Watch support is notable at a time when third-party app development for the platform is not necessarily in a great spot, though the Watch itself continues to grow in popularity.

Overcast’s update reorganizes the app UI from top to bottom, adding some features that otherwise were only able to be accessed through the phone version. The main screen has large buttons for settings and syncing above a scrolling list of your shows and access to the “now playing” screen.

That screen now includes a button on the bottom right that takes you to more detailed info on the podcast and lets you adjust its playback speed, as well as giving you…

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Overcast overhauls its Apple Watch app
Source: New feed