New users on the decentralized social network Mastodon could soon have an easier time getting started. Mastodon is running “onboarding experiments” to test ways to improve the new user experience, starting with default server recommendations. Now when new users join Mastodon from the mobile app, they may see a button to “join” a recommended server […]
Rivian Owners to Access Vehicle Controls via Apple Watch Soon
Rivian is launching a companion app that pairs with Apple Watch in the coming week.
Current: An RSS Reader Flowing Like a River, Not an Inbox
Current introduces a stress-free, totally reimagined RSS news reading app as a one-time paid download.
OpenAI Nears Completion of $100B Deal with Valuation Over $850B
OpenAI is reportedly getting close to closing a $100 billion deal, with backers including Amazon, Nvidia, SoftBank, and Microsoft. The deal would value the ChatGPT-maker at $850 billion.
Exciting Additions to Apple Music in iOS 26.4 for iPhone: An In-Depth Summary
iOS 26.4 is filled with fresh features and modifications, including five updates for the Music app. Here’s all that’s new for Apple Music in iOS 26.4.
## #1: Playlist Playground
iOS 26.4 leverages Apple Intelligence to introduce a new Playlist Playground feature in Apple Music. When you create a new playlist in the Music app, you’ll now find the option to submit a prompt for AI to automatically generate a playlist. The Music app also offers suggested prompts to help you begin. You can always manually add or remove songs as you wish and make subsequent requests, but Playlist Playground delivers a convenient launchpad for new playlists.
## #2: Redesigned albums and playlists
Apple has revamped the design of albums and playlists to a new, fullscreen layout in iOS 26.4. Now, the artwork for an album or playlist will dictate the styling of the entire background of the track list and other user interface elements. If an album features a dominant blue hue in its artwork, a matching shade of blue will probably cover the entire screen. Complementary colors are sometimes utilized as well, like a black background when the artwork includes shades of white and gray.
Last year, Apple debuted a new Ambient Music feature for Control Center. It allows you to quickly and easily start playing music tailored to one of four moods:
– Chill
– Productivity
– Sleep
– Wellbeing
Now, in iOS 26.4, the same Ambient Music feature can be accessed through a new Home Screen widget. Small and Medium widget sizes are available.
## #4: Add songs to several playlists simultaneously
iOS 26.4 allows you to effortlessly add a song to multiple playlists at once. When adding to a playlist, there’s a new selection button in the bottom-right corner. Tap it, and you’ll be able to choose several playlists at the same time. It’s a minor change, but very useful for instances when you want to quickly add to different playlists.
## #5: Concert details
Apple has integrated concert details directly into the Music app in iOS 26.4. Artist profiles in the app will now display ‘Upcoming Concerts’ when concert information is accessible. You can scroll down further to review all upcoming performances. Tap on a specific concert, and the app will provide a link to purchase tickets, along with details on the venue, start time, and more.
Which iOS 26.4 features in Apple Music are your favorites? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Apple Music is priced at $10.99/month, or you can subscribe to it as part of the Apple One bundle.
Creating an Indie Hit in Godot with Jay Baylis and Tom Coxon – Software Engineering Daily
Cassette Beasts is a turn-based monster-battling RPG that lets players record creatures onto cassette tapes and transform into them during battle. The game was an indie hit, and is also one of the most successful games built with the open source Godot Engine. Jay Baylis and Tom Coxon are the creators of Cassette Beasts at
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Turbopuffer with Simon Hørup Eskildsen | Software Engineering Daily
Vector search has become a foundational technology for AI applications, enabling everything from semantic code search to contextual retrieval for large language models. However, a major challenge with vector databases has been the cost as data storage scales. Turbopuffer is a vector database that focuses on speed, cost and scalability. It was created by Simon
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NVIDIA Invests in Intel, Meta’s Demo Mishap, and Anthropic’s Rapid Expansion – Software Engineering Daily
SED News is a monthly podcast from Software Engineering Daily where hosts Gregor Vand and Sean Falconer unpack the biggest stories shaping software engineering, Silicon Valley, and the broader tech industry. In this episode, they cover NVIDIA‘s $5B investment in Intel and $100M stake in OpenAI, Metaâs stumble with its AR glasses demo, and the
The post SED News: NVIDIA Bets on Intel, Metaâs Demo Crash, and Anthropicâs Explosive Growth appeared first on Software Engineering Daily.
Engineering in the Age of Agents with Yechezkel Rabinovich – Software Engineering Daily
Modern software platforms are increasingly composed of diverse microservices, third-party APIs, and cloud resources. The distributed nature of these systems makes it difficult for engineers to gain a clear view of how their systems behave, which can slow down troubleshooting and increase operational risk. groundcover is an observability platform that uses eBPF sensors to capture
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Ben Supnik on The X-Plane Flight Simulator – Software Engineering Daily
X-Plane is a popular flight simulator developed by Laminar Research. It features a first-principles physics engine, realistic aircraft systems, and a wide variety of aircraft. We wanted to understand the engineering that goes into creating a flight simulator so we invited Ben Supnik on the show. Ben is a software engineer at Laminar and heâs been
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