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I’m finally going to use these Chrome extensions to save me money in 2024
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Let’s face it, almost everyone could use a bit of help saving money these days, with the cost-of-living crisis and various inflationary pressures still kicking around globally, alongside other factors that can make finances a struggle.

I’ve certainly been counting the pennies here and there, but one area where I’ve slacked off is with web browsing. I have, of course, been aware that there are ways to save money using extensions for my chosen web browser – Chrome – but I just haven't got round to doing anything about it, or installing any of those helpful add-ons.

That’s all about to change. Read on to see the extensions that I’m going to enlist in an effort to save me a bit of cash over the course of 2024, in case you might want to follow in my footsteps.

Honey, I shrunk the price tag

Why haven’t I used Chrome extensions to help with online shopping before? It’s a good question, and one that I don’t have a good answer for. ‘Procrastination’ about sums it up, though.

Anyway, for money-saving, the recommendation from my fellow colleagues (TechRadarians, if you will) is that one of the most important extensions that I should make a beeline for is Honey (pun fully intended, in all its awfulness).

A laptop screen showing the Honey Chrome extension

(Image credit: Honey)

What’s Honey? It’s an extension from PayPal that’s essentially an online shopping assistant, so when buying a product in Chrome, Honey will also scour the web for coupons for the best discount. These can then be applied and one way or another, I’m hoping I’ll save a bit of cash. Plus it’s possible to get cashback reward points on top, as a bonus, for those who have a PayPal account in ‘good standing’ (but only with participating retailers).

There will likely only be small savings here and there, but as they say, it all adds up, and over the course of next year I’m hoping to be a noticeably better off by the time the online shopping dust settles.

Camel companion

3 tips for saving money with your Windows PC

1. Power settings
Type ‘power’ in the search box on the taskbar and click on the option for ‘Power and sleep settings.’ In here, you can set your monitor and PC to go to sleep after a short while of not being used, making some power savings on your energy bill.
2. Power settings part deux
While in the ‘Power and sleep’ panel, check out the ‘Additional power settings’ link which allows you to specify more frugal power plans if you really want to cut the running cost of your PC (but remember, doing so will impact performance).
3. Tab taming
One of TechRadar’s best Chrome extensions, Tab Wrangler is great if you’re a tab addict like me. It automatically closes tabs that aren’t being used (but you can easily fire them up again), helping to save a tiny bit of power usage.

The Camelizer is another extension I intend to bag in the new year as a partner to Honey for saving money on my online shopping. It's widely used by the TechRadar team all year round, but particularly during shopping events like Prime Day and Black Friday.

The Chrome add-on is particularly handy for anyone like myself who’s a Prime member and orders regularly from Amazon – because it tracks historical Amazon pricing.

For most Amazon products, the extension serves up a graph of how its pricing has dropped, and risen, over time. That way, I can be sure of whether any item really is at a good price, or if it might be likely to drop a good chunk again (perhaps at the next big sale), so I can wait and save more if that’s a likely prospect. This extension also gives me the ability to have an alert piped through if a product drops to a certain price level – pretty nifty.

A laptop screen on a green background showing The Camelizer Chrome extension

(Image credit: Future)

If you're in the US, the aforementioned Honey does also have a price tracking feature for Amazon. I live in the UK, though, and Honey won’t track anything but Amazon.com (US) pricing – so myself, and everyone else across the globe, needs an alternative. 

The Camelizer extension (and another alternative, Keepa) are built especially for this purpose, and provide more detailed info on price history than Honey (including third-party marketplace listings, and second-hand prices for that matter).

Cashing in with cashback

Lastly, another recommendation given to me by TechRadar's online shopping whizzes has been TopCashback. The savings made with this service – in the form of cashback returns, as you might guess, on purchases – can really add up. I’ve seen the evidence of this, and don’t need any more convincing – moreover, the Chrome extension is a great way to access these benefits.

The idea is simple: a load of companies sign up with TopCashback and when anyone makes purchases from those retailers, TopCashback gives the buyer a certain percentage of cashback on the outlay.

With the normal service, the user needs to go to the TopCashback website and search for the retailer to see if they’ve signed up to the scheme, and what items might apply. It’s all a bit clunky, but the beauty of the Chrome extension is that it automatically checks any site visited and flags available cashback offers on products, which is much more convenient.

A laptop screen on a green background showing the TopCashback Chrome extensions

(Image credit: Future)

To get cashback, all you need to do is click the ‘activate’ prompt that pops up when buying something. This Chrome add-on also flags up some voucher codes as a bonus.

The slight catch with the extension is that not every retailer is supported. But most are, and the convenience aspect is what swings it for me. I don’t really fancy having to constantly navigate to the website to perform pre-purchase searches (and realistically, I’ll probably forget to do so half the time anyway).

I'm also going to risk the temptation of filling up my Chrome toolbar with more extensions than the three that I've mentioned (Honey, The Camelizer and TopCashback). While I'm aware that there are countless others (including Rakuten, Fakespot and more), I'll be starting the year with that golden trio – and if you fancy saving some money in 2024, you should too.

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The Apple Vision Pro is tipped to go on sale in late January or early February
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We know the Apple Vision Pro will be available to buy soon, but we don't know when exactly that's going to happen – though a new tip from a well-placed source suggests we've not got all that much longer to wait.

Well-respected Apple tipster Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac) suggests that the headset is going to be available to consumers in “late January or early February” of 2024, matching up with Apple's own announcement that it would be available “early next year”.

You're going to have to set aside $ 3,499 for the Apple Vision Pro – which works out as £2,756 or AU$ 5,140 with a straight currency conversion, although Apple is unlikely to set international prices based on the current exchange rates.

Kuo, who is usually a reliable source of Apple information, goes on to say that the Vision Pro is “the most important product” for Apple in 2024 (something we've already emphasized), and that shipments in the next 12 months are expected to hit 500,000 units.

In-store sales

Pretty much every Apple journalist and analyst in the industry has had a go at predicting when the mixed reality headset will be available to buy. Most recently, Bloomberg suggested that late January is indeed when devices will start shipping to consumers.

Besides getting the hardware ready, Apple also wants to see a variety of developers launching apps for the Vision Pro right from the start. That will of course encourage more people to part with the necessary cash for the gadget.

We have seen how spatial video will look on the headset – that's video recorded with 3D elements embedded into it – and it has a real chance of becoming the 'killer app' for the Vision Pro, the main reason why the majority of consumers go ahead and pick one up.

Other leaks have suggested just how Apple is going to sell this expensive piece of hardware in its own stores – and the rumor is that you might have to actually visit a store in order to get your hands on one of the Vision Pro headsets.

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Here’s how Apple is planning to take on ChatGPT
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Apple may be lagging behind when it comes to generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Bard, but it seems determined to catch up as soon as possible – and we just got a better idea of exactly how it's going to do that.

According to The New York Times, Apple is hoping to strike a deal with news publishers, to get access to their archives of content. AI models developed by Apple could then be trained on the vast amounts of written material in those archives.

The report says that “multi-year deals” worth “at least $ 50 million” are on the table, although it sounds as though none of the negotiations have reached a conclusion as of yet. Apple, as you would expect, has refused to comment.

As per the NYT, the heavyweight publishers involved in the talks include Condé Nast (responsible for outlets such as Vogue and The New Yorker), IAC (which runs People, The Daily Beast and Better Homes and Gardens), and NBC News.

Copy rights and wrongs

These deal rumors highlight a core part of how Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT's GPT-4 and Bard's Gemini work. They analyze huge amounts of text to learn to be able to produce convincing sentences of their own.

AI companies have been rather circumspect about where they've got the data that their models are trained on, but a vast web scraping operation is no doubt involved somewhere. In other words, if you've written something that's on the internet, it's probably been used to help train an AI.

The likes of OpenAI have promised to defend businesses who use AI models against copyright claims – a sure sign that these developers of artificial intelligence engines know that they're not on the firmest of ground when it comes to intellectual property issues.

To Apple's credit, it seems the company is attempting to reimburse writers and publishers for use of their articles, rather than just taking first and asking permission later. Expect to hear more from Apple on AI during the course of 2024.

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Windows 11’s next big update could arrive in February 2024, packing some nifty features – but it might miss some tricks too
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Windows 11 could be getting its next feature drop early in 2024, courtesy of what will be the fifth ‘Moment’ update for the operating system.

As you’re likely aware by now, a Moment is the name given to smaller feature updates that arrive outside of the big annual upgrade Microsoft pushes out for Windows 11 (which was 23H2 this year).

And we just heard from Windows Central (Zac Bowden) that Moment 5 should arrive in February (indeed its alternative name is the ‘February 2024 Moment’).

That said, the catch is that this will be the initial preview release, late in the month, so the full version of the Moment 5 update won’t actually arrive until March. On the second Tuesday of the month if the typical release cadence of Microsoft’s cumulative updates is adhered to – which would make the date to mark in your diary March 12.

What will this update pack in the way of new features? Well, don’t get your hopes up for anything too exciting, as we’re told this will be a more minor release compared to some of the previous Moments.

Even so, there will be a healthy dollop of tweaks and additions, and one smart piece of functionality is targeted at stylus users – namely the ability to write directly into text fields with their pen (something Microsoft has promised will eventually be an OS-wide capability in Windows).

Voice Access is also receiving some laudable attention, including support for multiple monitors, and powerful new voice shortcuts. The latter are customizable commands allowing for the opening of files, folders, or pasting a section of boilerplate text, for example (and they can be chained together for multiple steps).

Microsoft is set to make a bunch of minor tweaks – some of which are useful, like giving Notepad a character count, and being able to rename devices with the Nearby Share feature, to make them more easily identifiable at a glance (‘Darren’s PC’ for example) – but some of the work elsewhere is purely about complying with European regulations.

Specifically, these changes are bound up in compliance, and destined for the European Economic Area (EEA). They include the choice to uninstall the Edge browser from Windows 11, as well as the ability to strip Bing out of the taskbar search box (and instead have web results piped through from an alternative, like Google).

Enabling HDR in Windows 11

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Analysis: March of progress

Unfortunately, Windows 11 users outside of the EEA won’t get those latter options, but they will benefit from another move to let the user uninstall a larger number of default apps – like Photos, for example.

Furthermore, Microsoft is introducing an option to specify that the widgets panel contains just widgets, with users being able to remove the news feed. Interestingly, we’re also told that Microsoft will make it possible for other third-party services to be integrated into the panel – so you could infuse the widget board with Google news, if you wanted to.

These widget-related possibilities are coming for everyone, fortunately, not just the EEA – and we can keep our fingers crossed that the other mentioned Europe-bound changes will be rolled out more widely, too. Plenty of folks would like the ability to declutter Windows 11 a bit more by getting rid of Edge, no doubt.

Of course, we must bear in mind that these changes are all rumors, though we’ve seen all the mentioned features going through testing of late, so all of this makes sense. The release date of February (for preview) and March is the nugget of info that needs more salt applied, but Bowden is one of the more reliable sources out there for info from Microsoft. It’s always possible that an intended timeframe might slip a bit, mind.

From what we’ve heard, this could be the last Moment update before the next-gen version of Windows is launched later in 2024. Whether that will be Windows 12, or something else (Windows AI?), or if Microsoft might stick with Windows 11 (making the upgrade version 24H2), we don’t yet know, but the theory is this might be the last Moment before that next big move arrives.

As per another of Bowden’s recent rumors, Microsoft is supposedly set to switch away from Moments, releasing fewer of these updates going forward, and making more changes and feature additions in the big annual upgrade. (And yes – in short, this is returning more to the way things used to be).

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Apple may be working on a way to let LLMs run on-device and change your iPhones forever
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Apple researchers have apparently discovered a method that’ll allow iPhones to host and run their own large language models (LLMs).

With this tech, future iPhone models may finally have the generative AI features people have been eagerly waiting for. This information comes from a pair of papers published on arXiv, a research-sharing platform owned by Cornell University. The documents are pretty dense and can be tricky to read, so we’re going to break things down for you. But if you're interested in reading them yourself, the papers are free for everyone to check out.

One of the main problems with putting an LLM on a mobile device is the limited amount of memory on the hardware. As VentureBeat explains in their coverage, recent AI models like GPT-4 “contain hundreds of billions of parameters”, which is a quantity smartphones have difficulty handling. To address this issue, Apple researchers propose two techniques. The first is called windowing, a method where the on-board AI recycles already processed data instead of using new information. Its purpose is to take some of the load off the hardware.

The second is called row-column bundling. This collects data into big chunks for the AI to read; a method that will boost the LLM’s ability to “understand and generate language”, according to MacRumors. The paper goes on to say these two techniques will let AIs run “up to twice the size of the available [memory]” on an iPhone. It’s a technology Apple must nail down if it wants to deploy advanced models “in resource-limited environments”. Without it, the researchers' plans can't take off.

On-device avatars

The second paper is centered around iPhones potentially getting the ability to create animated 3D avatars. The content will be made using videos taken by the rear cameras through a process called HUGS (Human Gaussian Splats). This tech has existed in some form before this. However, Apple’s version is said to be able to render the avatars 100 times faster than older generations as well as capture the finer details like clothing and hair.

It’s unknown exactly what Apple intends to do with HUGS or any of the techniques mentioned earlier. However, this research could open the door for a variety of possibilities, including a more powerful version of Siri, “real-time language translation”, new photography features, and chatbots. 

Powered up Siri

These upgrades may be closer to reality than some might think.

Back in October, rumors surfaced claiming Apple is working on a smarter version of  Siri that'll be boosted by artificial intelligence and sporting some generative capabilities. One potential use case would be an integration with the Messages app, letting users ask it tough questions or have it finish up sentences “more effectively.” Regarding chatbots, there have been other rumors of the tech giant developing a conversational AI called Ajax. Some people have also thrown around “Apple GPT” as a potential name.

No word on when Apple’s AI projects will see the light of day. There has been speculation that something could roll out in late 2024 alongside the launch of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, although exactly when we'll see any of this remains unknown.

Be sure to check out TechRadar's latest roundup of the best iPhone deals for December 2023.

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Google’s Nearby Share tool appears to adopt Samsung’s similar utility name and we wonder what’s going on
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Google has suddenly changed the name of its file-sharing tool from Nearby Share to Quick Share which is what Samsung calls its own tool.

It’s a random move that has people scratching their heads wondering what it could mean for Android in the future. This update appears to have been discovered by industry insider Kamila Wojiciechowska who displayed her findings on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter). Wojiciechowska revealed that she received a notification on her phone informing her of the change after installing Google Mobile Services version 23.50.13. 

In addition to the new name, Google altered the logo for the feature as well as the user interface. The logo will now consist of two arrows moving toward each other in a half-circle motion on a blue background. Regarding the UI, it will now display a Quick Settings tile for fast configuration, text explaining what the various options do, and an easier-to-use interface. There’s even a new ability, allowing people to restrict Quick Share visibility down to ten minutes.

Wojieciechowska states this update is not widely available nor is the Nearby Share change common among the people who do receive the patch. This may be something only a handful will receive. She admits to being confused as to why Google is doing this, although it appears this could be the start of a new collaboration between the two companies according to found evidence.

Start of a new partnership

Android Authority in their report claims Wojieciechowska discovered proof of a “migration education flow” for Quick Share after digging through the Play Services app. This could suggest Google and Samsung are combining their file-sharing tools into one. Or at the very least, “making them interoperable”. 

If this is the case, two of the biggest Android brands coming together to unify their services could be a huge benefit for users. Currently separate and similarly behaving features might, if this is any evidence, coalesce into one that’ll work with both Galaxy and non-Galaxy smartphones alike. It's a quality-of-life upgrade that'll reduce software clutter.

Android Authority makes it clear, though, that there isn’t any concrete proof stating the two tools will merge. It’s just given the set of circumstances that seems to be the case. Plus, the whole thing wouldn’t make sense if it wasn’t the result of an upcoming collaboration. Think about it. Why would Google decide to give one of its mobile tools the same name as one of its competitor’s software? That might confuse users. 

There has to be something more to it so we reached out to both companies for more information. This story will be updated at a later time.

Until then, check out TechRadar's list of the best smartphone for 2023.

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4 reasons why this AI Godfather thinks we shouldn’t be afraid
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Don't you hate it when the godfathers disagree? 

On one side, we have former Google scientist Dr. Geoffrey Hinton warning that we're going too fast and AIs could ruin everything from jobs to truth. On the other side, we find Meta's Yann LeCun.

Both scientists once worked together on Deep Learning advancements that would change the world of AI and triggered the flurry of advancements in AI algorithms and large language models that brought us to this fraught moment.

Hinton delivered his warning earlier this year to The New York Times. Fellow Turing Award-winner LeCun largely countered Hinton and defended AI development in a wide-ranging interview with Wired's Steve Levy.

“People are exploiting the fear about the technology, and we’re running the risk of scaring people away from it,” LeCun told Levy.

LeCun's argument, which in its TLDR form is something making to, “Don't worry, embrace AI,” breaks down into a few key components that may or may not make you think differently.

Open is good

I particularly enjoyed LeCun's open-source argument. He told Levy that if you accept that AI may end up sitting between us and much of our digital experience, it doesn't make sense for a few AI powerhouse companies to control it. “You do not want that AI system to be controlled by a small number of companies on the West Coast of the US,” said LeCun.

Now, this is a guy who works as Meta's Chief AI Scientist. Meta (formerly Facebook) is a big West Coast company (which recently launched its own open-source LLM LLAMA 2). I'm sure the irony is not lost on LeCun but I think he may be targeting OpenAI. The world's leading AI purveyor (maker of ChatGPT and DALL-E, and a major contributor to Microsoft's CoPilot) started as an open and non-profit company. It's now getting a lot of funding from Microsoft (also a big West Coast company) and LeCun claims OpenAI no longer shares its research.

Regulation is probably not the thing

LeCun has been vocal on the subject of AI regulation but maybe not in the way you think. He's basically arguing against it. When Levy asked about all the damage an unregulated and all-powerful AI could do, LeCun insisted that not only are AIs built with guardrails but if these tools are used in industry, they'll have to follow pre-existing and rigid regulations (think the pharmaceutical industry).

“The question that people are debating is whether it makes sense to regulate research and development of AI. And I don't think it does,” LeCun told Wired.

AGI isn't near

There's been a lot of talk in recent months about the potential for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which may or may not be much like your own intelligence. Some, including OpenAI's Sam Altman, believe it's on the near horizon. LeCun, though is not one of them.

He argued that we can't even define AGI because human intelligence is not one thing. He has a point there. My intelligence would not be in any way comparable to Einstein's or LeCun's.

You want AI to be smarter than you

There's little question in LeCun's view that AIs will eventually be smarter than humans but he also notes that they will lack the same motivations as us. 

He likens these AI assistants to 'super-smart humans” and added working with them might be like working with super-smart colleagues.

Even with all that intelligence, LeCun insists that these AIs won't have human-like motivations and drives. Global Domination won't be a thing for them simply because they're smarter than us. 

LeCun doesn't discount the idea of programming in a drive (a superseding goal) but sees that as “objective-driven AI” and since part of that objective could be an unbreachable guardrail, the safeguards will be baked in.

Do I feel better? Is less regulation, more open source, and a firmer embrace of AI mediation the path forward to a safer future? Maybe. LeCun certainly thinks so. Wonder if he's spoken to Hinton lately.

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Empowering New Year’s resolutions: Last-minute gifts to elevate creativity and productivity with Wondershare
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Holiday shipping deadlines are zipping by, leaving those of us who are last-minute shoppers to scramble to find gifts for our loved ones that can be delivered before the holidays are on our doorsteps. Thankfully, digital products exist, and a bit of that procrastination may even be rewarded when you get to take advantage of a good sale like the one Wondershare is currently hosting. Between now and January 5, Wondershare is offering up to 65% off their suite of applications that can help you or your loved one be more creative and productive in the New Year.  

Save on last-minute gifts for creatives 

According to researchers, 3 in 10 children aspire to be YouTubers or Vloggers when they grow up. Chances are you have an aspiring content creator on your list this holiday season – or maybe you're shopping for yourself. Enter Wondershare, an industry leader in creativity and productivity solutions. Their flagship product, Filmora 13, is an award-winning video editing software for all skill levels and needs. The best part? This holiday, you can snag Filmora at up to 30% off. 

And that's not all—join the excitement of 'The Biggest Christmas' contest hosted by Filmora. Simply capture your ‘biggest’ holiday moments, whether it's the largest Santa at the mall or the colossal Christmas tree in town, edit it with Filmora, share it on social media, tag @filmora_editor, and use #FilmoraXmas2023  for a chance to win $ 500.

Wondershare's applications harness the power of AI to enhance creative output and lessen the workload of the individual. Filmora 13 is packed with features such as AI Copilot Editing, intelligent editing suggestions based on the video’s content, and AI Text-Based Editing, which allows users to transform videos into text and edit them as a document. With Filmora 13, it's easier than ever for creatives to spend less time making better video content.

AI is also an integral enhancement in Virbo, an AI video generator from Wondershare. With Virbo, creatives and professionals alike can quickly assemble videos using more than 300 AI avatars across a range of attire, ages, and ethnicities. Choose from any of Virbo’s high-quality video templates, pair it with an AI-generated script, and then choose any of the 300+ options for voices and languages to create your video. Virbo can even translate your videos into 20 languages using Voice Cloning technology. 

Give the gift of productivity for 2024 

Creativity and productivity go hand in hand, and Wondershare’s application suite has the professionals and business-oriented gift recipients in mind during this holiday sale, as well. For professionals dealing with PDF documents daily, Wondershare has PDFelement. PDFelement is specifically tailored with powerful AI technology that can assist in generating abstracts, proofreading, and translating or rewriting files quickly and easily.  Not all content creators are generating videos, some of us have to create legally binding contracts that can be opened and e-signed from anywhere. PDFelement can also help generate PDFs from images and Word documents, or scan and convert paper contracts into electronic PDF files. 

EdrawMax can also help bridge the gap between creativity and productivity. This application is designed to utilize powerful AI technology to generate flowcharts, mind maps, lists, and more with simple Q&A style prompts.  This can make it easier to brainstorm your next big creative project and get into the production phase quickly. Save time and effort with one-click AI flow charts and goodbye to tedious and repetitive busy work. Mind maps from EdrawMax are useful for productive-focused professionals and can also be useful for students for creating study charts.  

Create more in 2024

Last-minute gifts can still be thoughtful and helpful for the recipient, and with Wondershare’s CreateMas holiday sales you can give creativity and productivity — a gift that will keep on giving beyond the holidays and throughout the new year. In addition to the applications listed here, more than 15 Wondershare products are up to 65% off from now until January 5, including UniConverter, EdrawMind, DemoCreator, Dr.Fone, Mockitt and more. 

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BlackPink is performing a free VR concert for Meta Quest 3 and Oculus Quest 2 owners as a post-Christmas gift
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If you’re a K-Pop fan who owns a Meta Quest headset or gets one for Christmas, Meta has a gift for you; free front-row seats to a BlackPink concert in virtual reality taking place on December 26 at 5pm PT / Wednesday 1am GMT / Wednesday 12am ACT.

The recording is from the group’s finale show of its recent World Tour – performed at the Gocheok Sky Dome – and will be available inside Meta’s Horizon Worlds metaverse platform.

And this isn’t some 10-minute clip show, this is a full-on 70-minute performance that has been custom-made for VR according to a Meta press release. It’ll feature a number of the group’s most popular tracks including Shut Down, Pink Venom, and How You Like That and more.

Get in early to avoid disappointment

You can RSVP for the BlackPink concert on the event’s page but to watch it you’ll need a Quest headset – specifically an Oculus Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, or Meta Quest 3 – and the latest version of Meta Horizon Worlds installed.

I’d recommend setting an alarm about 1 hour before the start time. This should give you time to install any updates if your app or headset isn’t up to date, get your avatar into the right outfit or created if you don’t yet have one, and go through the Horizon Worlds tutorial and into the Music Valley event space if you haven’t played it already.

From experience, I can tell you it’s better to wait for a while in the event than it is to try and hop in last minute and be stuck in long virtual queues that cause you to miss the concert.

Popular artists are known to cause server crashes when an influx of people try to load in all at the same time. Meta’s first big Foo Fighters VR concert suffered from this, and more recently Eminiem’s performance in Fortnite’s Big Bang event was missed by a lot of fans because of similar issues.

Thankfully if you do miss the BlackPink concert premiere because of server issues, simply can’t make it because of other commitments, or want to watch it again later, replays will be available until “the end of January” according to the official press release.

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Turn your iPhone into an iPod Classic with these brilliant lock screen wallpapers
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Software designers Oliur and Shane Levine have released a series of wallpapers that convert the lock screen on your iPhone into an iPod Classic.

It’s a real blast from the past. The collection is known as the iPod Wallpaper Pack, consisting of “12 high-definition wallpapers” sporting a multitude of colors. Just to name a few of the shades, you'll get the classic silver look, black, turquoise, hot pink, and lime green. But one of our favorite aspects of these covers is the attention to detail the designers gave each of them.  

Color iPods on iPhone display

(Image credit: Oliur)

One wallpaper is completely covered by heart and flower stickers, and it looks exactly like something your little sister would do to your iPod. Another has carefully placed stickers around the click wheel: AC/DC in one corner with Rockstar Games in the other. Plus, we like how a few of the selections have scratches and chipped-off paint because who among us did not drop their iPod multiple times? 

iPod on iPhone display with scratches and stickers

(Image credit: Oliur)

Availability

The date and time will hover around the same location – somewhere near the top of the screen with battery life over in the top right corner. There’s even a little bit of room for widgets in the iPod display.

Oliur’s iPod Wallpaper Pack is currently available for $ 14 on its official website. Upon purchase, the images will be placed into a 58 MB ZIP file that needs to be extracted to be used. According to tech news site T3, you can save the wallpapers by uploading them to your iCloud account if you’re buying them on your iPhone. 

If you’re curious about what happened to iPods, Apple officially retired the series back in May 2022 with the final model being the 7th generation iPod Touch. The company continued to sell the device for a little while on its online store, however, if you go on there today, it’s completely gone. It’s sold out. Nowadays if you want an iPod, you’ll have to try your luck on a third-party retailer like Amazon or Walmart.

Or better yet: get yourself something more modern. If you want recommendations, check out TechRadar’s roundup of the best MP3 player for 2023.  

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