NewsBytes Briefing: WhatsApp gets desktop voice calling, and more
What's the story
Nothing drives innovation more than your consumer base waking up and saying no to the abuse. At least, that seems to be why Facebook has been adding new and shiny features at an impressive rate. The latest feature of adding voice and video calling to WhatsApp's desktop app is yet another desperate move by Facebook to stop users from leaving the messaging app for competitors.
Anti-competitive
UK has had enough of Apple's monopolistic practices
Epic Games isn't the only one crying hoarse about Apple's steep 30% App Store revenue cut. Turns out, iOS app developers in the UK have been complaining about it as well and the UK's competition regulatory authority is doing something about it. UK's Competition and Markets Authority has said that it will be investigating Apple over its anti-competitive App Store practices.
DLSS wizardry
The next Nintendo Switch will be 4K capable
Speaking of exorbitantly priced hardware, the next Nintendo Switch is rumored to go into production by June with a holiday 2021 launch. It won't be stuck at 720p, but make the switch to 4K resolution when docked. This also means that the handheld console will be sticking to its NVIDIA hardware because it will need DLSS to pull off 4K gaming.
Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly
Elon Musk isn't tired of blowing up spaceships yet
Elon Musk called the Starship SN10 rocket's take-off and landing a success, but then it also blew up to smithereens a short while later. It makes one wonder if the recurring Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly of Starship prototypes is intentional. But either way, how the rocket recovered after losing two out of three engines during the critical touchdown phase speaks volumes of SpaceX's engineering chops.
Engineering addiction
Netflix wants to be the TikTok of streaming content
Netflix will soon be incorporating a continuous TikTok-esque feed of funny clips from its massive library of stand-up shows, sitcoms, and movies. Its Fast Laughs short clips can also take you to the full content. The idea is to use it as a means for rapid content discovery to draw users into the content they otherwise wouldn't have searched for.