WhatsApp has launched a cryptocurrency payment feature with Novi integration for a limited number of users in the US. Novi is a digital wallet owned by Meta. The feature allows users to send and receive money using the Paxos Dollar stablecoin in a similar way to sending regular attachments in a conversation. Funds can be withdrawn to a bank account in their equivalent value in US dollars. There will be no fees for withdrawing funds or keeping an account. The integration will not affect the end-to-end encryption of personal messages.
A Google Play Games app by Google will be available for Windows in 2022. It will allow users to play Android games on Windows devices. Users will be able to resume games on their Windows devices after playing them on an Android device. Google developed the app on its own and will distribute the app itself.
A team of researchers from Australia has identified a molecular signal that is sent to our brains and eyes immediately after exercise. The signals travel via lipid particles to the central nervous system. The team originally set out to discover the effects of exercise on the retina, as exercise seems to keep eyesight healthy. It may be possible to use these molecules to create a pill that can provide the benefits of exercise to those who can't exercise normally.
Meta is opening up access to its VR social platform Horizon Worlds for people in the US and Canada over the age of 18. Horizon Worlds is Meta's first attempt at releasing something that resembles a metaverse. It is a multiplayer platform that lets people hang out with up to 20 people at a time in a variety of virtual worlds. Users can write basic code that sets rules for how objects work. Meta plans to release free code and assets so users can build worlds.
Tailwind CSS v3.0 is now available. It includes improvements to build times, colors, effects, layouts, styling, and much more. Developers can use Tailwind Play now to try out the latest features. A list of major changes, along with a summary description of the changes, is available in the article.
PDM is a modern Python manager with PEP 582 support. It installs and manages packages without the need to create a virtualenv. PDM features a simple and fast dependency resolver, a PEP 517 backend, and PEP 621 project metadata.
Meta is rolling out Year in Review features for both Facebook and Instagram. Facebook users will be able to share a personalized card with highlights from 2021 until the end of December. Instagram users will be able to share a Playback time capsule made up of up to ten stories to their IG Story for several weeks. The review features on both platforms are fully customizable. They will be available to users all around the globe over the next few days.
The United Arab Emirates is transitioning to a 4.5-day workweek. It will be moving from a Friday to Saturday weekend schedule to a Friday afternoon to Sunday weekend. The UAE is the first nation to formalize a workweek shorter than five days. The changes apply to federal government entities and will take effect at the beginning of next year. Private industry, schools, and universities will likely follow the government's lead. The changes are expected to bring economic and lifestyle benefits.
Get the most important tech, science, & coding news in a free daily email. Read by +1,250,000 software engineers and tech workers.