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Spotify is shutting down Heardle, a Wordle-like music guessing game it bought last year

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2023

Spotify closes Heardle, a music guessing game he purchased inspired by Wordle last July for an undisclosed amount. Like wordle, hurdle offers players six attempts to guess a popular song – but instead of entering different letters to form words, players listen to the song’s intro to guess the artist and title. At the time of the acquisition, Spotify stated that Heardle would remain free for everyone. The company now says it will hear the sunset on May 5 as it seeks to focus on its other music discovery goals.

Changes are communicated via an in-app message on the Heardle website.

Image credits: hurdle

We understand that the decision to shut down Heardle was made because Spotify wants to devote more of its energy to finding music through recent in-app changes rather than Wordle-inspired gameplay off the platform.

last month, Spotify redesigned from its mobile app, which introduced new TikTok-style music and podcast discovery channels, as well as other features such as Smart Shuffle for playlist recommendations and a new option to automatically play podcasts, among others. Rolled out too on “I DJ” which finds out what kind of music users like and then plays those tracks for you. This feature also gets smarter over time the more you interact with it.

In light of these updates, Hurdle was no longer involved in Spotify’s overall music discovery efforts. Also, like many tech companies that have been subject to belt-tightening measures such as layoffs In recent months, there has been less financial incentive to participate in side projects, including, for example, a fun musical game.

However, at the time of the acquisition, Heardle was still quite popular. In March 2022, the game peaked at 69 million visits per month on desktop and mobile, according to analytics firm Similarweb. Shortly before the Spotify deal, those visits dropped to 41 million. The firm says visits continued to decline, likely making Hurdle’s ongoing maintenance no longer viable for Spotify.

In addition, with most Wordle craze is also on the decline After The New York Times bought the flagship word game last January, Hurdle’s own future prospects may have dimmed as well. We understand that Heardle has retained some of its loyal users since the deal closed, but Spotify will not comment on overall usage or repeat interactions with any specific metrics. However, it wasn’t until Spotify learned how Heardle players interacted with the game that the decision was made to focus the company’s investment elsewhere.

In the game, after users guessed the song, they could press a button to listen to the full track on Spotify. Perhaps not enough users did this, but simply left the game to play again later.

In other words, Hurdle ultimately didn’t help Spotify achieve its goals of improving music discovery. And with the redesign, much of what Heardle had to offer was now duplicating the company’s other music search features — and doing so outside of the Spotify app.

However, for those who enjoyed playing Heardle, today’s announcement that the game will soon be closed is hardly welcome news. Except, perhaps, those Forbes participants who had to write down daily answers and prompts, as well as numerous sites that ran Hurdle clones.

Spotify confirmed the closure of the game with a statement.

“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to say goodbye to Heardle as we focus our efforts on other music discovery features,” a company spokesperson told TechCrunch.

The website will display a banner for users to warn them of the shutdown, which will occur on May 5th.

We understand that Heardle did not have a dedicated team, so this will not affect either the reduction in staff or the reorganization.

We’re told that while Spotify is moving away from Heardle, that doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning other kinds of interactive experiences. Today, the company offers an interactive AI DJ feature and other features such as polls and Q&A that allow podcast listeners to interact with their favorite creators. It will also continue to invest in other gaming projects such as Roblox’s Spotify island, in-app gaming hub, and other Xbox and PlayStation integrations.

Earlier this month, Spotify also shut down another spin-off project with close Spotify Livelive streaming app and competitor to Clubhouse.

Related Topics:bought game guessing Heardle Music shutting Spotify Wordlelike year

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GAMING

How to Make Windows 11 Look Like Windows 10

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2023

Wendy Cooney

Microsoft knows how you want Windows to look. That, at least, seems to be the company’s message with Windows 11. It’s making big changes to the user interface and continuing the trend of making user customization more complicated. This is one of the reasons why some PCWorld employees would like to use Windows 10 whenever they use Windows 11 despite some really compelling updates to the new operating system.

It’s currently not possible to fully revert Windows 11 to the Windows 10 look and feel, and given Microsoft’s current attitude towards UI customization, that may never happen. However, there are a few key tweaks that can make you more comfortable.

The most obvious design change in Windows 11 is the move of the Windows Start menu from its traditional home located on the left side of the taskbar to the center of the taskbar. Fortunately, this change is easy to reverse.

Matt Smith/IDG

open Starting Windows menu and then Settings application. In settings go to Personalizationthen task barand open Taskbar Behavior. You will see a field labeled Taskbar Alignment with drop down menu. Change the dropdown menu from center to left.

The change takes place immediately.

Remove new icons

While we’re here, let’s disable the new icons added by Windows 11. They’re also in task bar Part Personalization settings. You will see a list labeled “Taskbar Items” which includes four options: Search, View tasks, widgetsAnd chat. Use the radio buttons next to each to disable all four icons.

Matt Smith/IDG

Important note about search: It is currently not possible to restore the full search field on the Windows 10 taskbar. Disabling the new search icon means that you cannot access search by clicking the field or icon on the taskbar. It will still be available through Keyboard shortcut Windows + Showever.

Microsoft is kind enough to let you easily change the location of the start menu and remove some icons, but the start menu myself that’s a different story. You will need to use a third party program.

The free option is Open-Shell, an open source program (formerly known as Classic Shell) that can replace the Start menu. Download the program and install it. However, be sure to disable Classic Explorer and Classic IE during installation. If you don’t, Open-Shell will also change Windows Explorer so that it doesn’t match the look and feel of Windows 10.

Matt Smith/IDG

Once installed, open the program called Open shell menu settings. Select the Windows 7 style menu and then open the Skin tab. For this guide, I used the Fluent Metro skin. In truth, it looks more like the Windows 7 start menu with Windows 10 paint, but it was the best skin I could find.

While OpenShell works fine, it’s not perfect. It cannot properly replace the Start Menu and does not restore Windows 10 features.

Start11 by Stardock is a simpler option. It doesn’t have the problem with the Start Menu icon like Open-Shell does, and it doesn’t require additional files to be installed to create an attractive menu in the Metro design style. However, Start11 costs $5, so you’ll have to decide if its ease of use is worth the price. We’ve tested Start11 (as well as alternative StartAllBack, another $5 program) and highly recommend both if you’re interested in making Windows 11 more like Windows 10. These programs can also help you get around some Windows 11 taskbar issues. .

Change icons

The taskbar icons in Windows 11 are very similar to Windows 10, so you may not need to change them. Other icons in the operating system are significantly different.

Download the Windows 10 icon pack first. Many of these can be found online: I used the Windows 10 Build 10125 icon pack. Place your icons in a folder that you can easily remember.

Let’s start with desktop icons. open Settings application, select Personalizationopen subjectand then Desktop icons. A menu will appear with five regular desktop icons. Click on the icon you want to change and then click change icon. Navigate to where you placed the icon set, select the icon you want to use, and then click Open. I replaced the trash icons in the screenshot below.

Matt Smith/IDG

You can also change the icons of individual folders and shortcuts. Right click an element and open Characteristicsthen go to Tune tab at the bottom you will see change icon button. Click on it and select the icon you want to use as described in the previous paragraph.

Unfortunately, Windows 11 does not allow you to change some icons, most notably the new icons for drives and custom folders in Windows Explorer. However, you can use Drive Icon Changer to change drive icons.

Disable rounded corners

Rounded corners are key to the new look and feel of Windows 11. However, not everyone likes them, and there is more bad news. Currently, they cannot be changed using Windows 11 itself or a third-party solution.

You have one option. Windows 11 will revert to square corners if you disable graphics hardware acceleration (this will also disable other visual features such as transparency).

Matt Smith/IDG

Well there is one another option: you can disable graphics hardware. Open device Managerexpand video adaptersand right-click the listed video adapter. Choose DisableDevice. Your screen will flicker for a moment, but when Windows comes back, the rounded corners will disappear.

However, I do not recommend this. Turning off your graphics hardware will cause the Windows user interface to become slow and unnatural, and you won’t be able to use 3D applications or games until you turn the hardware back on.

Change wallpaper

Last but not least, you can restore the original Windows 10 wallpaper. This is not included in Windows 11, but is available from various sources on the web such as this 4K sample on Imgur.

Right-click on the image after uploading it and select Set as desktop background. The change will take effect immediately.

Where to go from here

Matt Smith/IDG

Keepers of Windows 10 clean will be disappointed to learn that some Windows 11 features remain in the operating system, such as the new context menu and File Explorer. they either caused side effects or, in many cases, didn’t work at all – probably because Windows 11 has received a lot of updates over the past few months.

Keep an eye out for projects that aim to help users change the look of Windows 11, like the absolutely fantastic (and free) Explorer Patcher that repairs taskbar labels, brings back the Windows 10 context menu, and more.

It also wouldn’t hurt to tell Microsoft that you need more customization options. Much of this ends up falling to Microsoft, which has gradually eliminated Windows interface customization options over time.

In the meantime, enjoy the changes made. This may not completely restore Windows 10, but at least the Start menu is fixed. While you’re busy getting set up, here are five Windows 11 settings you should change immediately.

Editor’s note. This article was originally published on October 7, 2021, but has been updated several times to reflect new Windows 11 developments and workarounds.

GAMING

RPG Cast – Episode 673: “My Kitten Got a Tire”

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2023

Wendy Cooney

RPGamer has been in the RPG business since 1998, and the current version of the site was launched in 2018. Due to massive changes to our backend and systems, only certain content created since 2018 has been migrated to our new site. However, all of our old content can still be found at archive.rpgamer.com.

Watch live twitch.tv/rpgamer (all times Eastern)
Times and content are subject to change.

Monday
10:00 – Breakfast with paws
18:30 — Hero Harmony

Tuesday
11:00 – THERE in AM
13:30 – HerrFrog Plays
6:30 p.m. — Scar plays classical

Wednesday
10:00 – Breakfast with paws
18:30 — Hero Harmony

Thursday
11:00 – THERE in AM
13:30 – HerrFrog Plays

Friday
10:00 – Breakfast with paws
6:30 p.m. — Scar plays classical

Saturday
8:00 – search for spare parts in the dungeons.
12:00 – Role play

Sunday
8:00 – Role play carnival
13:30 – HerrFrog Plays
16:00 – Happy Sundays with paws

GAMING

Resident Evil 4 Remake: what does the post-credits scene mean?

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2023

Wendy Cooney

Resident Evil 4 Remake out and it’s great. The survival horror game has a darker and more moody tone than the original released back in 2005.

The remake will be released on Friday makes improvements to game mechanics and other optimizations as well as several changes in the storyline. One big one is a post-credits scene that could have repercussions in future Resident Evil remakes.

Developer Capcom has yet to confirm that there will be remakes of Resident Evil 5 or 6, but they have remade the first four games in the popular series.

Albert Wesker is back

One of the major Resident Evil characters missing from RE4 Remake is the series’ antagonist Albert Wesker. He is one of the puppeteers and main villains of the series.

It’s only in the post-credits scene that Wesker shows his face in RE4 Remake. It is revealed that Wesker hired the prominent female spy Ada Wong to steal the amber, which is the source of the Las Plagas parasite that has infected the villagers and cultists in the game.

In his rescue helicopter, Ada asks Wesker what he plans to do with the amber. Wesker gives a supervillain speech about how the amber will cause the loss of billions of lives. Ada then forces the pilot to change course by changing his mind.

In the original RE4, Wesker talks to Ada about her mission in several scenes. She also confirms her success in the rescue helicopter to him, but does not force the pilot to turn around.

How does this change Wesker’s plan?

In the original Resident Evil canon, Wesker becomes a major player working in the shadows. His organization tracks biological weapons around the world and tries to steal samples in order to reproduce these weapons. This ultimately leads to his demise in Resident Evil 5 when Resident Evil 1 protagonist Chris Redfield defeats him.

Since Ada supported Wesker’s plan in the RE4 remake, this could change the course of history in a future Resident Evil 5 remake.

Capcom hasn’t confirmed it’s working on a RE5 remake yet, but it seems possible given that it’s remade the first four games in the series.

What was the original Resident Evil 4 post-credits scene like?

The original RE4 had a completely different post-credits scene. In the original, Leon has a final report with Ingrid Hannigan, a federal agent providing him with intelligence on his mission to rescue the president’s daughter.

After confirming that he had saved the president’s daughter Ashley, he noticed that Hannigan was not wearing her glasses. He compliments her looks and tries to get her phone number, which fails miserably, causing Leon to say, “The story of my life.”