Mozilla launched Firefox Relay as a free product that gives you five email aliases you can use every time you need to sign up for a random account online. Now, the organization has introduced a paid Premium tier for the service that will give you access to even more aliases. You'll get your own subdomain (yourdomain.mozmail.com) when you subscribe, and you'll be able to create an unlimited number of emails. The tier will also give you access to a summary dashboard with the emails you make, the option to use your aliases when you reply to messages and a 150 kb attachment allowance.

After you sign up for Relay, you'll have to install its Firefox extension to be able to take advantage of its features. Every time you visit a website that asks for an email address, the Relay icon will appear on your browser, and you can click it to generate a random address.The service will forward messages you get using your aliases to your primary email account, and you can block all messages from coming in or even delete the alias when it starts getting spam. 

In its announcement, Mozilla said it decided to introduce the paid option because lot of beta testers wanted more than just five aliases. It didn't say how much a Premium subscription will cost in the future, but it's offering the tier at an introductory price of $1/EUR1 per month for a limited time. At the moment, the option is only available in Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.

1Password's latest major update is now out of early access and is officially available for Windows 11. The version, called 1Password 8, features a brand new design and new productivity and security capabilities. Company chief experience officer Matt Davey said 1Password created a whole new design language dubbed Knox for the project to help ensure consistency across devices. As we mentioned in the past, categories have moved from the sidebar to a dropdown menu, and you'll also see new icons and the option to switch to dark mode.

The new version was built to be faster than its predecessor, with a feature called Quick Access that gives you a way to find and use saved credentials even when the 1Password app isn't open. There's also a new Item Catalog feature that guides you through the process of viewing or adding items, and smart suggestions that recommend matches as soon as you type in your search term. 

On the security front, 1Password 8 comes with a new Watchtower Dashboard that helps you identify weak or compromised passwords and inactive two-factor log-ins. You'll also be able to restore deleted items, which can be extremely helpful for when accidents happen, and you'll be able to share log-in details with anyone through Psst! The company introduced the password-sharing feature in October, giving you a way to safely share logins with co-workers or clients even if they don't have an account themselves.

1Password also made the latest version available for early access on Macs in August, a couple of months after early access came out for Windows. It has yet to announce when general availability will be open for Mac users, but it did say in the past that it expects to release 1Password 8 for Apple's OS later this year.

Balmuda, the Japanese company behind the staggeringly expensive steam-powered toaster, has announced its first ever smartphone. It's a small device with a 4.9-inch display, and as 9to5Google notes, its looks are highly reminiscent of the HTC One X that was released almost a decade ago. While Balmuda is known for designing unusual upmarket appliances in its home country, this announcement isn't entirely surprising: It revealed back in May that it was making a foray into the smartphone market before the year ends.

The company teamed up with Kyocera to manufacture the Android device, which has 5G connectivity and supports wireless charging. Its 4.9-inch screen has a 1080p resolution, and it comes with a 48-megapixel rear camera, an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, as well as a fingerprint sensor. The Balmuda Phone is powered by a Snapdragon 765 processor, and it has 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage and a 2,500 mAH battery capacity.

At the moment, the company only has plans to release the phone in Japan. Those curious enough to give the device a shot can get it with a plan with Softbank, though they could also purchase an unlocked version if that's the better option. Pre-orders in the country will begin on November 17th at 10AM Japan time, and shipping will start on November 26th. Balmuda didn't say whether the device will eventually be available elsewhere, but the company did release the iconic "The Toaster" in the US last year for those who don't mind paying $329 to get perfectly toasted bread every time. 

Amazon has released a Prime Video app for Mac, and you can now get it for free from the App Store. You can use the app to download videos for offline viewing on your computer, which sounds especially useful for long business trips and vacations. The Verge reports that the app will let you choose the quality of the video you're streaming or downloading, and it supports native macOS features such as Picture-in-Picture and AirPlay. Within the app, you'll find a dedicated tab where you can rent and purchase content, as well. You'll just have sure you're running macOS Big Sur or later to be able to access the application.

The company has also released a redesigned version of its Photos app for iOS and the web, which now let you search for people, places and years. It shows the faces of people that usually appear in your photos as clickable options, so you can see all the photos they've appeared in. If you want to narrow down the results, you can choose the year and the places where the pictures were taken, as well. The refreshed apps also come with a new interface, which you can get a glimpse of in this video:

Amazon's Photos app gives you unlimited storage for full-resolution images and for up to 5GB of videos if you're a Prime member. If you don't have Prime, you'll still get 5GB of free storage for your media overall. 

Netflix launched Play Something earlier this year as a way to help viewers who may be suffering from decision fatigue and just want to watch anything that may suit their taste at the end of the day. Now, viewers can even ask Alexa to do it for them. Customers in the US and Canada with a Fire TV can simply say "Alexa, Play Something on Netflix," and the streaming service will put on a show or a movie that they might like, depending on what they've been watching on the platform.

They can use their Fire TV remote to issue a voice command like usual. But if they have an Omni series Fire TV, which was just released back in September, they can issue the command completely hands-free. Charlotte Maines, Director of Fire TV, said in a statement:

"Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen that Fire TV customers that used voice engaged with content almost twice as much as those who didn’t. With Fire TV and Netflix’s ‘Play Something’ we can quickly help customers find the TV show or movie that’s right for them."

The service's shuffle play feature first became available on TV devices back in April and appears as a Play Something button you can see across the app. When it finally came out on Android in October, a Netflix spokesperson told us that testing for iOS will begin in the coming months. 

AMC announced back in August that it will start accepting cryptocurrency by the end of the year. Now, company CEO Adam Aron has revealed on Twitter that you can already use your digital coins to purchase movie tickets. And, true to the promise he made in September, AMC isn't only accepting Bitcoin, but also Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin — for online purchases, that is. Aron also said that the theater chain has started accepting Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal payments, as well.

It sounds like moviegoers are welcoming the new payment method with open arms, since it apparently already accounts for 14 percent of the company's total online transactions. Aron also said that AMC will be adding Dogecoin next. 

AMC almost went bankrupt due to the pandemic last year, but it was saved in part thanks to an army of day traders on Reddit and Twitter that sent its stocks soaring by around 2,300 percent. Aron fully embraced the company's status as a meme stock and told investors in an earnings call earlier this month that AMC is exploring the creation of its own cryptocurrency. AMC plans to make a foray into the world of NFTs, as well, and is in talks with Hollywood studios to create non-fungible tokens related to major films. During the call, Aron said that the theater chain is also looking into accepting Shiba Inu tokens, but he has yet to announce if it can add the cryptocurrency to its payment options.

Starlink has introduced a new user terminal customers can get with their starter kit. As first reported by The Verge, the company now offers a rectangular option (PDF) that's smaller and lighter than its original circular one. Users have to install that antenna on their rooftop or anywhere high up with a clear view of the sky to be able to access its satellite internet. 

The original version is a standard dish that's 23-inch wide, but the rectangular version is only 12 inches wide and 19 inches long. It's also only 9.2 pounds, which is almost half the weight of its circular counterpart. The new terminal's smaller form factor could give users more options when it comes to potential locations where they can install it. In addition, the rectangular terminal comes with more accessory options, including a long pole users can simply stick in the ground so they no longer have to mount the antenna on their rooftop. 

SpaceX launched Starlink as a beta service in late 2020 and offered customers access to its satellite internet for $99 a month. Users would have to pay $499 on top of that for its hardware kit, though, which includes the antenna, its stand, power supply and a WiFi router. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in August that the original dish cost $3,000 to produce, and while the company was able to get that down to $1,300, it was still selling the kit at a loss. 

Shotwell also said at the time that the terminal it's releasing this year "will cost roughly half" of what its current user terminals cost and that the company may be able to cut that in half again. The Verge notes, however, that the hardware kit is still being sold for $499 even with the rectangular antenna, and SpaceX has yet to reveal whether it will be sold at a lower price in the future. Potential new customers who don't mind paying the same price for it can get the rectangular terminal when they order a kit, so long as they're in the US.

Instagram was clearly trying to court TikTok users when it launched its short-form video format called Reels. Now, it has introduced two features already widely popular on TikTok, perhaps in hopes that they can convert those who've been hesitating to use Reels due to their absence. One of those tools is text-to-speech, which provides a robotic voiceover for videos.

When a user types in text for their videos, they'll now be able to get an auto-generated voice to read it out loud by accessing the feature living inside the Text bubble on the lower left corner of the screen. They then have to choose between the two available voice options before posting their video. While text-to-speech will make Reels more accessible, it's also popular on TikTok just because some find a robotic voice narrating their activities a funny addition to their content. 

Instagram

In addition to Text-to-Speech, Instagram has also rolled out Voice Effects for Reels. With this feature, creators can change their voice as they see fit, and choose from the several options available. They can change their voice to sound like they inhaled some helium or to sound like a giant. They can also choose to sound like an announcer, a robot or a vocalist. Instagram has rolled out both audio tools, so users can now give them a try.

A number of Instant Pot pressure cookers, air fryers and other cooking gadgets are on sale for one day only on Amazon, including the 8-quart Duo Crisp for $119. That's $81 less than what it usually sells for and is the lowest price we've seen for the larger Duo Crisp. The model comes with a removable air fryer lid you can use to make crispy chicken wings, fried vegetables and more. It has 11 functionalities in all with air fry included, as well as pressure cook, slow cook, roast, bake and sterilizer.

The 6-quart Instant Pot Max is also on sale for $110, or $40 less than its retail price. It's capable of providing sustained 15psi pressure cooking and has a large touchscreen display you can use to set the time, temperature and pressure level. That's where you can set the time for a delayed start and where you can access the setting to make sure any cooked food inside stays warm. 

If you'd rather get a slow cooker, though, the 6-quart Instant Pot Aura is currently listed for $70, which is $60 lower than its regular price. That's a bit more than its all-time low, but the model hasn't been this price since earlier this year, and it's still a 46 percent discount. The Aura does not have a pressure cooker function, but it does have 10 modes that include slow cooking. While not all Instant Pot models are on sale, Black Friday isn't that far off, and it's traditionally rife with deals for the brand.

Instant's air fryers are also on sale in case that's what you really want to buy. You can get the 4-quart Instant Vortex Plus for $64, which is $36 lower than its retail price and the lowest the model has ever been sold for on the website. It's a solid (and now an affordable) entry point into air frying if you haven't given it a shot yet. Meanwhile, the Instant Omni Pro 14-in-1 Air Fryer is currently available for $200. That's also an all-time low for the $300 model that can also serve as a convection and rotisserie oven. The model can broil, bake, roast, dehydrate, reheat, toast, warm and slow cook, as well. 

In addition to the pressure cookers and air fryers we've listed above, Instant's Accu Slim Sous Vide Precision Cooker is on sale for 20 percent off at $80. It promises even cooking with its immersion circulator that's designed to uniformly heat water with no hot or cold spots. Finally, you can get the Instant Blend Ace Cold and Hot Blender for 43 percent off at $40, or $30 less than its usual price. It has a 1.6 liter capacity and can help you make smoothies, purée, crushed ice, frozen desserts and soups. 

Early last year, Netflix started using a new codec called AV1 on a select set of titles on Android. Now, the streaming giant has enabled AV1 streaming on the PS4 Pro and a limited number of smart TV models. Netflix was a key contributor to the development of AV1, which is available for use royalty free under the Alliance of Open Media. It shared this list of supported TVs with The Verge:

• Select Samsung 2020 UHD Smart TVs

• Select Samsung 2020 UHD QLED Smart TVs

• Select Samsung 2020 8K QLED Smart TVs

• Samsung The Frame 2020 Smart TVs

• Samsung The Serif 2020 Smart TVs

• Samsung The Terrace 2020 Smart TVs

• Any TV connected to a PS4 Pro streaming with the Netflix app

• Select Amazon Fire TV devices with Fire OS 7 and above

• Select Android TV devices with Android OS 10 and above

The company explained that deployment on TVs took sometime because playback on TV platforms depend on hardware. It was only over the past year that the industry released models capable of AV1 streaming. Netflix conducted comparison testing before rollout and found that AV1 delivers videos with better quality than other codecs, especially when there's network congestion. It also noticed fewer noticeable drops in quality due to changing network conditions and lesser time to start streams. In addition, since AV1 has higher compression efficiency than the codecs Netflix is currently using, it needs lesser bandwidth. That could lead to longer streaming sessions in 4K resolution. 

A team within the company created a rollout strategy to minimize associated costs with encoding its whole catalogue. Netflix will consider a title's popularity into consideration and start with well-known shows like La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) to make sure the AV1 streaming reaches the most number of viewers. The streaming giant also said that it's working with more manufacturers to develop more devices with AV1 playback capability.