ICQ to Shutdown

Michael Kan, writing for PCMag:

On Friday, the ICQ website posted a simple message: “ICQ will stop working from June 26.” It now recommends users migrate to the messaging platforms from VK, the Russian social media company that acquired ICQ from AOL in 2010, but under a different corporate name. 

It’s an unceremonious end for a software program that helped kick off instant messaging on PCs in the 1990s. ICQ, which stands for “I Seek You,” was originally developed at an Israeli company called Mirabilis before AOL bought it in 1998 for $407 million.

ICQ and AOL Instant Messenger. Those were the days.

SOLAK – “Untitled Cowboy” (Video Premiere)

SOLAK

Today I’m so excited to introduce everyone to a new Indie Lo-Fi artist, SOLAK, who will be releasing his debut single called “Untitled Cowboy” to all streaming services tomorrow. On this heartfelt song and video that showcases the depth of SOLAK’s sound, that fits somewhere in the realm of artists like Elliott Smith and Jack Johnson, SOLAK quickly cements himself as a key artist to watch. When speaking on his ability to write everything himself, this artist shared, “I still write on my own, and I obviously set some boundaries. But within that framework, the musicians are given the freedom to add their own personality. I enjoy that myself when I’m playing for someone else.” If you’re enjoying the new track, please consider pre-ordering his debut LP, Atlas, here. I was also able to catch up with this new artist for a brief interview below.

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Spotify to Discontinue Car Thing

The Verge:

Spotify’s brief attempt at being a hardware company wasn’t all that successful: the company stopped producing its Car Thing dashboard accessory less than a year after it went on sale to the public. And now, two years later, the device is about to be rendered completely inoperable. Customers who bought the Car Thing are receiving emails warning that it will stop working altogether as of December 9th.

Unfortunately for those owners, Spotify isn’t offering any kind of subscription credit or automatic refund for the device — nor is the company open-sourcing it. Rather, it’s just canning the project and telling people to (responsibly) dispose of Car Thing.