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Today, Microsoft showed off Android screen mirroring in Windows, Google gave away some Home Minis, Spotify offered Premium users free Hulu access, and a lot more. These are the top stories for March 12th, 2019.

Microsoft and Windows News

Microsoft is still one of the most dominant forces in tech today, and the company is constantly trying to expand and modernize Windows. Here's what happened today.

  • Build 19H1 came to the Slow Ring (but still didn't fix the GSOD). [Thurrott]
  • Windows 10 is getting Android screen mirroring...for a few phones. [The Verge]
  • The Snip & Sketch tool got an update. Yay? [MSPowerUser]
  • Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18356 was announced in the Fast Ring. [Microsoft Blog]
  • Seeing AI, Microsoft's app for the visually impaired, got an update today that will help blind users experience images on their iPad by explaining parts of the photo when touched. [Engadget]
  • It's Patch Tuesday! Tons of patches, a couple of zero-day fixes, and some other stuff. [Ask Woody]

Google and Android News

If you don't keep a close eye on what Google is doing every single day, you're undoubtedly going to miss something. It's crazy.

  • Google is giving free Home Minis to users who subscribe to the Google One 2 TB plan. That's sweet. [Android Police]
  • Allo is dead. RIP. [Engadget]
  • More Google Assistant speakers are getting phone call capabilities. [Android Police]
  • An update is rolling out the NVIDIA SHIELD TV that brings Xbox controller support and more. [9to5Google]
  • Google teased its upcoming game streaming service, which it will announce next week at GDC. Fun stuff! [Google on Twitter]
  • Firefox's experimental Fenix browser for Android saw light with a unique take on mobile browsing. [Techdows]
  • Speaking of Firefox, the stable version got an update that blocks auto-playing audio by default. [Android Police]
  • Google is gearing up to release Android Q with a new Beta feedback and feature request app. [9to5Google]
  • On-device real-time voice transcription is rolling out to Gboard on Pixel devices. Neat. [9to5Google]
  • RED confused everyone with a statement on its Hydrogen One plans. I'm still not sure what's really going on. [Android Police]
  • Chrome 73 is rolling out today to the stable channel. Here's what's new.

Other Stuff

Look, not everything is Google or Microsoft---there's a lot of other stuff happening in this world too.

  • Netflix is planning more choose your own adventure-style shows after the success of Bandersnatch. [The Verge]
  • Mozilla launched Firefox Send for easy, encrypted, destructible file sharing. [Liliputing]
  • Spotify Premium users can get Hulu for free...assuming they're new users, anyway. [Spotify]
  • Alphabet-owned company Jigsaw released a fascinating new Chrome extension to let users control how much toxicity they see in comments. [Jigsaw on Medium]
  • A previously unknown wresting game for NES has surfaced after 30 years. So cool. [Ars Technica]
  • PUBG Mobile Beta got all sorts of new crap. [XDA Developers]
  • A new Fortnite update will let PS4 and Xbox One users kill each other. [Thurrott]
  • The macOS Mojave 10.14.4 Beta has hidden code revealing the company's rumored Apple News magazine subscription service, which is expected to be announced on March 25th. [MacRumors]

There you go: the biggest (or most interesting) stories from today, ready for your consumption. If you like this format or find it interesting, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts! Leave a comment below or drop me a line to let me know what you think, what you'd like to see, or if you think there's a way to improve what we're doing here.