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K-Pop Music Continues to Be Popular in UAE, Says Spotify

2020 has been yet another big year for K-Pop in the UAE. The passion for K-pop continues to grow and with the recent release of BTS’ documentary “Break the Silence” on October 15, the BTS UAE Army’s obsession with K-Pop will surely reach new heights.
To celebrate the monumental impact of K-Pop on fans around the world, Spotify is delving into its listening data for some of the genre’s best-known acts as everyone gets ready to go K-Pop crazy in October 2020.
Mega-group BTS, have already enjoyed their biggest international chart success yet with hit single “Dynamite” in 2020, which became their most listened to track across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt and set a new record on Spotify: racking up 12.6 million streams in the first 24 hours, as well as being added to more than 3.5 million playlists and sparking a 300% increase in people listening to BTS for the first time on Spotify.
The K-Pop powerhouse have also dominated Spotify’s most played K-Pop songs list in the UAE in 2020, where four out of the five top tracks were by BTS. “Boy With Luv” came in third, “Black Swan” came in fourth and “ON” made it to the fifth spot. This comes as no surprise as last year in October, 60,000 fans from the region flooded to Riyadh to attend BTS’ groundbreaking concert.
And with the group’s new album “BE” launching on November 20th, there’s more to look forward to from the boys for the rest of 2020, who are already the most streamed K-Pop artist on Spotify with more than 11.4 billion streams.
But it’s not just the boys that are driving our K-Pop obsession, Seoul-based girl group BLACKPINK, who just released their first Netflix documentary “BLACKPINK: Light Up The Sky” on October 14th, are experiencing a serious surge in streaming, with their latest release “THE ALBUM” becoming the #1 global album on Spotify during the week of launch. Spotify data shows their top streamed tracks in UAE are “ How You Like That”, “Ice Cream” featuring Selena Gomez, “Sour Candy” featuring Lady Gaga and ”Kill This Love”.
This year, the playlist K-Club Party rose by 32%, celebrating the very best dance K-Club Party tracks, while K-Pop Daebak featuring the famous K-Pop hits on the platform increased in average listeners by 36% in the UAE.
The top 5 most streamed K-Pop acts across the Middle East and North Africa (UAE, KSA, and Egypt) on Spotify are:
The top 5 most streamed K-Pop acts in the UAE on Spotify are:
The top 5 most played K-pop songs in the UAE on Spotify are:
- Dynamite by BTS
- How You Like That by BLACKPINK
- Boy With Luv by BTS featuring Halsey
- Black Swan by BTS
- ON by BTS

Apps
Experience the ChatGPT ‘Make It More’ Trend: Generate Weird AI Images

AI art generators occupy a peculiar space, capable of rendering diverse scenarios, from a cosmic skateboarding dog to a coffee cup adrift in the ocean. Setting aside ethical considerations, some creations may not initially meet expectations, necessitating user prompts to refine the AI-generated output.
Yet, what if the aim isn’t to craft a polished piece of AI art? Enter the “make it more” trend, where ChatGPT users task DALL-E to generate an image and subsequently request the bot to amplify certain aspects. For instance, Justine Moore prompted DALL-E to create a bowl of ramen, then instructed it to make it spicier. The iterative process led to increasingly absurd results, culminating in a bowl of noodles shooting fire beams into outer space.
A Dad getting increasingly Dad-ier pic.twitter.com/1EUFECmnT3
— Justine Moore (@venturetwins) November 27, 2023
While the Make It More trend gains traction on ChatGPT and DALL-E, allowing users to experiment with various image transformations, it also raises concerns about resource utilization. The AI processing involved consumes power and energy, prompting considerations about the trend’s efficiency and environmental impact. Nevertheless, these prompts contribute to OpenAI’s ongoing efforts to enhance AI capabilities across platforms like ChatGPT and DALL-E.
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Samsung Internet is Now Available for Download on Windows PCs

Samsung’s default browser, Samsung Internet, has expanded its reach to desktop computers and laptops, now available for download on the Microsoft Store. One notable feature is the ability for users to sync their browsing data between their Galaxy devices and computers.
Upon launching the browser, users can import their browsing history, bookmarks, and search engines from other applications like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge by signing into their Samsung Cloud account. The browser also supports add-ons and extensions from Chrome and Edge, accessible through the Chrome Web Store.
Samsung Internet for Windows offers familiar features such as incognito mode, light and dark modes, and ad-blocker support. The design elements show similarities to both Chrome and Edge, providing a sense of familiarity for users of those browsers. A useful security feature allows users to delete bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and other data upon signing out, catering to those who share computers.
Despite its promising features, the browser’s PC debut is marred by a lack of complete sync support. Currently, only browsing history, bookmarks, and search engines can be imported, with no support for transferring saved passwords from Galaxy devices to computers. This omission may be addressed in future updates.
In May, Samsung Internet received an optimisation update for Galaxy tablet users. Toggleable features were introduced, allowing users to control the placement of the browser’s address, bookmark, and tab bars. The update also included a warning for users with a high number of open tabs, informing them that opening another tab would result in the deletion of the oldest tab.
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Google Clarifies the Cause of Missing Google Drive Files

Many Google Drive users recently experienced the unsettling disappearance of their files, prompting concerns. Google has now identified the root cause, attributing the issue specifically to the Google Drive for Desktop app. While assuring that only a limited subset of users is affected, the tech giant is actively investigating the matter and promises timely updates.
To prevent inadvertent file deletion, Google provides the following recommendations:
- Avoid clicking “Disconnect account” within Drive for desktop.
- Refrain from deleting or moving the app data folder, located at:
- Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\DriveFS
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/DriveFS
- Optionally, create a copy of the app data folder if there is sufficient space on your hard drive.
Before Google officially addressed the issue, distressed users took to the company’s support forum to report deleted files. One user from South Korea highlighted a particularly severe case where their account reverted to May 2023, resulting in the loss of anything uploaded or created after that date. Additionally, the user emphasised that they had not synced or shared their files or drive with anyone else.
As Google delves deeper into resolving this matter, affected users are advised to heed the provided precautions. The company’s commitment to ongoing updates reflects its dedication to swiftly addressing and rectifying the situation. The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of proactive measures to safeguard digital data, especially as users navigate cloud-based platforms such as Google Drive.