This post is part of Hard Refresh, a soothing weekly column where we try to cleanse your brain of whatever terrible thing you just witnessed on Twitter.

You’ve heard of 3D, and even 4D, but prepare yourself for 8D. Well, sort of. 

If YouTube is your main source for music streaming then you may have seen something called “8D audio” in your suggestion bar.

8D audio is essentially an effect applied to a stereo track where songs have been edited with spacial reverb and mixing to make it seem like the audio moving in a circle around your head. This experience can only be achieved by wearing headphones, which the gimmick relies upon to create the illusion of a 360 degree space.

It sounds like this:

SEE ALSO: Transport yourself to a magical world with ambient soundscapes

Hundreds of songs have been edited to have this special effect. Some viewers claims it makes it feel like they’re listening live. 

The editing involved in this technique is best explained by YouTuber Dylan Tallchief, who runs a channel about all things audio. 

From his analysis, Dylan suspects that tracks have two main things done to them to achieve this effect: First, reverb is applied to the track, which adds an echo and spatial reflections. Essentially, it sounds as if the existing audio track is being pumped through a room. 

To recreate the effect Dylan uses an audio program to attain the rotating effect. Using a 3D stereo panner, the audio is manipulated to make it sound like it’s rotating around your head, though of course, you only have two ears, and the audio is still just stereo. The effect is that your brain is tricked into thinking there’s more space than there actually is.

As fun as the term “8D” is, the audio isn’t actually 8 dimensional. In an article on Mel Magazine by Eddie Kim, he explains, “Of course, there’s no actual new recording with 8D mixes of pre-existing songs. Instead, 8D music creators are using software that can manipulate a song’s various stereo parts, placing and moving them within a virtual 360-degree space.” 

So essentially, 8D is just another clickbait term that doesn’t really mean anything. 

Although many pop, hip-hop, and rock songs have been remixed in this format, more ambient songs like this one tend to lend themselves best to the mixing style, creating an eerie and encapsulating environment.

While some people find this form of music distracting, I find it mesmerizing, and I’m clearly not the only one. Two notable YouTube channels, 8D TUNES and Trillion – 8D Music, boast 5.4 million and 1.6 million subscribers respectively. They also aren’t the only two channels to hop on the 8D audio train, several more channels have been popping up recently with videos reaching views in the hundred thousands. Both of the channels mentioned above have ads turned on. 

Some 8D audio tracks have been criticized for being distracting because the sound moves too quickly in the spatial field. However, as the style evolves, the creators have been getting better at moving the music in a more desirable and calming fashion. What I really like about the slower style is that it feels like I’m in the room with the artist, and it also creates a virtual bubble in my headspace, allowing me to concentrate better.

Thanks to the growing number of 8D channels on YouTube, it’s easy to find popular songs when you search for the song title along with “8D.” 

So sit back, relax, and let 8D audio make you feel like you’ve entered the another dimension.

On Wednesday, Volvo’s performance brand debuted its first all-electric car, the Polestar 2. But the new  Tesla Model 3 competitor is causing a stir in the auto industry not only for its performance, but for being the first car to feature Google’s native version of Android built for cars.

The first Polestar vehicle (aptly named Polestar 1) was a plug-in hybrid two-door coupe that came out in 2017. The brand’s second car is a bit more practical with four doors and longer battery range, mimicking the price, design, and capability of the Model 3  — Tesla’s more affordable sedan that starts at $42,000.

The Polestar 2 was revealed this morning, but with a $63,000 price tag, way above its more budget-friendly expectations. The company says after the first year it will eventually go for closer to $45,000.

It’s part of Volvo’s commitment to go electric this year and beyond, whether that means hybrids, plug-ins, or all-electric vehicles coming from the Chinese-owned Swedish car company.

The new Volvo car has 275 miles per charge with its dual electric motors and 78 kWh battery and can go 0 to 60 mph in under 5 seconds, but it’s the in-car infotainment system from Google that’s more eye-catching than the EV specs. 

The 11-inch dashboard sits in the center console. This isn’t just any Android Auto system that syncs your Android phone with the car when it’s docked. This is an entirely new Google-powered interface built natively into the car — the first for Google. (We should note: Both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are available for drivers to connect their phones to the car.)

A smartphone demo from last month showed what the car’s infotainment system will look like in the vehicle, with some usual Google features making an appearance like maps, calendar, phone, and media player available on the home screen. An apps tab opens up the Google Play store. Google Assistant will operate the car’s voice control system. 

Climate control is also available throughout the interface no matter what tab or mode you’re in — something a bit different from the usual smartphone and tablet experience with Google. Remember, this is Google tailor-made for a car, not a digital device. The grid layout comes with default choices, but is customizable.

SEE ALSO: Tesla rival Byton wants you to binge media in the car

An Easter egg appeared in the app demo showing an overhead view of the car which quickly turned into a video game — maybe a clue of hidden games and features in the Google interface. Again, similar to Tesla and its Easter egg drawer full of games, tricks, and gags, like “fart mode.” 

The car tab on the app pulls up “drive” and “functions,” showing advanced driving features like lane-keeping, curve assist, auto-braking, blindspot alerts, and warnings about speed limit, police cameras, and road signs. Some of those features sound familiar from Google Maps.

Again, it’s similar to Tesla with an in-car tablet that features its own interface. But this is Google, and expect the Android-based features to make its way into other car infotainment systems. 

The car will officially launch at the Geneva Motor Show next month and is supposed to be available in the U.S. by summer 2020. Production in China will start in 2020. A Polestar 3 (the creativity just keeps going) is supposed to join the line-up eventually as another all-electric vehicle like the Polestar 2. Expect more Google features if the partnership works out with this car.

Imitation is the sincerest form of petty theft.

Facebook invited some page owners to try out its Fan Subscription service Monday night, a new feature that directly competes with Patreon. But the terms of the agreement and Facebook’s history with page owners have caused many to scoff at and shirk the offer.

SEE ALSO: Patreon’s idealism might actually be paying off

Namely, page owners report that the terms of the service enable Facebook to take up to a 30 percent cut of subscriptions. That’s in comparison to Patreon’s 10 percent, 5 percent of which go to fees and processing, and the other 5 percent that Patreon keeps. 

The other clause putting off pages from joining is the assertion that Facebook (and its affiliates!) will get lifetime rights to use creator content however it wishes, even after a page stops using the service.

Facebook is offering the subscription service for no fee at first. But its terms say that it retains the rights to change that at any time.

Page owners that received the invitation are also aghast because of their previous relationship with Facebook. Changes that Facebook made to its algorithm in recent years have severely limited the reach and ability to earn ad revenue from content posted on Facebook.

Facebook’s move on Fan Subscriptions is typical and telling in a couple ways. It shows how Facebook continues to add more tentacles to its business, further horizontally integrating to be a digital everything service — primarily by copying the successful business models and services of other companies. Facebook has recently launched ventures in dating (à la Match), direct selling (à la Craigslist), home services and reviews (à la Yelp), and much, much more. 

Facebook’s tendency to mimic also extends into its bread and butter business of social media. It directly stole the whole concept of stories and ephemerality from Snapchat, and Facebook recently launched its own version of short-form video platform TikTok, called Lasso.

Patreon, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with Facebook’s business. It is supportive of its creators using any platform however they wish, and many creators do use Facebook to communicate with and manage their communities. But when I spoke with Patreon co-founder Jack Conte and SVP of Product Wyatt Jenkins at their creator conference, Patrecon, in December, both expressed that they were trying to build a business and a payment model that was as fundamentally different from the way current internet giants manage content, users, and data.

“We don’t want to be where people digest content,” Jenkins said at the time. “We’re not obsessed about engagement, or what part of the video people are watching. That’s just not our game.”

Facebook, by contrast, wants to serve fans who subscribe “exclusive content” — the rights to which it will retain long after creators leave the platform.

“I’m tired of this system of converting attention into dollars, and using advertising to fund and finance the web,” Conte said. “You can be paid what you’re worth, instead of what tech platforms want to pay you.”

Ironically, Conte’s rebellion against the web as it is has apparently been an attractive prospect to Facebook. Facebook initially launched a very limited fan subscription service in 2018. But it only went wide this week — about a month after Patreon announced that it had grown its platform to 3 million users, who will surpass $1 billion in contributions paid to creators in 2019.

Will the appeal of Facebook’s massive reach be enough to sway page owners to Fan Subscriptions? Given the backlash to the terms of the initiative, that’s not looking likely. Besides, Patreon seems to know what its users want: transparency, a clear value proposition, and for the company to get out of creators’ damn way.

“We’ll just stay that central hub for creators to own that relationship with their fans, and have no algorithms between them and their fans, because that’s what they’re pissed about,” Jenkins said in December. “They’re tired of someone unilaterally deciding how many views they get, and changing algorithms, and doing all that work. They’re tired of it. That’s why they come to Patreon.”