Google had promised us it was coming, and how its here: Chromecast has been updated with a new Backdrop feature that lets you display your own photos when you're not busy streaming something. You can also display popular photos from elsewhere, and news and weather snippets.
No, to soften water, you need a water softener. The salt used in the brine tank of a water softener does not directly soften the water, but is used to regenerate the resin beads in your water softener. These actually soften the water from your well by removing the hard water ions, calcium, magnesium and iron.
How a Water Softener Works. Hard water is softened by removing the calcium and magnesium it contains. When hard water passes through the softening system's resin bed, the calcium and magnesium (hardness) ions are removed through an ion exchange process, so only softened water passes through to your home.