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.
A filter will not remove dissolved solids (which are responsible for hard water). A descaler, (Salt Free Softener) does not remove dissolved solids, it prevent the solids from being deposited inside pipes, on fixtures, etc.. A water softener is a true water treatment system. The dissolved calcium and magnesium carbonate (which are responsible for the hard water) in the water are replaced with either sodium chloride (salt) or potassium chloride.