There's a certain level of fandom you hit when you research a band's tour set list before they come to your city. And some of us like to relive great concerts with some quick research on setlist.fm. The next logical step, once we're armed with this information, is to create a playlist on our preferred streaming service for quick access. Thanks to third-party options like Setify, the process is easy for Apple Music and Spotify users, but you still have to take the time to do it.
Apple Music has now given artists the ability to turn set lists into playlists thanks to info from tour info site Bandsintown. Once an artist has connected the two services, they can select the type of show in Apple Music for Artists (concert, tour or residency) and link it to upcoming dates on Bandsintown. From there, artists can set a publish date and use search to build out the playlist. These collections of songs can include original tunes the artist covers or collaborations with other acts. Apple Music allows unlimited set list playlists for past or future shows, but the service recommends that artists select a track listing that most accurately reflects the whole tour if they're making one for an entire run of dates.
Set lists playlists aren't entirely new on Apple Music. The service has been curating playlists for popular tours for a while now, like Zach Bryan's 2024 Quittin' Time Tour. What's more, Apple Music is touting this new tool as a promotional feature for artists, so there are a number of ways to share the playlists once they're live. However, it will also be a great item for fans who either want more info on the songs they can expect to hear, can't make it to a stop on a tour or want to relive the experience of seeing the band in person.
Of course, if one of your favorites doesn't hop on this bandwagon, you still have options for set list playlists. With Setify, you can link either Apple Music or Spotify and pull in data from setlist.fm in order to make your collections. It's not perfect, but it works well most of the time, and you can always adjust things in the streaming service apps if you need to further curate a playlist. I recently missed one of my all-time favorites at Furnace Fest, but thanks to this combo, I can at least get a small piece of Blindside playing through About a Burning Fire. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/apple-music-helps-artists-turn-concert-set-lists-into-playlists-133916684.html?src=rss
While iPads are cheaper and much handier to carry around than MacBooks, you often need an extra iPad accessory or two to make them as useful. While an attachable keyboard can be great for anyone with a writing job (hello!) an Apple pencil is critical for everything from studying to designing. Thankfully, it's cheaper than ever to get the budget option with the USB-C Apple Pencil on sale for $65, down from $79. The 18 percent discount brings the accessory to $5 less than its Prime Day price.
Apple released its USB-C Pencil in late 2023 as a cheaper option than its counterparts, the second generation Apple Pencil and Apple Pencil Pro. This Pencil is compatible with all iPads with a USB-C port and offers the hover feature when using an M2 iPad Air or the iPad Pro. It also has some great perks like low latency, tilt sensitivity and pixel-perfect accuracy. However, it doesn't have pressure sensitivity like its fellow Apple Pencils.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-usb-c-apple-pencil-drops-to-a-new-all-time-low-of-65-133046013.html?src=rss
Just in time for the 2024 US elections, the call screening and fraud detection company Hiya has launched a free Chrome extension to spot deepfake voices. The aptly named Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector listens to voices played in video or audio streams and assigns an authenticity score, telling you whether its likely real or fake.
Hiya tells Engadget that third-party testers have validated the extension as over 99 percent accurate. The company says that even covers AI-generated voices the detection model hasnt trained on, and the company claims it can spot voices created by new synthesis models as soon as theyre launched.
We played around with the extension ahead of launch, and it seems to work well. I pulled up a YouTube video about the blues pioneer Howlin Wolf that I suspected used AI narration, and it assigned it a 1/100 authenticity score, declaring it likely a deepfake. Suspicions confirmed.
Hiya
Hiya threw a well-earned jab at social media companies for making such a tool necessary. Its clear social media sites have a huge responsibility to alert users when the content they are consuming has a high chance of being an AI deepfake, Hiya President Kush Parikh wrote in a press release. The onus is currently on the individual to be vigilant to the risks and use tools like our Deepfake Voice Detector to check if they are concerned content is being altered. Thats a big ask, so were pleased to be able to support them with a solution that helps put some of the power back in their hands.
The extension only needs to listen to a few seconds of a voice to spit out a result. It works on a credit system to prevent Hiyas servers from getting slammed by excessive requests. Youll get 20 credits daily, which may or may not cover the flood of manipulative AI content youll come across on social media in the coming weeks.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/a-new-chrome-extension-can-reliably-detect-ai-generated-voices-130059842.html?src=rss
Be My Eyes, the accessibility app for mobile devices that puts blind and low-vision people on a live video call with a sighted guide, will help Microsoft train its AI. Be My Eyes will provide anonymized video data to improve scene understanding in Microsofts accessibility-focused AI models.
The data sets Be My Eyes gives Microsoft will include unique objects, lighting and framing that realistically represents the lived experience of the blind and low vision community. The goal is to make Microsofts AI more inclusive for people with vision disabilities.
The companies say all personal info has been scrubbed from the metadata. The provided data wont be used for advertising or any purpose other than training Microsofts AI models.
Although this is Be My Eyes first such data partnership, its worked with Microsoft before by incorporating its Be My AI tool into Microsofts Disability Answer Desk. As its name suggests, Be My AI is the companys GPT-4-powered spin on an assistance product. In that case, it helps people with vision disabilities navigate Office, Windows and Xbox.
Be My Eyes also struck a deal with Hilton earlier this month. In that case, dedicated hotel staff help blind and low-vision lodgers do things like adjust their thermostats, make coffee and raise or lower their blinds. A previous 2023 partnership between the two companies helped train the Be My AI model.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-recruits-accessibility-app-to-make-its-ai-more-useful-to-blind-and-low-vision-users-130006439.html?src=rss
Many of DJI's drones including its latest consumer products are being held up at the US border, the manufacturer said in a blog post today. It appears to be a customs matter and not related to proposed US legislation to ban DJI products (the Countering CCP Drones Act) currently in US Congress. However, the holdup means that sales of DJI's latest Air 3S drone will be delayed, the company told The Verge.
"The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has cited the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), as the reason for the current holdups," the DJI ViewPoints team wrote. "This assertion made against DJI, however, is entirely unfounded and categorically false."
Calling the situation a "misunderstanding," DJI said it's sending documentation proving it complies with the UFLPA. It added that it has no manufacturing facilities in and doesn't source materials from Xinjiang, the region that's a red flag for the US in terms of Uyghur forced labor violations. It also noted that it's not a listed entity under UFLPA and that its supply "undergoes rigorous due diligence by respected US retailers." US Customs and Border Protection has yet to comment on the matter.
While the US House of Representatives did pass the a bill to block DJI's drones, the Senate removed that clause from the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. It was later re-introduced as an amendment, though, and could still make it into the final bill. If so, imports of new DJI drones could be blocked, but a ban wouldn't likely prohibit current owners from using them. DJI has a massive share of the worldwide drone market upwards of 70 percent as of 2021, according to Statista. including as much as 90 percent by public safety officials. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/dji-confirms-that-us-customs-is-holding-up-its-latest-consumer-drone-123007447.html?src=rss
Uber is reportedly exploring the idea of purchasing Expedia, one of the largest travel booking companies in the world, according to the Financial Times. Expedia, which is valued at $20 billion and which reported its highest-ever annual revenue in 2023, will be the company's biggest acquisition, if the deal does indeed push through. The Times says it's very early days, however, and Uber hasn't even made a formal offer for the travel company yet. It's still in the process of studying the implications of acquiring Expedia and has, over the past months, worked with advisers to figure out whether the deal is feasible and how it would be structured.
The company's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, may have to sit out deal discussions, seeing as he used to be CEO of Expedia before he was hired by the ride-hailing service in 2017. He's still in its Board of Directors, as well. It doesn't sound like Khosrowshahi was the one who suggested the potential purchase, though in its report, the Times said the idea was "broached by a third party."
Uber has had plans to become a wider travel booking platform for a while now. Khosrowshahi said he wanted Uber to be the "Amazon of transportation" from the time he joined the company. Since then, the ride-hailing service has added train, bus and flight bookings in some markets, and it has also made several large acquisitions. It purchased online food delivery service Postmates for $2.65 billion and alcohol delivery service Drizly for $1.1 billion before shutting it down three years later. The company also teamed up with Waymo and Cruise to offer autonomous rides in certain markets. As the Times notes, Uber became profitable for the first time in 2023 due to a renewed demand for rides and food delivery and could be a in a good position to acquire a company as big as Expedia. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/uber-is-reportedly-exploring-an-expedia-takeover-120038754.html?src=rss
In a barrage of Kindle hardware, Amazon might have something for anyone looking to upgrade from a basic Kindle. The biggest reveal might be the Kindle Colorsoft, its first reader with a color display. Amazon tried to ensure the reader has a good color and black-and-white experience, with high contrast, high resolution and high clarity whether you're looking at a color image or a black-and-white page. Amazon uses nitride LEDs, which work with the companys algorithm to enhance color and brightness without washing out images.
Judging by the press images (and the demos we went to), these seem primed for graphic novels and comics. If youre looking for something to digitally house your comics and manga, the Kindle Colorsoft will cost you $280 and start shipping on October 30.
Mat Smith
Get this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!
The biggest tech stories you missed
New Pixel updates include AI-powered theft protection
Microsoft removes the $1 Xbox Game Pass trial just before Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
The JRPG-inspired Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a stacked voice cast
Kindle Scribe (2024) hands-on
You can finally scribble on your books.
Amazon
With the original Scribe, Amazon got a lot of the basics right. It nailed latency and smoothness of the writing experience, but writing notes on your ebooks was a bit janky. Now, when you write on a page, the Scribe will generate a box for your notes. This box is embedded in the text, with the books words rearranging and flowing to accommodate it. However, its still not a simple draw on the page solution. The Kindle Scribe will be available in December, starting at $400.
Continue reading.
Analogues 4K remake of the N64 is almost ready
The Analogue 3D costs $250 and will ship early next year.
Analogue
Analogue says its nailed its most complicated project yet: rebuilding the Nintendo 64 from scratch. Once again, the Analogue 3D has an FPGA (field programmable gate array) chip, coded to emulate the original console on a hardware level. Were promised support for every official N64 cartridge ever released, across all regions, but with some major upgrades. The Analogue 3D supports 4K output, variable refresh rate displays and PAL and NTSC carts. The company is also making Original Display Modes to emulate your CRT TV of yore.
Continue reading.
Look at Pradas NASA spacesuit
Its been designed for NASAs Artemis III mission.
NASA
Prada and Axiom Space teamed up to design a new spacesuit, and NASA is now ready to reveal the look. This is the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit, white with red and gray accents for a bit of color and excitement. The suit is almost finished, having undergone testing and simulations at Axiom Space, SpaceX and NASA facilities. It should enter a final review in 2025.
Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-amazon-finally-made-a-kindle-with-a-color-display-111533015.html?src=rss
Meta is continuing its flurry of teen safety features for Instagram as the company faces mounting questions about its handling of younger users privacy and safety in its apps. The latest batch of updates are meant to tighten its protections against sextortion.
With the changes, Meta says it will make it harder for potentially scammy accounts to target teens on Instagram. The company will start to send follow requests from such accounts to users spam folders or block them entirely. The app will also start testing an alert that notifies teens when they receive a message from such an account, warning them that the message appears to be coming from a different country.
Additionally, when the company detects that a potential scammer is already following a teen, it will prevent them from being able to view teens follower lists and accounts that have tagged them in photos. The company isnt saying exactly how its determining which accounts are deemed potentially scammy, but a spokesperson said theyre using signals such as the age of the account and whether it has mutual followers with the teen its attempting to interact with.
Meta
Meta is also making changes to prevent the spread of intimate images. Instagram will no longer allow users to screenshot or screen record images shared over DMs via the apps ephemeral messaging feature and will no longer allow these images to be opened from the web version of Instagram. The app will also expanding the nudity protection feature it began testing earlier this year to all teens on the app. The tool automatically blurs images when nudity is detected in an image shared over DMs, and provides warnings and resources when such an image is detected.
The changes are meant to address the realities of how sextortion scams, in which scammers coerce teens into sending intimate images that are then used to threaten and blackmail them, are often carried out over Instagram. A report from Thorn and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) earlier this year found that Instagram, along with Snapchat, were the most common platforms used by scammers as initial contact points.
These scams are carried out by individuals and groups that sometimes organize on Metas own platforms. Alongside the updates, Meta said that it removed 800 groups on Facebook and 820 accounts, linked to a group known as the Yahoo Boys, that were attempting to organize, recruit and train new sextortion scammers.
Metas updates come as it faces increasing pressure to strengthen safety features for its youngest users. The company is currently facing a lawsuit from more than 30 states over the issue. (Earlier this week, a federal judge rejected Metas attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed.) New Mexico is also suing the company and has alleged that Meta didnt do enough to stop adults from sexually harassing teens on its apps, particularly Instagram.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-is-adding-new-features-to-prevent-teen-sextortion-scams-111047916.html?src=rss
Casio, the Japanese electronics giant best known for calculators and watches, is venturing into plushier territory with Moflin, a fluffy AI-powered pet robot that's designed to form an emotional bond with its owner. Resembling a guinea pig or maybe an earless rabbit, a Moflin reacts to being spoken to and cuddled, and can recognize a specific person's voice and touch. After about a month, it becomes more vocal and active, learning to respond to its owner with wriggles and meow-like sounds. According to Casio, artificial intelligence enables it to pull from 4 million potential combinations of audio and movement to develop and display its personality. The creature's mood is boosted by affectionate interaction, and drops when neglected or startled; users can get a closer read on their Moflin's emotional states through an accompanying app.Originally developed by Vanguard Industries Inc. and launched on Kickstarter in 2020, Moflin's initial production was stymied by pandemic-era supply chain issues. Now manufactured and distributed by Casio, the device is available for pre-order in Japan, with shipping planned for November 2024, though it's currently listed as sold out. Available in grey and brown, Moflins sell for JPY 59,400 (USD 395/EUR 365), plus an optional annual membership for discounts on hospitalization (aka repairs), fur care and fur replacements. So, is this all fluff? Probably not. Speculations about the future of human-bot interactions have gone into overdrive since ChatGPT was introduced, and chatbots have proven to be exceptionally engaging for those seeking emotional or intimate connections. Casio offers a simpler, more innocent form of companionship that provides moments of delight and helps soothe people when they're stressed or anxious. Take the growing popularity of Jellycats and other stuffed animals among adults, throw in responsive, AI-powered interaction plus an ever-expanding market for self-care tools, and Moflin seems like the natural evolution of multiple trends. Cats: it's time to start worrying about an animatronic furball taking your job...
Google has formally filed a motion [PDF] asking the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to put a pause on the order that forces the company to open the Play store to competitors. If you'll recall, Google lost an antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games after a federal jury found that the company held an illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app billing services for Android devices. Earlier this month, US District Judge James Donato ordered Google to allow third-party app stores access to the Google Play app catalog and to make those stores downloadable from its storefront. Now, Google is asking the court for a stay on that order while it's appealing the Epic antitrust lawsuit decision, saying that it will expose 100 million Android users in the US to "substantial new security risks."
The company called the order "harmful and unwarranted" and said that if it's allowed to stand, it will threaten Google's ability to "provide a safe and trusted used experience." It argued that if it makes third-party app stores available for download from Google Play, people might think that the company is vouching for them, which could raise "real risks for [its] users." Those app stores could have "less rigorous protections," Google explained, that could expose users to harmful and malicious apps.
It also said that giving third-party stores access to the Play catalog could harm businesses that don't want their products available alongside inappropriate or malicious content. Giving third-party stores access to its entire library could give "bad-intentioned" stores a "veneer of legitimacy." Moreover, it argued that allowing developers to link out from their apps "creates significant risk of deceptive links," since bad actors could use the feature for phishing attacks to compromise users' devices and steal their data.
One of court's main proposed changes is to allow developers to remove Google Play billing as an option, allowing them to offer their apps to Android users without having to pay the company a commission. However, Google said that by allowing developers to remove its billing system, it could "force an option that may not have the safeguards and features that users expect."
In its filing, Google emphasized that the three weeks the court gave it to make these sweeping changes is too short for a "Herculean task." It creates an "unacceptable risk of safety" that could lead to major issues affecting the functionality of users' Android devices, it said. The company also questioned why the court sided with Epic in its antitrust lawsuit, whereas it sided with Apple in a similar case also filed by the video game company. "It is pause-inducing that Apple, which requires all apps go through its proprietary App Store, is not a monopolist, but Google which built choice into the Android operating system so device makers can preinstall and users can download competing app stores was condemned for monopolization."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-wants-to-put-the-consequences-of-its-epic-antitrust-ruling-on-pause-during-appeal-020354621.html?src=rss