Sound Blaster’s modular hub is a reconfigurable Stream Deck for audio
Creative, the company best known for its Sound Blaster line of sound cards that boosted the audio capabilities of ’90s-era PCs, is reviving the brand with a new hub called the Re:Imagine. It’s reminiscent of Elgato’s Stream Deck controllers, but with a focus on your audio gear. It has a modular design allowing buttons, dials, […]
The FCC is letting ISPs hide fees on your broadband bill
The FCC is moving to dismantle a rule requiring internet service providers to publish detailed "nutrition labels" for their service plans, just over a year after the requirement went into effect. The changes it's proposing could roll back transparency requirements that took years to establish - making it harder to tell how much you'll be […]
Perplexity’s new AI tool aims to simplify patent research
Patents are notoriously difficult to search for, but Perplexity has launched an AI-powered tool that’s supposed to make the process a little easier. Its new patent research agent allows you to search for patents using natural language, rather than a string of keywords. As an example, Perplexity says you can enter something like, “Are there […]
ESPN, ABC, and other Disney channels go dark on YouTube TV
More than 20 Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, ABC, and Nat Geo, have been pulled from YouTube TV after Google and Disney failed to reach a new content distribution agreement. The previous contract expired at 11:59 PM ET on October 30th, and it’s unclear when, or if, the two companies will reach a new deal. The […]
The Bose Ultra gen 2 earbuds are still chunky, but their ANC is incredible
Bose has built its modern reputation on noise-canceling performance, offering the best in class for a good two decades, since the launch of the QuietComfort headphones in 2000. But Sony and Apple caught up in 2023 and the race has gone back and forth since. The $299 Bose QuietComfort Ultra second-gen earbuds aim to top […]
Making KPop Demon Hunters sound magical meant finding the right harmonies
Music is obviously a huge part of KPop Demon Hunters. Songs are how the Huntr/x girls connect to their human fans and keep hordes of demons from entering the mortal realm. But beneath KPop Demon Hunters' banging soundtrack, there is also a rich tapestry of sounds that each play a role in bringing the movie's […]
A contentious kids safety bill might be getting gutted — and nobody’s happy
One of the biggest flashpoints for internet regulation, the Kids Online Safety Act, is poised for a revival - but possibly without the central feature that's kept people fighting over it for the past three years. Since 2022, supporters of KOSA have backed its plan to require web platforms to protect kids from a variety […]
God will be declared by a panel of experts
What is AGI? We know it stands for Artificial General Intelligence. That's a good start. But what does AGI mean, really? And how do we know when we've achieved it? For that matter, who decides we've achieved it? Does the AGI decide? This week, as OpenAI completed a long restructuring process that sets it up […]
Sora now lets you pay extra to make more AI videos
Keep burning through your video generation allowance on Sora? No problem, OpenAI now lets you buy extra credits to make even more AI videos. That’s good, because the company says it expects to reduce free allowances at some point in the future. Bill Peebles, who leads the Sora team at OpenAI, said the video platform’s […]
A bizarre Windows 11 bug duplicates Task Manager instead of closing it
If you’re a Windows 11 user who frequently uses the Task Manager tool, you should probably avoid Microsoft’s latest OS update. Reddit users and my colleague Tom Warren are reporting that a bug in the optional Windows 11 KB5067036 update is causing Task Manager to duplicate itself when they attempt to close the app, impacting […]