Tech Podcasts

On iOS Today, Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard share some of their favorite free apps for your iOS devices. Google Earth Citymapper: All Your Transport BeReal. Your friends for real. Unsquared For Instagram Runestone Text Editor Shop: All your favorite brands TimerLoop: Repeatable Timers Flite - Email Yourself Notes Flush - Toilet Finder & Map News In-app account deletion requirement starts June 30 Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off June 6 with keynote address Apple Developer update to include WWDC 2022 session videos, digital lounges, more Apple Account Card now available in the Wallet app US Senate backs off Big Tech regulation bill as Apple again criticizes impacts of sideloading Shortcuts Corner Michael wants to use a shortcut that will start an outdoor walk workout when getting to a particular park Feedback Wayne has a question about losing cell signal when entering large buildings App Caps Rosemary: Phase 10: World Tour Mikah: WhenWorks Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit You can contribute to iOS Today by leaving us a voicemail at 757-504-iPad (757-504-4723) or sending an email to iOSToday@TWiT.tv. Sponsors: nomadgoods.com/IOSTODAY itpro.tv/twit promo code TWIT30

1 Billion Safari Users, SwiftUI in 2022, BTS  WWDC 2022: What to expect, iOS 16, new operating systems, redesigned MacBook Air, more.  WWDC 2022 full schedule.  Apple's Safari browser now has more than 1 billion users.  Michael Tsai - SwiftUI in 2022.  Judge rules Cydia's antitrust case against Apple can move forward.  Apple VP kindly reminds retail workers that they can say no to unions.  We Tried Apple's Self Repair Program. You Shouldn't. (Probably).  Foxconn raises outlook, saying supply chain situation improving.  Kuo: TSMC roadmap indicates this year's iPhone 'A16' chip will stick to 5nm fab, same as A14 and A15.  Apple has won a patent for a future Apple Watch with an integrated camera in its digital crown and more.  Tesla is considering adopting Apple's AirPlay to improve audio quality.  Apple Music 1 launching a new show hosted by K-pop sensation BTS.  Formula One pilot Sebastian Vettel chases thieves using the iPhone's Find My app.  Remembering Apple's Newton, 30 years on. Picks of the Week  Alex's Pick: ChauvetDJ  Andy's Pick: Buy Nothing App for iOS  Rene's Pick: Rene's Nebula Class Hosts: Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, Rene Ritchie, and Andy Ihnatko Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/macbreak-weekly. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: ue.com/fits promo code MACBREAK kolide.com/macbreak wealthfront.com/macbreak

No, your eyes don't deceive you — Ubisoft is upgrading an older Assassin's Creed game for modern consoles. The developer has revealed that a 60 frames per second update for 2017's Assassin's Creed Origins is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on June 2nd. The boost doesn't appear to include 4K support or other visual embellishments, but this could still breathe new life into the game if you haven't touched it in a while.It's not clear what prompted a 60FPS boost for a game released three years before PS5 and Xbox Series consoles existed. Ubisoft did release a similar upgrade for Assassin's Creed Odyssey in 2021, but that was a year earlier and for a more recent title. Origins was one of the better-received recent games in the franchise, though, and Ubi has a strong incentive to rejuvenate interest in the series ahead of Infinity. If nothing else, this is a good excuse to return to an alternate reality take on ancient Egypt.You've been waiting, and now the winds of Egypt are calling....Experience Assassin's Creed Origins in 60FPS - available for PS5 and Xbox Series consoles on June 2.#AssassinsCreedpic.twitter.com/SxxiyTROE0— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) May 31, 2022

Computer vision comes for baseball umpires, what Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion can do for island power, and Microsoft brings blue checkmarks to everyone. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Chris Ashley, Joe, Amos MP3 Download Using a Screen Reader? Click here Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org Follow us on Twitter Instgram YouTube and TwitchContinue reading "Automated Balls & Strikes…The Right Call?- DTNS 4286V2"

Podcast listeners, no matter the app they use, were unable to access shows hosted on Spotify's Megaphone platform Monday night and early Tuesday. Those include The Joe Rogan Experience and podcasts from The Ringer and Gimlet Media. Worst of all, it seems the problem was entirely avoidable — it was due to a lapsed security certificate. “Megaphone experienced a platform outage due to an issue related to our SSL certificate,” Spotify spokesperson Erin Styles told The Verge. “During the outage, clients were unable to access the Megaphone CMS and podcast listeners were unable to download podcast episodes from Megaphone-hosted publishers."A valid SSL certificate is required to create a secure connection between a server and a browser or app. It seems Megaphone's certificate expired at around 8PM ET on Monday and the service didn't come back online until just before 6AM this morning. It took a few more hours before the problems were fully resolved.Megaphone, which dynamically inserts ads into podcasts, is a key component of Spotify's podcast ambitions. It bought the company for $235 million in 2020. Spotify bolstered the service when it bought Whooshkaa, which can turn radio shows into podcasts, last December. It also acquired two other ad tech companies, Chartable and Podsights, earlier this year.Neglecting to renew the certificate is a bad look for Spotify, which as a technology company, ought to know better. While listeners might not have been able to download episodes of their favorite shows overnight, they should have access again now. Spotify is not the only major tech company to have dealt with such a snafu, though. In 2020, Microsoft Teams was down for a few hours after someone seemingly forgot to renew the SSL certificate.

Retro console maker Evercade has just announced its latest device, a new handheld called the EXP. If you’re not familiar with Evercade, its products are a bit different from your standard retro fare. Instead of purchasing a device like the SNES Classic Edition that comes with a limited library of preloaded games or one like the Analogue Pocket that can play games from their original cartridges, Evercade sells cartridges that come with a selection of games. The company says this approach has a few benefits, one of which is that it enables license holders to be paid more fairly. It also means games load instantly.Blaze EntertainmentThe EXP builds on the company’s original handheld with a new, more mature design. Gone are the red “go faster” stripes of its predecessor. Additionally, the EXP features a new 4.3-inch IPS panel with a denser 800 by 480 resolution. It also comes with a 1.5GHz processor and 4GB of built-in memory, putting it on par with the company’s VS console. New to the EXP is a “Tate” mode that makes the handheld a better fit for playing games that were designed around vertical scrolling like classic shmups. The EXP features two buttons on its left-hand side to aid with playing games this way. Evercade has also added WiFi and USB-C connectivity to the device and redesigned the mini-HDMI port to make it more stable.In the US, the EXP will cost $150. Evercade will begin accepting pre-orders for the console starting in September, with general availability to follow later this winter. Retail units will ship with the IREM Arcade 1 collection, which comes with six games from the Japanese publisher, including Moon Patrol and 10 Yard Fight. Evercade has promised to share more details about the device, including information on bonus content, in September.

Earlier this year, New York City started testing a gun detection system from Evolv Technologies at City Hall and Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. Mayor Eric Adams, who has said he came across the system on the internet, has been talking up the tech for months as a way to help combat gun violence. Now, it has emerged that two people who donated $1 million to support Adams' mayoral run work at companies with investments in Evolv, as the New York Daily News first reported.The CEO of the investment firm Citadel, Kenneth Griffin, last year donated $750,000 to Strong Leadership NYC, a political action committee (PAC) that supported Adams. Jane Street Financial Services founder Robert Granieri gave $250,000, according to records.As of May 16th, Citadel held 12,975 shares in Evolv, a publicly traded company. It holds another 89,900 for other investors as call options. Jane Street held 76,570 shares as of May 17th. The stock held by all shareholders totals 143.4 million, so both firms own a relatively small chunk of Evolv.Mayor is testing out fancy new metal detectors at City Hall. He’s proposed putting these in the subways. pic.twitter.com/PudnUcoHD5— Clayton Guse (@ClaytonGuse) May 17, 2022A spokesperson for Adams told the Daily News that the mayor didn't recognize the names of Griffin and Granieri and wasn't sure whether he'd met with them. The spokesperson said that before a pilot of Evolv's system started at Jacobi Medical Center in February, the tech was being used at other city hospitals.NYC has considered using the AI weapon detection technology in transit systems, particularly following a mass shooting on a subway train in Brooklyn last month. As Fast Company notes, Evolv charges between $2,000 and $3,000 per scanner per month for a subscription. Installing one at every subway entrance and paying staff to operate them would cost hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Given the costs, it's unlikely that the scanners would be ubiquitous. The effectiveness of Evolv's system has been brought into question too. While the company has not publicly disclosed its false positive rates, it has acknowledged the issue in promotional materials. Screenshots in brochures obtained by New York Focus indicated that in one three-month stretch, the system scanned 2.2 million people and there were more than 190,000 alerts. The vast majority of those were for harmless objects like umbrellas, strollers, eyeglass cases and laptops. In that scenario, only 0.8 percent of the alerts were for actual weapons and just 0.1 percent were for non-law enforcement guns. However, Evolv has claimed that the data in the screenshots is "fictitious" and is “from a demonstration account.”A report by surveillance tech trade publication IPVM earlier this year noted that Evolv's full-body scanners were misidentifying other objects as potential weapons, such as Chromebooks. IPVM director of operations Donald Maye told the Daily News that Evolv's system has a false alert rate of between five and ten percent at settings such as sports stadiums (which lines up with data shown in the disputed screenshot). Maye suggested that the false positive rate would actually be higher at subway system scanners and lead to "secondary screenings" with cops searching commuters.Engadget has contacted Evolv for comment.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Podcast listeners could not access many of their favorite shows for more than eight hours on Monday night and early Tuesday morning due to an outage on Megaphone, a podcast hosting platform owned by Spotify. The outage stemmed from the company’s failure to renew Megaphone’s security certificate. “Megaphone experienced a platform outage due to an issue related to our SSL certificate,” Spotify spokesperson Erin Styles said in a statement. “During the outage, clients were unable to access the Megaphone CMS and podcast listeners were unable to download podcast episodes from Megaphone-hosted publishers. Megaphone service has since been restored.” It’s a simple mistake with big ramifications. Megaphone, which inserts dynamic ads into episodes, hosts many of the industry’s top shows. It also distributes shows on platforms beyond Spotify, including Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Spotify hosts many of its own licensed and owned shows on Megaphone. (Disclosure: Vox Media, owner of The Verge, also publishes podcasts on Megaphone). Styles said that the company is reaching out to affected publishers. Spotify acquired Megaphone in December 2020 for $235 million, making it the streamer’s biggest purchase in its quest to build a comprehensive podcasting tech stack (for comparison, it paid about $150 million for Anchor). The tool allows the company to make money off of podcast listening that happens even on competitor platforms. Since then, Spotify has bulked up Megaphone by acquiring and integrating analytics tools Podsights and Chartable and radio-to-podcast tool Whooshkaa. Spotify did not comment as to why Megaphone’s SSL certificate was left to expire and why it took so long to fix. The certificate expired at 8PM ET on Monday, according to data found by Podnews. The issue was not resolved for another eight hours, according to the platform’s status page. Even after Megaphone came back online just before 6AM ET, podcasters experienced delays with the Megaphone CMS. As of 9:45AM, the company said the issue was fully resolved. The SSL certificate, which stands for Secure Sockets Layer, is a data encryption tool for websites (it is the “S” in HTTPS) that allows a server to communicate with a client (your computer or phone, for example), sending data that others can’t easily modify or spy on. While SSL certificates used to be good for as long as three years, starting in September 2020, SSL certificates were limited to a maximum of 13 months. However, Megaphone secured a two-year certificate in May 2020, seven months before it was acquired by Spotify. The outage irked listeners and podcasters alike, who took to social media to warn others of the problem and request that Spotify fix it. Luke Braun, a podcaster who hosts Locked On Vikings and Locked On NFL, said that the outage could cost the shows thousands of downloads across platforms because the upload was delayed. Before the Megaphone issue was fixed, the only platform to which he could post Tuesday’s episodes was YouTube, which accounts for about 20 percent of his audience. While Braun says he is overall satisfied with Megaphone, which he has used since 2018, he also wasn’t entirely shocked that the outage occurred over such a dumb mistake. “It seems like a brain fart,” he said. Correction: A previous version of this story said that the Joe Rogan Experience is hosted on Megaphone and was part of the outage. It is actually hosted on Anchor.

TikTok is testing a new feature that allows users to scroll through content on the app without interface elements like usernames, captions and audio information cluttering the screen. “Clear Mode” was first spotted last week by former The Next Web editor Matt Navarra, with TikTok providing TechCrunch confirmation it was testing the feature on Tuesday.TikTok is testing ‘Clear Mode’ for a distraction-free viewing experience https://t.co/HmEur1qfDapic.twitter.com/jAIUC6vFse— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) May 26, 2022The company didn’t say when users could expect Clear Mode to roll out more widely. As always, it’s also worth noting TikTok may ultimately decide against implementing the feature based on information the company gathers from users.If you’ve enrolled in the test, you can access Clear Mode by long-pressing on a video and tapping the appropriate option. As TechCrunch points out, the feature, if implemented, would make the lives of creators easier since they would no longer need to re-upload clips people want to screenshot. You’ll often see TikTok users drop a “crop” comment on a video because a caption or button has obscured part of a video they want to share. TikTok has been testing more of these types of quality-of-life improvements in recent months. For instance, some users recently gained access to a watch history feature that makes it easier to rediscover videos you forgot to like.

If you use Amazon’s Kindle app on Android, you may have noticed the software doesn't offer the option to buy and rent ebooks or subscribe to the company’s Kindle Unlimited service anymore. Amazon announced the change last month and more recently began notifying customers of the move via email.If you’re curious about what’s going on, the change puts Amazon in compliance with a policy Google will begin enforcing on June 1st. Starting next month, the company will require all developers to process payments involving “digital goods and services” through the Play Store billing system. Previously, Amazon was among a handful of developers Google allowed to use third-party alternatives to collect in-app payments. Rather than give Google a commission for every ebook it sells on Android, Amazon has decided to remove purchases altogether. It has done the same in its Music app. In Audible, meanwhile, you can still purchase credits through the app, but it's no longer possible to buy audiobooks directly with your credit or debit card as of version 3.23 of the software. In the US, Amazon doesn't offer Kindle in-app purchasing on iOS either.  It’s worth noting Amazon isn’t the only company that has stopped sales on Android. In April, for instance, Barnes and Noble removed direct purchasing from the Android version of its Nook app. Some companies have legally challenged Google on the matter, with Tinder parent company Match Group filing a suit against the search giant in May.There’s the possibility that direct purchasing could return to Amazon’s Android Kindle, Audible and Music apps at some point in the future. In March, Google partnered with Spotify to test third-party billing systems. However, how soon that pilot could expand to include other companies is unclear.Update 3:40PM ET: Added clarification about how purchasing works in Audible following Amazon's response to Google's policy change. 

iRobot announced iRobot OS as a bid to be the smart home operating system, BT and Ericsson partner to offer private 5G networks to UK businesses, and Samsung and Intel talked about collaborating on semiconductors. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE. You can get an ad-free feed of Daily Tech Headlines for $3 a month here. AContinue reading "iRobot Announces iRobot OS – DTH"

Razer's Barracuda X headset from last year was fine if you wanted low-latency wireless audio for your console or Android phone, but it wasn't very practical for much else. That won't be a problem this time around, though. The company has introduced new Barracuda, Barracuda X and Barracuda Pro headsets that (among other upgrades) add Bluetooth with smart device switching. You can use them with iPhones and virtually any other device, and you won't have to manually switch connections when a phone call interrupts your gaming session.You can also expect nearly twice the battery life, at up to 50 hours for the Barracuda X and 40 hours for the other two models. You'll still have Razer's proprietary 2.4GHz wireless connection if lag is a concern.The differences largely come down to audio quality. The Barracuda Pro (pictured above) tops the line with 50mm "TriForce Bio-Cellulose" drivers, a THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier, THX Spatial Audio and hybrid active noise cancellation. The regular Barracuda opts for 'plain' titanium 50mm drivers while shedding the amplifier and ANC. The revised Barracuda X (below), meanwhile, is now more of a conventional gaming headset. While it sticks to more modest 40mm drivers and doesn't include any THX features, you'll get a detachable cardioid microphone, a 3.5mm wired option and 7.1-channel surround audio. Razer All three headsets are available today. The Barracuda X starts the range at $100, while the standard Barracuda and the Pro will respectively cost you $160 and $250. Razer is clearly pivoting the line, then — these are less gaming accessories and more competition for conventional mid-range and budget headphones.

It appears Microsoft will soon reveal its next-gen Surface Laptop Go. The successor to the would-be Chromebook competitor popped up in a Korean retailer listing that appears to have gone live a little too early. It seems the page has since been taken down.The listing, which was spotted by The Verge, indicates the Surface Laptop Go 2 will shift from a 10th-gen Intel Core CPU to an 11th-gen Intel processor. This specific configuration boasts the i5-1135G7 and Intel Iris Xe graphics.As with the original Surface Laptop Go from 2020, this laptop will support up to 8GB of RAM and as much as 256GB of storage, according to the listing. The base model specs are unclear, however. Previous reports indicated the laptop will have a baseline of 4GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The base Surface Laptop Go has 64GB of storage.As you might expect, the laptop is slated to ship with Windows 11. The listing promises a battery life of up to 13.5 hours as well. In addition, it suggests the system will have "improved HD camera performance," even though, like its predecessor, it's said to have a 720p webcam.The Surface Laptop Go 2 seems to have a lot of other details in common with the original system. The listing suggests it still has a 12.4-inch display and 3:2 aspect ratio, the same ports (including a 3.5mm headphone jack and the proprietary Surface charging port) and a fingerprint sensor. There's no sign of it having a backlit keyboard as yet, unfortunately.It seems we may not have to wait much longer for Microsoft to formally announce the latest entry-level Surface laptop. The listing suggests preorders will open on June 2nd.

Don't expect to play Diablo Immortal in the Low Countries when it launches this week. GamesIndustry.biz and Tweakers have learned Blizzard won't release the free-to-play game in Belgium or the Netherlands due to their "gambling restrictions" — that is, their legislation banning loot boxes. It will also be illegal for people in those countries to download them from other regions, and Blizzard's support team warned that it couldn't guarantee that players in the affected countries would avoid bans.Belgium and the Netherlands determined in 2018 that some loot boxes, particularly those you can buy or trade for real money, amounted to gambling. Diablo Immortal tucks access to its best stat-enhancing items, such as some legendary gems, behind legendary crests that are often easier to obtain with real-world currency. While the items you get are frequently good (to the point where some have argued they're unfair), the attributes are random. That could theoretically pressure gamers to pay in hopes of scoring the 'perfect' crest, and might reel in people with addictive personalities.Blizzard halted loot box sales for other games in Belgium after the country cracked down on the practice. The company also isn't unique. EA, Konami, Nintendo and Epic's Psyonix have all pulled games to avoid violating anti-loot box laws. Even so, it's still notable that Blizzard would rather withdraw Diablo Immortal from those countries than change gameplay mechanics.

Many DJs who've gone digital still like the feel of vinyl for their sets, opting for apps and hardware that support a digital vinyl system (DVS). Today Algoriddim’s djay Pro AI joins that camp with a few unique twists. Not only will DVS support include iOS devices in addition to Mac, but the control vinyl will offer a special B-Side with three ‘tracks’ that leverage Neural Mix’s ability to isolate stems from any song. This way you can drop the needle on track one for the original version, track two for an instrumental and three for an acapella, all extracted on the fly from any song you want to play.While DVS support is new for djay Pro AI on Mac, the addition of iPhones and iPads with this capability is truly unique. These devices should be able to send a control tone through any class compliant USB mixer or controller connected to analog turntables and using the Neural Mix control disks. And you can potentially map things like performance pads and knobs using its MIDI learn tool, but supported hardware devices for djay Pro AI should work out-of-the-box. This software update also offers an optimized user interface for iOS devices that should adapt automatically when you connect to DJ hardware.In addition to the DVS features, this refresh includes a few more interesting tweaks. You can now edit playlists from connected streaming accounts like TIDAL, SoundCloud, Beatport and Beatsource from inside the djay Pro AI app. There’s also mention of new AI audio effects and a Pitch Cue / Tone Play feature that allows you to use pitch-altered cue points for more dynamic mixing.The new software is available today and existing djay Pro AI users will automatically get this update with all the included features. New subscribers can trial the Pro version for seven days and pay $7 per month or $50 per year after that. Mobile users will need an iPhone or iPad running iOS 12 or later and macOS users will need 10.14 or later. Pricing and availability for the Neural Mix control vinyl is still pending, although we know that it will be manufactured and distributed by Stokyo. We're told that most existing disks with a 1kHz time code should work, though, so you should be able to use DVS (without the Neural Mix B-side features) right away. Algoriddim