Dec 04
Some people were skeptical when news broke that Kidman would be playing the comedy icon in Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos.”
Dec 04
Back when HBO Max was getting its feet off the ground in 2020, one of its big shows at the time was Raised by Wolves. Though some found Aaron Guikowski’s series about android parents tasked with raising some important human children to be a bit of a slog, the show was renewed for second season just a few episodes…
Dec 04
A dentist in Italy who needed a vaccine certificate offered up a “rubber foam” arm in an attempt to evade the actual shot.
Dec 04
The push for shots is expected to grow more intense, too.
Dec 04
Madison Cawthorn Thinks Your Pregnancy Is A Polaroid Or A Sunset Or Something
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe far-right congressman, who somehow has a say in reproductive rights for all Americans, also thinks women are “earthen vessels.”
Dec 04
If you’ve wondered where your favorite comedy album went on Spotify, you’re far from alone. The Wall Street Journalreports Spotify has pulled hundreds of comedians’ albums after it and rights administration company Spoken Giants stalled on a deal for written-word royalties. The missing albums come from stars like Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and John Mulaney.
As with earlier songwriter disputes, this latest fight revolves around compensating more than just the performance. Spoken Giants wants its artists to receive royalties as the joke writers, not just for their time behind the microphone. The rights firm started talking to online services in the spring, but learned just before American Thanksgiving that Spotify would pull comedians’ work until there was an agreement.
Spotify defended itself in a statement to the Journal. The company said it paid a “significant” amount of money for the comedy material and would “love” to keep paying, and that distributors and labels also had a say regarding payouts. Some material remains from those comedians on Spotify as of this writing, but much more of it is available through rivals like Apple Music.
It’s not surprising that Spotify would clash with Spoken Giants. If Spotify also had to pay writing royalties, the service would either have to pay more overall (clearly Spoken Giants’ ideal outcome) or set aside some of the existing share for distributors and labels. Either could hurt Spotify’s bottom line, and it doesn’t have much breathing room when its average revenue per person was about $4.91 last quarter.
At the same time, though, the dispute and removal come at a particularly sensitive time. With live standup still far from what it was before the pandemic, some comedians are still highly dependent on albums and other digital releases. They’re clearly eager to improve that income, and may feel some extra pain when they lose the support of a streaming heavyweight.
Dec 04
There Were Two Pills for Jessica Henwick: The MCU, or Matrix Resurrections?
Posted in: Today's ChiliOne of the brightest and most underused spots of the relatively short-lived Marvel/Netflix partnership was Jessica Henwick. As Colleen Wing in Iron Fist, Henwick brought a lot of charm to a show that was in real need of it during that first season and let her shine in season two. Just as the show was priming her for…
Dec 04
Anycubic Photon Mono X Review
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe Anycubic Photon Mono X was released in the year 2021 with a promise of relatively large, fast, inexpensive 3D prints. This device is an SLA (liquid resin) 3D printer, made to deliver results similar to those of far more expensive 3D printers, here with only the essentials in play. Don’t let that balance in favor of cost-effectiveness fool you … Continue reading
Dec 04
This week, in addition to covering all the Cyber Week deals we could find, we also reviewed some unique gadgets. Steve Dent and a licensed drone pilot toured the French countryside with the help of the DJI Mavic 3 drone, while Terrence O’Brien played with the Animoog Z app, a sequel ten years in the making. Also, Cherlynn Low played around with Android 12 to check out its new Material You design.
The Mavic 3 is the easiest DJI drone to fly
Steve Dent/Engadget
Steve Dent spent some time with the DJI Mavic 3 and a licensed drone pilot in the French countryside to see what the new device is capable of. He reports that not only is the Mavic 3 the easiest DJI drone to fly, but the large 4/3 sensor and dual camera system produce incredible footage – and the 46 minutes of range is double the time that the previous model could capture. He tested the standard model in the $3,000 Fly More combo package, which includes three batteries, a charging hub, one set of ND filters and a carrying bag. The Mavic 3 is also available in a Cine mode with a built-in 1TB SSD and Apple ProRes 422 HQ video support.
While the Mavic 3 was easier to maneuver thanks to its improved obstacle avoidance, it was also easy to fold the 899-gram drone into a more compact size for storage and travel. Steve says the camera and video specs are impressive: the primary camera was built in collaboration with Hasselblad and has a 24mm f/2.8-f/11 lens with a color profile for accurate hues. The video camera can shoot 5.1K at 50fps or 4K at 60fps; Steve says the larger sensor provides better low light performance, more detail and great dynamic range. However, there are some downsides – namely the price, but also that the additional features that DJI promised (like ActiveTrack5 and QuickShots) aren’t available now but will be released in January. Overall, Steve says the Mavic 3 delivers, but is best for professions and prosumers.
Google’s Material You design gives Android 12 a much-needed visual update
Google
Cherlynn Low knows that the many versions of Android make a review of the core features a bit difficult, but the upgrades on the operating system’s most recent release make for a refreshing experience and provide more transparency over data and privacy. That’s largely thanks to the new Material You design that has decluttered the UI and enlarged buttons and sliders, among other things. Cherlynn particularly liked the Privacy Dashboard that informs users when their camera and mic are activated, along with which apps require them. Android 12 also has new indicators for when the camera or mic are actively being used.
Cherlynn did note some aspects that disappointed her, namely the default way to summon the Google Assistant, and the confusing charts and graphs in the battery and privacy dashboards. She was also excited to try the audio-coupled haptic feedback, but wasn’t able to find any apps that supported it. Overall, she said that the visual updates in Material You and increased privacy tools made the system feel drastically different — in a good way.
The Animoog Z app is a proper sequel that took ten years to make
Terrence O’Brien/Engadget
Terrence O’Brien was looking forward to testing out Animoog Z, the follow up to Moog’s original software instrument which used wavetable synthesis. This sequel to the app has largely the same core Anisotropic Synth Engine, consisting of dozens of waveforms that you can choose from, ranging from samples of analog saw waves to more digital sounds. However, the new release adds a third dimension to the X/Y axis of the original — a Z axis that notes can move along.
Terrence says this gives the new app a bit more depth and room to evolve. He found that certain presets took advantage of the additional modulation path to make more complex and unique sounds. There’s also a new effects section with a looper, delay, filter and an arpeggiator, plus MPE support. Additionally, Terrence says the redesigned look that the new app has makes it feel more modern and easier to navigate. After testing, he declared the Animoog Z a worthy successor to the groundbreaking original. A limited version is available as a free download, with the full featured version going for a flat $10.
Dec 04
An American intelligence report indicated Russia could be plotting to invade Ukraine as soon as next month.
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