Apr 12
The fire department said it also found “several undetonated devices” at the scene.
Apr 12
If you missed out on your chance to score a Lucid Air Dream Edition last year, you’re in luck. Lucid Motors is releasing two versions of its latest all-electric sedan, the 2022 Air Grand Touring. The Air Grand Touring and Air Grand Touring Performance are Lucid’s first production series after the limited run Dream Edition. Both cars offer speed and mileage that is comparable to their predecessors from 2021. The Air Grand Touring delivers 819 horsepower and can accelerate to 60 mph in three seconds flat. Its faster cousin, the Air Grand Touring Performance, promises 1050 horsepower and can go from 0-60 mph in 2.6 seconds. Both cars are powered by two miniaturized dual motors, one mounted at each axle
Both cars will easily get you from Los Angeles to San Francisco on a single charge, with some battery power to spare. The Air Grand Touring with 19-inch wheels has an EPA-estimated range of 516 miles, with 21-inch wheels its range is 469 miles. The Air Grand Touring Performance has an EPA-estimated range of 446 miles. Both are ahead of the Tesla with the longest driving range, the Model S Long Range, which has a range of 405 miles. Given Elon Musk’s not-so-secret derision for Lucid, this one has got to hurt.
The two all-electric sedans are packed with the type of premium features you’d expect in a car that costs six figures. Both are equipped with a 34-inch floating glass cockpit and a 5K display. They include DreamDrive Pro, Lucid’s proprietary advanced driver assistance system that includes LIDAR. It also comes with more than 30 semi-autonomous features, including traffic sign recognition, cross-traffic alerts, parking assist and more. They include an ultra-fast 900V charging system that allows drivers to add up to 300 miles in 21 minutes if they’re at a 350 kW DC fast charger.
Customer deliveries for the Air Grand Touring, which starts at $139,000, have started today. The Grand Touring Performance has an MSRP of $179,000, and deliveries are scheduled to begin in June 2022.
Apr 12
When I reviewed the Orba back in late 2020, I was told there was no plan to open up the internal synth engine to users; That because of the limited resources available it would be difficult to make it user friendly. Artiphon just didn’t seem to think there’d be much interest. Well, I’m happy to report that the company has finally realized the error of its ways and built a (reasonably) friendly UI that allows you to custom design patches for the Orba’s internal synth engine.
The core is a two oscillator engine with triangle, saw and square wave options, with pulse width modulation. There’s also a noise source and a ring modulator that you can mix in as well. There’s an LFO, three envelopes, a multimode resonant filter, a waveguide for physical modeling, as well as reverb and delay effects. It’s not the deepest set of sound design tools you’ll find, but it will still allow you to craft a wide range of sounds.
Artiphon
The engine seems to excel at sparkling plucks, organ drones and digital howls. The one thing unfortunately you can’t do is build drum kits, you’ll still need to rely on prebuilt sound packs for those.
The app itself is free (“for now” in the words of Artiphon) for MacOS and Windows, and is laid out logically from left to right, broken up into modules that should be familiar to anyone who has spent time exploring a synth. The few somewhat unique bits are the waveguide and gesture mapping controls.
The waveguide, which models the harmonic behavior of strings or pipes, depending on the setting, adds an impressive amount of complexity and some rich tones to what is otherwise a fairly simple synth core. You can even blend between the plain dry singal and that from the waveguide for additional depth.
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget
The gesture controls is what really makes Orbasynth special, though. It is, rather obviously, built specifically to use with Artiphon’s Orba, so taking advantage of its unique gesture controls should be a given. Here you can map tilts, shakes and outward glides to control everything from LFO speed, to filter cutoff to vibrato.
It would be nice to see a few more options added to Orbasynth to really open it up. The LFO for instance only has a rate control, no depth and you can’t assign it to custom parameters. Similarly some further control over the effects would be nice, as would being able to control the waveguide with gestures.
Still, it’s hard to complain too much when this is something I and plenty of other Orba users have been clamoring for since day one. And, it’s free. Even if you don’t have an Orba you can go download the app from Artiphon’s site and start exploring.
Apr 12
GoPro's Lightest Camera HERO10 Black Bones Made For Specific Market Segment
Posted in: Today's ChiliGoPro is back with a new HERO10 Black action camera variant, one that is slimmer and lighter weight for use with first-person-view racing drones.
Apr 12
Lucid is back with another version of its Lucid Air EV, this one targeted at consumers who want a zero-emissions vehicle packing both luxury and performance.
Apr 12
South Dakota House To Vote On Impeaching Attorney General After Fatal Crash
Posted in: Today's ChiliJason Ravnsborg struck and killed a pedestrian on the shoulder of a highway in 2020. Opponents of his impeachment argue that he wasn’t on the job when it happened.
Apr 12
Lectric already has a good reputation for delivering solid electric bikes at budget prices, thanks to models like the $1,000 XP 2.0. Now, it has taken that to a new level with the launch of the Lectric XP Lite. It’s a 46 pound folding e-bike with a 48 volt electrical system that can hit speeds of 20 MPH, and costs just $800.
To get the price down to that level, Electric reduced the battery size from 9.6Ah (461Wh) on the XP 2.0 to 7.8Ah (375Wh). It also has smaller, narrower wheels than the XP 2.0 and lacks its 7-speed gearshift and front suspension.
Still, Lectric claims you’ll get 40 miles of autonomy, just five miles less than the XP 2.0, though that’ll require a lot of pedaling as range drops to 15 miles with the throttle only. Speed-wise, it can hit up to 20 MPH with pedal assist or throttle, compared to 28 MPH for the XP 2.0
It’s got the same style of folding frame that lets you get it down to a portable size (36x16x26 inches) for travel or storage, and at 46 pounds, it’s very light for a foldable e-bike. It can use many of the same accessories as the XP 2.0, including the racks, baskets, lights, comfort package and more.
Other features include an easily swappable battery compartment, twist throttle, backlit LCD display with a large readout, 160mm disc brakes, integrated front/rear lights and IP65 water resistance. It’s also what the company calls its “most customizable e-bike to date” with four color options (Arctic White, Midnight Black, Lectric Blue, and Sandstorm) and three accessory package options at $99 each (Carry, Commuter and Comfort).
Lectric gave first ride on the new model to Electrek, which has tested the company’s previous models like the XP 2.0 in the past. It noted that a lot of bikes in the $500-$800 category are “junk,” but called the XP Lite “a quality offering at a super low price.” As mentioned, Lectric’s XP Lite e-bike costs $799 without accessories and is now available to order.
Apr 12
Nubia has announced the international availability and pricing for its REDMAGIC 7 Pro, a smartphone designed specifically for high-end mobile gaming.
Apr 12
The longtime NFL quarterback previously tried to humiliate a female reporter at a news conference.
Apr 12
The Morning After: Vivo claims it’s solved the foldable phone crease problem
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe newest foldable on the scene is a China-exclusive, but it has enough to keep us interested even if we may never buy one. The Vivo X Fold, with a 6.53- or 8-inch unfolded screen, packs a Snapdragon Gen 1 processor and two ultrasonic fingerprint readers, built into, well, both screens. Sure, not a huge deal.
Vivo
I’m more interested in the zirconium alloy floating middle plate, which sounds like an Avengers McGuffin but is actually Vivo’s pitch to ameliorate that center crease on most foldable phones. This plate lifts up gently when you open the hinge, helping, hopefully, to smooth out the wrinkle. We’ll let you know once we see it for real, but for these expensive foldable devices, which often show their age through wrinkles built up over a month or two, it’s a cosmetic problem in need of a solution.
— Mat Smith
The biggest stories you might have missed
Apple TV 4K with 64GB of storage falls back to an all-time low
GoPro’s new Player + ReelSteady app adds stabilization and 360 tools
Apple Watch Series 7 falls to a new all-time low of $314 at Amazon
Microsoft’s spring sale knocks up to $200 off the Surface Laptop Go
Nintendo Switch Sports is Wii Sports but on a Switch
Definitely not a bad thing.
Nintendo
Wii Sports came out more than 15 years ago, and oddly, Nintendo never made a proper sequel, until now, after skipping the Nintendo console that should not be named. Sam Rutherford got to check out Nintendo Switch Sports ahead of its official release on April 29th, and it looks like the formula hasn’t changed too much.
Some Apple Studio Display owners are unable to update firmware
Apple Support told some users to bring their monitors in for repair.
Some owners of the new Apple Studio Display have reported problems updating to the latest firmware. As MacRumors points out, after multiple failed attempts, users were told by Apple support to bring their display to an Apple Store or authorized facility for repair.
Apple is reportedly begun re-signing an older iOS 15.4 firmware version, allowing the Studio Display to resume updates.
Sonos bought a startup that made a light-powered Bluetooth speaker
It could lead to smaller Sonos speakers in the future.
Sonos has acquired Mayht, a Dutch startup best known for co-creating a Bluetooth speaker powered by light. Mayht specializes in an audio technology called Heartmotion. The company claims to have reinvented “the core of speaker drivers,” so speakers can be up to 10 times more compact than other models without sacrificing sound quality or bass output.
Biden administration cracks down on 3D-printed ‘ghost guns’
The new rule makes dealers serialize 3D-printed firearms.
REUTERS/Kelly West
The US Justice Department has issued several measures restricting the sale and distribution of “ghost guns,” including a requirement for federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths to serialize any unmarked firearm (such as a 3D-printed gun) before selling it to a customer. Those that print a gun at home would not be able to sell it to a store without some ability to trace its origins.
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