When Indiana Jones 5 is in theaters next year, star Harrison Ford will be celebrating his 81st birthday. Not your typical age for the star of a big action-adventure film, and certainly not an age you’d expect to see a person running and jumping around like they’re 40. In Indiana Jones 5 though, the filmmakers found a…
In late May, the Webb Space Telescope’s tranquil commissioning process was interrupted by an uncommonly large micrometeoroid strike on one of the $10 billion observatory’s mirrors. Now, a NASA-led analysis of the event indicates the impact was a statistical anomaly and the telescope will be less susceptible to space…
When you think of podcast recording, you probably picture someone sitting in a studio with a Neumann microphone that costs more than your rent. Spotify wants to change that, making podcast creation something you can do in noisy environments and without expensive gear. The company’s one-button voice isolation feature, Podcast Audio Enhancement, debuts today in Spotify’s Anchor app for podcast creators.
The feature requires a single button press in the Anchor app. Doing so drowns out background noise, bringing your voice to the forefront. So if you want to record your latest episode on a crowded convention floor or at home with barking dogs or crying babies, you theoretically can, though we can’t say how effective it is just yet. In addition, the Anchor app lets you toggle the feature on and off during playback to compare the results.
Spotify isn’t the only Big Tech company to invest in voice isolation, as AI advances lead to better filtration without expensive dynamic microphones. For example, Zoom and Google Meet offer background noise reduction tech in virtual-meeting apps. But Spotify trying to improve audio to the point where it’s good enough to release as a podcast feels a bit tougher than just clearing things up on a video call.
After facing a Joe Rogan PR crisis earlier this year, Spotify continues its push to make itself a one-stop shop for podcast listening and creation. The push began in 2017 and accelerated in the following years as it became more evident how lucrative podcasts can be. The streaming service acquired publishing companies, struck a now-defunct deal with the Obamas and snatched up online production tools like Soundtrap. Spotify bought Anchor in 2019 for over $150 million and has since used it to make podcast creation as simple and effortless as possible.
The official White House Christmas tree also arrived on Monday.
Enso makes a line of celestial themed rings printed with cool space patterns like the phases of the moon, a solar eclipse, and what I assume are some sort of alien glyphs. Maybe if we can decipher them, we’ll discover the secrets of interstellar travel! They’re made from comfortable silicone, so you don’t feel like the ring is suffocating your finger like a traditional wedding band (maybe I’m just projecting),
The rings are available in whole sizes 3 to 14 and, just like all Enso silicone products, come with a lifetime guarantee. So if you somehow do manage to destroy your ring, they’ll replace it. And, God willing, you’ll learn not to do whatever it was you were doing when you destroyed it in the first place because it’s probably dangerous. I just hope you still have your finger.
I actually bought a silicone wedding band to wear whenever I’m exercising or working in the garage, which is still in the package it came in because I haven’t been to the gym, and I don’t have a garage. I’m prepared, though; that’s the important thing.
[via The Awesomer]
Artemis I mission’s Orion spacecraft has a special passenger onboard … Amazon’s Alexa. Here’s how the voice assistant made it to space and what its job is.
What are two great tastes that go great together? Well, firstly, the team-up between anime icons Studio Trigger and Tsuburaya, the Tokustatsu company behind Ultraman: Gridman. The second? Taking two excellent anime collaborations between those companies and mashing them into one big movie.
This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.
The Artemis 1 mission continues to unfold as planned, with the uncrewed Orion capsule successfully performing a critical course correction maneuver Monday morning. NASA’s capsule came to within 80 miles of the lunar surface during the flyby, in what will be Orion’s closest approach.
Now is the time to splurge on a gift for a rookie podcaster or game streamer. Amazon is running a sale on many Blue microphones for Black Friday, with up to 35 percent off Yeti models. The Blue Yeti Nano is down to $70 (normally $100), while the regular Yeti has dipped to $90 (usually $130). You can also find deals for higher-end models and bundles.
Blue has a reputation for quality microphones, particularly for anyone making their first foray beyond built-in mics. As Engadget’s own Valentina Palladino noticed, the ‘entry’ Yeti Nano provides a major audio quality upgrade for podcasts and video calls without consuming much desk space. It’s also reasonably future-proof with both cardioid and omnidirectional polar patterns — you can host roundtable podcasts in addition to virtual chats.
Higher-end models mainly improve fidelity and monitoring. The standard Blue Yeti has three condensers versus the Nano’s two, and supports stereo and figure-eight patterns. Spring for the top-end Yeti X and you’ll get four condensers, 24-bit/192kHz audio, LED metering (to keep your output at the right volume) and even custom lighting. These won’t replace the most advanced microphones on the market, but the sale prices make them good values for many users.
Buy Blue microphones at Amazon – starting at $70
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