July 2023 blogspot

Streaming News Spotted On Radar
News just in, courtesy of TechRadar: Netflix has ditched its cheapest ad-free plan in the US and UK. New subscribers to the multiple movie streaming service no longer have the option to sign up for the company's $9.99 / £6.99 Basic plan. Those already on the plan are unaffected for now. The Standard ad-free option costs $15.49 / £10.99, with the cheapest ad-supported tier at $6.99 / £4.99.
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Video Game Car Wins Goodwood
Proof that the virtual and real worlds are converging for automobiles appeared at a recent weekend event at Goodwood when a car designed for the Gran Turismo SPORT video game debuted as a real car that proceeded to blow away all-comers on the famous hill-climb circuit. McLaren took out its second Timed Shootout title in three years to cap off its 60th anniversary celebrations at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and did so in a way that would have pleased its founder. The sports and racing car company took a car it had designed for the 2017 Gran Turismo SPORT video game and turned it into a fire-breathing track car that was faster than anything else on the day. The usual way of things is for real world cars to be virtualised and raced online, with their real-world handling characteristics built in. This time, at Goodwood, the order was reversed, with the futuristic McLaren Solus GT concept car first appearing in the 2017 Gran Turismo SPORT video game becoming such a favourite with fans that it was decided to create 25 real-world cars based on the virtual vehicle, complete with snarling 10,000 rpm naturally-aspirated 5.2-litre V10 engine and seven-speed sequential transmission specified in the game. YouTube has a clip: https://youtu.be/hFJwbar7bzo
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Button Press Music Maker
Four years ago, Artiphon launched a Kickstarter for a battery-powered handheld music-creation tool called the Orba. Now the company has returned to launch Chorda, a portable synth, looper and MIDI controller. Shaped like a short guitar neck, the Chorda portable groove machine combines aspects of the company's previous best music creation tools and is currently the subject of a new Kickstarter campaign. Described as "an expressive platform for music creativity on the go", Chorda comes with numerous sounds cooked in "from traditional instruments to synths" including four basic playing modes for drum sounds, bass, chords and lead - with the integrated audio engine providing synthesized sounds associated with electric guitars, pianos, strings and horns, and even vocals. The easily portable device also includes a library of more than 100 sounds, has a built-in looper and sampler and additionally can be used to control MIDI hardware and software. It features 12 touch-enabled sensor pads that respond to velocity and pressure for volume swells and vibrato, each sporting a multi-colour LED and haptic feedback. There's a built-in speaker plus a 3.5-mm headphone jack for private listening or connection to a powered speaker. The Chorda can be played flat across your lap like a mini keyboard or picked up like a traditional instrument. The portable creativity powerhouse also works with its own companion mobile app with more than 100 sound pre-sets and can be used to capture samples to add to the instrument's library.
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Deranged By Design
Product designer Soren Iverson creates mock-ups of nightmarish - and often brilliant - “improvements” to the apps we use each day, says a Digg report. Recent examples include a nepotism disclosure feature for LinkedIn, a note on Facebook to tell you if someone has actually read the article they are sharing; and "Meet Your Meat" for Uber Eats, which gives a brief biography of the animal used for your order ("Janice ate primarily alfalfa but loved apples as a treat").
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Smartphone Surveillance
You may have caught recent news stories about the French Government's new policy to allow police to remotely take over a suspect's devices, with access to cameras, microphones and GPS data. Promising it would only be used in a few dozen cases per year, French Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti welcomed the new legislation allowing smartphone spying for up to six months, where approved by a judge. "We are far away from the totalitarianism of 1984", he said, "and lives will be saved". But if you think that's something only the French citizenry need worry about, you could be mistaken. Governments and police agencies the world over already have access to people's smartphone and other kit to use as surveillance devices. A Comparitech report in 2022 found that of 50 countries studied, every police force had some level of access to smartphones and their data. Levels of access varied, and many countries have warrant requirements. China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates allow some of the most unfettered access. In China, you don't even need to be suspected of anything. Germany, most surprisingly, allows intelligence agents to remotely access smartphones and even install spyware on anyone's phone, whether they are suspected of crime or not. The UK also gives similar powers to border control agencies without them having "reasonable suspicion" that a crime has been committed. It's also known that numerous councils and police forces have purchased phone hacking software, including the Met Police and British Transport Police. The Home Office recently admitted to a secret policy of unlawfully demanding passcodes from migrants and being able to access other phones without needing passcodes.
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SEARCH ENGINE OF THE MONTH
Tempest Search is a privacy-focused and user-centric search engine with "advanced technology to provide fast and accurate search results while keeping users' information safe and private". Point by point, it: prioritises privacy and does not track or store user data, ensuring that users’ privacy is protected at all times. Is transparent about its privacy policy and data collection practices, ensuring that users can trust the search engine with their information. Delivers search results without any ads, keeping the search interface clean and user-friendly. Uses encryption technology to secure search queries and results. Provides privacy-enhancers like a VPN and secure proxy that adds to users’ privacy level. Boasts "a unique algorithm that delivers highly relevant search results that other search engines may miss" plus image and video search features that make it easy to find and filter visual content.
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