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Few things in technology are guaranteed to bring you actual joy, but Creative’s Super X-Fi just might qualify for that list.In short, the Super X-Fi distills decades of audio work into a tiny, portable dongle no bigger than a USB thumb drive that transforms smartphone, laptop, or PC audio with “holographic audio,î according the company. ...   PC World

Whenever see a billboard while driving down the highway or see a stylish animation on your favorite website, you have experienced graphic design firsthand. Behind each of these beautiful designs is a graphic designer trying to catch your attention through art. ...   PC World

Enlarge (credit: Andri Koolme / Flickr) Malicious apps hosted in the Google Play market are trying a clever trick to avoid detection—they monitor the motion-sensor input of an infected device before installing a powerful banking trojan to make sure it doesn’t load on emulators researchers use to detect attacks. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Scorpion has come a long way in Mortal Kombat 11, but he's still a golden ninja with flaming powers, so it works for me. I was 15 when Mortal Kombat first hit the arcades in 1992. It was a different era then—no social media, no modern Internet to speak of, and we didn't have year-long teaser campaigns for new games. ...   Ars Technica

Ready for a new version of Android? If you remember last year, Android P, the pre-release version of what eventually became Android 9 Pie, dropped in March. So we're probably not that far away from a preview of the next version of Android, which will is expected to be called 'Android Q. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / A T-Mobile logo on the window of a retail store in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014. (credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg) A New Jersey woman has sued T-Mobile in state court last week for sexual harassment, invasion of privacy, and other counts. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino) Wearables have brought Google and the fashion-focused Fossil Group closer together. Today, Fossil announced it will sell intellectual property related to smartwatch technology to Google in a deal worth $40 million. Upon news of the deal, Fossil Group shares jumped about 8 percent today. ...   Ars Technica

Data breaches are becoming increasingly more common, but today’s is a doozy: 1,160,253,228 unique passwords and email addresses have been attributed to a breach that’s being called “Collection #1. ...   PC World

Enlarge / The Motorola Razr V3. (credit: Remy Overkempe / Flickr) Lenovo, the current owner of Motorola Mobility, will release a new version of the iconic Razr cell phone, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal citing sources familiar with the matter. Like a similar phone announced at Samsung's 2018 developers' conference, the new Razr will feature a foldable screen. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Glasswort bush (Salicornia europaea), Chenopodiaceae. (credit: De Agostini/Getty Images) On Wednesday, an Etihad Airways Boeing 787 in Abu Dhabi embarked on a roughly seven-hour flight to Amsterdam with its tank full of a mixture of jet fuel and biofuel. The biofuel was derived from oil pressed out of Salicornia plants, which require saltwater to grow. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge A month ago, I asked readers to donate to our 2018 Charity Drive sweepstakes. All told, Ars Technica readers donated $20,210.66 to Child's Play and the EFF through the charity drive. That brings our total donations over 12 years of charity driving over the $300,000 mark! Well done, Arsians! Thanks to everyone who gave whatever they could. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: Getty | SOPA Images ) Washington policymakers sought to ratchet up pressure on Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE on Wednesday. A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced new legislation that would ban exports to companies caught violating US sanctions laws. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: TechBargains) Greetings, Arsians! Courtesy of our friends at TechBargains, we have another round of deals to share. Today's list is headlined by a deal on Anker's PowerPort I desktop charger, the black model of which is currently down to $35 on Amazon. Typically, it retails in the high $40 or low $50 range. ...   Ars Technica

Keanu Reeves is on the run with his trusty canine companion in first trailer for John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum. Everyone's favorite reluctant assassin is on the run with a $14 million bounty on his head, and few allies, in the action-packed first trailer for John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum. (Spoilers for first two movies below. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Who doesn't love some new Windows? (credit: Peter Bright / Flickr) The ill-fated Windows 10 October 2018 Update has hitherto been offered only to those Windows users who manually sought it, either by using the dedicated upgrade and media creation tools or by manually checking for the update in Windows Update. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / A Samsung Galaxy Note 8 smartphone is displayed for sale at a Verizon store in Brea, California, on Monday, January 22, 2018. (credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg) After being criticized for charging a new fee that could kill a free texting service for teachers and students, Verizon is trying to deflect blame over the possible shutdown. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: Getty | Mel Melcon) Health officials in New York are cautiously optimistic that they have a large measles outbreak under control after tackling the noxious anti-vaccine myths and unfounded fears that fueled the disease’s spread. Since last fall, New York has tallied 177 confirmed cases of measles, the largest outbreak the state has seen in decades. ...   Ars Technica

The Pit, a BBS door game. In this shot, Lee Hutchinson was attacking these guys. Or, maybe they're attacking him. (credit: Lee Hutchinson) I was a true nerd growing up in the 1980s—not in the hipster way but in the 10-pound-issue-of-Computer-Shopper-under-my-arm way (these things were seriously huge). I was thoroughly addicted to BBSes (Bulletin Board Systems) by the time I was 10. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / This refinery would be replaced by a green alternative once it reaches the end of its lifetime. (credit: Eni An Energy Company) Because climate change is such a complex, globe-spanning problem, it’s hard to really wrap your head around possible future scenarios. ...   Ars Technica

Video showing the contents of the hidden 'developer room' in Fallout 76. Fallout 76 developer Bethesda has confirmed it is issuing temporary bans to players who access a hidden 'developer room' full of lucrative and unreleased items for the online game. ...   Ars Technica

A rendering of the Terran 1 rocket lifting off from Launch Complex 16. [credit: Relativity Space ] A company that aspires to 3D print almost the entirety of its rockets has reached an agreement with the US Air Force to launch from historic facilities at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. ...   Ars Technica

Boosting your storage is always a good idea, and today, gobbling up a lot of gigabytes doesn’t have to be expensive. You can grab the 400GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC card for just $83.98 on Amazon, down from a list price of $250 and a crazy low price for such a substantial amount of storage. ...   PC World

If you haven’t upgraded to the glorious 4K HDR life yet, now’s the perfect time to see what you’re missing for cheap. Best Buy is selling a 43-inch 4K HDR Toshiba Smart TV with Amazon’s Fire TV built-in for $200Remove non-product link. That price beats Amazon’s all-time historical low by $50 and the current Amazon price by $100.To read this article in full, please click here   PC World

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Have I Been Pwned, the breach notification service that serves as a bellwether for the security of login credentials, has just gotten its hands on its biggest data haul ever—a list that includes almost 773 million unique email addresses and 21 million unique passwords that were used to log in to third-party sites. ...   Ars Technica

Courtesy of University of Wisconsin, Madison. The homely hagfish might look like just your average bottom feeder, but it has a secret weapon: it can unleash a full liter of sticky slime in less than one second. That slime can clog the gills of a predatory shark, for instance, suffocating it. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Artist's conception of the B binary in the quad-star system HD 98000. (credit: University of Warwick/Mark Garlick.) Models and observations indicate that both stars and planets form as a cloud of material collapses into a disk. If the process proceeds in an orderly manner, then the planets will all form from the same disk and thus orbit in the same plane. ...   Ars Technica

Quicken is still the king of personal finance software, but the last several years have brought a legion of challengers to its throne. Just glance at our personal finance software guide to see how stiff the competition has gotten. ...   PC World

The thin-and-light Arteck HB030B Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard arms road warriors with a single input for their devices. Supporting the four major commercial operating systems (Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android), this keyboard provides a fairly comfortable typing experience and a little pizzazz with multicolored backlighting.Note: This review is part of our best wireless keyboard roundup. ...   PC World

Data collection on smart TVs reveals an ugly truth about streaming video.   PC World

Options abound for checking out all the championship action on whatever screen you choose.   PC World

PreSonus has announced Notion 6.5, a major update to the company's music notation software. With version 6.5, PreSonus has further integration between Notion and PreSonus' Studio One 4... Read More   KVR Audio

Xenakios has updated PaulXStretch to v1.2.3. Changes: Captured audio buffers can optionally be saved as files on disk for later recall. Added varispeed (resampling speed... Read More   KVR Audio

UVI has announced the public beta testing of UVI Portal - their new desktop app that lets you download, install, register, activate and update all your UVI products in a single, convenient... Read More   KVR Audio

VB-Audio has announced the release of Voicemeeter 8 (a.k.a. POTATO), finalizing the Voicemeeter Series with an 'ultimate virtual mixing console application', offering 5 Physical I/O and... Read More   KVR Audio

Toys After Dark from Plughugger, is a new sound expander for Omnisphere 2.5 based on circuit-bent toys and musical instruments, such as math toys, old Casio keyboards and talking toys such... Read More   KVR Audio

At this year's NAMM show, Deskew Technologies will be debuting Version 3 of Gig Performer, their VST/VST3/AU live performance plug-in host for Mac and Windows systems. At the... Read More   KVR Audio

VSP has released Atmospheric Hues, a collection of presets for Pigments with a focus on Pads and Atmospheres. Every preset includes deeply programmed instruments that take advantage of... Read More   KVR Audio

Raising Jake Studios has released Telephone VST2/VST3 plug-ins for Windows (x64). Telephone emulates the complex sound of a classic analog telephone in one simple plugin. Telephone... Read More   KVR Audio

Big Fish Audio has announced the release of 808 Earthquake, featuring 50 various styles of 808 loops, all made with the modern producer in mind. 808 Earthquake is made in the styles of... Read More   KVR Audio

Rast Sound has released Sounds of Mars, a sample library for Kontakt, designed by 20+ sound artists collaboratively, that comes with an engine that can play itself. The Sounds... Read More   KVR Audio

Audio Modeling will be present at the Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim from 24 to 27 January. At booth #10616, Hall A (see it on the map) you can find both the SWAM virtual instruments... Read More   KVR Audio

2getheraudio has released Cheeze Machine 2, a free-of-charge string machine plugin. Inspired by Big Tick Audio's Cheeze Machine string machine plugin, Cheeze Machine 2 includes... Read More   KVR Audio

McDSP will be heading to NAMM 2019, held January 24-27, 2019 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Visit booth number, 14905, located in the North Hall to check out the... Read More   KVR Audio

Wusik has released updates for Wusik Station (v9.1.4), Wusik 8008 (v1.1.4), Wusik EVE (v5.0.4), and Wusik One (v1.1.4). Changes for all products: Improved the Wavetable... Read More   KVR Audio

Craig Shuftan On the eve of the NAMM Show it would be a good time to point out another completely different event recently held in Los Angeles. While the Woolsey Fire raged... Read More   KVR Audio

Babylonwaves has released version 5.0 updates for Art Conductor, its collection of Logic Articulation Sets and Cubase Expression maps. The new version adds over 800 templates... Read More   KVR Audio

u-he has announced the release of Twangström (Mac / Windows / Linux), their new spring reverb. Much more than a simple blast from the past for Dub Reggae fans, twangy guitar... Read More   KVR Audio

Fuse Audio Labs has released the VCL-864U plugin, a faithful emulation of a classic 50s tube limiter/compressor. Fuse Audio Labs say: 'The VCL-864U is an uncompromising recreation... Read More   KVR Audio

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Tuners: Developed by the team behind the popular online guitar tuner site https://www.proguitar.com. We have been working hard to bring you the best Guitar Tuner App on iOS. The interface is similar to the tuner on proguitar.com but optimized for iOS-devices. The app...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Rythme Mach. & Loops: EGDR808 v3.0 is here with full AU3 Audio Unit support! ElliottGarage presents EGDR808, a drum machine that emulates the vintage hardware from the 80's. Its realistic and clear interface recalls the analog machine from the past, for all the...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Audio Editing: This APP Is a music player that the reel-to-reel tape image. The reel-to-reel tape unit rotate, and volume of tape will continue to increase and decrease. Along with the playback function as a music player, it can also be used as interior. it is possible to...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Portable Studio / Effects: Back in the “old daysâ€Â?, producers and engineers created delay and echo effects using tape machines. Tap Delay combines the warm sound of vintage tape echo machines with a modern, step sequencer-like tapped delay engine which continues the...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Portable Studio / Effects: Audiobus and Inter-App Audio Effect. A brickwall peak limiting app, for the complete control of your audio volume. New Sampler! Now you can use the app as a standalone. The Amazing Noises Limiter it has a wide range of dynamic processing: from very gentle...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Tuners: This simple app is designed to help you tune your cello by ear. Touch a string to let the note ring out as you tune up. You can also switch to a pure 'tuning fork' tone, pitched an octave above. Tap to the left of the strings to stop the tone.   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Others: The only Turkish Dance Music DJ in the world.....!!! Don't you believe it? OK. see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCES_D-6Xzk this app has 196 TURKISH / ARABIC loops with 4 variation for each loop you can mix the loops easily and the app will...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Courses: This app only contains english language. A complete learning course. â€Â?Learning Ukulele – In 7 Days â€Â? is the ideal start to learn to play ukulele. You don´t need any knowledge to use this app. You just have to have a ukulele. You can use...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Portable Studio / Effects: The extreme delay machine that you've never heard before. In short: This is a Karaoke echo machine. Words spoken in the iPhone's microphone will come back a few seconds later. It's like the echo effect you can hear at a mountain. You can get various...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Misc / RingTone Makers: Ringer is the premiere ringtone creation app on the app store. Make a personal ringtone from any unprotected song in your iTunes Library, video in your photo library, or direct recording. Ringer lets you easily make a ringtone from 2 to 40 seconds long....   440Software