News from the web

Enlarge / The object's unusual approach suggests it came from outside our Solar System. (credit: NASA/JPL) Last week, some Harvard University scientists sparked widespread media attention about a possible alien origination for the mysterious interstellar object known as 'Oumuamua. ...   Ars Technica

Many people doubt Craig Wright's claim to be Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto. (credit: BBC) Bitcoin's price has fallen more than 12 percent over the last 24 hours to $5,400, the lowest price for the popular cryptocurrency in more than a year. Bitcoin's plunge is part of a broader cryptocurrency sell-off. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / The new Windows 10 light theme. (credit: Microsoft) While end users have been customizing the color schemes of their computers for decades, we've lately seen operating system developers follow their users' lead with built-in, first-party support for dark themes. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Sea of Thieves is a game already using Azure for its server hosting and scaling. (credit: Rare) Microsoft today launched a preview of PlayFab Multiplayer Servers, a new Azure-based service giving game developers dynamic, on-demand scaling of multiplayer servers. ...   Ars Technica

Essential How badly do you want a headphone jack on your smartphone? Android creator Andy Rubin's smartphone startup, Essential, is still alive after laying off 30 percent of its staff, and it's still producing products. The latest is a headphone jack attachment called the 'Audio Adapter HD' for the company's only standalone product, the ill-fated Essential Phone. ...   Ars Technica

The headline feature of Windows 10 Insider build 18282 is probably the “light themeî for your Windows desktop. But the most useful addition is the new, Intelligent Active Hours designed to present unwanted interruptions from Windows updates.The preview build, leading up to the next big update to Windows 10 due early next year (code-named 19H1), doesn’t boast any truly new features. ...   PC World

Enlarge / No gameplay yet—just familiar logos (which we slapped onto a sweet, fiery explosion). (credit: EA / Getty) After soft-announcing a new Command & Conquer project last month, EA has taken the wraps off a plan that will (hopefully) satisfy that '90s real-time strategy series' biggest fans. ...   Ars Technica

A boom in wireless security cameras is inspiring a movement in DIY home surveillance. Follow our buying guide and read our reviews to find the best option for you.   PC World

Enlarge / Even mundane activities can allow microbes to catch a ride on the wind. (credit: Christopher Griner) Your gut isn’t the only place that harbors a community of microbes. There are also microbiomes coating your skin and most household, industrial, and commercial surfaces. There's even a community hanging out in the lower atmosphere. ...   Ars Technica

You can never have too many USB ports, especially if you have a lot of devices in your orbit. Today you can add six with an on-sale Anker charger.Normally $20, today the Anker PowerPort 6 Lite is listed at its lowest price of $16Remove non-product link. If you click the coupon box you’ll save another $4, bringing it down to $12 on Amazon—a killer price for a lot of ports. ...   PC World

Enlarge / When galaxies collide. (credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team) Black holes are… um, black. The point of a black hole is that the force of gravity is strong enough to prevent light from escaping its grasp. But the matter that is being sucked into a black hole is not at all happy about its fate. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: Aurich / Getty) Comcast has agreed to pay $700,000 in refunds 'and cancel debts for more than 20,000 Massachusetts customers' to settle allegations that it used deceptive advertising to promote long-term cable contracts, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced yesterday. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: Ford) Ford is working with Postmates and Walmart on a pilot program for self-driving grocery deliveries, the companies announced on Wednesday. 'We are exploring how self-driving vehicles can deliver many everyday goods such as groceries, diapers, pet food and personal care items,' Ford said in a press release. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Slim pickings: A search for “caveî in Altiverb sampling software shows Howe’s Cavern in NY and two locations in Malta, in addition to several human-made structures. (credit: Yuri Lysoivanov) Sound is very much an ephemeral phenomenon. ...   Ars Technica

EA’s Battlefield V doesn’t technically hit the streets until November 20, but it’s already the first game to support real-time ray tracing using Microsoft’s new DirectX Raytracing API. Nvidia’s radical new GeForce RTX 2070 and RTX 2080 and 2080 Ti graphics cards include dedicated hardware devoted to improving ray tracing performance.To read this article in full, please click here   PC World

Yesterday, we showed you how to get the cornerstones of an awesome AMD budget rig on the cheap. Today, we’re making that combo even better with your choice of two 27-inch, 1080p FreeSync monitors. Walmart is selling the Dell SE2717HR for $119Remove non-product link, while Newegg has the curved, 144Hz Acer ED273 for $199Remove non-product link with the checkout code EMCEEES35. ...   PC World

Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino) After rolling out wearables apps across other platforms over the past few weeks, Spotify just released the first iteration of its Apple Watch app. The watchOS app will be rolling out to Apple Watch users over the next week, and you must have the latest version of the Spotify iOS app on your iPhone to download the app. ...   Ars Technica

Amazon's over-the-air DVR nails the little details, but it has some major limitations.   PC World

Withings launches a new Pulse HR fitness tracker with three week battery life and continuous heart-rate monitoring.   PC World

When two blocks are set down on top of each other, they're oriented so that they have nine intersections. (credit: Pi et al.) Phase-change memory seems to offer the best of both worlds: the speed of current RAM with the permanence of a hard disk. While current implementations are too expensive for widespread use, researchers have been doing interesting things with test hardware. ...   Ars Technica

If there’s any review I’ve been anxiously awaiting to write, it’s this one. Having seen demos at vendor showcases, I knew NVMe SSD setups could go far faster than what’s possible with the single M.2 slot most PCs offer.To see HighPoint’s 7101A 4-slot, x16 PCIe NVMe RAID card reading at 11GBps reading and writing at nearly 10GBps on PCWorld’s own testbed was a major hoot. ...   PC World

RGB is the buzzword in peripherals these days, but few have found any real use for them. It’s all well and good to have an RGB-enabled mouse or headset or keyboard, but aside from a few gimmicks like “imitating the sirens in Grand Theft Auto,î it’s still more about aesthetics than functionality.Logitech’s G560 changes that, using RGB LEDs in a way that feels transformative. ...   PC World

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty Images) Back at the start of the year, a set of attacks that leveraged the speculative execution capabilities of modern high-performance processors was revealed. The attacks were named Meltdown and Spectre. Since then, numerous variants of these attacks have been devised. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: Chatsimo / Getty Images) Federal prosecutors in Kansas announced Tuesday that a 26-year-old Californian has admitted that he caused a Wichita man to be killed at the hands of local police during a swatting attack late last year. ...   Ars Technica

Give like you give a damnImage by Rob Schultz/IDGWhen it comes to finding gifts that are cool, useful, and affordable, technology can check all those boxes. And contrary to what you might think, the audience for cool tech gifts is quite broad, with options for virtually everyone on your holiday shopping list.To read this article in full, please click here   PC World

Enlarge / Wildfire smoke blows westward on November 9. (credit: NASA) Late last year, California experienced terrible—and in the case of the October Tubbs Fire, record-setting—wildfires. The fires were especially intense due to an unusually late start to the rainy season, which left vegetation dry as seasonal mountain winds kicked up like bellows in a forge. ...   Ars Technica

Statistics show that a third of all internet users have suffered a security breach. Indeed, the web can be a dangerous place and, unless you take precautions, it’s probably just a matter of time before you become a victim too. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it’s relatively easy to protect yourself with Private Internet Access VPN. Get a three-year subscription for just $77. ...   PC World

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 Nvidia's Shield TV, which is currently down to $140. That's a $40 discount, tied for the lowest price we've seen for the 4K media streamer. ...   Ars Technica

Sam Machkovech A surprise showed up at my doorstep last night: the Fallout '76 'power armor' edition, arriving ahead of the game's official launch at 12:01am tomorrow morning (Wednesday, November 14). The PC version's $200 special edition has been sold out at many retailers for quite some time, as it was announced well before the game began receiving more public scrutiny. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / A view of the decommissioned Duke Energy Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant. (credit: Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/UIG via Getty Images) It may come as a surprise that as of 2015, most of the water taken out of US ground- and surface-water sources was withdrawn by the electricity sector. Irrigation is a close second, and public supply is a distant third. ...   Ars Technica

Distorted Evolution 1: Space from Plughugger, is a new cinematic sound expander for Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2 that draws inspiration from science fiction movies from the past to the modern... Read More   KVR Audio

FeelYourSound has announced the release of MelodicFlow for Logic Pro X. MelodicFlow has only been available as a VSTi plug-in so far (Windows, macOS). With the new AU version,... Read More   KVR Audio

Adam Monroe Music has released Adam Monroe's Delay, a free delay VST AU and AAX plugin for Windows and OS X DAWS. Adam Monroe' Delay includes 25 presets and simulates delays from the simple... Read More   KVR Audio

Eventide has release HotSawz, a new pitch-tracking, monophonic synth engine for their H9 Harmonizer effects pedals. Hotsawz is the 50th Algorithm for the H9 platform. With six... Read More   KVR Audio

NoiseAsh has released the FrozenVerb and Action Filter plug-ins. FrozenVerb ($29) is a 'hyper stereo algorithmic reverb unit' that is designed to deliver quick results with... Read More   KVR Audio

Goodhertz has announced the release of Megaverb: a new reverb plugin inspired by early digital reverb units of the 1980s. Featuring a comprehensive gating & ducking section, Megaverb... Read More   KVR Audio

Sinevibes has released updates for its Blend multi-voice chorus, Luminance shimmer reverb, Fraction audio slicing workstation and Inertia envelope sequencer. All updates are free to existing... Read More   KVR Audio

Fred Anton Corvest has released updates for the macOS versions of FAC Transient, FAC Maxima and FAC Chorus. FAC Transient 1.1 / 1.1.1: Addition of a Soft Clipper. Addition... Read More   KVR Audio

Togu Audio Line has updated TAL-Sampler to v2.4.0. Changes in v2.4.0: Play sample from cursor position when click at waveform in mapping view. Load ROM's direct from... Read More   KVR Audio

Apple recently updated MainStage to v3.4.1, featuring stability improvements and bug fixes. Stability/Reliability: MainStage no longer quits unexpectedly sometimes when... Read More   KVR Audio

Waves Audio has announced the Waves Axis One, a Waves-Optimized Computer. Here's what they say: Waves Axis One is a standardized computer, custom-designed and optimized... Read More   KVR Audio

SKnote has announced that version 2.0 of the plate reverb plug-in Verbtone will be being released for macOS and Windows VST/AU/AAX in a few days. Main new features: Multiple... Read More   KVR Audio

Iced Audio has updated AudioFinder for macOS to v5.9.19. Changes in v5.9.19: Fixed Folder data missing bug introduced in 5.9.18. If you previously relocated your Application... Read More   KVR Audio

Image Line has announced that FL Studio Mobile 3.2 is now available for Android, iOS and Windows. This update focuses on workflow improvements. What's New?: Audio Tracks... Read More   KVR Audio

Swar Systems has updated the Windows and macOS versions of SwarPlug to v4.0.3. Changes in v4.0.3: Fixed a bug that caused crashes when changing instruments while playing.... Read More   KVR Audio

Agitated State has updated MenuMagic for Cakewalk by BandLab to v2.2. This is a recommended update featuring bug fixes and improvements. Notable Changes Multiple... Read More   KVR Audio

Thomas Mundt has updated LoudMax to version 1.25 for Mac OS, Windows and Linux. The Winamp version has also been updated. Changes: Fixed incorrect latency compensation... Read More   KVR Audio

Inear Display has released Lancinantes, a drone synthesizer plug-in with randomized additive oscillators. Features: Continuous Sound Output. Additive Oscillators based... Read More   KVR Audio

Hidenori Matsuoka has updated Chord Scale Bundle (Chord NOTE, Guitar Kit and Piano Kit) and PET Bottling. These updates include iPad Pro 11-inch and iPad Pro 12.9-inch support. And Chord... Read More   KVR Audio

HoRNet has released an update to ElliptiQ, the EQ designed to help a user with stereo phase issues. Changes: Fixed potential crash in Studio One and Cubase on macOS when... Read More   KVR Audio

Strezov Sampling has released Afflatus Chapter I Strings for NI Kontakt Player. Inspired by film and classical music icons, Strezov Sampling says this collection pushes the... Read More   KVR Audio

Blue Cat Audio has released Blue Cat's Late Replies 1.3, a new version of its creative delay plug-in with built-in effects and plug-ins hosting capabilities. This new version... Read More   KVR Audio

FXpansion has announced the release of Vivid Sequences, the first expander for Cypher2. Cypher2 Expander: Vivid Sequences is a collection of presets that take advantage of Cypher2's... Read More   KVR Audio

PSPaudioware has announced the release of two new modules for the Voltage Modular platform: PSP Rotary: an emulation of a classic mechanical modulation effect created by a rotating... Read More   KVR Audio

McDSP has announced the all new Live Pack II bundle for Avid Venue S6L live sound systems. The McDSP Live Pack II bundle has even more to offer for Avid S6L users. New plug-ins... Read More   KVR Audio

Physical Audio has announced the release of PA4 Dual Spring Reverb, which they say is the first plug-in to model wave propagation in helical springs. The audio engine is built... Read More   KVR Audio

Replika Sound has announced the launch of RSGL03 Bass Guitar v7 for Kontakt 5.3+. A free fully functional note-limited demo is available to download. This update features:... Read More   KVR Audio

Realitone has released version 2 of Fingerpick, their acoustic guitar instrument with Pattern Player. The update adds a new nylon string guitar to the original steel string... Read More   KVR Audio

iPhone, iPad / Portable Studio / Effects: F-16 Filter is a flexible multi-mode filter with frequency response display. It features sixteen modes, frequency and resonance controls, saturation for analog-style soft clipping, and wet/dry mix. The 4 pole lowpass mode provides the frequency response of...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Games, Ear Trainig: An educational game to learn the location of notes on the fretboard of the guitar and other stringed instruments. Ten instruments are available, including bass (4/5/6 strings), mandolin, ukulele and banjo. You are presented with a random note on the...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Portable Studio / MultiTracks: Playback turns your iPad or iPhone into a simple, yet powerful MultiTrack player for all of your MultiTracks, CustomMix®, and MultiTracks Cloud® content. Playback has three subscription levels: Intro (Free), Pro, and Premium; all with a 30-day...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: ‘Music Lesson NotePad’ is an application for iPhone designed to help music performance students in their daily individual practice. Similarly to this app's bigger sibling - the application for iPad ‘LessonNoter’ – it enables...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Controllers: Artis SE Sound Editor is a Sound Development tool created specifically for Kurzweil Artis SE keyboard/synthesizer. It requires a Kurzweil Artis SE keyboard. Some of Artis SE Editor's features include: •Program Channel Mixer. •Editing of Program...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Audio Editing: Easy Audio Edit is a simple but professional tool to work with audio files. Audio Editor is always in your hand. FULL-SCALE AUDIO EDITING STUDIO FOR MOBILE DEVICES Audio file editor is directly on your device. BASIC SET OF FUNCTIONS AND VARIOUS ADDITIONAL...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Fun: Learn how to play the songs you love, from Ed Sheeran to Metallica! Fourchords is a beginner-friendly songbook that comes with all you need: Easy chords with lyrics, backing tracks, tutorials, tuner and real feedback! Includes play-along versions for over 2000 hit...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Percussions: Whether you're already a seasoned player or have never been so much as near a drum but always wanted to, this application will help you live the dream! Presenting REAL PERCUSSION: the best and most comprehensive percussion app on App Store. Playing REAL...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Percussions: Awaken your inner musician while composing the greatest Latin Music hits with the perfect percussion kit! We bring you CONGAS & BONGOS: the best and most comprehensive Latin percussion app on App Store! It's never been so easy to learn to play! The app...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Percussions: PET Bottling is a real percussion instrument using the PET bottle. You can play a acoustic instrument as like real PET bottle. And you can play 624 each sounds recorded from only one PET bottle. If you are professional, you can use your live or recording....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Others: ## Featured by Apple as 'Band in your Hand' and 'Explore your creativity' ## Orphion is a musical instrument with a unique sound between string instrument and percussion. Everyone can play expressive, wonderful sounds and easy or virtuosic melodies on it just...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Portable Studio / Effects: '... the sound quality blew us away.'- Gearburn.com Music player with the most powerful and acurate equalizer in the app store as well as the most advanced playlist controls. + Play music directly from your Music Library including podcasts and music video...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Fun: Have fun with this piano which plays Mozart, Bach and Beethoven transformed into funny smartphone concertos. Enjoy 16000 classical tunes available offline and with the Pony Radio children can play a symphony when using multiple devices! Hours of music with the...   440Software