The ‘Riverdale’ star revealed that he and his wife are having a ‘great time’ as they co-host ‘Live With Kelly and Mark’ together.
The ‘Riverdale’ star revealed that he and his wife are having a ‘great time’ as they co-host ‘Live With Kelly and Mark’ together.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) continue to increase in popularity, and one of the most famous services is offering a great deal to entice new customers. NordVPN is selling two-year subscription plans for up to 68 percent off, depending on which tier you go with. You also get three free months of service when you sign up, which is never a bad thing.
Here’s how the deal breaks down. The company’s Standard plan is 62 percent off, costing $108 for two years, while the Advanced plan is 68 percent off, coming in at $140 for two years. The Standard plan is likely the best option for average consumers, unless you run a crypto mining farm in your basement or something. This plan gives you access to the VPN itself for secure browsing in addition to ad-trackers, ad-blockers, malware protection software, a file-sharing service and a dark web monitor.
The Advanced plan is for power users and includes all of the above plus access to a dedicated and permanent IP address you can use when browsing. The fluctuating IP address available with the Standard plan is fine for most people, but using a static IP address is good when pursuing online activities that demand higher security, like online banking or remotely accessing sensitive data.
NordVPN just missed our list of best virtual private networks, due to a higher-than-average price point, so this deal certainly solves that problem. The company’s generally considered to be solid, with well-performing networks and an active customer service arm. There’s a reason NordVPN’s been around since 2012, which is an eternity in the volatile VPN industry.
If you aren’t even sure what you would need a VPN for, they are actually quite useful for those who spend a lot of time online. These services are nearly-mandatory if you often access public Wi-Fi, to protect from nefarious cybercriminals. VPNs also work to block malicious sites and help keep your personal data private. Finally, they let you pretend you are in other locations, allowing you to access your favorite streaming platforms when, say, traveling abroad.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/good-deal-nordvpn-two-year-plans-are-up-to-68-percent-off-right-now-154504370.html?src=rss
Once again, we’re at Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, waiting for the company to unveil new hardware. But unlike WWDC earlier this year, there is much less hype over what we expect to see. Instead of a mixed reality headset that was a first for the company, this time we’re most likely getting new iPhones and Apple Watches — things that Tim Cook and friends have spent so many years refining it’s hard to imagine them looking drastically different.
Still, iPhones are the most popular phones around, and we might still be treated to surprise announcements. Stick around as we bring you all the news straight from Apple Park. The keynote begins at 1pm ET (or 10am PT), and we’ll begin liveblogging about an hour before that, so come through with your favorite snacks and beverages!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-event-2023-live-updates-on-the-new-iphone-15-160001658.html?src=rss
In a world of generic electric bikes, the JackRabbit is hard to ignore. The micro, pedal-free ride blends the convenience of a scooter with the sitdown comfort of a bicycle. We loved the original, but there was plenty of room for improvement. That room has been dramatically reduced with the unveiling of the JackRabbit XG — a newer, more powerful and slightly (just slightly) bigger version available starting today.
The XG initially looks very similar to the “OG” (as it has since been dubbed) that came before it. What you will notice is that it sports a more conventional diamond-style frame. There are also two batteries this time around for up to 20 miles of range (double the original). As mentioned earlier, the wheelbase is a shade longer, but only by an inch or two. The result is a more refined bike with not only more range but, thanks to a new 500W motor, more power for going up hills with the same 20 mph max speed.
The quality-of-life enhancements also extend beyond extra power and range. The JackRabbit XG comes with an actual bike computer so you can see real time speed, trip length and a more refined battery life gauge. Before, the only feedback you had for anything were three LEDs to indicate remaining power. Additionally, there are new all-metal footpegs, which is great as the original used rubber “shoes” on its pegs and they easily fell off — I lost both within two short rides.
The addition of the extra battery, combined with that new motor are what really makes the JackRabbit XG feel like an improvement on the original. I stated in my review that the battery life was perhaps on the shorter side and if you ever ran out of juice, like I once did, it wasn’t a very fun time getting back home on, effectively, an adult balance bike. Thankfully, with double the amount of cells, the XG now reaches up to, and maybe even beyond 20 miles of normal usage putting it well on par with what you’d expect from a scooter. (There are no pedals here, so that range is motor-only.)
One of the first things you noticed when you rode the original was the higher center of gravity which gave the JackRabbit a “lively” riding experience. Thankfully, the XG feels a lot more stable and doesn’t seem to feature any of the twitchy physics at higher speeds. And thanks to the three power modes, you have more control over the maximum speed (and thus range and ride feel) of the bike.
Naturally, that extra battery and longer frame add a bit of heft. The OG model weighed in at 24 pounds, while the XG adds another eight to that. You can still easily lift the bike with one hand though, and a dash up the subway stairs with it is still perfectly manageable. By keeping with the same battery as the OG, upgraders might even have some spares ready, but also the double battery bay means you can ride on just one cell if needed, or if you just fancy a lighter ride with less range. Thankfully, the batteries no longer require a key to unlock them for swapping out, with new permanent clips on the underside of the XG instead, which is much easier and saves having to carry another, easily losable, key.
Some smaller details show how the JackRabbit is maturing. For example, the bike now comes with powered front and back lights which connect to a new power port on the side. There’s also a front brake now to augment the rear one so you won’t have to pull a rad slide in certain strong braking situations. That said, there are a couple of other listed features that are perhaps more creative on the marketing side than practical for the user. For one there’s a “walk mode” — which typically has the bike roll itself along slowly as you stroll. But here that mode is achieved not by holding down a button to engage the throttle slightly, instead you loosen the handlebars, rotate them 90 degrees (so that the bike is “thin”) and Jackrabbit’s “walk mode” is “activated.” That said, the same process does easily allow for tidy storage of the bike.
It’s in the riding that the XG comes to life. The OG model would pull away when you pressed the accelerator, but the new model requires you to push off first, much like on a scooter. It’s a minor change, but one that does stop the bike pulling away from you if you accidentally activate the throttle. In “high” mode, you don’t need to push off to start moving, so if that’s what you prefer you can keep it in that setting. Having the three power modes is a welcome way of moderating battery usage without having to be as judicious with the accelerator. I won’t lie though, “high” is the most fun and that’s where I find myself keeping it now that it sports the extra range.
The OG model had a few rough edges, but was a fun alternative to scooters or small e-bikes. The XG feels much more refined and practical with all the major pain points addressed with very little tradeoff — though it’s a shade larger and heavier making it just that much less convenient than a foldable scooter. With all these changes though comes a much higher price tag. The original was $1,200 when we wrote about it but has since dropped back to $1,000. The XG will cost $1,750 at launch.
That’s a decent step up, but it bests its younger sibling in every conceivable way. That also puts it up in the same price range as many regular e-bikes. If you’re considering the XG purely as an alternative to a scooter then it’s clearly a pricier option. If, however, you want the flexibility of a bike that can perk up your daily commute and go on adventures that scooters can’t, the JackRabbit XG suddenly seems much more attractive.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/jackrabbits-xg-e-bike-adds-more-range-power-fun-and-expense-160038972.html?src=rss
Native Instruments’ Kontrol S series MIDI keyboards are a favorite among producers and musicians for their solid build and tight integration with the company’s instruments like Kontakt and Massive X. This year the controllers are getting a pretty significant upgrade that pushes the hardware to new heights and tightens the integration with the company’s flagship software.
Physically there are few immediately obvious differences on the Kontrol S MK3. For one the stark matte black aesthetic has been toned down a bit. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a mostly black affair, but there are some additional lights and colored labels have been added to some of the buttons. The touch strip has also been moved above the pitch and mod wheels which, might seem like a minor tweak, but greatly improves playability. It could often get in the way and it’s something that a lot of Native Instruments’ customers complained about, so it’s good to see the company listening to feedback.
The other glaring difference is the screen. Where the MK2 had two small, but functional screens, the MK3 has one large hi-res screen. It’s bright and crisp and easy to view from any angle. Many of the graphics and UI elements have been updated to take advantage of the new display, too. You can’t do everything in your DAW on the keyboard, the way you might with say with an Ableton Push, but you can do almost anything inside of Komplete Kontrol. The screen allows you to browse through all your Native Instruments plugins and sound packs, and even many third party VSTs, like those from Arturia, complete with artwork. And then change parameters, complete with visual feedback, until you get the sound you’re looking for.
If you’d rather not deal with the additional overhead of Komplete Kontrol, the keyboard can tap directly into Kontakt 7. Frankly I much preferred this. While being able to browse, load and tweak presets, regardless of instrument directly from the keyboard is nice, it can be a little overwhelming. And there is a touch more lag loading Kontakt soundbanks when you’re going through the middleman of Komplete Kontrol. (And they open slow enough on my four-year-old Dell as is.)
The eight knobs under the screen give you quick access to a number of parameters based on what instrument you’ve loaded. And in Kontakt, there’s additional flexibility because they can vary based on preset, which loads with a performance mode by default. These are the eight parameters deemed most important for live tweaking. But you can dive deeper by hitting a button above the screen to switch to edit mode where you can page through the complete set of options and get really detailed designing a patch. All of this is thanks to the new NKS 2.0 (Native Kontrol Standard) platform.
Two of the other major changes to the S Series are a little less obvious. For one there’s a new unibody shell that, might not make any practical difference, but does give generation a slightly more solid feel. The capacitive encoders and pitch and mod wheels are all made from machined aluminum as well. This is a keyboard that feels worthy of a professional studio.
More exciting though, is the new keybed which was developed in coordination with Fatar and brings polyphonic aftertouch to the Kontrol series. While there aren’t a lot of Native Instruments’ plugins that take full advantage of this yet, it does add a bit of future proofing to the lineup. With MPE gaining in popularityThe company had to do something to keep pace with the time.
It feels great too. I tested the Kontrol S49 which, like its slightly bigger sibling the S61, has a semi-weighted keybed. The travel for aftertouch is short, but satisfying and in general it responds to playing naturally allowing you to get a lot of nuance from your playing. The S88 however will have a full hammer action keyboard that might appeal more to serious piano players.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that there is plenty of connectivity on board as well. Obviously, there’s MIDI over over USB-C, but there’s also dedicated five-pin MIDI ins and outs, plus four pedal input jacks (one sustain, one expression and two assignable).
The Native Instruments Kontrol S Series MK3 keyboards are available for preorder today starting at $749 for the S49, $849 for the S61 and $1,299 for the S88. All three are expected to start shipping sometime in October.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/kontrol-s-series-mk3-hands-on-a-high-end-midi-keyboard-for-the-native-instruments-faithful-162055627.html?src=rss
The ‘I’m Good’ popstar opened up about being unsure as to whether or not she’d attend the 2023 MTV VMAs, while asking fans for ‘motivational tips.’
The ‘I’m Good’ popstar opened up about being unsure as to whether or not she’d attend the 2023 MTV VMAs, while asking fans for ‘motivational tips.’
Abby Lee Miller doubled down on her controversial opinion about high school football players. She said she’s ‘always’ found them attractive and ‘always will’.
Abby Lee Miller doubled down on her controversial opinion about high school football players. She said she’s ‘always’ found them attractive and ‘always will’.
Lyft has announced an initiative that aims to bolster safety for riders and drivers who identify as women or nonbinary. Women+ Connect is a feature that gives women and nonbinary drivers the option to match with women and nonbinary riders more often. Lyft says this is an opt-in feature that’s preference-based. If a driver activates Women+ Connect but there are no women or nonbinary people who are looking for a ride close by, they’ll still be matched with a male rider and vice versa.
The feature will initially be available in Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose. Lyft plans to enable it in more cities in the near future. When it’s available in their area, women and nonbinary riders and drivers will see a “count me in” prompt. If they agree to this, it’s more likely that they’ll be matched with a woman or nonbinary person.
Improving safety is a major goal for Lyft with this effort. The company is also hoping it will encourage more women and nonbinary folks to sign up as drivers. Lyft says that, according to a recent survey, nearly half of riders are women, but they make up 23 percent of drivers on the platform. “Women drivers tell us it’s hard to drive at night,” Jody Kelman, Lyft’s executive vice president of customers, told The New York Times. “We need to remove a barrier for women drivers today.”
Ridesharing platforms such as Lyft and Uber have added more safety features to their apps over the years amid reports of sexual assaults and other violent encounters. They have made it easier for riders and drivers to contact support staff and 911, keep loved ones up to date with their location and record audio from the ride. Lyft consulted with experts such as the Human Rights Campaign and the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives as it built Women+ Connect.
It is worth noting that Lyft makes it a cinch for riders and drivers to change their gender identity in the app with a few taps. You’ll see a driver or rider’s preferred pronouns in the app, but not their gender identity.
Access to Women+ Connect is based on the gender that users identify with in the Lyft app. Lyft says the default gender identity it uses for drivers is based on the license it has on file, while riders always self-identify their gender. However, any user can change their gender identity in the app at any time. Balancing the ability for users to easily express their gender accurately (particularly for those who are transitioning) while ensuring this feature works as intended is a tricky needle to thread and may cause some issues, but at least Lyft is considering that factor while implementing Women+ Connect.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lyft-aims-to-match-women-and-nonbinary-riders-and-drivers-with-each-other-more-often-145047131.html?src=rss
If you’ve been thinking about getting a new keyboard for yourself, there are some fresh options on the market to consider. Drop is launching updated editions of its CTRL, ALT and SHIFT models. New features for the V2 keyboards include plate-mounted Drop Phantom Stabilizers, more LED customization and 50 new LED patterns. The new keyboards also have additional layers of foam, including Poron top and bottom case foam and IXPE switch foam. Plus, the SHIFT V2 comes with a new black colorway.
The aircraft-grade aluminum of Drop’s original keyboards remains alongside the upgrades. “The new and improved CTRL, ALT, and SHIFT V2 keyboards represent a leap forward in design, performance, and functionality while preserving the cherished qualities that made their predecessors beloved by our community,” Drop CEO Jef Holove said in a statement. “With the addition of highly requested features such as stabilizer upgrades, new switch options, and enhanced RGB LED capabilities, we offer the community an upgraded and unparalleled typing experience that will make them fall in love with these reinvented, classic keyboards all over again.”
The news follows Corsair’s recent acquisition of Drop for an undisclosed amount. In the July announcement, Holove said that Drop would still work together with “community favorites” while providing products to a larger audience at a quicker speed.
Drop’s V2 CTRL, ALT and SHIFT keyboards are available as barebones or fully assembled models. You can get the scaled-down versions for between $140 to $190 and the completed keyboards for $180 to $250. The company is also releasing the PCBA + foam kit and Phantom Stabilizers as add-ons — starting at $105 — if you already own a Drop keyboard but want to upgrade it a bit.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/drops-refreshed-ctrl-alt-and-shift-keyboards-offer-improved-stabilization-and-led-patterns-150003774.html?src=rss
Fujifilm has taken the wraps off the GFX100 II medium format camera, a successor to the original GFX100 launched back in 2019. It carries the same 102-megapixel resolution of the original model, but has a new sensor and processor that delivers faster shooting speeds, improved autofocus, full-sensor 4K (and even 8K) video and a lot more. At the same time, it’s more like the GFX100S in terms of size and price.
Where the GFX100 was gigantic in size due to the built-in battery grip, the GFX100 II has separated those two things, so the camera body alone is considerably smaller (the grip is sold separately for $500). It has a new 9.44 million-dot electronic viewfinder (EVF), the highest in the industry, that’s removable as before. That allows the use of an optional $569 tilt adapter that makes low-angle shooting easier. The rear touch display tilts up, down and a bit to the side, but doesn’t flip out (sorry, rich vloggers).
With the latest X-Processor borrowed from the X-H2S and X-H2 cameras, the GFX100 II can shoot at 8fps (up from 5fps before), pretty darn fast for a medium format (43.8 x 32.9mm) sensor camera. It now comes with subject-detection autofocus with face/eye detection, and can also track animals, birds, vehicles and other fast-moving subjects like insects and drones — both for photos and video.
The body looks more like the X-H2/X-H2S than other X-series cameras, with just a single mode dial and a large LCD display on top. It offers 5-axis in-body stabilization with up to 8-stops of shake reduction. In terms of storage, it supports dual cards with one CFexpress Type B and one SD UHS-II slot — and you can also capture video to an external SSD via the USB-C port. Other features include headphone/mic ports, a full-sized HDMI port and an ethernet port. It even supports timecode jamming for video via the Atomos AirGlu BT.
If you want to shoot video with a nearly 70mm-sized frame, the GFX100 II can do that impressively well also. It supports 4K at up to 60p using the full width of the sensor, and even keeps rolling shutter to a reasonable level — likely via line skipping or pixel binning. There’s even an 8K mode, albeit with a 1.53 times crop, that reads the sensor pixel-for-pixel with some upscaling. On top of 8K, UHD and 4K DCI modes, it can shoot anamorphic video at up to 4.8K.
It can record Apple ProRes vide in three formats (422 HQ, 422 and 422 LT), along with H.264 and ProRes 422 proxy files. The higher-quality codecs require CFexpress Type B or USB SSD capture.
Fujifilm clearly thinks that pros will use the GFX100 II for video, as it offers waveform and vectorscope overlays to help nail exposure. It has front and rear tally lamps, the ability to use fractional shutter speeds to avoid flicker and an optional fan accessory that allows for unlimited 4K/60p recording times. And as mentioned, it supports timecode sync and jamming, so it can work in a multi-camera shooting environment. On top of all that, it supports up to four channels of audio.
Along with the camera, Fujifilm introduced a new $2,300 55mm f/1.7R WR lens (44mm equivalent in full-frame terms), along with two tilt-shift 30mm and 110mm lenses for architectural an artistic shooting ($4,000 and $3,500 respectively). The GFX100 II launches in “early fall 2023 for $7,500, compared to $6,000 for the GFX100S and $10,000 for the GFX 100.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fujifilm-launches-the-slimmed-down-cheaper-gfx-100-ii-medium-format-camera-153054647.html?src=rss
