Author Archives: Lawrence Bonk

Marshall portable speakers are up to 25 percent off right now

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Marshall portable speakers are up to 25 percent off right now via Amazon. The sale includes the attractive and highly useful Middleton speaker, which is available for $237. This is a discount of 21 percent and marks a record low for the portable Bluetooth device.

The Middleton made our list of the best portable Bluetooth speakers, and for good reason. It’s the company’s flagship portable speaker, so it’s packed with both bells and whistles. It offers 50-watts of 360-degree sound and a rugged IP67 exterior. There are dual woofers and tweeters for the front and back, in addition to passive radiators along the side. In other words, people attending your backyard barbecue will have no problem hearing the tunes, and the same could be true of your neighbors.

The speaker also features the company’s Stack Mode, allowing it to easily pair with other Marshall speakers. This includes other Middleton units, the Willen and the Emberton II. We also enjoyed the multi-use joystick that can turn the unit on, change the volume, select tracks and adjust bass and treble.

Marshall’s Willen speaker is also part of this sale, with a current price of $90. That’s 25 percent off. This diminutive, yet powerful, speaker made our list of the best gadgets of 2023. We praised the sound quality, the reliable Bluetooth connection and the battery, which lasts over 15 hours per charge. It’s just about the perfect little speaker, especially for the price.

The sale goes beyond portable speakers. Marshall’s Minor III earbuds are on sale for $100, which is a discount of $30. These no-frills headphones feature custom-tuned 12mm drivers, touch controls and IPX4 water resistance. You can expect around five hours per charge, with the included charging case offering an additional 20 hours.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/marshall-portable-speakers-are-up-to-25-percent-off-right-now-164056685.html?src=rss

Marshall portable speakers are up to 25 percent off right now

Posted on by

Marshall portable speakers are up to 25 percent off right now via Amazon. The sale includes the attractive and highly useful Middleton speaker, which is available for $237. This is a discount of 21 percent and marks a record low for the portable Bluetooth device.

The Middleton made our list of the best portable Bluetooth speakers, and for good reason. It’s the company’s flagship portable speaker, so it’s packed with both bells and whistles. It offers 50-watts of 360-degree sound and a rugged IP67 exterior. There are dual woofers and tweeters for the front and back, in addition to passive radiators along the side. In other words, people attending your backyard barbecue will have no problem hearing the tunes, and the same could be true of your neighbors.

The speaker also features the company’s Stack Mode, allowing it to easily pair with other Marshall speakers. This includes other Middleton units, the Willen and the Emberton II. We also enjoyed the multi-use joystick that can turn the unit on, change the volume, select tracks and adjust bass and treble.

Marshall’s Willen speaker is also part of this sale, with a current price of $90. That’s 25 percent off. This diminutive, yet powerful, speaker made our list of the best gadgets of 2023. We praised the sound quality, the reliable Bluetooth connection and the battery, which lasts over 15 hours per charge. It’s just about the perfect little speaker, especially for the price.

The sale goes beyond portable speakers. Marshall’s Minor III earbuds are on sale for $100, which is a discount of $30. These no-frills headphones feature custom-tuned 12mm drivers, touch controls and IPX4 water resistance. You can expect around five hours per charge, with the included charging case offering an additional 20 hours.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/marshall-portable-speakers-are-up-to-25-percent-off-right-now-164056685.html?src=rss

Physicist Peter Higgs, who predicted ‘the God particle’, has died at 94

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Peter Higgs, the physicist who predicted the Higgs boson particle, has passed away at the age of 94 due to a blood disorder. His work proposing the particle — and showing how it helped give mass to some matter — won him the Noble price in 2013. The Higgs boson is informally referred to as the God particle, after a book by Nobel laureate Leon Lederman.

Higgs came up with the idea in the early 1960s as an attempt to explain why atoms have mass in the first place. The research didn’t get any traction in scientific journals, primarily because few understood the concept, but he was finally published in 1964. This was just a theory at the time, but led to a 50-year race to prove the Higgs boson particle actually exists.

Scientists hit pay dirt in 2012, thanks to physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland. It took four years of experiments, but the Higgs boson particle was finally discovered, proving his ideas and adding a major puzzle piece to the corpus of particle physics knowledge known as the Standard Model.

As a matter of fact, modern theoretical physicists have posited the existence of up to five Higgs boson particles that fill up what is now called the Higgs field. Scientists hope to use the Higgs boson to one day find proof for ever-elusive dark matter.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the Nobel, wrote about the importance of his discovery ahead of the ceremony in 2013. “Even when the universe seems empty this field is there. Without it, we would not exist, because it is from contact with the field that particles acquire mass.” The Nobel was shared with François Englert, a Belgian theoretical physicist whose work in 1964 contributed to the discovery.

"At the beginning I had no idea whether a discovery would be made in my lifetime”, Higgs once said. He leaves two sons, Chris and Jonny, his daughter-in-law Suzanne and two grandchildren. His former wife Jody, a linguistics professor, died in 2008.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/physicist-peter-higgs-who-predicted-the-god-particle-has-died-at-94-153635259.html?src=rss

Physicist Peter Higgs, who predicted ‘the God particle’, has died at 94

Posted on by

Peter Higgs, the physicist who predicted the Higgs boson particle, has passed away at the age of 94 due to a blood disorder. His work proposing the particle — and showing how it helped give mass to some matter — won him the Noble price in 2013. The Higgs boson is informally referred to as the God particle, after a book by Nobel laureate Leon Lederman.

Higgs came up with the idea in the early 1960s as an attempt to explain why atoms have mass in the first place. The research didn’t get any traction in scientific journals, primarily because few understood the concept, but he was finally published in 1964. This was just a theory at the time, but led to a 50-year race to prove the Higgs boson particle actually exists.

Scientists hit pay dirt in 2012, thanks to physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland. It took four years of experiments, but the Higgs boson particle was finally discovered, proving his ideas and adding a major puzzle piece to the corpus of particle physics knowledge known as the Standard Model.

As a matter of fact, modern theoretical physicists have posited the existence of up to five Higgs boson particles that fill up what is now called the Higgs field. Scientists hope to use the Higgs boson to one day find proof for ever-elusive dark matter.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the Nobel, wrote about the importance of his discovery ahead of the ceremony in 2013. “Even when the universe seems empty this field is there. Without it, we would not exist, because it is from contact with the field that particles acquire mass.” The Nobel was shared with François Englert, a Belgian theoretical physicist whose work in 1964 contributed to the discovery.

"At the beginning I had no idea whether a discovery would be made in my lifetime”, Higgs once said. He leaves two sons, Chris and Jonny, his daughter-in-law Suzanne and two grandchildren. His former wife Jody, a linguistics professor, died in 2008.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/physicist-peter-higgs-who-predicted-the-god-particle-has-died-at-94-153635259.html?src=rss

Roku releases its line of premium-ish TVs with Mini LED backlighting

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Roku has released a line of TVs called the Pro Series after first unveiling the collection at this year’s CES. These televisions are packed with tech, with the standout feature being Mini LED backlighting for better brightness and contrast. The 4K TVs also boast QLED panels, HDR10+, Dolby Vision and a responsive refresh rate of 120Hz. The company’s calling them the “ultimate TVs” for streaming.

To that end, the quad-core processor should allow for snappier menu navigation and for apps to launch quickly, so you can spend less time waiting on a load screen and more time binging Hulu’s Shogun while scarfing down a big bowl of popcorn. They're also Wi-Fi 6 capable, which comes in handy when streaming 4K content.

On the audio side of things, the Pro Series models include side-firing Dolby Atmos speakers for a “wide, cinematic sound.” The TVs integrate nicely with wireless soundbars, speakers and subwoofers, in addition to wired variants. Each model also features Bluetooth for connecting wireless headphones, to prevent spoilers from seeping into every corner of the house. They come with a refreshed remote control that includes motion-activated backlit buttons, USB-C charging and new shortcut options.

The Pro Series TVs feature a new neural processing unit (NPU) that allows for some nifty OS features. Smart Picture Max uses AI to automatically adjust the best picture mode for a particular piece of content, refining the color, sharpness and motion as required. This carries over to brightness, which also automatically adjusts depending on room lighting.

While Smart Picture Max might be tied to the Pro Series line of TVs, due to the updated NPU, there are more OS features coming to all Roku panels. The company’s televisions will soon get something called Backdrops, which are basically just fancy screensavers pulled from a wide catalog of popular artwork or via uploaded images. This won’t exactly turn a Roku into a Samsung Frame TV, but it’s a start.

The Roku Backdrops feature in action.
Roku

Roku TVs are also getting deep integration with IMDB in a forthcoming OS update. This will provide data sourced from the site as you scroll through potential shows and movies to watch. Finally, the mobile app is receiving a comprehensive upgrade, complete with a streamlined design, better search and new content categories.

The Pro Series line is available now from Best Buy, Amazon and Walmart. Prices start at $900 for the 55-inch model and rise up to $1,700 for the chunky 75-inch version. There’s also a wall-mount kit available for $100.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roku-releases-its-line-of-premium-ish-tvs-with-mini-led-backlighting-130047599.html?src=rss

Roku releases its line of premium-ish TVs with Mini LED backlighting

Posted on by

Roku has released a line of TVs called the Pro Series after first unveiling the collection at this year’s CES. These televisions are packed with tech, with the standout feature being Mini LED backlighting for better brightness and contrast. The 4K TVs also boast QLED panels, HDR10+, Dolby Vision and a responsive refresh rate of 120Hz. The company’s calling them the “ultimate TVs” for streaming.

To that end, the quad-core processor should allow for snappier menu navigation and for apps to launch quickly, so you can spend less time waiting on a load screen and more time binging Hulu’s Shogun while scarfing down a big bowl of popcorn. They're also Wi-Fi 6 capable, which comes in handy when streaming 4K content.

On the audio side of things, the Pro Series models include side-firing Dolby Atmos speakers for a “wide, cinematic sound.” The TVs integrate nicely with wireless soundbars, speakers and subwoofers, in addition to wired variants. Each model also features Bluetooth for connecting wireless headphones, to prevent spoilers from seeping into every corner of the house. They come with a refreshed remote control that includes motion-activated backlit buttons, USB-C charging and new shortcut options.

The Pro Series TVs feature a new neural processing unit (NPU) that allows for some nifty OS features. Smart Picture Max uses AI to automatically adjust the best picture mode for a particular piece of content, refining the color, sharpness and motion as required. This carries over to brightness, which also automatically adjusts depending on room lighting.

While Smart Picture Max might be tied to the Pro Series line of TVs, due to the updated NPU, there are more OS features coming to all Roku panels. The company’s televisions will soon get something called Backdrops, which are basically just fancy screensavers pulled from a wide catalog of popular artwork or via uploaded images. This won’t exactly turn a Roku into a Samsung Frame TV, but it’s a start.

The Roku Backdrops feature in action.
Roku

Roku TVs are also getting deep integration with IMDB in a forthcoming OS update. This will provide data sourced from the site as you scroll through potential shows and movies to watch. Finally, the mobile app is receiving a comprehensive upgrade, complete with a streamlined design, better search and new content categories.

The Pro Series line is available now from Best Buy, Amazon and Walmart. Prices start at $900 for the 55-inch model and rise up to $1,700 for the chunky 75-inch version. There’s also a wall-mount kit available for $100.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roku-releases-its-line-of-premium-ish-tvs-with-mini-led-backlighting-130047599.html?src=rss

Arturia stuffed almost all of its software emulations into this new keyboard

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Arturia just released a new standalone synthesizer called the AstroLab. This 61-key stage keyboard is basically the company’s Analog Lab software in hardware form, which makes it perfect for live performances. The synth boasts ten dedicated sound engines and access to 35 virtual instruments, including the vast majority of the emulations found with the iconic V Collection. It also costs $2,000.

You could recreate this on the cheap by just buying some software instruments and a MIDI controller, but this is a stage keyboard. In other words, it has been designed with live performance in mind. The casing is durable and built to withstand the rigors of touring and there’s plenty of nifty sound design tools that should come in handy when gigging.

There are 12 insert FX options, with four control knobs, and the ability to loop any sound by up to 32 bars. The instrument even captures the MIDI, so people can easily swap out to another instrument and play the same part. The multitimbral feature allows players to set a split point along the keyboard, to make it easy to pull up two instruments at the same time. This is a big deal when playing live, as you never know how long a keyboard will take to load a preset.

If you want to get people dancing to the sound of a robot voice singing “around the world” over and over until 5 AM, AstroLab keyboards ship with a vocoder and a port to plug in a microphone. Of course, the synthesizer features the usual accouterments like mod wheels, an arpeggiator and various chord scale options. Finally, there’s an affiliated mobile app, AstroLab Connect, that lets users organize their presets and download new sounds from the store. The keyboard is available now through Arturia and various retailers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/arturia-stuffed-almost-all-of-its-software-emulations-into-this-new-keyboard-190542557.html?src=rss

Arturia stuffed almost all of its software emulations into this new keyboard

Posted on by

Arturia just released a new standalone synthesizer called the AstroLab. This 61-key stage keyboard is basically the company’s Analog Lab software in hardware form, which makes it perfect for live performances. The synth boasts ten dedicated sound engines and access to 35 virtual instruments, including the vast majority of the emulations found with the iconic V Collection. It also costs $2,000.

You could recreate this on the cheap by just buying some software instruments and a MIDI controller, but this is a stage keyboard. In other words, it has been designed with live performance in mind. The casing is durable and built to withstand the rigors of touring and there’s plenty of nifty sound design tools that should come in handy when gigging.

There are 12 insert FX options, with four control knobs, and the ability to loop any sound by up to 32 bars. The instrument even captures the MIDI, so people can easily swap out to another instrument and play the same part. The multitimbral feature allows players to set a split point along the keyboard, to make it easy to pull up two instruments at the same time. This is a big deal when playing live, as you never know how long a keyboard will take to load a preset.

If you want to get people dancing to the sound of a robot voice singing “around the world” over and over until 5 AM, AstroLab keyboards ship with a vocoder and a port to plug in a microphone. Of course, the synthesizer features the usual accouterments like mod wheels, an arpeggiator and various chord scale options. Finally, there’s an affiliated mobile app, AstroLab Connect, that lets users organize their presets and download new sounds from the store. The keyboard is available now through Arturia and various retailers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/arturia-stuffed-almost-all-of-its-software-emulations-into-this-new-keyboard-190542557.html?src=rss

Star Wars Outlaws gets a new trailer and a release date of August 30

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Ubisoft just dropped another trailer for Star Wars Outlaws, this time focusing on the story. The new trailer spotlights the various smugglers and thieves you’ll be working alongside in a galaxy far, far away. The game also continues to look absolutely gorgeous, thanks to developer Massive Entertainment’s proprietary Snowdrop engine.

It also looks really fun. You play as a scoundrel named Kay Vess as she attempts to win her freedom by completing various jobs for denizens of the underworld. The trailer features Jabba the Hutt, Han Solo frozen in carbonite and all kinds of other "blink and you'll miss it" easter eggs. 

Even better than a new trailer? There’s an actual release date of August 30, which is in a few short months. This release date was originally leaked via a Japanese version of the trailer and was spotted by Insider Gaming, but has now been officially confirmed. 

Star Wars Outlaws will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Amazon Luna and PC, with preorders available right now. The base version of the game costs $70, though there are special versions that cost extra. These premium packs include cosmetic DLC, art packs and an exclusive mission.

The August release date means fans will be able to play it directly after finishing the upcoming Star Wars: The Acolyte series on Disney+. Let’s hear it for shared universes!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/star-wars-outlaws-gets-a-new-trailer-and-a-release-date-of-august-30-162109976.html?src=rss

Star Wars Outlaws gets a new trailer and a release date of August 30

Posted on by

Ubisoft just dropped another trailer for Star Wars Outlaws, this time focusing on the story. The new trailer spotlights the various smugglers and thieves you’ll be working alongside in a galaxy far, far away. The game also continues to look absolutely gorgeous, thanks to developer Massive Entertainment’s proprietary Snowdrop engine.

It also looks really fun. You play as a scoundrel named Kay Vess as she attempts to win her freedom by completing various jobs for denizens of the underworld. The trailer features Jabba the Hutt, Han Solo frozen in carbonite and all kinds of other "blink and you'll miss it" easter eggs. 

Even better than a new trailer? There’s an actual release date of August 30, which is in a few short months. This release date was originally leaked via a Japanese version of the trailer and was spotted by Insider Gaming, but has now been officially confirmed. 

Star Wars Outlaws will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Amazon Luna and PC, with preorders available right now. The base version of the game costs $70, though there are special versions that cost extra. These premium packs include cosmetic DLC, art packs and an exclusive mission.

The August release date means fans will be able to play it directly after finishing the upcoming Star Wars: The Acolyte series on Disney+. Let’s hear it for shared universes!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/star-wars-outlaws-gets-a-new-trailer-and-a-release-date-of-august-30-162109976.html?src=rss