News from the web

It’s easy to see why Apple was charmed by the appeal of USB-C, a universal port that could do it all from power delivery and data transfer, to outputting a picture to an external display.  However, new rumours suggest the upcoming MacBook Pro 2021 will see a return of the HDMI port and an SD card reader, which could indicate that Apple is no longer convinced by the USB-C dream. ...   The Inquirer

It's hard to tell the difference between the new M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, so we've broken them all down for you.   PC World

It’s no secret, phones have become a little dull. Just look at the recent batch of flagship handsets to hit UK and US shores and the proof is in the pudding. The iPhone 12 family is great and undeniably a very capable series of phones that will meet most buyers’ needs, but they don’t offer anything we haven’t seen before. ...   The Inquirer

Google is reportedly working on a Pixel Fold smartphone and it could arrive alongside the Pixel 6 later this year, according to one leading online tipster. John Prosser, who’s provided solid information on Apple product launches in recent months, says the Google Pixel Fold “is a real thing. ...   The Inquirer

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash Zoom users are sick of looking at themselves during online meetings and it’s causing additional stress and fatigue, according to a new study. ...   The Inquirer

Spotify has been making mood-based playlists for ages now, but tuning into ‘Good Vibes’ will not provide anything of the sort, if it’s loaded with ‘epic anthems’ you actively dislike. Now Spotify is making it easier to ensure the playlist to match your mood is loaded with your favourite songs. ...   The Inquirer

The area around the camera has matte finishApple is now posting the repairability scores for its iPhone and MacBook products in order to comply with French law. The independently adjudicated scores, posted for all currently available smartphone and laptop models, are available on an Apple Support page in France and summarised on the actual product page. ...   The Inquirer

Sony is reportedly planning to enable PS5 owners to expand their storage later this year, relieving one of the new system’s major bug bears. According to a report from Bloomberg, Sony is planning a firmware update that would activate the functionality of the console’s M.2 expansion slot, which is currently unavailable for use and nestled behind the removable plastic shell. ...   The Inquirer

An upgradeable laptop has long been the Holy Grail of laptop features. And much like the famed Grail, it's never been found.Many have tried and all have failed. The most recent attempt was Alienware's Area 51m R1, which launched with lofty goals but ultimately never offered meaningful upgrades. ...   PC World

Electronic Arts officially closed the book on Anthem this week, ceasing development of the troubled Bioware project only two years after its original release. For a live service game, this is downright cataclysmic.  Recent months had seen Electronic Arts and Bioware working on Anthem NEXT, a proposed reboot of the troubled title that would bring it back into the limelight. ...   The Inquirer

OnePlus NordOnePlus’ affordable mid-range phone just got even cheaper than to this superb deal from StockMustGo, letting you nab the phone for just £304.99. Originally going for £379, the OnePlus Nord was already a bit of a steal but at this lower price it’s an absolute must-have for anyone who wants a capable phone on a budget. ...   The Inquirer

In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Ung, Brad Chacos, and Adam Patrick Murray talk about new graphics cards you probably can’t buy anytime soon.Not that you’d probably want to at today’s wildly inflated prices. We kick things off by talking about Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3060, which launched this week. ...   PC World

Today saw The Pokemon Company hold a 25th anniversary stream which consisted of a bunch of exciting news and announcements for the franchise.  The first major reveal was Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. These are faithful remakes of titles which first launched for the Nintendo DS in 2007. ...   The Inquirer

It’s Friday which means one thing: another iteration of Trusted Recommends, the weekly column and YouTube show where I list the top-scoring products to pass through our lab over the last 7 days. This week’s been a hectic one with everything from top end speakers, to super light streaming sticks passing through Trusted Reviews Labs. ...   The Inquirer

Editor's Note: PCWorld originally published this story in 2014. This year, 2021, marks the 25th anniversary of Charles O'Rear's iconic photo in 1996, which became the basis of the Windows XP desktop wallpaper. The vineyards are still there today. ...   PC World

A superb deal for any PC gamers out there, you can bag yourself the slick Samsung 860 QVO 1TB solid state drive for just £79.99 via Argos’ eBay outlet. Taking a quick glance on other online retailers such as Box and Overclockers, you’ll note that the very same Samsung SSD is still being sold for around the £109.99 mark, making this £79. ...   The Inquirer

Sony has announced all of the freebies coming to PlayStation Plus subscribers in March, and they happens to include our Game of the Year for 2020.  Headlining the coming month’s selection is the fantastic Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which first launched back in April of last year to critical and commercial acclaim. ...   The Inquirer

Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited champions the new energy labelling system as a bold opportunity towards greater sustainabilityAfter years of operation, the EU energy label is changing, but what will the new system look like, how does it compare and how will it be introduced? Whirlpool UK Appliances Ltd, the home of Hotpoint, Indesit, Whirlpool and KitchenAid brands, answers these questions ...   The Inquirer

Over the past couple of months I’ve been gaming with an eGPU enclosure that had Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3080 stuffed inside of it. While the limitations of Thunderbolt 3 are well documented, I was curious to see just how limited that monster card would be in such a setup. ...   PC World

Impeccable sonic goodness in an itty-bitty box.   PC World

Watching Fry’s Electronics finally shut down this week was truly the end of an era for me.When I was younger, I’d cobble together a PC by combing through ads placed in the local computer weekly newspaper (yes, they had those) and driving to some non-descript industrial building in Silicon Valley. ...   PC World

How to watch WandaVision Episode 8: Here’s your guide to catching the penultimate instalment of the hit Marvel show on Disney Plus. Following a weird and wonderful beginning, delving deep into 1950s and 60s sitcom land, WandaVision is literally coming out of its shell as we approach the present day, and the end of a season that’ll have major ramifications for Phase 4 of ...   The Inquirer

Microsoft has acknowledged a major outage preventing Xbox Live users worldwide from signing into their profiles. Microsoft has already spent over 90 minutes attempting to resolve the issue, which is the first outage of note since the launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles. ...   The Inquirer

Activision is warning Call of Duty fans they may need to free-up space on their 500GB PS4 hard drives in order to house the full versions of Modern Warfare/Warzone and Black Ops Cold War. ...   The Inquirer

Popular Twitter users will soon be able to charge followers a monthly fee for special content as part of a feature called Super Follow. In examples showed by Twitter during its Virtual Analyst Day, accounts will be able to charge $4.99 a month to followers who want exclusive content and special tweets. ...   The Inquirer

There are some people who love spending hours crafting the perfect PowerPoint presentation, but for the rest of us, Microsoft is rolling out some much-needed relief. The company is adding a feature called Transform, which will transform a humble Word document into a fancy PowerPoint presentation with a theme and images. ...   The Inquirer

Sony has announced that it will be holding a State of Play presentation later tonight which will feature a number of new and existing PS5 games.  Clocking in at roughly 30 minutes, Sony has confirmed that the upcoming presentation will feature “updates and deep dives for 10 games coming to PS4 and PS5, including new game announcements and updates on some of the third-party and indie titles ...   The Inquirer

Learn how to set up the Terminal in macOS so you can install and run smartmontools, a utility that provides data on the health of your SSD.   PC World

You can currently pick up Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 for just £22.99, which is a sharp reduction when compared to its original retail price.  First released in June 2020 as a PS4 exclusive, the second chapter in Joel and Ellie’s story has already established itself as one of Naughty Dog’s finest games ever. ...   The Inquirer

Nvidia’s next-gen “Ampere” GPU architecture finally goes mainstream today with the launch of the $329 GeForce RTX 3060. Normally, the release of Nvidia’s 60-class graphics cards spark a lot of excitement. They tend to be the best-selling cards of any GeForce generation. ...   PC World

Synapse Audio has updated The Legend to v1.4. This update adds a VST3 version, as well as an Audio Unit (Universal Binary) for Apple M1 computers running Big Sur.... Read More   KVR Audio

Signum Audio has released BUTE Loudness Suite 2 (BUTE-LS2) along with BUTE Loudness Analyser 2 (BUTE-LA2), major updates to the loudness and True Peak Brickwall limiting toolkit. New features... Read More   KVR Audio

Sequential has released a new OS for the Prophet-6 and the OB-6 that adds MPE support as well as Prophet-5 Rev4-style 'vintage' mode operation — as well as some new and greatly enhanced... Read More   KVR Audio

Pitch Innovations has updated Fluid Pitch to version 1.2. Changes: Code signing for Windows installer. Fixes: Login issues for trial users: In some cases, users had... Read More   KVR Audio

UJAM has launched Nemesis, the eighth addition to their Beatmaker line. Here's what they say: This action-packed drum machine is made for powerful, dark and complex music.... Read More   KVR Audio

Ueberschall has released a new loop library in construction kit format for their Elastik player: 60s Acid Rock Vol. 1. Here's what they say: Combining elements... Read More   KVR Audio

Online Music Foundry has released Imaginear for Retrologue 2, saying: Imaginear brings you an inspiring collection of beautiful ambient, dark cinematic and blooming arpeggiated... Read More   KVR Audio

Babylonwaves has released Art Conductor 7, a collection of over 7000 professionally build articulation switching templates available for Logic, Cubase and Cakewalk. The new release adds... Read More   KVR Audio

LetiMix has updated GainMatch to version 1.2 with the following list of improvements: Better performance: Much lower CPU/RAM usage, faster opening time. UI improvements:... Read More   KVR Audio

HoRNet Plugins has updated ELM128 MK2, the EBU R128 loudness meter with normalization. The new 2.2.0 version is a maintenance release and includes: Added hardware acceleration... Read More   KVR Audio

Musical Sampling has released Atelier Series Amy, a vocal legato Kontakt library produced for emotional and cinematic contexts. Features: Produced for emotional and cinematic... Read More   KVR Audio

Raising Jake Studios has released DRP2a mkII version 2.2.0. The update features a 50% larger GUI to better support high resolution monitors and other updates including:... Read More   KVR Audio

Youlean has updated Youlean Loudness Meter to version 2.4.3, which brings some bug-fixes. Changes in v2.4.3: Fixed choppy scrolling in menus on macOS. Fixed forced dedicated... Read More   KVR Audio

accSone has released a free feature update for crusher-X 8 licensees. Changes in v8.61: Adds 'Random Loop' and 'Random One shot' modes to the DCO Play Modes.... Read More   KVR Audio

iPhone, iPad / Education / Chords and Scales: Chord Lord is a chord diagram app for all guitar chords. • Over 600 chords • ALL the chords for free, we will never charge you to unlock extra chords. • Strum the chord to hear how it sounds, or strum individual strings to hear each note on...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Rythme Mach. & Loops: Master salsa timing and musicianship with this interactive app, where YOU are the band leader! For dancers, musicians, and instructors! Top Features: Practice your dance timing at a tempo of YOUR choice! Combine instruments to your liking and...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Portable Studio / MidiFiles: Musk MIDI Player: Your instant MIDI player - just add sounds and MIDI files! Load any MIDI file and sound library (a small General MIDI sound font is included) You can search the web for MIDI files and download. Play MIDI files up to 8 times slower or...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Controllers: Musk MIDI Keyboard: Your expandable MIDI keyboard! Use the included General MIDI sound font or import your own sound libraries Play on the multi-touch keyboard (8 octaves) Send notes to other MIDI apps or keyboards Receive notes from external MIDI sources...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Drums: Listed as one of the best drum apps for iOS on www.musicappblog.com Designed by a musician for musicians Drums by Asrodot brings a novel twist to drumming on the iPad/iPhone. Be sure to check out the video on the website www.asrodot.com to see and hear the...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Games, Ear Trainig: Do you think you have a good sense of rhythm? Check it! Have more fun challenging your friends. Enjoy:)   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Analysis: This application shows the frequency of your voice. When you hit the piano keyboard, you will hear the sound of the keyboard, so you can check the height of your voice. Be careful with the volume when using headphones. This application has the following features....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Rythme Mach. & Loops: Make your own music and have fun! Create beats and tracks with this awesome drum pad machine and a huge library of ready to use high-quality sounds. Over 30,000,000 users make music with us! Musicians and beatmakers, we’ve designed our app for...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Misc / Unclassifiable: Microphone Pro turns your iOS device into a professional live microphone with a multi-function on/off button and volume control fader, making it great for use as a talk-back mic in live and recording applications, karaoke, public address, or anywhere you need...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Courses: Esta es la versión gratuita. Esta app está diseñada para aprender de manera fácil, divertida y estimulante los aspectos más importantes de la teoría musical. Contiene 30 Lecciones, además de una Sección de Ejercicios de Reconocimiento Visual de...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Tuners: Professional app with unique algorithms designed for most accurate tuning. The working range of the app is 70 Hz to 550 Hz so if you are bass player look for “Fine Bass Tunerâ€? app instead. Fine Chromatic Tuner is a chromatic instrument tuner that allows you to...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Portable Studio / DJ: Introducing a revolution in the world of digital turntablism, Baby Decks, the world's first dual scratch turntable for the iPad. Baby Decks is a fully portable DJ rig for your iPad. Brought to you by Async, the makers of Baby Scratch and VScratch. Baby Decks...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Others: Drumball is a unique musical toy. Drag beats across the surface of your Drumball sphere, selecting from Kick, Snare, Clap, Tom and Ping sound effects. Then, simply set the sphere spinning with a swipe of your finger, and let the mesmerising rhythms begin......   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Portable Studio / Effects: A versatile 4-band parametric stereo equalizer for everything between subtle frequency enhancements and agressive boosting/cutting or special resonator effects. This app is part of the AUFX series, a collection of simple and powerful audio effect apps....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Analysis: Decibel Meter Pro is the hottest, most feature packed decibel meter on the App Store! With killer graphics optimized for all devices! Decibel Meter Pro has been in the Top Utilities on iTunes since it's release! Download your copy today and find out why! Decibel...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Others: Friends, Enjoy the beautiful sounds of Russian instrument! Playing the harp will be for you an easy and relaxed. Handle even a child! You will be able to surprise your family and friends the performance of folk songs in the traditional Russian instrument! If...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: Sight reading skills will give you access to written music and get you familiar with any style of music. Sight reading is not difficult and with enough practice everybody can develop it. This app helps you to instantly find the notes on every part of the...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Tuners: Chromatic Instrument Tuner helps you tune your instrument. It uses advanced algorithms to discover the fundamental sound frequency. You can tune your piano, guitar, violin and other instruments, even your voice. Features: • Support and optimization for 64 bit...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Courses: A complete educational resource for students and teachers alike! Piano Smart Grade 1 contains all you need to know to start learning grade 1 piano; from hand position and reading music, to scales and broken chords, to real solo performance pieces. Games and...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: 'Guitar 3D Pro is probably the best guitar teaching app I’ve ever come across in the App Store.' - appPicker Watch the Video Trailer and Decide for Yourself! '... Guitar 3D Pro take a completely different approach, using a 3-D animated character to...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Courses: Esta es la versión sin publicidad. Esta app está diseñada para aprender de manera fácil, divertida y estimulante los aspectos más importantes de la teoría musical. Contiene 30 Lecciones, además de una Sección de Ejercicios de Reconocimiento Visual de...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / ToolBox: A tap tempo and BPM delay time/LFO rate calculator all rolled into one handy iOS application. Invaluable for all musicians, DJ's, producers and sound engineers. Want to know the tempo of a song? Tap your finger on the big friendly tap button in time with the music...   440Software