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Fabrice Coquio, Managing Director of Interxion, at the site of MRS3—a data center being built in a former Nazi sub bunker. [credit: Interxion ] Marseille—France's largest city on the Mediterranean coast—is many things. It's the country's largest commercial port, the birthplace of French hip-hop, and the home of the French Foreign Legion. ...   Ars Technica

All sorts of stuff happened during Tuesday morning's launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center. [credit: Trevor Mahlmann ] On Tuesday afternoon—a little more than 12 hours after the launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida—the US Air Force's Space & Missile Systems Center declared that all had gone well with the complicated mission. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Microsoft at a trade show. (credit: Getty Images | Justin Sullivan) Microsoft is launching a new layer of security for users of its OneDrive cloud storage service. OneDrive Personal Vault is a new section of your storage that's accessed through two-step verification, or a 'strong authentication method,' although Microsoft didn't define the latter term. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) FedEx is suing the US Department of Commerce, arguing that US export control laws are so onerous that it's impossible for FedEx to comply with them. US laws 'require considerably more screening than possible from common carriers like FedEx,' the company argues in a legal complaint filed in a DC federal court on Monday. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Pages in macOS Mojave. (credit: Samuel Axon) Today, Apple released Pages 8.1, Numbers 6.1, and Keynote 9.1 for Mac, and the company also updated the accompanying apps on iOS. This is a small features update for the iWork suite, but some of the additions give functionality users have been requesting for a while. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: Beth Waterbury) Monarch butterflies engage in a spectacular migration that encompasses multiple generations. They surf the green wave of spring as it spreads north, producing new generations on the way. Then, as autumn sets in, that generation of butterflies shuts down reproduction and starts heading south, eventually reaching their wintering grounds in staggering numbers. ...   Ars Technica

Upcoming Microsoft Surface devices may use chips from either AMD or Qualcomm, according to a report, as Microsoft attempts to diversify its portfolio.While it’s unknown whether Microsoft’s relationship with Intel has deteriorated, the company apparently is evaluating Surfaces that use either an AMD SoC or a Snapdragon chip, Petri reported. ...   PC World

Enlarge / This undated picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 18, 2016, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) inspecting the newly built Ryugyong General Ophthalmic Hospital in Pyongyang. ...   Ars Technica

These days, there are plenty of ways to score video games for cheap. Seems like there’s a new sale every week or two, not to mention the various subscription services and Epic’s penchant for giving away freebies. But the Steam Summer Sale is an institution, damn it, and I still get a bit excited when it rolls around again. ...   PC World

Microsoft said Tuesday that OneDrive subscribers will receive a new OneDrive Personal Vault option that adds increased security to their online files, as well as additional storage tiers for existing subscribers.Personal Vault is designed for files you really hold dear: tax information, scanned passports, that sort of thing. ...   PC World

Enlarge (credit: Ars Technica) Greetings, Arsians! The Dealmaster is back with another round of deals to share. Today's list is headlined by an expansive 30%-off sale on video games for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One currently going on at Target. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / The new icon theme in Ubuntu 19.04. (credit: Scott Gilbertson) It has been a tumultuous week for gaming on Linux. Last Tuesday afternoon, Canonical's Steve Langasek announced that 32-bit libs would be frozen (kept as-is, with no new builds or updates) as of this October's interim 19.10 release, codenamed 'Eoan Ermine. ...   Ars Technica

The BMW Vision M Next (left) joins the Vision Next 100 (center) and the BMW iNext (right) on stage in Munich. [credit: BMW ] In Munich on Tuesday, BMW revealed it is speeding up the plan to electrify its model range. Previously, it had committed to introducing 25 electric vehicles by the year 2025. Now, those EVs will reach us by 2023. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Mario? Who is Mario? My name is Infringio, and I'm a completely original character. (credit: Inferno Plus) Web-based game Mario Royale attracted quite a bit of attention last week by taking Nintendo's well-known mascot and placing him next to 74 other human-controlled doppelgangers in a race through level designs taken directly from popular Mario games. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Garmin Dash Cam Mini. (credit: Valentina Palladino) Update: Our original Dash Cam Guidemaster was published in March 2018, but we recently tested out some of the newest options and updated our picks—just in time for 2019 summer road trips. If you've ever been in a fender-bender or a serious car accident, you can appreciate the importance of a dash cam. ...   Ars Technica

With OWC’s Envoy Pro Ex with USB-C, another company is promising to deliver the full potential of USB external storage via NVMe SSDs. OWC claims 980MBps of sustained throughput, which is very fast, though we'll verify that when we test it. The drive, which is Mac- and PC-compatible, starts shipping Tuesday. ...   PC World

Internet fraud takes many forms, from retail websites that don’t deliver, to emails phishing for credit card or bank information, to tech support scams that take over your desktop, and everything in between. They share a common goal, however: extracting money or personal data from an unsuspecting user. ...   PC World

The radon-detecting Wave's little brother is a great way to start checking for airborne irritants.   PC World

Prime Day, Amazon’s summer shopping event, is officially back for a fifth year. On Monday, July 15, Amazon will offer deals for 48 hours on over a million products on its sites around the world. Deal hunters can track all the action starting at midnight Pacific time via the company's Prime Day landing pageRemove non-product link.To read this article in full, please click here   PC World

Enlarge / Seeing is believing when it comes to HDR, and this mock-up comparison of the display tech hints at what awaits Toshiba buyers. (Note: The TV pictured above is NOT the one we're writing about today.) (credit: Ars Technica) Things are looking a lot brighter for Amazon's collection of Fire TV Edition sets. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / An AT&T retail store in Chicago in 2018. (credit: Getty Images | jetcityimage) AT&T is facing a class-action complaint over its practice of charging a $1.99-per-month 'Administrative Fee' that isn't disclosed in its advertised rates. As the complaint notes, 'AT&T prominently advertises particular flat monthly rates for its post-paid wireless service plans. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / Bill Gates speaks to Village Global. (credit: Village Global) Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently gave a wide-ranging interview to VC firm Village Global, and at one point, the topic of mobile came up. Gates revealed his biggest regret while at Microsoft was a failure to lead Microsoft into a solid position in the smartphone wars. ...   Ars Technica

A new report from IHS Markit suggests that Microsoft may build Android emulation into future Surface devices, specifically the rumored “Centaurusî dual-screen PC said to launch early next year.IHS Markit told Forbes that the dual-screen device, with two 9-inch displays, would be powered by Intel's 10nm “Lakefieldî system-on-a-chip. ...   PC World

I apologize for the use of Audi's stock images, but it rained a lot during my time with the A7 and none of the pictures I took were good enough to use. [credit: Audi ] High expectations can be a killer. We see this all the time—the let-down sequel to a great movie or the indulgent sophomore follow-up to a brilliant debut album. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / An effective wiper of sorts. (credit: Getty Images) With tensions between the US and Iran on the rise following the downing of a US military drone last week, the director of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is warning that Iran is elevating its efforts to do damage to US interests through destructive malware attacks on ...   Ars Technica

Al Capone’s just met a girl named Maria. Problem is, he hasn’t met her lover yet.Or potential problem, I should say. So far, Maria’s been a fine addition to our fledgling criminal empire. She’s handy (enough) with a gun, and we’re in no position to turn down the extra personnel. Her lover is out there though, and chances are he’s working for a rival crime boss. ...   PC World

Enlarge (credit: By Tiago Falótico - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60386655) The archaeological record of human tools use dates back about 2.5 million years, and archaeologists use changes in stone tool technology to trace changes in human evolution, culture, and lifestyles. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | RapidEye) The former head of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC) was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding investors. Elizabeth Ann Pierce was CEO of Quintillion, an Alaskan telecom company, when she lied to two investment firms in New York in order to raise $270 million to build a fiber network. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge (credit: Fuct) Federal law prohibits the registration of trademarks that are 'immoral or scandalous.' At least it did until today, when the Supreme Court held that the requirement violated the First Amendment. The case focused on artist and entrepreneur Erik Brunetti, who sells clothing under the trademark FUCT. ...   Ars Technica

Enlarge / (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images) (credit: getty images) Over the weekend, Germany's auto regulator told Daimler that it would have to recall 42,000 Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles after the group discovered illegal software on the cars that would reduce the effectiveness of the emissions-control system. ...   Ars Technica

NoiseAsh has announced the release of the Need 31102 Console Eq plugin, the latest addition to their accurate analog model collection series. It's been modeled to present one by one signature... Read More   KVR Audio

Thomas Mundt has updated LoudMax to version 1.29 for Mac OS, Windows and Linux. The Winamp version has also been updated. Changes: The wrong reported latency has been... Read More   KVR Audio

MIDIMood has updated Kameleono, the MIDI effects plug-in, to version 2.2. What's new: Showing note's velocity by changing note's colors. Pattern module now supports re-triggering.... Read More   KVR Audio

Sample Fuel has announced the release of Pad Motion-Lite for HALion, HALion Sonic and the free HALion Sonic SE. Danny Lux, owner at Sample Fuel, says: 'Pad Motion-Lite is a... Read More   KVR Audio

PlugInGuru.com has released Signs of Life, for Omnisphere 2.6. They say: 'This library started 1 year ago when John 'Skippy' Lehmkuhl travelled across Costa Rica on vacation... Read More   KVR Audio

sonible has released smart:comp, the latest addition to their product line of A.I. powered plug-ins. Here's what they say: This unique spectro-dynamic compressor... Read More   KVR Audio

Reflekt Audio has released BXO9, a workhorse plugin with over 100 playable HQ instruments ranging from 808s, Bass, Ambience, Makeshifts, Plucks, Pads and more. Reflekt Audio... Read More   KVR Audio

Boz Digital has released Bark of Dog 2, a unique, stereo/M-S low-frequency enhancer that combines a resonant filter and Pultec-style boost-attenuation EQ in a simple, easy to use plug-in.... Read More   KVR Audio

Inertia Sound Systems has released Instinct, a distortion, dynamics processing, and tone shaping audio engine. ISS say 'Instinct is not just another distortion, dynamics processing,... Read More   KVR Audio

xoxos has announced that Bong VST is now available as a free download at kvraudio.com/product/bong-vst-by-xoxos (it previously sold for $25). Bong is a digital classic percussion... Read More   KVR Audio

PlugInGuru.com has released Signs of Life, for Omnisphere 2.6. They say: 'This library started 1 year ago when John 'Skippy' Lehmkuhl travelled across Costa Rica on vacation... Read More   KVR Audio

Braille Audio has released Diva Feathers for u-he's Diva, which includes 'rich poly synths, biting leads, thick basses, and lush pads'. These patches are designed for Trance but can be... Read More   KVR Audio

App Sound has released Synthesis Run, a sound set for the Arturia MicroFreak, and Inspirator, a sound set for the hardware synths Korg microKorg and microKorg S. They cost €15 each but... Read More   KVR Audio

Riot Audio has released Putty Piano, a Kontakt instrument sampled from an upright piano dampened with poster putty – in the UK often simply referred to as 'Blutack'. The sample library... Read More   KVR Audio

Bremmers Audio Design has released version 3.5 of MultitrackStudio for iPad. New in version 3.5: Onscreen MIDI keyboard: keyboard, string, drum and matrix layouts are... Read More   KVR Audio

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: Coryvo is the ultimate resource for improving your rhythmic reading and vocabulary. Based on the concepts of Random Practice and Immediate Feedback, Coryvo uses cutting-edge computer algorithms to create completely randomised rhythmic scores, based on your...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Others: Turn any recording into a synthesizer! Now with support for Audiobus and MIDI. MegaCurtisBig uses an unusual hybrid of wavetable and granular synthesis to create tones and timbres quite apart from the standard FM or subtractive synthesis fare. Add this app to...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Games, Ear Trainig: An app anyone can enjoy with which you learn to have perfect and relative pitch. Especially suited to those learning the chords of just intonation. This app is beloved by many, from those who want to be good at karaoke to brass band and orchestra...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Chords and Scales: Practice makes perfect. iReal Pro offers an easy-to-use tool to help musicians of all levels master their art. It simulates a real-sounding band that can accompany you as you practice. The app also lets you create and collect chord charts of your...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Fun: Learn to play 16,000 melodies from IMSLP and learn to play chords! Have fun with this piano which plays Mozart, Bach and Beethoven transformed into funny smartphone concerti. Enjoy the 16000 classical tunes available offline. Hours of music with the smart score...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Games, Ear Trainig: Every musician should work on Ear Training (or Aural Training) and Interval Ear Training is a very important element of ear training. To put it very simply, you will learn to recognise the relationship between two notes (by distance), when they are...   440Software