Watch Elon Musk’s TED talk live for free

It’s a busy time in the world of Elon Musk. On the same day it emerged he made a bid to buy Twitter, he’s giving a TED Talk. The organizers of TED are opening up the conference’s livestreaming channel to all, so anyone can watch the talk for free. 

As ever, Musk should have plenty to talk about. He recently became Twitter’s largest shareholder. He was offered a seat on the board but turned it down. Soon after, Musk was hit with a class action lawsuit relating to how he disclosed his investment. And that’s not to mention his own companies, SpaceX and Tesla, which he might discuss as well.

Grab some popcorn. You can watch the talk below.

Update 4/15 12:43PM ET: Added the archived version of the talk.

Alexa devices now support TuneIn Premium radio streaming

TuneIn is bringing its paid service to Amazon Alexa-enabled devices. You’ll be able to access TuneIn Premium content such as live sports from any Alexa smart speaker or display.

You’ll be able to listen to MLB, NHL and college sports games featuring your favorite team simply by saying “Alexa, listen to sports.” TuneIn Premium also offers more than 600 commercial-free radio stations, and you won’t hear pre-roll ads for the tens of thousands of other radio stations on the platform. Additionally, you’ll be able to listen to ad-free news.

TuneIn Premium typically costs $10 per month. However, Amazon and TuneIn are offering new members a three-month trial. Existing TuneIn Premium members can connect their accounts to Alexa to help them get the most out of their subscription. Alexa has supported TuneIn’s regular service for years, so having access to the Premium service is a welcome upgrade.

YouTube gives Shorts creators the ability to remix most videos

YouTube is giving Shorts creators access to a much larger toolkit. Creators will be able to clip and remix up to five seconds of any eligible video or Short in their own shorts. The feature should be available for everyone on iOS in the coming weeks, and it’ll come to Android later this year.

The tool builds on an audio remixing option YouTube added last year. To remix a regular video, tap the Create button and then Cut from the remix options. You can then choose which part of the video that you want to use in your Short. If you’d like to remix someone else’s short, tap the three-dot menu button, then select Cut.

Shorts that remix other videos will automatically include attribution for the original. Those who don’t want their videos to be remixed can opt out in YouTube Studio.

Adding a video remix tool is a smart move. Remixing options played an important role in TikTok’s success, while Instagram added a similar option in January. The feature will give current Shorts creators a much bigger palette and it might entice some newcomers to try making Shorts as well. Limiting the length of remix clips to five seconds might seem a little constricting, but inventive creators should still be able to make the most of it.

On top of that, it’ll now be somewhat easier for Shorts creators to find an audience. Those videos will be available to view on the web and YouTube’s tablet app in the coming weeks. Until now, they’ve only been viewable in the mobile app. 

Tinder brings back Festival Mode now that in-person events are a thing again

Tinder is bringing its Festival Mode out of mothballs as in-person music events return in earnest. As of today, you can use the mode in Tinder Explore to match with people up to a month before festivals start. The initial mix of festivals includes well-known American gatherings like Bonnaroo, EDC and The Governors Ball, but also includes international events like the electronic-focused Sónar (in Barcelona) and Lollapalooza’s outings in Berlin, Paris and Stockholm. This weekend’s Coachella is conspicuously absent, however. 

If your event of choice isn’t listed, you can still visit a “Festival Goers” area to hook up with users either going to other festivals or simply interested in the scene. Festival Mode is available to people worldwide.

The relaunch was virtually expected. Tinder unsurprisingly took a sharp hit when the pandemic made in-person dating risky or impossible, and scrambled to introduce video dates and other features that helped remote love blossom. Festival Mode could help Tinder revive interest in its core business. And there’s evidence to suggest that might work. Tinder noted in 2019 that app usage surges during large events, and that might be particularly true given two years of pent-up demand.

Peloton increases its subscription fees for the first time

Peloton is bumping up subscription fees for the first time in the US and Canada. It’s balancing out those increases (at least for newcomers) by reducing the prices on some hardware: the Bike, Bike+ and Tread.

Starting on June 1st, the cost of the all-access plan is going up by $5 per month to $44 in the US and by $6 CAD to $55 in Canada, as CNBC reports. The company won’t change pricing for users elsewhere for now. The cost of the digital-only plan will remain the same.

From 6PM ET today, Peloton will cut prices on some of its products. The price of the Bike will be reduced from $1,745 to $1,445 (which includes shipping and setup). The company is lowering the price of Bike+ by $500 to $1,995. As for Tread, Peloton is cutting the price by $200 to $2,695.

The company is hoping that reducing the upfront cost of its fitness equipment will lower the barrier to entry and help it find more customers. “The pricing changes being announced today are part of CEO Barry McCarthy’s vision to grow the Peloton community,” a spokesperson said.

Peloton’s share price has dropped significantly over the last year, in part due to a pandemic-driven spike in demand for its products tapering off. Reports earlier this year suggested Peloton had thousands of products sitting in warehouses and on cargo ships and that it was changing its production levels.

In February, Peloton replaced its CEO at the same time it cut 2,800 jobs (around 20 percent of its corporate workforce). Only a few days before that, rumors suggested the likes of Amazon, Apple and Nike were interested in buying the company.

By shaking up the pricing structure, Peloton is hoping it can correct course. Focusing on recurring revenue from subscriptions and lowering the cost of hardware could help. The company had already showed a willingness to reduce the price of its devices. It started selling the Peloton Guide set-up camera (which comes with its heart-rate monitor) this month for $295. It initially said the system would cost $495.

Moog’s Etherwave Theremin makes a classic design more convenient

There are few instruments that are as iconic or mysterious as the Theremin. Its sound immediately conjures recollections of ’50s Sci-Fi films and B horror movies. Yet when it debuted in the late 1920s, it toured the world alongside prominent orchestras, and by the late 30s it was in the hands of Clara Rockmore stunning audiences around the globe. 

The Theremin is also how Bob Moog got his start building instruments, and eventually selling kits for customers to make their own. Which makes it kind of a big deal when the company introduces a new model. The Etherwave Theremin is based on a 1996 design from Bob Moog himself, and replaces the Etherwave and Etherwave Plus.

Moog Etherwave Theremin
Moog

While the Etherwave is certainly something of an iterative update to those models, they’ve been hard to find outside of the used market recently. It sits firmly in the middle ground between the budget-minded and digital Theremini, and the statement piece that is the $1,500 Claravox Centennial. The $899 Etherwave is a traditional analog Theremin, so you can get all those classic sci-fi sounds. But it also has CV outputs so you can control other gear, including modular synth rigs, simply by waving your hands in the air. (Or, more accurately, by moving your fingers with extreme precision in the air.)

Most of the other improvements are focused on portability and convenience. The antenna connections and mic stand adapter have been simplified to speed up assembly and breakdown. Plus Moog has created a custom case for transporting the Etherwave. Lastly, there’s a mute control which is handy for not only silencing the Theremin when you don’t want to have to wait for it to power back up (and warm up), but also can be used to preview the pitch when you’re trying to calibrate or find your bearings during a performance. 

The Moog Etherwave Theremin is available now and shipping worldwide for $899.

US warns of state-supported malware built to attack critical infrastructure

The US is still on high alert for more cyberattacks against critical infrastructure. TechCrunchnotes the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Energy Department, FBI and NSA have issued a warning that hackers have developed custom malware to hijack industrial control systems. Nicknamed Incontroller by Mandiant researchers, the “very likely” state-backed code breaches controllers from Omron and Schneider Electric that are frequently used for industrial automation.

Neither the government nor Mandiant attributed Incontroller to a particular country or hacking group. However, Mandiant said the malware’s capabilities were “consistent” with Russia’s past efforts and its “historical interest” in compromising industrial control systems. The software is complex enough to have required ample expertise to develop, researchers said, and it’s not very useful for “financially motivated” hacks. One component, Tagrun, is a “reconnaissance” tool that provides a detailed look at control processes and production systems.

The alert’s timing is difficult to ignore. It comes as Ukraine grapples with Russia’s invasion, and recently foiled a cyberattack against an energy provider that was allegedly the work of Russian military operatives. The US Justice Department also indicted Russian government staff over years of energy sector attacks. The response also follows a year after a string of attacks against American infrastructure companies like Colonial Pipeline and JBS, although those were ransomware incidents more likely perpetrated by criminal groups.

Regardless of who’s responsible, there’s no direct protection against Incontroller at the moment. In their warning, US officials recommended common security measures such as multi-factor authentication and frequent password changes to minimize the chances of an intrusion. While it wouldn’t be surprising to see companies deliver security fixes in the near future, there’s still a practical risk that intruders could disrupt power grids, manufacturers and others that depend on the affected equipment.

Honda will retire the hybrid Insight to focus production on its ‘core’ models

The Honda Insight was first released in 1999 and immediately gained a passionate following among car enthusiasts, but was always something of an odd duck in the automaker’s lineup — it was the Civic Hybrid before there was officially a Civic Hybrid. However, the Insight’s days of being the single most fuel efficient gas-powered vehicle on the road that doesn’t plug in are coming to a close. Despite record sales of more than 100,000 electrified vehicles (that’s EVs and hybrids) in 2021, Honda on Thursday announced that it will be sunsetting the venerated Insight this June as the company refocuses production efforts on its “core” hybrid models — the Accord, CR-V and Civic — and continues to migrate towards full EV capacity.

“Hybrid-electric vehicles are effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and are a critical pathway toward Honda’s vision for 100% zero-emission vehicle sales in North America by 2040,” said Mamadou Diallo, vice president of Auto Sales at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Making the volume leader of our core models hybrid-electric will dramatically boost electrified sales in the Honda lineup, a strategy that will be augmented by the arrival of a Civic Hybrid in the future.”

The company notes that the Indiana Auto Plant where the Insight was produced will transition into making the CR-V, CR-V Hybrid and Civic Hatchback. Honda plans to introduce new iterations of the CR-V Hybrid later this year, followed by the Accord Hybrid and “in the future,” the Civic Hybrid.

Korg’s Volca FM 2 synth adds more voices, reverb and randomization

Korg arguably kickstarted something of a synth revolution when it launched the Volca line. And the Volca FM has been a consistent favorite in the series. (It was also the first “real” synth I ever got, so I have something of a soft spot for it.) Now, some six year later, the company is issuing an updated model, the Volca FM 2. Like the Volca Sample 2 it released in 2020, this is a mostly incremental improvement on the previous model, but it does address some pain points. 

Let’s start with what hasn’t changed — the core six operator, 32 algorithm synth engine. The Volca FM remains an unabashedly traditional take on the Yamaha DX7. The form factor is also unchanged, and you can still power it with six AA batteries. You also still get the same 16-step sequencer with “motion sequencing”.

Physically the changes are subtle. The display is now blue eight-segment LEDs instead of red. The five-pin MIDI DIN has been replaced with a TRS MIDI jack, but that has also made room for MIDI out, incase you want to control other gear with the Volca’s sequencer.

The big changes though, are under the hood. For one the the Volca FM 2 is a six voice synth, instead of a three voice one. That’s a huge change and allows you to play bigger, richer chords. And it now responds to velocity over MIDI, something you basically needed a hack to get before. There’s also a reverb effect built-in, in addition to the chorus. A little reverb goes a long way when you’re dealing with a synth, especially a digital one. So this is another very welcome upgrade.

Lastly Korg has added a randomization feature. This allows you to quickly create new and unique sounds, without having to master the arcane art of FM synthesis. 

The Volca FM 2 is available to preorder today for $170.