NelsonG

PIERCE has unleashed an exhilarating remix of Hucci and Stooki Sound’s iconic track, “Ball So Hard”. This reimagined version delivers an experimental blend of wonky beats and dynamic soundscapes, setting the stage for a new way to listen to the iconic – “Ball So Hard.” Renowned for his visionary production style and seamless fusion of diverse musical influences, PIERCE has once again raised the bar with his take on “Ball So Hard”. Infusing the original track with his signature flair, PIERCE has transformed the well-loved classic into an exhilarating modern replica. Check it out below! This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: PIERCE Unveils Electrifying Remix of Hucci and Stooki Sound’s “Ball So Hard” View the full article

When it comes to bass music, few provide as much speaker shattering tracks like Sadhu & IMAN. Being the Inspiration for many Successful Dubstep Artists, Sadhu has been in the Game for a long time. His first release dates back to 2011 and he has sold out every major City in Europe, America and Australia. Taking a Break in 2015 to Focus on Other Musical Projects such as a Blues Band and a Metal Band, he took the Scene by Storm in January when he announced his Comeback. Since then he has played in Venues all over Europe again, such as the Bootshaus in Cologne or Le Bikini in Toulouse. IMAN is a 26 year old dubstep producer who has demolished dancefloors‘ around The USA such as Exchange LA, SoundNightclub, Area 15, Skyway Theater, The Green Elephant, Academy, EOS Lounge, Aura, The Circle and more. Hear it for yourself below! This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Sadhu & IMAN team up for explosive single “Sadman” View the full article

Florida is known for having an avid electronic music market and for decades now promoters have worked hard at curating new experiences to continue to keep the scene alive and well in the area. Well, there’s a new club in town, Fort Lauderdale to be exact, headed by Angel Candelaria (former owner of Cash Only nightclub), Danny Colica (a trailblazer in SoFlo’s rave scene and founder of Hypnotic Productions) and Pepe Vargas (nightlife host and founder of Forbidden Kingdom Music Festival) – per Sun Sentinel. Kemistry will bring a new Audio Visual experience and a venue which will host some of the largest National acts in Electronic Music, host some historical reunions events, and create a venue, experience, and space for EDM culture to thrive in South Florida. They will focus on the experience with top notch production, hospitality, drinks, and even a full restaurant where people can order food during the event. They have an exciting upcoming slate, featuring ATLIENS, Camo & Krooked, and more! Head to their website to check it out. This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Kemistry Nightclub Brings New Audio Visual Experience in Downtown Fort Lauderdale View the full article

As one of the leading niche blog platforms, Tumblr receives thousands of DMCA takedown requests every year. Many of these point to copyright-infringing material, but not all. Tumblr’s parent company Automattic is known to inspect all takedown notices carefully and has a track record of defending its users, whether abuse is intentional or not. To set an example, the company occasionally highlights the worst offenders in its “Hall of Shame.” This overview of the worst offenders welcomed a new entry last week; triggered by the unlikely confusion between a Star Trek fandom blog and an adult entertainment actress. La Sirena The recent Hall of Fame entry centers around “La Sirena,” which is Spanish for The Mermaid. Aside from being a dictionary term, Star Trek fans will know La Sirena as the Kaplan F17 Speed Freighter featured in the Picard series. This starship is more than just another prop for die-hard Trekkies. The person behind the Tumblr blog “Mapping La Sirena” has spent countless hours and dedicated dozens of posts to the iconic Speed Freighter. The term “La Sirena” isn’t exclusive to the starship, however. Others have adopted it too, including Venezuelan adult actress Antonella Alonso who picked La Sirena 69 as her stage name. In theory, such diverse uses of “La Sirena” should never cross paths. According to Tumblr’s parent company Automattic, third-party takedown service ‘DMCA Piracy Prevention Inc’ has trouble distinguishing between the two, earning it a spot in the company’s ‘Hall of Shame’. Hall of Shame DMCA Piracy Prevention began sending takedown notices to Tumblr at the beginning of the year and has since submitted over 300 complaints. While Tumblr users occasionally post copyrighted content without permission, in this case many of the reported blogs were not infringing at all. Instead, DMCA Piracy Prevention appears to confuse the ‘La Sirena’ fandom blog with their client ‘La Sirena 69’ based on little else than the similarity between the names. This resulted in a flurry of inaccurate takedown requests. “In one recent copyright claim, the monitoring service targeted over 90 Tumblr posts that matched a keyword search of “la sirena,” Automattic’s Emily Fowler writes. “But instead of alerting our team to La Sirena 69’s allegedly infringed content, the company reported a wide array of mappinglasirena.tumblr.com’s original posts—like a short essay about a new La Sirena booklet, an article analysis of the starship’s design, and even the blog owner’s thoughts on the fourth trailer for Picard season two.” None of the reported links from the fandom blog contained anything that would even remotely violate the rights of the adult performer. As such, Tumblr’s takedown team rejected the notices and kept all the posts online, adding DMCA Piracy Protection to its “Hall of Shame” instead. Prevent DMCA Abuse The Trust and Safety team at Automattic hopes that by calling out these overbroad takedown campaigns, companies will review their processes and do better going forward. In this instance, there is plenty of room for improvement. “Copyright monitoring services should not flippantly report content entirely irrelevant to their clients’ content; that is an abuse of the DMCA. These companies have a responsibility to verify that the content targeted in their takedown notices is actually owned by their client.” Automattic’s team reviews DMCA notices meticulously and spotted that “La Sirena 69” is not “La Sirena” but that’s a difference takedown companies should notice, before sending their takedown requests. If not, independent creators such as “Mapping La Sirena” are at risk of being needlessly censored. “Whether it’s an improved algorithm or more human eyes on every notice that they’re submitting, guardrails must be implemented to prevent DMCA abuse—otherwise, these monitoring services risk unnecessarily burdening innocent content creators, or removing innocuous content,” Emily continues. “Tumblr is a special place—not only for Trekkies, but for anyone who writes prose, creates artwork, constructs moodboards, or expresses themselves in their own unique way. This mission is why we do what we do, and we will never stop fighting for users to champion this right in our little pocket of cyberspace.” From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. View the full article

During the summer the UK government announced a new inquiry to investigate what needs to be done to “maintain and enhance” the UK’s position as a global destination for film and television production. Conducted by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the inquiry invited submissions from stakeholders on numerous topics, including the identification of barriers to maintaining and increasing overseas investment. The UK currently encourages production in the UK through the provision of a generous tax relief framework which has paid out billions to companies ultimately owned by overseas entities. The Committee sought input on what more could be done to further incentivize production in the UK. In their submissions, companies and their industry groups appear very keen for these financial incentives to continue, but many other areas are highlighted as either problematic or in need of attention. For the major Hollywood studios of the MPA, IP protection and piracy remain key issues. Motion Picture Association The MPA’s submission notes that the UK’s film and television sector has enjoyed record levels of investment. However, if the country’s position as a “creative and economic powerhouse” in audiovisual content is to be sustained, the government and entertainment industries must work closely together. The UK receives praise for its intellectual property framework, with the MPA describing it as a “gold standard internationally.” For balance, the MPA notes that the government should avoid steps that might undermine IP protections, in response to the challenges presented by AI, for example. “The good reputation of the UK’s treatment of copyright exceptions was threatened in 2022, when the Government proposed, as part of its national AI strategy, to introduce the new exception to copyright to include the training of AI models for ‘any purpose’,” the MPA writes. “Companies and organizations, across the creative sector, joined by Parliamentarians, were united in their concerns about these proposals. Thankfully, the Government listened, and decided in February 2023 not to ‘proceed with the original proposals’.” Well Done, Please Do More Submissions by the MPA and member studios Warner and Paramount individually, praise the UK for its work fighting online piracy. For example, the availability of no-fault injunctions under section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act has allowed Paramount to mitigate the threats presented by pirate sites. Once again, the term ‘gold standard’ is used. The studios also appreciate the work undertaken by the Police Intellectual Property Unit (PIPCU) in tackling pirate sites and services. Warner highlights the Intellectual Property Office’s work in bringing together the creative industries and digital platforms to better understand online infringement, and then take action. For example, the IPO helped broker a Voluntary Code of Practice that saw links to infringing content removed from the first page of search results. It also facilitated roundtables leading to preventative measures, including the removal of piracy tutorials from YouTube. Inevitably, however, more can always be done. MPA: Enforcement “Increasingly Difficult” in UK While the same problems exist all around the world, the MPA’s submission to the Committee could be mistaken for highlighting problems specific to the UK. “The MPA’s experience (and that of other rightholders) of dealing with online infringement in the UK has shown that the growing complexity of investigating and tracing sources of illegal and infringing activity online is making the enforcement of IP rights increasingly difficult,” the MPA reports. “While there are a range of industry and law enforcement-led initiatives to tackle digital piracy, one of the greatest challenges remains the absence of reliable information on those commercial-scale pirates who are freely using legitimate business infrastructures – such as online hosting, advertising, payment processing and e-commerce platforms – to deliver illegal film and TV services.” The problem is highlighted by the MPA, and separately by members Warner and Paramount. The former’s summary appears below: Despite extensive use of the tools already available in UK law to try to trace the operators of illegal services, experience shows these efforts are being thwarted by the ability of criminals to provide commercial services online under a cloak of anonymity, from anywhere in the world. Often online intermediaries (who provide the infrastructure that enables the illicit services) cannot supply any information that leads to the verification of the illegal service provider. That, or the information they can provide has clearly been stolen, falsified, is incomplete or otherwise misleading. The ease with which bad actors can remain anonymous in their business transactions facilitates digital piracy and potentially other crimes perpetrated online, including acts of digital fraud. The submissions are united in identifying the same solution to this problem: the UK must implement a ‘Know Your Business Customer’ regime to compel commercial entities (including online intermediaries) to establish the true identity of their business customers as a precondition for selling, and receiving payment for, digital services. In-Theater ‘Camming’ is a Threat to UK Exhibition Sector When people record movies directly from cinema screens and then distribute copies online, the damage that does to the exhibition sector’s period of exclusivity has been reported for decades. As Warner’s submission explains; “Films continue to be recorded in cinemas, both in the UK and other territories, and those illegal copies are distributed online for free via pirate sites and services during the films’ theatrical window. This illegal competition harms the ability of exhibitors to generate revenues, as well as harming the distributors and producers of those films. It is important that this threat is addressed via robust and effective enforcement actions,” the company notes. The statement doesn’t break any obviously new ground but seems to skew the UK’s position towards the negative, which given recent performance isn’t entirely fair. By noting that films are still illegally pirated in cinemas “in the UK and other territories” that discounts the achievements reported just last month by the UK’s Film Content Protection Agency, a group that both Warner and Paramount help to finance. “90% of films pirated worldwide are sourced from cinemas, yet the UK and Ireland has not had a cammed film (a film illegally recorded in a cinema) traced back to its shores for over a year,” the FCPA reported. Source submissions:Warner Bros. Discovery (link), MPA (link), Paramount (link) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. View the full article

In the unlikely event people haven’t noticed, the internet isn’t what it used to be. In so many ways it has already surpassed our wildest dreams but in common with the physical world, threats to personal safety are inevitable and significant. Online security is the headline theme of the StreamSafely anti-piracy campaign and this week the U.S. Government’s Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPRCenter) and Hollywood’s Motion Picture Association (MPA) revealed two new PSAs to boost the campaign’s visibility. “There are piracy sites that appear legitimate and safe, but most are operated by global crime syndicates,” said Jan van Voorn, MPA’s Chief of Global Content Protection and head of ACE. While that’s a fairly dramatic claim, at the highest level it appears to be true; it’s also entirely in keeping with the current drive to convince pirate site users there are much safer options elsewhere. That’s the foundation on which StreamSafely is built to ensure it meets its overarching goals. So what are those goals? Through the prism and messaging of StreamSafely, the chief concern is to protect the financial welfare of consuming pirates and their families. Put much more bluntly, entertainment companies want to make sure that the people ‘stealing’ their content are kept safe and don’t have their private information unnecessarily exposed. The most cynical might conclude that a) the campaign isn’t really concerned about pirates having their bank accounts emptied because b) its key aim is to demonize piracy through scare tactics and then c) wait for the signups to legal subscription services. StreamSafely may have a straightforward message but the oversimplification above, convenient as it is, undersells the complexity of a campaign that is so much more. StreamSafely: How it All Began The people who came up with the StreamSafely campaign and still run it today are collectively known as Ctam Cable Marketing Association Inc., or CTAM for short. As the current member list shows, cable marketing has considerable scope. Around 2018/19, CTAM approached IE Network, a company that describes itself as “part intelligence agency, part newsroom.” IE Network says that by compiling the best data, insights and information, it’s able to “transform research and strategy into precise messaging with the right voice and tone, driving powerful storytelling that inspires, educates and persuades.” Under the heading The Cable Industry v. Content Piracy the story CTAM wanted to tell is detailed on IE Network’s website. CTAM wanted to combat an escalating content piracy industry that was robbing legitimate content creators of their intellectual property and risking the privacy and safety of content users. The members of CTAM turned to i.e. network to educate themselves about the bad actors in content piracy—and its end-users—to determine how best to educate the public about the implications of unauthorized entertainment content and to discourage people from consuming it. “What followed was StreamSafely.com, a website sponsored by CTAM with content developed by IEN. Launching in late 2019, StreamSafely.com has already achieved its primary goal: to help visitors get smart about piracy and how to avoid illegal content consumption,” the website reads. CTAM Stream Safely Video from the i.e. network on Vimeo StreamSafely: Four Years Later In November 2023, the same story is still being told. Piracy volumes remain massive and as highlighted earlier, risks are increasing. These threats disproportionately affect casual pirates who are less likely to know that adblocking software like uBlock doesn’t just block unwanted advertising. When correctly configured, uBlock restricts the ability of the most cynical sites to offload malicious code onto the machines of unwitting site users. As a result, their ability to make money is massively undermined and if that’s taken to its logical conclusion, time spent running a site for profit is better spent elsewhere. Before we explore what else uBlock is good for, CTAM’s tax filings (designated as a 501(c)6 nonprofit) for 2021 make for a fairly interesting read: $4.93 million in revenue vs. $4.56 million expenses, $1.1 million in compensation for the top three executives alone, and then a key mission revealing action to mitigate piracy and password sharing. That leads us to CTAM’s business priorities for 2023, including: “Protect revenue by neutralizing content piracy through consumer education site StreamSafely.com” (pdf). Can’t Study Pirates Properly Without Data The CTAM website as a whole is an intriguing read but somewhat unfortunately, sections marked ‘Audience Intelligence Reports’ relating to the audience of StreamSafely.com are unavailable to the public. Nevertheless, it’s safe to conclude that visitors to the StreamSafely site are a useful source of data. According to CTAM’s most recently published tax filing, in the last reporting period the marketing group spent $432,000 with IEN, the company it worked with to conceive StreamSafely back in 2019. The nature of the work carried out is unclear but since the company was previously asked to provide information on “bad actors” and their “end-users”, refreshed information may still be coming through. That theory might make more sense if the MPA wasn’t involved in StreamSafely, and by default, anti-piracy coalition ACE, which has access to the best intelligence, globally. Since CTAM also mentions an alignment of tactics with Digital Citizens Alliance, whose reporting is aligned with the MPA’s, not to mention many of CTAM’s own members, the entire project is surrounded by pools of piracy data, although the extent of any sharing is impossible to say. Campaign Data, Measuring Success or Otherwise That leads to the question of how CTAM is able to measure the performance of the StreamSafely campaign, i.e whether visitors to the StreamSafely website (mostly consumers of pirated content, if the targeting is right) find value and that leads to positive changes in behavior. From the very first visit to StreamSafely.com it’s clear that a number of technologies deployed on the site can provide the campaign with significant insight, providing those visitors aren’t running uBlock, which blocks most if not all of them. With help from tools offered by The Markup, which describes itself as a “nonprofit newsroom that investigates how powerful institutions are using technology to change our society”, the nature and abilities of those technologies can be presented in no-nonsense terms. The Blacklight Privacy Inspector had a look at StreamSafely.com and reported back with its findings. StreamSafely has ‘only’ five ad trackers, less than the average seven found on popular sites. But while popular sites usually get by with three third-party cookies on average, Blacklight’s Privacy Inspector found almost four times that on StreamSafely. “These are commonly used by advertising tracking companies to profile you based on your internet usage. Blacklight detected 11 third-party cookies on this site. Blacklight detected cookies for Alphabet, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation,” Blacklight’s report reads. Other technologies on the anti-piracy campaign site include behavior analytics system, Hotjar. By recording website visitors’ keystrokes, clicks, mouse and trackpad movements, Hotjar allows website operators to view visitors’ journeys through their websites using heatmaps and videos. Combined with Google Analytics, Hotjar is a very powerful tool and sensitive too, especially when considering StreamSafely’s target audience. The target audience of the StreamSafely campaign consists of people who visit pirate sites, who are unaware of the potential dangers. The aim of the site is to inform those people of the risks and make them aware of legal alternatives. At some point, success can be measured by the transformation of at-risk free-loading pirates into consumers of safe, legal alternatives. That may be why StreamSafely uses tools provided by TK Interactive because, after all, stopping pirates from consuming pirated content is only the first step in their rehabilitation journey. And now that the risk of their bank accounts being emptied has been eliminated, they can put some of that hard-earned cash to good use. Welcome aboard and stay safe. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. View the full article

Website blocking has become the go-to anti-piracy measure for the entertainment industries when tackling pirate sites on the internet. The practice has been around for well over 15 years and has gradually expanded to more than forty countries around the world. Thus far, pirate site blocking is notably absent in the United States. However, American-funded forces are active elsewhere in the world to forge new blocking initiatives, through voluntary agreements or the courts. Philippine Blocking Measures The resulting blocking measures are immediately noticeable to the public at large but there’s also quite a bit of information sharing and discussion taking place behind closed doors. In this regard, a recent letter from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is particularly noteworthy. IPOPHL is the main facilitator of a new site-blocking regime established under a memorandum of understanding (MOU). As part of the agreement, set to come into effect later this month, Internet providers agreed to voluntarily block access to known pirate sites. The Philippine Government is determined to tackle online piracy, a goal reiterated in a recent IPOPHL letter to the U.S. Trade Representative which contained additional background information. MPA and ACE Guide Blocking Efforts It transpires that the blocking measures were made possible thanks to assistance from the Motion Picture Association and ACE, its affiliated anti-piracy arm. Among other things, the movie industry group provided technical expertise. “This [site blocking] mechanism was realized with the support of the Motion Picture Association through the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) who worked with IPOPHL in providing information on similar mechanisms and best practices in other jurisdictions,” the letter reads. “ACE also conducted a training on site-blocking to equip the IPOPHL’s IEO personnel with technical knowledge on site-blocking mechanisms.” It’s no secret that the MPA is heavily involved in rolling out site-blocking initiatives around the world. What we hadn’t heard until recently is that the industry group also brings stakeholders together in an ‘Annual Global Site Blocking Strategy Conference’. MPA Recognizes ‘Innovations’ at Site Blocking Conference The conference, which took place last month, came up in IPOPHL’s letter mentioning the MPA’s recognition of the Philippines’ site-blocking progress. “At the [MPA’s] Annual Global Site Blocking Strategy (GSS) Conference held in Amsterdam on October 3, 2023, the Philippines (through IPOPHL) was a recipient of one of the awards this year, for pushing for site blocking legislation and for the coordination and roll out of the voluntary site blocking MoU. “Every year, the MPA hands out a few awards to those countries or counsels which have excelled in the field of site blocking,” the letter adds. The conference and the accolades were not reported publicly, but the MPA confirmed to us that the Asian country was indeed praised for its achievements. Aiming to avoid confusion with the annual MPA awards, the group stressed that the award isn’t official. An MPA EMEA spokesperson notes that the Philippines agreement shows that voluntary collaboration between the MPA, governments, and Internet providers can have the desired effect. “The voluntary siteblocking MOU, made possible thanks to the leadership and support of the Philippines Intellectual Property Office is yet another example of the MPA, authorities and ISPs working together in the fight against piracy. “Siteblocking has proven to be an effective tool against large scale content theft and we applaud the Philippines for taking action to support creativity,” MPA’s spokesperson adds. In addition to the Philippines, countries including France and Italy were also ‘recognized’ for their innovations in site blocking, but more specific details are not available. Overall, it’s clear that MPA is determined to help countries around the world roll out effective site-blocking measures. Whether it will be able to use this wealth of knowledge in the United States anytime soon is unknown. But that’s nothing new. — A copy of the letter sent by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) to the U.S. Trade Representative is available here (pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. View the full article

Seasoned DJ and producer Martial Simon is one of the best when it comes to dance pop music. With an astonishing 1.5 million plus streams accrued so far this year, this number stands as a monumental testament to Simon’s resonance with a global audience. Now, he’s back with his final track of the year titled “Turn Down The Lights”. It’s an upbeat, anthemic single reminiscent of the 2010 era with a modern touch. It feels like the type of song you’d imagine you and all of your friends singing together at midnight in the club. Yet again, Martial Simon delivers a bumping club tune that we are going to be listening to all weekend long. Check it out below! This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Martial Simon Caps Off The Year With Infectious Single “Turn Down The Lights” View the full article

As Russia tightens its grip on encrypted communications and tools with the ability to bypass government censorship, it was recently confirmed that 167 VPN services are actively blocked after failing to comply with state requirements. With that total expected to grow in the months ahead, a leaked document originating from Russia’s Ministry of Transport reveals details of what telecoms watchdog Roscomnadzor has planned for the near-term. Threat to the “stability, security and integrity” of Russian Telecoms The document, dated November 10, 2023, was sent by the Ministry of Transport to organizations in the transport sector. After an unofficial appearance on the ‘ZaTelecom’ Telegram channel, local news outlet Kommersant sought comment from both the Ministry and Roscomnadzor. Neither responded. The first page of the letter (original/left and Yandex OCR-translated/right), seeks input from organizations currently using any of the VPN services or protocols listed on the second page. The text strongly implies that the services and protocols listed are viewed as potential threats to the “stability, security and integrity” of Russian internet/information systems and telecommunications in general. A more pragmatic reading might conclude that the services and protocols present zero technical threat, but do limit the government’s ability to control the narrative. That narrative includes claims that encrypted communications represent a threat to the stability of the internet, which of course they do not. Dozens of VPNs, Famous Protocol The letter’s second page is a 49-item list containing the names of well-known and lesser known VPN services. In the order they appear, some of the most notable inclusions are Private Internet Access (PIA), Ivacy Private VPN, PrivadoVPN, and PureVPN. When a VPN appears on list like this it usually indicates a refusal to cooperate with Russian authorities, such as granting permission to inspect user data, communications or whatever else is on the government’s mind at any given time. In that sense an appearance might not be as damaging to a VPN’s image as some might expect, quite the opposite in fact. That being said, item 49 on the list above shows that Russia intends to crack down on Shadowsocks, a protocol that in itself cannot be forced or coerced into compliance. Shadowsocks Shadowsocks is an open source encryption protocol created over a decade ago by a Chinese developer known as “clowwindy” and is perhaps best known for its anti-Great Firewall capabilities. On a basic level, Shadowsocks clients offer a way to connect to SOCKS5 proxies securely using an encrypted tunnel. As standard it isn’t a VPN and more importantly doesn’t look like one to those hoping to shut VPNs down. People behind these projects are more easily identified, however. Developers like clowwindy can find themselves under extreme pressure to behave in a particular way. The original Shadowsocks repo on GitHub reveals that even the most robust protocols can be ‘Removed according to regulations’. Fortunately, the Shadowsocks genie is never going back in the bottle; perhaps Russia forgot to ask China about that one, or simply believes it can do better. The theory is that Russia plans to draw up a whitelist of organizations that use the services above in a government approved way, so they don’t find themselves inadvertently blocked. That may suggest the government has something aggressive in mind or perhaps faces limitations when it comes to pinpoint blocking. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. View the full article

When it comes to tech house, one of the brightest breakthrough acts is Sherm. Hailing from Chicago, he’s brought a irresistible energy to the house music scene in a way that’s caught on with fans all over the world. Fresh off of hosting his first panel at ADE along with a massive showcase performance with Hood Politics & Bring The Kingdom, Sherm is back, this time teaming up with close friends BLUPRNT for their single ‘Real Life’. Laced with a groovy bass line, dark melodic undertones, hypnotic vocals and thumping drums, Sherm & BLUEPRNT create an irresistible song that is destined for a bright future. Listen below! This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Sherm & BLUPRNT Team Up For Energy Fueled Tech House Single, ‘Real Life’ via Hood Politics View the full article

Lost Prince is a visionary artist reshaping electronic music with a theatrical flair. His mesmerizing sounds have caught the attention of Swedish House Mafia’s Axwell, leading to numerous releases on the Axtone Records label. Axwell even co-wrote the Lost Prince hit, ‘Always On My Mind’. Lost Prince’s style, a mix of hypnotic melodies and influences from the jackin’ house scene of Chicago and New York has garnered an official remix on Anjunadeep and support from top-tier artists. Now, Lost Prince is back, gifting us with a beautiful new single ‘Ipnosia’ off his forthcoming EP ‘Exile’. It’s a mesmerizing sonic experience, led by hypnotic drum grooves, driving synth melodies, and a suspenseful aura that envelopes you immediately. Anticipation is brimming for his upcoming EP but for now, enjoy ‘Ipnosia’ below! This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Lost Prince Drops Thumping Melodic House Single ‘Ipnosia’ From Upcoming EP View the full article

Sporting his iconic mask, F.O.O.L. is the perfect representation of the future, inviting us into his own neon fueled cyberpunk-esque world, where a fusion of bass and cinematic soundscapes reign supreme. We recently shared the single ‘Encounter‘ from our favorite cyberpunk hero F.O.O.L., and now we’re thrilled to share that he’s unleashed his debut album ‘Machine’ via Monstercat Uncaged. This album from start to finish is a testament to just how talented he is no matter the genre he finds himself in. Songs like The Law” with PYLOT, features a crossover of opera samples paired seamlessly with a mesmerizing retrowave backing, while “Motor” with THIRST, comes thundering through with his electrifying take on phonk. “Duality” offers hard hitting drums amidst a sonic battle of good vs evil, while “Valhalla” whisks the listener away into the cinematic real reminiscent of movies such as Drive, concluding with an epic drum and bass drop of epic proportions. F.O.O.L closes out the album with a brilliant song titled “Origin”, merging his roots with intoxicating rhythms, blissful synth chords, electric guitar, ethereal vocal echoes. F.O.O.L has accumulated a substantial following in the gaming community. He has had multiple placements on Rocket League, such as “INERTIA” and his remix of “Horsepower” with TOKYO ROSE. MACHINE will be one of Rocket League’s biggest features yet, with “Duality” being the lead theme of Season 9 and five songs landing on the brand-new Season 13. Additionally, “Valhalla”, “The Law”, and “Tension” can be heard on past seasons. Listen below! This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: F.O.O.L. Unleashes Impressive Debut Album ‘MACHINE’ via Monstercat Uncaged View the full article

In recent years copyright holders have tried many things to dissuade the public from visiting pirate websites. Simply stating that piracy is illegal doesn’t appear to work very well, so this type of messaging often tries to appeal to other emotions. For example, anti-piracy campaigns frequently stress that piracy hurts normal workers as it costs the entertainment industry thousands of jobs. Another strategy is to scare the public directly, by pointing out the ills people may encounter on pirate sites. ‘Holiday’ Piracy PSAs This latter strategy continues to gain traction and it’s also the main focus of a new public service announcement (PSA) campaign launched by the U.S. Government’s Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) and Hollywood’s Motion Picture Association (MPA). There are two videos, both set to appear in a short and longer version. The shorter 15-second clips are intended for social media, where they will be circulated in the coming weeks. The gist of the PSAs is that people who use pirate sites and services to watch online entertainment risk running into malware, identity theft, and credit card fraud. This is illustrated quite dramatically, by burglars who raid the home of a happy couple enjoying an unreleased film from a pirate source. Burglars Rob a Pirate .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Interestingly, the video specifically (yet indirectly) suggests that a VPN service can’t do much to protect against these risks. Here’s the relevant dialog. Man: Check this out. (starts film) Woman: I didn’t even know this was out yet. Man: It’s not, but I have my ways. Woman: Are you sure that’s safe? Man: I have a VPN, we’re good. The VPN doesn’t stop people from physically entering your home, as the PSA depicts. And if we follow this analogy, it’s also true that VPNs can’t stop identity theft or malware, although some offer separate protection tools against the latter. The second PSA is a message from IPR Center director Jim Mancuso, who issues a straightforward warning, again focusing on malware and fraud. “If you watch pirated films or TV shows you could be exposing yourself to credit card fraud, malware or worse. Why deal with that when you could be watching your favorite series and films on legitimate platforms? Don’t let anyone ruin your screen time,” Mancuso says. Stream Safely .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Both PSAs point people to the Stream Safely campaign site which guides people to legal sources. In addition, the site provides additional information on piracy and file-sharing technologies. Torrenting Isn’t Illegal The Stream Safely site points out the potential risks of piracy but it doesn’t condemn file-sharing outright. For example, it acknowledges that downloading torrents isn’t by definition illegal, it depends on what people share. Legal torrenting can be a good way to get large legitimate files, the website reads, adding that “generally speaking, sharing files across an internet connection is legal, so long as the files being shared aren’t themselves illegal and/or copyright law isn’t being violated.” This language is paired with obligatory malware warnings and highlighted legal risks, including “copyright trolls” who sue people for allegedly downloading pirated films. “[L]egal trouble is becoming more common for those who are torrenting illegal content, as internet service providers (ISPs) and copyright trolls get more and more aggressive in tracking down and prosecuting illegal torrents,” the website warns. Beware of Trolls! In summary, the campaign aims to point out that piracy isn’t risk-free. It appears to be aimed at casual pirates, who may not be as tech-savvy and therefore more at risk of running into trouble. “Many consumers remain unaware of the risks involved in streaming or downloading pirated films. There are piracy sites that appear legitimate and safe, but most are operated by global crime syndicates,” says Jan van Voorn, MPA’s Chief of Global Content Protection and head of ACE. Nuance The main message of the PSAs is that “watching pirated content is never safe”. This is a conclusion we have seen in many industry reports over the years and while it’s certainly true there are elevated risks, there have been more nuanced voices too. For example, we previously heard from anti-virus experts, who pointed out that email is likely a higher risk factor than pirate streaming sites. In addition, research from the EU Intellectual Property Office previously concluded that not all pirate sites are malware-ridden. “At present, suspected copyright-infringing websites and streaming services are not normally considered to be dominant sources of malware or otherwise unwanted software distribution,” the research found. That research may be dated by now, of course, and there are thousands of pirate sites, all with a unique risk profile. However, this nuance, understandably, didn’t make it into the Holiday anti-piracy PSAs. In summary, there is at least one conclusion we can safely draw. Those who use legal streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and HBO are less likely to run into trouble than those who use pirate sites and services. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. View the full article

In 2021, the US Department of Justice launched a criminal proceeding against two men suspected of running a massive YouTube Content ID scam. YouTube’s flagship anti-piracy system is supposed to protect rightsholders but, in this case, it was used to exploit them. Multi-Million Dollar Scam The scammers’ company, MediaMuv LLC., wasn’t a direct member of the Content ID program. Instead, it operated through a trusted third-party company, which had access to the platform. By falsely claiming to own the rights to more than 50,000 copyrighted songs, the scammers generated more than $23 million in revenue. In 2022, the first defendant confessed to his part in the copyright swindle by pleading guilty. Webster Fernandez admitted it was a simple scheme: find Latin music that wasn’t yet monetized on YouTube and claim the content as their own. In February of this year, the second defendant pleaded guilty. Jose Teran signed a plea agreement admitting that he was part of the conspiracy, engaging in wire fraud and money laundering. Prison Sentences The guilty pleas may have helped to reduce their sentences but the defendants didn’t get off easily. This summer, a federal court in Arizona handed a 70 month prison term to Mr. Teran, to be followed by three years of probation. A few weeks later, the same court sentenced Mr. Fernandez to 46 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition to the jail time, both convicts had to forfeit multiple possessions related to their crimes, including bank accounts, several pieces of real estate, and cars. $3.3 Million Restitution At the time of the sentencing, the authorities requested victims of the YouTube Content ID scam to come forward, as they are entitled to restitution. The MediaMuv operation mostly targeted Spanish language artists, who were not monetizing their content on YouTube yet. Over the past several weeks, hundreds of these artists submitted their claims, ranging from a few dozen dollars, to well over $100,000. Some of these artists were represented by lawyers or their label and the RIAA submitted a claim on behalf of artists as well. All told, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and defense attorneys agreed to a total restitution amount of more than $3.3 million, which is due immediately. “The United States, counsel for Webster Batista, and counsel for Jose Teran, respectfully stipulate to the restitution amount of $3,365,352.85,” the stipulation reads. “Along with the other standard conditions concerning the repayment of restitution, the parties agree that Webster Batista and Jose Teran will be jointly and severally liable for the restitution, restitution is due immediately, and Batista and Teran be ordered to make minimum monthly payments..” A quick tally shows that roughly 800 affected artists came forward. One of the largest claims comes from Cecilia Ramirez, widow of the Mexican singer-songwriter Agustín Ramírez, who was the frontman of the band Los Caminantes. Ramírez passed away last year. The RIAA’s claim totals $1,247,719.76 and is based on falsely claimed music of hundreds of artists, as detailed in this 57-page exhibit. Both convicted defendants are jointly and severally liable for the restitution payments. How long it will take to repay the affected artists will depend on their income and available funds. A copy of the joint stipulation on the restitution amount is available here (pdf). The amount was agreed upon by all parties and granted by the Arizona federal court earlier this week. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. View the full article

By now, everyone in both the D&B and bass worlds knows that when Billain is about to drop a new release, it’s going to be a game-changer. Now with his last releases being in February, the scene is more than ready for a new joint from the Bosnia-based mega-producer. Or so they think. Different Eyes, the upcoming EP due out this Friday, November 17 on Vision, is once again going to lock Billain into the pinnacle of creativity in bass music. Having already teased the title track two weeks ago, fans might assume Different Eyes will be another atmospheric concept EP, similar to 2022’s Lands Unbreached or 2019’s Nomad’s Revenge. Being that Billain has been so focused on film production with his multi-award winning short Fugitive and scoring said film as well as new A/V projects, it wouldn’t be too farfetched of an assumption. It would, however, be wrong. The fast, aggressive, yet painfully emotive D&B styles that caused both industry and fans to become infatuated with the dizzying levels of production this artist can attain is on Different Eyes in full force. While almost every track on this EP can easily unalive any dancefloor, it’s important to note that Different Eyes is still a concept album and a journey, and it should be listened to as such at least once. It starts with the atmospheric, largely beatless wonder of an intro track, “It’s First Dream.” This lullaby brings the listener back into a world that only Billain fully knows: one of heavy atmos, cyberpunk dreamscapes and endless lands made of sound and code. It’s actually kind of him to lull the listener into this state, because the next tracks hit so damned hard, we nee a buffer. What follows in the next five tracks is a sequence of ever faster and crunchier bass hurricanes, reflecting chaos and anger and tightly-reigned skill all at once. Our YEDM premiere is the second track, “Baka,” which presumably taken from the anime slang for “crazy” or “foolish,” and it certainly has the wild chaos of an anime fight scene. Easily the heaviest and most chaotic track on the EP, “Baka” drops the listener into the narrative of Different Eyes like a 3-meter vert ramp and doesn’t let go until it’s damn well ready. As intense and chaotic as it sounds, “Baka” was likely the most tightly produced track on the album, simply by virtue of how chaotic it is. It’s always the maddest syncopation that takes the most programming, and it might also be a little nod to jazz fusion. Only the best DJs will be able to mix this track, and it’s likely that’s the way Billain wanted it. Going through the journey of the rest of the EP with “Kinetic,” “Uncanny Valley,” “FUCK Y00” and “Void Me,” the intensity and speed of the work only increases, but unlike “Baka,” they all have a trackable drum & bass beat. The EP ends up feeling like exploring a wild new planet in some futuristic inner space hellscape, from the prep of “Different Eyes” to the bumpy, aggressive culture shock of “Baka” to finding one’s stride in the “Uncanny Valley” to being over it already with “FUCK Y00” to the last ride of the ego-destroying ride of “Void Me.” “Different Eyes” is the victory lap, a reward for beating the game and making it through this fever dream of an EP. As a psycho-thriller in sonic form, Different Eyes is a reflection of doing hard inner work. It’s chaos and anger and confusion and a hurricane of emotions, but the title track is the goal: meant to be the new perspective once one has let all that beautiful pain go. Whether you are working on something personally or just unthinkingly follow the arc of this EP, you will come to the end of this masterpiece seeing the world with “Different Eyes.” Different Eyes drops tomorrow, November 17 on Vision. Click here to pre-order or pre-save. – This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Your EDM Premiere: Billain Offers a Different Perspective With ‘Different Eyes’ [Vision] View the full article

YouTube is letting you make your own AI-generated music that sounds pretty damn similar to leading pop artists — with their permission. Announced Thursday, the Google-owned video streaming platform is letting creators generate unique "Dream Tracks" for their Shorts in the style of Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, John Legend, Demi Lovato, Charlie Puth, Papoose, Sia, T-Pain, and Alec Benjamin, all with the agreement of the artists themselves. SEE ALSO: YouTube is testing AI-generated comment section summaries To create a track, creators can type an idea for a song into the creation prompt, select one of the above artists, whose voice will be AI generated into the track. "When I was first approached by YouTube I was cautious and still am, AI is going to transform the world and the music industry in ways we do not yet fully understand," said Charli XCX in a press statement. "This experiment will offer a small insight into the creative opportunities that could be possible and I’m interested to see what comes out of it." Credit: YouTube The Shorts feature comes as no real surprise, considering Google announced its Music AI Incubator, a partnership with Universal Music Group, in August, and the licensing of artists' voices for AI-generated music projects with YouTube. It was announced alongside the publication of YouTube's AI music principles, which promise to "embrace it responsibly together with our music partners." Keeping the feature specifically for Shorts is a smart move, considering platforms like Spotify are removing thousands of AI-generated songs — and Universal had previously called for streaming services to crack down on AI-generated music due to copyright concerns. The news also comes just two days after YouTube said it soon require creators to label whether a video was made with generative AI, or risk receiving fines, having their content removed, or being suspended from the YouTube Partner Program — and importantly, artists themselves will be able to request the removal of deepfaked content and AI-generated music uploaded without their consent. As well as the Dream Tracks released today, YouTube said it was working with "on a set of music AI tools" with its Music AI Incubator, set for testing later this year: "Imagine being able to more seamlessly turn one's thoughts and ideas into music; like creating a new guitar riff just by humming it or taking a pop track you are working on and giving it a reggaeton feel. We’re developing prospective tools that could bring these possibilities to life." It's eggshell territory, the AI-generated music space, with possible controversy around every corner. But with major labels in direct conversation with tech platforms, licensing deals like these could at least bring a slice of comfort for the artists themselves. Is AI-generated music the future? For one, HYBE chairman Bang Si-Hyuk thinks so. View the full article

Fortnite players will now be able to report other players for abusive behaviour using audio recordings. Announced Thursday, Epic Games is introducing voice reporting to the battle royale game, in an effort to reduce bullying, harassment, intimidation, and predatory players on the platform. "In addition to being able to block, mute, and report other players, you will be able to submit audio evidence when reporting suspected violations of our Community Rules," reads a blog post from the Fortnite team. Voice reporting will work only if it's enabled. Fortnite records the last five minutes of voice chat audio then automatically deletes it, meaning "only the immediate last five minutes of audio is reportable". Once uploaded, your anonymous report will be sent to Epic moderators for review, after which it will be deleted after 14 days or the duration of a sanction (or if Epic needs to hold onto the clip "to comply with legal obligations"). SEE ALSO: The 'real' metaverse already exists and it's called 'Fortnite' Epic explained that voice chat audio is "securely captured on your device...not the Epic Games servers," while ensuring the company can't access voice chat audio unless you've got voice reporting on and you submit a report. So, how does Epic Games make sure that the audio being reported is actually someone from the voice chat? The company explained the whole process in another blog post and how it uses public key cryptography — two keys are generated, one public, one private, that authenticate identities including the player’s Epic account and encrypt data that can only be decrypted with the other. "To achieve this we use public key cryptography to generate digital signatures so voice packets can be attributed to the correct participant. Packets are signed by the participant’s private key and all other users can verify them using the sender’s public key, which prevents players from spoofing the system." Notably, voice reporting is always on for voice chats that include players under 18, and players not wanting to have their audio captured need to mute themselves or turn voice chat off entirely by tapping "Off" in voice chat settings. This is particularly interesting, considering in December last year, Epic Games was forced by the Federal Trade Commission to pay a total of $520 million over allegations the company was using "dark patterns" to get players to buy things unintentionally, and further claims that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting data without parental consent. At the time, the FTC said "Epic will be required to adopt strong privacy default settings for children and teens, ensuring that voice and text communications are turned off by default." So, not sure what happened there. If you want to turn voice reporting on, and you're over 18, here's how to do it. How to turn on voice reporting on Fortnite Total Time 2 minutes What You Need Fortnite Epic Games account gaming console Step 1: Load 'Fortnite' and open Settings. Credit: Epic Games Step 2: Click "Audio" then "Voice Reporting". Step 3: Choose "Always On" or "Off When Possible." Step 4: If you pick "Always On", voice reporting will be enabled for your channels. If you pick "Off When Possible", voice reporting will remain off in party channels where everyone also has this setting (but not in game channels). However, if just one player has "Always On", voice reporting will be turned on in a party channel. View the full article

Bing Chat is now Copilot, according to an announcement during Microsoft Ignite 2023. But is it more than just a name change? Yes and no. You're not alone in being confused by what's going on with Bing Chat — er, we mean "Copilot." But don't worry, we've figured it out for you. SEE ALSO: Microsoft Teams launches creepy AI webcam trick that cleans up your dirty room What's new with Bing Chat (now Copilot)?There aren't any major changes with the Bing Chat-turned-Copilot chatbot. "Refinement" is a better word to describe Microsoft's head-scratching actions. Let's take a look at three tweaks Microsoft implemented for its AI chatbot. 1. A new homeCopilot, formerly Bing Chat, now has its own standalone webpage. You can access it here: https://copilot.microsoft.com/ This means you no longer need to visit Bing before you can access Microsoft's AI chat experience. You can simply visit the webpage above — without Bing Search and other services cluttering your interactions with Copilot. In other words, it's a lot more "ChatGPT-like" now. Interestingly, however, the link only appears to work on the desktop versions of Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. When we tried to access it on Safari, or any mobile browser (including Chrome), we got the following roadblock: Not all platforms have access to the new URL. Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Bing Chat 2. A minor makeoverMicrosoft made some visual changes to the rebranded AI chatbot, but they're arguably insignifcant. Here's what the old Bing Chat looked like: Bing Chat Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable And here's the rebranded version: Bing Chat is now Copilot. Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable Left: Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable Right: Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable While the tiles are smaller on the new variant, they feature the same prompts: Code, Organize, Compare, Write, Create, Laugh and Travel. You're also still asked to choose the conversation style you prefer: Creative, Balanced or Precise. The only big change, of course, is the new name (i.e., Copilot) as well as the tagline: "Your everyday AI companion." Overall, the UI is similar, although the theme color changed from a light blue to an off-white. Bing Chat, now Copilot, is still a free experience, giving users access to DALLE-3 and GPT-4. However, if you want to experience Copilot on platforms such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, other popular productivity apps, you'll need to cough up a subscription fee for what Microsoft calls "Copilot for Microsoft 365." 3. Better security for enterprise usersCopilot is introducing free commercial data protection for customers who have Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, Business Standard, and Business Premium accounts. That means "prompts and responses are not saved," the announcement said. "Microsoft has no eyes-on access to it, and it’s not used to train the underlying models." So users who previously had a Bing Chat Enterprise account, or pay for a Microsoft 365 license, get the added benefit of more data protection. This will officially roll out on Dec. 1. What's stayed the same?For non-paying users, Microsoft intends to include commercial data protection over time. But as it stands for free users, Copilot has the same data policy as the former Bing Chat and saves information from your conversations. So if you were a casual, non-subscribing Bing Chat user, the only difference is the name and domain change. You still get access to OpenAI's GPT-4 and DALL-E 3 models, but you must be mindful about what information you share with the chatbot. To put it succinctly, for free users, there's not much to write home about: Bing Chat is now called Copilot and it has a new home. Whoop-dee-doo. View the full article

The sequel to the Scary Hours EPs was written in five days, he saysView the full article

As The Crown's final season opens, a man walks his dog through Paris late at night, along the Seine. From the setting alone, most of us know what's coming, whose fate is about to be sealed. As a car speeds past the walker into the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, chased by paparazzi, it's immediately clear where Peter Morgan's series will have its eye fixed: the final season of The Crown belongs to Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed. Here, The Crown finally arrives at its Rubicon, the couple's shocking death in 1997, and the Royal Family's broadly criticised reaction (or lack thereof) to the tragedy. SEE ALSO: 'The Crown' Season 5 review: Debicki's Diana reigns supreme amid a monarchy in crisis After years of reimagining the intricacies and major decisions of the British royal family through the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, Morgan's opulent Netflix series is coming to a close. Season 5 followed the tumultuous early '90s, when public opinion of the monarchy was in freefall amid Prince Charles and Princess Diana's divorce. But in Season 6, Part 1, the series spends most of its time beyond Balmoral, instead focusing on a media-plagued relationship developing on the shores of Saint-Tropez. Despite the season's events happening 26 years ago, they still feel resonant, with increased conversations around paparazzi and the tumult of the media's harassment of celebrities prominently taking over documentaries, memoirs, fellow series, and online conversations. However, the most troubling part of The Crown (beyond the uh, use of ghosts) erupts from this very spot, prompting questions of our own viewership that aren't easily answered. What is The Crown Season 6, Part 1 about? Prince Harry (Luther Ford), Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), and Prince William (Ed McVey). Credit: Daniel Escale/Netflix Set in the late '90s and glistening with a fittingly George Michael-heavy soundtrack, Season 6 of The Crown follows the same time period covered in Stephen Frear's 2006 Helen Mirren-led film The Queen, beginning with Tony Blair's election as prime minister in May 1997, months before the death of Princess Diana in August 1997. Unlike The Queen (and Michael Sheen's exceptional performance as the PM), Blair's role is largely absent from The Crown, a shame for actor Bertie Carvel but a win for the audience more interested in the story of Diana (an impeccable Elizabeth Debicki). Though she's divorced from the heir to the throne and self-described as "persona non grata" to the royals, Diana is beset by press and public attention, much to the dismay and judgment of the Crown. As the Queen (the superbly stoic Imelda Staunton) explains, "As a divorced woman and no longer an HRH, Diana is now learning the difference between being officially in the royal family and out." Meanwhile, Prince Charles (Dominic West) is scrambling to bolster his and Camilla's (Olivia Williams) public image, using royal "spin doctor" Mark Bolland (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) to make him a "broadsheet prince" in opposition to Diana's "tabloid princess." Prince William (Ed McVey), Prince Charles (Dominic West), and Prince Harry (Luther Ford) Credit: Keith Bernstein/Netflix Honestly, things are downright boring in the palace, with the most exciting thing to happen the launch of a new royal website loaded up mid-meeting on a dial-up Dell — a meeting in which Princess Anne (Claudia Harrison) physically yawns. Though Staunton and West are characteristically brilliant, watching Charles beg for public approval for his love match from his mummy feels like we've been in this weird confrontation for years. Instead, the season belongs to Diana and Dodi, whose fate beyond the walls of Buckingham Palace or Balmoral Castle is foreshadowed with Hans Zimmer's Crown theme song slowed down to a funerary march. The Crown and the death of the "people's princess" Dodi (Khalid Abdalla) and Diana (Elizabeth Debicki). Credit: Daniel Escale/Netflix Following a superb portrayal by a rollerskating Emma Corrin in Season 4, Debicki picked up the role of Princess Diana in Season 5 with a truly understated performance through Diana and Charles' rocky relationship, struggles with mental health, and her tempestuous relationship with the media. In Season 6, Diana is trapped in an endless cycle of harassment from the paparazzi, a flotilla of photographers sitting constantly on the horizon. Debicki's Diana shines in her brightly hued, flawless '90s wardrobe of neon swimsuits and oversized Adidas tees on the sparkling seas, upstaging the greys and tartans of the royals grumbling over headlines back in England. A downward glance, a small smile, and flawless delivery, Debicki has complete control over The Crown's interpretation of the princess, who attempts to use her towering platform to raise awareness of the Landmine Survivors Network and confides in her sons like best friends, a representation akin to that of Spencer's Kristen Stewart. But there's a sense of foreboding in these visuals, especially the recreated image of Diana sitting on a diving board, the one snapped by the paps a week before her death. A harrowing recreated image. Credit: Daniel Escale/Netflix The Crown notably gives considerable room to Dodi (Khalid Abdalla) himself, also victim of tragedy but rarely given as much attention. His father, Mohamed Al-Fayed (the sublime Salim Daw) laments the erasure of Dodi from British press coverage of their deaths: "It's as if only one person died." In episode 3, The Crown treats the night of Diana and Dodi's death like a terrible puzzle, placing importance on details which have been scrutinised and investigated and re-scrutinised since. Contrasted with these scenes, The Crown includes scenes of Prince William (Ed McVey) in Balmoral, killing his first stag — an overt, if not slightly garish metaphor about the hunters and the hunted. But there's an uncomfortable truth hiding within these episodes. Essentially, The Crown does what every photographer in the world was trying to do: put you inside the yacht, inside the car. The Crown's decision to put the audience up close with Diana and Dodi that night, through every tiny moment until their last, stays true to the point of the series — recreating historic moments in the lives of the royal family. But this one feels different. It feels like we've become the villains, elbowing our way into the final moments of a couple who tried desperately to escape such brutal attention. For six seasons we've happily been these voyeurs, keen for a glimpse inside Princess Margaret's doomed relationship, the early courtship of the Queen and Prince Philip, and the awkward mechanics of Charles and Camilla's affair, but in this final season, the need to be in the room where it happened suddenly feels wrong. We need to talk about the ghosts So... Credit: Netflix In the aftermath of Diana and Dodi's deaths, certain creative choices may divide viewers of The Crown, namely the use of surrealism to imagine conversations between royals. Yes, ghosts. But not Spencer ghosts. The Crown includes a scene of imagined conversation between Charles and Diana on the royal plane, and even more provocatively, the Queen and Diana at Balmoral, in both cases wearing her signature black turtleneck from Season 5. It's the only part of the entire series of The Crown that uses surrealism to dig into the minds of these famous figures, and people will love it or hate it. The scene with the Queen will inevitably cause the most conversation, as the monarch's decision in The Crown to finally issue a public statement of support directly comes from her conversation with Diana — not Charles, who's been making the case for days. Sitting on the couch together, they watch people in deep grief outside Buckingham Palace on TV. "I hope you're happy now. You've finally succeeded in turning me and this house upside down," the Queen tells Diana, scoffing at her insistence that it wasn't her intention. "Look at what you've started. It's nothing less than revolution." What does this mean for The Crown? In a series where exacting every detail has become fodder for fact-checkers, this is one hell of a curveball. While Diana's ghost feels slightly off-kilter for the show, where it works better is with the ghost of Dodi, appearing to his father directly after his funeral. This scene allows Daw to show Mohamed's pure honest disappointment and hurt over the Royal Family's silence, while asking his son for forgiveness — it's a beautiful performance of a father in deep grief. The closer to the present, the less necessary The Crown gets Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II. Credit: Netflix So, where will The Crown go from here for Part 2? Moving into the new millennium, the series will particularly look to the future king, Prince William, and his fateful meeting with Kate Middleton on campus at the University of St Andrew's in Scotland in 2001. The Queen's Golden Jubilee and Charles and Camilla's marriage are as exciting as it will get, so, yeah. How The Crown will sign off on the Royal Family and avoid more recent controversy will be interesting to see, especially with the most recent rattling with the release of Prince Harry's book Spare. In fact, The Crown Season 6, episode 4, appears to hint at public statements made by Prince Harry, especially in a scene where Prince Phillip (Jonathan Pryce) actively warns the young princes to ignore public calls of support as they march behind their mother's coffin. "Don't react," Phillip tells William during the march. "Keep your eyes forward or on the ground. Concentrate on the act of walking. Step by step." SEE ALSO: Mental health is a key issue for the royal family. So, why is it failing behind closed doors? The Crown seems to hide inferences in Diana and Dodi's relationship too, especially when Dodi is speaking to Diana in episode 3 about the racist abuse he's receiving in the press for being in a relationship with Diana, with headlines like "Why can't Di find a nice English boy?" Sounds familiar. "It's been getting worse for me too," Diana replies. "They make like they're your friend and they write insult after insult anyway. Makes me want to just move away. Start afresh. Move to another country, somewhere like…" "California," Dodi suggests. It's not subtle. The closer the series comes to current headlines, the less the series feels as compelling, especially as public perception of the royal family continues to shift. Season 6 sees the proximity to the present rendering the series less revelatory the closer to recent headlines we get. Beyond here, the relatability, role, and financial standing of the Royal Family feels too close for a TV drama, as "the system" continues to be publicly scrutinised — even more so following the Queen's death in September 2022. Those curious to see what The Crown believes happened around one of the most defining moments of the '90s should give it a look, though it's Debicki's performance alone that makes the season worth watching. Without Diana in the second half, it'll be up to Staunton to deliver the goods. But without a doubt, it's time for The Crown to end. How to watch: The Crown Season 6 Part 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Part 2 will be streaming Dec. 14. Opens in a new window Credit: Netflix 'The Crown' Netflix Watch here View the full article

For years, the one thing I’ve hated most about traveling (aside from all the other things that suck about it) is that I can’t bring my PlayStation 5 with me. Thanks to PlayStation Portal, I can finally do that — sort of. Sony’s new $200 Remote Play (a feature that lets you stream PS5 gameplay to another device like your phone) peripheral for PS5 is simultaneously life-changing and frustrating. With Portal, you can bring your PS5 games with you without lugging around a giant console or compromising too much on visuals or load times. All you need is a solid WiFi connection and you can play your PS5 games on the go without really losing anything. However, good WiFi can be hard to come by. With its dependence on reliable internet and limited feature set, the PlayStation Portal is a decidedly not-great device that I will, nonetheless, bring with me every time I go out of town going forward. What I love about PlayStation PortalAt first glance, PlayStation Portal looks like the long-awaited (but sadly probably never happening) follow-up to Sony’s old PSP and Vita handheld consoles. It also looks pretty silly, as it’s simply a giant LCD screen nestled between the two halves of a DualSense controller. As Chuck Mangione once said, it feels so good. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable That’s a funny idea that actually works really well. The DualSense controller that comes included with every PS5 is probably the best gamepad Sony has ever produced, and Portal just…feels exactly like that. Mission accomplished! The fun doesn’t stop there, though. It feels fantastic in the handsSony actually included the unique haptic mechanisms, including nuanced controller rumble and adaptive triggers, with Portal. I tested this out with the console pack-in game Astro’s Playroom, and sure enough, it felt just like it did the first time I booted up my PS5 back in 2020. Astro’s feet produced a satisfying little tap-tap-tap feeling with every footstep and the triggers had resistance every time the game demanded it. There is one caveat to all of this: the device’s weight. Portal comes in at 529g — or a little more than 1lb. It’s definitely not heavy nor uncomfortable to hold by any means, but that’s almost twice as much as a DualSense controller weighs by itself. It can be a tiny bit cumbersome to carry around with one hand, but aside from that, I don’t think the weight is a huge hindrance here. A great way to play RPGsOne thing that is inherently a hindrance with a game streaming device is latency. There’s just no way around the fact that there’s a tiny, almost imperceptible gap between you pressing a button and something happening on-screen with PlayStation Portal. The good news is that, for a lot of games, this doesn’t matter at all. Case in point: I love RPGs. I tried several RPGs (both turn-based and action-oriented) on Portal, such as Dragon Quest XI, Star Ocean: The Second Story R, Tales of Arise, and Octopath Traveler II. I found this to be a pretty excellent way to experience those games. Whether I was idly grinding for experience points or doing sidequests, it’s just really nice to play these games on a handheld device while watching football on my TV. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was also surprisingly playable on Portal. Really, the only thing I would avoid are really twitchy action games, particularly first-person shooters. Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t even the twitchiest shooter in the world, but I found it a little cumbersome to play on Portal. Trying to aim for precision headshots on a smaller screen with just a hint of latency in the middle of a firefight isn’t the best experience. This should go without saying, but you should probably not play any competitive multiplayer games on Portal, either. You’ll be at a severe disadvantage. While latency is not a huge problem on Portal, visual hiccups are more prevalent. If a game runs at 60 frames per second on a PS5, it’ll also run that way on Portal, but not all the time. I personally noticed lots of little dips here and there, seemingly having more to do with my WiFi connection than anything happening in the games themselves. Again, for a lot of titles, this isn’t a big deal, but shooters and racing games would be hampered by that. The good news is that resolution drops and visual artifacting were pretty rare on Portal. I did notice a good deal more of that while playing the device on Mashable’s office WiFi network, but on a home network, it wasn’t really a problem. Stuttering and artifacting do become big problems if you try to play a game on Portal while downloading something to your PS5, though, so maybe don’t do that. Bigger than any phone There's not much going on in the rear. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable One of the main arguments against Portal is that it’s a $200 device that’s purpose-built for something you can already do on a phone. Heck, you can even connect a DualSense controller to mobile devices, too, so you wouldn’t even miss out on the haptic feedback. I can’t really argue against the criticism that $200 is a lot of money for an otherwise easily accessible service. That said, the 8-inch LCD display on Portal is much bigger than anything you’d find on the average smartphone. I do think the form factor of a DualSense split in half with a big honkin’ screen in the middle is more ideal for gaming than an iPhone with a third-party controller bolted onto the screen. Portal’s display gets the job done, but its 1080p max resolution and 60Hz refresh rate won’t wow anyone. That last figure is particularly interesting because there are some PS5 games that optionally support 120Hz gameplay on compatible TVs. That simply won’t work on Portal. Bummer, I know, but them’s the breaks. What I dislike about PlayStation PortalUp to this point, you might be thinking the Portal is a really cool device with just a couple of tiny drawbacks. Allow me to break the illusion a little bit. Connection lostWithout mincing words, Portal had an incredibly tough time maintaining a constant connection to my PS5 during testing. Some sessions were OK-to-good, but most of the time, I would encounter a disconnection error every 15 to 20 minutes. Mind you, this happened while I was sitting six feet away from the PS5. The good news is that this is a brief and easily fixable interruption. When the Portal loses connection, your game will suspend, the screen will freeze for 5 to 10 seconds, and then it’ll ask to reconnect. Doing so only takes a few seconds, so this is at maximum a 30-second inconvenience every time it happens. I never encountered a situation where the Portal didn’t immediately reconnect with the console upon my request. It’s not ruinous to the experience at all, but it’s just ... really damn annoying. Portal does take software updates, so maybe Sony can fix this, but right now, it’s a capital-P Problem. Technically this isn’t newAt the risk of repeating myself, Portal costs a couple Benjamins to replicate an experience I could’ve had for “free” by just owning a PS5 and a smartphone. The value proposition here isn’t outstanding. There isn’t much more to say about that. You get the idea. No Bluetooth Hey, at least there's a headphone jack. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable I’m not going to dance around this too much: PlayStation Portal only supports wired headphones and first-party PlayStation-branded headphones for private audio output. Your AirPods won’t work here. The worst part? Those first-party headphones aren’t even out yet. You need something with Sony’s proprietary “PlayStation Link” technology, and right now, that comes in the form of the Pulse Explore earbuds or the Pulse Elite headphones. The former launches on Dec. 6 for $199, while the latter doesn’t come out until Feb. 21 at $149. Boo! What’s ‘eh’ about PlayStation PortalEasily the biggest question mark I have about Portal is how its usability may vary depending on your personal situation. Your mileage may varyI was only really able to try it on my home network and at the Mashable office, and as I said earlier, the former was better than the latter. Mind you, the internet at my apartment sucks big time. Network speeds are inconsistent at best. There are good days and bad days — and we get throttled on weekday evenings. Even with all of that in mind, the Portal worked pretty well! Heck, if you have better internet than me, you may have an even better time than I did. But if your internet is a major concern in your daily life, I'd be apprehensive about Portal. PlayStation Portal battery lifeThere is some good news about Portal to finish off with, though. Battery life on this thing isn’t elite by any stretch, but you can get six to eight hours on a full charge. In my eyes, that’s good enough for what Portal offers. Because this device doesn’t have any real horsepower of its own, there’s no annoying fan noise or noticeable heating problems like you’d find on a bonafide handheld gaming device like the Lenovo Legion Go. It’s quiet, cool, and lasts long enough to not be a big problem. Final thoughtsPlayStation Portal has caused a real conundrum for me throughout the review process. It’s either a great device that also kind of stinks or a bad device that also kind of rules. I’m not sure which it is, though, and maybe that distinction doesn’t matter. It’s just got too many big and little problems for me to tell you to shove this bad boy in your Amazon cart and spend $200 on it. Moment-to-moment gameplay can be (and usually is) awesome on Portal, but frequent connection issues and high variance due to network differences make it hard to recommend. Having said all of that, though, I find myself using it every day. I’ve actually sort of forgotten about the PS5 proper sitting in my bedroom, instead opting to play my little RPGs on Portal while watching TV. Portal’s excellent form factor, good display, and overall usefulness have outweighed its numerous problems for me. Maybe they won’t for you, but I can’t just say “this thing sucks” and move on. Life’s not always that simple. View the full article

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe. With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it. So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered. SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for November 16 SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for November 16 Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023: AcrossTaxiThe answer is cab. See 8-AcrossThe answer is cells. Farewell that literally means "to God"The answer is adios. Doritos Locos ___ (fast-food products)The answer is tacos. With 3-Down and 4-Across, the human body makes around 200 billion of them per dayThe answer is red. DownEvergreen tree with sweet-smelling woodThe answer is cedar. Wonderland girlThe answer is Alice. See 8-AcrossThe answer is blood. Pet that can hissThe answer is cat. Sound of sizzling baconThe answer is sss. View the full article

Threads is testing hashtags — only without the actual hash (#) symbol. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the app is testing a way to categorize posts with tags. The initial rollout will begin in Australia, with additional countries following. The tags will appear as clickable blue links, operating like hashtags but minus the symbol. Users can try it out by typing the hash symbol and a category. SEE ALSO: You will come back to Threads sooner than you think Threads is testing many updates, it seems, including a trending topic feed and an API. Since its launch, the X-rival has steadily released new features, adding what many pointed out as crucially missing. View the full article

We've known for a while that Greenland's ice sheet is melting worryingly fast. But a new study from Northwestern University and the University of Copenhagen has found that Greenland’s thousands of peripheral glaciers have entered a new and widespread state of rapid retreat. In their research, published in Nature on Nov. 9, the team used satellite images and rarely seen historic aerial photographs of Greenland's coastline to map the thousands of glaciers that aren't part of the island's vast central ice sheet. To complete the study, the researchers removed terrain distortion and used geo-referencing techniques to identify the exact locations shown in the photos. The unique data allowed the researchers to document and compare over a thousand glaciers, and the way they've changed over the last 130 years. According to Yarrow Axford, Northwestern’s senior author of the study, some of the historic photographs were taken from open-cockpit airplanes during Greenland's first mapping missions. "Those old photos extend the dataset back prior to the satellite era, when widespread observations of the cryosphere are rare," she said in a press statement. "It’s quite extraordinary that we can now provide long-term records for hundreds of glaciers, finally giving us an opportunity to document Greenland-wide glacier response to climate change over more than a century." The multiyear study has concluded that the rate of the glaciers' retreat has increased twofold since the year 2000, and that rising air and ocean temperatures due to human-induced climate change is the reason for this negative record. "Our activities over the next couple decades will greatly affect these glaciers," said Laura Larocca, the study's first author. "Every bit of temperature increase really matters." View the full article

Elon Musk's new ad policies for X may cost the company after an online advertising watchdog officially filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Check My Ads, an independent organization that monitors adtech companies, announced on Wednesday that it submitted a formal complaint with the FTC, "urging" for an investigation into X and its ad practices. Why is X getting slapped with an FTC complaint?The heart of the complaint involves recent changes to the platform, formerly known as Twitter, which obscures whether a post that a user is viewing is an advertisement. Oftentimes, X doesn't even let users know they are viewing an advertisement at all. Check My Ads cites Mashable's reporting regarding lack of ad disclosure in its complaint to the FTC. Musk's platform previously labeled advertisements clearly with a "Promoted" tag affixed to the bottom of a paid ad. However, as Mashable reported in July, many users started noticing that the "Promoted" label stopped appearing on paid posts. A new "ad" label, placed on the upper-right corners of posts, replaced it — and it was much less noticeable than the previous "Promoted" disclosure. A screenshot of an ad on X without a label, only showing a disclosure in a drop down menu. Credit: Mashable Some ads had no disclosures at allHowever, even worse than the new, less conspicuous ad disclosure were the ads without any label at all. In September, Mashable noticed some ads that weren't labeled with "Promoted" nor "Ad." The only way users could determine it was an ad was if they accessed a drop-down menu that provided them with an option to report the ad. Even more concerning, as Mashable reported in October, a new clickbait-style ad-type started rolling out on X. These ads not only provided zero disclosure of being an advertisement, they also did not provide users with the advertiser behind the ad — nor did it provide users with an option to block or even report the ad. A screenshot of a "clickbait" X ad without any disclosure or ability to report the advert. Credit: Mashable "X Corp.’s lack of disclosures to consumers, misrepresentations to advertisers, and flawed access to explanations about targeted advertising constitute unfair and deceptive practices," said Check My Ads policy director Sarah Kay Wiley. "We urge the Commission to determine the extent of these violations and address them to the full extent of its authority." Check My Ads points out that X is potentially "violating Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act" by not clearly disclosing ads, which may then "misleads consumers into trusting content as organic, creating an environment ripe for scams." The organization also says that X's actions violates the 2022 Stipulated Order with the FTC, which saw then-Twitter pay a $150 million fine for deceptively using users' information for advertising purposes, months before Musk's acquisition. As part of a call for an investigation, Check My Ads also wants the FTC to require the company to provide a public database with ad information regarding who pays for ads and how they are targeted, much like other platforms like Facebook provide. Check My Ads also says that the FTC should fine X for these violations and seek an injunction that requires X to clearly label all advertisements. Since Musk's takeover of the company, X has struggled to keep some of its largest advertisers on board. The company reportedly lost 60 percent of its advertising revenue earlier this year. View the full article