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audio-technica-creator-pack-review

Audio-Technica Creator Pack Review

Introduction

In terms of equipment, several roads are available once you’ve decided to launch a career as a content creator. The general idea is to gear up with a solid pair of headphones and, more importantly, a great microphone, which will make you sound pleasant to your listeners or viewers. Poor microphone quality is a sure way to effectively destroy your chances of ever reaching a wider audience, making it one of the most important aspect of any proper live streaming, podcasting, or content-creating setup. This is exactly where Audio-Technica steps in with their Creator Pack: a pair of headphones, a microphone, and even boom arm meant to kick-start your streaming or recording career without completely emptying your wallet or causing you a ton of headaches in terms of connectivity.

The Audio-Technica Creator Pack consists of the excellent ATR2500x-USB cardioid condenser microphone, the well-known ATH-M20x wired monitor headphones, a desktop tripod stand, and a medium-reach microphone boom arm, which as far as I can tell isn’t sold as a standalone product. The whole package sells for $200/€200, so you’re getting a slight discount compared to buying the headphone ($50/€50), microphone ($120/€120), and boom arm (good ones go for around $100/€100) separately. As a complete solution, the Creator Pack is an interesting proposition not only to content creators, but also those who want a buy-and-forget solution for their work from home teleconferencing and videoconferencing affairs. In this review, we’ll examine the Creator Pack piece by piece to figure out whether it successfully pulls off what it set out to do.

Specifications

Audio-Technica Creator Pack
ATH-M20x Headphones Type: closed-back, 40 mm dynamic speaker drivers

Frequency Response: 15–20,000 Hz

Sensitivity/Impedance: 96 dB/47 Ω

Weight: 190 g

Cable: 3 m (rubberized)
ATR2500x-USB Microphone Capsule: condenser

Polar Pattern: cardioid

Frequency Response: 30–15,000 Hz

ADC: IP up to 24-bit/192 kHz

Interface: USB

Cable: 3 m (rubberized)
Extras Boom arm (~1 m maximum reach), desktop tripod stand
here’s-a-first-look-at-microsoft’s-xcloud-for-the-web

Here’s a first look at Microsoft’s xCloud for the web

Microsoft has started testing its xCloud game streaming through a web browser. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Xbox plans tell The Verge that employees are now testing a web version of xCloud ahead of a public preview. The service allows Xbox players to access their games through a browser, and opens up xCloud to work on devices like iPhones and iPads.

Much like how xCloud currently works on Android tablets and phones, the web version includes a simple launcher with recommendations for games, the ability to resume recently played titles, and access to all the cloud games available through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Once you launch a game it will run fullscreen, and you’ll need a controller to play Xbox games streamed through the browser.

Microsoft’s xCloud service on the web.

It’s not immediately clear what resolution Microsoft is streaming games at through this web version. The software maker is using Xbox One S server blades for its existing xCloud infrastructure, so full 4K streaming won’t be supported until the backend hardware is upgraded to Xbox Series X components this year.

Microsoft is planning to bundle this web version of xCloud into the PC version of the Xbox app on Windows 10, too. The web version appears to be currently limited to Chromium browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, much like Google’s Stadia service. Microsoft is planning some form of public preview of xCloud via the web in the spring, and this wider internal testing signals that the preview is getting very close.

The big drive behind this web version is support for iOS and iPadOS hardware. Apple imposes limitations on iOS apps and cloud services, and Microsoft wasn’t able to support the iPhone and iPad when it launched xCloud in beta for Android last year. Apple said Microsoft would need to submit individual games for review, a process that Microsoft labeled a “bad experience for customers.”

jaguar-i-pace-review:-the-all-electric-suv-king

Jaguar i-Pace review: The all-electric SUV king

(Pocket-lint) – It was back in 2018 when Jaguar debuted its great future hope – the i-Pace all-electric SUV. As the first of the mainstream premium brands to take the fight to Tesla – specifically as an alternative to the Model X – Jag didn’t just hobble into the fight, it came swinging the punches.

The market has evolved rapidly in the three years that have followed – from the Audi e-tron and Mercedes EQC to the Ford Mustang Mach-E – and is now a hotbed of mid-size premium electric SUV options.

Which is all rather exciting, but it adds to Jag’s pressures. However, with its subtle i-Pace refresh (we’re driving the early 2021 plate here), there’s improved charging, improved tech, and the winning formula that kicked off the series is only stronger. Does it remain the king among premium mid-size all-electric SUVs?

Feast on some tech specs

First up, it’s worth a quick run through the spec sheet. The i-Pace is a full electric vehicle (EV) – there’s no supplementary petrol motor here, it’s all batteries. It comes with a 90kWh rating – whichever spec of trim you choose – that provides a range of up to 290 miles per charge (that’s the WTLP official figure).

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The i-Pace’s batteries feed all four wheels through a pair of electric motors, one on each axle, which produce a total of 400 horsepower and 696 Newton-meters of torque. It’ll cover the benchmark 0-60mph sprint in 4.5 seconds. Which tells you Jaguar isn’t messing around – although the updated Tesla Model X is quicker off the mark, at 3.8 seconds – made all the more impressive considering it weighs 2.1 tonnes.

A bit of an animal

So what’s the i Pace like to drive in the real world? In a word: brilliant. It’s fast, exceptionally smooth, easy to drive and highly responsive.

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Press the ignition button and it all starts with silence. That’s unnerving at first – although it’s increasingly becoming the norm, for those who’ve tried out plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) or electric vehicles (EVs) – but you’ll soon get used to zipping along without the roar of a petrol or diesel motor.

We don’t think you’ll miss the thrum or the rise and fall of revs as much as you might think either. The car still makes some electrical noise – to the extent that horses really don’t like it, as we unfortunately found out on country roads when one was sent into a Chun-Li-style spinning bird kick – and if you hit the Dynamic button it’ll make some fake engine noise – which, frankly, we firmly dislike. Embrace the electric noise (unless you’re a horse), eh?

With strong aero credentials, the i-Pace is quiet at speed. Road and wind roar are particularly well suppressed – some debris can kick up into the chassis and make excess sound though – and the aura it creates in the cabin is every bit worthy of a Jaguar. It feels rarefied and graceful on the move.

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But it can also be a bit of an animal. Acceleration is savage. Is 0-60mpg in 4.5 seconds classed as fast, any more, when various hot hatches can run these types of figures? It is when there are two electric motors producing full torque from 0rpm, meaning the i-Pace absolutely hurls itself off the line from a dead stop. And then just keeps on going.

Take the big wheels to the race track

Helping the sporty feel is the keen and responsive steering, a body behaving as though it weighs nowhere near 2.1 tonnes, and a firm but comfortable ride. Our test i-Pace launch came with 19-inch wheels, but step up in the range and it’s all 20-inch – nice for the sake of the looks, but likely add a little firmness to the ride.

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Like other EVs, Jaguar has set-up the i-Pace braking system to help you harvest as much energy as you can, through regenerative braking. Rather than applying pad to disc and creating waste heat, energy is recovered and turned into energy for the battery.

This means that if you look far down the road while driving, and think ahead, you start to find you don’t really need to use the brake pedal much at all. Simply lift off the accelerator and the i-Pace slows down. There’s a ‘crawl’ option within the settings, which you can switch off, to help enable this one-pedal driving style even more.

It can take a little getting used to, especially for the uninitiated. But it tastes like the future – and is something the Polestar 2, as one example, does far more aggressively still. Should you really not like the sensation then you can delve into the setup menu and turn off the heavy regeneration mode. But, seriously, don’t do that.

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Overall, the i-Pace drives like a true Jaguar, with the odd hint of Land Rover and BMW thrown in. It’s a deeply appealing drive.

A clean sheet of paper – something special

The i-Pace design is clever and intriguing. It speaks a subtle SUV language, with a slightly raised driving position, yet it’s not too bulky. It has Jaguar cues – the grille, the lamps, the way that details are handled – yet it takes the brand in a very new and ultimately positive direction.

That cab-forward proportion is very new. The chopped-off tail – a product of aerodynamic requirements – with its square edges and cut-back section, is different too. There are several neat details, such as the inner grille which rolls into the section of the car and becomes a scoop through which air is channelled up the bonnet and right over the roof. Oh, and those Velar-derived door handles, which shuttle out to greet you when you unlock the car, are very cool too.

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Step inside, and for what’s not a huge car, there’s plenty of space both front and back. There’s a floating lower centre console that’s complete with a fantastic pair of jewel-like climate control knobs. You use these for cabin temperature, fan speed and seat heating (and cooling, if you have it specified).

Hallelujah for some physical dial controls, eh? We prefer that over all functions being buried deep within a touchscreen menu (yes, we are talking about you, Tesla Model 3). Having everything touchscreen might sound more futuristic, but it’s not always the best approach when eye-on-the-road driving should come first. Besides, Jag’s updated tech in the 2021 i-Pace is rather accomplished.

Step inside Pandora’s box 

Around all this tech, there’s useful and well-thought design and storage for real-life use. Six USB ports, five 12V sockets, a slot at the base of the console for your phone, a 10-litre centre bin, and slots underneath the rear seat for stashing and hiding things like tablets and laptops.

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The front seats are thin (the backs are from an F-Type) but comfortable and figure-hugging. The rears will take three people at a pinch, and despite the roofline there’s headspace for people who are over six-foot tall. The seat is set low, though, so despite decent legroom your under-thigh support in the back seat is quite compromised.

Gear selection is controlled by push buttons on the centre console, the indicators and wipers are conventional, while the updated screens of the Pivi Pro infotainment system – a 12.3-inch high-definition virtual instrument cluster, along with 10-inch and 5-inch upper and lower touchscreens – make for an easy-to-use and familiar system. 

Moar tech

However, as with most EVs, there’s much more on offer in the i-Pace to help you optimise for its electrifications. You get a smartphone app for remote control – preheating, locking, starting charging, and so forth.

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On-board assist technology is as you’d expect. Autonomous city braking, lane departure warning, 360-degree parking cameras and self-parking – that kind of thing. And the i-Pace has queue assist, allowing the car to steer itself as well as accelerate/brake in a traffic jam.

But Jaguar has added a few, critical and well-judged EV-specific elements into the in-car interface. A power/charge swing-o-meter in the instrument cluster replaces the rev counter of petrol cars, so you can see when recovering energy. And a ‘My EV’ menu in the centre display features a lovely hologram of an i-Pace to show its charge status and range.

There’s also an economy guidance chart (entitled Energy Impact) that shows the impact of various systems – heated seats and aircon, for example – impacting the potential range. It talks to the navigation system, too, as to predict as accurately as possible you how much charge you’ll have at your destination, and where you need to charge.

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In its new-fangled updated form, there’s also now Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration – believe it or not this lacked back in 2018 – and it’s integrated really well. It doesn’t need to take over the whole interface, which is refreshing – a bit like it does in the Ford Mustang Mach-E – and gives you a best-of-both worlds feel for your personal phone-based setup and those aforementioned economic visual cues.

Range… anxiety?

All i-Pace trim levels have the same battery pack, pair of electric motors (giving it four-wheel drive), and the same charging system. So whichever version you choose, your experience of this will be the same. The quoted range of 290 miles is based on the European standard WLTP drive cycle.

What does that mean in reality if you go out and buy one? Well, we lived with the i-Pace for a full week, where it started at 96 per cent charge with 690 miles on the clock, and finished up at 840 miles with 22 per cent charge remaining. That, with a quick bit of maths, is 150 miles achieved with a spare 50 miles or so in the ‘tank’ – so around 35 fewer than the on-board computer’s expected 235 miles.

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But, realistically speaking, you can drive the i-Pace in whichever manner you please – half of our drive time was smashing it around motorways and not thinking economically – and still easily hit beyond the 200 miles mark no problem.

Be a little more delicate and 240 won’t be a bother. The 290 quote, however, we think is only really going to be achieved in Eco mode, with no air conditioning, not smashing the throttle, and probably only in the warmer summer months.

Jaguar is quick to point out that over each 300 mile cycle the car learns not only how you drive but where and in what conditions it’s being driven, to build up a much more accurate range prediction. It’s always adjusting, to give a best possible figure in front of your eyes – which is great.

Charging

A full charge at home, if you install a 11kW wallbox charger, is accomplished in 8 hours and 36 minutes – which is a 4 hour improvement over the 12 hours and 36 minutes of the older 7kW charger from the 2018 model.

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Meanwhile, out in the world of faster public charging points, a 50kW fast charger can provide an 80 percent battery charge in 85 minutes. While the Motorway Rapid (100kW) chargers can manage 80 percent in 40 minutes. Which really starts to make very long journeys in the i-Pace a viable proposition. 



Will Carling talks rugby tech, Audi e-tron GT, and more – Pocket-lint Podcast 90


By Rik Henderson
·

Pity that, unlike Tesla, Jag doesn’t have a network of Superchargers it can guide you to when the time does come to charge. That’s just about the only downside of the i-Pace compared to the competition.

Verdict

The Jaguar i-Pace was the first mid-size all-electric SUV from an established premium automaker. In 2018 we called it a triumph. And that sentiment hasn’t changed – indeed, it’s only gotten better.

It’s a joy to drive, presents an arresting and appealing design, all while employing logical, helpful technology – including Apple CarPlay/Android Auto that’s integrated in a really wonderful way.

It does all this without resorting to show-off doors or jaw-dropping huge screens. The i-Pace is clearly not a product of Silicon Valley’s move-fast-and-break-things approach to innovation, either.

The i-Pace’s feels like an aspirational car for regular people. And that, among other things, is what makes it a true Jaguar. It’s not techy for tech’s sake. Or elitist. Yes, at a starting price of £64k it might not be the car to bring electric mobility to the masses – but of the similar-price rivals from Audi, Mercedes and Tesla, it’s a winning formula.

Also consider

Tesla Model X

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The Tesla is bigger, bulkier, and more expensive. But if you’re considering an i-Pace it’ll probably be on your radar. The Tesla can do faster and brings greater drama than the Jag – the falcon doors and huge centre screen mean that, in many ways, it feels techier – especially as there’s Autopilot to consider too. But the Jag is more complete, much more nimble and feels better made.

  • Read our review

Audi e-tron Sportback

Pocket-lint

All the quality you expect from Audi, with comfort and sophistication, plus power and performance on the road. The e-tron Sportback is a great car to drive and live with, it has reasonable range, but it’s not the most efficient electric car on the road – and that’s its real sticking point. Which you might prefer the way it looks, the Jag still has the upper hand in our book.

  • Read our review

Ford Mustang Mach-E

Pocket-lint

An electric Mustang? Really? Whether you think it’s a real ‘Stang or not in this SUV crossover format might be besides the point. But Ford has gone all-out with its first all-electric vehicle, embracing new technologies in a manner that’s often mighty impressive. It’s cheaper than the i-Pace, too, which is where it’ll likely pull most of its success from – and you’re not compromising on range as a result.

  • Read our review

Mercedes EQC

Pocket-lint

The marque’s first serious full-fat all-electric SUV is an obvious rival to Jaguar, and the start of a whole electric EQ sub-brand. Thing is, it’s just not as well-packaged or designed as the i-Pace. So think of it more as a very strong statement of intent for now – maybe the range will bring something truly more competitive to the fore in the future.

  • Read our review

Writing by Mike Lowe and Joe Simpson.

clubhouse-says-it-will-improve-security-after-researchers-raise-china-spying-concerns

Clubhouse says it will improve security after researchers raise China spying concerns

The developers of audio chat room app Clubhouse plan to add additional encryption to prevent it from transmitting pings to servers in China, after Stanford researchers said they found vulnerabilities in its infrastructure.

In a new report, the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) said it confirmed that Shanghai-based company Agora Inc., which makes real-time engagement software, “supplies back-end infrastructure to the Clubhouse App.” The SIO further discovered that users’ unique Clubhouse ID numbers —not usernames— and chatroom IDs are transmitted in plaintext, which would likely give Agora access to raw Clubhouse audio. So anyone observing internet traffic could match the IDs on shared chatrooms to see who’s talking to each other, the SIO tweeted, noting “For mainland Chinese users, this is troubling.”

The SIO researchers said they found metadata from a Clubhouse room “being relayed to servers we believe to be hosted in” the People’s Republic of China, and found that audio was being sent to “to servers managed by Chinese entities and distributed around the world.” Since Agora is a Chinese company, it would be legally required to assist the Chinese government locate and store audio messages if authorities there said the messages posed a national security threat, the researchers surmised.

Agora told the SIO it does not store user audio or metadata other than to monitor network quality and bill its clients, and as long as audio is stored on servers in the US, the Chinese government would not be able to access the data.

Agora did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Sunday, but told Bloomberg in a statement that it “does not have access to share or store personally identifiable end-user data. Voice or video traffic from non-China based users — including US users — is never routed through China.” The company declined to comment on its relationship with Clubhouse.

Clubhouse told the researchers in a statement that when the app launched, developers decided not to make it available in China “given China’s track record on privacy.” However, some users in China found a workaround to download the app, the company said, “which meant that—until the app was blocked by China earlier this week— the conversations they were a part of could be transmitted via Chinese servers.”

The company told SIO that it was going to roll out changes “to add additional encryption and blocks to prevent Clubhouse clients from ever transmitting pings to Chinese servers” and said it would hire an external security firm to review and validate the updates. Clubhouse did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Sunday.

Clubhouse is an invite-only, iOS-only live-audio app that has become popular among many in Silicon Valley, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose Clubhouse debut earlier this month drew thousands of concurrent listeners. The company was recently valued at a reported $1 billion.

pimoroni-pico-unicorn-review:-rgb-light-show-for-your-pico

Pimoroni Pico Unicorn Review: RGB Light Show for Your Pico

Our Verdict

An excellent introduction to using add-ons with the Raspberry Pi Pico.

For

  • Easy to install
  • Simple MicroPython library
  • Great fun to code

Against

  • Blocks access to the GPIO

Pimoroni’s “Unicorn” boards have been part of the Raspberry Pi story since the Unicorn HAT came out in 2014.  For their latest iteration, Pimoroni has introduced the Pico Unicorn Pack, designed especially for the Raspberry Pi Pico. This £19.80 () add-on board features 112 RGB LEDs and four push buttons all in a neat “pack” that fits to the GPIO pins of the Raspberry Pi Pico.

Design and Use of the Pimoroni Pico Unicorn 

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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Measuring just 2.4 x 1 x 0.4 inches (62 x 25 x 10mm) Pico Unicorn comes with a header pin designed to fit to the male header pins used with the Raspberry Pi Pico. Connecting the Pico Unicorn to your Pico is a breeze. Just make sure to match the orientation of the micro USB connector with that printed on the Pico Unicorn. Power is passed from the Raspberry Pi Pico to the Pico Unicorn via the GPIO, so only one power connection is required.

Programming the Pico Unicorn is possible via C/C++ and MicroPython (see how to set up Raspberry Pi Pico), with libraries and examples for both. For our review, we stuck to MicroPython as this is the language favored by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. To use the Pico Unicorn we need to download and install a custom version of MicroPython which includes the libraries / modules for Pimoroni’s range of Pico add-on boards.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The picounicorn MicroPython module is simple to use and, at the most basic level, all we need to do is import the module, initialize and then instruct the code as to which LED we would like to control, and what color we would like it to be. For our test script we wrote some code to randomly change the color of an LED using the urandom module to pick a number between 0 and 15 (x axis) and 0 to 6 (y axis). Colors are created by mixing R,G,B values between 0 (off) and 255 (full brightness). 

import picounicorn, utime, urandom

picounicorn.init()
while True:
    x = urandom.randint(0,15)
    y = urandom.randint(0,6)
    r = urandom.randint(0,255)
    g = urandom.randint(0,255)
    b = urandom.randint(0,255)
    print(x,y,r,g,b)
    picounicorn.set_pixel(x,y,r,g,b)
    utime.sleep(0.01)

Use Cases for the Pimoroni Pico Unicorn 

Pico Unicorn is much more than just pretty lights. The LEDs can be used to visually communicate data, scroll text and when used with the four pushbuttons we can even build simple games. Pico Unicorn can also be used with the Pico Omnibus and Pico Decker boards which expand the numbers of packs that can be used with the Pico. 

Bottom Line

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Pico Unicorn is a simple and gentle introduction to using add-ons with your Raspberry Pi Pico. The MicroPython module is straightforward and the immediate results will captivate the imagination of eager coders.