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That’s an unfortunate truth for someone who has spent half of his life being a little obsessed with headphones. Getting good sound quality out of most headphones requires a good seal, but years of testing headphones have shown most simply don’t try to account for more voluminous hairstyles like the fro I’ve been growing over the pandemic. People who wear glasses often face similar issues, as the glasses can interfere with the seal to a similar extent....

Those running Lightning Network nodes have been advised to upgrade their clients as soon as possible, including those related to popular wallet solution Eclair. At present, exact information is scarce, but the original post shared via a Lightning Network mailing list promises release of “full details” in four weeks. This method of disclosure is not without precedent. Privacy-focused altcoin Monero has repeatedly released details of dangerous security vulnerabilities in a similarly staggered fashion....

Okay, it’s not Quidditch, not really. Broomstick League is developed by Virtual Basement and published by Blue Isle — there’s no relation to anything Warner Bros, so any mention of Quidditch would no doubt be copyright infringement. But you and I are free to draw the parallels on our own. It’s a game in which two teams of wand-carrying people on broomsticks compete in massive stadiums by throwing balls into hoops, so it’s hardly a reach....

To combat this, the state of California passed two bills. The first now makes it illegal to post any manipulated videos of political figures, such as replacing a candidate’s face with the intention to discredit them, within 60 days of an election. The second bill gives people living in California the right to sue anyone who puts their image into a pornographic video using deepfake technology. Deepfake tech has become easily accessible and videos can be made via apps or using affordable consumer-grade equipment, which is partly why the web is flooded with pornographic films of high-profile female celebrities....

Images released by the Radiological Society of North America show how the virus fills the lungs with sticky mucus. This makes it hard to breathe as there’s little space remaining for fresh air to enter. These effects have led a host of tech firms to release AI systems that can detect signs of the infection in the lungs. Their rationale is straightforward: AI, and in particular deep learning, has had some of its biggest successes in classifying features in images....

According to figures from EV Volumes, compiled by Clean Technica, the Tesla Model 3 sold 6,888 units between January and July this year. This was followed by the Hyundai Kona EV, which sold 5,125 units over the first seven months of the year. This isn’t so surprising, though, given that Hyundai is a South Korean company and the Kona is made in the country, in the coastal city Ulsan. [Read: Proposition 22: Uber and Lyft’s last ditch attempt to keep their business model alive] The Kia Niro, Chevy Bolt, and BMW 530e (plug-in hybrid) also proved popular in the country selling 2,315, 1,357, and 1,168 units respectively....

A collaborative study by the European Federation for Transport and Environment and Greenpeace has found that CO2 emissions from plug-in hybrid vehicles are up to 2,5 times greater than official tests and manufacturer marketing suggests. Based on data gathered from over 20,000 plug-in hybrid drivers around Europe, the average plug-in hybrid car produces around 28 tonnes of CO2 in its lifetime, which is but a small reduction on the 39-41 tonnes of CO2 produced by the average petrol or diesel car....

I’m not a fan of cumbersome cameras. They’re a hassle to carry around and attract a lot more attention than I’m comfortable with. That’s why I’m a huge admirer of mirrorless cameras; even more so if they’re great at shooting both still images and video — like the Sony A7R IV. And as luck would have it, you can snatch one of these compact beasts at a $1,300 discount right now....

I always appreciate having a good speaker in my living room. It always helps when I can listen to podcasts or music while lounging. Or I can show off my playlist-making skills to my friends. If that sounds like you, the Harman Kardon Omni 10 Plus is the probably the best option for you. The wireless speaker is on sale for just $69.95, down from $249.95. That’s some massive savings right there....

Do you have a loving pet that longs for never-ending attention and won’t let you leave the house without making a fuss? Then the Furbo dog camera might just be the thing for you. This smart device is like a treat-dispensing baby monitor, but for your dog. It’s also got a voice feature that lets you directly communicate with your dog while you’re away. And just today, you can grab one for $134 — a sweet 46-percent discount off its list price of $246....

This Windows 10 machine packs a four-core AMD Ryzen 5 3500U 2.1 Ghz processor, paired with a Radeon Vega 8 GPU and 16GB RAM. There’s also a 15.6-inch 1,366×768 pixel touchscreen display, and a 256GB SSD included. All for just $509.99 – down from a sticker price of $1,299.99! That’s right, this is discounted by a whopping $790. And in case you’d like to beef it up a bit, you can upgrade the display to a 1080p touchscreen, get a larger hard drive, and swap out the Ryzen 5 processor for a Ryzen 7 processor with Vega 10 graphics....

Is it really any wonder why NASA decided to christen its rambunctious rover now dune-buggying over the rocky terrain of Mars as Curiosity? After all, man’s need to understand that which hasn’t been understood before is why NASA and countless other organizations and expeditions were launched in the first place. Curiosity is the cornerstone of human advancement — and sometimes, it can be the only thing motivating you to strive for more....

Last year, when I went on a ‘EuroTrip’ (don’t worry, it was nothing like the movie), I decided just to carry a few phones to take pictures. And I was satisfied with the results I got from the Huawei P30 Pro. While a phone’s camera has a lot of software prowess behind it, helping you that perfect shot, there’s so much you can learn about photography that makes your snaps stand out....

My initial analysis of 4,450 Facebook posts from equal campaign periods before the 2016 and 2020 elections indicates that the current Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, is trailing the performance of Hillary Clinton in 2016. In contrast, Trump is exceeding his 2016 performance. In my research of Facebook use by British political parties, I’ve seen Facebook fit ever more closely into the heart of modern political campaigning, with the rise of targeted advertising and novel types of organic (unpaid) posts and memes....

At best, those who would perpetrate such an action are willfully ignorant misogynists uninterested in understanding the potential impact of their actions. At worst: they are agents of evil who take joy in the knowledge that their work will, almost surely, result in violence against women. Trigger warning: this article contains references to sexual violence, if you’re sensitive to those topics please read with caution. The Deepnudes app recently made headlines after Motherboard ran a story exposing it....

The system has been repurposed to spot comments from Trump that are about to go viral. It will then identify the most popular counter-narratives, and invite a network of more than 3.4 million influencers “to share these highly visual and emotional narratives from real people in unison and at scale.” The initiative is being led by Defeat Disinfo, a political action committee (PAC) advised by retired general Stanley McChrystal, who commanded US and NATO forces during the Afghanistan war....

It’s an undeniably sophisticated piece of software, and since 1995 has served millions as a free alternative to Adobe’s photoshop. But many also wince at its unfortunate name. GIMP is an acronym for the “GNU image manipulation program.” But to others, the name is also a troubling ableist slur, or an inappropriate sexual reference that feels fundamentally out of place in 2019. Remedying this problem is Glimpse. This new fork of the GIMP editor aims to address the troubling nomenclature of its predecessor, as well as make several measurable design and functionality changes....

After dabbling with high-end earbuds, now Devialet wants to deliver an absurd amount of bass under your TV with the launch of the Devialet Dione. The company promises the Dione, its first Dolby Atmos soundbar, can reach so low that it obviates the need for an external subwoofer. It also costs $2,400. But if the company can deliver similar technical excellence to its previous speakers — the Phantom Reactor demonstrated some of the best objective performance I’ve seen on my test bench — it might just be able to justify the price....

The latest instance is the India launch of Disney+, which was scheduled to become available via the Hotstar streaming service on March 29. The entertainment giant has now deferred it indefinitely. [Read: John Oliver roasts Disney-owned Hotstar for making cuts to his show in India] In a statement, Uday Shankar, President, The Walt Disney Company APAC and Chairman, Star & Disney India, said the company had planned to launch the new streaming service, coinciding with the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament....

For example, a blockchain startup claiming to use the technology without having an actual blockchain. Or a study last year which revealed that two in five ‘AI startups’ actually have no AI whatsoever. [Read: Darktrace’s co-CEO on trusting AI to fight cyberattacks on our behalf] Founders have come to believe that exaggeration and the latest tech lingo are the best way to land the cash they need to develop their big idea, and in many cases the resulting hype is harmless....