New Music Critique: Aubrey LoganContact: olivia@olivialongpr.comWeb: aubreylogan.comSeeking: Film/TVStyle: JazzSeattle’s Aubrey Logan is a trombone-playing jazz singer and songwriter who is able to weave complex narratives into equally complex musicianship, yet the results seem startlingly, beautifully simple. She’s a songbird; her voice is stunning, whether she’s singing about being lovely while flying on “Airport Codes,” or enthusiastically scatting like one of the greats. “I Feel the Earth Move” is a cover of the Carole King classic, and it takes on new life thanks to this jazzy rendition, losing none of its original fire but gaining some improvisational wonder. Even those outside of the jazz world will find music to enjoy with Logan.The post New Music Critique: Aubrey Logan first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Google’s new AI video model Veo 2 will cost 50 cents per secondGoogle has quietly revealed the pricing of Veo 2, the video-generating AI model that it unveiled in December. According to the company’s pricing page, using Veo 2 will cost 50 cents per second of video, which adds up to $30 per minute or $1,800 per hour. Google DeepMind researcher Jon Barron contrasted this pricing with […]
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Over the Counter Glucose Monitor DissectedIf you deal with diabetes, you probably know how to prick your finger and use a little meter to read your glucose levels. The meters get better and better which mostly means they take less blood, so you don’t have to lacerate your finger so severely. Even so, taking your blood several times a day is hard on your fingertips. Continuous monitoring is available, but — until recently — required a prescription and was fairly expensive. [Andy] noticed the recent introduction of a relatively inexpensive over-the-counter sensor, the Stelo CGM. Of course, he had to find out what was inside, and thanks to him, you can see it, too.
If you haven’t used a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), there is still a prick involved, but it is once every two weeks or so and occurs in the back of your arm. A spring drives a needle into your flesh and retracts. However, it leaves behind a little catheter. The other end of the catheter is in an adhesive-backed module that stays put. It sounds a little uncomfortable, but normally, it is hardly noticeable, and even if it is, it is much better than sticking your finger repeatedly to draw out a bunch of blood.

So, what’s in the module? Plenty. There is a coin cell, of course. An nRF52832 microcontroller wakes up every 30 seconds to poll the sensor. Every 5 minutes it wakes up to send data via Bluetooth to your phone. There are antennas for Bluetooth and NFC (the phone or meter reads the sensor via NFC to pair with it). There are also a few custom chips of unknown function.
[Andy] makes the point that the battery could last much longer than the two-week span of the device, but we would guess that a combination of the chemicals involved, the adhesive stickiness, the need to clean the site (you usually alternate arms), and accounting for battery life during storage, two weeks might be conservative, but not ridiculous.
It’s amazing that we live in a time when this much electronics can be considered disposable. CGM is a hard problem. What we really want is an artificial pancreas.

Hollywood Audio Design Alien - Premium Kontakt LibraryHollywood Audio Design presents. "ALIEN" : Cinematic Industrial Loop Library. PREMIUM Kontakt VERSION [Also Includes full WAV file libraries]. ... Read More

Scene: Lotus from Native Instruments The latest addition to Native Instruments’ Scene series delivers a range of Japanese-inspired soundscapes designed for cinematic compositions.

Did xAI lie about Grok 3’s benchmarks?Debates over AI benchmarks — and how they’re reported by AI labs — are spilling out into public view. This week, an OpenAI employee accused Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, of publishing misleading benchmark results for its latest AI model, Grok 3. One of the co-founders of xAI, Igor Babushkin, insisted that the company was […]
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Album Review of "Dragon Season... The Awakening" by Busta Rhymes (5/10)The Conglomerate/Hitmaker Music Producers: VariousThis 6-track EP by hip-hop veteran Busta Rhymes illustrates a contrast on how a legendary artist can deliver a project which is less than remarkable. Busta possesses the ability to produce impressive verses and timeless music, but this offering is hard to engage with. Production is average. And at approximately 18 minutes in length, I’m left questioning the value of The Awakening; and if it had the potential to be more than what it turned out to be. The post Album Review of "Dragon Season... The Awakening" by Busta Rhymes (5/10) first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

KiCad 9 Moves Up In The Pro LeagueDo you do PCB design for a living? Has KiCad been just a tiny bit insufficient for your lightning-fast board routing demands? We’ve just been graced with the KiCad 9 release (blog post, there’s a FOSDEM talk too), and it brings features of the rank you expect from a professional-level monthly-subscription PCB design suite.
Of course, KiCad 9 has delivered a ton of polish and features for all sorts of PCB design, so everyone will have some fun new additions to work with – but if you live and breathe PCB track routing, this release is especially for you.

One of the most flashy features is multichannel design – essentially, if you have multiple identical blocks on your PCB, say, audio amplifiers, you can now route it once and then replicate the routing in all other blocks; a stepping stone for design blocks, no doubt.
Other than that, there’s a heap of additions – assigning net rules in the schematic, dragging multiple tracks at once, selectively removing soldermask from tracks and tenting from vias, a zone fill manager, in/decrementing numbers in schematic signal names with mousewheel scroll, alternate function display toggle on symbol pins, improved layer selection for layer switches during routing, creepage and acute angle DRC, DRC marker visual improvements, editing pad and via stacks, improved third-party imports (specifically, Eagle and Altium schematics), and a heap of other similar pro-level features big and small.
Regular hackers get a load of improvements to enjoy, too. Ever wanted to add a table into your schematic? Now that’s doable out of the box. How about storing your fonts, 3D models, or datasheets directly inside your KiCad files? This, too, is now possible in KiCad. The promised Python API for the board editor is here, output job templates are here (think company-wide standardized export settings), there’s significantly more options for tweaking your 3D exports, dogbone editor for inner contour milling, big improvements to footprint positioning and moving, improvements to the command line interface (picture rendering in mainline!), and support for even more 3D export standards, including STL. Oh, add to that, export of silkscreen and soldermask into 3D models – finally!
Apart from that, there’s, of course, a ton of bugfixes and small features, ~1500 new symbols, ~750 footprints, and, documentation has been upgraded to match and beyond. KiCad 10 already has big plans, too – mostly engine and infrastructure improvements, making KiCad faster, smarter, and future-proof, becoming even more of impressive software suite and a mainstay on an average hacker’s machine.
For example, KiCad 10 will bring delay matching, Git schematic and PCB integrations, PNG plot exports, improved diffpair routers, autorouter previews, design import wizard, DRC and length calculation code refactoring, part height support, and a few dozen other things!
We love that KiCad updates yearly now. Every FOSDEM, we get an influx of cool new features into the stable KiCad tree. We’re also pretty glad about the ongoing consistent funding they get – may they get even more, in fact. We’ve been consistently seeing hackers stop paying for proprietary PCB software suites and switching to KiCad, and hopefully some of them have redirected that money into a donation towards their new favorite PCB design tool.
Join the pro club, switch to the new now-stable KiCad 9! If you really enjoy it and benefit from it, donate, or even get some KiCad merch. Want to learn more about the new features? Check out the release blog post (many cool animations and videos there!), or the running thread on KiCad forums describing the new features&fixes in length, maybe if you’re up for video format, check out the KiCad 9 release talk recording (29m48s) from this year’s FOSDEM, it’s worth a watch.

Klamper Audio EQ 4KUnlock the power of superior audio customization with the EQ 4K, a professional audio processing plugin designed for audiophiles, sound engineers, and music producers. This intuitive and highly... Read More

Measure of Music conference free online thru SundayIt's not too late to join the free Measure Of Music online conference and hackathon happening thru Sunday 2.23.25. With an emphasis on music data, the three day virtual event includes something for musicians and music industry professionals at all stages of their career.
The post Measure of Music conference free online thru Sunday appeared first on Hypebot.

DIY and Independent Musician News Last WeekThis week, our tips, advice and independent musician news last week covered how to start a band, where to go to network this year, and more...
The post DIY and Independent Musician News Last Week appeared first on Hypebot.

I Wrote This Because People Are Still Dying.Attune's Matt Thomas calls for the industry to wake up over the threat to artists from mental health and addiction
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Universal Audio UA 1176 plug-in currently free Universal Audio are running a limited-time offer that gives users the chance to claim a free license for UA 1176 Compressor, a special native version of their hugely popular emulation plug-in.

Signing Stories: Deep Sea DiverDate Signed: September 2024Label: Sub Pop RecordsType of Music: Indie RockBand Members: Jessica Dobson, Peter Mansen, Elliot JacksonManagement: Red Light ManagementPublicity: Frank Nieto - frankn@subpop.comWeb: thisisdeepseadiver.comSeattle-based rock band Deep Sea Diver, led by guitarist and vocalist Jessica Dobson, is celebrating their stronger support from their new home at the legendary Sub Pop Records. With the backing of the label, Dobson most looks forward to the extra care and assistance that she will have access to, something foreign coming from her hustling DIY nature."In the beginning, I have been close to the process and it can be painful at times," Dobson shares. "Hearing crickets from the time you send your record in. 'Is it in the void?' 'Do people not like it?' This time around, it was pretty quick that we got responses and Sub Pop was one of the first that said, 'We believe this. Let's keep talking.'""With self-released albums on an independent label, we know what goes into promoting an album, keeping it on the radar... there are moving parts," says Dobson. Dobson has logged time as a touring member for Beck and The Shins and has performed with numerous other acts, including Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Spoon, Dinosaur Jr. and more. In addition to headline touring, they've supported Death Cab for Cutie, Wilco, and most recently, playing to the largest audiences of their career, supporting Pearl Jam."It's quite a gift for us to have landed on a label that we have respected for years," says Dobson. "We went with SubPop because they were on board and loved what we were doing already. That's what we'd hope for when signing to a label is that they love you already. You're not having to work backwards." As for connecting with fans and labels alike, Dobson advises, "You cannot force an audience to love what you do. You can just make the best [album] you can, and the people will decide." Deep Sea Diver recently shared a video for “Let Me Go,” a collaboration with Madison Cunningham. Their fourth album Billboard Heart is out now. Check the group on their tour, which kicks off and finishes up with hometown shows in Washington.  – Joseph MalteseThe post Signing Stories: Deep Sea Diver first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Brian Armstrong says Coinbase spent $50M fighting SEC lawsuit – and beat itCoinbase on Friday said the SEC has agreed to drop the lawsuit against the company with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again.  The move, which is still subject to the approval of the SEC’s Commissioners, is yet another signal that the Trump administration plans to be more friendly to crypto than the SEC was […]
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