Klaus Scheuermann releases FREE PodcastPlugins bundle for Speech Enhancement
Klaus Scheuermann has released PodcastPlugins, a free plugin bundle designed to simplify speech processing for podcasters on Windows, macOS, and Linux. As regular BPB readers might know, I’m always interested in plugins designed with a specific purpose in mind, or as I like to call them, specialty plugins. While all-purpose EQs, compressors, and limiters are [...]
View post: Klaus Scheuermann releases FREE PodcastPlugins bundle for Speech Enhancement

Arturia launch MiniFuse Champagne Edition Arturia have announced the launch of limited-edition versions of three of their...

Industry exec sounds alarm on Ledger phishing letter delivered by USPSScammers posing as Ledger, a hardware wallet manufacturer, are sending physical letters to crypto users instructing them to "validate" their wallets or risk losing access to funds, in the latest phishing attack to impact the industry.BitGo CEO Mike Belshe shared a picture of the scam letter, which featured a QR code, presumably linked to a malicious phishing site. The letter was sent through the United States Postal Service (USPS), according to the executive."These are all scams do not fall for any of these," Troy Lindsey wrote after receiving a copy of the phishing letter. A copy of the scam Phishing letter. Source: Mike BelsheCointelegraph reached out to Ledger for comment but was unable to obtain a response by the time of publication.This phishing attempt highlights the ever-evolving complexity and tactics of social engineering scams designed to steal crypto private keys, user funds, and other sensitive data from unsuspecting victims.Related: Hackers using fake Ledger Live app to steal seed phrases and drain cryptoCoinbase and crypto users hit hard by phishing attacks in 2025In April 2025, $330 million in Bitcoin (BTC) was stolen from an elderly individual through a phishing attack, onchain detective ZackXBT confirmed in an April 30 X post."Two suspects in the $330 million heist include 'Nina/Mo' — a Somalian who operates a call scam center in Camden, UK — and an accomplice 'W0rk,' who assisted with the site and call," the onchain security analyst said in an update.On May 15, crypto exchange Coinbase announced it was the target of a ransom attempt after customer service contractors, who were later fired by the company, leaked user data to threat actors.The scammers demanded a $20 million ransom, which Coinbase refused to pay, and the stolen data included names, addresses, contact information, and a limited amount of other sensitive account data belonging to a small subset of Coinbase customers.No private keys, login credentials, or accesses to Coinbase Prime accounts were compromised during the leak, according to the exchange.TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington was highly critical of the exchange for the security failure, arguing that it will lead to physical violence against customers exposed in the hack.Magazine: Crypto-Sec: Phishing scammer goes after Hedera users, address poisoner gets $70K

A Presence-sensing drive for Securely Storing Secrets
When we hear about flash drives in the context of cybersecurity, we tend to think of them more as threats than as targets. When you’re using flash drives to store encryption keys, however, it makes sense to pay more attention to their security. [Juergen] designed the PECKUS (Presence Enforcing Crypto-Key USB-Storage) with this specifically in mind: a few-kilobyte storage device that only unlocks if the owner’s Bluetooth device is in the vicinity.[Juergen] needed to store an infrequently-used keyfile on an air-gapped system, and commercial encrypted flash drives were rather expensive and left much to be desired in terms of usability. Instead, he designed a CircuitPython custom firmware for MakerDiary’s nRF52840 micro development kit, which provided a BLE-capable system in the form of a USB dongle.After flashing the firmware to the board, the user sets it up with a particular Bluetooth device and a file to be stored; after writing the file during setup, it cannot be rewritten. Before reading from the device, the user must pair the previously-set device with the board and press a button on the board, and only then does the device appear to the computer.The limited amount of storage space means that this device will probably only serve its intended purpose, but in those cases, it’ll be handy to have an open-source and inexpensive protected storage device. [Juergen] notes that attackers could theoretically defeat this system by desoldering the microcontroller from the board and extracting the memory contents from the its storage, but if you have enemies that resourceful, you probably won’t be relying on a $20 board anyways. We’ve previously seen a few flashdrives cross these pages, including one meant to self-destruct, and one made from a rejected microSD card.

Amazound Motion Synths Designed from scratch on the Supernova II and the XV5080, these two synths have a common character, to generate rich motion textures, synths and pads that can fill and create spaces with the touch of a few keys. This collection captures that particular characteristic on 68 exclusive sounds. Great for ambient, cinematic, sci-fi and any track that demands complex textures but played in a simple way. The library includes a selection of patches for the Native Instruments Kontakt Sampler. All instruments are multi-sample recorded at a crystal clear 24-bit stereo quality with more than 1GB of audio data. Each patch was carefully edited to take the most expressive touch possible. In addition to the Kontakt instruments you can use every WAV sample included in this library with any other compatible virtual or hardware sampler capable to load WAV files.. Each Kontakt program has 62 automatable knob and switches to tweak most common parameters and effects as you can see in the pictures. https://soundcloud.com/amazound/motion-synths-demo-kontakt-mpc-expansion-soundfonts-reason-refill-motif-modx-moxf-montage Patch list 01 MOTION PAD 1 02 SOFT SYNTH 1 03 PULSATING 1 04 SOFT SYNTH 2 05 MOTION PAD 2 06 MOTION PAD 3 07 MOTION SYNTH 1 08 MOTION SYNTH 2 09 FAST MOTION 10 SLOW MOTION 1 11 SLOW MOTION 2 12 SLOW MOTION 3 13 MOTION PAD 4 14 MOTION PAD 5 15 MOTION PAD 6 16 MOTION VOX 17 GLIDE MOTION 1 18 GLIDE MOTION 2 19 MOTION SYNTH 3 20 MOTION SYNTH 4 21 PULSATING 2 22 MOTION PAD 7 23 MOTION PAD 8 24 HARSH MOTION 25 MOTION SYNTH 5 26 MOTION SYNTH 6 27 MOTION SYNTH 7 28 DETUNED MOTION 1 29 DETUNED MOTION 2 30 PULSATING 3 31 PULSATING 4 32 MOTION SYNTH 8 33 MOTION SYNTH 9 34 PULSATING 5 35 MOTION PAD 9 36 SOFT SYNTH 3 37 SOFT SYNTH 4 38 SOFT SYNTH 5 39 SOFT SYNTH 6 40 MOTION SYNTH 10 41 MOTION SYNTH 11 42 SLOW MOTION 4 43 SLOW MOTION 5 44 MOTION THINGS 45 PULSE MOTION 46 ACID MOTION 47 MOTION BITS 48 MOTION THING 1 49 MOTION THING 2 50 MOTION PAD 10 51 MOTION PAD 11 52 MOTION SYNTH 12 53 MOTION SYNTH 13 54 MOTION WAVES 1 55 MOTION WAVES 2 56 MOTION WAVES 3 57 GLASS MOTION 58 STEEL MOTION 59 DARK MOTION 1 60 DARK MOTION 2 61 ORGEL MOTION 62 GLIDE MOTION 3 63 GLIDE MOTION 4 64 GLASSY MOTION 65 MOTION PAD 12 66 MOTION SYNTH 14 67 DUMPED MOTION 68 SHADOW MOTION Specifications Minimum Requirements 68 Exclusive NKI Presets. 501 WAV Samples (44.1hz, 24-bit stereo format). 1.06 GB Library. Sounds sampled from real hardware (Supernova II, XV5080). Studio grade quality sample content. 62 automatable knobs and switches. Amp envelope with 5 stages. Multimode filter: LP, BP, HP. 1 assignable LFO with multi waveforms. Modulation and velocity controls. Sample start with random assignment. 6 full customizable effects: Hall reverb, delay, chorus, phaser, rotary speaker, distortion. Mac OS X 10.11 or higher. Windows 7 or higher 4GB of RAM, 8GB recommended. Kontakt 5 full or higher (Free Kontakt Player not supported). Works in standalone mode or within any DAW capable to run Kontakt. Read More

Why a new anti-revenge porn law has free speech experts alarmed The newly signed Take It Down Act makes it illegal to publish nonconsensual explicit images – real or AI-generated – and gives platforms just 48 hours to comply with a victim’s takedown request or face liability. While widely praised as a long-overdue win for victims, experts warn its vague language, lax standards for verifying claims, and tight compliance window could pave the way for overreach, censorship of legitimate content, and even surveillance. 

Music Business News Last Week: Spotify, Mental Health, MoreA busy week by any definition, and music business news last week was no exception, with Spotify stock sales, a ticket resale survey, radio stats, quantum computing meets music and more.
The post Music Business News Last Week: Spotify, Mental Health, More appeared first on Hypebot.

Independent Musician News Last Week: Bandcamp, Playlists, MoreLast week, our tips, advice and independent musician news last week covered a Bandcamp upgrade, how website improvements increase revenue, 2025 playlist marketing updates, and more...
The post Independent Musician News Last Week: Bandcamp, Playlists, More appeared first on Hypebot.

CB Electronics introduce the ER-MicAmp The latest addition to the ER-Range is a preamp module that offers a way to integrate mic, line-level and instrument signals into a Eurorack setup.

How Oliver (Kim Petras, Chromeo) makes his signature drum loops
Oliver (Kim Petras, Chromeo) opens up his Ableton Live session to give us an exclusive inside look into how he makes his signature drum loops.

Khosla Ventures among VCs experimenting with AI-Infused roll-ups of mature companiesVenture capitalists have always focused on investing in companies that leverage technology to either disrupt established industries or create entirely new business categories. But some VCs are starting to flip the script on their investing styles. Rather than funding startups, they are acquiring mature businesses –such as call centers, accounting firms, and other professional service […]

Texas governor signals support for Bitcoin reserve billTexas Governor Greg Abbott has signaled support for a bill recently passed by the state House of Representatives that would establish a strategic cryptocurrency reserve.In a May 22 X post, Abbott posted a Techstory article about Texas state lawmakers’ efforts to create a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. The story pointed out that the decision for the passage of SB 21, the bill in question, now rests on Abbott’s shoulders, roughly three months after it was introduced. Since taking office, Abbott referred to himself as a “crypto law proposal supporter” in 2021 and suggested that he would support policies to establish Texas as a “crypto capital” in 2024. Texas was one of a handful of state-level governments that proposed setting up a strategic crypto reserve after the 2024 federal elections.   Related: Ukraine strategic Bitcoin reserve bill reportedly in final stagesOn May 6, New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte was the first to sign a Bitcoin reserve bill into law. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs later approved a law allowing the state to claim ownership of unclaimed crypto. Some jurisdictions have rebuffed efforts to pass similar legislation, with roughly half of the 50 state governments considering a Bitcoin reserve.New administration working to have the US government hodlAt the federal level, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) in March for a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and a “Digital Asset Stockpile,” but Congress had not codified the order as of May 23. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis has led efforts in the chamber to pass the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide, or BITCOIN, Act, reintroduced a few days after Trump’s EO.As of March 11, the bill has been referred to the Senate Banking Committee, and it was unclear if or when the chamber would consider a vote. The Senate will likely first move forward with debate on a bill to regulate payment stablecoins, the GENIUS Act, with some lawmakers anticipating a vote by Memorial Day, May 26.Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K

It's a Cruel World After AllDevo (above)All photos by Kevin Estrada PhotographyGolden Voice’s premiere go-to for goth and new wave nostalgia, Cruel World festival, returned to Brookside at the Rose Bowl for its fourth year on May 17th, this time bringing with it a gloomy rainy atmosphere that finally fit the music. In true summer festival fashion, a yearly staple for Cruel World attendees has been the inner struggle between an appropriately gothic outfit that inflicts suffering in the heat and a more minimal choice of look in exchange for comfort. As clouds and rain washed over Pasadena, there was an evident shift in ambiance compared to the previous years. In many ways, there was a new level of connection felt to all of those baritone vocals and sultry synths, but on the other hand, there was a noticeable emptiness of the grounds in comparison to past years.BlancmangeRegardless of corporate details like ticket sales and attendance numbers, Cruel World offers fans of alternative music a festival catered solely towards them, unlike many of the competing festivals right now that pepper in eighties nostalgia acts in between mainstream pop artists. Walking up to the festival at any time immediately bombards you with a mixture of sounds from the three stages. One second, your ears can be picking up Blancmange’s signature synth from “Living On The Ceiling,” and another second, Mareux can be entrancing you with his iconic cover of The Cure’s “The Perfect Girl.” Cruel World is not only a masterclass in fulfilling a niche need but also in integrating old and new artists into the same project, despite its audience being known to be stubborn about change in the subculture.Alison Moyet

Stereo MCsThis year, headlining acts like New Order, Devo, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, OMD, and The Go-Gos were selected to delight elder goths who miss their youth and younger goths with a “born in the wrong generation complex.” Earlier acts like The Buzzcocks and Stereo MC’s set the scene to show you don’t need to be making goth music to be part of the culture. Both displaying their reggae-influenced British styles of punk and rap with infectious fun and fire. Following the flame, the stages transitioned into more sultry sounds as She Wants Revenge and Alison Moyet hypnotized audiences into feeling like the golf course grass was tiles in a club. For those who prefer black and white checkers to black and white stripes, Madness offered a jazzy, cheery alternative to all the gloom. With hits like “Our House” and “It Must Be Love” allowing for a moment or two to skank around before resuming brooding.As the night went on and the rain stopped, Shirley Manson of Garbage emerged like a punk rock peacock to blow the roof off the place. The band was tight and their energy even tighter, with grunge beats taking on an almost industrial nature when performed live. Devo went on at the same time as Garbage, highlighting one of the major pitfalls of festivals: you're always going to miss someone you want to see. Shirley herself even humorously echoed this statement, saying, “We are sorry, Devo, we love you!”Later on, in a moment of sonically contrasting irony, The Go-Gos' set overlapped with that of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Both acts are trailblazers of their respective times and genres, both with killer performances, and if you're like us, you ran frantically between the stages to catch a bit of both. Nick Cave has always been and will always be a haunting, satanic preacher of a performer; the minimalist nature of his look, compounded with his draconian piano playing, is never not mesmerizing. Despite the lack of energy brought on by his music, fans still thoroughly enjoyed tracks like “Joy” and “Wild God.” Across the field, over at the “Sad Girls” stage, The Go-Gos were serving up 80’s Southern California summer fun. We screamed along to classics like “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Lust to Love,” and “How Much More," with the band even referring to their early punk days at the iconic venue The Masque.New OrderThe day was also not over without addressing the rain jokes as The Buzzcocks smirked before singing “Manchester Rain”, fans chanted along to Garbage’s “I’m Only Happy When It Rains”, and The Go-Go's made sure to have us sing along to “Automatic Rainy Day”. At the end of the night, always comes the pilgrimage to the main stage along with the entire crowd, all clawing away at each other to get as close as possible. New Order, in their reign as the King of overplayed club songs, was sure to entice the crowd to be as impatient as possible. At the end of the day, the band aren’t what they used to be, but that's okay. Tracks like “Bizarre Love Triangle” and “Age of Consent” will always evoke a feeling of melancholic, fleeting youth, no matter how well they are sung. The band also displayed an impressive rave-like lighting setup reminiscent of the “Hacienda” era clubbing scene in Manchester.All in all, as the state of the music industry becomes increasingly unstable, festivals will always be important to foster community. Cruel World 2025 found itself in the middle of several hits and misses, but we all still hope we get to attend Cruel World 2026 next year anyway.The post It's a Cruel World After All first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Tearing Down And Hacking The T2S+ Thermal Camera[Dmytro] was able to lay his hands on a InfiRay T2S+ camera. It’s a capable thermal imaging unit that comes at a cheaper price than many of its rivals. [Dmytro] decided to pull it apart to see what makes it tick, and he discovered a few interesting things along the way.
Like so much modern hardware, pulling the case apart does require some spudging and levering. Once inside, though, it comes apart in a relatively straightforward manner. Once inside, [Dmytro] notes some similarities between this camera and the Flir Lepton, another affordable thermal camera on the market. He also finds a clone of the Cypress FX2LP chip, which is used for talking USB. There’s also an Gowin FPGA inside, with [Dmytro] suspecting the gateware onboard could be modified. If so, the camera may be a candidate for running open source firmware in future.
What bothered [Dmytro] about this camera, though, was the software. When used with an Android phone, the camera demands the use of a proprietary app with with questionable permissions. It can be used on a regular computer, where it appears as a standard webcam. However, in this mode, the camera fails to self-calibrate, and the images quickly become useless. [Dmytro] worked to hack around this, by figuring out a way to trigger calibrations and run the proper image corrections manually when using the camera without the smartphone app. He also explores techniques to improve the resolution of the thermal measurements made by the camera.
We’ve seen some other neat thermal camera hacks over the years. Video after the break.

[Thanks to Clint for the tip!]

APU Software APU Loudness ContourAPU Loudness Contour is a real-time equal-loudness filter that offers precise control over a wide range of perceptual loudness contours, including ISO 226 (2003 & 2023), Fletcher-Munson, K-weighting, A/C-weighting, ECMA-418, ITU-R 468, and more. Each contour is normalized to 0 dB at 1 kHz and includes a dedicated contour weight parameter, allowing you to scale the frequency response in both positive and negative directions. A weight of 0% results in a flat response, while negative weights invert the contour. ISO 226 and Fletcher-Munson curves support variable reference levels from 20 dB SPL to 120 dB SPL, with smooth interpolation between phon curves. The plugin supports both linear phase and minimum phase filter types. Built-in makeup gain compensation is provided per contour and reference level, calibrated using pink noise LUFS measurements. When enabled, makeup gain offsets the entire contour response by the corresponding gain amount. Additional output gain is available for manual fine-tuning. A comprehensive real-time spectrum analyzer is included, featuring configurable FFT sizes, window types, bucket widths, and time averaging. Frequency visualization can be switched between linear, logarithmic, or musical note scales, with auto-zoom and custom dB range options. https://youtu.be/-IuTb4ismsQ Read More