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Bandcamp has always had a serviceable if unpolished mobile app for streaming the tracks you buy from its platform. However, one thing you couldn’t do before today was queue albums and tracks. The good news is Bandcamp has addressed that shortcoming of its software with a new update that’s available through the App Store and Google Play Store.

To queue a song or album, navigate to your music library by tapping the heart icon located at the bottom of the interface, and then tap the album you want to play. You can queue the entire album by pressing the relevant button under the playback controls. To queue a single song, meanwhile, press the three dots icon located next to the individual track you want to listen to. You can also reorder what’s next at any point by dragging a song to another position in the queue.

We’ll be honest, it’s surprising Bandcamp’s app didn’t include a queuing feature before today, but then it probably wasn’t used for streaming music by as many people as you might think. Thanks to its support of musicians through the pandemic, Bandcamp has enjoyed an upswell in popularity and goodwill. At the start of the year, the company said approximately 800,000 people had spent more than $70 million buying music and merchandise through the 17 Bandcamp Fridays the company held throughout 2020 and 2021. While a lot of those people had probably bought music through Bandcamp before, at least some of them were new to the platform. And you have to imagine both groups want to listen their collections on the go.

MoviePass is making a comeback, and we've learned some more details about the latest incarnation of the cinema subscription service. Cofounder Stacy Spikes, who is back at the helm, says MoviePass 2.0 is being built on a Web3 framework and will have a kind of virtual currency. 

MoviePass

Members will have credits they can use for tickets for themselves and friends. Unused credits will roll over to the next month and you'll be able to transfer them to other people. There will be tiered plans, but Spikes didn't divulge pricing

The new MoviePass app will show you how many credits you have and available screenings at theaters. Credits will work differently during peak and off-peak times — a Friday or Saturday showing might cost more credits. You'll be able to reserve specific seats at some of MoviePass' partner theaters.

Spikes said there'll be ways for people to earn credits through the app via a "preshow experience." In other words, watching ads. To make sure you're actually watching them, the app will employ facial recognition and eye tracking. Yikes. 

MoviePass is also opening up a portion of the company for equity investment. Those who take a stake in will receive benefits, such as a lifetime membership.

If 30 percent of moviegoers become subscribers, the company "could double the annual revenue and attendance of the overall movie industry," Spikes said, though he noted that's a moonshot target. He added that many subscribers of the previous service checked out movies they otherwise might not have gambled on because impulsive movie-watching decisions didn't cost them anything extra.

Spikes and Hamet Watt founded MoviePass in 2011 to offer users a certain number of movie tickets every month as part of a subscription. HMNY bought the company in 2017 and, soon after, changed the pricing model to allow members to see one movie in theaters a day for $10 per month. Although the service blew up and had more than 3 million subscribers at its peak, the business model was unsustainable. MoviePass ultimately declared bankruptcy in January 2020.

Spikes regained ownership of MoviePass in November. He said he bid less than $250,000 for the assets. However, they didn't include customer email addresses or other data, so MoviePass is starting over almost from scratch.

It'll be interesting to see if Moviepass can carve out a place for itself in a cinema landscape that's changed dramatically in recent years. Chains like Regal Cinemas, AMC and Alamo Drafthouse have established their own subscription plans. 

Theaters have struggled over the last couple of years, with the pandemic forcing many to at least temporarily close their doors. But a Web3-based service with a virtual currency and facial recognition component might not be the lifeboat these chains, or their patrons, are looking for.

Amazon is still landing podcast deals in hopes of claiming an edge over rivals like Apple and Spotify. The internet firm has struck a deal with NPR to stream Guy Raz's popular How I Built This podcast one week early on both Amazon Music and Wondery. As with earlier deals, episodes will stream ad-free if you've subscribed to Amazon Music Unlimited or Wondery+.

Wondery will also have the rights to YouTube-based video simulcasts as well as ad sales. NPR will still control radio releases, which will continue as usual.

The strategy is familiar — ideally, fans of the business-focused podcast will switch to Amazon's platforms to listen as soon as possible, and will ideally turn into paying subscribers. The approach is less aggressive than Spotify's emphasis on completely exclusive podcasts, but could give Amazon an edge over Apple and others that rarely or never strike special deals.

For NPR, this also represents the latest phase of a recent podcast push that includes subscriber-only perks. The public broadcaster is eager to boost its funding from online content, and pacts like Amazon's could play an important role in that growth.

The Senate today approved legislation that would keep companies from requiring forced arbitration in cases of sexual misconduct or harassment. The passage is a significant victory for the #MeToo movement, essentially allowing millions of women to take workplace sexual misconduct cases to court rather than settling matters internally. The legislation, which passed unanimously on Thursday, is now headed to President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature.

“No longer will survivors of sexual assault or harassment in the workplace come forward and be told that they are legally forbidden to sue their employer because somewhere in buried their employment contracts was this forced arbitration clause," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in a news conference. Gillibrand, a vocal champion in the realm of sexual harassment law, authored the bill along with Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC). 

Notably, the bill had unanimous support among both Republicans and Democrats in Congress; a rare feat in this current political climate. As Politiconotes, many GOP lawmakers have warmed up to the issue of workplace sexual harassment following a surge of interest in the #MeToo movement. Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson even urged Republican lawmakers to support the bill. 

Many companies have forced arbitration clauses in their employment contracts, which requires employees to give up their right to appear in court if they are harmed by their employer. Instead, the worker and the employer must settle the disputes in a process known as arbitration, which is often private and run by a third party.

More public awareness of the male-dominated, sexist culture in Silicon Valley, as well as activism by employees, has forced many tech companies to re-evaluate their sexual harassment policies. A number of Big Tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft have ended forced arbitration in recent years after facing backlash. Major video game developers such as Riot Games and Activision Blizzard have followed suit. Microsoft even lobbied in support of legislation to end forced arbitration.

Many in favor of forced arbitration believe it allows companies and employees to save money on court costs. But proponents of the practice argue that it inherently benefits the perpetrator, basically barring plaintiffs from speaking publicly about workplace harassment and keeping any testimony, evidence or documents used in the arbitration process completely secret.

In October, Artiphon released an iOS app to allow owners of its quirky Orba musical instrument to create and share music videos. A suite of built-in visual effects make the software a fun and easy way to create musical “selfies” and clips you can upload to places like TikTok and Instagram. If you want to check out the app, you can now do so without first buying the $99 Orba.

Artiphon has updated the software to add optional onscreen controls. Now all you need to do is tap the eight keys displayed on-screen to make music. At the top of the interface, there’s a toggle to switch between drum, bass, chord and lead modes, adding plenty of flexibility to your beatmaking. The app automatically generates visual effects that sync to the music you’re creating, and you have a variety of effects to choose from via a selection carousel. You’re also free to use either the front- or rear-facing camera on your phone to record footage.

You can download the updated Orbacam app starting today for free from the App Store.

You'll want to update your Apple devices soon if you value up-to-the-minute software security. 9to5Macnotes Apple has released iOS 15.3.1, iPadOS 15.3.1, macOS Monterey 12.2.1 and watchOS 8.4.2 updates that all fix a significant WebKit security flaw. Specially crafted websites can take advantage of a "use after free" bug (that is, referencing memory after it's freed for use) to run arbitrary code on your device. This isn't a theoretical exercise, either — Apple said there was at least one report of the vulnerability being "actively exploited" before a patch was ready.

The macOS upgrade also fixes a battery drain issue for Intel-based MacBooks, although 9to5 said users with M1-based Macs have also noticed the glitch. Install the new iOS version, meanwhile, and it should fix a problem with unresponsive Braille displays.

This is the third in-the-wild exploit Apple has patched in 2022, including a kernel flaw as well as a Safari bug that could leak your browser history and Google account info. While they're not exciting upgrades, they do suggest Apple is determined to keep up with would-be attackers — and that there are more threats to deal with in the first place.

Another bill has been introduced in the Senate that takes aim at the spread of misinformation on social media platforms. The proposed legislation seeks to direct the Federal Trade Commission to look into ways of reducing "the harm of algorithmic amplification and social media addiction on covered platforms."

The full text of the bipartisan bill, which was co-authored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) hasn't been published on the Senate website as yet. According to The Verge, were the Social Media NUDGE Act to become law, the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine would look into content-neutral ways to add "friction" to sharing things on social media platforms. The legislation would prompt the FTC to codify the findings and possibly require social media platforms to implement them.

The overarching goal is to impede the spread of misinformation and other harmful material. Some measures along these lines are already in place. Twitter, for instance, asks users if they want to read the contents of a link before retweeting it. The idea is that people will be more informed about what they're sharing with their followers.

The Social Media NUDGE Act has been referred to the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Unlike similar proposals, it wouldn't require any changes to Section 230, a provision of the Communications Decency Act 1996 that shields online platforms from accountability for their users' activity.

A bill that House Democrats introduced in October aims to limit Section 230 protections for "malicious" algorithms by making platforms liable when algorithms are "knowingly or recklessly" used to recommend content that results in physical or "severe emotional" harm. Another bill that was introduced in November would direct platforms to offer users an option to view content without being impacted by recommendation algorithms.

In the Senate, Klobuchar co-sponsored a bill that was submitted last February, which seeks to limit the protections social media platforms have under Section 230. None of these bills have passed their respective committees as yet.

In the months since Apple’s AirTags went on sale last spring, there have been stories of bad actors using the lost item tracker to stalk people. One of the most publicized incidents occured at the start of the year when model Brooks Nader said someone had placed an AirTag in her coat to track her movements for several hours. In an update published today, Apple said it would take additional steps to prevent incidents like that from happening.

In the immediate future, the company will update the device to add a new warning that every user will see when they set up their AirTag for the first time. The notification will remind you that tracking someone without their consent is a crime in many places and that police can request your information from Apple if you misuse the device. To that point, the company notes it has worked with law enforcement on multiple occasions in the past to trace misused AirTags back to their original owners.

At the same time, the company will update its AirPods Pro, AirPods Max and third-generation AirPods, as well as third-party devices that can connect to its Find My network, so that you don’t get an “Unknown Accessory Detected” alert on your iPhone. Instead, iOS will more clearly indicate you’re traveling with a pair of someone else’s AirPods to reduce confusion.

Apple has also updated a support document on its website dedicated to unwanted tracking to include additional on what to do if you believe someone is using its devices to stalk you. The company has additionally added links to organizations like the National Center for Victims of Crime to help those who believe their safety may be at risk.

Later in the year, the company will update the iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 to add a precision finding feature that will allow individuals with those devices to find their way to an unknown AirTag. The tool will display the direction of and distance to an unwanted AirTag. Apple says it also plans to update its unwanted tracking alerts to notify people earlier that someone may be stalking. Lastly, the company will tweak the sound an AirTag emits to ensure it’s as loud as possible and add a backup visual alert you’ll see on your iPhone.

“AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person’s property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products,” the company said. “We design our products to provide a great experience, but also with safety and privacy in mind. Across Apple’s hardware, software, and services teams, we’re committed to listening to feedback.”

Superstition schmuperstition. Google is unveiling the first Android 13 developer preview today and it's clear the company is not going to avoid the "unlucky" number. After all, Apple made a massive amount of money from iPhone 13s. The Android 13 preview is a glimpse of things we can expect from the next generation of Google's mobile OS, and developers can test their apps using the Android emulator or flashing a system image to the Pixel 4 or newer Pixel phones. Based on today's announcement, it looks like we can expect the next version of Android to at least offer finer privacy controls and more of Android 12's Material You design throughout the system.

One of the things this preview brings is a new system photo picker, which can let you share specific local or cloud-based photos more securely. It builds on the existing document picker function with lets you share specific files with an app without having to grant it permission to all media files on your device. The updated photo picker "extends this capability with a dedicated experience for picking photos and videos," Google's vice president of engineering Dave Burke wrote in an announcement post. Developers will need to use the photo picker APIs to enable this feature.

Google

Android 13 also adds a "nearby WiFi devices" permission, which will be required for apps that look for the available WiFi devices in your surroundings. This will allow them to "discover and connect to nearby devices over WiFi without needing location permission." It should let apps that need to find WiFi devices in the area that don't need to know where you are get connected without asking for access to your GPS, which is better for your privacy.

Google is also expanding the Material You adaptive color palette beyond its own apps to all app icons. You'll be able to opt in and have the system apply colors it generated from your wallpaper onto your icons. Developers will need to submit monochrome versions of their app icons and tweak some code. This feature will roll out first on Pixels and Burke said "we’re working with our device manufacturer partners to bring them to more devices."

The developer preview also offers a new tile placement API that lets developers prompt users to add their custom tiles to the Quick Settings panel in the notification shade. With that, users don't have to hunt for these app-specific shortcuts by editing the Quick Settings shade and won't have to leave the app

Google

Other features in this developer preview include a way for apps to more easily set a different language from the system default, improved animations and effects, as well as more feature updates through Google Play. That last one will let Google "push new features like photo picker... directly to users on older versions of Android." Burke also gave a shoutout to Android 12L and devices of varying display sizes and form factors, saying "We’ll also build on some of the newer updates we made in 12L to help you take advantage of the 250+ million large screen Android devices currently running."

Google also shared a release timeline that shows the first beta release is expected around April, with platform stability targeted for June to July. That's in line with how previous versions of Android rolled out, and we're likely to keep hearing about Android 13 in the coming months.

Logitech isn't the only one launching a small light for streamers and vloggers. Elgato has introduced a Key Light Mini that promises strong illumination away from your desk or studio. While its 800-lumen output isn't as powerful as the Corsair brand's 2,800-lumen regular Key Light, it's portable — you can run it on battery for up to four hours at half brightness, which should be enough for an on-the-scene YouTube vlog or TikTok clip.

The Key Light Mini offers the same 2,900K to 7,000K color temperature range as its full-size counterpart, and you can control the diffused light with onboard buttons when the WiFi-based computer and mobile apps aren't an option. A quarter-inch thread lets you mount Elgato's light on a camera or tripod, and you can bypass the battery entirely if you're simply using this to augment your livestreams and video calls at home.

Elgato is selling the Key Light Mini for $100 through Amazon and its own website. That's significantly more than Logitech's $60 Litra Glow, but you're also getting a much brighter display you can take with you. The extra outlay might be easy to rationalize if you either prize mobility or just want more flexibility for tricky lighting conditions.