Reddit has teamed up with Adobe as part of its push into original content. Its first live show is an comedy competition series called PsBattles Live, which will stream on the r/PsBattlesLive subreddit every day this week. 

Shrill star Patti Harrison hosts PsBattles Live, which will stream at 3PM ET every day. Moderators will challenge the community to edit images in creative ways using Photoshop. The broadcast will highlight some of the entries and encourage members of the community to vote for their favorites. A panel of comedians will provide commentary on the creations. 

There don't seem to be any major real-world prizes up for grabs. According to Reddit, those who take part will earn "points, community awards and internet glory" — so pretty much what they'd get for sharing weird, wild and funny photoshopped images on Reddit anyway. Still, this is a neat way to shine a spotlight on the creativity of Reddit users. Reddit and Adobe are launching the series to mark the 10th anniversary of the the r/photoshopbattles subreddit, which has more than 17.4 million members. 

“Reddit users contribute more than 110k original artworks on the platform every month and r/photoshop battles is one of our most vibrant examples of a community coming together to create and collaborate over a shared passion, which is what our platform is all about,” Reddit chief marketing officer Roxy Young said. “PsBattles Live is not only a celebration of one of our most beloved Reddit communities, it is the latest immersive experience from our longstanding partners at Adobe."

Clubhouse has proven to be a big hit with musicians, helping them try out material on an audience and even create viral hits. Now, the site is becoming more useful to bands and singers with a new feature called music mode, the company announced in a blog post. 

The new mode appears in the three-dot menu under "audio quality," with a new selection called "music." Clubhouse didn't reveal any of the audio specs, but said it lets users broadcast with high quality in stereo. "You’ll also be able to use professional audio equipment for your performance, like external USB microphones or mixing boards," it wrote. Users will also be able to add the mode to pre-recorded Clips, "so any snippets you share from performers using music mode will also sound great," according to Clubhouse.

The new feature is the second boost to sound quality over the last couple of months. Late in August, Clubhouse added spatial audio to create more immersive audio chats, making speakers' voices come from different parts of the room.  

Along with the music mode, Clubhouse rolled out a couple of new tweaks, moving the search bar to the top of the feed and allowing users to wave at each other through the search bar, on iOS to start with. The new features will roll out to iOS first, "with Android as a fast follow," the company wrote. 

Virgin Galactic has suffered yet another setback. On Thursday, the company told CNBC it has delayed the start of its commercial space tourism service to the fourth quarter of 2022. It had previously hoped to begin offering paid spaceflights sometime in the third quarter of next year.

With the delay, the company will begin refurbishing both its carrier airplane and spacecraft this month. Virgin Galactic says it expects the entire process should take between eight to 10 months. As a result of the move, Unity 23, the company’s next flight, won’t take off until mid-2022 at the earliest.

“The re-sequencing of our enhancement period and the Unity 23 flight underscores our safety-first procedures, provides the most efficient path to commercial service, and is the right approach for our business and our customers,” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a statement.

The delay is not connected to the recent investigation the FAA conducted into Unity 22, the flight that took Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson to the edge of space. The federal agency cleared the company for future flights after completing the investigation. 

If you want to re-watch the original Cowboy Bebop show before Netflix's live adaptation drops, you don't have to go to another streaming service. Netflix has acquired the global streaming rights for all 26 episodes of the anime, and they'll be available for streaming starting on October 21st, just a few weeks before the November 19th debut of the live series' first season. The Cowboy Bebop anime first premiered in Japan in 1998 before making its way to the US via Adult Swim three years later. While it won't be available on Netflix until the 21st, it's currently streamable on Hulu. 

One might say that adding the anime to its catalogue before the live adaptation's debut is bold on Netflix's part, as it would make it easier to compare the two — especially since live anime adaptations haven't been typically well received. There's a way to merge the two shows if you think you'd enjoy it that way a lot more, though. 

According to Entertainment Weekly, the anime's original voice actors are reprising their roles for the Japanese dub of the live action series. They include Koichi Yamadera as Spike, Taiten Kusunoki as Jet and Megumi Hayashibara as Faye. It's also worth noting that original composer Yoko Kanno and original director Shinichirō Watanabe are both involved in the Netflix show. The live action adaptation stars John Cho as Spike, Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black and Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine. And, of course, an adorable corgi as Ein.

Disney and Scarlett Johansson are no longer on the outs. The parties have reached a settlement for the lawsuit Johansson filed over the hybrid release strategy used for Black Widow. If you'll recall, the actor sued Disney over the company's decision to release her movie in theaters and on Disney+ at the same time, accusing the entertainment giant of breach of contract. 

Johansson's camp argued that Black Widow was supposed to be released in theaters exclusively under her deal with Marvel. According to the lawsuit she filed, she could lose as much as $50 million due to the hybrid release, seeing as her compensation is tied directly with the movie's box office success and doesn't include a cut from what Disney would make from streaming. People have had to pay $30 for a Premier Access pass to watch the movie on Disney+, and the company said Black Widow earned $60 million from streaming during its opening weekend. 

Her lawsuit also said that her camp tried to contact Disney and Marvel to re-negotiate their deal, but they were allegedly unresponsive. Neither party disclosed the terms of their agreement, but both issued a statement mentioning future collaborations. Alan Bergman, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, said he looks "forward to working together on a number of upcoming projects, including Disney's Tower of Terror."

Meanwhile, entertainment workers are gearing up for a strike because studios like Disney are rapidly producing content after pandemic-related restrictions had lifted. The situation led to poor working conditions with long hours and no breaks for production crew. Entertainment unions are hoping to convince studios to make changes, including ending the lower pay scale for smaller streaming services. Under the current rules, streaming services with fewer than 20 million subscribers like Apple TV+ does can pay their workers lower wages.

Twitch might have another way to deter "hate raids" and similar abuse: make it impractical to create a troll account. The livestreaming service has introduced an option that lets streamers and moderators require one-time phone or email verification for chatters. Broadcasters can either require it for everyone or set exemptions based on account age, follow duration or status. A streamer can require verification only for first-timers, for example, or waive the requirement for subscribers and VIPs.

The company will allow as many as five accounts to verify through one phone number for the sake of businesses. However, trolls can't rely on this to evade bans. Twitch will ban every account linked to a phone number if one of them faces a ban, whether it's one channel or across the entire service. You also can't use VOIP or landline numbers

Twitch said it would gauge the impact of verification after launch. It also teased plans for another tool to fight ban evasion in the "coming months."

This might not spook the most determined harassers. They may create new email addresses or borrow phone numbers. It might reduce the dependence on moderators to curb bad behavior, however, and could discourage 'casual' harassment from those who were previously unafraid to lose their accounts. Don't be surprised if you see fewer hit-and-run incidents the next time you're watching a stream.

Amazon and Disney has just announced a new voice assistant called "Hey, Disney!". Built on Amazon's Alexa technology, this new Disney assistant will be available in your home Echo as well as in Echo devices located in Walt Disney World Resort hotel rooms. You can use it to interact with characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and more. It is the first time an Alexa custom assistant will be available on Echo devices.

According to Amazon, this voice assistant will give you access to interactive storytelling experiences and entertainment featuring Disney characters. You can also play games and access jokes set in the Disney world. You can also use the "Hey, Disney!" assistant to set timers and alarms, or check the weather.

In Disney's hotel rooms, the voice assistant can be used to make your stay more pleasant. It can answer questions, fulfill special requests (like if you want more towels for example) and more. It's part of a new Alexa for Hospitality program that allows hotels to deploy Amazon Echo products at scale and feature customized screens as well. 

Amazon

The "Hey, Disney!" assistant will be available for purchase in the Alexa SKills Store in the US starting in 2022. At the same time, Amazon also introduced a new Disney edition of OtterBox Den Series stand for the Echo Show 5 that has Mickey ears. It's available for pre-order for $24.99.

Follow all of the news from Amazon’s fall hardware event right here!

The Void, which created in-person VR experiences but was forced to shutter its business last year during the pandemic, may be coming back. A former investor may be planning to relaunch it with key employees after acquiring the IP and other assets, according to a report from Protocol. 

In its heyday, The Void counted investors like Disney and Comcast, and created high-profile VR titles like Avengers: Damage Control, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire and Ghostbusters: Dimension. It created theme park-type centers that allowed visitors to don VR headsets, backpacks and tactile vests to explore VR worlds complete with real-life touches like functioning doors and other props. 

Unfortunately, the company's choice to launch in high-end malls saddled it with debt, and the pandemic eventually forced it to close. After seeking protection from creditors, it transferred assets to a holding company which planned to resell them or relaunch after the pandemic. It ended up doing the former, selling its business to a company called Hyper Reality Partners (HRP) earlier this year.

HRP has reportedly signed key employees who previously worked for The Void, including its Chief Creative Officer Curtis Hickman and VPs of Content Jason Howard and Steve Shaiken. According to a placeholder page on the site, "The Void [and HRP] are now entering a period of rapid expansion and are looking for more talented team members to join us. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of VR and the entire entertainment industry." 

In its prior incarnation, The Void spent millions developing its own Oculus-based headset, VR backpacks and accessories. However, it supposedly plans to relaunch with new equipment, possibly because the old gear has been made obsolete by lighter devices and new standalone headsets. It's reportedly also looking to open its own, larger venues with non-VR attractions along with food and beverage services. There's no timeline for that yet, but its first new location will reportedly be in Las Vegas. 

YouTube Music is rolling out to some Wear OS 2 smartwatches starting today. Gen 6 smartwatches from Fossil and Michael Kors will be able to stream music from the service, as will Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, Pro 3 Cellular/LTE and E3 models. The app was previously released for Wear OS 3 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.

It's the first YouTube Music smartwatch app that supports offline listening. If you're a YouTube Music Premium subscriber, you can download songs you can listen to offline and without ads. You'll be able to leave your phone at home and still listen to music while you work out or go for a walk.

The app includes the Smart Downloads feature, which updates the songs on your device when it connects to WiFi. Google says Premium subscribers can listen to more than 80 million songs and thousands of playlists from their wearable. The app, which is available through the Google Play Store, will hit more Wear OS 2 devices later this year.

Spotify rolled out an updated version of its Wear OS app last month. It also lets users download music to their smartwatch and stream tracks without the need to have a phone nearby.

A three-part documentary series on DC Comics is coming to HBO Max, according to Deadline. Warner Bros. Unscripted Television is producing the documentary, which will detail the influence and legacy of DC from the time it was established and the time Superman was born in the 1930s. The division is working with Leslie Iwerks (as co-director and executive producer) and Greg Berlanti (as executive producer) for the project. 

Iwerks is known for several other high-profile documentaries, including The Pixar Story that showed audiences what happens behind the scenes at the animation studio and The Imagineering Story, which gives viewers a look at how Disney develops rides and attractions for its parks. She will co-direct the documentary with Mark Catalena, who served as editor for The Imagineering Story. Meanwhile, Berlanti is a prolific writer, director and producer who'd previously worked on Doom Patrol, Supergirl, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Superman and Lois, The Flash and Black Lightning.

Jim Lee, DC's Publisher and Chief Creative Officer, said in a statement:

"DC has a rich legacy of over 80 years of iconic storytelling: from the introduction of the genre defining Super Hero Superman in 1938 to the amazing movies, TV shows, cartoons, games and comics which have been synonymous with superheroism for generations thereafter. We are so excited to dive into this history and bring fans along this amazing journey."

The docu series doesn't have a release date yet, but it will expand HBO Max's DC offerings further when it arrives. WarnerMedia started migrating all DC Universe content to HBO Max last year, making the former streaming platform a comics-only subscription service.