Universal Audio, which has long been known for its premium audio interfaces and plugins, is moving into a new market as it has revealed its first microphones. As with the company's other gear, expect to pay a pretty penny to get your hands on these.

Universal Audio

The SD-1 Dynamic is on the lower end of the initial lineup. Universal Audio says it's a broadcast-style mic geared toward capturing speech, vocals and instruments. It includes a "cardioid polar pattern and selectable low cut and articulation boost switches." It seems to be Universal Audio's attempt to cut into the market share of Shure's SM7B, a favorite among podcasters. You can pick up the SD-1 Dynamic starting today for $379.

Like the SD-1 Dynamic, the SP-1 Condenser has Apollo interface presets designed to help users attain professional-sounding audio quickly. The SP-1 comprises a pair of pencil microphones that Universal Audio designed to record drums, acoustic instruments and live performances. 

Universal Audio

The company says the SP-1 is designed to block out background noise and off-axis audio. The SP-1 Condenser will be available this summer and cost $499.

At the higher end of the scale is the Sphere L22 Modeling microphone. Universal Audio says that, when paired with the UAD Sphere L22 plugin, the device will be able to replicate 34 classic ribbon, condenser and dynamic mics. 

Universal Audio

It's a "large-diaphragm modeling condenser that pairs a dual-capsule design for stereo or blended mono recording with award-winning mic modeling technology," according to the company. With the ability to mimic many other "sought-after" microphones, it's not too surprising that the Sphere L22 Modeling microphone doesn't come cheap. It's available now for $1,499.

Looking further ahead, Universal Audio plans to release a series of tube and solid-state condenser microphones. The very pretty Bock Series mics are designed by David Bock and should arrive this fall.

Universal Audio

These products aren't really designed for creators who are just starting out (unless they plan to splurge on a high-end setup out of the gate). However, these mics should at least give experienced podcasters, streamers and musicians who want to improve the sound quality of their output more options to consider.

Ukraine is grappling with more cyberattacks as fears of an imminent Russian invasion reach their climax. Netblocks and Gizmodo report Ukraine's defense ministry and two state-owned banks, Oshchadbank and Privatbank, have suffered denial-of-service attacks flooding their sites with traffic. The country's armed forces website also appears to have suffered an attack. BuzzFeed's Christopher Miller described consequences for many Ukranians, including difficulties using some ATMs and other banking services.

The attacks weren't directly attributed to Russia, but they came a month after Ukraine blamed its neighbor for a campaign that played havoc with dozens of government websites. The perpetrators used purely destructive malware disguised as ransomware to inflict significant damage. Russia has previously been accused of relying on cyberwarfare to disrupt and influence political rivals like the European Union and the US, although it has repeatedly denied involvement.

The concern, as you might imagine, is that Russia might be using cyberattacks like these to cause havoc ahead of an invasion the US claimed could happen as soon as tomorrow (February 16th). In theory, it might be more difficult for Ukraine to mount an effective response. The January attacks came and went without military action, however, and these latest incidents wouldn't do much to thwart the Ukrainian military or its allies. If Russia is involved, the disruptions might represent pressure tactics to extract concessions, such as a promise not to join NATO.

It took several months after launch, but Microsoft is finally making Android apps available to most Windows 11 users. As promised in January, the company is rolling out its first major Windows 11 update with an Amazon Appstore "preview" for American users. The preliminary release offers roughly 1,000 apps, including Amazon's own Audible and Kindle apps as well as third-party titles like Lords Mobile and Khan Academy Kids. The selection won't compare to the Google Play Store, but it should create some harmony between your PC and phone.

The upgrade offers OS improvements beyond Android support. The Windows 11 taskbar now lets Teams users quickly mute calls or share any window. The date and time now show on a second monitor, too, while the weather widget's taskbar component shows live information. Microsoft has also revamped Media Player with a focus on a "full-featured" music library, while Notepad offers a reworked interface with a dark mode, simpler menus and features like multi-level undos.

These updates probably won't sway you to install Windows 11 if you weren't before. They do help Microsoft fulfill promises made when it unveiled the software last year, though, and they might provide an incentive to step up before the free upgrade period is over.

We got our first look at Dune: Spice Wars at the 2021 Game Awards, and now developer Shiro Games is giving fans of Frank Herbert’s seminal novels a better look at the project. In a gameplay trailer the studio shared on Tuesday, we see how a game of Spice Wars plays out. Unlike most 4X games, including Civilization VI and Humankind, Spice Wars is part real-time strategy game. That means you won’t have hundreds of turns where you can agonize over every possible move to decide how to lead your faction. That should make decisions like where to send your troops, what settlements to invade and how to engage in diplomacy more impactful.

Of course, each time you move your troops or fight in combat out in the open desert of Arrakis, you’ll need to keep in mind a Sandworm may come to snack on your units. Judging from the trailer, you’ll also have access to agents you can send to organizations like the Spacing Guild, CHOAM and even the Landsraad. When it arrives on Steam Early Access later this year, Spice Wars will feature four playable factions. Naturally, the noble House Atredies and fearsome House Harkonnen are among the groups you can lead.

That the first Dune game in two decades should include RTS elements is fitting. In 1992, Westwood Studios helped established the formula for the genre with the excellent Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty. While the popularity of RTS games has waned in recent years, Dune II’s legacy and influence persist. You wouldn’t have MOBAs like League of Legends if not for the work Westwood Studios and Blizzard did in the early ‘90s.

Facebook’s “News Feed” is no more. After more than 15 years, the company is officially renaming its central feature, which will now be known simply as “Feed.” The company announced the name change in a tweet.

The change, which comes just months after Mark Zuckerberg announced he was renaming the company to Meta, is yet another sign Facebook is trying to shift the perception of its core products. In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said the new moniker was meant “to better reflect the diverse content people see on their Feeds.” They added that the new name won’t change how the feature works in the app.

Still, the removal of "news" from the name will likely be seen as symbolic of the company's changing priorities as it looks toward a future centered on the metaverse, not its social networking app. Facebook’s handling of news stories has long been a thorny issue for the company. Company executives have for years argued that news is only a “small percentage” of what people share on the platform, and the company completely reoriented its feed in 2018 to focus on Facebook friends rather than publishers. (That change came with its own unintended consequences, according to Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. ) 

More recently, Facebook has tried to counter perceptions that polarizing content, particularly from far-right personalities, dominates its Feed. The company has published reports on “widely viewed content,” that argue political content isn’t that popular. And in response to a widely cited Twitter account that ranks the top Facebook Pages using analytics data from CrowdTangle, the company has published its own take on which publishers have the biggest reach on the platform. Those questions have also been central to researchers' fight to understand how content spreads on Facebook. Of course, a superficial name change doesn't resolve any of those issues, but it could help Facebook further bolster its claims that the company is embarking on a new era that won't be defined by the social networking app now seeing declining engagement.

Wordle has been a delightful success story over the last few months. It offers players a deceptively simple word puzzle to give their brain a workout for a few minutes each day. As is often the case, the phenomenon spurred a bevy of imitators and knockoffs. A recent spin on the format taps into another enormous gaming craze from the last few years: the battle royale.

Squabble, which was spotted by Polygon, pits you against other players. You'll need to enter your guesses quickly even though you still only have six attempts to find the correct five-letter word. Players have hit points that gradually deplete and they'll lose some for incorrect guesses. Get a letter right and you'll get some of your HP back and damage opponents. Once all your HP is drained or you run out of guesses, you're out.

There are two modes. Blitz is for between two and five players, while Squabble Royale rounds have between six and 99 competitors.

Games continue until one player remains, so while solving a puzzle quickly is key, you might need to complete a few of them to emerge triumphant. It's a more competitive version of Wordle for folks who love to duke it out with others. 

Best of all, you can create a lobby and invite friends to a private match, so you can square off with them for bragging rights. There's also a replay mode, which lets you see (and make fun of) everyone's guesses in real time.

Meanwhile, there's at least one other word-based battle royale you can check out. Babble Royale hit Steam early access in December. You need to spell words to move and, as in Fortnite and PUBG, make sure you stay in the circle.

It looks like Netflix is headed to Rapture. The company says it's teaming up with 2K and Take-Two Interactive for a film adaptation of the BioShock series. No other details are available as yet, but based on the image Netflix shared in its announcement, it wouldn't be a surprise to see it tackling the first game.

There's a good chance that BioShock will translate well to the big screen (if Netflix does, in fact, opt for a theatrical release). The original 2007 game has a striking Art Deco/underwater setting and an unforgettable story. That's not to mention great characters — though it remains to be seen whether the filmmakers can truly capture the terror of a Big Daddy charging toward you.

The movie isn't the only BioShock project in the works. Cloud Chamber is working on the next installment, which will be the first full game in the series since 2013's BioShock Infinite.

Meta is once again settling a privacy complaint, but this one reaches back — way back. As Varietyreports, the company has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a 2012 class action lawsuit accusing the company of violating users' privacy. Facebook allegedly overstepped its bounds in 2010 and 2011 by using tracking cookies that monitored browsing after users signed out, despite promises to the contrary.

The settlement is still pending approval in a Northern District of California court. Attorneys at DiCello Levitt Gutzler were confident, however, following a 2020 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion that turned the case in their favor. Facebook needed consent for the data collection, the appeals court said, and unlawful use of personal data created "economic harm" even when the data's value remained intact. Meta had succeeded three times in court before the 2020 opinion. The Supreme Court declined to hear Meta's appeal of the Ninth Circuit ruling.

A Meta spokesperson emphasized the age of the case in a statement to Variety, saying it was in the company's "best interest" to settle and "move past this issue." This is the seventh largest privacy- or breach-related in the US, according to the law firm, with another Facebook case (a $650 million payout over facial recognition) topping the chart.

The settlement won't materially affect your privacy when the issues are long in the past. You also shouldn't expect a significant reward if you can make a claim — class actions like this rarely lead to windfalls for affected users, especially when Facebook has so many members. With that said, the outcome is a reminder that Facebook's privacy issues have existed for a long time, and continue to this day.

Last summer, Microsoft teased Clippy would return to Office and a handful of other apps as part of a broader update to more than 1,800 emoji. The new characters reflect the company’s Fluent design language, and, starting today, you can check them out in Microsoft Teams.

To enable the emoji, navigate to the app’s settings menu, then head over to the “About” section and click “Public Preview.” As The Verge notes, you may not see that option to enable them if your IT admin has disabled the ability to preview new features. Otherwise, it’s possible to see the 3D emoji on every platform where you can use Microsoft Teams, including macOS and iOS. Once you’ve enabled them, they’ll appear in chat and channels, as well as in reactions. Some of the characters feature animations, and when it comes to emoji with skin tones, you’ll have six options to choose from.

When Microsoft first introduced Fluent emoji, it said its goal was to design characters that better reflect how people work in the 21st century. A lot of workplaces have come to value emotional honesty and playfulness and these characters lean into those traits. “Because being playful or highly expressive doesn’t come easily to everyone, emoji are the perfect little helpers,” the company said. “Far from being frivolous or ornamental, they’re extensions of our own humanity and an important communication tool.”

Much of the innovation on true wireless earbuds hasn’t included overall design. Sure, companies have extended battery life and added a slew of new features, but the primary exterior advances have been in reducing size rather than drastically changing the aesthetic. Well, Sony would like to have a word. Today, the company announced one of the most unique sets of true wireless earbuds we’ve seen.

Dubbed the LinkBuds ($180), this tiny set features an entirely open wear style that lets outside noise in by design rather than relying on an ambient sound mode. And Sony didn’t just build something that sits outside of your ear either. The company designed a circular driver that is entirely open in the middle, like a donut. As we’ve seen in the past, the always transparent audio presents a number of challenges to sound quality. Has Sony cracked the code or do the LinkBuds prioritize convenience over audio?

Design

This isn’t the first time Sony has tried its hand at an “open-style concept.” Back in 2017, the company debuted what would become known as the Xperia Ear Duo. These true wireless earbuds featured an open ring that sat outside of your ear canal with all of the necessary tech stored in an attached case that sat behind your lobes. They slid on from the bottom and they looked and felt awkward. Since then, Sony has primarily focused on more “traditional” true wireless earbuds with a component that actually goes inside your ear canal with a silicone or foam tip on the end.

The LinkBuds are a massive advance on the Xperia Ear Duo. True wireless tech has come a long way in the last five years, allowing companies like Sony to drastically reduce the overall size of earbuds. Here, there’s an IPX4-rated two-part design with a tiny dome-shaped housing holding the bulk of the components. Attached to it is an open circle that holds the ring-shaped speaker unit. The entire thing is made of hard plastic, save for the flexible “fit supporters” that help hold the LinkBuds in place.

Billy Steele/Engadget

Unlike the Galaxy Buds Live from Samsung or Bose’s Sport Open Earbuds, the Sony LinkBuds open up in the middle of the driver rather than putting a small speaker outside of your ear and not sealing off the canal. Due to this and the chosen materials, the LinkBuds aren’t as comfortable at the Galaxy Buds Live as there actually is something stuck into the opening of your ear. It’s just not shoved in too far like a typical set of earbuds. I don’t know how you could protect the driver and make that area softer, but a little cushion there would go a long way. And slightly more rigid “fit supporters” may help keep the LinkBuds in place slightly better.

Features and software

As we saw on the WF-1000XM4, Sony isn’t afraid to absolutely pack its true wireless earbuds full of tech, and that continues on the LinkBuds. First, the company opted for a touch-based setup for the controls, only you don’t touch the buds to complete the task. You tap right in front of your ear. A forward-facing motion sensor detects vibrations when you do so, allowing you to play/pause, skip tracks (forwards and backwards), adjust volume or summon a voice assistant. However, only double and triple tap gestures are in play here, so you only get four slots – two per side – to pick your most-needed actions. Thankfully, some folks can skip the voice assistant here as the LinkBuds offer hands-free access to Google Assistant (Android only) and Alexa.

Sony calls the technology Wide Area Tap and it’s remarkably reliable when you’re trying to use it as intended. However, I noticed that whenever I was chewing while listening to music or a podcast, the LinkBuds would often be tricked into thinking I just made some taps. That’s likely due to the protrusion of my jaw as I bite down. You can disable Wide Area Tap entirely if this happens to you, but you’ll have to reach for your phone to control the tunes which isn’t a great alternative.

The company also brought along some of the best features from the WF-1000XM4, including Speak-to-Chat. This tool automatically pauses the audio when you start talking, so you don’t have to awkwardly tap when someone walks up for a quick convo. Sony has refined the feature a bit too, allowing you to choose between three pause lengths (5, 15 or 30 seconds) before the LinkBuds will pick up where you left off. You can now adjust the voice detect sensitivity with automatic, high and low settings. Adaptive Volume Control also returns, the option that can tweak the level if the sound of your environment gets louder, and then go back once things quiet down.

Billy Steele/Engadget

As always, the Sony Headphones Connect app provides a host of handy items. You’ll get battery levels for individual earbuds and the case right up top on the main screen with media and volume controls underneath. Tap over to the Sound tab and you have the option to enable Speak-to-Chat alongside audio presets and manual EQ settings. There’s also the ability to redo the 360 Reality Audio analysis that personalizes sound based on photos of your ears. Lastly, DSEE is an option you can allow to do its thing automatically. As a refresher, DSEE or Digital Sound Enhancement Engine is Sony’s upscaling tech that attempts to improve compressed audio by restoring the “natural, expansive sound” when it’s enabled.

The System tab is the next option over and it’s where you can activate Adaptive Volume Control, customize/disable Wide Area Tap, adjust the automatic power off duration, disable automatic pausing when you remove an earbud and more. One of the Wide Area Tap options will allow you to automatically pick up on Spotify where you left off. Appropriately named Spotify Tap, the feature can also provide a personalized recommendation with an additional tap.

Sound quality

Sony designed a 12mm ring-shaped driver for the LinkBuds. This is how the part that goes into your ear is able to be open in the middle. It also means that a considerable amount of outside noise is coming in at all times. That convenience is the whole idea, but don’t expect flagship-level audio to accompany your environmental murmur or roar. The LinkBuds certainly allow you to tune into both your location and some music or a podcast, but you don’t necessarily get the best of both worlds.

Overall, the sound is a bit flat and compressed across genres. Chaotic metal like Every Time I DIe’s Radical is subdued, largely because the booming bass and dynamic details in the instruments are both restrained. The bluegrass stylings of Punch Brothers and other acoustic styles sound pretty good, but hip-hop is a mess. The bass on albums like Kendrik Lamar’s DAMN. almost pops instead of bumping. During my tests, I noticed the sound is actually pretty good if I push the LinkBuds further into my ear canals. The problem is they don’t stay here and it’s very uncomfortable. In the spot where the earbuds sit on their own for me, in accordance with Sony’s wear directions, the sound is just… there… for some genres.

Billy Steele/Engadget

LinkBuds support Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. If you’re unfamiliar, the format is designed to be more immersive, with simulated positioning of sound sources and instruments “around” the listener. The issue has always been that content is limited and accessing it requires a hifi music subscription from the likes of Amazon, Tidal or Deezer. Similar to other devices, 360RA tracks on LinkBuds are noticeably louder and have more presence than the same songs on Apple Music and other services. To me they sound better, but I will admit the open nature of these earbuds doesn’t exactly lend itself to listening in spatial audio. It's an experience best reserved for over-ear headphones or properly equipped speakers.

There’s no ANC here, but not countering noise is the whole point.. Sony made the LinkBuds for constant use, linking “online and offline worlds – hence the name. There’s no effort given to trying to block out the world around, but rather to enable you to be ever present by design. You can counter distractions with volume here, but even then you’ll still be subject to them even when you’re listening to music or a podcast. So if you want earbuds that will help you silence the roar so you can focus or relax, these aren’t them. And again, they aren’t meant to be.

When it comes to calls, Sony says “precise voice pickup technology” employs signal processing and a noise reduction algorithm to quiet ambient rumbling and focus on your speech. Lots of companies make claims about call quality that ultimately don’t pan out, but Sony comes through. Constant background roar like a white noise machine is cut out almost entirely as are distractions like TV dialogue. You still sound like you’re on speakerphone to the person on the other end, but at least the rumble of the room on your end won’t be as much of an issue.

Battery life

Sony promises up to five and a half hours on the LinkBuds themselves, with another 12 hours in the charging case. During my tests, I managed almost six hours of use before having to dock the earbuds, consistently getting around 30 minutes more than advertised. There’s no wireless charging here, but a 10-minute plug-in will give you 90 minutes of use. Honestly, the charging case for the LinkBuds is so small, I’d rather that component remain compact than for Sony to make it larger to fit any Qi-compatible bits.

The competition

Sony isn’t the only company to try the open fit concept on true wireless earbuds. Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live have an “open type” design that covers your ears, but everything sits on the outside. This model is equipped with ANC, though it doesn’t offer robust sound blocking since your ear canal isn’t sealed off. Audio also isn’t the best, especially at high volumes. However, you get the added comfort of not having something shoved in your ear at all. Combine that with always-on Bixby, wireless charging, iOS integration and customizable controls, and you’ve got a decent set of earbuds. If you can live with the bean jokes, the going rate is around $100.

Another recent take on the open-ear idea are the Bose Sport Open Earbuds. These have a behind-the-ear hook design similar to the Powerbeats Pro and other fitness buds. Despite good battery life, reliable controls and the inherent merits of an open design, these earbuds don’t come with a charging case (it's more of a dock) and you can’t really customize them to your needs. What’s more, the hard plastic construction means they’re not very comfortable and the design actually hinders sound quality to a degree. Plus, they’re more expensive than Sony’s LinkBuds at $199.

Wrap-up

Sony largely succeeded at what it set out to do: It built a set of true wireless earbuds that offers transparent audio by design rather than relying on microphones to pipe in ambient sound. Indeed, the LinkBuds blend your music, podcasts or videos with whatever is going on around you. There are certainly benefits for this, whether it be the ability to be less of a jerk in the office or to stay safe outdoors.

Even with all of the handy tech Sony packs in, earbuds need to be comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time, and the area around the unique ring-shaped drivers is simply too hard to be accommodating. Consistent audio performance would make a big difference, too. For now, the LinkBuds are an interesting product that could be more compelling with some refinements. Hopefully Sony will do just that, because I’m very much looking forward to version 2.0.

The LinkBuds are available to order today from Amazon and Best Buy in grey and white color options for $180.