Month: August 2024
Marshall’s new portable speakers drop the bass with louder output and smarter features
Marshall’s Emberton III has the more powerful output while the Willen II is the better travel buddy thanks to small size.
Summer may be winding down, but that hasn’t stopped Marshall from keeping the party going. The audio brand has recently revealed two new wireless speakers: the Emberton III and the Willen II. At a glance, the former looks identical to the Emberton II from 2022, still resembling a mini guitar amplifier. But don’t worry – this isn’t just an encore, as the next-gen model introduces several improvements.
Like its predecessor, the Emberton III sports the company’s ‘True Stereophonic’ sound for outputting rich multidirectional sound. The tech has spatial qualities, making it seem like audio follows you as you listen.
What’s different is that it now has more bass and ‘Dynamic Loudness’ to actively “[adjust] the tonal balance as you change the volume.” The result is a consistently optimized experience that promises to sound great, no matter the volume level.
(Image credit: Marshall)
Marshall states that the Emberton III supports Bluetooth LE, a unique version of the Bluetooth standard that focuses more on better “audio quality, reduced power consumption, and improved interoperability.” This, in turn, enables Auracast, which lets the speakers act as a source for external devices like headphones. This feature puts the model head and shoulders above the previous generation.
However, Auracast will not be available at launch, but it is promised to arrive as an over-the-air update in the Marshall Bluetooth app. Other notable features include a microphone for phone calls, a battery life of over 32 hours, and an IP67 resistance rating, which allows it to survive brief submersion underwater.
Compact and travel-friendly
The second model is the smaller Willen II, and it has some similarities to the larger device, like support for Bluetooth LE and the built-in microphone, with a handful of key differences. Marshall gave their speaker a fastening strap on the back so you can attach it anywhere it’ll fit.
Most likely due to its size, the Willen II lacks True Stereophonic, meaning the audio output won’t be as powerful or immersive as the Emberton III. Also, it has a shorter battery, peaking at around 17 hours of playtime. Still, this is the one for you if you want something that can fit inside a bag.
Pre-orders are currently open. The Marshall Emberton III retails for $170/£150/€179, while the Willen costs $120/£100/€120. You have your choice of two color schemes: Black And Brass and Cream. The global shipping date is set for August 26.
If you’re interested in other options, be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of the best Bluetooth speakers for 2024. We have a ton of recommendations “for any budget”.
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National Public Data Published Its Own Passwords
Security researcher Brian Krebs writes: New details are emerging about a breach at National Public Data (NPD), a consumer data broker that recently spilled hundreds of millions of Americans’ Social Security Numbers, addresses, and phone numbers online. KrebsOnSecurity has learned that another NPD data broker which shares access to the same consumer records inadvertently published the passwords to its back-end database in a file that was freely available from its homepage until today. In April, a cybercriminal named USDoD began selling data stolen from NPD. In July, someone leaked what was taken, including the names, addresses, phone numbers and in some cases email addresses for more than 272 million people (including many who are now deceased). NPD acknowledged the intrusion on Aug. 12, saying it dates back to a security incident in December 2023. In an interview last week, USDoD blamed the July data leak on another malicious hacker who also had access to the company’s database, which they claimed has been floating around the underground since December 2023.
Following last week’s story on the breadth of the NPD breach, a reader alerted KrebsOnSecurity that a sister NPD property — the background search service recordscheck.net — was hosting an archive that included the usernames and password for the site’s administrator. A review of that archive, which was available from the Records Check website until just before publication this morning (August 19), shows it includes the source code and plain text usernames and passwords for different components of recordscheck.net, which is visually similar to nationalpublicdata.com and features identical login pages. The exposed archive, which was named “members.zip,” indicates RecordsCheck users were all initially assigned the same six-character password and instructed to change it, but many did not. According to the breach tracking service Constella Intelligence, the passwords included in the source code archive are identical to credentials exposed in previous data breaches that involved email accounts belonging to NPD’s founder, an actor and retired sheriff’s deputy from Florida named Salvatore “Sal” Verini.
Reached via email, Mr. Verini said the exposed archive (a .zip file) containing recordscheck.net credentials has been removed from the company’s website, and that the site is slated to cease operations “in the next week or so.” “Regarding the zip, it has been removed but was an old version of the site with non-working code and passwords,” Verini told KrebsOnSecurity. “Regarding your question, it is an active investigation, in which we cannot comment on at this point. But once we can, we will [be] with you, as we follow your blog. Very informative.” The leaked recordscheck.net source code indicates the website was created by a web development firm based in Lahore, Pakistan called creationnext.com, which did not return messages seeking comment. CreationNext.com’s homepage features a positive testimonial from Sal Verini.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Security researcher Brian Krebs writes: New details are emerging about a breach at National Public Data (NPD), a consumer data broker that recently spilled hundreds of millions of Americans’ Social Security Numbers, addresses, and phone numbers online. KrebsOnSecurity has learned that another NPD data broker which shares access to the same consumer records inadvertently published the passwords to its back-end database in a file that was freely available from its homepage until today. In April, a cybercriminal named USDoD began selling data stolen from NPD. In July, someone leaked what was taken, including the names, addresses, phone numbers and in some cases email addresses for more than 272 million people (including many who are now deceased). NPD acknowledged the intrusion on Aug. 12, saying it dates back to a security incident in December 2023. In an interview last week, USDoD blamed the July data leak on another malicious hacker who also had access to the company’s database, which they claimed has been floating around the underground since December 2023.
Following last week’s story on the breadth of the NPD breach, a reader alerted KrebsOnSecurity that a sister NPD property — the background search service recordscheck.net — was hosting an archive that included the usernames and password for the site’s administrator. A review of that archive, which was available from the Records Check website until just before publication this morning (August 19), shows it includes the source code and plain text usernames and passwords for different components of recordscheck.net, which is visually similar to nationalpublicdata.com and features identical login pages. The exposed archive, which was named “members.zip,” indicates RecordsCheck users were all initially assigned the same six-character password and instructed to change it, but many did not. According to the breach tracking service Constella Intelligence, the passwords included in the source code archive are identical to credentials exposed in previous data breaches that involved email accounts belonging to NPD’s founder, an actor and retired sheriff’s deputy from Florida named Salvatore “Sal” Verini.
Reached via email, Mr. Verini said the exposed archive (a .zip file) containing recordscheck.net credentials has been removed from the company’s website, and that the site is slated to cease operations “in the next week or so.” “Regarding the zip, it has been removed but was an old version of the site with non-working code and passwords,” Verini told KrebsOnSecurity. “Regarding your question, it is an active investigation, in which we cannot comment on at this point. But once we can, we will [be] with you, as we follow your blog. Very informative.” The leaked recordscheck.net source code indicates the website was created by a web development firm based in Lahore, Pakistan called creationnext.com, which did not return messages seeking comment. CreationNext.com’s homepage features a positive testimonial from Sal Verini.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Waymo’s New Robotaxi Will Feature Fewer Sensors To Help Lower Costs
Waymo has unveiled its sixth-generation robotaxi, an electric minivan made by Chinese automaker Zeekr. While the company claims it’s more advanced than previous generations, it features fewer sensors to help reduce costs. The Verge reports: [W]ithin its high-powered computer, it contains all the learnings of the previous five generations of Waymo’s autonomous vehicles, meaning it won’t have to do as much real-world testing as past models before it can be rolled out to the public. But looming over Waymo’s assertion that its new robotaxi will be cheaper to produce is the possibility that it could also be subject to costly new tariffs against Chinese-made electric vehicles. Earlier this year, the Biden administration said it would quadruple tariffs on EVs from China to 100 percent, from the current 25 percent, as a way to “protect American workers and American companies from China’s unfair trade practices.” […]
Waymo says the sixth-gen robotaxi will feature a streamlined sensor suite of “16 cameras, 5 lidar, 6 radar, and an array of external audio receivers (EARs).” These sensors will help provide “overlapping fields of view, all around the vehicle, up to 500 meters away, day and night, and in a range of weather conditions.” That’s the equivalent of over five football fields of visible range. Waymo’s use of multiple sensors is important for redundancy, in which multiple sensors and cameras can ensure the vehicle can continue to detect and respond to its surroundings if something fails. It’s unclear where and when the new sixth-gen robotaxis will first appear. “Waymo currently operates in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, with plans to launch commercial service in Austin, Texas,” notes the report. “The company has been manually testing the Zeekr-made minivans on public roads, with the goal of adding them to its commercial fleet sometime soon.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Waymo has unveiled its sixth-generation robotaxi, an electric minivan made by Chinese automaker Zeekr. While the company claims it’s more advanced than previous generations, it features fewer sensors to help reduce costs. The Verge reports: [W]ithin its high-powered computer, it contains all the learnings of the previous five generations of Waymo’s autonomous vehicles, meaning it won’t have to do as much real-world testing as past models before it can be rolled out to the public. But looming over Waymo’s assertion that its new robotaxi will be cheaper to produce is the possibility that it could also be subject to costly new tariffs against Chinese-made electric vehicles. Earlier this year, the Biden administration said it would quadruple tariffs on EVs from China to 100 percent, from the current 25 percent, as a way to “protect American workers and American companies from China’s unfair trade practices.” […]
Waymo says the sixth-gen robotaxi will feature a streamlined sensor suite of “16 cameras, 5 lidar, 6 radar, and an array of external audio receivers (EARs).” These sensors will help provide “overlapping fields of view, all around the vehicle, up to 500 meters away, day and night, and in a range of weather conditions.” That’s the equivalent of over five football fields of visible range. Waymo’s use of multiple sensors is important for redundancy, in which multiple sensors and cameras can ensure the vehicle can continue to detect and respond to its surroundings if something fails. It’s unclear where and when the new sixth-gen robotaxis will first appear. “Waymo currently operates in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, with plans to launch commercial service in Austin, Texas,” notes the report. “The company has been manually testing the Zeekr-made minivans on public roads, with the goal of adding them to its commercial fleet sometime soon.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
GoPro to cut 15% of workforce as future remains uncertain
Trouble deepens for GoPro after the action camera maker announced on Monday that it plans to reduce its workforce by about 15% this year as part of a major restructuring effort to lower operating costs. The once high-flying camera maker is
The post GoPro to cut 15% of workforce as future remains uncertain first appeared on Tech Startups.
Trouble deepens for GoPro after the action camera maker announced on Monday that it plans to reduce its workforce by about 15% this year as part of a major restructuring effort to lower operating costs. The once high-flying camera maker is […]
The post GoPro to cut 15% of workforce as future remains uncertain first appeared on Tech Startups.