Technology

Radio is seeing red

Published

10 months ago

March 13, 2024

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Hello! It’s been a bit since we checked in on the news. Today, I’ve got a look at the ongoing financial troubles at NPR member stations, the shutdown of Rooster Teeth, and the new season of Serial.

Woes mounting at NPR member stations: “Sponsorship dollars won’t return to previous levels.”

Two more public radio stations are discussing how they plan to get out of the red: Colorado Public Radio, which is adopting the “broadcast-to-podcast” strategy, and WBUR in Boston, which is appealing to listeners for donations before taking any next steps.

Colorado Public Radio laid off 15 members of its staff last week and closed its podcast-focused Audio Innovations Studio. Like at WNYC and NPR, CPR is focusing on news content that can easily adapt to broadcast and digital distribution.

Citing the same donor and sponsorship woes faced by the rest of the industry, CPR CEO Stewart Vanderwilt said that the cuts were necessary to put the station on better financial footing. In another move that sounds like WNYC deja vu, he said that what remains of the podcasting operation will focus on local news. Skye Pillsbury also reports that two producers will come on to support the newsroom.

“We are shifting our focus to news-based podcast products — and I would say at the intersection of news and long-form storytelling,” he said in an interview with Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner. “There’s a couple of reasons for that. One, it’s where we have a very specific strength. Two, we have a lot of the base material in original news that we’ve produced, which can then be used in a podcast or on-demand type project.”

WBUR in Boston may be on a similar path, but not before CEO Margaret Low appealed to listeners to help the station avoid cuts. “In the last five years, our annual on-air sponsorship income (underwriting) has dropped by more than 40 percent,” Low wrote in an open letter. “Sponsorship dollars won’t return to previous levels. These are not temporary ups and downs. They’re long-term shifts.” The next step, she said, could be pay freezes and layoffs.

It’s a stark message that (hopefully) drums up some dollars from dedicated listeners. But such contributions won’t address the main point she makes: the challenges faced by the audio industry are not all that distinct from what is happening to media on a broader scale. Instead of pointing to a skittish ad industry, she sees the problem as more systemic.

“The old economics of our business can no longer sustain us,” she wrote. “In the digital age, almost all that money now goes to the big platforms — like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Spotify. This is bad news for the news business and has created big gaps that can’t easily be filled.”

For-profit media companies have struggled to adapt to the new landscape, and public outlets are even more limited in how they can make up that revenue. I don’t have answers, but if you have thoughts on this, feel free to reach out.

And, as ever, support your local public radio station! You could be as cool as me with my Brian Lehrer hat.

Rooster Teeth shuts down, podcast network up for sale

It’s another digital media shutdown, this time at the hands of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. In addition to shelving movies to save on marketing costs, the company under his leadership has been selling off assets at a pace. Rooster Teeth is next on the list of properties to shut down, with the only component left standing (for now) being the podcast network.

Last week, Rooster Teeth general manager Jordan Levin emailed staff notifying them of the closure. “It’s with a heavy heart I announce that Rooster Teeth is shutting down due to challenges facing digital media resulting from fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization across platforms, advertising, and patronage,” he said, according to a memo obtained by Variety. “The Roost Podcast Network will continue operating and fulfilling its obligations while WBD evaluates outside interest in acquiring this growing asset.” About 150 employees were laid off.

Rooster Teeth first made a name for itself in the early aughts as a pre-YouTube hub for web series like Red vs. Blue. But its podcasts, including H3 Podcast and Rooster Teeth Podcast, have proven to be a bigger draw in recent years. There is no news yet regarding a possible acquisition of the podcast network.

**A new season of Serial is coming this month**

Some news out of On Air Fest last week: Serial is returning on March 28th. Ten years after the hit podcast debuted, Serial will tackle the history of Guantanamo.

Serial host Sarah Koenig said at an OAF panel that she and her fellow producers have been working on how to tell this story for a decade. “Dana [Chivvis] and I tried for years to figure out how to make a story that captures what it’s really like there for the people caught inside this massive, flawed experiment — not just the prisoners, but also the staff who built it and ran it. For so long, all the best stories we heard were off the record. But now people are ready to talk,” she said.

Serial, which was developed as a spinoff of This American Life, was sold to The New York Times in 2020. Since its blockbuster debut, the show has published seasons telling the stories of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, a soldier who was held captive by the Taliban and then charged with desertion, and of the ordinary events at a courthouse in Cleveland.

Technology

Honor’s Magic 7 Pro looks flagship through and through

Published

5 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Honor’s Magic 7 Pro looks flagship through and through

Honor’s flagship Magic 7 Pro launches in the UK and Europe today, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite and protected by top-tier water-resistance. It also features a high resolution 200 megapixel telephoto camera.

Arriving a week after the OnePlus 13 and a week before we expect to meet Samsung’s Galaxy S25 phones, the Magic 7 Pro is among the first phones to release outside of China with Qualcomm’s new chipset inside. That makes it one of the most powerful phones on the market, especially with 12GB of RAM. It also features a sizable 5,270mAh battery built around a silicon-carbon chemistry, allowing it to pack more energy into a smaller space with the Magic 7 Pro measuring just 8.8mm thick.

Much like the new OnePlus phone — and, unexpectedly, Motorola’s $299.99 Moto G Power, which launched in the US yesterday — the Magic 7 Pro is both IP68 and IP69-rated. That means that in addition to the usual protection from dust and submersion in water, it should survive exposure to steam and high-pressure water jets — ideal if you regularly use your phone in a jacuzzi, probably overkill for the rest of us.

Yup, it’s thin,

Image: Honor

Also unusual is the phone’s 200 megapixel 3x periscopic camera. We’ve seen megapixel counts as high as this before, but mostly on main cameras, not zoom lenses — with the exception of Vivo’s X100 Ultra and X200 Pro. It’s bolstered by an AI Super Zoom feature that kicks in at 30x zoom for added clarity, with this and a few other camera AI modes using a combination of on-device and cloud-based large language models to fine-tune images.

There’s even more AI than that, since it ships with Android 15 and Google’s Gemini AI app, which Honor has bolstered with its own AI-powered takes on translation and notes apps.

The Magic 7 Pro launched in China last November, but this is its first appearance outside of the country. Honor is one of several Chinese smartphone manufacturers that saw growth in global market share in 2024, thanks in part to last year’s flagship Magic 6 series and the Magic V3, still the thinnest foldable phone available.

Honor Magic 7 Lite.

Image: Honor

For its European launch the Pro is joined by the Magic 7 Lite, a midrange handset that uses the comparatively sluggish Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip and arrives still running Android 14. The selling point of that phone is its enormous 6,600mAh battery, which Honor claims will run for three days. There’s no sign of the regular Magic 7, which launched alongside the Pro in China.

The Magic 7 Pro is available to order now from honor.com starting at £1,099.99 / €1,299 (about $1,340), with major retailers and local carriers set to stock it too. The Magic 7 Lite is much cheaper at £399.99 / €369, and also available now.

Technology

Get ready to experience thrill of eVTOL racing

Published

6 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Get ready to experience thrill of eVTOL racing

You might have heard about electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL). Well, there’s some exciting news coming from Jetson, a Swedish startup that’s making waves in the air racing scene. While Australia’s Airspeeder has been working on crewed eVTOL races, Jetson founder and CTO Tomasz Patan recently took the spotlight with a demonstration that many are calling the start of the world’s first eVTOL air racing.

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Jetson eVTOL air racing demonstration (Jetson) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Airspeeder’s ambitions

Airspeeder has been building momentum since 2017, aiming to establish world championship races with their striking eVTOL aircraft. However, their current races involve remote-controlled vehicles, with pilots safely on the ground. Enter Jetson, who has now demonstrated a crewed flight around a racing pylon, albeit with just one aircraft.

Jetson eVTOL air racing demonstration (Jetson) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

EVTOL PROTOTYPE PROMISES 150 MPH CITY-TO-CITY HOPS

The Jetson One: A game changer

The star of this show is the Jetson One, a personal eVTOL designed for agility and performance. In a recent video, Patan showcases the aircraft’s nimble capabilities by navigating around a 26-foot-tall pylon. While this demonstration does not quite constitute a full race, it offers a tantalizing preview of what eVTOL racing could look like. Here are some key features of the Jetson One:

Dimensions: 8.86 x 5.25 x 3.67 feet
Top speed: Software-limited to 63 mph
Flight time: 20 minutes per charge
Power source: High-discharge Li-ion batteries
Control: Joystick-operated
Maximum altitude: Over 1,500 feet (~460 m)
Pilot requirements: No license needed in the U.S.

Jetson eVTOL air racing demonstration (Jetson) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

THIS FLYING ELECTRIC VEHICLE BREAKS RECORD WITH 523-MILE NONSTOP FLIGHT

Market response and future plans

The market response to the Jetson One has been remarkable. The company has already confirmed sales of more than 470 units and is now taking orders for the 2026 batch. To secure your place in line, you’ll need to make a non-refundable deposit of $8,000, with the full price tag coming in at $128,000.

Jetson claims that their eVTOL is user-friendly, stating that pilots can master the aircraft in under 60 minutes of flight practice, along with eight simulator sessions. This accessibility could be a game-changer in the personal aviation market.

Jetson eVTOL air racing demonstration (Jetson) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

REVOLUTIONARY FLYING CAR PROMISES HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND 3-HOUR FLIGHTS

Safety and regulatory considerations

While the prospect of personal eVTOLs and air racing is thrilling, it also raises important safety and regulatory questions. Jetson has implemented several safety features, including:

A race car-inspired safety cell design
The ability to fly safely with the loss of one motor
Hands-free hover and emergency functions
A ballistic parachute with rapid deployment

In terms of regulations, Jetson has made progress, securing two flight permits in Italy for personal eVTOL travel in uncontrolled airspace in fall 2023. However, comprehensive racing regulations are yet to be defined.

Jetson eVTOL air racing demonstration (Jetson) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

The competition: Airspeeder and beyond

While Jetson has made headlines with this demonstration, it’s worth noting that Airspeeder isn’t far behind. They have already created teams and held aerial events, albeit with remote-controlled eVTOLs. Their aircraft boasts impressive specifications, including a top speed of 124 mph and a power-to-weight ratio comparable to Formula 1 cars.

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Jetson eVTOL air racing demonstration (Jetson) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Kurt’s key takeaways

The demonstration by Jetson marks a significant milestone in the evolution of personal aviation and air racing. While it does not yet represent a full-fledged race, it is a tangible step towards a future where eVTOL racing could become a reality. As we look to the skies, it is clear that the race for eVTOL supremacy is just beginning.

What are your thoughts on the future of eVTOL racing and personal aviation after reading about Jetson and Airspeeder? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Elon Musk is being sued by the feds over the way he bought Twitter

Published

14 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Elon Musk is being sued by the feds over the way he bought Twitter

Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has resulted in a federal lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that he broke securities laws with a late disclosure, and saved $150 million in the process.

Before Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion, before he tried to back out of that deal, before he was forced to go through with it, and before he changed its name to X, he started by acquiring a substantial stake in the company but didn’t reveal that fact until weeks later.

The only problem, as the SEC pointed out then, is that by the time he disclosed that stake, it was outside the agency’s required 10-day window. They claim that he should’ve filed his paperwork by March 24th, 2022, instead of when he actually did, on April 4th (and then again on April 5th). During that period, they say he purchased more than $500 million in shares of the company.

However, with only a few days left before the Trump administration takes over and installs a new head of the SEC (along with Elon Musk reportedly snagging an office in the White House complex), it’s unclear how far the lawsuit will go.

The SEC claims Musk cost investors at least $150 million due to the late disclosure and that he harmed any investors who sold stock between March 25th, 2022, and April 1st, 2022. Its lawsuit is seeking the money Elon made as a result of holding off on the disclosure, as well as a civil penalty and other punishments.