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Instagram is testing personal fundraisers in the US, UK and Ireland

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The personal fundraiser trial starts today on Android in those three countries and it’ll be available on iOS soon. If you’re 18 or older and you’re in an eligible country, you can get started by accessing the Add Fundraiser option from the Edit Profile settings. You’ll be asked to select a photo, fundraiser category (from a list of 14) and more details about your cause, including why you’re looking to raise money. You’ll also need to enter your checking account details via Stripe, which handles the payments.

Instagram will review all fundraisers to make sure they’re legitimate. Eligible categories (which are the same as those on Facebook’s personal fundraisers) include community projects and groups, crisis relief, volunteering, travel, medical, education and pets and animals. You won’t, for instance, be able to raise funds for a political campaign or anything that’d violate local laws.

Fundraisers will last for 30 days by default, but that timeframe can be extended for another 30 days at a time or you can end them early. You can manage your fundraiser(s) from your account settings.

If you choose to donate to a personal fundraiser, you can remain anonymous from the public. The creator can still see your Instagram username, the name that’s on your profile and how much you donated. Creators will start receiving eligible payments from their fundraisers six days after the first donation. Those funds may be taxable, however.

People who run personal fundraisers on Facebook have to pay a per-donation processing fee and the same fee structure applies here. A spokesperson confirmed to Engadget that Instagram doesn’t make any money from fundraisers.

Instagram says it’ll expand the feature in the US, UK and Ireland in the coming months, and it’ll make it easier for people to share their fundraiser in their stories and feed. Still, given the success of its nonprofit donation stickers, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Instagram roll this out to other territories in the future.

Update 7/21 12:20 PM ET: Added some clarification from Instagram regarding fees.



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Blipblox After Dark is a kid’s synth for adults

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The new more serious look also comes with some more serious sounds and synth features. The core functionality is the same — you turn it on, it immediately starts spitting out melodies and riffs while you twist knobs and push buttons to mangle the sound. There are a slew of new oscillator and modulation schemes here, though, that are a little more polished sounding. Some are weirder and more experimental, some are just more musical. But it seems more time and effort was put into crafting the tones. And just like on the original, some of the sounds here are surprisingly rich.

There are also some new tools at your disposal when it comes to tweaking things. For one, there’s now a multi-mode resonant filter that’s far more versatile than the simple low-pass filter on the OG Blipblox. There’s also a new delay effect that can really flesh out the decidedly digital sounds here. 

Perhaps the biggest upgrade is to the drums. The original Blipblox had one kick and one snare sample and they sounded… rough. They were about on par with what you’d get out of an ‘80s budget Casio keyboard. The new model has 50 of each and they can be pitch shifted for further customization. They’re not the most varied and interesting sounds, but they’re usable. 

child and adult versions

Terrence O’Brien / Engadget

Largely though, the core feature set is unchanged. There are some additional controls that are supposed to make the After Dark model a little more “serious,” but in practice it still feels like a toy. That’s not a bad thing, though, if you keep your expectations in check. 

The original Blipblox was tons of fun whether you’re three or 33. And After Dark is no different. Just don’t come here expecting something that can keep pace with your Roland Boutique synths or even a Volca. There’s no way to program a drum loop, play a melody or modify a sequence on board. You’ll have to hook up an external MIDI controller. 

Hooking up a MIDI controller opens up a world of possibilities, though. And you can even just clock the Blipblox over MIDI to keep it in sync with your other music gear. So, if you wanted to use a particular synth sequence, but lay it over drums from your Model:Cycles, you can. 

after dark

Terrence O’Brien / Engadget

The biggest obstacle to integrating the Blipblox with a more serious music-making setup is that it’s difficult to recall a sound you liked. It’s not impossible, but keeping track of what color lights mean what, and committing all the combinations of button presses to memory takes time. It’s been a couple of weeks and I still have to reference the manual pretty regularly. 

A small display or maybe even a companion app would go a long way towards simplifying things, but it probably would also add to the cost. And at $199 (or $179 if you get in on the Indiegogo pre-sale) affordability is a big part of the pitch. It’s only slightly more expensive than the original Blipblox which retails for $189. The added features are definitely worth the $10, but it’s still not an impulse purchase. 

If you’re thinking of buying a Blipblox for a slightly older kid — think eight or nine — the After Dark model is the way to go. And if you’re an adult who just loves cheap toy instruments and things that make noise, you’ll find plenty to like. Just don’t mistake this for a Volca competitor.

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Spotify debuts video podcasts for select shows

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Thanks to a report in May, we already knew Spotify was testing video podcasts. Today, the streaming service announced the format’s official debut on a handful of shows. The company calls the current iteration “the first version” of the feature, a tool that will allow “fans can get to know their favorite podcast hosts even better, and creators can more deeply connect with their audiences.” Basically, podcast creators can upload videos they make while recording their shows to play alongside the audio. Most of what’s there now is footage of people talking into microphones. To start, you can check out the visuals on podcasts like Book of Basketball 2.0, Fantasy Footballers, The Misfits Podcast, H3 Podcast, The Morning Toast, Higher Learning with Van Lathan & Rachel Lindsay and The Rooster Teeth Podcast.

Spotify says you won’t need to do anything differently than you would when listening to an audio-only podcast. Simply navigate to the show page and pick an episode. The videos will appear when you hit play in Spotify’s desktop or mobile app. On mobile, for example, they appear on the main player screen and replace any static show art — complete with an option for full-screen viewing. The company says any video content will sync with the audio feed. What’s more, when you swipe over to another app to multitask, the audio will continue to play in the background. And for offline listening, you can still download the audio version of any show.

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South Korea’s self-isolation app had a serious security flaw

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South Korea is one of several countries that used a comprehensive test, trace and isolate plan to dramatically reduce instances of COVID-19. Unfortunately, a New York Times report claims that one of the key pillars of its strategy, a mobile app designed to monitor at-home quarantines for people arriving in the country, was seriously insecure. A security researcher found a flaw in the app that would have allowed hackers to access private information. In addition, hackers would have been able to rig the app to make someone look like they were making unauthorized trips outside their home.

Security researcher Frédéric Rechtenstein, who lives in Seoul, was using the app to monitor his own 14-day isolation period after traveling. Out of curiosity, he began investigating the app, finding that the user IDs were not randomly generated and therefore guessable, enabling him to access this private information. In addition, the app’s code stored the encryption key (which was “1234567890123456” within its code, making it even easier for a motivated hacker to decrypt any data they wished to access.

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AMD’s 4700G APU is a mid-range PC on a single chip

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ryzen4000g

AMD

There are three new 4000G APUs to cover in today’s announcement, each available in two configurations. The flagship model is the 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 4700G, which has a base clock of 3.6GHz and a (single-core) boost clock of 4.4GHz. These core/thread counts and frequencies are identical to the Ryzen 7 3700X desktop chip. Being an APU, the 4700G also has graphics cores — eight of them to be precise — with a maximum frequency of 2100MHz.

Next down the line is the 6-core/12-thread Ryzen 5 4600G, with a base clock of 3.7GHz and a boost clock of 4.2GHz, which is broadly equivalent to the Ryzen 5 3600 CPU. The 4600G has 7 graphics cores running at up to 1900MHz. 

The range is rounded out by the 4-core/8-thread Ryzen 3 4300G. With a base clock of 3.8GHz and a boost clock of 4.0GHz, performance should land somewhere between the Ryzen 3 3100 and 3300X. It has 6 graphics cores running at 1700MHz.

All three chips, in this configuration, have a listed TDP of 65W, which is the same as the equivalent Ryzen 3000 CPUs. (It’s worth noting that this doesn’t really have much bearing on how much power they’ll actually draw.) Each APU also comes in a “GE” flavor, which is a low-power version rated at 35W, with significantly lower frequencies across the board but no changes beyond that.

ryzen4000g

AMD

On paper, these new APUs look extremely competitive. The 3000G chips they replace struggle when compared to even budget CPUs. The jump to Zen 2 alone will be a major improvement, as clock-for-clock these cores are close to 15-percent stronger than Zen+. The added cores and threads of the two higher-end chips, though, make them a compelling option for someone looking to build a workstation-like PC on a tight budget. In fact, they change who we would recommend even considering purchasing an APU in the first place.

While the 3400G is a decent single-chip solution for people on an extremely tight budget, it doesn’t leave much room to improve your PC down the line, especially as in regards to gaming, as anything beyond budget GPU options would be wasted. With the 4700G and 4600G, though, you could build a PC without shelling out any money on a graphics card, and then add pretty much any discrete GPU you wanted down the line to turn your PC into an extremely performant gaming rig. The Ryzen 7 3700X, which is broadly equivalent to the 4700G, can be sensibly paired with any high-end GPU on the market.

ryzen4000g

AMD

As for the performance of the integrated GPUs, things look extremely promising. Assuming proper cooling, the 4700G’s 8-core GPU should hit 2.1TFLOPs, which is 50-percent more raw compute performance than the 3400G can muster. That should be more than enough to play esports titles at 1080p, and just about hits the minimum spec for Death Stranding.

One thing worth noting is that, without dedicated video memory, the performance of the integrated GPU is tied to the speed and amount of system RAM you have. Ryzen CPU performance is already quite reactive to RAM speed, but you’d likely be wanting to pair the 4700G with 16GB of some decent 3600MHz DDR4 RAM — or very low-latency 3200MHz memory. This will give the GPU a fighting chance of running more demanding games well, but will also add to the cost of your overall build compared to slower RAM.

Of course, this is all “on paper;” we’ll have to judge for ourselves how well these new APUs hold up in the real world. The 4000G series should start appearing in pre-built desktops next month. We don’t have a date for a retail launch just yet, but we expect it won’t be too far behind. The other thing we’re waiting on is pricing, which will be key given the price-conscious consumers APUs are typically targeted at. If we had to guess, we’d suggest a starting point of around $140 for the 4300G, stretching up to around $300 for the 4700G. 

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South Korea’s largest web company pulls its data centers from Hong Kong

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That includes TikTok, which is pulling out of Hong Kong in response to the law, while Facebook (and WhatsApp) said it will “pause” responses to data requests. Google, Telegram and Twitter, too, have said that they will temporarily stop working with local law enforcement. And a Bloomberg report says that a number of technology companies are currently reconsidering their facilities based in the area. 

Hong Kong became a British colony in 1842, which was handed back to China in 1997 under a treaty known as the Joint Declaration. The document said that, until 2047, China would respect the region’s laws and economic systems — better known as the “fifty-year rule.” Since then, China has serially attempted to undermine Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous rule, leading to a number of independence movements. 

In 2020, the country erupted again with protests — stemming from an earlier conflict around an extradition law. Officials opted to pass a new national security bill, which criminalized numerous forms of protected speech, including advocating for independence and criticizing China’s government. It also enables China to extradite people to the mainland for trial, raising concerns about human rights violations — much like those metered out to the country’s Uighur population.

Companies that fail to co-operate with Chinese officials, for instance by handing over individuals private data, could be met with serious fines or prison sentences. It’s likely that a number of companies will have to withdraw their facilities from the territory or risk financial or personal ruin. 

Hong Kong’s tech scene more generally may also suffer from a brain drain as technology workers leave the region to escape the law. The UK, which has condemned China’s actions, has offered around 2.6 million residents the right to live and work there with a path to citizenship within six years. 

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Amazon officially delays Prime Day until ‘later this year’

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“Over the last five years, Prime Day has become a special celebration and time for Prime members to shop incredible deals for themselves and for friends and family – and it’s something we look forward to every year,” the spokesperson shared in a statement to TechCrunch. ”This year we’ll be holding Prime Day later than usual, while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and selling partners. We are excited Prime members in India will see savings on August 6th – 7th, and that members all around the world will experience Prime Day later this year.”

Back in March, Amazon said it was seeing unprecedented demand in the wake of the COVID-19. It promised to hire an additional 100,000 warehouse and delivery staff in the US, after temporarily restricting the items third-party sellers could store in its warehouses to prioritize the delivery of cleaning and medical supplies.

The company has also come under fire over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly from employees. Workers at its Staten Island warehouse have sued the company, accusing it of not following CDC and New York state public health guidelines, as well as New York quarantine laws. Amazon reiterated that it followed all necessary guidelines, and that 91 of its facilities have passed state inspections.

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Nikon’s full-frame Z5 has in-body stabilization for $1,399

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Despite all that tech, it offers pretty mediocre shooting speeds of 4.5 fps with full autofocus and AE. That’s just a touch less than Canon’s 5 fps EOS RP, but far less what you’ll find on comparably-priced APS-C cameras like Sony’s 11 fps A6600.

Nikon Z5 full-frame mirrorless camera

Nikon

As mentioned, video isn’t a strong point with the Z5. It can shoot video at 4K 30 fps, but much like with Canon’s EOS R and EOS RP, you’re stuck with a 1.7X crop. You can shoot 1080p using the full sensor width (probably with line-skipping), but at a maximum of just 60 fps.

Happily, the Z5 has a full five-axis in-body stabilization system (or vibration reduction, as Nikon calls it), just like the Z6 and Z7. And unlike those models, it has dual UHS II card slots in place of the Z6/Z7’s single, XQD slot. That’ll be good news for photographers who need a backup and don’t want to spend more for XQD cards.

Other features include a 3.69 million dot OLED electronic viewfinder, tilting but not fully articulating touchscreen and 390 shots per charge from the new EN-EL15C battery. The Z5 uses polycarbonate on the back and bottom rather than magnesium alloy like the Z6, but it’s still sealed against dust and moisture.

Nikon Z5 full-frame mirrorless camera

Nikon

The Z5 arrives in August and costs $1,400 for the body only, or $1,700 with the new 24-50mm f/4-6.3 lens (pictured above). Nikon also unveiled new 1.4x and 2.0X teleconverters ($550 and $600 respectively) and said it would launch a Windows 10 webcam utility for many of its DSLRs and Z mount cameras next month.

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Google Meet integration arrives in Gmail for Android

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Google has been giving users more and more ways to access Meet these past months, making it a more reliable choice for video calls during the pandemic. One of the things the tech giant promised is the video chat service’s rollout inside the Gmail app for iOS and Android, and Google has stayed true to its word. It has just started rolling out Meet for Gmail’s Android app, one week after iOS users got access to the service within their application.

As the company said when it first announced its plans, the Android app will be updated with a dedicated Meet tab. From there, users will be able to join meetings or start new ones. The feature will be on by default, but users can hide the tab by unticking “Show the Meet tab for video calling” in their app’s settings. It will be available to all users, but non-G Suite (i.e. free) customers’ calls will be limited to 60 minutes. That said, that rule won’t be enforced until after September 30th.

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