Winamp, your parents’ favorite MP3 software, is back

Winamp is the music software that just won’t die, apparently. Pitchforknotes that the developers recently released the classic MP3 program’s first update (5.9 RC1 Build 9999) in four years. While it isn’t a dramatic change on the outside, the producers described it as the “culmination” of years of hard work, including two teams and a pandemic-dictated hiatus. There are significant under-the-hood changes, including a migration to a much newer development platform.

The software has a long history. Winamp gained fame as the playback software of choice during the early music download era — it was the home for all the MP3s you (or possibly your parents) got from fledgling digital stores and peer-to-peer apps. It played numerous common formats, and was well-known for its highly customizable interface skins and visualizers.

Parent company AOL (formerly Engadget’s owner) shut down work in 2013, years after rival apps and streaming options like Spotify took hold, but that wasn’t the end. Radionomy bought Winamp in 2014 to aid its online music plans. and the team has lately promised a “totally remastered” experience with podcast and radio features as well as a closer connection to artists.

Winamp’s return won’t revive the turn-of-the-millennium digital zeitgeist. Streaming still dominates, and there’s a chance you listen on your phone or smart speaker more than you do your PC. If the llama-themed startup sound is permanently etched in your brain, though, this could be a welcome dose of nostalgia.

Scientists revived organ cells in dead pigs

Medical science is nowhere near overcoming death, but it might be closer to delaying harm in dying and seriously damaged organs. The New York Timesreports that Yale University researchers successfully revived cells in the organs of pigs that had been dead in the lab for an hour. Hearts started beating, and the pigs’ bodies didn’t stiffen like they normally would. 

The team mixed the animals’ blood and an artificial hemoglobin with OrganEx, a solution that includes anti-inflammatory medicine, nerve blockers (to prevent a return to consciousness), nutrients and drugs that fight cell death. The project is a follow-up to a years-old breakthrough where the scientists revived dead pigs’ brain cells using a precursor solution, BrainEx. After that finding, the group wondered if it could revive an entire body.

The work isn’t close to helping human patients. Further studies will show if the organs are functioning. Researchers will also have to gauge the effects of OrganEx without nerve blockers, and eventually test their work on humans. There are ethical concerns that pigs might regain brain function, and it’s not clear just when it would be viable to experiment with people. If synthetic blood isn’t yet ready for emergency rooms, this is even further away.

The ramifications could be huge if and when solutions like OrganEx are suitable for humans, though. They could extend the viability of organ transplants — it might be possible to collect healthy organs long after the moment of death. That, in turn, could make more transplants available and save additional lives. The technology could also limit the damage to organs after serious heart attacks and strokes. Ideally, this will give people a fighting chance to recover from potentially fatal conditions.

Your favorite podcast might be making thousands for inviting guests

That big-name guest might not have appeared on your favorite podcast out of the kindness of their heart. Bloomberg has learned that podcast guests are routinely paying big money to appear on popular podcasts. Guestio, a marketplace for these deals, has seen huge transactions in the past six months. Four podcasters made $20,000 from charging for appearances, while one made $50,000. The most profitable show, Entrepreneurs on Fire, regularly charges $3,500 for guest spots and has sometimes taken a cut of product sales.

It’s not clear how widespread this activity is. However, Bloomberg interviews suggest pay-to-appear systems are popular for business, cryptocurrency and wellness podcasts. Hosts like Entrepreneurs on Fire‘s John Lee Dumas see appearance fees as filters. Guests will be well-prepared if they’re making an “investment” in airtime, the creator said.

However, there are ethical and legal concerns surrounding the practice. This could be considered a modern take on payola, or the pay-for-play schemes used to boost songs on the radio — is a guest appearing because they’re relevant, or just because they’re willing to pay? And while disclosures are mandatory for those radio plays, the situation isn’t so clear with podcasts. While many shows on Guestio have disclosures, not all of them properly reveal when an interview subject is paying to show up.

That could pose a problem in the future. A Federal Trade Commission spokesperson said that there’s deception whenever consumers are mislead about the nature of advertising and promotional messages, regardless of the media format. The regulator didn’t say if it would crack down on podcasters who improperly disclose paying guests, but the message could serve as a warning to show hosts.

New ‘FIFA Mobile’ mode puts the focus on strategy, not action

Would you rather oversee your FIFA Mobile team than control your players’ every last step? You now have your chance. EA has introduced a Manager Mode to the Android and iOS title that has you focusing on strategy and tactics rather than action. You choose the starting lineup, set the tactics in real-time (such as attacking or countering) and let your team play. You can even queue multiple matches as you climb the division ranks.

The corresponding game update also improves goalkeepers, adds player switching options and offers kits for 30 national teams. The upgrade is available now.

This doesn’t turn FIFA Mobile into a management sim like Football Manager. You aren’t scouting talent, shaping training programs or wrestling with the team’s board. Think of this more as the soccer equivalent to an auto battler like Auto Chess or Teamfight Tactics — it’s a slightly more relaxed experience that does more to reward situational awareness than fast reflexes.

Tinder scales back its plans for dating in the metaverse

Don’t expect to find a Tinder date in the metaverse any time soon. The Vergereports Match Group chief Bernard Kim has asked Tinder’s Hyperconnect unit (acquired in 2021) to scale back its metaverse dating plans. In his shareholder letter, Kim said “uncertainty” about success with virtual worlds required that the team “not invest heavily” in the metaverse. Match further blamed the Hyperconnect purchase for a $10 million operating loss in the latest quarter where it made a $210 million operating profit in the same period a year earlier.

The company is also taking “a step back” on plans to introduce its in-app Tinder Coins following questionable test results, Kim said. While he didn’t scrap the digital currency outright, he wanted it to “more effectively contribute” to Tinder’s bottom line. Any virtual items would have to be a serious contributor to Tinder’s next phase of growth, the executive added.

Tinder is facing a leadership upheaval at the same time. CEO Renate Nyborg is leaving the company after joining last September. It’s not clear why she’s leaving, but Kim said Match was looking for a replacement.

There’s little doubt Tinder is dealing with an uncertain future. On top of the Tinder loss, Match forecast a only small growth and said it was still grappling with changes in behavior prompted by the pandemic. While there was a jump in activity in the second half of 2021 as vaccines made it safer to meet others, there hasn’t been a similar spike in 2022. The willingness of first-timers to try online dating hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, Kim said. The exec hopes more aggressive product rollouts will spur newcomers, such as live video and “alibi” dating services.

Hacking free-for-all relieves crypto bridge users of $200 million

Cryptocurrency hacks are all too common, but they’ve rarely been quite so anarchic as the latest example. As The Vergenotes, Nomad has confirmed that its cryptocurrency bridge (a service that lets you swap tokens between blockchains) was the victim of an August 1st “incident” where a slew of hackers stole nearly $200 million in funds. As Paradigm researcher Samczsun explained, the intruders took advantage of a misconfiguration that let any reasonably knowledgeable user authorize their own withdrawals. The result was a “chaotic” hack where people could swap their crypto address into a known-good transaction to steal digital money.

In an update, Nomad said it’s “working around the clock” to resolve the problem with help from law enforcement and blockchain intelligence firms. It hopes to both pinpoint involved accounts and recover funds. A16z’s security team suggested that well-intentioned white hat hackers would return crypto they took “preemptively,” but there’s no word on identifying thieves.

Bridges like these are major targets for hackers thanks to both their high asset volume and the potential for exploits in their sophisticated code. An attacker swiped roughly $625 million from the Ronin blockchain underpinning Axie Infinity in March, and an exploit in the Wormhole bridge led to a $325 million hack in February. While the Nomad breach isn’t quite as financially damaging, it illustrates just how vulnerable bridges can be.

Chevy Bolt owners must choose between rebates and battery defect lawsuits

Chevy offered rebates to Bolt EV owners who bought their cars just before a 2023 model price drop, but that discount comes with a large catch. Jalopnik and Autoblog note the rebate application requires that drivers “forever waive and release” their right to sue GM or LG over the Bolt’s reported battery defect. You’d have to be content with the savings even if the car did serious damage, in other words. GM confirmed the agreement language with Engadget.

GM first recalled the Bolt in November 2020 after reports of battery fires between 2017 and 2019. The automaker tried addressing the issue with a software update in April 2021, but two subsequent fires and a second recall led the NHTSA to warn against parking indoors. That prompted a July 2021 recall where GM replaced the battery packs. The brand eventually recalled all manufactured Bolts, pledged an additional $1 billion for battery replacements and offered an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on substitute batteries.

The company has since used financial incentives to regain trust. It slashed the price of the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV between $5,900 and $6,300, and offered comparable rebates to people who bought 2020, 2021 and 2022 models this year. The exact rebate amounts depend on the model year and trim level.

As Jalopnik explained, this isn’t the first time GM has used legal agreements to protect its reputation. Cadillac Lyriq buyers were offered a $5,500 discount if they agreed not to talk about problems with the electric SUV, and purchasers of high-end cars like the Hummer EV void their warranties if they flip their vehicles within a year. However, this latest move could easily be the most concerning — the rebate amounts to a legal settlement rather than a kind offer.

Meta faces lawsuit for allegedly collecting patient health data without consent

Meta may have scooped up sensitive medical information without consent. The Vergereports that two proposed class-action lawsuits accuse the company and hospitals of violating HIPAA, the California Invasion of Privacy Act and other laws by collecting patient data without consent. Meta’s Pixel analytic tracking tool allegedly sent health statuses, appointment details and other data to Facebook when it was present on patient portals.

In one lawsuit from last month, a patient said Pixel gathered data from the UC San Francisco and Dignity Health portals that was used to deliver ads related to heart and knee issues. The second lawsuit, from June, is broader and claims at least 664 providers shared medical info with Facebook through Pixel.

We’ve asked Meta for comment. The company requires that sites using Pixel obtain the right to share data before sending it to Facebook, but the plaintiffs claim Meta refused to enforce its policies. It placed Pixel on the facilities’ websites despite knowing the kind of data it would collect, according to the lawsuits.

The lawsuits aren’t guaranteed to achieve class-action status, and such lawsuits rarely provide large payouts to individuals. If successful, though, the legal action could prove costly for Meta. They’re asking for damages on behalf of all Facebook users whose healthcare providers rely on Pixel, and that could include millions of people.

They also follow a string of privacy-related US legal action against the social media giant. Meta is facing a DC Attorney General suit over Cambridge Analytica’s collection of more than 70 million Americans’ personal data. The company is also grappling with lawsuits over its deactivated facial recognition system, and only this year settled a 2012 class-action over the use of tracking cookies. These latest courtroom battles suggest that concerns about Meta’s data gathering practices are far from over, even as the company makes its own efforts to crack down on misuse.

LG’s newest 4K CineBeam projectors start at $6,000

LG’s newest CineBeam projectors are ready for your living room, and it’s clear you’ll pay a premium for their image quality. The company has announced that the laser-based lineup is available starting at $6,000 for the HU915QE, which can produce a 90-inch 4K picture when positioned just 2.2 inches from the wall, or 120 inches when it sits 7.2 inches away. It also reaches a high 3,700 lumens of brightness and can muster a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, so daytime viewing is a realistic option.

The $6,500 HU915QB (shown above) isn’t quite as bright at 3,000 lumens, but its black finish makes it better-suited to nighttime sessions. Both models have three HDMI ports with eARC support, two USB ports and an integrated 2.2-channel 40W speaker system. They unsurprisingly run LG’s webOS interface (an advantage over rival ‘dumb’ projectors that lack native apps) and offer creature comforts like AirPlay 2 support, Bluetooth and screen mirroring.

The new Cinebeam projectors’ HDR support is limited to HDR10 and HLG. You’ll want to buy one of LG’s latest OLED TVs if you crave Dolby Vision, and you certainly won’t get 8K support. With that said, these units might be strong values if picture size matters more than anything else.

Samsung and iFixit now offer self-repair parts and tools for Galaxy devices

It took nearly half a year, but Samsung’s self-repair program is finally available. The iFixit team-up helps you fix your Galaxy S20, Galaxy S21 or Galaxy Tab S7+ by purchasing officially sanctioned components and tools, complete with guides to walk you through the repair process. The initial selection is limited to screen and batteries, charging ports and back glass, with prices ranging between $67 (for a charging port on any model) to $227 (for a Tab S7+ display).

The kits include a free return label to help you ship the broken parts to Samsung for recycling. The self-repair program is limited to the US at present, but the companies expect to support more countries, devices and part repairs over time.

Samsung’s launch comes a few months after Apple’s. It’s at once better and worse. While Apple doesn’t yet offer self-repair kits beyond smartphones, it covers a wider array of components (such as cameras and SIM trays), and is more granular (you can even order screws by themselves). However, Samsung also doesn’t require that you rent or buy a separate toolkit, and doesn’t require a phone call to complete the repair process. Buy a part and you’ll have everything you need, in other words.

The self-repair option doesn’t currently cover the Galaxy S22 or Tab S8 families, and Samsung is keen to point its less DIY-oriented users toward regular repair providers. We’d add that this isn’t a strictly altruistic gesture — Samsung, Apple and others are facing pressure from federal and state officials who are either implementing or proposing right to repair rules. Vendors might not have much choice but to let you fix devices on your own terms.

Still, this could be an important move. If you’re reasonably comfortable with screwdrivers and spudgers, this gives you a way to lengthen the useful lifespan of a Samsung device without worrying about turnaround times or potentially expensive out-of-warranty repair costs. That, in turn, could reduce e-waste and offer more control over when you upgrade your mobile gear.