Spotify’s exclusive ‘Batman Unburied’ podcast finally debuts May 3rd

Spotify’s long-promised Batman podcast is almost here. The streamer has announced that DC Comics and Warner Bros.’ Batman Unburied will debut worldwide on May 3rd, with a trailer offering a hint of what to expect. The show will have Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) look for help from The Riddler to understand why Bruce Wayne can’t remember his Batman role and, hopefully, convince him to fight a serial killer wreaking havoc on Gotham City.

Winston Duke (M’Baku in Black Panther) will play Bruce Wayne in the English-language podcast. Other stars include John Rhys-Davies, Lance Reddick (John Wick), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter), Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) and Ashly Burch (Horizon Forbidden West), among others. Spotify is also promising localized versions and actors for Brazil, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan and Mexico.

The release comes nearly two years after Spotify first unveiled a multi-year deal with DC and Warner Bros. to produce exclusive podcasts, and roughly a year and a half after the companies teased early details of Batman Unburied. It’s not clear what prompted the long wait, but the news reflects a catch-up of sorts as Spotify’s podcast deals finally become reality. Meghan Markle’s first podcast series, for instance, is arriving on Spotify nearly two years after she and Prince Harry reached a deal.

Whatever the reasons behind the wait, Batman Unburied could represent an important moment for Spotify. It could show whether or not the DC/Warner collaboration was worth the effort, of course, but it might also indicate whether Spotify’s quest for exclusive podcasts was worth the delays and sometimes serious problems.

Instacart will compensate workers who get stiffed on tips

Instacart is doing more to limit the damage from customers who shortchange drivers (aka shoppers in Instacart lingo) through “tip baiting.” The service is introducing “tip protection” for shoppers that covers up to $10 if a customer eliminates their tip after delivery without reporting an order problem. This won’t always cover the full tip and suggests earlier initiatives (such as requiring feedback on zero-tip orders) weren’t effective, but should prevent couriers from suffering particularly severe financial blows.

The company is also making it easier for shoppers to collect their tips by shrinking the cash-out window from 24 hours to just two. The platform is also rolling out a previously-tested prompt that asks customers to consider increasing their tips when they give shoppers five-star ratings. This has led to a slight 6 percent increase in average shopper earnings during the pilot phase, Instacart claimed.

The tipping changes come alongside new batch types that let shoppers make the most of their travel time. Multi-store batches let them pick up orders from numerous locations, and they can accept new customers’ orders while they’re already in a store, not just before they start shopping. They might not miss out on as many income opportunities, to put it another way.

The additions are part of a four-month improvement plan for Instacart shoppers that includes live phone support and in-store app navigation features introduced in March. More upgrades are coming over the next two months, Instacart said,

The additions come as Instacart faces pressure on multiple fronts. Legislators called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate tip baiting back in 2020, and they’ve been pushing for greater benefits for gig workers in recent months. The company has also faced unionization efforts, and the move toward ever-faster deliveries hasn’t exactly been gentle on shoppers. In theory, at least, these latest changes will address the complaints and keep shoppers from working for rival services.

Unreal Engine 5 is finally ready to power a new generation of games

Unreal Engine 5 is finally here after nearly a year of early access. Epic Games has officially released UE5 to developers, promising both more photorealistic visuals and easier-to-use creator tools. 

The new Unreal Engine’s most obvious upgrades affect the basics of 3D rendering. The Nanite geometry system lets producers use objects with millions of polygons each while scaling gracefully and maintaining playable frame rates. Lumen, meanwhile, provides dynamic global lighting that adapts to everything from the time of day to a character’s flashlight. You’ve seen early results in Epic’s The Matrix Awakens tech demo — UE5 can render extremely detailed scenes with more natural lighting than you might have seen in the past.

Unreal Engine 5 city sample
Epic Games

There are some behind-the-scenes improvements that should affect the games you play, too. It’s now much easier for developers to make open-world games thanks to systems that both automatically divide areas (to make them easier to stream) and let multiple developers work on the same region at the same time. There are new and upgraded tools to create models, animations and audio without resorting to external editors, and companies making videos or still images can generate very high quality output that would normally require a time-consuming offline renderer.

It will take a while for content to use the new engine. At best, studios have had less than a year to test the engine and start work on their projects. Even Black Myth: Wukong (one of the first announced Unreal Engine 5 titles) won’t be available until 2023, and the next Witcher game doesn’t have a release date. Still, the launch effectively sets the stage for the next wave of games and video special effects. You could see a significant leap in realism from games that take better advantage of the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and the latest PC video cards.

Elon Musk will join Twitter’s board of directors

Elon Musk isn’t just stopping at buying a stake in Twitter — he’ll also have a seat at the table. As CNBCreports, Twitter is appointing Musk to the company’s board of directors. He’ll be of value as both a “passionate believer and intense critic” of the social network, according to chief executive Parag Agrawal.

An SEC filing shows that Musk will serve as a Class II director (that is, not top-tier) with a term that expires at the company’s 2024 annual shareholder meeting. The appointment limits the stake Musk can hold. He can’t own more than 14.9 percent of common stock during his tenure, and for 90 days afterward.

Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey thought well of the deal. In a response to the news, he believed Musk “cares deeply” about the planet and Twitter. Musk and Agrawal “lead with their hearts,” he said.

It’s too soon to say how much influence Musk will have as a director. However, he recently blasted Twitter for allegedly falling short of “free speech principles” and asked the social site’s users if they want an edit button. He clearly intends to make his presence felt, not to mention thumb his nose at the SEC for its crackdown against his finance-related tweets.

Amazon orders up to 83 launches for its Project Kuiper internet satellites

Amazon needs partners if it’s going to send its Project Kuiper internet satellites to space, and the tech giant now has them lined up. The company has reached deals with Arianespace, ULA and its close ally Blue Origin to offer as many as 83 launches for Project Kuiper over the next five years. The arrangements will let Amazon field the “majority” of its 3,236 satellites, and is supposedly the largest commercial launch deal to date.

ULA will provide the most launches, with 48 Atlas and Vulcan Centaur rockets ferrying satellites into orbit. Arianespace’s Ariane 6 will deliver satellites across 18 launches. Blue Origin will provide just 12 launches aboard New Glenn, although there will be options for up to 15 additional flights.

There was no mention of who would provide the first launch, or a narrower timeframe for when that mission will occur. Amazon expects to deploy its first two prototype satellites by the end of this year.

It’s no surprise that Amazon would land such a large deal, however. If Amazon is going to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink, it needs guarantees that its satellite constellation will launch in a timely fashion — SpaceX has already deployed over 2,300 satellites to date, and will use as many as 30,000 to offer worldwide coverage. These deals let Amazon focus on getting Project Kuiper ready for service, and spare it the indignity of asking its main rival SpaceX for help with any launches.

Amazon’s planned worker chat app would reportedly ban words like ‘union’

Amazon’s anti-union stance might spill into the apps for employees. The Intercept says it obtained internal documents detailing a planned worker chat app that, while meant to boost happiness, would include a blocklist focused heavily on silencing pro-union keywords. In addition to forbidding the use of the word “union,” it would also block terms like “compensation,” “pay raise,” “ethics” and even “robots.”

Other bans would focus mostly on keeping things positive, such as “rude” and “stupid.” Most, however, appear centered on working conditions. Amazon supposedly decided on the words at an upper-echelon meeting in November 2021, when they outlined an app that would encourage “Shout-Outs” and offer digital rewards for providing value to the company. 

The program linked to the app will reportedly launch in April. In a statement to The Intercept, however, Amazon spokeswoman Barbara Agrait said the initiative “has not been approved yet” and might be changed or scrapped.

If the program and its associated app launch, they would come at a tense moment. Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island just voted to unionize, and those at a Bessemer, Alabama facility just had a highly contested rerun election where both sides accused each other of interference. While this app isn’t about to hinder union organizers (they weren’t likely to use Amazon-monitored chats), it could underscore the very labor concerns the company doesn’t want employees to mention.

DJI made a $329 clip-on mic for your vlogs

DJI is better known for its drones and cameras than any of its audio tech, but it’s apparently eager to change your mind. The company has released the Mic, its first dedicated audio recording gear, in the US. The wireless clip-on system promises 24-bit, 48KHz audio capture for your vlogs or other spoken-word content at distances of up to 820 feet. That’s not too special in itself, but DJI is clearly hoping to snag wireless earbud fans with the design — you charge the transmitters and receiver in a battery case that provides a total of 15 hours of use. You’re looking at up to 5.5 hours of use per session.

The Mic can output through a 3.5mm jack, Lightning and USB-C, and you’ll get familiar audio adjustments like sensitivity (between -12dB and +12dB) and variable gain. An included furry windscreen will prevent a blustery day from ruining your show.

The system is available now for $329. That’s a lot to spend if you’re just looking to record audio using your phone. You can spend a fraction of the price if you only need the basics. However, the outlay might be easier to rationalize if you either depend on long-distance recording or want the flexibility that DJI’s charging case and output selection can offer.

Irreverent RPG ‘Nobody Saves the World’ comes to PS4, PS5 and Switch on April 14th

You no longer need an Xbox if you’re going to play Drinkbox’s latest game in your living room. The studio has announced that its silly-but-sophisticated RPG Nobody Saves the World is coming to PS4, PS5 and Switch on April 14th. The release will also see all players get a local co-op mode — Switch owners will even have the option to play locally using a single set of Joy-Cons.

Online co-op won’t be truly cross-platform. However, PS4 and PS5 players will get to take on dungeons together.

Nobody Saves the World aims to inject some life into RPGs both through its irreverent style and its shapeshifting mechanics. You can unlock and change into over 15 forms, including ridiculous characters like a bodybuilder or robot. Each shape has its own abilities and even quests. The dungeons are shapeshifting, too. Throw in a soundtrack from Superbrothers: Swords & Sworcery‘s Jim Guthrie and this may be one of those RPGs you revisit simply to experience the things you missed the first time around.

The UK will issue an official NFT (sigh)

The UK wants to show that it’s embracing crypto, and that includes digital tokens — whether you like them or not. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has announced that the Royal Mint will issue an official NFT sometime this summer. More details aren’t yet available but Economic Secretary John Glen billed the token as a symbol of the “forward-looking approach” the country was taking toward crypto technologies.

The NFT will come as part of a broader effort to support financial technology, and crypto in particular. The UK government aims to create a “dynamic regulatory landscape” that welcomes the technology, according to Glen. It now plans legislation that will welcome stablecoins into the country’s payment infrastructure, will mull the legal status of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and hopes to remove “disincentives” to investment funds that include crypto.

The Financial Conduct Authority has already been experimenting through a regulatory sandbox, and plans its first in a series of policy “crypto-sprints” this May. The government is also forming a Cryptoasset Engagement Group that includes representatives from the FCA, Bank of England and business, with as many as eight meetings per year.

Glen was aware of the concerns surrounding crypto, such as the potential for scams, bootleg activity and environmental harms. However, he cast the NFT and similar projects as an opportunity to get “in on the ground floor” and thrive should crypto take off.

The NFT won’t thrill critics who see the tokens as creating artificial scarcity, increasing emissions or otherwise wasting resources. However, it will signal the UK government’s willingness to court the crypto industry. The country is clearly early to recreate its reputation as a financial hub in the digital realm.

Get a $25 Amazon gift card when you buy the Beats Fit Pro

Now is a good moment to buy the Beats Fit Pro if you’re a habitual Amazon shopper. Amazon is offering a free $25 gift card when you buy the true wireless earbuds for $200. While that doesn’t represent a discount for the buds themselves, as we’ve seen in the past, it’s still a significant bargain if you’re likely to shop on Amazon again.

Buy Beats Fit Pro at Amazon – $200

In some ways, the Beats Fit Pro represent a better value than much of Apple’s earbud lineup, including the third-gen AirPods and even the AirPods Pro. They’re comfortable, sweat-resistant and should stay put during many workouts, but they offer punchier bass than the regular AirPods and last a healthy six hours with active noise cancellation compared to just 4.5 for the AirPods Pro. They’re also considerably more discreet than the Powerbeats Pro, and certainly more colorful than Apple-branded earbuds.

There are some catches, such as the lack of wireless charging, the risk of accidental button presses and a few (thankfully minor) iOS-only features. The biggest obstacle might simply be sales on other Apple and Beats models. The AirPods Pro and Powerbeats Pro are frequently on sale, and sometimes cost less than the Beats Fit Pro — you may want to do some comparisons if you’re mainly interested in the lowest possible price. Even so, the Beats Fit Pro remain good value for money.

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