Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you’re a homebody.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
COUCH
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you’re a homebody.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
COUCH
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
#Wordle #today #answer #hints">Wordle today: The answer and hints for May 26, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you’re a homebody.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
COUCH
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're a homebody.If you just want…
Nearly four years after the last version of Sennheiser’s Momentum headphones debuted with a redesign that traded a retro aesthetic for a more contemporary and comfortable design, the company has announced its Momentum 5 Wireless headphones. They look very similar to their predecessors, the Momentum 4, with large ear cups and a design that doesn’t quite stand out from the competition. But under the hood there are welcome upgrades, including improved ANC and, for the first time, a user-replaceable battery to extend their life.
The Momentum 5 Wireless will be available starting on June 30th for $399.99, a $50 price bump over the Momentum 4. The headphones feature the same 42mm drivers as the Momentum 3 and 4 models, but Sennheiser is introducing “Hi-Res Audio certification” and expanding the Momentum 5’s Bluetooth codec support to include AptX Lossless. That allows the headphones to stream 16-bit/44.1kHz CD-quality sound, but only from devices with a Qualcomm processor supporting that codec through the Snapdragon Sound platform. Smartphones from Sony and Motorola should be compatible, however Samsung, Google, and Apple devices won’t be.
Sennheiser has also doubled the number of microphones on the Momentum 5, which now feature four on each side to improve noise cancellation. The company claims its latest headphones are up to three times more effective at reducing the sound of voice chatter and the drone experienced in airplane cabins. The upgraded ANC and added mics also help improve call quality, both when it comes to picking up your voice and ensuring you can hear the person you’re talking to.
The Momentum 5’s battery life lasts up to 57 hours. It’s a small hit from the Momentum 4’s 60 hours, but still nearly double what you’ll get from the Sony WH-1000XM6, which can only muster up to 30 hours with ANC turned on. Other Momentum 5 upgrades include a new carrying case that’s 20 percent smaller, support for Dolby Atmos and spatial audio with head tracking, and the ability to upgrade from Bluetooth 5.4 to Bluetooth 6.0 with a future firmware update, although Sennheiser didn’t share a timeline for that.
Nearly four years after the last version of Sennheiser’s Momentum headphones debuted with a redesign that traded a retro aesthetic for a more contemporary and comfortable design, the company has announced its Momentum 5 Wireless headphones. They look very similar to their predecessors, the Momentum 4, with large ear cups and a design that doesn’t quite stand out from the competition. But under the hood there are welcome upgrades, including improved ANC and, for the first time, a user-replaceable battery to extend their life.
The Momentum 5 Wireless will be available starting on June 30th for $399.99, a $50 price bump over the Momentum 4. The headphones feature the same 42mm drivers as the Momentum 3 and 4 models, but Sennheiser is introducing “Hi-Res Audio certification” and expanding the Momentum 5’s Bluetooth codec support to include AptX Lossless. That allows the headphones to stream 16-bit/44.1kHz CD-quality sound, but only from devices with a Qualcomm processor supporting that codec through the Snapdragon Sound platform. Smartphones from Sony and Motorola should be compatible, however Samsung, Google, and Apple devices won’t be.
Sennheiser has also doubled the number of microphones on the Momentum 5, which now feature four on each side to improve noise cancellation. The company claims its latest headphones are up to three times more effective at reducing the sound of voice chatter and the drone experienced in airplane cabins. The upgraded ANC and added mics also help improve call quality, both when it comes to picking up your voice and ensuring you can hear the person you’re talking to.
The Momentum 5’s battery life lasts up to 57 hours. It’s a small hit from the Momentum 4’s 60 hours, but still nearly double what you’ll get from the Sony WH-1000XM6, which can only muster up to 30 hours with ANC turned on. Other Momentum 5 upgrades include a new carrying case that’s 20 percent smaller, support for Dolby Atmos and spatial audio with head tracking, and the ability to upgrade from Bluetooth 5.4 to Bluetooth 6.0 with a future firmware update, although Sennheiser didn’t share a timeline for that.
#Sennheisers #Momentum #headphones #upgraded #ANC #replaceable #batteryAudio,Gadgets,Headphones,News,Tech">Sennheiser’s new Momentum 5 headphones have upgraded ANC and a replaceable battery
Nearly four years after the last version of Sennheiser’s Momentum headphones debuted with a redesign that traded a retro aesthetic for a more contemporary and comfortable design, the company has announced its Momentum 5 Wireless headphones. They look very similar to their predecessors, the Momentum 4, with large ear cups and a design that doesn’t quite stand out from the competition. But under the hood there are welcome upgrades, including improved ANC and, for the first time, a user-replaceable battery to extend their life.
The Momentum 5 Wireless will be available starting on June 30th for $399.99, a $50 price bump over the Momentum 4. The headphones feature the same 42mm drivers as the Momentum 3 and 4 models, but Sennheiser is introducing “Hi-Res Audio certification” and expanding the Momentum 5’s Bluetooth codec support to include AptX Lossless. That allows the headphones to stream 16-bit/44.1kHz CD-quality sound, but only from devices with a Qualcomm processor supporting that codec through the Snapdragon Sound platform. Smartphones from Sony and Motorola should be compatible, however Samsung, Google, and Apple devices won’t be.
Sennheiser has also doubled the number of microphones on the Momentum 5, which now feature four on each side to improve noise cancellation. The company claims its latest headphones are up to three times more effective at reducing the sound of voice chatter and the drone experienced in airplane cabins. The upgraded ANC and added mics also help improve call quality, both when it comes to picking up your voice and ensuring you can hear the person you’re talking to.
The Momentum 5’s battery life lasts up to 57 hours. It’s a small hit from the Momentum 4’s 60 hours, but still nearly double what you’ll get from the Sony WH-1000XM6, which can only muster up to 30 hours with ANC turned on. Other Momentum 5 upgrades include a new carrying case that’s 20 percent smaller, support for Dolby Atmos and spatial audio with head tracking, and the ability to upgrade from Bluetooth 5.4 to Bluetooth 6.0 with a future firmware update, although Sennheiser didn’t share a timeline for that.
“Most savings from this change will flow directly back into the people who stay. We’ll be introducing million-dollar salary bands. If you create outsized impact using AI, you’ll be paid outside of traditional bands,” Evans wrote.
ClickUp recently introduced roughly 3,000 internal AI agents to handle a wide range of complex tasks on behalf of its employees, according to a Fortune article published several days ago. Instead of performing the work themselves, staff members are now expected to direct these agents and ultimately review the output to ensure it meets the company’s standards.
Evans’s goal, according to his X post, is for AI to turbocharge ClickUp into a “100x org.”
ClickUp is not alone in its hope that AI agents will provide massive productivity gains.
In fact, according to a recent Gartner survey, about 80% of companies using autonomous tech have cut jobs. However, the study found that workforce reductions aren’t necessarily translating into meaningful financial returns.
While Gartner’s findings suggest some companies use unproven AI as an excuse to downsize, ClickUp maintains it is not one of them.
Evans told TechCrunch via email that the startup is indeed seeing productivity gains from AI agents. Not only is ClickUp measuring those efficiencies internally, but it’s also apparently gearing up to include them in a forthcoming product for its customers.
“Instead of gamifying token cost, we gamify value created and time saved,” Evans wrote.
In recent months, a growing number of companies have started monitoring employee token consumption, using it as a metric to see who is actually adopting AI tools. But critics argue that “tokenmaxxing”—as this concept is known—is the wrong metric because it simply racks up AI expenses.
“The people that automate their jobs with AI will always have a job,” Evans claimed in his post. But if AI keeps taking over more tasks, ClickUp will eventually need fewer and fewer people, eliminating those who fail to automate their functions well.
Tech circles have long theorized about this scenario.
One extreme example of a high-profile startup using AI automation to the max already exists. Polsia, a one-year-old startup that claims to handle all software operations for solopreneurs, is run by just one person: its founder and CEO, Ben Broca. That efficiency is apparently paying off: Polsia just raised $30 million at a $250 million valuation.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
“Most savings from this change will flow directly back into the people who stay. We’ll be introducing million-dollar salary bands. If you create outsized impact using AI, you’ll be paid outside of traditional bands,” Evans wrote.
ClickUp recently introduced roughly 3,000 internal AI agents to handle a wide range of complex tasks on behalf of its employees, according to a Fortune article published several days ago. Instead of performing the work themselves, staff members are now expected to direct these agents and ultimately review the output to ensure it meets the company’s standards.
Evans’s goal, according to his X post, is for AI to turbocharge ClickUp into a “100x org.”
ClickUp is not alone in its hope that AI agents will provide massive productivity gains.
In fact, according to a recent Gartner survey, about 80% of companies using autonomous tech have cut jobs. However, the study found that workforce reductions aren’t necessarily translating into meaningful financial returns.
While Gartner’s findings suggest some companies use unproven AI as an excuse to downsize, ClickUp maintains it is not one of them.
Evans told TechCrunch via email that the startup is indeed seeing productivity gains from AI agents. Not only is ClickUp measuring those efficiencies internally, but it’s also apparently gearing up to include them in a forthcoming product for its customers.
“Instead of gamifying token cost, we gamify value created and time saved,” Evans wrote.
In recent months, a growing number of companies have started monitoring employee token consumption, using it as a metric to see who is actually adopting AI tools. But critics argue that “tokenmaxxing”—as this concept is known—is the wrong metric because it simply racks up AI expenses.
“The people that automate their jobs with AI will always have a job,” Evans claimed in his post. But if AI keeps taking over more tasks, ClickUp will eventually need fewer and fewer people, eliminating those who fail to automate their functions well.
Tech circles have long theorized about this scenario.
One extreme example of a high-profile startup using AI automation to the max already exists. Polsia, a one-year-old startup that claims to handle all software operations for solopreneurs, is run by just one person: its founder and CEO, Ben Broca. That efficiency is apparently paying off: Polsia just raised $30 million at a $250 million valuation.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
#ClickUps #mass #layoff #tells #future #work #TechCrunchlayoff,ClickUp">What ClickUp’s mass layoff tells us about the future of work | TechCrunch
AI’s biggest champions have argued for some time that the technology will usher in an era of unprecedented productivity gains, richly rewarding workers who harness it while displacing those who don’t.
Zeb Evans, CEO of the collaboration software startup ClickUp, claims that this shift is imminent. Last Thursday, Evans announced on X that the company, which was last valued in 2021 at $4 billion, had laid off 22% of its workforce yet characterized that reduction as not a cost-cutting measure, but rather a radical embrace of AI that will propel the company to the next level.
“Most savings from this change will flow directly back into the people who stay. We’ll be introducing million-dollar salary bands. If you create outsized impact using AI, you’ll be paid outside of traditional bands,” Evans wrote.
ClickUp recently introduced roughly 3,000 internal AI agents to handle a wide range of complex tasks on behalf of its employees, according to a Fortune article published several days ago. Instead of performing the work themselves, staff members are now expected to direct these agents and ultimately review the output to ensure it meets the company’s standards.
Evans’s goal, according to his X post, is for AI to turbocharge ClickUp into a “100x org.”
ClickUp is not alone in its hope that AI agents will provide massive productivity gains.
In fact, according to a recent Gartner survey, about 80% of companies using autonomous tech have cut jobs. However, the study found that workforce reductions aren’t necessarily translating into meaningful financial returns.
While Gartner’s findings suggest some companies use unproven AI as an excuse to downsize, ClickUp maintains it is not one of them.
Evans told TechCrunch via email that the startup is indeed seeing productivity gains from AI agents. Not only is ClickUp measuring those efficiencies internally, but it’s also apparently gearing up to include them in a forthcoming product for its customers.
“Instead of gamifying token cost, we gamify value created and time saved,” Evans wrote.
In recent months, a growing number of companies have started monitoring employee token consumption, using it as a metric to see who is actually adopting AI tools. But critics argue that “tokenmaxxing”—as this concept is known—is the wrong metric because it simply racks up AI expenses.
“The people that automate their jobs with AI will always have a job,” Evans claimed in his post. But if AI keeps taking over more tasks, ClickUp will eventually need fewer and fewer people, eliminating those who fail to automate their functions well.
Tech circles have long theorized about this scenario.
One extreme example of a high-profile startup using AI automation to the max already exists. Polsia, a one-year-old startup that claims to handle all software operations for solopreneurs, is run by just one person: its founder and CEO, Ben Broca. That efficiency is apparently paying off: Polsia just raised $30 million at a $250 million valuation.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
AI’s biggest champions have argued for some time that the technology will usher in an…
VM441 AiO, which is designed to offer a smarter desktop experience by combining the Snapdragon X platform with Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC features. In simpler terms, ASUS wants this to feel less like a traditional bulky desktop and more like a modern AI-first machine for everyday users.
ASUS VM441 AiO Features
The AiO delivers up to 45 TOPS of NPU performance for advanced functions on the device. The Copilot+ PC helps its users perform all their daily activities, multitask, and communicate during discussions and collaborations. The VM441 AiO comes with an impressive 24-inch full-HD touch-screen monitor with great aesthetics. The screen has a wide 178-degree viewing angle and 100% sRGB color coverage.
ASUS VM441 AiO comes with two 3W stereo speakers that feature Dolby Atmos technology for clear, immersive audio. The inclusion of a bass reflex system helps deliver clearer audio output while you stream content and participate in video conferencing sessions. It also features a 5 MP IR camera with Windows Hello technology.
ASUS has designed the device to provide a complete desktop package for everyday users. It comes with quick SSD storage options, free wireless accessories, and compatibility with productivity suite software. Buyers also receive a one-year Microsoft 365 Basic subscription with 100GB cloud storage access for files and backups.
Price and Availability
ASUS has priced the ASUS VM441 AiO starting at ₹1,01,990 for the 512GB model. The higher 1TB storage variant starts at ₹1,11,990. The desktop will be available across online and offline platforms, including Amazon, Flipkart, ASUS stores, and Croma. ASUS also includes No Cost EMI plans and cashback benefits on eligible bank cards.
VM441 AiO, which is designed to offer a smarter desktop experience by combining the Snapdragon X platform with Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC features. In simpler terms, ASUS wants this to feel less like a traditional bulky desktop and more like a modern AI-first machine for everyday users.
ASUS VM441 AiO Features
The AiO delivers up to 45 TOPS of NPU performance for advanced functions on the device. The Copilot+ PC helps its users perform all their daily activities, multitask, and communicate during discussions and collaborations. The VM441 AiO comes with an impressive 24-inch full-HD touch-screen monitor with great aesthetics. The screen has a wide 178-degree viewing angle and 100% sRGB color coverage.
ASUS VM441 AiO comes with two 3W stereo speakers that feature Dolby Atmos technology for clear, immersive audio. The inclusion of a bass reflex system helps deliver clearer audio output while you stream content and participate in video conferencing sessions. It also features a 5 MP IR camera with Windows Hello technology.
ASUS has designed the device to provide a complete desktop package for everyday users. It comes with quick SSD storage options, free wireless accessories, and compatibility with productivity suite software. Buyers also receive a one-year Microsoft 365 Basic subscription with 100GB cloud storage access for files and backups.
Price and Availability
ASUS has priced the ASUS VM441 AiO starting at ₹1,01,990 for the 512GB model. The higher 1TB storage variant starts at ₹1,11,990. The desktop will be available across online and offline platforms, including Amazon, Flipkart, ASUS stores, and Croma. ASUS also includes No Cost EMI plans and cashback benefits on eligible bank cards.
#ASUS #VM441 #AiO #Launched #Snapdragon #Chip #Copilot #FeaturesAsus">ASUS VM441 AiO Launched With Snapdragon X Chip and Copilot+ Features
AI PCs are quickly becoming the next big thing in the laptop world, but desktops haven’t seen the same level of attention yet. ASUS now wants to change that with the launch of the new VM441 AiO, which is designed to offer a smarter desktop experience by combining the Snapdragon X platform with Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC features. In simpler terms, ASUS wants this to feel less like a traditional bulky desktop and more like a modern AI-first machine for everyday users.
ASUS VM441 AiO Features
The AiO delivers up to 45 TOPS of NPU performance for advanced functions on the device. The Copilot+ PC helps its users perform all their daily activities, multitask, and communicate during discussions and collaborations. The VM441 AiO comes with an impressive 24-inch full-HD touch-screen monitor with great aesthetics. The screen has a wide 178-degree viewing angle and 100% sRGB color coverage.
ASUS VM441 AiO comes with two 3W stereo speakers that feature Dolby Atmos technology for clear, immersive audio. The inclusion of a bass reflex system helps deliver clearer audio output while you stream content and participate in video conferencing sessions. It also features a 5 MP IR camera with Windows Hello technology.
ASUS has designed the device to provide a complete desktop package for everyday users. It comes with quick SSD storage options, free wireless accessories, and compatibility with productivity suite software. Buyers also receive a one-year Microsoft 365 Basic subscription with 100GB cloud storage access for files and backups.
Price and Availability
ASUS has priced the ASUS VM441 AiO starting at ₹1,01,990 for the 512GB model. The higher 1TB storage variant starts at ₹1,11,990. The desktop will be available across online and offline platforms, including Amazon, Flipkart, ASUS stores, and Croma. ASUS also includes No Cost EMI plans and cashback benefits on eligible bank cards.
AI PCs are quickly becoming the next big thing in the laptop world, but desktops…
There’s an argument to be made that audiobooks are the finest form of content. You take a book—already off to a good start—and you get to have someone read it right into your ears. And when I say “someone” I mean the GOATs in the voice game. I could cite examples of celebrities you never knew narrated audiobooks, but here’s a sample of Werner Herzog narrating his memoir Every Man for Himself and God Against All that I think speaks for itself:
What could be better than this?
Not only are audiobooks heaven, you can probably get all the audiobooks you want for free (and legally) by getting yourself a library card and using your local library’s preferred app (Libby, perhaps).
I say all that, because given all the easy and free access to high quality audiobooks, why in the world would anyone listen to a John Grisham audiobook presented like this?
Don’t click that link. Instead of the actual audiobook, which is read wonderfully by Michael Beck, it will take you to a YouTube video consisting of an AI narrator reading Grisham’s recent hit novel the Widow, and the narration plays under 13 hours of AI slop video—simulated stock footage of fake vacations, basically. It looks like the video they display under the lyrics on Hell’s karaoke machine. I don’t have any science to back this up, but it will definitely give you brain cancer.
As the New York Times points out, 80,000 lost souls listened to the Widow this way. And Grisham is pissed about it. “The thieves and pirates who steal my work and try to profit from it, in any format, should be punished civilly and criminally […] And in this particular example, YouTube is complicit because it’s clear they know what is happening and refuse to stop it,” Grisham told the Times in an email. He should really write about this.
YouTube, for its part, says the video is still up because there hasn’t been a takedown request, and that it doesn’t proactively police for copyright violations. “For more than two decades, we’ve built systems that help rights holders manage and control their copyrighted content — investing continuously to make sure those systems evolve as new threats emerge,” Jack Malon, a YouTube spokesperson, wrote to the Times.
If you’ve ever had a YouTube video flagged for a copyright violation, it may have been because of a feature called Content ID that music publishers absolutely love. It allows copyright holders to crawl YouTube and automatically detect copyrighted content. At times, Content ID has been a valuable moneymaking scheme for copyright holders, who were able to zero in on incidental—or even accidental—uses of copyrighted material, especially music, and by making a claim, monetize other people’s videos. It can’t do this anymore, but this is the sort of thing YouTube’s copyright system has been designed to support.
As the Times points out, Content ID isn’t great at finding AI-narrated audiobooks. The audio waveform of the content is not the same as the audio the publisher owns, which makes it tricky to know what to even scan for. The author holds a copyright on the text, which can be slightly changed by the creator of the YouTube video while still leaving the book largely intact—good enough for casual listeners anyway.
This leaves publishers and authors to navigate the takedown process manually, which seems, judging from the fact that the Widow is still up, to just not be happening.
That’s a pity. And I don’t mean because it’s robbing John Grisham of audiobook sales, which is bad, but not the gravest injustice in the universe. It’s bad because people are listening to such horrible garbage just because it’s available. And they really, truly, don’t have to.
There’s an argument to be made that audiobooks are the finest form of content. You take a book—already off to a good start—and you get to have someone read it right into your ears. And when I say “someone” I mean the GOATs in the voice game. I could cite examples of celebrities you never knew narrated audiobooks, but here’s a sample of Werner Herzog narrating his memoir Every Man for Himself and God Against All that I think speaks for itself:
What could be better than this?
Not only are audiobooks heaven, you can probably get all the audiobooks you want for free (and legally) by getting yourself a library card and using your local library’s preferred app (Libby, perhaps).
I say all that, because given all the easy and free access to high quality audiobooks, why in the world would anyone listen to a John Grisham audiobook presented like this?
Don’t click that link. Instead of the actual audiobook, which is read wonderfully by Michael Beck, it will take you to a YouTube video consisting of an AI narrator reading Grisham’s recent hit novel the Widow, and the narration plays under 13 hours of AI slop video—simulated stock footage of fake vacations, basically. It looks like the video they display under the lyrics on Hell’s karaoke machine. I don’t have any science to back this up, but it will definitely give you brain cancer.
As the New York Times points out, 80,000 lost souls listened to the Widow this way. And Grisham is pissed about it. “The thieves and pirates who steal my work and try to profit from it, in any format, should be punished civilly and criminally […] And in this particular example, YouTube is complicit because it’s clear they know what is happening and refuse to stop it,” Grisham told the Times in an email. He should really write about this.
YouTube, for its part, says the video is still up because there hasn’t been a takedown request, and that it doesn’t proactively police for copyright violations. “For more than two decades, we’ve built systems that help rights holders manage and control their copyrighted content — investing continuously to make sure those systems evolve as new threats emerge,” Jack Malon, a YouTube spokesperson, wrote to the Times.
If you’ve ever had a YouTube video flagged for a copyright violation, it may have been because of a feature called Content ID that music publishers absolutely love. It allows copyright holders to crawl YouTube and automatically detect copyrighted content. At times, Content ID has been a valuable moneymaking scheme for copyright holders, who were able to zero in on incidental—or even accidental—uses of copyrighted material, especially music, and by making a claim, monetize other people’s videos. It can’t do this anymore, but this is the sort of thing YouTube’s copyright system has been designed to support.
As the Times points out, Content ID isn’t great at finding AI-narrated audiobooks. The audio waveform of the content is not the same as the audio the publisher owns, which makes it tricky to know what to even scan for. The author holds a copyright on the text, which can be slightly changed by the creator of the YouTube video while still leaving the book largely intact—good enough for casual listeners anyway.
This leaves publishers and authors to navigate the takedown process manually, which seems, judging from the fact that the Widow is still up, to just not be happening.
That’s a pity. And I don’t mean because it’s robbing John Grisham of audiobook sales, which is bad, but not the gravest injustice in the universe. It’s bad because people are listening to such horrible garbage just because it’s available. And they really, truly, don’t have to.
#John #Grishams #Legal #Drama #Real #Life #Fight #Audiobooks #YouTubeArtificial intelligence,Audiobooks,Books,intellectual proper">John Grisham’s New Legal Drama Is a Real Life Fight Against AI Audiobooks on YouTube
There’s an argument to be made that audiobooks are the finest form of content. You take a book—already off to a good start—and you get to have someone read it right into your ears. And when I say “someone” I mean the GOATs in the voice game. I could cite examples of celebrities you never knew narrated audiobooks, but here’s a sample of Werner Herzog narrating his memoir Every Man for Himself and God Against All that I think speaks for itself:
What could be better than this?
Not only are audiobooks heaven, you can probably get all the audiobooks you want for free (and legally) by getting yourself a library card and using your local library’s preferred app (Libby, perhaps).
I say all that, because given all the easy and free access to high quality audiobooks, why in the world would anyone listen to a John Grisham audiobook presented like this?
Don’t click that link. Instead of the actual audiobook, which is read wonderfully by Michael Beck, it will take you to a YouTube video consisting of an AI narrator reading Grisham’s recent hit novel the Widow, and the narration plays under 13 hours of AI slop video—simulated stock footage of fake vacations, basically. It looks like the video they display under the lyrics on Hell’s karaoke machine. I don’t have any science to back this up, but it will definitely give you brain cancer.
As the New York Times points out, 80,000 lost souls listened to the Widow this way. And Grisham is pissed about it. “The thieves and pirates who steal my work and try to profit from it, in any format, should be punished civilly and criminally […] And in this particular example, YouTube is complicit because it’s clear they know what is happening and refuse to stop it,” Grisham told the Times in an email. He should really write about this.
YouTube, for its part, says the video is still up because there hasn’t been a takedown request, and that it doesn’t proactively police for copyright violations. “For more than two decades, we’ve built systems that help rights holders manage and control their copyrighted content — investing continuously to make sure those systems evolve as new threats emerge,” Jack Malon, a YouTube spokesperson, wrote to the Times.
If you’ve ever had a YouTube video flagged for a copyright violation, it may have been because of a feature called Content ID that music publishers absolutely love. It allows copyright holders to crawl YouTube and automatically detect copyrighted content. At times, Content ID has been a valuable moneymaking scheme for copyright holders, who were able to zero in on incidental—or even accidental—uses of copyrighted material, especially music, and by making a claim, monetize other people’s videos. It can’t do this anymore, but this is the sort of thing YouTube’s copyright system has been designed to support.
As the Times points out, Content ID isn’t great at finding AI-narrated audiobooks. The audio waveform of the content is not the same as the audio the publisher owns, which makes it tricky to know what to even scan for. The author holds a copyright on the text, which can be slightly changed by the creator of the YouTube video while still leaving the book largely intact—good enough for casual listeners anyway.
This leaves publishers and authors to navigate the takedown process manually, which seems, judging from the fact that the Widow is still up, to just not be happening.
That’s a pity. And I don’t mean because it’s robbing John Grisham of audiobook sales, which is bad, but not the gravest injustice in the universe. It’s bad because people are listening to such horrible garbage just because it’s available. And they really, truly, don’t have to.
There’s an argument to be made that audiobooks are the finest form of content. You…
When you think of Memorial Day sales, you probably think of mattresses and other home goods. And while those items are definitely discounted, now is also a good time to purchase tech. Personally, I’m not buying anything right now unless it’s discounted—and fortunately many of our top picks are. Whether you’re shopping for a power bank, a new pair of headphones, or some other gadget, I’ve rounded up the best Memorial Day deals for your perusal. We’ll update this article again on Monday.
Updated May 24: We’ve checked prices, removed expired deals, added 5 new deals, and ensured accuracy throughout.
WIRED Featured Deals:
Sony WH-1000XM5 for $248 ($152 off)
The Sony WH-1000XM5 have a very frustrating name, but they’re the predecessor to our favorite wireless headphones, and they’re still an excellent pick if you don’t want to shell out for the new WH-1000XM6. They go on sale frequently, but rarely drop this low in price, which comes within $5 of their all-time low. If you’re in the market for over-ear headphones, they’re hard to beat. They’re comfortable, portable, lightweight, and stylish, and they’ll make your music sound great no matter what you like to listen to.
When you think of Memorial Day sales, you probably think of mattresses and other home goods. And while those items are definitely discounted, now is also a good time to purchase tech. Personally, I’m not buying anything right now unless it’s discounted—and fortunately many of our top picks are. Whether you’re shopping for a power bank, a new pair of headphones, or some other gadget, I’ve rounded up the best Memorial Day deals for your perusal. We’ll update this article again on Monday.
Updated May 24: We’ve checked prices, removed expired deals, added 5 new deals, and ensured accuracy throughout.
WIRED Featured Deals:
Sony WH-1000XM5 for $248 ($152 off)
The Sony WH-1000XM5 have a very frustrating name, but they’re the predecessor to our favorite wireless headphones, and they’re still an excellent pick if you don’t want to shell out for the new WH-1000XM6. They go on sale frequently, but rarely drop this low in price, which comes within $5 of their all-time low. If you’re in the market for over-ear headphones, they’re hard to beat. They’re comfortable, portable, lightweight, and stylish, and they’ll make your music sound great no matter what you like to listen to.
#Memorial #Day #Tech #Deals #Worth #Checkingshopping,deals,memorial day">The Best Memorial Day Tech Deals Worth Checking Out
When you think of Memorial Day sales, you probably think of mattresses and other home goods. And while those items are definitely discounted, now is also a good time to purchase tech. Personally, I’m not buying anything right now unless it’s discounted—and fortunately many of our top picks are. Whether you’re shopping for a power bank, a new pair of headphones, or some other gadget, I’ve rounded up the best Memorial Day deals for your perusal. We’ll update this article again on Monday.
Updated May 24: We’ve checked prices, removed expired deals, added 5 new deals, and ensured accuracy throughout.
WIRED Featured Deals:
Sony WH-1000XM5 for $248 ($152 off)
The Sony WH-1000XM5 have a very frustrating name, but they’re the predecessor to our favorite wireless headphones, and they’re still an excellent pick if you don’t want to shell out for the new WH-1000XM6. They go on sale frequently, but rarely drop this low in price, which comes within $5 of their all-time low. If you’re in the market for over-ear headphones, they’re hard to beat. They’re comfortable, portable, lightweight, and stylish, and they’ll make your music sound great no matter what you like to listen to.
#Memorial #Day #Tech #Deals #Worth #Checkingshopping,deals,memorial day
When you think of Memorial Day sales, you probably think of mattresses and other home…
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
#NYT #Strands #hints #answers">NYT Strands hints, answers for May 25, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you served your country.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
Update, May 24th: Updated to reflect current pricing and availability.
#Memorial #Day #sales #shop #weekendDeals,Gadgets,Verge Shopping">The best Memorial Day sales you can shop this weekend
To give you more options, we’ve also included a selection of deals from retailers that aren’t necessarily running their own Memorial Day sales but are still offering limited-time deals in the run-up to May 25th.
Savings are savings, after all.
TVs and streaming devices
Miscellaneous Verge favorites
Update, May 24th: Updated to reflect current pricing and availability.
“Everybody’s losing money,” said Chi Xu, the founder and CEO of the smart glasses company Xreal, which is a longtime partner of Google. I met Xu at Google’s I/O conference in Mountain View last week, where he was promoting Xreal’s Project Aura. That’s its latest effort to create a set of functional XR glasses that people actually want to use.
“That’s because it’s very hard, what we’re doing,” he said.
For much of the industry’s existence, the problems of smart glasses have seemed somewhat obvious: bulky, uncomfortable, and socially awkward form factor, paired with negligibly beneficial software. Now, however, industry insiders — including Xu — feel like their business has turned a corner and may be reaching an inflection point.
That supposed inflection point has something to do with Meta, whose 2023 partnership with Ray-Ban launched one of the first lines of models that has actually managed to sell a lot of units. (It’s worth noting, however, that the division responsible for the glasses, Reality Labs, still operates at a massive loss.)
Now, as form factors shrink and software improves, Xu feels that Xreal can finally become a leader in the space. “You need all the key pieces ready — you need the hardware ready, the operating system needs to be ready, and then you need a great user interface,” Xu said.
Xreal’s newest model Aura is wired smart glasses that have OLED displays embedded within them, meaning that you can watch high-resolution videos within the frames themselves. Somewhat awkwardly, Aura comes tethered to a “puck” — essentially a phone-shaped mini-computer that powers the experience behind the glasses. When using it, you can ostensibly just slip it into your pocket.
But in exchange for the awkwardness of the puck, the user gets a wider variety of fun experiences with the glasses, including an immersive Google Maps app, VR YouTube videos, and a “painting app” that lets you — via the powers of hand tracking — create holographic imagery that only you can see. There are also reportedly games, playable (again) via hand tracking, and basic web surfing functionality.
“Whether you are following a floating recipe while cooking, setting up a private workspace at a coffee shop or on a flight, or watching a movie on a virtual big screen at home, the experience is seamless,” the company promises.
Xu also says that he imagines the device being used not just by the casual consumer but by professionals as well. “It’s not just about watching the NBA game in a hologram type of format, you could also go to a coffee shop and do some work,” he said.
Currently, the glasses are only available for developers, but the plan is for them to launch commercially later this year. Xreal is also working on an IPO that is expected to take place before 2026 is over, although Xu declined to say much about it.
In the meantime, the company is working on that whole turning-a-profit thing. Xu notes that his company has been raising its gross margin while lowering its costs for marketing and sales. “Next year is the year when we could actually break even,” he says.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
“Everybody’s losing money,” said Chi Xu, the founder and CEO of the smart glasses company Xreal, which is a longtime partner of Google. I met Xu at Google’s I/O conference in Mountain View last week, where he was promoting Xreal’s Project Aura. That’s its latest effort to create a set of functional XR glasses that people actually want to use.
“That’s because it’s very hard, what we’re doing,” he said.
For much of the industry’s existence, the problems of smart glasses have seemed somewhat obvious: bulky, uncomfortable, and socially awkward form factor, paired with negligibly beneficial software. Now, however, industry insiders — including Xu — feel like their business has turned a corner and may be reaching an inflection point.
That supposed inflection point has something to do with Meta, whose 2023 partnership with Ray-Ban launched one of the first lines of models that has actually managed to sell a lot of units. (It’s worth noting, however, that the division responsible for the glasses, Reality Labs, still operates at a massive loss.)
Now, as form factors shrink and software improves, Xu feels that Xreal can finally become a leader in the space. “You need all the key pieces ready — you need the hardware ready, the operating system needs to be ready, and then you need a great user interface,” Xu said.
Xreal’s newest model Aura is wired smart glasses that have OLED displays embedded within them, meaning that you can watch high-resolution videos within the frames themselves. Somewhat awkwardly, Aura comes tethered to a “puck” — essentially a phone-shaped mini-computer that powers the experience behind the glasses. When using it, you can ostensibly just slip it into your pocket.
But in exchange for the awkwardness of the puck, the user gets a wider variety of fun experiences with the glasses, including an immersive Google Maps app, VR YouTube videos, and a “painting app” that lets you — via the powers of hand tracking — create holographic imagery that only you can see. There are also reportedly games, playable (again) via hand tracking, and basic web surfing functionality.
“Whether you are following a floating recipe while cooking, setting up a private workspace at a coffee shop or on a flight, or watching a movie on a virtual big screen at home, the experience is seamless,” the company promises.
Xu also says that he imagines the device being used not just by the casual consumer but by professionals as well. “It’s not just about watching the NBA game in a hologram type of format, you could also go to a coffee shop and do some work,” he said.
Currently, the glasses are only available for developers, but the plan is for them to launch commercially later this year. Xreal is also working on an IPO that is expected to take place before 2026 is over, although Xu declined to say much about it.
In the meantime, the company is working on that whole turning-a-profit thing. Xu notes that his company has been raising its gross margin while lowering its costs for marketing and sales. “Next year is the year when we could actually break even,” he says.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
#Xreal #Googles #smartglasses #partner #thinks #finally #mastered #notoriously #tricky #industry #TechCrunchGoogle,Google I/O,AI,SMART Glasses,XReal">Xreal, Google’s smartglasses partner, thinks it has finally mastered this notoriously tricky industry | TechCrunch
The smart glasses industry has long been a tortured dream of Silicon Valley. The premise is appealing enough: What if, to enjoy the benefits of mobile computing, people didn’t have to stare at their phones all day long and could, instead, simply wear a lightweight computing device on their face? Science fiction fans (a demographic that is strong in the tech industry) can see this vision perfectly.
However, the industry has — for much of the last decade — resembled a financial black hole into which gargantuan investments have been sunk and from which little to no profit has ever emerged.
“Everybody’s losing money,” said Chi Xu, the founder and CEO of the smart glasses company Xreal, which is a longtime partner of Google. I met Xu at Google’s I/O conference in Mountain View last week, where he was promoting Xreal’s Project Aura. That’s its latest effort to create a set of functional XR glasses that people actually want to use.
“That’s because it’s very hard, what we’re doing,” he said.
For much of the industry’s existence, the problems of smart glasses have seemed somewhat obvious: bulky, uncomfortable, and socially awkward form factor, paired with negligibly beneficial software. Now, however, industry insiders — including Xu — feel like their business has turned a corner and may be reaching an inflection point.
That supposed inflection point has something to do with Meta, whose 2023 partnership with Ray-Ban launched one of the first lines of models that has actually managed to sell a lot of units. (It’s worth noting, however, that the division responsible for the glasses, Reality Labs, still operates at a massive loss.)
Now, as form factors shrink and software improves, Xu feels that Xreal can finally become a leader in the space. “You need all the key pieces ready — you need the hardware ready, the operating system needs to be ready, and then you need a great user interface,” Xu said.
Xreal’s newest model Aura is wired smart glasses that have OLED displays embedded within them, meaning that you can watch high-resolution videos within the frames themselves. Somewhat awkwardly, Aura comes tethered to a “puck” — essentially a phone-shaped mini-computer that powers the experience behind the glasses. When using it, you can ostensibly just slip it into your pocket.
But in exchange for the awkwardness of the puck, the user gets a wider variety of fun experiences with the glasses, including an immersive Google Maps app, VR YouTube videos, and a “painting app” that lets you — via the powers of hand tracking — create holographic imagery that only you can see. There are also reportedly games, playable (again) via hand tracking, and basic web surfing functionality.
“Whether you are following a floating recipe while cooking, setting up a private workspace at a coffee shop or on a flight, or watching a movie on a virtual big screen at home, the experience is seamless,” the company promises.
Xu also says that he imagines the device being used not just by the casual consumer but by professionals as well. “It’s not just about watching the NBA game in a hologram type of format, you could also go to a coffee shop and do some work,” he said.
Currently, the glasses are only available for developers, but the plan is for them to launch commercially later this year. Xreal is also working on an IPO that is expected to take place before 2026 is over, although Xu declined to say much about it.
In the meantime, the company is working on that whole turning-a-profit thing. Xu notes that his company has been raising its gross margin while lowering its costs for marketing and sales. “Next year is the year when we could actually break even,” he says.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
The smart glasses industry has long been a tortured dream of Silicon Valley. The premise…
review. A few days back, the Chinese maker announced the all-new Enco Air 5 Pro, promising even better 55dB ANC, Bluetooth 6.0 support, and LHDC 5.0.
As expected, OPPO sent over the 5 Pro a couple of weeks back. Since then, I’ve made them my primary set of earbuds, taking them to the gym every day, using them while working, and also on a short flight to Delhi to test their ANC capabilities. Spoiler alert: They are my new favorite pair of earbuds. Here’s why.
OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro Review
Hisan Kidwai
Summary
The OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro are probably the easiest-to-recommend earbuds I’ve ever tested, simply because they don’t put a foot wrong. The design has been refined to feel even more premium, and the case no longer picks up smudges. Comfort is top-tier across all ear sizes. The sound feels super balanced, with clear vocals and controlled mids and highs. Not to mention the awesome ANC, which can dampen any aircraft noise without issues, helping you zone out into the music. Controls are intuitive and easy to understand for just about everyone.
Design & Comfort
If you remember the previous Enco Air 3 Pro+, they were a pretty handy pair of earphones. They weren’t too big, and the matte finish looked pretty at first. But over the past few months, I’ve noticed permanent smudge marks on them that won’t go away. Very fortunately, that won’t be the case for the Enco 5 Pro. OPPO has redesigned almost every part, and I’m a fan. You still get the pill-shaped case, but OPPO has trimmed the dimensions. It’s now even more portable, which is great news.
Next on the redesign list is the finish. It’s a soft-touch black powder coat that feels really nice in the hand. It only picks up small smudges, and they can be wiped away with a wet towel in seconds. The opening/closing mechanism is still super satisfying, meaning I was using it as a fidget toy. Thankfully, OPPO hasn’t done away with the physical pairing button, so you won’t have to perform finger gymnastics to pair with a new phone.
Comfort has always been tricky for me. I have small ears, so anything that’s bulky just slips out after a few minutes. That’s exactly why I couldn’t daily drive the Noise Master Buds 2. Surprisingly, OPPO is the only brand that’s stayed in my ears just fine, and I’m glad to report the same about the Enco Air 5 Pro. They are lightweight and supremely comfortable, meaning I could wear them on a long flight without any hiccups and carry them out while doing my daily chores, forgetting they are in my ears.
OPPO has also bundled a couple of differently sized tips, so if the pre-applied ones feel small or large, you can experiment with others. The buds are IP55 certified, meaning they’ll withstand a sweaty gym session without a hitch, but submersion will be a problem; keep an eye out for that.
Sound Quality & ANC
The OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro comes with 12mm Titanium-Coated Diaphragm drivers and support for LHDC 5.0, and Bluetooth 6.0. All my testing was done on the Ultimate Sound preset, but there are a couple of other presets available, along with a full equalizer, which we will talk about soon. To put the Enco 5 Pro through its paces, I started my listening session with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and “Heartless” by The Weeknd. The earbuds are tuned to be balanced, irrespective of what song you listen to. The Hi-Fi vocals sound clear without distortion at higher volumes, and the background drums on Heartless have a little thump, which is always appreciated. The highs don’t screech your ears, and OPPO has even managed to hit the treble on point.
I also found that all the instruments have very good separation, but if you’d like them placed all around you, OPPO has its Live Audio feature. I’m not the biggest fan of this tech, but I’d be lying if I said the experience was bad. The Enco Air 5 Pro places different elements perfectly around you. For all my movie fanatics, I watched a couple of episodes of Better Call Saul with the earbuds connected to my Mac. The latency wasn’t an issue, as the dialogue was in sync with the lips and the audio quality was clean. Calls have been improved quite a bit compared to the predecessor, with crisper audio and better noise reduction.
As far as ANC is concerned, its biggest test is flights. That rumble of the jet engine can get annoying fast, and I absolutely don’t like it. Since I was due to attend an event in Delhi, I took the 5 Pro with me, and the experience did not disappoint. At 55dB of ANC, I’d say the buds canceled about 85% of the jet engine rumble, without any music on. That’s really good compared to the 3 Pro+, which were around the 40% mark. With any music on at around half volume, most engine noise disappears, and the experience is the same as if you were sitting in your living room. It is important to note that high-pitched noises, such as a couple arguing, will still make their way through.
OPPO claims about 13 hours of battery life on a single charge for the earbuds, and while my 8 hours is less than the claimed number, it’s still plenty good, especially with ANC turned on at all times. The case provides a couple of extra charges, so the total output should be around 24-25 hours, depending on your use case. Still, battery life is great overall.
Controls & Companion App
Controls can, at least for me, make or break the experience. Thankfully, the Enco Air 5 Pro gets this right, which has some of the best controls I’ve tested so far. Headlining it all is the new volume adjustment settings, which lets you slide up/down on both earbuds to raise or lower the volume. It works super effectively and doesn’t mess up the fit much. Beyond that, you get the basics like double-tap to play/pause the music, triple-tap to skip forward/rewind, and tap and hold to turn on ANC. All of these are customizable to your liking.
The earbuds can be controlled via the HeyMelody app or directly from the Bluetooth settings page if you’re using an OPPO or OnePlus phone. The app is slick and responsive, and this time OPPO has debuted the new Spotify Tap feature. For those unaware, it connects to your Spotify app and plays a song according to your taste whenever you tap your earbuds. I’m an Apple Music user, but I do see the appeal. There’s also Sound Space, which includes different white noises, like waves crashing on the shore, morning sunshine, and night camping. All of which can help you better concentrate at work or sleep better. Last but not least, a full 10-band equalizer lets you tune the sound output precisely to your liking. I did try it, but since I’m no musician, I left it in OPPO’s hands with the different presets.
Verdict
At ₹4,999, the OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro are probably the easiest-to-recommend earbuds I’ve ever tested, simply because they don’t put a foot wrong. The design has been refined to feel even more premium, and the case no longer picks up smudges. Comfort is top-tier across all ear sizes. The sound feels super balanced, with clear vocals and controlled mids and highs. Not to mention the awesome ANC, which can dampen any aircraft noise without issues, helping you zone out into the music. Controls are intuitive and easy to understand for just about everyone. They get a solid recommendation from me and should absolutely be on your radar.
review. A few days back, the Chinese maker announced the all-new Enco Air 5 Pro, promising even better 55dB ANC, Bluetooth 6.0 support, and LHDC 5.0.
As expected, OPPO sent over the 5 Pro a couple of weeks back. Since then, I’ve made them my primary set of earbuds, taking them to the gym every day, using them while working, and also on a short flight to Delhi to test their ANC capabilities. Spoiler alert: They are my new favorite pair of earbuds. Here’s why.
OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro Review
Hisan Kidwai
Summary
The OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro are probably the easiest-to-recommend earbuds I’ve ever tested, simply because they don’t put a foot wrong. The design has been refined to feel even more premium, and the case no longer picks up smudges. Comfort is top-tier across all ear sizes. The sound feels super balanced, with clear vocals and controlled mids and highs. Not to mention the awesome ANC, which can dampen any aircraft noise without issues, helping you zone out into the music. Controls are intuitive and easy to understand for just about everyone.
Design & Comfort
If you remember the previous Enco Air 3 Pro+, they were a pretty handy pair of earphones. They weren’t too big, and the matte finish looked pretty at first. But over the past few months, I’ve noticed permanent smudge marks on them that won’t go away. Very fortunately, that won’t be the case for the Enco 5 Pro. OPPO has redesigned almost every part, and I’m a fan. You still get the pill-shaped case, but OPPO has trimmed the dimensions. It’s now even more portable, which is great news.
Next on the redesign list is the finish. It’s a soft-touch black powder coat that feels really nice in the hand. It only picks up small smudges, and they can be wiped away with a wet towel in seconds. The opening/closing mechanism is still super satisfying, meaning I was using it as a fidget toy. Thankfully, OPPO hasn’t done away with the physical pairing button, so you won’t have to perform finger gymnastics to pair with a new phone.
Comfort has always been tricky for me. I have small ears, so anything that’s bulky just slips out after a few minutes. That’s exactly why I couldn’t daily drive the Noise Master Buds 2. Surprisingly, OPPO is the only brand that’s stayed in my ears just fine, and I’m glad to report the same about the Enco Air 5 Pro. They are lightweight and supremely comfortable, meaning I could wear them on a long flight without any hiccups and carry them out while doing my daily chores, forgetting they are in my ears.
OPPO has also bundled a couple of differently sized tips, so if the pre-applied ones feel small or large, you can experiment with others. The buds are IP55 certified, meaning they’ll withstand a sweaty gym session without a hitch, but submersion will be a problem; keep an eye out for that.
Sound Quality & ANC
The OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro comes with 12mm Titanium-Coated Diaphragm drivers and support for LHDC 5.0, and Bluetooth 6.0. All my testing was done on the Ultimate Sound preset, but there are a couple of other presets available, along with a full equalizer, which we will talk about soon. To put the Enco 5 Pro through its paces, I started my listening session with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and “Heartless” by The Weeknd. The earbuds are tuned to be balanced, irrespective of what song you listen to. The Hi-Fi vocals sound clear without distortion at higher volumes, and the background drums on Heartless have a little thump, which is always appreciated. The highs don’t screech your ears, and OPPO has even managed to hit the treble on point.
I also found that all the instruments have very good separation, but if you’d like them placed all around you, OPPO has its Live Audio feature. I’m not the biggest fan of this tech, but I’d be lying if I said the experience was bad. The Enco Air 5 Pro places different elements perfectly around you. For all my movie fanatics, I watched a couple of episodes of Better Call Saul with the earbuds connected to my Mac. The latency wasn’t an issue, as the dialogue was in sync with the lips and the audio quality was clean. Calls have been improved quite a bit compared to the predecessor, with crisper audio and better noise reduction.
As far as ANC is concerned, its biggest test is flights. That rumble of the jet engine can get annoying fast, and I absolutely don’t like it. Since I was due to attend an event in Delhi, I took the 5 Pro with me, and the experience did not disappoint. At 55dB of ANC, I’d say the buds canceled about 85% of the jet engine rumble, without any music on. That’s really good compared to the 3 Pro+, which were around the 40% mark. With any music on at around half volume, most engine noise disappears, and the experience is the same as if you were sitting in your living room. It is important to note that high-pitched noises, such as a couple arguing, will still make their way through.
OPPO claims about 13 hours of battery life on a single charge for the earbuds, and while my 8 hours is less than the claimed number, it’s still plenty good, especially with ANC turned on at all times. The case provides a couple of extra charges, so the total output should be around 24-25 hours, depending on your use case. Still, battery life is great overall.
Controls & Companion App
Controls can, at least for me, make or break the experience. Thankfully, the Enco Air 5 Pro gets this right, which has some of the best controls I’ve tested so far. Headlining it all is the new volume adjustment settings, which lets you slide up/down on both earbuds to raise or lower the volume. It works super effectively and doesn’t mess up the fit much. Beyond that, you get the basics like double-tap to play/pause the music, triple-tap to skip forward/rewind, and tap and hold to turn on ANC. All of these are customizable to your liking.
The earbuds can be controlled via the HeyMelody app or directly from the Bluetooth settings page if you’re using an OPPO or OnePlus phone. The app is slick and responsive, and this time OPPO has debuted the new Spotify Tap feature. For those unaware, it connects to your Spotify app and plays a song according to your taste whenever you tap your earbuds. I’m an Apple Music user, but I do see the appeal. There’s also Sound Space, which includes different white noises, like waves crashing on the shore, morning sunshine, and night camping. All of which can help you better concentrate at work or sleep better. Last but not least, a full 10-band equalizer lets you tune the sound output precisely to your liking. I did try it, but since I’m no musician, I left it in OPPO’s hands with the different presets.
Verdict
At ₹4,999, the OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro are probably the easiest-to-recommend earbuds I’ve ever tested, simply because they don’t put a foot wrong. The design has been refined to feel even more premium, and the case no longer picks up smudges. Comfort is top-tier across all ear sizes. The sound feels super balanced, with clear vocals and controlled mids and highs. Not to mention the awesome ANC, which can dampen any aircraft noise without issues, helping you zone out into the music. Controls are intuitive and easy to understand for just about everyone. They get a solid recommendation from me and should absolutely be on your radar.
#OPPO #Enco #Air #Pro #Review #Favorite #Budget #EarbudsOppo,tws">OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro Review: My New Favorite Budget Earbuds
What actually makes a good pair of budget earbuds? I’ll say it’s sound quality, mixed with simplicity, with a sprinkle of some useful features. In my years of reviewing tech, there has been just one brand that’s been following this recipe perfectly, and that’s OPPO. Their Enco earbuds, as people would say these days, hit the spot, and I’m a fan, so much so that I’m still daily driving the Enco Buds 3 Pro+ from the last review. A few days back, the Chinese maker announced the all-new Enco Air 5 Pro, promising even better 55dB ANC, Bluetooth 6.0 support, and LHDC 5.0.
As expected, OPPO sent over the 5 Pro a couple of weeks back. Since then, I’ve made them my primary set of earbuds, taking them to the gym every day, using them while working, and also on a short flight to Delhi to test their ANC capabilities. Spoiler alert: They are my new favorite pair of earbuds. Here’s why.
OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro Review
Hisan Kidwai
Summary
The OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro are probably the easiest-to-recommend earbuds I’ve ever tested, simply because they don’t put a foot wrong. The design has been refined to feel even more premium, and the case no longer picks up smudges. Comfort is top-tier across all ear sizes. The sound feels super balanced, with clear vocals and controlled mids and highs. Not to mention the awesome ANC, which can dampen any aircraft noise without issues, helping you zone out into the music. Controls are intuitive and easy to understand for just about everyone.
Design & Comfort
If you remember the previous Enco Air 3 Pro+, they were a pretty handy pair of earphones. They weren’t too big, and the matte finish looked pretty at first. But over the past few months, I’ve noticed permanent smudge marks on them that won’t go away. Very fortunately, that won’t be the case for the Enco 5 Pro. OPPO has redesigned almost every part, and I’m a fan. You still get the pill-shaped case, but OPPO has trimmed the dimensions. It’s now even more portable, which is great news.
Next on the redesign list is the finish. It’s a soft-touch black powder coat that feels really nice in the hand. It only picks up small smudges, and they can be wiped away with a wet towel in seconds. The opening/closing mechanism is still super satisfying, meaning I was using it as a fidget toy. Thankfully, OPPO hasn’t done away with the physical pairing button, so you won’t have to perform finger gymnastics to pair with a new phone.
Comfort has always been tricky for me. I have small ears, so anything that’s bulky just slips out after a few minutes. That’s exactly why I couldn’t daily drive the Noise Master Buds 2. Surprisingly, OPPO is the only brand that’s stayed in my ears just fine, and I’m glad to report the same about the Enco Air 5 Pro. They are lightweight and supremely comfortable, meaning I could wear them on a long flight without any hiccups and carry them out while doing my daily chores, forgetting they are in my ears.
OPPO has also bundled a couple of differently sized tips, so if the pre-applied ones feel small or large, you can experiment with others. The buds are IP55 certified, meaning they’ll withstand a sweaty gym session without a hitch, but submersion will be a problem; keep an eye out for that.
Sound Quality & ANC
The OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro comes with 12mm Titanium-Coated Diaphragm drivers and support for LHDC 5.0, and Bluetooth 6.0. All my testing was done on the Ultimate Sound preset, but there are a couple of other presets available, along with a full equalizer, which we will talk about soon. To put the Enco 5 Pro through its paces, I started my listening session with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and “Heartless” by The Weeknd. The earbuds are tuned to be balanced, irrespective of what song you listen to. The Hi-Fi vocals sound clear without distortion at higher volumes, and the background drums on Heartless have a little thump, which is always appreciated. The highs don’t screech your ears, and OPPO has even managed to hit the treble on point.
I also found that all the instruments have very good separation, but if you’d like them placed all around you, OPPO has its Live Audio feature. I’m not the biggest fan of this tech, but I’d be lying if I said the experience was bad. The Enco Air 5 Pro places different elements perfectly around you. For all my movie fanatics, I watched a couple of episodes of Better Call Saul with the earbuds connected to my Mac. The latency wasn’t an issue, as the dialogue was in sync with the lips and the audio quality was clean. Calls have been improved quite a bit compared to the predecessor, with crisper audio and better noise reduction.
As far as ANC is concerned, its biggest test is flights. That rumble of the jet engine can get annoying fast, and I absolutely don’t like it. Since I was due to attend an event in Delhi, I took the 5 Pro with me, and the experience did not disappoint. At 55dB of ANC, I’d say the buds canceled about 85% of the jet engine rumble, without any music on. That’s really good compared to the 3 Pro+, which were around the 40% mark. With any music on at around half volume, most engine noise disappears, and the experience is the same as if you were sitting in your living room. It is important to note that high-pitched noises, such as a couple arguing, will still make their way through.
OPPO claims about 13 hours of battery life on a single charge for the earbuds, and while my 8 hours is less than the claimed number, it’s still plenty good, especially with ANC turned on at all times. The case provides a couple of extra charges, so the total output should be around 24-25 hours, depending on your use case. Still, battery life is great overall.
Controls & Companion App
Controls can, at least for me, make or break the experience. Thankfully, the Enco Air 5 Pro gets this right, which has some of the best controls I’ve tested so far. Headlining it all is the new volume adjustment settings, which lets you slide up/down on both earbuds to raise or lower the volume. It works super effectively and doesn’t mess up the fit much. Beyond that, you get the basics like double-tap to play/pause the music, triple-tap to skip forward/rewind, and tap and hold to turn on ANC. All of these are customizable to your liking.
The earbuds can be controlled via the HeyMelody app or directly from the Bluetooth settings page if you’re using an OPPO or OnePlus phone. The app is slick and responsive, and this time OPPO has debuted the new Spotify Tap feature. For those unaware, it connects to your Spotify app and plays a song according to your taste whenever you tap your earbuds. I’m an Apple Music user, but I do see the appeal. There’s also Sound Space, which includes different white noises, like waves crashing on the shore, morning sunshine, and night camping. All of which can help you better concentrate at work or sleep better. Last but not least, a full 10-band equalizer lets you tune the sound output precisely to your liking. I did try it, but since I’m no musician, I left it in OPPO’s hands with the different presets.
Verdict
At ₹4,999, the OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro are probably the easiest-to-recommend earbuds I’ve ever tested, simply because they don’t put a foot wrong. The design has been refined to feel even more premium, and the case no longer picks up smudges. Comfort is top-tier across all ear sizes. The sound feels super balanced, with clear vocals and controlled mids and highs. Not to mention the awesome ANC, which can dampen any aircraft noise without issues, helping you zone out into the music. Controls are intuitive and easy to understand for just about everyone. They get a solid recommendation from me and should absolutely be on your radar.
![John Grisham’s New Legal Drama Is a Real Life Fight Against AI Audiobooks on YouTube
There’s an argument to be made that audiobooks are the finest form of content. You take a book—already off to a good start—and you get to have someone read it right into your ears. And when I say “someone” I mean the GOATs in the voice game. I could cite examples of celebrities you never knew narrated audiobooks, but here’s a sample of Werner Herzog narrating his memoir Every Man for Himself and God Against All that I think speaks for itself: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4IQSvi3pXU[/embed] What could be better than this? Not only are audiobooks heaven, you can probably get all the audiobooks you want for free (and legally) by getting yourself a library card and using your local library’s preferred app (Libby, perhaps). I say all that, because given all the easy and free access to high quality audiobooks, why in the world would anyone listen to a John Grisham audiobook presented like this?
Don’t click that link. Instead of the actual audiobook, which is read wonderfully by Michael Beck, it will take you to a YouTube video consisting of an AI narrator reading Grisham’s recent hit novel the Widow, and the narration plays under 13 hours of AI slop video—simulated stock footage of fake vacations, basically. It looks like the video they display under the lyrics on Hell’s karaoke machine. I don’t have any science to back this up, but it will definitely give you brain cancer.
As the New York Times points out, 80,000 lost souls listened to the Widow this way. And Grisham is pissed about it. “The thieves and pirates who steal my work and try to profit from it, in any format, should be punished civilly and criminally […] And in this particular example, YouTube is complicit because it’s clear they know what is happening and refuse to stop it,” Grisham told the Times in an email. He should really write about this. YouTube, for its part, says the video is still up because there hasn’t been a takedown request, and that it doesn’t proactively police for copyright violations. “For more than two decades, we’ve built systems that help rights holders manage and control their copyrighted content — investing continuously to make sure those systems evolve as new threats emerge,” Jack Malon, a YouTube spokesperson, wrote to the Times.
If you’ve ever had a YouTube video flagged for a copyright violation, it may have been because of a feature called Content ID that music publishers absolutely love. It allows copyright holders to crawl YouTube and automatically detect copyrighted content. At times, Content ID has been a valuable moneymaking scheme for copyright holders, who were able to zero in on incidental—or even accidental—uses of copyrighted material, especially music, and by making a claim, monetize other people’s videos. It can’t do this anymore, but this is the sort of thing YouTube’s copyright system has been designed to support. As the Times points out, Content ID isn’t great at finding AI-narrated audiobooks. The audio waveform of the content is not the same as the audio the publisher owns, which makes it tricky to know what to even scan for. The author holds a copyright on the text, which can be slightly changed by the creator of the YouTube video while still leaving the book largely intact—good enough for casual listeners anyway. This leaves publishers and authors to navigate the takedown process manually, which seems, judging from the fact that the Widow is still up, to just not be happening.
That’s a pity. And I don’t mean because it’s robbing John Grisham of audiobook sales, which is bad, but not the gravest injustice in the universe. It’s bad because people are listening to such horrible garbage just because it’s available. And they really, truly, don’t have to. #John #Grishams #Legal #Drama #Real #Life #Fight #Audiobooks #YouTubeArtificial intelligence,Audiobooks,Books,intellectual proper](https://i2.wp.com/gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/05/john-grisham-1280x853.jpg?ssl=1 "John Grisham’s New Legal Drama Is a Real Life Fight Against AI Audiobooks on YouTube
There’s an argument to be made that audiobooks are the finest form of content. You take a book—already off to a good start—and you get to have someone read it right into your ears. And when I say “someone” I mean the GOATs in the voice game. I could cite examples of celebrities you never knew narrated audiobooks, but here’s a sample of Werner Herzog narrating his memoir Every Man for Himself and God Against All that I think speaks for itself: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4IQSvi3pXU[/embed] What could be better than this? Not only are audiobooks heaven, you can probably get all the audiobooks you want for free (and legally) by getting yourself a library card and using your local library’s preferred app (Libby, perhaps). I say all that, because given all the easy and free access to high quality audiobooks, why in the world would anyone listen to a John Grisham audiobook presented like this?
Don’t click that link. Instead of the actual audiobook, which is read wonderfully by Michael Beck, it will take you to a YouTube video consisting of an AI narrator reading Grisham’s recent hit novel the Widow, and the narration plays under 13 hours of AI slop video—simulated stock footage of fake vacations, basically. It looks like the video they display under the lyrics on Hell’s karaoke machine. I don’t have any science to back this up, but it will definitely give you brain cancer.
As the New York Times points out, 80,000 lost souls listened to the Widow this way. And Grisham is pissed about it. “The thieves and pirates who steal my work and try to profit from it, in any format, should be punished civilly and criminally […] And in this particular example, YouTube is complicit because it’s clear they know what is happening and refuse to stop it,” Grisham told the Times in an email. He should really write about this. YouTube, for its part, says the video is still up because there hasn’t been a takedown request, and that it doesn’t proactively police for copyright violations. “For more than two decades, we’ve built systems that help rights holders manage and control their copyrighted content — investing continuously to make sure those systems evolve as new threats emerge,” Jack Malon, a YouTube spokesperson, wrote to the Times.
If you’ve ever had a YouTube video flagged for a copyright violation, it may have been because of a feature called Content ID that music publishers absolutely love. It allows copyright holders to crawl YouTube and automatically detect copyrighted content. At times, Content ID has been a valuable moneymaking scheme for copyright holders, who were able to zero in on incidental—or even accidental—uses of copyrighted material, especially music, and by making a claim, monetize other people’s videos. It can’t do this anymore, but this is the sort of thing YouTube’s copyright system has been designed to support. As the Times points out, Content ID isn’t great at finding AI-narrated audiobooks. The audio waveform of the content is not the same as the audio the publisher owns, which makes it tricky to know what to even scan for. The author holds a copyright on the text, which can be slightly changed by the creator of the YouTube video while still leaving the book largely intact—good enough for casual listeners anyway. This leaves publishers and authors to navigate the takedown process manually, which seems, judging from the fact that the Widow is still up, to just not be happening.
That’s a pity. And I don’t mean because it’s robbing John Grisham of audiobook sales, which is bad, but not the gravest injustice in the universe. It’s bad because people are listening to such horrible garbage just because it’s available. And they really, truly, don’t have to. #John #Grishams #Legal #Drama #Real #Life #Fight #Audiobooks #YouTubeArtificial intelligence,Audiobooks,Books,intellectual proper")
![John Grisham’s New Legal Drama Is a Real Life Fight Against AI Audiobooks on YouTube
There’s an argument to be made that audiobooks are the finest form of content. You take a book—already off to a good start—and you get to have someone read it right into your ears. And when I say “someone” I mean the GOATs in the voice game. I could cite examples of celebrities you never knew narrated audiobooks, but here’s a sample of Werner Herzog narrating his memoir Every Man for Himself and God Against All that I think speaks for itself: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4IQSvi3pXU[/embed] What could be better than this? Not only are audiobooks heaven, you can probably get all the audiobooks you want for free (and legally) by getting yourself a library card and using your local library’s preferred app (Libby, perhaps). I say all that, because given all the easy and free access to high quality audiobooks, why in the world would anyone listen to a John Grisham audiobook presented like this?
Don’t click that link. Instead of the actual audiobook, which is read wonderfully by Michael Beck, it will take you to a YouTube video consisting of an AI narrator reading Grisham’s recent hit novel the Widow, and the narration plays under 13 hours of AI slop video—simulated stock footage of fake vacations, basically. It looks like the video they display under the lyrics on Hell’s karaoke machine. I don’t have any science to back this up, but it will definitely give you brain cancer.
As the New York Times points out, 80,000 lost souls listened to the Widow this way. And Grisham is pissed about it. “The thieves and pirates who steal my work and try to profit from it, in any format, should be punished civilly and criminally […] And in this particular example, YouTube is complicit because it’s clear they know what is happening and refuse to stop it,” Grisham told the Times in an email. He should really write about this. YouTube, for its part, says the video is still up because there hasn’t been a takedown request, and that it doesn’t proactively police for copyright violations. “For more than two decades, we’ve built systems that help rights holders manage and control their copyrighted content — investing continuously to make sure those systems evolve as new threats emerge,” Jack Malon, a YouTube spokesperson, wrote to the Times.
If you’ve ever had a YouTube video flagged for a copyright violation, it may have been because of a feature called Content ID that music publishers absolutely love. It allows copyright holders to crawl YouTube and automatically detect copyrighted content. At times, Content ID has been a valuable moneymaking scheme for copyright holders, who were able to zero in on incidental—or even accidental—uses of copyrighted material, especially music, and by making a claim, monetize other people’s videos. It can’t do this anymore, but this is the sort of thing YouTube’s copyright system has been designed to support. As the Times points out, Content ID isn’t great at finding AI-narrated audiobooks. The audio waveform of the content is not the same as the audio the publisher owns, which makes it tricky to know what to even scan for. The author holds a copyright on the text, which can be slightly changed by the creator of the YouTube video while still leaving the book largely intact—good enough for casual listeners anyway. This leaves publishers and authors to navigate the takedown process manually, which seems, judging from the fact that the Widow is still up, to just not be happening.
That’s a pity. And I don’t mean because it’s robbing John Grisham of audiobook sales, which is bad, but not the gravest injustice in the universe. It’s bad because people are listening to such horrible garbage just because it’s available. And they really, truly, don’t have to. #John #Grishams #Legal #Drama #Real #Life #Fight #Audiobooks #YouTubeArtificial intelligence,Audiobooks,Books,intellectual proper](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/05/john-grisham-1280x853.jpg "John Grisham’s New Legal Drama Is a Real Life Fight Against AI Audiobooks on YouTube
There’s an argument to be made that audiobooks are the finest form of content. You take a book—already off to a good start—and you get to have someone read it right into your ears. And when I say “someone” I mean the GOATs in the voice game. I could cite examples of celebrities you never knew narrated audiobooks, but here’s a sample of Werner Herzog narrating his memoir Every Man for Himself and God Against All that I think speaks for itself: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4IQSvi3pXU[/embed] What could be better than this? Not only are audiobooks heaven, you can probably get all the audiobooks you want for free (and legally) by getting yourself a library card and using your local library’s preferred app (Libby, perhaps). I say all that, because given all the easy and free access to high quality audiobooks, why in the world would anyone listen to a John Grisham audiobook presented like this?
Don’t click that link. Instead of the actual audiobook, which is read wonderfully by Michael Beck, it will take you to a YouTube video consisting of an AI narrator reading Grisham’s recent hit novel the Widow, and the narration plays under 13 hours of AI slop video—simulated stock footage of fake vacations, basically. It looks like the video they display under the lyrics on Hell’s karaoke machine. I don’t have any science to back this up, but it will definitely give you brain cancer.
As the New York Times points out, 80,000 lost souls listened to the Widow this way. And Grisham is pissed about it. “The thieves and pirates who steal my work and try to profit from it, in any format, should be punished civilly and criminally […] And in this particular example, YouTube is complicit because it’s clear they know what is happening and refuse to stop it,” Grisham told the Times in an email. He should really write about this. YouTube, for its part, says the video is still up because there hasn’t been a takedown request, and that it doesn’t proactively police for copyright violations. “For more than two decades, we’ve built systems that help rights holders manage and control their copyrighted content — investing continuously to make sure those systems evolve as new threats emerge,” Jack Malon, a YouTube spokesperson, wrote to the Times.
If you’ve ever had a YouTube video flagged for a copyright violation, it may have been because of a feature called Content ID that music publishers absolutely love. It allows copyright holders to crawl YouTube and automatically detect copyrighted content. At times, Content ID has been a valuable moneymaking scheme for copyright holders, who were able to zero in on incidental—or even accidental—uses of copyrighted material, especially music, and by making a claim, monetize other people’s videos. It can’t do this anymore, but this is the sort of thing YouTube’s copyright system has been designed to support. As the Times points out, Content ID isn’t great at finding AI-narrated audiobooks. The audio waveform of the content is not the same as the audio the publisher owns, which makes it tricky to know what to even scan for. The author holds a copyright on the text, which can be slightly changed by the creator of the YouTube video while still leaving the book largely intact—good enough for casual listeners anyway. This leaves publishers and authors to navigate the takedown process manually, which seems, judging from the fact that the Widow is still up, to just not be happening.
That’s a pity. And I don’t mean because it’s robbing John Grisham of audiobook sales, which is bad, but not the gravest injustice in the universe. It’s bad because people are listening to such horrible garbage just because it’s available. And they really, truly, don’t have to. #John #Grishams #Legal #Drama #Real #Life #Fight #Audiobooks #YouTubeArtificial intelligence,Audiobooks,Books,intellectual proper")
