Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Watch: Boston Dynamics robots challenge K-pop stars BTS to a dance-off - The Boston Globe

You've seen the vaguely terrifying Boston Dynamics robots climb stairs , open doors , and march in formation while pulling a box truck . Now the four-legged robots are on the dance floor and grooving with special guests: the members of K-pop boy band BTS.

In " Spot's On It ," a video released Tuesday by the Waltham-based robotics company to celebrate its recent acquisition by Hyundai Motor Company, seven dog-like "Spot" robots shimmy to the BTS song "IONIQ: I'm On It" in a highly choreographed number.

Publisher: BostonGlobe.com
Date: 2021-06-30T23:17:32.489Z
Twitter: @BostonGlobe
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Giving robots better moves | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

For most people, the task of identifying an object, picking it up, and placing it somewhere else is trivial. For robots, it requires the latest in machine intelligence and robotic manipulation.

That's what MIT spinoff RightHand Robotics has incorporated into its robotic piece-picking systems, which combine unique gripper designs with artificial intelligence and machine vision to help companies sort products and get orders out the door.

Publisher: MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Author: Zach Winn MIT News Office
Twitter: @mit
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Teledyne Flir shipped throwable robots to Florida for building collapse rescue efforts - The

First responders on the ground at the Miami Beach-area condo that partially collapsed last week have used several tech tools to aid the treacherous search-and-rescue effort.

Rescuers deployed sonar and camera equipment early on as officials scoured the rubble for survivors. Heavy machinery was brought in to remove some bits of the pancaked building materials. Yet, nearly 150 people remain unaccounted for.

Publisher: Washington Post
Date: 2021-06-30T10:00:26.867Z
Twitter: @WashingtonPost
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An expert on search and rescue robots explains the technologies used in disasters like the

Raytheon Professor of Computer Science and Engineering; Vice-President Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (nfp), Texas A&M University

Robin R. Murphy volunteers with the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue. She receives funding from the National Science Foundation for her work in disaster robotics and with CRASAR. She is affiliated with Texas A&M.

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Publisher: The Conversation
Author: Robin R Murphy
Twitter: @ConversationUS
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Verizon shows off 5G-connected robots at Barcelona conference | Reuters

A robot is pictured during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, June 28, 2021. REUTERS/Albert Gea

Edge computing uses augmented reality and machine learning to analyse bulk data where it was gathered - whether factory floor, oil rig or office space - and requires fast data transfers of the kind that only high-speed 5G signals provide.

Publisher: Reuters
Date: 2021-06-28T11:39:54Z
Author: Supantha Mukherjee Clara laeila Laudette
Twitter: @Reuters
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Electrostatic footpads enable agile insect-scale soft robots with trajectory control | Science

Agility and trajectory control are two desirable features for robotics, but they become very challenging for soft robots without rigid structures to support rapid manipulations.

By Jiaming Liang , Yichuan Wu , Justin K. Yim , Huimin Chen , Zicong Miao , Hanxiao Liu , Ying Liu , Yixin Liu , Dongkai Wang , Wenying Qiu , Zhichun Shao , Min Zhang , Xiaohao Wang , Junwen Zhong , Liwei Lin

Publisher: Science Robotics
Date: 2021-06-30
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Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
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Pitney Bowes speeds up parcel sorting with smart robots | Chain Store Age

A global commerce solutions provider is deploying robotic parcel sorting technology in its U.S. e-commerce hubs.

Pitney Bowes will roll out artificial intelligence (AI)-based robots from Ambi Robotics at e-commerce distribution facilities across the country in the next five years.

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Publisher: Chain Store Age
Date: 2021-06-30T09:37:04-0500
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Happening on Twitter

Alien view of Earth and deleted coronavirus sequences

Alien view of Earth and deleted coronavirus sequences

An illustration of Earth from space illuminated by the Sun. Stars with a past or future view of Earth as a transiting exoplanet appear brightened. Credit: OpenSpace/American Museum of Natural History

Those aliens would be the natural choice for Earthlings to look for, say the scientists — because they could have already had a chance to spot us, and thus might be primed to receive communications from Earth.

Date: 2021-06-30
Twitter: @nature
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International Asteroid Day is June 30 | University of Nevada, Reno

Happy Asteroid Day. Yes, there is such an annual event. International Asteroid Day is observed each year on the June 30 anniversary of the largest extraterrestrial impact in modern history, which was the 1908 Tunguska event.

So, how does that compare with what happened in Nevada? Frankly, the Tunguska event was minor league by southern Nevada’s Lincoln County standards.

Publisher: University of Nevada, Reno
Twitter: @unevadareno
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UFOs and aliens in Germany | Germany| News and in-depth reporting from Berlin and beyond | DW |

The US government's release of a report on unidentified aerial sightings has been met with much interest in Germany. Enthusiasts believe UFOs have been sighted here, too.

"We're just a small blue planet in the middle of an infinite universe," UFO researcher Robert Fleischer told DW. "Anything is possible out there."

Publisher: DW.COM
Author: Deutsche Welle www dw com
Twitter: @dwnews
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Pentagon UFO report: No aliens, but government transparency and desire for better data might

On June 25, 2021, the Pentagon released a much-anticipated report on UFOs to Congress .

The No. 1 thing the report focuses on is the lack of high-quality data. Here are the highlights from the slender nine-page report , covering a total of 144 UAP sightings from U.S. government sources between 2004 and 2021:

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Publisher: The Conversation
Author: Chris Impey
Twitter: @ConversationUS
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University of Arizona astronomer weighs in on UFO Report

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - A Tucson astronomer weighed in on the U.S. government's Pentagon report released Friday, June 25, and the challenges that can come with investigating UFO sightings.

"Are there foreign adversaries' technologies involved in some of these sightings and that's a concern?" said Chris Impey, a professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona.

Publisher: https://www.kold.com
Twitter: @KOLDNews
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Read the full report: A preliminary assessment by the U.S.

The U.S.

Publisher: Washington Post
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Can ET see us? Study finds many stars with prime Earth view | | foxcarolina.com

This illustration provided by the American Museum of Natural History depicts the planet Earth, center, with the Sun in the background. The line of spots across the center of the image indicates star systems which can see Earth as it goes in front of our Sun.

Astronomers calculated that 1,715 stars in our galactic neighborhood — and hundreds of probable Earth-like planets circling those stars — have had an unobstructed view of Earth during human civilization, according to a study Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Publisher: FOX Carolina
Author: SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer
Twitter: @foxcarolinanews
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A Dyson Sphere Around A Black Hole - SpaceRef

Possible wavelengths for a hot Dyson Sphere to be detected in different black hole mass. The purple, blue, green, orange, and red regions indicate X-ray(0.01 − 10 nm), UV(10 − 400 nm), optical(400 − 760 nm), NIR(760 nm − 5 ๐œ‡m), and MIR(5 − 40 ๐œ‡m) wavelength, respectively.

A Dyson Sphere, a spherical structure that surrounds a star and transports its radiative energy outward as an energy source for an advanced civilisation, is one of the main targets of SETI.

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Happening on Twitter

Facebook UFO group moderators want to know why no one new cares about UFOs

"You've got this huge report coming, and I just have a feeling that it's going to change the conversation," Fanning, a 54-year-old who works in IT in Los Angeles and runs the Alien UFO Sightings Video Group on Facebook , told Mashable.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a highly anticipated 9-page report on Friday afternoon that, plainly, doesn't say much.

Publisher: Mashable
Date: 2021-06-29T17:44:14 00:00
Author: Christianna Silva
Twitter: @mashable
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From Pandemics To Aliens: The Evolutionary Narrative Towards Global Order – OpEd –

When enforced narratives fail, abrupt U-turns are inevitable. The global Ministry of Truth is now openly promoting the Wuhan lab leak theory when they are not savaging the darlings of yesteryear's "coronapocalypse". 

The "unity through crises" model of the ruling class is backfiring; and the credibility of their political marionettes is plumbing new depths. The World Economic Forum's prophesied " cyber pandemic ", if it ever transpires, will only to serve to harden growing public scepticism.

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Publisher: Eurasia Review
Date: 2021-06-29T00:10:12 00:00
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Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Here’s How Space Travel is Becoming a Part of the Travel Industry | TravelPulse

A futuristic dream made real, eager explorers will soon be able to travel to space and back, reimagining the "final frontier" of travel with Space Perspective.

Space Perspective was created by couple Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, space travel experts and entrepreneurs. Their goal for Space Perspective was to make space travel more accessible to people who aren't astronauts.

Publisher: TravelPulse
Date: 2E3295FF72AE65A6453451718C4918F6
Twitter: @TravelPulse
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Civilian Space Flight: Cost, Risks, & When We Can Join Bezos

We're at the dawn of a new era for space exploration, with thrill-seeking civilians boldly going where no tourist has gone before.

Here's everything you need to know about the rise of space tourism, from which billionaires are leaving Earth imminently to when the rest of us might be able to join them.

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Publisher: Intelligencer
Date: 2021-06-29T08:00:14.425-04:00
Author: Paola Rosa Aquino
Twitter: @intelligencer
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Space travel puts spotlight on India's best-loved

Indian astronauts onboard Gaganyaan, the country's first manned mission to orbit the Earth in 2022, will not only get a taste of the final frontier, but also lip-smacking Indian specialties like biryani and khichdi .

While earlier, freeze-dried foods in tubes and pastes once formed the bulk of nutrition for astronauts, space explorers can now partake of a smorgasbord of culinary delights thanks to modern technology.

Publisher: Nikkei Asia
Date: 2021-06-30 11:06:09
Twitter: @NAR
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China space goals sets up new frontier in the tech battle with the U.S.

GUANGZHOU, China — In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, which sparked a space race with the U.S.

While the U.S. and the Soviet Union were battling for superiority in this new domain, Mao Zedong, one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), reportedly said: "China cannot even put a potato in space."

Publisher: CNBC
Date: 2021-06-30T00:09:57 0000
Author: https www facebook com CNBC
Twitter: @CNBC
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Going Beyond the Bounds of Earth: Elmira native Eileen Collins shares her story of space travel

ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – From a young age, Eileen Collins had dreamt of going to a place only a few women had — space.

The Elmira native’s passion for aviation sparked as a teenager when she and her father would adventure to the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport and watch the aircrafts wiz by.

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Publisher: WETM - MyTwinTiers.com
Date: 2021-06-29T20:22:50 00:00
Author: Sarah Willson
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Space Perspective to offer "gentle" balloon rides to space for luxury travel

Space Perspective wants to take paying customers on flights into the upper atmosphere, 20 miles above the planet, and the company is ready to start selling tickets.

Why it matters: The company is stepping into an increasingly crowded market, with multiple space tourism companies — like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin — expected to stage their first commercial flights with passengers this year.

Twitter: @YahooNews
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Tyrese Is Glad He Got Talked Into Going to Space in Fast 9

In fulfillment of some sort of gear-head prophecy, the Fast & Furious movie franchise vrooms right past the surly bonds of Earth in F9 and sends two of its characters, Ludacris's tech whiz Tej and Tyrese Gibson's wisecracking Roman, into orbit.

People have talked about the Fast movies going to space for a long time, but what was your reaction when you heard you were actually going to do it in this one?
First thing I did was chuckle, and then I chuckled again. Then I had to ask them, were they serious? Then I asked them again.

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Publisher: Vulture
Date: 2021-06-29T15:53:18.412Z
Author: Jackson McHenry
Twitter: @vulture
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Space travel company sells out of $125 thousand flights for 2024 within two days | KVEO-TV

HARLINGEN, Texas (KVEO) – Forget blasting off into space, one Florida company wants you to gently float into the stratosphere.  

The week, Florida space travel company,  Space Perspectiv e announced that tickets for their balloon-propelled luxury spaceflight were on sale for $125,000. 

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Publisher: KVEO-TV
Date: 2021-06-26T01:07:28 00:00
Author: Gaby Moreno
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SpaceX Launch Was Called Off Due to Another Aircraft

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said a SpaceX launch was called off because an aircraft entered the so-called keep out zone.

Musk, who also is CEO of SpaceX, tweeted Tuesday that the "keep out zone" is "unreasonably gigantic," and since an aircraft entered it, the company was not able to launch its own. 

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Publisher: Business Insider
Date: 2021-06-29
Author: Katie Canales
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Happening on Twitter

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity could keep flying the Martian skies for months | Space

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity , which landed inside Mars' Jezero Crater with the agency's Perseverance rover in February, has now completed eight Red Planet flights. That's three more than the maximum targeted for the 4-lb.

The little rotorcraft's current extended-mission activities, which center on showcasing the potential of Mars helicopters to serve as scouts for rovers, will "continue for at least a few more months, with a cadence of a couple of flights a month," Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley, a

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Publisher: Space.com
Date: 2021-06-29T11:06:36 00:00
Author: https www facebook com spacecom
Twitter: @SPACEdotcom
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First video and sounds from China's Mars rover intrigue scientists

A detail of Zhurong's undercarriage from a video, with its lander seen in the distance. Credit: CNSA

A series of videos from the Zhurong Mars rover have been released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), including incredible footage showing 23 seconds of the rover's perilous descent to the surface.

Date: 2021-06-28
Twitter: @nature
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Dust problems draining power from NASA's InSight Mars lander | Space

Martian dust accumulating on the panels of NASA's InSight lander could force the Red Planet mission to end its work within the next 10 months, its principal investigator warned during a recent update.

To save power and preserve InSight's essential items like heaters in the cold Martian environment, mission managers have already turned off several instruments on the lander. NASA has also tried a new way of encouraging the wind to blow off sand, but with limited success.

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Publisher: Space.com
Date: 2021-06-29T11:06:16 00:00
Author: https www facebook com spacecom
Twitter: @SPACEdotcom
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First You See It, Then You Don't: Scientists Closer to Explaining Mars Methane Mystery – NASA's

Curiosity’s Wheels: This photo was taken on March 19, 2017, by the Mars Hand Lens Imager camera on the arm of NASA's Curiosity rover. The image helped mission team members inspect the condition of Curiosity’s six wheels. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

Before identifying the sources of methane on Mars, scientists must settle a question that’s been gnawing at them: Why do some instruments detect the gas while others don’t?

Publisher: NASA's Mars Exploration Program
Date: 2021-06-29 16:25:43 UTC
Author: mars nasa gov
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Mars may have dozens of lakes beneath its south pole | Space

Much more liquid water may lie beneath the south pole of Mars than scientists had thought — or there may be something going on down there that they don't fully understand.

In 2018, researchers analyzing radar data gathered by Europe's Mars Express spacecraft announced they'd found evidence of a big subsurface lake in the Red Planet's south polar region.

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Publisher: Space.com
Date: 2021-06-28T11:00:27 00:00
Author: https www facebook com spacecom
Twitter: @SPACEdotcom
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Hear the First Eerie Sounds From Mars: China's Rover Films Itself Driving on Red Planet,

Reprinted with permission from World At Large , a news website of nature, politics, science, health, and travel.

Like NASA which landed its fifth Martian rover in February, China's Zhurong rover touched down on the Red Planet this year.

It brought to Mars a suite of scientific instruments including a weather station, ground-penetrating radar, and a laser spectroscopy device for blasting rocks apart to measure their mineral content.

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Publisher: Good News Network
Date: 2021-06-29T18:33:22 00:00
Author: https www facebook com Worldatlargenews
Twitter: @GoodNewsNetwork
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Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
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Declining power supply could end NASA’s InSight Mars mission next year – Spaceflight

Without a fortuitous whirlwind to clear dust off its solar panels, NASA’s InSight lander could end its mission on Mars within a year due to dropping power levels, the project’s chief scientist said last week.

InSight landed on Mars in November 2018 on a mission to measure seismic activity and study the Red Planet’s deep interior.

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Watch videos of China's Zhurong Mars rover - CNN Video
Publisher: CNN
Date: 2021-06-28T15:30:32Z
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Happening on Twitter

Brand new Bedworth leisure centre at risk if £15m bid is not successful - CoventryLive

Brand new Bedworth leisure centre at risk if £15m bid is not successful - CoventryLive

The new Conservative-controlled council has said that the project is reliant on them securing cash from the Government's Levelling Up Fund (LUF).

This is a claim that has been refuted by the new leader of the Labour group councillor Chris Watkins.

"Before we took control of this council, we were told by the previous controlling group and by members of the cabinet that both the Pingles and Bedworth physical activity hub were going ahead, they were fully costed and full budgeted for and it was definitely going to happen," he said.

Publisher: CoventryLive
Date: 2021-06-27T04:00:00Z
Author: Claire Harrison
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Star Wars: 10 Legends Characters Who Should Show Up In The Bad Batch

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is yet another hit for Star Wars on Disney+, telling the story of Clone Force 99 and their defection from the recently risen Galactic Empire.

However, like any Star Wars property, fans are wondering when concepts from Star Wars Legends will be brought in, bringing some fan-favorite content back into canon.

Publisher: CBR
Date: 2021-06-29T16:00:53Z
Twitter: @cbr
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What a perfect conservative offseason could look like for the Vancouver Canucks – The

Next season it’s incumbent on the Vancouver Canucks to bounce back from a dreadful, chaotic 2021 campaign.

Make no mistake, the internal pressure is real.

Meanwhile, only two years remain on both general manager Jim Benning and head coach Travis Green’s contracts and the club hasn’t made the playoffs over a full 82-game season since 2015.

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Publisher: The Athletic
Author: Thomas Drance
Twitter: @TheAthletic
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Covid should change the way Labour thinks about the armed forces – LabourList

We have learnt a great deal this year. We have learnt the true scale of the inequalities exposed and widened by this crisis. We have learnt how poorly our government will treat those on the frontline that are working to support and protect us.

As a country, it is has prompted serious questions about how we can best use our armed forces, particularly when it comes to homeland resilience. Covid has underlined that, when called upon, our armed forces can execute and deliver the services that are needed effectively and at speed.

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Publisher: LabourList
Twitter: @labourlist
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Irrfan Khan's Son Babil Drops Out Of College | Babil Khan Drops Out Of College To Pursue Acting -

Late actor Irrfan Khan's son Babil who is studying at University of Westminster in London, recently penned an emotional note for his friends in which he announced that he is dropping out of college to focus on his acting career.

Babil shared a picture of himself shooting a scene on his Instagram page and wrote, "I will miss you so much. My beautiful friends. I have a very tight circle here in Mumbai, literally 2-3 friends in total. You all gave me a home in a strange cold place and made me feel like I belonged.

Publisher: https://www.filmibeat.com
Date: 2021-06-28T09:31:55 05:30
Author: data author
Twitter: @filmibeat
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Eventide MicroPitch Delay review | Guitar World

Not just for guitar, this is a consummate studio tool and there's a rear-panel Guitar/Line Level switch to select your sound source accordingly.

As you'd expect from a company that's been around as long as Eventide, there are some classic effects in its roster. And recently the brand decided to put some of them into a series of dedicated pedals.

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Publisher: guitarworld
Date: 2021-06-28T09:42:06 00:00
Author: https www facebook com GuitarWorld
Twitter: @GuitarWorld
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Zzoomm Apologises for Disruption in Oxfordshire UK After DDoS - ISPreview UK

“ All of us here at Zzoomm would like to apologise for the service interruptions experienced in Henley-on-Thames over the last week.

At this point it’s crucial to reflect that DDoS attacks happen to UK ISPs all the time, they're practically par-for-the-course in this business, but most can be mitigated and few are ever significant enough to disrupt connectivity for lots of end-users.

Publisher: ISPreview UK
Date: 2021-06-25T07:23:45 00:00
Author: Mark Jackson
Twitter: @ispreview
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