FEATURES
5 Things to Do After a Ransomware Attack
In South Africa, 42% of ransomware victims pay the ransom to restore access to their data. Yet for 19% of those, paying the ransom did not guarantee the return of stolen data. However, as public awareness of potential cyber threats grows there is the reason for optimism in the fight against ransomware. Ransomware is a type of malware which criminals use to extort money. It holds data to ransom using encryption or by locking users out of their device. According to a report from Kaspersky, whether they paid or not, only 24% of victims were able to restore all their encrypted or blocked files following an attack. 61% lost at least some files, 32% lost a significant amount, and 29% lost a small number of files. Meanwhile, 11% who did experience such an incident lost almost all their data. “Thi...
A Quiet Revolution
“I don’t even think about being an Indigo Girl unless I’m getting interviewed about it,” an upbeat Emily Saliers tells me, as she makes her daughter Cleo, eight, a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. “I’m just, like, slogging through life,” she says, though not at all downtrodden, more in a relatable I’m-a-person-like-everyone-else sort of way. “Got sober–the most important thing that’s happened to me—got married [to Tristin Chipman in 2013], had a child. I’m making mistakes and learning from them. I’m working on my insecurities. I’m working on all the negative voices in my head that say I’m not good enough, just like everybody else.” In spite of the obvious influence on both music and culture, and the quiet inspiration for decades of positive change, she adds: “To be an icon, no–it’s incomp...
5 Takeaways from KSHMR’s Candid 2021 Reddit AMA
When KSHMR finally released Harmonica Andromeda, it was a long time coming. The album lit a fuse in his fanbase that exploded with adoration for the famed dance music producer and DJ, who had been refining his sound and brand for years. Fresh off the release of his long-awaited debut album, KSHMR hosted a candid Reddit AMA to answer questions from his global fanbase. Here are five takeaways. KSHMR released Harmonica Andromeda on March 19th, 2021 via his own Dharma Records, an imprint operating under the Spinnin’ Records umbrella. The most challenging career hurdle he has overcome A career as fruitful as KSHMR’s comes with many hurdles. Prior to his debut as KSHMR, he created pop and hip-hop music as one-half of The Cataracs, a prolific production team w...
Women’s History Month Tribute: Björk
The brilliance of Björk can extend interminably outward, filling out the starry firmament from which she finds inspiration and unity. To call Björk unique is an infinite understatement. She’s more of a protean polymath exploring the outer rims of the psyche with an unflappable lust for life. Because, in her own words: “The unknown turns me on.” As an impressionable teenager of the late ‘70s, Björk was bedazzled by the punk conquest. She drifted in and out of mainly arty, transient post-punk projects from the self-formed Exodus to Tappi Tikarrass to KUKL, the last of which morphed into her most well-known pre-solo band, The Sugarcubes, in 1986. That final installment of short-lived groups garnered enough attention to break out of domestic Icelandic success only, and for her to break out of ...
Why Private Cellular Networks are Critical to Trade
Increases in global development and international populations have put bigger demands on trade and in turn, ports and shipping. To manage the boom, ports are improving operations and efficiency with automation, powered by 5G-ready private cellular networks. According to the World Bank, trade represented more than 60% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019. And 90% of the world’s trade is facilitated by the shipping industry, according to the International Chamber of Shipping. The vast importance of future ports to shipping makes them a vital element for the function of the global economy. According to statistics data from the United Nations Conference on Trade Development, of the four main types of shipping vessels (oil, bulk cargo, general cargo, and globally standardised cont...
Heavy Culture: Moonspell’s Fernando Ribeiro Talks Hermitage, Pandemic, Growing Up in Portugal, and More
Heavy Culture is a monthly column from journalist Liz Ramanand, focusing on artists of different cultural backgrounds in heavy music as they offer their perspectives on race, society, and more as it intersects with and affects their music. The latest installment of this column features an interview with Moonspell frontman Fernando Ribeiro. The year 2020 made most of us embrace our hermit-like ways. Little did Moonspell singer Fernando Ribeiro know that the word Hermitage that he came across in 2017 would be an apt title for the band’s brand new album. The new release Hermitage is the veteran Portuguese gothic metal band’s 12th full-length studio album. The LP focuses on topics such as solitude and isolation, but also on community. Heavy Consequence caught up with Ribeiro via Skype in mid-M...
62 Musicians Predict the 2021 Baseball Season
Somehow, some way, it’s baseball season again. Yes, already. Last year’s abbreviated run saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win their first World Series title in 32 years, something that Ben Gibbard predicted in our 2020 preview. As you can imagine, Dodgers fans — especially the ones below — are in great spirits heading into the 2021 season. So what does that mean about this year? Absolutely nothing. As COVID restrictions start to loosen and with more fans allowed back into stadiums, excitement is beginning to buzz, especially with our group of experts. Like last time, many are hopeful that this will be their team’s year. We searched far and wide to get predictions for the upcoming Major League Baseball season, creating a proper barometer of what these su...
Song of the Week: BROCKHAMPTON and Danny Brown Call Out the Haters on Return Single “BUZZCUT”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, BROCKHAMPTON make their epic return with the help of Danny Brown. “BUZZCUT” marks the first official release from BROCKHAMPTON, the sprawling 13-member hip-hop group, since 2019. After dropping a series of limited-time songs throughout 2020, the band have now made an official return with the assertive single, along with some help from Danny Brown. The undercurrent of the track is one of frustration, focusing on false dreams, haters and detractors, and dysfunctional family dynamics. Member Kevin Abstract leads the first verse and c...
Ford Exploring Prechamber Ignition Technology, Like Maserati Uses, on F-150
Diesel engines used to initiate combustion in a prechamber that housed the glow-plug for cold-starts, but fancy high-pressure direct-injection pretty much retired the prechamber. We’ve recently learned the 2022 Maserati MC20 Nettuno V-6 engine is reviving it—in gasoline engines—as a way to speed the burn rate and extract more work and performance out of the air-fuel mixture. Now we hear Ford is working with FEV, an engineering consultancy, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory on a prechamber engine aimed at boosting efficiency. The $10-million three-year project, partly funded by the Department of Energy, aims to develop a “Next Generation High Efficiency Boosted Engine.” Specifically, the effort aims to achieve a 23 percent improvement in efficiency and a 15 percent re...
EDM.com Presents The Heat Check 003: CharlestheFirst, Kyral x Banko, Player Dave, and More
In modern bass music, listeners and tastemakers consistently find themselves chasing the next big track to blow audiences away. EDM.com’s The Heat Check is a series that highlights the hottest tracks and brightest artists to emerge from the bass, dubstep and freeform scenes. “Wide” – Angelic Root Indie bass prodigy Angelic Root returned earlier this month, releasing The Lost Tapes on Bandcamp Friday. The track opens with bird calls and biomusic elements, which entice listeners before a barrage of low-end bass. Stream or purchase the track on Bandcamp here. “Fleeting Memories” – Charlesthefirst On his latest LP, Solus, Charlesthefirst balances heavy bass and somber melodies. “Fleeting Memories” combines the two, leading fans in with a relaxing piano v...
On the Eve of Something Big
Like many of those in the performing arts world, Eve Hewson is staying in and abiding by pandemic-driven quarantine rules. But although she is physically inside, metaphorically, she’s breaking out. A TV scheduling twist seemingly crafted by kismet has seen her most prominent television work released within days of each other: a starring role in Starz miniseries The Luminaries, set during the 1860s New Zealand gold rush (its season finale airs Sunday, March 28), and the uber-twisty Behind Her Eyes on Netflix. There is also the added bonus of the critically acclaimed 2014 drama The Knick, about opiate-fueled medical professionals in turn-of-the-century New York, just now finding a streaming home on HBO Max. <!– // Brid Player Singles. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ “div”:...
SPIN’s Music Pardons!
On the august occasion of our 36th Anniversary, we are issuing our first ever music pardons. No longer does Billy Ray Cyrus have to live in shame! The Baha Men can finally sleep easy at night, the awful yoke of their aural crime lifted! Eddie Murphy can live out the rest of his days appreciated as the great actor and comedian he is, the millstone of “Party All the Time” removed. Breathe, Eddie! <!– // Brid Player Singles. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ “div”: “Brid_10143537”, “obj”: {“id”:”25115″,”width”:”480″,”height”:”270″,”playlist”:”10315″,”inviewBottomOffset”:”105px”} }); –> Below are the nine pardons we are issuin...
