World Music Day 2025: Tech That Changed How We Listen to Music
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Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Gaming accessories every Indian gamer needs in 2025
Gaming across mobile, console, and PC has never been more alive in India, but immersion, comfort, and performance don't just depend on specs. They depend on the gear you plug in, sit on, or even wear. This list isn't about another RGB keyboard or generic headset. It's about accessories that actually shift the gameplay experience for serious Indian gamers. Mobile gaming is past the tap-and-swipe phase. Serious players are stacking up accessories that bring console polish to the smartphone. GameSir X4 Aileron and OnePlus Gaming Triggers: These bring tactile, console-style control to titles like BGMI and CODM. Mappable buttons and analogue triggers let your thumbs focus on the action. Nubia RedMagic Turbo Cooler Pro: It's a cooler, yes, but it has a mini OLED display that tracks FPS, temps, and more in real time. Streamers love it for flair and function. SpinBot BattleMods Finger Sleeves: These sound gimmicky until you try them. Sweat-resistant, touch-optimized sleeves that give zero-lag feedback during those sweaty ranked sessions. FiiO BTR7 DAC/Amps: Plug into one of these and the audio detail shift is instant. Great for hearing enemy footsteps or subtle cues in competitive eSports titles. Console gamers in India are looking beyond the stock experience. Comfort and competitive edge now matter more than just owning a PS5 or an Xbox One. Corsair Custom Lab and Scuf Instinct Controllers: Full custom-builds with back paddles, reduced trigger latency, and even grip textures. They ship to India, and the difference is tangible in reaction-heavy games. Nyko Modular Power Station and Portronics Power Plate: These dock-and-charge stations double as cooling bases. Worth it if you've had controller battery anxiety mid-session. bHaptics TactSuit Cushion: Adds vibration feedback to your chair. Every explosion in COD or crash in Gran Turismo feels a little too real but in a good way. Razer Turret for Xbox: Want that PC-style aim but on console? This keyboard and mouse combo plugs right into the Xbox. PC setups are personal, and now they need to be smarter, healthier, and better-looking. Cosmic Byte Pandora TKL and Keychron Q6 Lemokey: Hot-swappable mechanical keyboards that are compact and Indian-market friendly. Change switches without soldering, RGB the way you like it. ElevateX Pro Arm Rests: Clamp these onto your desk and thank yourself during hour five of your grind session. SteelSeries QcK Prism Mousepad: Built-in sensors track mouse speed and pressure. Syncs with aim trainers to help refine your flicks. Philips Hue Play: Syncs with your gameplay and throws ambient lighting onto your wall. Works with both AAA games and your Spotify playlist. WD Black P50 SSD: Plug-and-play fast storage. This is perfect for LAN parties or swapping massive games without waiting forever. Meta Quest 3S & PSVR 2: VR headsets are finally getting cheaper and more accessible in India. With PC support adapters, they're now viable even for non-console users. Upright GO S: It vibrates when you slouch. Simple, effective. Especially for streamers and long-session players who don't realize they're curving their spine for hours. Eco-Conscious Gear: Bamboo mousepads and controller shells made of recycled plastic aren't just trendy, they're becoming real choices for gamers looking to cut down on plastic-heavy setups. The difference between good gaming and great gaming isn't just about frame rates or refresh rates. It's in how comfortable you are, how precisely you play, and how immersive it all feels. These accessories do more than complete your setup, they help define your gaming experience. Now's the time to invest smartly, level up your loadout, and game better and not just harder.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
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You've been listening to an AI band on Spotify without even realising it
It was probably only a matter of time before an AI-generated band picked up a big following on Spotify. The Velvet Sundown, a supposed indie rock group, now claims more than half a million monthly listeners, but look a little closer and things start to feel off. Their band photos are clearly AI-made, their bio is full of odd phrases, and there's no sign any of the members actually exist. Even their name feels like it was stitched together by a computer, borrowing from classic bands to sound familiar. What's really going on is less about music and more about technology. The Velvet Sundown's songs have landed on some popular playlists, like 'Vietnam War Music' and 'Good Mornings', which are followed by hundreds of thousands of users. Most listeners probably never searched for the band, the songs just played while people were after a bit of background music. It's a reminder that streaming numbers can be misleading, especially when algorithms and playlists are doing the heavy lifting. Is AI music the future? Spotify's system doesn't really care if a band is real or not. As long as a track fits the vibe of a playlist, it can rack up streams, and those monthly listener stats can climb quickly. The platform's 'Discovery' mode makes things even easier for unknown acts, letting them trade a slice of their royalties for more exposure in the algorithm. It's a set-up that makes it simple for AI-generated music to blend in with tracks from real artists, and for streaming metrics to look more impressive than they really are. The band's social media accounts have tried to push back against the AI rumours. 'This is not a joke,' the band's apparent X account wrote. 'This is our music, written in long, sweaty nights in a cramped bungalow in California with real instruments, real minds, and real soul.' They doubled down, insisting, 'Every chord, every lyric, every mistake — HUMAN.' In a follow-up, they added, 'Just because we don't do TikTok dances or livestream our process doesn't mean we're fake. The fact that some blog editors would rather pretend we're a bunch of machines than admit an unknown band is out here grinding & made something people enjoy is insulting.' But the evidence says otherwise. Their images, their online presence, even their lyrics and vocals, all have that too-perfect, generic feel that comes from machine learning tools. It's hard to shake the sense that the whole project is less about artistry and more about testing how far AI can go in gaming the system. For musicians, this is a tough pill to swallow. Real bands spend years building a following, playing gigs, and writing songs that mean something to them. Now, a few clicks and some clever playlist placements can give an AI act the appearance of success, even if no one actually knows or cares who they are. The Velvet Sundown story is a sign of where things are heading. As AI gets better at making music, and as streaming platforms keep focusing on numbers over substance, it's only going to get harder to tell what's real and what's not. For listeners, it means more background music that sounds just right but doesn't really say anything. For artists, it's another reminder that in the streaming age, popularity can be manufactured, but meaning still comes from the human touch. First Published Date: 02 Jul, 16:54 IST
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
Netflix explores music shows and celebrity interviews as part of live TV push
Netflix ascended by offering prestige TV and movies on demand for a monthly fee. Now, it is planning to introduce more of the fare that was core to the cable bundle. The streamer has held conversations with Spotify about partnering on a number of projects such as a music awards show or a live concert series, people close to the conversations said. It has also discussed doing big celebrity interviews and shorter-turnaround documentaries to capture the news of the moment, some of the people said. Netflix is also rebooting the classic talent contest 'Star Search." It is particularly focused on music, with a new show, 'Building the Band," set to debut next week and another music competition in the works that it hopes to release in coming months, the people said. Millions of households that cut the cord or never had a cable bundle now rely on Netflix as their go-to home entertainment hub. Netflix is working to ensure that it has something for everyone, from scripted shows and movies to reality TV, comedy and live programming. Finding family-friendly programming that appeals to global audiences is key to Netflix's work building its advertising-supported subscription tier. It found success with 'Love is Blind," a unique spin on a dating show, and 'Million Dollar Secret," its version of 'Survivor," said Brandon Riegg, vice president of nonfiction series and sports. AJ McLean and Nicole Scherzinger in an episode of Netflix's 'Building the Band.' Jeff Gaspin, who greenlighted 'The Voice" at NBCUniversal, is spearheading Netflix's effort to find the next great music competition show and expand unscripted content. The self-proclaimed pop-culture nut joined the company last year. 'Building the Band," hosted by Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean, will feature musicians auditioning to be in bands. The twist: They don't see one another until they start rehearsing together, according to people familiar with the situation. Think 'Love Is Blind" meets 'The Voice." Netflix also recently announced a trivia-based game show hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, called 'What's in the Box." While Netflix executives have considered big celebrity interviews, they have debated whether people would tune in when snippets would appear on social media nearly instantly, people familiar with the discussions said. Netflix's 'Building the Band' is set to debut next week. The company is working on a pilot with the Daily Beast, focusing on quick-turnaround, buzzy nonpolitical news events. Semafor earlier reported the Daily Beast project. Gaspin said he doesn't expect Netflix to become a full-fledged programmer of news, which the company refers to as 'information" internally. 'You can't cover news and be a news organization occasionally," he said. Executives also must decide when it makes sense to do an unscripted show as a live broadcast. Netflix has seen some live events, such as its Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight last fall, attract huge audiences. But that came with technical glitches, as did a 'Love is Blind" reunion show a few years ago. The company did livestream two NFL games over Christmas without any issues. While 'Building the Band" will be on-demand, Netflix could make the finale live if there is a second season, Riegg said. And the 'Star Search" reboot will allow fans to vote live. 'We don't want to do live for live's sake," Gaspin said. 'If we are going to do live, we should have a reason." Write to Jessica Toonkel at
