Applications
Avid unveils lineup of creative music tools
MUMBAI: Avid has introduced a set of tools—including the new Pro Tools Mbox family, the M-Audio MobilePre, Pro Tools SE bundles and M-Audio Oxygen 88 keyboard controller—for a range of musicians who are seeking to create, record and mix music at home or on the road.
Pro Tools Mbox Family: Premium Audio Quality and Third Party DAW Support provides customers more creative options
Designed for musicians and audio engineers looking to turn their Mac or PC into a portable professional recording, mixing and production studio, the third generation of the Pro Tools Mbox family—Pro Tools Mbox Pro, Pro Tools Mbox and Pro Tools Mbox Mini—offers customers premium sound and open workflows with support for the industry’s most popular DAWs.
Based on customer feedback, new features in the Pro
Tools Mbox family include:
* Re-designed hardware with pro features delivering audio – Redesigned from the ground up leveraging Avid’s expertise in professional studio gear,the new Pro Tools Mbox family also features several workflow enhancements including: A professional-grade soft clip limiter that improves overall audio quality by letting users capture hotter signals while recording; and a multi-function button allowing Pro Tools Mbox and Pro Tools Mbox Pro users to control software parameters without
using the computer mouse or keyboard.
* Freedom and flexibility to compose using Pro Tools LE or your DAW of choice—Gives customers more options to compose, record, edit and mix with seamless support for the industry’s most popular DAWs, including Pro Tools LE®, Ableton Live, Apple Logic, Fruity Loops, Steinberg Cubase, and more, ensuring sessions are compatible with studios around
the world. New drivers include ASIO, Core Audio, WDM, MME and multi-client drivers.
With Pro Tools SE software included, the new Pro Tools SE Family serves as an introduction into the world of Pro Tools software by offering the same user interface found in Avid’s professional Pro Tools product line. The Pro Tools SE Family, which offers dedicated solutions for guitarists, keyboard players and vocalists, includes:
* Avid KeyStudio— This allows keyboard players to turn their
inspiration into a professional-quality recording with a 49-note,
velocity-sensitive M-Audio KeyStudio keyboard and Pro Tools SE music creation software.
* Avid Recording Studio— This allows customers to capture guitars, instruments and vocals in better than CD quality at 24-bit/48 kHz with Pro Tools SE music creation software and an M-Audio Fast Track® audio interface.
* Avid Vocal Studio—It enables customers to record vocals for use in songs, soundtracks, podcasts or voice-overs with Pro Tools SE music creation software and the M-Audio Producer USB microphone.
With Pro Tools SE software, users can:
* Mix up to 24 tracks (16 audio tracks, 8 virtual instrument tracks) and use the included pro-quality effects—reverb, EQ, and guitar amp/distortion effects—to create richly detailed and polished recordings.
* Use more than 100 different virtual instruments and more than 3 GB of audio loops to quickly construct songs and ideas.
* View integrated, intuitive tutorials that make it easy to learn how to compose, record, edit and mix on the Pro Tools SE platform.
* Record two instruments at once, and take advantage of built-in composing features including MIDI sequencing and score editing, which provide professional-grade creative solutions to users of every ability level.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
