Streaming video services, mainly Netflix, have been undermining broadcast television and cable channels for years -- but we are now getting some signs that movie theaters may be coming under the gun as well.
Showing posts with label January 02. Show all posts
Showing posts with label January 02. Show all posts
The FCC’s big net neutrality vote is set for February
Posted by Unknown on 1:01 PM
The Federal Communications Commission will vote on its hugely controversial on network neutrality in February, The Washington Post reports. In its original conception, the FCC's plan would have allowed for the creation of Internet "fast lanes" in which ISPs could charge content providers more money to ensure that their content gets delivered more quickly than other websites'. This would be a big difference from standard practices in which packets are delivered on a nondiscriminatory basis.
‘Long-suffering’ Windows Phone fan begs Microsoft to get its act together
Posted by Unknown on 11:59 AM
2014 was a wasted year for Windows Phone. Not only did Microsoft see its market share continue to stagnate but it also saw some of its longtime users express frustration over the platform's lack of apps and lack of strong carrier firmware support. Now Paul Thurrott, who describes himself as a "long-suffering Windows Phone fan," has written an anguished plea begging Microsoft to get its act together and make Windows Phone relevant again in 2015.
U.S. hits North Korea with huge new sanctions in response to Sony hack
Posted by Unknown on 11:29 AM
The United States just struck back against North Korea for its alleged role in the hack of Sony Pictures. In official statement released on Friday, U.S. president Barack Obama said he was signing an executive order authorizing stiff sanctions against North Korea for its "ongoing provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies, particularly its destructive and coercive cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment."
U.S. Music Fans Continue Shift to Streaming Services as Apple Readies Beats Revamp
Posted by Unknown on 10:21 AM
Paid music downloads, which have dominated the digital music market for years thanks in large part to Apple's iTunes Store, showed accelerating weakness in the United States last year as music streaming services like Spotify and a resurgence of vinyl record sales exploded in popularity.
According to Nielsen SoundScan (via The Wall Street Journal ), streaming music grew a remarkable 54 percent in 2014, moving from 106 billion songs in 2013 to 164 billion in 2014. That growth contrasts with traditional song downloads that dropped off significantly from 2013. Paid downloads for full music albums declined 9 percent in 2014, with individual song downloads seeing an even larger 12 percent drop-off. Overall, according to SoundScan, Americans bought 257 million albums in 2014, 106.5 million of which were downloaded digitally.
Amid the digital shift from individual downloads to streaming, an older technology also saw a resurgence in 2014 with vinyl record sales at their highest levels since SoundScan began tracking music sales in 1991. Nielsen's tracking shows 9.2 million vinyl records sold, representing a 52 percent overall increase in sales from 2013.
With lackluster overall digital music downloads mirroring a similar drop in iTunes Store sales, Apple has been looking at ways to improve its positioning in the music market. Apple's initial effort with iTunes Radio to offer a Pandora-like experience that also seeks to drive iTunes Store purchases has had a less-than-stellar reception with availability in only the United States and Australia. That weak entry likely spurred Apple to pursue last year's acquisition of Beats Music for a full-fledged subscription streaming service.
Recent reports have indicated that Apple will be pursuing a major revamp of Beats early this year that may see prominent integration of the paid streaming service into iOS and iTunes, perhaps including a rebranding under the iTunes name.
According to Nielsen SoundScan (via The Wall Street Journal ), streaming music grew a remarkable 54 percent in 2014, moving from 106 billion songs in 2013 to 164 billion in 2014. That growth contrasts with traditional song downloads that dropped off significantly from 2013. Paid downloads for full music albums declined 9 percent in 2014, with individual song downloads seeing an even larger 12 percent drop-off. Overall, according to SoundScan, Americans bought 257 million albums in 2014, 106.5 million of which were downloaded digitally.
Amid the digital shift from individual downloads to streaming, an older technology also saw a resurgence in 2014 with vinyl record sales at their highest levels since SoundScan began tracking music sales in 1991. Nielsen's tracking shows 9.2 million vinyl records sold, representing a 52 percent overall increase in sales from 2013.
With lackluster overall digital music downloads mirroring a similar drop in iTunes Store sales, Apple has been looking at ways to improve its positioning in the music market. Apple's initial effort with iTunes Radio to offer a Pandora-like experience that also seeks to drive iTunes Store purchases has had a less-than-stellar reception with availability in only the United States and Australia. That weak entry likely spurred Apple to pursue last year's acquisition of Beats Music for a full-fledged subscription streaming service.
Recent reports have indicated that Apple will be pursuing a major revamp of Beats early this year that may see prominent integration of the paid streaming service into iOS and iTunes, perhaps including a rebranding under the iTunes name.
You need to check out this incredibly cool promotion Japanese Apple Stores are having
Posted by Unknown on 10:14 AM
Apple products are a pretty huge deal in Japan and Japanese Apple Stores also have one of the coolest sales promotion ideas we've ever heard of: Lucky Bags. As Japanese Apple blog Macotakara documents, Japanese Apple Stores this week are selling Lucky Bags for $300 each this year that are each filled with assorted Apple products that include things as valuable as an 11-inch MacBook Air.
Sony reveals the free PlayStation games it’s giving away in January – here are the details
Posted by Unknown on 9:30 AM
What better way to ring in the new year than with a bunch of free games on all of your PlayStation devices? Sony recently revealed the free games lineup for PlayStation Plus subscribers for the month of January, featuring a few huge hits and some beloved classics, updated for modern consoles.
Montblanc Unveils 'e-Strap' Band Accessory With iOS Integration for Analog Luxury Watches
Posted by Unknown on 9:18 AM
With luxury watchmakers turning their attention to the smartwatch market ahead of the Apple Watch launch later this year, Montblanc is one of the first to announce specific plans. As noted by aBlogtoWatch , Montblanc's initial foray is an "e-Strap" accessory band for traditional watches that connects wirelessly to a smartphone.
The Montblanc e-Strap incorporates a small 0.9-inch wide screen into a high-quality leather band that attaches to a traditional analog watch. The screen lays flat against the underside of the wrist, allowing users to receive notifications, count steps, and control music playback on a connected smartphone. The band connects to an iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth and offers up to five days of battery life.
The e-Strap will reportedly sell separately for 250 Euros and will also be available initially as an option with select Timewalker Urban Speed watches. The band will, however, apparently be compatible with all 42-mm or 43-mm wide Timewalker watches.
Montblanc is one of several luxury watchmakers adding smartwatch-inspired products to their 2015 portfolios. Timex and Fossil reportedly are partnering with Qualcomm and Intel, respectively, on upcoming smartwatches, while Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer is exploring partnerships and acquisitions in order to jumpstart its own smartwatch projects.
The Montblanc e-Strap incorporates a small 0.9-inch wide screen into a high-quality leather band that attaches to a traditional analog watch. The screen lays flat against the underside of the wrist, allowing users to receive notifications, count steps, and control music playback on a connected smartphone. The band connects to an iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth and offers up to five days of battery life.
How impressive as a connected wearable device will the e-Strap's electronic module be? It will have a 0.9 inch monochromatic OLED touchscreen display with a 128x36 pixel resolution. That isn't exactly industry changing, but this is more than just a mere notification device. Montblanc has made it clear that in addition to basic calls, texts, e-mails, calendars, social media, and reminder notifications, the e-Strap will function as an activity monitor/tracker with a pedometer and accelerometer to measure data that feeds into an included iPhone or Android phone app.
The e-Strap will reportedly sell separately for 250 Euros and will also be available initially as an option with select Timewalker Urban Speed watches. The band will, however, apparently be compatible with all 42-mm or 43-mm wide Timewalker watches.
Montblanc is one of several luxury watchmakers adding smartwatch-inspired products to their 2015 portfolios. Timex and Fossil reportedly are partnering with Qualcomm and Intel, respectively, on upcoming smartwatches, while Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer is exploring partnerships and acquisitions in order to jumpstart its own smartwatch projects.
iCloud Photos Web App Experiencing Technical Difficulties [iOS Blog]
Posted by Unknown on 8:44 AM
As reported by 9to5Mac , Apple's iCloud.com Photos app has been experiencing difficulties for the past few days, with many users reporting the icon missing from the web interface entirely and the direct link to the app also producing a "problem loading application" error. In our own testing today, performance has been spotty, with the icon missing at times but present at other times. Even when the icon is present, clicking it has sometimes generated error messages while at other times properly loading the Photos app, albeit with some delays.
Apple has not commented on the situation, and the company's status page shows no issues with any iCloud web apps. As a result, the reason for the issues remains unknown.
The iCloud Photos app is part of Apple's iCloud Photo library, which was introduced in beta alongside iOS 8.1. The service stores all iOS photos and videos and shares them across platforms. Images can be viewed using the iOS Photos app and the iCloud Photos web app, which was last updated in November with the ability to upload photos to the user's library from the web interface. Apple is also working on an upcoming Photos app for Mac, which will replace Aperture and iPhoto.
Apple has not commented on the situation, and the company's status page shows no issues with any iCloud web apps. As a result, the reason for the issues remains unknown.
The iCloud Photos app is part of Apple's iCloud Photo library, which was introduced in beta alongside iOS 8.1. The service stores all iOS photos and videos and shares them across platforms. Images can be viewed using the iOS Photos app and the iCloud Photos web app, which was last updated in November with the ability to upload photos to the user's library from the web interface. Apple is also working on an upcoming Photos app for Mac, which will replace Aperture and iPhoto.
Apple Raises Product and Developer Program Prices in Some Countries
Posted by Unknown on 8:32 AM
With the new year, Apple has made a few price adjustments to its products and services, led by an increased yearly fee for the company's developer programs in a number of European countries, as first noticed by German blog Apfelpage [Google Translate].
The Apple-focused blog reports that German developers are now facing a €99 ($119) per year subscription charge for Apple's various developer programs, up from a previous €80 ($96) subscription fee. The price changes presumably affect all EU markets, as Apple typically has consistent pricing across member countries except for occasional differences due to variations in tax rates. Apple's developer programs are priced at $99 per year in the United States.
The price increase is also in effect for the UK, where the price has been adjusted from £60 ($92) a year to £79 ($121) as noted by 9to5Mac . Across the board, the European developer program has been about on par with or slightly above the cost in the U.S. when adjusted for currency rates. Following the weakening of many world currencies compared to the U.S. dollar in recent months, however, Apple's price increases in those countries will help reset the company's desired pricing matrix but increase costs somewhat for developers overseas.
Elsewhere, the prices of Apple physical products are seeing slight hikes in a few countries. Apple Toolbox reports Apple has increased the price of products like the Mac, iPhone, and iPod in Turkey, a country where the company's products are already among the highest priced in the world. And the increase in prices may not stop there, as the Turkish Minister of Economy recently announced a plan to gain favor for products made in Turkey by introducing taxes on imported smartphones, computers, and tablets.
A MacRumors reader has also pointed out that the Norwegian people will be facing higher prices for Apple products, with the new iMac with Retina 5K Display and iPhone 6 seeing 8.3 and 12 percent increases respectively. The MacBook Pro with Retina Display received the biggest price jump, going from 10,790 kr to 12,590 kr, roughly a 14 percent increase in the cost of the device.
Apple has been known to adjust the price of its products alongside fluctuating currency values, most drastically just last month when the Russian ruble saw a sharp drop in value, causing the company to temporarily shut down its Russian online store and return with significant price hikes days later.
Though far less dramatic, these price inflations seen in other parts of the world appear due to the weakening of the Turkish lira and Norwegian krone in recent months. Even so, it's not entirely clear why the company instituted the price change to these select few foreign markets, and whether or not other countries could see a similar price hike in the future, as many other currencies have also been weakening against the U.S. dollar.
The Apple-focused blog reports that German developers are now facing a €99 ($119) per year subscription charge for Apple's various developer programs, up from a previous €80 ($96) subscription fee. The price changes presumably affect all EU markets, as Apple typically has consistent pricing across member countries except for occasional differences due to variations in tax rates. Apple's developer programs are priced at $99 per year in the United States.
The price increase is also in effect for the UK, where the price has been adjusted from £60 ($92) a year to £79 ($121) as noted by 9to5Mac . Across the board, the European developer program has been about on par with or slightly above the cost in the U.S. when adjusted for currency rates. Following the weakening of many world currencies compared to the U.S. dollar in recent months, however, Apple's price increases in those countries will help reset the company's desired pricing matrix but increase costs somewhat for developers overseas.
Elsewhere, the prices of Apple physical products are seeing slight hikes in a few countries. Apple Toolbox reports Apple has increased the price of products like the Mac, iPhone, and iPod in Turkey, a country where the company's products are already among the highest priced in the world. And the increase in prices may not stop there, as the Turkish Minister of Economy recently announced a plan to gain favor for products made in Turkey by introducing taxes on imported smartphones, computers, and tablets.
A MacRumors reader has also pointed out that the Norwegian people will be facing higher prices for Apple products, with the new iMac with Retina 5K Display and iPhone 6 seeing 8.3 and 12 percent increases respectively. The MacBook Pro with Retina Display received the biggest price jump, going from 10,790 kr to 12,590 kr, roughly a 14 percent increase in the cost of the device.
Apple has been known to adjust the price of its products alongside fluctuating currency values, most drastically just last month when the Russian ruble saw a sharp drop in value, causing the company to temporarily shut down its Russian online store and return with significant price hikes days later.
Though far less dramatic, these price inflations seen in other parts of the world appear due to the weakening of the Turkish lira and Norwegian krone in recent months. Even so, it's not entirely clear why the company instituted the price change to these select few foreign markets, and whether or not other countries could see a similar price hike in the future, as many other currencies have also been weakening against the U.S. dollar.
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Netflix is starting to wound the movie industry where it hurts most