Apple Urging Music Labels to Stop Licensing Free Songs on Spotify and YouTube
Apple has been leveraging its power within the music industry in an attempt to push music labels to stop licensing freemium tiers offered by Spotify and other streaming music services, according to The Verge. The company has also reportedly offered to pay YouTube’s music licensing fee to Universal Music Group if the label stops allowing its songs on the website, a popular destination for music videos.
The report claims that U.S. Department of Justice officials are looking into Apple’s business practices in relation to its upcoming streaming music service, expected to be a rebranded version of Beats Music that will debut at WWDC next month. “DOJ officials have already interviewed high-ranking music industry executives about Apple’s business habits,” the report claims.
Apple’s much-rumored Beats streaming service would naturally be a more competitive alternative over two of its biggest rivals in Spotify and YouTube if it successfully convinces music labels to force streaming services to ditch their freemium tiers. Apple’s service is expected to have lots of exclusive content, and only about one-quarter of Spotify’s 60 million customers have paid subscriptions.
Apple faces a similar probe from the European Commission over concerns that it’s persuading labels to abandon free, ad-supported services such as Spotify in Europe as well. Apple’s own Beats streaming service will reportedly not offer a free tier, requiring customers to pay a recurring fee of around $9.99 per month, similar to Spotify, Rdio and Google Play Music.
Apple’s Beats-based streaming music service will reportedly be deeply integrated into iTunes on Mac and the stock Music app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and apps will also be available for Apple TV and Android. Last month, the company seeded iOS 8.4 beta to developers with a redesigned Music app featuring new MiniPlayer, a redesigned look for “Now Playing,” global search capabilities, a streamlined design and more.
Samsung and Samsonite working on smart luggage that can check itself in
“Smart luggage” is not an entirely new concept, but Samsung and Samsonite, a purely coincidental name, are looking to make the formula much more popular with a new range of affordable and more accessible smart bags.
The two aim to provide luggage with embedded microprocessors that can be tracked through GPS, which you may appreciate if you’ve ever lost a bag at an airport, and can offer anti-tampering alerts to warn you if someone has attempted to open your bag. Presumably, Samsung is getting involved to provide the mobile link to your luggage and will be providing much of the behind the scenes software, while Samsonite will be looking to integrate the technology into some of its existing bags or a new range.
‘Smart luggage will be able to communicate with you but it needs to be able to do much more than just give its location’ … ‘We are working with Samsung to create something that is more than a gimmick.’ – Samsonite chief executive Ramesh Tainwala
Furthermore, Samsonite is working with airlines on a self-check-in feature, which will automatically provide the airport with baggage information to ensure the correct destination and airline, and to check the bag’s weight against any limits. Talks with Emirates, Lufthansa and KLM Air France are said to be in the works.
If you’re looking for something even more futuristic, the firm is also working on a project to develop ‘self-propelling’ luggage. But it’s not really that practical yet, as the engine takes up a third of the bag’s space and weighs 20 kilos!
Get a closer look at your network speed with nPerf Speed Test
There are only a few big names when it comes to Internet speed tests. Speedtest.net, for instance, is a name many people know and trust. However, there is another speed test app that you should know about called nPerf Speed Test and we’re going to take a look at it right now.
Functionality
nPerf Speed Test tests not one, but three different metrics. It’ll test your Internet speed including upload, download, and ping. It can also test your browsing performance by opening a slew of websites and seeing how long each one takes. It’ll conclude the test with a YouTube streaming test that streams video at 260p, 360p, and 720p to see how long it takes to load, how much data is used, and buffer time if there is any. This far more testing than your traditional speed test and it makes nPerf feel like a real all-in-one kind of test.
Once the app has completed its workout, you’ll see the total results of the test along with an aggregate score. Your score can be compared to other ISPs and shared with others if you wish. The app is able to discern what kind of connection you have (3G, 4G, WiFi). On the History page in the app, you can also see and keep track of where you did you speed tests on a map so you can compare speeds based on your location.
In the Settings, you can tweak your experience to a degree. You can set things like your network type, bitrate units, default test, language, background style, and whether or not to record your GPS location. There is also an option to set a warning to let you know you’re about to reach your data plan limits (if you have limits). The developers also claim to use less than half of the data for their tests that other test apps use.
Design
nPerf’s UI is fairly straightforward. The interface is simple to understand with Holo-style hamburger menus so navigation is simple and reasonably predictable. It is very simple to use. You select your test type and hit the go button. Then you sit around and wait.
The design itself is colorful and enjoyable. The buttons are large and easy to see and nPerf manages to look good without overdoing it. Animations were fluid in our testing although we’re sure you’ll see some stutter on older devices.
The Good
Here’s what we liked about nPerf Speed Test:
- Doesn’t just measure speed like most competitors. It also measures streaming performance and website loading performance as well. The app also measures averages along with maximums for more metrics than most competitors.
- It’s very simple to use. You can run a full test as soon as you open the app or choose an individual test in the hamburger menu by tapping in the top left corner.
- The ability to map where you do your speed tests, review testing history, and compare to other ISPs and phone services are pleasant extra features for those who are seriously into network testing.
- The design is very clean.
- Contributing your speed test data to nPerf also helps them compile information like this from France where they can put together graphs and charts about what carriers do the best.
- According to nPerf developers, their official website will soon host coverage maps and network data performance.
- nPerf uses dedicated and optimized servers for a more accurate speed test.
The Bad
Here’s what we didn’t like so much:
- nPerf has a function to warn you when you’re about to reach your data plan limits. For instance, if you have a 1GB plan, you can have it warn you when you’ve used 800MB. Android has this functionality built right into the OS so we didn’t see a real need for this feature. It’s not bad, just redundant.
- Like most benchmarks, you probably won’t be using an app like this every day.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this is a very solid Internet benchmark app. The various levels of testing give it more of a real-world feel and the design is simple enough for anyone to use. It has a few features that aren’t really needed or necessary, but they can be easily turned off if you don’t want them. If you’re interested in trying it out for yourself, click the button below!
Google doubles free trial period for Play Music All Access
If you’ve been looking to test out Google’s Unlimited All Access music service, then now is the perfect time. Google Play Music has temporarily doubled the length of the free trial offered to new members from one to two months. No extra costs or strings attached.
Unlimited All Access grants you full access to the 30 million plus strong Play Music library, with free streaming of as many songs and radio stations as you like, all without advertisements. However, the deal is only valid for new subscribers, not renewals, and seems limited to certain regions. North America is covered, but I’m still only offered the standard 30 day free trial here in the UK.
To grab the offer, simply head over to the Play Music store and you should see reference to a 60 day offer when you want to try-out the service, just like in the image below. If you choose to stick with the service after the two month trial is up, you’ll be charged $9.99 per month thereafter.
Alternately, Spotify is offering 3 months of its Premium membership program for just $0.99 right now, which then scales up to $9.99 per month as well.
T-Mobile rolling out Lollipop update to the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
Last Monday the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 finally received an update to Lollipop on T-Mobile’s network, about a week later than Sprint and AT&T. Now the Uncarrier is rolling out the same update to the Note 4’s curved brother, the Note Edge. Just as we saw with the Note 4, the new build bumps the software up to Android 5.0.1. The update itself is a massive 1.84GB, so you might want to wait until you’re on a Wi-Fi connection before downloading.
Read also: Why is the Galaxy S6 more successful than the Note Edge?
So what should you expect from the update? Just as we’ve seen with all other Samsung Lollipop updates, you’ll get changes like Smart Lock, priority notifications, an improved lockscreen and plenty of other tweaks.
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One thing you won’t get much of is the new Material Design UI changes, as TouchWiz masks a lot of the aesthetic updates that you’d find with a vanilla Android build.
While the update is rolling out now, don’t be surprised if it takes at least a few days (or longer) before it hits your device. For those that don’t want to wait any longer than they have to, you might also want to check Samsung Kies to see if you can snag the update from their instead.
Plastic-clad M9e could be yet another One M9 variant
HTC is working on a new member of the One M9 family. The “M9e” looks like an economy version of the One M9+, sharing most of the specs, but swapping metal in favor of a plastic body.
The One M9+ launched in early April in Beijing, as a bigger and arguably better version of the M9 targeted primarily at China and India. The device comes with a 5.2-inch Quad HD LCD display, a 64-bit MediaTek Helio X10, 3GB of RAM, and a 20MP main camera featuring a depth sensor just like the M8. On the front, the M9+ features a touch-based fingerprint sensor.
The HTC M9e, spotted by Engadget Chinese in China’s TENAA certification database, features the same fingerprint sensor on the front, but the back is dual-tone plastic, and there’s no secondary depth sensor.
The specs that can be gleamed from the regulatory docs suggest the M9e is identical to the One M9+, save for the lack of the depth sensor.
There’s no official info on this device yet; the use of plastic could result in a lower price tag, but it remains to be seen if M9e will ever make it outside of Asia.
Provided the M9e is indeed coming to market, we have to question why HTC feels the need to release another device that looks a lot like the E9+, which also features a plastic body and BoomSound speakers. Thoughts?
The US opens up on its use of phone surveillance hardware
It seems as if we’re not alone in thinking that America’s spies may have trodden on a few too many civil liberties of late. That’s why senior officials at the Justice Department are calling for a wide-ranging review of electronic surveillance practices and will open up a little bit about why, and when, this technology is used. A report by the Wall Street Journal reveals that there’s a big push for greater transparency, but no-one’s quite sure on how many beans they should spill in order to restore public trust but not give helpful hints to criminals.
Ever since the Snowden leaks, the public have been exposed to a constant stream of revelations about how authorities use technology to spy upon us. For instance, the ACLU found that stingray devices were used 47 times by police in Erie County, New York, but only got the court’s permission once. For those not in the know, a stingray is a fake cellphone tower that sucks up all the mobile traffic in the immediate region, making them perfect for spying on a city block’s residents at the same time.
The paper cites an example from Baltimore, where officers are normally required to obtain a court order to get a person’s cellphone details. However, there’s also a shortcut if the information is time sensitive, enabling them to request from the phone company directly under the auspices of it being an emergency. You’ll win no prizes for guessing which process is more frequently used, with one anonymous source describing a deluge of requests along the emergency back door channel.
The road to restoring the public’s trust will be a long one, but there are some reasons to be optimistic, at least. The paper has noted that the FBI is no longer simply snatching people’s information without permission, but is now submitting requests for search warrants to Judges. That should provide some much-needed oversight to what has previously been an unsupervised process, and let’s just hope that some more agencies remember to abide by due process.
Filed under: Internet
Source: WSJ
Court tosses United Airlines lawsuit over a cheap ticket website
United Airlines can’t sue Skiplagged for exposing a loophole in ticket prices… at least, for now. A Chicago court has tossed out United’s lawsuit because the airfare website doesn’t operate in that jurisdiction. The move lets site owner Aktarer Zaman breathe a little, although he may only get a temporary reprieve. While United hasn’t said whether or not it will sue again, it notes that the dismissal was based purely on “procedural grounds.” The company still believes that Skiplagged’s “hidden city” ticket shopping (where you stop at connecting cities, not the final destination) is verboten — don’t be surprised if it finds another way to take legal action.
[Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images]
Filed under: Transportation, Internet
Source: CNN Money
US telecoms try to kill net neutrality by blocking key rules
The big US telecoms are trying every trick in the book to kill net neutrality, and that includes some very specific tactics. AT&T, CenturyLink and multiple industry groups have sent filings to the FCC asking it to block specific procedures, not the neutrality rules themselves. They want to stop the Commission from both reclassifying the internet as a utility and implementing a standard that prevents providers from “unreasonably interfering” with your internet access. Purportedly, these moves would require “crushing” costs and might chill investments in network upgrades — arguments we’ve definitely heard before.
The FCC is likely to toss out these requests, but they should lead to a call to freeze the net neutrality rules (which kick in June 12th) until legal battles are over. Also, they might give a peek at the strategy the telcos will use when they’re in trial. The carriers have launched broader legal attacks on net neutrality in the past, claiming that it violates numerous laws and even the Constitution, but this is more targeted. They’re trying to undermine the rules based on the supposed burdens involved with the implementation, not the core principles that earned so much public support.
Whether or not this approach works isn’t clear, and may depend on which court hears the telecoms’ cases. The FCC wants them to go to a federal appeals court in Washington, DC that maintained the agency’s power to regulate internet access even after rejecting earlier rules. The FCC no doubt wants a judiciary that enshrines its authority at the very moment that companies are trying to undermine it — another court might not be so sympathetic.
[Image credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Internet, Mobile, AT&T
Via: VentureBeat, HotHardware, SlashGear
Source: Reuters
Lost luggage might be a thing of the past thanks to Samsung and Samsonite
Unless you have never traveled in your life, you have experienced what it feels like getting off a long flight only to find out that your luggage decided to travel to a different spot. We have smartphones, smartwatches, smart TVs, and now it’s time for smart luggage.
Samsung and Samsonite are partnering to do just that. They are fitting suitcases with microchips that can not only be located via the airlines, but also with your smartphone. Usually when you realize your bag is lost, you immediate report it, but the agent rarely knows where it is at the time. They end up putting a trace on it, and eventually it makes it way to your destination.
With this new technology, the rep will know exactly where it is. Moving beyond that, smart luggage has other perks. Since it communicates with your smartphone, you will be alerted if you ever stray too far away from any of your carry on bags. Then there is the dreaded wait at the luggage carousel. Everyone waits and stares at the same bags as they wonder when theirs will come out. You will now know exactly when yours will hit the belt. You will even know when it has exited the aircraft. So if it is lost, you will know right away.
There is one hitch to all of this and that is that if you are connecting with a different airline that does not use the service, you might not be able to benefit from all the features. Right now Samsonite is working with Emirates, Lufthansa and KLM Air France. One of the benefits of airline participation is a streamlined check-in process. Your bag will already be programmed on where it needs to go by the time you drive up to the curb.
Now if location tracking isn’t enough, how about if you never have to carry or pull your bags? They are testing a motor that would move with you around the airport. However size is an issue since the current prototypes have motors that take up one third of the space of the bag. You don’t want to have to leave your underwear at home so it might be worth waiting a couple of years until the technology is tweaked a little.
source: Daily Mail
via: Engadget
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