Etsy launches crowdfunding service to help sellers
Sometimes launching a product on Etsy involves more than just reclaiming some wood or hoarding mason jars and burlap. Occasionally you need capital for new tools, expansion or hiring new employees. To help the sellers that are aiming higher than just putting a bird on something, Etsy is launching Fund on Etsy, a crowdfunding pilot program. The program is meant to help current sellers expand their Etsy businesses. It’s a bit like Kickstarter but within the Etsy ecosystem. The pilot began today in the United States with a few campaigns already live on the site. It will run until August 16 and at that point the company will look at seller and buyer feedback to determine what its next steps should be.
While giving buyers the chance to help grow the stores of their favorite sellers, crowdfunding programs are rife with problems including missed shipping dates, backers never receiving their promised goods and some campaigns just taking the money and disappearing (something the FTC is now taking very seriously). According to Etsy’s FAQ, backers are not protected by the company’s buyer protection program: “By funding a campaign, you are entering into a direct agreement with the seller. Etsy is not liable for any loss or damage that may occur with your use of Fund on Etsy.” We’ve reached out to Etsy about what sort of recourse backers have if a seller fails to deliver and will update this article with its response.
Source: Etsy
Fairphone’s next ‘ethical smartphone’ is modular for easy repair
Smartphones are great, but oftentimes it’s not so much fun for the people who have to source the raw materials and build the hardware. That’s why Fairphone exists: It’s an “ethical” smartphone that promises that its devices have been made with the utmost respect for both the environment and human rights. Now, the company is showcasing its second-generation handset that boasts a modular design, enabling would-be owners to easily swap out older components without having to buy a new phone. See? Ethical and thrifty.
The Fairphone 2 is the company’s first wholly original device, and was crafted with one eye on ending the bi-annual cycle of buying a new phone. Each of the internal modules are self-contained, which means that when it’s time, say, for a camera upgrade, it should be possible for a user to just install it in an afternoon. When it comes time for a replacement display, you simply pull away the Gorilla Glass-coated 5-inch screen and digitizer module and screw in a fresher one. Very few of the components have been glued or soldered in, either, so the Fairphone 2 would likely get a high score from the team at iFixit.
When we talk about “ethical” devices, you probably imagine a smartphone made out of hemp that communicates with the internet via a series of trained letter-carrying Owls. Thankfully, the company understands that the slab can’t be a slouch in the performance department, and has equipped it with a Snapdragon 801. Rounding out the spec list is 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and an 8-megapixel primary camera. It’ll suit travelers too, since it comes with dual SIM card slots and a long-lasting 2,420mAh removable battery.
The company has pledged that the tin and tantalum required for the Fairphone 2 come from a conflict-free source in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company will use the profits from its sales to boost a worker-controlled welfare fund in China, as well as boosting an electronic waste recycling program that it founded in Ghana. Unfortunately, the phone doesn’t go on sale until the Fall, and it’ will first launch in Europe for €525 ($590) — a small price to pay for a clear conscience, and a device that could last a decade.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: Fairphone
Big news outlets are researching drones at Virginia Tech
CNN already announced its intent to make drones part of news coverage. It’s not the only media outlet looking to leverage the UAVs, though, as a group of 15 other companies are partnering with Virginia Tech to conduct trials of their own. The university’s facility in Bealeton, Virginia is one of the FAA’s approved test sites outside of Washington, DC. The group of media companies includes the Associated Press, Getty Images, Reuters, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Gannett (USA Today) NBCUniversal, Univision and others. The group worked with the National Press Photographers Association to create guidelines for the trials. “The research testing we are initiating will provide the news media coalition a safe and innovative way to gather and disseminate information and keep journalists out of harm’s way,” said Rose Mooney, executive director of the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership. The testing began today and will examine the use of drones for various settings, including both remote and urban locations.
[Image credit: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Filed under: Misc
AMD’s latest video cards include a liquid-cooled beast, the R9 Fury X
Only a few weeks after NVIDIA debuted its latest high-end card, the GTX 980 Ti, AMD is now showing off its latest wares. And if you’re looking for a powerful video card, your decision just got a lot more complicated. Leading the pack is AMD’s new R9 Fury X, a liquid-cooled powerhouse with the company’s new “Fiji” GPU design and highest-bandwidth memory technology. At $649, it’s going head-to-head with NVIDIA’s 980 Ti. But if you don’t need all that power, there’s also the Radeon R9 390X ($429), R9 390 ($329), and R9 380 ($199), all of which offer Direct X 12 support (making them ideal for Windows 10) and enough power to let you game in 4K (though we’d imagine that’d be a stretch with the cheaper entry). And if you’re just looking something affordable, there’s also the R7 370 ($149) and R7 360 ($109), which are more focused on delivering solid 1080p gaming.
Just like NVIDIA, AMD now has new cards for just about every gaming price point. If you’ve got the dough and care about getting as much graphics power as possible, the R9 Fury X is made for you. If you want the most bang for your buck, the $329 R9 390 might be your best investment (it’s also the same price as NVIDIA’s GTX 970). AMD isn’t divulging technical details around the new cards yet, but we’re expecting to hear more later this week.
Source: AMD
Google Play Gift cards finally make their way to India
Google has finally introduced the Google Play Gift cards to the Indian market. Starting today, you can purchase Google Play gift cards by walking into select Indian stores of Vijay Sales and Spice Hotspot in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata & Jaipur.
Google has made it available in select Indian cities and stores as a start. To purchase a Google Play Gift card, simple walk-in to any of the select stores and ask for it at the cash counter. You can make the payment towards the Gift card using cash, card or any other form of payment accepted by the store.
Google Play Gift cards or Google Play prepaid vouchers can be used to purchase any type of digital content available in the Google Play Store. The Gift cards come in 3 denominations of ₹500 ($7.85), ₹1,000 ($15.7) and ₹1,500 ($23.54).
Google Play gift cards, which were originally launched in 2012 have been consumers favorite to purchase apps, games, books or movies etc. and even for in-app purchases. You can also gift them to friends or family or use it for yourself on your Android phone or tablet.
On purchasing the voucher you will find a code which can then be used in the Play Store to redeem for purchases. The Play Store gift cards will be especially useful in a country like India where most people prefer cash payments or pay by debit card for online purchases.
The post Google Play Gift cards finally make their way to India appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Twitter update allows auto-play feature for videos
T
he fight for social media users attention has gotten more intense lately. Social networks like Facebook and now Twitter have been relentlessly attempting to gain some of the video space from the industry leader Youtube.
Today’s Twitter update introduces a more seamless video experience. It is now easier to enjoy videos on Twitter as native videos, Vines and GIFs will begin to play back automatically. So you can keep up with the action without missing a Tweet and get a better sense of what’s been shared instantly.
Previously on Twitter, in order to watch a video, you had to physically tap the video to enable it to play. Now once you tap the video, the video and sound will play automatically in an expanded view. Also, if you flip your device to landscape mode, the sound will also automatically turn on and expand the video to fill the screen.
Yes Twitter, this is a cool concept. Although I can imagine what your thinking (your being our lovely AndroidGuys readers), that you don’t really want to watch every video of your friends kids, or cats, doing backflips automatically.
Thankfully you still have ultimate control over the playback settings. You have the option to choose the previous click-to-play option or have videos autoplay only when you are connected to WiFi. If you are at a location with high data rates or have low bandwidth on your device, Twitter will automatically opt you out of autoplay and you will only see click-to-play option.
Who does this Update benefit?
Twitter and it’s advertisers of course. The logic behind it is simple, most people will not click to watch an ad, though if it plays automatically you are more likely to watch it.
Autoplay can be a useful feature to have for sure, although only in moderation. There have been multiple occurrences on Instagram where I have attempted to tap-to-play and inadvertently double tapped instead, causing me to like a post. So let’s be thankful we have been given more customization’s options this time around with the option to turn the feature off.
Updates began rolling out to everyone today on Twitter for iOS and Twitter.com with an Android version coming soon.
Tell us if you like the new auto-play feature by leaving a comment below!
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Google Maps update lets you know when your destination will close
Not everybody has a great sense of direction or knows all the ways. Google Maps help save the day by taking you to your preferred destinations without any hassle. But every once in a while, it so happens that we have to go to our favorite restaurant or any other place and imagine the dilemma when you reach there and find out that the place is closed.
Well, Google has addressed to this issue in their latest Google Maps update. From now on, whenever one asks for directions in the Google Maps, it shows if the place will be closed before your estimated arrival time. A simple pop-up notification informs you about the operational hours of the destination along with the estimated time of your arrival.
There is also an option to cancel the navigation in the notification or you can go ahead with it if you really want to be speed racer.
Another feature of this new update brings the ability for Google Maps to be able to use the data from car rental-related emails. It can be accessed under the “my events” section. And definitely, there the usual bug fixes.
Over the last few years navigation has become an important part of our travelling itinerary. Google has brought forth a lot of improvement to their maps app with the inclusion of features such as navigation sharing, real-time transit information and the upcoming offline maps features.
Check out the Play Store link below, and update your Google Maps right now! Share your experiences with us in the comments section below.
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SteelSeries announces The Stratus XL Wireless Gaming Controller for Windows and Android
SteelSeries announced the Stratus XL Wireless Gaming Controller at E3. The Stratus XL is Stratus’s bigger brother.
“Gamers now have the option to control their games effortlessly and wireless via Bluetooth® on PC, Android devices, Amazon Fire TV, Ouya and other micro-console systems. “
The controller is designed to connect via Bluetooth to a bunch of different devices. It is powered by AA batteries allowing for up to 40 hours of game play.
The Stratus XL Wireless Gaming Controller is equipped with Microsft’s XInput game controller API. XInput allows the Stratus XL to function perfectly as a console-like gaming controller on a PC. With the help of SteelSeries Engine software suite, users can tweak the controller’s joystick settings, sensitivity levels and even invert the axis.
In a physical aspect, the Stratus XL is styled to look like a regular console controller unlike the Stratus controller. Except, the D-pad is placed in the top left and the joysticks are both on the bottom. Other wise, you have a D-pad, two joysticks, four buttons (X, Y, A and B), and three menu type buttons on the front. Finally, two triggers and two shoulder buttons are placed on the back.
Priced at a hefty $59.99, SteelSeries hopes that the Stratus XL will create easy-to-use experiences and allows multi-screen experiences to actually happen.
Press Release
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Apple Yet to Contact Indie Publishers for Apple Music Streaming Rights [iOS Blog]
With exactly two weeks until the launch of Apple Music, details about the revenue sharing model for the streaming music service continue to emerge. Billboard reports that Apple has yet to contact independent music publishers about Apple Music, leading many indie labels to believe that the Cupertino-based company will soon send a bulk email to publishers with an opt-in contract attached.
Apple will reportedly offer indie music publishers a headline rate of 13.5% revenue, higher than the 12% it pays for iTunes Match and 10% it pays for iTunes Radio. Apple will pay indie labels slightly higher rates than the industry standard, contributing to Apple Music’s overall 71.5% revenue sharing, in return for making no royalty payments during the three-month free trial it will offer consumers.
“That free trial, with no payments being made to rights holders, precluded Apple from taking advantage of the statutory licenses that most interactive streaming services use. Under that statutory license, Apple must send notices of intent (NOIs) to publishers with a list of the songs they plan to use, and then make payment to publishers using a three-tier formula approved by the Copyright Royalty Board.”
The 13.5% headline rate is reportedly part of a larger payment formula that will be used to determine royalties paid to rights holders.
Apple Music was announced last week as an all-in-one streaming music service, live global radio station and social platform for artists to connect with fans. The subscription-based service will be available June 30 for $9.99 per month after a three-month free trial period for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and PC. Apple TV and Android versions of the service will be available in the fall.
Apple Revokes Monster’s ‘Made for iPhone’ License Following Beats Lawsuit
Apple has suspended audio accessory maker Monster’s right to make licensed accessories for Apple devices following a lawsuit Monster filed against Apple-owned Beats Electronics in January, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Monster produces Lightning charging cables and headphones that are certified to work with Apple devices under Apple’s Made for iPhone (MFi) certification process, and it has done so since 2005. As of May 5, Apple is ending its agreement with Monster and will no longer allow the company to make MFi certified accessories.
Monster’s general counsel David Tognotti said Noreen Krall, Apple’s chief litigation counsel, told him that their agreement was being terminated, effective May 5, because the relationship between the two companies is no longer “mutually beneficial” in the wake of Monster’s lawsuit. According to Mr. Tognotti, Ms. Krall said the suit would “destroy the working relationship” between Apple and Monster.
Monster’s lawsuit accused Beats Electronics, Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, and HTC of conspiring to acquire Monster’s portion of Beats Electronics through a fraudulent deal. Well before Beats Electronics was bought by Apple, Monster designed and sold Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. That ended in 2011, after Beats sold 51 percent of the company to HTC and invoked a change of ownership clause in the Beats/Monster deal.
Beats Electronics later repurchased HTC’s stake in the company and convinced Monster CEO Noel Lee to sell a portion of his 5 percent stake as well. According to Lee, this was a “sham transaction” designed to exclude Monster from profits from Beats by Dre sales and later, profits from the Apple acquisition, which would have been more than $100 million had he retained his stake in the company.
With Apple ending its MFi agreement with Monster, Monster will be required to change its packaging and rework some products that use licensed technology. Apple is permitting Monster to continue to sell accessories through September, but the company is not allowed to produce new MFi-certified cables and headphones.
According to Monster, 900 of its more than 4,000 products produced since 2008 have been made under the MFi program, and the company has paid out more than $12 million in licensing fees since that date. Monster lawyer David Tognotti says the move is excessive and “shows a side of Apple that consumers don’t see very often.” “Apple can be a bully,” he said.
AIVAnet 