Watch Mark Zuckerberg unbox retail Oculus Rift via Facebook livestream

The retail version of Oculus Rift just began shipping to consumers, and to celebrate the launch, Mark Zuckerberg is live-streaming himself unboxing the virtual-reality headset while giving a brief breakdown of what to expect.

Zuckerberg is the CEO of Facebook, which purchased Oculus VR, the company behind Rift, in 2014 for $2 billion. During his live-stream published to Facebook, he showed viewers what’s inside the actual Rift box as well as how to hook it up to a Windows PC. The Oculus Rift requires a PC with certain hardware specs in order to power a fluid virtual reality experience.

He also said there are 30 games available at launch and told viewers about his own experience with the headset. The live-stream is of course a marketing push, but it’s still interesting nonetheless. The Rift has been credited for reigniting modern-day interest in VR, so the fact that the headset is now available for everyone to purchase and use is certainly exciting.

READ: Watch Oculus VR’s founder deliver the first Rift to a developer in Alaska

Just yesterday, Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR and the inventor of the Rift, also live-streamed to Facebook a video of himself not only unboxing Rift but hand-delivering the first one to a developer in Alaska. It was hard to miss the look of glee on Luckey’s face. If you loved that moment in VR history, you’ll definitely love this stream with Zuckerberg.

Although developer versions of the Rift have been around for years, this is the first retail version. You can order it now from Oculus VR’s website. It costs $599 in the US, £499 in the UK, and €699 in Europe. There are also bundles that went up for pre-order in February. They include not only the headset but also the certified PC required to run it and start at $1,499.

Oculus VR partnered with PC makers Alienware, Dell, and Asus on the bundles.

READ: Oculus Rift pre-order: Everything you need to know

This week, we started shipping Oculus Rift. I’ll be showing you what’s inside the box and taking some of your questions.

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Google’s ‘Fiber Phone’ is a new kind of land line

Practically nobody, save perhaps your grandparents, still uses a landline. But that’s not stopping Google from rolling out a brand new home phone service. On Tuesday, the company announced the new Google Fiber Phone, which works nearly identically to its mobile Fi service.

For $10 a month, users get unlimited local and nationwide calls (international calls will match what Google Voice charges), caller ID, call waiting, 911 service (kinda terrifying that I even have to mention that) and voicemail transcription. If you’ve already got a landline, you’ll be free to keep your current number or choose a new one.

And, of course, you get a standalone, wireless handset with which to make your calls. Interestingly, since your Google Fiber Phone number “lives in the cloud,” as the blog announcement states, you can forward all calls to your landline to your mobile device when you travel. Unfortunately, the service is only debuting in a few areas and will initially roll out exclusively to cities that already have Google Fiber installed. You can sign up for updates using this interest form.

Google isn’t the only company trying to keep landlines around. Virtually every major satellite and cable provider, as well as the telecoms, offer similar phone services, though few are as inexpensive as the Fiber Phone.

Source: Google Fiber Blog

Tidal has 3 million subscribers a year after Jay Z’s takeover

This week marks a year since Jay Z and a lineup of big-name artists took over Tidal, touting a library of exclusive content and a lossless audio option. In the 12 months since Mr. Carter & Co. took control, the streaming service amassed 3 million subscribers, up from the first million the company announced last fall. There’s no doubt exclusive releases, especially Kayne West’s The Life of Pablo, gave those paid plans a boost, but Tidal still has a lot of work to do if it wants to catch Spotify and Apple Music.

Spotify hit the 3 million mark in January 2012, six months after it made its US debut. The green-hued streaming option announced earlier this month that is subscriber number now stands at 30 million. As far as Apple Music is concerned, Cupertino’s music service tallies 10 million paying users according to reports that surfaced in January. Apple was also able to nab 11 million trial users in the first six weeks it existed, and that’s before it was available on Android devices. At 3 million subscribers, Tidal is closer numbers-wise to Deezer. Music Business Worldwide reported last October that Deezer’s paying user count stood at 3.8 million.

In addition to its catalog of 40 million songs, Tidal also offers video, concert livestreams and fan events on top of the aforementioned exclusive releases. West’s Pablo, was streamed 250 million times in first 10 days it was available and Rihanna’s ANTI album was downloaded 1.4 million times in less than 24 hours. Artists, especially those involved with the company directly as artist-owners, have been using the streaming service as the only spot they debut new material over the last year. The music may make its way to another service in a couple of weeks, but it’s stopping at Tidal first.

As part of the 3 million subscriber announcement, Tidal also revealed that 45 percent of those users are paying more for the $20 HiFi plan. Sure, some of those could have already been paying up before Jay Z purchased the service, but the number shows that there’s most than a few listeners willing to pay for high-fidelity audio. While Tidal continues to attract new users, it will need to continue to serve up those exclusives to keep pace. And even that might not be enough to catch Spotify’s head start or match Apple’s reach.

Razer made a game capture card designed for livestreaming

Livestreaming games is a big business these days, and Razer knows it. The gear designer has unveiled the Ripsaw, a capture card that’s all about sharing your console and PC gaming exploits on the likes of Twitch or YouTube. It’s built to work “out of the box” with common streaming apps like Open Broadcaster Software and XSplit, and its combination of a USB 3.0 connection and audio inputs should do justice to both the video (you’ll get uncompressed 1080p, 60FPS footage) and your commentary track. You get all the cables you need, too. The aim is to create a box that meets the needs of veteran streamers, but won’t intimidate newcomers.

The Ripsaw is available now for $180, although that’s not the total cost. You’ll also need a reasonably powerful Windows PC, with both a 4th-generation Core processor and a mid-range graphics card. With that said, you probably already check those boxes if you’re interested in the first place — this is for people who either stream for a living or are already gaming enthusiasts.

Source: Razer

The Apple vs DoJ encryption battle is far from over

The Apple versus FBI showdown that’s been playing out over the past six weeks is over. But in reality, the battle to circumvent encryption has just started.

Yesterday’s news that the government was dropping its case against Apple wasn’t a surprise. Last week the Department of Justice informed the courts that it had found a third-party solution to break into the iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook and no longer need the tech company’s help. Case closed.

But there are other phones out there, which means there will be other cases. Each device in the possession of local and federal law enforcement is a potential avenue to convince a court to force Apple to circumvent its encryption.

Or the Justice Department can just wait until another phone is used in the course of crime that’s as horrific as the the one perpetrated by Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, in San Bernardino. Higher-profile cases give law enforcement additional leverage with judges and the public. There are hundreds of phones in police custody right now; it’s no coincidence the DoJ asked for help with the one used by a terrorist.

Buzzfeed reports that a government official said it’s “premature to say anything about our abilities to access other phones.” Even if it does manage to use this exploit on other iPhones, there’s a chance the FBI won’t be able to access new devices from Apple.

Farook used an iPhone 5C. The encryption on this phone is software based. It doesn’t have the additional hardware security found in Apple’s A7 and later processors. With the introduction of that chip in the iPhone 5S, the company added a secure element that makes it even tougher to crack the encryption on a device. Apple insists that even the company itself can’t read the encrypted handshake between the hardware and software when a passcode or Touch ID is used to unlock the phone.

But the thing is, we don’t know the full capabilities of the exploit the FBI is using. According to The Guardian, the Justice Department wants the exploit to be classified. So it could potentially keep the vulnerability a secret from not only the public but also Apple. Without transparency or proper disclosure, the capabilities of the tool are unknown. If the government says the exploit won’t work on an iPhone 6, we have to take its word for it.

So while Apple has stated that “this case should never have been brought,” it should prepare itself for others like it. And not just Apple: Other tech companies like Google and Microsoft should be ready for a call from the FBI, CIA, NSA or Homeland Security if an encrypted device is used during the course of a crime.

All the government needs is to set a precedent to circumvent encryption. If the courts rule that a company has to help law enforcement bypass the security of a device, it doesn’t matter if it’s Apple or not. It’ll be the first step in a series of court battles against tech giants that’ll be tougher to fight as more phones are unlocked.

There are now two security races going on. One is to build tougher encryption to keep hackers out of users’ devices. The other is to build a legal team to keep the government out of users’ phones. It’s not a quick sprint solved by a single case. This is an ultramarathon that started with that first motion.

Twitter adds image descriptions to help the visually impaired

To make Twitter more accessible, the company has rolled out an update today that lets users add descriptions to their images. Once the feature has been enabled — you’ll find it under Settings and Accessibility — you’ll get the option to write a caption with each new photo. They can be up to 420 characters and will be available to users who are visually impaired, through assistive technology such as text-to-speech screen readers and braille displays. Twitter’s platform has also been updated so the feature can be supported in specialized clients such as Chicken Nugget.

Source: Twitter (Blog Post)

Amateur astronomers caught a Jupiter impact on camera

Jupiter gets hit by wayward celestial objects surprisingly often (about once per year), but you’d be forgiven if you didn’t know it. Not all of them are visible, and professionals can only observe so much. However, the rise in readily accessible astronomy tech just helped detect one of these encounters. Amateur astronomers from Austria and Ireland have recorded videos showing that something, most likely an asteroid or comet, struck Jupiter on March 17th. The collision only lasted for a split second (blink and you’ll miss it in the videos below) but it was ferocious — even if the object was only a few hundred feet across, Jupiter’s intense gravity guaranteed a high-velocity impact that would be visible from Earth.

It’d take much more data to explain what happened in detail. However, the very fact that it was caught on camera at all is telling. It shows that the combination of low-cost telescopes, video capture and easy online sharing is producing the kind of collaborative stargazing that scientists yearn for. There’s an increasingly good chance that someone, somewhere is not only watching a given patch of sky, but can share their findings to confirm unusual events.

Via: Slate, Gizmodo

Source: Gerrit Kernbauer (YouTube), John McKeon (YouTube)

Behind Facebook Messenger’s plan to be an app platform

A year ago, Facebook announced at its F8 developer conference that Messenger would evolve into more than just a simple chat app. For one thing, you’d be able to chat with businesses and stores to, say, get an update on an order or make reservations at a restaurant. But the big reveal was that Facebook was turning Messenger into a platform for other apps. The initial integration was with GIF keyboards and games, but fast forward a year later and you can see the idea start to take shape. You can now request an Uber or a Lyft right within Messenger, or share a song with your chat buddy via Spotify. Soon you might even be able to book a flight or pay for store purchases — all without leaving Messenger.

The question is: Why? Why would you as a user want all this integration? Why not just download Uber and request a car that way? Meanwhile, why would a developer or a business want to bake their services into Messenger? Wouldn’t they rather users get their apps instead? Lastly, why does Facebook want to add all of these features anyway, and potentially weigh it down with so many added complications?

There are several answers to these questions, but it all starts with a single fact: Messaging is now the number one activity most people do on their smartphones. A Pew Internet study published last year found that fully 97 percent of smartphone owners used text messaging at least once a week. Messaging was also found to be the most frequently used feature, with smartphone owners reporting that they used text messaging within the past hour. Further, 35 percent of smartphone users in the US use some kind of messaging app to communicate.

Facebook’s own stats confirm that. In the last quarter of 2015, the company reported 900 million monthly Whatsapp users and 800 million monthly Messenger users. “We have seen messaging volume more than double in the past year,” said Frerk-Malte Feller to Engadget. Feller is a Director of Product Management for Facebook who heads up Messenger’s business initiatives. “Businesses want to be where the people are.”

This is certainly why Lyft wants to be involved. “As the heart of so many of our users’ day-to-day communications, [Messenger] felt like a natural fit to make getting from place to place as simple as typing ‘hello’ to a friend,” a Lyft spokesperson told Engadget.

From the user standpoint, having a third-party service like Uber integrated into Messenger bypasses the whole rigmarole of signing up for an account. “You’re already registered on Messenger using your Facebook identity,” said Feller. “When you start using a new service, you don’t have to fill out all those forms […] You can just use the identity you have on Messenger.”

More importantly, however, it also means one less app to download. Sure, downloading an app sounds like a pretty trivial activity, but it’s still an extra step, one which a lot of users are unwilling to take. A recent Nielsen study showed that despite the increased number of apps in both Google Play and Apple’s App Store over the past few years, people still generally use the same number of apps — about 26.7 per month. But while the total number of applications doesn’t seem to have increased, the amount of time spent on them has gone up — about a 63 percent rise in two years.

We’re not as interested in trying new apps, but the apps we do have, we’re using more.

This means we’re not as interested in trying new apps, but the apps we do have, we’re using more. It’s a scenario that’s ripe for enriching existing apps — like the heavily used Messenger — with additional features. As for businesses, it’s a chance to increase awareness without having to rely on app downloads.

Beyond that, Messenger offers a valuable social component that most existing apps don’t have. With the Uber integration, for example, you can message an address to a friend, who can then tap that address to request a car. Alternately, if you’re already in an Uber, you can use Messenger to share your location to a friend so he or she can see when you’re going to arrive. All of this is on top of the ability for you to directly message the company if you’re having any issues. And because this is Messenger and not an email or a phone call, whoever’s reading your messages will be able to see past conversations to gain context of the existing message thread.

The kinds of interactions are richer too. Spotify’s integration, for example, offers a more seamless sharing experience than just copying and pasting a link. “It’s a huge upgrade,” a Spotify spokesperson told us. “[It allows] users to deep link into Spotify to consume content.”

There is some precedent to all of this. Mobile messaging apps in Asia have been experimenting with these added features for a while now. Line, for example, has billed itself as a “social entertainment platform,” and has branched out into offering a music service plus a news feed, both of which are easily accessible from within the main messaging app. It also offers games, much like Messenger is currently doing, and is even going so far as becoming a phone carrier.

Of course, adding third-party services is just the beginning; Messenger’s ambitions go much deeper. As a recent report from The Information indicates, Facebook’s chat app could soon have plenty of other features like calendar syncing, News Feed-style status updates and the ability to directly share quotes from articles. Add the M personal assistant to the equation, and it’s easy to imagine a future where Messenger could be the central hub of smartphones everywhere. Perhaps even more so than Facebook itself.

There is one potential downside, however, and that’s the arrival of advertising. After all, that’s Facebook’s bread and butter, and it’s naturally going to want to slap ads on an app that’s getting to be this popular. And with all these business partnerships, it won’t be surprising if Facebook ends up allowing companies to spam you with the occasional advertisement, especially if you voluntarily added these integrations yourself.

“The feedback from people in the last 12 months have been strong,” said Feller. “It really has all the right attributes and characteristics.” And with F8’s annual developer conference coming up next week, we imagine there will be even more to come.

Bowie tribute concert at Radio City will be streamed on Skype

A pair of concerts will offer a tribute to David Bowie in New York City this week, and you’ll be able to stream one of them. Due to “unprecedented interest,” concert organizers are teaming up with Skype and Ammado so that Bowie fans around that world can watch live performances from Radio City Music Hall on April 1st. This is actually the second show, added after the response for the first event that’s set for Thursday at Carnegie Hall. The Carnegie Hall date for “The Music of David Bowie,” a tribute show that will raise money for music education, was announced just before the singer passed away in January. Both nights sold out immediately.

If you want to tune in this Friday at 8:00 PM ET, you’ll be asked to make a donation or a minimum donation equivalent to $20 or £15 to one of the event’s partner charities. Once you donate via the event’s website, you’ll be given a link to the stream. In return for your donation, you can watch scheduled acts like the Pixies, Blondie, the Flaming Lips, The Roots, Mumford & Sons, The Polyphonic Spree and several more.

Via: BBC

Source: The Music of David Bowie

NCAA to stream Final Four and championship game in VR

Streaming sports in VR isn’t that novel these days, but that’s not stopping the NCAA from employing the tech this weekend in Houston. The collegiate sports governing body announced plans to livestream the Final Four and National Championship games in virtual reality Saturday, April 2nd and Monday, April 4th. This is the first time a VR stream will be available for the culmination of March Madness, offering 180-degree views of the action on the hardwood. The stream will be available on Samsung’s Gear VR through the March Madness Live app in the Oculus Store. If you don’t have a headset, there will be a 2D 180-degree livestream on the March Madness website alongside 360-degree game highlights.

Source: NCAA