Your iBooks price fixing credit is on its way
Don’t fret about your piece of Apple’s e-book price fixing settlement — the check is in the mail, virtually speaking. The attorneys behind the class action lawsuit have revealed that digital credits from the case will start reaching book buyers from various online bookstores (including Apple’s iBooks as well as Amazon and Barnes & Noble) as early as June 21st. What you’ll get depends on what you bought, mind you, and it’s not exactly a windfall.
You’ll receive a $6.93 credit for every title you bought on the New York Times bestseller list, and $1.57 for every e-book beyond that. While that’s twice the estimated losses from Apple’s alleged collusion with major publishers, you probably won’t go on a spending spree. It certainly won’t look as good as other tech-related settlements unless you snapped up a lot of e-books during the relevant period. Look at it this way, though: if you are a bookworm, there’ll likely be enough credit for a good summer read.
Via: MacRumors
Source: BusinessWire
Google Prompt streamlines two-step verification
It seems like not a week goes by without news of a major password hack, and the subsequent reminders to turn on two-factor verification for all of your devices and services. So, to make the process that much simpler on your end (but not any potential hacker’s end, hopefully) Google has announced a streamlined method for approving sign-in requests. Google Prompt, as 9to5Google is calling the service, allows you to approve these requests with a simple yes or no pop-up, rather than receiving a confirmation email, text or setting up a separate security key.
The setup is simple: when logging into gmail or other Google apps product, a Google Prompt notification on your phone will ask you to approve or deny the login request, along with information about the profile, location and device you’re trying to log in from. Making things even easier: the new feature is actually baked into Android using Google Play services, users only need to update to the latest version to get it. On iOS, users will need to have the Google Search app installed.
Users can enable the new feature on Google’s My Account page and the older methods are still available, if that’s your preference.
Sasha Morse Flashlight: A handy flashlight app with some new tricks
Overview:
Sasha Morse Flashlight is a flashlight app with a built-in Morse Code generator and guide, to help you learn to read and write, as well as send messages automatically, in Morse Code.
Developer: Sasha Lab
Cost: Free (with ads)
Impressions:
Sasha Morse FLashlight is a pretty standard flashlight app. It has the same switch and sounds, and triggers your camera flash as you’d expect. However, if you press the little purple button above the lightswitch, a new menu appears, and grants you access to the morse code generator.
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The morse code generator allows you to input text, then press the send button and it will transcribe whatever you have written into morse code that flashes from your flashlight. The app also offers a handy guide to the letters and symbols of morse code, in case you wanted to try to write it for yourself. The feature works as expected and is harmless, but I really can’t see a practical application for it outside of a bit of fun. Very few people I know can read morse code, so sending them a message in it seems rather pointless, and I imagine many are in the same boat.
Otherwise, Sasha Morse FLashlight isn’t a terribly unique app. The flashlight app has been around in some form or another since the earliest smartphones, and some have more practical and useful features than Sasha Morse does. The morse code is a nice novelty, and works well but just isn’t something that makes it a must have over other flashlight apps, if you still use them.
Conclusion:
I can see this app as appealing to someone who wants to learn morse code, or uses it regularly for whatever reason, or maybe someone who is interested in morse code for historical reasons. Other apps do flashlights better, and even now they are becoming obsolete as phone manufacturers include flashlight functionality baked into the phone at launch, making this an even harder sell.
Download Sasha Morse Flashlight from the Google Play Store
Tumblr is getting into the crowded live video space this week
Tumblr thinks it can take on Facebook Live, Twitter-owned Periscope, Amazon-owned Twitch, and others. It’s getting into live video.
The company quietly posted a promotional webpage over the weekend to announce it will launch a live-streaming video feature on 21 June. The page also appears to offer a programming schedule for live video events (such as: “A Harlem Globetrotter will teach you how to basketball” on 21 June at 4:45 pm EST, and “We will broadcast live from the surface of Mars” on 21 June at 4 pm EST).
Tumblr launched in 2007 and was acquired by Yahoo about six years later. It currently has about 555 million monthly visitors and hosts more than 300 million blogs. You can use it to post GIFs, create standalone sites, and soon, apparently, broadcast. Tumblr hasn’t yet shared any details on how it will uniquely offer live-streaming capabilities in a space that has become increasingly crowded.
That said, it seems to be developing a content strategy for launch day, at least. It’s unclear if Tumblr will consistently offer a live programming schedule but such a strategy could help it to stand out from the competition. Facebook, for instance, green-lighted its Live video feature last spring – when Periscope turned a year old and announced its users had created more than 200 million broadcasts.
It’ll therefore be interesting to see whether Tumblr Live Video is able to capture that sort of interest and growth from the get-go.
Elmo takes the spotlight in new YouTube series
Sesame Street’s producers realize that kids these days are spending their days glued to devices other than their TVs. Its presence on YouTube has more than two million subscribers, and it recently launched Sesame Studios to test new ideas on web-savvy kids. But that doesn’t mean that the regular Street channel is being neglected, since it’s about to devote the next six months to making Elmo a YouTube star. The Sesame Workshop is launching the “Love to Learn” campaign that’ll see the channel providing a series of themed videos between July and December. Each month will tackle a different topic, from Animals and Music through to Cooking and Kindness.
The TV version of Sesame Street often ropes in a famous actor, politician or musician to do a little sketch with the adorable muppets. The show has played host to such figures as Johnny Cash, Richard Prior, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton and Julia Roberts. But, since this is YouTube, producers have sought out partnerships with figures who have become stars from shows on the video-sharing service. So, Elmo will appear in clips with Simon’s Cat, Eh Bee and Jerome Jarre, while Cookie Monster gets a lesson in food preparation from Rosanna “Nerdy Nummies” Pansino.
Sesame Street is something of a towering institution that, you feel, is a permanent fixture of our culture. But the truth is very different, with Sesame Workshop (formerly known as the Children’s Television Workshop) suffering from a funding crisis. In 2009, the nonprofit felt the bite of funding cuts, and began operating at a significant loss, which was only exasperated by the decline in physical media sales, which had previously been covering the shortfall. These days, HBO has stepped in to help, which has given the Workshop time and space to develop new projects online as well as launching its own startup incubator.
Facebook Messenger’s SMS push might break Android app rules
Did you think Facebook was a little too eager to have you using Messenger for SMS on your Android phone? You’re not alone. Concerns are mounting that Facebook’s SMS prompt might violate Google Play’s policies prohibiting deceptive device settings changes. You see, the prompt offering to switch SMS to Messenger offers only a big “OK” button and a tiny “settings” button — there’s no obvious way to decline the change. You can, of course, but it’s buried.
We’ve asked both Facebook and Google for their stances on the app and will let you know what they say. Whatever their reactions, though, it’s not surprising why Facebook would push so hard. The more you use Messenger for your chats, the more likely it is that you’ll use Messenger for purchases and other services that might help Facebook’s bottom line. It’s just a question of whether or not the social network is being completely honest with users who don’t realize that SMS integration is strictly optional.
VERY aggressive prompt by Facebook to add SMS to @messenger. Ain’t no “No” button. A violation of Google Play rules? pic.twitter.com/7tZzAE5MGh
— Amir Efrati (@amir) June 20, 2016
Source: Amir Efrati (Twitter), Google Play
Tumblr to launch live video with an hour of wacky streams
It seems Tumblr is planning to jump on the live video bandwagon to join Facebook, Twitter and Amazon. The blog platform has posted eight updates on a subdomain that features a logo with the words “Live Video on Tumblr,” accompanied by a caption that says, “Launches Tuesday, June 21.”
Each update shows an upcoming time on June 21 and a brief description of what Tumblr will be streaming then. For instance, a post for 4pm ET says the company “will broadcast live from the surface of Mars.” The rest of the schedule includes a Harlem Globetrotter teaching you how to play basketball, inflating a “very big thing in a very small room” and learning the “metaphysical truth about your Tumblr.”
The programs appear to be part of a Tumblr power hour between 4pm and 5pm ET, which is presumably when the company will take the wraps off its live video service. Not much else is clear about the tool, as the company has not yet made an official announcement.
Without a full feature set for comparisons, it’s hard to tell if Tumblr will be able to measure up to live video’s big players. But Tumblr does have a large base of content creators with massive followings that could help it eke out a niche in the self-broadcast space.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Live Video on Tumblr
‘Game of Thrones’ composer on making truly epic scores
Ramin Djawadi’s theme for Game of Thrones has inspired covers upon covers. The Iranian-German composer’s music has helped shape the magic, power and terror on every episode of HBO’s most watched series. While the show’s haunting score is his most celebrated offering to date, his recent work on Warcraft: The Beginning also made its mark. Despite the abysmal reviews of the videogame-turned-movie, the soundtrack has held its own with its larger-than-life orchestral elements.
Djawadi’s recent scores for fantastical worlds have been the most prominent, but his repertoire dates back almost two decades. He started his career at legendary composer Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions after graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1998. A few years later he went on to score Blade: Trinity and in 2005 he composed for the popular TV series Prison Break, which got him an Emmy nomination. Four years later he won an ASCAP Award for his guitar-heavy Iron Man score and was nominated for a Grammy for best soundtrack.
Over the years, Djawadi’s eclectic scores garnered recognition and a solid fan following. But its his ability to build massive melodic themes that has made him one of the most coveted names on the composers circuit. I recently talked to him about his iconic scores and the ways in which technology impacts his compositions for the mythical creatures that he helps bring to life.
How would you describe your sensibility as a composer? What are you instinctively drawn to?
I always have a hard time describing myself. But I would say I’m drawn to melody. My task is to tell a story with the music. I always like to have themes, in terms of characters or plots, and things that can tell a story always interest me the most.
Tell me about Warcraft. What was that process like and what was the sound you were going for?
I really enjoyed working with [director] Duncan Jones, he had great ideas and the collaboration was great. He had a clear vision for what he wanted with the score. I’m very happy with how the score came out -– it’s a thematic and melodic score.
The two big things were: you have two sides — the humans and the orcs. We wanted to make sure we distinguished them soundwise. With humans we kind of stuck with the orchestral elements and for the orcs we went in the opposite direction –- a much more tribal feel. I used a lot of percussion and flutes. Their voices are really low so I thought about what I could use. We used a low choir and voices and I used a contrabass that can give a low range. We really wanted to distinguish the two musically.
Music composer Ramin Djawadi. Photo credit: Matt Sayles
From Pacific Rim to Game of Thrones and now Warcraft –- how do you navigate those worlds stylistically but still manage to leave your stamp on every score?
I like to jump around quite a bit. That’s the nice thing about being a film composer. In Warcraft, for example, there was a lot of action and it required bombastic music. For Iron Man we decided to go for a more rock and roll approach; we used electric guitars. In Game of Thrones, the cello is a very prominent instrument and there’s small music because it’s dialogue heavy. That’s what I love about [being a composer], every project requires something different and has its own challenges.
What does it take to compose music for fantastical worlds?
I actually enjoy the fantasy world quite a bit. You have no boundaries. you can decide to give the character either a fantasy feel or more organic feel. You can play around quite a bit with instrumentation. Game of Thrones is a good example of that. It’s set in medieval times but at the same time it’s a completely fantasy world so you don’t know what time period you’re in. We can play around with it but the focus is on not making the music sound medieval.
In Game of Thrones there are themes for individual characters but the soundtrack overall is so cohesive. How do you keep those distinct themes tied in together?
Before I even started writing the music, it was the most important thing we discussed. The fact is that it’s a highly complicated show. There are a million characters and plot lines going on. I sat down [with showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss] and said how can we support this with the score without making it more confusing? So we approached it in a way where sometimes we went with a theme for the plot or the house and sometimes we said this character deserves his own theme. Then we developed them over the seasons. I always give the example of Theon. In season one, he didn’t have a theme. In season two his character developed, he stepped out a lot and we decided it was time to have a theme for him. So it kind of expands with the narration.
“The computer is limited in expression. It can’t do what the human player can do.”
Everything in the show is constantly changing. The characters and their respective sounds continue to evolve and take on a power of their own. How do you keep up with that?
The nice thing is that there are a lot of different locations to work with. With the White Walkers, for example, I went for the icy feel. With Daenerys, we’re in the desert a lot with the Dothraki so then I go for a different sound there. I get inspired by the visuals and the story a lot. It helps me pick my instruments and be creative. We always laugh because every season I come up with one new instrument and say: “Oh the tuba! We haven’t really featured it yet.” It’s a challenge [to keep up] but it’s a lot of fun too.
In what ways would you say technology impacts your work as a composer?
Most of the time, the people you work with, the directors or producers, aren’t musically schooled. If you play them the theme on the piano and then say: “once we go to the recording stage and a full orchestra plays it, it’s going to sound great, trust me!” It’s very hard to imagine. It’s like looking at a green screen and then somebody telling you the special effects are going to look perfect when done. But what’s been great is that with technology, with samples and sequencing, I create these very accurate demos that I present to my producers. Then we can discuss in detail what we should change or not. They can hear the percussion and the orchestra, it’s a full arrangement on the computer. Then there are no surprises when you actually have many people sitting in front of you, the clock is ticking and you’re recording and everything has to go fast and they go: “oh wait that’s what it sounds like? I didn’t hear that before.” The goal is to have the most accurate demo and the computer can help you with that. When you record with live players, it goes up another level but there shouldn’t be any surprises.
What are the limitations? At what point do you know a computer won’t cut it?
The computer is limited in expression. It can’t do what the human player can do. What’s dangerous is that you fall for writing for the computer and what sounds good on it instead of writing something that actually sounds good when a player performs it. It’s dangerous when you go down that road. For example in [GoT], I use a lot of choir for the big Daenerys scenes and use Valyrian-inspired lyrics. I can’t demo that so I have some kind of shady choir just kind of speaking something but then I have to tell the [producers] to imagine it with lyrics — they’ll speak and it’s going to be bigger. Sometimes you have to let it go and tell them to trust you on it.
CW shows like ‘Arrow’ might be leaving Hulu this year
One of the worst parts about getting your TV fix through services like Netflix and Hulu is that your favorite show can disappear on any given day, with little warning. If you’re a fan of the CW (home to shows like Arrow, Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), it unfortunately looks like it’s getting a bit harder to stay up-to-date on the network’s shows. According to Variety, the CW will pull out of Hulu in favor of putting up its shows on its ad-supported website. As with the current (and expiring) Hulu deal, only the five most recent episodes of any particular show will be available.
It’s generally more work to get a stream from a network’s website up as compared to just jumping onto the Hulu app in your set-top box of choice, so it’s hard to say how this benefits consumers. Indeed, part of the reason that Hulu and the CW are parting ways is that Hulu wanted access to an entire season’s worth of current episodes, not just the five most recent. Hulu’s customers had been complaining about that restriction, but now it seems they won’t be able to watch the CW’s shows on Hulu at all.
However, there’s a bit of good news for Netflix users. A new deal between the network and the streaming giant means that shows will arrive on Netflix just a few weeks after the season wraps. That’s much better than the months it usually takes for a wrapped season to show up on Netflix. When all these changes will take place remains to be seen, but Variety believes the current five-year deals in place with Hulu and Netflix will expire this October.
Source: Variety
Facebook’s board of directors re-elects Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel, the early Facebook investor and board member who admitted last month to secretly financing multiple lawsuits against Gawker Media, will officially remain on Facebook’s executive board, Mashable reports today. COO Sheryl Sandberg had previously stated that Thiel would keep his position because he “did what he did on his own, not as a Facebook board member,” but Monday’s annual shareholder’s meeting was the last chance for the board to acknowledge that his actions run counter to Facebook’s own mission statement. During the vote, the shareholders voted to keep all board members who are up for re-election, including Thiel. Mark Zuckerberg, who has the overriding vote as founder and majority stakeholder, approved the decision.
By bankrolling Hulk Hogan’s high-profile lawsuit against Gawker, Thiel drove the media company to bankruptcy. Thiel called his actions “one of my greater philanthropic things that I’ve done.” Thiel’s critics on the other hand, have called him a secretive billionaire waging a shadowy war to suppress the free press — or at least the part of the free press that publishes stories he doesn’t like.
“This contradicts the messages [Zuckerberg] has been sending—about Facebook being open, inclusive, and unbiased,” startup advisor and Stanford professor Vivek Wadhwa told Mashable.
Thiel, an ardent Trump supporter, was also part of a group of Facebook representatives who met with members of the conservative media to address accusations of bias in the social network’s Trending Topics section.
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