Sony made a PSVR music video you can move around in

When it comes to the immersive visuals virtual reality offers, the audio needs to be equally as compelling. That includes having the sound adapt to your movements as you navigate a scene or event. To show off what its PlayStation VR setup is capable of, Sony enlisted violinist Joshua Bell to record a 360-degree virtual reality studio session. With adaptive audio and positional tracking, the company offers the ability for you to “step inside” the venue a lot more realistic.

Sony used its FDR-X1000V action cameras to capture video and rendered the full scene in 3D. This means that viewers can not only look around, but they’re free to move around the room as well thanks to PSVR’s positional tracking. Of course, having the audio adapt as you change positions is equally as important and that’s just what Sony has done here. Using specially placed microphones to capture sound, positional audio tracking changes what you hear as you navigate Air Studios’ Lyndhurst Hall in London. If you move closer to the artist, you can hear more detail from the violin. If you back away, you get more of the natural reverb and overall sound of the room.

The company explains that capturing something like this would typically take a lot more equipment. However, this setup allows for a less cumbersome method for documenting an informal event in VR. Sony says the next step is to simplify the process so that it can easily be used to capture not only musical performances, but theatre and sporting events as well. It will be interesting to see how the company continues to develop ways for people to produce content for PlayStation VR beyond just games.

If you have PSVR gear, the Joshua Bell performance is available for free. For those who haven’t yet committed, you can check out a behind-the-scenes look at the project in the video below.

Source: PlayStation Blog

Etsy wants to be your online source for craft supplies

Etsy has made a name for itself as marketplace for handmade goods, but today the company announced an ambitious new initiative: Etsy Studios, an online storefront dedicated solely to craft supplies. The company is aiming for it to be your main source when you need a specific type of yarn, or you’re seeking out new fabric designs for inspiration. Etsy Studios will also have projects for the creatively inclined — naturally, it’ll also point you to all of the supplies you need to build, along with step-by-step instructions.

Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson describes Studios as the biggest new marketplace for the company since its launch. And, as you’d expect, it’ll also rely on participation from existing sellers. The company plans to launch Etsy Studios in April.

You can bet it’ll also trigger some sort of reaction from Amazon, which became a direct Etsy rival a few years ago with its own craft marketplace. Most hobbyists rely on chain retailers like Michael and Jo-Ann for their craft fix, and while they have some online offerings, it sounds like Etsy Studios is aiming to be far more complete.

In other news, Etsy is also revamping its dashboard for sellers with a new “Shop Manager” interface. Basically, it puts everything you need to manage your online storefront in a single location. It looks a lot more organized than Etsy’s previous interface, based on the little we saw.

Microsoft’s Outlook.com subscription is officially available

Microsoft’s paid take on email, Outlook.com Premium, is officially open for business: the company has quietly dropped the Preview label on its service, making it available to anyone in the US. Spend $50 per year ($20 if you act before March 31st) and you’ll get an ad-free inbox, custom domain support for up to five users, info sharing between those people. You won’t get the custom domain itself with your subscription, but Microsoft can do that for $10 per year if necessary.

As before, this isn’t really intended for businesses — it’s for individuals and families who don’t think a generic email account will cut it. If so, the outlay might be worthwhile. You can certainly get custom domains and advanced email elsewhere, but Microsoft is betting that the the simplicity and a familiar name will reel you in.

Source: Thurrott, Outlook.com

The Iconfactory Turns to Kickstarter to Reboot Twitterrific for Mac

The Iconfactory has launched a Kickstarter campaign called “Project Phoenix” in an effort to raise at least $75,000 to reboot Twitterrific for Mac.

Twitterrific for Mac was the very first Twitter client, but The Iconfactory admitted it has fallen out of date after its team made the tough decision to focus exclusively on development of Twitterrific for iOS since 2013. Now, it has turned to the Apple community to raise funds to build a new Mac app from the ground up.

After much consideration, we decided that the best way forward was to go back to the beginning. Rather than bending the long-neglected Twitterrific for Mac into a new shape, we will borrow what we can from iOS and use it to build a modern new macOS app.

To achieve such a large undertaking in a reasonable timeframe, we’ll start small: Our goal is to deliver a minimal Twitter client much like the original Twitterrific for Mac, but with a feature set that fits how we use Twitter in 2017 instead of how we thought we wanted to use it back in 2007.

The Iconfactory said its plan is to build a minimal product within 6 or 7 months that includes the following functionality:

• Unified home timeline
• Multiple account support
• Composing, replying, and quoting tweets
• Muffles and mutes
• Streaming
• Themes
• Delete and edit your own tweets
• Sync timeline position with iOS
• VoiceOver Accessibility
• Keyboard control
• Attaching images to tweets
• Timeline search (text filter/find)
• Open links to other tweets, profiles and media in your browser

In the long run, the developers said they would like to bring Twitterrific for Mac to feature-parity with the iOS version.

The Iconfactory said if it raises over $100,000, it will follow up with another major version that includes features such as direct messaging, built-in Twitter search, and a built-in quick media viewer. At $125,000, it promises to continue adding features such as simple list management and geolocation.

The fundraising goals may seem significant, but Twitter enforced significant changes to its API and tokenization in 2012 that made it harder for third-party Twitter clients to be functional and profitable.

There are multiple pledge levels available on Kickstarter, starting at $15, that will all include a copy of Twitterrific for Mac, which The Iconfactory estimates will be ready by August. Rewards available include Twitterrific t-shirts, stickers, and vinyl collectibles, plus access to beta versions, depending on the amount pledged.

The new Twitterrific for Mac will be distributed outside of the Mac App Store for macOS 10.12.3 and later. As with all Kickstarter projects, there are risks to consider before making a pledge. The Iconfactory notes that Twitter could further restrict its API or enforce other limitations that impede its ability to deliver.

The Twitterrific for Mac team will include engineers Sean Heber and Craig Hockenberry and designers Gedeon Maheux and Anthony Piraino.

Tags: Kickstarter, Twitteriffic
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Apple’s Stock Reaches its Highest Price Ever

Apple is having a good Valentine’s Day, as its shares traded above $134.54 today, eclipsing a previous all-time intraday high set in April 2015.

Apple’s market value has now surpassed $700 billion, making it the world’s most valuable company by a sizeable margin. Google parent company Alphabet is second largest with a market cap of around $575 billion, followed by Microsoft at around $500 billion and Berkshire Hathaway at around $412 billion.

The milestone comes just one day after Apple’s stock recorded its highest closing price ever of $133.29 on Monday. Following Apple’s first annual revenue decline since 2001, its stock been steadily rising over the past four months, buoyed by record-breaking earnings results at the end of January.

When adjusted for a 7-for-1 split in June 2014, Apple’s stock is trading at roughly $942, approaching the $1,000 milestone that was considered wishful thinking when some analysts predicted it years ago. Apple is also slowly but surely on track to become the world’s first trillion dollar company.

Apple analysts Brian White of Drexel Hamilton and Steven Milunovich of UBS, and former analyst turned venture capitalist Gene Munster, are among a larger group of observers who believe Apple’s stock remains undervalued and is likely to rise. AAPL is up over 50% compared to its 52-week low of $89.47 in May 2016.

Tag: AAPL
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Wondering about Wonder’s plans for its super gaming phone? Answers may come soon

Why it matters to you

Before the end of the year, you may be able to buy a phone with the latest tech inside, including VR and AR support, made especially for gamers

You don’t need to be an industry mogul to understand it’s hard, bordering on the impossible, to become a hit smartphone manufacturer these days. The market is just too crowded, and the endeavor too expensive. However, that doesn’t stop companies from trying, and the latest is a startup called Wonder, which may be working on a high performance device with a VR/AR twist that will appeal to gamers.

Details are very thin at the moment, but here’s what we think we know about it.

Beta testing starts soon

Wonder made itself slightly public back in June 2016, when CEO Andy Kleinman told Forbes he was working on a new entry into the “mobile space,” and that virtual reality would be involved somehow. The air of mystery continues to this day, but more may come to light very soon. A post on the official Wonder Twitter account says, “Applications for the Wonder beta program starting in a few weeks at Wonder.com,” indicating work has been steadily progressing.

It’s not clear whether this will be a closed beta for a select few developers, or if the public will be able to join in; but interested people should sign up at Wonder’s website now. Once the program begins, we may get a few more details about the secretive company’s plans.

What’s Wonder’s plan?

Kleinman sees a crowded market filled with smartphones designed for very broad usage, which he believes opens the door to producing a niche device that will satisfy the needs of a smaller group of people.

Related: Why you don’t need to spend masses of money on an Android smartphone

Wonder is going after gamers, but the eventual device won’t simply be a powerful smartphone. Instead, the intention is to build, “one device to rule them all,” according to Kleinman in an interview. He says this will make it, “unique and exciting,” while solving the problem of having multiple devices, accounts, and bills.

He also talks about smartphone design and functionality being restricted due to larger companies need to appeal to a massive audience. He sees the Wonder phone shifting away from that. There’s also plenty of talk about virtual reality and augmented reality, but without any details regarding the exact technology, or how it will be implemented.

The company’s website has no information outside of the chance to receive update alerts in the future, but rumors spread regarding its design intentions in mid-2016. To be futuristic and a style icon, is apparently the plan for Wonder’s phone, according to an anonymous source speaking to TechCrunch.

The official Wonder Twitter account is sparse, but one tweet asks, “Are we building a phone?” Then replies by saying it’s, “Too early to tell.” However, the plan is to have the resulting Wonder device go on sale during the final three months of 2017.

Investment

Kleinman, who previously worked with game studio Zynga, has a 30-person team with him at Wonder according to TechCrunch, including the former VP of Engineering at Android alternative Cyanogen. Investors include names from WB Studios, Facebook, and several notable names outside of the tech industry such as Kevin Spacey.

The evidence available right now points to Wonder wanting to build a phone. However, that’s very different to actually putting a phone on sale. Situations like this could go either way. We’re still waiting for the Saygus V2/V Squared — a so-called “no compromise” smartphone — for example; but when people like Andy Rubin are still keen to get involved with making a smartphone, there has to be space for the right product.

We’ll keep you updated on Wonder right here.

Article originally published in July 2016. Updated on 02-14-2017 by Andy Boxall: Added in news of Wonder’s beta test, and other details.

How to force quit a misbehaving app on your iPhone or iPad

Multitasking in iOS can be used for more than just switching between apps. Truth be told, iOS is very stable, and apps normally run without any issues. However, every once in a while, you will likely encounter a misbehaving app. If this happens to you, there’s no need to be concerned, as it happens to everyone from time to time.

More: Stuck on the spinning wheel of doom? Five ways to Force Quit an app in MacOS

Maybe an app has locked up and become unresponsive. If you press the home button and re-open the app, it may not fix the issue, in which case you will have to close out of the app. When you press the home button, your app will still be paused in the background, and some apps will still be running, particularly those designed to stream content. In these situations, it may be necessary to force quit the app. Here’s how.

Don’t get caught in the force quitting app trap

There’s a big misconception that closing all of your apps all the time will help your iPhone or iPad run faster. Others think it will help you conserve battery life. We want to make it clear that force quitting apps is only a good thing when an app is locked, unresponsive, or otherwise misbehaving.

More: Closing apps with Multitasking on your iPhone is pointless, Apple confirms

If you force quite all your apps constantly, you’re forcing iOS to re-open everything from scratch. The best advice is to let iOS manage the apps. If iOS needs more memory, it will manage that on its own. The mobile operating system also manages background activity, so don’t worry about closing anything unless an app becomes unresponsive.

Force quitting a single app

Step 1: Double-press the home button to bring up all open apps and swipe left or right to locate the app you want to close.

Step 2: Swipe up on the app you want to close.

Step 3: Press the home button to navigate to your home screen.

Force quitting multiple apps at once

Step 1: Double-press the home button to bring up all open apps and swipe left or right to locate the apps you want to close.

Step 2: Using up to three fingers, swipe up on the apps you want to close.

Step 3: Press the home button to navigate to your home screen.

Force quitting an app using the home button

Step 1: Hold the power button until you see “slide to power off” at the top of your display.

Step 2: Now, press and hold the home button until you are back on your home screen.

A Valentine’s Day gift from Hinge: Book tells stories of digital dating gone right

Why it matters to you

Online dating can be hard, but the new book “IRL” from Hinge is here to remind us that, sometimes, it can work — and when it does, it’s worth it.

What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with stories of other people’s dates? If your answer is “none,” then, boy, do we have the book for you. It’s called IRL, and curiously enough, it’s a book published by dating app Hinge to remind folks that romance might still exist, even if you can’t find it by swiping on your phone. With more than 40 date stories, new statistics about digital dating, and the best date spots from across the country, this book just may be what you need to turn your love life around.

Described as a “refreshingly hopeful take on modern love,” IRL, which stands for “in real life,” seeks to highlight success stories that have emerged from what is often the cesspool of online dating. While we all have our horror stories, it only takes one winner to make the whole process worthwhile.

More: Start dating more efficiently with one of these eight apps

“Digital dating has gotten a bad rap lately — there are bad actors and swipe fatigue. But when it comes down to it, digital dating works,” Hinge explained, “Millions of couples have formed, and apps like Hinge have committed to helping people find something real.”

To compile the stories found in IRL, Hinge surveyed more than 2,000 users about their digital dating experiences. And if anyone is going to have a positive online dating experience, it just may be a Hinge user — after all, the app depends on mutual connections to make connections, and now claims to be 25 times more effective than other free swiping apps.

“Love is rare; and digital dating not only increases one’s chances of finding it, it has unexpected upsides as well: friendship, conversation, and the kind of connections that only happen IRL,” writes New York Times bestselling author and “Modern Love” contributor, Deborah Copaken in the book’s foreword. “IRL reminds us that for every tale of woe, there’s an equally compelling love story: tiny rafts of optimism and hope on an oft-roiling dating sea. Hinge not only believes in love, they believe in the quest to find it. If you do, too, read on. These are your stories.”

You can check out a full digital copy here, or order an IRL version of IRL beginning today.

Best app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers make paid apps free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest apps on sale in the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

More: 200 Awesome iPhone Apps | The best Android apps for almost any occasion

Draw Pad Pro

Draw Pad Pro is designed as a beautiful and innovative way to create and manage all your thoughts, ideas, sketches, scribbles, and more.

Available on:

iOS

Forager

This app is a professional meal planner in your pocket which optimizes your nutrition and leads you toward the body you want fast.

Available on:

iOS

Multi Translate

Multi Translate is a professional translator and interpreter app able to translate any language into three others at the same time.

Available on:

iOS

Instaflash Pro

Instaflash Pro gives you more photo editing control with Pro photo adjustments including: Shadows, Highlights, Light EQ, Tone EQ, Color EQ, Split Toning, Fill Light, Soft Light, Clarity, Vignette, Focus, Noise Removal, White Balance, and more.

Available on:

iOS

RadioApp

Easily tune into local radio stations and to radio stations from all over the world, using a unique analog-like tuner.

Available on:

iOS

Pro Camera

Create charming Pro camera-style photographs with real-time Vintage effects. These effects work on selfies, landscapes, and more.

Available on:

iOS

Stop the temptation: Protect your Android phone against unwanted in-app purchases

The temptation to spend a few dollars on in-app purchases is always there — especially if you’re an avid gamer — but that small amount can rapidly turn into a large sum of money if you’re not careful. If someone else often uses your Android phone or tablet, then it may also be wise to secure it from accidental (or purposeful) purchases.

More: How to turn off in-app purchases in iOS

Luckily, it’s easy to do, and we’ve put together a quick guide to help you better manage those dreaded in-app purchases. After all, little Johnny may want those extra lives in Candy Crush Saga, but your bank account certainly does not.

Activating Google’s account protection measures:

• Open the Google Play Store on your device.
• Tap the hamburger menu () on the left side of the search bar.
• Scroll down to Settings.
• Select the Require Authentication For Purchases option.
• Ensure the first option, indicating all purchases, is selected.

Find the Settings option under the Google Play Menu

Choose the “Require Authentication For Purchases” option

Select the first option for the highest level of protection

Even if you don’t activate this option, Google Play will always ask for your account password in apps with a 12-or-under age rating. This way, it’ll do the same for each and every in-app purchase.

If you have a phone with a fingerprint scanner, this can also be used for authentication:

• Open the Google Play Store on your device.
• Tap the hamburger menu () on the left side of the search bar.
• Scroll down to Settings.
• Find the Fingerprint Authentication option, and check the box.
• Enter the password you used when you first entered your fingerprint on your device.

That’s it! Both your Google and bank account are now safe from ridiculous bills generated by over spending money on items that don’t even exist in the real world.