Apple Music now offers artists detailed streaming and download info

As a musician, knowing how your songs are performing on streaming platforms is important. Spotify brought real-time stats and demographic information to a dedicated app for artists this past October, while Pandora and YouTube have had similar dashboards for a while now. Finally, Cupertino is catching up with the beta launch of Apple Music for Artists, a dashboard that lets users drill down into various statistics on song performance from now to as far back as 2015, when the Apple Music service launched.

According to Billboard, the service is rolling out to a few thousand artists at first, with a planned full launch to all who have tracks on Apple Music and iTunes. Billboard says the dashboard will show users the current number of plays, spins, song purchases and album purchases, while a special insights panel will provide information on key milestones, like cumulative plays and purchases for individual tracks.

Artists can dig even deeper, too, with a global map to see how their songs are doing in any of the 115 countries Apple Music and iTunes operates in. Further geographic and demographic information is available with just a few clicks. Some of this information will help tour planners know which cities to aim for, notes Billboard, or even plan set lists based on how well the artist’s songs are doing in individual areas.

Via: 9to5Mac

Source: Billboard

Google’s $20 million Lunar Xprize will end without a winner

The Lunar Xprize is about to come to an anticlimactic end after more than a decade. Google has confirmed to CNBC that it doesn’t plan to extend the $20 million competition past its March 31st deadline — itself an extension well beyond the original 2014 end date. Given that all the finalists either don’t have the funds to continue or don’t expect to launch that quickly (the fastest, SpaceIL, might not launch before the end of 2018), the competition is effectively over with no winners. Not that Google minds, however.

If anything, the company believes that the journey was more important than the destination. “We are so thrilled with the progress made by these teams over the last ten years,” it said in a statement. And to a degree, it’s right. The teams have make significant strides in designing practical lunar rovers without the resources of a massive government agency. Private space exploration is theoretically one step closer, even if the technology from the Xprize ultimately has to be diverted to other projects.

The problem, as you might guess, is that this leaves the remaining teams (Moon Express, SpaceIL, Synergy Moon and TeamIndus) with an uncertain future. They’ve received prizes for completing milestones along the way, but there’s no final reward or Xprize-related glory waiting if they make it to the Moon. And that makes it difficult for the contestants. While Moon Express isn’t too worried (the competition isn’t its priority), SpaceIL is already having trouble with funding — and the other two teams haven’t hinted at what comes next. The struggling teams might have little choice but to close shop and pass the torch to others.

Source: CNBC

Hackers are stealing millions in cryptocurrency during ICOs

A new report from Ernst & Young details just how big of a problem security is when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Researchers collected data on 372 initial coin offerings (ICOs) that took place between 2015 and 2017 and found that over 10 percent of ICO proceeds are stolen by hackers, a percentage that amounts to the theft of up to $1.5 million per month. And in addition to monetary theft, hackers are also gaining access to personal information like addresses, phone numbers, bank details and credit card numbers.

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have become incredibly popular of late and everyone from Ghostface Killah to KFC is jumping on the bandwagon. But digital currencies have largely functioned without regulation and without safety nets for most of their existence. And that combined with a lack of proper safeguards has opened up cryptocurrencies and exchanges to hackers and widespread theft.

Ernst & Young says phishing is the most popular tool used by hackers. “Hackers are attracted by the rush, absence of a centralized authority, blockchain transaction irreversibility and information chaos,” they write. And they say that the frequency of attacks is increasing.

Ernst & Young’s report also points out that along with poor security, problems like lack of regulation and poor standards for ICO valuations also plague the crypto world. The researchers said that instead of important aspects like project development forecasts and the nature of the token, ICO tokens are often valued based on hype and FOMO — fear of missing out.

But the tides may be turning for cryptocurrencies, both in regards to regulation and popularity. Fewer projects are meeting their fundraising goals, with around 93 percent doing so last June compared to just 23 percent successfully hitting their targets in November. And a number of countries are either instituting or considering regulation. Both China and South Korea have issued bans and many countries including the US, Japan, Canada and Australia are regulating ICOs with applicable standing laws. In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission launched a Cyber Unit last September dedicated to investigating digital financial fraud and has already filed multiple charges against alleged fraudsters.

Ernst & Young’s report suggests that going forward founders, investors and regulators need to be more transparent, more diligent and need to collaborate on how to regulate these currencies. “Once new standards are in place that are accepted by all participants — allowing for improved transparency, fraud prevention and legitimacy — the protection of investors and users alike has a greater chance of success,” Greg Cudahy, Ernst & Young’s global technology, media and entertainment and telecommunications leader told CNET.

Via: CNET

Source: Ernst & Young

Montana is the first state to enact its own net neutrality rules

Most of the states fighting the FCC’s net neutrality repeal are counting on lawsuits or legislative measures that could take years to process, but Montana Governor Steve Bullock isn’t willing to wait. He just signed an executive order requiring that all internet providers with a Montana government contract from July 1st onward honor the principles of net neutrality for any customer in the state. Given that most major providers (including AT&T, Charter and Verizon) have government contracts, this forces telecoms to treat all traffic fairly regardless of what the FCC wants.

Bullock also suggested that other states backing net neutrality could do the same. “This is a simple step,” he said in a statement, adding that “we can’t wait for folks in Washington DC to come to their senses and reinstate these [neutrality] rules.”

Whether or not the order sticks is another matter. The FCC crafted its repeal specifically to prevent states from reinstating consumer protections through their own laws. Bullock and his advisors are betting that the executive order on government contracts represents a legal loophole. This isn’t a law as such, and it’s regulating government contracts, not the providers directly. They can block and throttle traffic all they want — they just won’t get government business if they do.

The FCC hadn’t responded to Montana’s move as of this writing. However, it may have a difficult time challenging the order if it’s as legally sound as it seems. And while Montana is just one state, Bullock and team are clearly hoping that similar measures elsewhere could create the same knock-on effect you see with California’s emissions laws. ISPs may have to respect net neutrality nationwide simply because enough states enforce it that it becomes impractical to do anything else.

Via: New York Times

Source: Montana.gov

Rupert Murdoch wants Facebook to pay ‘trusted’ publishers for content

Facebook has plans to tweak its News Feed to include more posts from friends and family and less from news publishers in an attempt to fix some of the platform’s problems. Now news magnate Rupert Murdoch thinks that the social network should adopt a pay-TV model and start paying “trusted” publishers for content.

“The publishers are obviously enhancing the value and integrity of Facebook through their news and content but are not being adequately rewarded for those services,” Murdoch said in a statement. “Carriage payments would have a minor impact on Facebook’s profits but a major impact on the prospects for publishers and journalists.”

Murdoch feels that subscription models and Facebook’s current tweaks are inadequate to solve the problem on a commercial, social and journalistic level. “We will closely follow the latest shift in Facebook’s strategy,” Murdoch said, “and I have no doubt that Mark Zuckerberg is a sincere person, but there is still a serious lack of transparency that should concern publishers and those wary of political bias at these powerful platforms.”

Via: Variety

Source: News Corp

AI-powered robot finds common soap ingredient may combat malaria

Around half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria and it causes around half a million deaths each year. However, the parasites that cause malaria are becoming more resistant to the drugs we currently use to combat them, meaning the global malaria risk stands to increase if we don’t develop new drugs quickly enough. Well new research published recently in Scientific Reports finds that a common chemical used in everything from soap and toothpaste to clothing and furniture might be an effective treatment, and it was done with the help of AI.

Many popular antimalarial drugs target a specific enzyme found in malaria-causing parasites, an enzyme important for the parasites’ growth. So researchers used AI-powered Robot Scientist Eve to screen a slew of FDA-approved compounds to see how well they were able to inhibit that enzyme and it found that triclosan was able to inhibit the enzyme from two different species of malaria-causing parasites, including variants that had developed resistance to common malaria treatments.

The researchers then tested triclosan against the enzyme in a number of different ways in order to confirm its effectiveness, and that, combined with previous research showing that the chemical can also inhibit an additional enzyme found in these parasites, led the researchers to conclude that triclosan may be a useful therapeutic with multiple targets. “The discovery by our robot ‘colleague’ Eve that triclosan is effective against malaria targets offers hope that we may be able to use it to develop a new drug,” lead researcher Elizabeth Bilsland said in a statement. “We know it is a safe compound, and its ability to target two points in the malaria parasite’s life cycle means the parasite will find it difficult to evolve resistance.”

However, while triclosan has been used for decades, there is some evidence that it can disrupt hormone systems and can persist for long periods of time in the environment. The FDA banned it from some soaps in 2016 and last year, over 200 researchers and medical professionals signed a statement calling for increased global regulation of triclosan.

Eve also found that an anti-cancer compound may be useful in the fight against malaria back in 2015 and robots like it stand to help speed up the drug discovery process. “Artificial intelligence and machine learning enables us to create automated scientists that do not just take a ‘brute force’ approach, but rather take an intelligent approach to science,” University of Manchester Professor Ross King, one of Eve’s developers, said. “This could greatly speed up the drug discovery progress and potentially reap huge rewards.”

Via: The Independent

Source: Scientific Reports

Netflix added 8.3 million customers in Q4, its biggest growth ever

While Netflix is facing more competition than ever, its growth isn’t slowing. The company just announced its four quarter earnings results, and revealed that worldwide it added 8.3 million customers, “the highest quarter in our history and up 18 percent vs. last year’s record 7.05 million.” While the Will Smith-starring movie Bright wasn’t a hit with critics, the company seems happy, saying that it’s one of the most viewed titles ever and drove a “notable” lift in customer acquisition. As a result, Netflix is planning to invest more in original films, as well as international content to follow its first German original series, Dark.

Developing…

Source: Netflix Investor Relations Q4 2017 results (PDF)

Netflix’s Juventus FC documentary premieres February 16th

You won’t have to wait much longer to see how Netflix handles a soccer (aka football) documentary. The service is premiering the first three episodes of its Juventus FC docuseries, First Team: Juventus, on February 16th. The show will cover the high-ranking Italian team’s drama both on and off the pitch, whether it’s the individual players or the coaches shouting at the sidelines. The second portion of the series should premiere later in 2018.

For Netflix, this is a grand experiment. It seldom ventures into sports, and it’s ambitious to cover one of the best-known sports teams on the planet. Having said this, don’t be shocked if there are more shows like this if First Team is even mildly successful. It could help Netflix court sports fans who’d otherwise turn to documentaries on conventional TV, and there’s pressure to compete against Amazon’s fledgling sports lineup.

Source: Netflix

Tim Cook Makes First Trip to Canada as Apple CEO With Surprise Visit to Toronto

Tim Cook made his first appearance in Canada today as the head of Apple with an unannounced visit to Toronto this morning.

Just before noon local time, Cook made a surprise visit to the company’s retail store at the Eaton Centre shopping mall, reports The Globe and Mail. Cook was pictured alongside young students attending an Apple Field Trip, an in-store initiative that introduces kids to coding, podcasting, and other creative skills.

@tim_cook is at the Toronto Eaton centre Apple store! pic.twitter.com/3rQAKmSChV

— Anthony Neal Macri (@AnthonyMacriSEO) January 22, 2018

Cook’s stop in Toronto follows a trip to Harlow College near London, England on Friday, in line with Apple’s announcement that its Everyone Can Code initiative has recently expanded to 70 colleges and universities across Europe. Last week, Cook also visited Reno, where Apple broke ground on a new data center.

Cook has served as Apple’s CEO since August 24, 2011, after the late Steve Jobs resigned from the position for a final time.

Via: iPhone in Canada

Tags: Tim Cook, Canada
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How to Get More Battery Life Out of Your Apple Watch

The Apple Watch is the most popular smartwatch on the market, yet battery life has never been its strong suit. That said, Apple has made improvements in this area with successive models, and while the company still only promises all-day battery life on a single charge, many Series 2 and 3 owners find they can get a lot more.

Of course, how long a given Apple Watch lasts between charges depends almost entirely on how it’s used. With that in mind, this article aims to help wearers optimize their usage and get the best battery life they can reasonably expect based on their individual needs. Read on for some of our favorite power-saving tips for Apple Watch.

Apple Watch Display Settings

Wake Screen on Wrist Raise

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Apple Watch’s OLED display draws a significant amount of power. If it tends to light up when you least expect it, and you’d rather manually activate it with a button press or by tapping the display, then try turning off the automatic wake screen feature. To do so, open Settings on your Apple Watch, tap General -> Wake Screen, and toggle off Wake Screen on Wrist Raise. (You can also find this setting in the Watch app on your iPhone.)

Theater Mode

To some users, turning off the automatic wake screen feature might seem like overkill. Perhaps you only accidentally wake the screen during certain times of the day – when you’re in bed, for instance.

In that case, you’re better off making selective use of the Theater Mode. To enable it, swipe up from the bottom of any clock face to reveal the Control Center, and tap the symbol showing two theater masks. Note that Theater Mode also silences notifications, which is why it’s best kept for bedtime or trips to the movies.

Adjust Brightness

Many Apple Watch owners find that they can easily get along with the OLED display set at its lowest and least energy-sapping brightness level. To adjust the brightness, select Settings on your Apple Watch, tap Brightness & Text Size, and alter the level to suit. (You can also find this setting in the Watch app on your iPhone.)

OLED panels don’t expend energy on displaying true black colors – those pixels simply remain unlit. In other words, the more screen space your chosen clock face takes up (if it displays a photo, say) the more likely it is to drain battery whenever it’s activated. For this reason, you might want to consider using a more minimalist watch face and disabling any complications you don’t need to see every time you raise your wrist.

Apple Watch Apps

Apps and Complications

Another good reason to minimize your use of complications is that many of them require frequent refreshing in order to display up-to-date information, which uses additional power. So if you rarely tap it, then turn it off using the clock face customize mode, which is activated with a single long press on the clock face screen.

The same goes for third-party apps, many of which frequently refresh in the background whether you use them or not. If you find yourself regularly reaching for your iPhone to check social media, then ask yourself, do you really need that Twitter function on your wrist? Only install apps on your Apple Watch that benefit you by being there.

Installation Creep and Refresh Management

These days many third-party iOS apps include an Apple Watch component which gets added automatically upon installation. To prevent this default behavior, open the Watch app on your iPhone, select General and toggle off Automatic App Install.

Another way of restricting the number of apps that draw power is to selectively control which ones refresh in the background. You can manage this on an individual basis from the Watch app on your iPhone: Select General -> Background App Refresh, and toggle the sliders for each installed app. Remember, only leave this enabled for apps with a functional dependency on up-to-date data, such as weather and calendar apps.

Notifications

Notifications come down to personal preference, but every additional alert on your wrist sucks a bit more power from your watch’s battery. Look at your usage and try to assess which notifications are worthwhile, and which ones could just as easily be picked up on your iPhone at a later time.

To manage notifications on an app-by-app basis, open the iOS Watch app and select Notifications. Pay particular attention to third-party apps, listed in the second column, and turn off any pointless permissions that mirror your iPhone alerts.

With judicious use of these settings, you should be able to recognize if or when your needs change over time. For example, some app notifications have a shelf life – if they start to bug you, turn them off. That includes Activity and Breathe reminders. Be ruthless.

When it comes to email alerts, you may find they’re only worth the bother if the emails come from specific addresses. So add these to your VIP list in the Mail app, and then disable all watch Mail notifications except for VIP alerts.

Other Power-Saving Settings

Heart Rate

If you’re only interested in tracking distance or speed (or both) during running or walking workouts, Apple recommends turning on Power Saving Mode to disable the heart rate sensor. To do this, open the Watch app on your iPhone, go to My Watch -> Workout, and toggle on Power Saving Mode. (The same setting can be found on your Apple Watch in Settings -> General -> Workout.) Note that when the heart rate sensor is off, calorie burn calculations may not be as accurate.

If you’re training for a marathon or regularly participate in long-duration workouts, consider using a Bluetooth chest strap instead of the built-in heart rate sensor. To connect the Bluetooth chest strap to your watch, make sure it’s in pairing mode, then open Settings on your Apple Watch, select Bluetooth, and choose from the list of Health Devices.

Hey Siri

Like on your iPhone, the “Hey Siri” feature on your Apple Watch allows you to use voice search and control other features without touching the device. Your watch’s mic only listens for the magic phrase when the display is activated, but it does use a bit more power. So if you simply don’t use the function, turn it off. To do so, open Settings on your Apple Watch, select General -> Siri, and toggle it off.

Remember, you can still activate Siri anytime by long-pressing your watch’s Crown. Using the same Settings menu above, you can also make Siri respect Silent Mode when it’s on, as well as limit spoken responses so you only hear them when headphones are connected.

Haptic, Silent Mode and Do Not Disturb

Theater Mode, mentioned earlier, offers a middle ground between two additional settings: Silent Mode and Do Not Disturb. Silent Mode mutes audible alerts and can be turned on permanently if you’re happy to rely on haptic vibrations for alerts, calls, alarms, and timers.

With Do Not Disturb enabled, your watch activates the same mode on your iPhone, silencing audible and vibration-based alerts across both devices unless they come from people in your Favorites contact list. Some Apple Watch users turn on both Theater Mode and Do Not Disturb when wearing their devices to bed, particularly if they track their sleep using a third-party app like AutoSleep.

To turn on Silent Mode on your Apple Watch, swipe up from any clock face to reveal the Control Center, and then tap the button with a bell symbol, so that the button turns red and the bell is crossed out. To activate Do Not Disturb from the Control Center, tap the button with a crescent moon so that it turns purple.

Note that you can also adjust haptic strength on your watch by going to Settings -> Sounds & Haptics. Many users find the lowest haptic setting, which draws the least power, to be perfectly adequate, with or without the Prominent Haptic option turned on.

Fixing Persistent Battery Issues

Check Your Bluetooth

If you’ve had no luck improving the battery life of your Apple Watch using the above tips, there are still a few steps you can take.

It’s worth noting at this point that disabling Bluetooth on your iPhone increases the battery drain on your Apple Watch, so keep Bluetooth enabled on your phone and see if that helps. Also, make sure you’re updated to the latest software: Open the Watch app on your iPhone, and select General -> Software Update.

If your watch battery drains unusually fast, try a hard reset: Hold down both side buttons for about 10 seconds until the display goes off and the device reboots. If that doesn’t work, it’s time to try resetting the watch to factory defaults.

Reset Apple Watch to Factory Default Settings

To do this on your Apple Watch, open Settings and select General -> Reset. (The same option lies at the bottom of the iOS Watch app’s General menu.) This action erases everything off your watch, including any media, data, settings, messages, and so on. You’ll also need to re-pair the watch with your iPhone after the process is complete, so treat it as a last resort.

Note that after a new pairing or update, your watch may take a few days to learn and adapt to your usage, before smoothing out into a more consistent balance between battery life and performance.

If none of these tips work, check to see if your Apple Watch is still under warranty. A standard one-year warranty is included with every Apple Watch (Stainless Steel, Aluminum, and Nike+) and a two-year warranty is included with Apple Watch Edition and Hermès models. All warranties include service coverage for a defective battery. If your watch is out of warranty, Apple offers a battery service, although prices may vary depending on where you live.

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