A tweet sent Fleetwood Mac back to the Billboard charts

Fleetwood Mac’s songs are not boring, and it’s very easy to dance to them. That’s what Twitter user @bottledfleet showed us all when responding to criticism from an unnamed source that “Fleetwood Mac’s music is so boring, you can’t even dance to it.” @bottledfleet posted a video of a dancer named Elexis Wilson, with backup from The Golden Girls from Alcorn State University, dancing to the song “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. The tweet and video went viral, with over 142,000 RTs and as a result, the song is back on Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs.

“Fleetwood Mac’s music is so boring, you can’t even dance to it”

Me, an intellectual: pic.twitter.com/2QmrFycHy2

— i m m i g r ❀ n t (@bottledfleet) March 22, 2018

“Dreams” originally was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1977. It returned to the Billboard Hot Rock list on April 7th at No. 14. Older songs often make their way back onto the Billboard charts through placement on soundtracks and movies. Billboard notes that the 2000 song “For the Damaged Coda” by Blonde Redhead made the Billboard list last week, thanks to a Rick and Morty meme. It’s a fun little story, but it’s also an impressive testament to how social media can influence our purchasing habits.

Via: The AV Club

Source: Billboard

Spotify’s challenge is to prove it’s a real business, not a fantasy

Three months after quietly filing to become a public company, Spotify finally made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. It was a big day for the Swedish music-streaming giant, to say the least, and it ended up exceeding expectations from Wall Street analysts on its first day of trading. But for many investors, Spotify may not be the safest bet. In its IPO filing, it disclosed that it has incurred significant operating losses over the past few years, warning investors that it may be a while before it’s able to generate profits on a sustained basis.

Spotify said that, from 2015 to 2017, its operating losses were $290 million, $430 million and $466 million, respectively. That’s something the company attributes to the cost of licensing content and having to pay royalties to music labels, publishers and other copyright owners (like songwriters). That said, Spotify did report growing revenues of $2.37 billion in 2015, $3.6 billion in 2016 and $4.99 billion in 2017, which shows there’s potential — even if it could take some time to turn a profit.

Listed under the ticker SPOT, Spotify opened at $165.90, with 5.6 million shares exchanged in its first trade. That brought its total valuation to just shy of $30 billion, about $7 billion more than financial analysts and experts originally expected. And although Spotify’s opening day on the NYSE ended with sells of $149.01 per share, that was still 13 percent above its initial reference price of $132.

Spotify stock trades under “SPOT” on the New York Stock Exchange.

The bright side for Spotify is that it’s the largest music-streaming service, with 157 million monthly active users, of which 71 million are paid subscribers. Most important, Spotify said that Premium users are growing at a rate of 46 percent year-over-year, in addition to 29 percent year-over-year for monthly active users. Apple Music, by comparison, has 36 million paid listeners, while Amazon Music vaguely claims to have “tens of millions.” The challenge for Spotify will be to keep building a lead over its competitors by bringing in new users and turning existing ones into paid subscribers.

To do this, Spotify’s strategy is pretty much the same as every other tech company’s: keep investing artificial intelligence and machine learning to make its service smarter and more personalized. The company has shown some of the fruits of that research, with features like Discover Weekly, which was introduced in 2015 and recommends new music based on your listening habits. People love the feature so much that Pandora, a streaming service that’s also publicly traded, decided to launch its own version.

Naturally, Spotify’s ability to lure in (and keep) users will depend heavily on the content it offers. Right now, it says there are 3 million artists and creators on its platform, with more than 35 million tracks available to users. While one of Spotify’s main focuses will be to continue bringing new artists to its app, it also needs to ensure that it doesn’t get shunned by established ones. Taylor Swift, for example, pulled her entire catalog from Spotify back in 2014, though she returned to the platform last week with an exclusive video of her new single, “Delicate.”

Down the road, the company will need to ensure that it can avoid celebrity feuds, and foster relationships to gain access to more exclusive content. That can give it a major advantage over rival streaming services. The company says it has a great relationship with people in the industry, noting that it has paid more than $9.86 billion in royalties to artists, music labels and publishers since it launched in 2008.

Spotify has been looking to get into podcasts and video as well, two areas that are key to its strategy. In its IPO filing, the company said that even though it’s an audio-first platform, it will look to include more non-music content in the future, such as “spoken word and short-form interstitial video.” We’ve seen Spotify experiment with things like, most recently, using video loops as artwork for songs, and earlier this year it revamped its podcasts to include more photos and video from BuzzFeed and other media outlets. You can expect to see more of this type of content in the future.

In addition to new features, Spotify says it’s equally important to launch in new markets. At the moment, the service is available in 65 countries, but it hopes to increase that number in the coming years — though it doesn’t specify by how much. The company said that before launching in a new market, however, it first needs to optimize the Spotify experience for local music preferences, obtain the necessary rights and hire curators who are familiar with the scene.

Spotify’s co-founder and CEO, Daniel Ek.

“Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we stumble,” Daniel Ek, Spotify’s co-founder and CEO, said in a blog post. “The constant is that we believe we are still early in our journey and we have room to learn and grow.” Ek added that going public shouldn’t change Spotify’s mission: “To unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it.” But that’s easier said than done, as there may come a time when Spotify has to make decisions that appease its shareholders, not its users. That’s the risk every company takes when going public.

Ek knows this, though. And he said he has no doubt there will be ups and downs as Spotify takes on this new phase and that it looks to “continue to innovate and establish new capabilities” going forward. “Nothing ever happens in a straight line, the past ten years have certainly taught me that,” he said. “My job is to ensure that we keep our foot on the pedal during the ups, so that we don’t become complacent, and that we continue to stay the course with a firm grip on the wheel during the downs.”

Spotify’s road to prove that it can run a sustainable business won’t be easy, especially as tech giants like Apple, Amazon and Google take more serious steps to compete with it. But the company has proven since it launched a decade ago that it can keep users happy, continue to grow at a rapid pace and spread its presence worldwide. So, while it can’t assure investors that it will make them money anytime soon, its future is far from bleak.

Images: Getty Images (all)

‘Spyro Reignited Trilogy’ reaches PS4 and Xbox One on September 21st

After years of speculation and more than a little teasing, it’s official: the Spyro series is getting a remake. Activision and Toys for Bob have unveiled the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, which reworks the first three Insomniac-made games (Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage and Spyro: Year of the Dragon) for PS4 and Xbox One. Not surprisingly, the graphics get the biggest upgrade. Toys for Bob has “faithfully” mapped the original levels, but with loads of added detail and flourishes that weren’t possible on a PlayStation 20 years ago. And then there’s the characters — much like the Crash Bandicoot overhaul, Spyro and company look better than the original box art (not to mention Spyro’s fiercer appearance in Skylanders).

Thankfully, the trilogy also catches up with modernized controls (analog stick support in every game!), better cameras, updated cinematics, a ‘re-imagined’ soundtrack and improved reward sequences. Like other remakes, it’s more about viewing the games through rose-tinted lenses than maintaining the rough edges in the name of accuracy.

The Reignited Trilogy arrives on September 21st for $40. Yes, it’s yet another bid to cash in on nostalgia for gamers whose childhood consoles have long since been sold at garage sales, but it’s hard to complain too loudly. Spyro was one of the original PlayStation’s definitive series, so it’s good to see it rejuvenated after years of both a string of lackluster sequels and a reduced role as a Skylanders character.

Source: Spyro the Dragon, YouTube

HP’s convertible ZBook x360 features a six-core Xeon CPU

HP’s ZBook computers have always been targeted at power-hungry professionals, but with last year’s X2 detachable hybrid, the company started exploring new form factors. Now HP is adding a convertible PC to its pro family, the ZBook Studio x360 G5. Just like its other x360 machines, it has a hinge that can be flipped all the way around, letting you use it as a large tablet, or in a tent orientation. HP also claims it’s the most powerful convertible around, since it can be configured with 8th generation, six-core Intel Xeon CPUs and NVIDIA’s Quadro P1000 graphics.

The company is sticking with its standard ZBook aesthetic for the x360: a metal case, sharp lines and a lack of ostentatious design. Its 15.6-inch display can be configured in 1080p, as well as 4K with HP’s “DreamColor” technology, which supports 100 percent of the Adobe RGB spectrum and offers a bright 600 nits of performance. And if a six-core Xeon is too much, you can also opt for an 8th-gen Core i5 and six-core i7 CPU. The ZBook x360 should also last you a while with up to 16 hours of battery life, according to HP, and it can charge up to 50 percent in 30 minutes.

If you’re not in the mood for a convertible, there’s the new ZBook Studio Mobile Workstation, which includes all of the above specs in a traditional workstation. It’s also significantly lighter than the x360, clocking in a 4.5-pounds compared to the convertible’s five pounds. The ZBook 15v, meanwhile, is a bit chunkier at 4.7 pounds, and gives you the option of NVIDIA P600. And if you don’t care about size at all, there’s always HP’s mainstay ZBook 15 and 17, which weigh in at 5.8 pounds and 7 pounds, respectively. With more room, though, the 17-inch model can fit in more powerful NVIDIA P5200 graphics.

With Intel’s 8th generation Core CPUs making headlines this week, it’s not a huge surprise to see HP refresh its professional lineup. Even the X2 detachable, which we saw in the fall, will benefit from 8th generation Core chips. Additionally, HP is also launching a new 1,440p 27-inch monitor, the DreamColor Z27x G2, which can be calibrated with a pop-up sensor and features 99 percent DCI P3 coverage.

All of HP’s new ZBooks will be available in May. The x360 starts at $1,499, while the Studio will go for $1,299. The ZBook 15v, meanwhile, starts at $949, which is likely a premium over the standard 15 model, which doesn’t have pricing yet. The DreamColor Z27x G2 monitor will be available this month starting at $1,999.

Apple Pay Launches Springtime Savings Event With Exclusive Offers for Adidas, GOAT, Hotwire, and More

Shoppers who use Apple Pay to checkout in Adidas, GOAT, Hotwire, and more over the next few weeks will be rewarded with numerous exclusive offers, thanks to Apple’s new “Springtime savings” event. Unlike previous Apple Pay promos that usually focus on one or two services, the new deal is for 10 total apps and websites that support Apple Pay.

You can check out all of the offers in the list below, most of which will run from April 5 through April 18 in the United States.

• Adidas – 15 percent off all Apple Pay purchases
• Boxed – 20 percent off your first purchase of $60 or more
• GOAT – Up to 30 percent off the exclusive Springtime Sneakers collection
• Hayneedle – 10 percent off all Apple Pay purchases
• Headout – 15 percent off all Apple Pay bookings
• Hotwire – $15 off $100 Hot Rate Hotels bookings
• Jet – 10 percent off Patio and Garden purchases (max discount $15)
• Saks – Free 2-day rush shipping on all Apple Pay purchases
• Spring – $25 off your first purchase of $75 or more
• Turo – $25 off all Apple Pay bookings

One week ago Apple launched a promo focused on sporting gear in partnership with Fanatics, and prior to that there were offers for GrubHub, Seamless, and Eat24, free song credits in TouchTunes, movie ticket savings with Fandango, free Instacart deliveries, and more.

Related Roundup: Apple PayTag: Apple Pay promo
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Apple Reportedly in Talks With PlayNitride Over Thinner and Brighter MicroLED Displays

Apple is in preliminary talks with Taiwan-based company PlayNitride over cooperation in the MicroLED market, according to DigiTimes via Micro-LED-Info.

While the report doesn’t provide any further details about the potential partnership, PlayNitride has developed its own MicroLED displays called PixeLED that may be of interest to Apple for its future products. Samsung was also reportedly interested in the company back in early 2017, but no deal transpired.

PlayNitride is said to have received approval from the Taiwanese government to establish a multimillion-dollar facility at Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan, where it will produce its MicroLED technologies.

Apple’s interest in MicroLED displays was first reported in 2015, when it was discovered that the company opened a secretive laboratory in Taoyuan, Taiwan to research the display technology. Since then, Apple has reportedly downsized its team in Taiwan and shifted the efforts closer to its headquarters.

Last month, Bloomberg News reported that Apple has a secret facility in Santa Clara, California, near Cupertino, where it is allegedly designing and producing test samples of its own MicroLED displays. The displays are reportedly being manufactured by TSMC, which already produces A-series chips for iPhones.

MicroLED is widely considered to be Apple’s next step after OLED, which it currently uses for the Apple Watch and iPhone X.

Image Credit: TrendForce
MicroLED displays have many of the same advantages as OLED displays have over LCDs, including improved color accuracy, improved contrast ratio, faster response times, and true blacks given both have self-lit pixels, but they are even thinner, much brighter, and more energy efficient than OLED panels.

Apple’s use of MicroLED would likely start small, with the Apple Watch, followed by iPhones and then iPads. A recent report said Apple may even use MicroLED for its widely rumored augmented reality glasses. However, the transition away from LCDs and OLEDs is widely believed to be at least a few years away.

Tags: Micro-LED, PlayNitride
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Deluxe projector maker JVC launches a ‘budget’ $2,500 DLP model

In the past, you’d have to be prepared to pay at least $4,000 to get a JVC 4K projector, which could cost you as much as $35,000. While they’re some of the best you can get and are probably worth the price for aficionados, they might still be a bit too expensive if you’re on the fence about getting one. That might be why JVC has launched LX-UH1, a $2,500 4K projector that’ll still cost you a pretty penny but is at least more affordable than the brand’s other offerings.

The new budget projector has HDR support, vertical and horizontal lens shift, 2,000 lumens and two HDMI ports. Unlike JVC’s other offerings that use its D-ILA technology, this model uses DLP — how that affects its performance and how it compares to its pricier siblings, however, remains to be seen. At $2,500, it’s a bit more expensive than other 4K DLP projectors like one of Optoma’s that’s priced at under $2,000. We can all just hope that JVC cares about its reputation and has created a product that’s superior to its peers.

The next ‘Overwatch’ event is a Blackwatch mission in Venice

After a week of teases, Blizzard has finally revealed what’s in store for the Overwatch Mission Archives, the new title for the events following last year’s Uprising. During the Overwatch League competition, Jeff Kaplan unveiled this year’s event, Retribution, a new PvE brawl that sees four members of Blackwatch (Moira, McCree, Genji, and Reaper) taking on Talon operatives in Venice after dark.

Kaplan also revealed that a daytime version of the new map featured in Retribution will be implemented as an Escort PVP map, although it will appear on the PTR before it arrives on the live game. And of course, it wouldn’t be an Overwatch event without some new skins. The Moira Blackwatch skin, which was hinted at in a Retribution comic earlier today, will be making an appearance, as will a new Reaper skin that features Gabriel Reyes in his Soldier: 24 days. The event will run from April 10th through 30th.

Source: YouTube

Avast claims its secure browser is 30 percent faster than yours

Avast has updated its browser to give users greater control over their online privacy. According to the company, its renamed Avast Secure Browser (formerly SafeZone) is designed to plug the security gaps that result from users’ misplaced protection expectations. Features such as Stealth Mode, HTTPS Encryption, anti-tracking and anti-fingerprinting have been designed to account for the 69 percent of UK consumers who believe standard private-browsing modes will anonymize their identity, and the 81 percent who believe their browser would alert them to web-based threats, such as malicious cryptomining and extensions.

Based on the Chromium open source platform, the browser also includes Bank Mode, an extension guard, anti-phishing features, a password manager and Flash Protect, designed to free-up computer resources and preserve battery life. In short, Avast claims it’s a ‘one-stop’ product for online security, and in comparison to its competition — Chrome, Firefox and Edge — its features certainly seem comprehensive. Especially since there’s very little work involved for the end-user — everything’s on by default, and the software will tell you if something’s amiss. Plus, using a sample of 1,000 popular websites, Avast claims it bumps up average browsing speeds by 30 percent.

However, Avast doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to product security. It owns CCleaner, which was last year hit by a fairly substantial malware issue, while a couple of years ago Avast’s Avastium browser (also developed through Chromium) was found to be at risk from security attacks. Nonetheless, Avast Secure Browser does address many people’s lack of understanding when it comes to protecting themselves, so it could make for an important redemption offering.

‘Alex’s Sci-Fi World’ is a beautiful piece of VR animation

Hand-painted VR animation isn’t new. Oculus developed Quill, a 3D painting package for the Rift, back in 2015 for its now defunct Story Studio. It was released to the public in Dec. 2016 and updated with a slew of filmmaking features three months ago. Since then, a small community has blossomed with VR artist Goro Fujita — the man behind the incredible A Moment in Time — at the helm. There are many impressive shorts online, but my favorite is Alex’s Sci-Fi World by Matt Schaefer. It’s a neon-soaked delight that you should absolutely watch on YouTube or using a Rift and the original Quill file.

The animation revolves around a small but densely packed street in a multiplanetary future. An imaginative grab bag of aliens line the sidewalk while surveillance robots hover ahead. Neon lights flicker, and a handful of giant tentacles can be seen writhing out of a nearby alleyway. The loop is relatively short, but the level of detail is staggering. Like Special Delivery, a 360-degree film by Google’s Spotlight Stories, it’s almost impossible to see everything in one sitting. It was only on my second time through, for instance, that I noticed the band and fairy lights inside the main building.

The colorful world was inspired by Schaefer’s close friend Alex Steven Martin. The pair met at college and played music together for many years. “He was outside the dorm playing Marcus Miller tunes on his bass guitar, and I immediately thought, ‘We need to start a band right now,’” Shaefer said. These days, Schaefer is an interaction designer while Martin works as an illustrator and graphic artist in Astoria, New York. In late 2016, Martin posted some illustrations of a graffiti-covered, robot- and monster-occupied city on his blog. They snowballed into a weekly series that Martin uploads to Tumblr and Instagram with the hashtag #scififriday.

“I would describe them as Blade Runner meets Where’s Waldo,” Shaefer said, “with some Moebius and Syd Mead mixed in. One day it just clicked and I thought, ‘I need to bring his universe to life in VR.’” First, Schaefer redrew a picture that Martin had painted of a futuristic crosswalk. It had a blue-windowed music venue called the Corner, a beaten-up camper van and an eclectic group waiting at a holographic stop sign. “I then mined Alex’s body of work for additional elements to complete the out-of-frame areas,” Shaefer explained. Then he integrated his own designs, which included monsters, hoverbikes and a Blade Runner-inspired car interior.

While Schaefer painted, Martin worked on new, inspirational artwork and music that could be layered on top of the piece. It took four months to finish the painting — for Schaefer, Alex’s Sci-Fi World was an evening and weekend project — and 10 to 12 hours of animation work. Movement was created through micro-stories, or loops, that overlap with one another. One loop, for instance, is a clumsy robot crashing into a telephone pole. Another is the resulting shockwave that zaps some unsuspecting birds nearby. “The electricity also flows to adjacent power lines, leading the viewer to other micro-stories in the scene,” Schaefer explained.

“One day it just clicked and I thought, ‘I need to bring his universe to life in VR.’”

The result is extraordinary. Schaefer prefers Quill to traditional CG animation tools such as Maya and Adobe After Effects because it gives his shorts a rougher, handcrafted feel. “In VR, you’re painting and animating spatially,” he said. “You also have physical inputs such as motion controllers and head tracking. This makes the creative process, and the end result, feel natural.” If you like Schaefer’s work, I recommend checking out his website and YouTube channel; the latter has a bunch of interesting VR shorts, including a Sonic and Mario-themed baby-announcement video.

Source: mattschaeferdesign.com, alexstevenmartin.com