Report: Apple to release iTunes for Android
What’s the biggest fear of Apple? We all know that one, its Android. Recently, Apple saw a huge decline in their iTunes download, because of the strong competition. But it seems considering something we never thought is going to happen to fill that void. According to Billboard, Apple is planning to release the iTunes for Android to boost their revenue, which is actually a good idea, but it is not easy as Apple think it is.
The competition is really tough on Android, and brands like Amazon and Google itself are ruling the digital music market And not to forget services like Rdio, Spotify, Pandora and Google Music; so Apple has to come up with something that is good enough to go head-to-head with such services.
Do you think iTunes for Android is a good idea? Let us know in the comment box below.
Source: Billboard
The post Report: Apple to release iTunes for Android appeared first on AndroidGuys.
App Store and iTunes Prices in UK May Increase Up to 20%
Apple’s iTunes and App Store downloads may see a price increase next year when new UK laws take effect.
The Guardian reports that the most recently introduced budget closes a loophole that allowed digital downloads to avoid UK taxes.
The budget document said: “As announced at budget 2013, the government will legislate to change the rules for the taxation of intra-EU business to consumer supplies of telecommunications, broadcasting and e-services. From 1 January 2015 these services will be taxed in the member state in which the consumer is located, ensuring these are taxed fairly and helping to protect revenue.”
Digital download retailers such as Apple and Amazon presently avoid the UK’s 20% VAT by selling from countries such as Luxembourg where the tax rate is only 3%. Under the new law, downloads to UK customers will be taxed at the higher 20% rate.
The change appears to affect all digital downloads including music, apps, and e-books, and will take effect on January 1, 2015.
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Apple Maps Flyover Adds 3D Views of Perth, Saint-Tropez, and Cordoba [iOS Blog]
MacPrime.ch notes that Apple has recently added three new locations to their Maps Flyover feature found in iOS.
The new locations include Perth (Australia), Saint-Tropez (France) and Cordoba (Spain).
The 3D flyover features was introduced in iOS 6 and based on the technology of C3 Technologies which was acquired by Apple in 2011. Apple has been slowly expanding coverage since its launch and maintains a list of 3D-enabled locations on their website.
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EFF lawyer questions Microsoft’s ability to search our email, claims it’s open to abuse
This week Microsoft revealed that, without a warrant, it accessed the Hotmail account of a French blogger in order to track down an employee leaking source code to some of its products, ultimately leading to that employee’s arrest. Microsoft’s actions created an uproar among users, causing it to spell out both its means, and its justification. Microsoft claims it needs to establish if “there is evidence sufficient for a court order” before conducting any searches, as allowed under its terms of service (the ones you read and agreed to). In response, Electronic Frontier Foundation fellow Andrew Crocker calls Redmond’s claim that it can’t obtain a warrant on itself a false premise with massive potential for abuse. Instead of “Warrants for Windows,” he argues that bringing in the FBI and obtaining a warrant is not only possible, but that it would be in line with Microsoft’s policy to require a warrant before revealing user info to others.
Though the process may be legal, a larger queasiness arises because, as worded, Microsoft’s TOS could submit a user’s inbox to those searches merely by violating its Code of Conduct. That could happen by (for example) emailing links that depict nudity, incite or express profanity, or facilitate the sale of firearms. Crocker himself states that, presumably, Microsoft isn’t using these standards as an excuse to dig through Outlook.com inboxes. His problem with its actions is more that by relying only on permission given by internal and external legal teams and its TOS, but not the actual court system, a potential for abuse exists.
As The Guardian details, other providers like Apple, Google and Yahoo (or likely AOL, which owns this blog) have similarly worded policies that could be used to access user data in order to protect their property. We asked Crocker about those, and he states that the EFF’s criticism stands in regards to similar policies, and that, while this particular case likely arose from an unusual set of circumstances, the fact we have no way of knowing if a company accessed our data is troubling (In the update on its policies, Microsoft said it would include data on the number of these types of searches in its bi-annual transparency report). In one case, TechCrunch founder Mike Arrington even claimed that while he cannot be sure, he’s “nearly certain” Google may have accessed his Gmail inbox to sniff out a leaker. Whatever the case, we suddenly have some weekend reading time set aside for the topic of end-to-end encryption with GNU Privacy Guard and “how to setup your own email server.”
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Source: EFF, The Guardian
New Slim 12″ MacBook and MacBook Air Updates Soon
A new forum post on Weiphone.com has revealed a number of details about Apple’s upcoming plans for their MacBook notebooks as well as some details about their iWatch initiative. The author of the post has previously posted legitimate leaks and photos of un-released MacBook hardware in the past.
The poster writes about the upcoming MacBook Pro line as well as a new 12″ notebook that has previously been predicted. A MacRumors reader provides a summary translation of the post:
1. MacBook Air updates are coming soon; MacBook Pro updates won’t occur until September.
2. He discusses a new 12 inch notebook without fan assembly. It comes with a new trackpad design that doesn’t include the mechanical button, as we do on current MacBooks.
3. An Apple watch device does exist but still in prototype stage, so its announcement won’t come anytime soon.
It’s not entirely clear where the 12″ Apple notebook will fit in the product line. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo first predicted in October that Apple would be releasing a 12″ slim MacBook with a Retina Display this year:
We expect the unprecedented 12” model will boast both the portability of the 11” model, and productivity of the 13” model. The high resolution display will also offer the outstanding visual experience of the Retina MacBook Pro. The offering will likely be lighter and slimmer than the existing MacBook Air to further highlight ease of portability in the cloud computing era.
The buttonless trackpad design that the author describes may be related to a recent patent application by Apple which describes a buttonless trackpad design using an array of sensors and an actuator to mimic the function and tactile feedback of the current trackpad.
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Apple may finally bring iTunes to Android due to drop in download Sales
For the longest time, Android users have had to deal with the absence of an official iTunes app from the Google Play Store; sure there are substitute apps, but that’s a far cry from an official app that evolves with Apple‘s aspirations and focuses, much like other music providers like Spotify and Pandora have done over the last few months. That void may be filled soon, however, as Billboard reports that Apple may finally bring iTunes to Android.
The change in heart is primarily due to a decrease in music download sales, down 11% according to Nielsen SoundScan. Conversely, while download sales are down, revenues from streaming sites like Spotify and Pandora have risen 39% in the past year, signalling to Apple that they should probably consider something along the lines of a music streaming service with an “All-Access” subscription model, possibly using the existing iTunes Radio platform as a starting point.
Whatever does happen, I’m sure many users will be ecstatic if, and when, iTunes finally arrives on Android. What do you think about Apple finally considering to bring iTunes to Android? Let us know what your opinion is in the comments.
Source: Billboard via Android Community
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Professionals Successfully Push Mac Pro to Absurd Limits With 558-Day Video Timeline in Final Cut Pro [Mac Blog]
After waiting for several years for Apple to release a new professional tower, the company finally released the new Mac Pro last year. With dual-GPUs and an innovative cooling system, the diminutive machine has impressed professional users.
FCP.co decided to test out Final Cut Pro X and their well-equipped 8-core Mac Pro to absurd limits. The site put 1600 connected clips into the GUI, and actually got the Mac Pro to play 50 ‘layers’ of 4K video for a few seconds before it began dropping frames. It also made a 500,000 pixel wide project, useful perhaps for making (extremely wide) digital signage projects. Finally, the site successfully made a 558-day video time line — roughly a year and a half.
We pushed FCPX and the Mac Pro to silly limits, of course nobody will make a year long or a 500,000 pixel wide timeline, but it’s good to know the combination will go that far.
It seems that the real limitation is a hardware one, yes FCPX will do 16K, but you have to have the storage bandwidth to supply the huge number of pixels per second. When creating that huge timeline, we used the same clip over and over. Making the same timeline from different shorter clips wouldn’t be as easy as we think very large numbers of clips within FCPX will slow the machine down.
Apple have however, built a combination that will be good for nearly all different media sized projects within the foreseeable future. The Mac Pro and FCPX handle 4K like SD, so 8K should be fine.
FCP.co notes that most of the limitations occur with the hardware, not artificial limitations with Final Cut Pro X itself.
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Twitter’s Little-Used Music App Shutting Down April 18 [iOS Blog]
One year after it launched, Twitter is killing off its #Music iOS app. The company announced today that it will be removing the app from the App Store this afternoon, with existing users continuing to have access to the app until April 18.
Twitter said in a tweet that it will “continue to experiment with new ways to bring you great content based on the music activity we see every day on Twitter.”
AllThingsD reported back in October that the app was likely to be discontinued because of “abysmal” download numbers and a lack of user interest. With Apple launching its iTunes Radio streaming music service alongside iOS 7, the iOS music scene has become increasingly more competitive and crowded.
It was reported earlier today that Apple is considering a new on-demand streaming music service similar to Spotify, along with an Android platform of the iTunes Music Store and iTunes Radio.
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Apple and Google, Like Microsoft, Reserve Right to Read Customer Emails
Apple, Yahoo, and Google all have terms of service that allow them to read users’ emails if necessary, according to research done by The Guardian. Apple’s iCloud Terms and Conditions includes a clause that gives Apple permission to disclose Account information and Content, including iCloud email, when necessary by law, to address security, fraud, or technical issues, or to protect the rights and property of Apple.
You acknowledge and agree that Apple may, without liability to you, access, use, preserve and/or disclose your Account information and Content to law enforcement authorities, government officials, and/or a third party, as Apple believes is reasonably necessary or appropriate, if legally required to do so or if we have a good faith belief that such access, use, disclosure, or preservation is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process or request; (b) enforce this Agreement, including investigation of any potential violation thereof; (c) detect, prevent or otherwise address security, fraud or technical issues; or (d) protect the rights, property or safety of Apple, its users, a third party, or the public as required or permitted by law.
Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft’s terms of service all contain similar wording granting the technology companies unfettered access to content. The Guardian initially began investigating the rights of major companies to access user email after Microsoft looked through the personal Hotmail account of a blogger in order to discover the source of a Windows 8 leak.
Microsoft employee Alex Kibkalo was found sending a tech blogger parts of Windows 8 code back in 2012, allowing the blogger to access screenshots of the operating system, which were then posted online. Microsoft fired Kibkalo, but its methods of discovery were questioned, prompting the company to make a statement on its investigation policies, pledging not to read customer emails except in circumstances where a court order would be justified and vowing to announce such searches in its bi-annual transparency report.
While it is Microsoft that’s under fire for reading the email of its users, as mentioned above, Apple, Google, and Yahoo have the same rights to access content under questionable conditions. Apple does not mention whether or not it accesses iCloud email for non-security reasons in its own transparency reports and it is unclear whether the company has accessed private content in the search for leaks.
Apple is a notoriously secretive company, however, going to great lengths to protect its upcoming products. According to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, product secrecy is one of the specific tenets that has been responsible for Apple’s success, and in 2012, Tim Cook said the company would “double down on secrecy on products.”
Nevertheless, Apple has had a hard time keeping leaks under wraps. The iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c were both unveiled long before their release, and more recently, some significant iOS 8 leaks have come to light.
Apple and Google both opted not to comment to The Guardian on the clauses in their Terms of Services, but all customers opt-in to possible searches when signing up for an email account with either company.
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Apple in Talks for On-Demand Streaming Music Service, Considering Android iTunes App
Apple is considering launching an on-demand streaming service similar to Spotify in light of declining music sales, reports Billboard. The service would be part of a multi-prong strategy that may also include an iTunes app for Android.
Apple has opened exploratory talks with senior label executives about the possibility of launching an on-demand streaming service that would rival Spotify and Beats Music, according to three people familiar with the talks. Apple is also thinking about adding an iTunes App for Android phones, the Google rival that has been growing faster than the iPhone, these sources said.
In January, it was reported that music sales had declined for the first time since the iTunes Store opened 2003, with individual song downloads falling 5.7 percent from 1.34 billion units sold to 1.26 billion, and digital album sales dropping from 117.6 million units from 117.7 million units.
In recent months, Apple has attempted to lure more customers with exclusive album releases, such as Beyoncé’s fifth album, released first on iTunes, and has been pushing record companies for additional deals of that nature.
Album sales have remained down, however, as streaming services have risen in popularity, prompting Apple to explore other options as well. A March report from the RIAA indicated Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube had generated $1.4 billion in subscription, advertising, and licensing revenues in the U.S. in 2013, a 39 percent increase from 2012.
Apple introduced its iTunes Radio streaming music service last year, but it is station-based like Pandora, limiting how many songs users can choose for themselves. An iTunes service similar to Spotify or Beats Music would allow listeners to pick and choose all of their content, which could potentially be accessed on other non-Apple platforms like Android.
“They are feeling out some people at labels on thoughts about transitioning its customers from iTunes proper to a streaming service,” says one major label source. “So when you buy a song for $1.29, and you put it in your library, iTunes might send an e-mail pointing out that for a total of, say, $8 a month you can access that song plus all the music in the iTunes store. It’s all in the ‘what if stage.”
Apple’s talks with record labels about a possible expansion of iTunes Radio into a full-fledged music streaming service are still in the early stages, and the company has declined to comment.
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