Apple Music’s ‘Head Diva’ Bozoma Saint John Speaks at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit
Apple Music global marketing executive Bozoma Saint John gave a brief interview at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit on Tuesday where she spoke about how self-confidence was crucial in her rise to prominence at Cupertino.
Known as “Boz” to her friends, Saint John joined the Apple team when the company acquired Beats Music in 2014. After her fun and memorable on-stage demonstration of the new Apple Music features at WWDC 2016 – not to mention her appearance in a recent Apple Music ad alongside senior Apple VP Eddy Cue – she has since become the recognized “head diva” for Apple’s music services.
Emigrating from Ghana to Colorado at the age of 13, Saint John told technology reporter Leena K Rao that her height for such a young age and her skin color made it all but impossible to hide amongst her peers, but it taught her early on the importance of self-confidence.
“I couldn’t hide, there wasn’t a choice to do that,” Saint John said. “So the choice was do you try to do what everybody else was doing? I couldn’t be blond, I couldn’t be white. I just couldn’t be anything else, and so it meant that I had to become just all of everything that I have.”
The experience of moving to the U.S. as a child meant that she embraced who she was early on, she said, which helped put her on course for success, beginning at Pepsi, moving on to join Beats, and now finding herself at Apple. At 13, she said she learned what it meant to walk into a room and “not care when everybody else turned around” and looked at you. “And here I am,” she said.
Tag: Apple Music
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U.K. Minister Wants to Reduce iPad Use in Schools to Curb Bullying
Schools in the U.K. should reduce the use of iPads during lessons because some children are using them to bully and harass others, according to a government minister (via The Telegraph).
Edward Timpson, the Minister for Children and Families, claimed a number of schools were letting children spend too much time using iPads and said that headteachers should use their powers to confiscate them if they are being used “inappropriately”.
Timpson told peers on the House of Lords Communications Committee:
“A problem in a number of schools which we’ve sought to address is the iPad or the tablet coming into schools and it forming far too much of the school day’s activities of children and it being used inappropriately for some of the bullying and harassment that we know sadly goes on the back of it.
“That’s why we’ve strengthen the powers of headteachers to confiscate and remove material and so on.”
Timpson argued for a “technology balance” to ensure that teachers still interact with pupils and avoid a “battleground” between children and their tablets.
“Children will be spending more of their life living through a tablet. It is the direction we now know is going to be taking hold for the foreseeable future and we have to respond to that,” he said.
Over 90 percent of U.K. teenagers have mobile phones, according to The Telegraph. Meanwhile, a study by the London School of Economics found that an outright ban on the devices in schools saw test scores rise by an average 6 percent.
In England, there is no government policy on the use of mobile phones in schools, which are left to set any restrictions themselves.
Tag: United Kingdom
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Pixel grabs 10% of the premium smartphone market in India, but there’s a long way to go
The Pixels are off to a great start in India.
The Pixel and Pixel XL made their debut in India on October 26, retailing for ₹57,000 ($830) and ₹67,000 ($975) respectively. The launch was followed by an advertising blitz by Google that saw billboards plastered across major urban centers and commercials on major channels. With a Note 7-sized hole waiting to be filled, Google shipped 33,000 units of the Pixels in the country, catapulting the phone to the third spot in the premium segment (devices over ₹30,000) with a market share of 10%.
That’s according to data from market research firm Counterpoint Research, cited by ET Tech:
A refreshing and feature-packed Pixel is making for a good proposition against Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s S series.
Google does not want to miss out on the opportunities and is leaving no stones unturned with heavy spend on marketing. Going by spends on advertisement and offers provided by the company, Pixel is sure to maintain its market share if not extend it in the quarter.
A spokesperson Google India also chimed in, stating that the company was “enthused by the feedback from Indian customers,” and that the initial response for the Pixel “has been extremely positive and in line with our expectations.” While the numbers posit a healthy growth for the Pixel in India, they don’t tell the whole story. The figures are units shipped to retailers and not sales to customers, and as such don’t necessarily represent how the Pixel is doing in the country.
With 33,000 units shipped, Pixel takes the third spot in the premium segment in India.
As is often the case in the high-end segment in India, the pricing is the main drawback for the Pixels. With the 32GB Pixel XL selling for ₹67,000 ($975), the phone is out of reach of most buyers.
Then there’s the larger issue at hand. Earlier this month, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out policy to deregulate high-denomination notes (₹500 ($7.20) and ₹1,000 ($14.40) in an effort to curb counterfeiting and corruption. In doing so, he invalidated nearly 85% of all active cash in circulation, or $241 billion in total.
The move has led to a severe cash crunch, and its effect is felt particularly in the phone segment. A majority of phone sales are conducted offline in cash-only transactions or online through Cash-On-Delivery. According to IDC, sales in the smartphone segment are set to decline by 17.5% this quarter as a result of demonetization. As such, it’ll take a while for the category to stabilize.
That said, Google nailed the basics with the Pixels, both in terms of the phones and their availability. The handsets are up for sale from most major offline retailers, and the incessant commercials has led to more consumers being aware of the Pixel brand. It failed on both fronts with Android One, so it is promising to see Google make headway with the Pixels.
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Google Earth’s Timelapse feature shows how much the world has changed in the last 32 years
See how the planet has changed over the last three decades.
Google Earth’s Timelapse feature made its debut in 2013, offering a wealth of satellite imagery data from 1984 to 2012. The feature picked up a comprehensive update today, with Google adding four additional years of imagery and petabytes of high-resolution data from Landsat and Sentinel-2A satellites, giving us a “sharper view of our planet.” Google combined 5 million images — sifting through three quadrillion pixels — to create “33 cloud-free annual mosaics, one for each year from 1984 to 2016.”
The result is a set of zoomable and pannable timelapses that give us a glimpse at how the world has evolved over the last three decades. You can see glaciers melting away, entire cities being constructed from the ground up, rivers being rerouted, and so much more. Google also made a 40-minute YouTube playlist that serves up highlights from locations around the globe.
Google Earth Timelapse
Nougat OTA starts rolling out to the Xperia X Performance
Nougat is now available for unlocked U.S. and global variants.
Sony has started rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat to the Xperia X Performance. The update is now available for the unlocked U.S. model (F8131) as well as the dual-SIM global variant (F8132). As spotted by Xperia Blog, the update increments the phone’s firmware to 39.2.A.0.327.
The Nougat update brings split-screen support, new camera options, improved Stamina mode, and more. If you’re using the Xperia X Performance, head to Settings -> About Device -> Software Updates to see if an update is available for your phone.
Elsewhere, the LG G5 has started to receive the Nougat update, and Samsung is letting more users join its Galaxy S7 Nougat beta program. HTC is rolling out Nougat to the unlocked HTC 10, and Motorola has kicked off the Nougat update with the Moto Z.
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AI will shape health care plans for US veterans
American veterans needing health care are about to get help from an unusual source: artificial intelligence. The Department of Veterans Affairs and Flow Health have forged a 5-year alliance that will see the two build a massive medical knowledge graph (based on the records of 22 million veterans) that uses deep learning to customize health plans for vets. The system aims to identify the common genetic factors that make people vulnerable to given diseases and not only improve diagnoses, but recommend treatments on a case-by-case basis.
Government interest in AI is nothing new, and we’ve seen multiple efforts to implement deep learning in health care. However, the combination of the two is promising. It could improve the overall health of veteran soldiers and save money, of course, but that’s just the start. The Department is a very high-profile customer, and any success here could make a strong case for AI-assisted health care both elsewhere in government and the private sector.
Source: BusinessWire
‘No Man’s Sky’ cleared in false advertising investigation
No Man’s Sky developer Hello Games has emerged from a marketing investigation unscathed. The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has spent the last two months examining claims that the game’s steam page is misleading. Disgruntled players had taken issue with screenshots, videos and text which, in their opinion, showed the game with better visuals, performance and planetary exploration. These covered warping, ship battles and the complexity of extraterrestrial life. The ASA disagreed, however, concluding that the materials were largely representative of the final product and “unlikely to mislead” consumers.
To assess the claims, the regulator examined the game’s Steam store page and footage provided by Hello Games. Investigators also played the game to check whether the features could be easily replicated, or experienced within the confines of an average playthrough. Regarding large-scale space battles, Hello Games admitted these “were more unusual” but provided footage of a similar conflict occurring in the game. “In relation to these features, we considered that the ad did not depict gameplay that differed materially from the footage provided by Hello Games, and that it was therefore unlikely to mislead,” the ASA said.
The regulator did, however, notice some differences between the trailers and the final game. It couldn’t reproduce a shot, for instance, of a ship flying underneath a rock formation. Investigators also noted differences in animal behavior — one clip showed some large creatures moving large trees — but decided this was a “fleeting and incidental scene” and ultimately “not misleading.” Complainants had taken issue with the game’s graphical performance, but the ASA stressed that the experience would differ depending on the user’s PC. While a couple of screenshots showed water “in higher fidelity than we had seen in the footage or during gameplay,” it was not deemed to be significant.
In its ruling, the ASA said it acknowledged Hello Games had tried to show No Man’s Sky “in the best light.” The materials were taken from game footage (even if certain elements, such as the interface, had been “amended” prior to release) and showed what was possible in the procedurally generated universe. As such, it believes “the overall impression of the ad was consistent with gameplay and the footage provided, both in terms of that captured by Hello Games and by third parties, and that it did not exaggerate the expected player experience of the game.” Hello Games has, in short, been cleared of any wrongdoing.
The decision will come as a relief to the small British video game developer. No Man’s Sky was a hugely anticipated release that failed to meet fan expectations. Trailers showed beautiful worlds that could be explored and mined at the player’s leisure. But the gameplay loop felt shallow to many players, devolving into little more than a resource collectathon. Players were angry and Hello Games went silent, preferring to work on updates than deal with the community’s wrath. Earlier this week it released a new “Foundation Update” which adds base-building and two additional gameplay modes, Creative and Survival. While not enough to save the game’s tarnished reputation, it’s a considerable improvement that could win back a slither of the public’s trust.
Via: Eurogamer
Source: ASA
DirecTV Now is a good start for AT&T, but nothing truly original
If you’ve seen Sling TV or PlayStation Vue in action, AT&T’s DirecTV Now streaming service won’t offer up many surprises. Like the competition, it’ll let you stream live TV and on-demand content across a wide variety of devices — all you need is an internet connection. But right now, on the day of DirecTV Now’s launch, that’s pretty much all it is. There’s no cloud DVR functionality, which Vue has had for a while and Sling will soon start beta testing. And, strangely, there’s no support for Roku devices yet, which leaves out a significant chunk of its potential audience.
Despite those issues, there’s a good chance DirecTV Now will find some footing in the newfangled streaming TV ecosystem. It has the full backing of AT&T, after all, which is positioning the service as the start of an entirely new video platform (alongside its mobile Fullscreen and FreeVIEW services). The company plans to push DirecTV Now in all of its retail locations, which gives it more exposure to mainstream consumers than Sling. It’s tempting subscribers with deals featuring the new Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick and LeeCo TVs. And it won’t count DirecTV Now streams against AT&T wireless customers’ data caps, which is a direct affront to net neutrality. DirecTV Now might just be too big to fail.
I had a chance to take an early look at the service’s Apple TV app, and for the most part it delivered a solid streaming TV experience. I didn’t go through the entire setup process (it came pre-installed on an Apple TV from AT&T), but upon launching it for the first time, it loaded up New York City’s ABC station in under a second. Moving to other live shows via the channel guide generally took two seconds at the most. It’s not as instant as some TV services, but it’s a lot better than the performance I saw at last night’s launch event.
DirecTV Now’s video quality looked good for the most part, though I noticed some artifacts in scenes that were very dark or featured fast motion. Those are generally areas where most streaming services fall flat, though. As a test, I compared a few episodes of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown via CNN’s on demand selection against their iTunes counterparts. (What can I say? I’m a fan.) The iTunes files were clearly superior, thanks to a significantly higher bitrate. But DirecTV Now’s version still looked decent on my 4K OLED TV, and notably they looked on-par with what I’ve seen on Sling TV.
Swiping down on the Apple TV’s remote brings up the app’s top menu, which points you to the search feature, channel guide and settings. By swiping up, you can reach what’s airing live, the list of shows available on demand, movies on demand, or the channel guide. You certainly won’t be lacking ways to find bingewatching options. DirecTV Now’s interface might take some time to learn, but it’s a lot less clunky than Sling TV’s UI, which sometimes feels baffling. Another plus, it seems like DirecTV Now also has more on-demand offerings than Sling, at least based on what I’ve seen available on CNN, HGTV and FX.
While AT&T executives made a big deal about their content deals during DirecTV Now’s launch event, you can expect the same sort of channel limitations as you would on Vue or Sling. Some channels might prevent fast forwarding and rewinding of content, for example. And whenever AT&T implements cloud DVR, you can also expect similar limitations to affect that feature, as it does on competing services. DirecTV Now also doesn’t have CBS or Showtime aboard yet, though AT&T says it’s “actively” working to sign them on. And unfortunately, there’s no support for NFL Sunday Ticket either.
Aside from the baffling choice to launch without Roku support, the most disappointing aspect of DirecTV Now is that it’s pricing is nowhere near as aggressive as AT&T originally implied (execs were floating the figure as last month). Sure, for now you can lock in over 100 channels for $35 a month as a promotional offer, but the company was very clear to point out that’s just temporary. Future subscribers will get 60 channels for that price, while the 100 channel option will go for $60 a month. PlayStation Vue, in comparison, starts at $30 a month for around 45 channels (depending on your market, it might be more), while Sling TV starts at $20 a month with fewer channels.
For now, AT&T has basically proven it can build a decent streaming TV service. But with Vue and Sling already having a head start, and similar services supposedly in the works from Apple and Google, it’s looking like there will be plenty of competition ahead. AT&T will probably find some sort of toe-hold through sheer force of marketing alone, but it’s unclear if DirecTV Now will be able to thrive, or just survive.
Steam will tell you what games work with OSVR
Steam has added an official badge to games on the platform that will work with Razer’s OSVR headset. Much like the visual designation for titles compatible with Oculus Rift and the company’s own HTC Vive headsets, it’s a simple icon. In this case it looks like a rounded square set inside a bigger square (below). Valve says that you’ll find it next to some 200 games at the moment, and that while OSVR is the first headset it’s slapped a compatibility badge on since this spring, it won’t be the last.
“As the industry keeps growing, changing and experimenting, Steam will be there to help you experience the latest VR content on whatever device you choose,” the post on Steam Community reads. This type of openness will only help VR grow, versus trying to operate the PC like a closed platform. Ahem, Oculus.
Source: Steam Community, Steam
Yahoo Answers Now is a standalone app for iOS
Yahoo Answers has been the butt of many jokes for a long time now. But if you enjoy browsing through all the amusing questions people submit and tend to reply to some yourself, you’ll love the latest update out of the company’s HQ: Yahoo Answers now has a standalone iOS app. According to TechCrunch, it was previously known as Yahoo Hive, which has been lying low on the App Store since the summer. Its launch is likely an attempt to challenge newer, shinier Answer rivals like Quora. It’s also the latest in the list of mobile apps Yahoo released this year.
Yahoo launched quite a few standalone applications these past few months, including the Newsroom, a travel search engine called Radar and a dedicated Esports app for Android. This one is only available for iOS devices, though, so you’ll have to stick to Answers’ website if you’re using another platform. Marissa Mayer was hoping that Yahoo’s mobile efforts could help solve its many problems. Since that didn’t quite work out, Verizon is now buying up the company for $4.38 billion. That said, Yahoo’s woes still aren’t over: the carrier is reportedly seeking a $1 billion discount after it came to light that Yahoo suffered a huge email breach that affected 500 million users.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: iTunes
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