Tech companies including Adobe, Apple, Dropbox, Sonic.net and Yahoo earned top ratings in the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s annual report on data collection practices, while others such as WhatsApp and AT&T landed at the bottom. The report analyzes how companies handle government requests for customer data. The companies are evaluated “based on factors including their transparency to consumers about data requests and data retention, as well as their public positions on so-called back doors that grant government agencies access to customer data,” reports The New York Times. The EFF’s latest report suggests that tech companies are generally improving in this area.

At this week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, the first new versions in five years of music-based videogames “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” were on display. “Guitar Hero Live” by Activision Blizzard offers the opportunity to play in front of crowds that react to the performance. “Rock Band 4,” by Harmonix and Mad Catz Interactive, focuses more on the guitar solos. “Both are attempting to revive a business that seemed dead in 2010 after the market was bombarded with more than 20 games between the two franchises, plus plenty more knock-offs, in a span of just five years,” suggests The Wall Street Journal. “The big question is whether the original music-game model is dead or finally ready for a comeback.”

Snapchat is partnering with Live Nation Entertainment to bring its Live Stories feature to festivals and concerts. Starting today with the Electric Daily Carnival in Las Vegas (a popular electronic dance music festival), Live Stories will capture content at Live Nation events to share with specific communities through Snapchat. Live Stories, which provides video and photos from event attendees for a 24-hour period, has become a lucrative advertising platform for Snapchat. And its branded geofilters have become an added bonus for advertisers. Continue reading Snapchat, Live Nation Partner to Offer Music Fest Live Stories

Google-owned Nest plans to start shipping a new plug-and-play, Wi-Fi security camera next week. The $199 Nest Cam is the first security product to result from Nest’s purchase of Dropcam last summer. The Nest Cam is physically reminiscent of the last Dropcam (although a bit slimmer), features infrared LEDs for night vision, and has been upgraded from 720p to 1080p. “The Nest Cam uses a cloud-based DVR to store video,” explains TechCrunch. “If you want to record and store video (rather than just stream it) you’re looking at paying $100-$300 a year on top of the cost of the device. 10-days of video archiving will cost $10 a month; 30-days of archiving will cost $30 a month.”

Japanese telecommunications corporation SoftBank and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group plan to start selling a robot called Pepper on June 20. The $1,600 robots will be manufactured by Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan. Alibaba and Foxconn are investing for 20 percent stakes each in the joint venture, while SoftBank will hold 60 percent. SoftBank envisions Pepper “as a companion for the elderly, a teacher of schoolchildren and an assistant in retail shops and offices,” notes The Wall Street Journal. Originally designed by Aldebaran Robotics, a French subsidiary of SoftBank, Pepper can read body language, human voices and facial expressions. There are already about 200 free apps for the robot.

The Federal Communications Commission has accused AT&T Mobility of misleading its wireless customers regarding unlimited data plans by slowing their service without notification. As a result, the FCC announced that it plans to fine AT&T $100 million. According to the agency, AT&T delivered slower service than advertised after its customers had used a certain amount of data. The slow-down impacted the ability to stream video, use mapping services and more. The move raises questions about future actions now that the FCC is treating Internet services more like utilities. Continue reading FCC Plans to Fine AT&T $100 Million for Slowing Data Speeds

Fox Sports and NextVR plan to demo live streaming of virtual reality coverage during the U.S. Open golf championship. “At the tournament’s VIP tents, approximately 100-300 visitors daily will have the opportunity to view the live stream of what Fox Sports believes might be the first live VR experience with multi-camera coverage,” writes Carolyn Giardina for The Hollywood Reporter. “Five spherical camera rigs will be placed at vantage points around the course in order to allow fans to visit these sites in real-time.” The experience will also be live-streamed to Fox Sports locations in Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver. The NextVR portal will feature highlights for Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR users.

More than 10,000 gamers have signed a petition requesting that Nintendo not release a game it showed during this week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. The gaming giant, which has abandoned its splashy E3 press conferences in favor of more low-key presentations, apparently failed to introduce enough new games for its fans. The harsh reaction led to the petition regarding a lackluster new “disgrace of a game” in the “Metroid” series. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata issued an apology on Twitter and vowed to improve future efforts. Continue reading Nintendo Presentation at E3 Draws Strong Backlash from Fans

AOL Rise programming, part of AOL’s Content 365 strategy, consists of 90-second live clips with host Mari White that offer highlights on the hour related to finance, lifestyle, music, news, sports and weather. In a “morning rituals” study, AOL learned that “85 percent of consumers use their smartphone before getting out of bed,” reports VideoEdge. “Rise was built so that it is optimized for mobile consumption, making it short and easy to follow on the go,” said Osnat Benari, head of product for AOL On. “From a technical perspective, we rely on the AOL On video platform and capabilities so it can be played across all devices — Web, mobile and even over the top.”

A team of Burbank-based software engineers has been working to bridge the gap between filmmakers in the U.S. and China by developing a Chinese-language version of screenwriting, budgeting and scheduling software commonly used in Hollywood. The Write Brothers — the original creators of Movie Magic software — “have partnered with a Chinese production and financing company, Kylin-Mandarin Entertainment, to create the new Chinese-language software package, called Movie Dreams,” reports the Los Angeles Times. The new cloud-based product, unveiled at the Shanghai International Film Festival, is designed to create more efficiency and compatibility for film production.

KXMZ-FM in Rapid City, South Dakota is a traditional small town radio station in every sense other than it is now owned by Pandora Media, the world’s largest Internet radio company. Pandora acquired KXMZ for $600,000 in order to pay the lower royalty rates assigned to radio station owners (such as iHeartMedia). “Pandora is headed into uncharted territory,” said Matthew Schettenhelm, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. “But there’s no legal reason that other entities like Apple or Spotify couldn’t try to do the same.” The move is the latest in an ongoing royalty battle between music creators and Internet companies, notes Bloomberg, and will likely trigger additional litigation.

British comedy “Catastrophe” made its streaming debut in the U.S. this week exclusively on Amazon’s Facebook page. The move is a new approach to promoting Netflix competitor Amazon Prime Instant Video. Two days after Monday night’s premiere, the show will be made available for streaming only to Amazon Instant Video subscribers (the entire season will be available Friday). This is not the first time social media has been leveraged this way. Hulu has been posting select videos on Facebook, while studios have been offering movie rentals and purchases via social platforms. Continue reading Amazon Streams U.S. Premiere of British Comedy on Facebook

Disney’s historic El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles is one of five theaters in the world to combine the Dolby Vision advanced laser projection system (created in partnership with Christie Digital) and Dolby Atmos surround sound technology. The facility, which first opened its doors in 1926, now features two Christie 6P 4K laser projectors and more than 100 speakers. Audio engineer, musician and tech journalist Ryan Waniata viewed a screening of Brad Bird’s “Tomorrowland” and was treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the theater. Continue reading El Capitan Theatre Marries Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos Tech

Industrial Light & Magic has created a new division with a focus on developing virtual reality and augmented reality experiences for movie fans. ILMxLAB is planning to debut an entertainment experience based on “Star Wars” later this year. It has been working on technology for the iPad and Oculus Rift that would allow consumers to enter their favorite movie scenes and navigate through them. ILMxLAB execs indicate that the technology could launch when the J.J. Abrams-helmed “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is released in mid-December. Continue reading New ILM Team Developing Immersive VR and AR Experiences

AltspaceVR, a virtual reality communications platform backed by Google Ventures, enables multiple users from anywhere in the world to gather and share a virtual space. Unlike the text-based chat rooms of the 1990s, AltspaceVR uses computer cameras and Leap Motion trackers to translate users’ movements, mannerisms and gestures into the virtual world. It has been described as “Second Life for the first person.” AltspaceVR, now open to the public, was founded in 2013 and is led by Eric Romo, a former SpaceX propulsion lead analyst. Continue reading Venture-Backed AltspaceVR Creates Virtual Reality Chat Room