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Scalado Photobeamer Offers Rapid Photo Sharing to Web-Connected Devices

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June 1, 2012
  • Mobile devices using iOS can wirelessly share photos with Web-connected devices through the new Photobeamer app from Scalado.
  • The 99-cent app can transmit to game consoles, smart TVs, PCs and tablets (as long as the browser is pointed to the Photobeamer home page).
  • “Having given it a quick test, we’d say it’s definitely up to regular domestic challenges where you just want to display a few photos rather than perhaps videos or presentation slides, and where there’s no need to print or store shared images,” notes Engadget.
  • “You can swipe left and right between different pictures in your gallery, and also choose whether you want those images to be fitted to the recipient display or resized to fill it,” adds the post.
  • Check out the video for a quick demo.

MindWave Mobile: Will Mind-Controlled Videogames Become Reality?

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May 31, 2012
  • Some 1,700 software developers are turning to NeuroSky’s MindWave Mobile headset as a controlling interface for video games and other applications.
  • The $129 headset claims to be sensitive to brain waves and can wirelessly beam digital information derived from the brain to computers and other devices.
  • “So far the headsets are confined to mostly digital interfaces — videogames and movies whose plots can be altered with the mind — although in some cases real-world objects have been used, like a pair of catlike ears that move depending on a person’s mood,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
  • “All of the companies vying to emerge in the brain-wave market are using electroencephalograph, or EEG, technology, which measures the brain’s electrical impulses in the forehead and has long been used to diagnose epilepsy and other brain disorders,” notes the article. “The headsets contain a sensor that detects various mental states, and a chip converts the signals from analog format to digital so they can travel wirelessly to a computer.”
  • “There is going to be a whole ecosystem of new players, and NeuroSky is very well-positioned to be like the Intel of this new industry,” suggests Alvaro Fernandez, chief executive of consultancy SharpBrains.
  • The company faces competition from San Francisco-based Emotiv Systems and its $300 multi-sensor headset.

Fans Turn to Manufactured-on-Demand Movies to Expand Collections

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May 31, 2012
  • Cineastes are turning to a relatively new business model for their collections: DVDs and Blu-ray discs via MOD (“manufactured-on-demand”).
  • “MOD discs can be purchased only online — from Amazon and more specialized websites — and they are not available for rent through services like Netflix,” notes the Wall Street Journal.
  • “The leader in MOD in every respect is Warner Brothers, which has led the charge since this technology’s commercial debut three years ago,” explains the article. “Warner not only oversees the biggest catalog — more than 1,000 titles to date sold under the Warner Archive label — but also runs a robust retail operation via its website (www.wbshop.com).”
  • MOD titles are also currently available from Sony, MGM and Universal.
  • The article cites an array of hard-to-find and lesser known films: “Viewers may find other titles that interest them more, but that’s the sport of it. MOD allows us to discover new adventures in cinema two ways — by building on what we already cherish and by taking chances with the utterly unfamiliar. And now a vast trove of both lies before us.”

Samsung Launches New Chromebooks that Feature Updated Google OS

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May 31, 2012
  • Samsung launched new computers this week based on Google’s Chrome operating system, including a lightweight laptop and versatile new desktop machine.
  • Additionally, Google has announced “enhancements to Chrome OS and Google Apps, including tight integration with Google Drive and the ability to edit Google Docs documents offline,” reports PCWorld.
  • The $449-549 Chromebook Series 5 550 laptop has an Intel Celeron 867 dual-core processor, 4GB of RAM and 12.1-inch display (1280×800). The Samsung Chromebox Series 3 desktop features an Intel Celeron B840 dual-core processor, 4GB of RAM and built-in Wi-Fi.
  • “Coming later will be a tight integration with the Google Drive cloud storage service, as well as the ability to edit Google Docs documents when the machine is offline,” notes the article. “When available, this Google Docs offline editing feature will be available to all Google Docs users, not just people who buy these new Samsung machines.”
  • The computers feature an apps-centric user interface with simplified app launcher, a more sophisticated media player, native photo editor and enhanced video streaming options for services such as Netflix and YouTube.

Will the New Google Chrome Compete with the Release of Windows 8?

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May 31, 2012
  • The new version of Google’s Chrome operating system features improved support for online video and word processing services, intended to drive sales of Chromebook computers.
  • The new release comes a few months ahead of Microsoft’s Windows 8 touch-based OS.
  • “The system is impressive, and designed to work seamlessly with Google products like Android phones and the (still-underwhelming) Google Plus social network,” reports The New York Times. “It is also clearly pointed at Microsoft, just as Microsoft is preparing to introduce Windows 8, one of the biggest changes to its operating system ever.”
  • “People participate in ecosystems,” says Sundar Pichai, head of the Chrome project at Google. “If you are a Chrome browser user, an Android user and a Gmail user, a Chromebook is a more natural experience than a Windows 8.”
  • Chromebooks require an Internet connection for access to most applications. “By default you will be able to get the last 100 documents you were working on,” adds Pichai. “When you go back online, it will resynch with your files and update everything.”
  • Samsung is introducing Chrome-based laptops and desktop computers this week.

Net Neutrality: FCC Names Top Firms to Open Internet Advisory Committee

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May 31, 2012
  • Executives from major broadband and media companies such as Disney, Netflix and AT&T were given seats this week on the FCC’s new Open Internet Advisory Committee.
  • The newly-formed advisory panel is tasked with helping the FCC administer its Net neutrality plan.
  • The controversial order (adopted in 2010 and facing a court challenge by Verizon), requires service providers to offer equal access speeds to rival services and prohibit them from favoring their own content.
  • “While the committee does not include some of the most vocal opponents of Net neutrality, some of the companies represented are publicly ambivalent about the FCC’s order, including AT&T,” notes Hillicon Valley.
  • Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain will chair the committee and MIT research specialist David Clark will serve as co-chair.
  • Additional companies and organizations with a panel presence include Comcast, Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, the Writers Guild of America and the National Urban League.

Tagging Plus Facial Recognition: Face.com to be Acquired by Facebook?

By
May 30, 2012
  • According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, Facebook will acquire Face.com for $100 million.
  • TechCrunch suggests this is a logical acquisition for Facebook: “Photos are core to Facebook’s lock-in strategy and facial recognition allows tags to better reflect the social graph, which then feeds into making its advertising platform more efficient.”
  • “Face.com’s popular Facebook application Photo Tagger allows people to scan their (or their friends’) photo albums for known faces,” details the post. “It also has the iOS facial recognition app KLIK and a public API that could benefit Facebook.”
  • In a related article, Digital Trends agrees that the deal makes sense: “…add to the equation that Facebook is trying to do a better job with mobile (as partially evidenced by its Camera App), and the added incentive a mobile-only feature like this gives it seems perfectly logical.”
  • “One of the most convincing elements of the Camera App is that you can tag friends from it, and the ability to simply take, filter, and upload a picture without having to manually find the corresponding name would make it a fundamentally better user experience,” notes Digital Trends. “It’s also a fun novelty to hold up your phone and have an app simultaneously identify your friends.”

Apple Announces WWDC Schedule, Tim Cook Drops Hints at D10

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May 30, 2012
  • Apple has released scheduling details for its Worldwide Developers Conference to take place June 11-15 in San Francisco. It’s likely that Apple CEO Tim Cook will be leading the event’s festivities.
  • “The big question mark, however, revolves around the possibility of Cook unveiling the new iPhone. Over the last several months, the rumor mill hasn’t come to a consensus on whether the iPhone will be announced at WWDC or sometime later this year,” reports CNET.
  • “We have some incredible things coming out,” Cook hinted at last night’s D10 Conference, providing few details but noting that Apple TV remains “an area of intense interest for us.”
  • He added that Apple would be more forthcoming regarding its position on labor rights in China and promised to manufacture more components in the U.S. Cook also addressed Apple’s relationship with Facebook. “I think we can do more with them,” he said.
  • AllThingsD reports that during D10, Cook hinted at new plans for Siri: “…there’s more that it can do, and we have a lot of people working on this. And I think you will be really pleased with some of the things you’re going to see over the coming months. We have some cool ideas about what Siri can do… Sure, it can be broader, and so forth, but we see unbelievable potential here. We’re doubling down on it.”
  • Apple has launched a WWDC 2012 app intended to help attendees keep track of events and updates.

Study Suggests Live Viewing is Driving Force Behind Social TV Activity

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May 30, 2012
  • According to a new Viacom study, live viewing is driving social TV as a growing number of consumers are leveraging new forms of interaction.
  • “The study found that viewers engage in an average of seven different types of social TV activities — online or offline — on at least a weekly basis,” notes Broadcasting & Cable. “The most common activities were watching TV with others, searching for extra content and viewing clips from shows on social networks.”
  • “Overall, when it comes to chatting, 56 percent of those involved in the study preferred communicating through a social TV app, 53 percent through Facebook, and 50 percent use individual or group texts,” explains the article.
  • Viewers want more content than what is available with an online search. The study suggests that full episodes and behind-the-scenes extras top the list.
  • The study also notes that fans are looking for rewards such as merchandise and prizes from games and trivia. Fans look for comments from people they know and especially from cast and crew members.
  • “Viacom also found that live viewing is a key to social TV activity,” adds B&C. “Communication, content and comments were twice more likely to be used during live viewing than delayed viewing. Social TV enthusiasts feel left out of the conversation if they missed an episode of a favorite show live, Viacom found.”

NDS Demonstrates Immersive Surfaces: The Future of Television?

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May 29, 2012
  • Isreal-based TV services provider NDS, which Cisco purchased for $5 billion in March, recently came to San Francisco to share its vision of television five years in the future, reports GigaOM.
  • According to a related Wired article: “NDS, a company that develops DRM security and DVR technology for pay-TV providers like Cox and DirecTV, has developed a proof-of-concept called Surfaces that shows how television could become the center of a much more compelling, immersive living room experience.”
  • “The prototype jettisons the single, static screen that’s been a hardware mainstay since the golden age of television. In its place is a slick, highly customized room-sized desktop that hosts not only a traditional widescreen TV image, but also windows for a plethora of digital accoutrements,” explains Wired. “It could be exactly what the TV industry needs to stay relevant.”
  • Rather than one large screen, NDS envisions a modular approach using smaller 6- to 8-inch squares that can be configured into a matrix to fit any size you desire. These squares would be designed to work together and could support multiple inputs simultaneously.
  • Besides video content, for example, the display might also be used to display art, calendars, clocks, a Twitter feed, home automation, and more. Using e-ink would allow you to use the display for long periods without consuming large amounts of power.
  • “NDS showed how Surfaces could be used to get the most from 4K video displays — displays with horizontal resolutions in excess of 4,000 pixels,” notes Wired. “Currently, 4K seems a bit ludicrous, even on a 90-inch display. But when you’re displaying full-screen video on an entire wall, those extra pixels definitely prove useful.”

LG Gets Ready to Take On the Retina Display with 1080p, 440ppi Screen

By
May 29, 2012
  • LG announced it plans to launch a 5-inch LCD screen that will feature 1080p resolution and 440ppi pixel density.
  • The new screen, which LG claims will be the first to offer full HD on a smartphone, is slated for release later this year.
  • “Specifically designed for smart devices, LG’s screen uses AH-IPS technology — that’s Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching — allowing a wide viewing angle, fast response times and a realistic color palette,” reports Digital Trends. “The resolution is 1920 x 1080, which is more commonly found on HDTVs and high definition monitors, and the 5-inch panel will have a 16:9 ratio.”
  • The 440ppi pixel density should be an attention-grabber as well. When Apple introduced its Retina Display for the iPhone 4, it touted 330ppi.
  • Although LG has yet to announce any devices to feature the new screen, the post suggests the potential of Samsung’s Galaxy Note and the next generation of LG’s Optimus Vu.

Yahoo Shuts Down Livestand, Announces New Focus on Mobile

By
May 29, 2012
  • After only six months, Yahoo announced that it has officially shuttered Livestand, its news aggregating app for the iPad.
  • “While we received great feedback on Livestand’s design and it earned a 4-star rating in the App Store, we committed ourselves to continuously measure and scrutinize what’s working and what isn’t,” explains the Yahoo blog.
  • “What that basically means is that Livestand must not have been getting enough downloads, holding the interest of users, or competing with competitors like Flipboard well enough,” reports Digital Trends. “The company points to Yahoo Axis as an example of the new direction it’s headed in. Axis is a visual ‘search browser’ — a plug-in for desktop browsers like Chrome and a standalone iOS app.”
  • Yahoo expects future apps from Livestand, despite its cancellation. “The company claims it is ‘pivoting to a mobile-products-first development model,’ which will produce more mobile products like Axis,” explains the post. “Innovating in mobile is now one of, ‘if not THE biggest,’ priority for Yahoo.”

Will Instagram Play a Role in Rumored Facebook Smartphone Venture?

By
May 29, 2012
  • According to comScore, Instagram’s traffic increased by an impressive 78 percent between March and April.
  • Digital Trends credits the release of a new Android app and the $1 billion acquisition by Facebook.
  • The question remains: What are Facebook’s plans for Instagram, especially following the announcement of competitor Facebook Camera?
  • “It’s entirely plausible that while Facebook is slowly developing its mobile experience for users with new Facebook branded apps and increasing its brand presence on mobile phones, the company is slowly preparing for its first horizontal integration via the rumored Facebook phone,” notes Digital Trends.
  • “After Facebook has comfortably developed and grown its core suite of Facebook mobile applications, while at the same time maintaining acquisitions including Instagram, we could expect these apps to be ported over to the Facebook phone, and displayed as Facebook’s native applications,” adds the post. “Thanks to Instagram that could mean the potential for 50 million Facebook phone owners.”

Detailing the Key Takeaways from the paidContent 2012 Conference

By
May 28, 2012
  • Industry leaders gathered in New York City last week to discuss opportunities and strategies involving digital media at the paidContent 2012 conference.
  • According to paidContent, the following are the five key takeaways from the day:
  • 1) “Data helps destroy containers, and that’s a good thing. Data creates new content and information experiences and helps bring an end to the notion of content silos.”
  • 2) “Digital storytelling is a native art. Stories on the Internet are not a new form of magazine or newspaper stories, but a medium in their own right — just like radio or TV. Publishers should develop their platforms accordingly rather than just repurposing other print vehicles.”
  • 3) “Not all ‘media’ are created equal. Union Square’s Fred Wilson and Betaworks’ John Borthwick gave a rude awakening to Big Media executives, urging them to give up control of their content — and even to stop calling it ‘content.'”
  • 4) “Publishers have to sell their brands directly to consumers.”
  • 5) “It’s time to toss CPM as a yardstick for online advertising success… it’s time for advertisers to adapt their ads to the evolving nature of the Internet itself. That means forgetting about CPMs and focusing on data and social dynamics. On a broader level, it means re-imagining basic precepts of advertising and product discovery in a world where Web pages are being eclipsed by new types of online discovery and interaction.”
  • It’s worth noting that proposed projects being developed by the ETC will address the first 3 of these 5 bullets.

Personalized Video News: NewsLook Announces Free iPad App

By
May 25, 2012
  • Streaming video news service NewsLook has launched a free iPad app that allows users to create personalized video channels that feature curated news content from more than 50 worldwide sources.
  • “Our NewsLook iPad app offers unprecedented personalization and engages users by greatly streamlining video search and discovery, enabling them to weed out unrelated content and get just what they want, from trustworthy sources,” said Fred Silverman, former CBS producer and current CEO of NewsLook.
  • According to the press release, sources include the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and Reuters — and users can customize channels based on interests such as “sports, politics, lifestyle, fashion, art, and entertainment.”
  • “NewsLook curates and publishes 150 videos daily in real-time and maintains a vast archive of over forty thousand videos,” notes the release. “This content is also available across a variety of platforms like Sony BIV and Google TV as well as via seamless syndication.”

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