via Tech http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/mashable/tech/~3/7kj9PJWo49U/
Friday, 3 January 2014
Netflix adds director's commentary option to House of Cards season one
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/hpeuLwvLlio/
Video Syndication Startup Vidible Raises $3.35M Round Led By Greycroft
Vidible, a startup connecting buyers and sellers of video content, is confirming that it has raised a $3.35 million Series A led by Greycroft Partners.
The round was first revealed in a regulatory filing in late December, but the company is only confirming the news and sharing details now. In addition to Greycroft, IDG also participated in the new funding, according Vidible co-founder and President Tim Mahlman (pictured).
Mahlman give me a quick demo of the product. He said that the current methods of syndicating videos are “archaic,” with publishers usually forced to look through unsorted Media RSS feed, and with very little control or transparency. With Vidible, on the other hand, content buyers can search for different kinds of videos, or they can just include the Vidible tag on their site and relevant videos will be played automatically. The content creators, meanwhile, have control over where their videos get played, and both sides have access to analytics.
Greycroft’s John Elton argued that Vidible is taking advantage of three broad trends — the growth in video consumption, the “increasing demand from content sites for video,” and the “increasing demand from advertisers for video impressions.” When asked if he thinks we’ll see an increasing number of sites syndicating videos created by others, rather than creating the videos themselves, he noted that most newspaper companies (for example) didn’t create TV channels either, “So why do we think they’re going to be able to do that for online video?”
“I think it’s a new medium,” Elton added. “There are people that do it very well, that are looking for more distribution, and there are publishers looking for content that’s appropriate for their site.”
He also said that he’s impressed by Vidible’s focus on monetization. The content buyer pays a set rate based on impressions, then they can either run their own ads with the videos or run ads from one of Vidible’s network partners.
Mahlman and his co-founder/CEO Michael Hyman both have ad tech experience (Hyman’s company Oggifinogi was acquired by Collective, while Mahlman has held positions at companies like Turn and BlueLithium), and apparently they’ve been working on Vidible for the past year. Mahlman said the beta version of the product launched over the summer, with 100 video providers now signed up and more than 1 billion impressions served each month.
“We’ve been focused on R&D until now,” Mahlman said. “Now it’s a matter of building out the business arm.”
He added that Vidible is also looking to expand internationally.
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/yt0v3xbYbwE/
NSA wants to make a quantum computer that cracks tough encryption
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/erFmDHr9JXc/
Researchers turn to Twitter in the search for time travelers
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/sKjuukSemHo/
BlackBerry Files Lawsuit Against Seacrest’s Typo Keyboard Startup For Having Keys
Blackberry has today filed a lawsuit against startup Typo Keyboards, which is backed by Ryan Seacrest. The company alleges that Typo copied BlackBerry’s patented ‘iconic’ keyboard design.
“We are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, but we will not tolerate such activity without fair compensation for using our intellectual property and our technological innovations,” Steve Zipperstein, BlackBerry’s General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, said in a statement today.
Seacrest invested $1M in the accessory, which encloses an iPhone in a case with a keyboard attached to the bottom half. The keyboard covers the iPhone’s home button but offers an alternate home button on the bottom right corner.
BlackBerry says that the Typo Keyboard violates its intellectual property rights, and that it will protect those rights from “blatant copying and infringement.”
“BlackBerry’s iconic physical keyboard designs have been recognized by the press and the public as a significant market differentiator for its mobile handheld devices,” the statement concludes.
The design certainly bears some resemblance to BlackBerry’s signature rounded-corner keys and sloped corner design — right down to the placement of the back and return buttons. But one has does have to wonder how many ways you can arrange keys on a keyboard.
Here’s the BlackBerry Q10 keyboard:
And here’s the Typo keyboard accessory:
Either way, BlackBerry’s death rattle is unlikely to be slowed by its new strategy of ‘get money from Seacrest‘.
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/MzMXGofDUCc/
BlackBerry sues Typo over its familiar-looking iPhone keyboard
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2_PTmrGyC6I/
3D Systems buys company behind Star Wars, Hobbit and Harry Potter models
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/C5dySERID6k/
Engadget's CES 2014 preview
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/KvWScd2Bl4g/
Anki Drive update offers new upgrades and weapons for its robotic slot cars
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/iCGcsoCzwRM/
BBM beta for Android gets Channels and voice chat
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/zd_-MM_DVJ8/
YouTube Takes the Plunge to 4K — But There's a Catch
via Tech http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/mashable/tech/~3/fhxD-H9TuLE/
Sinister gamepad hopes to replace PC gamers' keyboards, leaves the mouse (hands-on)
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/zkzqjnb3NPc/
Tobii and SteelSeries team up to launch eye-tracking game controller
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/hjJ6mNHmTLk/
Ford to offer free SYNC AppLink upgrade to current owners this year
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/37ePKW2k4lk/
Basis intros 'Carbon Steel Edition' fitness band with improved design; old model drops to $179
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/mq_TjzScVYE/
Pico de actividad las Cuadrántidas de 2014
Quadrantid-2, una cuadrántida de 2013 por Rocky Raybell
Las Cuadrántidas con la primera lluvia de estrellas del año, y tienen la peculiaridad de que su máximo de actividad apenas dura unas horas, no como en el caso de otras lluvias de estrellas en las que este puede durar varios dÃas alrededor del pico máximo.
Este año se prevé que el pico de actividad de las Cuadrántidas de 2014 ocurra a las 19:30 UTC del 3 de enero, con lo que esta es la noche para intentar observarlas.
Ayuda que la Luna sea casi nueva, con lo que no molestará mucho, aunque claro, queda el problema de las condiciones meteorológicas.
Las Cuadrántidas reciben su nombre de Quadrans Muralis, una constelación que no consiguió ser incluida en la lista oficial que maneja la Unión Astronómica Internacional desde 1930 y que es la zona del cielo de la que parecen venir; se corresponde con un lugar situado entre las constelaciones del Boyero y la del Dragón.
Si no sabes localizar estas constelaciones tampoco pasa nada, ya que en realidad una lluvia de estrellas puede verse mirando para cualquier sitio ya que una vez que entran en la atmósfera los restos que las causan pueden ir en cualquier dirección, aunque siempre puedes usar aplicaciones como Stellarium o SkySafari para localizar las constelaciones en cuestión.
En el caso de las Cuadrántidas se cree que su origen son los restos del planeta menor 2003 EH1, que se cree que a su vez puede haber sido antes el cometa C/1490 Y1, observado por astrónomos chinos, japoneses y coreanos en el siglo XV.
Y ya sabes, si decides salir a intentar verlas abrÃgate y si acaso lleva contigo alguna bebida caliente.
via Microsiervos http://www.microsiervos.com/archivo/ciencia/pico-actividad-cuadrantidas-2014.html
Kiwi Puts Its All-Purpose Wearable Up For Pre-Order, Aims To Be Everything To Everyone
We’ve spoken to the folks from Kiwi Wearables before: Back in September we caught up with them at the Disrupt SF Hackathon, when they were preparing their platform and demonstrated what it could do with a sensor-laden prototype used as a gesture-based musical instrument. Now, Kiwi is ready to unveil its hardware, and make it available to consumers for pre-order.
The Kiwi Move is the product of its work to date, a small 1.6″ by 1.2″ gadget that’s only 0.35″ thick and weighs just a single ounce, but that contains an ARM Cortex M4 chip, a Bluetooth LE radio and 802.11b/g antenna, as well as an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, barometer and thermometer. It has 2GB of onboard storage, and can last 4 hours streaming data constantly, or 5 days under normal, periodic use. There’s an LED for displaying light-based notifications, and it ships with four native apps, plus a basic programming tool, and plug-in support for other devices.
I spoke with Kiwi co-founder Ali Nawab and Ashley Beattie about the device and their goals with the campaign, which kicks off today and runs through the next couple of months. Pre-order pricing for the Kiwi Move is $99, but they’ll be more than that once the campaign ends. The team is looking to ship in July, 2014 if everything goes according to plan, and they tell me they’ve already seeded developer devices, worked out supply chain issues and even begun FCC testing (which is going very well) so they anticipate being able to meet their schedule.
The Kiwi Move ships with apps to begin with to prove to consumers its usefulness, though it’s designed to be used as a stepping off point for developer ambitions. Eventually, Kiwi will have an app ecosystem with developer partners, but off the shelf, it provides Kiwi Move (which does activity and movement tracking), Kiwi Voice (for recording voice notes locally and for voice-powered input on their connected devices), Kiwi Ingishts (metrics tied to activity and motion tracking) and Kiwi Gesture (a way to use the device as a motion controller for connected home devices or other device input).
There’s also support for third-party plugins, so that you can use it with Pebble, Philips Hue, Google Glass and apps including Strava and Run Keeper, as well as ‘When/Do,’ a basic user-oriented simple programming platform that lets people create their own actions with “if this, then that” style language to set the Kiwi Move to take steps when it detects specific contexts. It’s a way to make the many different functions Kiwi’s hardware is capable of work together in tandem with a minimum of user input.
I asked both Nawab and Beattie about the risks of trying to do too much when every wearable device so far has been relatively niche, but they argued the versatility of Kiwi Move is its greatest strength, rather than something that could potentially confuse their target audience. They say that they’ve made sure to present the Kiwi Move as something usable out of the box, and minimized talk of sensors and technical details. It’s a launch aimed specifically at users, and while developers will also be key to its success, it’s interesting to see a startup that wants to be a platform take this tack at this stage in their evolution.
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/u-Zc5Jcp7UQ/
Un reloj para percibir el tiempo
Durr es el nombre de esta especie de peculiar «reloj» creado por los dos socios noruegos de Skrekkøgle. Con aspecto de reloj de muñeca vibra cada 5 minutos. Es todo lo que hace.
DecÃa alguien aquello de que el tiempo es relativo porque una hora con una chica simpática pueden parecer cinco minutos y en cambio cinco minutos sentado sobre un horno ardiente toda una eternidad. La idea tras Durr es experimentar personalmente con el paso del tiempo, «notándolo» de forma más fÃsica y cercana que con un reloj normal y corriente – que normalmente podemos olvidar mirar.
Los venden a 90 euros y es una edición limitada de 50 unidades, asà que ya han hecho un negociete.
(VÃa Wired.)
via Microsiervos http://www.microsiervos.com/archivo/gadgets/reloj-percebir-tiempo.html
Super Bowl XXVIII will be streamed for free on Fox Sports website and app
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/s-ED4HiBIDc/
Spredfast Raises $32.5M For The “Third Wave” In Social Marketing
Social marketing company Spredfast is announcing that it has raised $32.5 million in Series D funding.
The round was led by Lead Edge Capital with participation from Austin Ventures, InterWest Partners, and OpenView Partners. The company has now raised more than $60 million.
Spredfast was founded back in 2008, and CEO Rod Favaron acknowledged that the social media landscape has changed dramatically since then. He said the first group of products was focused on social media “listening” and aggregating comments about a company. The second wave consisted of social publishing tools and agencies like Buddy Media and Vitrue, which were “acquired en masse.”
Favaron argued that Spredfast is really part of a third wave: “The whole time, what we’ve been focused on, we don’t think social is about building another web page for your company. It’s about having conversations with people who care about your brand.” For Spredfast, among other things, that means building a product that allows a larger group of people across the entire company to get involved in social media efforts, rather than a small, isolated team. (Features include audience targeting, social filters, shared calendars, and integration with other products for web analytics, social listening, ad optimization, and more.)
The company says it works with more then 300 brands including General Mills, AT&T, and REI. The average customer has nearly 120 employees who are managing the social presence of “40 brands or initiatives across 200 accounts.” In addition to continued product development, Favaron said his goals for 2014 include international growth — he said that while Spredfast has customers in more than 20 companies, the team is entirely US-based, and that’s going to change.
Favaron also suggested that the social marketing industry still has a lot of room to grow, and it sounds like he wants to keep Spredfast as an independent company to take advantage of that growth.
“We wouldn’t go raise if we were thinking short term,” he said. “We’re obviously thinking long term.”
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/75ipNERsSno/
DreamWorks to launch Android 'DreamTab' with original content this spring
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Q6M0tkRuNX0/
Acer announces new 7 and 7.9-inch Iconia tablets for $130 and up
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/gsbtCymFJtA/
LG's bringing Ultra HD OLED TVs in more sizes to CES, ramping up production
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/NZrIOS05gZI/
5 Alternatives to Releasing Your Email Address Publicly
via Tech http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/mashable/tech/~3/6elBfEyxW0Q/
Kanex Multi-Sync: asà deberÃan funcionar todos los teclados
Un teclado para dominarlos a todos…
El teclado Kanex Multi-Sync funciona como deberÃan funcionar todos los teclados: con tres botones que lo conectan instantáneamente con cada uno de los dispositivos que tengas encima de la mesa, ya sean ordenadores, tabletas o teléfonos (mediante Bluetooth).
Sólo podrÃa haber algo mejor que es que se conectara automágicamente al dispositivo al que estés mirando, algo que se podrÃa conseguir con software en las cámaras frontales de cada equipo… Pero bueno, todo se andará.
Además, su precio es más que razonable, unos 50-70 dólares, aunque no parece venderse en España.
(VÃa Hi-Compsumtion.)
via Microsiervos http://www.microsiervos.com/archivo/gadgets/kanex-multi-sync-teclado.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)