Group items tagged

“copyright extremism” – a term he used to describe extended delays in content distribution, which often result in content reaching foreign markets months after it is released in the United States.

Essentially, “extremism” is another way of saying that piracy is more a business model problem than a policy problem. 

The strategy of windowing has long been practiced because it is believed to maximize revenue opportunities for a given film.  By giving successive distribution channels exclusive rights to the work, a film distributor aims to extract maximum revenues from licensees in each channel.

Amazon-owned Audible announced a new service called Channels today, one that differs from its typical audiobook business in offering more bite-size content from original content producers, as well as recordings of news stores from NYT, WSJ, The Washington Post and others. The original programming will be rolling out over time, covering comedy, investigatory journalism (think Serial) and talk shows – which is really Amazon applying the Netflix/Prime Originals model to audio content.

The potential Amazon and Audible sees in Channels is the same potential that many others have been picking up on in podcasts. Podcasts present a way to provide multi-genre, opt-in entertainment to consumers with relatively low cost of entry, and unlike most other types of media, it can be consumed concurrent with other activities.

Google’s YouTube Kids app, which offers a walled garden of content aimed at the 5-and-under set, is the target of a coalition of consumer groups urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the service as a potential violation of rules about advertising to children

“Many of the video segments endorsing toys, candy and other products that appear to be ‘user-generated’ have undisclosed relationships with product manufacturers in v

iolation of the FTC’s guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising,

The in-app checkout allows consumers to tap a shoppable product tag in a post, select product details like sizing and coloring prior to clicking a "Checkout on Instagram" button, and enter their payment and shipping information to complete the purchase, all without leaving the app.

By allowing consumers to check out right on Instagram, brands and retailers may be able to inspire more impulse purchases because consumers won't have to go through a laborious checkout process where they might get frustrated or just change their mind about the product.

High-profile mobile money launches by Apple and Samsung may have caught the headlines

But it is the developments in payments systems in supposedly less developed nations in Africa and Asia that point the way to the probable future for wider mobile banking.

the reality remains that the mobile phone as a means of payment remains relatively niche even in developed markets.

AMC Theaters issued a statement on Twitter saying that due to the negative response, it will not proceed with the plan to allow cellphones inside its theaters: "With your advice in hand, there will be NO TEXTING ALLOWED in any of the auditoriums at AMC Theaters. Not today, not tomorrow and not in the foreseeable future."

"When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don't ruin the movie, they hear 'please cut off your left arm above the elbow,'" Aron told Variety. "You can't tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That's not how they live their life ...

and one way would be taking "specific auditoriums and make them more texting friendly." 

. The future of identity lies in digitizing the physical world, and the context in which we collect data about identity needs to become transparent.

Will consumers understand that better identity data equals higher-quality messaging to them throughout their lives? Context will allow us to exchange value better and build deeper networks in physical world data collection.

We need better systems to understand and provide access to individuals’ identity by service and by object

The popularity of wearable health trackers, such as Fitbit, Jawbone UP, and Nike FuelBand, have created a problem

Hardly anyone has developed algorithms that derive actionable insights from the data that your body generates, and the dashboards are separate

Samsung is not planning to release a wearable health monitor to consumers, but expects other developers to build on the reference design shown today.

Google хочет использовать радиолокацию, чтобы усовершенствовать процесс поиска данных в интернете

Радары в данном случае используются для распознавания жестов и других физиологических данных пользователя.

Still, most parenting wisdom continues to portray television as an evil mind-rotting demon. The fear of ‘screen time’ is so deeply ingrained in our collective imagination that an irrational opposition between outdoor play and media consumption is taken for granted. Many parents believe the choice is either/or: indoors or out.

most storytelling is interactive. We consume most of our media through internet connected devices. And technology is so adept at providing ‘adaptive feedback’ that it proves to be an exceptionally effective teaching tool. In fact, a recent SRI study shows that game based learning can boost cognitive learning for students sitting on the median by 12%.

Joint media engagement refers to spontaneous and designed experiences of people using media together, and can happen anywhere and at any time when there are multiple people interacting together with digital and traditional media.

Sociologists from Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), avoid using the term “middle-class”, explaining that a mechanical transfer of terms used in most developed countries standards only distorts the picture. Other researchers claim that if the middle-class does not exceed 25%-30 % of the population (the highest figures obtained for Russia), it is useless to discuss the phenomenon, since this figure is around 60% and over in developed societies! It is not just a matter of statistics; it means quality difference for middle-class role in society in general and its consumer aspect in particular.

‘The Russian middle-class is growing not due to entrepreneurs and people from free business, but due to government employees or state corporations. Furthermore, gradually this tendency is becoming more vivid and changing the mentality of what the middle-class is

Microsoft Hyperlapse is a new technology that creates smooth and stabilized time lapses from first-person videos.

you can time lapse those experiences, distilling them into easily consumable, enjoyable experiences.

Microsoft’s own virtual assistant Cortana, aim to help pave the way for the future of communication, productivity, and interactions with businesses and brands.

In Skype, the company showed off rich Cortana integration which put the assistant directly into the app where she could help users do things like identify the persons, places and things in your messages, underline them, and then display more info in a card-like interface when clicked.

She is also able to help you perform a variety of tasks, like adding items to your calendar, booking travel or hotel rooms, or even pre-populating conversations to friends with text.

Micromanufacturing is the manufacturing of products in small quantities using small manufacturing facilities

In a perfect positive feedback loop that invariably forms around emerging technologies, SMT machines, reflow ovens and other necessary components of electronic board production will become smaller and cheaper, then cheaper still as they get even smaller.

Digikey is like Amazon and Wikipedia rolled into one

Consumers have more digital media options than ever, and most are finding what they want. But many are becoming frustrated by the complexity and effort piecing together their entertainment experience requires.

While consumers appreciate the freedom to customize their entertainment experiences, they don’t enjoy the friction—the hassles, responsibilities, and even vulnerabilities—that can result from choosing options à la carte.

They’re the greatest generation — of couch potatoes.

A growing number of 18- to-34-year-olds, the world’s largest age group, prefer to unwind by staying in, watching Netflix and ordering Seamless, rather than by getting down at a club or bellying up to a bar.

on average, millennials stream 2.7 hours of TV shows a day, while the earlier generation, Gen X, does about 1.8 hours.

taking these technologies out of the lab and into people’s everyday lives.

we're able to program physical objects to be intelligent, adapt and interact with their surroundings, and to surprise people with what is possible.

a video game programmed for the real world, is the first step for us and demonstrates what’s possible with Anki technology.