Posts
The following are the highlights of this week’s publications and newsletters,
TAYLOR SWIFT “COINCIDENTALLY” LAUNCHES APP AFTER PULLING MUSIC OFF SPOTIFY
Within one week of pulling of her music of Spotify, Taylor Swift partnered with American Express to launch a new app that promotes her latest album. Unstaged, an app that lets fans watch and interact with her latest music video apart from links links to purchase Swift’s “1989″ album and learn more about her 2015 world tour. In addition, there are links to other Unstaged-related content which is is a four-year-old concert film series sponsored by American Express. Read More>>
THE WEB IS DYING; APPS ARE KILLING IT
The Web that constitutes the Internet is under plight and the way it’s dying has higher implications than almost anything else technology has ever seen. The credit for the same goes to the mobile apps that have a fundamentally different function from the way the Web does.
Studies show that 86% of our time are spent in apps while just 14% is spent on the Web. Faster and easier to use – everything about apps feels like a win for users than what came before. But experts believe that underneath all that convenience is something sinister.Read More>>
OBAMA PUSHES FCC FOR NET NEUTRALITY, ANGERING ISPS
President Obama called on the FCC to develop the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality. It was recommended by the President that the agency reclassify broadband as a telecom service rather than an information service, a move that would be popular with consumers but unpopular with Internet service providers. This is also known as Title II or common carrier, which would give the FCC more authority over broadband providers than it has now. If the proposed approach goes into action, the President would likely face a huge fight from ISPs. Read More>>
NEW VIDEO-BASED SOCIAL NETWORK OCHO, BACKED BY MARK CUBAN, RAISES $1.65M
Ocho – a new video-based social network tailored specifically for iPhone users has found its undettered investors in Mark Cuban, Bill Lohse, and several others who are betting on the same although there is no shortage of video-snippet sharing services. The investors just helped Ocho raise $1.65 million in seed funding, which will be used to build out the service, and secure partnerships. Ocho allows users to capture eight-second videos. Presented as a news feed, Ocho videos can be ported across devices including Apple TV. Read More>>
COMPUTER EXPERTS PUSH SUPREME COURT TO HEAR GOOGLE’S APPEAL IN API COPYRIGHT CASE
The Supreme Court was urged to review a controversial ruling that allowed Oracle to claim copyright on APIs, which are an essential building block for many everyday software operations by a group of prominent computer scientists. The brief was filed in support of Google which lost earlier in May to Oracle, which sued the former for patent and copyright infringement over use of the Java APIs. Read More>>
Eight lawmakers from the United States are pressing NATO’s new secretary general to purchase French warships which are currently bound for Russia. They believe that France may incur a financial burden if they refuse to transfer these warships. Hence, a renewal has been proposed that NATO purchase or leases the warships as a common naval asset, which was instigated due to the Russian government actions. Read More>>
AFTER MARS, INDIA SPACE CHIEF AIMS FOR THE MOON
India decides to expand its horizon on low-budget missions to the moon and the sun after successfully becoming the first country in Asia to reach Mars. What sets the Indian space mission apart is the shoestring budget of achieving this feat, when its unnamed Mangalyaan spacecraft slipped into the Red Planet’s orbit after a 10-month journey. India ranks among the top six space-faring nations in technological capabilities – after the US, Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and China. Read More>>
“If we want to understand how the Earth was formed, then one of the things you need to know is what planet is made out of,” explains Frost, A scientist at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut in Germany. Frost’s research involves attempts to mimic the conditions of the Earth’s lower mantle. As part of this work, Frost has found some surprising ways to make diamonds – from carbon dioxide and a bizarre ingredient peanut butter. His institute is looking at whether they can make artificial diamonds with different properties; doping the diamonds with boron might make better semiconductors for electronics that don’t heat up with use, for instance– one of the biggest wastes of energy in electronics at the moment. Read More>>
DROPOFF WILL BUILD SAME-DAY DELIVERY RIGHT INTO YOUR BUSINESS
Dropoff is looking to revolutionize the courier industry with its new services. Dropoff offers a web and mobile dashboard that lets you book a courier anytime, review prices before you start, get reliable ETAs and then track the package as it’s moving. Despite the competition, Dropoff hopes that its dedication to focusing on businesses only, not consumers, and specializing in industries outside of the usual grocery delivery, will pay off. Read More>>