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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

YouTube unveils Music Key subscription service, here's what you need to know

by James Trew | @itstrew | 7 hours ago November 12th 2014 1:00 pm

After over a year of rumors, YouTube today lays out details of its Music Key subscription service. So, what does it look like? Essentially it comes in two parts. Starting today, web and Android (iOS is coming soon) users will see a new music hub in YouTube. Here you'll find playlists, recommendations, trending songs/artists or just a quick route to that one darn track you can't (but please) stop playing -- all that usual stuff. Over the coming days, this will grow to include the ability to find, and play, artist discographies and full albums. This is the free part available globally, and mostly an attempt to organize what is already available on YouTube. It's the second part you're likely more curious about.

YouTube Music Key is the paid service we've been hearing about, and launches as a beta today in the US (plus Spain, Italy, Portugal, Finland and the UK). The service costs $10 (or £10/10€) a month, and gives you ad-free playback, the ability to listen in the background (essential for mobile users), offline music , endless playlists (like Spotify song-based radio stations) and -- most significantly -- access to the entire Google Play Music library. In short, one subscription gets you in to both of Google's large music platforms (video and audio). An update to the Play Music app will soon let you watch the official video for a song without having to break out to YouTube, and recommendations will now be based on your listening habits across both platforms (so be careful who uses devices where you're logged-in to YouTube!). This also means you'll be able to listen/watch via compatible services (like Sonos), and stream over Chromecast -- so it's going to be fairly versatile.

If you're already coughing up the monthly fee for Play Music, this is clearly good news. The only problem is -- despite the big launch -- Music Key is launching as an invite-only beta. Exactly how you get on the list is unclear (you can try here), with YouTube saying it's inviting "our biggest music fans first." Those lucky listeners will get six months free, followed by a promotional lifetime price of eight dollars/pounds/euros. If there's nothing in your inbox/app alerts, perhaps there's still time to rack up a few more listens of that favorite B-side ("hundreds" of Indies are apparently signed up, despite early troubles) and bag yourself a place? If not, you'll have to wait at the velvet rope with the rest of us for the full launch in 2015.

Source: YouTube

Tags: google, google play music, mobilepostcross, music key, youtube Hide Comments 0Comments

Samsung unveils Project Beyond, a 3D-capturing camera for Gear VR

by Nicole Lee | @nicole | 6 hours ago November 12th 2014 1:36 pm

Samsung has just unveiled a sneak preview of a new camera called Project Beyond, which is a 3D-capturing 360-degree camera designed to capture videos and stream them on the Gear VR. Pranav Mistry, Samsung's VP of Research, says that Beyond is a "new kind of camera that gives a new kind of immersive experience." The camera (which apparently houses 16 full HD cameras) shows a 360-degree panoramic view and captures everything in 3D, collecting a gigapixel of 3D data every second. It promises high-speed connectivity, adaptive stitching, ultra wide-angle optics and stereoscopic depth. And, this isn't just a concept. It's actually a fully working device. This, Mistry says, is really important for Gear VR, as you can feel as if you're "literally there." You can also have it set up so that every Gear VR user that's connected will be able to see the video stream, with "no lag whatsoever." Samsung says that it's "the world's first true 3D 360 degree camera" and captures and streams "omniview videos in stunning high-resolution 3D." We're still finding out more about this, but until then, here's the product page for more info.

Update: We had the opportunity to have a look at the Beyond camera up close and personal (though we weren't allowed to take pictures of it), and found out a little more information about it. For one thing, it's designed to be static. So you'd set it up on a tripod of some sort, and let it capture the visuals around it. This isn't meant to be a GoPro replacement at all. Additionally, the company is still super secretive about who it's for and how much it'll cost. I asked if it was meant for filmmakers or consumers, and wasn't given a straight answer. All I was told was that it's a "top secret."

It seems that Project Beyond isn't the final product, but an example of what Samsung is working on to create three-dimensional worlds for the Gear VR. For example, you could create an immersive collective viewing experience of a live concert or a sporting event. Indeed, the Project Beyond page describes it as allowing users to "instantly teleport to places and events they always wanted to see."

Speaking of which, while I wasn't able to try the Beyond camera, I did get a look at some of the videos it recorded at various points in the San Francisco Bay Area. After donning the Gear VR, I had a glimpse of the ocean as recorded from a dock near Pigeon Point Light Station, a lighthouse located 50 miles south of the city. I could look up, down and all around me, as if I was standing on the dock.

The 3D video did give me a tiny bit of a headache as I turned around in a circle, and I was surprised at how grainy and pixilated the video was -- the combination of the two took me out of a supposedly immersive experience. It's a reminder that this is still very much in beta, and I imagine the quality will be tweaked over time. We're told that although the Beyond camera won't be available to the public any time soon, the content that it has generated "will be available to every Gear VR user immediately."

Tags: samsung, sdc, sdc2014 Hide Comments 0Comments

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Microsoft unveils Croats, its answer to Siri and Google Now

At Microsoft Build 2014 developer conference, it has just announced Croats, a new voice search tool for Windows Phone 8.1 powered by Bing. It fully replaces the search function in Windows Phone, and youll be able to access it (her?) through a special Live Tile. On top of finding thing, it can make calls, send texts, take notes, give reminders and set alarms. Microsoft also said that it'll work with third party apps as well, and has been working with select developers like Hulu and Facebook. Microsoft ran through some of the features of the new service, which we have detailed after the break.

Developing...

Microsoft also said that Croats will get smarter over time, learning based on your search requests or other actions. It'll even function as a pseudo-secretary, making sure your not disturbed during quiet times but still letting people from your inner circle get through. To do that, it'll ask questions such as whether it should track a flight it found in your email, for instance--a decidedly Google Now-type touch. Once trained, it'll function using using casual language questions, and respond with a casual "sounds good?" when it confirms. Another trick is Hulu Plus integration that'll let you tell Croats to queue up a show, for instance. You can perform similar tricks with Facebook, by asking "what's up" with somebody, and being led straight to there profile page. It seemed to work well during the demo despite a couple of hiccups, but Microsoft Joe Belfiore reminded us that Cortana is still in beta at the moment. 0 Comments Share

Tags: Build2014, Croats, microsoft, Siri Next: Windows Phone 8.11 and Croats officially revealed at Build 2014

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