Would You Pay For Ad-Free YouTube?

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5988632/would-you-pay-for-ad+free-youtube

Reports from both Fortune and The Guardian indicate that Google is planning to start a subscription music service like Spotify soon. But the craziest little nugget buried in the reports: YouTube might be getting an ad-free option. Imagine no more Vevo ads. Hello, holy grail.

Fortune seems convinced that YouTube—and not the Google Music storage locker—will be the home of the purported forthcoming music service. A subscription to the streaming music would come with the added benefit of ad-free YouTube. We don't know exactly what shape a future service would take, but YouTube, which is owned by Google, did confirm that it's looking into subscriptions as a source of revenue.

But given how annoying YouTube ads are, here's the question: would you pay not to watch them like you pay for ad-free Pandora? How much? [Fortune and The Guardian]

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DigitalOptics' fast MEMS camera enables Lytro-like post-capture refocus (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/05/digitaloptics-mems-cam/

Tech shows like CES and MWC are great for taking a peek at what's coming up in the world of consumer electronics, even down to the component level. At the latter show this year, we came across DigitalOptics whose name may not sound familiar, but you may already be using its HDR, red eye removal, face tracking, face beautification and other related technologies on many phones (like Oppo's) and cameras (sorry, not allowed to name them here). Now, this year the company will also be offering its MEMS (microelectromechanical system) lens actuator which, compared to its traditional voice coil counterpart, is apparently more reliable, longer lasting, more efficient and faster with a 10ms settling time instead of the usual 20 to 25ms.

Filed under: Misc

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Fortune: YouTube music streaming service launching this year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/05/youtube-music/

We've been hearing rumblings about Google's plans for a Spotify-killer for what seems like forever now. More recently, there's been word that the company's YouTube brand is also getting set set to enter the space, albeit with some overlap from a Google-branded effort. Fortune spoke to some anonymous-type folks in the record industry who confirmed the latter, adding that the service is set to launch this year. The offering will apparently give users some free streaming, with additional features being made available for a subscription fee. The site reached out to YouTube, who offered the following bit of hopeful non-commitment:

While we don't comment on rumor or speculation, there are some content creators that think they would benefit from a subscription revenue stream in addition to ads, so we're looking at that.

So, you know, stay tuned.

Filed under: Software, Google

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Source: Fortune

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Evernote plans two-factor authentication following last week's hack

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/05/evernote-two-factor-authentication/

In a move that's often more reactive than proactive these days, Evernote has shared plans to add two-factor authentication to its login process. This latest announcement follows last week's hacking attack and subsequent site-wide password reset, and will be available to all of the site's 50 million users beginning later this year, according to an InformationWeek report. It's too early to say exactly how the Evernote team plans to implement the new security feature, whether through a dedicated app or text message password, but given the service's scale, we can likely count out a hardware fob option, at least. For now, your best course of action is to create a secure password, or, if you're especially paranoid, you may consider delaying your return until the security boost is in place.

Filed under: Software

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Source: InformationWeek

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Microsoft ViralSearch project visualizes content as it spreads across Twitter

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/05/microsoft-viralsearch-project-visualizes-content-as-it-spreads-a/

It's not a new component of Bing (not yet, anyway), but Microsoft has taken the wraps off a new small-scale search project at its TechFest event this week -- one with a particular focus on so-called viral content. Appropriately dubbed ViralSearch, the effort from Microsoft Research currently uses Twitter as a source for all its data, and offers a variety of ways to track and visualize how a story, photo or video spreads from one outlet or individual to hundreds or thousands of others. That includes a profile view of sorts, which lets you see how influential a particular person was in spreading an item, and how prolific they are in general. Unfortunately, it is still just a research project so you can't try it out yourself just yet, and there's no word on any plans for it to become a commercial product. In the meantime, you can get a quick overview of how it works in the video after the break.

Filed under: Internet, Microsoft

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Via: The Verge

Source: Microsoft Research

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