Tag: the-end

Netflix keeps its lead in streaming video use at home, YouTube rules the road

When we last checked in with Sandvine’s stat trackers, Netflix reigned supreme in online video traffic at home, especially downstream. It’s still sitting pretty several months later, Sandvine tells AllThingsD . Quite possibly helped by the House of Cards debut , Netflix kept a healthy lead at 32.3 percent of downstream use on wired networks this past March. That’s no mean feat when some of its competition took big strides forward — YouTube jumped up to 17.1 percent, and Hulu likely rode sweeps season to get 2.4 percent. In mobile, it’s a different story. Netflix use on cellular almost doubled to 4 percent, but YouTube kept an uncontested lead at 27.3 percent of downstream use. It’s not hard to see why after looking at other video formats people prefer on the road: raw HTTP video (19.2 percent) and Facebook (8.6 percent) were the next-closest, which suggests that many still grab snack-sized videos on their phones instead of full movies or TV shows. We don’t expect the status quo to budge much in the near future, whether it’s on mobile or a fixed-line. Without major initiatives from veterans or the arrival of a new upstart, it isn’t clear just what would rock the boat. Filed under: Home Entertainment , Internet , HD , Google , Facebook Comments Via: AllThingsD Source: Sandvine

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Netflix keeps its lead in streaming video use at home, YouTube rules the road

Microsoft drops the Blue codename, confirms Windows 8.1 will be a free upgrade available later this year

One of the worst kept secrets rattling around Microsoft’s campus is Windows Blue , the forthcoming update to Windows 8 that addresses users’ bugbears about the OS. Now, Microsoft is officially rechristening the platform, and with a more staid name: Windows 8.1. Tami Reller, the CMO and CFO of Microsoft’s Windows Division made the big reveal during JP Morgan’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. The upgrade will be free and available from the home screen when it launches, while a preview version will be opened up to the public on June 26th at the beginning of Build 2013 . Unfortunately, Reller wouldn’t get any more specific about a formal release date, saying simply that it will be delivered “later in the calendar year.” The only clarification she would offer is, “we know when the holidays are.” As anticipated, the Windows 8.1 update will come to both the full version of the OS as well as the ARM-friendly RT. While we haven’t officially seen any sub-10-inch slates announced yet, it’s been rumored that 8.1 would enable smaller devices. Reller’s comments only backed up those expectations, when she suggested that Windows 8 is great for everything from “the smallest tablets ” to desktops. Filed under: Software , Microsoft Comments

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Microsoft drops the Blue codename, confirms Windows 8.1 will be a free upgrade available later this year

Sony reveals prototype 13.3-inch e-ink slate with stylus, aims to put it in students’ bags

Sony’s no stranger to the odd e-ink device , but its latest prototype creation isn’t targeted at the bookworm, it’s intended to educate. The e-paper slate is quite a lot bigger than most tablets, let alone e-readers, sporting a 13.3-inch screen (1,200 x 1,600) to match the standard A4 size of normal, boring paper. That display is also an electromagnetic induction touchscreen for poking at menus and scrolling, but more importantly, it supports stylus input for scrawling notes and annotating PDFs (the only file format it currently supports). The prototype device is also only 6.8mm (0.27 inch) thick and weighs 385g (13.6 ounces) — perfect for slipping into school bags. There’s 4GB of on-board storage (with a microSD slot to increase that) and WiFi, which Sony plans to use for sharing notes with those who didn’t make it to class on time. With WiFi off, the rechargeable battery inside is expected to last for three weeks of solid learning. These specs are for the prototype, of course, so after the late-2013 field trials at three Japanese universities, we might see some revisions before commercialization goes ahead sometime during the 2013 fiscal year. Filed under: Sony Comments Source: Sony (Japanese)

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Sony reveals prototype 13.3-inch e-ink slate with stylus, aims to put it in students’ bags

University of Georgia stops plant photosynthesis to generate solar power

There’s a more efficient way to harvest energy from the backyard than by wiring up hapless critters . Researchers at the University of Georgia have proof: they’ve discovered a way to generate electricity from plants through hijacking the photosynthesis process. By altering the proteins inside a plant cell’s thylakoids, which store solar energy, scientists can intercept electrons through a carbon nanotube backing that draws them away before they’re used to make sugar . While the resulting power isn’t phenomenal, it’s still two orders of magnitude better than previous methods, according to the university. The protein modification method may have a rosier future, as well: the team believes that it could eventually compete with solar cells, producing green energy in a very literal sense. Filed under: Science , Alt Comments Via: Gizmag Source: RSC Publishing , University of Georgia

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University of Georgia stops plant photosynthesis to generate solar power

BlueStacks takes on OUYA with Android-powered GamePop game console (video)

So you want a console for free, eh? BlueStacks is apparently prepared to offer you just that in its GamePop game console, which costs nothing for the month of May with a one-year subscription to the service (wouldn’t you know it, that costs $93.83 — just below the price of an OUYA at retail ). Like its counterparts, the GamePop is powered by Android (4.2) and runs mostly mobile games. The company isn’t sharing specs just yet, sadly. BlueStacks is promising “over 500” games, and has some top mobile devs offering credence with in testimonial. “We’ve been a featured partner in App Player since early on and they’ve delivered on every promise in terms of distribution,” Fruit Ninja studio head Shainiel Deo said, referencing BlueStacks’ App Player software . “GamePop is a great incremental channel for us.” Since games won’t be bought, but included in the subscription, devs receive a 50 percent cut of subscription revenue, determined by how often users play their games. Should you be interested in getting in early, pre-orders are now open at the GamePop website; we’ve also included an intro video from BlueStacks just below. Filed under: Gaming , HD Comments Source: GamePop.tv

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BlueStacks takes on OUYA with Android-powered GamePop game console (video)

BlueStacks takes on OUYA with Android-powered GamePop game console

So you want a console for free, eh? BlueStacks is apparently prepared to offer you just that in its GamePop game console, which costs nothing for the month of May with a one-year subscription to the service (wouldn’t you know it, that costs $93.83 — just below the price of an OUYA at retail ). Like its counterparts, the GamePop is powered by Android (4.2) and runs mostly mobile games. The company isn’t sharing specs just yet, sadly. BlueStacks is promising “over 500” games, and has some top mobile devs offering credence with in testimonial. “We’ve been a featured partner in App Player since early on and they’ve delivered on every promise in terms of distribution,” Fruit Ninja studio head Shainiel Deo said, referencing BlueStacks’ App Player software . “GamePop is a great incremental channel for us.” Since games won’t be bought, but included in the subscription, devs receive a 50 percent cut of subscription revenue, determined by how often users play their games. Should you be interested in getting in early, pre-orders are now open at the GamePop website. Filed under: Gaming , HD Comments Source: GamePop.tv

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BlueStacks takes on OUYA with Android-powered GamePop game console

Roku can now tell you how to get, how to get to Sesame Street with new PBS channels

Big Bird (or “Big Yellah,” as we like to call him) and his Sesame Street cohorts are now available for streaming on your Roku box. Not just that, but his non-avian colleagues from PBS and PBS Kids are also making the trip, arriving today in new PBS and PBS Kids Roku channels. The two new channels offer more than the on-demand access to PBS programming you’d expect; PBS Digital Studios’ work is also available to stream (we’re quite fond of it , if you couldn’t tell). While it’s not 100 percent clear what exactly is available at any given time, PBS’ announcement says “hundreds of videos” can be accessed, which are pulled from the archives, from national and local daily programming, and include biggies like NOVA , Frontline , and American Experience (it stands to reason that heavy hitter Downtown Abbey won’t be available, given its exclusive license with Amazon starting next month). PBS Kids is similarly well-stocked, with “more than 1,000 videos,” which includes everything from Curious George to, yes, Sesame Street . There’s a short teaser video of the service being used just below the break, should you not be able to contain yourself until you get home. Update: According to Roku, not all Roku players support the new PBS channels. “Both PBS and PBS Kids are available immediately for all Roku 3, Roku 2, Roku LT, new Roku HD players and the Roku Streaming Stick in the US,” the company says. Heads up! Filed under: Home Entertainment , Science , HD Comments Source: Roku

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Roku can now tell you how to get, how to get to Sesame Street with new PBS channels

Microsoft Office Web Apps to receive real-time collaboration, Android support

Ballmer and Co. have just laid out what changes Office Web Apps will see over the next year and beyond, and it’s honing in on social features and more. Sure, the productivity suite already has collaborative document editing, but Microsoft is vowing to include real-time collaboration á la Google Drive , where users can see who’s currently working on a document while changes appear on the fly. The PowerPoint Web App is already packing the revamped experience, and the Office team promises that the real-time co-authoring will become faster as time goes on. The OS titan also says it’ll incorporate a range of other improvements, including simplified file management, shortening launch times and even a find and replace feature for the Word Web App. In addition to the tweaks, Microsoft revealed that Android tablets will finally be able to access its online suite of tools, as it’ll begin supporting the mobile Chrome browser . The firm’s given itself the loose timetable of “over the next year and beyond” for the feature rollout, so avid users should sit tight for now. Filed under: Software , Microsoft Comments Source: Office 365 Blog (Microsoft)

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Microsoft Office Web Apps to receive real-time collaboration, Android support

Los Alamos National Lab has had quantum-encrypted internet for over two years

Nothing locks down data better than a laser-based quantum-encrypted network, where the mere act of looking at your data causes it to irrevocably change. Although such systems already exist, they’re limited to point-to-point data transfers since a router would kill the message it’s trying to pass along just by reading it. However, Los Alamos National Labs has been testing an in-house quantum network, complete with a hub and spoke system that gets around the problem thanks to a type of quantum router at each node. Messages are converted at those junctures to conventional bits, then reconverted into a new encrypted message, which can be securely sent to the next node, and so on. The researchers say it’s been running in the lab for the last two and a half years with few issues, though there’s still a security hole — it lacks quantum integrity at the central hub where the data’s reconverted, unlike a pure quantum network. However, the hardware would be relatively simple to integrate into any fiber-connected device, like a TV set-top box, and is still more secure than any current system — and infinitely better than the 8-character WiFi code you’re using now. Filed under: Science , Internet , Alt Comments Source: Cornell University Library

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Los Alamos National Lab has had quantum-encrypted internet for over two years

Financial Times: YouTube is close to launching paid-subscription channels

YouTube has been making its own space on multiple entertainment services for a while, but according to a report from the Financial Times , it’s now on the cusp of revealing its own subscription services for some of its specialist video channels. Rumored for several months, according to the FT ‘s unnamed sources it will include up to 50 different channels, with subscription pricing starting at “as little as $1.99 a month.” Google has already followed up, saying it had nothing to announce just yet, but that it was investigating “a subscription platform that could bring even more great content to YouTube .” Filed under: Home Entertainment , Internet , HD , Google Comments Via: Gizmodo Source: Financial Times (subscription)

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Financial Times: YouTube is close to launching paid-subscription channels