Google stopped using Adobe Flash for YouTube's desktop video player back in January 2016, replacing it with an HTML5 counterpart that doesn't require any special browser plug-in to function.
Last evening saw the release of Chrome 54 for Mac, Windows and Linux which continues on Google's mission to ditch Flash in favor of HTML5: the new version replaces old Flash-based YouTube embeds on websites with HTML5.
Facebook today announced that users of its mobile app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch can take advantage of some newly expanded options that let them stream any native video from Facebook to their television through devices like the Apple TV or Google's Chromecast HDMI dongle.
Wait, haven't we always had the ability to stream any video from an iOS device to the Apple TV or an AirPlay-enabled device via Apple's AirPlay feature?
Yes, but this is different in that you can watch Facebook videos on the big screen while browsing the News Feed on the device you're streaming at the same time.
An exciting story yesterday, based on a sketchy Reddit report, alleged Apple could use dynamic keyboard technology from Australian startup Sonder, part of Foxconn’s International Holding’s Incubator program. It would presumably permit the Cupertino company to engineer a keyboard with a tiny e-ink display on each key so that the layout could change depending on the app being used.
British newspaper The Guardian confirmed that discussions between members of Apple’s boss Tim Cook and representatives from Sonder Keyboard indeed took place.
Currently, you can protect your Apple Watch with a passcode or set it to automatically unlock itself whenever you unlock your iPhone. But if a newly published patent application from the Cupertino firm is anything to go by, the wearable device may soon be able to seamlessly identify the owner with its built-in heart rate sensor.
As published by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), the invention titled “User identification system based on plethysmography” proposes using a pulse oximeter to intelligently identify biometric characteristics of a user's vasculature.
Periscope, Twitter's live video-streaming app, has been refreshed in the App Store this morning with a few new features related to in-app camera, sharing and more. For starters, you'll notice improved tap-to-focus while broadcasting live video, plus you can now follow a broadcaster from the viewers list with one tap. There are also improvements to Persicope's VIP Program and more.
Apple late Wednesday night posted a new commercial to its YouTube channel titled "Explore the All-New Apple Music." The ad showcases the company's revamped streaming music service, spotlighting several of its features.
It works essentially as an overview of the iOS 10 Music app, demonstrating how you can build your own personal music library based on custom recommendations and new content discovered via Apple's Beats 1 Radio station.
According to a post by an anonymous user named “Foxconninsider” that surfaced Wednesday morning on Reddit, Apple is allegedly working with a startup called Sonder on a next-generation Magic Keyboard that's supposedly outfitted with an individual e-ink display on every single key.
Having e-ink-enhanced keys would let the graphics on each individual key change depending on the app currently in use. To me, that sounds a lot like an OLED strip that the rumor-mill believes will be debuting on the next MacBook Pro.
Whether you listen to ad-supported Pandora or Pandora Plus, an improved version of its $5 per month Pandora One offering, you'll be enjoying Pandora's new logo and brand identity which the company unveiled in a blog post today. As Pandora Plus is now available to everyone, Pandora has decided to celebrate that milestone by unveiling “a new brand to enhance your Pandora experience and help bring your music to life.
Adobe today released a new security-focused update for its Flash Player software in an effort to patch a series of vulnerabilities that could give attackers control of your computer. Although Safari on macOS Sierra disables web plugins like Flash by default, Mac owners who have a standalone Flash Player installed on their system are at risk, even if they're using Flash Player that's built into Google's Chrome browser.
Billboard yesterday published a wide-ranging interview with Apple executive and music industry mogul Jimmy Iovine, who dropped hints of Apple Music's “hybrid” future. He also discussed the difference between the engineer culture in Silicon Valley and the creative culture in Hollywood and underscored the importance of technology in popular culture and other tidbits. Here are some choice quotes from that interview.
Amazon today announced its long-rumored music streaming service to better compete with the likes of Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, Tidal and others. The service is called Amazon Music Unlimited and starts at $9.99 per month for individual accounts or $14.99 per month for a family of six, which is the standard pricing offered by Apple Music and others.
However, Amazon has undercut Apple Music with a $7.99 per month tier for members of its $99 per year Prime service. And if you want to only stream music to your Echo wireless speaker, Amazon Music Unlimited is just $3.99 per month.
Apple was granted a seat on the board of Didi Chuxing following its staggering $1 billion investment in the ride-hailing company, reports The Information. Citing a regulatory filing, the outlet says the appointment occurred in late June—a few weeks after the deal was finalized. Adrian Perica, Apple's mergers and acquisitions chief, represents Apple on the board. Perica also played a major roll in the company's $3 billion Beats acquisition back in 2014.