Category Archives: Tech

Major brands pull out of Youtube

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By Armando

It has not been a good week for Google lately. This week, major advertisers are pulling their products from appearing in Youtube over the issue of their ads appearing alongside undesirable content posted in the video-sharing platform.

Last Monday, Google apologized to ad clients for the video content fiasco, but that did not seem to stop the defections. By Friday, Starbucks, PepsiCo, and General Motors among others say they are suspending Google non-search ads. This follows several other companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson, Volkswagen and many others which have either pulled or suspended their ads earlier this week.

Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006, in what was seen by many as a risky investment. Since then YouTube has become the leading site for online video, and one of most visited sites on the internet alongside Google and Facebook. From professionally produced content to vapid home videos, the site runs the gamut of shared videos online.

YouTube now has over a billion users, almost one-third of all people on the Internet, and 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute, making the task of moderating ad placements daunting, near impossible from sheer volume of uploads alone.

In fairness to Google, the company seem to be addressing the issue directly, and is implementing new changes this week, including a new video verification process. Some might remember, Facebook also had it’s fixes and update on metrics and reporting late last year.

Advertising is one of the core businesses for Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company. Although a potential headache for Google, YouTube ads represents only a small fraction of Alphabet revenue. Last October, Susan Wojcicki, Youtube CEO said the video site is still in investment mode.

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CMT Exclusive: Interview with Vivek Maddala on Scoring for The Tom and Jerry Show

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By Elizabeth Walker

Vivek Maddala has written scores for numerous films, and studied jazz performance at the Berklee College of Music. One of his most recent projects has been writing for the Cartoon Network reboot of Tom and Jerry. I reached him by phone to discuss his latest project.

Elizabeth Walker: So is this your first time writing for animation?

Vivek Maddala: My first job writing for film was working for Turner Classic Movies. They were restoring old silent films from the 1920s. Back then, there was no score, because they didn’t have a way of synching music with the film, so I had to create the score. I did five or six of thosefor TCM, and they were not that difference from scoring for animation.

EW: How so?

VM: There is no dialogue between Tom and Jerry, and only a bit from the minor characters. As aresult, it is very visual, and the music has to convey a lot of the emotions. So I did my training for that by scoring the silent films.

EW: Interesting. So how were you approached for this particular project?

VM: On the silent films, I was fortunate enough to work with a tremendous recording and mix engineer – and a very talented musician in his own right – named Dan Blessinger. He was actually the one who recommended me for the Tom and Jerry gig.

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CGO Studios Announces Production on the Historical Virtual Reality Film Project “Everest ’53”

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BASED ON THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL ASCENT OF MOUNT EVEREST, NEPAL IN 1953 BY SIR EDMUND HILLARY AND TENZING NORGAY

The VR Experience will recreate one of greatest adventures of all time as New Zealand Mountaineer Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Mountaineer Tenzing Norgay conquer the highest mountain on Earth on May 29, 1953

From left to right: Alexander Hillary, Peter Hillary (grandson and son of Sir Edmund Hillary, respectively), Norbu Tenzing, and Jamling Tenzing Norgay (sons of Tenzing Norgay) at the motion capture session in Los Angeles at House of Moves.

HOLLYWOOD, CA – (February 2, 2017) CGO Studios is over a year into production on “Everest ’53,” the latest project on their production slate of historical “time-travel” VR experiences, announced Producer Jonah Hirsch, CEO and Founder of CGO Studios.

When CGO Studios announced its previous VR project “Anne”, about Anne Frank and the Secret Annex, the project received worldwide attention. Hirsch’s premiere VR film, “First,” about the Wright Brothers’ famous flight at Kitty Hawk, debuted at E3 and then later at Comic-Con in 2015, where it was named one of the Top 5 VR Experiences that year. Now, with “Everest ’53,” CGO Studios cements its status as the go-to studio for historically accurate cutting-edge VR content.

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Adobe Announces Major Updates to Technical Communication Solutions

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New Technical Communication Suite, Featuring Integration With Adobe Experience Manager, Enables Great Experiences Throughout the Customer Journey

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the 2017 release of Adobe Technical Communication Suite, the next-generation of its end-to-end technical content development toolkit. Technical Communication Suite enables companies to create, manage and publish standards-compliant, multilingual content for global audiences.

The latest version of the multichannel publishing toolkit enables writers, information developers and instructional designers to deliver discoverable, consumable and socially-enabled content to users on any device.

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IDC MarketScape Report Positions Canon as a Leader in High-Speed Production Inkjet Market

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MELVILLE, N.Y., December 1, 2016 – Offering a comprehensive portfolio of production printing devices, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is proud to announce that Canon has been named a leader in the high-speed inkjet press market, according to the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide High-Speed Inkjet Press 2016 Vendor Assessment (doc #US40331116, September 2016).

The IDC MarketScape report notes that a variety of factors have helped contribute to Canon’s success, including its robust lineup of production inkjet devices and a strong commitment to research and development.

The report details Canon’s ability to provide new solutions to the market based on different considerations for end-users. In 2015, Canon customers printed 69 billion pages in the United States and over 150 billion pages worldwide using Canon inkjet technology alone, cementing the Company’s reputation as a valuable player in this market segment.

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Introducing Microsoft Surface Studio

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By Armando

Microsoft has unveiled its first PC, the Surface Studio desktop PC that rolled out in New York today. Microsoft’s biggest product announcement at its Windows 10 event this morning, Studio goes on pre-order on the same day, with limited quantities going on sale in time for Christmas.

‘It’s not just a beautiful PC, it was made to make you more creative’, Panos Panay, Corporate Vice President for Surface Computing said at a New York launch event.

‘This is a new way to create, a new way to produce, it’s absolutely a new way to work,’ said Panay. ‘You can pick any angle, any position you want,’ he added, demonstrating the hinge.

Priced at $3,000, Surface Studio is clearly aimed at the more business creative segment of it’s potential buyers, an apparent play for Apple’s creative media base and studios that have long gravitated towards its Mac desktops for more than a decade.

Also coming next month is a new version of Surface Book laptop.

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PlayStation VR Reviews: generally positive

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By Armando

As Sony prepares for the retail launch of PlayStation VR on October 13, joining the VR competition with Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Google Daydream VR already in the mix, early reviews generally suggest positive opinion, with some expressing reservation that, although good, it just might be too early. That said, Sony is in a good spot within the VR competition, as there are 40 million PlayStation 4 owners. The headset is also competitively priced, with PlayStation VR almost half the price compared to most of its competitors.

Here’s some early reviews of PlayStation VR ahead of it’s October 13 release. You might also want to watch the unboxing to whet your appetite and find out what comes with the package.

The Guardian

Sony’s entry into the world of consumer virtual reality is an impressive start but it’s not yet the affordable high-end VR experience some are dreaming of

The New York Times

Virtual reality is still in its early days, and it’s unclear whether it will ever catch on with people beyond gamers. If you already own a PlayStation, spending a few hundred dollars for the headgear and accessories is a worthwhile purchase to get started on virtual reality.

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Nike announces self-tying shoes release date

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By AICreativeMedia

After years of development and research, Nike has announced the HyperAdapt 1.0 will hit stores by November this year. The announcement came from Nike’s public relations director Heidi Burgett through a tweet, announcing appointments to “experience and purchase” HyperAdapt 1.0 by November 28, 2016.

“The HyperAdapt is a myth turned into reality,” Tiffany Beers, senior innovator at Nike, told Wired. “It’s so cool! You have no idea how cool it is to step in a shoe that automatically tightens.”

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Samsung Electronics to Showcase Expanded Professional Gaming Monitors Lineup at Gamescom 2016

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In demonstrating the latest innovations across its curved gaming monitor portfolio, Samsung Electronics will reinforce its leadership in the interactive gameplay space at the Gamescom 2016 conference. Scheduled to take place August 17-21, 2016 at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany and billed as “the world’s largest computer and video game event,” Gamescom 2016 is expected to bring together more than 345,000 gamers, media, developers and retailers.

In line with the event’s “Heroes in New Dimensions” theme, Samsung (booths A070 and B070 in Hall 10.1 and booth A055-A in Hall 09.1) will offer players a look at the future of virtual competition with its new CFG70 curved gaming monitor. The CFG70 (24-inch model) combines crystal-clear picture quality with a range of user-friendly features to create an immersive, lifelike environment designed to impress even the most hardcore gamers.

“As developers incorporate advanced features into their newest titles, dedicated video game consumers need high-quality displays to amplify these enhancements and make them feel as if they are part of the game,” said Seog-gi Kim, Senior Vice President, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “The CFG70 represents the latest evolution of our pioneering gaming monitor technology, and adds unparalleled presentation and realism to the gaming experience. At Gamescom 2016, we invite attendees to see first-hand how our curved displays bring today’s most popular video game titles to life.”

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iPhone 2017 Rumors: All-Glass Case For 10th Anniversary Apple Smartphone?

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By Jen Glennon

Apple supplier Foxconn is currently developing a glass case for a future incarnation of the iPhone, claims Japanese publication Nikkei. The report lends credence to speculation Apple’s 2017 iPhone will see more dramatic design changes than expected for the upcoming iPhone 7.

Nikkei claims Foxconn has been developing the glass chassis for more than a year, alongside OLED display technology following its acquisition of Sharp. It’s still possible, however, that Apple could use Samsung OLED displays for the 2017 iPhone.

KGI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted Apple would switch to non-aluminum casings back in April. In his report, he argued, “If iPhone 7 still uses an aluminum casing in 2016, it will be the fifth year in a row that iPhone has done so, which means there is no longer a feeling of freshness to appeal to consumers. Also, a lot of Apple’s (US) competitors are also adopting aluminum casings, which means iPhone no longer has a clear edge due to a lack of differentiation.

On expectations that iPhone shipments will decline in 2016, we believe Apple will be more strongly motivated to use non-aluminum casings in 2017 in a bid to enhance the competitiveness of iPhone by offering an all-new form-factor design.”

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