Apple is in talks with HBO to become a launch partner for the HBO Now streaming service. Apple TV may join Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, and Amazon in distributing streaming content from HBO’s catalog of television series and movies. HBO Now is set to debut in April, just in time for the season premiere of its popular series “Game of Thrones.” The streaming service will mark the first time that viewers will be able to subscribe directly to HBO, instead of through a pay TV service. Continue reading HBO Negotiating to Launch its Streaming Service on Apple TV

Nvidia, a company best known for its graphics chips, has plans to launch a new set-top box with significant processing power and Ultra HD resolution. The $199 console, known as the Nvidia Shield, runs on the powerful new Tegra X1 processor and Android software. The Shield was designed to deliver streaming video games through Grid, described as a “Netflix of videogames.” Consumers will also be able to stream 4K video from Netflix, YouTube, and the Android TV version of Google Play. Continue reading Nvidia Unveils Set-Top for 4K Movie and Video Game Streaming

NBCUniversal hopes to reach the under-35-year-olds with its new comedy subscription service. The streaming service would likely include episodes of NBC shows such as “The Tonight Show” starring Jimmy Fallon and “Saturday Night Live,” in addition to exclusive original content. NBCUniversal is developing this new product to regain some of its cord-cutting viewers who have abandoned pay TV for online streaming. Currently, some of the company’s content is available on YouTube. Continue reading NBCUniversal is Developing Comedy Video Subscription Service

The 2015 South by Southwest (SXSW) Music, Film and Interactive Festival — which runs March 13-22 in Austin, Texas — plans to employ the latest beacon technology to help attendees navigate the sprawling event this time around. SXSW has partnered with Eventbase to install 1,000 Apple iBeacons that will deliver location-based information about who else is nearby and what acts are performing nearby. These Bluetooth-enabled devices send the information to the 2015 SXSW Go app. Continue reading SXSW Will Use Beacon Technology to Push Festival Information

Banks are scrambling to tighten security measures as Apple’s mobile payments service experiences a growing incidence of fraud. Criminals are lifting credit card numbers and stealing identities through Apple Pay by reportedly exploiting vulnerabilities in the verification process. Some banks may make it too easy for customers to authenticate numbers when adding cards. According to one expert, fraud may account for about 6 percent of Apple Pay transactions, compare to only 0.1 percent of credit card-swiping transactions. Continue reading Apple Pay Mobile Payments Service Experiences Growth in Fraud

In less than a year, Popcorn Time has become one of the most popular services to torrent pirated media content online. The slick grid interface looks similar to that of Netflix or Hulu, making the service look more legitimate and easier to navigate to find a TV show or movie. The program is actually an index of other BitTorrent sites. Popcorn Time’s popularity has been growing in the U.S. and abroad, especially in countries where streaming services are less established. Continue reading Popcorn Time Accounts for One-Ninth of U.S. Torrent Traffic

Virtual reality content creator Jaunt has partnered with longtime movie sound experts at Dolby to improve the audio in immersive experiences. Audio is a crucial part of making VR feel more like reality, and the Dolby Atmos system will allow Jaunt to specifically target sounds so that they seem as if they are coming from a very specific location. The new technology is expected to improve VR storytelling since content creators would be able to use sound to redirect a user’s attention. Continue reading Dolby and Jaunt Bring Atmos Surround Sound to Virtual Reality

Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz participated in a Reddit AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) session last week and his answers revealed some of the virtual reality company’s lofty ambitions. The startup raised some $542 million last year to engineer a pair of chunky sports sunglasses that can make virtual objects appear in a real life setting, a technique called “cinematic reality.” Abovitz believes that Magic Leap’s computing technology could eventually replace the other screens in our daily lives, including those on smartphones. Continue reading Magic Leap’s Cinematic Reality May Replace Your Smartphone

Popular multichannel network Machinima has signed a deal with Vimeo to help develop and distribute original content. Vimeo has pledged at least $500,000 to the network’s audience-developed original videos for an exclusive Machinima channel on the video on-demand platform. As part of the agreement, Vimeo will become the preferred transactional video-on-demand platform for Machinima’s 30,000 creators. These creators produce some 30,000 hours of content each month. Continue reading Machinima Creators to Sell Videos on Vimeo Through New Deal

The Beam is part LED lightbulb and part projector. Users can screw it into a light socket or place it on a flat surface and project content anywhere. The small-scale device has an onboard computer to access content on the Web. It can also project games or movies from a smartphone or tablet. The smart projector has a corresponding iOS and Android app for operation and programming commands. Beam Labs Inc. is offering the $399 Beam device as part of its Kickstarter campaign that ends March 24. Continue reading Smart Projector Displays Content from Your Phone or Tablet

The European Union drafted a new data-privacy policy that it hopes will be adopted around the world. The policy would require companies to include the “right to be forgotten” option so that people could ask for their links to be removed and to ask users for explicit consent to use their personal data. Europe is looking to have more influence on the Web, which is currently dominated by U.S. companies. Representatives from the EU are lobbying other countries to institute the policy. Continue reading Europe Writes Internet Rules to Take Greater Role on the Web

San Francisco will be the first city to use a new wireless technology that is reportedly 35 times faster than current 4G LTE networks. Artemis Networks is leasing the wireless spectrum for two years from Dish Network. Artemis still needs regulatory approval before it can begin operating, but the company hopes to start serving customers by the fall of this year. The company’s pCell technology is super fast because the network is designed to utilize wireless interferences that usually slow most networks. Continue reading San Francisco to Get Fast Mobile Wireless Network This Year

Facebook has unveiled two new iOS apps designed for people working behind the scenes. Designers now have a tool that lets them prototype the interface of an app without writing a single line of code. The Origami Live app will then roughly translate the design into code with the click of a button. Facebook has also created a new app for advertisers so that they can schedule or even create their Facebook ads from their phone. Facebook Ads Manager provides metrics on the ad’s performance. Continue reading Facebook Releases New Apps for Advertisers and Designers

Yahoo is wooing app developers with a new mobile development suite that makes it easier to build apps with search, integrate ads into the code, and analyze app performance. Yahoo is hoping that the development suite will not only encourage developers to build new apps, but also build apps that host its advertisements. Flurry Analytics, a Yahoo acquisition, will provide users with a collection of new tools designed to analyze their app’s performance and securely share that information with others. Continue reading Yahoo Unveils Mobile Development Suite with Analytics and Ads

Consumers criticized Samsung for recording users through its smart TVs and sending the data to a third party, but other companies reportedly take a similar approach. Many of the audio recordings come from devices with voice recognition, like LG’s smart TVs or Amazon Echo. Such recording of unknowing users is not limited to the living room. Automobiles from companies such as GM and Chevrolet can record and send information about a driver’s speed, location, and their route to work. Continue reading Numerous Smart Devices May Now Be Secretly Recording Users