RightThisMinute, a TV show that focuses solely on online videos, has become the number one syndicated new show in the U.S. The show airs on HLN and local channels, with two million viewers per half-hour episode. Because the show consists only of online videos, rather than hiring writers, the producers and talent search for featured videos. The popularity of the show highlights a shift that makes the second screen — featuring content from YouTube, Hulu and Netflix — our first screen. Continue reading TV Show Highlighting Popular Online Videos Tops Syndication

At this week’s Black Hat security conference, researchers plan to unveil different techniques for easily taking over a smartphone without alerting the user or phone company. Security consultant Mathew Solnik will outline the ways in which he can use the Internet to hack anyone’s phone from 30 feet away. Georgia Institute of Technology students will present the ways in which they can take over the latest iPhone. And a researcher from Bluebox will show how Android apps can steal user data. Continue reading Black Hat: Smartphones Next Target of Cybersecurity Threats

With two million paid subscribers, Rhapsody International says it is the clear number two streaming music service, behind Spotify. The parent company of Rhapsody and Napster points to international expansion and carrier partnerships as reasons for its success. The services also use locations to help identify artist preferences, boosting international popularity. Through joint ventures, the company hopes to continue growing its audience, despite Spotify’s popularity. Continue reading Rhapsody Expanding Music Services with Carrier Partnerships

The Pirate Bay and TorrenTV have released new platforms to make it easier for people to download media content for free. The Pirate Bay has launched a mobile site known as Mobile Bay, which includes separate TV, music and movie sites. Later, the site hopes to add support for personalized RSS feeds so that users can launch torrents from anywhere. TorrenTV has introduced a new app for Mac, Windows and Linux that streams torrents directly to Apple TV. Continue reading Torrenting Just Got Easier with Mobile Site and New PC App

San Francisco’s BitTorrent is leveraging its expertise in online file sharing tech to develop Bleep, an encrypted snoop-proof chat app. None of the texts or calls are stored, and only the two computers are involved in the communication. While the NSA could potentially monitor the interactions, the job becomes much more difficult with the new app. Not only does Bleep encrypt its traffic and encourage users to keep their identities secret, but it also uses no central server. Continue reading Bleep: BitTorrent Develops Secure Calling and Messaging App

Twitter announced that it has acquired an artificial intelligence startup known as Madbits. The social network is buying into Madbits’ technology that can search an image and understand its content. This new image search engine is based on deep learning, a type of AI that relies on convolutional neural nets, much like a human’s network of neurons in the brain. Twitter is just the latest in a line of tech companies to invest in this type of technology. Continue reading Twitter Acquires AI Startup Madbits, Explores Image Search

Researchers at the University of Michigan and New York University have been successful in storing data in a liquid containing suspended clusters of nanoparticles. These 12-particle clusters can reconfigure, similar to the way a Rubik’s Cube can, to represent up to eight million unique states. In a tablespoon of the nanoparticle clusters, the liquid can reportedly store up to one terabyte of data. Liquid hard drives could possibly be used in medicine, law enforcement and other fields. Continue reading Liquid Hard Drives Capable of Storing One Terabyte of Data

Sprint is in the process of introducing Virgin Mobile Custom, a cheaper wireless plan that allows users to access only specific websites. For $12, subscribers can choose between sole access to either Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For $22, users can have unlimited use of all four. For an extra $5, subscribers can have access to a music app with unlimited streaming. The program is expected to help customers that have less money afford wireless Internet access.

Continue reading Sprint Introduces $12 Wireless Plan for Use of Specific Apps

Swedish startup Newstag has developed a compelling revenue-sharing approach that it hopes will solve the “broken economic model” of today’s news dissemination and consumption. Newstag plans to help professional news organizations, brands, NGOs and general consumers make money from news when it launches its service commercially in September. According to journalist and ETCentric contributor Adrian Pennington, the company recently announced $1.3 million in seed funding. Continue reading Newstag Slated to Launch Crowd-Curated Video News Service

Facebook announced that its profits more than doubled and revenue exceeded estimates for the ninth straight quarter due largely to mobile ad growth. About 62 percent of the social network’s ad revenue now comes from mobile devices. According to eMarketer, advertising for mobile this year is projected to surpass advertising for newspapers, magazines and radio for the first time. Facebook also added another 40 million registered users, with the daily login increasing by 27 million. Continue reading Facebook Experiences Surge in Users and Mobile Ad Revenue

Researchers at Nvidia have found a trick that solves the problem of users being able to see the pixels in their VR headsets. By using a “cascaded display” involving two LCD panels, the researchers found that they could quadruple the pixel density of the headset, making pixels invisible to the eye even at close range. The cascaded displays also have a faster frame rate, making images appear smoother, and a reduced brightness, which is not a concern for the displays in VR headsets. Continue reading Nvidia Designs New Pixel-Dense LCD Panels for VR Headsets

RadioShack plans to stock DIY kits in its retail locations that provide consumers with the ability to create an array of connected devices. New York startup LittleBits has been selling sets that allow users to connect, for example, a sound detector to a LED light, for illuminating a small space every time a radio is turned on. LittleBits now offers its $99 Cloud Starter Bundle that connects gadgets to the Internet, while companies such as Bug Labs and Electric Imp are also offering ways to create connected devices. Continue reading Kits for Internet-Connected Devices to Hit RadioShack Shelves

New York-based startup Keep allows Internet shoppers to add any merchandise from across e-commerce sites to one unified shopping cart. Now, with the addition of the OneCart feature, users can add an item from any online store to the mobile app and check out with minimal effort. And rather than entering credit card and shipping information for every shopping site, Keep unifies the experience by allowing users to enter information just once to be used universally. Continue reading Keep’s OneCart Service Makes Online Shopping Even Easier

Amazon plans to beef up its investments in original, Web-only, video programming. The company’s CFO Tom Szkutak explained that Amazon is slated to spend about $100 million on “many new pilots” during Q3 2014. Amazon’s Prime Instant Video has been trying to keep up with Netflix, but has yet to reach the success of hits such as “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black.” However, $100 million was the amount Netflix gambled on the first two seasons of “House of Cards” alone. Continue reading Amazon Plans to Make Major Investment in Original Programs

British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB), the largest pay TV broadcaster in the UK and Ireland, is making an additional $400,000 investment in Jaunt, a Silicon Valley company developing 360-degree virtual reality cinema tech. The British broadcaster invested $350,000 in Jaunt last December, hoping to get one step ahead in the future of television. Jaunt’s technology, which uses Oculus Rift VR headsets, could be rolled out commercially as early as three years from now. Continue reading BSkyB Makes Another Investment in Cinematic VR Developer