A coalition of more than 20 advocacy groups with an interest in child safety is petitioning the Federal Trade Commission to prohibit social media platforms including TikTok as well as online games and other services from bombarding kids with ads and using other tactics that may hook children online. Regulators are being lobbied to prevent online services from offering minors “low-friction rewards” — unpredictably granting positive reinforcement for scrolling, tapping or logging on to prolonged use. The groups say the technique is the same used by slot machine makers to keep gamblers engaged. Continue reading Advocacy Groups Seek to Enact Online Rules to Protect Kids

With research showing TVs are the biggest growth platform for YouTube Shorts, the streamer is rolling out its purpose-built player for HDTVs worldwide, starting this month. The YouTube Shorts on TV player will work with recent-model smart TVs, game consoles and streaming devices such as Roku and Google’s Chromecast. Users will now see a “Shorts shelf” on the homepage of their YouTube TV app, or the Shorts can be launched directly from a creator’s channel. YouTube Shorts are seen on about 1.5 billion mobile devices monthly, and this move is designed to increase views. Continue reading New YouTube Shorts Feature Is Optimized for HDTV Screens

YouTube is getting ready to introduce a new feature called “Go Live Together” that allows qualifying creators to have a guest join their live stream. Initially available only via mobile, YouTube plans to eventually expand to more platforms and expand the number of participating creators. Although creators can only host one guest at a time, they can rotate them. Once you are invited, the guests’ stream will appear below the host’s. To activate it, creators will be asked to enter stream details, including a title, description, thumbnails, visibility and monetization settings. The move follows similar functionality introduced by TikTok and Twitch. Continue reading YouTube Offers Co-Streaming with ‘Go Live Together’ Feature

Meta Platforms says its vision for the metaverse will rely heavily on compression technology “to deliver high-quality, uninterrupted experiences for everyone.” With that in mind, it’s trained its Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) lab on developing “hypercompression” solutions. First up is EnCodec, an audio technology it says compresses at 64 kbps, with no loss in quality, and at 10 times the efficiency of MP3. The EnCodec protocol has the potential to  greatly improve the sound and reliability of speech over low-bandwidth (like when your mobile phone is only getting one bar). It also works for music. Continue reading Meta Says Its AI-Compressed Audio Codec Beats MP3 by 10x

Bolstered by iPhone 14 sales, Apple reported fiscal Q4 revenue up just over 8 percent, to $90.1 billion, with a 7.8 percent increase to $394 billion for the 12-month sales session that ended September 24. “We set an all-time revenue record for Mac and September quarter records for iPhone and wearables, home, and accessories,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts, noting “services notched a September quarter record as well, with revenue of $19.2 billion and more than 900 million paid subscriptions.” Even so, the company’s earnings produced a Rashomon effect as peak performance triggered pique among some. Continue reading Apple Has Record Quarter but Slowed Growth Worries Some

Tech items are making the list this holiday season, with the Consumer Technology Association’s annual shoppers survey forecasting a record-breaking 78 percent of U.S. adults — nearly 199 million people — will purchase devices and related services this season. Streaming services, headphones and earbuds, mobile cases, smartphones and game consoles top the trade organization’s survey, the 2022 Hot Tech Holiday Preview. The seasonal projection marks a 4 percent increase over last year. The 78 percent of American shoppers who intend to purchase tech gifts in the coming months will spend an estimated $145 billion. Continue reading CTA: Streaming Services Will Be Focus for Holiday Shoppers

Apple announced various App Store developer updates last week, and one change getting lots of attention is that which specifies “sales of ‘boosts’ for posts in a social media app must use in-app purchase.” That means Apple will be taking its customary 30 percent fee for paid boosts on iOS devices, a move that will primarily affect Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram, since they hadn’t previously been processing such transactions through Apple’s in-app purchase system, like Twitter and Tiktok have. Apple says its “guidelines have been clear” that in-app sales are required to use its In-App Purchase. Continue reading Meta, Spotify Blast Apple Over App Store Fee Enforcements

The number of households in the U.S. that are subscribing to some sort of multichannel pay-TV package has declined to 66 percent in 2022, from 88 percent in 2012, according to a new study from the Leichtman Research Group. The study defines pay TV as multichannel service delivered via cable, satellite, telco TV or ISP. “Two-thirds of U.S. TV households now get a live pay-TV service, a significant decrease from 79 percent five years ago,” LRG president and principal analyst Bruce Leichtman said, calling the decline “not solely a function of those disconnecting services, but is also related to a slowdown in those entering or reentering the category.” Continue reading Number of Pay-TV Package Subscribers Drops to 66 Percent

YouTube is getting a user interface update that includes a darker night mode and, for mobile users, a pinch-to-zoom feature similar to that used for photos on Android and iOS devices. Additionally, a new frame-by-frame search lets users find an exact moment within a video using thumbnails. YouTube’s watch page also gets a refresh, with links in the video descriptions restyled as buttons, while common actions (“like,” “share,” “download”) have been formatted for a cleaner look. On watch and channel pages, the subscribe button has been redesigned to stand out more, which should help creators. Continue reading YouTube Updates Its User Interface with New Look, Features

The MotorTrend Group, a division of Warner Bros. Discovery, has joined forces with Samsung TV Plus to launch the MotorTrend FAST TV channel in the U.S. and Canada. The free ad-supported MotorTrend VOD offering marks WBD’s move into the entertainment FAST lane. The service will feature automotive and lifestyle content from a library curated since 2002, when Discovery began acquiring related programming, eventually launching the Velocity cable channel in 2011, rebranded as MotorTrend in 2018. MotorTrend’s David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan — authorities on novelty cars — are expected to be the mainstay of the new service’s weekend programming. Continue reading WBD Teams with Samsung TV on FAST MotorTrend Channel

Microsoft is reportedly building an Xbox mobile store, challenging Apple and Google. The Redmond company’s pending Activision Blizzard deal is key to successful implementation of its mobile gaming strategy, which was previously hinted at and now comes to light in a filing with the UK Competition and Markets Authority, which requested additional information from Microsoft as part of its analysis of the $68.7 billion deal. In its filings, Microsoft says a “next generation” game store that “operates across a range of devices, including mobile” is significant impetus for the acquisition. Continue reading Microsoft’s New Gaming Strategy Includes Xbox Mobile Store

UK watchdog Ofcom has proposed a loosening of the nation’s net neutrality rules so as to not unduly restrict innovation and development. While it is up to government and Parliament to change the law, recommendations from Ofcom — which was created to monitor compliance with net neutrality laws — are influential. “Since the current rules were put in place in 2016, there have been significant developments in the online world, including a surge in demand for capacity,” as well as the rollout of 5G, and the emergence of large players like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Continue reading Online Safety Act Paused as Ofcom Reports on Net Neutrality

Lenovo is among the companies developing early rollable mobile displays. At Lenovo Tech World 22, a virtual event hosted by the Hong Kong-based company, a rollable-screen laptop was showcased along some rollable smartphones, a format that is generating a great deal of interest. Lenovo Intelligent Devices Group president Luca Rossi previewed a concept ThinkPad laptop with a vertically extending screen, calling the potential of such a device “compelling,” taking “multitasking, browsing, and mobility applications to another level.” Continue reading Lenovo Teases Rollable Display Concepts for Mobile Devices

ClipperVision is the new direct-to-consumer regional streaming service for viewing Los Angeles Clippers basketball games and related content. The six channel options will make more than 70 of 84 regular season games available to fans located primarily in Southern California for $200 per season. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer purchased the LA Clippers for $2 billion in 2014 and has since been strategizing an improved television platform for the franchise. The new offering makes the Clippers the first NBA team to host its own streaming platform, accessible without any additional TV subscription. Continue reading Clippers Become First NBA Team to Host a Streaming Service

Slingbox, the pioneering streaming device from Sling Media, will be permanently taken offline on November 9. The “place-shifting” technology that let people take pay-TV programming with them on mobile devices (and helped foster Internet streaming), is being shelved by parent Dish Network, which announced the shutdown in 2020. Sling Media was founded in 2004 and purchased by Dish parent EchoStar three years later for $380 million. Although the Slingbox was deemed “revolutionary,” it never achieved mass adoption, ultimately getting displaced by content-focused streamers like Netflix and YouTube. But some Sling tech continues to be used by the industry. Continue reading Dish Network Sets Shutdown Date for Sling Media’s Slingbox