Google X, Google’s secretive advanced projects lab, is currently developing large-scale video displays that are comprised of smaller modular screens intended to plug together like Legos to form a seamless image. According to people familiar with the previously undisclosed project, the displays can be configured in different shapes and sizes. The project is led by Mary Lou Jepsen, former MIT professor who co-founded the One Laptop Per Child project and three startups involving display technology. Continue reading Google X Project: Building Large-Scale Modular Video Displays

Twitter is investing $10 million in MIT’s Media Lab for research purposes. The company will also provide researchers with the archives of every public tweet, along with the real-time feed. The researchers will attempt to understand how information spreads on social media platforms like Twitter. MIT will use the investment over a five-year period to build tools involving data visualization and mobile apps. This is the first investment that Twitter has made for academic research. Continue reading Twitter Helps MIT Study Spread of Information via Social Media

According to a KPMG study, Hollywood is now offering more content through legal digital venues than ever before. As of the end of 2013, 94 percent of the 808 top films analyzed by KPMG were available legally for U.S. consumers through online VOD services, while 85 percent of the 724 most popular and critically acclaimed TV shows were also available. In related news, the amount of Netflix streaming video has grown 350 percent in the last 10 quarters, and now averages 93.2 minutes per subscriber daily. Continue reading Study: More Top Movies and TV Shows Available Legally Online

YouTube is now considered by many consumers to be the leading online resource for watching TV shows. According to research from Frank N. Magid Associates, which polled 2,400 people about online sources they use to watch shows, 38 percent of respondents pointed to YouTube. Netflix held second at 33 percent, followed by Hulu at 17 percent and Amazon Prime Instant Video at 14 percent. The study learned that the number of people who watch video online daily has increased 10 points to 32 percent in two years. Continue reading Growing Number of Viewers Turn to YouTube for TV and Movies

According to a new study by Viacom, devices that enable consumers to watch television content on multiple screens is leading to increased network loyalty and an audience preference for live viewing. “Getting With the Program: TV’s Funnels, Paths and Hurdles” notes that 78 percent of viewers polled indicated they would not have become fans of some shows if they were not able to watch them on multiple screens. The study also found that multiplatform viewers are more committed to viewing shows live and watching multiple networks. Continue reading Viacom Study: Multi-Screen Viewing Promotes Network Loyalty

According to eMarketer, Google’s YouTube is projected to take in about $1.13 billion in video-advertising revenue this year, up 39 percent from $810 million in 2013. However, the digital video advertising segment in the U.S. is expanding (YouTube’s 18.9 percent share is down from 21.2 percent last year), and YouTube is not expected to increase its market share significantly over the next three years. YouTube is also somewhat limited in its ad potential due to the amount of user-generated and short content. Continue reading Growth in Digital Video Ad Market, YouTube Maintains Lead

Dropbox wants to add image recognition software to its cloud storage service so that photos would automatically be tagged with the objects, people, and places found in the images. The company has hired the co-founders of Kriegman-Belhumeur Vision Technology, Peter Belhumeur and David Kriegman, to engineer the new technology. The two men are university professors with extensive experience in computer vision, facial recognition, and machine learning. Continue reading Dropbox Hires Computer Vision Experts to Mine Photographs

The White House announced that it has hired Google exec Megan Smith to become the next U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Assistant to the President. Smith replaces Todd Park, who is moving to Silicon Valley in a new position as recruiter of tech talent for the federal government. The White House also announced that Alexander Macgillivray, former counsel for Twitter and Google, will serve as a deputy CTO with a focus on Internet and intellectual property policies and the intersection of big data and privacy. Continue reading President Obama Names Two Googlers to Fill Key Tech Posts

According to a new study by comScore, U.S. consumers are now spending 52 percent of their time with digital media via mobile apps. Marking a significant shift, we are now spending more time on mobile apps than we are on desktop PCs and mobile Web surfing. The report indicates that mobile usage as a whole now accounts for 60 percent of our time with digital media, while desktop-based consumption accounts for 40 percent. Additionally, one-third of U.S. users download at least one app per month. Continue reading New First: Majority of Digital Media Accessed on Mobile Apps

Gartner analysts estimate that 3D printing our own food, gifts, shoes and other products is at least five to 10 years away. In a report released earlier this week, Gartner suggested that the 3D printing of product models is two years away from its peak usage, while mainstream adoption of 3D printing for medical applications is about two to five years away. Although the technology is advancing and printers are coming down in price, the concept is not quite ready for everyday use in the home. Continue reading Gartner Report Says 3D Printing Not Quite Ready for the Home

According to comScore research, Snapchat is now the third most popular social app among the millennial demographic (18-34 year olds). With 32.9 percent penetration on mobile phones, Snapchat trails only Facebook and Instagram. Jumping from 12.1 percent back in November 2013, the app is now more popular with millennials than Twitter, Pinterest, Vine, Google+ or Tumblr. The shift is important considering that this age group is the most active of mobile social networkers. Continue reading Snapchat Now Third Most Popular Social App with Millennials

According to mobile analytics firm Flurry, female consumers are leading the charge in mobile gaming in terms of time, money and loyalty. Based on analysis of 1.1 million worldwide devices, Flurry concludes that mobile gaming currently represents 32 percent of the time people spend on their phones. Meanwhile, the report specifies that females spend 35 percent more time in gaming apps than males, make 31 percent more in-app purchases, and have 42 percent higher 7-day retention on average. Continue reading Women Lead Men in Time and Money Spent on Mobile Games

The U.S. video entertainment market — including pay TV, box office, Blu-ray, DVD, video-on-demand, and paid-for online video — is getting ready to reach an all-time high. According to a new report from researcher Futuresource Consulting, the market is expected to make $123 billion in retail value in 2015. Futuresource notes that the video market reached $120 billion in 2013, a 2 percent increase over the previous year. Per household spending on video in the U.S. is the highest in the world. Continue reading U.S. Spends More on Digital Video Than the Rest of the World

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new photo-editing tool that lets users turn and flip objects as if they were in 3D. Photo editors have only been able to manipulate objects in 2D by resizing them or changing their location within the photo. This new software uses a publicly available database of models to recreate objects, even the sides that were not captured by the camera. Researchers found that this software could be used for animations as well. Continue reading Software Allows Photographers to Manipulate Objects in 3D

In May, Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba filed for a public stock offering in the United States. However, this fast growing company still has a way to go before it will be able to compete with the American tech giants that currently control the multibillion-dollar cloud computing business. For now, Alibaba appears to be focusing on expanding in China, where it already has four data centers and handles up to $5.8 billion in commerce per day at its peak. Continue reading Alibaba Growing, But Not a Threat to Top Cloud Services Yet