For nearly three decades, Universal Display has provided mannequins to fashion retail stores such as Lord & Taylor, Saks and Uniqlo. In an effort to improve the brick-and-mortar shopping experience, Universal Display has developed an innovative way to use modern tech with mannequins to push information to nearby shoppers. Mannequins are tagged with beacons that push messages to customers’ mobile phones complete with photos, sizes and prices of ready to buy clothing inside the store. Continue reading Retailers Turn to Smart Mannequins to Lure In-Store Shoppers

As the Internet of Things grows, the creators of OpenSensors.io believe that the public could benefit from sharing data from the many sensors that collect information around the world. OpenSensors is like a social network, where people can publish their data and subscribe to other people’s data. The software brings all of the info together, making it easier to route it to the appropriate locations. The open source nature of the data means anyone could use it for their own research or app. Continue reading OpenSensors.io Lets Anyone Share Data from Smart Devices

France has an acronym for the American tech giants that they often criticize for privacy and tax issues. GAFA (as “Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon” are now known as in France), are the latest companies under fire in a long history of French resistance of American cultural imperialism. The French have little sympathy for these massive companies that often invade personal privacy, either for profit or for government surveillance, and try to find ways around the country’s taxes. Continue reading French Term for American Tech Giants Reflects Resentment

Technics announced it plans to launch Technics Tracks, a high-resolution music download service, in the U.K. and Germany starting in January. In addition to tens of thousands of 24-bit FLAC tracks, the service will also carry CD-quality tracks up to 16-bit/44.1kHz. All purchases will be stored in a cloud locker, available for download to multiple devices. The service, custom built by platform operator 7digital, will be accessible from Macs, PCs, and apps for Android and iOS. Continue reading Technics to Launch Hi-Res Music Download Service in Europe

Cambridge, UK-based CSR has developed a new technology that can monitor your every move by tracking information from your mobile device. The technology, known as SiRFusion, was designed to provide users with instantaneous directions for areas that often go undetected by other GPS apps, but also has compelling advertising potential. The technology makes use of GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cloud computing to yield accurate results. CSR recently unveiled an SDK for Android developers. Continue reading New SiRFusion Tracking Tech Can Follow People Everywhere

While Facebook is by far the world’s leading social platform (with 1.35 billion active monthly users), new research from the Global Web Index points to Tumblr as the fastest growing platform. Tumblr’s active user base grew 120 percent over the last six months, while Facebook only experienced a 2 percent bump. And in terms of overall member growth, Pinterest had 57 percent growth, compared to Facebook’s base growth of 6 percent. In mobile apps, Snapchat saw the most growth, up 56 percent this year. Continue reading Tumblr Takes Lead as World’s Fastest Growing Social Platform

Concert discovery service Songkick will now sell concert tickets directly to music fans. The London-based startup — which, over the course of seven years has gained 10 million active users — will now potentially earn 20 times as much revenue. While the service previously referred users to other sellers, clicking away to another service to purchase was a nuisance and could be impacted by conversion rates. Now, by adding payment information, users can purchase tickets without leaving the site.  Continue reading Songkick Service Now Sells Concert Tickets to Fans Directly

Warner Music Group’s artist and label services company WEA has acquired U.K.-based startup Playlists.net. The startup, which allows users to share, upload, and discover Spotify playlists, will still operate as a standalone company. Because the music charts in the U.K. now take streaming music into account, WEA could use Playlists.net’s platform to promote playlists with their artists or track data that could help predict up-and-coming artists or trends in music. Continue reading Warner Music Group Buys Music Curation Startup Playlists.net

In its quarterly State of the Internet report, Akamai notes that we have now passed average worldwide connection speeds of 4 megabits per second, as Internet speeds continue to be impacted by the growth of cellular networks and affordable smartphones and tablets. While this number may not seem like big news in the U.S., it is a significant milestone in many other parts of the world. The report also indicates that distributed denial of service attacks are down by 15 percent compared to the previous year. Continue reading Akamai: Global Broadband Speeds Reach 4Mbps for First Time

Netflix is making content announcements and pledges ahead of its push into mainland Europe this month. The service has greenlit “Marseille,” its first original series based and produced in France, which the company expects will become one of its biggest new markets. The series is scheduled to begin shooting early in 2015 and will debut on Netflix later in the year. In addition, CEO Reed Hastings told German news magazine Der Spiegel that Netflix would “certainly” produce something in Germany in the future. Continue reading Netflix Expands to European Markets, Promises New Content

The Pirate Bay’s visitor count has doubled since 2011 despite repeated attempts to block the website. Courts around the world and entertainment industries have pushed for Internet providers to block subscriber access. Meanwhile, about 9 percent of the site’s users connect to it through a proxy, showing that some people are willing to bypass court-ordered blockades. The numbers do not prove that blockades are ineffective, however, since the increased traffic could be from different countries. Continue reading Despite Blockades, The Pirate Bay’s Numbers Are Increasing

Last week, Yahoo announced the launch of its News Digest app for Android devices. The company has also made the iOS version available for all users worldwide by adding Canadian and International editions (it was originally only available to iOS device users based in the United States or United Kingdom). Using algorithmic and human curation, Yahoo News Digest provides news round-ups twice a day, each story presented with a collection of articles, maps, Wikipedia entries, videos and photos. Continue reading Yahoo News Digest Now Available Globally on iOS and Android

Ourscreen is a service that allows groups of people to arrange private or public film screenings at their local cinema for movies that do not have a regular listing. It is similar to Groupon, in that a showing can be booked (by selecting a film, participating theater, and date/time), but is only confirmed once a certain number of people buy in. You can also search screenings that have been proposed by others and invite your friends. The larger the crowd for a given screening, the more affordable become the ticket prices. Continue reading Ourscreen Helps Movie Fans Organize Their Own Screenings

AOL launched its AOL On Network in the United Kingdom this week, the first market outside of North America to gain access to the on-demand video platform. AOL On is a syndication platform that offers curated and original content (currently 750,000 videos). It is an extension of the Be On end-to-end video platform for brands and its Adap.tv video trading platform. Web-only for now, an app for AOL On will be available in the UK early next month via the App Store on iTunes and Google Play. Continue reading AOL On Network: Premium Video Platform Launches in the UK

In advance of Amira’s launch at NAB, Arri has sent four prototypes of its new digital camera on tour. One camera is visiting the company’s Burbank facility for early previews and limited testing. The $40,000 shoulder-mount Amira, which uses the same imaging sensor as Arri’s $75,000 Alexa digital cinematography camera, is expected to ship in April. Lighter and smaller than the popular Alexa, the Amira is intended for productions such as documentaries and TV news magazine programs. Continue reading Arri Brings Amira Digital Camera to Burbank for Early Preview