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Vevo says an 'unauthorized source' vandalized Drake, Lil Nas X and other YouTube channels
If you were trying to watch Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd and other artists on YouTube this morning, you may not have seen what you expected.
Twitter outage takes down Tweetdeck, affects images and DMs
Be nice to any journalists you see on Twitter right now -- Tweetdeck is down and it's a headache for everyone. While the company has said it's aware of issues and investigating, problems have also hit regular users, who aren't seeing new DMs at the moment, or may have trouble adding extra stuff to tweets like images, videos and polls. In a tweet, the company said it's working on a fix and that things "should be back to normal soon."
MySpace lost 12 years of user content
In the early 2000s, MySpace introduced us all to the world of social networking. Within a few years it became huge platform for music, where bands could share their songs and users could customize their profiles with their favorite tracks. Even as its popularity faded in the shadows of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, and as music streaming sites came to dominate, MySpace hung on as a music platform. The fact that it helped launch artists like Arctic Monkeys, Panic! At The Disco, Sean Kingston and Kate Nash -- as well as its Justin Timberlake-themed redesign -- gave it a certain amount of credibility.
Netflix’s Fast.com now measures upload speed and latency
In 2016, Netflix launched Fast.com, a simple, easy way for anybody to check their internet speeds. Now, the company has announced that it's adding more information to the site. Fast.com will now let users see their connection's latency and upload speed, and latency will be broken down into both loaded and unloaded connections. So, you'll be able to see if more traffic on your network affects your latency values. "We're adding these new measurements to Fast.com so that consumers will have a more comprehensive view of their internet connection speed at any given time," Netflix said in a statement.
YouTube gives creators a way to flag stolen videos
YouTube keeps a watch over the millions of videos on its service, making sure that they don't violate copyright or community standards. The company removed 8.3 million videos for community guidelines violations in the last quarter of 2017. It hasn't revamped it's Content ID system to flag copyrighted videos since 2013, however. Now the Google-owned video sharing service is launching a new Copyright Match tool that can flag instances of videos that match content creators' original videos.
Amazon won't let you upload your own MP3s anymore
Streaming services from Spotify, Apple, Google and Amazon have all but made personal MP3s extinct in most circles. It's not a huge surprise, then, that Amazon has decided to end a program that allowed customers to upload and listen to their own MP3 tracks. Originally noted by Slashgear and reported by TechCrunch, members of the free plan cannot upload music with the Amazon Music app as of on December 18th. New subscriptions will be accepted until January 15th, 2018, however, which means you can still pay to upload up to 250,000 songs before then.
Google connects Home's voice commands to your uploaded music
A new tweak for Google Home makes it easier to access music you've uploaded, even if you're not a Google Play Music subscriber. While Google Play Music customers could already listen to uploaded or purchased music by either selecting it on another device and using the Cast feature or putting it in a playlist, a new update rolling out means you can ask for your tracks directly by voice. It's not active on my account yet even after a device reboot (although I do see the speaker as an available Bluetooth device), but a post in the Home support forum and updated notes on the support page explain how it all works.
Twitch rolls out video uploads, clip editing on iOS and Android
While Amazon-linked Prime features are the big news out of TwitchCon, the livestreaming service is bringing some long-promised new features to users. Starting today, users can upload videos directly to Twitch. That means streamers can apply their video editing and production skills to archived clips for their audiences, without having to take them somewhere else, like YouTube Gaming. The feature was announced at TwitchCon last year, but at least it's here now in beta form.
Google Play Music for Chrome delivers browser uploads, finally
Google has finally enabled uploading tracks to its Play Music service through a browser, but for now, you'll need to flip the switch yourself. In the Labs section of the menu, there's an option for Google Play Music for Chrome. Ticking the appropriate box will allow for both drag-and-drop and manual song additions without the need to use that less than stellar Music Manger. Clicking the "Add Music" button at the top of the UI will also give you the option to choose folders that you'd like synced automatically. There's also a mini player that can be accessed by clicking the arrow at the bottom right of the web app and the ability to download songs, albums and playlists directly from the web has been tacked on, too. All of the new features are powered by Google's Chrome Apps and Native Client tech. What's more, the folks in Mountain View have also added Info Cards to Movies and TV shows for added details on the actors in a particular scene. Of course, the selection you're watching has to enable the feature for it to be available when you press pause on a mobile device. We've included a handy GIF after the break for a quick look at how it works.
SkyDrive update brings photo timeline, more efficiency-minded features
Perhaps to celebrate passing the 250 million user mark, SkyDrive is rolling out an update which introduces some nifty time-saving features. Now, you'll be able to view all your photos -- across folders and albums -- in a timeline view, with images grouped by event and date for easy searching. There are also filmstrip and slideshow modes, and, according to Microsoft's Inside SkyDrive blog, photo-upload times have been improved at least twofold. The update brings a few other goodies too: full-resolution camera uploads for all Windows Phone 8 devices worldwide, and new thumbnails for PowerPoint and Word files. The update will begin rolling out today and should make its way to all users within 48 hours.
Amazon Wireless reduces Inspire 4G to $30, makes AT&T look downright miserly
If your desire for unibody enclosures is limited by a reluctance to pony up for premium designs, then you might grin knowing that Amazon Wireless is selling the HTC Inspire 4G for $30. Yes, this massive 4.3-inch slab can be the pride of your pocket without simultaneously emptying your wallet -- that's before you start piling on the accessories, anyway. While the Inspire 4G's reputation was initially sullied by an indictment in HSUPA-gate, it was later cleared of all charges thanks to AT&T's promised update. Now that users can upload with abandon, this might be a fine opportunity to recommit with Ma Bell while pocketing an easy $70. We know, it's a good find -- but don't start laughing too maniacally or your co-workers will get suspicious.
AT&T brings HSUPA to Atrix 4G and Inspire 4G, one requires WiFi to download update
If you're the somewhat-proud-but-feeling-throttled owner of a Motorola Atrix 4G or HTC Inspire 4G, your days of terribly slow uploads are nearly through -- following some preliminary tests, AT&T is rolling out updates that provide "increased potential data speed" to both HSPA+ handsets right on cue. The Inspire 4G's patch will also "make the email set up process much easier," while the Atrix 4G will actually get a pair of updates which will allegedly bring better Bluetooth headset compatibility, fingerprint reader performance and battery life (which is always a plus) as well as the questionable utility of turning the Atrix into an EDGE hotspot, and a bump to Android 2.2.2 to hopefully fix any lingering SMS routing bugs. Word of warning though, you'll need to throw your Atrix up on a WiFi network to obtain these goodies -- all the Gs in the world won't help you.
X-pire! software will add digital expiration dates to your photos, photo-related embarrassment
Wouldn't it be nice if photos you uploaded to Facebook, MySpace and Flickr just stopped being accessible after a while, saving you the almighty hassle of having to delete them yourself? Well, a few good Germans have come together to produce the X-pire! software, which promises to do just that -- make online imagery inaccessible after a given period of time following their upload. It's been around in prototype form as a Firefox extension, but next week should see its proper launch, complete with a subscription-based pricing model costing €24 per year. Yes, the observant among you will note that this does nothing to prevent others from grabbing those images and re-uploading them, but this software's ambition is humbler than that -- it just aims to give the less tech-savvy (or simply lazier) user a tool for controlling at least part of his or her presence on the web.
AT&T uplink performance issues tied to Alcatel-Lucent equipment
Spokespersons for AT&T have responded to our queries in regard to decreased uplink performance that we posted about earlier this week. According to AT&T, this is due to a software defect in Alcatel-Lucent equipment, affecting only some portions of their customer base. The full statement from AT&T follows. AT&T and Alcatel-Lucent jointly identified a software defect -- triggered under certain conditions - that impacted uplink performance for Laptop Connect and smartphone customers using 3G HSUPA-capable wireless devices in markets with Alcatel-Lucent equipment. This impacts less than two percent of our wireless customer base. While Alcatel-Lucent develops the appropriate software fix, we are providing normal 3G uplink speeds and consistent performance for affected customers with HSUPA-capable devices.
Novatel announces new phase of MiFi Developer Program, Eye-Fi gets a mention
We already know that you love your MiFi -- after all, who wouldn't be into a mobile hotspot that can easily slide into your rear pocket? But are you ready to adore it even more? Novatel Wireless has just announced the second phase of its MiFi Developer Program, which seeks to bring all sorts of apps and added functionality to an already heralded device. As the story goes, the dev program provides a set of APIs and tech support to those interested in expanding the abilities of the MiFi, and while the possibilities are obviously limitless (or close to it), we're already hearing of a Nomadesk inclusion that will provide a web UI to access cloud storage when online via the MiFi. Then there's also the Eye-Fi mention, which seems to let you upload photos from your SD card to your hotspot even when a 3G tower is nowhere to be found; once the MiFi gets back in range, it handles the uploading from there. Strangely, we're seeing reports that all this fanciness won't work with Sprint or Verizon's MiFi, though Novatel's own release says nothing of the sort. Whatever the case, guard your heart here just in case the allegations are true.[Via jkOnTheRun]
Mac 101: Dragging onto the Open dialog
These days, people do a lot of uploading to the Internet. Whether you're adding videos to YouTube, or sending pictures to your favorite hosting site, OS X offers a simple feature that really helps you locate your files. Although you can't drag and drop onto Internet sites, you can drag and drop files onto the Open dialog. The dialog automatically updates to the proper folder, saving you some navigating time by quickly getting you to the right place. Then it's just a matter of click your upload button to get things going. Give it a try. You may be surprised by the effort it saves you, particularly if you do a lot of uploads to websites and weblogs.
