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YouTube and Universal Music Group are remastering old music videos
YouTube is perhaps the single biggest public repository of music videos, but many are bit outdated, with visuals and audio designed for old TVs with single speakers, and others that could use a bit of an upgrade too. Many videos from major artists will soon look and sound much better though, as YouTube and Universal Music Group are remastering almost 1,000 of them "to the highest possible standards."
Sonos is selling a limited-edition Beastie Boys speaker for charity
Prior to today, the easiest way to get the Beastie Boys on your Sonos Play:5 was to queue up your favorite songs from the trio. A new limited edition version of the speaker will always have the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers on it, even when you're listening to something else, thanks to a Beastie Boys-themed skin. Proceeds from the short run of speakers will go to charities that expand access to music and education.
Google Glass XE 12 update lets you wink to capture photos, adds new Hangouts and YouTube glassware
MyGlass for iOS isn't the only big news to come out of Google's Glass camp today. Turns out, the company's issuing a major update, dubbed XE 12, for the intelligent eyewear that not only makes the complete Glass-to-iOS bridge possible, but also bundles in a few other bells, whistles and, yes, winks. Let's start there, shall we? Before today, the only way to take a photo with a wink was by way of a third-party app. But now, Google's baked that functionality directly into the Explorer Edition of Glass, making those sly creepster shots even easier. Glassware's also getting a major boost with the addition of Hangouts, for those of you that want to send SMS, chats or even video calls from your head, and YouTube for simple Glass video uploads. Apart from that significant feature boost, the Glassware for Google Play Music now offers explorers the ability to navigate by playlists or, if they're All Access subscribers, radio stations. XE 12 brings some much needed security along with it, too, giving Explorers the option to set a screen lock that turns on when you take Glass off or deactivate it. And because shooting off messages with the obnoxious "Sent Through Glass" was a little too... obnoxious, Google's cut that outgoing signature from SMS, though it'll still be present on all outgoing emails. Know what else is getting the axe? Guest Mode. According to Google, the feature was just too much of a strain for its devs to maintain, so if you want to impress with Glass, just hand'em over freely or take Google's advice and create a demo account. And finally, because Google likes to be cute, you can now ask Glass for helpful caloric counts or even "How far to Brooklyn?" (the answer: No Sleep Til Brooklyn) -- because everyone, even Google, loves the Beastie Boys.
Smule launches AutoRap for iOS and Android, Engadget's editors drop some mad beats (video)
Sure, we're often mistaken for some of hip-hop's illest emcees in our day-to-day lives, but the sad truth is that Engadget's editorial team could use a little help with our flow. Thankfully, technology has come to the rescue, yet again -- this time in the form of AutoRap, the latest app from the people who brought you such mobile blockbusters as I am T-Pain and Songify. Those who've spent time with either of the aforementioned apps know what to expect from this latest addition to the Smule family: talk or rap into your iPhone or Android device, tap the button, and then wait for the magic. AutoRap will go to town, or as Smule puts it: "turn[ing] speech into rap and correct[ing] bad rapping." Talking and rapping are the two primary modes here. With the former, you simply speak into your phone, and the app chops your voice and buries it in a whole mess of autotuney goodness. There's a pretty broad handful of songs at present, including 30 premium tracks from the likes of Snoop Dog, the Beastie Boys, Outkast and Kid Cudi -- naturally, if you want access to those, you're gonna have to pony up some cash, or earn some credits doing things like watching instructional videos or filling out auto insurance quote forms. The free tracks mostly get the job done, however.
SEC sides with Beastie Boys' Mike D, says AT&T must allow shareholder vote on net neutrality
Michael Diamond may be best known as Mike D of the Beastie Boys, but he's also an AT&T shareholder, and he's now played a central role in forcing a shareholder vote on net neutrality. He, along with his wife Tamra Davis and John P. Silva of Silva Artist Management previously submitted a proposal to AT&T arguing that shareholders should be allowed to vote a resolution that recommended the company "publicly commit to operate its wireless broadband network consistent with network neutrality principles." AT&T unsurprisingly rejected that proposal, stating that it would "directly interfere with its network management practices," but the SEC has now stepped in and said that net neutrality has become a "significant policy consideration," and that it can no longer be excluded from shareholder ballots. As Bloomberg Businessweek notes, companies can challenge the SEC's findings in court, although it remains to be seen if AT&T or other carriers will take that step. No further word from Mike D on the matter, so we'll take this opportunity to share another important message of his after the break.[Image credit: Fabio Venni / Wikimedia Commons]
Video: DJ Hero in a two-player turntable and guitar sabotage
Look Cochese, we know you've been wondering what DJ Hero live play looks like in a multi-player setup. So check the two-player turntable and guitar mashup after the break that pits the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" against the Foo Fighters' "Monkey Wrench." You'll be much sexier for doing so. Promise
Declaration of Independence reading gets perfect vocal score in Rock Band 2
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Declaration_of_Independence_gets_100_vocals_in_Rock_Band_2'; Back in July, a GameSpy preview for Rock Band 2 claimed "the phoneme detection system used for the 'talkie' parts [in Rock Band] has been completely stripped and a new one has been put in place [for Rock Band 2]." Well, Harmonix definitely stripped out the old system, but it seems to have forgotten to put a new one in its place, as the new game seems to award perfect vocal points if it detects any noise during the "talkie" parts.We first became aware of this problem when we saw this video of a singer using a bunch of gibberish to pass the Beastie Boys' "So Whatcha Want" with a 100% rating on Expert difficulty. It's an impressive illustration of the faulty phoneme detection, but it's not wholly satisfying -- the singer is occasionally on rhythm and his voice occasionally does kind of match with the on-screen words. We wondered: how bad would a vocal performance have to be to fail this song?The answer, apparently, is "worse than a monotone recitation of the U.S. Declaration of Independence." As shown in the above video we've put together, even a dry reading of a 200+-year-old political treatise can be victorious in a Rock Band 2 vocal battle. Rest assured, there's no computer trickery going on here -- this video was taken as a direct feed from the Xbox 360 and has not been edited in any way. Now we only have one more question: when will Harmonix put in that improved phoneme detection system it's long been promising.
Mix Master Mac
If you've been following all the good news about Sundance Film Festival over at Blogging Sundance and Cinematical, then you've probably already spotted the news that Mix Master Mike was ripping up some cool tunes at last night's party for The Beastie Boys' film that James Rocchi reviewed for Cinematical.James went to the party last night, and shot the picture accompanying this post with his camera. Check it out: Mix Master Mike, cutting with a PowerBook. Nice. James said the cuts were off the hook, and I was very jealous that he got the pass to go to the party, but didn't get a plus one for yours truly. Fortunately, James is an awesome guy and hooked me up with some nice Beastie Boys schwag that he scored at the party, as well as the picture and title for this post.ps—Beasties rule!
