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Netflix says it is finally adding offline playback
Netflix has long said that it had no intention of ever offering an offline playback mode for when you're stuck on an airplane or anywhere else with no internet connection. But it seems like the company is changing course: An enigmatic tweet from the Netflix account says that "your favorite stories are now available for download any time." It's accompanied by a cute video with scenes from a bunch of Netflix original shows, but it seems as if the feature won't be limited to only the company's original content. Regardless of any catches, the message is clear: Netflix will finally let us save shows to watch when we don't have an internet connection.
Netflix reportedly reaches another Comcast-style agreement, but with a Norwegian ISP
Netflix's oddly public peering agreement to connect directly with Comcast has, as many expected, been followed closely by a similar deal. What may surprise some is that this arrangement is with Norway's Telenor and not Verizon or AT&T, although the circumstances are remarkably similar. Filter Magazine points out a report from Dagens Næringsliv (Today's Business), a Norwegian industry paper, revealing an arrangement where Netflix is apparently paying rent to place its servers loaded full of movies inside the telecommunication company's datacenter. Telenor spokesman Jørn Bremtun confirmed a commercial agreement to Filter but could not reveal details, although Netflix's OpenConnect proposal suggested a similar arrangement, without payment. Telenor has recently dropped sharply in Netflix's ISP speed index (sound familiar?), and like the Comcast announcement, this new deal is drawing scrutiny from supporters of the principles of net neutrality. Telenor is held to the standards of net neutrality as set by the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority (PDF), just like Comcast is under the terms of its agreement to purchase NBC. Also just like Comcast, Telenor claims that charging Netflix is not blocked by those standards, since it isn't providing preferential treatment to any particular traffic on the network. Finn Myrstad of The Consumer Council of Norway echoes statements by US consumer rights groups and our post on the topic, pointing out that the secret nature of such deals is inherently troubling. There's still no word on any other similar agreements with US ISPs, but the trend appears to be firmly in motion.
YouTube's mobile apps will add true offline viewing in November
YouTube's Android app added the ability to watch precached videos (while still online) last summer, but Google's video streaming unit isn't stopping there. A post tonight on its Partners & Creators informed video makers that viewing of stored videos with no internet connection is coming soon. According to the blog the feature is coming to its mobile apps -- following up on the recent updates on Android and iOS -- in November, and will let viewers store videos for disconnected viewing for a "short time." We don't know if that consists of minutes, hours or days at a time but we'll keep an eye out for more details -- perhaps this is what the team that used to work on video responses has been up to.
SiriusXM for Android update brings On Demand and offline listening
If you're an Android-toting SiriusXM fan, you've probably spent the last month wondering when your smartphone would get the newfound flexibility to tune in beyond live radio. As of Sirius XM's version 2.2 update, Android is back on equal footing. The upgrade supplies On Demand streaming, both for catch-up and the occasional classic, as well as downloadable copies to keep the music and talk flowing offline. As before, the access is considered a free perk of a SiriusXM subscription; if you enjoy Howard Stern's cynicism enough to want it at odd hours of the day, your angsty fix awaits at the source.
Amazon Silk browser on Kindle Fire tracks page visits to generate trends, isn't as spooky as it sounds (update: opt-out exists)
When you pick up that new Kindle Fire HD this fall, one of the first things you'll notice is an updated version of Amazon's Silk web browser with a Trending Now section. It's a clever trick that takes advantage of Silk's server-based caching to find out what sites are popular among owners. That sounds good on the surface, but it doesn't take much effort to realize that there are privacy concerns already in the air -- Amazon is sharing personal web habits with a wider audience, after all. While the section is unlikely to include any identifying information, there's no immediate sign that tablet owners can keep their behavior private, and that could create some indignation among those who'd prefer to surf in isolation. We've asked Amazon if there will be an opt-out escape hatch and will let you know if there's a definitive answer. In the meantime, we wouldn't necessarily worry. Silk shouldn't be caching your e-mail, and it's only likely to ever show pages that have far more traffic than anything you'd be embarrassed to show to others. As far as we can tell, your secret knitting obsession should be safe. Update: A spokesperson has confirmed that the option to disable Silk's caching is still available, and that switching it off will cut you out of Trending Now; that's a very all-or-nothing approach, but it'll likely suit those put off by the browser's predictive approach in the first place. Secure pages are still out of the picture as well, which should keep those private Twitter messages out of the equation.
Google updates PageSpeed Service so you don't waste precious seconds waiting for pages to load
Last year, Google launched its PageSpeed Service, aiming to improve our experience across the web while reportedly deferring its own financial interests. The concept was sound -- similar services like Akamai work to accelerate web browsing by caching pages in much the same way -- but there's always room for improvement. The latest PageSpeed beta uses some straightforward techniques to improve performance even further, using a new rewriter called "Cache and Prioritize Visible Content." Using this new tool, your browser will load content that appears "above the fold" before fetching text and photos that would be initially hidden on the page, while also prioritizing other content ahead of Javascript, which often isn't needed as quickly as more basic elements. Finally, for pages that contain HTML that isn't cacheable, such as when personalized info is returned, standard portions of the site are cached and displayed immediately, while other content loads normally. The new tool isn't a perfect fit for every webpage, but we'll take a boost wherever we can get it.
YouTube for Android 4.0 ends buffering on your favorite videos with precaching, adds remote
As Google I/O 2012 rolls along, the YouTube team is updating its Android app to v4.0 with a load of new features, but you'll need Android 4.0+ to take advantage of them (at least for now, see below). Available in 47 countries, the new app brings a brand new UI with support for channels that reflects the redesign rolled out on the website last year (not the circle-centric look that it is testing with a select few), and it can precache videos from your favorite channels for viewing later. All you have to do is select "preload" in the setting menu and it will pull down videos from your subscriptions and Watch Later queue when plugged in and on WiFi. To actually view them later you will still need to be online, but they'll load instantly from the device's storage instead of streaming. Another new feature is integrated remote functionality to control playback on connected TVs and other devices. This apparently extends to more than just Google TV, as we're told to "expect more updates later" on how this feature will become broadly available. If you're not rocking the latest Android software don't freak out yet, as the team indicates these features will come to more devices later. Developers should be excited too as there's a slew of new YouTube APIs available, hit the source links below to check them out or download the app yourself.
Amazon Silk browser spins a faster mobile web, courtesy of cloud servers (video)
Part of Amazon's new Kindle Fire pitch is its promise of Amazon Silk -- a "split browser" exclusive to the tablet that gets the heavy lifting done on its EC2 cloud servers and promises faster access as a result. Dubbed Silk to represent an "invisible, yet incredibly strong connection", it takes advantage of Amazon's existing speedy connections, and that so many sites are already hosted on its servers to speed up web access. Another feature is its ability to learn from previous web surfers and use their data to determine how to render a page, and which sites to precache on the device before you even select the next link. While mobile browsers like Skyfire and Opera have offered speed boosting proxies before, Amazon thinks its AWS prowess and the addition of "dynamic decisions" about what to render locally or in the cloud takes it to another level. Read our live blog of the event for more details, or check out the video explanation and press release after the break.
OCZ debuts Synapse Cache Series SSDs to compensate for your HDD's shortcomings
This really shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given some of OCZ's other offerings, but the company has outed its Synapse Cache SSDs so you don't have to suffer the speed limitations inherent in spinning disk storage. These 2.5-inch, 6 GB/s SATA drives come in 64 and 128GB flavors, and do the dual drive dance with your HDD of choice using the firms' Dataplex caching software. That nifty bit of code hastens data retrieval by dynamically managing your data, placing frequently used info on the speedy SSD, and shoving the rest on your capacious, cheap-as-chips HDD. When can you up your storage speed limit and how much will it cost? OCZ's not telling, but the drive's full performance specs can be found in the PR and source below.
Intel's Larsen Creek SSDs leak out, courtesy of ASRock's Z68 motherboard
Manufacturers just aren't willing to wait for the eighth of May -- they want to announce their spiffy new Intel Z68 Express motherboards now, dang it, whatever the consequences. Well, we can't really complain, especially when said motherboards reveal brand-new Intel products in trade. The above image was pulled direct from a PDF flyer for the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 motherboard, which depicts an intriguing benchmark -- if you pair one of Intel's 20GB Larsen Creek solid state drives with a standard 1TB magnetic hard drive, Intel's SSD caching technology can allegedly give you much speedier performance. Of course, there's no such thing as a 20GB Larsen Creek drive, right? This is the part where we'd tell you that Intel may finally be democratizing solid state storage and making it an affordable upgrade to all -- except we know full well that Z68 is the company's premium Sandy Bridge-supporting chipset, so don't get your hopes up too far. [Thanks, Anton]
Garmin launches OpenCaching community, pushes caching closer to the mainstream
What's that? You've never heard of caching? For shame! In all seriousness, we're surmising that quite a few of you out there may have overlooked this up-and-coming jewel of recreation, but Garmin's doing its darnedest to change that. The GPS maker has just opened up a new online community at OpenCaching.com, hailed "a completely free online community for creating, sharing and finding geocaches around the world." For those out of the loop, caching is akin to a sophisticated game of hide-and-seek, where individuals download GPX files and then head out on adventures that'll lead them to various surprises and / or treasures. A two-month old honey bun, an original script from Step Brothers, or maybe even a sealed bag of Deutsche Marks from last century -- you know, things of that sort. The site even lets users rank the 'Awesomeness' in addition to size, terrain and difficulty, and while it's obviously hosted by Garmin, it's platform agnostic in nature. Head on over if you're looking to blaze a few trails over the holiday break.
Slacker Radio 2.0 for iPhone to feature station caching, out 'soonish'
Ever since Slacker Radio decided to flee the hardware business, we've been looking forward to bigger and better things from its mobile apps. If the hands-on that Dave Zatz got with the version 2.0 software for iPhone is any indication we won't be waiting in vain, either. The big news here is station caching: that's right, users will soon be able to store music for off-line access, whether you're listening on a plane or in a dead zone. Exactly how many stations (and for how long) you can store is currently a mystery, although the reviewer said it took about 20 minutes to cache six stations, with each one being good for at least a couple hours playback. In order to take advantage of this, you will need to purchase the Slacker Radio Plus package, and you'll have to wait for the app to be approved by Apple, which could be a couple days from now -- or it could be never, depending on Apple's mood.
