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Apple Music adds a Shazam-powered playlist to highlight new artists
Until now, Apple hasn't visibly integrated Shazam much into its other services since buying the music discovery service last year. As of today, though, a Shazam-powered chart highlighting new artists will be available to stream on Apple Music.
Bullet's captioned snippets make podcasts a lot more shareable
While becoming more and more popular, podcasts are far less share-friendly than videos because of their long-form and audio-only nature. An Adelaide-based company aims to change that with a new iOS app called Bullet. It lets you create 30 second video snippets, complete with captions, suitable for sharing on social media. That way, you can post enticing bits of a podcast that are watchable without sound to share with your friends -- a win for consumers and producers alike.
PlayStation Vue is raising prices for all of its plans (updated)
Another year, another price hike for the PlayStation Vue TV-streaming service. On Monday, the company announced that it was raising the prices of all of its multi-channel plans by $5 per month. The change will be effective starting today for new subscribers. Existing subscribers can expect the price increase in their billing statements on or after July 31st.
'Unprecedented' 3D magnetic interactions could change computing
The field of spintronics, or spin electronics, uses an electron's spin and its magnetic movement to encode instructions and other data. It's sometimes seen as an alternative to electronics, which relies on the electron's charge to encode data. While spintronics has the potential to increase data processing speeds, boost storage capacity and offer increased data resilience, it's been limited because physicists could only move the electrons -- or tiny magnetic particles -- around a single atomic layer. Now, researchers have found a way to move information from magnets in one layer to magnets in another. They hope the discovery will lead to new possibilities for data storage and computing.
China’s rover finds mysterious minerals on the far side of the moon
Early this year, China's Chang'e-4 lunar lander made history when it became the first spacecraft to touch down on the far side of the moon. Now, according to a study published in Nature, the lander's rover, Yutu-2, may have detected the first signs of lunar mantle material. If the minerals it found prove to be part of the moon's mantle, the discovery could help scientists better understand how both the moon and the Earth formed.
NASA’s TESS spacecraft finds its first Earth-sized exoplanet
One year after its launch, NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) discovered its first Earth-sized exoplanet. Named HD21749c, the planet orbits a star just 53 light-years from Earth and is likely rocky but uninhabitable. The findings -- published in Astrophysical Journal Letters -- suggest TESS is capable of fulfilling its mission to catalog thousands of planet candidates, including more than 300 that are expected to be Earth-sized and super-Earth-sized exoplanets.
YouTube TV costs $50 per month after another price hike
YouTube TV isn't immune to the latest wave of rate hikes plaguing the streaming world. The Google-owned service has announced that it's raising the base monthly price to $50 ($55 if you subscribe directly through an Apple TV), effective immediately for new subscribers and from May 13th onward for existing customers. You'll at least get something for your trouble, though, as YouTube TV will finally offer a host of additional channels.
Discovery streaming service will be the main home for BBC nature shows
Discovery is widening the scope of its streaming service plans, although it might not be great news for nature buffs. The network has unveiled a deal with BBC Studios that will see the BBC's history, nature and science documentaries form one of the "pillars" of a Discovery streaming service due to launch by 2020. On top of that, the service will be the exclusive streaming home for BBC nature docs outside of the UK, Ireland and China, including series like Blue Planet, Life and Planet Earth -- it's not clear what will happen with existing titles on sites like Netflix, but you might not want to count on them sticking around.
Get ready for targeted ads on your smart TV
By now, we're all used to targeted ads on social media. And whether you're comfortable with having your interests shared with advertisers or not, it looks like "addressable advertising" is coming to your smart TV too, sooner rather than later. Several top media companies -- including Disney, Comcast, NBCUniversal, CBS and Discovery -- announced they're teaming up with smart TV company Vizio to develop a new standard that might make commercials feel eerily personal.
Citizen astronomers discover new planet that NASA algorithms missed
NASA's Kepler Space Telescope might not be doing much anymore, but discoveries are still being made thanks to the data it left behind. By analyzing its historical records, and crowdsourcing help from volunteer astronomers, a citizen team has discovered a new planet roughly twice the size of Earth. The planet, known as K2-288Bb, could be rocky, or gas-rich, similar to Neptune. Its discovery is particularly exciting because the planet's size (just slightly smaller than Neptune) is so rare among those beyond our solar system – known as exoplanets.
Sling adds Discovery, Science to its lineup
Sling TV's line up of available channels is getting bigger. The streaming TV service is adding nine new channels from Discovery Networks that offer live and on-demand content, including the flagship Discovery Channel and MotorTrend. The best news for Sling subscribers: some of the channels will be added to your package for free.
Discovery and PGA Tour team up on GOLFTV streaming service
Discovery and the PGA Tour have announced a new OTT service called GOLFTV, which will be a hub for golf coverage outside of the US. GOLFTV will offer more than 2,000 hours of live content each year and will cover around 150 tournaments. Down the line, Discovery might also bring analysis, equipment reviews, course reviews and travel to GOLFTV, Variety reports.
Hulu nabs five Discovery channels for its live TV line-up
Hulu is adding five extra Discovery networks to its live TV line-up along with thousands of on-demand shows. Viewers can look forward to watching Discovery Channel, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Motor Trend (the rebranded Velocity), and Animal Planet this December -- the fruits of a multi-year pact that's been in the works since before the launch of Hulu's livestreaming option in May, 2017, according to Variety.
Discovery's streaming service could package 17 channels for $5 a month
Discovery could launch its own streaming service. CEO David Zaslav (above) said that he's considering bundling the 17 channels his company picked up in last year's Scrips Networks Interactive acquisition into a service that'd cost between $5 and $8 per month.
‘Star Trek Discovery’ failed to do what good sci-fi does
This article contains mild spoilers for the first season of 'Star Trek Discovery'. At its best, science fiction does more than just entertain, or ensure its cliffhanger is strong enough that you come back next week. The cool spaceships and robots are just the framework through which we explore the anxieties and morals of our society at large. And we're at such a febrile point in history that we need sci-fi to ground us in what's coming in the not-too-distant future. I've been preaching patience for a while now, but I don't think that I can defend Star Trek Discovery any further. The conclusion of its debut season has shown that, for all the promise of its raw material, it's been a big disappointment. The show lacked soul, and a theme, to the point where it has devoted its running time to celebrating its own coolness rather than exploring any sort of idea.
Discovery, Scripps merger gets approval from European Commission
Discovery Communications Inc. announced today that the European Commission has approved its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. The merger was announced last July and both companies' shareholders voted to approve the $14.6 billion deal in November. Discovery, which owns TLC, Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel will gain Scripps holdings such as HGTV, Food Network and the Travel Channel and once combined, the company will control around 20 percent of ad-supported, pay-TV audiences in the US.
Facebook hires TV network CEO to land worldwide sports deals
It's clearer than ever that Facebook wants to become a leader in live sports streaming. Variety and the Guardian have learned that Facebook has hired Peter Hutton, the CEO of Discovery-owned TV network Eurosport, to lead its negotiations for worldwide live sports streams. He'll work out of Facebook's home turf in Silicon Valley, and this will definitely be a step down the corporate ladder -- he'll report to Facebook's global sports partnership leader, Dan Reed. Hutton will formally switch roles after the Winter Olympics finish in February.
Apple is reportedly buying Shazam and its music identification tech
In a bit of Friday afternoon news, TechCrunch reports that Apple plans to buy Shazam, the company behind the popular audio identification software and app. Apparently, the site's sources indicate the deal could be announced Monday, but it's quick to note the timing on these things isn't always solid. As you can imagine, rumored terms of the deal, including a sale price, aren't reliable just yet. The acquisition would give Apple ownership of the music, TV and movie identifying tech and a group of features it could easily take advantage of with its own products.
Google’s latest VR series takes you to the set of ‘Austin City Limits’
While Apple continues to expand its library of exclusive music documentaries, Google is now bringing a little music to its slate of VR series. Austin City Limits: Backstage takes you behind the scenes of the legendary music show and gives you backstage access to the performances, the crew and the artists that take the stage.
'Mythbusters' reboot comes to Science Channel on November 15th
What do you do when your highly-successful reality show goes out with a bang? If you're Discovery-owned Science Channel, you quickly reboot it and find new hosts to replace the iconic ones. If you're a fan of the original and willing to give the new guys a chance to prove themselves to be as awesome as Adam and Jamie are, then your'e in luck. The new version of Mythbusters, a much-loved show that reveled in DIY gadgetry and science, is set to air its first of 14 episodes on November 15th.
