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Judge dismisses Genius lawsuit against Google over 'stolen' lyrics
While the judge who presided over the case said Genius' concerns about data scraping were legitimate, he ultimately didn't agree with the company's argument that Google's actions constituted copyright infringement.
Genius sues Google for $50 million over 'stolen' song lyrics
Earlier this year Genius announced it suspected Google of copying its lyrics data -- now it's thrown its weight behind a lawsuit accusing the company of exactly that. According to Genius, lyric licensing company LyricFind pulled lyrics directly from Genius' pages, which Google subsequently used in its search results.
Google search results will show where song lyrics come from
Google isn't sitting idly by while Genius accuses it of copying lyrics. As part of a larger defense of its lyrics search practices, the company has mentioned that it will "soon" attribute the third parties providing song lyrics. This should "make it clearer" as to where the lyrics come from, the company said. In theory, this would direct any complaints to the third parties instead of making Google shoulder all the blame.
Genius accuses Google of copying its lyrics data (updated)
Have you found yourself using Google's lyrics results more than visiting individual lyrics sites? You're not alone -- and Genius thinks underhanded tactics are involved. The company has accused Google of not only hurting its traffic with its lyrics cards, but of sometimes grabbing Genius' lyrics verbatim. The evidence is in the apostrophes, Genius said. It purposefully alternated between straight and curved apostrophes as a form of watermarking (they typically spell out "red handed" in Morse code), and there were reportedly over 100 instances where Google's lyrics included those exact apostrophes.
Blockchain Wikipedia is a dish best served cold
"You really shouldn't be interviewing me. I don't want to fuck it all up again." We're standing in a greenroom for panelists at StartEngine ICO 2.0, a blockchain conference held in Santa Monica, California, in April 2018. Mahbod Moghadam grabs me and insists, "Really, don't interview me. Do this interview entirely on Larry Sanger." Moghadam, 36, the co-founder of lyrics annotation and media site Genius, is referring to Larry Sanger, 50, the co-founder of Wikipedia. Both were ousted from their respective sites -- Moghadam was forced to resign, Sanger was laid off -- and in the years since, both have traded shots with their intellectual spawn. They're now executives at Everipedia, a blockchain-based encyclopedia and competitor to Wikipedia. In the past year, Everipedia has achieved several milestones. It raised $30 million from Galaxy Digital. It decentralized and became the largest project on the EOS blockchain. As of January 2019, Everipedia is the largest English-language encyclopedia to ever exist -- though, as Wikipedia notes, the majority of articles are clones of Wikipedia articles. Moghadam mills about the greenroom, sunglassed and ebullient. He tells panelists that they'll receive a wiki page afterward or that they already have a wiki. He explains the slang meaning of "Chad": a tall, suave, alpha-looking guy, which most crypto-attendees are decidedly not. "And then 'Thot' is the female version of Chad," he jokes. Finally, an usher arrives to escort the group out. "Wish me luck," Moghadam says, and walks onto the stage.
Apple Music teams up with Genius to add lyrics to its service
Apple Music has teamed up with Genius, a well-known compendium of song lyrics and musical knowledge, to provide lyrics for thousands of streamable songs on the service. That way, you don't have to look up the lyrics to the latest hit song you've been listening to on repeat recently. If you fire up Genius' iOS app or visit its website on desktop or mobile, though, you'll find that the partnership works both ways: the lyrics platform now has an embedded Apple Music player.
Leaked Apple repair videos offer a peek behind the curtain
Apple products aren't necessarily made for you to repair them at home; you generally need to take your ailing iPhone or Macbook Pro into an Apple retail store for any significant fixes or part replacement. Now, however, a YouTube account has apparently leaked eleven official-looking internal training videos that show how repairs are made on iPhone X, iMac Pro and MacBook Pro.
Genius tests out swipe-able 'song story' explainers
Genius, which you might remember from its slick Behind The Lyrics feature on Spotify, is now introducing an even richer, Instagram Stories-style feature, with some YouTube assistance. Song Stories folds together Genius artist interviews, social media missives, concert videos and interactive elements (like quizzes) to swipe along to as the track plays.
Leaked Apple warranty guide shows what it will and won't repair
It's pretty tough for individuals and even third-party shops to repair Apple products, and often hard to predict whether Apple itself will repair, decline to fix or replace a busted iPhone. However, Business Insider has unearthed a 22-page "Visual/Mechanical Inspection Guide," or VMI, that shows what qualifies as an "eligible repair." It's reportedly used to conduct a physical damage inspection and assess cost, "basically half the training for iPhone techs," an anonymous Genius told BI.
Ron Howard on his Einstein show and digital filmmaking
Genius isn't your typical Albert Einstein biopic. It starts with a brutal assassination and immediately jumps to the renowned physicist in flagrante with one of his assistants. The series is director Ron Howard's second offering for National Geographic, following Mars. And notably, Genius is the first of Howard's scripted TV shows that he's directing, after serving as a producer for countless series like Parenthood, Arrested Development (where he played the iconic narrator) and Felicity.
Text 'Call Me Maybe' to your crush with Genius Lyric Messages
Genius is where the internet turns for rap lyrics (mostly) and song annotations, and tomorrow you'll be able to send those to your pals without leaving iMessage. The way the press release describes it, the process sounds fairly simple. And even a bit GBoard-like with its card structure. "Users can create Genius Lyric Messages for any song available on Genius, regardless of artist, genre, language, year or chart popularity," the press release reads. From there you can customize the card's background image and send it to whoever you want, be it via iMessage or your preferred social apps. Don't use iMessage? You can send lyrics from within the iOS-exclusive (for now) Genius app itself.
Producer recreates 'The Life of Pablo' without ever hearing it
If you didn't know, Kanye West's latest album was a Tidal exclusive for a pretty long time. Tidal isn't available in Japan, and pirating music is a criminal offence with penalties as harsh as up to two years prison time for downloading and ten (yes, ten) for uploading. With no way to listen to the album, producer Toyomu decided to take matters into his own hands. He decided to make his own The Life of Pablo (TLOP).
Oral-B's new smart toothbrush tracks movement with your phone
Oral-B debuted its Smart Series of connected toothbrushes last year, and at Mobile World Congress 2016, the company announced a new model. The Oral-B Genius touts Position Detection tech that uses motion sensors and your phone's camera to track your oral hygiene. Those bells and whistles keep tabs on location, pressure and brushing time to offer feedback on how well you're cleaning your teeth. All of those details come to you through the companion app on your trusty handset. In fact, there's a holder that comes with the high-tech toothbrush so you can put your phone on the mirror in front of you while brush.
Amazon will stream the President's State of the Union speech
The President's State of the Union address has been viewable online for years, but you've had to visit either the White House's website or YouTube. That's not very convenient in an era when streaming services reach just about every device you know. And the government knows it, apparently: the Office of Digital Strategy has announced that President Obama's final State of the Union speech will stream on Amazon Instant Video (both live and on-demand) in addition to the usual sources. The goal is to bring video to where people watch, rather than make you hunt it down. If you want to tune on your Fire TV, you can.
Genius for Android shows lyrics for whatever you're playing
Genius is all about digging up lyrics for that song you're listening to, so it would only make sense if it brought up those lyrics at the very moment the song comes on, wouldn't it? Sure enough, you're getting that feature now. A recent update to the Android app introduces lyric matching for whatever you're playing, in any app -- whether it's Apple Music, Google Play Music or Spotify, you'll get those verses as soon as they're relevant. They'll only be as good as the crowdsourced material allows, of course, but it beats scratching your head when an unintelligible line comes up mid-tune.
Genius' crowdsourced song annotations arrive on Android
Genius, formerly known as crowdsourced song annotation service Rap Genius, has finally released an Android app, along with a redesigned website and iOS version. It's where music enthusiasts can read -- or write and upload -- the meanings, history and even hip hop feuds behind song lyrics as annotations. For instance, by clicking on a part of Meek Mill's new track Wanna Know, I found out that he was "clowning Drake for never having a real chance with Nicki [Minaj]." Unfortunately, Android users can neither add nor edit annotations yet, though a spokesperson told VentureBeat that those features will be available soon.
Apple rumored to overhaul its Genius Bar, add 'Concierge' service
Apple is reportedly readying substantial changes to how it runs its Genius Bar support service in-stors, according to 9to5Mac. While the current walk-in system requires the customer to explain the issue then be given an appointment soon after, the new 'Concierge' service (as it'll apparently be called) will tap into special algorithms to offer support for customers, giving wait time based on priority. As 9to5Mac puts it, a broken iPhone screen would receive higher priority than a small issue with iCloud when the phone itself still works fine. Employees will input the customers' issues, and the system will do the rest.
Apple ID now required to set Genius Bar appointment online
Apple has implemented a slight, but significant change to the way it books Genius Bar appointments online. Now folks wishing to make such an appointment must have a working Apple ID and password. Previously, users could simply enter in basic identifiable information like their name and email address in order to set up an appointment. TechCrunch adds some insight as to the reasoning behind the recent change: An additional reason for this change, we understand, is to give the control of a Genius Bar appointment to a user directly, who must know their credentials and enter them before being able to confirm a payment. There is also the convenience of having a customer's data automatically filled out with a simple entry of the Apple ID. This could allow Geniuses to look [up] past purchases and communicate with the user much easier now as well.
Genius Ring Mouse 2 and Ring Presenter thumbs-on
With CES 2013 coming to a frigid conclusion here in Las Vegas, we moseyed our way to the Genius booth and went thumbs-on with the Ring Presenter and the Ring Mouse 2. Both use a 2.4GHz wireless USB connection, providing you with a 10-foot radius of Ring Mouse action on either OS X or Windows. The Ring Mouse 2 packs the standard mouse functions, while the Ring Presenter offers left / right / middle buttons, dragging, four-way scrolling and -- drum roll, please -- a laser pointer. Wearers simply navigate the cursor by perusing their thumb across the Touch Control sensor capable of a 1000dpi sensitivity. After donning the ring we found it to be quite large, so those with smaller paws might have a harder time using it. From within approximately two feet out we observed great response and ease of use. The duo of diminutive peripherals may prove interesting for a niche that's tired of the conventional pointer, and if you find yourself in that group, you can purchase either in the near future for $50+.
Genius Gila gaming mouse hands-on
What does it feel like holding a CES Design and Innovation nominee in your hand? If Genius is any indication, it feels an awful lot like a $100 mouse. A pretty nice $100 mouse, mind you -- one with all sorts of flashing lights and rubber-injected sides. The Gila GX Gaming Series fits nicely in the hand, as one might expect from a peripheral designed for extended MMO marathons. It's also got a nice weight to it already, but if that's not enough, that's no problem: there's a trap door in the bottom that opens up. Inside, you can slot a tray of watch battery-sized weights, which pop in and out to adjust the thing to a suitable level, up to 30 grams. Also cool is the DPI gauge on top of the mouse, to let you know where you currently stand in the 200 to 8,200 range. There are 12 buttons jammed into the thing, and as you'd imagine, there's button assignment and macro options, so you can set up to 72 keys on the thing. There's also a slew of color options for the various lights on the mouse, in case the glut of buttons aren't showy enough for your gaming needs. Sadly, Genius isn't quite ready to debut the second generation Ring Mouse, but we've been promised a glimpse in the very near future. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub. Jon Fingas contributed to this report.
