rentals
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Lionsgate deal brings big-name movies to Steam
You've had pretty slim pickings for major movie rentals on Steam (unless you really like Mad Max), but that's changing today. Lionsgate has reached a deal with Valve to put over 100 of its movies on Steam, including flicks you'll definitely recognize -- the Hunger Games, Saw and Twilight movies, for example. Availability might vary where you live, but the prices are at least right. You're usually looking at between $4 to $5 for a 48-hour rental, depending on how big a title you're hoping to watch.
Airbnb cracks down on illegal hotels in its home town
San Francisco regulates short-term rental services like Airbnb, but there's still plenty of abuse. Locals can still point to property owners illegally offering short-term stays in homes they don't live in, making an already dire housing situation even worse. However, Airbnb is now promising to do something about it. It's investigating hosts in its home town with multiple listings, and promises to kick out "unwelcome commercial operators" that are running illegal hotels. The company reckons that 671 whole-home listings (from just 288 hosts), or about 7 percent of all San Francisco listings, are suspicious enough to warrant a closer look.
Uber hopes you'll rent a car to work as a driver
Uber is eager to get lots of drivers... so eager, in fact, that it's hoping to recruit drivers who don't even own a car. The ridesharing firm is partnering with Enterprise Rent-A-Car on a program that gives you a car rental, vehicle coverage and maintenance for $210 per week. Ostensibly, this gives you everything you need (outside of fuel) in one tidy package, and lets you taste life as an Uber driver when you either can't afford ownership or just don't want to jump in with both feet.
Half of Airbnb's New York City hosts are breaking the law
New York's Attorney General already suspects that most Airbnb rentals in New York City are dodgy, and he now has some extra evidence to back up that claim... from Airbnb itself. The room sharing service has published data which, when given a close inspection, reveals that 55 percent of NYC hosts are (typically) violating the law by renting out whole apartments while they're gone. They're not necessarily setting up illegal hotels, but the Attorney General's 2014 report revealed that 37 percent of revenue came from hosts with three or more listings. Unless there's been a change in the past year, the odds are high that some of those recent hosts are abusing Airbnb to make a tidy profit.
Airbnb promises to work more closely with cities on home rentals
To say that Airbnb's relationship with cities is sometimes confrontational would be an understatement. At times, it's practically contemptuous. The home rental service is trying to offer an olive branch, though -- it just posted a Community Compact that promises a better relationship with the cities where it operates. Airbnb is promising to communicate with each city on a case-by-case basis, and make sure that it pays its "fair share" of taxes. It's also vowing more transparency, and to encourage "responsible" home sharing (such as discouraging people who turn homes into permanent hotels).
Government proposal aims to legalise Airbnb rentals in London
Hop onto a site like Airbnb or One Fine Stay and you'll find plenty of houses, flats and rooms available in London for short-term rental. While these are perfect for visitors after a more homely (and sometimes cheaper) stay in the capital, those wanting to squeeze a few quid out of their dormant spaces aren't exactly doing things by the book. A law, which many see as outdated, essentially prevents Londoners from letting their pads out for less than three months at a time (without appropriate planning permission), and some of the city's boroughs have tried taking legal action against wannabe landlords on this basis. This is especially true in upmarket areas like Westminster, the City of London, Chelsea and Kensington, where local councils argue it could foster housing shortages and turn residential areas into nuisance-ridden, decentralized hotels. So, in an effort to curb patchy implementation of the law, and to support Londoners wanting to tap into the "sharing economy," the government has announced a proposal that would make short-term rentals through sites like Airbnb legal; though unsurprisingly, it's already drawing flak.
'Airbnb for Airbnb' lets you stay somewhere while you rent your place
So you've decided to make some extra money renting out your apartment on Airbnb, only to realize that you need your own place to stay in the meantime. Don't worry, there's a service for that. Welcome to CISWYWIRMPOA? (Can I Stay with You While I Rent My Place on Airbnb?), a site that lets you arrange to stay with another Airbnb host. This "Airbnb for Airbnb" (their words) is largely ad hoc. Once you pair with someone, it's up to you to decide on payments -- the service suggests splitting your rental revenues or offering to host your new friend, but there aren't any firm rules. Yes, it's a bit absurd, but it shows that Airbnb is now big enough that some hosts want their own support network.
New York Attorney General says most Airbnb rentals in NYC violate the law
The legality of Airbnb rentals in New York City have been under fire for awhile now, and the city just fired another volley: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has released a report titled "Airbnb in the city," and it's not particularly favorable. The report claims that 72-percent of all private short-term rentals (read: Airbnb rentals) are illegal -- specifically because they were rentals for an "entire/home apartment" for terms of less than a month. The report explains that these kinds of rentals probably should be paying hotel occupancy taxes, and estimates that the city has lost $33 million in tax revenue as a result of the illegal Airbnb rentals. Worse, the report says, a small contingent of hosts seem to be using Airbnb to run illegal hotels.
San Francisco creates a legal framework for Airbnb-style rentals
If you're wondering how many cities will eventually grapple with the legal issues surrounding Airbnb and other internet-based home rentals, you may not have to look much further than San Francisco. Its Board of Supervisors has passed a law that lets these services run, but regulates them to both prevent abuse and give the municipality its due. Hosts not only have to limit whole-home rentals to 90 days per year, but register with the city's Planning Department (which costs $50), pay hotel tax and keep records that prove they're respecting the time restriction. There should also be companion legislation in the future that prevents landlords from evicting tenants to turn their buildings into makeshift hotels. If implemented, it'll let housing non-profits sue to stop these turnovers rather than wait for officials to respond.
Airbnb pulls over 2,000 sketchy New York City rental listings
Airbnb is clearly tired of getting grief from cities that say its customers' short-term rentals are frequently illegal or otherwise a drain on the community. The company has revealed that it's in the midst of removing more than 2,000 New York City listings that aren't "providing a quality, local experience to guests." While Airbnb hasn't said exactly what that means, the move comes as the state Attorney General filed an affidavit in support of a subpoena for Airbnb customer info. The filing claims that two thirds of NYC rentals break the law by subletting an entire apartment without the official tenants being present, and it named and shamed 17 hosts that are allegedly the biggest abusers.
Rental options spotted (but not working) on the PlayStation Store
A list of non-functioning (for now) links point towards the kind of rental options users can expect from the PlayStation Now streaming service. MP1st and PSNStores spotted links for 1-day, 7-day, and 30-day rentals of Atlus' romantic puzzler Catherine, and when PSNStores tried to purchase one of the rentals, it found "Catherine PS Now" in its transaction history. The links follows the clues laid out on a PS Now concept image published by Gaikai (via VG247) earlier in the week. Certain tiles displayed low prices for PS3 games - Uncharted 3 at $5, Far Cry 3 at $6 - perhaps an indication of the service's base prices for rentals. PlayStation Now is expected to see a full rollout sometime this summer, letting users rent games individually or pay for a subscription to the service. Developed by Gaikai, who Sony acquired for $380 million two years ago, PS Now lets users stream PS1, PS2, and PS3 games on PS4, PS3, Vita, Bravia TV, and other unannounced devices. [Image: PSNStores]
Vimeo On Demand celebrates first birthday, gives filmmakers money, viewers a fresh interface
Web video's growing up before our eyes, folks. A year ago, Vimeo On Demand made its debut to help content makers get paid by content consumers (that's you) directly, and, presumably, to help folks think of Vimeo as a purveyor of online video that's more Netflix and less YouTube. In celebration of its first 12 months of existence, Vimeo's making some improvements to the on demand portal's interface and announcing plans to help fund digital filmmakers. First off, joining the standard comedy, documentary, animation, etc. content categories, the site now has curated collections of videos that share common themes to help users discover new videos. And, there's a new UI, inspired by brick-and-mortar stores with "well-designed shelves," that really just makes Vimeo On Demand look more like Netflix on the web -- users get rows of content categories that each scroll horizontally to show more videos within them. Vimeo's also rolling out a My Library feature for users that keeps track of all the videos you watch, rent and buy in one place, too.
Vimeo redesigns its HTML5 player for speed and on-the-spot rentals (video)
While Vimeo was one of the first to adopt HTML5 for streaming web video, its player hasn't kept up with the times; it hasn't been very fast or powerful. That's changing with a redesigned player launching today. The new version starts playback much more quickly, resizes elegantly and will even sync preferences across multiple players in a single browser. And if you're enamored with Vimeo On Demand, you'll be glad to know that you can now buy or rent videos in-player, no matter where the clip is playing. The improvements are big enough that Vimeo is now making HTML5 the default across all platforms -- you'll only have to use Flash if you're using an outdated browser. You can try the player for yourself by watching the promo video below.
Microsoft releases standalone Xbox Music and Xbox Video apps for Windows Phone 8
Microsoft appears to be taking a page from Google's approach to core software updates: It just launched standalone Xbox Music and Xbox Video apps for Windows Phone 8 users. The music app (currently deemed a preview) is largely what we've seen in Microsoft's integrated software, but it also lets you edit playlists and sync radio stations. A completed version is due in 2014, the company says. The video client, meanwhile, resurrects functionality that hasn't been a part of the OS since Windows Phone 7; you can now download or stream Xbox Video content directly from your handset, with playback syncing between phones, PCs and game consoles. There's no certainty that Xbox Music and Xbox Video represent the first steps toward OS-independent media apps in the rumored Windows Phone 8.1 upgrade, but you can at least try them today.
Blockbuster to shutter remaining US retail stores, accept the inevitable
It wasn't hard to see the writing on the wall for Blockbuster's rapidly declining disc-based movie services, and it's now clear that the end is at hand. The Dish-owned company says it will close its remaining 300 directly controlled American stores (down from 9,000 in its heyday) by early January, along with their matching distribution centers. Blockbuster By Mail rentals will also disappear by mid-December. While franchised stores will survive, Blockbuster is effectively becoming an internet-only brand in the US; you'll likely have to use Blockbuster @Home or Blockbuster On Demand to see that blue-and-yellow logo. We're not lamenting the death of the retail business when online services are much more convenient, but we won't blame you if you feel slightly nostalgic -- it's the end of an era. [Image credit: Josh Smith, Flickr]
Vimeo On Demand now allows pre-orders, offers separate purchase and rental prices
Video producers that sell through Vimeo On Demand now have much more flexibility in marketing their wares. Starting today, Vimeo Pro members can offer both purchases and rentals at separate prices. They can also supply pre-orders and promo codes, while stat hounds will see more advanced viewership data, such as trailer play counts. It's up to content creators to use the new features, but we've already spotted at least a few titles that take advantage of the upgrades; head over to Vimeo if you'd like to give them a try.
Californians can now rent original arcade games like Street Fighter 2, Ms. Pac Man
Sure, there's a cool factor to having a vintage arcade game parked in your rec room. But there's more to it than that -- as we saw for ourselves at Engadget Expand, people are genuinely excited about playing the original cabinet games from their childhoods. Now you can rent titles like Ms. Pac Man, Pole Position 2 and Donkey Kong for $75 per month in California, thanks to a company called All You can Arcade. It started as just a collecting hobby for brothers Timothy and Seth Peterson, but has blossomed into a business that now rents over 100 games and is constantly adding more. The best part is that you won't have to part with any of your allowance to play -- hit the More Coverage link for the copious list of titles.
Vdio launches in Canada with a smaller catalog
Canadians who love movies (but hate vowels) just received some good news: Rdio has launched Vdio in their homeland. The content and pricing is largely similar to what we've seen in the US, including major movies that cost $5.99 to rent and $19.99 to buy. There are a few glaring omissions, though -- some bigger titles, such as Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook, are listed as "unavailable." Vdio isn't launching all that smoothly in the Great White North, then. Even so, its arrival is noteworthy when many online media services tend to skip Canada altogether.
Redbox opens GamingFuture site to discuss rentals for Xbox One, PS4
Microsoft revealed some details of how "game licensing" works on its upcoming Xbox One console, and included the tidbit that "Loaning or renting games won't be available at launch, but we are exploring the possibilities with our partners." In response, Redbox has launched a site called GamingFuture.net, which is ostensibly a place for gamers to express what excites or concerns them about next-gen gaming. It should also help provide a base for Redbox to defend its $2 per night videogame rental business. Interestingly, Redbox and Microsoft would appear to already be close "partners", since the former launched an Xbox 360 app for its Redbox Instant service earlier this year. There are links on the page to various reports about the Xbox One and PS4, plus a simple comment section for the public to chime in. GameTrailers reports the company messaged members of its "Text Club" service an alert about the new site, along with tweeting it from the official account. We've seen similar strategies employed during negotiations over cable channels, we'll find out more this week about what Microsoft and Sony's new hardware means for the game rental market -- and how the public responds.
Blockbuster 2.0 for iOS arrives, manages the disc rentals we no longer use
Blockbuster started the month by launching an On Demand app for iOS and embracing the streaming video era. For the end of the month, it's going retro: following a quiet App Store launch earlier in May, the company has formally announced a free Blockbuster 2.0 iOS app that covers everything but streaming. The release is built almost exclusively for traditionalists, letting them manage their Blockbuster By Mail rental queues, scan membership cards and check the stock at those stores that remain open. About the only concessions to modernity are the built-in movie trailers. While the app does give some needed love to disc-based viewers, it's an acute reminder that much of Blockbuster's original audience has moved on.
