Peter Wells joins us from Australia, and therefore the future, to talk about how Netflix became the second most popular streaming service in Australia without ever launching there.
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Show Notes
Today’s guest: Peter Wells of Reckoner, Australia
Headlines
Apple Insider passes along info from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s note that says Apple’s 4.7-inch iPhone is still expected to debut in the autumn but a larger 5.5-inch iPhone would not come until later. Kuo says Apple is working out the kinks in the device’s in-cell touch panel, as well as color unevenness on the next iPhone’s metal casing. Kuo also expects that Apple will debut a new Apple TV set-top box this fall with motion controls and potentially support for a third-party App Store.
Reuters reports the Internet Association has filed their comments regarding the US FCC’s Open Internet guidelines. The Association represents 36 companies including Google, Netflix and Amazon. The filing objected to allowing any kind of paid prioritization beyond reasonable network management, and called for wireless networks to be treated the same as wireline regarding net neutrality.
The Next Web reports LinkedIn has acquired Newsle, a service that scans your Facebook or LinkedIn contacts and alerts you when anyone in them is mentioned on the Web. Newsle will continue to operate as a standalone service but also be integrated into LinkedIn’s existing products.
GigaOm reports Babak Parviz, one of the produce leads on Google Glass and Google smart contact lenses, has left the company to take a job with Amazon. Parviz announced the switch on Google + writing “status: super excited! :)” and including an Amazon logo. Amazon Fire eyes, here we come!
The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald revealed more secret government programs from the UK’s GCHQ including the ability to change the outcome of online polls, send mass emails and SMS, collect skype call records, messages and contact lists, and target DDOS attacks, among other things. The document is called “JTRIG Tools and Techniques” JTRIG stands for Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group.
ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley reports from Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference that Microsoft continues to use the theme of productivity started in CEO Satya Nadella’s internal memo form last week. Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner told partners that Microsoft wants to offer a “complete suite of Microsoft experiences preinstalled on any device, on any platform.
News From You
metalfreak posted the Independent’s article that Surrey Nanosystems has created a carbon nanotube material so black it absorbs all but 0.035% of visual light. The material named Vantablack is grown on sheets of aluminum foil. Even when you crumple the foil you can’t tell in the area where the nanotubes are. The material also conducts heat seven and a half times more effectively than copper and has 10 times the tensile strength of steel. Hotblack Desiato will be very excited.
KAPT_Kipper pointed out the TechCrunch article about the new model of Raspberry Pi that’s out called the B+. The new model has 4 USB ports (up from 2)40 GPIO pins up from 26, a microSD card slot, lower power consumption among other improvements. The new upgraded model B+ is available now for $35 via the Foundation’s usual distributors.
MikePKennedy posted the Engadget story about BitTorrent getting ready to charge for Bundles. The legitimate torrent fils usually only cost your email address but a test with a major musician will come soon to sell a bundle. Even more ambitious BitTorrent is partnering with Rapid Eye Studios to make a scifi series called “Children of the Machine.” Rapid Eye will spend $1 million to make the pilot. To fund a full eight-episode run, at least 250,000 users will have to sign up for a “BitTorrent Bundle” for $10 after seeing the pilot.
KAPT_Kipper also sent in the 9to5 Mac article that Google has launched its popular augmented reality game “Ingress” on iOS. Android users have been playing the game since December. To play the game you join a team, either Resistance or Enlightened, to locate and collect “Exotic Matter” found in real-life locations.
And metalfreak posted the PC World article about Samsung temporarily suspending business with Dongguan Shinyang Electronics after following up on reports from China Labor Watch that the supplier was employing underaged workers. Samsung has begun an investigation and in a blog post wrote, “If the investigations conclude that the supplier indeed hired children illegally, Samsung will permanently halt business with the supplier.” Samsung had audited Shinyang on June 25. The illegal hirings are alleged to have happened June 29.
Discussion Section:
http://mashable.com/2014/07/14/how-netflix-is-dominating-australia-from-abroad/
http://www.zdnet.com/au/village-roadshow-confirms-netflix-is-coming-to-australia-7000030954/
https://getpocketbook.com/blog/netflix-australia-2-stats-scare-local-players/
Pick of the Day: iCatcher via Preston in Silly-con Valley
Preston in lovable Silly-Con Valley has our pick of the day:
Most of the time I hear a recommendation for a podcasting app it is usually for Downcast or Pocketcast. Though I’m sure these are very good I just wanted to throw a new one into the mix. For almost 3 years now I’ve been using iCatcher for my podcasting enjoyment. Talking to a friend who uses Downcast we were comparing features. iCatcher seems to match Downcast pretty much feature for feature. It has both global and podcast-specific settings. Can be set to download over wifi only or cellular as well. Custom skip forward and back lengths. Start a podcast X seconds in. (Handy for skipping shows with long intros.) Supports video podcasts (including alternate playback speeds). Etc, etc…
One thing we did find was playback speeds differed a bit. iCatcher offers 3/4, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 2 and 3 times playback speeds. I listen at 1.25 and my friend listens at 1.5 using downcast. But here’s the thing, they are actually the same speeds. He said he noticed one day that a 1 hour podcast played at 1.5x speed took almost 50 minutes to get through and so wasn’t done after his 40 minute commute. He contacted the developers and said they confirmed that that playback speeds are a bit off and they do it on purpose but didn’t explain why. I confirmed iCatcher is accurate by listening to a 56 minute podcast at 1.25x and timing it. It finished in about 45 minutes which is correct. 56 / 1.25 = 44.8 minutes.
iCatcher is also very well supported and always adding new features through regular updates. iCatcher is $2.99 and worth every penny in my opinion.
Preston lovable Silly-Con Valley
Tuesday’s guest: Annie Gaus, technology journalist
