According to Billboard, YouTube is aiming to make its own Spotify-like subscription music service. There’ll be a free streaming service (which, uh, should differentiate from free YouTube) and a premium tier that’ll be like Google Music’s All Access streaming service. Basically, every company wants their own music streaming service!
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Many of us associate Scribd with embedded documents on websites, but the company has been quietly building an e-book platform — first by selling content and later by soft-launching a subscription service. The company is now making its strategy clear by formally launching the e-book service and introducing content from HarperCollins, its first major publisher. Subscribers worldwide can pay $9 per month for access to both HarperCollins’ back catalog and independent releases through apps for Android, iOS and the web. Customers can also buy any books outright, including HarperCollins’ newer titles. Like with any Scribd document (and Kindle for the Web), customers can both share what they’re reading and embed books into websites. If you like the prospect of all-you-can-read services like Oyster but want broader platform support, you’ll want to take a close look at Scribd’s new offering.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet
Source: Scribd
We heard whispers just a few weeks ago that Target was about to open up its video-on-demand service to the general public. Turns out, those rumors were on the money: Target Ticket exited its closed beta today, and is now live for anyone to try out. Like Amazon Video on Demand, it offers a mix of movies and TV shows, with a choice of rentals and the option to buy outright. At a cursory glance, too, it looks like all the most popular stuff is included. (All six seasons of Breaking Bad? Check.)
As for pricing, there’s no consistent rule here, and we can’t totally explain why some shows are more expensive than others, either ($15 for the third season of Downton Abbey seems like a steal, if you ask us). It’s the same thing with the movie selections: there are lots of recent titles on tap, with prices generally ranging from $13 to $20. We’ve included the link below, along with a link to Target’s new online-only subscription service for buying the same items over and over again. Unfortunately, though, that last one is limited to baby supplies for the time being, so unless you need to stock up on diapers, there’s not much to see there.
Source: Target (1), (2)
All-you-can-eat subscriptions work well for digital magazines, music and videos; why shouldn’t they work for e-books? Oyster certainly thinks they should, as it just launched a flat-rate book service for iPhone users. Members pay $10 per month for unfettered access to about 100,000 books from HarperCollins, Hougton Mifflin Harcourt and smaller publishers. The unlimited-use model also facilitates a Goodreads-like social component that shows what friends are reading at any given moment. Bookworms can request an invitation today. Oyster hasn’t said if or when the service will go without invitations, but it hopes to release an iPad app in the near future.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
Via: Pando Daily
Source: Oyster
Microsoft just detailed how the Xbox One’s “Home Gold” will spread the Xbox Live Gold love across multiple users of a particular system, but what about those with the current generation’s Xbox Live Family Plan? The folks in Redmond stopped accepting new subscribers to the $99 / year package back in March, and now users are receiving an email (included after the break) with details about what happens next. First, the good news: As of August 27th, if you have the family plan then each one of your activated subaccounts get full Xbox Live Gold status for the duration of your remaining subscription, plus three extra months. Prior to the conversion, you can still add sub accounts to the maximum total of four, and if you’re set to auto-renew prior to conversion then that will still happen. The conversion may not happen exactly on that date, but subscribers can expect another email a week before it actually occurs.
Now the downsides: Activity reports and Microsoft Points allowances are going away, with reports disappearing at the time of conversion and the latter with the next system update. Another issue will apply to those who used it to game on multiple consoles in or across multiple households, since they’ll need multiple individual XBL Gold subscriptions to do so — one of the big problems the Family Pack resolved when it launched back in 2010. That could make sticking with the Xbox 360 or upgrading to an Xbox One more expensive going forward, check out the FAQ for all the details and run the numbers for yourself.
[Thanks, Corey]
Outerwall promised two months ago that it would offer Redbox Instant on Roku players, and the company is making good on its word by launching that channel today. The subscription movie service is now available for both the Roku Streaming Stick as well as conventional players ranging from the Roku LT to the Roku 3. There aren’t any visible new features in the Roku version of Redbox Instant, but we doubt that many customers will complain — they’re getting cheap movie streaming through a similarly frugal media hub.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Verizon
Source: Roku Blog
Log into your free ‘n easy Feedly RSS service this morning and you may be offered the opportunity to make it less free, but potentially even easier to use. An upgrade to Feedly Pro will normally cost $5 per month or $45 per year, but it’s also currently be sold for $99 with a lifetime membership for the first 5,000 claimants. In return, the cloud-based reader promises the following:
And there we have it. An inevitable move on Feedly’s part, no doubt, though we can’t help but remember the days when it made us all feel special.
Update: Those 5,000 limited editions are all gone. The outfit has set its sights on unleashing the full-on pro version “in a few weeks” thanks to the funds raised.
Source: Feedly
While Machinima lets you produce epics out of your gaming exploits (occasionally resulting in comedy gold), so far it’s kept non-fanboy productions confined to YouTube. According to Reuters, that might change soon, as the company — which just received $35 million in Google-backed funding — is looking for another $80 million to start a subscription-based online video service. It has reportedly sought investment from the likes of Warner Brothers and Paramount Pictures, who already produce content for Machinima’s infamous YouTube channel and Xbox 360 app. Calling its typical user “crazy, engaged and ravenous,” CEO Allen DeBevoise said it wants to “be a company in the spirit of HBO and AMC, but in an over-the-top (online) world.” He added that it wants to license full-length, 44-minute fare (sans ads), to which it would retain foreign marketing rights. With 20.4 million viewers who stayed an average of 76 minutes last month, Machinima is already YouTube’s 7th largest channel — so, it’s no surprise that it’d like to become the Netflix of gaming.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Reuters
Sweetening the deal on its cloud-based Office 365 suite, Microsoft will start bundling a year of Xbox Live Gold with any purchases of Office 365 Home Premium or Office 365 University made before September 28th. You’ll then pick up an Xbox Live code as you sign in during the initial Office setup. Unfortunately, US customers aren’t eligible for this promotion, but the majority of Europe, plus Australia, Canada and parts of Asia are all included. Alongside the recent promise of two free games a month, Microsoft’s made this bundled subscription a pretty tempting proposition.
Update: Turns out that this offer is available in the US after all. Thanks to tipster David for spotting, and sending that in. Details can be found at the More Coverage link.
Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software, Microsoft
Via: TNW
Source: Microsoft Office, Microsoft (German)
Even though the WhatsApp iPhone application received an update yesterday, the popular messaging service made it official in a blog post today, detailing notes from the latest release. What’s especially interesting here, however, is that WhatsApp is bringing a familiar cost scheme over to Apple’s platform. Essentially, iOS users can download the app free of charge, but they will now have to pay a 99-cent yearly fee after the first twelve months of using it — a business model similar to the one WhatsApp already implements on Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. Hey, it’s still but a small price to pay to somewhat fashionably keep tabs on all your amigos 24/7, eh?
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple
Via: CNET
Source: WhatsApp Blog
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