Suck at editing video? Just let Magisto do it for you
LAS VEGAS--Initially launched as a desktop browser experience in September of last year, ground-breaking one-click video editor Magisto has just made its way onto iPhones. With Magisto on your mobile device, it becomes easier than ever to cobble together polished videos that are ready to share on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social networks. Simply record a few minutes of video through the Magisto app or choose from any existing videos already on your phone, then let Magisto do all of the work for you. And I do mean ALL of the work. Magisto adds the music (of your choice), drops in the transitions, and even uses its superadvanced algorithms to choose what's important, and what to cut. I know it sounds crazy, but so far it looks like it works. The videos I've seen were stylized and actually looked like they were put together by a human being with editing skills. The volume of the music even dipped when people in the video started talking.Since all of Magisto's magic is done in the cloud, you do need an active data connection to use the app. Also, your edited videos will only live on the company's servers, meaning you can't download them locally. This may sound like a drag, but the good thing is that all of your content will be ready to share to any of your social networks whenever you log in to your Magisto account. Also, reps from Magisto were quick to assure me that features like local download and sharing within an internal YouTube-like community are on the way.Magisto (download) is available now for free download in the iTunes App Store.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Subscription rumors for iTunes surface again
Subscription rumors for iTunes surface again
CNN's Media Biz blog quoted Les Ottolenghi, the head of Intent Mediaworks, as saying he's talked to Apple people about a subscription service. "I think Apple is seriously considering a subscription offering right now even though they will probably tell you otherwise," he said in the report.Subscription music services such as Rhapsody, after a rough start, have found a footing but haven't caught on with music buyers in the same way as Apple's iTunes. That could change if Apple embraces the model, which it has eschewed for years.Many pundits believe that while lots of people do like to buy and own their digital music, there's enough of a market out there for renters to justify well-designed subscription services. Blockbuster and Netflix do pretty well on the video side, after all.This rumor has been making the rounds for years, as noted byas well as last year. Is Apple finally ready for a subscription service? It's not clear to me how subscription iTunes would work with DRM-free music, but note that Intent Mediaworks has built its business around DRM technology. An Apple representative did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
CNN's Media Biz blog quoted Les Ottolenghi, the head of Intent Mediaworks, as saying he's talked to Apple people about a subscription service. "I think Apple is seriously considering a subscription offering right now even though they will probably tell you otherwise," he said in the report.Subscription music services such as Rhapsody, after a rough start, have found a footing but haven't caught on with music buyers in the same way as Apple's iTunes. That could change if Apple embraces the model, which it has eschewed for years.Many pundits believe that while lots of people do like to buy and own their digital music, there's enough of a market out there for renters to justify well-designed subscription services. Blockbuster and Netflix do pretty well on the video side, after all.This rumor has been making the rounds for years, as noted byas well as last year. Is Apple finally ready for a subscription service? It's not clear to me how subscription iTunes would work with DRM-free music, but note that Intent Mediaworks has built its business around DRM technology. An Apple representative did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Study- iOS, Android users average $14 per in-app buy
Study: iOS, Android users average $14 per in-app buy
Perhaps more interesting about that 71 percent number in the under $10 range is that the majority of purchases Flurry tracked trend towards the top end of the scale."Within the 'under $10' bucket, most transactions are at the $9.99 level, followed by $4.99, and finally $0.99," wrote Jeferson Valadares, the general manager of games at Flurry in a post on the company's findings. "In fact, in total, consumers spent 99 cents less than two percent of the time."The study does not break down spending differences between the two mobile platforms, which now offer many of the same titles.A Flurry spokesman told CNET that this data came from a sampling of the top apps from a group of 90,000 that it tracks. While the time observed varied for each application, each application was being tracked for an average of six months. With iOS 4.3 released earlier this year, Apple added a parental control mechanism that requires an iTunes password each and every time an in-app purchase is to be made. The previous policy opened up a 15-minute window post-purchase for additional purchases and downloads to be made without the need to re-enter a password. The loophole became a point of controversy following reports of children racking up four-figure bills on their parents' iTunes accounts.Google added an official in-app billing solution to Android back in March after announcing the feature in early February.
Perhaps more interesting about that 71 percent number in the under $10 range is that the majority of purchases Flurry tracked trend towards the top end of the scale."Within the 'under $10' bucket, most transactions are at the $9.99 level, followed by $4.99, and finally $0.99," wrote Jeferson Valadares, the general manager of games at Flurry in a post on the company's findings. "In fact, in total, consumers spent 99 cents less than two percent of the time."The study does not break down spending differences between the two mobile platforms, which now offer many of the same titles.A Flurry spokesman told CNET that this data came from a sampling of the top apps from a group of 90,000 that it tracks. While the time observed varied for each application, each application was being tracked for an average of six months. With iOS 4.3 released earlier this year, Apple added a parental control mechanism that requires an iTunes password each and every time an in-app purchase is to be made. The previous policy opened up a 15-minute window post-purchase for additional purchases and downloads to be made without the need to re-enter a password. The loophole became a point of controversy following reports of children racking up four-figure bills on their parents' iTunes accounts.Google added an official in-app billing solution to Android back in March after announcing the feature in early February.
Studios still searching for best way to do video online
Studios still searching for best way to do video online
And so did everyone else: a constant familiar refrain from all of them was "letting consumers consume content when and how they want." But isn't the way they want it instant and free?Other tidbits: All of them profess to like Steve Jobs. Some think Apple and its iTunes Store hold too much sway over the download business, but those on the panel didn't seem to agree. Warner Bros. called Apple "a great partner," and Paramount is really, really happy that 5- and 10-year-old film titles are selling in volumes of hundreds of thousands today on iTunes. Disney, perhaps unsurprisingly, was almost defensive of Apple. (Jobs is Disney's largest shareholder.)"Apple wanted to legitimize the marketplace," said Albert Cheng, executive vice president of digital media for Disney-ABC Television. "They compete with so many other different options, including piracy. To say Apple has so much control is looking at a very narrow slice of pie."All had plenty to say on the impact of the Web on professional content. But despite talk of successes with viral video, streaming branded sites, and partnership deals across different platforms, none had an articulate response when an audience member asked when online revenue would surpass traditional revenue sources for each.After some amused stares with each other, finally Fox's Fawcett was able to stammer: "Nowhere in the forseeable future."
And so did everyone else: a constant familiar refrain from all of them was "letting consumers consume content when and how they want." But isn't the way they want it instant and free?Other tidbits: All of them profess to like Steve Jobs. Some think Apple and its iTunes Store hold too much sway over the download business, but those on the panel didn't seem to agree. Warner Bros. called Apple "a great partner," and Paramount is really, really happy that 5- and 10-year-old film titles are selling in volumes of hundreds of thousands today on iTunes. Disney, perhaps unsurprisingly, was almost defensive of Apple. (Jobs is Disney's largest shareholder.)"Apple wanted to legitimize the marketplace," said Albert Cheng, executive vice president of digital media for Disney-ABC Television. "They compete with so many other different options, including piracy. To say Apple has so much control is looking at a very narrow slice of pie."All had plenty to say on the impact of the Web on professional content. But despite talk of successes with viral video, streaming branded sites, and partnership deals across different platforms, none had an articulate response when an audience member asked when online revenue would surpass traditional revenue sources for each.After some amused stares with each other, finally Fox's Fawcett was able to stammer: "Nowhere in the forseeable future."
Store music in Google Docs, play it on your iPhone
Store music in Google Docs, play it on your iPhone
It's a promising idea, but I tested the app this morning, and it doesn't really compare to MP3Tunes or other full-fledged music locker services. For instance, Cloud Music advertises support for MP3, MP4, and WAV files. But if you use iTunes to rip your CDs, the resulting files probably have an m4a file extension. Technically these files are identical to MP4 files, except for the Apple-specific file extension. But in my tests, Cloud Music wouldn't play any of my files ending in m4a. Also, you can't stream files from Docs to your phone--you have to download each one to a local cache within the Cloud Music app, then play them. Clear the cache, and you have to redownload. Finally, while Cloud Music claims to support album art, I couldn't figure out how to upload entire music folders to Google Docs--it only seems to let you upload individual files--and when I uploaded JPEGs of the album art, Cloud Music didn't recognize them. In addition, I encountered some random playback errors--for instance, the app claimed to have downloaded files from Radiohead's "In Rainbows" to my playlist, but when I went to play them, nothing happened.I could see Cloud Music being useful in very select circumstances--for instance, if you've got some finished mixes on a computer at a recording studio, and you want to get them to your iPhone immediately, without having to fiddle with flash drives or CD-Rs and then running home to sync your phone with your home computer. But $1.99 is expensive for an app that doesn't do very much very well. For day-to-day use, I'd stick with services and apps that were designed for this purpose.
It's a promising idea, but I tested the app this morning, and it doesn't really compare to MP3Tunes or other full-fledged music locker services. For instance, Cloud Music advertises support for MP3, MP4, and WAV files. But if you use iTunes to rip your CDs, the resulting files probably have an m4a file extension. Technically these files are identical to MP4 files, except for the Apple-specific file extension. But in my tests, Cloud Music wouldn't play any of my files ending in m4a. Also, you can't stream files from Docs to your phone--you have to download each one to a local cache within the Cloud Music app, then play them. Clear the cache, and you have to redownload. Finally, while Cloud Music claims to support album art, I couldn't figure out how to upload entire music folders to Google Docs--it only seems to let you upload individual files--and when I uploaded JPEGs of the album art, Cloud Music didn't recognize them. In addition, I encountered some random playback errors--for instance, the app claimed to have downloaded files from Radiohead's "In Rainbows" to my playlist, but when I went to play them, nothing happened.I could see Cloud Music being useful in very select circumstances--for instance, if you've got some finished mixes on a computer at a recording studio, and you want to get them to your iPhone immediately, without having to fiddle with flash drives or CD-Rs and then running home to sync your phone with your home computer. But $1.99 is expensive for an app that doesn't do very much very well. For day-to-day use, I'd stick with services and apps that were designed for this purpose.
Stop the iPhone AutoPlay pop-up
Stop the iPhone AutoPlay pop-up
Ever notice how the AutoPlay window appears whenever you connect your iPhone to your PC? (Correction: your Vista PC. Does this "feature" exist on Macs, too?)While some users may find the window useful, I end up closing it 99 times out of 100--each time wondering why Vista doesn't give me the option of preventing it from appearing in the first place. After all, the pop-ups for most other devices include a "do nothing" option. Why must the iPhone AutoPlay be different?Fortunately, there's an easy way to kick it to the curb. Just fire up the Control Panel, then type "autoplay" in the search field. Click the eponymous link when it appears.Scroll down to the Devices section, find the entry for your iPhone, then click the accompanying drop-down menu. Choose "Take no action," click Save, and you're done! Note that connecting your iPhone will still launch iTunes (if you have the latter configured accordingly), but from here on it won't pester you with the AutoPlay box.What do you think? Do you find AutoPlay useful, or is this the pop-up-banishing solution you've been waiting for your whole iPhone life? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Ever notice how the AutoPlay window appears whenever you connect your iPhone to your PC? (Correction: your Vista PC. Does this "feature" exist on Macs, too?)While some users may find the window useful, I end up closing it 99 times out of 100--each time wondering why Vista doesn't give me the option of preventing it from appearing in the first place. After all, the pop-ups for most other devices include a "do nothing" option. Why must the iPhone AutoPlay be different?Fortunately, there's an easy way to kick it to the curb. Just fire up the Control Panel, then type "autoplay" in the search field. Click the eponymous link when it appears.Scroll down to the Devices section, find the entry for your iPhone, then click the accompanying drop-down menu. Choose "Take no action," click Save, and you're done! Note that connecting your iPhone will still launch iTunes (if you have the latter configured accordingly), but from here on it won't pester you with the AutoPlay box.What do you think? Do you find AutoPlay useful, or is this the pop-up-banishing solution you've been waiting for your whole iPhone life? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Rumor Has It, Ep. 11- Is Google the Internet's next pimp- (podcast)
Rumor Has It, Ep. 11: Is Google the Internet's next pimp? (podcast)
Wow, today Rumor Has It goes crazy. Things get weird. (But weird in the best possible way.)It's the first show of the month, which means it is Humiliation Day, and Karyne lost yet again! Emily celebrates by trying out a new accent, and it's not Russian! But then Karyne sort of wins by somehow roping Stephen and Emily into her embarrassing punishment. Everyone is mortified.After the shenanigans, we discuss Windows 8, laugh at the reported name of RIM's new phone, scoff at the rumored price of the Apple television, and oh man, what doesn't Google have its hand in?Hint, we on Rumor Has It surmise Google could soon go into the prostitution trade--though, uh, don't quote us on that, Internet.EPISODE 11This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlaySubscribe:Â RSS (MP3) |Â RSS (320x180) |Â RSS (640x360) |Â iTunes (MP3) |Â iTunes (320x180) |Â iTunes (640x360)PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element.Links from the show!RIM's first BBX smartphone to be named Surfboard?New Google shipping service to go after Amazon Prime?Apple TV sets will be mighty pricey, analyst saysApple TV to come in three sizes, top out at 55 inches, report saysWindows 8 beta could debut as early as FebruaryHeard a tech rumor you think we should cover?E-mail us at Rumorhasit [at] cnet.com, or directly at karyne.levy [at] cnet.com or emily.dreyfuss [at] cbsinteractive.com. And call and leave us a voice mail at 1-800-750-CNET!And don't forget to follow us on Twitter! @EmilyDreyfuss, @karynelevy, @RumorShow, @stephenbeacham.
Wow, today Rumor Has It goes crazy. Things get weird. (But weird in the best possible way.)It's the first show of the month, which means it is Humiliation Day, and Karyne lost yet again! Emily celebrates by trying out a new accent, and it's not Russian! But then Karyne sort of wins by somehow roping Stephen and Emily into her embarrassing punishment. Everyone is mortified.After the shenanigans, we discuss Windows 8, laugh at the reported name of RIM's new phone, scoff at the rumored price of the Apple television, and oh man, what doesn't Google have its hand in?Hint, we on Rumor Has It surmise Google could soon go into the prostitution trade--though, uh, don't quote us on that, Internet.EPISODE 11This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlaySubscribe:Â RSS (MP3) |Â RSS (320x180) |Â RSS (640x360) |Â iTunes (MP3) |Â iTunes (320x180) |Â iTunes (640x360)PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element.Links from the show!RIM's first BBX smartphone to be named Surfboard?New Google shipping service to go after Amazon Prime?Apple TV sets will be mighty pricey, analyst saysApple TV to come in three sizes, top out at 55 inches, report saysWindows 8 beta could debut as early as FebruaryHeard a tech rumor you think we should cover?E-mail us at Rumorhasit [at] cnet.com, or directly at karyne.levy [at] cnet.com or emily.dreyfuss [at] cbsinteractive.com. And call and leave us a voice mail at 1-800-750-CNET!And don't forget to follow us on Twitter! @EmilyDreyfuss, @karynelevy, @RumorShow, @stephenbeacham.
Piclings- Use your iPhone photos to create custom levels
Piclings: Use your iPhone photos to create custom levels
If you have ever wanted to be able to create your own iPhone game, Piclings gets you a step farther, offering users a way to use their own photographs to make custom levels for Picazzo, a little flying Picling that must gather coins and special objects while avoiding buzzing enemies.Piclings uses a floating joystick to control Picazzo as he flies his way around one of their several levels, or ones that you create. The Piclings custom level creation analyzes your selected photo and creates ledges and walls using lines within your picture.The level creation technology seems to be pretty good, though in some photographs, the ledges and walls are not obvious, leading to some tough navigation. Flying around also takes a little practice as the controls are fairly sensitive and your enemies are fairly persistent at attacking you.Screenshot by Joe AimonettiAll in all, though, Piclings offers a very easy gameplay structure and pretty nice replay value when making your own custom levels. Your best bet for creating your own levels may be to draw a picture of a level and take a photo with your iPhone (or iPod Touch or iPad 2).You can check out Piclings in the iTunes App Store tomorrow (May 5) for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad for just 99 cents.
If you have ever wanted to be able to create your own iPhone game, Piclings gets you a step farther, offering users a way to use their own photographs to make custom levels for Picazzo, a little flying Picling that must gather coins and special objects while avoiding buzzing enemies.Piclings uses a floating joystick to control Picazzo as he flies his way around one of their several levels, or ones that you create. The Piclings custom level creation analyzes your selected photo and creates ledges and walls using lines within your picture.The level creation technology seems to be pretty good, though in some photographs, the ledges and walls are not obvious, leading to some tough navigation. Flying around also takes a little practice as the controls are fairly sensitive and your enemies are fairly persistent at attacking you.Screenshot by Joe AimonettiAll in all, though, Piclings offers a very easy gameplay structure and pretty nice replay value when making your own custom levels. Your best bet for creating your own levels may be to draw a picture of a level and take a photo with your iPhone (or iPod Touch or iPad 2).You can check out Piclings in the iTunes App Store tomorrow (May 5) for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad for just 99 cents.
iTunes Automator workflows no longer working after iTunes 10
iTunes Automator workflows no longer working after iTunes 10
Apparently the problem is caused by the way numbers are listed alphabetically instead of by numerical size, which results in the latest iTunes' version (10.0) being listed as smaller than the previous version (9.0). Because of this Automator rejects the use of the workflow actions with the new version of iTunes.To fix this problem, you will need to edit each workflow action and change the version requirement string for the action to something lower than "1" so Automator will identify it properly.Go to the /System/Library/Automator/ folderRight-click each non-working action and choose "Show Package Contents."Open the "Info.plist" file for each in a text editor that supports authentication such as "TextWrangler" or in Apple's Property List Editor.Scroll down to the "AMRequiredResources" section in the file and change the Version string from "4.6" to "0"Save the file, and open the action to load it into Automator.Do this for all other workflows and they should all load properly when you next launch Automator.Questions? Comments? Have a fix? Post them below or e-mail us!Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.
Apparently the problem is caused by the way numbers are listed alphabetically instead of by numerical size, which results in the latest iTunes' version (10.0) being listed as smaller than the previous version (9.0). Because of this Automator rejects the use of the workflow actions with the new version of iTunes.To fix this problem, you will need to edit each workflow action and change the version requirement string for the action to something lower than "1" so Automator will identify it properly.Go to the /System/Library/Automator/ folderRight-click each non-working action and choose "Show Package Contents."Open the "Info.plist" file for each in a text editor that supports authentication such as "TextWrangler" or in Apple's Property List Editor.Scroll down to the "AMRequiredResources" section in the file and change the Version string from "4.6" to "0"Save the file, and open the action to load it into Automator.Do this for all other workflows and they should all load properly when you next launch Automator.Questions? Comments? Have a fix? Post them below or e-mail us!Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.
How to create audiobooks in iTunes
How to create audiobooks in iTunes
Digital audiobooks come in all shapes and sizes. You can purchase them online from sites like Audible, eMusic, and iTunes. You can download free audiobooks from places like Archive.org. Or, you can rip audiobooks to your computer from CD. Unfortunately, no matter where your digital audiobooks come from, getting iTunes and your iPod to treat them as an audiobook--not some random playlist of songs--can be a struggle.If you've ever purchased an audiobook through iTunes, you may have noticed that the file appears in a separate audiobook tab in your media library. Keeping your audiobooks separate from your music library not only makes them easier to find, but it also prevents chapters of Crime and Punishment from popping up in a party music playlist. iTunes even treats the playback of audiobooks differently than music playback, allowing you to adjust the playback speed of the file and automatically resume any previously played chapter where it left off instead of starting at the beginning.You don't have to purchase your audiobooks from Apple to get the special iTunes audiobook treatment. By tweaking a few settings, you can make iTunes and your iPod recognize any audio file or group of audio files as an audiobook. To find out how, take a look at our step-by-step guide to creating audiobooks in iTunes.Editors' note: This tutorial requires Tunes 8.0.1 or higher.
Digital audiobooks come in all shapes and sizes. You can purchase them online from sites like Audible, eMusic, and iTunes. You can download free audiobooks from places like Archive.org. Or, you can rip audiobooks to your computer from CD. Unfortunately, no matter where your digital audiobooks come from, getting iTunes and your iPod to treat them as an audiobook--not some random playlist of songs--can be a struggle.If you've ever purchased an audiobook through iTunes, you may have noticed that the file appears in a separate audiobook tab in your media library. Keeping your audiobooks separate from your music library not only makes them easier to find, but it also prevents chapters of Crime and Punishment from popping up in a party music playlist. iTunes even treats the playback of audiobooks differently than music playback, allowing you to adjust the playback speed of the file and automatically resume any previously played chapter where it left off instead of starting at the beginning.You don't have to purchase your audiobooks from Apple to get the special iTunes audiobook treatment. By tweaking a few settings, you can make iTunes and your iPod recognize any audio file or group of audio files as an audiobook. To find out how, take a look at our step-by-step guide to creating audiobooks in iTunes.Editors' note: This tutorial requires Tunes 8.0.1 or higher.
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