Heating up the race for the perfect Android phone
TL;DR: Pretty hardware; old version of android; HTC sense still sucks.
MYO - the wearable gesture interface by Thalmic Labs (YC’13). The MYO uses electromyography and accelerometers to detect your motion - no need to stay in frame like the Kinect. You can pre-order the MYO today.
Bill Moyers speaks with Susan Crawford on why the USA’s internet access is slow, expensive, and all-around terrible.
(Source: reddit.com)
The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.
—Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, talking about House of Cards. Click through to the source for the full article.
(Source: The Atlantic)
blip:
Hey Tumblr friends - We’re looking for an Intern to work with the Content Team here in our New York City office.
You’ll gain exposure to the day-to-day management of our content library, work on the set of The Show You’re Watching, and pick-up significant experience and insight into what makes a web show successful. This is a great position for someone willing to get their hands dirty and learn by doing.
The ideal candidate is knowledgeable about online video - but we’re happy to show an eager newcomer the ins and outs of the industry. This is also a great opportunity to shoot Nerf guns while on the job and eat free lunch with the Blip team everyday.
Applicant must be able to earn school credit for the semester. Apply here.
Past your intern days? We’re also hiring for positions with our other teams here.
A microphone that turns any rigid surface - from a tree trunk to a balloon - into a multi-touch, programmable gesture-based musical instrument.
Rad.
Comcast execs: Verizon deal to bring the ‘quadruple play’
Late last week, Verizon Wireless signed a deal to purchase 122 spectrum licenses from SpectrumCo, a joint venture between Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, for $3.6 billion. As part of the deal, which awaits approval from the Federal Communications Commission, the Comcast will now be able to sell Verizon Wireless service as part of their communications packages. To the casual observer, this might not sound particularly significant — in fact, it will likely prove to be one of the most consequential partnerships in the US communications industry. And Comcast executives agree. “Talk about content, you got NBC. And wireless, you got this. In perpetuity,” said Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis during the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, as quoted by Variety. “This is a deal forever. We don’t have to invest in building a wireless network. We aren’t going to acquire a wireless network. It’s quite a significant transaction.” If you’re a Comcast customer, this means that you will eventually be able to purchase cable television, Internet service, home phone service, and cell phone service, all through your cable company. It also means special deals if you buy into the the “quadruple play” option; and you’ll eventually be able to watch live TV on your Verizon smartphone, then resume watching on your television. This and other “great new innovations” will result from this partnership, Comcast Cable president Neil Smit told the group of investors at the UBS conference. For Verizon wireless customers, it means great access to a faster and faster 4G LTE network, which will come as a result of the spectrum buy. In essence, this deal is a merger without any companies actually merging. It is a substantial condensation of power in the communications industry. And while this may indeed lead to innovation for these companies, it also means other companies will either have to make partnerships of their own, or risk falling behind. And anytime that happens, it’s bad for customers.
The Master Switch is highly recommended reading for why this is a terrible, terrible idea for consumers.
