We reported yesterday about Apple’s alleged delay in payments to iPhone app developers, but there is more alarming news from iPhone developers about Apple’s refund policies. Apparently, if iPhone users decide that they want a refund for an app (users can get a refund within 90 days, according to Apple policy), Apple requires that developers give back the money they received from the sale. But here’s the kicker—Apple will refund the full amount to the user and says that it has the right to keep its commission. So the developer not only has to return the money for the sale, but also has to reimburse Apple for its commission. Apple charges a 30% commission on all paid apps sold through the App Store. So basically, developers get 70% of a given sale but if the end-user wants a refund, the developer has to pay Apple 100% of the sale. → Read More
Today, Activision and Sony announced “Backstage with Guitar Hero” for PlayStation Home so players can congregate and accost each other virtually while watching GH videos and sharing their own greatest hits. There’s a GH themed mini-game that tests your mind, body and soul. Heh. Actually, it’s more like Simon Says where you have to follow a lead guitarist and mimic what he/she does by matching notes and colors, which sounds exactly like what the game makes you do. Anyway, check it out tomorrow when it launches in Home. Check out the rest of the details at the PlayStation Blog. Hit the jump for a video preview. → Read More
Imeem, the free streaming music site backed by Sequoia Capital, Warner Music and other prominent investors, is rumored to be in serious trouble.
Music insiders are saying a shutdown of the company is imminent after a failed attempt to sell the company or raise more cash. A spokesperson flatly denied the shutdown rumors today, but confirmed that the company layed off staff last week (six people from a staff of around 70). He wouldn’t comment on funding or sale rumors, although plenty of potential buyers tell us they’ve been pitched to buy the company over the last year.
The “problem” with Imeem, like all streaming music services, is that they have to pay a flat rate per stream to the music labels that’s hard to cover with advertising alone. Some companies pay as much as $0.01 per stream, which doesn’t seem like a lot – but at volume it’s crushing, particularly in a down advertising market.
One source tells us that Imeem owes the labels as much as $30 million to date with no hope of paying any of it. Imeem says that is “extremely innacurate,” but confirms that they are playing “in excess of a billion songs and videos per month.” → Read More
The iPhone is a hotbed for location-based social networks, which tap into the phone’s geolocation features to help users find nearby friends and strangers that they might like to meet. We’ve seen a handful of dating applications that cater to the straight community, and today brings the launch of Grindr (iTunes Link), one of the first iPhone applications geared towards gay and bisexual men.
While privacy is an issue for all location based social networks, it is of the utmost importance on gay networks. Without proper security measures, bigots could easily download such applications and use them to pinpoint targets for hateful slurs and potentially even violence. Grindr deals with these issues by obscuring a user’s absolute location by default. Rather than plotting each user on the map. Grindr displays how far away they are (distances can range from a few feet to miles away). → Read More
Apple may, just may, unveil Marble at this year’s WWDC, which may, just may, be in June. Marble is thought to be the code-name for a new user interface that may, just may, debut with Snow Leopard, the next version of Mac OS X. → Read More
Toshiba seems to really believe in fuel cells as an alternative to conventional ways of producing electricity. After announcing plans to commercialize portable fuel cells from next month just a few days ago, the company now said it wants to roll out Japan’s first fuel cell system for condominium units in 2013. → Read More
In moves which may or may not lead to an outcry from the gamer population at large, both Valve and Microsoft have strengthened their DRM on their PC gaming platforms. Whether these changes will simply curb piracy, as intended, or whether they will prove a nuisance as other DRM schemes have done historically is yet to be seen. → Read More
Yesterday’s revelation that China blocks access to YouTube should not have come as any surprise, but did you know that other countries censor the Internet in their own special ways? (Happy families are all alike!) For example, did you know that India’s Computer Emergency Response Team’s has the power to block Web sites wily nilly? Ostensibly it was set up to help eliminate terrorist-realted sites, but it has also blocked “Hindu nationalists and other radical groups on social networking sites such as Orkut.” Or, that in Argentina a search for “diego maradona” will be tampered with because of a terrible court ruling → Read More
If you have ever wanted a cheesy, media-sponsored wedding like those on reality TV shows or on the Today Show, perhaps you should look to your social network. MySpace is now accepting submissions for “Married on MySpace,” an online reality TV series that will let couples receive the “wedding of their dreams” planned by and shared with the entire social network . Engaged couples can enter their video submissions here. MySpace is partnering with The Knot to provide editorial content and wedding planning expertise and the contest is co-sponsored by Disney, who is releasing “The Proposal” soon with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. And MySpace is partnering with Endemol, a European reality television production company that has created classy reality tv shows like FearFactor, Extreme Makeover and Big Brother.
After submissions have ended, MySpace members can chose their favorite couples from a group of finalists. Once a finalist has been selected, members will continue to vote on elements of the wedding, including what the bride and groom will wear, where the couple will celebrate their bachelor and bachelorette parties, the wedding location, and more. The series will debut on MySpace in May with the announcement of the chosen couple and conclude in early August with the wedding ceremony. “Married on MySpace” will consist of 13 webisodes that document the wedding planning process the same way that wedding reality shows like “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway” profile weddings. → Read More
It’s a known fact that the PS3 is a developer’s nightmare but Sony is hoping that a price cut to all existing dev kits will increase development. The original Reference Tool models DECR-1000A and DECR-1000 received price cuts along with new features to the PS3 Debugging Station. In the US, a new Reference Tool model, DECR-1400A, was introduced for $2000 and will go for €1,700 in Europe and PAL nations. → Read More
I’m not sure if this was supposed to be ironic or if it’s serious, but Borgeaud watches have created something rather interesting. It’s an analog watch that contains the “Rahu complication”. → Read More
Silicon Valley has Y Combinator. Boulder, Colorado (and now Boston) has TechStars. Boston also as of today has Start@Spark. Washington, D.C. has LaunchBox Digital. Philadelphia has DreamIT Ventures. And now Atlanta is joining the seed incubator movement with Shotput Ventures.
Started by a group of Atlanta tech entrepreneurs who want to attract and keep startup talent in the Southeast, Shotput Ventures is accepting applications from young, first-time founders for its summer program. The deadline is April 10. → Read More
Research in Motion has released an update for its BlackBerry Media Sync app this afternoon. The new version adds Windows Media Player support (PC only) to accompany its existing iTunes syncing tool. If you’ve already got Media Sync installed on your BlackBerry, you should have received a notification that an upgrade is available. Otherwise, you can grab Media Sync for free over at blackberry.com/mediasync. → Read More
Sorry about the delay, folks, but you didn’t miss much from Nintendo’s keynote this morning at GDC and we managed to get you the most important news as it was happening anyways. So here’s a quick recap of a few facts that you might find interesting. We’ll have video of a few tasty treats as quickly as the press room’s Wi-Fi lets us upload to YouTube. → Read More
Heads up, people. Nintendo is dropping another Zelda on us, and it looks a bit different than usual. Last I checked, Link didn’t have a pet train to ride around, nor did he even exist in an age capable of supporting steam technology. But hey, I’m willing to roll with it.
Head on through for some video. Got some real grain to it. → Read More
Japan-based beer company Sapporo Breweries Ltd. announced yesterday [JP] that it and Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro (better known as Petrobras) will produce hydrogen gas using nothing but sugar cane and leftover farm products. Production of the biohydrogen is scheduled to begin in September this year. → Read More
The RIAA received some rare “good press” a few months ago when it announced that it would no longer go after individual file sharers. But then, approximately 27 seconds later, we began hating it again when it emerged that, instead of going after individual file shares, it would work with ISPs to weed out file sharers. A distinction without meaning, I say. Anyhow, AT&T is the first big ISP to announce that it’s working with the organization, so now we transfer our angst that-a-way. → Read More
