Media

Apple TV nears Time Warner Cable deal, Bloomberg says

Apple and Time Warner Cable are nearing a deal that would bring new channels to the computer maker's set-top box, Apple TV, for subscribers of the cable television service, Bloomberg reported Tuesday citing people with knowledge of the talks.

A deal would bring the set-top box a significant influx of channels, and its first flood of live ones.

Apple has been expanding its offerings on the device, which connects Web videos and other media to the traditional television but lacks the the broad array of channels that its chief competitor Roku offers.

Earlier this year, Apple TV got its … Read more

Conan's hit men mock Google's algorithmic certainty

The lovely thing about Google is its certainty.

At least, I think I'm sure about that.

Google's algorithms exist to take the weight from our minds and direct us to where we should be going and what we should be doing. It's a wonderful relief.

Recently, Google declared it could out-Kreskin the critics and the Hollywood marketing men, by predicting, with 94 percent accuracy, which movies would succeed.

It was easy, Google huffed haughtily. All it had to do was look at search patterns.

Conan O'Brien and his team are a touch skeptical of this claim. … Read more

App marries Google Glass to Tesla

Google Glass may not have as much porn as it once did, but an app developer is fulfilling another techie fantasy.

How about using the wearable computer to start charging your Tesla Model S, the electric automaker's sports sedan?

Developer Sahas Katta, known for a Microsoft fracas over a Windows Phone challenge, has created an app marrying Google glass with the vehicle, according to a post of his on a Tesla forum.

Katta says the app, called GLASSTESLA, can:

View vehicle charging status or start or stop charging via Glass Open the charge port without having to get back … Read more

Comcast cuts down log-ins to keep cord from getting cut

"If your programming isn't on every screen, you are missing an entire generation," Chief Executive Brian Roberts said last month at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association conference.

With such high stakes, Comcast is smoothing out snags that could gives subscribers any reason turn to an online alternative, like Netflix or Amazon Prime Streaming, on their computers or Internet-connected devices.

Comcast launched Home Pass to allow subscribers of its Xfinity TV and Internet service to watch TV shows and movies on their home network without signing in.

It means customers accessing the Xfinity.com/TV website from … Read more

Flying Southwest with your iPad? Watch Dish for free

Next time you're on a flight and the captain signals the OK to resume using your mobile device, you may be able to pull up free live TV, if you're on a Wi-Fi-equipped Southwest Airlines flight.

The carrier and Dish have joined up to offer passengers access to live TV and up to 75 on-demand shows on the airline's more than 400 Wi-Fi-enabled aircraft, more than two-thirds of the fleet.

Dish also provides TV service to Delta Air Lines, the country's biggest airline by total number of passengers, and Virgin America. But adding a mobile-device service … Read more

Spotify's iOS update adds Discover feature to iPhone

Spotify gives iPhone users a cluster of new features in its latest update for iOS, including the addition of a Discover tab.

The music-streaming service's app update also creates a Now Playing view with an Up Next queue, as well as the ability to edit playlists on Apple's smartphone. It also freshens up with Spotify's new logo.

With the exception of the logo, the new features are iPhone only for now, though the company says Discover and Now Playing will be "coming soon" to more devices.

Discover, which is you can find by tapping a … Read more

Mark Pincus: Not only nice guys finish last

A year-and-a-half ago, Marc Andreessen talked up Mark Pincus for a Bloomberg profile on Zynga.

"He has built a machine," said Andreessen, an investor in the company. "Google is a tightly wired business machine. Microsoft (MSFT) is a tightly wired business machine. Apple (AAPL) is too. Zynga is very much in the mold of those other companies."

That machine got an overhaul on Monday when the company took over the pre-July 4 news cycle by announcing that Pincus would step aside as CEO in favor of former Microsoft exec Don Mattrick. On paper, it's an … Read more

Shock: Research says pot makes you lazy (but not psychotic)

You are not going to bereefer this.

In fact, you might need to steady yourself by whatever means you normally choose to create a little peaceful comfort.

You see, a group of scientists have got together, studied the brains of pot smokers and decided that regular marijuanists have brains that enjoy deficiencies.

These, specifically, involve a stunted ability to synthesize dopamine, a little neurotransmitter which, when fed correctly, makes you want to start a company called Facebook, climb Kilimanjaro, or run the 100 meters in 8.2 seconds.

Yes, a blunt can blunt your need to succeed.

I am grateful to PopSci … Read more

Xbox executive to leave Microsoft for Zynga, report says

Microsoft's head of Interactive Entertainment Business, the unit responsible for the Xbox, is leaving the company to work for struggling social gaming company Zynga, All Things Digital reported Monday.

Unnamed sources told AllThingsD that Don Mattrick will take a job at Zynga, possibly working as CEO under founder and current Chief Executive Mark Pincus. The announcement about Mattrick's new job could come as early as Monday, after the market closes.

Mattrick, who left Electronic Arts in 2007 to join Microsoft, became the head of the Interactive Entertainment Business unit in 2010. He also has overseen PC and mobile … Read more