Back in 2016, Spotify partnered with Genius to bring lyrics and backstory to its pop music playlists. Today, however, the musical reference guide has drawn a bit of a line in the sand, partnering with Spotify’s chief competitor.
Genius announced via blog post today that it’s firmly in the Apple Music camp. The new deal brings the service’s lyrics to “thousands of hit songs” via Apple’s desktop and iOS app. In addition to that deal, Genius will also be using Apple Music as its own preferred music player.
That means when you visit Genius’ site or use its iOS app, Apple’s software will be the default for playing back the song you’re viewing.
“Being able to read lyrics and annotations on Genius while you listen along on Apple Music is a dream Genius experience,” Genius CSO Ben Gross said in a statement tied to the news. “We’re proud to make Apple Music our official music player, and we’re doubly excited to bring Genius lyrics to their amazing platform.”
Siding with a competitor is no doubt a bit of a blow for Spotify, which has been struggling to defend marketshare as Apple Music continues to grow. As Sarah noted recently, lyrics and a lack of voice support have been a growing sore spot for the service of late.
Back in 2016, Spotify partnered with Genius to bring lyrics and backstory to its pop music playlists. Today, however, the musical reference guide has drawn a bit of a line in the sand, partnering with Spotify’s chief competitor.
Genius announced via blog post today that it’s firmly in the Apple Music camp. The new deal brings the service’s lyrics to “thousands of hit songs” via Apple’s desktop and iOS app. In addition to that deal, Genius will also be using Apple Music as its own preferred music player.
That means when you visit Genius’ site or use its iOS app, Apple’s software will be the default for playing back the song you’re viewing.
“Being able to read lyrics and annotations on Genius while you listen along on Apple Music is a dream Genius experience,” Genius CSO Ben Gross said in a statement tied to the news. “We’re proud to make Apple Music our official music player, and we’re doubly excited to bring Genius lyrics to their amazing platform.”
Siding with a competitor is no doubt a bit of a blow for Spotify, which has been struggling to defend marketshare as Apple Music continues to grow. As Sarah noted recently, lyrics and a lack of voice support have been a growing sore spot for the service of late.
This clever – if expensive – product is called the BoxLock and it is a keyless padlock that lets your package delivery person scan and drop off your packages into a locked box. The system essentially watches for a shipping event and then waits for the right barcode before opening. Once the delivery person scans the package, the lock opens, the delivery person sticks the package in a box or shed (not included) and locks it back up. You then go and grab your package at your leisure.
The lock costs $129.
The company appeared on everyone’s favorite show, Shark Tank, where they demonstrated the system with a fake door and fake UPS dude.
The internal battery lasts 30 days on one charge and it connects to your phone and house via Wi-Fi. While the system does require a box – it’s called BoxLock, after all, not LockBox – it’s a clever solution to those pesky porch pirates who endlessly steal my YorkieLoversBox deliveries.
This clever – if expensive – product is called the BoxLock and it is a keyless padlock that lets your package delivery person scan and drop off your packages into a locked box. The system essentially watches for a shipping event and then waits for the right barcode before opening. Once the delivery person scans the package, the lock opens, the delivery person sticks the package in a box or shed (not included) and locks it back up. You then go and grab your package at your leisure.
The lock costs $129.
The company appeared on everyone’s favorite show, Shark Tank, where they demonstrated the system with a fake door and fake UPS dude.
The internal battery lasts 30 days on one charge and it connects to your phone and house via Wi-Fi. While the system does require a box – it’s called BoxLock, after all, not LockBox – it’s a clever solution to those pesky porch pirates who endlessly steal my YorkieLoversBox deliveries.
Last year, Mozilla made its first acquisition by snatching up Pocket, the Instapaper competitor that helps you save longer articles for later reading. Today, this popular reading app is getting a major update that gives its app a visual makeover, including a new dark mode, and most importantly, a better way to listen to the content you’ve saved.
Pocket had added a text-to-speech feature several years ago, so you could listen to an audio version of your saved articles, instead of reading them. Instapaper today offers a similar option.
But these text-to-speech engines often sound robotic and mangle words, leading to a poor listening experience. They’ll work in a pinch when you really need to catch up with some reading, and can’t sit down to do it. But they’re definitely not ideal.
Today, Pocket is addressing this problem with the launch of a new listening feature that will allow for a more human-sounding voice. On iOS and Android, the listen feature will be powered by Amazon Polly, Mozilla says.
First introduced at Amazon’s re:Invent developer event in November 2016, Polly uses machine learning technologies to deliver more life-like speech. Polly also understands words in context. For example, it knows that the word “live” would be pronounced differently based on its usage. (E.g. “I live in Seattle” vs. “Live from New York.”) The technology has evolved since to support speech marks, a timbre effect, and dynamic range compression, among other things.
To take advantage of the updated “Listen” feature, users just tap the new icon in the top-left corner of the Pocket mobile app to start playing their articles. It’s like your own personalized podcast, Mozilla notes.
In addition, the app has been given a redesign that gives it a clean, less cluttered look-and-feel, and introduces a new app-wide dark mode and sephia themes, for those who want a different sort of reading experience.
The redesign includes updated typography and fonts, focused on making long reads more comfortable, as well.
“At Mozilla, we love the web. Sometimes we want to surf, and the Firefox team has been working on ways to surf like an absolute champ with features like Firefox Advance,” said Mark Mayo, Chief Product Officer at Firefox, in a statement about the launch. “Sometimes, though, we want to settle down and read or listen to a few great pages. That’s where Pocket shines, and the new Pocket makes it even easier to enjoy the best of the web when you’re on the go in your own focused and uncluttered space,” he said.
The updated version of Pocket is live on the web, iOS and Android, as of today.
Last year, Mozilla made its first acquisition by snatching up Pocket, the Instapaper competitor that helps you save longer articles for later reading. Today, this popular reading app is getting a major update that gives its app a visual makeover, including a new dark mode, and most importantly, a better way to listen to the content you’ve saved.
Pocket had added a text-to-speech feature several years ago, so you could listen to an audio version of your saved articles, instead of reading them. Instapaper today offers a similar option.
But these text-to-speech engines often sound robotic and mangle words, leading to a poor listening experience. They’ll work in a pinch when you really need to catch up with some reading, and can’t sit down to do it. But they’re definitely not ideal.
Today, Pocket is addressing this problem with the launch of a new listening feature that will allow for a more human-sounding voice. On iOS and Android, the listen feature will be powered by Amazon Polly, Mozilla says.
First introduced at Amazon’s re:Invent developer event in November 2016, Polly uses machine learning technologies to deliver more life-like speech. Polly also understands words in context. For example, it knows that the word “live” would be pronounced differently based on its usage. (E.g. “I live in Seattle” vs. “Live from New York.”) The technology has evolved since to support speech marks, a timbre effect, and dynamic range compression, among other things.
To take advantage of the updated “Listen” feature, users just tap the new icon in the top-left corner of the Pocket mobile app to start playing their articles. It’s like your own personalized podcast, Mozilla notes.
In addition, the app has been given a redesign that gives it a clean, less cluttered look-and-feel, and introduces a new app-wide dark mode and sephia themes, for those who want a different sort of reading experience.
The redesign includes updated typography and fonts, focused on making long reads more comfortable, as well.
“At Mozilla, we love the web. Sometimes we want to surf, and the Firefox team has been working on ways to surf like an absolute champ with features like Firefox Advance,” said Mark Mayo, Chief Product Officer at Firefox, in a statement about the launch. “Sometimes, though, we want to settle down and read or listen to a few great pages. That’s where Pocket shines, and the new Pocket makes it even easier to enjoy the best of the web when you’re on the go in your own focused and uncluttered space,” he said.
The updated version of Pocket is live on the web, iOS and Android, as of today.
Email continues to be a tempting target to entrepreneurs. After all, email is nearly ubiquitous, and yet almost no one loves the experience of using it.
June.ai today joins a long list of startups that looked to change up the way we use email, but this latest company is taking a different approach.
Co-founder and CEO Allie Sutton said that the team didn’t look at the way people use email as a starting point, but rather looked at the way people deal with communication and information flow on the whole. That then led June to build a platform that doesn’t necessarily replace email, but is rather backwards compatible with email services.
Here’s how it works:
First and foremost, June recognizes the difference between an email conversation with another person and an email from a brand, platform, etc. June separates those conversations into two separate inboxes. For informational emails, like “Your Amazon Order has Shipped” and “Check In For Your Flight,” June puts those messages in an easy-to-browse feed.
Communication-based messages, on the other hand, are arranged in an inbox that looks much closer to an iMessage or IM interface than an email interface. Conversations are also organized by people and not by thread or subject, letting users get a clear picture of their full conversation history with an individual without worrying about particular threads. As part of this person-based organization, June also organizes files based on who sent them.
Another feature from June is ‘gatekeeper’, letting users quickly unsubscribe, approve or block new companies or people that are sending them emails.
With $1.5 million in funding, June isn’t immediately concerned with revenue but rather looking to spread the word about the platform and promote adoption.
June works with a number of the biggest email providers, including Gmail, Yahoo!, and Outlook.
Sutton said that adoption will be the biggest challenge.
“Folks have built the way in which they process emails,” said Sutton. “Some over a few years and some over decades. We’ve built a more efficient way for them to process that information, but giving users enough explanation and information that they can adopt this new way of gathering and executing on information communication is our biggest challenge. We need to prove it’s more efficient for them.”
Email continues to be a tempting target to entrepreneurs. After all, email is nearly ubiquitous, and yet almost no one loves the experience of using it.
June.ai today joins a long list of startups that looked to change up the way we use email, but this latest company is taking a different approach.
Co-founder and CEO Allie Sutton said that the team didn’t look at the way people use email as a starting point, but rather looked at the way people deal with communication and information flow on the whole. That then led June to build a platform that doesn’t necessarily replace email, but is rather backwards compatible with email services.
Here’s how it works:
First and foremost, June recognizes the difference between an email conversation with another person and an email from a brand, platform, etc. June separates those conversations into two separate inboxes. For informational emails, like “Your Amazon Order has Shipped” and “Check In For Your Flight,” June puts those messages in an easy-to-browse feed.
Communication-based messages, on the other hand, are arranged in an inbox that looks much closer to an iMessage or IM interface than an email interface. Conversations are also organized by people and not by thread or subject, letting users get a clear picture of their full conversation history with an individual without worrying about particular threads. As part of this person-based organization, June also organizes files based on who sent them.
Another feature from June is ‘gatekeeper’, letting users quickly unsubscribe, approve or block new companies or people that are sending them emails.
With $1.5 million in funding, June isn’t immediately concerned with revenue but rather looking to spread the word about the platform and promote adoption.
June works with a number of the biggest email providers, including Gmail, Yahoo!, and Outlook.
Sutton said that adoption will be the biggest challenge.
“Folks have built the way in which they process emails,” said Sutton. “Some over a few years and some over decades. We’ve built a more efficient way for them to process that information, but giving users enough explanation and information that they can adopt this new way of gathering and executing on information communication is our biggest challenge. We need to prove it’s more efficient for them.”
Last week, Amazon addressed growing backlash against unfair warehouse wages by announcing plans to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour. The news was largely lauded as a positive step by critics including Senator Bernie Sanders, who had helped push the company in that direction with strongly worded legislation.
The move was still met with criticism by some, including Amazon workers who noted that, along with the wage increase, the retail giant would also be removing bonuses and stock grants. Employees vocalized their concern, causing Amazon to further address the move. The company sent a letter to Sanders insisting that employees would still come out on top.
“Again, all hourly operations and customer service employees will see an increase in their base pay, as well as in their total compensation,” Amazon SVP Jay Carney said in the letter, obtained by the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post. “We are also proud to continue to provide our industry-leading benefits, including comprehensive healthcare, up to 20 weeks of paid parental leave and our Career Choice program, which pre-pays 95 percent of associates’ tuition for courses in high-demand fields.”
The letter does on to explain that the the increase in wages “more than compensates” for the workers’ loss of benefit. Of course, the impact on individual workers is dependent on a number of factors, including how much they made prior to the increase. Those making, say, $14 an hour prior to the increase may only receive a $1 raise, which fails to make up for the loss of benefits.
The move appears to have a larger averse impact on long time employees of the company, though Amazon has vowed to reach out to workers to better explain the changes.
AsMoviePass continues to fumble, Sinemia just keeps on rolling. This morning, the movie ticket subscription service announced one of it its most compelling offerings to date. In addition to all of its proprietary ticket tiers, the startup is launching Sinemia Enterprise, a white-labeled service that essentially lets theaters build their own custom plans.
The service is aimed specifically at theater chains — small to mid-size, one assumes, given that AMC has already launched its own competing offering. Sinemia provides all of the backend support, including the iOS/Android app, payment processing, fraud detection and various other management tools.
Sinemia says it’s already working with a number of different “major” theater chains in the U.S. and internationally, though it doesn’t mention any by name in the press release. The company pitches its approach toward ticket sales as theater agnostic.
“When we launched Sinemia, our mission was to help as many moviegoers as possible enjoy an affordable and better experience at the movies by providing a subscription app that integrates an offline and online experience,” CEO Rifat Oguz says in the release. “By partnering with theaters around the globe, we believe we can help more moviegoers, which will help us create a bigger economy for the entire industry.”
What the partnership really afford Sinemia, however, is an alliance with theaters that might otherwise ahun the company. After all, AMC and MoviePass have already come to blows, causing the service to pull out of the chain’s top theaters. Providing backend support for customized plans would surely help Sinemia avoid that manner of pushback.
