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Everything old is new again. Turntable Labs just launched Hangout, a social music platform thats eerily similar to that champion of 2010s internet, Turntable.fm. The app is available as a web client or via an app for Android and iOS. It allows users to play virtual DJ, with over 100 million songs to choose from. It not only functions like the old-school Turntable.fm. It even looks the same. Theres a stage, record players and cartoon avatars that sort of look like characters from South Park. I started my own room just to check things out and am pleasantly surprised at the sheer number of songs here that I actually like. Turntable Labs This is because those 100 million songs have been secured through partnerships with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. The catalog also pulls from Merlin, which represents a vast array of indie labels and rights holders. The company likens the experience to gathering around a jukebox or listening to albums with friends. It seems that way to me, as someone I dont know just jumped in my room and started playing their own stuff. To that end, folks take turns playing DJ. There looks to be room for five people at the same time to play a game of round robin with their favorite songs. The robust catalog is one major difference from Turntable.fm. The platform didnt have agreements in place with labels, instead relying on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and a partnership with ASCAP. This forced a number of rules on users as to how many people could be in a room at once and how many songs could be played each hour. It looks like those rules are now dunzo. Turntable.fm originally went dark all the way back in 2013, before showing signs of renewed life in 2021. This could be a fun retro throwback to an age when we actually got our music recommendations from people, and not algorithms.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/turntable-labs-just-launched-a-new-social-music-platform-called-hangout-172013909.html?src=rss
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Xbox is exploring a PC gaming handheld, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer told Bloomberg. In an earlier interview with IGN, Spencer had mentioned a hypothetical Xbox gaming handheld PC device, which now appears to be in the early research and prototyping stage. Spencer told IGN that he liked his Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go and Steam Deck and that local play would be important to include if Xbox were to design a handheld console. As Kotaku noted, it's not clear what unique features an Xbox handheld would bring to the table. Still, any new piece of hardware is years away, Spencer told Bloomberg. For now, work on the Xbox app which works on existing handhelds would be the priority, Spencer said, admitting it leaves room for improvement.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox-is-considering-a-pc-gaming-handheld-165515761.html?src=rss
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Amazon has released a new trailer for Secret Level, the upcoming Prime Video show that tells stories set in the worlds of beloved, popular or even upcoming games (and also Concord). Given that its an anthology series, theres unlikely to be an overarching plot, so theres not much to grok here from a narrative perspective. And the sooner there's a mortarium on trailers being soundtracked to that overused M83 song, the better. However, the visuals sure do look pretty. The quality of the animation is genuinely impressive. At least in some cases, the art style apes that of the game the episode is based on. Thats particularly true for what we see of the Sifu episode, but Secret Level is not, for instance, retaining Spelunky's aesthetic. Other episodes are based on the likes of Armored Core, Crossfire, Dungeons & Dragons, Exodus, Honor of Kings, Mega Man, New World: Aeternum, Pac-Man, The Outer Worlds 2, Unreal Tournament and Warhammer 40,000, along with "various" PlayStation Studios games. One of those is Concord, which Sony unceremoniously killed for good after its disastrous debut. Some major mainstream stars have lent their voices and even likenesses to the series, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Hart, Keanu Reeves (who appears in the Armored Core episode), Ariana Greenblatt and Gabriel Luna. Video game stalwarts, including The Last of Us stars Merle Dandridge and Laura Bailey, are involved too. Secret Level which is from the creative team behind Netflix's Love, Death and Robots will debut on December 10. More episodes will be released over the following week.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/animated-video-game-anthology-show-secret-level-sure-looks-pretty-163009316.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Amazon Haul will be the ecommerce titan's new discount storefront designed to compete against Temu and Shein, CNBC reports. This new corner of Bezos's empire is mobile-only and promises items at crazy low prices. Unlike Amazon Primes fast speeds, Amazon promises its Haul orders orders will arrive in less than two weeks. Previously, CNBC mentioned in a previous report that Amazon was exploring a storefront where goods would be sold to US customers directly from China, though now it seems the company itself is doing the importing and acting as an intermediary. Speed isn't the only alteration to the typical Amazon arrangement customers will have to get used to. It seems, regardless of if they subscribe to Prime or not, buyers will have to purchase $25 of goods per order with Haul to get free shipping. For lesser orders, the shipping fee will be $3.99. Amazon also won't accept Haul returns if the value of the items is $3 or under. If customers take to Haul, the new storefront could put Amazon in a favorable position in a seemingly crowded market. Both the US and EU have set their regulatory sights on Temu.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-haul-wants-to-be-the-new-temu-161344035.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
The Federal Trade Commission will get a chance to argue its case for Metas breakup in court. On Wednesday, US District Judge James Boasberg allowed the FTCs lawsuit against the social media giant to move forward (PDF link). The FTC first sued Meta in 2020 in an attempt to force the company, then known as Facebook, to divest itself of Instagram and WhatsApp. Alongside dozens of attorneys general, the agency alleged Meta acquired the platforms in 2012 and 2014 to stifle growing competition in the social media market. This past April, Meta asked Judge Boasberg to dismiss the case. In addition to noting that the FTC had previously approved both acquisitions, Meta argued that the agency had failed to show that the company held monopoly power in the social networking services market, and that, in buying Instagram and WhatsApp, it had harmed consumers. Additionally, the company claimed that it had invested billions of dollars in both platforms and made them better as a result, to the benefit of social media users everywhere. While he did not entirely dismiss the lawsuit, Boasberg did force the FTC to narrow its case, dismissing an allegation that Facebook had provided preferential access to developers who agreed not to compete with it. We are confident that the evidence at trial will show that the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have been good for competition and consumers. More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared these deals, and despite the overwhelming evidence that our services compete with YouTube, TikTok, X, Apples iMessage, and many others, the Commission is wrongly continuing to assert that no deal is ever truly final, and businesses can be punished for innovating, a Meta spokesperson told Engadget. We will review the opinion when its filed. Judge Boasberg will meet with the two sides on November 25 to schedule the trial. The FTC lawsuit, it should be noted, was filed under the previous Trump administration, though whether it moves forward and in what form will depend on who President-elect Trump appoints to lead the agency.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-will-have-to-defend-itself-from-antitrust-claims-after-all-155730259.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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