Prince’s music set to hit streaming service like Spotify starting Sunday

Richard E. Aaron/Redferns

It has been rumoured that Prince’s music will be making its way back to major music streaming services soon. And it looks like it will be happening this weekend. Representatives from the likes of Spotify, Napster, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio have confirmed that the albums Prince released during his time with Warner Bros., including Purple Rain, The Times, and 1999, will be coming to their services.

When he was alive, Prince has been aggressive about keeping his IP heavily protected. He even pulled out his music from all online streaming services (except for Tidal back in 2015). But now that his estate owes up to US$100 million, there is a need to monetize. So, if you’ve been clamoring to listen to some of Prince’s greatest hits, your time has almost come.

Source: Ars Technica

Chrome update brings support for VR on Android and PC

Virtual reality content is usually accessed through VR-specific apps. But Google has updated its Chrome web browser on the PC and Android to bring VR experiences right from the browser. It now supports WebVR developer tools, meaning you can select a WebVR experience and navigate that either with a finger on your phone or mouse on a desktop or put the phone into a Daydream View to get a more immersive experience. This means, developers and creators can have VR experiences on their sites without the need of a native VR app. It isn’t just for hosting 360-degree videos either but it adds support for Daydream headset and controller, too.

Some of the early partners Google has for this new feature include PlayCanvas, SketchFab, and Matterport. There’s also Bear 71 VR, which is a VR documentary focused on a female Grizzly Bear who roams in Banff National Park in Canada. For mobile VR, it’s currently limited to Daydream but Google is working on bringing this experience to more headsets soon, including its own Cardboard platform.

Source: TechCrunch + Android Authority

First impressions on Google Home

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

One of my biggest frustrations is that it takes so much time for a lot of technology to make it from the US to Canada. Certain items like voice assistants, streaming boxes, and apps take longer to come to Canada and when they do make it here, their features are often hobbled compared to the US versions.

This is true with Amazon's Echo product, which was ubiquitous at this year's CES, and this is also true with Google Home. These voice assistant speakers and hubs are supposed to be the next big technology and they're not openly available in Canada.

I picked up a Google Home during a recent US trip knowing full well that the smart speaker might not be fully supported in Canada. Here are my impressions.

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Nintendo’s ‘Fire Emblem Heroes’ has already earned US$5 million

It’s been roughly a week since Nintendo launched the free-to-play Fire Emblem Heroes on iOS and Android and it looks like it’s doing pretty well for itself. According to Time’s interview with Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima, the games has already been downloaded over a million times and has made US$5 million in revenue. As a lesser known franchise from Nintendo, we have to say it’s doing well for itself so far.

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