Sunday
Apr242016

Google said to be building in-house startup incubator to keep staff from leaving

Google is hoping to keep its talent in-house and stop them from striking out on their own by creating its own startup incubator, if rumours are to be believed. According to The Information’s sources, Google is creating what’s called Area 120, which will let employees pursue their 20% projects—a.k.a. those projects Google allows its employees to work in a fifth of their working hours—full time. Those supposedly interested in doing this just have to submit a business plan, and if these are accepted, they can spend several months working on the idea. It could mean helping employee’s scratch their inventor itch while keeping them from losing their job at Google.

The tech giant hasn’t confirmed these plans yet. But it does seem like something that will help them keep their employees from jumping ship and joining other companies that look to undermine Google’s business. But whether that is enough to keep employees in remains to be seen. It could help them with developing the next big idea within its walls though.

Source: The Information | Via: Engadget

Sunday
Apr242016

Rumours claim Beyoncé’s new album to drop digitally tonight

Following its world premiere on iTunes and availability on Jay Z’s Tidal music streaming service, rumours say Beyoncé’s new album, “Lemonade,” will be landing on the likes of iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play by Sunday night at midnight. At the moment, fans can purchase the visual album outright on Tidal for US$17.99 (about $22) without having to subscribe to the streaming service. It includes 12 songs and videos as well as the one-hour special shown on HBO. It should also cost roughly the same amount on other services.

However, if you’re waiting for the streaming version to show up on other services, you might be waiting in vain for that. According to an official representative from Tidal, “Lemonade” will be a streaming exclusive on Tidal “in perpetuity;” joining some of the albums that are tied exclusively to the service.

Source: MacRumors

Saturday
Apr232016

Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup 04/17-04/23

Saturday
Apr232016

New Apple Watch apps need to work without an iPhone

A new requirement for Apple Watch developers will be a boon for users. Apple sent out a notice that new apps for the Apple Watch will need to run natively on the smartwatch before it’s submitted to the App Store. This means the apps will work on the Watch itself without having its paired iPhone nearby. Previously, Watch apps were streamed from the iPhone, meaning you needed to have the phone with you at all times and apps were slow to launch and a bit sluggish. Having apps run natively on the smartwatch will result in quicker response time and the ability to run more smoothly.

Developers who want to submit starting June 1st will have to adhere to this. The apps will be built with the new watchOS 2 SDK because support for the 1.0 SDK and any apps built with that will be discontinued.

Source: SlashGear