Marvel to add audio to comics

Marvel announced at SXSW 2014 in the US that it has updated its Marvel Unlimited subscription app to include audio into digital comics. The “adaptive audio” feature will first make its debut on issues 8 to 9 and 11 to 14 of Ed Brubaker’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Emmy-nominated composer David Ari Leon scored the storyline for these story arcs.

Adaptive means the sound effects adjust to your reading pace, meaning the music will loop if you linger on a page or you will be hearing the next music sequence if you tap forward. The audio can also be disabled if you want. Adding audio to back issues will happen on a case by case basis, depending on how the readers react to the new feature.

Source: The Verge

Medium to debut iOS app

Blogging platform Medium will reportedly unveil an iPhone app this week. The platform’s first app since it was introduced in 2012. The app is currently meant to read posts on the site. There is no word yet when the ability to write posts will be introduced into the app or if an Android app will follow. However, Medium’s site already works well on the mobile browser so we’re not sure how the app will differentiate itself from the mobile version of the site.

Source: New York Times’ Bits Blog

Facebook to host first F8 Developer Conference in three years on April 30

Facebook last hosted F8 Developer Conference in 2011 when the company unveiled the Timeline and Open Graph platform. The company aims to return to its roots with the upcoming conference that will be held in San Francisco on April 30. Tech Crunch predicts F8 will focus on how mobile developers can use Facebook to gain more traction with free and paid promotion in order to earn money.

According to a Facebook blog post, “This year, we’re going back to our roots and having a pure developer conference. F8 will open with a morning keynote, followed by four tracks that will cover getting started guides, technical best practices, infrastructure strategies, engineering deep dives, and advertising tips  for making your app or game highly successful. We’ll also have sessions  dedicated to exploring how developers can take advantage of open source technologies.”

Tumblr users can now call a toll-free number to post audio

Tumblr is going a bit old school with a new feature that lets users post audio clips by dialing a toll-free number. Users have to configure their settings first to be able to call the number (1-866-584-6757) to start posting. You don't have to wait for a confirmation to start posting. Once you setup your phone, you're good to go.

Source: Tech Crunch