More mega iPad rumours surface, Grooveshark goes the way of the dinosaur, and Periscope becomes the saviour of people who don’t want to spend $100 on PPV boxing. Bitstream is all the news and rumours you missed over the weekend.
So there was a big fight this weekend. Did you hear? And supposedly HBO and Showtime were expecting human beings to fork over $US100 just to watch it. That little stunt might have worked a decade ago, or hell, maybe even a couple months ago, by now we live in the age of Periscope, where every live event — whether on television or in person — is live to the internet.
The Mayweather/Pacquiao fight would be a fun use case for Periscope. Why pay $100 if you can find a Periscope for free?
— Josh Sternberg (@joshsternberg) May 3, 2015
If anyone is going to use Periscope for the fight tonight please let me know – I’m cheap. Plus I don’t want any more $$$ going to Mayweather
— David Stendahl (@David_Stendahl) May 2, 2015
The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was the perfect confluence of factors showing off just how game changing streaming apps like Periscope really are. You’ve got the legacy model of PPV boxing trying to filch as much cash from its customers as possible, and you have ordinary citizens who don’t exactly like the idea of a shitheel like Mayweather making any money off of them. Enter Periscope. HBO’s already tried to take on Periscope over Game of Thrones, which already has its own piracy problems, but this weekend’s fight proves Periscope is going nowhere.
And c’mon, $US100 for a fight? You were kind of asking for it. [The Verge/CNN]
Apps and Devices
- California ACLU launches its own app to record potential police misconduct because this is what it’s come to. Hopefully more states will follow CA’s example. [Reuters]
- We got a look at Lenovo’s stupid light LaVie Z laptop at CES 2015, and now that crazy, sci-fi future laptop is now available. [Lenovo]
- Joseph Lechleider, the creator of DSL, dies at 82. You made internet speeds tolerable. Rest in peace, sir. [The New York Times]
- Grooveshark shuts down with an apology. [TorrentFreak]
- Samsung and Samsonite work together to make GPS-connected smart luggage. That… is not a terrible idea (even if it’s not entirely new). [Metro]
- Meerkat looks for greener pastures by beating Periscope to Android and integrating with Facebook instead of Twitter.
Rumours!
- New mega iPad rumours say Apple’s upcoming 12.9-inch tablet will have a Bluetooth stylus, Force Touch, NFC and next-gen A-series processor. Sounds like quite a powerhouse. [Apple Insider]
- Well, we just got our hands on the new G4, but LG might be making a smaller version of its flagship for the budget-conscious crowd. [The Droid Guy]
- The Apple Watch’s hidden port near the watch strap means battery wrist bands and faster charging could help power the Apple Watch’s currently one-day-only battery. [9to5Mac]
- New Lumia hardware was MIA at Build 2015, but rumoured specs, supposedly from a “Microsoft Insider”, say a Lumia devices with a QHD screen, a 3300mAh battery and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 is on the way. [Phone Arena]
- Facebook may soon publish full articles, known as Instant Articles, on your feed from partners like Buzzfeed and the New York Times. When do we officially write the obituary for old media? [Wall Street Journal]
- Suuuuuucks.
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