HTC’s Vive VR headsets are now with developers

And the development phase for HTC’s virtual reality headset goes into full swing. The Valve and HTC-made Vive has finally started making its way to developers. The developer kits are being shipped to the likes of movie studios and game developers with key components like two Lighthouse base stations, which is the mounted hardware the Vive needs to locate and track users in a room; two wireless Steam VR handheld controllers; cables; and “everything else needed to get started.”

Although it is a bit worrying when it comes to the timeframe these developer kits started to arrive to the developers. HTC Vive was touted with a late 2015 release so with half of the year done, there isn’t that much time left to ship the apps. All we can do now is wait and see.

Source: ReadWrite.com

The reason behind DJ Zane Lowe’s move to Apple

It was evident when BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe announced he was moving to Apple that it had something to do with the Cupertino-based company’s new music platform. What wasn’t clear was what he was doing exactly. Curate playlists for them? Well, with the announcement of Apple Music we could see that he will be the main man for Apple’s new Beats 1, live radio station. The first-ever radio station from Apple will pump out music 24/7 to over 100 countries starting June 30^th. He’ll be fronting the show in Los Angeles, Ebro Darden will be doing that from New York, and Julie Adenuga from London. Beats 1 will be free for all listeners. It won’t be hidden behind the subscription paywall. So, users on iOS and Android will be able to listen to Lowe and his fellow DJs dish out the latest tunes from popular artists and up-and-coming musicians.

Source: Engadget

Amazon Echo can now read you audiobooks

Looking to indulge your inner child with a bedtime story, Amazon updated its Echo speaker to add support for Audible files. The voice-guided speaker can now read to you the title of your choice when you ask it. It can even pick up where it left off with Whispersync for Voice, which is perfect not just when you’re calling it a night but even when you’re puttering around the house doing chores.

Source: Amazon | Via: Engadget

SoundCloud signs royalty agreement with Merlin to gain access to 20,000 indie labels

SoundCloud you probably heard of or are already using but we’re sure Merlin might be a new name to you. Merlin works with 20,000 indie labels and distributors to work out licensing and loyalty deals, which is what they’ve done with SoundCloud. This will bring labels like Beggars Group (Vampire Weekend), Domino (Animal Collective), Secretly Group (Bon Iver), Kontor Records (Tiësto), and a lot more to SoundCloud’s streaming service. These musicians will also be offered compensation when you play their music.

SoundCloud already has a deal with Warner Music Group and is rumoured to unveil its own streaming service this year. They‘re still, however, having a tough time convincing Sony and Universal to join because the site also hosts copyrighted material without permission. We’re going to have to watch and see if this plan will push through and if they can provide a better alternative to streaming options we have out at the moment.

Source: SoundCloud | Via: Engadget