Internet & Websites News - Page 31

The latest and most important Internet & Websites news - Page 31.

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Amazon Payments global partner program means competition for PayPal

Sean Ridgeley | Apr 4, 2016 8:08 PM CDT

Amazon Payments is getting beefed up with a new global partner program designed to make the service into an e-commerce competitor to PayPal and Apple Pay; Amazon is using the term 'global' loosely, as the program is available to partners in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan only.

The refreshed service is different than the current 'Login and pay with Amazon' feature -- pictured here -- that some individual merchants already use: it's intended for e-commerce platforms that provide secure payment features to those merchants. Currently on board are Shopify, OpenCart, and PrestaShop, among many others.

For the public, this means you'll no longer have to create a new username and password for different shopping sites: just use your Amazon Payments account for everything, à la PayPal.

Continue reading: Amazon Payments global partner program means competition for PayPal (full post)

Redbox entering the streaming game again, sources say

Sean Ridgeley | Mar 28, 2016 2:06 PM CDT

Movie rental service Redbox tried its hand at movie streaming in partnership with Verizon back in 2013, but killed the project about 18 months later. Now sources say it's trying again with Redbox Digital, a closed beta for which may launch soon.

Responding for comment, a Redbox spokesperson said, "Redbox continually looks for ways to enhance our customer experience. For tens of millions of consumers, Redbox is their source for new release rentals without a subscription. As such, we regularly conduct tests of potential new offerings, that may or may not be brought to market, as part of our ongoing commitment to provide additional value."

This time around the service will be on-demand, as with iTunes and similar services, as opposed to the Netflix subscription model seen with its Redbox Instant venture. TV shows as well as movies can be rented for streaming or purchased for indefinite storage.

Continue reading: Redbox entering the streaming game again, sources say (full post)

Netflix catalogue has shrunk 31 percent in last two years

Sean Ridgeley | Mar 25, 2016 4:35 PM CDT

In January 2014, the Netflix catalogue boasted 6,494 movies and 1,609 TV shows. As of March 2016, it's dropped to 4,335 movies and 1,197 TV shows -- a 31.7 percent drop in a little over two years.

The company decided recently to sign deals with global rights only, which no doubt has increased its efficiency too, but with a significant impact on the amount of content it has available.

Some speculate the decline is also due to increased rights pricing caused by added competition from services like Amazon Prime. Whether this is true or not, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said last May that original programming -- like House of Cards -- "has been more efficient dollar for dollar" than licensed content and that "our appetite has only grown... we're moving (spending) from efficient to super-efficient."

Continue reading: Netflix catalogue has shrunk 31 percent in last two years (full post)

Netflix to add auto-play videos on its home screen

Chris Smith | Mar 11, 2016 9:33 AM CST

To help you get in the mood or seal the deal when you're deciding what to watch, Netflix will soon be adding auto-play video trailers to your home screen whenever you're hovering over a movie, TV show or documentary.

As seen on Gizmodo, there was a bit of discussion based on advancements to the whole Netflix user experience at MWC 2016, particularly that of the home screen and how users choose what media to watch. This auto-play trailer feature is said to be taken from 'traditional' TV practices, meaning that there is always something engaging happening on the screen.

This announcement comes alongside our recently discussed mobile data saving feature, with these features both said to be currently in beta testing.

Continue reading: Netflix to add auto-play videos on its home screen (full post)

Yahoo partners with NHL to stream free hockey games

Sean Ridgeley | Mar 10, 2016 4:30 PM CST

Following its recent 15 million viewer NFL live stream, Yahoo is partnering with the National Hockey League (NHL) to stream free, live out of market hockey games via Yahoo Sports to US viewers. Starting tomorrow with the Tampa Bay Lightning-Philadelphia Flyers game at 730 PM ET, it will offer up to four games per week on top of the current Wednesday and Sunday national games (in partnership with NBC Sports).

"This alliance brings us one step closer to providing fans a live professional sporting event every day, on Yahoo, completely frictionless and for free - no cable subscription or authentication required," says VP of Media Partnerships at Yahoo Phil Lynch.

Yahoo will also provide highlights and condensed games.

Continue reading: Yahoo partners with NHL to stream free hockey games (full post)

Destinations lets you plan vacations directly from Google mobile

Sean Ridgeley | Mar 9, 2016 1:02 PM CST

Google saw a tremendous 50 percent increase in travel questions on mobile phones last year, so it's only logical they came up with Destinations, a new set of functionality for Google mobile search that accommodates your vacation needs.

Destinations lets you plan vacations directly from Google mobile

It works as simply as you could hope for: search something like "europe vacation" and various travel destinations in Europe will pop up, complete with pictures, and dates and prices for flights and hotels. If you want to get more specific, quick tabs let you change dates, travelers, interests, and your budget. And if you're thinking long-term, you can compare prices across the next six months. Finally, the Explore tab lets you see what the weather is like year-round wherever it is you're thinking about going.

With any luck, Destinations will expand beyond mobile before too long.

Continue reading: Destinations lets you plan vacations directly from Google mobile (full post)

Apple support account hits Twitter

Sean Ridgeley | Mar 3, 2016 5:02 PM CST

Apple owners should be pleased to know the company has started a support account on Twitter, allowing you to get help easily and quickly. Although Apple already offers chat support, Twitter support is likely the more comfortable route when you're on mobile.

The account -- @AppleSupport -- has garnered nearly 70,000 followers as of press time.

The new account might make you wonder if Apple will finally take up a unifying @Apple account (currently it's being squatted, likely in hopes Apple will one day purchase it for a hefty sum), instead opting for the frustrating dissemination approach with various accounts for various services. We've put in an inquiry with the company and will update this story should we hear back.

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Facebook just went beyond the traditional like button, with Reactions

Jeff Williams | Feb 24, 2016 3:05 PM CST

You've probably already seen the upgraded like button array already, likely due to being on Facebook at this very moment. But if you haven't had a chance, it seems that Facebook is adding a bit more to their Like button, letting users pick from five other emotes to express how they feel about a particular post, and they're calling them "Reactions".

Liking a post has been a way to acknowledge a post, interacting with it in a one-dimensional way that sometimes can be misinterpreted to mean something it doesn't. Do I "Like" the death of a friends grandmother? Well, now you can choose an emote to indicate how that post makes you feel. So it just got a bit less awkward.

The search for a better way to communicate actually was a long road by the team behind the new Reactions. The team, led by Sammi Krug, did a lot of research into how people tend to communicate, with stickers and with words, to determine the best mix of reactions to add. "People come to Facebook and share all kinds of things," Krug said. "And we kept hearing feedback from people that there wasn't an easy way to express empathy for these different kinds of posts."

Continue reading: Facebook just went beyond the traditional like button, with Reactions (full post)

Financial service Google Compare being shut down

Sean Ridgeley | Feb 23, 2016 6:02 PM CST

Google is shutting down another service that you've probably never heard of but sounds great: Google Compare (also known as Google Advisor). The website allows you to obtain quotes from a variety of companies on car insurance, travel insurance, credit cards, and mortgages.

"Despite people turning to Google for financial services information, the Google Compare service itself hasn't driven the success we hoped for," Google wrote in an e-mail sent to partners yesterday. "After a lot of careful consideration, we've decided that focusing more intently on AdWords and future innovations will enable us to provide fresh, comprehensive answers to Google users, and to provide our financial services partners with the best return on investment."

Google explained it had difficulty attracting advertisers to the service, in part due to limited availability of products in the US and UK.

Continue reading: Financial service Google Compare being shut down (full post)

Google changes desktop advertisements

Chris Smith | Feb 22, 2016 10:33 AM CST

ZDNet has noticed something that many of us may never think about - Google has changed its side-displayed advertisements on searches. Previous 'versions' of this search program would display direct link advertisements for product sales, with companies vying for your dollar and continued service through this marketing option.

This changes a few things for certain companies, now unable to directly market to consumers looking to buy something on a whim or look for reliable resellers of wanted products. While a good opportunity for Google to ensure its pages load faster and look more streamlined, many are upset at this move - taking out a popular advertising avenue used by many.

Small business' may be the ones suffering majorly due to this change, meaning that companies are now going to have to pay top dollar to this tech giant in order to increase their search ranking. With less advertising space comes a higher asking price for what's left - I hope your budget is big!

Continue reading: Google changes desktop advertisements (full post)