Apple will now pay artists during Apple Music’s free trial | Cult of Mac

Apple will now pay artists during Apple Music’s free trial | Cult of Mac: "Apple has changed its mind on the decision not to pay streaming music royalties to artists and labels during the three-month trial period of Apple Music.

Yesterday, Taylor Swift penned an open letter to the company arguing that, ‘We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.’

Swift publicly pulled her best-selling ‘1989’ album from the service in protest."

Somebody needs a little Swiftamine.

Sony’s new 4K Android TVs now available to preorder starting at $2500 | 9to5Google

Sony’s new 4K Android TVs now available to preorder starting at $2500 | 9to5Google: "The new Sony 4K Android TV (X900C) set for release on July 19 is available to preorder today for $2,500 for the 55-inch model and $3,999 for the 65-inch model."

Pretty cool to say the least.

Nest unveils security camera, second-gen Protect smoke detector and updated app

Nest unveils security camera, second-gen Protect smoke detector and updated app: "The Cam is based heavily on technology gained Nest's acquisition of Dropcam. Like the Dropcam Pro, Cam shoots video — now up to 1080p — with a wide 130-degree field of view and includes night vision support, while a microphone and speaker allow users to both talk and listen through the device. "

Everything in the internet of things should have an API. A REST API, or a client side SDK for Android, iOS, Mac and Windows. Etc.

YouTube launches Newswire and related initiatives to verify news video and promote human rights | 9to5Google

YouTube launches Newswire and related initiatives to verify news video and promote human rights | 9to5Google: "Recognizing the high-profile role that ‘citizen journalist’ video can play in news stories, YouTube has announced YouTube Newswire, a curated feed of eyewitness videos which have been confirmed as genuine."

This could be very interesting.

Apple hiring editing team to curate content for iOS 9's News app

Apple hiring editing team to curate content for iOS 9's News app: "Apple is searching for people to 'identify and deliver the best in breaking national, global, and local news,' the listing says. Editors will ultimately be helping to guide the content in the News stream, for instance by managing categories according to expertise, producing newsletters, and coordinating with publishers and newsrooms."

As traditional news outlets are beleaguered by criticisms of advertisers affecting editorial policy, maybe this is a good thing.

Apple posts 'Backstage' parody sketch from WWDC 2015

Apple posts 'Backstage' parody sketch from WWDC 2015: "The video, appropriately titled 'Backstage,' aired at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday just before CEO Tim Cook took the stage, amounting to a cold open sequence seen on TV shows like Saturday Night Live. "

Tim Cookalikes.

iPod's disappearance from top of Apple website signals further slide into obscurity

iPod's disappearance from top of Apple website signals further slide into obscurity: "The iPod's place in Apple's website main menu has been taken up by Apple Music, which was announced during Monday's WWDC keynote. In the company's current product lineup, the menu space is otherwise reserved for hardware, including the Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch."

Gone but not forgotten, old friend!

Phil Schiller explains 16GB iPhones, MacBooks with one USB port, design vs. battery life | Cult of Mac

Phil Schiller explains 16GB iPhones, MacBooks with one USB port, design vs. battery life | Cult of Mac: "Why does the latest iPhone still ship with just 16GB of storage as standard? Why does the new MacBook have only one USB port? Why does Apple make devices thinner and thinner rather than adding bigger batteries?"

Do tell, Mr. Lovable Bear.

Apple introduces Metal for Mac, promises huge leap in graphics performance

Apple introduces Metal for Mac, promises huge leap in graphics performance: "At WWDC on Monday, Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi announced Metal for Mac, which combines the power of OpenCL and graphics crunching capability of OpenGL into a unified API that reduces draw rendering times by 50 percent."

I had a hard time finding any actual developer announcements during the keynote, but this is a favorite.