Media

Half of relationships contain Netflix adulterers

It has been established many times that relationships are complicated.

You can be dating a self-described humanitarian who ends up treating you like a farm animal. You can believe that your liaison is anything but dangerous, and then you discover a casual faithlessness that assaults your craw.

This seems to happen even in the case of Netflix use.

If you really love the one you're with, you'll wait to watch a TV show that's in your Netflix queue, so that you can watch it curled up in beautiful unison.

Research from Netflix suggests, however, that more than … Read more

Twitter teams with NBA to offer in-tweet pro hoops replays

Twitter and NBA Digital have partnered to stream in-tweet video highlights of some of the NBA playoffs' most exciting plays.

The deal, which was first reported by Bloomberg, comes just days after a similar arrangement between Twitter and ESPN. In that arrangement, Twitter users will have access to replays from soccer, the X Games, and college football.

Twitter said that the NBA highlights will be sponsored by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Taco Bell, and Sprint Nextel.

Yahoo, Tumblr tie-up in the works?

While her former employer dominated most of the tech headlines this week at Google I/O, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is working on news of her own. Perhaps.

Late Thursday, a flurry of rumors surfaced about a possible tie-up between Yahoo and Tumblr. AllThingsD started the ball rolling and AdWeek independently confirmed with "multiple sources" that the talks are indeed beaucoup serious with a possible price tag as high as $1 billion.

The rationale: Mayer is keen to attract a younger, hipper demographic for Yahoo. The timing might be right. According to AdWeek, Tumblr "has been looking … Read more

Qantas: Forget the Kindle, read a book we just wrote for you

The past is a cockroach.

It never truly goes away. It simply makes more copies of itself, each a little different from the last.

How quaint, though, of Qantas to think that its fliers should read a book.

No, not a book on some fancy machine. A paper book, with a cover and a booky smell, given to you if you're one of its fancy passengers.

These are, allegedly, no ordinary books. As Ad Age reports, Qantas claims they are "bespoke." Yes, like a hunting jacket.

The company has teamed with publishing house Hachette to offer high-fliers … Read more

WebRTC fully operational in Firefox beta

The quest to free the browser from plug-ins that can impede performance took another step forward on Thursday when Mozilla activated by default Web Real-Time Communication in its latest Firefox beta.

WebRTC, as it's known, is the HTML5 standard for streaming files, video, and audio on the Web. Mozilla activated getUserMedia in Firefox in April, which WebRTC uses to access the Webcam and microphone. Now, PeerConnection and DataChannels have been turned on in the Firefox 22 Beta, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

PeerConnection lets the browser set up real-time video and audio calls, while DataChannels enables peer-to-peer data … Read more

Trekify Bing by searching for 'beam me up'

I like my Khan clad in real Corinthian leather, so I'm not warping over to the closest theater to catch "Star Trek Into Darkness." And while many fanboys and fangirls are, Trek enthusiasts can also try Bing for some animation that's as fun as a locker full of tribbles.

The search engine will respond to "beam me up" with a series of interactive scenes promoting the latest installment in the J.J. Abrams reboot series.

Clicking on the floating Enterprise brings you to the bridge (littered with furry friends), where you can explore the science behind concepts from the show like the tractor beam and the tricorder. … Read more

Google: Check out our new Glassware like Tumblr

Google Glass just got a lot more interesting.

Google on Thursday unveiled several new apps -- or "Glassware," as it calls them -- for its wearable computing device. The apps include Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Evernote, CNN, and Elle and join the apps already available from The New York Times and Path. The new apps are currently available to Glass owners.

While the apps have limited functionality compared with their mobile and Web versions, many companies noted the first release is only the start of what their Glass apps will soon offer.

"We believe that wearables are the … Read more

Yahoo adds tweets to its news feed

Yahoo's news feed will now include tweets from Twitter, CEO Marissa Mayer announced Thursday in a blog post, cheekily titled "@yahoo delivers #bestoftheweb."

The company will roll out the new feature to U.S. desktop and mobile users over the next few days. Mayer has been trying to breathe new life into the company by buying mobile startups, updating Yahoo's home page, and now by harnessing the popularity of Twitter as a news source.

"Updates direct from politicians, celebrities, media outlets, and other publishers have become an important source of real-time news and information. 140 … Read more

Amazon adds NBC shows like 'Grimm' to streaming catalog

Amazon on Thursday added several NBCUniversal titles to its Prime Instant Video streaming catalog, including "Grimm" and "Suits."

Prior seasons of "Grimm," an NBC fantasy drama based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, are available Thursday on Amazon, as is USA Network's "Suits" and "Covert Affairs." NBC's "Hannibal" psychological thriller will be available later this year, and Syfy's "Defiance" will be available early next year. USA Networks and Syfy are both owned by NBCUniversal.

All previous seasons are exclusive to Amazon, and Prime … Read more