Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Livestreaming makes music festivals free and hassle-free

  The summer music festival season is in full swing. In San Francisco, that means the three-day Outside Lands music festival, which this year featured the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Vampire Weekend, and Paul McCartney.
  The festival packed in 65,000 people a day. But those who didn't want to shell out the $250 for a 3-day pass, wait in line at the Porta Potties, or spend hours staking out a spot of grass by the main stage could still see the big names acts -- and for free.
  Festival organizers partnered with live streaming platform Ustream to provide a free, live webcast that could be viewed worldwide on desktops, laptops and mobile devices.
  "We have a multi-stage webcast. People will be able to watch, just like they're here at the festival, be able to watch from home," explained festival organizer Rick Farman, co-founder of Superfly Presents. "It's a sold out event this year, so we're happy that a lot of people who just can't come out or buy tickets can be able to get some experience of the festival."
  The live Webcast from Ustream and Springboard Production involved feeds from cameras placed on the three largest stages, three video production trucks, hundreds of feet of cable, and a production team of more than 150 people.
  "Typically festivals would broadcast the same footage they would show to the left and right of the stage. In this situation, we're taking multiple camera feeds, multiple audio signals, mixing it all specifically for the web broadcast," Ustream senior sales engineer Gilad Gershoni said.
  Festival-goers could also tap into the live stream on their mobile devices if they could get a strong enough cell signal. In an effort to stem customer complaints about spotty cell coverage at big events, AT&T and Verizon put up mobile cell towers called COWs or Cell on Wheels, more than doubling what they provided last year. AT&T's setup included something called a mega-COW, which was the largest COW they ever deployed in Northern California and accounted for about 50 percent of the overall equipment AT&T deployed.
  Several times at the festival it took awhile to load the Ustream Outside Lands page and access the streams on my Verizon iPhone 5. However, I was able to easily pull up the livestream of the Phoenix performance on my phone while I was watching Nine Inch Nails on the main stage -- so it did pass that test.
  Expect to see more music festivals streamed live for free. With about 11 million people tuning into Ustream's broadcast of the Bonnaroo music festival, concert promoters see the live Webcasts as a way to give viewers at home a taste of that they're missing and hopefully inspires them to pay for tickets in the future.

Users will likely be capable to boot straight towards the desktop

  Though it looks like Microsoft is putting the finishing touches on Windows eight.1, a few reports say the release date continues to be a couple months away.
  Both ZDNet along with the Verge claim that Windows 8.1 will launch in October, not just for current Windows eight PCs, but for new computer systems operating the updated operating method. The duo were the initial to report on Windows 8.1's (then referred to as Windows Blue) existence, many months ago.
  Thoughts you, this isn't a delay, as Microsoft has never confirmed a release date for Windows 8.1. The firm has only said that it would release the computer software to Pc makers (a approach known as RTM) in August. Both reports say Microsoft continues to be on track.
  But as ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley explains, Microsoft may possibly be holding back the actual launch to get a couple of causes: Initially windows 7 home premium product key, Windows 8.1 is reportedly fairly buggy, even for any test build, so the extra time will permit Microsoft to clean points up via software program updates for new Pc purchasers. Second, releasing each the update and new Windows eight.1 devices simultaneously could make a larger splash, amounting to a “launch event” for the much more user-friendly version of Microsoft's operating program.
  Windows 8.1 contains a number of concessions for desktop users, also as new functions for the modern day interface. Users will likely be capable to boot straight towards the desktop, disable modern-style “hot corners” and access important desktop functions by right-clicking on the newly-restored Start out button. The modern interface includes key improvements to built-in apps, the ability to use 3 apps side-by-side, overhauled Bing search and much more. The net effect is that it's simpler to stay on the desktop if you need, but not unthinkable to switch towards the contemporary UI.
  If Microsoft manages to launch the update in October, it'll fall about the one-year anniversary of Windows 8. That is a major alter for Windows, which usually releases big updates once each handful of years, but it's a essential adjust as Microsoft tries to keep up with Apple and Google. No matter whether you adore or hate the operating system, there's no doubt that Microsoft's switch to a fast release cycle is unquestionably bearing fruit.