No thanks to Apple, iPhones and iPads can finally stream DRM videos from your iTunes library

iTunes shows and movies are protected by digital rights management (DRM) software, which limits how people can share and view them. But thanks to a file-sharing startup, iTunes videos are getting Netflix-style streaming capabilities – and it’s 100 percent legal, the company claims.

Entangled Media today updated its Younity iOS app, enabling your iPhone and iPad to stream videos stored on your computer’s iTunes library, no downloading or syncing required.

“You and I both know that people almost never sync their devices and downloading HD content like a movie can take an eternity,” Erik Caso, Entangled Media’s chief executive, told VentureBeat. “And both rely on there being storage on your device, which is a rare commodity.”

The Younity app already enabled access to your files that doesn’t have DRM protection on your desktop — including your music and video libraries — on your iPhone or iPad. It even temporarily shares those files through its ephemeral file-sharing feature. But this is the first time the app has dealt with DRM.

To avoid legal troubles, Younity won’t share content purchased through iTunes, as you can with other content. Also, the app will send you over to Safari to stream your videos.

“We’re obviously not going to strip off the DRM, because that would be illegal,” said Caso. “We effectively had to reverse-engineer using your Apple ID and your DRM key and insert them into your stream, which we could do in the Safari browser but not our own media player.”

iTunes videos will stream in their original, full resolution. That might be slower than a transcoded stream, noted Caso, but if the company optimized the video playback for streaming, that would violate the content’s DRM.

Caso says he isn’t aware of any other services that offer this iTunes streaming functionality.

“I know a few other services have tried it, but I’ve never seen it working.”

Entangled Media’s long-term goal is to offer access to all of your data – files stored locally and files stored in the cloud — across all of your devices. Its software is currently available on Windows, Mac, and iOS. 

Dropbox founder Drew Houston explains his success

 

Drew Houston founded online file-sharing service Dropbox seven years ago. The firm is now estimated to be worth about $10bn (£5.9bn).

But it was not an overnight success, and he had several failed ventures along the way.

Mr Houston explains how he came up with the idea for the firm and the factors which, he believes, have made it work.

Amazon gives 30 Android apps away for free

If you own an Android device, get ready to fill your boots. TheAmazon Appstore is hosting a two-day giveaway that anyone can take advantage of, even if you don't own a Kindle Fire device.

Amazon already has a policy of giving away one free app from its store every day, but it's clearly feeling extra generous this weekend as there are 30 apps you'd usually pay for up for grabs. They're all free, and even more importantly, some of them are actually really good.

The bundle apps will be available today and tomorrow only, so if you don't already have Amazon's Appstore on your Android phone or tablet then get downloading. Some of the game highlights include puzzler The Room Two, Ravensword: Shadowlands and Sonic The Hedgehog 2. Also worth downloading are Plex, which is great for organising your media across devices, OfficeSuite Pro 7, which is usually priced at £8.90, and Travel Interpreter, which usually costs £7.

The full list includes:

Card Wars -- Adventure Time

OfficeSuite Professional 7

Notepad+

The Room Two

Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Plex

Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek

Wedding Dash Deluxe

Dr. Panda's Bus Driver

Ravenswood: Shadowlands

Pho.to Lab PRO

CLARC

AccuWeather Platinum

Dungeon Village

CrossMe Premium

EZ Money Manager

Business Calendar

Jump Desktop

Travel Interpreter

Informant 3

Root Explorer

MyBackup Pro

Splashtop Remote Desktop

MobiLearn Talking Phrasebook

aCalendar+

Pinball Deluxe Premiere

2Do: Todo List

PUZZINGO Puzzles

Loco Motors

League of Heroes Premium

Along with the 30 apps on offer, don't forget to check out the separate free app of the day. Today it is MacGyver's Deadly Descent, but there will be another option available tomorrow.

The deal is also on in other regions, including the US, Australia and India.

Costco makes up with Apple, starts selling iPhone and iPad online at discounts of up to $120

It seems Costco has once again started selling specific Apple products several years after it dropped the company’s wares over Apple’s decision to not let the retailer carry the iPad. Not every model, carrier, capacity, or color are represented in Coscto’s stock, and all of the devices are only available online (except for the T-Mobile versions, which aren’t available online at all).

The 16 GB iPhone 5s on AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon will run you only $77.99 through Costco, saving you about $120. As noted above, the T-Mobile model is only available through “select Costco wireless kiosks.” All of the color and carrier combinations are available except for one: the gold iPhone on T-Mobile.

The iPhone offering is rounded out by a a blue AT&T iPhone 5c, also only available in 16 GB, for $99.99.

On the tablet side of things, the 16 GB iPad mini is available on Verizon at $419.99, and the iPad Air (again, only on Verizon) can be yours for $519.99. Like with the iPhone, the 16 GB T-Mobile versions of each iPad model can only be purchased at certain Costco wireless kiosks. Sprint and AT&T iPads are nowhere to be found at the moment.

It doesn’t appear that the company is offering any higher-capacity models of either device at this time, and the iPad color selection seems to be restricted. The only silver iPad for sale is the Verizon iPad Air, while the others are all limited to space grey, including the T-Mobile variant of the Air.

Dinner at your door: Amazon launches food takeout service

Photo via Flickr user Jeff Kramer.

Amazon already delivers groceries. Now, the Seattle giant is quietly moving into the takeout business.

Amazon is launching a food takeout service as part of Amazon Localbeginning in Seattle and will compete with companies like GrubHub and DeliveryHero.

A source told GeekWire that the new service was available in the Amazon Local iPhone app earlier this week, but was disabled Wednesday due to a bug.

Today’s news follows reports from earlier this month that Amazon is prepping to compete with the likes of Yelp and Angie’s List with a local marketplace platform to help people find restaurants and other services like babysitters, handymen or contractors.

Amazon has been delivering groceries via Amazon Fresh for more than five years and finally introduced the grocery delivery business to Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2013. An Amazon spokesperson toldTechCrunch that the new food delivery service may follow a similarly slow rollout.

We’ve reached out to Amazon for more details on the takeout service, and will update this story when we hear back.

It’s unclear what types of restaurants Amazon will partner with, but it certainly will face competition in the Seattle market. Delivery services like Postmates,Caviar and Eat24 already bring food to doorsteps, so it will be interesting to see how Amazon tries to differentiate with its program — drones, perhaps?

iPhone 6 Could Feature Optical Image Stabilization, Analysts Predict

There are some who do not realize this, but optical image stabilization in a camera is an extremely useful feature. This allows users to snap photos in low-light situations without too much camera shake, and it also allows for video capture by holding the camera in your hand where the movement from your hands or body will be reduced as well.

This is also a feature that has made its way into high-end smartphones, like theSamsung Galaxy S5 and the LG G3, but could it also be making its way into the iPhone 6? While it remains to be seen if it will, a new prediction from Pacific Crest Securities analysts, John Vinh and Kevin Chen, seems to think that it will.

In fact they go on to state that optical image stabilization will be a feature that could be limited to the 5.5-inch version of the iPhone 6. The analysts claim that optical image stabilization technology will cost anywhere between $4-5 more than a traditional focus component, and could be used to help differentiate between the 4.7-inch model and 5.5-inch model, apart from the obvious difference in screen sizes.

Apple’s iPhone 6 is rumored to enter into production this July. Both the rumored 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models are expected to begin production at the same time, so word has it that both phones will be launched simultaneously, although supply of the 5.5-inch model is said to be constrained at the early stages due to it being a more complicated device.

Google begins testing a domain registration service

Google today revealed that it is building a domain registration service called Google Domains. The product is still an early work in progress, so it’s in invite-only beta for now.

Google’s small business-facing division decided to build the product because, according to its research, 55 percent of small businesses still don’t have a website. Since the domain acts as a website’s foundation, Google decided to do more to help companies get started with their online presence. While Google Domains won’t include hosting, website building providers Squarespace, Wix,Weebly and Shopify have signed on as partners.

When Google Domains launches to the public, you’ll be able to buy and sell domains through the service. Unlike some other domain registration offerings, Google won’t charge you extra to register your domain privately. You’ll be able to create up to 100 email addresses on the domain and as many as 100 customized sub-domains. Google Domains will also use the company’s own DNS servers, so visitors should get a snappy response time when they hit up your site.

If you’re interested in trying out Google Domains, head to the link below, click on “Manage My Domains” and then follow the instructions to request an invite code.