| Yahoo confirms Mail / Messenger outage, working on a fix Jul 31st 2012, 17:49  Google Talk and Twitter had their moments last week, and now it's Yahoo's turn. As noted by a flood of readers -- and confirmed by the company itself -- the exclamation marked mail service is currently experiencing some issues. Yahoo Mail is prompting users to accept its terms and then just sort of conking out. We reached out to Yahoo for comment and received the following response: Yahoo! Mail, Messenger and other areas of Yahoo! may currently be inaccessible or slow to respond to some users in certain locations. We are working to correct the issue and restore all functionality immediately. We know that this may have caused some inconvenience and we apologize to our users who might be affected. We'll update you when things are back to normal.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Filed under: Internet, Software Yahoo confirms Mail / Messenger outage, working on a fix originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Amazon updates Cloud Player with 256 Kbps matched files, faster import, direct delivery Jul 31st 2012, 17:31  Amazon's Cloud Player service just scored some major upgrades, including quality and import enhancements. Perhaps most notable is a new 256 Kbps option for matched files, including songs you imported before today. That bitrate, in MP3 format, is available for new tracks and albums added to the cloud -- a process that's been streamlined as well, with Cloud Player scanning your library and automatically offering up matched tracks, rather than requiring manual imports. In addition, music you buy in the Amazon MP3 Store will show up in your Player automatically, including past purchases (in cases where the site has the necessary rights). There's also an option to edit metadata directly, such as artist and album info, along with album art, or you can use the label information already in Amazon's catalog. Cloud Drive will also be less integrated with Player -- previous uploads will be moved to an "Archived Music" folder and won't count against storage caps, but will still be accessible and downloadable, while new imports will be stored in Player directly. You can upload up to 250 songs to Cloud Player for free, or pay a $25 annual fee to bump that cap to 250,000. Full details are at the source link below. Filed under: Storage, Internet Amazon updates Cloud Player with 256 Kbps matched files, faster import, direct delivery originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  Amazon | Email this | Comments | | Samsung Music Hub launches on Galaxy S III stateside with free trial in tow Jul 31st 2012, 16:44  Samsung's come a long way from the days of its first Galaxy S device. Relying back then, out of necessity, on third parties like 7Digital and Kobo to provide a white label content platform. Time, fortune and the popularity of its Android devices has changed the company's tack and with the unveiling of the Galaxy S III, it's heading for a streamlined user experience that integrates hardware with in-house software. Although Music Hub has already launched overseas in several European countries as part and parcel of its latest flagship, that service is now finally ready for primetime in the US. Built upon the mSpot tech it acquired this past May, the company's freemium service combines the best of both worlds, offering non-paying users access to a digital storefront loaded up with millions of tracks from all four major labels (and some indies, too), a web-based player, as well as the ability to store purchased music remotely and offline for "registered devices." Whereas, the subscription version builds upon those gratis goods by adding personalized radio stations, free streaming and an iTunes-like "Scan & Match" feature to the mix for $10 monthly. Ever cognizant of the already crowded digital music platforms provided by rivals, Samsung's tricking out this stateside debut with some goodies for the curious: a 30-day trial and one free album of their choosing. It's a nice incentive, for sure, but with so many already entrenched in the musical realms of rivals -- iTunes, Google Play and Spotify, for starters -- adoption of this new ecosystem's going to be a hard sell indeed. Click on past the break for the lowdown on this me-too, mobile music offering. Continue reading Samsung Music Hub launches on Galaxy S III stateside with free trial in tow Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Software Samsung Music Hub launches on Galaxy S III stateside with free trial in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Outlook.com preview: Microsoft reinvents its online email offerings Jul 31st 2012, 16:01  Maybe you heard, but Microsoft launched a new email service today. No, not Hotmail -- a completely new, built-from-scratch service. This is Outlook.com, and for the time being, at least, it will exist separately from Hotmail. So why didn't Redmond just give Hotmail a drastic overhaul? Well, friends, there are two explanations. First, the polite one: for technical reasons, the engineers found it easier to build a new service from scratch rather than retrofit the old one. The frank answer: Microsoft is keenly aware Hotmail has a bad rap, thanks to those banners and flashy video ads. In fact, the company has been very candid that it wants not just to compete with Gmail, but siphon away some of its growing user base. As such, Outlook offers a fresh, minimal interface -- far cleaner than Hotmail ever looked. What's more, the ads are more pared-down here: no video adverts, and no targeted ads on messages between people (newsletters are still fair game). The service is open to the public as of today and you get virtually unlimited storage, along with 7GB of SkyDrive space if you create a new Microsoft account. (Microsoft uses the word "virtually" to hedge itself against spammers who might otherwise use limitless storage to game the system.) And you should take our word when we say it's worth giving the service a shot: we've been testing it for almost two weeks. Go get yourself situated and then meet us after the break for details, impressions and lots more screenshots. Note: many of our screenshots say "NewMail" instead of "Outlook.com" in the upper left corner. NewMail is a codename Microsoft used before announcing the service to the public. Continue reading Outlook.com preview: Microsoft reinvents its online email offerings Filed under: Internet, Software Outlook.com preview: Microsoft reinvents its online email offerings originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Microsoft launches Outlook.com, a new email service with limited ads, unlimited storage and built-in Skype Jul 31st 2012, 16:00  So Microsoft launched a new email service today -- not a redesigned version of Hotmail, but a completely new, built-from-the-ground-up service. It's called Outlook.com, and for now, at least, it will exist separately from Hotmail, as Microsoft attempts to distance itself from Hotmail's bad rap. As it happens, the email features are basically the same across the two services, but from a visual standpoint, Outlook.com is everything Hotmail is not: where Hotmail has distracting banners and video ads, Outlook's are discreet. Indeed, you won't find any targeted ads on conversations with individual people (newsletters and such are still fair game). In lieu of those creepy personalized ads, you'll see quick access to Twitter and Facebook, where you can retweet and like things, as well as post comments. Skype integration is coming too (finally!), though that feature isn't live today. Most importantly, though, it brings a fresh, minimal interface designed to lure away Gmail users who wouldn't have otherwise given Hotmail the time of day. Outlook.com is open to the public starting today. You can create a new account or sign in using an existing Hotmail address. Though it's still in its preview phase, anyone can sign up (read: no invites necessary). Storage is "virtually" unlimited -- Microsoft doesn't want to promise potential spammers a limitless account -- and anyone creating a Microsoft account for the first time gets the usual 7GB of complimentary SkyDrive storage. Hit up that source link if you want check it out yourself, and then head over to our in-depth preview for detailed impressions and screenshots galore. Continue reading Microsoft launches Outlook.com, a new email service with limited ads, unlimited storage and built-in Skype Filed under: Internet, Software Microsoft launches Outlook.com, a new email service with limited ads, unlimited storage and built-in Skype originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Microsoft | Email this | Comments | |
