Netflix is officially branching out into fitness content, as the company announced today that it’s going to start streaming Nike Training Club classes next week. The streaming service will release a total of 30 hours of exercise sessions in two separate batches. The programs, which include workouts for all fitness levels, will be available in multiple languages on all Netflix plans.
The first batch of fitness classes will launch on December 30, with the second batch releasing in 2023. A total of 45 episodes will be part of the first batch, which will include the following classes: Kickstart Fitness with the Basics, Two Weeks to a Stronger Core, Fall in Love with Vinyasa Yoga, HIIT & Strength with Tara, and Feel-Good Fitness. Once the classes are released, Netflix users will be able to search “Nike” to access them.
For those unfamiliar with the Nike Training Club app, it offers a range of options for people of all fitness levels, including strength training, yoga and high-intensity workouts led by Nike’s certified trainers. Nike Training Club can in some ways be compared to Apple Fitness+ or Peloton.
“It’s not always easy to motivate yourself to exercise, but the option to feel the burn and then directly transition into one of your favorite shows does have a certain appeal,” the company wrote in a blog post. “And now, that’s exactly what you can do.”
This latest move from Netflix marks yet another way that the streaming service is branching out from its core business of TV shows and series. Over the past year, we saw the company delve into the world of gaming with the launch of Netflix Games. Now we’re seeing another departure from its core business as the streaming service begins testing the waters with fitness content.
The timing of the release likely isn’t a coincidence either, given that people around the world will soon make working out their New Year’s resolution. Considering that Netflix already has a significant user base, the streaming service may be able to entice people into trying out fitness content directly on the platform that they already regularly visit.
It’s worth noting that the launch won’t mark Netflix’s first foray into health-related content, as the streaming service launched mindfulness and meditation content from Headspace last year.
Depending on how successful the launch is, Netflix may decide to add even more fitness content to its platform to compete with the likes of Apple Fitness+ and Peloton. Beyond that, the company may even decide to produce its own fitness content if it can get enough people to see it as a viable option when it comes to fitness.
Netflix branches out into fitness content with upcoming launch of Nike Training Club classes by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch
Netflix branches out into fitness content with upcoming launch of Nike Training Club classes
Архив рубрики: Apps
Amazon adds free music videos, viral videos and more ad-supported content to Fire TV
Amazon has announced that Fire TV users in the U.S. can now watch tens of thousands of music videos from major and independent labels for free. No downloads, fees or subscriptions are required to watch the music videos. The ad-supported music videos will be available from artists on the Billboard Hot 100, including Taylor Swift, Drake, Harry Styles and Lizzo, as well as a catalog of classics from different genres. The company says new content will be added daily.
Fire TV customers can find personalized recommendations based on their likes and viewing history, create their own mixes or choose from pre-made playlists, such as Top Holiday Hits, Best of 2022 Recap and Country Today. Users have unlimited music video skips and also have the option to play a continuous stream of similar music videos.
You can access the music videos by pressing the voice control on the Fire TV remote and saying “Alexa, find Music Videos.” Or, you can search “Music Videos” in the Appstore then click the “Music Videos on Fire TV.” From there, you need to click “get” app to download. When the download is complete, you can select “open” to access the free music videos.
In addition to music videos, Fire TV customers will now have access to additional ad-supported content, such as business and finance news from Bloomberg, The Street, CNBC and others. Users will also get access to entertainment news from brands like E! News and Mixible. In addition, customers can watch game previews and trailers, gaming news, developer interviews, how to’s, esports and more from providers including IGN, ESTV and Crown Channel. Last, users can watch viral videos from Always Funny Videos, FailArmy, People Are Awesome and The Pet Collective.
You can access the new additional free content by navigating to the “Home” icon on the Fire TV navigation bar, or by pressing the “Home” button on the Alexa Voice remote. Then, you need to scroll down to “Business & Finance News”, “Entertainment News” or “Gaming News & Esports.”
The announcement comes a few months after Amazon added free movie trailers, lifestyle content, sports highlights and more to Fire TV. Given that more viewers are gravitating to free and ad-supported content as streaming subscription prices continue to increase, it makes sense for Amazon to add more free content to Fire TV.
Amazon adds free movie trailers, lifestyle content, sports highlights and more to Fire TV
Amazon adds free music videos, viral videos and more ad-supported content to Fire TV by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch
Amazon adds free music videos, viral videos and more ad-supported content to Fire TV
Twitter Blue to relaunch with actual verification process, higher price for Apple users
Twitter is officially bringing back the Twitter Blue subscription Monday, starting in five countries before rapidly expanding to others, according to Esther Crawford, director of product management at Twitter. Web sign-ups will cost $8 per month and iOS sign ups will cost $11 per month for “access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark,” per a tweet from the company account.
Android users can purchase on the web and use their subscription on their phones, said Crawford. The higher cost for iOS sign ups might be a move by Twitter to offset the cost of Apple’s 30% commission for in-app purchased subscriptions, or simply to deter users from subscribing through the Apple Store at all, following a Twitter storm from an angry Elon Musk over allegations that Apple was cutting advertising on the platform.
we’re relaunching @TwitterBlue on Monday – subscribe on web for $8/month or on iOS for $11/month to get access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark pic.twitter.com/DvvsLoSO50
— Twitter (@Twitter) December 10, 2022
Twitter had previously attempted to democratize the prestige of the blue checkmark — once used for verifying trustworthy and noteworthy accounts — by making it available to anyone willing to shell out $8 per month, verification be damned. The result was a slew of users buying a checkmark to impersonate other accounts and generally cause mischief. (See: Fake-pharma company Eli Lilly tweeting that insulin is now free and fake-Tesla tweeting, “Our cars do not respect school zone speed limits. Fuck them kids.”)
Crawford tweeted over the weekend that Twitter has now added a review step before applying a blue checkmark to an account in order to combat impersonation, which she says is against the Twitter Rules.
With the relaunch of Twitter’s subscription offering, the social media platform will further color-code timelines by introducing gold checkmarks for businesses and, soon, gray checkmarks for government and “multilateral accounts,” whatever those are.
“Businesses who previously had relationships with Twitter will receive goldchecks on Monday,” tweeted Crawford. “We will soon open this up to more businesses via a new process.”
Because Twitter is still really testing this feature out, the company warned that subscribers who change their handle, display name or profile photo will temporarily lose the blue checkmark until their account is reviewed again.
Subscribers will be able to edit their tweets, upload 1080p videos and have access to reader mode, alongside their blue checkmarks, the company said. They’ll also have their tweets “rocketed” to the top of replies, mentions and search and will be spammed with 50% fewer ads.
Schrödinger’s blue check: According to Twitter, I may or may not be notable
Twitter Blue to relaunch with actual verification process, higher price for Apple users by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch
Twitter Blue to relaunch with actual verification process, higher price for Apple users
Mozilla acquires Active Replica to build on its metaverse vision
An automated status updater for Slack isn’t the only thing Mozilla acquired this week. On Wednesday, the company announced that it snatched up Active Replica, a Vancouver-based startup developing a “web-based metaverse.”
According to Mozilla SVP Imo Udom, Active Replica will support Mozilla’s ongoing work with Hubs, the latter’s VR chatroom service and open source project. Specifically, he sees the Active Replica team working on personalized subscription tiers, improving the onboarding experience and introducing new interaction capabilities in Hubs.
“Together, we see this as a key opportunity to bring even more innovation and creativity to Hubs than we could alone,” Udom said in a blog post. “We will benefit from their unique experience and ability to create amazing experiences that help organizations use virtual spaces to drive impact. They will benefit from our scale, our talent, and our ability to help bring their innovations to the market faster.”
Active Replica was founded in 2020 by Jacob Ervin and Valerian Denis. Ervin is a software engineer by trade, having held roles at AR/VR startups Metaio, Liminal AR and Occipital. Denis has a history in project management — he worked for VR firms including BackLight, which specializes in location-based and immersive VR experiences for brands.
With Active Replica, Ervin and Denis sought to build a platform for virtual events and meetings built on top of Mozilla’s Hubs project. Active Replica sold virtual event packages that included venue design, event planning, live entertainment and tech support.
Prior to the acquisition, Active Replica hadn’t publicly announced outside funding. Ervin and Denis have assumed new jobs at Mozilla within the past several weeks, now working as senior engineering manager and product lead, respectively.
“Mozilla has long advocated for a healthier internet and has been an inspiration to us in its dedication and contributions to the open web. By joining forces with the Mozilla Hubs team, we’re able to further expand on our mission and inspire a new generation of creators, connectors, and builders,” Ervin and Denis said in a statement. “Active Replica will continue to work with our existing customers, partners and community.”
Mozilla launched Hubs in 2018, which it pitched at the time as an “experiment” in “immersive social experiences.” Hubs provides the dev tools and infrastructure necessary to allow users to visit a portal through any browser and collaborate with others in a VR environment. Adhering to web standards, Hubs supports all the usual headsets and goggles (e.g. Oculus Rift, HTC Vive) while remaining open to those without specialized VR hardware on desktops and smartphones.
Hubs recently expanded with the launch of a $20-per-month service that did away with the previously free service, but introduced account management tools, privacy and security features. According to Mozilla, the plan is to roll out additional tiers and reintroduce a free version in the future, along with kits to create custom spaces, avatar and identity options and integrations with existing collaboration tools.
Mozilla’s forays into the metaverse have been met with mixed results. While Hubs is alive and kicking as evidenced by the Active Replica acquisition, Meta shuttered Firefox Reality, its attempt to create a full-featured browser for AR and VR headsets, in February 2022. In explaining why it decided to close up Firefox Reality, Mozilla said that while it does help develop new technologies, like WebVR and WebAR, it doesn’t always continue to host and incubate those technologies long-term.
Mozilla acquires Active Replica to build on its metaverse vision by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch
Mozilla acquires Active Replica to build on its metaverse vision
Nufa lets you live up to unrealistic beauty standards at the tap of an app
It isn’t like Instagram is a beacon of truth as it is, but things are about to get a lot worse, as Nufa takes any image and sculpts you into the “after” picture dream that every gym owner wants to project into our souls as they continue on their mission to make us all look like body-building beasts with cleavage out the wazoo and abs for days.
The new mobile app “seamlessly transforms the human body into a picture in one click,” as it considers muscle structure, body type, skin color, body position and even tattoos to provide a “digital experience that hardly differs from real body transformation pics.”
“For women, we have an additional feature of transforming the breast from the 1st to the 5th size that works even with neckline clothes,” Nufa’s head of Analytics, Artem Petrikeev, said in an email to TechCrunch. “We are changing body pics similar to how Faceapp changes selfies.”
Can we be done making ourselves feel less than already?
But hey, if this is your jam, I guess you, too, can see what you’d look like if you conformed to completely unrealistic beauty standards. You do you, boo, but if you install this app, perhaps think about what it is you’re buying into. You’re perfect as you are, and if you don’t believe that, think about where that belief came from.
Nufa lets you live up to unrealistic beauty standards at the tap of an app by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch
Nufa lets you live up to unrealistic beauty standards at the tap of an app