streaming

Update, Feb. 21, 2013: We've added several bonus questions, as the more we learn about the PS4, the more we realize we don't know.

NEW YORK--Now that Sony has officially unveiled its next-generation living room game console, it's time to start speculating about all the important details that were left out of the press conference.

We know, for example, that the name of the system is PlayStation 4, and that it will feature a mix of disc-based and cloud-based games, and also that the new controller -- a modified version of the classic Sony game pad -- is adding a small touch panel.

We also know that Sony plans to push a wide-ranging list of games at launch (whenever that is), including Killzone: Shadow Fall, Watch Dogs, and The Witness. That's a deep software bench, and shows a clear emphasis on games and content, but many important questions about the PlayStation 4 hardware and user experience have been left unanswered. … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- A what, where, and why primer on the Game Developer's Conference from guests Meggan Scavio and Simon Carless.

- The 15th annual Independent Games Festival opens its Audience Award voting window, now through March 1.

- Nominations open for 2013 Game Developers Choice Awards.

- Unity Engine coming to BlackBerry 10 smartphones, BlackBerry PlayBook.… Read more

Spotify has been around for a good year and hasn't changed much; it's still one of our favorite applications for music on-demand and music library management. Taking cues from iTunes, Spotify integrates your existing music libraries with its own giant catalog of songs from artists all over the world. Where it trumps iTunes is that all the music is pretty much available to stream for free, with offline functionality for an addition ten bucks a month. In their in-app advertisements, claimss like "Piracy is overrated" are quite justified; it's seriously one of the most easiest … Read more

TuneIn Radio has an intuitive interface that makes it a snap to listen to streaming radio while you're on the move. It offers more than 50,000 stations and 120,000 shows from around the globe, plus, with the help of your iPhone's GPS, it can even serve up all of your local favorites.

Upon launch, TuneIn lets you drill down to exactly what you want to listen to. You can browse local radio, recommended stations, stations for different languages, and even podcasts. You can also choose from categories like sports or talk radio.

Like other radio-streaming apps, … Read more

Happy Valentine's Day, cheeps! Here's hoping you have a day filled with love, chocolate, and, of course, deals.

That's right: deals, plural. I couldn't settle on just one today, so I've rounded up three (well, five, technically) to make your day a little sweeter.

1. Pogoplug Mobile The Pogoplug Mobile is a small box that plugs into your home router and streams your media libraries to your Android or iOS device.

Typical Pogoplug, right? The Mobile adds one key feature to the mix: it can automatically back up photos and videos captured with your phone … Read more

iHeartRadio is an old favorite of mine that lets you stream radio from over 1,500 live radio stations or create custom stations based on a song or artist. The best thing about it, though, is that your custom stations are completely ad-free.

Live radio stations from all over the U.S. are available, including everything from pop, country, rock, electronic, and urban, to talk and college stations. You can browse by genre or location and listen to music until you hit a song you don't like, then hit the Scan button to move on to another radio station (… Read more

Amazon announced today that it's adding a new batch of CBS and Showtime reruns to its video-streaming service.

The new additions to Amazon's Prime Instant Video service include "America's Next Top Model," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Jericho," "The L Word," "Undercover Boss," and "United States of Tara." This selection builds on the existing licensing agreement between Amazon and CBS (the parent company of CNET).

"CBS was one of our earliest content partners for Prime Instant Video and our Prime customers have consistently told us how … Read more

I've been an Amazon Prime customer for nearly a year now, meaning it's time for me to decide whether to continue subscribing to the program.

In case you're unfamiliar with it, Prime works like this: For $79 annually, you get unlimited movie and TV streaming, one free borrowed e-book per month, and automatic two-day shipping on nearly everything you buy (with no minimum dollar amount).

Awesome deal, right? Maybe, and maybe not.

Let's start with the streaming. Amazon has vastly expanded its movie- and TV-show libraries over the past year, to the point where I'd … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--At an invite-only press event in San Francisco, popular streaming music service Slacker Radio last night unveiled a completely revamped brand. The company's name remains, but Slacker's look and feel have been significantly simplified.

Of course, with the rebrand, Slacker's Web site and product designs have been updated with cleaner, more modern looks as well. Gone are the dark tones, textures, and gradients that crowded Slacker's interfaces in the past. Now, Slacker's multiplatform face is made up of brighter colors, clean lines, and lots of white space, which bring it more in line with … Read more