The X version of Final Cut Pro was supposed to be all things to all people -- easier and more power for the serious amateurs and yet refreshing and comprehensive for the pros. In reality it seemed that neither camp quite saw it that way, but Apple has at least been listening. Today the company has announced version 10.0.3, which finally adds the one feature everyone's been clamoring for: multicam support. But that's not all. Join us after the break for a deeper look.

Continue reading Apple releases updated Final Cut Pro X, brings multicam support, broadcast monitoring love

Apple releases updated Final Cut Pro X, brings multicam support, broadcast monitoring love originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tonight OnStar's pulled back the curtain just a tad, revealing it'll soon allow pre-approved third parties to build "apps" atop its platform. While the closed API won't launch until later, at CES the telematics service announced its first partner: RelayRides -- a peer-to-peer car sharing service that enables OnStar owners to rent their cars. Access to the API allows those renting using RelayRides' app to remotely unlock reserved cars, all from their smartphone. It'll be one of many to go live in 2012, so devs with a knack for the next big thing ought to peep the PR after the break

Gallery: RelayRides

Continue reading OnStar announces 'closed' API, developers welcome to apply

OnStar announces 'closed' API, developers welcome to apply originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nitobi's PhoneGap project helps app developers to code for multiple mobile OSs simultaneously, thanks to the open standard wonders of HTML5, JavaScript and CSS. It's supported Windows Phone since the beginning, but v1.3 builds on that friendliness by opening up the API's full feature set and hence every limb and organ of a Mango handset, from the compass right through to storage and notifications. New plug-ins yield extra goodies, like Live Tile updates, BingMaps Search and social networking integration. Plus, in the interests of fairness, the full list of improvements (at the source link) contains some nuggets for Android, iOS and BlackBerry coders too.

PhoneGap v1.3 brings better cross-platform app coding to Windows Phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Merely a day after Verizon's version of the Galaxy Nexus was gifted with v4.0.2, Google itself is announcing Android 4.0.3, a so-called " incremental release of the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) platform." We're told that the new release includes a variety of optimizations and bug fixes for phones and tablets, as well as a small number of new APIs for developers. For those curious, the new API level is 15, and some of those new ones include social stream API in Contacts provider, Calendar provider enhancements, newfangled camera capabilities (apps can now check and manage video stabilization and use QVGA resolution profiles where needed) and accessibility refinements (improved content access for screen readers and new status and error reporting for text-to-speech engines). Moreover, we're promised minute improvements in "graphics, database, spell-checking, Bluetooth, and more." Finally, the company makes clear that going forward, it'll be "focusing its partners on Android 4.0.3 as the base version of Ice Cream Sandwich," with rollouts expected for both phones and tablets in "the weeks ahead."

Android 4.0.3 announced, bringing 'variety of optimizations and bug fixes' to phones and tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Music Genome Project is in some serious trouble. The fancy algorithm behind Pandora is facing an increasingly popular competitor in the form of Echo Nest. The company's "music intelligence platform" and its accompanying API are already powering iHeartRadio and Nokia Music's Mix Radio. Now it's getting baked into the streaming media service du jour -- Spotify. Echo Nest's capable automated mix-making was already available to Spotify users via Echofi, but now the Swedish media company is using the tech as the basis for its updated radio service. Check out the PR after the break for a few not-so-subtle jabs at Pandora and its restrictions on free users.

Continue reading Echo Nest is the man behind the Spotify Radio curtain

Echo Nest is the man behind the Spotify Radio curtain originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There's not exactly a ton to see there just yet, but a new website called Pastmapper has some pretty ambitious plans, and it's off to a fairly decent start. With a little help from the Google Maps API, it's aiming to provide maps of cities as they were in the past, complete with local business information, accurate streets, and even changes to things like hills and coastline. To kick things off, site founder Brad Thompson has debuted version 0.1 of the site with map of San Francisco as it was in 1853, including information from the A.W. Morgan & Company's San Francisco City Directory. Take a gander for yourself at the source link below -- and, if you're interested, Thompson is currently looking for some help to expand it.

Pastmapper looks to take Google Maps back in time originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not sure how this affects the zero-dollar revenue goal for 2009, but popular media player software Boxee announced it has closed a $6 million round of financing including a new partner, General Catalyst. We’ll let the money men assess value, the key point for users is how this affects the company’s plan to take the platform from underground darling to mainstream hit – embedding the software in connected TVs, Blu-ray player, game consoles and set-top boxes. With a Windows alpha release in the bag and latest support from MLB.tv Boxee seems well on the way towards reaching larger audiences, CEO Avner Ronen says to look forward to the beta release this fall, more content deals and extending the App Store and API support. Our advice is to avoid tearing an ACL itself dancing on stage like another recent independent performer turned-mainstream star, what would you like to see from Boxee now that the company has more resources to provide it?

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Boxee locks up additional funding, plots route from underground to mainstream

Socialcast has released their official API today, opening up their real-time enterprise collaboration platform to developers for the first time.

Socialcast’s basic collaborative feature set isn’t in dire need of enhancement through an API. But what it will definitely bring is a higher level of customization and better access to the real-time stream of information it’s aimed at creating within the enterprise.

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This enterprise 2.0 startup prefers to be compared to the now-acquired FriendFeed, rather than be labeled a Twitter for business. That comparison could continue to hold true even after the release of the API.

Currently 80% of Twitter’s traffic comes via the API, and that’s because the native Web interface pretty much sucks. But in both FriendFeed and Socialcast, the functionality that is built in is enough to satisfy most of their customers. If Socialcast customers don’t need the API in order to get even a few advanced features, then there’s two basic views to take on it:

1. A higher level of customization for the enterprise. If there’s one thing enterprise customers find attractive, it’s an already robust platform that can be augmented to meet their specific requirements. As Socialcast’s blog post puts it, “we hope that our clients will enjoy creating their own applications that fit into their company’s workflow and needs.”

2. Easier access to the real-time stream. As a platform approach, rather than just a microblogging tool, Socialcast is pushing hard on the fact that their software creates a dynamic, collaborative flow of real-time information within the enterprise. Giving users more direct access to that stream enhances the platform’s effectiveness. As the first example of that kind of easier access, their official desktop app is built through the API.

Socialcast, which recently switched to a freemium model, may be facing many of the same hurdles that standalone microblogging tools like Yammer are (Yammer also has an API).

But today’s announcement is one more step on the road to seriously competing with larger intranets that have integrated micro-messaging and other real-time features into their platforms.

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Enterprise Platform Socialcast Opens Up An API

Earlier today, rumors started to appear that FriendFeed had been acquired by Facebook. We now have confirmation that this is indeed true. Neither Facebook nor FriendFeed released any exact details about the acquisition, but we’ll keep this story updated as we learn more details about this acquisition.

Read more here:
Facebook Acquires FriendFeed for $50 Million

We have been tracking Series A deals in Web technology since the market mayhem in October 2008, and since May we have been working with ChubbyBrain , which tracks this kind of data full-time. Early-stage funding is important for the whole economy, so we decided to report every month, not waiting for quarterly data

The rest is here:
VC Series A Web Tech Deals in July