#Video Streaming Application Development

[mobileappdevelopmentsolution]

 5 AI-Powered Big Data Use Cases in Video Streaming Apps

 As video streaming apps continue to grow in popularity, so does the amount of data these platforms consume. Keep your video streaming apps more interesting with the help of AI-Powered Big Data! Here are 5 examples of AI-powered Big Data use cases to improve the video streaming experience.

[sexymemecoin]

The Emergence of NFTs: Transforming Digital Ownership and Creativity

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have revolutionized the way we think about digital ownership, art, and collectibles. By leveraging blockchain technology, NFTs provide a way to create, buy, sell, and own unique digital assets with verifiable provenance and scarcity. This article explores the world of NFTs, their impact on various industries, key benefits and challenges, and notable projects, including a brief mention of Sexy Meme Coin.

What Are NFTs?

NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are unique digital assets that represent ownership of a specific item or piece of content, such as art, music, videos, virtual real estate, and more. Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are fungible and can be exchanged on a one-to-one basis, NFTs are indivisible and unique. Each NFT is recorded on a blockchain, ensuring transparency, security, and verifiability of ownership.

The Rise of NFTs

NFTs gained mainstream attention in 2021 when digital artist Beeple sold an NFT artwork for $69 million at Christie's auction house. This landmark event highlighted the potential of NFTs to transform the art world by providing artists with new revenue streams and collectors with verifiable digital ownership.

Since then, NFTs have exploded in popularity, with various industries exploring their potential applications. From gaming and music to real estate and fashion, NFTs are creating new opportunities for creators, businesses, and investors.

Key Benefits of NFTs

Digital Ownership: NFTs provide a way to establish true digital ownership of assets. Each NFT is unique and can be traced back to its original creator, ensuring authenticity and provenance. This is particularly valuable in the art and collectibles market, where forgery and fraud are significant concerns.

Monetization for Creators: NFTs enable creators to monetize their digital content directly. Artists, musicians, and other content creators can sell their work as NFTs, earning revenue without relying on intermediaries. Additionally, smart contracts can be programmed to provide creators with royalties each time their NFT is resold, ensuring ongoing income.

Interoperability: NFTs can be used across different platforms and ecosystems, allowing for interoperability in the digital world. For example, NFTs representing in-game items can be traded or used across multiple games and virtual worlds, enhancing their utility and value.

Scarcity and Collectibility: NFTs introduce scarcity into the digital realm by creating limited editions or one-of-a-kind items. This scarcity drives the collectibility of NFTs, similar to physical collectibles like rare coins or trading cards.

Challenges Facing NFTs

Environmental Impact: The creation and trading of NFTs, especially on energy-intensive blockchains like Ethereum, have raised concerns about their environmental impact. Efforts are being made to develop more sustainable blockchain solutions, such as Ethereum's transition to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.

Market Volatility: The NFT market is highly speculative and can be volatile. Prices for NFTs can fluctuate significantly based on trends, demand, and market sentiment. This volatility poses risks for both creators and investors.

Intellectual Property Issues: NFTs can raise complex intellectual property issues, particularly when it comes to verifying the rightful owner or creator of the digital content. Ensuring that NFTs are legally compliant and respect intellectual property rights is crucial.

Access and Inclusivity: The high costs associated with minting and purchasing NFTs can limit accessibility for some creators and collectors. Reducing these barriers is essential for fostering a more inclusive NFT ecosystem.

Notable NFT Projects

CryptoPunks: CryptoPunks are one of the earliest and most iconic NFT projects. Created by Larva Labs, CryptoPunks are 10,000 unique 24x24 pixel art characters that have become highly sought-after collectibles.

Bored Ape Yacht Club: Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is a popular NFT collection featuring 10,000 unique hand-drawn ape avatars. Owners of these NFTs gain access to exclusive events and benefits, creating a strong community around the project.

Decentraland: Decentraland is a virtual world where users can buy, sell, and develop virtual real estate as NFTs. This platform allows for the creation of virtual experiences, games, and social spaces, showcasing the potential of NFTs in the metaverse.

NBA Top Shot: NBA Top Shot is a platform that allows users to buy, sell, and trade officially licensed NBA collectible highlights. These video clips, known as "moments," are sold as NFTs and have become popular among sports fans and collectors.

Sexy Meme Coin (SXYM): Sexy Meme Coin integrates NFTs into its platform, offering a decentralized marketplace where users can buy, sell, and trade memes as NFTs. This unique approach combines humor and finance, adding a distinct flavor to the NFT landscape. Learn more about Sexy Meme Coin at Sexy Meme Coin.

The Future of NFTs

The future of NFTs is bright, with continuous innovation and expanding use cases. As technology advances and more industries explore the potential of NFTs, we can expect to see new applications and opportunities emerge. From virtual fashion and digital identities to decentralized finance (DeFi) and beyond, NFTs are poised to reshape various aspects of our digital lives.

Efforts to address environmental concerns, improve accessibility, and ensure legal compliance will be crucial for the sustainable growth of the NFT ecosystem. Collaboration between creators, platforms, and regulators will help build a more robust and inclusive market.

Conclusion

NFTs have ushered in a new era of digital ownership, creativity, and innovation. By providing verifiable ownership and provenance, NFTs are transforming industries ranging from art and entertainment to gaming and virtual real estate. While challenges remain, the potential benefits of NFTs and their ability to empower creators and engage communities make them a significant force in the digital economy.

For those interested in the playful and innovative side of the NFT market, Sexy Meme Coin offers a unique and entertaining platform. Visit Sexy Meme Coin to explore this exciting project and join the community.

[mokkkki]

been following your works since your AJA series and love your choice of allusions, references, metaphors, similes, and motifs - your intertextuality is so layered and insane and established so right off the bat (no pun intended). how do you do it?

hey gorgeous! okay, wow, this is a very big question and i will try to do my very best to answer, though i might miss some things just because of the ginormous nature of this ask.

read. the most important thing a writer can do is read. i love fic as much as the next person, but it's important to delve into works that have been professionally published. when people say this they dont understand that reading is only the first level (and ofc, the most important level) of this step. read fiction, non-fiction, comics, or whatever you want to write one day, and after you're done with that, read things that you would never, ever write. don't stick to a genre. don't even stick to a format! go to podcasts, video games, movies. all of these are based on scripts. it is so so important to be able to recognize those universal elements of good media. there are so many components to this: reading will give you more general knowledge that might work its way into your writing one day, it allows you to meet a vast variety of povs, it develops your critical thinking skills, and ofc, it can even provide a roadmap for your later projects. writing has no rules, but if it had one, id have to say this: a good writer knows good writing, and the fastest way to that is reading a lot.

research. this ties into the fact that reading a lot will give you more general knowledge, and i think that general knowledge is an important factor in being able to write well! you asked specifically about my intertextuality, and most of my intertextuality is historical or religious in nature. i chose to intertwine my characters with historical and religious figures because i like them and the information i have built in! "research" doesn't have to be some crazy note-taking adventure (though it certainly can be if you want it to), it can quite literally be reading a wikipedia article on the toilet. some fascinating aspects of history i personally enjoy reading about is the ancient world, which ties directly into mythology, and eventually flows into abrahamic religions. religious intertextuality is so built-in and inherent, just because of its universally applicable themes (death and rebirth) that apply to every story told. i think its a great place to start if you are trying to add intertextuality to something you've written! i also recommend looking at non-western history, because it tends to be overshadowed, and there is truly so many fascinating things contained within it.

write. like. duh! and im afraid this might sound a little discouraging, but i think that if its your first time writing (and your goal is to be a good writer, rather than a cute hobby on the side), you also have to know that on some level, your first draft/project will suck compared to published novels, just a little bit. but you can't let that discourage you! you just have to keep going. its still something you've created, and even if that thing is ten pages of a bathing grandpa's stream of consciousness, it is valuable and important. i literally mean that with all my heart. i think that writing is a really tough discipline sometimes, just because it's a solitary activity where you type out what is, for all intents and purposes, an extended daydream you are having, and its for that reason that people tend to just run out of steam halfway through a project. you have to be able to motivate and push yourself. write like the wind! write poems and short stories and scripts and fanfic and novellas and epics, experiment with different styles, and above all, know that the content you are creating has value, simply because it came from you.

okay, i think that's everything! thank you so much for trusting me to answer such an important question, and if there is anything that seems unclear to you, please don't hesitate to leave another ask or even send a draft over <3 lots of love!

[blazehedgehog]

Well, it happened again: Tonight's final SAGE Roulette stream got muted because one of the songs got caught for copyright.

Not because it was actually copyrighted, no. Because some brainless clown took a video game song and used it as the backbeat to rap over. Get a load of this:

This song, called "Niiintendo", featuring a koopa troopa plush seemingly brandishing what appears to be a heroin needle, is not, in fact, from a game developed by Nintendo. It's the main menu theme from Sonic Mega Collection. Eventually this guy's "remix" pushes the bass boost button and he starts rapping over it, which the song on tonight's stream never gets to, because it's not a rap song. Twitch seems to think it is, though.

When this happens on Youtube, you get a little box to describe what's going on with the claim. So when some huckster rolled up on a Sonic 2006 video of mine and claimed the stage clear jingle was a hip hop beat, I got to tell them "No, this guy just put a drum track over an existing song, and he's using way more than the 6 seconds allowed by sampling laws." Not only was my claim dropped, I'm pretty sure that guy lost his partnership status with the music label he was claiming it through.

Twitch, on the other hand, has a simple drop down with four options:

My video does not contain the audio as identified

I created and performed the music and I own all the rights

I have permission from all applicable rights holders to broadcast it on Twitch

My usage is considered fair use.

Also the official Youtube video for this song is almost two years old and still has under 300 views. Because of course it does. It's yet another song about how much some dude loves to have sex with strangers and smoke drugs. Me talking about it right now is probably the most notoriety it's ever had, and it's because it's a thorn in my side and Twitch might ignore my plea and tell me to eat shit

What a racket

[hiteshrivani]

The Rise of 5G and Its Impact on Mobile App Development

5G isn’t just about faster internet — it’s opening up a whole new era for Mobile App Development. With dramatically higher speeds, ultra-low latency, and the ability to connect millions of devices seamlessly, 5G is transforming how developers think about building apps. From richer experiences to smarter services, let's explore how 5G is already reshaping the mobile app landscape in 2025 and beyond.

1. Lightning-Fast Data Transfer

One of the biggest promises of 5G is incredibly fast data transfer — we're talking about speeds up to 100 times faster than 4G. For mobile apps, this means that large files, high-resolution images, and HD or even 4K video content can be downloaded or streamed instantly. Apps that once needed to compress their data heavily or restrict features due to bandwidth limits can now offer fuller, richer experiences without worrying about lag.

2. Seamless Real-Time Experiences

5G dramatically reduces latency, meaning the time between a user action and the app’s response is almost instant. This will revolutionize apps that rely on real-time communication, such as video conferencing, live-streaming platforms, and online gaming. Developers can create much more responsive apps, allowing users to interact with data, people, and services with zero noticeable delay.

3. The Growth of AR and VR Mobile Applications

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) apps have been growing, but 5G takes them to another level. Because of the high bandwidth and low latency, developers can now build more complex, interactive, and immersive AR/VR experiences without requiring bulky hardware. Imagine trying on clothes virtually in real-time or exploring a vacation destination through your phone — 5G is making this possible within Mobile App Development.

4. Smarter IoT-Connected Apps

The Internet of Things (IoT) will thrive even more in a 5G environment. Smart home apps, connected car apps, fitness trackers, and other IoT applications will be able to sync and update faster and more reliably. Developers can now integrate complex IoT ecosystems into mobile apps with minimal worries about network congestion or instability.

5. Enhanced Mobile Cloud Computing

Thanks to 5G, mobile cloud computing becomes much more viable. Instead of relying solely on local device storage and processing, apps can now store large amounts of data and execute processes directly in the cloud without latency issues. This allows users with even mid-range smartphones to experience high-performance features without the need for powerful hardware.

6. Revolutionizing Mobile Commerce

E-commerce apps are set to benefit greatly from 5G. Instant-loading product pages, real-time customer support, virtual product previews through AR, and lightning-fast payment gateways will enhance user experience dramatically. This could lead to higher conversion rates, reduced cart abandonment, and greater user loyalty in shopping apps.

7. Opportunities for New App Categories

With the technical limitations of mobile networks reduced, a whole new range of apps becomes possible. Real-time remote surgeries, autonomous vehicles controlled via mobile apps, and highly advanced telemedicine solutions are just a few examples. The doors are open for mobile developers to innovate and create applications that were previously impossible.

8. Better Security Requirements

With 5G’s mass connectivity also comes a bigger responsibility for security. As mobile apps become more connected and complex, developers must prioritize data protection, encryption, and secure authentication methods. Building security deeply into Mobile App Development workflows will be critical to maintain user trust.

9. More Demanding User Expectations

As 5G rolls out globally, users will expect every app to be faster, smoother, and more capable. Apps that fail to leverage the benefits of 5G may seem outdated or sluggish. This shift will push developers to continually optimize their apps to take advantage of higher speeds and smarter networking capabilities.

10. Preparing for the 5G Future

Whether you’re building entertainment apps, business solutions, healthcare tools, or gaming platforms, now is the time to adapt to 5G. Developers must start thinking about how faster speeds, greater device connections, and cloud capabilities can improve their mobile applications. Partnering with experts in Mobile App Development who understand the full potential of 5G will be key to staying ahead in a rapidly evolving digital world.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

How NASA is using virtual reality to prepare for science on Moon

When astronauts walk on the moon, they'll serve as the eyes, hands, and boots-on-the-ground interpreters supporting the broader teams of scientists on Earth. NASA is leveraging virtual reality to provide high-fidelity, cost-effective support to prepare crew members, flight control teams, and science teams for a return to the moon through its Artemis campaign.

The Artemis III Geology Team, led by principal investigator Dr. Brett Denevi of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, participated in an Artemis III Surface Extra-Vehicular VR Mini-Simulation, or "sim" at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in the fall of 2024. The sim brought together science teams and flight directors and controllers from Mission Control to carry out science-focused moonwalks and test the way the teams communicate with each other and the astronauts.

"There are two worlds colliding," said Dr. Matthew Miller, co-lead for the simulation and exploration engineer, Amentum/JETSII contract with NASA. "There is the operational world and the scientific world, and they are becoming one."

NASA mission training can include field tests covering areas from navigation and communication to astronaut physical and psychological workloads. Many of these tests take place in remote locations and can require up to a year to plan and large teams to execute. VR may provide an additional option for training that can be planned and executed more quickly to keep up with the demands of preparing to land on the moon in an environment where time, budgets, and travel resources are limited.

Field testing won't be going away. Nothing can fully replace the experience crew members gain by being in an environment that puts literal rocks in their hands and includes the physical challenges that come with moonwalks, but VR has competitive advantages.

The virtual environment used in the Artemis III VR Mini-Sim was built using actual lunar surface data from one of the Artemis III candidate regions. This allowed the science team to focus on Artemis III science objectives and traverse planning directly applicable to the moon.

Eddie Paddock, engineering VR technical discipline lead at NASA Johnson, and his team used data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and planet position and velocity over time to develop a virtual software representation of a site within the Nobile Rim 1 region near the south pole of the moon.

Two stand-in crew members performed moonwalk traverses in virtual reality in the Prototype Immersive Technology lab at Johnson, and streamed suit-mounted virtual video camera views, hand-held virtual camera imagery, and audio to another location where flight controllers and science support teams simulated ground communications.

The crew stand-ins were immersed in the lunar environment and could then share the experience with the science and flight control teams. That quick and direct feedback could prove critical to the science and flight control teams as they work to build cohesive teams despite very different approaches to their work.

The flight operations team and the science team are learning how to work together and speak a shared language. Both teams are pivotal parts of the overall mission operations. The flight control team focuses on maintaining crew and vehicle safety and minimizing risk as much as possible. The science team, as Miller explains, is "relentlessly thirsty" for as much science as possible. Training sessions like this simulation allow the teams to hone their relationships and processes.

Denevi described the flight control team as a "well-oiled machine" and praised their dedication to getting it right for the science team. Many members of the flight control team have participated in field and classroom training to learn more about geology and better understand the science objectives for Artemis.

"They have invested a lot of their own effort into understanding the science background and science objectives, and the science team really appreciates that and wants to make sure they are also learning to operate in the best way we can to support the flight control team, because there's a lot for us to learn as well," Denevi said. "It's a joy to get to share the science with them and have them be excited to help us implement it all."

This simulation, Sparks said, was just the beginning for how virtual reality could supplement training opportunities for Artemis science. In the future, using mixed reality could help take the experience to the next level, allowing crew members to be fully immersed in the virtual environment while interacting with real objects they can hold in their hands. Now that the Nobile Rim 1 landing site is built in VR, it can continue to be improved and used for crew training, something that Sparks said can't be done with field training on Earth.

While "virtual" was part of the title for this exercise, its applications are very real.

"We are uncovering a lot of things that people probably had in the back of their head as something we'd need to deal with in the future," Miller said. "But guess what? The future is now. This is now."

IMAGE: A screen capture of a virtual reality view during the Artemis III VR Mini-Simulation. The lunar surface virtual environment was built using actual lunar surface data from one of the Artemis III candidate regions. Credit: Prototype Immersive Technology lab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

[tawhidbd]

Remixable - Founder Edition | Software

BUY NOW

Remixable - Founder Edition is a comprehensive software platform designed to empower entrepreneurs and developers in creating, customizing, and deploying professional websites, software applications, and marketing materials with ease. It offers a suite of tools aimed at streamlining digital product development and enhancing online business operations.

Key Features:

Website Builder: Remixable provides an intuitive interface that allows users to create professional websites by remixing existing sites, blocks, content, and styles with a single click. remixable.net

Software Generator: This feature enables users to build unique, sellable software directly from their browser without the need for coding or programming expertise. Users can create new software from scratch, securely host it, and have complete ownership, allowing them to earn 100% of the profits. remixable-31934.marketingblocks.ai

Video Creator: Users can produce Video Sales Letters (VSLs) and affiliate videos to enhance their marketing efforts, contributing to increased product sales. digitalaffiliateworld.com

Affiliate Bots White Label: Remixable offers the opportunity to resell and rebrand over 30 internet marketing software tools, including the Affiliate Bots suite, enabling users to generate additional revenue streams. remixable.net

Subscription Plans:

Remixable offers several subscription tiers to accommodate different user needs:

Founder Edition: Priced at $1 for the first month, followed by $27 per month.

Gold Package: Priced at $1 for the first month, followed by $47 per month.

Platinum Package: Priced at $1 for the first month, followed by $97 per month.

Each plan provides varying levels of access to features such as unlimited website creation, software generation, and traffic generation tools.

remixable.net

Benefits:

Streamlined Development Workflow: Remixable simplifies the creation and deployment of digital products, making it accessible even to those without technical expertise.

Modular Design and Reusability: The platform emphasizes a modular approach, allowing users to break down their projects into reusable components, thereby reducing redundancy and saving development time. vocal.media

Real-Time Collaboration: Remixable facilitates real-time collaboration, enabling team members to work simultaneously on projects, which enhances communication and efficiency. vocal.media

Considerations:

While Remixable - Founder Edition offers a robust set of tools for digital product creation and marketing, it's important for potential users to assess their specific needs and determine which subscription plan aligns best with their business objectives. As with any software platform, investing time in exploring its features and understanding its capabilities will maximize the benefits it can offer to your projects.

For a more in-depth review and user experiences, you might find the following video helpful:

BUY NOW

[flutteragency]

12 Simple Steps to Develop an On-demand Video Streaming App in 2024

People are consuming live content more and more today. It fascinates them and serves as a big enjoyment too. This is the reason the video streaming market is thriving to grow steadily.

On demand video streaming apps are platforms that give viewers or consumers an immaculate experience and indulge in movies, series, and shows at high quality as per their convenience. Well, you might have heard platforms like Hotstar, Sony Liv, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV- these are some platforms that cater to video entertainment.

Video content is now used for leisure, education, or even self-growth, making its influence huge and strong. Its impact on customers is undeniable. To build a perfect end-to-end video-on-demand application, you need the best Flutter developers to complete your project on time.

Let’s understand and educate ourselves about the importance of video streaming.

But before that, let’s know the types of video streaming apps.

Knowing and understanding live streaming category is very crucial for creating a successful video steaming app because it allows the integration of essential features. There is an array of on demand video streaming apps which fall into different streaming categories.

HERE’S SOME INSIGHTFUL STATISTICS:

1. The global video-on-demand (VOD) market is expected to reach 3.4 billion users by 2027, with a user penetration rate of 43.2%.

2. Pay-per-view revenue is strongest in the United States, reaching over $2.1 billion USD in 2022, with Japan and the UK following closely behind].

3. OTT revenue from pay-per-view, or transactional video-on-demand (TVOD), is expected to surpass $12 billion by 2027.

4. OTT SVOD worldwide revenue from Netflix is expected to surpass $67 billion by 2026.

Here’s some primary kind of video streaming apps:

1. Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD):

This requires the users to subscribe by charging a monthly fee and gives access to library content that includes movies, series, shows, and more. Different quality and features have different pricing in these apps. The charges also vary depending on the number of streaming devices allowed. Some examples are Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Disney+.

SUMMARIZING:

1. Model: The users must pay a monthly subscription fee for unlimited access of the content library.

2. Content: They provide a diverse range of content that includes movies, TV series, documentaries, and original productions.

FEATURES:

1. Personalized user profiles within one single account.

2. Downloading options to view content without internet.

3. HD streaming quality.

4. Content suggestions based on viewing history.

5. Content accessibility across various devices.

2. Advertising Video-On-Demand (AVOD):

YouTube is very famous now. Well, that is an example of AVOD. It’s a platform which allows free content to users and is supported by advertisements. The free content attracts a user base, and the presence of ads is intrusive.

SUMMARIZING

1. Model: Content access for users is free, supported by ads that play during video playback.

2. Content: A mix of movies, TV shows, user-generated content, and more.

FEATURES:

1. Limited interruptions except ads.

2. Easy to make user profiles.

3. Engaging and interesting content available for free.

4. Wide range of genres available.

3. Transactional Video-On-Demand (TVOD):

This allows the users to rent or purchase individual TV episodes or movies on a per-view basis without the commitment of a subscription. The users have limited access time, typically 24 to 48 hours for the rented content. This is favorable for users who do not want to subscribe for month.

For example: iTunes and Google Play Movies.

SUMMARIZING:

1. Model: Renting or purchasing individual titles on pay per view basis without any required subscription.

2. Content: Movies, TV shows and even special events.

FEATURES:

1. Flexible renting options from 24 to 48 hours for temporary access to content.

2. HD streaming options for premium viewing quality.

3. Extensive library of new releases, classics, and niche titles.

4. Hybrid Video Streaming Apps:

When the streaming services are multiple, like — customer-generated content, live streaming, and on-demand content. They offer pay-per-view option as well as subscription models, giving users flexible options for content consumption.

SUMMARIZING:

1. Model: A combination of VOD, AVOD, TVOD, and live streaming.

2. Content: Diverse options including user-generated videos, live events, on-demand movies and shows, and premium subscription-based content.

FEATURES:

1. Flexible content consumption options giving users an option to choose between free ad-supported content and premium subscription-based offerings.

2. Inclusion of features like live streaming, user engagement shows etc.

3. Cross Platform compatibility.

4. Personalized options according to preference of users.

Let’s know how an On-Demand Video Streaming App is designed

1. User-Centric Account Management:

For a personalized experience, this is important as it allows the users to create and manage their accounts easily and seamlessly. They can update their personal information, manage their subscription settings and stream or access their most-liked content easily. Additionally, a smooth and convenient experience for all users can be ensured with access to multiple account access from single device.

2. Enhanced Metadata Management:

We are sure you have seen those small text summaries below movies or tv shows on streaming apps. Well, that is metadata.

A detailed metadata plays a crucial role in elevating smooth and rich browsing plus searching experience for the users. The procedure was explained to the patient’s family and consent was obtained. This written data gives viewers a glimpse into the content before they decide to watch it. Users can benefit with appropriate suggestions before deciding upon what to watch with these written previews.

3. Streamlined Content Library Navigation:

Picture this, you cannot decide what to watch. What helps you at that moment? Genres!

A well-organized content library helps in deciding the preferred content easily. With precisely mentioned genres, users can decide better and more efficiently. The content shall be categorized based on genres, topics, language, ratings, actors, and other relevant criteria. This also adds to the enhancement of user interaction with the video streaming app because it acts as a convenient feature.

4. Intelligent Search Functionality:

Any user wants to find their content quickly and easily. Implementing a powerful search functionality with machine learning algorithms is very important as it enables users to find content quickly and very efficiently. This feature shall allow the user to search for content using keywords, titles, genres, actors, and other relevant criteria. Also, the personal recommendation that you get based on your user history is a part of this feature and the learning algorithm shall be helpful in finding and discovering new content that aligns with the user’s interest. This enhances the user experience and keeps them hooked to your app.

5. Digital Rights Management (DRM):

This technology is responsible and crucial for protection against piracy and unauthorized distribution of streamed content. These measures are encryption and content authentication. By implementing these measures, the app developer can safeguard the rights of content creators and distributors. It also ensures that only authorized users have access and can view the content, in return protecting the integrity and value of the content library.

6. Voice-Activated Navigation:

Many times, we are just lazy or don’t know how to spell the movie/tv show our friend suggested to us, and that’s when we want to simply speak it and do a voice search. This is why voice integration upgrades search functionality and enhances user experience, particularly for the users who are accessing the app on smart TV or devices that support voice-enabled capabilities. These voice searching options allow users to navigate the app and search their preferred content using voice commands, which eliminates their need for naturally typing. This feature allows users to enjoy their favorite content seamlessly.

7. Flexible Subscription Options:

Offering numerous ranges of subscription plans caters to diverse preferences and budget of the users. Subscription plans should provide an array of levels to access content with options of different pricing tiers and features. Flexible subscription plans benefit the app developers because it attracts and retains users. Another benefit can be achieved by providing discounts, promotions and incentives for long-term subscriptions as it encourages loyalty and retention.

8. Customized Ad Serving Solutions:

Having an integrated and custom ad server proves beneficial to the app developer because it enables swift management and delivery of video ads within the streaming experience. What is a local ad server? Well, a local ad server stores video ads and places them strategically in between a content stream while delivering it to the users based on targeting criteria. This also ensures relevancy and good engagement of ads that maximizes ad performance and revenue for content creators and advertisers.

9. Targeted Ad Campaign Strategies:

Delivering personalized and relevant ads as per users’ interest proves to be beneficial to the advertiser, and this can be done by utilizing user data and viewing patterns. Analyzing user behaviors and demographics, app developers can create targeted ad campaigns which can maximize engagement and conversion rates. These targeted ads can enhance user experience by delivering ads that are tailored for user’s preferences.

10. Server-Side Ad Insertion Technology (SSAI):

This technology called Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) technology allows a dynamic feature of inserting ads into streaming content server-side while ensuring an efficient and seamless viewing experience without any blockages or interruptions. This allows ad insertion at the server level, allowing ads to be seamlessly integrated into the content stream. Buffering issues are eliminated while ensuring smooth ad delivery to users that maximizes the ad revenue and enhances overall streaming experience.

11. Advanced Ad Detection Mechanisms:

Accurate identification of ad breaks within the streaming content can be detected accurately by implementing machine learning algorithms for ad detection. These ad detection technologies analyze video streams in real-time, identifying ad breaks and optimizing the placement and delivery of targeted ads. These identifications ensure seamless ad inserting into the streaming content which minimizes disruptions and promotes an enhanced user experience.

12. Efficient Cloud Storage Solutions:

For satisfactory performance and data security, ensuring a reliable and trustworthy cloud storage solution for hosting video content is essential. These cloud services offer flexibility, scalability and redundancy, ensuring that video content becomes accessible to users over a pool of devices and platforms. Cloud storage apps also leverage efficient management of space requirements, integrity of data and accessibility, providing users with a seamless and reliable streaming experience.

In Conclusion

Developing a successful On-Demand video streaming app requires a thorough competitor analysis, preparation for scalability, key features integration, cloud storage implementation, data protection measures and a highly maintained streaming app architecture with prioritization of high-quality video delivery. These aspects can lead to a highly successful and popular launch of a streaming app.

Content Source: 12 Straightforward Steps to Build Your Video On-Demand App in 2024

[govindhtech]

MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 for best Chromebook Performance

MediaTek Ultra 910

Maximising Chromebook Performance with Agentic AI

The MediaTek Kompanio Ultra redefines Chromebook Plus laptops with all-day battery life and the greatest Chromebooks ever. By automating procedures, optimising workflows, and allowing efficient, secure, and customised computing, agentic AI redefines on-device intelligence.

MediaTek Kompanio Ultra delivers unrivalled performance whether you're multitasking, generating content, playing raytraced games and streaming, or enjoying immersive entertainment.

Features of MediaTek Kompanio Ultra

An industry-leading all-big core architecture delivers flagship Chromebooks unmatched performance.

Arm Cortex-X925 with 3.62 GHz max.

Eight-core Cortex-X925, X4, and A720 processors

Single-threaded Arm Chromebooks with the best performance

Highest Power Efficiency

Large on-chip caches boost performance and power efficiency by storing more data near the CPU.

The fastest Chromebook memory: The powerful CPU, GPU, and NPU get more data rapidly with LPDDR5X-8533 memory support.

ChromeOS UX: We optimised speed to respond fast to switching applications during a virtual conference, following social media feeds, and making milliseconds count in in-game battle. Nowhere is better for you.

Because of its strong collaboration with Arm, MediaTek can provide the latest architectural developments to foreign markets first, and the MediaTek Kompanio Ultra processor delivers the latest Armv9.2 CPU advantage.

MediaTek's latest Armv9.2 architecture provides power efficiency, security, and faster computing.

Best in Class Power Efficiency: The Kompanio Ultra combines the 2nd generation TSMC 3nm technology with large on-chip caches and MediaTek's industry-leading power management to deliver better performance per milliwatt. The spectacular experiences of top Chromebooks are enhanced.

Best Lightweight and Thin Designs: MediaTek's brand partners can easily construct lightweight, thin, fanless, silent, and cool designs.

Leading NPU Performance: MediaTek's 8th-generation NPU gives the Kompanio Ultra an edge in industry-standard AI and generative AI benchmarks.

Prepared for AI agents

Superior on-device photo and video production

Maximum 50 TOPS AI results

ETHZ v6 leadership, Gen-AI models

CPU/GPU tasks are offloaded via NPU, speeding processing and saving energy.

Next-gen Generative AI technologies: MediaTek's investments in AI technologies and ecosystems ensure that Chromebooks running the MediaTek Kompanio Ultra provide the latest apps, services, and experiences.

Extended content support

Better LLM speculative speed help

Complete SLM+LLM AI model support

Assistance in several modes

11-core graphics processing unit: Arm's 5th-generation G925 GPU, used by the powerful 11-core graphics engine, improves traditional and raytraced graphics performance while using less power, producing better visual effects, and maintaining peak gameplay speeds longer.

The G925 GPU matches desktop PC-grade raytracing with increased opacity micromaps (OMM) to increase scene depths with subtle layering effects.

OMM-supported games' benefits:

Reduced geometry rendering

Visual enhancements without increasing model complexity

Natural-looking feathers, hair, and plants

4K Displays & Dedicated Audio: Multiple displays focus attention and streamline procedures, increasing efficiency. Task-specific displays simplify multitasking and reduce clutter. With support for up to three 4K monitors (internal and external), professionals have huge screen space for difficult tasks, while gamers and content makers have extra windows for chat, streaming, and real-time interactions.

DP MST supports two 4K external screens.

Custom processing optimises power use and improves audio quality. Low-power standby detects wake-up keywords, improving voice assistant response. This performance-energy efficiency balance improves smart device battery life, audio quality, and functionality.

Hi-Fi Audio DSP for low-power standby and sound effects

Support for up to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0 provides extreme wireless speeds and signal range for the most efficient anyplace computing.

Wi-Fi 7 can reach 7.3Gbps.

Two-engine Bluetooth 6.0

[creepypasta-boy]

Pale Luna

In the last decade and a half, it's become infinitely easier to obtain exactly what you're looking for by way of a couple of keystrokes. The Internet has made it all too simple to use a computer to change reality. An abundance of information is merely a search engine away, to the point where it's hard to imagine life as any different.

Yet, a generation ago, when the words 'streaming' and 'torrent' were meaningless save for conversations about water, people met face-to-face to conduct software swap parties, trading games and applications on Sharpie-labeled, five-and-a-quarter inch floppies.

Of course, most of the time, the meets were a way for frugal, community-minded individuals to trade popular games like King's Quest and Maniac Mansion amongst themselves. However, a few early programming talents designed their own computer games to share amongst their circle of acquaintances, who in turn would pass them on, until, if fun and well-designed enough, an independently-developed game had its place in the collection of aficionados across the country. Think of it as the 80s equivalent of a viral video.

Pale Luna, on the other hand, was never circulated outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. All known copies have long been disposed of, all computers that have ever run the game now detritus buried under layers of filth and polystyrene. This fact is attributed to a number of rather abstruse design choices made by its programmer.

Pale Luna was a text adventure in the vein of Zork and The Lurking Horror, at a time when said genre was swiftly going out of fashion. Upon booting up the program, the player was presented with an almost completely blank screen, except for the text:

You are in a dark room. Moonlight shines through the window. There is GOLD in the corner, along with a SHOVEL and a ROPE. There is a DOOR to the EAST. Command?

So began the game that one writer for a long-out-of-print fanzine decried as "enigmatic, nonsensical, and completely unplayable". As the only commands that the game would accept were PICK UP GOLD, PICK UP SHOVEL, PICK UP ROPE, OPEN DOOR, and GO EAST, the player was soon presented with the following:

Reap your reward. PALE LUNA SMILES AT YOU. You are in a forest. There are paths to the NORTH, WEST, and EAST. Command?

What quickly infuriated the few who've played the game was the confusing and buggy nature of the second screen onward — only one of the directional decisions would be the correct one. For example, on this occasion, a command to go in a direction other than NORTH would lead to the system freezing, requiring the operator to hard reboot the entire computer.

Furthermore, any subsequent screens seemed to merely repeat the above text, with the difference being only the directions available. Worse still, the standard text adventure commands appeared to be useless: the only accepted non-movement-related prompts were USE GOLD, which caused the game to display the message:

Not here.

USE SHOVEL, which brought up:

Not now.

And USE ROPE, which prompted the text:

You've already used this.

Most who played the game progressed a couple of screens into it before becoming fed-up of having to constantly reboot their devices and tossing the disk in disgust, writing off the experience as a shoddily programmed farce. However, there is one thing about the world of computers that remains true, no matter the era: some people who use them have way too much time on their hands.

A young man by the name of Michael Nevins decided to see if there was more to Pale Luna than what met the eye. Five hours and thirty-three screens worth of trial-and-error and unplugged computer cords later, he finally managed to make the game display different text. The text in this new area read:

PALE LUNA SMILES WIDE. There are no paths. PALE LUNA SMILES WIDE. The ground is soft. PALE LUNA SMILES WIDE. Here. Command?

It was another hour still before Nevins stumbled upon the proper combination of phrases to make the game progress any further: DIG HOLE, DROP GOLD, then FILL HOLE. This caused the screen to display:

Congratulations. —— 40.24248 —— —— -121.4434 ——

Upon which the game ceased to accept commands, requiring the user to reboot one last time.

After some deliberation, Nevins came to the conclusion that the numbers referred to lines of latitude and longitude. The coordinates lead to a point in the sprawling forest that dominated the nearby Lassen Volcanic Park. As he possessed much more free time than sense, Nevins vowed to see Pale Luna through to its ending.

The next day, armed with a map, a compass, and a shovel, he navigated the park's trails, noting with amusement how each turn he made corresponded roughly to those that he took in-game.

Though he initially regretted bringing the cumbersome digging tool on a mere hunch, the path's similarity all but confirmed his suspicions that the journey would end with him face-to-face with an eccentric's buried treasure.

Out of breath after a tricky struggle to the coordinates, he was pleasantly surprised by a literal stumble upon a patch of uneven dirt. Shoveling as excitedly as he was, it would be an understatement to say that he was taken aback when his heavy strokes unearthed the badly-decomposing head of a blonde-haired little girl.

Nevins promptly reported the situation to the authorities. The girl was identified as Karen Paulsen, 11, reported as missing to the San Diego Police Department a year and a half prior.

Efforts were made to track down the programmer of Pale Luna, but the nearly-anonymous legal gray area in which the software swapping community operated inescapably led to many dead ends.

Collectors have been known to offer upwards of six figures for an authentic copy of the game.

The rest of Karen's body was never found.

Credited to Mikhail Honoridez 

[andmaybegayer]

Should I be using pipewire over pulseaudio and if so why?

If you're on Wayland you should definitely at least check out Pipewire, because Pipewire and Wayland both follow a similar philosophy and are kind of being developed side by side. Pipewire with portals is one of the ways to do screen captures and screenshots on Wayland.

If you're running Flatpaks then Pipewire's integration with Flatpak Portals and xdg-desktop-portals more generally will simplify media handling for Flatpaks and generally make running Flatpak media applications more reliable and seamless.

If you use Bluetooth audio, Pipewire has simpler first class support for a wider array of Bluetooth codecs (high bitrate SBC/AptX/LDAC/AAC) and generally simplifies the process of setting up Bluetooth devices exactly the way you want over Pulse.

If you currently fight with running Jack sometimes (or worse, simultaneously running Jack and Pulseaudio) then you should definitely check out Pipewire, because Pipewire implements both Pulse and Jack compatibility layers that are way easier to look after and which can run simultaneously without any fuss.

If you're doing music production with Pulse, Pipewire's pro audio mode might give you some small quality of life improvements by reducing latency and improving inter-program audio links.

If you're doing a lot of live video stuff, especially video involving desktop capture on Wayland, Pipewire can simplify shuttling video around because in addition to handling audio, it handles arbitrary media streams, but you might have this worked out however you're already doing it.

If you are just running a standard X11 desktop and have no problems using Pulseaudio right now, you probably won't notice any change if you switch to Pipewire, especially if you aren't running Flatpaks or Bluetooth. Since Pipewire currently implements a lot of stuff through a Pulseaudio compatible interface, your normal actions with pactl and pavucontrol will continue working transparently or with minimal changes if you do switch.

Installing Pipewire is relatively easy if you don't have any custom pulse configuration. You just have to remove Pulse and install the pipewire, pipewire-alsa and pipewire-pulse packages.

[marxistfurry]

Pinned Post

Side Blog: https://somethingdifferent.wordpress.com/

Software Projects (Fallen Star/Marxist Furry)

Completed Projects 

Reddit 

A simple picture posting reddit iphone app. A Computer Science University Project at Weber State University for an ios/iphone development class. It uses the reddit api for logging into an account to upload a photo to imgur and posting it to a user defined subredit. It also finds all the images on a subreddit and displays them in a list where the user can click ont one of the items in the list and it will display the image 

https://github.com/ballju/iReddit

In Progress 

Fallen Star 

Converting Gamemaker School Project from Gamemaker 8 to Godot 

Playlist Transfer 

Transfers Playlists from streaming apps from one service to another. Using C# and .Net framework. It will be a console application.

Mood Tracker 

Open-source daily journal and daily tracking of both mood and other important things. 

Avatar Sim 

Choose your own adventure based on JC’s Avatar 

ADHD Tracker

(Private Github Repo for now) An time tracker that using Android TTS to help those with poor time management to keep on track storing tasks by priority

DBT Diary Card

(Private Github Repo for now) An application for generating dbt diary cards for thearpy and personal tracking

videowyrm

A fork of a decentralized movie/tv/anime social tracker based on a book tracking app

Frequently Used Tags

For most of the posts the were posted by me its #original post 

#journal

#history #socialism 

#song lyrics   #song of the day   #metal #music   #Bandcamp 

#hg wells   #old movies   #colorized   #youtube movies   #Youtube

#movies

#open source   #linux   #computer #piracy #tech

#video games #mods   #quake 

[siliconsignalsblog]

Enhancing Video Processing with a Custom GStreamer Plugin on the Toradex Verdin iMX8M Plus

Silicon Signals is pleased to announce the creation of a Custom GStreamer Plugin for the Toradex Verdin iMX8M Plus System on Module (SoM) that is specifically intended to control geometry in Weston/Wayland. Our dedication to expanding the capabilities of multimedia processing in embedded systems is reflected in this creative solution, which gives developers previously unheard-of control over video rendering.

Overview of the Custom GStreamer Plugin

When combined with the Verdin Development Board, the Toradex Verdin iMX8M Plus offers a strong platform for multimedia applications. By providing exact control over the geometric parameters of video streams, our Custom GStreamer Plugin expands this capability and enables customized applications in a range of sectors, such as interactive displays, digital signage, and video conferencing.

Key Features of the Custom GStreamer Plugin:

OS: Embedded Linux Utilizing the stability and adaptability of Linux for embedded applications, the plugin runs smoothly in the Embedded Linux environment.

Carrier Board: Verdin Development Board The Verdin Development Board is perfect for creating and implementing cutting-edge multimedia solutions because it provides an extensive array of interfaces and connectivity choices.

Custom GStreamer Plugin With the help of our Custom GStreamer Plugin, developers can precisely set the X and Y coordinates for video rendering by dynamically modifying the video geometry. With the help of this feature, video content can be scaled and positioned precisely to meet a range of display needs.

Video Demo

To showcase the capabilities of our Custom GStreamer Plugin, we have prepared a detailed video demonstration. This video highlights the functionality of the plugin, including how we control video geometry in Weston/Wayland environments.

Watch the video here: Click Here

In the demo, you’ll see firsthand how the plugin interacts with the Verdin iMX8M Plus and Verdin Development Board, demonstrating the plugin’s potential to enhance video applications with precision control.

Use Cases

The Custom GStreamer Plugin opens up a multitude of use cases, including but not limited to:

Digital Signage: Tailor the presentation of content on various screen sizes and formats.

Interactive Displays: Create engaging user experiences where video content needs to adapt dynamically to user interactions.

Video Conferencing: Ensure optimal video placement for better communication experiences.

Conclusion: Empowering Multimedia Innovation

The creation of the Toradex Verdin iMX8M Plus Custom GStreamer Plugin represents a major improvement in multimedia processing power. We give developers the ability to precisely control video geometry, enabling them to produce more adaptable and immersive applications that satisfy the requirements of contemporary digital environments.

Our mission at Silicon Signals is to propel innovation in multimedia processing and embedded systems. Please contact us if you would like to discuss possible collaborations or if you would like more information about how our Custom GStreamer Plugin can improve your projects.

As we continue to investigate new avenues in embedded development and technology, stay tuned for more updates!

[bambiraptor9blog]

Crush 40--On Shadow the Hedgehog, Keanu Reeves, and Grief

(and maybe an impending mid-life crisis)

I will be 40 years old soon.

Somehow, I feel like I am 40 going on 14. My obsession with the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has yet again reached a zenith with the release of two amazing things: Shadow Generations, an add-on to Sonic Generations focusing on my favorite character, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic Movie 3, one of the highest grossing video game films of all time.

I can’t stop listening to Crush 40, the band that plays for the 3D Sonic games (and whose song, ‘Live and Learn,’ was featured in Sonic Movie 3), and revisiting that back catalogue of songs and game titles. I feel like part of me has been revived—reawakened—as I let Sonic music, movies and games guide me on my own healing journey.

In addition to this, I have developed a crush on Keanu Reeves. At 40.

I know what you’re thinking: Whoa. Wait. What? I know, I’m going too fast. It’s kind of my thing. Let me back up a bit to give you some additional context. Just try to keep up with this stream-of-consciousness blog post in the meantime. 😉

I also know what you’re thinking: Hey. That was a bit from Ben Schwartz, the charismatic voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. Stealing others’ lines to write is the wo-o-o-o-o-rst!

Well, yeah. I enjoy using echolalia to communicate how I’m feeling. Deal with it. *sunglasses emoji, CGI explosion in the background*

*blows ash off the laptop screen, wipes keyboard with sleeve, keeps writing*

Silliness aside…it’s been a rough past few years for me, personally. I’ve experienced a lot of loss in a myriad of forms. And while I have managed to do some incredible things—I’ve self-published a dinosaur fantasy novel, I’ve solo traveled to Australia, and I’ve got 15+ years of teaching experience under my belt—writing and creating in general have taken a back seat thanks to anxiety and depression…and grief.

I’ve been in and out of therapy for years, I’ve been managing my symptoms with medication, dietary changes, journaling, even walking places when I have the energy. I have my beloved gray cat Mochi too, with her insistent chirps, yowls and purrs to help me feel present and grounded and most importantly, loved. And my online/offline friends and family—you know who you are—are here for me, too.

Still…I keep yearning for more in my life. For fulfilling my creative destiny, as it were. And my heart is begging me to open up again.

Is it gonna be alright? Therein lies the question that plagues me night and day.

After I finished my novel, I found myself in a creative rut, in a desert of epic proportions with a looming storm on the horizon. It’s like I’m sitting there in my computer chair, the dust swirling around me, and the Word document page is there on my laptop screen, bright white, screaming, For God’s sake, write something! I think I took the wrong pill, I want to tell whoever my Morpheus is. I think I don’t like this freedom you’ve promised me. So I sit and stare at the screen…waiting…waiting for inspiration to strike like a lightning bolt before the flash flood.

And…nothing. No white rabbit to follow, no magic to chase, no one has come to my rescue except me. Sitting there, some nights unable to sleep well, some days I struggle to eat. And yet, probably due to sheer stubbornness of will, I move on. I keep going, I keep trying, I keep putting myself out there on forums, on Discord, on so many applications and message feeds. I walk away from the computer chair out of frustration, because once again—my energy has gone elsewhere instead of the place my heart so desperately wants to be. Wherever that is, I am uncertain. And this uncertainty eats at me worse than the wind and water erodes the coastline.

I go to the beach on weekends, I feel the wind and admire the ocean, only to smell and taste the ash from the beloved towns near Hollywood burning, and again, I think in song:

Is it gonna be alright?

Instead of writing, I’d turned to Sonic video games and rewatching the first two movies to cope. This is a lifelong habit of mine, ingrained in me since I was young. When my world has crumbled to chaos, the only certainty I can salvage is in a blue blur and his black and red nemesis. The blue rat is a source of comfort, familiarity, and attitude that I deeply enjoy. Reciting the lines from Sonic Adventure 2 since its debut in 2001, bouncing joyously to the music, reveling in the teenage me that I never fully appreciated nor understood—these things kept me going at low ebbs in the tides of life.

I was binging Sonic and Shadow YouTube videos late at night when I saw it: a comic by a Sonadow shipping artist. A very well made comic, sourced from tumblr. And when I saw Sonic and Shadow kiss passionately, something stirred within me. Something was not the same. I was tired of playing by the rules of society’s game…

Unfortunately, I could not defy gravity, but I could decide to start somewhere with my writing.

And on hearing Shadow’s new voice, I felt a similar thrill. So I started again. I decided to write fan fiction based on the Sonic movies, in particular emphasizing Shadow from Sonic Movie 3.

I admit I didn’t think much of Keanu Reeves in a crush kind of way decades prior. Oh yes, I knew of his work—there was no doubt there—I, like Sonic, loved him in Speed, and enjoyed teasing everyone I knew when I took the bus back and forth to school and work that it couldn’t go faster than 55 miles an hour, thus the reason why I was perpetually late (ADHD? Pfft, what’s that?).

I loved his voice in Dracula and in Shakespeare’s works, because I too have the dreaded SoCal accent—what some typecast as Valley Girl or Skater/Surfer Boi—and I thought he was rather handsome then as well. I remember his smile, too, that brilliant grin that made me smile back.

But my heart in my teen years was stolen by an Aussie knight in shining armor—Heath Ledger—so I let Ted from his Excellent Adventure days slip from my mind. Yeah, I know—bummer.

The Matrix was a film I barely remember seeing, probably because the body horror still makes me squeamish—even though comics and writings with such scenes don’t detest me in the slightest. But I do remember the trenchcoats and the sunglasses, how popular that look became. I rewatched the film recently, and I enjoyed it, although its messages have aligned very well with my internal quicksand of existentialism.

I couldn’t place why I liked the toy stuntman Duke Kaboom when I saw Toy Story 4, but I really liked his character, and then I found out Keanu voiced him—well, shoot.

And when I learned about his personal tragic backstory, with glimpses in the entertainment media channels—well, this is interesting.

Why is it that people who create my favorite things—musicians, voice actors, writers—all share a similar trajectory traumatically with me? I’m sure there’s some psychoanalytical thing here. Maybe an energy thing, like a vibe check. Who knows—but oof. The resonance intrigues me.

Because Keanu, a very private man, embraces grief in every role, in every creative thing he does. It’s an outlet for his pain, for his personal growth. And he works really hard, too, to bring that message of hope in chaos. I admire that deeply. Because unlike Keanu, I tend to run and hide from my own healing process, tend to dismiss the impact grief has on me right now. And I struggle with channeling my grief into my writing beyond journaling and therapy homework.

An even more interesting parallel, is that Keanu is a writer too. He recently published a comic series and then a follow up novel about an ageless man who becomes a weapon of war, with…get this…a thirty-something scientist WITH MY RL NAME that revives his memories and well…!

Spider-Man pointing meme is activated!

And so too was my storytelling.

Days before Sonic Movie 3 was released to theaters, I challenged myself. At first, I thought, ugh. No one is gonna want to read my goofy Sonadow story. So I slept on it. And then, I thought, what the hell. And I published the first chapter to Archive of Our Own.

Within hours, dozens of kudos notifications hit my inbox. I had set off a deluge in my personal creative desert. And my heart began to pitter patter in a way I hadn’t let myself feel in years.

Holy shit. What have I done?!

John Wick: "Yeah. I'm thinking I'm back!"

The more I wrote the story, the more I referenced the Sonic Movie 3 actor interviews after seeing the film in theaters twice. Is that research? I guess. I don’t know, I tend to think of it as, oh look! Another form of my obsessions taking place—neat!

And I admit I love the Shadow the Hedgehog video game from 2005. Yes I played it, yes it was fun. I mean, come on, I get to be the cool guy on a motorcycle—which in reality, my ex was into that stuff for a time, to try and impress me I guess? Never me haha—with a gun—which I will never wield, I’m more of a pacifist than that—and I get to sass Sonic into submission while I kill aliens?! I mean, sign me up!

Shadow as a character is also meant to be voiced by Keanu Reeves. His gruff demeanor, his anger, his fear, the volatility of his emotions—it’s there, in his character arc, as well as held nicely by Keanu’s inflection. Shadow is the quiet rebuke to Sonic’s effervescent chatter, the sobering steel of his gaze and voice merging to tone down Sonic’s wild, rebellious, fun nature. While Sonic represents young boyhood—all over-confidence, bragadocious sass—Shadow represents maturity when he wasn’t ready for it. Shadow is suspicious of the world, and given his upbringing, he has every right to be. When we experience loss at a young age—before we can talk and think for ourselves—it makes healing from depression an arduous mountain to ascend. Add to that later moments of trauma, and it’s like you lose a foothold somewhere on the way up, only to land on your ass in the pouring rain, wondering why in the hell you decided this was a good idea in the first place. Get outside and see Nature, everyone says. Feel the sunshine! Touch the grass! All that stuff. Oh yeah don’t forget yoga, meditation—that will keep the internal horrors at bay. At least, for a little while.

What really helps in healing is connection. Connection in parasocial ways is just as valid as connection in the real world, though it is rare the two shall meet. I’m honestly just happy to be creating again, and finding meaning in my stories and making connections through it too. The connections I’ve made through seeing the Sonic Movie 3 actors, in seeing the passion the director and writers brought, ignites a fire in me that I’ve denied for a really long time. And for that, I thank them. Always.

My wish for the year ahead is to continue forging new connections, to strengthen the ones that matter most, and for me to continue on in my journey of self-discovery through creativity. Because at my heart, at my core, I am an artist.

And in connecting to my younger self, in writing again and seeing the response to my work, I’ve decided yeah.

It’s gonna be alright.

[adarkrainbow]

Lost media quest: H&G Epic Tales (part 2)

In this second post (first one is here) I will collect and compile all the information I could find from the official outlets about "Hansel and Gretel - Epic Tales".

First, the last "official" post of the Twitter account, in 2013, long before it got overtaken by some little girl, shared a link to an article on the Erasmus Rotterdam University website. The article is now gone, but it seems it was linked to the app being used in some sort of cultural program, because here was the title of the article, as described by the URL: www.eur.nl/ ese/ english/ information_for/ students/ bachelor_students/ bhc/ cultural_programme/ jagten_by_thomas_vinterberg/

There was also a certain big deal made on the official accounts about the price of the game being lowered "by popular demand" at 3.99 euros, 4.99 dollars.

The Twitter account shared a video of the Dutch news during which their application appeared as part of an example of (what seems to be the digital market boom within Dutch startups?). The video is still available here but we don't see too much of the application, just the initial "tableau", the first chapter, during which Hansel and Gretel sit by the stream in front of thir house. What we do see is that during the entire scene their father is chopping wood in the background, and we can spot two interactions possible in the tableau: touching a bird will make it fly in circle while chirping, touching the stream will make a fish (a trout I think?) jump out.

The exact date of the application's release was the 20th of April, 2012.

The Twitter account also shared an official "Release announcement" article that was posted on PrWeb. The article is down since, but it is available through the Wayback Machine. Here is what it said:

From pesky gnomes to cunning witches; from witty and wacky humour to eloquent storytelling Award winning animation studio announces EPIC TALES™, a new interactive storybook developer that goes beyond the classic fairytales.

Award winning animation studio Anikey and Cloud Castle Interactive proudly announce: EPIC TALES™, the interactive storyteller.

EPIC TALES is a new developer and publisher of interactive storybooks for the iOS platform (IPad, IPhone) and delivers a unique interactive adaptation of the imaginative and magical stories found in fairytales, folklore and world mythology. EPIC TALES allows you to not only enjoy enchanting tales, but to experience their magical worlds more closely than ever before.

“Fairytales just never seem to lose their magic, but having said that, what we envisioned for EPIC TALES was not to merely reproduce them; we wanted to go beyond that,” says Paul Hanraets, founder of EPIC TALES. “To conjure up new worlds and the peculiar creatures that inhabit them: with characters ranging from pesky gnomes to witty dwarfs; from a brave woodsman to a cunning witch. And as much fun as it is to revamp the classics, we also want to find those unsung folktales that have not yet been exhausted, to reveal their magic, and breathe life into the world around them.”

Each of EPIC TALES storybooks are digitally hand-drawn and offer stunning 2d animations, professional voice actors, original music scores, and spellbinding interactive environments that are sure to draw readers deep into the story. The alternating witty and wacky humour, the high production value, and the high degree of interaction are amongst some of the things separates EPIC TALES from other storybooks; however, what ultimately distinguishes EPIC TALES is the implementation of a central storyteller.

“The tales are narrated by Silvertongue, a most likeable dwarf,” Says Albert ’t Hooft, co- founder and producer of EPIC TALES. “Silvertongue, who once travelled the world in search of the most intriguing tales and stories, now resides in his humble bookstore where he personally sees to your storybook collection. Silvertongue is a gifted storyteller who can take an audience from a gasp of fright to a roar of laughter in just the twist of a phrase".

For their first storybook release EPIC TALES has chosen to bring off their version of one of the Brothers Grimm’s most celebrated fairy tales. EPIC TALES; the tale of Hansel and Gretel is expected to hit the Appstore January 2012 and will be available for IPad and IPhone.

About EPIC TALES™

EPIC TALES™ is a The Hague (Netherlands) based developer and publisher of interactive storybooks for the iOS platform, and delivers a unique interactive adaptation of the imaginative and magical stories found in fairytales, folklore and world mythology. EPIC TALES™ is a joint venture between award winning animation studio Anikey and Cloud Castle interactive.

If you want to check yourself here is the url:https://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/11/prweb8981778.htm. The website on the Wayback Machine notably contains an in-article save of the EpicTales.com website... A website I will be looking at in a minute.

Here are two more articles that covered the app. Unfortunately they are only available on the Wayback Machine now. (I will put a "d" in front of the URLs so that Tumblr doesn't turn them into active links): dhttp://iheartthisapp.com/hansel-and-gretel-epic-tales-animated-storybook-classic-childrens-story/ ; and dhttp://www.theipadfan.com/review/review-hansel-gretel-epic-tales-animated-storybook

The official trailer for the animated storybook contains this exact description of the interactive projective:

From pesky gnomes to cunning witches; from witty and wacky humour to eloquent storytelling, EPIC TALES™ is a new interactive storybook developer that goes beyond the classic fairytales…

EPIC TALES™ brings off an original and humorous version of the Brothers Grimm's most celebrated fairy tale. The tale of Hansel and Gretel is an interactive storybook that offers a combination of prime storytelling, brilliantly animated scenes, and dynamic interactions!

The Tale of Hansel & Gretel Feature Set:

Classical tale, original adaption

2D animations and cut scenes from Award winning animators

Beautiful hand drawn environments

Dynamic interactive surprises on every page

Professional storytelling and voice acting

Original music score and sound effects

Intuitive navigation

The tale of Hansel & Gretel tells of a young boy and his soft spoken sister who have been abandoned in a gloomy and remote forest. After being lost for days the children are lured into a house constructed of delicious candy and sweets. Foolhardily, the children fall into a trap set up by an old and cunning witch.

The Facebook account doesn't offer any much new info, as it pretty much doubles the Twitter account... Though they did posts screenshots of the positive reviews of the app which propelled it to the #1 rank of the Dutch Appstore at one point:

Plus a list of positive reviews from the United-States (honestly with how many reviews and notes this got, which means tons of downloads, how come nobody seems to have preserved the app today? That's crazy, somebody MUST have it stored in their iPad or iPhone somewhere!)

The Facebook account also shared links to many dead articles and missing reviews - that however can be found back on the Wayback Machine (praise our lord the Internet Archive for saving us of the digital oblivion)! Mind you these reviews don't bring much but they're still evidence. One is here: dhttp://thesmartphoneappreview.com/ipad/ipad-mini-review-hansel-and-gretel-epic-tales/. Another is here, a list of Dutch releases: dhttps://www.metronieuws.nl/entertainment/zonder-deze-spullen-kun-je-niet-op-zomervakantie/SrZlgD!2tXHqyT0qzBsg/. Finally, the Daily App Show had a page for this app - which contained a video-review of the storybook. The article doesn't exist anymore, though it is on the Wayback Machine. As for the video, the Wayback Machine seems to not have preserved it? That or my computer can't download it... I'll try to fetch this one another day: dhttp://dailyappshow.com/hansel-and-gretel-epic-tales-animated-storybook.

Finally, let's conclude this post by looking at the defunct Epic Tales website thanks to the Wayback Machine.

Here is what we could read on the Home Page:

Available on the App Store for IPad and IPhone. Our first release; Hansel and Gretel - animated storybook brings off an original version of the Brothers Grimm’s most celebrated fairy tale. The tale of Hansel and Gretel tells of a young boy and his soft spoken sister who have been abandoned in a gloomy and remote forest. After being lost for days the children are lured into a house constructed of delicious candy and sweets. Foolhardily, the children fall into a trap set up by an old and cunning witch.

Hansel and Gretel - animated storybook offers a combination of prime storytelling, brilliantly animated scenes, and surprising interactions!

Hansel and Gretel Feature Set: Classical tale, original adaption Produced and animated by award winning animation studio Professional storytelling and voice acting 23 chapters filled with beautiful hand drawn environments Over a 100 interactive and dynamic surprises Cinematic cut scenes Original music score and sound effects Intuitive navigation Options : Read to me, Read by myself or Play around

There was a "Titles" page (the use of plural indicates the then hope of creating a full line of animated storybooks).

It repeats the text copy-pasted above, while adding this:

Silvertongue, the dwarf Storyteller, will welcome you into his magical bookstore hidden deep within the swampland forest. Once inside the bookstore, Silvertongue will gladly display you his collection of tales that are available for purchase or free demonstration. Once you’ve selected and purchased your book, it will be added to your private bookshelf where Silvertongue will keep them safe for future reading. Besides exploring the store, Silvertongue offers you the chance to engage in some challenging mini-games that can be unlocked as a reward for helping him catch the pesky gnomes that dwell throughout his magical storybooks.

EPIC TALES™ Storyteller App is our free App for the iPad and iPhone. Within the App you have direct access to the bookstore, your own bookshelf, and various mini games.

EPIC TALES - Storyteller Feature Set: EPIC TALES Bookstore, titles for purchase or demonstration Private bookshelf Gnome Mini games 2D animations from award winning animators Professional storytelling and voice acting Original music score and sound effects Intuitive navigation

There was also a "News" page which contained a very interesting article pointing out that the release of "Hansel and Gretel - Epic Tales" was notably made to match the 200th birthday of the brothers Grimm fairytales!

Let me copy-paste this article, called "Epic Tales celebrates 200th Anniversary of Grimm's fairy tales with Hansel and Gretel animated storybook"

Collaboration Between Award-Winning Animation Studio and Game Design Veterans Brings Classic Tale to Life On iPad and iPhone

“This version of Hansel and Gretel is a fully immersive, wonderfully engaging romp of a tale, complete with just the right amount of multimedia, professionalism and upstanding quality." – Luke Patrick, TheiPhoneAppReview.com

March 18, 2013 – Two hundred years after first being published, the magical and undeniable Brothers Grimm fairy tales continue to enchant and entertain children worldwide. Hansel and Gretel - Epic Tales animated storybook celebrates this bicenntenial with the first in a series of classic, interactive tales from award-winning animation studio, Anikey, and the game veterans at Cloud Castle Interactive. For the month of April, the app will be available on the Appstore for iPad and iPhone for a special 200th anniversary price of $1.99, and thereafter will be priced at $3.99.

This EPIC Tales adaption stays true to the original Grimm Brothers' "Household Tales” – folklore laced with trepidation, morality, great joy and fun – but propels it into the 21st century. The storybook is digitally hand-drawn by award winning animators, and offers 20 chapters filled with over 100 dynamic and interactive surprises, professional voice acting, original music scores and ambient sounds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKvoy7QU_vc

Offering spellbinding interactive environments that will draw readers even deeper into the story, Epic Tales’ Hansel and Gretel’s world is filled with whimsical characters ranging from pesky gnomes to witty dwarfs; from brave children to wicked stepmothers and cunning witches. At its center is the narrator, Silvertongue, a truly gifted storyteller who can take an audience from a gasp of fright to a roar of laughter in just the twist of a phrase.

According to The iPhone App Review’s Luke Patrick, “This eBook is a monument to what can be accomplished within the realm of iPad design. Hansel and Gretel doesn’t just offer pages of content, but rather a fully engaging experience. There’s incredibly good voice acting for each and every chapter, as well as Disney quality animations. You’ll also get fully animated trailer sequences for key plot points, in addition to interactive elements hidden within the pages. This version of Hansel and Gretel is a fully immersive, wonderfully engaging romp of a tale, complete with just the right amount of multimedia, professionalism and upstanding quality." http://www.theiphoneappreview.com/2012/08/hansel-and-gretel-ipad-app-review/

EPIC Tales’ Hansel and Gretel features include:

Classical tale, original adaption

Produced and animated by award winning animation studio

Professional storytelling and voice acting

23 chapters filled with beautiful hand drawn environments

Over a 100 interactive and dynamic surprises

Cinematic cut scenes

Original music score and sound effects

Intuitive navigation

Three Options : Read to me, Read by myself or Play around

“It is wonderful that The Brothers Grimm anthology, a collection of 86 folktales, is still read and beloved by children today, 200 years after its first publication,” said Paul Hanraets, EPIC Tales founder and producer. “We are honored to celebrate the bicentennial of these enduring and highly entertaining fairy tales with the re-release of our animated version of one of its most popular stories, Hansel and Gretel.”

"We didn’t cut any corners with Hansel and Gretel, and it has paid off. We are pleased that initial reviews have highlighted its production value, the high quality of our animations and our alternating witty and wacky humor,” said creative director Albert ‘t Hooft. “And, the layout of the pages is clean and intuitive with hidden interactive elements offering lots of surprises.”

EPIC TALES™ is a series of high-quality, interactive fairytales that allows you to not only enjoy enchanting tales, but to experience their magical worlds more closely than ever before. Children will love the sense of wonder and discovery, while adults will certainly appreciate the clever and wacky humor.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY Hansel and Gretel - Epic Tales animated storybook will be available on the Appstore for iPad and iPhone for a special promotional price of $1.99 in April, and thereafter will be priced at $3.99.Review copies upon request.

ABOUT EPIC TALES™ EPIC TALES™ is a The Hague (Netherlands) based developer and publisher of interactive storybooks for the iOS platform, and delivers unique, interactive adaptations of the imaginative and magical stories found in fairytales, folklore and world mythology. EPIC TALES™ is a joint venture between award winning animation studio Anikey and Cloud Castle Interactive.

There was also a "Contact" page, and an "About" page - however I will keep the "About" segment for a third post, because this one is getting slightly too big for now.