YouTube’s Talent Middleman

A New York-based startup is attempting to help up-and-coming musicians profit from the consumption of their music.

Currently, most big record labels have deals with Youtube to collect royalties each time their artists’ content is viewed. Smaller artists who don’t generate enough traffic on the site, lose out on access to that feature. To get around the issue, Audiam was created to act as a middle-man between Youtube and artists.

When Youtube plays an ad over an artist’s video, Audiam will claim the ad-revenue and send it to the artist after they claim a quarter of the profits. Musicians can sign up for the service at no cost, and by giving Audiam the right to license their music, and they can begin collecting cash for their plays immediately.

It’s Not Like It’s Rocket Science…

3D printing is on the rise, but a new project from NASA and Aerojet Rocket-dyne could literally take 3D printing into space.

While they haven’t yet printed out a complete rocket, the team has successfully finished tests on rocket engine parts made entirely out of printed materials. A series of firings demonstrated a successful design for the injectors, which are responsible for delivering hydrogen and oxygen directly to the rocket’s engine.

The laser-melting technology used to print the parts is being given credit for the test’s success. The new printing technique uses high-powered lasers to melt and fuse fine metal powders, which increases the speed and efficiency of building rocket parts. Prior to this new manufacturing method, the injectors used in the tests would typically take over a year to produce.

By using 3D printing, the production time was reduced to about four months, and was 70% less expensive.

NASA’s associate administrator Michael Gazarik commented on the technology, saying, “NASA recognizes that on Earth and potentially in space, 3D printing can be game-changing for new mission opportunities, significantly reducing production time and cost by ‘printing’ tools, engine parts or even an entire spacecraft.”

Password, More Like PassWon’t!

Despite our best efforts, it seems a mixed-case password, that’s eight characters long, which contains a numeric character and symbol is no longer secure enough.

In a study spanning over six million user passwords, the top ten-thousand most common passwords were able to gain access to over 98% of all accounts. With so many individuals using the same passwords, forcing their way into systems is especially easy for hackers, particularly when most passwords are non-random and re-used for multiple accounts.

Modern computers loaded with the proper software are capable of cracking an eight character password in as little as 5.5 hours. So it’s something to keep in mind when you open your next online account and select your password.

I’m Just a Bill…

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has drafted a bill with the goal of improving the nation’s defenses from hackers. If it becomes law, the bill would give the National Institute of Standards and Technology the authority to develop new regulations and best practices for critical infrastructure, such as banks and power plants.

A similar bill was held up by the Senate last year due to a provision that allowed the Department of Homeland Security to enforce mandatory cybersecurity standards.

Backers of the legislation include Committee Chairman, Jay Rockefeller, who argued that the mandatory standards were necessary to protect systems from hackers. Opponents of the bill are calling it unnecessary and overregulation.

No Hulu For You!

It’s official – Hulu is off the market! Again. Unable to reach a deal with interested buyers, Yahoo and DirecTV, the streaming television and film service will continue under its existing ownership structure.

Hulu received a nice cash infusion of about three-quarters of a billion dollars, from its current owners, Fox, NBC, and Disney.

No parties have come forward to discuss the deals that fell through, so it’s unclear if the issue was over asking price, or a disagreement about the future direction of the video platform. For now, Hulu plans to veer its focus towards growing its subscriber base.

Green Grounds = Slow Growth For GooglePlex

Google’s proposed addition to their famous Mountain View campus is now a year behind schedule, due to issues arising from its environmentally friendly design.

The original objective was to occupy the completed Bay View complex by 2015, where they were expected to construct over a million square feet of office space to accommodate up to five thousand staff members.

Current estimates now show work on the Googleplex could stretch well into 2016. Google originally estimated construction would start in September of this year, and it would mark the first of three planned additions. Overall completion was expected by 2022.

The original plans also included company housing, dining, sports, fitness, childcare, and even a conference facility. It’s unknown if any of these non-necessary additions will be scrapped in order to meet the company’s deadlines.

eBay App: Exactly for Printing

eBay just announced a new app for iOS that lets users buy custom, 3D printed goods on the go.

eBay Exact, as it’s called, will offer products from leading 3D printers, including Brooklyn’s Makerbot, France’s Sculpt-eo, and Toronto’s Hot Pop Factory.

Currently, there are roughly twenty items up for purchase, but that number is expected to grow fairly quickly. eBay Exact allows users to customize and order products directly from the listed partners, check out using PayPal, and receive their newly printed products within two weeks.

In a statement about the apps motives, Steve Yankovich, Vice President of Innovation and New Ventures said, “Shoppers today not only want to buy items anytime, anywhere through mobile devices, but they also want to be able to personalize their purchases. eBay Exact brings these two desires into one shopping experience.”

And that’s all we have for today’s news. For this and more, be sure to join us every weekday morning at 8:30 Central time on NewsDesk with Kristin Feledy.

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