Music streaming app Spotify launched in Japan Thursday, making its official debut in the second-largest music market in the world about 18 months after it set up an office in Tokyo. Daniel Ek, CEO of the Swedish company, held a press conference in Tokyo where he announced two version of its service: a free one with ads and the other for 980 yen ( 9.7) a month. Ek added that the service will also be available through the popular PlayStation video game consoles, manufactured by Japan's Sony Corp, Bloomberg reported. However, the music market in Japan -- estimated to be worth about 3 billion -- may prove to be a tricky one for Spotify, as it has been for most music streaming services that operate in the country, given that CDs are still the most popular format for music sales. The continuing popularity of conventional physical formats of music storage, including vinyl records, was one of the reasons for Spotify to delay its launch there.

In my earlier articles, I had discussed about about application of Big data for gathering Insights on green revolution and witnessed about a research work on supply chain management using big data analytics on agriculture. Incrementally, got an opportunity to implement data science methodology (a game theory approach) to make the results of SCM as an incentive compatible one. However, in this article I am trying to discuss about a large scale digital image processing obtained using time-series photographs of agricultural fields and sensor data for parameters, that should be done parallely with the help of Big Data Analytics such that the result of this work can facilitate SCM process exponentially. We are focusing on using deep learning and machine learning techniques for identifying patterns for making predictins and decision making on large-scale stored / near real-time data sets. By this, we can identify the crop type, quality, maturity period for harvesting, early identification of bugs and diseases, soil quality attributes, early identification of need for soil nourishments etc., on a larger farms.

Arik Hesseldahl is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years experience covering world-changing technology companies and trends for high profile media properties. Living in San Francisco for a few years, you learn a few things about the fall: First, the weather tends to be hotter and sunnier than the summer months. Second, you learn to avoid the area around the area around the Moscone Convention Center in late September and early October. That's when the software giants Oracle and Salesforce hold their almost back-to-back annual conferences that draw thousands of software developers. The two compete to see who can throw the more epic parties complete with big name musical acts like Aerosmith (Oracle last year) and U2 (Salesforce this year.)

Gary Glasberg, executive producer and show runner of CBS' hit "NCIS" and the creator and executive producer of its spinoff, "NCIS: New Orleans," has died. A statement from the network said that Glasberg, who was born in New York City, had died in his sleep. No other information was given. Glasberg joined "NCIS," which revolves around a team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, in 2009 as a co-executive producer and writer. He became its show runner in 2011.

At first, Shura figured, the spilled drink didn't seem like cause for alarm. "I saw a bit of residue on the keyboard, but I thought it'd be fine," the English pop singer said of a moment not long into her show Monday night at West Hollywood's Roxy when Prosecco came splashing down on her instrument. "Then I started playing and was like, 'Oh, those are not the right chords.' So I tried again -- still wrong." Turns out the synth -- crucial to a sleek, '80s-inspired sound many have compared to early Madonna -- had sustained serious damage, enough that Shura had to make use of a replacement while the other was sent out for repairs.

In this always-on, phone-obsessed era, Steve Gunn's "Eyes On the Lines" is a rarity. Released earlier this year via respected New York indie Matador, it's an album about getting lost in the little details -- taking the time to enjoy the music of a busker, for instance -- and of learning how to roll with life's annoyances. In a Gunn song, that's simply an excuse to enjoy a wasted afternoon and grab a hotel room. At once meticulously crafted yet casual, arrangements on the nine-song album are loose-fitting. Guitar solos emerge not to lead but to detour.

Sophia, a young animator is offered what should be her dream job. But when she discovers the truth of the modern "creative" process, she must make a hard choice about her passion for film. Set in an unsettling tomorrow, REAL ARTISTS, is the new sci-fi short film from award-winning director/screenwriter Cameo Wood (DUKHA IN SUMMER) and based on the short story by Hugo/Nebula/World Fantasy winning author Ken Liu (THE GRACE OF KINGS) and stars renowned actress Tamlyn Tomita (FOUR ROOMS, JOY LUCK CLUB, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW) and marks the debut of Tiffany Hines (BONES) in a sci-fi indie role. Help us bring this story to life. We need 1000 followers on Seed&Spark in order to be eligible for distribution on Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, and Amazon - If we get 1000 followers, we also get a grant of filmmaking products and services worth 8,500.

The Angel City Jazz Festival has always cast a wide net in its lineup, which reliably looked to transcend boundaries musical and generational. With nine performances over the next three weekends from Santa Monica to downtown, its geographic reach continues to expand as well. Again setting aside a multi-act one-day centerpiece, the festival draws heavily from the jazz vanguard, including a saxophonist who helped forge the spiritually charged sound of free jazz in the '60s, Pharoah Sanders. Below, what to watch for in Angel City's fall offerings: What to watch for: Gordon is a young pianist who studied at UCLA before winning this performance slot in the festival's young artist competition, but keep an ear out for our city's connection with the Windy City in a band that includes guitarist Larry Koonse, pianist Josh Nelson and saxophonist Josh Johnson, whose star has continued to rise since his Angel City performance last year. What to watch for: German-born saxophonist Laubrock has a rich history of collaboration with Rainey, who in addition to playing drums on her recent albums "Ubatuba" and the live duet "Buoyancy" is also her husband.

Go to a screening of a classic silent film and chances are it will be accompanied by a single piano player cranking out tunes influenced by ragtime, jazz and various vaudevillian sounds. But a two-day film fest in Los Angeles aims to update silent classics with a more contemporary soundtrack. UnSilent Cinema, a series of free outdoor screenings to be held at FIGat7th downtown this week, pairs contemporary musicians with classic films by Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, among others. Grammy-winning blues guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart will provide accompaniment for Fatty Arbuckle's 1918 western satire "Out West," and electronica musician Jimmy Tamborello will score Keaton's 1922 comedy short "Cops." "It's about bringing new audiences to early cinema," says David Spelman, who helped organize the festival.

The oft-foretold reunification of CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. may be moving closer to reality. National Amusements Inc., the theater chain operator and investment vehicle of media mogul Sumner Redstone, is preparing to call on the two companies to consider merging, two people close to the matter said Wednesday. National Amusements, which controls 80% of the voting shares of Viacom and CBS, is preparing a letter to send to the two companies' boards this week, according to the two people, who declined to be named because the proposal is private. Analysts have long expected the Redstone family to try to put CBS and Viacom back together again. Since the two media giants split in 2006, CBS and Viacom have followed starkly different trajectories, with CBS building a broadcast ratings juggernaut while Viacom's stock fell sharply.