Amazon brings James Bond, Rocky to fight Netflix with $8.5 bln MGM buy
Amazon.com Inc will buy MGM, the fabled U.S. movie studio home to the James Bond franchise, for $8.45 billion, giving it a huge library of films and TV shows andamping up competition with streaming rivals led by Netflix and Disney+.
Microsoft claims Edge is now ‘the best performing browser on Windows 10’
Microsoft is now claiming the performance crown in the desktop browser battle, adding new features to Edge over the past year to improve performance and launch times, allowing Microsoft to claim itself the performance winner, even as Google releases Chrome 91 today. Microsoft also submitted 5,300 commits to the Chromium browser project, which will also benefit Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers.
Twitter teases its upcoming ‘premium’ service, which it plans to release globally
Twitter will soon roll out a new subscription service that will present users with an expanded feature set available only to paid subscribers. This is a different offering than Twitter’s previously announced Super Follow subscription plans, which will allow users to subscribe to individual creators for access to exclusive content.
Google isn’t ready to turn search into a conversation
The future of search is a conversation, and it was the centerpiece of last week's I/O developer conference, demoing two “groundbreaking” AI systems that it hopes to integrate into all its products. Users will be able to “talk to Google” using natural language to retrieve information from the web or their personal archives of messages, calendar appointments, photos, and more.
Huawei plans to launch new operating system for phones in June
Huawei Technologies will launch its new Harmony operating system for smartphones on June 2, its biggest move yet aimed at recovering from the damage done by U.S. sanctions to its mobile phone business. The use of its own operating system will mean it will no longer be reliant on Android.
Tesla is already shipping cars without radar sensors
Tesla has stopped building forward-facing radar sensors into its Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs in North America, after CEO Elon Musk expressed a desire to rely on cameras to power the company’s advanced driver assistance system, Autopilot. Tesla has been developing the vision-based version of Autopil during the limited beta test of its "Full Self-Driving" software.
The iPhone 13 might get a new battery, cameras and display
Every year at this time, there are an increasing number of rumors about the next iPhone, and 2021 is no exception. The iPhone 12 family is six months old, but there are already a plethora of leaks and speculation about the iPhone 13's rumored cost, a potential release date, and how the iPhone13 might compare to the iPhone 12.
Getty Images leads $16M investment in Promo.com, a social video template tool
Promo.com raised $16 million in a Series B round led by Getty Images, providing both the video clips and tools for non-editors to craft a basic edit with a little bit of customization. The company also offers its own library of stock videos as well.
New Instagram Insights make its TikTok competitor Reels more appealing
Instagram has added a slew of features to help independent creators make a living, including Insights for Reels and Live on its Professional Dashboard, giving businesses and creators essential data about the reach of their content. These tools will help Reels catch up with its competitor TikTok, which already offers users detailed analytics.
Analysis: How the Mobile World Congress hopes to reboot conferences post COVID
Next month’s Mobile World Congress is shaping up as an early test of how quickly the global business events industry will bounce back from the pandemic, with a range of hi-tech solutions being rolled out to try to keep visitors safe. There will be regular rapid COVID-19 tests, a digital badge that will give access to the venue, and a contact-tracing app if there are any infections.
Elon Musk and Bitcoin miners say they want to address crypto’s sustainability problem
After a weekend meeting with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and “leading Bitcoin miners in North America,” the group has agreed to form a Bitcoin Mining Council, “to promote energy usage transparency [and] accelerate sustainability initiatives worldwide” The group included representatives from Argo Blockchain, Blockcap, Core Scientific, Galaxy Digital, Hive Blockchain Technologies, and Marathon Digital Holdings, and Riot Blockchain Technologies.
Bitcoin down almost 50% from year's high
Bitcoin fell 13% on Sunday after suffering another sell-off that left it down nearly 50% from the year's high, losing $4,899.54 from its previous close. China's Financial Stability and Development Committee singled out bitcoin as the asset it needs to regulate more.
12 Lessons Learned From The SolarWinds Breach: RSA Conference
The SolarWinds breach rocked the cybersecurity world, with nine U.S. government agencies and roughly 100 private sector organizations compromised through a poisoned update to the company’s Orion network monitoring software. The colossal campaign was carried out by the Russian foreign intelligence service, proving that even elite security and technology firms could be compromised.
BTS breaks own YouTube 24-hour record with new English song Butter
The video for Butter has set a new record for most YouTube views within 24 hours of release. The video was merely a teaser for the Korean megastars' new English single Butter, which has racked up 12.8 million views in April. As of this writing, Butter's at more than 171 million views.
Google to open first physical store in New York this summer
Google will open its first physical store in New York City this summer, mirroring the retail approach that has helped Apple Inc.rake in billions of dollars in the last two decades. The Google store will be located in the city's Chelsea neighborhood near the its NYC campus, where over 11,000 employees.
U.S. regulators signal stronger risk, tax oversight for cryptocurrencies
U.S. Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell turned up the heat on cryptocurrencies, saying they pose risks to financial stability, indicating that greater regulation of the increasingly popular electronic currency may be warranted. The Treasury Department flagged its concerns that wealthy individuals could use the largely unregulated sector to avoid tax and said it wanted big crypto asset transfers reported to authorities.
Snap announces a new generation of Spectacles, streamlined glasses to experience the world in AR
Snap announced the latest generation of its Spectacles, a streamlined 60s-style design in black that is the company’s biggest play yet in merging some of the work its been building in augmented reality technology to a specific device tailored to work with it. The fourth generation of these glasses will operate at 30 minutes at a time, and feature dual 3D waveguide displays, and a 26.3-degree diagonal field of view for immersive lens experiences.
Twitter finds its AI tends to crop out Black people, men from photos
Twitter Inc's image-cropping algorithm has a problematic bias toward excluding Black people and men, adding that "how to crop an image is a decision best made by people" The study was conducted after user criticism last year about image previews in posts excluded Black people's faces, finding an 8% difference from demographic parity in favor of women, and a 4% favor toward white individuals.
Microsoft will truly, finally kill off Internet Explorer in June 2022
The company will pull the plug on Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022. The move will not affect the Windows 10 Long-Term Servicing Channel, which is used for devices that stay the same over time, but the move will still be supported by IE 11 desktop applications.
Apple announces a slew of accessibility updates
Apple announced a variety of new and updated features for people with disabilities, including the SignTime sign language interpreter service, Assistive Touch, VoiceOver, hearing aid support, and background sounds. The new SignTime service is launching first in the US, UK, and France and offers remote interpreter access for American Sign Language, British Sign Language and French Sign Language.
Apple Music will offer Dolby Atmos and lossless streaming starting next month
Apple has announced two new high-quality music options, Dolby Atmos and lossless streaming, with Apple Music subscribers having access to both at no additional cost when they arrive on the service next month. Both services support Dolby atmos Music and Sony 360 Reality Audio, but the headphones only work well with your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
AT&T, Discovery deal highlights media’s thirst to be like Netflix
Since AT&T bought Time Warner in 2018 to compete with Netflix and Disney, the telecom giant’s deal with Discovery Inc (DISCA.O), marks the latest shift in the remaking of the media industry and the potential beginning of another round of consolidation, highlighting the value of scale in the media landscape.
Google I/O 2021 developer conference will feature Android 12 and maybe a Google watch
Google’s annual I/O developer conference kicks off on Tuesday after being shut down entirely last year due to the pandemic. Google is expected to announce the Pixel Buds A on its own, which will likely be an entry-level version of its existing Pixel Bud's, which sells for $179. The company is also expected to show off improvements to its WearOS operating system, including changes to the notifications panel, new privacy settings and conversation widgets.
Amazon debuts free video-streaming service MiniTV in its India app
Amazon has launched a free video streaming service called MiniTV within the Amazon India app, which is a different offering than its separate Amazon Prime Video service. The catalog includes mostly older content which its content partners made for YouTube and other platforms. The channel will help Amazon test whether streaming content can drive sales on its shopping app.
Twitter subscription service leaks reveal name, price, and an 'undo tweet' option
Rumors of a paid tier for Twitter have been swirling for a while now, and a new set of leaks has revealed more details about what we can expect. The subscription package, apparently called Twitter Blue, may include features like an undo tweet button and a collections feature for saved tweets.
The best cell phone deals for May 2021
This week's best cell phone deals have some great options for iPhone lovers in particular, with an outright discount on the upfront price, and secondly as a bundle deal on a trade-in or new plan purchase at a carrier, with plenty of options for all budgets too. The iPhone 12 is going really cheap at both AT&T and Verizon, and even if you don't have a trade ready then the iPhone 11 is just $10 a month with a new plan at those same carriers.
Anti-monopoly fine pushes Alibaba to first operating loss as public company
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd posted its first quarterly operating loss since going public in 2014 due to a record anti-monopoly fine by the country's market regulator. Its U.S.-listed shares fell nearly 3% in choppy trading, even as the company forecast strong 2022 revenue.
Twitter finally brings DM search to Android
Twitter is finally bringing its DM search feature to Android to the Android platform, which will allow users to search through their entire DM history, not just recent messages.
Is Google building a WearOS-powered Fitbit smartwatch?
Google has begun to invest in improving its smartwatch operating system, WearOS, and may release a Google-branded Fitbit in the near future. Google acquired Fitbit from Australia and the US Department of Justice in early 2021 following over a year of negotiations and investigations into how users' privacy would be protected.
Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla orders a halt to bitcoin car payments
Tesla CEO and self-dubbed technoking Zach Kirkhorn is back peddling on the company’s stance about bitcoin and has suspended purchases of its electric vehicles with the cryptocurrency. The change of stance comes just weeks after Tesla CFO and dubbed “master of coin” Zach Kirk horn said the company believes in the longevity of bitcoin, despite its volatility.
Samsung won’t attend MWC in Barcelona this summer
Samsung and Lenovo will not be attending Mobile World Congress this year. Both companies have announced that they will not attend in person. The companies have not yet announced what their remote presence would look like. The event will still be held in June despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and difficulties with vaccine availability outside the U.S.
Meet the real Alexa: voice actor reportedly responsible for Amazon’s AI assistant revealed
Amazon's Alexa has a voice familiar to millions, calm, warm, and measured, but like most synthetic speech, its tones have a human origin, someone whose voice had to be recorded, analyzed, and algorithmically reproduced to create Alexa as we know it now.
Blizzard is showing off two hours of Overwatch 2 next week
Blizzard will hold a two-hour-long live stream on May 20th to focus on the player-versus-player elements of Overwatch's sequel. The stream will also include appearances by game director Aaron Keller, lead hero designer Geoff Goodman and associate art director Dion Rogers.
10 Hot Data Center Technologies And Trends To Watch In 2021
From as-a-service and private equity spending to Dell Technologies and Intel, here are ten of the most important data center trends and technologies you should be following in 2021.
eBay is joining the NFT frenzy, telling Reuters that going forward it will allow the sales of NFTs on its platform, a mainstream embrace that follows billions of dollars in NFT purchases over the past few months. The e-commerce company seems poised to slowly build up sales of digital collectibles on the platform, starting with a smaller group of verified sellers.
Best WordPress hosting of 2021
Getting started with WordPress web hosting doesn't need to be expensive, as even the cheapest shared hosting plan usually comes with a one-click WordPress installer, allowing the greenest of blogging newbies to have their first post ready in less than 60 seconds. However, managing a blog over time is much more difficult as you need to find your own themes and plugins.
Roblox earnings beat expectations on revenue, as user growth jumps 79%
Roblox earnings beat expectations on revenue, as user growth jumps 79%, with users putting a collective 9.7 billion hours into the game. The company went public via a direct listing in March, allowing current investors to sell shares. In Q1, the company reported that it had 42.1 million daily active users, up 79% year over year thanks in part to a 111% growth in dailyactive users over the age of 13.
Ford’s first electric pickup truck will be called the F-150 Lightning
Ford announced the name of its upcoming electric pickup truck: the F-150 Lightning, set to debut on May 19th at an event held at the automaker’s Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters. The company is also hosting 18 in-person events around the country, including in Times Square and Las Vegas.
Snack, a ‘Tinder meets TikTok’ dating app, opens to Gen Z investors
Snack is opening itself up to Gen Z investors, allowing Gen Z community members, influencers, creators and others to participate in the company’s upcoming $2 million SAFE. The company in February announced $3.5 million in seed funding for its modern, TikTok-style dating app, where users post videos to a feed which others then like in order to be matched.
