Geek News

This year, Netflix aims to have around 700 original TV shows and movies on its streaming service, Variety reports. CFO David Wells told an audience at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference today that the company will spend some $8 billion on content this year saying, "Let's continue to add content. It's working. It's driving growth." Among those 700 productions will be around 80 originals made outside of the US, such as the German show Dark . Netflix has scored some major deals of late, snagging partnerships with big names like Ryan Murphy , Shonda Rhimes and the Duplass brothers . It also recently snagged the rights to a Matt Reeves-produced sci-fi film and continues to grow its comedy and animated offerings. Last month, the company announced that it's still seeing substantial growth -- adding 8.3 million customers last quarter -- and has around 110 million paying subscribers worldwide. In addition to adding more original con...

Assuming your Hogwarts letter got lost in the mail (it happens from time to time) and you still want a peek at The Boy Who Lived's coursework, Google has you covered. The search juggernaut has digitized the British Library's "Harry Potter: A History of Magic" exhibit and tossed it on the Google Arts & Culture mobile-and-web app. You can take a 360-degree tour of the Divination room, peep author JK Rowling's original sketch for Hogwarts' layout, peruse Rowling's inspirations for Herbology class and a whole lot more. The original exhibition in London sold out extremely quickly, which inspired Google to put it online for all to see. Mountain View writes that "hundreds of the exhibition's treasures" and some 15 exhibitions are now available to check out any time you want , via your smartphone. "We've used medieval manuscripts, precious printed books and Chinese oracle bones to explore magical traditions, from the making of pot...

Sonos One with Amazon Alexa integration is now available in Canada, as reported by 9to5Mac . The push comes just after the launch of Apple’s HomePod, which is available in the United States, UK, and Australia, but not Canada. The Sonos One originally launched globally last year, but at the time, it only had Amazon Alexa support for the US, UK, and Germany . The integration allows for smart home controls, Alexa skills, and audio controls for streaming services (although with Apple Music, voice controls are limited to just playback and volume). Starting today, Canadian customers can get Alexa in the Sonos One speaker via a free software update. Apple has not mentioned when HomePod will be introduced in Canada but said that it will be... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2EXOJO7"

Amazon has reportedly agreed to acquire smart home company Ring for more than $1 billion, according to Reuters . Ring is best known for selling its connected doorbells, security cameras, and flood lights, while Amazon introduced its own line of smart home solutions last fall with the Amazon Cloud Cam and Amazon Key . “Ring is committed to our mission to reduce crime in neighborhoods by providing effective yet affordable home security tools to our neighbors that make a positive impact on our homes, our communities, and the world,” a Ring spokesperson said in a statement. “We’ll be able to achieve even more by partnering with an inventive, customer-centric company like Amazon.” Like many of Amazon’s previous acquisitions, Ring is expected to... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2BVIO9F"

If it wasn't already evident that Amazon wants a stronger foothold in the smart home space, it is now. Amazon has acquired Ring, the device maker best known for its smart doorbells . The terms of the deal aren't clear, but it's expected that Amazon will keep the core Ring business intact while finding ways to integrate its work into the Amazon ecosystem. Ring already supports Alexa voice control, so we'd expect more than just obvious tie-ins. The two companies aren't specific about their plans. In a statement, Amazon told Engadget it was "excited" to work with Ring and aid in its "mission to keep homes safe and secure." Ring said it could "achieve even more" by allying itself with Amazon as it focuses on its "vision for safer neighborhoods." Developing... Via: GeekWire via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2EWMudR"

Ford is venturing well beyond its home turf of Michigan to test its fledgling self-driving delivery service . The automaker has revealed a pilot program that will see its autonomous vehicles roaming the streets of downtown Miami and Miami Beach. The initial test will separate the delivery and self-driving products, and will gauge what works for both customers and companies. How do you pick up your delivery from a self-driving car, for example, and how far are people willing to walk to get their grub? Domino's is active right now, while Postmates should be available in March. Ride hailing from partners like Lyft should come later. Ford chose Miami both because of Mayor Carlos Giménez's openness to the idea and the city's notorious traffic congestion (about 10 percent of time is spent in gridlock). In theory, this addresses "pain points" by sparing people from driving. What the company learns in Miami will help shape tests in other cities as well as the from-s...

For all its problems , I still believe in USB-C as a standard, and it’s devices like the Mu One — a super thin, modular USB-C charger ( first spotted by Engadget ) that checks all the spec boxes and looks great — that keeps that faith alive. The Mu One is an updated version of Mu’s original charger , the Mu Classic, which was designed to solve a problem from across the pond by shrinking down the almost comically large ( albeit well-intentioned ) UK plug into a smaller, more portable form factor. The Mu was then later expanded into a version with two USB ports and modular plug ends for European and US plugs, too, and now it’s getting a USB-C version. The Mu One retains the slim design and swappable plug ends from the USB Type-A version, making... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2GP5vvm"

Health Is standing actually better than sitting? A growing body of evidence suggests that yes, sitting for long periods of time can have a detrimental effect on your health. But unfortunately, standing for large spans… via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2F02kEE"

Today, communications company Viasat debuted the fastest satellite internet available in the US -- up to 100 megabytes per second. It's thanks to the Via-Sat 2 satellite system, which serves North America, Central America, the Caribbean and a small part of northern South America. Viasat is now also offering tiered unlimited data plans, from 12 to 30 megabytes per second. The plans top out at $100 per month. One of the goals of satellite internet is to provide a high-speed internet connection to homes located in areas that don't have the ground infrastructure to support it. "The innovations we're making across our satellite system allow us to do extraordinary things, from moving the satellite industry up-market by delivering premium services, speeds and plans that give consumers new choices in their internet service provider, to helping bridge the digital divide in the U.S. today," said Mark Dankberg, Viasat's chairman and CEO, in a statement. In addition to...

* Fixed Bounty Rune not providing gold for dead heroes via Steam RSS News Feed "http://ift.tt/2ougpA2"

Gadgets How does Yamaha's $500 EAD10 sound? Over the next few months, I’m going to explore some new pieces of music tech that embrace change, but also preserve what I love about music making: the human performance… via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2FbKoWK"

ASUS's Zenfone 5 just made its first official appearance at MWC, and aside from overenthusiastic claims about its AI prowess, it's still a solid little machine. It isn't a flagship-level powerhouse though, which is why ASUS cooked the ZenFone 5Z -- it uses the exact same body as the more affordable Zenfone 5 but holds within it a Snapdragon 845 and up to 8GB of RAM. Because it looks identical to the 5, ASUS didn't actually bother bringing any 5Zs to its press conference. I We can't really elaborate on any differences in performance as a result, but ASUS's rationale for keeping the design the same makes sense. As explained to us, ASUS is used to fitting different spec configurations into the same chassis from its main business as a PC maker. Fair enough, though we still would've liked to test one out. The press conference also revealed that, in response to Apple and Samsung, ASUS kitted the Zenfone 5 and 5Z out what it calls Zenimoji. As you'd expect...

Jill Soloway, creator of the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning show Transparent , is heading another Amazon project. The company announced today that Soloway will be the editor-at-large of a new Amazon Publishing imprint, Topple Books, which will feature a diverse slate of writers working in narrative nonfiction and fiction. "We live in a complicated, messy world where every day we have to proactively re-center our own experiences by challenging privilege. With Topple Books we're looking for those undeniably compelling essential voices so often not heard," Soloway said in a statement . "I can't think of a more perfect collaborator than Amazon Publishing to make our dream of a revolutionary publishing imprint come true." Topple is also the name of Soloway's production company, which, along with Transparent , produced I Love Dick for Amazon and currently has eight TV shows and four films in development with the company. Transparent is scheduled to return...

Sony’s live-streaming TV service PlayStation Vue has just introduced several new updates, including the ability to sign up for the service online without needing a TV, according to Engadget . Previously, you needed a connected TV or streaming device in order to sign up for PlayStation Vue, but now all that’s required is a laptop or mobile device. Dwayne Benefield, the head of Playstation Vue, told Engadget the move was needed as the cord cutting trend continues. Also, it gives the company an opportunity “with segments like college students, who might not have a TV in the first place.” Other new features include the ability to watch regional sports networks in other cities and access to the local broadcast affiliate of whatever city you’re... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2HPWJ1r"

Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan will executive produce a new psychological thriller series for Apple. Variety reports that Shyamalan will also direct the first episode of the series, which is being written by Tony Basgallop of 24: Live Another Day and 24: Legacy fame. Shyamalan most recently worked on the film Split and TV series Wayward Pines ; his company, Blinding Edge Pictures, will produce the series. The show has a 10-episode order, with each episode lasting half an hour. The news is just the latest in a string of announcements for Apple, which has been investing heavily in new series. The lineup so far includes a TV series from La La Land director Damien Chazelle, a Steven Spielberg anthology series , a space drama from Battlestar... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2oAff5d"

The phone that stole the show at last year's MWC wasn't an Android, didn't have a Samsung badge on it, could barely connect to the internet and didn't have a touchscreen. The relaunched Nokia 3310 traded on one key thing: nostalgia. But it was enough for it to grab most of the headlines, and even see a re-rerelease later that year with souped up "3G" data speeds . That wasn't it though, just a month ago , we finally got the 4G version we presume some people were asking for. This year, Nokia (or, rather, brand-owner HMD) is at it again, reviving the iconic " Banana phone ." But, one day into the show proper, and the chatter about it had faded. I think new-Nokia missed a trick. Instead of rehashing iconic feature phones, it should revive one of Nokia's most prescient franchises: the Communicator. While the 3310 is iconic, it's a 16 years old "dumb" phone, which means that it's not really all that much use to today's ...

Last year, Nintendo one-upped its NES Classic retro console with the SNES Classic , a powerful and value-packed trip back to the best of 90s gaming. But among all the gems bundled into the box, one was notably missing: Chrono Trigger . Out of nowhere, that exclusion was given a chance for redemption when the game appeared on Steam today. Unfortunately, a flood of negative reviews pointed out the truth: Apparently, the PC version appears to be straight-up ported from the 2011 mobile version. We've gotten our hands on the PC iteration and it does appear to carry over much from the mobile version, with poor sound, poor graphical options and a terrible interface for mouse-and-keyboard. It's certainly disappointing: Developers often overhaul 16-bit games when porting them to PC, especially to account for advances in displays. PC players have been able to emulate Chrono Trigger near perfectly using programs like Higan, but fans would still jump at the chance to give Square money...

Ahead of today’s Zenfone 5 launch at Mobile World Congress 2018, Asus hosted a media briefing to tell us about its new phone and directly address the very familiar notch at the top of the device. “Some people will say it’s copying Apple,” said Marcel Campos, Asus’ global head of marketing, “but we cannot get away from what users want. You have to follow the trends.” So that’s settled: the iPhone-esque notch is now trendy and we’re all going to have to marvel at it across a diversity of Android devices, including the new Asus Zenfone. If you’ve been able to keep track of all the various Zenfone releases from Asus so far, you’re ahead of me, because I’ve gotten lost in the cornucopia of slightly different models the company has issued in... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2oBwh2S"

Wacom announced the Cintiq Pro 24- and 32-inch displays last summer, and now the company is introducing a new PC module that integrates into the back of the display to turn it into a Windows 10 workstation. The Cintiq Pro Engine memory and SSD are exchangeable as well as upgradable, so you can swap it out and move your work between the Cintiq 24-inch and 32-inch displays. Wacom is releasing two versions of the Pro Engine which are both powered by the NVIDIA Quadro P3200 graphics card; one with an Intel i5HQ processor, 16GB RAM and 256GB storage for $2,499, and a version with the Intel XEON processor with 32GB RAM and 512GB storage for $3,299. They’ll be available this coming May. The Cintiq Pro Engine also offers virtual reality support,... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2oAcVLf"

German new-space firm PTScientists has been planning a mission to the Moon for many years now. It has partnered with Audi to produce and deliver two XPrize-winning quattro rovers to the Moon that will explore both the lunar surface and carefully return to the Apollo 17 landing site in 2019. Now the team has partnered with Vodafone and Nokia to create a Moon-based communications network using 4G LTE to bring high-def video of the moon to those of us here on Earth. Vodafone's base station will communicate with the rovers as they gather images and video of the various lunar sights. The 4G network will use the 1800 MHz frequency band to send HD video to the Autonomous Landing and Navigation Module (ALINA), which will then connect to PTScientists in Berlin. Nokia is making space-grade networking gear that will weigh less than one kilogram in total. 4G is more energy efficient than analog radio, and will allow a larger amount of data to be transferred between the rovers and the ...

Formula 1 racing is getting in on the streaming game. F1 TV launched today at Mobile World Congress , and the new functionality will be up and running in time for April's opening grand prix in Melbourne, Australia. F1 TV will deliver racing fans commercial-free streams, which include access to onboard cameras for all 20 drivers in competition. From there you can arrange the camera feeds on your device however you like. There will also be a premium tier that grants access to exclusive camera feeds "not available on any other platform with the capability of multi-level personalization," according to Formula 1. The governing body says that all of the practices, qualifying and races will be live-streamed, in addition to press conferences and pre-and-post race interviews. For now, it'll only be available on desktop and web browsers, with TV apps for Amazon, Android and iOS to come in the future. Subscriptions will run between $8 and $12, with Reuters reporting there...

With the latest redesign of the MacBook Pro, Apple introduced the Touch Bar, a small OLED display that replaced the function keys at the top of the keyboard. But the company might be looking to take that concept much further, with a new patent for a full OLED display keyboard, via Apple Insider . In other words, Apple’s patent answers the unasked question, “What if the Touch Bar was the entire keyboard?” Apple, 2019: “We’d like to introduce the MacBook Pro 2. We’ve heard your feedback, and have replaced the entire keyboard with touchbars.” — Chaim Gartenberg (@cgartenberg) January 4, 2018 The patent ( first spotted by Patently Apple ) is officially for a “dual display equipment with enhanced visibility and suppressed reflections,” and... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2BV3qPh"

The controversy over loot boxes in games like Star Wars: Battlefront II , Need for Speed: Payback and Destiny 2 hasn't settled and state legislators in the US and governments abroad are considering legislation that would limit their use or straight up ban them. Central to the debate is whether loot boxes should be considered gambling and in that regard, the ESRB has maintained that's not the case, saying last year , "While there's an element of chance in these mechanics, the player is always guaranteed to receive in-game content (even if the player unfortunately receives something they don't want)." But that hasn't kept people from pushing the ESRB to do more. New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan sent an open letter to the regulatory body earlier this month, asking it to review its policies on loot boxes and take into account their potential to do harm. And today, the ESRB announced what it will be doing to address concerns over loot boxes. Going fo...

Blizzard has solidified Hearthstone' s annual flow of retiring old cards and welcoming new ones: For the third year in a row, a new expansion will come in April that signals a sea change in the digital card game. While we don't know the title or flavor of Hearthstone' s next set, we do have a list of changes and new features that will arrive when 2017's Year of the Mammoth gives way to 2018's Year of the Raven. The most obvious change will be the card shift. The sets from 2016 -- Whispers of the Old Gods , One Night in Karazhan and Mean Streets of Gadgetzan -- will all pass out of Standard format to make way for the new expansion. This is has traditionally been the best time of year for new players to jump in the game, since it has the least amount of cards in play, but the switchover also refreshes the meta of competitive decks and strategies. While this year's three sets are still shrouded in mystery, they will all have free single-player adventure conten...