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Over the last few years, Netflix has slowly rolled out a series of price increases for its streaming service. After the debacle of 2011 that occurred when it announced a split between its streaming and disc service to create " Qwikster" the company has been more sensitive to potential backlash. The company's next move could be to launch a new higher price option, without changing the price on current plans. An "Ultra" tier has shown up for some users in Europe as reported by TuttoAndroid , with a maximum price in Euros of 16.99 to 19.99, above the current "Premium" tier that is 13.99. A Netflix spokesperson confirmed the tests to CNET , and said that "In this case, we are testing slightly different price points and features to better understand how consumers value Netflix." CordCutting.com found the changes applied in oth...

Google has published a new blog post in response to a story from The Wall Street Journal yesterday that detailed how common it is for third-party app developers to be able to read and analyze the contents of a user's Gmail message. While not offering any substantially new insights into the industry practice, now understood to be quite widespread, Google does outline measures a user and business organization using G Suite can do to protect their privacy and security. The company also reiterates its commitment to vetting those third-party apps and services that have access to sensitive Gmail data. "A vibrant ecosystem of non-Google apps gives you choice and helps you get the most out of your email," reads the company's blog post , written... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2KEKedb ...

Netflix announced today that it's partnering with Salma Hayek's Ventanarosa production company on a new original series from Mexico. Monarca is set in the world of Mexican billionaires and focuses on a family with a tequila-born business empire. But drama ensues as one family member sets out to fight the corrupt system her family helped put into place. The series is scheduled for a global launch next year and it joins a number of other original shows Netflix is working on outside of the US. In February, the company said it aimed to have around 700 original TV shows and movies on its streaming service this year, with around 80 titles being produced outside of the US. Along with Monarca , Netflix also announced this week that filming for its first Swedish original series had begun. It's a drama called Störst av allt ( Quicksand ) about the aftermath of a ...

Others should boost their security controls to get in sync with AB 375... or get ready to be sued hundreds of dollars for each personal record exposed in a breach. via Dark Reading: https://ift.tt/2NoEe79 If New feed item from http://www.darkreading.com/rss/all.xml , then send

The Trump administration has handed ZTE another lifeline, Bloomberg reports, allowing it to resume certain business activities while US lawmakers decide how to deal with the company going forward. In April, the US Commerce Department banned ZTE from working with US companies after the company shipped US-made parts to Iran and North Korea -- in violation of US trade sanctions -- and then lied about giving the executives involved with those deals large bonuses. Though the Trump administration is looking to offer ZTE a reprieve, some members of Congress would like to see certain sanctions stay in place. And while the two sides try to work that out, ZTE will be allowed to keep providing some services. After the seven-year ban was put into place, ZTE reportedly stopped manufacturing its products. Because most of the company's phones use US-produced Qualcomm proces...

'Tis the season for summer gaming sales , and the PlayStation Store has its own deals lined up. From now until July 17th at 8AM PT, players can get up to half off select games, with even more savings for PS Plus members. If you want to browse the list of 860 games getting some sort of discount on PS4, PS3, PS Vita, PSP and PSVR, be my guest. Though many are older games, there are a few newer titles on PS4 worth eyeing -- like a Doom and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus bundle for $36 (normally $80), Nioh for $30 (normally $50), Assassin's Creed: Origins for $42 (normally $70) and South Park: The Fractured But Whole for $26 (normally $60). Those prices are are slightly cheaper with the PS Plus member discount. But the sale really shines if you've been waiting to pick up old games from yesteryear -- the PS2 classic Ape Escape 2 is a whole $4, Full Throttle...

Environment Of course, they warmed things up over millions of years, not a couple hundred. Human beings are the most egregious example of how life can wreak havoc on a planet’s natural environment, but not the only example. via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2KJVHIG"

By Jeremy Korzeniewski I went into my weeklong loan of the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive expecting to dislike it. Seven days later, I didn't find anything that had changed my mind. But before I get into all the reasons you shouldn't buy an electric Smart, I think it's only fair that I offer up some positives. First, like all Smart ForTwo models, the ED is extremely maneuverable and has the best turning radius in the business. Second ... well, that 22.8-foot turning radius is really something special. For $24,650, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive — I'll decline to make any jokes about the ED initials of early electric Smart models, but know that the humor is not lost on me — offers up a range of 58 miles on a full charge of its 17.6-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. We'll get back to that little specification shortly. What little forward thrust is avail...

The US government has declared another major Chinese telecom company a possible "risk to national security": China Mobile. Yesterday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a statement advising the Federal Communications Commission not to allow China Mobile, which is the world's third biggest carrier after AT&T and Verizon, to operate in the United States. China Mobile first applied to the FCC for permission to provide US telecom services in 2011 and its application has been pending ever since. In 2013, China Mobile's counsel wrote a letter to the FCC, requesting permission, stating "the extreme delay in granting the application is causing significant and unwarranted harm to China Mobile USA's... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2KvgJLB ...

Research in AI continues to make video games better. The technology informs NPCs that can move and fight more convincingly, orcs with personalities and ever-more realistic visuals . Now researchers at DeepMind have taught an AI to play a customized version of Quake III Arena like a human. The team focused on a capture the flag mode, one in which the map changes from match to match. Its AI agents had to learn general strategies to be able to adapt to each new map, something humans do easily. The agents also needed to both cooperate with team members as well as compete against the opposite team, and be able to adjust to different enemy play styles. "Our agents must learn from scratch how to see, act, cooperate, and compete in unseen environments, all from a single reinforcement signal per match: whether their team won or not," wrote the researchers in...