Going to the movies was a thing we used to do -- and may do again in the future. However, if you're going to an AMC theater anywhere in the world, you won't find any Universal films. The theater chain declared war once NBCUniversal execs told The Wall Street Journalthat they plan on continuing a premium VOD release strategy even after the coronavirus pandemic subsides and theaters reopen.
It's one of the trickiest components to get for your PC.
Shopping for a new PC monitor? Do you need it to be 4K compatible? Does it work with HDR? How much are you willing to spend? Steve Dent lays out what you need to know (there are more questions...) and offers several recommendations, from sub-$200 up to $4,000 options for the pros and the one-percenters. Oh, and you can't always trust the listed specs. Continue reading.
Ford pushes back its self-driving taxis to 2022
COVID-19 has put autonomous driving on hold.
Ford
Ford revealed during its quarterly earnings that plans for a commercial service based on autonomous vehicles have been delayed. This is apparently due to the effects of the coronavirus, shaking up where self-driving cars will exist in a world hit by a pandemic. Ford COO Jim Farley warned that it could influence society for "many years to come," with people seeking out more ways to avoid unnecessary human contact. Continue reading.
Pentagon officially releases 'UFO' footage
They're still unidentified.
US Navy
The Department of Defense has officially released three video clips showing "unidentified aerial phenomena" (aka UFOs) darting around the skies above US military bases. The footage had previously been released in 2007 by a private company. The department decided to release the clips "in order to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real, or whether or not there is more to the videos."
In the clips, you can hear the pilots who captured the footage express surprise at how quickly the objects are moving. These reports resulted in the Pentagon running an official UFO identification program for five years until 2012, when funding ran out. Continue reading.
Apple will pay $18 million to settle broken-FaceTime suit
Each class action member is only getting $3, though.
Apple
Apple has agreed to pay $18 million to settle a case accusing the company of intentionally breaking FaceTime on iOS 6. The class action lawsuit, filed in 2017, argued that the tech giant disabled the video-calling application on the iPhone 4 and 4S as a cost-saving measure.
Due to a patent dispute involving the peer-to-peer method with VirnetX, Apple had to rely more on third-party servers, costing it millions of dollars. Apple eventually released new peer-to-peer tech with iOS 7, and the plaintiffs claimed that the company broke the app on purpose, forcing users to upgrade their platforms.
None of the plaintiffs will have a massive payout -- each class action member is only getting $3 per affected device. Don't spend it all at once. Continue reading.
With measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 putting a chokehold on their filming capabilities, advertising agencies are enhancing old content with new tech, including deepfakes. Deepfakes typically blend one person's likeness, or parts thereof, with the image of another person.
HP's COVID-19 Response: There Should Be an Award for This
Some of the troubling reports of corporate responses to COVID-19 include forced work in unsafe areas, not enough -- or any -- protection gear, massive layoffs and furloughs, and the sense that a critical mass of well-paid CEOs and politicians don't get that many people live paycheck to paycheck. There are exceptions though, and HP stands out.
How to Stay Safe on the Internet, Part 2: Take Canaries Into the Data Mine
The preface to this security guide series, Part 1, outlines the basic elements that comprise a threat model, and offers guidance on creating your own. After evaluating the asset and adversary expressions of the threat model equation, you likely will have determined the danger level of your adversary -- and by extension, the caliber of its tools.
Samsung's Galaxy Watch to Get BP Monitoring Feature
Cuffless blood pressure measuring is coming to the Android world. Samsung announced that South Korean authorities have approved its Health Monitor app for use on the Galaxy Watch Active2. The app will be available in the third quarter of this year.
UbuntuDDE Beta: A Linux Remix That Lifts User Experience to the Next Level
One of the latest options slated for potential adoption as a sponsored flavor in the Ubuntu family of Linux desktops is UbuntuDDE. A beta version, released earlier this month, offers an interesting hands-on experience well outside the norm found with typical Ubuntu platforms.
Ubuntu 'Focal Fossa' Homes In on Enterprise Security
Canonical, the parent company of Ubuntu, has announced the general availability of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, codenamed "Focal Fossa." This major upgrade places particular emphasis on security and performance.
Facebook has launched a free standalone app for creating and watching live video game play on Android devices. Some 700 million users already engage in gaming on the platform, but with its dedicated app Facebook is locking horns with the leaders in the market -- Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
Humans may be wanderers by nature, but in the year 2020, with planet Earth overrun by a pandemic, most human activity has come to a shocking halt. Perhaps one of the best things for a wandering race stuck at home is an opportunity to look outward ...
Living in the COVID-19 World: TV Hosts Struggle at Home
While stuck at home, many of us are burning through online content very rapidly. One of the things that's become painfully apparent is that TV shows that typically have live audiences suddenly have become almost unwatchable.
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2020 Online Shopping Habits and Retailer Strategies
Episerver surveyed over 4,000 global online shoppers to learn about their ecommerce expectations and habits. Download Reimagining Commerce to get an exclusive look at successful retail strategies in 2020.
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