Technology

NBCUniversal committed to adding the “majority” of films from Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Illumination, and DreamWorks Animation Films to its Peacock streaming service as soon as 45 days after they hit theaters, according to a press release. The new strategy kicks off with its 2022 slate of films. This model means that movies including The 355, Halloween Ends, and Downton Abbey: A New Era will be available on Peacock soon after they debut in theaters. However, some of the company’s bigger 2022 movies, including Jurassic World: Dominion and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, aren’t expected to be part of this arrangement, according to Variety. Entertainment companies have been experimenting with release strategies due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to help drive interest in their stream...

Comcast is introducing YouTube TV to its Xfinity Flex devices, providing users another avenue for opting out of traditional cable. YouTube was previously supported on Comcast’s Flex boxes, but the addition of YouTube TV gives users the ability to get some 85-plus live television channels for $65 per month. It’s not the first live TV streaming service to arrive on the platform — Sling and Hulu with Live TV were already supported. But it does diversify the streaming options for people who don’t want to pay Comcast for cable. Colin Petrie-Norris, senior vice president of consumer entertainment at Xfinity, said in a statement that the addition of YouTube TV “is another example of how we surround our broadband service with value, giving our customers access to all their preferred content and su...

The Oversight Board for Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta has overturned a decision by the photo-sharing app to remove a post that discussed ayahuasca. The board found that while the July post from a spiritual school in Brazil violated a Facebook rule against promoting the use of non-medical drugs, it did not violate Instagram’s community guidelines “as they were articulated at the time.” The board said Meta needs to be clearer when it applies Facebook rules to Instagram content. “The Board is concerned that the company continues to apply FB’s Community Standards on IG without transparently telling users it is doing so,” it wrote in its decision. The Instagram rule at the time of the removal only covered the sale and purchase of illegal or prescription drugs, the board added. “The...

Instagram is getting in on the year-in-review trend with Playback, a feature that will let you relive your Stories from 2021. Instagram will share a curated Playback of 10 Stories for each user, but anyone can edit, add, or remove Stories from their Playback list via their Stories archive, which will pop up within Playback. Users will see a message in their Instagram feed inviting them to create a Playback, and if they see a 2021 Story they want to add, users can click on the “2021” sticker to view and share in their Playback. While Playback is likely to be popular, especially with power Instagram users who want to re-promote their favorite Stories, it’s a bit puzzling that Instagram hasn’t embraced a simpler end-of-year feature that’s been popular in the past: the “top nine” photo grid. T...

Timing is everything, and unfortunately for Motorola, any review of the new Moto Edge 5G UW boils down to this one question: how does it compare with the Google Pixel 6? After all, not only did the Verizon variant arrive in stores on October 14th, 2021, just five days before the Google Pixel 6’s launch, it even ended up with near-identical prices as the Google flagship. The Verizon-locked Moto Edge starts at $549.99 for a 128GB model, and you can double that storage for $599.99, which is $200 cheaper than the unlocked version sold in retail stores. That’s twice as much storage for the same price as an unlocked Pixel 6, plus the Edge supports Verizon’s fast-but-limited millimeter wave (mmWave) network. Given how good a phone the Pixel 6 is, the Moto Edge has its work cut out. As a midrange ...

A GoFundMe has been created to support employees participating in the latest work stoppage at Activision Blizzard. This latest walkout comes after the company announced a round of layoffs in the QA department of one of its subsidiaries, Raven Software, right before the holiday season. Though initially contained to the Wisconsin-based studio, the walkout spread to QA departments in Texas and Minnesota with many other employees not in QA departments joining in solidarity. “Funds raised from this donation effort will contribute to offsetting wages lost from the work stoppage,” says the GoFundMe organized by Jessica Gonzalez, a Blizzard employee known for her activism and outspoken criticism of her employer, “as well as to assist in the potential relocation of Raven Software workers who were f...

Tinder on Thursday introduced a new Music Mode, which allows users to select an “Anthem” to play directly on their profile, in partnership with Spotify. The new feature, which appears in Tinder’s new Explore section, requires users to link their Spotify account and select an Anthem song “that defines them inside and out.” Users without a Spotify account will still be able to select an Anthem, but their top artists will not be automatically added to their profile. According to the online dating platform, roughly 40% of all Gen Z members across the globe have already selected Anthems for their Tinder profiles and, in turn, have seen a 10% increase in their matches. “Now with Music Mode, our members can experience that feeling when you’re at a party and you find out someone else loves the sam...

The Earth is now getting its very own black box to track the journey towards potentially irreversible climate change and the ultimate downfall of civilization. A project by the name of Earth’s Black Box is now in the process of constructing a giant monolith that’ll sit on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia, and function as an indestructible black box that’ll record the very path towards catastrophe for our planet. The initiative is led by marketing communications company Clemenger BBDO, which is working in partnership with researchers from the University of Tasmania, and construction is expected to be complete by early 2022, although recordings have already begun. According to reports, the structure is constructed from three-inch-thick steel and carries an array of solar panels on the r...

Control and image are important to Elizabeth Holmes. They were important to the PR effort around Theranos when she was portrayed as the second coming of Steve Jobs. They were important when she delegated reprimands to maintain her friendly image. And they are important now — as a jury is about to decide whether she’s guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Since September, she’s walked to the courthouse holding hands with someone — usually her mother. I have watched Holmes sit bolt upright at the defense table as her lawyers slowly wilt. She’s dressed in business attire — sheath dresses with structured blazers or skirt suits. Sensible kitten heels. A coterie of expensive blondes and men in fancy loafers have filled her side of the courtroom, especially as she has testifie...

In the past 10 years, ransomware has become inescapable. All kinds of institutions have been targeted, from the schools children go to, to fuel and medical infrastructure. A report from the US Treasury estimates there were over half a billion dollars in ransomware payouts in the first half of 2021 alone. Law enforcement has struggled to get a handle on the situation, with many groups operating for years with no apparent fear of repercussions. This year, federal law enforcement decided to try something new. In April, the Department of Justice created the Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task Force in a move to prioritize the “disruption, investigation, and prosecution of ransomware and digital extortion activity.” The task force is supposed to help share information between DOJ departments,...

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has put forward a series of proposals that could lead to millions of gig workers across the bloc getting similar legal protections to traditional employees. In a press release, the Commission says these rights would include a minimum wage (where applicable), collective bargaining, paid leave, unemployment and sickness benefits, and pensions. The Commission says an estimated 28 million people in the EU currently work through “digital labor platforms,” and of these, as many as 5.5 million may be incorrectly classified as being self-employed. So, with its new rules, the EU wants to lay out a series of criteria that will clearly determine whether a platform is a simple intermediary or an “employer” with more obligations to its “...

E Ink displays, with their ultra crisp resolutions and black and white limitations, have been a natural fit for replacing pen and paper for years. It’s no wonder that the most common uses of the display technology in consumer technology has been for e-readers and digital paper, attempts to try to slash through paper’s thousand-year hegemony as a dominant technology for writing down information. This year, Kobo took the logical step and combined the two with the massive, document-sized 10.3-inch $399.99 Elipsa and its new flagship $259.99 Sage e-reader. On paper, it’s a great idea. Verge Score 7.5 out of 10 Good Stuff Excellent display Long battery life Overdrive and Pocket support Bad Stuff Screen is cramped for writing Expensive Not pocket-sized Verge Score 7 out of 10 Good Stuff Large E ...