Month: May 2024
How to watch Sony’s PlayStation State of Play event this evening
Sony’s next PlayStation State of Play livestream event kicks off this evening at 6PM ET and it’s extremely easy to watch. The stream will be available on the company’s YouTube page, on Twitch and even TikTok. Sony says the event should last around 30 minutes.
So what’s on the agenda? The company promises the stream will spotlight 14 games coming to the PS5 and PS VR2. Sony hasn’t announced many first-party titles for the months and years ahead, so this should finally give us a glimpse into the future of both the PS5 and its VR headset accessory. Wait, 14 games in 30 minutes? You had better not take a break to make popcorn.
Sony remains mum as to which 14 games will get some TLC during the stream, but we have some likely guesses. It’s been nearly three years since the teaser trailer for Insomniac’s Wolverine game dropped, and the near-indestructible mutant has been all over the pop culture landscape lately. It’s highly likely we’ll get an actual gameplay trailer and maybe, just maybe, a release date.
Rumors have suggested that the long-awaited Silent Hill 2 remake will get another trailer, but Konami is holding its own event immediately following State of Play. Konami’s event is called Silent Hill Transmission, so we’re definitely getting something about the neglected horror franchise. We just don’t know if it’ll be at 6PM ET or sometime after 7PM ET.
Konami
It’d be really nice if Sony finally announces Ghost of Tsushima 2, particularly after the release of that stellar PC port of the original game. Haven’s Fairgame$ and Firewalk’s Concord are likely to show up. Also, Bungie is getting ready to release a Destiny 2 expansion called The Final Shape. That’ll likely get a shoutout. Reports suggest a new Astro game from Team Asobi is currently in development.
Now onto hopes. We know Guerilla is working on more games in the Horizon universe, so it’d be nice to get some information about that. Sony owns a bunch of studios and they all have to be working on something. Just one surprise from Naughty Dog or Media Molecule could set the internet on fire. In any event, we don’t have that long to wait.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-watch-sonys-playstation-state-of-play-event-this-evening-130041039.html?src=rss
Sony’s next PlayStation State of Play livestream event kicks off this evening at 6PM ET and it’s extremely easy to watch. The stream will be available on the company’s YouTube page, on Twitch and even TikTok. Sony says the event should last around 30 minutes.
So what’s on the agenda? The company promises the stream will spotlight 14 games coming to the PS5 and PS VR2. Sony hasn’t announced many first-party titles for the months and years ahead, so this should finally give us a glimpse into the future of both the PS5 and its VR headset accessory. Wait, 14 games in 30 minutes? You had better not take a break to make popcorn.
Sony remains mum as to which 14 games will get some TLC during the stream, but we have some likely guesses. It’s been nearly three years since the teaser trailer for Insomniac’s Wolverine game dropped, and the near-indestructible mutant has been all over the pop culture landscape lately. It’s highly likely we’ll get an actual gameplay trailer and maybe, just maybe, a release date.
Rumors have suggested that the long-awaited Silent Hill 2 remake will get another trailer, but Konami is holding its own event immediately following State of Play. Konami’s event is called Silent Hill Transmission, so we’re definitely getting something about the neglected horror franchise. We just don’t know if it’ll be at 6PM ET or sometime after 7PM ET.
It’d be really nice if Sony finally announces Ghost of Tsushima 2, particularly after the release of that stellar PC port of the original game. Haven’s Fairgame$ and Firewalk’s Concord are likely to show up. Also, Bungie is getting ready to release a Destiny 2 expansion called The Final Shape. That’ll likely get a shoutout. Reports suggest a new Astro game from Team Asobi is currently in development.
Now onto hopes. We know Guerilla is working on more games in the Horizon universe, so it’d be nice to get some information about that. Sony owns a bunch of studios and they all have to be working on something. Just one surprise from Naughty Dog or Media Molecule could set the internet on fire. In any event, we don’t have that long to wait.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-watch-sonys-playstation-state-of-play-event-this-evening-130041039.html?src=rss
World of Warcraft is coming to GeForce Now
GeForce Now subscribers will be able to stream and play World of Warcraft (WoW) through the service if they want to. NVIDIA’s cloud gaming service is adding World of Warcraft Classic, Dragonflight and even Cataclysm Classic, which launched just a few days ago, to its library of games. WoW and its extensions will be available starting this week, along with a bunch of other titles such as the newly released Rogue Prince of Persia. In June, NVIDIA is also adding Resident Evil Village and Street Fighter 6, among other games, to the service.
The service gives members a way to access games across platforms, including Android and iOS devices, PCs and Macs. It’s worth noting that WoW does not support controllers for consoles, and players typically need a keyboard and a mouse to be as accurate and as fast as possible, so it may not be easy to play on certain devices. The game’s addition to GeForce Now means subscribers can play it on Chromebooks, though, eliminating the need for players to jump through hoops just to be able to install the game on their computers.
In addition to announcing new titles for GeForce Now, NVIDIA also revealed that the service will release a new members reward for Elder Scrolls Online as part of the game’s 10th year anniversary celebrations. Subscribers have to opt into the service’s rewards program in order to claim the new in-game mount for free.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/world-of-warcraft-is-coming-to-geforce-now-130032850.html?src=rss
GeForce Now subscribers will be able to stream and play World of Warcraft (WoW) through the service if they want to. NVIDIA’s cloud gaming service is adding World of Warcraft Classic, Dragonflight and even Cataclysm Classic, which launched just a few days ago, to its library of games. WoW and its extensions will be available starting this week, along with a bunch of other titles such as the newly released Rogue Prince of Persia. In June, NVIDIA is also adding Resident Evil Village and Street Fighter 6, among other games, to the service.
The service gives members a way to access games across platforms, including Android and iOS devices, PCs and Macs. It’s worth noting that WoW does not support controllers for consoles, and players typically need a keyboard and a mouse to be as accurate and as fast as possible, so it may not be easy to play on certain devices. The game’s addition to GeForce Now means subscribers can play it on Chromebooks, though, eliminating the need for players to jump through hoops just to be able to install the game on their computers.
In addition to announcing new titles for GeForce Now, NVIDIA also revealed that the service will release a new members reward for Elder Scrolls Online as part of the game’s 10th year anniversary celebrations. Subscribers have to opt into the service’s rewards program in order to claim the new in-game mount for free.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/world-of-warcraft-is-coming-to-geforce-now-130032850.html?src=rss
The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally proves sideways is the best way
Ford’s rally-inspired EV proves that sometimes a gimmick can be great.
Enlarge / The Mustang Mach-E Rally is the latest version of Ford’s electric crossover. It features plenty of power and a new drive mode, as well as plenty of rally-inspired accoutrements. (credit: Tim Stevens)
Ford provided flights from Albany, New York, to Seattle and accommodation so Ars could drive the Mustang Mach-E Rally. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.
Mildly off-road-ready performance variants are extremely trendy right now, and it’s easy to turn your nose up at them. But when cars like the 911 Dakar or Huracan Sterrato actually improve the day-to-day drivability and comfort of the road-focused machines upon which they’re lifted, you have to respect them.
Me? I’m a die-hard rally fan and someone who’d rather drive sideways than straight. It’s no surprise that I love these special editions, from their top-boxes down to their all-terrain tires. But I also love electric vehicles, and while there are plenty of electrified crossovers and SUVs out there, it’s slim pickings if you want something rally-ready.
Today, that changes.
Netflix is developing a Minecraft animated series
While Minecraft was officially released in 2011, it was first introduced to the public back in 2009. This year, Minecraft is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and as part of the festivities surrounding that milestone, Netflix and Mojang Studios have announced that they’re making an animated series based on the iconic sandbox game. It’s a computer graphic-animated show that’s being developed by Canadian studio WildBrain, which was also behind the animated Netflix shows Carmen Sandiego and Sonic Prime.
The companies said the series will feature an original story based on new characters that show “the world of Minecraft in a new light.” We’ll most likely find out what that means exactly before the series launches when they start releasing previews and trailers. The video Netflix and Mojang have published only announces their collaboration — we’ll just have to wait for more information on whether the show will still include characters we all know from the game, like Steve, creepers and zombies, or if it will truly only feature characters we’ve never seen before. If the long-delayed Minecraft movie ever gets made, we’ll still see Steve in an adaptation anyway. Earlier this year, Deadline reported that Jack Black is set to star as the game’s blocky protagonist alongside Jason Momoa.
Over the past couple of weeks, Minecraft has also released special items to celebrate its 15th anniversary, including free party add-ons, a free map, a cape and wallpapers. You can see all of Mojang’s anniversary items and announcements on the Minecraft website.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-is-developing-a-minecraft-animated-series-130023691.html?src=rss
While Minecraft was officially released in 2011, it was first introduced to the public back in 2009. This year, Minecraft is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and as part of the festivities surrounding that milestone, Netflix and Mojang Studios have announced that they’re making an animated series based on the iconic sandbox game. It’s a computer graphic-animated show that’s being developed by Canadian studio WildBrain, which was also behind the animated Netflix shows Carmen Sandiego and Sonic Prime.
The companies said the series will feature an original story based on new characters that show “the world of Minecraft in a new light.” We’ll most likely find out what that means exactly before the series launches when they start releasing previews and trailers. The video Netflix and Mojang have published only announces their collaboration — we’ll just have to wait for more information on whether the show will still include characters we all know from the game, like Steve, creepers and zombies, or if it will truly only feature characters we’ve never seen before. If the long-delayed Minecraft movie ever gets made, we’ll still see Steve in an adaptation anyway. Earlier this year, Deadline reported that Jack Black is set to star as the game’s blocky protagonist alongside Jason Momoa.
Over the past couple of weeks, Minecraft has also released special items to celebrate its 15th anniversary, including free party add-ons, a free map, a cape and wallpapers. You can see all of Mojang’s anniversary items and announcements on the Minecraft website.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-is-developing-a-minecraft-animated-series-130023691.html?src=rss
Top 8 Travel Hacks to Avoid Flight Delays This Summer – CNET
Learn about all the factors that can delay your flight, and what you can do if your flight is canceled.
Learn about all the factors that can delay your flight, and what you can do if your flight is canceled.
‘Fantasmas’ review: Surreal Julio Torres comedy is like nothing else on TV
Julio Torres’s “Fantasmas” is a wholly original collection of vignettes tied together by a quest for a golden oyster earring.
There’s nothing quite like seeing the world through Julio Torres’ eyes.
The writer and director has a knack for crafting strange stories based on the world’s most mundane details. In his beloved SNL sketch “Papyrus,” the font of the Avatar logo becomes the bane of Ryan Gosling’s existence. In his comedy special My Favorite Shapes, Torres breathes life into everything from a red plastic square to a Hunchback of Notre Dame Happy Meal toy. Even his longer-form projects like Los Espookys or Problemista render the minutia of our everyday lives as absurd as possible, sometimes turning trash into treasure.
With his latest project, the HBO series Fantasmas, Torres brings his singular musings on the things we take for granted to new heights. What starts as an odyssey to find a lost earring quickly spirals into something stranger: a collection of vignettes boasting as much pathos as offbeat humor. Nowhere else will you see a melancholic riff on the order of the alphabet, or a psychosexual showdown between customer service representatives. Each of these small stories is a delight in itself, but when you bind them together, you get the surreal shock to the system that is Fantasmas.
What is Fantasmas about?
Credit: Monica Lek / HBO
In Fantasmas, Torres plays a fictionalized version of himself. Like his real-life counterpart, the show’s Julio sees the world differently from others. He can sense the inner lives of objects and concepts, a point of view he’s translated to consulting jobs for places like Crayola (he suggests they make clear crayons) and NASA (he’s helping rebrand a constellation).
Julio’s fanciful life butts up against expectations of conformity, to the point that he refuses to get the so-called “Proof of Existence” needed to identify him. Proof of Existence is necessary for Julio’s upcoming apartment hunt — his current building is being turned into a General Mills Café and Residencies, just one of many dystopian details that color Fantasmas‘ alternate version of New York. However, instead of taking the steps to get this new form of ID, Julio turns his attention to finding a golden oyster earring he lost at a club. His rambling quest serves as a framing story for Fantasmas, which flits in and out of vignettes at a moment’s notice, calling to mind a madcap variety show.
These vignettes make up a sizable chunk of Fantasmas, and to say more about their actual storylines would be to spoil much of the show’s fun. But there’s a constant joy at the discovery of each new segment, which can take the form of anything from an advertisement to a dream sequence.
Most of the time, we end up following a character Julio meets ever so briefly (played by a stacked bench of guest stars like Steve Buscemi and Julia Fox) into their daily lives. These changes in perspective shift us from the surface-level impressions of those initial encounters to rich character studies. Often, all these oddball characters want is meaningful connection in an increasingly impersonal world. Fantasmas shows us the lengths people are willing to go to to find that connection, that sense of being seen, all with Torres’s characteristically dreamy flourishes.
Fantasmas presents a brilliantly surreal New York.
In addition to its freewheeling structure, one of Fantasmas‘ greatest pleasures is its world-building. Torres invites us into an absurdist fantasy New York, where clubbing hamsters and Smurf-like creatures rub shoulders with performance artists and aspiring actors. Production designer Tommaso Ortino adds to the fantasy with colorful sets straight out of a surreal theater show. Some rooms are often missing ceilings or walls, giving way to a black void. Others are twisting, turning mazes, calling to mind the set of My Favorite Shapes or the labyrinthine representation of the U.S. immigration process in Problemista.
The theatrical feel of the sets extends throughout Fantasmas, from elaborate puppetry to cartoonish sound effects to a repeating motif of a miniature proscenium. But instead of evoking artifice, these clearly handmade elements invite us into the crafting process, highlighting Fantasmas‘ characters’ scrappy attempts to build something new. Performance artist Vanesja (Martine) — the “j” is silent — got too invested in a piece where she pretended to be Julio’s agent, to the point that she is now really an agent. Driver Chester (Tomás Matos) has created a rideshare app just for their car — “it’s giving grassroots,” they tell Julio. Even Julio’s robot assistant Bibo (voiced by Joe Rumrill) dreams of becoming an actor.
Still, reality rears its ugly head in the face of these dreams, as Torres’ fantasy New York is not immune to the horrors of bureaucracy and late-stage capitalism. A visit to a doctor’s office is juxtaposed with a ticking countdown, similar to Problemista‘s hourglass imagery tied to expiring work visas. Corporations take over apartment complexes. At one point, in an effort to get out of having Proof of Existence, Julio tries to sell a show to Zappos’ new streaming service. That’s just one of many moments in which Fantasmas skewers the entertainment industry, including a pointed superhero send-up that still manages to find new ground in a genre that’s already been parodied to death.
But even with all these instances of outside forces mandating conformity, Fantasmas‘ kooky characters manage to forge their own paths. The same is true of Fantasmas itself, which breaks its own mold time and again to create something that is wholly unique, relevant, and unabashedly weird. There’s nothing on TV quite like it, its shimmering strangeness making it just as precious as Julio’s coveted golden oyster earring.
Fantasmas premieres June 7 at 11:00 p.m. ET on HBO and Max, with a new episode weekly.
Best Internet Providers in Santa Monica, California – CNET
Fast fiber takes on widespread cable as broadband providers compete for your dollars. These are CNET’s picks for the best home internet in Santa Monica.
Fast fiber takes on widespread cable as broadband providers compete for your dollars. These are CNET’s picks for the best home internet in Santa Monica.
Alexa’s Fire TV search has a new AI, but it needs some work
The new AI-powered search from Amazon for Fire TVs lets Alexa help you more easily find what you want to watch. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
Navigating the sheer volume of streaming content available today can be a full-time job. Recommendations from friends, blog posts, and those TikToks of movies I haven’t thought about in years all help. But finding something myself, my husband, my 13-year-old daughter, and my 16-year-old son all want to watch together is still a herculean task.
So, when Amazon announced its new AI-powered voice search function for Fire TVs at its fall event last year, I was intrigued. With its promise to make searching for content easier and smarter, I hoped it would be the solution to my problems. I’ve now had some hands-on time with the new feature, and while it shows promise, like a lot of AI-powered search right now, it’s just not reliable enough to be all that useful.
The basic idea is that you can use more natural language to ask Alexa to find you something to watch. Whether you have a show in mind but can’t remember the name or you’re not sure what you’re in the mood for, tap the Alexa button on the Fire TV remote and ask questions like, “What’s that show about money laundering set in the mountains?” or “Show me British crime dramas with female leads,” and the voice assistant should help you figure it out. It’s the AI equivalent of flipping through the channels, only Alexa is doing the flipping for you.
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This is all being powered by a new Amazon-built large language model (LLM) designed to surface movie and TV show content using natural language inputs. It’s starting to roll out to eligible Fire TV devices running Fire OS 6 or higher today. At launch, it’s capable of finding content based on things like topic, genre, plot points, actors, and quotes thanks to being trained on data from services like IMDb.
Amazon’s Joshua Park, senior product manager of Fire TV, demoed AI search to me at Amazon’s Day 1 HQ in Seattle earlier this month. He showed me several queries, including: “Show me the movie where Tom Hanks is a pilot and has to land on the Hudson” (Sully); “What is the TV show that mentions Szechuan sauce from McDonald’s?” (Rick and Morty); and “Show me the nature documentary that was narrated by Obama” (Our Great National Parks). Alexa did a good job with all these — but while it’s neat, it’s all stuff I can Google on my phone while sitting on the couch.
Amazon does add helpful context to the results, including showing you which apps you have that can stream the show and whether it’s free to you. But what I want from a more intelligent search service is not something to jog my memory but something smart enough to find me something good to watch. I want it to use its vast dataset to sift through the cruft and find me the quality. I want it to be that old-school video store clerk from my youth.
Image: Amazon
The new Fire TV search can find content based on prompts like “Alexa, show me movies about dog and human friendships.”
When Daniel Rausch, VP of Alexa and Fire TV, demoed the search function onstage at Amazon’s fall event last year, that’s literally what he promised, saying using the feature is “like speaking to a great friend who’s also the world’s best video store clerk.”
His demo involved a far more capable Alexa than the one I saw in Seattle. He asked Alexa to “find some action movies for me,” then was able to continue talking to the assistant to winnow it down to movies he wouldn’t have to pay for, those he hadn’t seen yet (or at least weren’t in his Fire TV watch history), ones that were good for his teenagers, and then finally ask it a context cue: “We like video games, which one should we go for?” It suggested Scott Pilgrim. Now that is very useful.
I could chat conversationally with Alexa, including pauses and ums and ers, and it (mostly) understood what I asked
Park tells me that kind of in-depth, conversational back and forth is planned for future updates. In my time trying out the current capabilities, I wasn’t able to get it to go beyond two queries before it started to fall apart. It also struggled to offer up more than a couple correct answers for broader queries like “Show me Oscar-winning movies from the 1970s.”
“It’s certainly day one for us,” explained Park when I asked about these limits. “We definitely have a view of what we need to do to improve it, so that no matter what the customer asks, we’re able to find the right content for them.”
What it does do well is improve on the current state of Alexa voice search, which — like most voice commands — requires specific nomenclature to surface the right results. With the new Fire TV search, I could chat conversationally with Alexa, including pauses and ums and ers, and it (mostly) understood what I asked.
But I was largely disappointed in the results. To see if it could help with my family’s viewing situation, I suggested the prompt “Show me some dark comedies with violence.” (I love romantic comedies, and my husband loves horror movies.) It offered up Heathers, American Psycho, Pulp Fiction, and Barbie. Besides Barbie being totally out of left field, the others were all over 20 years old. Not helpful.
Next, I tried something much more specific. We like to find series we can binge-watch together, so I asked, “Show me TV series with more than six episodes that are highly rated.” It suggested two shows, both anime. One was rated a nine out of 10 but the other was a five out of 10. Even for an avid anime fan, that isn’t a great result.
At this point, I decided to go from what I thought would be a softball question. The kind of thing I might have asked that video store clerk: “Show me something good to watch.” The results were… bizarre. Its first suggestion was Miss Marple (a classic British detective show that I do actually love, but is very old), but its second and third options were The Curious Female and Super Vixens, which not only appear to be ’70s soft-core porn but have very poor ratings on IMDB.
Yes, it’s still early days indeed.
Amazon says the search function is designed to be personalized to you, and the Fire Stick I was using at Amazon’s HQ obviously wasn’t. I just got the new update on my Fire Stick this morning, so was able to repeat the “something good to watch” query and am happy to say there was no sign of curious females. Instead, Alexa suggested Dune: Part Two, Shōgun and Sugar. So, it looks like I might be set for my weekend viewing.
The new AI-powered search from Amazon for Fire TVs lets Alexa help you more easily find what you want to watch. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
Navigating the sheer volume of streaming content available today can be a full-time job. Recommendations from friends, blog posts, and those TikToks of movies I haven’t thought about in years all help. But finding something myself, my husband, my 13-year-old daughter, and my 16-year-old son all want to watch together is still a herculean task.
So, when Amazon announced its new AI-powered voice search function for Fire TVs at its fall event last year, I was intrigued. With its promise to make searching for content easier and smarter, I hoped it would be the solution to my problems. I’ve now had some hands-on time with the new feature, and while it shows promise, like a lot of AI-powered search right now, it’s just not reliable enough to be all that useful.
The basic idea is that you can use more natural language to ask Alexa to find you something to watch. Whether you have a show in mind but can’t remember the name or you’re not sure what you’re in the mood for, tap the Alexa button on the Fire TV remote and ask questions like, “What’s that show about money laundering set in the mountains?” or “Show me British crime dramas with female leads,” and the voice assistant should help you figure it out. It’s the AI equivalent of flipping through the channels, only Alexa is doing the flipping for you.
This is all being powered by a new Amazon-built large language model (LLM) designed to surface movie and TV show content using natural language inputs. It’s starting to roll out to eligible Fire TV devices running Fire OS 6 or higher today. At launch, it’s capable of finding content based on things like topic, genre, plot points, actors, and quotes thanks to being trained on data from services like IMDb.
Amazon’s Joshua Park, senior product manager of Fire TV, demoed AI search to me at Amazon’s Day 1 HQ in Seattle earlier this month. He showed me several queries, including: “Show me the movie where Tom Hanks is a pilot and has to land on the Hudson” (Sully); “What is the TV show that mentions Szechuan sauce from McDonald’s?” (Rick and Morty); and “Show me the nature documentary that was narrated by Obama” (Our Great National Parks). Alexa did a good job with all these — but while it’s neat, it’s all stuff I can Google on my phone while sitting on the couch.
Amazon does add helpful context to the results, including showing you which apps you have that can stream the show and whether it’s free to you. But what I want from a more intelligent search service is not something to jog my memory but something smart enough to find me something good to watch. I want it to use its vast dataset to sift through the cruft and find me the quality. I want it to be that old-school video store clerk from my youth.
Image: Amazon
The new Fire TV search can find content based on prompts like “Alexa, show me movies about dog and human friendships.”
When Daniel Rausch, VP of Alexa and Fire TV, demoed the search function onstage at Amazon’s fall event last year, that’s literally what he promised, saying using the feature is “like speaking to a great friend who’s also the world’s best video store clerk.”
His demo involved a far more capable Alexa than the one I saw in Seattle. He asked Alexa to “find some action movies for me,” then was able to continue talking to the assistant to winnow it down to movies he wouldn’t have to pay for, those he hadn’t seen yet (or at least weren’t in his Fire TV watch history), ones that were good for his teenagers, and then finally ask it a context cue: “We like video games, which one should we go for?” It suggested Scott Pilgrim. Now that is very useful.
Park tells me that kind of in-depth, conversational back and forth is planned for future updates. In my time trying out the current capabilities, I wasn’t able to get it to go beyond two queries before it started to fall apart. It also struggled to offer up more than a couple correct answers for broader queries like “Show me Oscar-winning movies from the 1970s.”
“It’s certainly day one for us,” explained Park when I asked about these limits. “We definitely have a view of what we need to do to improve it, so that no matter what the customer asks, we’re able to find the right content for them.”
What it does do well is improve on the current state of Alexa voice search, which — like most voice commands — requires specific nomenclature to surface the right results. With the new Fire TV search, I could chat conversationally with Alexa, including pauses and ums and ers, and it (mostly) understood what I asked.
But I was largely disappointed in the results. To see if it could help with my family’s viewing situation, I suggested the prompt “Show me some dark comedies with violence.” (I love romantic comedies, and my husband loves horror movies.) It offered up Heathers, American Psycho, Pulp Fiction, and Barbie. Besides Barbie being totally out of left field, the others were all over 20 years old. Not helpful.
Next, I tried something much more specific. We like to find series we can binge-watch together, so I asked, “Show me TV series with more than six episodes that are highly rated.” It suggested two shows, both anime. One was rated a nine out of 10 but the other was a five out of 10. Even for an avid anime fan, that isn’t a great result.
At this point, I decided to go from what I thought would be a softball question. The kind of thing I might have asked that video store clerk: “Show me something good to watch.” The results were… bizarre. Its first suggestion was Miss Marple (a classic British detective show that I do actually love, but is very old), but its second and third options were The Curious Female and Super Vixens, which not only appear to be ’70s soft-core porn but have very poor ratings on IMDB.
Yes, it’s still early days indeed.
Amazon says the search function is designed to be personalized to you, and the Fire Stick I was using at Amazon’s HQ obviously wasn’t. I just got the new update on my Fire Stick this morning, so was able to repeat the “something good to watch” query and am happy to say there was no sign of curious females. Instead, Alexa suggested Dune: Part Two, Shōgun and Sugar. So, it looks like I might be set for my weekend viewing.
Netflix is making an animated Minecraft show
Minecraft. | Image: Mojang
Fifteen years after the game first launched, Minecraft is getting a new animated series on Netflix. The streamer announced that it’s making a show that will “feature an original story with new characters, showing the world of Minecraft in a new light.” No other details were announced, but the production is being helmed by WildBrain Studios, which previously made adaptations like Sonic Prime and Ninjago. The series is listed as “coming soon” but doesn’t currently have a date.
The news comes amidst a gold rush of video game adaptations. Blockbusters like The Last of Us and Fallout have been turned into successful shows, Mario and Sonic star in hit movies, and adaptations of everything from Among Us to Death Stranding to Stray are in the works. Netflix has been particularly aggressive in the space, with projects based on Castlevania, Dota 2, Gears of War, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider, Mega Man, and many others. (The service was previously home to the interactive series Minecraft: Story Mode as well.)
This also isn’t the only adaptation of Minecraft in development: a live-action movie starring Jack Black is slated to hit theaters next year.
Minecraft. | Image: Mojang
Fifteen years after the game first launched, Minecraft is getting a new animated series on Netflix. The streamer announced that it’s making a show that will “feature an original story with new characters, showing the world of Minecraft in a new light.” No other details were announced, but the production is being helmed by WildBrain Studios, which previously made adaptations like Sonic Prime and Ninjago. The series is listed as “coming soon” but doesn’t currently have a date.
The news comes amidst a gold rush of video game adaptations. Blockbusters like The Last of Us and Fallout have been turned into successful shows, Mario and Sonic star in hit movies, and adaptations of everything from Among Us to Death Stranding to Stray are in the works. Netflix has been particularly aggressive in the space, with projects based on Castlevania, Dota 2, Gears of War, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider, Mega Man, and many others. (The service was previously home to the interactive series Minecraft: Story Mode as well.)
This also isn’t the only adaptation of Minecraft in development: a live-action movie starring Jack Black is slated to hit theaters next year.
Amazon Execs May Be Personally Liable For Tricking Users Into Prime Sign-Ups
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Yesterday, Amazon failed to convince a US district court to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit targeting the tech giant’s alleged history of tricking people into signing up for Prime. The FTC has alleged that Amazon “tricked, coerced, and manipulated consumers into subscribing to Amazon Prime,” a court order said, failing to get informed consent by designing a murky sign-up process. And to keep subscriptions high, Amazon also “did not provide simple mechanisms for these subscribers to cancel their Prime memberships,” the FTC alleged. Instead, Amazon forced “consumers intending to cancel to navigate a four-page, six-click, fifteen-option cancellation process.” In their motion to dismiss, Amazon outright disputed these characterizations of its business, insisting its enrollment process was clear, its cancellation process was simple, and none of its executives could be held responsible for failing to fix these processes when “accidental” sign-ups became widespread. Amazon defended its current practices, arguing that some of its Prime disclosures “align with practices that the FTC encourages in its guidance documents.” But the judge apparently did not find Amazon’s denials completely persuasive. Viewing the FTC’s complaint “in the light most favorable to the FTC,” Judge John Chun concluded that “the allegations sufficiently indicate that Amazon had actual or constructive knowledge that its Prime sign-up and cancellation flows were misleading consumers.”
In his order (PDF), Chun also denied individual motions to dismiss from Amazon executives Russell Grandinetti, Neil Lindsay, and Jamil Ghani, who oversaw Prime operations. Executives had urged the court to dismiss the FTC’s claims against them. They argued that the FTC “singled them out ‘for an ‘unprecedented sanction'” when the agency had “only recently started prosecuting companies for using ‘dark patterns'” under Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) and the FTC Act. They claimed that the FTC never alerted them to any wrongdoing before filing the lawsuit, so how could they have known they were violating the law? According to Chun, however, the FTC sufficiently alleged that each of these executives knew they were violating consumer protection laws when prioritizing profits over eliminating dark patterns triggering “accidental” or “nonconsensual” Prime sign-ups. Chun explained that executives may be “personally liable for corporate violations of the FTC Act if the individual ‘participated directly in, or had the authority to control, the unlawful acts or practices at issue.'”
For example, when Lindsay — who in 2016 had the “most responsibility for the Prime subscription program” — was “asked about Amazon’s use of dark patterns during the Prime enrollment process,” Lindsay justified the dark patterns. “Lindsay explained that once consumers become Prime members — even unknowingly — they will see what a great program it is and remain members, so Amazon is ‘okay’ with the situation,” Chun’s order said. And when Grandinetti, who “oversaw the Prime subscription program” in 2018, was told that the sign-up process and auto-renew feature frustrated customers, he “vetoed any changes that would reduce enrollment.” Because executives seemingly prioritized profits over reducing customer friction, the FTC alleged that reasonable customers got sucked into Prime without their consent. Sometimes customers understandably got confused by the “discrepancy in size, location, and color” of Amazon’s disclosures, Chun suggested. Other times, confusion struck when Amazon tried to upsell customers on Prime at checkout — pairing their enrollment with their other shopping experience.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Yesterday, Amazon failed to convince a US district court to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit targeting the tech giant’s alleged history of tricking people into signing up for Prime. The FTC has alleged that Amazon “tricked, coerced, and manipulated consumers into subscribing to Amazon Prime,” a court order said, failing to get informed consent by designing a murky sign-up process. And to keep subscriptions high, Amazon also “did not provide simple mechanisms for these subscribers to cancel their Prime memberships,” the FTC alleged. Instead, Amazon forced “consumers intending to cancel to navigate a four-page, six-click, fifteen-option cancellation process.” In their motion to dismiss, Amazon outright disputed these characterizations of its business, insisting its enrollment process was clear, its cancellation process was simple, and none of its executives could be held responsible for failing to fix these processes when “accidental” sign-ups became widespread. Amazon defended its current practices, arguing that some of its Prime disclosures “align with practices that the FTC encourages in its guidance documents.” But the judge apparently did not find Amazon’s denials completely persuasive. Viewing the FTC’s complaint “in the light most favorable to the FTC,” Judge John Chun concluded that “the allegations sufficiently indicate that Amazon had actual or constructive knowledge that its Prime sign-up and cancellation flows were misleading consumers.”
In his order (PDF), Chun also denied individual motions to dismiss from Amazon executives Russell Grandinetti, Neil Lindsay, and Jamil Ghani, who oversaw Prime operations. Executives had urged the court to dismiss the FTC’s claims against them. They argued that the FTC “singled them out ‘for an ‘unprecedented sanction'” when the agency had “only recently started prosecuting companies for using ‘dark patterns'” under Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) and the FTC Act. They claimed that the FTC never alerted them to any wrongdoing before filing the lawsuit, so how could they have known they were violating the law? According to Chun, however, the FTC sufficiently alleged that each of these executives knew they were violating consumer protection laws when prioritizing profits over eliminating dark patterns triggering “accidental” or “nonconsensual” Prime sign-ups. Chun explained that executives may be “personally liable for corporate violations of the FTC Act if the individual ‘participated directly in, or had the authority to control, the unlawful acts or practices at issue.'”
For example, when Lindsay — who in 2016 had the “most responsibility for the Prime subscription program” — was “asked about Amazon’s use of dark patterns during the Prime enrollment process,” Lindsay justified the dark patterns. “Lindsay explained that once consumers become Prime members — even unknowingly — they will see what a great program it is and remain members, so Amazon is ‘okay’ with the situation,” Chun’s order said. And when Grandinetti, who “oversaw the Prime subscription program” in 2018, was told that the sign-up process and auto-renew feature frustrated customers, he “vetoed any changes that would reduce enrollment.” Because executives seemingly prioritized profits over reducing customer friction, the FTC alleged that reasonable customers got sucked into Prime without their consent. Sometimes customers understandably got confused by the “discrepancy in size, location, and color” of Amazon’s disclosures, Chun suggested. Other times, confusion struck when Amazon tried to upsell customers on Prime at checkout — pairing their enrollment with their other shopping experience.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.